As the list of names kept pouring out, Cha Eui-sung’s eyes naturally narrowed. This… was shaping up to be a lot more annoying than expected.
“You should’ve at least gotten to know your neighbors. There’s more to people than how they look, you know.”
Convincing those who’d already turned away wasn’t all that hard if you put your mind to it. But the fact that Moon Tae-young would also be there—that was what grated on his nerves.
Cha Eui-sung frowned, fidgeting with his phone. Seo-ryong was back, which meant Moon Tae-young would probably head home soon too. But for some reason, he hadn’t gotten in touch yet. Did he still think his phone was broken?
“Hmm, I think it’s all done. Boss, why don’t you have a bite too?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re just gonna leave after cooking everything?”
“Don’t put me in a situation where I have to cook in the first place.”
Worried they might try setting a plate in front of him, Cha Eui-sung jumped up and headed for the sofa. He wasn’t even hungry, and if he ended up running into Moon Tae-young again, the guy might try to feed him something anyway.
[Did you get off work?]
He sent the message with a small flicker of hope, and a read receipt appeared immediately.
He almost pressed the call button but settled for texting instead, casting a sidelong glance at Kim Jeong-baek.
[Thought your phone was broken. Got it fixed, I see.]
[Got a new one. Are you home right now?]
[No. Still have something left to check.]
[Want me to come to you?]
[Hmm… That’d be nice, but I need to head downtown later.]
……
The polite brush-off made his brow furrow hard. Sure, he understood the guy was probably neck-deep in dungeon stuff or revenge matters he couldn’t even talk about, but still—it gave him a weird feeling.
What’s going on? Judging from how he was sniffing around other people this morning, it didn’t seem like he was upset with him or anything.
He didn’t even seem to know about the dungeon incident. Why not?
If he’d realized someone had trespassed, there’s no way he would’ve stayed so calm. Maybe he knew something happened near the dungeon but had no idea who was responsible?
That would explain why he was so busy—juggling school stuff and monitoring dungeon activity had to be overwhelming.
Maybe they’d been seeing each other too often. The guy was always juggling a million things; it was normal not to hang out every day.
[Hope everything goes well. I’ll just be home by myself.]
Still, understanding aside, he couldn’t help but get a little petty.
Cha Eui-sung tossed his flawless phone onto the seat beside him and, without thinking, pulled up the gauge screen, staring at it intently.
Still at 58%.
Guess I really do have to go all the way.
Unless the bar hit 90% or something, it didn’t make sense that it’d stall like this after everything they’d done.
Doubt crept into his mind. Like last time, with those pesky feelings—was there something he was missing again?
Something like a special promise or emotion that only existed between Moon Tae-young and his former lover. Something crucial for moving forward.
Even when he tried to stomach those unpleasant memories of the Chain Dungeon, nothing useful came to mind.
The last memory I saw was just him munching on corn, wasn’t it?
No matter how deranged the System was, it couldn’t seriously be suggesting he cook up some staple crops and offer them like tribute to the Demon King.
Maybe, like Moon Tae-young’s tearful ex who failed to stop the apocalypse, he was supposed to shed a tear or two.
“Pissing me off.”
“Should’ve just eaten, see?”
“Not you, Kim Jeong-baek.”
Ignoring the man who looked ready to shove curry in his face, Cha Eui-sung fell back into thought.
Sure, he was anxious and impatient, but technically the gauge had gone up just two days ago.
Calling it “stalled” wasn’t exactly fair.
Still, the constant irritation gnawed at him…
The gauge moves entirely on its own whims.
Maybe it was all about Moon Tae-young’s personal standards for affection. The problem was the presence of a complete stranger—his former lover from the erased timeline—who now stood in between them, clutching that damn gauge like a third wheel from the past.
In the end, Cha Eui-sung was just another fool chasing a mirage. He’d been fighting an uphill battle for months now. At this point, the old lover felt more annoying than the Demon King himself.
Seriously, what the hell?
How deep must that bond have been, if even sleeping together barely nudged the gauge past 60%?
That ghost of a person—no trace left behind—hovered around Moon Tae-young like some damned specter.
With just fragmented memories to go on, how did that loser manage to melt the heart of that stone-cold man?
He had to see that face for himself. Just how charming, lovable, and gut-wrenchingly gorgeous could someone be to pull it off?
And if he ever did meet that person in the flesh…
Crack. His knuckles popped. Cha Eui-sung stared into empty space, eyes glinting with ice.
His hand slowly curled as if squeezing a ghost’s throat.
Whatever happened during the Second Life, everything had reset ten years back.
That mystery ex-lover was probably still alive somewhere, perfectly intact.
And if Moon Tae-young’s path followed its original course, they were bound to meet again eventually.
He’d fall in love with that person, hesitate on his revenge, and in the end—destroy the world.
Fucking hell.
So as far as Cha Eui-sung was concerned, it was better that bastard didn’t survive.
Not for his own sake—but for the world’s.
Yeah. To save this world. After all, he was the Hero, not that guy.
How many more times does “Faded Photograph Fragment” need to activate for me to find out who that pathetic connection really is?
“This turned out better than I thought.”
“Right? It’s tasty.”
Just before his killing intent could flare up again, the clinking of dishes yanked him back to the present. Cha Eui-sung finally let his eyes flutter shut and forced himself to calm the storm churning inside.
Damn it. What kind of state was he in, sitting here glaring like this with a kid in the room?
He’d been through so much lately that all kinds of thoughts were clouding his head. But whatever—it wasn’t like he wouldn’t complete the mission first anyway.
From that perspective, the ex-lover might actually be a stroke of luck.
He’d hand over the latecomer as a consolation prize to the Demon King, then walk away with a clear conscience to enjoy his S-rank life.
It does piss me off to let that bastard be happy, though.
Still, what could he do? At least he felt something. If it came down to letting Moon Tae-young be obliterated or letting him live with someone else… the latter was more tolerable.
Cha Eui-sung slowly unclenched his fist and sank deep into the sofa. A pretty decent future was waiting for them—he just wished the guy would stop being so damn stubborn and play along a little.
Considering the gauge was only halfway up, it didn’t make sense for it to already feel this bittersweet.
“Boss, you really not gonna eat anything?”
“Ah, no. I’m good. I don’t eat much anyway.”
“You didn’t eat lunch either.”
“Leave him be, Seo-ryong. Maybe he’s trying out some brilliant new diet.”
That pointless chatter helped wash away the last of his frustration. Cha Eui-sung quietly checked the time and then, for no real reason, glanced several times toward the direction of the school.
As if he might somehow catch a glimpse of Moon Tae-young.
Even though he knew damn well that he wouldn’t.
Stupid.
***
The world is scattered with all sorts of lunatics, and sooner or later, everyone crosses paths with a madman at least once in their life.
Cha Eui-sung had prided himself on having encountered plenty of crazed individuals during his First Life. But it wasn’t until he joined the Hunter Association that he realized the real ones were a different breed altogether.
The truly insane weren’t loud or chaotic. They didn’t threaten or lash out.
In fact, they often seemed more normal than the average person. Just… slightly off. Like a single screw turned the wrong way.
And when someone got caught in the spiral of that warped, geometric line of thought—they didn’t come knocking on your door. They didn’t break it down either.
They were just suddenly inside, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was one of those nights when he’d fallen unusually deep asleep.
He was awake now, sure—but it was only 3 a.m. For the past few days, his sleep had been shortening again.
Cha Eui-sung let out a long sigh and glanced toward his vanity. Scattered across the dusty glass surface—untouched for ages—were a torn pill packet and an empty cup.
He’d popped a few pills earlier, just in case. But, as expected, they had absolutely no effect.
He hadn’t really expected non-Awakened medication to work on him anyway…
All it did was make him feel stupid. His body ran fine on two, maybe three hours of sleep—no problem. It was just the excruciating stretch of idle time that made it unbearable.
Grimacing, he rubbed his forehead and picked up the cup. With an irritated swipe, he knocked aside the packet that had Jeong Seong-hyu, Assemblyman printed across it in letters he hated the sight of. Then, he opened the door.
Next would’ve been the usual walk past the kitchen, into the predictably empty living room.
“Up early, huh? Is this that miracle morning thing I keep hearing about?”
CRASH! The sound of shattering glass rang through the quiet house. Cha Eui-sung instinctively recoiled, grinding shards under his bare feet as he backed away.
In the dead of night, inside his own home—someone was casually sitting there, one leg crossed over the other.
“What the fuck—who the hell…?!”
“Good evening. This is our first proper greeting, isn’t it?”
The man on the sofa offered a polite hello with a broad smile, as if he belonged there.
His long, narrow eyes curved pleasantly in the dark.
The moment Cha Eui-sung saw that smooth, well-composed face, his heart dropped with a thud.
Unbelievably, Go Yeong-won had appeared before him again.
holy shittt 🫣