Sawon switched the comm channel.[Connecting to communications line G8514.]Crackle.– CODE 16. Mission complete.– This is Gate8. Do you require cover?– No. Forget that, just lift the barrier for a moment.– …Pardon?– Huh?The ones surprised weren’t just on the other end. Mok Geonho, who’d been lashing his whip, turned to look at Sawon. He yanked his mask down and mouthed:“You insane.”Naturally, Sawon pretended not to hear it this time too.– Three seconds is enough. It’s an emergency, so please, release it for three seconds.There was a brief silence. The voice that came next was an unexpected one.Crackle.– Gu Sawon. You can really do it in three seconds?It was Director Kwon. Sawon looked down the corridor.– Yes. Ten-second countdown. With a three-second release, we can retreat.Then he pushed a heavy wave of sword pressure down the hall in the direction Mok Geonho’s whip was flying. The wall crumbled slightly under the pressure, and the centipede swarm slammed into the far end of the corridor. Sawon grabbed the back of Mok Geonho’s neck and yanked him.– Mok Geonho. Get ready.“For what?”Sawon tugged his mask down and gave the order.“Get ready to jump.”“Wow… This crazy bastard’s just shoving his teammates straight into certain death now.”“Don’t be dramatic. It’s not certain death. Ride the whip down. What are you doing, not getting ready?”While the two of them talked, numbers kept ticking down in their field of view.“Shit, whatever.”Mok Geonho stepped up to the window. Blue light rippled beyond the broken glass. It almost looked like another layer of window. Sawon stepped in front of Ji Hayeon.“Chief. Let’s go home.”Heave-ho.Sawon scooped him up easily like a child.Half gone in the head, Ji Hayeon settled quietly in his arms. At some point, Nine had latched onto Sawon’s leg.“Nine, you get ready too.”“Kkii!”Sawon also stepped up to the window. Centipede legs clicked from far down the hall.Sawon hugged Hayeon tight, pressing his chin down on Ji’s shoulder.“Ji Hayeon, you’re supposed to hold on tight to me.”At those words, Ji Hayeon wrapped his arms tightly around Sawon’s back. The Deater’s footsteps reached the door.[Countdown zero. Releasing barrier.]Like turning off a TV, the blue curtain vanished in an instant. At the same time, Sawon planted a foot on the window frame and jumped out.Falling, Mok Geonho wrapped his whip around the 43rd-floor window frame. Using the whip as a rope, he dropped, then when it ran short around the 30th floor, he snapped it out and wound it around another frame. At the 20th floor, the 10th floor, and finally until he landed on the ground, his whip served as climbing gear for the descent. Sawon, on the other hand, was in free fall past the 10th floor.“Nine!”And right before they hit the ground, he landed on the board Nine had transformed into. Riding the board that absorbed the impact, they slid straight away from the building. Of course, from the point where the board transformation began all the way to the ground, some damage to the building was unavoidable. Mok Geonho landed right after Sawon and retracted his whip.Vmmm.With a low vibration, the barrier came back on. A section of Mok Geonho’s whip that hadn’t fully retracted was neatly snipped off by the barrier’s Metena.– Ack, my weapon!Crackle.The comm hissed.– MH barrier device reactivated.– All clear.It took them exactly three seconds to escape.– Good work.Director Kwon’s voice came. In the distance, they could see the waiting ambulance, medical staff, and Director Kwon himself. Naturally, none of it had been prepared for the two hunters. Sawon pulled the comm out of his ear—it had done its job—and slipped it into his pocket. Lifting Ji Hayeon higher in his arms, he spoke in a gentle voice.“You worked hard.”With the tension gone, Ji Hayeon’s body went slack as his consciousness slowly faded.***The hunter-only recovery room had all sorts of equipment clustered around the bed. The attending medical staffer was the same as before. He looked back and forth between Sawon and Ji Hayeon with a worried expression.“I’ve never seen anyone come in with Metena overload this often.”“He’s just unusually weak, that’s all.”Sawon jabbed his thumb-knuckle over his shoulder to point at Ji Hayeon.“Shouldn’t he be resting for a while?”Ji Hayeon heard that like a ghost and opened his eyes. His half-lowered lids twisted as he forced the words out.“I’m fine….”“You’re so clearly fine.”Sawon walked up to the bed and slowly helped him sit up.Cough.Blood spilled from Ji Hayeon’s mouth again. His pale hand flew up to cover the cough, but his fingers were shaking like aspen leaves. The medic set the patient gown he’d brought down on one side of the bed. Ji Hayeon took one look and cut him off immediately.“I’m not being admitted.”“Even if you’re not, at least change. Your clothes are too contaminated.”Ji Hayeon looked down at himself. The top of his combat suit was drenched in blood, and Deater fluids were splattered here and there. Sawon reached his arms toward Ji’s chest.“Raise your arms. I’ll take it off.”Startled, Ji Hayeon clutched the front of his suit.“N-no, I’ll do it.”“You could barely manage putting it on. Taking this off is even more complicated. I’ll show you. Once I show you, it’ll be easier next time.”Pushing his arms away, Sawon grabbed the front of the suit fast. His hands undressing him were careful.Sawon knew very well how bad Metena overload hurt. Your guts heaved like the contents of a glass bottle being shaken, and your vision spun just as much. Your ears felt stuffed like you were underwater, and your limbs were like stone. Even a light bump sent dull pain crashing through as if your bones were being crushed. The only reason Ji Hayeon had made it to the hospital in one piece while suffering overload symptoms was because Sawon had carried him here as if he were something sacred.“You undo the front like this. Can you do it alone next time?”At some point, every front belt had been undone. Ji Hayeon nodded. Still holding the fabric, Sawon glanced up at his face. Every slow blink of Ji Hayeon’s deep eyes made his lashes sway. Watching him struggle to force his eyes fully open, Sawon gave a bitter smile.He’s still not in his right mind. I’ll have to show him again next time.After stripping off the outer layer, Sawon cut away the turtleneck he wore underneath with scissors. Through it all, Ji Hayeon took the handling quietly like a doll. The long stretch of silence suddenly felt awkward. As he dressed him in fresh clothes, Sawon found his thoughts circling around Ji Hayeon.Quiet again.He couldn’t pin down when exactly Ji Hayeon flipped. Sometimes he bristled and snapped back over the smallest things. Yet other times, like now, he stayed meek even while someone else undressed him. And then he was hypersensitive about exposing the wounds on his arm.What’s the standard supposed to be…?The one he could actually talk to was Ji Hayeon, the human. The easy one to read was Nine, the beast.Ji Hayeon’s combat suit went into a bin near the entrance. Sawon gathered up ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the rest of his contaminated things—boots and all—and dumped them in the bin too. He turned back, feeling oddly lighter.Tap, tap. With the sound of water drops falling, red spots bloomed on the white marble floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ji Hayeon had his head bowed and his fingers pinching his nose. Sawon quickly grabbed some tissues and strode over.“Take your hand away.”“Leave it. Go away.”He had been listening so well a moment ago.“You’re doing this again.”“It’s just a little nosebleed, don’t make a fuss.”No sooner had he finished telling him not to fuss than Ji Hayeon coughed. He hurried to cover his mouth, but there was no way Sawon wouldn’t notice the blood mixed in. Sawon yanked out a handful of tissues and carefully wiped him down.“Chief.”At the gentle call, doe-like eyes turned toward him.“Even this level of overload puts a big strain on stamina-type hunters.”“Don’t worry about it.”“How am I supposed not to. I’m your guard.”“Then ask them to assign you to someone el— ngh.”Sawon cupped his face and pressed tissues firmly to his nose. He couldn’t help but put some feeling into it.“You talk way too lightly about pushing people away.”“Ow. Easy…!”“Ah, sorry. I am trying to be gentle.”Sawon quickly eased his grip. Maybe because the apology came so fast, this time Ji Hayeon accepted the help without a fight. His pale eyes lowered. Thanks to that, Sawon could take in his face to his heart’s content.His eyes, his nose, his red lips. There wasn’t a single part of it that wasn’t pretty. And… it was very familiar.Have I stuck too close to him?The bleeding stopped and the bloodstains on his face were gone. Sawon stared at the now-clean face for a long moment.Where have I seen him before?It was a face that hit him with something new every time he looked at it. There was no way a few days were enough to get used to it. Sawon sank deep into thought. But no matter how he scraped through his few remaining memories, no meeting came to mind. All he could see was the tiny baby monkey that resembled him so much, overlapping with the image.His temper was nasty, his stubbornness worse. And he kept giving off that someone has to protect him vibe… They really were similar.“What are you staring at like that. If you’re done, get your hands off me.”What broke his chain of thought was Ji Hayeon’s sharp remark. Thanks to that, Sawon snapped back to reality. Whether it was the weight of his gaze, or the warmth of Sawon’s palm transferred to his skin, Ji Hayeon’s cheeks were flushed red. Sawon fought down the urge to squeeze those white cheeks hard. For some reason, being around Ji Hayeon made him want to mess with him, like he would with an old friend.Guess I’ve gotten attached already.Sawon shook his hand as if it’d been pushed away and pretended it hurt.“I was just watching to see if your nosebleed would start again. You’re so cold. After all the time we’ve been glued together.”At that, the corners of Ji Hayeon’s eyes twitched ever so slightly. There was no way Sawon would miss it. He replayed his own words in his head as he watched Ji.Which part is he reacting to? “Cold”? Or the time we’ve been glued together?Either way, he moved when Sawon pointed back to how much their connection had deepened.Is he the type whose heart softens at stuff like this?A slowly mischievous smile spread along Sawon’s mouth. Lifting his neat face a little closer to Ji Hayeon’s, he asked:“You’ve gotten attached to me too, haven’t you?”“Attached, my ass….”“I already feel attached to you.”

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