The image of Go Yeong-won pushing fruit on him despite his disinterest flashed through his mind.
Along with it came that obnoxious face, shaking the fruit in front of his eyes with an overly sympathetic expression.
Go Yeong-won had furrowed his brows and casually popped a red berry into his mouth, chewing it slowly. Despite his “sorry to hear that” expression, the gesture was downright infuriating.
That… that fucker…
Cha Eui-sung clenched his teeth tightly as a dizzy haze rolled over him. He was ready to curse out loud, but first things first—he had to call Moon Tae-young.
He turned his head sharply and brought his phone to his ear—
And immediately, a voice called his name.
— Eui-sung! Eui-sung… Cha Eui-sung!
The urgent voice nearly blew out his eardrum. His eyes widened at the unfamiliar, frantic way he was being called—his full name, no less.
Did he think something had happened to him? That he’d gotten into an accident or collapsed or something?
“Uh, Tae-young?”
He finally spoke, albeit belatedly—but beep, the call ended right as the connection dropped.
What the hell?
Panicking, Cha Eui-sung quickly hit redial, but all he got was an endless ringtone. No answer.
What… what is this?
Why wasn’t he picking up all of a sudden?
A creeping unease clawed up his chest as he dialed again. The droning trrrr sound seemed like it might go on forever.
Only after minutes of clenching his phone with growing desperation—
Click. Finally, Moon Tae-young answered.
— Cha Eui-sung?
“Yes, it’s me. The call suddenly dropped…”
— Are you okay? What happened?
Moon Tae-young’s voice came through in a rush, slightly muffled as if on speaker.
“I just… slipped for a second. It’s nothing, really. Don’t worry.”
— Slipped…? Are you hurt again?
“No, I just stepped on something slick. I was a little drunk… I’m really fine.”
He tried to brush it off, but come on—an S-rank toppling over because he lost his balance? Even he thought it sounded pathetic.
Cha Eui-sung let out a flustered groan and dusted off his perfectly unharmed butt.
— …That’s a relief. I was worried.
“Uh, haha. What’s there to worry about with me?”
He’d only come here in the first place to screw the guy over.
— I’ve been worried for a while now. Not just today.
…Huh?
Cha Eui-sung instinctively averted his eyes, as though even the sound of Moon Tae-young’s voice was too much to face directly.
His heart refused to settle. Go Yeong-won, sprawled lazily on the couch, was watching him with clear amusement, adding to the discomfort.
From the look on his face, he could probably hear every word of this call—and he looked way too entertained.
— So… where are you right now?
“…What?”
Meanwhile, Moon Tae-young kept asking where he was. As if he had any business knowing when Eui-sung was holed up in Cheongseri.
What was he planning to do if he did find out? Call emergency services? Tell them an unregistered S-rank Awakened just fell over by the roadside and ask them to send medical assistance?
“Seoul.”
Just one word—short and cold, but loaded with meaning.
It screamed, You can’t come here.
It was petty. The sort of answer meant to make the other person sit around counting the days until he decided to return.
But then Moon Tae-young said something totally unexpected.
— I’ll be in Seoul soon too.
“…What?”
— Just left the rest stop, actually.
“…Huh?”
— If you tell me where, I’ll come to you.
For a second, he couldn’t process it.
Who… is where now?
…!
Ding! It was like a bell went off in his head. Cha Eui-sung’s eyes darted around wildly before his mouth fell open.
Moon Tae-young had driven up to Seoul just to find him.
The moment he realized that, his heart dropped like a rock.
“Seoul? You’re in Seoul? Why the hell— Aren’t you working tomorrow?”
—Yeah. So I should probably hurry.
“…Huh?”
—I wanted to see you before heading back. There are things I need to say too.
“…What?”
Cha Eui-sung kept repeating the same response like a broken robot as he leaned against the terrace railing.
Shit. His face was burning up. Was this just the damn alcohol messing with him?
His brain creaked under the strain of trying to process something so far outside his comprehension. His limbs felt clunky and uncoordinated. He reached behind his neck with an empty hand to rub it—only to realize it still held his phone.
When he tried to glance outside, he accidentally looked straight back at Go Yeong-won instead.
Cha Eui-sung stared blankly for a moment, but the subtle shift in Go Yeong-won’s expression made him quickly avert his gaze.
A foreign feeling surged through him, taking him by surprise.
“Uh, I—I need to double-check something too, so I’ll send you the address by text.”
Stammering like he’d lost the ability to speak, he barely managed a response.
—Okay. Let me know. And… sorry for showing up out of nowhere like this.
Moon Tae-young paused for a moment before agreeing quietly and ending the call. His voice carried a hint of regret—like even he realized this whole thing was out of character for him.
What the hell just happened…
Cha Eui-sung stood there, dazed, leaning against the railing, phone still pressed to his ear long after the line had gone dead.
The guy who never left his damn seat unless someone dragged him out had driven all the way up here—not even knowing where Eui-sung was?
It’s not like Seoul was some tiny countryside town like Cheongseri. Even if he drove up blindly, there was no guarantee they’d even cross paths.
He stood numbly in the cold night air, the alcohol haze lifting a little. But now, the sheer absurdity of the situation was making his head spin.
That’s when a faint shadow cast over him, as if it had been waiting for the call to end.
“Apologies. If I’d known you’d react like that, I would’ve warned you beforehand.”
At some point, Go Yeong-won had walked up, holding out a red berry—Gaetia Camellas. The root of this entire mess.
“This thing, ha…”
He was so irritated and flustered, he couldn’t even get the words out properly.
With a vaguely sheepish smile, Go Yeong-won brought the Camellas up to Eui-sung’s lips.
Was he seriously trying to feed him?
Eui-sung instinctively went to snatch it away with a slap—only to realize he still had his phone pressed to his ear.
Without thinking, he opened his mouth. It wasn’t trust, exactly—just a weird kind of conditioned belief built from long experience: of all people, Go Yeong-won wouldn’t give something sketchy to an S-rank.
Amusement and curiosity glimmered in Go Yeong-won’s eyes, which looked just brown in the darkness. Then plop—the shiny Camellas slid into Eui-sung’s mouth.
A faint sweetness hit his tongue—soft, but with a firm center.
…?
He nudged it gently with his tongue, and Go Yeong-won grinned oddly. As his fingers brushed Eui-sung’s lips, he withdrew them slowly.
That fucking asshole…
God, gross. He was honestly tempted to bite down just to make a point.
He closed his mouth and started chewing. The fruit crunched between his teeth—shockingly flavorless yet oddly aromatic, and without a single seed.
Gulp.
As he swallowed the pulp, a strange clarity swept through his head. The alcohol fog that had already been receding now vanished completely.
“I meant to give it to you earlier, but better late than never. There’s no health risk whatsoever. Worst-case side effect is a sudden wave of relaxation.”
“If that kind of side effect shows up in an S-rank, it’s basically poison.”
“Technically, the Camellas is supposed to be fermented together with the drink. But that ruins the taste. Since the point of drinking is to get drunk anyway, most people just eat it as a snack. I saved it like a little surprise, since you’d know the moment you tasted it.”
Go Yeong-won smiled calmly, his face free of any malice whatsoever.
Which somehow makes this even more annoying.
He probably skipped the explanation as a dumb prank. He must’ve wanted to see Eui-sung’s surprised reaction when he finally ate the fruit and realized what it did.
It was honestly a relief it had been Go Yeong-won who pulled this. If it had been some random guy, Eui-sung would’ve immediately grabbed the nearest blunt object once he felt his body go slack.
If nothing was available, he’d have yanked the damn terrace railing off and wielded it like a spear.
Not that he’d really drink himself into danger in a place like this—or that anyone planning an attack would go through the trouble of serving expensive alcohol laced with subtle effects. Still…
Suddenly, Cha Eui-sung realized something.
He was always bracing for combat. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was constantly assuming danger. That someone might strike, that something could go wrong at any time.
He could almost hear Jeong Seong-hyu muttering in his ear about PTSD.
Could that be a problem? he wondered. Isn’t this just being careful?
As he sighed and rubbed his temple, Go Yeong-won held out a hand—suggesting they go back inside.
Naturally, Eui-sung slapped it away with a smack.
“Sorry, something urgent came up.”
He waved his phone as if to say, You heard the whole thing, so don’t act clueless.
Go Yeong-won gave a subtle smile, stroking his chin.
“A friend?”
“Yeah. A friend.”
“I see.”
Why even ask a question you already know the answer to?
His metabolism was already kicking into high gear, rapidly breaking down whatever lingering toxins were left. His mind sharpened almost instantly.
Cha Eui-sung quickly called the hotel to book another room.
A smaller, simpler room. Nothing even close to a Presidential Suite. Something cheap. Single-bed. No frills.
“Yes, just leave the current room as is and add a new one.”
While he was doing that, Go Yeong-won—apparently dissatisfied with how the alcohol had wrinkled Eui-sung’s clothes—started straightening them.
He smoothed out the creases on his shirt, adjusted the collar, dusted him off… Honestly, what the hell was wrong with this guy?
Even with his carefully orchestrated evening falling apart, he showed no sign of disappointment—only a quiet determination to help his fellow Awakened lie more convincingly.
“That’s enough. Seriously.”
How had he not realized what a total weirdo Go Yeong-won was in his second life?
Slapping away the hand that was trying to button his shirt all the way up, Eui-sung hastily grabbed his coat and made for the door.
“Thanks for the drink.”
As he left, Go Yeong-won saw him off with no complaint—just a strange gleam of interest and amusement in his eyes.
Just like earlier, when Eui-sung had fallen and the guy had twitched his mouth like he found it cute.
Remembering that smug little smirk made his blood boil.
Yeah, well. At least he let me go.
Back in his second life, Eui-sung had nothing to hide—he was officially part of the Association. But now?
Now he was a full-fledged unregistered Awakened. A criminal.
Grinding his teeth, Cha Eui-sung swallowed his temper and fled as fast as he could.
