#207
Dan Joo-hyuk’s hand twitched with the desire to pull Yoon Pa-ran into his arms immediately. However, he barely managed to suppress the storm-like emotions swirling inside him.
He felt so anxious that his insides seemed to burn white-hot. Still, Dan Joo-hyuk somehow controlled his body and stepped back slightly.
If Yoon Pa-ran truly fled from him now, that would be even harder to endure.
“…So I’d like to try a thorough purification with Yoon Pa-ran-ssi’s skill.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Ahem.”
As Dan Joo-hyuk deliberately acted as if nothing had happened, Yoon Pa-ran nodded along. Seeing that transparent expression filled with relief only made Dan Joo-hyuk more anxious.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have confessed so hastily after all?
With awkward steps, Yoon Pa-ran approached the autopsy table. He looked down at the body covered with a white cloth, his expression enigmatic.
Only then did Dan Joo-hyuk worry that he might be showing Yoon Pa-ran something too gruesome. Though Yoon Pa-ran was also a hunter and must have seen corpses before.
“I’ll try.”
In any case, Yoon Pa-ran raised his hand. A white light soon seeped into the cloth-covered body.
And nothing happened.
“Hmm.”
After hesitating, Dan Joo-hyuk carefully approached Yoon Pa-ran’s side again.
Perhaps because he was preoccupied with this phenomenon, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t startle this time.
“What’s wrong?”
“The skill doesn’t seem to work.”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s expression grew serious at those words. He clearly felt that energy from Kim Sang-deok’s body, but he hadn’t expected the skill to have no effect at all.
Could he have been mistaken?
“Don’t you feel something like stone fragments from the corpse?”
“It’s weak, but I definitely feel it.”
Hearing Yoon Pa-ran’s response, Dan Joo-hyuk knew it wasn’t his imagination. Then what was the cause?
Perhaps it was just residual traces left by a monster’s attack.
Even that seemed odd. After all, Yoon Pa-ran’s power was the antithesis of monsters, so that energy should have disappeared too.
“Maybe it’s because he’s already dead?”
Just then, Yoon Pa-ran shared his theory. There was some logic to it. Comparing with previous situations, the striking difference was precisely that—the human who would be affected by the skill was dead.
However, this also had a flaw.
After hesitating, Dan Joo-hyuk lowered his voice instead of whispering in Yoon Pa-ran’s ear.
“Didn’t you say that guy, Won Dong-hyun, was purified before?”
“Ah…”
Yoon Pa-ran had once purified that dark energy from Won Dong-hyun, who was a “corpse.”
As if recalling a forgotten memory, Yoon Pa-ran’s expression grew serious.
“I told you before that some people get purified directly, and others need to be attacked for purification, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
“That guy also needed to be attack… Well, anyway, he couldn’t be purified just like that.”
After hesitating slightly, Yoon Pa-ran added, lowering his voice like Dan Joo-hyuk:
“I kicked him a little. Because the energy wouldn’t disperse.”
“Ah, I see.”
Dan Joo-hyuk found Yoon Pa-ran’s hesitation puzzling. Soon, he understood from Yoon Pa-ran’s uncomfortable expression.
It seemed he wasn’t entirely comfortable touching a corpse. Even though it was someone who had tried to kill him.
With such a soft nature, Dan Joo-hyuk grew even more concerned for Yoon Pa-ran.
In any case, it seemed this corpse of Kim Sang-deok also needed to be attacked while injecting the skill. Since there was no need to make Yoon Pa-ran do it, Dan Joo-hyuk gently grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
“Then, close your eyes for a moment.”
“Wh-why my, my eyes…?”
The intention was that if Yoon Pa-ran felt uncomfortable, he shouldn’t watch, but his reaction was quite sharp. He even hastily shook off Dan Joo-hyuk’s hand on his shoulder and stepped back.
“…I’m going to try the method you shared. I’ll do it.”
“Oh… Okay.”
His hand felt terribly empty. Concealing his frantic feelings, Dan Joo-hyuk quietly added.
Yoon Pa-ran, who had answered awkwardly, turned his body completely away. Dan Joo-hyuk briefly observed the reddened tips of Yoon Pa-ran’s ears before proceeding.
“…”
After adequately infusing Yoon Pa-ran’s skill into his hand, he struck Kim Sang-deok’s body with the scabbard of his sword. Indeed, unlike earlier, he felt the foul energy dispersing.
Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze lingered on Kim Sang-deok’s corpse. Even with the cloth covering it, he could vividly see Kim Sang-deok’s face, which had died with an agonized expression.
Right. Now that he’d purified it, there shouldn’t be any problems. He was dead anyway.
“Shall we go out now?”
Dan Joo-hyuk carefully approached Yoon Pa-ran and suggested. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was inappropriate to have brought Yoon Pa-ran to such an unclean place.
After placing the corpse in the freezer, the two came outside. The chilly air of the morgue was pushed behind them.
However, a freezer-like cold silence still existed between them.
“…”
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s mind was extremely complex as they walked down the corridor.
The mystery left by Kim Sang-deok’s sudden death was headache-inducing. Moreover, the desire to tell Yoon Pa-ran about the newly discovered fact in the safe zone constantly clashed with his hesitation.
He wanted to share this good news with Yoon Pa-ran and find a solution immediately. But the moment he tried to speak, Dan Joo-hyuk realized:
That this was only good news for himself.
What would Yoon Pa-ran think about such an S-rank syndrome? If he knew what kind of life Dan Joo-hyuk had been living, would he look at him strangely?
Concerns he had never thought about in his life now cut through him sharply every day. The situation where he couldn’t carelessly even breathe in front of Yoon Pa-ran was frustrating.
After much deliberation, Dan Joo-hyuk decided to postpone telling Yoon Pa-ran.
First, I should experiment a bit with other humans.
“Is it this way?”
Just then, as they reached a fork in the path, Yoon Pa-ran headed toward the opposite corridor.
Seeing this, Dan Joo-hyuk unconsciously grabbed Yoon Pa-ran’s waist and pulled him.
“It’s this way.”
At that moment, Yoon Pa-ran jumped in surprise again and stepped back.
Dan Joo-hyuk’s vision instantly turned black.
“Huh…?”
When he came to his senses, he had unknowingly pushed Yoon Pa-ran slightly against the wall.
With his hands planted on both sides of Yoon Pa-ran’s head, he had trapped him in his embrace.
“What, what’s going on?”
The petty satisfaction that momentarily dominated his mind was fleeting.
He deeply regretted his actions, having failed to avoid this and dragging Yoon Pa-ran along. Seeing his face tinged with confusion as he looked up, a corner of Dan Joo-hyuk’s heart ached.
Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t even meet his gaze, continuously glancing sideways at what was behind him.
“Why do you keep… trying to run away?”
“That… is…”
“Hmm?”
Seeing those eyes still full of escape plans, Dan Joo-hyuk could only keep asking. If he were to ask whether Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t stand the sight of him because of his confession, he feared Yoon Pa-ran would immediately answer yes.
That terrified him.
But soon, Yoon Pa-ran met his gaze directly. Those eyes, burning more intensely blue than usual, made Dan Joo-hyuk’s spine tingle with tension.
“It’s because of you!”
What came from those plump lips next was unexpected.
“Suddenly making me so conscious of you…!”
The following words finally brought clarity to Dan Joo-hyuk’s mind.
He urgently lowered his head further, persistently maintaining eye contact with Yoon Pa-ran.
“You became conscious of me?”
“Why are you suddenly making people troubled!”
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Dan Joo-hyuk gently caressed one of Yoon Pa-ran’s cheeks with his fingertips.
“You’re troubled because of me?”
“Ugh.”
Yoon Pa-ran flinched again and moved back. Fortunately, he wasn’t as anxious as before.
Because Yoon Pa-ran was actually troubled because of him.
“Why?”
“…”
Yoon Pa-ran only glared at him with an expression of being at a loss for words. It was still a thrilling expression that made Dan Joo-hyuk’s lower body tense.
Only now could Dan Joo-hyuk regain some composure. He belatedly pondered Yoon Pa-ran’s personality, something he would have considered much earlier under normal circumstances.
Given his fiery temperament, if something bothered him, he would have told Dan Joo-hyuk to get lost and more. Or, as he did with the guy who had flirted with him before, he would have rejected Dan Joo-hyuk outright, telling him not to talk nonsense.
But now, Yoon Pa-ran merely said he was troubled. Like someone who had something to contemplate.
Was there a possibility for him?
“Why are you smiling!”
It seemed a smile had unconsciously spread across his face again. Yoon Pa-ran huffed and shouted loudly.
Hearing those words made his heart race even more.
More intensely than when he realized yesterday that there might be a way to fix this S-rank syndrome.
“Because I’m happy.”
“You keep…!”
As Yoon Pa-ran was about to shout something else, Dan Joo-hyuk abruptly brought his face closer. Yoon Pa-ran urgently shut his mouth and pressed himself flat against the wall.
It was still a disappointing gesture. But before Yoon Pa-ran could break away from his embrace out of frustration, Dan Joo-hyuk quickly spoke.
“Keep thinking about me like that.”
A soft voice, detestably gentle even to his own ears, escaped him.
Again, his unrestrained fingertips regretfully caressed Yoon Pa-ran’s plump lips.
“Please.”
“…”
The warmth left on his fingertips seemed like it would be missed for a long time to come.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
