Episode 57
This time, he could tell for certain that it was a dream.
“———”
“——!!”
Han Chasu stood within a world that seemed to have been painted over at random by an artist with a horrific taste.
As if the limp, melting background weren’t enough, there was a half-collapsed light source. On top of that, dolls with mosaic-like features were circling around him.
He had no idea what they were saying, but if those square holes really were mouths, then they were probably attempting to converse.
“———”
“——….”
“—, ———!!”
When would he be able to wake up? Han Chasu rolled his eyes this way and that before letting out a deep sigh.
Because the moment he thought he wanted to wake up, all those gazes clung to him.
“Good grief.”
The mosaic people, who had been chattering among themselves just fine, turned their eyes toward him all at once. And that wasn’t all. Their voices, which had been buzzing like distorted frequencies, began to—
“How long are you——”
“Chasu, you——”
—gradually take shape.
Han Chasu’s face twisted at the horrible sound, like steel nails scraping down an iron plate.
“Damn it.”
This won’t do. I’m running.
Han Chasu covered his ears and got to his feet. If this was a dream anyway, then penalties and whatever else probably wouldn’t apply.
The moment he took one step toward the light source radiating an ominous glow—
“——failure!”
“…!”
It was a heavy voice. A human voice laden with strength and emotion. That sound, which could well be described as spiteful, pierced straight through the center of his chest.
“Ah.”
And just like that, Han Chasu collapsed. Before an irresistible force. Before an unconscious terror he could not oppose.
“Right, that was it….”
The comfortable ignorance the dream had granted him dispersed like mist melting under sunlight. The eyelids he had pressed shut, taking a step back from reality, were forcibly opened.
Right before he lost consciousness, the moment the Defiance skill was released, he had been crushed by bottomless fear.
“Ha.”
His breath was cut off, and his hands and feet went rigid. Soon, despair surged up from deep within his body and took control of him.
Yes, that was not something he could do anything about. Because the despair that had pinned him to the floor belonged to the original Han Chasu.
Crash!
Clang!
Realization became the trigger, and the world burst apart. The flimsy protective membrane, too thin to even be called a layer, shattered to pieces as if shot.
Even as he felt shards of glass streaking down his cheek and digging between his shoulders, Han Chasu calmly continued thinking.
The more vivid the pain became, the shorter a dream’s lifespan was.
He would probably be able to wake from the dream soon.
‘Why did the fear come back when the Defiance skill was released?’
Han Chasu quietly shifted his gaze and stared at the doll pointing a finger at him. For an instant, light bloomed in his gray eyes and vanished.
‘That… wasn’t just a skill that heightened aggression.’
It had been a skill that defended him so he would not feel fear toward his archenemy.
He recalled the diary written by the original Han Chasu. A past where he had been treated as a failure. His broken mind and deep-rooted inferiority complex that had resulted from it.
‘Then does that mean this “archenemy” is someone connected to the original Han Chasu’s past?’
If so, he had no time to be lying leisurely in a dream. He had to recover his body immediately and prepare for when his archenemy appeared again.
If the other party was not merely an enemy but someone called an “archenemy,” there was no way they harbored any favorable feelings toward him either.
“I’m done with sparring or whatever.”
Even if he had to skin Gi Taeyeon and wear his hide, he had to lift this damn abnormal status condition at once. After that, he would either leave this place or kill his archenemy.
Ah, come to think of it, hadn’t the development chief said he could help him?
“Mm….”
The fierce gleam in his eyes, blazing with anger toward his archenemy, subsided. It was because he felt bothered by the fact that he had yanked out a good handful of the development chief’s hair.
What to do about this? As Han Chasu pondered, the sound of something slicing through the air reached his ears.
Shweeeek—!
A massive shard of glass was falling from up high toward his chest. Han Chasu reflexively tried to roll away, then stopped.
‘If that hits me, will I wake up from the dream?’
Han Chasu closed his eyes.
Creak.
A familiar sound rang through his entire body.
“Mr. Han Chasu, are you conscious? Ha… Thank goodness.”
“Wait, you’re saying I can’t go in? This is absurd. Who do you think brought Han Chasu all the way here?”
“He’s awake, so I’ll treat him from here. Ah, I’d appreciate it if the trashy medical center staff who left a patient alone on the rooftop after he collapsed would get lost.”
“…
If that reaches the center director’s ears, you may end up being removed from here forever, Hunter Baekdam.”
“Hmph.”
Han Chasu thought that perhaps he had made the wrong choice.
‘Should I have stayed in the dream longer?’
That was how chaotic reality was. To the point that he had no idea where to even begin sorting things out.
First, the most urgent problem he currently faced was Jeong Iheun.
“Mr. Han Chasu, what’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”
The man was practically sprawled over him, tightly holding his hand. The distance between them was so close that Han Chasu feared their noses might bump if he turned his head.
“Please look this way.”
As if I could.
Han Chasu kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling and moved his mouth with difficulty.
“I’m fine. So….”
You’re overwhelming me, so move aside and bring Gi Taeyeon here.
He was certain he had heard his voice just a moment ago, but now that he had opened his eyes, Gi Taeyeon was nowhere to be seen for some reason.
‘I need him to lift the abnormal status condition.’
“Ugh.”
He roughly pushed Jeong Iheun aside and sat up, only for his head to ring sharply. His vision spun around and around, making it impossible to keep his eyes open.
“Mr. Han Chasu!”
Jeong Iheun fussed beside him. The hands rubbing his shoulders and back, apparently trying to lay him down again, were annoying.
“Your forehead is still burning hot.”
“…?”
Just then, someone removed the hand covering his face. At the same time, a gentle power spread from his forehead through his entire body.
Han Chasu could tell who it was without even opening his eyes.
‘It’s Baekdam.’
After receiving it a few times, he could quickly recognize the energy. He felt the warm power being absorbed into his body.
“Haa….”
I can finally survive. Han Chasu savored his much lighter body and slowly opened his eyes. Then he froze on the spot.
It was Baekdam as he had never seen him before.
His hair, which had always hung long down to his waist, was neatly fixed in place with something like a long stick. Thanks to that, the sharp line of his jaw, which had been hidden until now, was revealed. If his followers saw him, their eyes would fly open.
But nothing could surpass this. What that was, precisely, was—
“Why are you wearing a wedding veil?”
“What did you say?”
Han Chasu belatedly realized that he had spoken his thoughts out loud. But it couldn’t be helped. That was how shocking the visual impact had been.
Baekdam was covered with a thin, gauzy, translucent cotton cloth. Han Chasu didn’t know the exact term for that kind of thing. But he had seen people getting married wearing something like it.
‘It’s pure white, embroidered, and has lace on the edges… so isn’t it a wedding veil?’
But why was Baekdam looking at him with such displeased eyes? After thinking quietly for a moment, Han Chasu soon realized his mistake.
‘He must think I criticized his taste.’
Han Chasu had no such intention at all. If anything, he thought Baekdam and the veil suited each other very well.
Flaxen hair and light brown eyes. The sight of the veil half-covering the face of a man who exuded sanctity even when standing still created an elegant impression in itself.
Moreover, Baekdam always wore white suits or light-colored clothes. It was the same now, and he looked as if he could walk into a wedding hall at any moment without looking out of place.
Still, a mistake was a mistake.
“I apologize if I offended you. I didn’t mean that it doesn’t suit you.”
If anything, it was closer to saying he was so beautiful that one couldn’t take their eyes off him. Han Chasu apologized to Baekdam sincerely.
“Rather, I think it suits you well. Just now, I was surprised and ended up saying it like a question without meaning to.”
“…….”
Baekdam’s gaze after receiving the apology was strange. Beyond the thin cloth, his pale brown eyes studied him closely.
Han Chasu remained silent until he opened his mouth. It was the silence he ought to maintain as someone who had, unintentionally, said something rude.
At last, the lips hidden behind the veil parted.
“You don’t feel anything?”
“…
About what?”
Could it be that he still thought Han Chasu had objected to his tastes? Han Chasu shook his head without delay.
At that, Baekdam’s lips lifted slightly.
“Hmm.”
Tilting his head, he laughed soundlessly. What on earth was wrong with him? Feeling a chill, Han Chasu leaned back, and something blocked his vision.
“…?”
What fluttered down with a soft rustle was the veil Baekdam had been wearing until just now.
“How about now?”
Next time, no matter what Baekdam wore, he would not say a word. Han Chasu looked at Baekdam, who was forcing an answer from him, and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Both suit you well. When it was covering you, the veil gave you a mysterious feeling, but now, perhaps because that stick you have in the back is more visible, it feels different in another way.”
This should be a safe answer. Han Chasu did not let down his guard.
“Did you hear that?”
Baekdam looked at Jeong Iheun with an expression that said, See? Jeong Iheun’s brows were drawn together, as if something about it displeased him.
“…?”
At the strange current flowing between the two of them, Han Chasu frowned.
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