Chapter 61
“Do you really think that way?”
Chahun kept his mouth shut at Yeonwoo’s pressing question. While waiting for Chahun’s answer, Yeonwoo observed the growing number of people. Subjugation team members, led by Sangwon, were warming up. Since Chahun said he’d be joining the attack team, he would enter 12 hours after Sangwon. During that time, Yeonwoo planned to figure out what Chahun was thinking. While Yeonwoo was contemplating this, Sangwon approached him.
“Esper Kang Chahun. Do you think you won’t be seen by doing that? I told you before. Espers need to observe their surroundings with their senses, not their eyes.”
Sangwon smiled sympathetically at Chahun. After advising Chahun that if he tried hard enough, he’d eventually understand what he was talking about, Sangwon examined Yeonwoo’s complexion as he hid behind Chahun.
“Are you feeling better? You should rest more before going. There was even a guide on standby that day.”
“Ah, it was just temporary motion sickness and I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry.”
“Come on, if I don’t worry about Esper Han Yeonwoo, who will?”
At Sangwon’s suggestion that Yeonwoo should rest in his training room next time he felt unwell, Chahun looked down at Yeonwoo. Under his wide-eyed gaze, Yeonwoo unconsciously shook his head. I’d have to be crazy to rest in Lee Sangwon’s training room.
“But why is Esper Han Yeonwoo here? I don’t think you were on the list. Did you come to join us?”
Chahun pushed Yeonwoo behind him, blocking Sangwon’s view. Since all Yeonwoo could see was Chahun’s back, he couldn’t see what kind of looks the two exchanged. After a while, it was Sangwon who backed off first. Hearing him say they would depart soon and to say goodbyes, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.
“Soon? Aren’t you going as the attack team?”
“That’s just a name. The Center Director changed it so the subjugation team and attack team would enter simultaneously since he insisted there would be no subjugation team over his dead body.”
So why are you entering the dungeon already? In the book, Kang Chahun only entered a dungeon three years after awakening. But now? Has it even been a year yet? Chahun’s future was changing faster than Yeonwoo had anticipated. The problem was that the future might not change the way Yeonwoo wanted it to.
“Esper Kang Chahun!”
“I’ll be right back.”
Yeonwoo, clutching Chahun’s training clothes until they stretched, looked up at him with anxious eyes. Why would he agree to go with that bastard Sangwon when he knew exactly what kind of person he was? Despite the staff’s urging, Yeonwoo held onto Chahun and checked his training clothes. Opening the auxiliary bag to check the potions, Yeonwoo grabbed Chahun’s wrist.
“Where’s your Sili?”
Chahun silently nodded toward Sangwon. Only then did Yeonwoo notice Sili glittering on Sangwon’s wrist. He was so stunned that words failed him. He compressed his question—why the weapon he had handed over to Chahun, even at the cost of hastening his own death, was hanging on Sangwon’s wrist—into a single word.
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you right now.”
Chahun gestured toward the crowd gathered in the plaza. Without any explanation, Chahun held Yeonwoo’s hand and drew a circle on his palm. Circle? When Yeonwoo silently mouthed the word, Chahun raised his eyebrows. If not a circle… Round, it must be the Round Guild.
“Esper Kang Chahun.”
At the staff member’s urging, Yeonwoo instinctively grabbed Chahun again. Today was the day the Round Guild Master had promised to extract Chahun. If Chahun left the Center like this, Yeonwoo would never see him again. There was much he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t keep Chahun back any longer.
“Just… just, yeah. Go ahead.”
At Yeonwoo’s farewell, Chahun awkwardly moved his arms, then nodded and turned around. As he followed behind the staff member, Chahun suddenly turned and ran back. When Yeonwoo asked why, Chahun reached out and stroked the back of his hand. Without saying anything, he whispered in Yeonwoo’s ear.
“What? What did you say?”
Instead of answering, Chahun smiled, raising his lips. He spread his arms to embrace Yeonwoo, then scurried back to the waiting staff member. With Chahun being the last to join, the spatial-type Esper unfolded a pattern filled with ability. The light surrounding the people disappeared, leaving Yeonwoo alone in the plaza when he heard laughter. Startled, he looked around, but there was no one near him.
[Hehehe…hehe…]
“Is that you?”
[Hm-hmhm-hmm. Yes.]
At the dragon’s response, Yeonwoo gripped the bracelet and headed home. Even after he warned that people might hear and that he would say he was being blackmailed, the jewel snake just twisted its body and continued laughing.
[Yeonwooooo.]
“Come here now.”
The dragon, calling Yeonwoo’s name in a strange tone, crawled all over the house. Though he considered letting it play since they were at home, Yeonwoo couldn’t leave it alone since Yeonhwa might appear at any moment.
“Come here and eat some blueberries.”
Though the dragon evaded Yeonwoo’s hands while laughing, it eventually couldn’t resist the temptation of blueberries and quickly crawled over. The dragon must have eaten something strange, as it started laughing between eating blueberries, almost like sobbing.
[Ah, this is so fun. I’ve never had such excitement in my life.]
“What’s so funny?”
When Yeonwoo asked while putting down the cereal, the dragon sidled up to him, asking him to pick out the crispy parts. Then it raised its head, narrowed its eyes, and smiled.
[Contract with me and I’ll tell you.]
“I told you, I won’t.”
The dragon grumbled that it was unfair. Even while doing so, it must have been eyeing the cereal, as it stretched its head out to look at the bowl. But when Yeonwoo pressed down on the cereal to let the milk soak in, the dragon shuddered and ran away.
As Yeonwoo was chewing the cereal thoroughly, he took out his diary. While he was writing new information in it, the dragon approached. Yeonwoo held up the diary so the dragon could read it easily and asked while stroking its round head.
“Do you think so too? Do I really look like I don’t care about Kang Chahun?”
At Yeonwoo’s question, the dragon put down the blueberry it was eating. Yeonwoo thought it might offer sincere advice if it was serious enough to put down its food, but the dragon started laughing again, its body shaking.
[Ah, Yeonwoo. How old are you again?]
“What does my age have to do with this?”
[No, I thought you were worried about causality. But that’s actually bothering you more?]
At those words, Yeonwoo’s hand, which had been organizing his diary, stopped. The dragon looked up at Yeonwoo’s surprised face and chuckled, “Hmm,” while swinging its tail.
[Why? Are you hurt because Chahun said that? Has our Yeonwoo ever dated before?]
“What does that have to do with this?”
[In my time, I had passionate love as soon as I hatched from my egg. How could someone your age never have dated before, ack! Yeonwoo! I haven’t finished eating yet!]
Yeonwoo snatched up the dragon, forced his hand into its mouth, and pried it open. Then he wrapped it around his wrist and made it bite its tail, causing the struggling dragon to transform into a black bracelet and go limp.
[That’s too mean!]
Yeonwoo covered his ears against the voice ringing in his head and glared at the bracelet. The dragon complained about how difficult it was to return to its original form, saying only Yeonwoo could hear it anyway, then yawned languidly. After lamenting the fate of a hatchling that needed to sleep 20 hours a day, the dragon fell asleep. Finally, silence arrived.
In the quiet, Yeonwoo compared what happened today with what was in the book, then put down his pen. He hadn’t read the book where Lee Sangwon was the protagonist, but he had read the one with Center Director Jung Yeonghwan as the main character. There were records of him in the diary, so he could compare the timelines. Yeonwoo leaned back in his chair, fidgeting with his diary. Should he write a will now?
Too many future events had changed, more than expected. It was clear this wouldn’t end with just losing his ability or his life being slightly shortened. Wondering who he should entrust Yeonhwa to, Yeonwoo looked around the room. By the way, what did Chahun mean about packing his belongings? Yeonwoo recalled the words Chahun had whispered just before leaving. “If you’re okay with it, pack your things.” After fiddling with the closet handle, Yeonwoo closed the door without packing anything.
The Center wouldn’t let go of Chahun or Yeonwoo. Any plan to meet the Round Guild Master would be desperately blocked by the Center Director. Chahun would eventually return to the Center. With a troubled expression, Yeonwoo took off his training clothes and roughly grabbed his pajamas.
What? You don’t care about me anyway, Hyung?
Placing his hands on his waist, Yeonwoo let out a hollow laugh. After all the care he’d shown, to say he didn’t care just because he didn’t ask which guild Chahun was going to? If he truly didn’t care, he wouldn’t have bothered whether Sangwon beat him up or not. To someone who ran until his lungs nearly burst right after training, he says what? “You’re not curious about me anyway, Hyung?”
Yeonwoo, who had put away his training clothes, grabbed the paper bag next to the bed. He had set aside some dungeon mangoes since Chahun had enjoyed them. Yeonwoo placed the mangoes on the table one by one and glared into empty space.
Just wait and see if I ever care again.
* * *
“Did something happen?”
At Yeonhwa’s question, Yeonwoo instinctively gripped his wrist. Yeonhwa pushed a mouthful of pizza into her mouth and nodded toward the phone Yeonwoo was holding.
“You’re just staring at your phone without eating.”
…Was I? Yeonwoo answered that it was nothing, but his attention remained on the face-down phone.
“Whatever, then.”
Shrugging her shoulders, Yeonhwa smacked her lips as she picked up a slice of pizza with cheese stretching from it.
“Oppa, eat some too.”
“I’ll just drink this.”
Yeonwoo raised a cup of cola and stared at the ice rattling inside. Looking at the ice reminded him of Chahun. Come to think of it, he had never seen steaming food when eating with Chahun. Without Chahun to cool down all the food just right, even appetizing pizza was just a pie in the sky. If he asked to put it in the fridge for a moment, Yeonhwa would probably get serious and ask if he was crazy.
“Are those bastards still acting that way these days?”
At Yeonhwa’s abrupt question, Yeonwoo sighed first. The staff approached him without hesitation, promising to keep it a secret that he had used his ability within the Center. They even grabbed his arm, suggesting they should have an intellectual conversation, as if they already knew Chahun was gone.
It was absurd. Didn’t they realize that this was exactly why Chahun had been aggressive?
So when will Kang Chahun return? Yeonwoo picked up his phone and checked again to see if Seon Woogeon had contacted him.
“If those bastards keep acting that way, tell them. Tell them they won’t have any more dealings with the Center if they continue like this.”
“Got it, wha-?”
Yeonhwa, who was rolling her eyes at Yeonwoo’s question, quietly got up while holding two slices of pizza stacked together.
“Han Yeonhwa. Come here and sit down.”
“I wasn’t even able to stand up.”
Yeonhwa grumbled, raising both hands as if wronged. As toppings fell to the floor, she glanced at Yeonwoo and slowly put down the pizza.
“No, the deal is simple. It’s just a yes-or-no quiz, okay? Is a gate found here? Yes. Is this gate connected to a forest-type dungeon? No. That’s it. I’m not a child anymore, and I don’t do what I used to do. I just tell them enough to avoid penalties.”
Despite being told it was fine and to eat her pizza quickly, Yeonwoo couldn’t hide his worried expression.
Yeonhwa’s ability to discover all futures came with a penalty—her body would become sick if she didn’t reveal the futures she had seen. That was also why she wrote books. On nights when she had high fevers, Yeonwoo would come to her whining sounds, and Yeonhwa would always talk about her dreams. Thanks to that, he had discovered the penalty. The Association, knowing this, would extract information about the future, not out of curiosity, but claiming they wanted Yeonhwa to stay healthy.
“And besides, there’s a precedent for what happens when they try to change the future to their liking. Isn’t it a problem that even after that mess, they still want to alter the future to suit themselves? Do I need to worry about that too? They cling to me asking to tell them this and that, but when things go wrong, they pretend they didn’t know. It’s like I’m the only bad person here.”
“You know I’m not blaming you, right? I’m just worried they’ll use you like last time.”
“Don’t worry.”
Yeonhwa snorted, saying she wasn’t someone who would be used so easily, and pushed pizza into her mouth.
“I need to go sleep again after eating this. The future keeps changing even though there are no new ability users being born.”
Yeonhwa gritted her teeth, wondering which bastard was changing the future, then mumbled as if sighing.
“They don’t even realize they’re ruining their own fate.”
At Yeonhwa’s words, Yeonwoo prayed inwardly. Since his own fate was already ruined, he prayed for Yeonhwa’s fate to be fixed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
