Chapter 63
“Stay here and don’t go anywhere else until I come back.”
“……”
“Don’t respond even if someone talks to you or approaches you. There probably won’t be anyone trying to harm you, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
Though he never answered even once, Baek Rak didn’t even care. He just listed the precautions and stood up from his seat.
Even as Seo Won stared at him silently, Baek Rak didn’t spare him a single glance and immediately headed somewhere. He began moving alone to find a hunter with fire abilities, to proceed with the Guardian’s third awakening.
Leaving him here, someone who was of no help at all.
Seo Won stared in the direction Baek Rak had disappeared, then let out a hollow laugh. Unable to contain his frustrated feelings, he roughly ran his hand down his dry face.
Would it feel a little better if he screamed like crazy in this empty place?
With the huge boulder called Baek Rak pressing down on his chest, he couldn’t breathe.
He leaned back against the bench and stared blankly at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been like this since Baek Rak disappeared. The fact that he couldn’t do anything made him feel powerless.
Baek Rak had started drawing lines after he had been attacked by the Alpha and was on the verge of death.
Had his heart stopped briefly?
In a way, he could understand Baek Rak’s feelings too. The Guardian’s existence was essential for the shelter’s safety, yet they had almost lost that target so meaninglessly.
Since he kept jumping into dangerous situations, Baek Rak must have found it quite troublesome. So he thought it was natural for him to be angry.
But… did it have to be this way?
If he had gotten irritated, been sarcastic, or threatened him instead. That would have been better, but drawing lines and trying to distance himself made him feel uneasy.
Somehow, it seemed like Baek Rak would keep his distance even after he became a Guardian. Apart from the fact that he was someone essential to the shelter, it seemed like he no longer wanted to be entangled in a personal relationship.
‘…Is it because of something that happened in the past?’
Han Seong Hyeon had advised Baek Rak several times while watching him being cold only to Seo Won. Not to be bound by the past anymore.
What could have happened to make him act like that?
At the time, it wasn’t a situation to pry, and there was no great need to worry about it. But now, somehow it felt like he needed to know.
What had happened to Baek Rak, what was the reason he couldn’t forget the past.
It seemed to be related to him, so he couldn’t just leave it buried. Baek Rak would be displeased, but it was better to face such things directly.
Wounds need to be exposed to heal properly – if they fester inside, they’ll only eat away at the surroundings until they burst.
No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t want to live the way Baek Rak wanted.
As if they existed or didn’t exist to each other, as strangers who only joined hands temporarily to become a Guardian.
Though he was partially to blame for this situation, the past that Baek Rak was trying to hide also needed to be examined. So even if it got torn and burst, he had to drag out everything inside first. He didn’t know how it would heal, but he was certain it wouldn’t be in the same form as now.
What Baek Rak had overlooked was that relationships between people don’t lean to just one side. If even one person grabbed and shook it, it would inevitably sway back and forth.
He knew this better than anyone else.
What was there to say when he was always swayed by each and every one of Baek Rak’s actions? He had tried to steel his heart and ignore it, but hadn’t he always experienced only bitter failure?
Of course, apart from reorganizing their relationship, it was true that there was nothing he could do to help find the hunter.
“…Hah.”
Seo Won let out a long sigh and slowly raised his head.
Perhaps from leaning back for so long, his neck was stiff and he felt dizzy. As he rubbed his nape and did some light stretching, the stiffness somewhat subsided.
But really, did he have to just wait like this?
“Hmm…”
It would be nice if he could do something helpful, but remembering Baek Rak’s words telling him not to do anything only made his mood sink again.
When someone has expectations of you, it’s burdensome but gives you strength, but conversely, when no one expects anything of you, it feels like you’ve become a useless person and saps your energy. Especially when it involved Baek Rak.
Seo Won just kept sighing and shook his head.
“Hey.”
Then he heard someone calling from somewhere. Seo Won looked around and spotted a man peeking his head out from behind a large pillar.
From the way their eyes met, it seemed like he was calling him…
Just in case, he pointed to himself and asked the man.
“…Me?”
“Yeah.”
A man with a gentle impression, perhaps due to his drooping eyes, walked out from the pillar where he’d been hiding. Just from his face, Seo Won had thought they’d be similar in height, but that wasn’t the case. The body that had been hidden by the pillar was quite large and sturdy.
The man strode over and stood in front of him, staring intently. He seemed curious since his appearance was different from theirs.
“What?”
He deliberately looked at the man nonchalantly. Then the guy thoroughly examined his face before plopping down in the seat next to him.
“You came in making such a commotion, but you’re sitting here so quietly.”
“A commotion?”
“You brought a huge crowd right to the shelter entrance. Must have been a few thousand of them.”
“Ah…”
He was talking about the creatures. They had dragged along every creature on the path from Yeongdeungpo Station to Gangnam Station. If not for the Alpha, it wouldn’t have been that bad.
Come to think of it, hadn’t that Alpha bastard said he’d eat him while listening to his screams?
The memory from earlier suddenly came back, making Seo Won shudder. Both the creature calling his name while wearing a human face, and cruelly announcing it would devour him.
He was worried it would persistently follow him around. Most of all, the fact that he’d become a target of the most dangerous creature was terrifying.
“But didn’t you two come together? What are you doing here alone?”
“Ah, well.”
At the man’s question, Seo Won quickly came to his senses. For now, the situation in front of him was more pressing than the Alpha.
Since he couldn’t tell the man the truth about Baek Rak’s absence, he had to make up an appropriate excuse. Of course, being careful with his words was essential.
But what excuse should he make?
If an outsider suddenly barged in and then acted separately, it would inevitably be suspicious. He was fine since he was just resting quietly here, but Baek Rak…
As Seo Won rolled his eyes around, a sudden thought struck him and he thought ‘this is it.’
“My companion said he was looking for a place to rest, so I’m waiting.”
“A place to rest?”
“We can’t stay here, right?”
Then he gestured around with his hand. They couldn’t stay in a rest area where people came and went.
“Didn’t you get guidance?”
The man asked as if puzzled. Seo Won nodded awkwardly.
“We had a slight clash of opinions with the person in charge here…”
“Ah.”
The man seemed to roughly understand the situation. Fortunately, the power struggle between the person in charge and Baek Rak served as a good excuse. Seo Won didn’t know whether he should be happy about this or not.
“But will you be able to get one? The person in charge seemed pretty angry.”
“…That’s true. Looking at it this way, it seems like we might not be able to get one.”
Since Baek Rak hadn’t gone to look for a place to rest, naturally he wouldn’t be able to get one.
But thinking about it, they really did need at least one room. Not only did they need to sleep and rest, but the biggest reason was that they had to proceed with the third awakening.
‘This is really, well, problematic.’
Seo Won belatedly realized the seriousness of the situation. If Baek Rak found a hunter and copied their ability but couldn’t get a room…
A dizzying scenario flashed through his mind. Rather than embarrassment, shame raised its head.
‘…This is a big problem.’
Seo Won hurriedly looked around. Instead of waiting for Baek Rak here, he needed to find a place where there were no people… No, he needed to find a room with a door that could be closed.
In his urgency, he jumped up from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
His wrist was grabbed.
Ah, right. He had completely forgotten that there was a man next to him. When he turned his head, the man was staring at him blankly.
With a glimmer of hope, Seo Won grabbed his hand and asked.
“Excuse me! I’m sorry to ask this, but could you possibly get us a room?”
“A room?”
“Yes!”
The man looked bewildered, then soon drooped his eyebrows sympathetically and shook his head.
“I don’t have that kind of authority.”
It was devastating news. Though he looked at him desperately just in case, he was rejected without fail. It seemed like it was something that couldn’t be done no matter what. Seo Won scratched his head roughly and sighed.
“Ah… what should I do.”
“Do you really need a room?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Why? Obviously because he had no intention of doing it outside. Baek Rak might not care, but he absolutely couldn’t do that.
Though he thought ‘how could I possibly do it outside unless I’m crazy,’ if he was in a situation where he had received power, he might be the first to beg Baek Rak. Since it was obvious he wouldn’t notice his surroundings due to unbearable pain.
To avoid being in such a worst-case scenario, he absolutely had to find a private space.
“I can’t sleep well outside.”
Since he couldn’t tell the man the truth, he made up an excuse. Even if he looked at him strangely, wondering what kind of nonsense that was, there was nothing he could do about it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
