Chapter 41
Seo Won slowly turned his head to stare at Baek Rak. Watching Seo Won’s finely trembling pupils, he continued speaking.
“That day was a weekend night, and it started from the Gangnam area of Seoul. Meteorites that suddenly appeared in the sky crashed down to the ground.”
Seo Won was lightly shocked by Baek Rak’s words. It was exactly the same. Weekend night, Gangnam, sudden meteorites…… Seo Won moved his lips several times but ultimately couldn’t say anything.
“Suppose you came not from the past but from another world.”
“…….”
“If you don’t even know how you came here, could you figure out a way to go back?”
Seo Won’s face turned pale. He had merely said one thing about being worried about his family and friends. He hadn’t expected that alone would reveal his desire to return.
But more than that, Baek Rak’s sharp words that mercilessly cut away hope pierced his heart like a dagger.
He hadn’t hoped for comfort or empathy. He hadn’t hoped for understanding either. If it had been brushed aside with silence instead, he would have accepted it. Just as this world was important to Baek Rak, he too had the right to long for his own world.
He knew the fact that he was needed, but was there really a need to hurt him like this?
He knew better than anyone that he didn’t know how to return. Even knowing that, he had simply left a vague small hope. So that he wouldn’t be submerged in despair and longing……
“…….”
“…….”
To cut even that away with one stroke.
Seo Won stared at Baek Rak silently before quietly turning his head away.
He wasn’t melancholy. He wasn’t sad or resentful either. It just felt like his chest, which had been full of various emotions, was completely hollow. He only felt foolish for thinking of Baek Rak while missing his original world.
“……I know.”
“…….”
“You don’t need to remind me. ……Not in the future either.”
“Yoon Seo Won.”
“Now go to work. They’re looking for you downstairs.”
Having said that, Seo Won held the rope with one hand while resting his chin on it and just looked ahead.
Baek Rak quietly observed Seo Won before standing up. However, even as he moved his steps, his gaze remained fixed on Seo Won until the end.
When he disappeared from view, Seo Won slowly closed his eyes.
He swallowed the heavy emotion that belatedly rose up and didn’t open his eyes for a long time. Until shouts came from below saying that was enough and to let go of the rope.
Today especially, he felt like he was standing alone in this world.
Perhaps it had been that way from the beginning. There wouldn’t be a single person in this place who would understand him. Just as he was somehow different from them.
After a moment, Seo Won’s eyes that slowly revealed themselves had become dry and hazy in that brief time.
He silently looked down at people who were different from him before quietly standing up. The people’s shouts grew distantly far away until they could no longer be heard.
Each step weighed heavily as he began heading somewhere.
***
“Haven’t you seen Yoon Seo Won?”
“Huh? Wasn’t he on the barrier rooftop earlier?”
“That was three hours ago.”
Haru stood up from making stairs leading up to the barrier rooftop.
“I haven’t seen him since then. Why? Can’t you find him?”
Baek Rak frowned without answering.
“Isn’t he working somewhere else? From how he interfered with me, he doesn’t seem like the type to secretly rest somewhere.”
“Interfered?”
“Yu Sol earnestly asked me earlier not to scold him. Even though he must be busy adapting here himself, he’s quite meddlesome. He apparently jumped in to save Yu Sol too?”
“…….”
“Same with driving the truck. Even veterans at procuring water get anxious before going outside, but he didn’t seem to at all? His guts are really something else. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t know better or if he’s thoughtless. I’m worried he might get scammed by someone being so naive, really worried.”
As Haru grumbled, Baek Rak let out a short sigh and turned around.
“……Radio me if you spot Yoon Seo Won.”
“Yeah, got it.”
Leaving behind Haru who waved goodbye, Baek Rak headed to the barrier rooftop. The place where Yoon Seo Won had been was still empty.
Baek Rak placed his hands on his hips and thought of places where he might be.
He wasn’t in his room or around the barrier. He wasn’t at the platform and warehouse where Rang and Yu Sol had been hiding either, so what remained was maybe the office? But Han Seong Hyeon was already there. There was no way he, who busily moved between the office and power room, barrier and food warehouse, wouldn’t have spotted Seo Won.
Suddenly he remembered the last time he saw him.
When he said that he probably wouldn’t be able to return to the world he lived in, he expected him to get angry, cry, or pour out curses. But Yoon Seo Won showed an unexpected reaction.
At first his face turned pale, then slowly returned to normal. While answering that he knew.
What expression was he making after avoiding eye contact? He only saw his back since he stared straight ahead without showing his face. The area around Yoon Seo Won, who sat hunched over with his chin resting, had been very quiet unlike the noisy area below.
Baek Rak quietly closed his eyes and organized his thoughts while rubbing his face. Finding Yoon Seo Won was the priority for now.
He hadn’t gone outside, so he must be inside the shelter. He had already searched all the places he might go but couldn’t see him, so what remained was……
“The underground bunker.”
It was the underground bunker where Yu Sol was. He knew how to open the door, so it was certainly possible. Though he didn’t know if he was aware it was off-limits to unauthorized personnel.
Baek Rak immediately ran to the underground bunker where Yu Sol was.
***
Seo Won, who slowly blinked awake from sleep, stared blankly at the ceiling. As soon as he opened the underground bunker door and lay down on the research room sofa, he had fallen asleep as if fainting.
Though it was disappointing that he was so exhausted just from opening a door, after sleeping and waking up, his head seemed a bit clearer.
After standing up and briefly looking around the research room, Seo Won went straight into the recovery room where Yu Sol was. Then Poong, who had been lying on the floor, raised his head and wagged his tail.
“Poong.”
Poong had already regained consciousness and was guarding Yu Sol’s side. Though he still wasn’t fully healed, with bandages wrapped tightly around his chest and legs.
Seo Won slowly walked over and sat down on the floor while petting Poong’s head.
“You worked hard, Poong. It hurt a lot, didn’t it?”
Poong just wagged his tail while being petted obediently.
“You were really amazing. You even knew how to deal with Creatures. I was busy running away.”
Poong, who had blocked the Creatures’ tentacles and lured them away, couldn’t have looked more amazing. He was several times better than him, who was only a Hunter in name. He had protected Yu Sol until the end too.
Seo Won petted Poong to his heart’s content, then patted the floor telling him to lie down again. Understanding what he meant, Poong put his face against the floor again and closed his eyes. Poong also seemed to need time to recover his strength.
Seo Won stood up. Then he carefully examined Yu Sol lying on the bed.
Yu Sol’s body was connected to an IV and various machine lines. Looking at where the machine sounds came from, devices showing pulse, blood pressure, and various readings were checking his condition.
To think that despite being a healing-type Hunter, he couldn’t heal himself and had to lie here like this. He only felt sorry for not being able to take better care of Yu Sol.
He pulled over a chair from under the bed and sat down, carefully leaning forward while looking at the sleeping Yu Sol.
“Sol, when will you wake up?”
The image of Yu Sol getting angry at him and shouting never to do dangerous things again was vivid. Without needing to think of other intentions, he could feel the child’s feelings for him directly. That heart that worried with sincerity.
Yu Sol was a somewhat quirky but responsible person who knew how to protect his family. He hoped Yu Sol would open his eyes quickly and have conversations with him, even if it meant getting scolded several times.
Sol liked Baek Rak, but wouldn’t he still listen a bit if he grumbled?
He looked foolish relying on the innocence of a fifteen-year-old child, but right now he just felt like doing so.
“There’s still a lot I need to learn from you, and a lot I want to say.”
“…….”
“For reference, Baek…… he and I aren’t dating, so don’t have any strange misunderstandings.”
“…….”
Even though no answer came back, Seo Won continued talking.
“Yesterday on the way back from driving the oil truck, I met a guy called an Alpha. At first I thought he was human but he wasn’t? It was my first time seeing such a creature, so I was quite shocked.”
“…….”
“If you had told me beforehand, I wouldn’t have been so surprised. Right?”
“…….”
“Actually, when I was with you at the outpost, I was looking forward to talking all night? You’re really good at explaining. If I can understand it, you should be able to teach other people sufficiently too?”
Seo Won slowly tilted his head and rested his face on his arm. When he glanced up, Yu Sol was still keeping his eyes closed.
“Rang and the pups are all safe too. I saw them nursing the day before yesterday, and they were really incredibly cute. I’ve become close with Rang too, so now she stays calm even when I pet the pups.”
“…….”
“Poong woke up too and is right next to you now. He’s being extremely devoted in protecting you.”
He could see Poong’s ears on the floor perking up. It was cute how he reacted knowing it was his name.
“I used to have a dog too, named Arong, a white Maltese. Unlike Poong, he was so wild. He wouldn’t listen and would never do anything he didn’t like no matter what?”
“…….”
“He only liked treats and wouldn’t eat dog food. His taste became so refined that I had trouble feeding him. ……But he had a lot of aegyo, so hyung was the only one who liked him.”
Seo Won closed his mouth for a moment and shut his eyes.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
