#180
Dan Joo-hyuk nervously fixed his gaze on Yoon Pa-ran’s lips. He had no intention of remaining merely a friend, but he wanted to make a proper start first.
However, contrary to his expectations, Yoon Pa-ran responded with a rather casual attitude.
“Huh? No, it’s fine.”
Dan Joo-hyuk gently pulled on Yoon Pa-ran’s arm that he was holding. Although he always allowed himself to be drawn into Dan Joo-hyuk’s embrace, it was impossible to know when he might try to break free again.
With that thought, he felt his insides grow cold once more.
“Why? You don’t need it anymore.”
From Yoon Pa-ran’s perspective, the contract was now useless. After all, Dan Joo-hyuk would continue to help him even without any contract.
Now that Yoon Pa-ran had publicly revealed his unprecedented skill, he wouldn’t face financial problems anymore. To ensure this, Dan Joo-hyuk had spent considerable time with Minister Byeon, making sure he would pay Yoon Pa-ran handsomely each time without trying any tricks.
From the beginning, the contract between them was extremely disadvantageous to Yoon Pa-ran. Since Dan Joo-hyuk had subtly pressured him into making that contract, he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth several times.
For the first time, he realized how difficult it was to reveal his own wrongdoing in an already complicated situation. His hands kept sweating like a child’s.
“I wasn’t particularly uncomfortable with it anyway.”
“Still…”
“Well, if I had to say, having the contract does make me feel more secure.”
“…”
At that answer, Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes wavered uncontrollably. He was about to say something more but eventually averted his gaze from Yoon Pa-ran and mumbled weakly.
“If you ever feel like ending it, just tell me.”
His downcast gaze revealed some heavy hesitation.
“…?”
Watching Dan Joo-hyuk’s strange behavior, Yoon Pa-ran was puzzled. It seemed as if he had swallowed something important he wanted to say.
Could it be that he wanted to end the contract and was speaking indirectly?
“Alright.”
It was strange because Dan Joo-hyuk’s attitude was uncharacteristic in many ways. Normally, Yoon Pa-ran would have forgotten without thinking too much, but Dan Joo-hyuk’s unusually dark expression lingered in his mind.
Perhaps due to their slightly misaligned thoughts, the air in the house remained heavy for quite some time afterward.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next day, the ‘Current Dimension Safe Zone’ project was officially launched.
The project name used the exact wording from the system notification that everyone had received.
“Let’s go together.”
“Hurry up. We’re late.”
“…Let’s go slowly.”
Yoon Pa-ran hurried toward Yongsan with Dan Joo-hyuk, who had come to pick him up again today. They had decided to conduct the first experiment directly on the contaminated land today.
The impact left by Yoon Pa-ran’s safe zone that day was tremendous in many ways.
First, being able to open a ‘safe zone’ in the true sense of the word in everyone’s living space was incredible news. Considering that until now, only privileged few barely enjoyed imperfect barrier skills, it was inevitable that everyone’s attention would be focused here.
Some researchers even focused on the word ‘dimension.’ After all, it implied the existence of ‘another dimension’ like parallel theory or fantasy worlds.
So it wasn’t unreasonable for Minister Byeon to call repeatedly, persuading him to start experiments quickly. Meanwhile, Dan Joo-hyuk seemed relaxed as if nothing was urgent.
“Hunter Yoon Pa-ran! You came quickly!”
“See?”
“…”
As soon as they arrived at the site, Minister Byeon approached with a fuss. He had been friendly like a next-door neighbor during their phone calls, and now face-to-face, his attitude was so warm it was as if he would give Yoon Pa-ran his liver.
“How’s your condition today? There must be aftereffects from the battle, thank you for coming out so quickly.”
“Ah, well, since it’s urgent…”
“Of course! It’s certainly urgent. But your condition is the priority, so definitely don’t overdo it. By the way, would it be possible to do two experiments today…?”
Minister Byeon’s words and requests seemed quite disconnected. As he continued without pause, Dan Joo-hyuk pulled Yoon Pa-ran toward himself and said:
“You’re noisy.”
“Ahem, I didn’t expect Hunter Dan to come as well.”
“Would you like me to do as you expected?”
“Ah, no…”
Minister Byeon broke into a cold sweat in front of Dan Joo-hyuk, who spoke with a kind smile. Glancing at their conversation, Yoon Pa-ran simply walked forward. There was something catching his attention.
There was the safe zone statue still being excavated from the ground.
“Ah, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran!”
“Do you still need to dig more?”
“Yes, that’s right. Even though the safe zone statue doesn’t usually remain in its original form, we thought it would be good to collect all the pieces.”
Yoon Pa-ran silently nodded at the official’s explanation.
There were two reasons for conducting today’s experiment in Yongsan.
First, because his first opened safe zone was nearby. The purpose was to see what effect it would have if safe zones were opened adjacent to each other—in other words, to determine how large a safe zone could ultimately be created.
The second reason was to purify Yongsan’s contaminated land as quickly as possible. They said the areas near the safe zone were recovering faster than other places.
Lost in thought, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t notice Dan Joo-hyuk quietly following him.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had immediately looked at him when he stood beside him, soon turned his head without saying anything. Just by looking at his profile as he examined the statue like Yoon Pa-ran was, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.
All Yoon Pa-ran knew was that Dan Joo-hyuk’s attitude had been quite strange since yesterday.
“What? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
Though Yoon Pa-ran tried to strike up a conversation, Dan Joo-hyuk merely replied without even looking at him.
He had been like this ever since their conversation yesterday. Though he diligently stayed with Yoon Pa-ran, even coming to pick him up at the orphanage without saying a word, his attitude was somewhat different from usual. He didn’t initiate conversations with Yoon Pa-ran or needlessly cling to him.
Suddenly realizing that Dan Joo-hyuk hadn’t touched his cheeks even once since yesterday, Yoon Pa-ran’s face grew serious. Though it had always been annoying, now that he wasn’t doing it, Yoon Pa-ran felt uncomfortable and very concerned.
Was he really trying to end the contract?
Even if that were the case, it would be strange. If he was unhappy with the contract terms, Dan Joo-hyuk would have tried to persuade him somehow.
…Or perhaps his comment about feeling more secure with the contract was too harsh?
Yesterday he had just spoken honestly, but thinking about it now, maybe it was a bit too much. It was like saying he could only trust Dan Joo-hyuk if there was a penalty involved.
That was certainly true at the beginning of their contract, but now he wasn’t sure. Yoon Pa-ran slightly furrowed his brow and then let the thought go.
Well, Dan Joo-hyuk had said they weren’t even friends. There was nothing Yoon Pa-ran could do about that.
As Yoon Pa-ran was silent, unable to make sense of his own thoughts spinning wildly, an official carrying documents approached Dan Joo-hyuk.
“Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk.”
“…”
“H-Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk?”
“…”
For some reason, the official with a pale complexion called Dan Joo-hyuk repeatedly, but he didn’t respond.
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been staring at the statue, seemed strangely dazed.
“I-I’ll come back later.”
Finally, after watching the flustered official hurry away, Yoon Pa-ran poked Dan Joo-hyuk in the side.
“Hey.”
“…Speak.”
Only then did Dan Joo-hyuk startle and quickly look at Yoon Pa-ran. His reaction startled Yoon Pa-ran as well. He had only poked him lightly, but Dan Joo-hyuk’s response seemed excessive. Why did he look so unstable?
Come to think of it, the spot he had just poked was where Dan Joo-hyuk had been injured before. Even the brief eye contact felt strange somehow.
With that thought, something suddenly flashed through Yoon Pa-ran’s mind.
“Come here.”
“…”
Yoon Pa-ran grabbed Dan Joo-hyuk’s arm and began walking. Dan Joo-hyuk followed along obediently, but he seemed unusually lacking in energy.
Strangely anxious, Yoon Pa-ran quickly led him behind a pile of building ruins.
“Hey, are you okay?”
After pushing him against the wall where they were out of sight from others, Yoon Pa-ran asked worriedly.
Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes wavered even more severely than before.
“…Why?”
It was indeed strange behavior. Seriously examining Dan Joo-hyuk’s complexion, Yoon Pa-ran mentioned what he had just noticed.
“Are you having aftereffects from your injury?”
Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t given Dan Joo-hyuk any skills since the grand gate incident. Moreover, that day Dan Joo-hyuk had suffered serious injuries while Yoon Pa-ran’s skills had dropped sharply.
It seemed like he was in poor physical condition today but didn’t mention it because Yoon Pa-ran needed to participate in the experiment. As if Yoon Pa-ran’s guess was correct, Dan Joo-hyuk covered his mouth and averted his gaze.
After being silent for a while, Dan Joo-hyuk eventually murmured in a small voice.
“I don’t think I’m okay.”
This is bad.
Having made that assessment, Yoon Pa-ran reached out to him. He grabbed Dan Joo-hyuk’s collar and pulled him down, and Dan Joo-hyuk complied without resistance.
Their lips met without any resistance. When Yoon Pa-ran pushed his tongue in, Dan Joo-hyuk’s lips welcomed him just as willingly.
But Dan Joo-hyuk still seemed somewhat dazed. So in the middle of the kiss, Yoon Pa-ran suddenly grabbed his face and pulled away.
“Ah.”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s heated breath, released like an exclamation, was felt up close. Dan Joo-hyuk’s face, looking down at him, was filled with question.
Looking back at him with equal confusion, Yoon Pa-ran spoke firmly.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and absorb the skill.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
I mean, I knew the skill was why Paran kissed him but it was still shocking
Paran really is his greatest weakness and focus TT