Chapter 93
The place the two arrived at was the research lab and recovery room where Yu Sol had been treated.
Seo Won and Baek Rak, who had gone down the stairs, discovered Han Seong Hyeon sitting on the research lab sofa with his hand pressed to his forehead. He clearly looked like he had something on his mind. When they deliberately made their presence known, Han Seong Hyeon raised his head.
“Oh, you’re back?”
As soon as he spotted Baek Rak and Seo Won, he forced a smile onto his haggard face and welcomed them.
“What happened?”
However, instead of worrying about Han Seong Hyeon, Baek Rak demanded an explanation of the immediate situation. Han Seong Hyeon rubbed his brow and shook his head.
“That’s… I’ll tell you in a bit. Did you guys do well?”
“We succeeded for now.”
“Well, that’s a relief at least.”
Han Seong Hyeon let out a sigh of relief. He invited the two to sit on the sofa, then looked at Seo Won with curiosity.
“But what’s that?”
Seo Won sat on the sofa and lifted Baek Rak’s jumper. Then a child who had been nestled quietly in his arms while sleeping was revealed. When Han Seong Hyeon asked “A child?” and tilted his head, Seo Won finally explained the child’s identity.
“We happened to discover a child using abilities on the way.”
“…Using abilities? A hunter?”
“Yeah. A water ability user.”
Han Seong Hyeon let out a deflated laugh as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Ha, water… ability user? You met him on the way?”
“I can’t believe it either. We were lucky.”
“…How did you find him?”
“While running away from the alpha, I saw a water pillar rising up. When I went to look, the parents were already dead and only the child was alive. He seemed to have just awakened then and couldn’t control his power.”
“…Awakening at such a young age.”
“Will he be okay?”
Han Seong Hyeon, who had been lost in thought for a moment, belatedly nodded at Seo Won’s worry.
“Early awakening doesn’t strain the body or anything. It’s just that because he awakened at such a young age, it won’t be easy for him to control it himself. I explained it once before, right? Usually people awaken after age fifteen, but rarely some do it earlier.”
“Yu Sol was that kind of case.”
“Right. But this is the first time I’ve seen a child who awakened at such a young age, so it’s a bit fascinating… Anyway, we’ll need to teach him well. Oh, the others don’t know yet?”
“I haven’t talked about Rouni’s ability yet.”
“Good job. But his name is Rouni? You managed to have a conversation it seems?”
“Yeah. When he woke up briefly.”
Han Seong Hyeon looked down at the child nestled in Seo Won’s arms with affectionate eyes. An ability needed for Seo Won’s next awakening and a water ability user hunter who could supply water without having to go outside the shelter. There was no way he wouldn’t be precious.
It was just a bit amazing that luck could follow them this much.
“But what on earth happened?”
The joy was brief, and at Seo Won’s question, Han Seong Hyeon’s shoulders sagged. He rubbed his brow as if he had a headache.
“…Well, one of the cubes must have been defective. It suddenly went out and we couldn’t prepare for anything and got hit. Since it happened when the barrier wasn’t intact either, it collapsed quickly. We barely managed to restore it with the last remaining cube.”
“Defective. Then, the remaining time period is…”
“Three months at most. Even that I can’t guarantee. There’s no assurance that the remaining cube will work properly.”
“……”
At the devastating fact, Seo Won’s head also naturally bowed. The only way to overcome this current situation was for him to quickly awaken as a guardian. They couldn’t keep relying on the cube forever.
Seo Won tightly embraced the child in his arms. Was meeting Rouni at this time fate? But he didn’t feel good about the feeling that he was using a child for a purpose. He was a young child who should be protected even if he wasn’t a hunter, but it felt like he had somehow become a means to an end.
Still, the reason he thought it was fortunate was probably because the situation was that bad. Anyway, he couldn’t help but think realistically.
“Still, finding a water hunter so quickly, we’re lucky. I was at a loss for where to start looking, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
“…That’s true.”
“Can we proceed with awakening right away?”
At Han Seong Hyeon’s question, Seo Won shook his head.
“He used up all his energy during awakening and fainted, so I think we’ll have to wait until he wakes up.”
“Hmm… He won’t wake up even if we try to wake him?”
He would need to be awake to replenish energy, but now he seemed to be in deep sleep from the mental shock and aftereffects of awakening. Forcibly waking him wouldn’t be good.
“Let’s wait and see for now. The cube is working well too, so I think waiting until Rouni wakes up is right.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Han Seong Hyeon, look at me for a moment.”
Han Seong Hyeon, who had been feeling gloomy, raised his head wearily at Baek Rak’s call. Come to think of it, Baek Rak had been quiet the whole time since initially demanding an explanation. He didn’t even sit on the sofa and kept standing.
When their eyes met, Baek Rak gestured with his chin for him to follow.
“…Ugh.”
Han Seong Hyeon pressed his knees with both arms and got up with difficulty, following Baek Rak’s steps. Then he remembered and said to Seo Won who was sitting on the sofa.
“Rest up, I’ll be back after talking for a bit.”
“Oh, okay.”
Seo Won nodded. It seemed like they had something to discuss separately, and he had no intention of being tactless by telling them to just talk in front of him.
The two closed the door as soon as they entered the recovery room. He couldn’t hear any sound, so the soundproofing must be working properly. He wasn’t particularly curious about the conversation content, so he just closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa.
Two awakening chances remaining to become a guardian.
One of the needed abilities was water, Rouni’s ability, and the other was telekinesis at Seoul Station shelter.
The burden of having to find the materials was reduced since he knew where they all were, but that didn’t make the fear of awakening disappear. Even though there was a way to reduce the pain… it had side effects too, which was a bit troublesome.
Seo Won recalled the kiss he had shared with Baek Rak before coming here.
Actually, they had kissed many times even without using the excuse of it being for awakening. He couldn’t even count how many times they had done it just at Gangnam Station shelter.
Still, back then he had panicked at Baek Rak’s sudden contact and tried to escape, but today was different. He had panicked, but he didn’t feel like running away at all. Rather, feeling it was somewhat insufficient, he had supported Baek Rak’s head and opened his mouth himself.
That wasn’t so much pursuing pleasure as…
“……”
The rapidly beating heart, the heat that rose sharply, the sensation that felt so sweet it seemed like he would melt away – all of that clearly pointed to one thing.
Seo Won unknowingly brushed his reddened face.
‘Somehow I feel like I shouldn’t go any further from here…’
He wasn’t dull enough not to know what this emotion was. He was definitely attracted to Baek Rak. Not simply as human to human, but with those romantic feelings that Yu Sol had misunderstood.
Baek Rak was certainly an attractive guy.
Not just his abilities, but the unique atmosphere Baek Rak possessed made it hard to look away. To think that such emotions would gradually arise even though he had been so mean to him – it must mean his power to captivate and attract people’s hearts was that strong.
He never thought it would work on him too though. Was that why he couldn’t hate him? He thought he had backed down because he was soft, but maybe there had been signs from the beginning.
Seo Won weakly tilted his head. His head dropped onto the sofa backrest with a thud.
‘Is it really like that…’
It was a bit late to be worrying about whether he could feel this way toward a man at this point.
He didn’t even feel resistance to the idea of being intimate with Baek Rak. Although their first relationship had happened suddenly due to awakening, hadn’t he also been unable to control himself afterward?
Maybe he had a tendency to see men as romantic partners. Or maybe it was because Baek Rak was someone who fit his preferences.
Anyway, it was quite a troublesome situation.
He never imagined he would have such worries someday. They say love blooms even during war, and it was absolutely true. Even while being busy surviving alone after falling into an unfamiliar world, his emotions were working diligently. It was absurd.
Seo Won let out consecutive sighs and sprawled listlessly on the sofa.
Just then, having finished their conversation, the two returned from the recovery room. Even though Seo Won sensed their presence, he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes and chose to stay sprawled out.
“What’s this, were you that tired?”
“……”
“I know you’re not sleeping, get up for a moment.”
Han Seong Hyeon shook Seo Won’s shoulder with a smile. After being shaken around, Seo Won had no choice but to open his eyes under the continued pressure. Then Han Seong Hyeon chuckled.
“Let’s proceed with the next awakening when Rouni wakes up. And we can leave for Seoul Station right away. I can’t be certain the cube will hold out, but even if not, we can live in the bunker for a while. You too, thinking about the future, it’s better to care for Rouni stably. So don’t overdo it.”
Fortunately, a grace period had been created.
Surely just a moment ago the child had been the priority, but now he felt relieved that he had gained time. If he had to proceed with awakening with Baek Rak again with such complicated feelings, he might have completely fallen for him.
Right now, what he needed most was time to seriously contemplate.
Whether he was truly attracted to Baek Rak with pure feelings, whether he should nurture this or put it aside – these were also problems he needed to think about.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
