* * *
“The poison mist… What exactly were you planning to do just now?”
Kang Yigeon took a step closer.
“I’m sorry.”
Seohwa didn’t look back; he simply pulled the trigger.
‘Bang!’
With the sound of the gunshot, Lee Yuje’s body collapsed.
[Stooge] ‘Lee Yuje’ has died.
Immediately after, the fake body vanished, and Seohwa’s own body was reconstructed on the spot where he fell.
He could feel Kang Yigeon rushing toward him from behind.
Soul power secured.
Would you like to use the skill [Flight of Time]?
‘Quickly. Right now!’
Using skill [Flight of Time].
Time has been stopped in the space surrounding you!
Stop duration: 1 minute.
A large stopwatch appeared before his eyes.
At the same time, his body was fully restored.
White hair tied in a half-up style and golden eyes.
It was Seohwa’s true form.
Seohwa calmly deactivated all the large bombs and then turned around.
“Ack. Scared me.”
Kang Yigeon was right there, within arm’s reach.
His eyes were wide, filled with a terrifying intensity.
His mouth was set in a grim line, his jaw tight.
His long arms were outstretched toward Seohwa, fingers splayed as if he were about to grab him at any moment.
Behind him, Yoon Youngin was visible, looking as if he had just arrived.
“I’ll make another [Stooge and come find you. See you at the Incheon Port dungeon.”
Seohwa dropped the six forced dungeon opening items he had purchased at Kang Yigeon’s feet.
It was a shame to have his original body back and yet have to leave without even sharing a proper look.
Bitter and regretful, he knew he had to depart before the time stop ended.
He started to walk right past Kang Yigeon.
Tug.
“…Huh?”
Something caught him.
It felt like invisible cobwebs were winding around his ankles, legs, waist, and chest, sticking to him in a thick, suffocating layer.
The resistance was so strong he couldn’t take another step forward.
Something was restraining him.
00:02
He panicked.
With Kang Yigeon and Yoon Youngin right there, if the time stop broke…!
It was a crisis as dire as the bomb situation.
The “arrogant high-ranking Awakened” the elder had mocked was meeting an unexpected downfall.
As he struggled like a butterfly caught in a web, a thick, sturdy arm wrapped around his waist.
“It’s alright, Hunter Seohwa.”
“……!”
Flash!
The moment the time stop ended, Kang Yigeon and Seohwa were nowhere to be seen in the Market.
A small, deserted beach.
A cool breeze brushed through his hair.
A vast ocean stretched out before him, and the sky and sea were both stained with deep red light.
It was silent, save for the sound of the waves.
Above the golden sands stood a small, white villa, looking like a cluster of fleece clouds.
As Seohwa’s gaze landed on it, a low voice spoke.
“This is private land on the east coast. It’s my villa. A safe place no one else knows about.”
“……”
“Let’s go inside and talk—”
“Just until the sun goes down.”
Seohwa couldn’t bring himself to look at Kang Yigeon’s face, so he pointedly stared at the horizon where the sun was setting.
“……”
Kang Yigeon stood silently beside him.
He could feel the man’s gaze on his right cheek.
No, it was more than just a feeling… it felt like his face was burning, as if someone had captured lava in their eyes and was boring a hole through him.
He remained quiet, as if waiting for Seohwa to speak first, but his eyes swept over Seohwa’s entire body.
It was an obsessive gaze—sticky, much like the intangible force that had restrained his movements earlier.
“What was that restraint skill? It’s one I don’t know. How did you move while time was stopped?”
“You bought a new hair tie.”
Kang Yigeon reached out.
Seohwa flinched and stepped back.
Kang Yigeon didn’t stop; he gently touched the snowy white hair.
Slide.
The strands slipped through his fingers.
“And where and how did you get a spatial movement skill?”
“Red suits you well, too.”
“Is it really okay to come this far without saying a word? Shouldn’t you head back to the Market island?”
“You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
A large hand touched the nape of his neck.
Seohwa flinched again, but again, Kang Yigeon didn’t pull away.
“Are you eating well?”
“…Mr. Kang Yigeon.”
“You won’t look at me.”
“……”
“I missed you.”
Seohwa stared out at the red sea.
The sun was about to vanish. And the night was coming.
Since that night would be very long and dark…
Maybe… just once would be okay.
“Me too.”
“……”
“I missed you.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Kang Yigeon pulled Seohwa into a powerful, desperate embrace.
Seohwa tried to push him away, but he stopped when he felt the overwhelming emotion radiating from the heart pressed against his.
He leaned his forehead against the man’s shoulder and placed his hands on the broad back.
Kang Yigeon took a deep breath.
It felt like he was savoring Seohwa’s scent, making Seohwa worry that he might catch the smell of blood.
When the man finally exhaled, the sound was wet with unshed tears.
Kang Yigeon, a man like a rock that wouldn’t budge in a storm, a man like a deep-rooted tree, a man who seemed to be defined only by dark, stoic colors, finally let his emotions overflow.
He only ever became this emotional and impulsive when it came to things involving Seohwa.
He was like this in every timeline.
Seohwa smiled bitterly.
“Don’t cry. It hurts my heart…”
“Now.”
The words barely broke through his gritted teeth.
“Do not disappear. Ever again.”
It was a hard promise to make.
Being a body bound by an oath.
When there was no answer, the arms holding him tightened.
The warmth felt incredibly cold.
Seohwa looked up.
Kang Yigeon’s short hair, eyes closed, fluttered in the sea breeze.
Behind his back, the sun was setting over the ocean.
Usually, it passed so quickly he never had time to enjoy it, but today it was exceptionally slow.
It felt as if time had stopped.
But the night would come.
Inevitably.
It would eventually get dark.
Unstoppably.
“Let’s go inside and talk. It’s almost night.”
“Hunter Seohwa.”
Kang Yigeon whispered in his ear.
“What lies before us is not the night.”
His voice was still strained, as if holding back a sob.
“It is not a sunset, but a dawn.”
“……”
“The sun is rising.”
Seohwa blinked.
Not the night.
A dawn?
Only then did Seohwa look at the sky again.
He opened his eyes wide and looked clearly.
The darkness that had filled the surroundings was receding, and a golden light was taking its place.
Beyond the burning red sky, he could see the blue expanse beginning to spread.
The sun was rising above the horizon.
Brighter than ever before.
The villa was kept clean, but it lacked any sense of being lived in.
The TV, sofa, table, and cabinets—everything was so new it felt like being the very first guest in a model home.
Kang Yigeon told Seohwa to sit on the living room sofa while he went into the kitchen to make coffee, and he didn’t come out for a long time.
Seohwa sat alone, laughing as he heard constant sounds of clinking, clattering, and thumping-from the kitchen.
It took ten minutes before he could taste the coffee Kang Yigeon had made.
It was at the perfect temperature, and even though he hadn’t asked, it was exactly to his taste—a double shot.
“Did I ever tell you? That I like it strong?”
“I can know without you telling me.”
Unlike Seohwa, Kang Yigeon had made himself a clear tea, but his teacup was identical to Seohwa’s coffee mug.
Aside from a slight difference in color, anyone could see they were a set.
Beside the neatly sliced apples and strawberries, a pair of cute couple forks lay side by side.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“The cups, the forks. I was wondering why everything is in sets of two.”
“I didn’t know when I would be able to bring you here, so I prepared everything in sets of two.”
“Then are there two toothbrushes, and two mouthwash cups?”
“There are also two pillows.”
“Are there two sets of condoms, too?”
“……There are a great many of those.”
Seohwa laughed out loud. Kang Yigeon looked a bit embarrassed, but as Seohwa laughed, a soft smile touched his face as well.
“How did you bring me here? That cobweb-like restraint skill and the spatial movement skill. Are they second awakening skills?”
“Yes. I obtained them when I awakened to EX-class.”
It was something Seohwa had been curious about.
“Is the second awakening good? What kind of skills are they? Is your soul power still displayed as 9999? Did you gain any new traits?”
As the questions poured out, Kang Yigeon watched him quietly.
“Is that what you are most curious about right now?”
“No, I’m curious about other things too, but since the topic came up.”
“The second awakening is good. What the skills are is a secret. My soul power is displayed as 99,999. I gained one more trait.”
“What trait?”
“It’s a secret.”
“The skills are a secret and the trait is a secret? That’s petty.”
In the Market, Kang Yigeon had used an intangible force to keep Seohwa from moving.
‘If that’s the case…’
‘Is that force—the one that put me in a status condition so I couldn’t die—also Kang Yigeon’s skill?’
He was lost in thought when he felt a heavy gaze.
Kang Yigeon was waiting for his story.
“I don’t know where to start.”
Seohwa toyed with his coffee mug, which was still at a comfortable temperature.
He decided to start with this.
“Did you realize because Lee Yuje was too much the ‘opposite’ of Seohwa?”
* * *
