Kwon Jae-jin, fully geared up in combat fatigues and a harness, grabbed the rifle from the shelf. Without hesitation, he skillfully loaded it while glancing to the side.
His eyes caught the spare goggles displayed with the power turned off.
<No, thanks. I don’t even know how to use them.>
<I know. Just give it a shot. Once you get used to them, they’ll be helpful.>
He swallowed dryly. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Seo Eui-woo urged Kwon Jae-jin from the side.
“Jae-jin, let’s go now. We’re about to teleport. Hold my hand.”
“Ah, yes. I’m coming.”
He had no idea what he was thinking.
Kwon Jae-jin abruptly snatched the goggles off the shelf.
Even though he had never used them before.
Even though they had only ever appeared in his dreams.
And yet…
Something about them wouldn’t leave his mind.
A faint suspicion crept in.
Was it really just a coincidence that, at twenty-four, in his first life, he had repeatedly dreamed of Seo Eui-woo? Was it merely a manifestation of his subconscious?
<You can’t run away, Jae-jin.>
<You mustn’t run away.>
…Perhaps, from the very beginning, Seo Eui-woo had been leading him somewhere.
A shiver ran down his spine, and a ringing sound echoed from somewhere far away.
Kwon Jae-jin had resolved to live a new life, a proper life, with the Seo Eui-woo of this second timeline. He was certain that Act Two of his life had begun with this Seo Eui-woo.
And yet, from the shadows beyond the stage where the spotlight did not reach, it felt as if the Seo Eui-woo from the first timeline was still watching him.
Even now. Still.
***
The weather itself felt like a foreboding omen. The sky was covered in thick, black storm clouds. It looked as if a torrential downpour would begin at any moment.
There was no time to dwell on such thoughts. The teleportation was completed above the central building of the Center. As the droplets of light faded, a grim scene came into view.
The outer airfield, its blast walls now open. Rows upon rows of transport aircraft stretched endlessly, and armed Awakeners were steadily gathering, forming their ranks. This wasn’t a small search unit hastily assembled to capture Kwon Jae-jin.
It was the Center’s official main force. The Special Operations Division was assembling.
The moment he saw the large-scale deployment preparing for departure, a sharp sense of crisis pierced his mind.
This emergency mobilization wasn’t some bluff.
This was real. A real battle was about to take place.
Right now, at this very moment, the creatures were swarming in.
Just like in his dreams. A never-ending legion of monsters surging forward like an unrelenting tide.
Kwon Jae-jin tightened his grip on the rifle. He couldn’t say he was fully prepared to face the Creature Wave or that he was completely ready to charge into war, but at the very least, he had made himself capable of fighting.
Consistent shooting practice.
The resolve to fight.
And, after countless twists and turns, the temporary truce reached with the Center.
Now, Kwon Jae-jin could step onto the battlefield.
He was no longer stuck inside a house, endlessly waiting for Seo Eui-woo to return safely. Now, he could stand beside him, gun in hand.
Facing the writhing swarm of black creatures—the very source of all his suffering, the cause that had cast him into this brutal and merciless world…
One by one, the transport aircraft began to ascend into the sky. Watching the Special Operations soldiers departing ahead, Kwon Jae-jin asked,
“Where are they headed? Are they deploying to the Second Pioneer District?”
“Yes. That seems to be the case.”
“Then… does that mean Seo Eui-woo has to go as well?”
“…….”
Seo Eui-woo didn’t answer. When Kwon Jae-jin turned to look at him, he found Seo Eui-woo staring at him with dark, heavy eyes.
Kwon Jae-jin immediately understood the conflict hidden within those gray irises.
“I’m going too.”
“Jae-jin.”
Seo Eui-woo had accompanied him without hesitation to confirm the summons, but the idea of taking him all the way to the battlefield clearly unsettled him.
“I won’t be a burden. You said it yourself—it’s safer to stay together. Don’t leave me behind.”
Jae-jin’s voice was firm, unwavering in its resolve.
Before he knew it, raindrops had begun falling one by one from the darkened sky. The rumbling in the distance signaled an approaching thunderstorm.
Seo Eui-woo quietly raised his palm, shielding Kwon Jae-jin’s head from the rain.
“…Are you really sure about this? You’re going to see things you can’t unsee.”
“I’m fine. I’m prepared.”
“I’m not talking about the creatures.” Seo Eui-woo’s voice was calm, yet weighted. “You might see people die right in front of you. Not just one or two—so many you won’t even be able to count them.”
“…….”
“This is real combat. A large-scale battle. One way or another, it will leave a mark on you. It’ll eat away at your soul. Are you really okay with that?”
Seo Eui-woo swallowed a sigh, his expression earnest. Raindrops clung to his delicate, striking features.
“I know you’re a strong-willed person, Jae-jin. I know you don’t waver easily, that you’re not someone who gives up or breaks down so simply. But you….”
“…Are you trying to say I’m weak?”
“No, Jae-jin. You’re just… righteous.”
The sincerity in his words was unmistakable, carried clearly through the gaze they shared. Seo Eui-woo had always been unwavering, obsessive even, and because of that, he understood Kwon Jae-jin better than anyone.
“You’re not the type to turn a blind eye when innocent lives are being taken unjustly. You throw yourself into danger without a second thought for your own life, but you always try to protect others. That’s just how you are.”
“…….”
“You negotiated with the military even after they sent a search unit after you. You volunteered to guide those damn Espers. You always—”
“Even so.”
Kwon Jae-jin murmured quietly.
“I can’t just sit back and do nothing this time.”
Maybe Seo Eui-woo was right to be worried. Maybe stepping onto the battlefield would shake him to his core. But this was a burden every Awakener had to bear.
Seo Eui-woo had spent his entire life fighting creatures.
Every Awakener down there had done the same.
“Honestly, I’ve never once thought of myself as righteous,” Kwon Jae-jin admitted. “If anything, this is personal. It’s revenge.”
“Revenge…?”
“For four years, I was worn down. I resigned myself to a reality I couldn’t change, let myself erode, and became numb to injustice. I lived every day losing without even fighting back. So now—I’m taking revenge.”
Creatures were terrifying, and a Creature Wave was a disaster of unspeakable horror.
But not once had he thought of running away. If anything, he was desperate to face it head-on.
For a long time now, his body had been itching for this.
“Whether it’s through military reform, guiding Espers, or killing creatures—it doesn’t matter. I move because I’m sure that this life will be better than my last. Because I want tomorrow to be better than today. Because I want to live a better life—with you.”
“That’s why I take each step forward.”
The rain was growing heavier, the downpour thickening beyond what Seo Eui-woo’s hand could shield. His intent to protect Kwon Jae-jin was clear, but at this point, there was no choice but for both of them to get drenched together.
Seo Eui-woo blinked slowly. Then, spreading his arms wide, he pulled Kwon Jae-jin into a tight embrace, as if caging him within.
“…Yeah. That’s right. We agreed to overturn everything together.”
<I… I want to tear it all down and live with you, Jae-jin. Properly.>
<I’ll rewrite fate. For you.>
“I know. I know all of that. But still, somehow…”
“Eui-woo…”
“I don’t even know myself. I’ve been feeling this vague impulse since earlier, and it’s… confusing me.”
Seo Eui-woo was still tangled in his own contradictions.
He wanted to cherish and protect Kwon Jae-jin, but at the same time, he had to break him if that was what it took to make him yield.
He was drawn to Jae-jin’s righteousness, his unwavering nature, but a part of him wished he wouldn’t care about anyone else—wished that he would look only at him.
He wanted to give Kwon Jae-jin everything he desired, but somewhere deep within, hidden beneath layers of restraint, his selfishness screamed for the opposite—to trap him, to keep him, to never let him go.
When Kwon Jae-jin had been confined within Seo Eui-woo’s home, there had been no need for such turmoil.
Jae-jin had always remained within the reach of his abilities, never once stepping beyond the boundaries except for that one incident.
Because of that, Seo Eui-woo had been able to monopolize him effortlessly, without resistance. It had been their normal.
But now, Kwon Jae-jin is slowly stepping out into the world. And with each step he took, Seo Eui-woo’s obsession grew.
Because soon, it would no longer be so easy to keep him. The sinister desire to chain him down was creeping in, strengthening without his permission.
“Confused? About what?”
“…It’s just…”
Seo Eui-woo lowered his gaze, his pupils gleaming white and sharp.
“I’ll tell you later.”
No, this was a pointless worry.
Once they repelled the Creature Wave, once they crushed the bothersome military, all these concerns would be meaningless.
The impulse to lock Jae-jin away was just a result of the current instability. Once everything settled, they could return to how things used to be—just the two of them, lost in their own world, loving only each other.
When that time came, he would spend every waking moment by Jae-jin’s side—eating together, sleeping together, going on dates, biting, sucking. Doing all the filthy things Jae-jin said he hated. Going outside, tickling him, celebrating anniversaries. Fucking him, filling him up, soothing him, clinging to him. Day or night, it wouldn’t matter—they would be inseparable.
He’d brush his teeth for him, play with his wisdom teeth, kiss the tiny mole on his skin, lay his head on his lap, whine for head pats… Seo Eui-woo loved the way Jae-jin occasionally ran his fingers through his hair, parting and combing it, adjusting his bangs this way and that.
“Let’s go. Together.”
Yes… there was no need to overthink this.
Simply, they would annihilate the creatures and return home.
Thunder crashed in the distance. A flash of lightning illuminated the world for an instant, stark black and white, like the burst of a camera flash.
In that fleeting monochrome, Seo Eui-woo smiled. His long, elegantly curved eyes looked almost inhumanly beautiful.
