FTE 015

The feeling of piercing and slashing doesn’t linger on the skin, but embeds itself deep in the muscles, nerves, and bones. Sometimes, I jolt awake in the middle of the night, reliving the disgusting, warm sensation of blood splattering on my face. 

I think I drink because I’m ashamed. Ashamed of the things I’ve done in dungeons, ashamed that I make a living doing them. I keep quiet because I don’t want to seem weak. I don’t want their pity, and God forbid, their suggestions to go see a therapist. Like my will, I want to live with the truth left unsaid. 

“Don’t you understand?”

Chae Won-u didn’t answer. Looking at him now, his cheeks were flushed red. Somehow, Chae Won-u’s cheeks had turned red. Are you drunk?

“Chae Won-u-ssi.”

“Hyung. This is really delicious.”

He didn’t listen to a single word after asking me. Son of a bitch. At the same time, I felt relieved. Somehow, it was refreshing to let out some feelings, and the fact that Chae Won-u wouldn’t remember reminded me of the AI in the shower room. Feeling more generous, I gently took the glass dangling from Chae Won-u’s hand and placed it on the table.

“You look sleepy.”

“I am sleepy.” Chae Won-u muttered with half-closed eyes. I pushed his shoulder with my hand, and he immediately lay down.

“Unbelievable.”

His drinking capacity was truly unbelievable. Scratching my cheek, I left Chae Won-u sprawled out and started washing the dishes and pots. Since I couldn’t stand lingering odors, I even cleaned up Chae Won-u’s share without hesitation. I didn’t want to be unnecessarily mean towards someone younger than me.

After tidying up, I decided to drink more alcohol alone and moved some cans of beer to my room. When I returned, Chae Won-u was already asleep with his eyes closed. It looked good seeing him quietly snoring without any annoying words or causing trouble. For a moment, I watched him before sighing deeply.

“What is the use of just a shell?”

It was sad, truly sad.

I wanted to cover him with a blanket, but hunters couldn’t catch colds, and we weren’t close enough for me to enter Chae Won-u’s room to fetch one. Of course, we had become quite close today. However, all this interaction was to ensure a smooth contract period, not to develop a personal friendship.

I turned off all the lights in the living room except for the small bedside lamp near Chae Won-u’s head.

“Hyung.”

As the lamp flickered on, Chae Won-u called out to me despite appearing asleep. Honestly, it surprised me greatly.

“Yes.”

“I read ‘The Little Prince’.”

“It’s a must-read book.”

“I didn’t like ‘The Little Prince’.”

“…..?”

“Eventually, he abandoned everything and ran away.”

Well… that could be one perspective…? I respected diverse opinions. Yes, yes. That’s right. As I gave a half-hearted response and tried to get up, Chae Won-u frowned deeply.

“He became close with someone only to leave them behind, tamed yet deserted. How selfish was that?”

“The fox?”

At the word ‘tamed’, I immediately thought of the fox. It was the fox who said, “If you come at three o’clock, I’ll start being happy at two-thirty.” However, there was no answer from Chae Won-u. The boy who had been chewing fiercely as if familiar with The Little Prince now had a peaceful face again as he fell asleep.

“…It seems you were quite impressed by it.”

I stood up, filled with admiration.

***

After that, I stayed awake for about two more hours before brushing my teeth and going to sleep. Anyway, it seemed like the date had changed by then. Then, I slept soundly through the night. Yes, I did have dreams. It was about a fox and rose gossiping about The Little Prince. For some reason, I felt guilty listening to their fierce conversation.

If I didn’t chime in at the right moments, the rose would poke me in the ribs while the fox bit my arm. Despite being a dream, it felt incredibly vivid. If not for its absurdity, one might mistake it for experiencing someone else’s prenatal dream. Although, such a prenatal dream couldn’t possibly exist.

When I woke up, there was a strange dampness around me. An ominous feeling overwhelmed me. Before fully opening my eyes or becoming completely alert, I abruptly sat up and opened the door of my room.

“Ah… I’m going crazy.”

I sighed first.

The living room was a mess. Water from cups mixed with unknown liquids and alcohol floated together. In the center of it all was Chae Won-u. His face seemed even paler than usual, as if he was having a nightmare, his forehead creased. There was some problem causing him to tremble.

“H-Hunter Chae Won-u.” From a distance, I cautiously called out to him. A hunter’s ability could be dangerous if not finely controlled; otherwise, it would manifest crudely, eventually collapsing without forming properly. However, unless it was their initial awakening or unconscious use, abilities weren’t typically hazardous. That should’ve been the case for Chae Won-u, but now…

“Hunter Chae.”

My nervousness increased as I cautiously stepped forward. At that moment, the liquid creatures circling around Chae Won-u suddenly began to change shape into cones. The sharp ends were aimed at me. They were definitely targeting me. My imagination vividly pictured them stabbing me. This situation wasn’t good—I had no choice but to wake Chae Won-u up.

“Chae Won-u!”

However, he didn’t wake up. It was unclear how deep his sleep was. This was troublesome. The tips of the cones were becoming sharper. Feeling anxious, I slowly retreated backwards. I needed to grab anything within reach and throw it, but my hands found nothing. Now, those weapon-like liquid droplets were gradually approaching me.

“Chae Won-u! Wake up!”

It was indeed useless. I bent my knees as the cone changed direction. Reaching out blindly, I grasped something. With all my might, I lifted it, struggling because it seemed connected somewhere. Then, I hurled what I held towards Chae Won-u.

Almost simultaneously, droplets rushed at me, and I tightly shut my eyes. Was this how I would die so pointlessly? Just one day after updating my will…

“Ah… What…”

There was no pain. The sounds around me were distinct, indicating that death must have occurred before any sensation of agony. Slowly opening my eyelids, I saw sharp points mere inches away. Gasping, I exhaled sharply. My chest heaved rapidly.

“Hyung…?”

I heard Chae Won-u’s panicked voice and things that were threatening me collapsed noisily. The liquid on the floor soaked my knees and palms as I sat down. Chae Won-u hurriedly approached, scattering the cones still clustered together. He stumbled over his own legs while rushing towards me and sat opposite me, hitting his shin against the coffee table.

“H-Hyung. Hyuuuung~.”

His large, rough hands wildly rubbed at my face and body. I gasped, finally managing to raise a hand to push him away.  

“…I’m not dead.”

“S-Shit, what should I do? Sorry. Really. What should I do?”

Chae Won-u seemed genuinely distressed, with his fingers trembling. He was so disoriented that he even started cursing, something he usually avoided. It wasn’t intentional. Chae Won-u had an honest nature, willing to endure hatred rather than lie. His acting skills must’ve been terrible too.

I took a deep breath and calmed my rising anger. It was an unavoidable situation. I didn’t realize that such well-developed weaponization could occur unconsciously during a nightmare. Yet… No, shouldn’t this guy really sleep alone? My forehead veins bulged again with frustration as I raised my head.

However…

“Blood…” My anger dissipated instantly.

Blood was streaming from Chae Won-u’s forehead. He casually wiped it away with his hand, showing no concern whatsoever.

“Oh, sorry about that. I think it’s because of… what I threw.”

I couldn’t even remember what I had thrown. Looking belatedly towards the sofa, I spotted remnants of a shattered telephone. It appeared to be an old-fashioned wired phone, likely installed long ago for appearances’ sake. Given how forcefully I hurled it, if it hit him directly, it would’ve caused both damage and bleeding.

“Ouch. Ah, I’m really sorry. What should we do about this? It is crazy.”

“It’s okay.” Chae Won-u replied firmly, “I almost killed hyung-nim.”

“I could’ve been hit too if it wasn’t for my head. What to do? I am truly sorry. Let’s go for treatment.”

“You didn’t aim for the head?”

“…..”

Yes, he was hit. To properly wake someone up, you had to target their face or head. However, I didn’t realize that what I held in my hand was a wired telephone…

“Hyung’s accuracy is amazing. Did you play baseball?”

As I helped Chae Won-u stand up, I reluctantly nodded.

“Yes, before the dungeons started appearing. Now let’s go for treatment.”

A wave of melancholy washed over me.  Even if Chae Won-u wouldn’t die from something like this, he was still bleeding.  And what was I supposed to say when people inevitably asked why the hell I came in drenched in blood before dawn on a day I wasn’t even on call?

Usually, I’d just tell them the truth – that I’d gotten into a fight with my partner. It wasn’t even a lie, so it had never been a difficult question to answer. But this… this was different. 

It wasn’t a fight, and for some reason, I wasn’t ready to tell everyone that my partner had accidentally injured me with his delicate control over his ability… Of course, the researchers might already know. But if they did, that was even more of a reason to keep my mouth shut, right?

My earlier conviction about Chae Won-u needing his own room was beginning to waver, replaced by a strange sense of foreboding, as if my intuition was trying to tell me something.

“Hyung.” Chae Won-u stood up and pulled me into a tight hug, his face etched with worry. “I’m really sorry. Next time if something like this happens again, just throw your dagger. You have one, right?”