Vol 7 Chapter 1

#(1)

He woke up feeling sunlight piercing his closed eyelids. His whole body felt languid and comfortable, as if he had gotten proper rest.

How long had it been since he had woken up so warmly and pleasantly in the morning?

As he was repeatedly opening and closing his eyes in a dazed, sweet drowsiness with a comfortable feeling, suddenly the events from before falling asleep last night flashed in his mind like an electric spark.

'Ah. Jin Je-hwan.'

He immediately sat up straight and looked around to see the familiar scenery of his bedroom.

'I definitely fell asleep on the sofa yesterday...'

Frowning, he got up and walked to the living room while scratching his itchy stomach.

"Jin Je-hwan. ...Jin Je-hwan?"

He called out thinking Je-hwan might be in another room, but there was no sign of presence anywhere.

"Computer, current time."

[ The current time is 1:16 PM. ]

What? 1:16? And PM at that?

'Surely I didn't hear wrong.'

Good heavens. As soon as he twisted open the window in disbelief, a sharp cold wind instantly swept through his body and the house. Looking down at the people and cars leisurely moving along the street below, it was definitely the familiar scene of an afternoon street.

'It's real...'

This was unbelievable. For him to sleep in this late when he was habitually used to waking up at 7 AM regardless of whether he had anything to do. As he turned around wondering if he was dreaming, he saw a yellow note stuck on the dining table.

'I'll contact you again.'

The note, written in uncharacteristically neat handwriting, was clearly left by Jin Je-hwan.

'What? Did he leave...?'

He could at least say something before leaving. It seemed he had left just the note, probably not wanting to wake Kapros who was sleeping, but why didn't he realize it would be more embarrassing for the host to realize he had just slept while his guest left without his knowledge?

Feeling somewhat disappointed, he thought about what to say next time Je-hwan came as he removed the note and placed it carelessly on top of the cabinet before drinking a cup of cold water.

"Haah."

After washing down his dry throat, his mind cleared and strength returned to his heavy eyelids. Though he had slept in, it wasn't a day he had to go to his part-time job anyway, and he had woken up refreshingly for once, so he decided to think of it as a good thing.

'But strangely, my waist area feels the most refreshed.'

Why was that? The moment he wondered, the answer immediately came to mind.

'Ah... right. Yesterday...'

"..."

It had definitely felt good but... who knew it would affect even his condition the next day.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he turned and headed to the bathroom. As he glared at the mirror while removing the gauze from his forehead and neck to wash, it hurt quite a bit. While carefully showering to avoid touching the injured areas and washing his hair with shampoo using his unbroken hand, he suddenly felt like he heard a buzzing sound mixed with the water.

'What's that?'

Wondering about this, he quickly finished washing and dried himself with a towel before going outside, where he realized the sound was the computer's call signal for an incoming video call.

Ding! Ding!

[ Video call from number 01A-1169-G89SCB. Would you like to answer? ]

[ Video call from number 01A-1169-G89SCB. Would you like to answer? ]

Though he hadn't saved it, from experience he could easily recall whose number this was.

'Yoon Seok-ho. What's the matter.'

He wondered why he always felt reluctant to answer whenever Yoon Seok-ho called. With such thoughts, he slowly opened his mouth.

"...Answer."

With his response, Yoon Seok-ho's upper body hologram immediately appeared before him, emitting a faint light.

[ Hello, Kang Mu-heon-ssi. Have you been well? How unusual of you to answer the phone so quickly. ]

"What's the matter?"

[ Ah, it hurts my feelings when you ask about business so formally between us. ]

...He very much wanted to ask what kind of relationship they had, but decided against it.

[ Did you just finish washing? Your hair is wet. But what's that on your neck and fingers? ]

Before Kapros could answer, Yoon Seok-ho frowned as he looked him over with wide eyes.

[ Are you injured? How did this... ]

"Just... something happened. Please don't worry about it and tell me why you called."

The neck gauze he had removed to wash was now sorely missed. Though the finger cast might not be noticeable, the bite wound on his neck had become more conspicuous as it healed, turning a yellowish dark color that was quite eye-catching. As he spoke while covering that area by casually draping a towel around his neck, Yoon Seok-ho shook his head.

[ How can I not worry? Have you been sleeping properly? The video quality shouldn't be this bad, but your face seems to have become quite gaunt since I last saw you. Surely you haven't been dieting. ]

"I'm perfectly healthy."

Though he had woken up particularly refreshed today, his mood plummeted endlessly while talking with Yoon Seok-ho. Despite speaking with clear intent to dismiss the concern, Yoon Seok-ho kept glancing at his injuries with a serious face before finally getting to the point after a while.

[ Well... The reason I called today isn't anything special. You remember the incident you called to tell me about before... don't you? ]

Incident... Ah. That.

"I remember."

He recalled it immediately, perhaps because it had been quite a shocking incident. The thugs he had met while returning home from the kendo dojo. Come to think of it, this was the first time Yoon Seok-ho had contacted him since then, when he had hung up with an unusually serious expression after hearing about that incident.

[ I couldn't contact you as I judged it would be difficult to speak freely until the background and safety concerns were confirmed. I finally found some time to call today... would you be able to hear the story? ]

Though he had said it wasn't anything special, this didn't seem unimportant. Heading to the sofa as this didn't seem like something to hear while standing, Kapros opened his mouth.

"If you're going to treat me like a patient, I'll refuse, but if you're worried about time, I have plenty. Please tell me."