Cha Eui-sung would seize any chance he got to remind himself of his Awakening rank.
S-rank, after all.
He tacked that phrase onto everything, using it to justify nearly every aspect of his life.
This much destruction? No big deal. Because he’s S-rank.
This level of fear? Doesn’t even register. Because he’s S-rank.
This kind of worry? Not even worth mentioning. Because he’s S-rank.
Enduring something like this? Child’s play. Because he’s S-rank.
Just like they say—because he’s S-rank. That radiant, top-tier Awakening rank had granted him action movie-tier physical prowess and a brand new life.
And it wasn’t delusion or arrogance—it was objectively true. Without Reawakening, Cha Eui-sung in his Second Life would’ve dropped dead from overwork long ago.
If that had happened, even the System would’ve been too dumbfounded to send him back again. There was a reason people treated S-ranks as if they were in a league of their own.
This time was no different.
“Ugh… damn it.”
Cha Eui-sung emerged from the dungeon practically marinated in poison, yet still managed to drive himself from Gangwon Province all the way back to Cheongseri in one piece.
If he’d been just A-rank, he’d have been hauled home in a hearse instead of sitting behind the wheel. That monstrous physique of his had done its job well.
Not only that, but he’d disinfected and treated his wounds himself, scrubbed down from head to toe, and even cleaned up all his gear.
Cough! Ptooey!
Still, even an S-rank wasn’t omnipotent—he needed time to heal. He spat out a wad of blackened, coagulated blood into a tissue, then collapsed onto his bed, dizzy and drained.
He’d survived, sure, but the blood loss had been serious, and the amount of poison he’d taken in was enough to knock out a horse. His body was feeling it.
Well, it wasn’t the first time. The first time he awakened as an S-rank, he hadn’t even been given time to recover—just died on the spot.
Detoxing and healing would probably take two days, fever and all.
“At this rate… it’s gonna take four days, maybe.”
He closed his eyes, instinctively gauging the severity of his wounds, trying to figure out how long he’d need to dodge Moon Tae-young.
The surface wounds would seal up quickly enough to pass inspection.
The internal injuries would take at least a week to fully heal, but since his bones were intact, he figured he’d be able to move around without issue in three or four days.
And considering his definition of “move around” included punching through walls, that meant he’d be in good enough shape to go see Moon Tae-young again by then.
The chills are the real problem…
He was starting to regret not grabbing at least one fever-reducing pill during all that chaos.
After downing a high-calorie shake in one gulp, Cha Eui-sung pulled the blanket up to his chin and drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
***
“Ah… this place has a lot of heavy stuff, so I asked for someone E-rank or higher.”
“Brown hair? He worked hard, I’ll give him that. But he was kind of…”
Flick.
“Promotion speed? What does age or experience even matter to an S-rank?”
“You picked it up knowing full well what it was. Anyone could see it was a tiger cub.”
Flick.
“Did you know? S-ranks go into prison wearing Hephaestus’s Chains. Think you can avoid ending up like that?”
“I do wonder… how far you’ll go.”
“This is probably the last time, right? Take care of yourself.”
Flick.
“Graduate school, Eui-sung. You’ll regret it someday.”
“The only place that’s trying to teach you something out of goodwill is school.”
“You’ll regret it.”
Flick.
“Using up all remaining ░░rate to rewind time one last time…”
Flick.
“It’s not strange. I can understand it.”
Flick.
“Please… save this world, save Earth from the Demon King.”
Flick.
“I want to live.”
Flick.
“It’s okay. I’ll…”
“Ugh…”
Fever surged, and with it came a flood of memories. It felt like one foot was dangling in unconsciousness and the other planted just outside the realm of dreams.
Cha Eui-sung, drenched in cold sweat and soaking his pillow, was helplessly swept up by the chaotic dream.
At one moment, he was shackled in archaic restraints. The next, he was roaming a ruined world, endlessly searching for someone.
Then he’d jerk awake with a guttural cough, spit out dark blood into a tissue, collapse again, and shut his eyes—only for the world to spin and drop out from under him.
“Don’t you want revenge?”
“Hmm… I don’t really think my life’s been ruined, to be honest.”
When a faded memory brushed past him, Cha Eui-sung thought with his half-lucid mind:
What a soft, pathetic thing to say with revenge right in front of you. It’s that kind of wishy-washy mindset that leads to the collapse of everything… you dumbass.
Yet oddly enough, that kind voice stirred something strange in him.
He lingered in that bizarre, floaty feeling for a while, until he was dragged off into another dream.
How long had he been drifting like that, hovering in and out of sleep?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sudden pounding on the metal door jolted him awake.
…….
What was that? He’d been in and out of sleep so much that it took a moment for his brain to load.
Cha Eui-sung managed to open his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling, sluggish thoughts crawling through his mind.
Who could it be? There weren’t many people in this village who’d bother to come find him… maybe Kim Jeong-baek? Or Moon Tae-young…?
But neither of them usually just dropped by out of nowhere and knocked like this. They’d at least send a message first.
He fumbled around by the side of his bed to check if there had been any contact.
How long have I been out?
His phone was completely dead—black screen, not even a flicker. Must’ve run out of battery.
Sigh. Cha Eui-sung let out a long breath and took stock of his condition.
His eyelids still felt hot, which meant the fever hadn’t completely broken, but his body felt relatively light. The wounds on his arm beneath the ripped-off medical patch had mostly closed up.
“Ugh.”
Judging by the residual pain, a day or two must have passed.
He tried powering the phone on—got as far as the manufacturer logo, and then it died again with a sad little flicker.
Damn it. So that’s why they came in person—couldn’t get through.
Bang! Bang!
The knocking resumed. Cha Eui-sung slowly rubbed his sweat-soaked forehead.
Whether it was Kim Jeong-baek or Moon Tae-young, he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with them right now. Maybe if he pretended not to be home, they’d just leave.
He could always act like he’d just gotten back to Cheongseri later.
Tap. Tap!
But then, unexpectedly, he heard a light landing—like someone hopping over a wall.
Who the hell just climbs into someone’s house like that? It’s not like this place was abandoned.
“Ah.”
He frowned and finally realized—he hadn’t hidden his car. It was still parked just outside the wall, out in plain sight.
They’ll probably come in soon.
“Shit…”
It had to be Moon Tae-young.
Someone shows up early, there’s no contact, no sign of life, and the guy’s phone is off? Yeah, that’d raise suspicions.
Now understanding the situation, Cha Eui-sung immediately dug through his blankets to find clothes. He hurriedly threw on the T-shirt he’d taken off earlier to check his wounds.
By then, the footsteps were already closing in fast.
Creak. Crunchhhk!
Without a second of hesitation, the front door handle was yanked off.
Shuffle, shuffle…
It took only seconds for the soft pad of socked feet to reach the room.
Cha Eui-sung barely managed to get the T-shirt over his head before awkwardly sitting up, face-to-face with the uninvited intruder.
“……”
“……”
“…Hello.”
Moon Tae-young, just as expected, stood in the doorway.
With a hardened face, he began slowly scanning the room.
His gaze stopped at the crumpled tissue piles on the floor. A deep crease formed between his brows behind his glasses.
“Hello… well, I don’t know if that still counts.”
The delayed greeting came out sharp and cold.
Shit. Cha Eui-sung brushed his damp bangs back and let out a long sigh. Seriously, why the hell would he just barge in like this?
“If you’d waited, I would’ve opened the door.”
“……”
“What were you thinking, wrecking someone else’s door like that?”
He muttered, lightly biting his lip. Of course, even if the guy had kept knocking, Cha Eui-sung wouldn’t have answered—but if he’d known Moon Tae-young was about to bust in, he might’ve at least yelled through the door.
Just because someone’s phone’s off, you rip off the doorknob? That’s straight-up criminal behavior. Even if he had his shady sides, Moon Tae-young never struck him as this reckless.
Cha Eui-sung rubbed the back of his neck, scowling slightly, but Moon Tae-young just stared at him in silence.
“You just woke up?”
It took him a long time, but that was finally the question he asked.
Almost as if he knew Cha Eui-sung had been asleep this whole time.
“……”
What the hell was he supposed to say to that? At least his wounds were covered by clothes now.
As he clammed up, Moon Tae-young let out what sounded like a trembling breath, then strode over and pressed his palm to Eui-sung’s forehead.
Just in time, too—his fever was creeping back up again.
“Lie down.”
The words came out much softer than before as he pulled back the blanket. Though Cha Eui-sung didn’t relax his expression, he begrudgingly slid under the covers.
“…Sorry. I figured you didn’t turn your phone off on purpose.”
The apology came belatedly after a short pause. His face looked a bit pale as he pulled the blanket over Eui-sung’s shoulders.
What was this… was he worried or something?
Cha Eui-sung looked up at him with a strange expression.
Moon Tae-young checked his forehead again and gently brushed aside his messy hair.
“You okay?”
Instead of demanding an explanation, he just asked calmly how he was. It left Cha Eui-sung feeling oddly unsettled. He took a deep breath.
“…Yeah. I’m alright now.”
Something scary had happened, sure—but it’d been a while since he got out of the dungeon. The dreams had worn him out, but he was awake now.
His body was clearly recovering. There wasn’t anything left to be afraid of. Honestly, he hadn’t even been that scared.
But the moment he answered, a wave of exhaustion and relief hit him all at once. Before he could stop himself, he let something slip—something unnecessary.
“I was going to leave early.”
He hadn’t planned on telling him anything, but for some reason, he felt like venting.
Cha Eui-sung clenched his jaw slightly and looked away. Moon Tae-young’s hand, brushing his hair back, was surprisingly gentle.
“Just rest.”
After a moment, he left the room, and the sound of water running followed.
Not long after, a damp towel touched Cha Eui-sung’s face.
He didn’t resist—just lay there and watched him quietly.
Moon Tae-young gently wiped the sweat from his face and neck. So now he was nursing him?
It was almost laughable—almost.
Why the hell was he, of all people, getting taken care of by this guy in the middle of the night?
