Prologue
No matter how many times he experienced it, it was a pain he could never get used to.
It felt like his entire body was being slashed to pieces, and every nerve seemed to be struck by lightning. Each breath made his insides churn, leaving his stomach completely unsettled.
If only he could lose consciousness instead.
“Ugh, hah…”
At first, he had been caught off guard without knowing better. He had proposed a deal to him without ever imagining such pain could exist.
But the biggest problem wasn’t the deal itself. The main reason was that like a fool, he had not only lost the initiative but even his right to choose.
Naturally, he couldn’t help but be angry about the unfair deal that had been suddenly struck. If he had known it would be this painful, he wouldn’t have proposed the deal in the first place. Of course, even if he had known in advance, his will wouldn’t have been reflected anyway.
Only later did he realize that the purpose of the deal wasn’t so different from what he wanted. Above all, it was the only way to protect people, so in the end, he had no choice but to accept it.
Even so, whenever this moment came, he always hesitated. The pain that knew no mercy and pushed him to the extreme wasn’t something he could endure. Every time ‘that day’ came, he would agonize countless times and want to run away.
But the conclusion was always the same. He had to endure the pain desperately, and could only hope for this time to pass. The fortunate thing was that there was a way to reduce the pain.
“Yoon Seo Won, come here.”
“Annoying… hah.”
However, that too was ironic. The one who inflicted this pain on him was also the only person who could reduce it.
When he grabbed his hand and pulled him close, the large body approached as if it were natural. He hurriedly wrapped his arms around his neck and tilted his head at an angle, and their eyes met – those blue pupils.
“You’re annoyed but still want to kiss?”
Even with the amused tone in his voice, he couldn’t argue back because what he said was true. When even light contact made the pain subside, how could he give it up?
“Ugh… hurry.”
“Hurry?”
He didn’t like the coy attitude, but he didn’t have the luxury to argue with him. Unable to bear it any longer, he pressed their lips together first. When he pried open the tightly closed mouth and entered to tangle their tongues, he could feel the pain gradually lessening.
He hugged his neck tighter and clung desperately. Satisfied with this, the guy who had only been watching finally began to move.
“Haah, mmph.”
The situation reversed in an instant.
Even after filling his mouth completely, he persistently clung as if it wasn’t enough. The force was so strong that his body was pushed backward, and he was struggling to accept it when suddenly large hands firmly supported the back of his neck and began to explore freely.
Suddenly, he remembered that day when he had fastened the first button without knowing anything.
The guy wasn’t kind, and acted as if he didn’t know the word consideration. He just manipulated him as he pleased without knowing anything. He had truly hated that selfish guy at one time.
But now…
“……”
He looked at him with narrowly opened eyes.
Even as his entire body screamed in pain, those blue eyes sparkling with light, the fragments of emotion rippling within them, strangely stirred his heart.
He surrendered his body while feeling the hot hands lifting his shirt and entering around his waist. Once it started, he wouldn’t be able to escape from his embrace until it ended.
That’s how it had always been, and how it would continue to be.
The floor touching his back felt particularly cold, making him squeeze his eyes shut again. His hands began to slowly invade sensitive places.
Though the act had started to reduce pain, as time passed, his body was craving something else. Something stimulating and ecstatic.
Would it have been better when he knew nothing at all?
Feeling his waist tremble with anticipation, he endured the pain that would soon disappear.
His body began to open, little by little.
Chapter 1
When he regained consciousness to the faint sound of an alarm, Seo Won flailed his arm around looking for his phone. He wanted to snooze the alarm for just 5 more minutes, but no matter how much he fumbled around, he couldn’t grab anything.
“Ah… where is it.”
It wasn’t under his pillow, in his blankets, or on the nightstand, so he had no choice but to open his eyes.
When he leaned toward where the sound was coming from, he found his phone ringing loudly under the bed. It seemed like he had fallen asleep while looking at his phone and it had dropped to the floor. But why was it so far away?
Seo Won struggled to sit up and let out a long sigh. This situation where he absolutely had to get up from his spot was utterly lamentable.
Only after shaking his head several times to clear it did he pick up his phone. He turned off the loudly ringing alarm and raised his head to see the sunset through the wide balcony window.
The orange sky with fluffy clouds, changing from blue to red, looked particularly deep today. Usually when he saw the sunset, he would only think ‘night is coming,’ but today felt strangely different. It looked like drops of blood slowly spreading in water.
Even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, it still seemed strange.
“Is it because I’m not fully awake?”
Seo Won laughed helplessly and stretched. He had stayed up all night working on coding and fell asleep in the late afternoon, so the fatigue probably hadn’t completely lifted yet. Normally he would have slept to his heart’s content, but he had plans with friends in the evening.
After finishing his shower and coming out, it was already a dusky night outside. Since the meeting place was in a busy district, he had to hurry.
He cleanly gave up on driving and took the subway instead. He knew well that his friends weren’t the type to end a weekend evening healthily with just dinner.
When he arrived at the station and went outside, he saw streets bustling with people. Friends laughing and chatting, couples walking hand in hand, people cheering at street performances. He was walking while enjoying that pleasant atmosphere when his phone rang.
When he answered the phone with his earphones, he immediately heard a loud shout.
[Where are you now? Where? Where are you?!]
Seo Won inwardly sighed. Already tired.
“I’m on my way.”
[So where exactly are you?]
“I’m passing by a convenience store.”
[Convenience store? You’ll arrive in about 10 minutes then?]
“Roughly, I think so.”
When he checked his watch, it seemed like he could arrive on time.
[Hurry up and come, won’t you? Huh?]
“You should be grateful I’m even coming.”
[That’s ridiculous.]
For someone who had been acting like he’d devour him for constantly skipping gatherings, he was full of bluster. Did he forget how he used to whine asking to see his face?
“How about I turn back now?”
[…Don’t talk nonsense and hurry up!]
Seo Won laughed briefly at his friend’s trembling reaction. This guy was always fun to tease.
“But why are we meeting in a busy district today?”
Usually they met at their regular spot. It was a place they’d been going to since their student days, so it was familiar and also a middle point – like their hideout.
But today was different from usual. It had been a long time since they met at a new place.
[This is a place I reserved a month ago. It’s so famous that reservations close within 30 seconds of opening! All the other guys failed and I was the only one who succeeded. Hehe.]
A place reserved a month ago? Seo Won’s head tilted skeptically.
“Do you really need to go that far to eat?”
[Yes! You really need to go that far to eat!]
“…Wow, seriously.”
Sensing his incredulity, his friend began a long speech. He raised his voice praising carbohydrates and sugars, asking if he knew how delicious food enriches life.
He couldn’t stop that madness and was secretly sighing when suddenly he heard someone’s scream pierce through his earphones.
“Huh? Hey, wait a minute.”
Wondering what had happened, he turned his gaze toward where the sound came from. But as if it were contagious, people around began screaming and scattering in panic.
Seo Won removed one earphone and looked around, feeling something strange. Even though it was late at night, it shouldn’t be dark at all because of the moonlight and street lights, but a certain radius had turned pitch black.
Feeling uneasy, he looked up.
Then he discovered some object floating in the sky. It was extremely large and wide, and was growing in size moment by moment.
No, it wasn’t growing larger – the object was falling from the sky.
“…!”
At that moment, Seo Won instinctively moved his body. He staggered briefly as his balance was disturbed, but quickly regained his composure and started running.
What is that? What could be so big…
No, that wasn’t important right now. He had to get away from here. If that thing crashed here, everyone in this area would die.
Seo Won looked around to find a place where he could quickly escape from the area where the object was falling. But everywhere he looked was the same. It was as if he were at the center of a giant sphere.
“Aaah! Run away!”
“What is that?!”
“Kyaaah!”
[Hey! Yoon Seo Won! What? What’s happening?]
His friend, sensing something strange, called out to him.
“I don’t know either! Something weird is falling from the sky.”
[What? What’s falling… No, just hurry and get away!]
He was already running, just hadn’t found a place to escape to.
He ran hard following the people fleeing in panic in the distance, then felt them gradually getting closer. Just as he had physical advantages, there were those who were disadvantaged.
Seo Won grabbed the wrists of the two who had fallen furthest behind and pulled them forward with strength.
“Run!”
The two people caught by Seo Won were almost dragged along as if flying by the pulling force and speed. With the fact that someone was helping them, they forgot their pain and ran as Seo Won led them. Their faces, filled with despair and terror, momentarily harbored hope and hardened with determination.
It was when they were arriving at the point where the shadow was ending.
Seo Won suddenly felt an inexplicable chill that made his hair stand on end. He sensed an ominous aura for some reason. Then, among the people’s screams, a tremendous roar was heard. The moment he unconsciously raised his head.
“Ugh!”
A fierce wind swept through with enough force to make his entire body sway. His hair and clothes fluttered wildly, and small stones were lifted up. The ground shook and vibrated. His eyes reflexively closed, but he forced them open.
While the fierce wind still raged, a massive object came into view. It was irregularly bumpy and looked extremely solid. The problem was that the object’s texture was close enough to be seen at a glance.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
