Click!
Moon Tae-young returned just as Cha Eui-sung was staring at a stain on his handkerchief that looked like the side profile of an angry wild boar.
His face had softened, as if sweeping the hall had helped him cool off. The way he looked down at Cha Eui-sung was noticeably more relaxed.
Cha Eui-sung shoved the handkerchief into his pocket and sprang to his feet.
“You’re back?”
Without a word, Moon Tae-young held out a damp towel. As Cha Eui-sung carefully wiped his face and hands, he cast glances out the window.
“All cleaned up now?”
“Spotless.”
“Well, yeah… Thanks for your trouble.”
This guy had erased all traces from the scene of an actual death once, so of course this was nothing. He wasn’t worried.
What was funny, though, was how Moon Tae-young always ended up cleaning up the messes he caused.
Cha Eui-sung gave a dry chuckle and looked away.
“It’s been nothing but embarrassing stuff lately.”
“Like I said earlier, don’t worry about it. More importantly, I think it’d be better to check your condition.”
“I told you, I’m fine.”
His clothes were a wreck, sure—but the sun had already set, so the stains on his jeans wouldn’t show too clearly. The light-colored shirt just looked like something out of a horror movie, that’s all.
The hallway was spotless, his body felt fine—he could just go home and start another round of hellish hand-washing.
Noticing his gaze, Moon Tae-young brought over the jacket he’d draped over a chair.
“Here. A cardigan.”
“You wear it. How did you end up dirtier than me…?”
Without a word, Moon Tae-young crossed his arms and stripped off a layer. Underneath the blood-soaked outerwear was a clean, short-sleeved T-shirt.
Cha Eui-sung had no comeback to that. He accepted the cardigan and slipped it on. The sleeves just barely brushed the backs of his hands. The fit was loose, oversized.
At least 188 cm tall…? Judging by the length of his pants, probably over 190 cm…
He fastened the buttons to hide his shirt and evaluated the man’s height.
If he was over 190 cm, that was basically the size of a doorframe. And yet he’d only ever thought of him as “tall”—casually brushing it off like it was nothing. That was unsettling in itself.
He was beginning to understand why there were such strict distribution limits on perception-blocking items.
“Thanks.”
“…Sure.”
“I mean for more than just cleaning up here.”
Cha Eui-sung offered the damp towel back with a faint smile. Moon Tae-young took it without question—he must’ve understood the gratitude behind the gesture.
Honestly, Moon Tae-young probably had a million questions he wanted to ask right now. Why had Cha Eui-sung suddenly collapsed? Was it the chronic illness he’d always suspected? Even for an S-rank—no, especially because he was S-rank—how could someone cough up that much blood without a scratch and still be okay?
Had it always been like this? When did it start getting worse? How often did it happen? If he could collapse like that in front of others, just how bad was it?
Was this the real reason he avoided getting close to people?
Just as Cha Eui-sung had intended, the distance between them had gradually closed. They’d each begun making space for the other in their lives. At the very least, they were close enough now to ask if someone was okay after vomiting blood.
But since Cha Eui-sung hid his bitterness and acted like nothing had happened, Moon Tae-young seemed to swallow all his questions.
Whenever he went particularly quiet, Cha Eui-sung would glance over and catch him biting his lower lip.
“Your study session went long. I’ll head home now.”
He got up from the sofa, tousling his hair. Thunk—something dropped onto his head.
A black cap he didn’t even realize he’d lost had found its way back.
“Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride.”
“You really don’t have to.”
“I still haven’t gotten back the clothes you wore last time.”
“…Fair point. Maybe I should just stop giving excuses and let you show up whenever you want.”
He’d wanted to make a clean getaway, but that clearly wasn’t happening. Moon Tae-young didn’t respond and just opened the door.
Click—the lights in the principal’s office went out, and the world outside was swallowed by darkness.
As they walked down the hall and exited through the main gate, Moon Tae-young spoke in a casual tone, almost as if thinking aloud.
“Sometimes I stick around pretty late. If I’m not busy, I’ll let you know.”
“Sorry?”
“That’d be better than waiting every time.”
Had he guessed about those long and ambiguous waits—after classes ended, when even the kids on the playground had scattered?
It was such a throwaway comment, yet it struck Cha Eui-sung right in the chest.
He picked up the pace, pretending he hadn’t heard. Somehow, that line sounded like he was being pitied—like he was some pathetic loser hanging around hoping for a meeting, and the guy was throwing him a bone.
If that’s what it was, then it was arrogant and infuriating. Sure, he’d made it obvious he was interested first, but getting dragged in like this felt awful.
And then—
Pop!
…?
Just as he was starting to scowl, a familiar chime rang in his ear—one he’d completely forgotten.
[SAVIOR GAUGE]
■■■■■■■□□□
□□□□□□□□□□
35%
It had gone up.
What the hell…?
He wasn’t seeing things—the gauge had jumped a full 5%.
He had peeked into someone else’s love life using the Faded Photograph Fragment, but he hadn’t actually used the skill just now. Could it really spike like this out of nowhere?
Well, maybe not totally out of nowhere…
He had collapsed right in front of him. That was a pretty major incident. Still…
Come to think of it, Moon Tae-young had been present for nearly every triggering moment of that cursed skill.
Whenever Cha Eui-sung stood there, covered in blood, glaring at the world, Moon Tae-young had always reacted—showing interest, in some way or another. And whenever Cha Eui-sung forced conversation after, the gauge would inevitably tick upward.
He stared at Moon Tae-young, then back at the gauge. A disturbing thought began to take root in his mind.
Don’t tell me this bastard… just likes it when I’m suffering, completely separate from the skill itself?
It was meant as a joke, but the more he thought about it, the more horrifying it felt. If that was what “Demon King” meant in this case, then screw the end of the world—there was no way in hell he was ever “conquering” him.
Thankfully, the creepy theory didn’t stick. As Cha Eui-sung fidgeted with the hem of the cardigan fluttering in the breeze, realization struck.
Just now, Moon Tae-young’s sentence was missing a subject.
Then what he meant by “waiting”…
Whoooosh—
A chill wind grazed his ear. Just like earlier, his thoughts froze.
His gaze, fixed on the gauge, slowly dropped to the empty air in front of him.
It sounded like nothing much, just a passing remark—but no, he was pretty sure that had been meant for him.
That showing up unannounced wasn’t all that bad. That he’d been waiting every day for him to come.
And the gauge responded to it.
“…”
Cha Eui-sung slowly turned to look at him. But Moon Tae-young, ever since earlier, hadn’t once shifted his gaze from the distance.
As he absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, Cha Eui-sung found himself calculating the exact distance left to his house.
What was that? That line just now… felt like he’d been handed some sort of permission slip.
***
[Notice] This is ‘Hunting Cave,’ a site dedicated to professional Hunters.
[Notice] Mandatory reading announcement.
– – – – –
Title: What’s with that leather bracer on the Exchange 2 page?
It’s only been under warranty for a year, but it’s all worn out. Is it, like, some kind of emotional support bracer or what?
Anonymous1: Judging by the ragged state, must’ve worn it to bed too
⤷Anonymous2: It’s a D-rank frost resistance item, apparently. Could be true.
⤷Anonymous3: Bet it’s got a soul bound to it
– – – – –
Title: I only trained for 4 weeks but it was fine
It was comfortable. I even got to enter a dungeon.
Anonymous1: 4 weeks? That means F-rank?
⤷Author: E
Anonymous2: Ah…
Anonymous3: Guys, let’s only post nice comments for this one
– – – – –
Title: Honestly, if you’re E-rank or lower, just live a civilian life
Especially if your skills are crap like Vigor and Focus? I say this out of pity—just stay at your day job, please.
Anonymous1: Porters make decent money
⤷Author: What, did your ancestors leave you porter gear or something?
Anonymous2: (Comment deleted.)
⤷Anonymous3: I get E-rank, but with F you get no loans, no subsidies
⤷Anonymous2: (Comment deleted.)
⤷Anonymous3: Are you a loan shark? Why’re you suggesting black-market loans
Anonymous4: Wouldn’t it be better to stay unregistered from the start?
⤷Anonymous3: If you get caught hiding something like Focus (F), you’d be so screwed. Just register.
– – – – –
Title: People who bash S-ranks here usually…
Never even seen an A-rank in real life
Anonymous1: LOOOOOL
Anonymous2: If you get sued for slander, it’ll probably be because of this
⤷Anonymous4: +1
⤷Anonymous5: +3333
⤷Anonymous6: +333
Anonymous3: Honestly, porters probably see them more often than most
– – – – –
Title: I’m so jealous of Go Yeong-won’s life
He hits the score quota, then stops all activity
Skips interviews all the time and still super popular? Just ‘cause he’s S-rank?
Anonymous1: Because he’s hot
Anonymous2: Because he’s hot
Anonymous3: Be
Anonymous4: cause
Author: It’s not like he fights with his face. What does being good-looking have to do with anything…? I heard that bastard only talks to other S-ranks and still everyone loves him… I just don’t get it. He doesn’t even work hard like Kang San-woo. This world is so unfair and messed up… If it were me, I’d rather like someone a bit lower-ranked and not so handsome but warm-hearted instead
⤷Anonymous5: Let’s not do this at 3 a.m…
⤷Anonymous4: Pathetic
– – – – –
3 a.m.
Cha Eui-sung put down his phone and turned over with a deep sigh.
“Yeah, what kind of meaningful conversation would you even expect from people awake at this hour…”
If memory served, around this time there had been a dispute among Hunters over dungeon access rights. That kicked off a chain of events—a butterfly effect, really—that eventually tanked the stock of a certain company he was keeping his eye on.
That’s why he’d been browsing various forums, trying to see if there were any early signs or quiet rumors floating around.
Total waste of time.
He should’ve just gone to sleep. But he hadn’t been able to for hours.
His bedding still wasn’t dry, so the empty bed felt cold and awkward. And the warm bath he’d taken right after getting home had washed away even the residual fatigue.
More than anything, he’d spent too long staring at the System.
He kept looking at the same stats and skills over and over, checking the gauge, then going back to the skill section to try and decipher the blurred-out letters…
And then, without fail, the image of that black-haired man would creep into his mind, and Cha Eui-sung would feel like he was plummeting into the depths of a bottomless well—one whose bottom he couldn’t even see.
