* * *
I immediately sat up.
If unregistered Awakeners were really attacking, and I was the target, then I had to do something.
I didn’t know what he could accomplish with my ability still unknown and my restraining device still on, but sitting around and letting Taehwan get hurt wasn’t an option.
I got off the bed.
Taehwan had repeatedly warned me not to walk until I’d learned to control my ability, but there was no time to hesitate.
There was no time to unfold the wheelchair, either.
I half-stumbled toward the door, practically throwing my body forward.
Every step felt like I was walking through a storm, staggering wildly—but I didn’t stop or sit down.
At last, I reached the door.
Dread clenched my heart—what kind of nightmare awaited on the other side?
But I braced myself and gripped the handle.
—Thud! Thump!
The moment the door opened, heavy thuds crashed into my ears with a bone-chilling weight.
The once-peaceful living room was now littered with people in black clothes, collapsed all over the place.
“…Damn it. If you’d just left when I asked nicely, none of this would’ve happened… I even let it go because I didn’t want to wake the kid, but you just had to screw it up.”
And in the middle of it all stood a towering figure, swinging his fists.
That black silhouette—there was no mistaking it.
“Taehwan…”
Taehwan.
The owner of the house. My dearest friend.
The person I’d feared for most.
His voice, soaked in fury and radiating killing intent, sounded almost unfamiliar—but there was no mistaking it.
I had spent years with him, relying on his voice and breath more than sight—there was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.
It was Taehwan.
“Ah…”
As soon as I said his name, the black figure stopped mid-motion.
Slowly, he let go of what he was holding and stood upright.
The man in black fell to the floor, and Taehwan—his Taehwan—turned to look at me.
Then, with a sheepish smile, he said:
“Sorry. I woke you, didn’t I? I tried to handle it quietly. Sigh… I should’ve invested in better soundproofing.”
No—it wasn’t the walls or door.
The soundproofing was actually more than enough.
It must’ve been chaos out here, yet I’d barely heard a thing.
And even with my hearing enhanced after Awakening.
It wasn’t sound, it was the vibration that had shaken the house.
That’s how violent this all had been.
Carefully, I stepped out of the room.
Gripping the handrail on the wall tightly, I made my way toward Taehwan, cautious and slow.
No wheelchair—just by my own strength.
“Taehwan, you…”
“W-Wait a second. Don’t get the wrong idea. It was self-defense. They came at me with weapons, and I fought back barehanded. Plus, they were the ones who broke in first. I didn’t just beat up random people.”
“But… you’re bleeding! Are you okay?”
“…Huh?”
I managed to grab Taehwan’s arm just before I lost my balance.
By then, the sun had completely set, and it was dark, but the faint light coming through the wide window made it still possible to see.
Taehwan was completely covered in red—soaked in blood.
My mind went blank.
What do you even do in a situation like this?
I’d spent so long in the hospital that I’d grown numb to everything, forgotten even the basics.
I hated myself for being so useless on my own.
“Oh god. W-We need to get you to a hospital… Yeah. I need to call 911…”
“Jehee, it’s okay. This isn’t my blood. Don’t worry.”
As Taehwan reached out to steady me, trembling all over, he suddenly flinched and quickly hid both hands behind his back.
Why is he hiding them?
Is he hurt?
My heart dropped.
I looked up at his face—and saw visible panic in his expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I told you, I’m really okay.”
“Are you really not hurt? Then why are you hiding your hands?”
“I’m not! Look, see? They’re fine.”
Taehwan finally showed me his hands, spreading them wide open.
I grabbed them right away, inspecting them carefully.
I touched and turned them over, checking for any injuries, any damage to the bones.
Thankfully, they were clean.
No cuts, no bruises, and he didn’t flinch when I touched them.
“Then why did you just now…”
Why did you hide them?—but I didn’t have to finish the sentence.
There was no need.
While checking him over, turning him this way and that, I saw it.
On the back of his shirt, there were smeared stains, as if he had hurriedly wiped off blood.
He must’ve wiped the blood off his hands so I wouldn’t see it and panic.
“You’re really not hurt, right?”
“Yeah. I’m not.”
…How is that possible?
There were at least ten of them—maybe more.
All armed, clearly hostile.
And from what I could tell, they were likely all Awakened.
How did Taehwan, someone with a non-combat ability, manage to subdue them all?
With nothing but his bare hands?
It didn’t make sense.
But honestly, at that moment, how he did it didn’t matter to me.
The only thing that mattered was that my precious friend was safe.
Whatever the case, Taehwan wasn’t lying.
His clothes were torn in places, but there wasn’t a single injury on his body.
The blood splattered all over him—it wasn’t his.
It must have belonged to the intruders.
‘Thank god. Really… thank god…’
He’s okay.
Taehwan didn’t get hurt.
My presence didn’t bring harm to him.
So then… why?
Why was it that, the moment I felt relieved, tears suddenly came rushing out?
Maybe it was because the fear that had frozen my heart was finally melting now that I was with him.
The tears spilled before I even had the chance to hold them back.
I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself, but it didn’t help.
Taehwan quickly cupped my cheeks and wiped my tears away.
“Why are you crying? I said I’m fine.”
“I… I thought it was because of me… I was so scared…”
“Haah. Maybe I should’ve handled it more quietly. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Ugh…”
“Hey, stop crying. I’m really okay.”
Taehwan gently pulled my face toward his, making me meet his gaze.
His eyes looked completely black in the dim light, but I could feel his warmth, his effort to reassure me.
With that, my tears did stop—but the fear that had seeped deep into my body didn’t go away so easily.
My legs were still trembling, embarrassingly weak, barely able to hold me up.
I wasn’t used to standing on my own yet—and now fear had made it even worse.
Noticing this, Taehwan picked me up without hesitation.
He turned on the lights in the house and sat me down on the sofa, shoving aside one of the intruders who was already collapsed there.
“I told you, didn’t I? You’re safe here. I should call the Bureau now. Where did I put my phone…”
Taehwan wandered the living room at a lazy pace, looking for his phone.
Then he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and turned his head.
“Oh, right. The dining table.”
His gaze settled on the kitchen table.
I followed his line of sight—and then I saw it too.
When I’d first entered the house earlier, none of that was there.
Pots and dishes were scattered all over the table.
He must’ve been in the middle of making a meal when he was attacked.
“……”
Regret bubbled up.
I should’ve gotten up when he tried to wake me.
I should’ve eaten with him.
I don’t even know why I slept so much today when I was already half-asleep all of yesterday.
Not that anything would’ve turned out better if I had been awake… but still.
The thought that Taehwan was in danger while I was just… asleep…
“…?”
My thoughts cut off.
A chill crept down my spine.
Something was wrong.
My instincts screamed at me—killing intent.
The house was filling with bloodlust.
When did they wake up?
The intruders—silent as shadows—had risen.
Three of them now charged at Taehwan, who had just reached for the phone on the dining table.
Not one. Three. At once.
My mouth fell open and a scream tore free.
“Taehwan!”
Taehwan reacted instantly to my voice.
In that split second, the attackers swung their weapons, aiming at his vital points.
It could only have been a few seconds.
But to me, it felt like minutes.
Long, stretched-out minutes.
And their movements—I could see them so clearly.
Too clearly.
As if in slow motion, painfully slow, burned into my vision.
– Crack.
And then, I saw it.
A red line, like a vine, unfurling and wrapping around the attackers.
It was blood-red. Writhing.
Without thinking, my hand moved toward it.
I could feel it, that thread hooking on my fingertips.
If I just pulled—even for less than a second—I could tear their heads from their bodies.
Just like I had with those monsters in the isolation ward.
But these weren’t monsters.
They were human.
Just like me and Taehwan.
You couldn’t deal with humans the same way you dealt with monsters.
“……”
– Snap. Rip. Crack.
But so what?
If it came down to their lives… or Taehwan’s…
The choice was obvious.
My mind and heart went cold—eerily fast.
– BAM!
“Ah—”
Before I could decide anything, a thunderous sound rang out.
My hand slashed through empty air.
One of the attackers—like a rag doll—was flung with incredible force, crashing through the open door and landing out in the garden.
Even though it had happened right before my eyes, it felt so unreal I could only stare in a daze.
* * *
