Vol 3 Chapter 69
"I thought it was true."
As they exchanged such trivial conversation while walking towards where the bike was parked, Kapros suddenly realized that he had felt truly at ease all day, as if he had forgotten everything. It felt almost unreal.
Had he followed Ju-yeol-hyung's advice too faithfully? He couldn't even remember how long it had been since he'd slept properly, but today his head hadn't hurt at all. As he was walking, thinking that if every day could be like this, it might be quite nice, Je-hwan quietly spoke.
"Actually, I think I wanted to talk about the continuation of before when I saw you today."
For a moment, Kapros understood what "the continuation of before" meant more through the vagueness in his heart than his head.
That time when Je-hwan said he didn't see Kapros as just a friend, those words, that incident, that sensation. All of these had flowed to the present without being forgotten. When Kapros didn't say anything as the memories suddenly came back to life, Je-hwan continued speaking with his gaze still fixed ahead.
"But I decided not to."
"Why?"
The question came out faster than Kapros had thought. Je-hwan looked back, seemingly surprised for a moment, then answered hesitantly.
"Because... you seemed like you didn't want to bring it up."
Didn't want to bring it up?
'Me?'
Kapros tried to recall. Certainly, it had been a startling incident, and they had come this far without being able to discuss it further, but that didn't mean he found the memory repulsive or disliked it. If anything, he had been curious about it.
"I don't think that's the case."
At Kapros's words, Je-hwan showed a truly surprised expression this time. Disregarding that expression, Kapros decided to bring up the question that had been bottled up inside him, since Je-hwan had brought it up first.
"I'm curious about something."
"..."
"Do you still think of me the same way as back then?"
At the sudden question, Kapros felt the previously relaxed atmosphere freeze in an instant. He had ruined the good mood, but it was a topic he had to ask about someday, and a question he had always been curious about, so he didn't back down. Je-hwan, with an unreadable look in his eyes, nodded after a long while.
"...Yes."
It was a short but intense affirmation. Kapros could vaguely sense the name of the emotion following Je-hwan's answer, but it was still difficult to express. As he quietly exhaled a shallow breath, he felt Je-hwan's gaze on his lips.
"Both then and now, it's the same."
A resolute yet tense voice continued.
"Nothing else enters my mind except you."
Kapros felt a strange ripple somewhere in his heart.
"What about me do you like so much?"
Je-hwan's eyebrows furrowed as if displeased by the response that had come out without Kapros realizing it. From Kapros's perspective, he couldn't help it; all the confessions he had received until now were from before middle school, and they were all from girls.
Je-hwan was making an expression of incomprehension at Kapros's words, which he had blurted out because he couldn't understand what someone as good-looking as Je-hwan saw in him to say such things.
"Do I really have to answer that?"
"..."
If he said it like that, Kapros couldn't ask any further. After standing still for a while, unable to say anything, he finally raised his head, running his hand through his hair.
"I... actually don't know yet."
Although quite some time had passed since then, Kapros still couldn't fully understand in his heart the emotion in those fiery eyes with which Je-hwan was looking at him now.
"What's certain is... that I don't think the same way as you yet."
At Kapros's words, he saw Je-hwan's straight back lose a bit of its strength. Disliking that sight very much, Kapros added one more thing, recalling his memories.
"But when you fell that time, I was truly angry. If you had really died, I might have gone berserk, vowing revenge on Caesar."
Je-hwan probably wouldn't understand the true meaning of these words. It was him, the very same him who had been avoiding and not wanting to face Jeong Seung-jo again, who had truly thought that way back then. So he thought Yu-wan was indeed a very precious friend to him.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry."
As Kapros raised his head at the quiet voice, he saw a faintly smiling face.
"You already apologized before."
"I felt more sorry now than back then. Because I didn't think you would have waited for me."
...First Kran, and now this guy, what am I in their minds? A cold-blooded person?
"If this is what you call happiness, then I suppose that's right."
Je-hwan's eyes were sparkling like a hunting dog that had just received a prize.
"You..."
"If you don't like it, you can say so now."
"..."
As Kapros blinked and looked at him, Je-hwan's hand approached close to his face. Kapros unconsciously lowered his eyes, feeling as if he could sense the heat from those long fingers that had approached very slowly, tantalizingly, and stopped just short of touching his cheek.
"When I do this, do you dislike it?"
It didn't feel like something that could be simply answered with like or dislike, but if he had to choose the closer of the two...
"No."
But it didn't feel particularly good either... As if that answer alone was enough, the hand that had almost touched his face withdrew. His cheek suddenly felt cool.
"That's enough."
"..."
That's enough?
"If you don't dislike it, I'll keep approaching you from now on. If I can't do it there, I'll do it here. Until someday you feel the same way I do."
As Kapros listened to these slowly uttered words, he felt a part of his mind that had been stopped begin to buzz and move.
If he couldn't do it there, he'd do it here... If he couldn't do it in THE MIST, he'd do it in reality...?
'Ah!'
For a moment, a thought that flashed by seemed to shatter something that had been troubling his mind all at once. Yes. There had been a small solution hidden that could be understood just by changing one's perspective.
"..."
"Kap... Mu-heon."
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
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