FTE 023

I couldn’t say that Chae Won-u was good at kissing. It was somewhat crude. I breathed heavily in the humid air and shook my head.

“It’s just at the level of imitating what you do.”

“When will you become better?”

“Well, maybe after one week?”

I remembered when Chae Won-u had replied ‘after one week?’ during our private conversation. Though I doubt he would even remember…

Lowering my arm, I moved back to stand behind Chae Won-u again.

“But why am I not recovering even though I’m wearing this amazing necklace?”

“That is for making your heart beat again.”

“What?”

“It has the ability to revive dead people.”

It was a terrifying ability. It bordered on miracles. The vague value I had initially assigned to it completely vanished from my mind. This truly was priceless. However, it seemed less valuable than my life. What if they evaluated me based on this immeasurable worth? Then Chae Won-u would be at a loss.

Nevertheless, I carefully stored away the necklace and called out to him.

“Hunter Chae.”

Just hearing my voice, he seemed to grasp the situation.

“Yes, we’ve arrived.”

A bright green glow caught our eyes—the raid’s objective point.

“It’s just a rock.”

The dungeon core turned out to be disappointingly ordinary—a mere rock shaped like a horse’s head. Enormous, it stood at the edge of a cliff, resembling something one might find among the Eight Great Rocks of Seoul.

“The Esper Team is at the rear. Just hold on until they arrive. Good job, Hunter Chae Won-u.”

Chae Won-u transmitted our position. Now, our location would appear on everyone’s electronic maps. ‘Hurry up, slowpokes.’ Seizing an opportunity, I reached for my water bottle to take a sip. As I opened it with one hand resting against my hip, Chae Won-u suddenly grabbed it from me.

“That…?”

I was about to protest that it was mine when he uncapped the bottle and gulped down some water. Then without warning, he seized my head and pulled me toward him. Unfortunately, I stood slightly lower than Chae Won-u, which is common due to mountains having diagonal slopes. My heels lifted off the ground, and my neck strained as he yanked me closer.

However, more noticeable was the sensation of lukewarm water pouring from Chae Won-u’s mouth directly into mine.

“…..”

I obediently drank the incoming liquid, some dribbling down my chin and neck. Chae Won-u slowly lifted the trail of water on my neck. It orbited around us like a planet, shining brightly near the spotlight like stars.

No more water came forth. Using my uninjured hand, I gently pushed Chae Won-u away.

“How was it?” he asked.

“Do you think it will take a week?”

There was no need to check his vitals with a watch. Chae Won-u had a high fever. All the effort of bruising my tongue and lips seemed futile.

“Is my kiss still shitty?”

“I never said it was ‘shitty’.”

“…..”

“But it seems your fever is high. Maybe you are delirious due to the fever.”

“I’m not delirious.”

“I don’t know how much I should tolerate since there was no guide until now.” I grabbed Chae Won-u’s utility belt and pulled on it. It looked like I was grabbing his collar and pulling him along. I felt light nearby. Soon, two hunters and one guide entered my sight amidst the rustling sounds. The guide panted heavily before turning his head sideways and asking, “What are you two doing? Fighting?”

The hunter sounded annoyed. I didn’t realize we had a speedster among us. It seemed he carried the esper while running. The guide who chased them was brave. After glancing at the trio, I tightened my grip on Chae Won-u’s belt even more.

“Are you really fighting?!”

Not here, though.

I took out a syringe from Chae Won-u’s belt. It was a morphine-like injection that I had used earlier. Taking it out, I stuck it in my thigh and let go of Chae Won-u.

“Nope. We survived thanks to Hunter Chae Won-u.”

Chae Won-u wasn’t looking at the three people but staring straight at me.

“It was really hard work. All thanks to Hunter Chae Won-u.” Sweat and blood were pouring out, and I wanted to get out of this damn dungeon as soon as possible because I was busy. We moved aside to make room. The guide seemed nauseous again, vomiting once more before stumbling towards us.

The speedster hunter approached the guide, who rinsed his mouth with water. Now I understood how they matched the guide. He must have the ability to chase after hunters.

“Can you still guide?”

“Do you think he will do it?” Chae Won-u interjected sharply.

The silent Chae Won-u snapped at me. I pretended not to hear and asked again, “Are you okay?”

“U-Uhuk. Ughk. Yes. Urgh.” The guide retched several times before staggering and grabbing onto the speedster hunter’s hand. The hunter leaned against a tree, panting heavily. It seemed guiding was taking its toll on him.

“Are you really okay?”

“Hyung.”

Chae Won-u grabbed my arm as I questioned them again. At that moment, the flickering flashlight suddenly died out completely. I turned it back on, but the light remained dim. It was probably due to the high humidity. In the hazy glow, Chae Won-u glared at me.

“I won’t let anyone else do it.”

“They can hear you over there.”

“It isn’t happening.”

“Hunter Chae Won-u,” I called his name quietly, causing him to flinch. “Don’t go ahead by yourself.”

Then I took out a very small ziplock bag from my pocket and held it in front of Chae Won-u. It sparkled under the dim light of my flashlight and the bright light of Chae Won-u’s flashlight.

“This is a stabilizing promoter. It’s quite strong but good for one-time use.”

Without turning around, I threw the packet to the side. The guide, whose physical abilities seemed to exceed the average level, caught it effortlessly. I turned towards Chae Won-u with a smirk on my face.

“There is someone who has greatly benefited from this.”

“…..”

“Isn’t that right, Chae Won-u?”

“That is…”

“Let’s discuss the rest outside.” I brusquely turned away from Chae Won-u.

As more presences approached, the guide, presumably partnered with an esper, along with another esper and the rear support team arrived at the scene.

Another esper rushed towards the rock shaped like a horse’s head. The rear support team cooperated to create a large net below the steep cliff. It seemed they had the ability to extract and materialize substances. I didn’t know who it was, but the person planning this operation was clearly clever and experienced.

The light emanating from the rock started rapidly changing from green to crimson. Reverse liberation—it needed to be solved by changing from blue hues to red, not the other way around. As I watched the light turning bright red, I let out a deep sigh.

Dammit. That white pill wouldn’t leave my mind.

“I said let’s talk outside,” I muttered under my breath. Chae Won-u couldn’t have missed that; I made sure he heard it loud and clear. Of course, this wasn’t going to end here.

***

The dungeon raid ended smoothly. However, our partnership wasn’t as smooth as the end of the raid. We boarded the helicopter, tired and without any fresh appreciation for the rising sun. Climbing the wildly swinging ladder was almost torture; it felt like we were being thrown around more than transported up.

“Be careful…” Chae Won-u spoke with a subdued voice. I didn’t even bother responding. There was much to discuss with Chae Won-u, but this wasn’t the right time or place.

With trembling arms and legs, I barely managed to climb into the helicopter. Chae Won-u sat next to me without showing any signs of fatigue. However, his vital signs hadn’t looked good when I last checked them. It would’ve been less concerning if he were healthier, but his current condition was worrying.

Upon further reflection, wasn’t this situation entirely self-inflicted by Chae Won-u? Internally, I gritted my teeth. Why did he take that promoter? Luckily, it resonated with me due to a day during medical training when I coincidentally didn’t fall asleep. Otherwise, I might’ve dismissed it as just another vitamin or digestive aid. In that case, we would only realize its true nature once Chae Won-u reached the brink of losing control, rendering my guidance ineffective.

The promoter was also Chae Won-u’s betrayal against me, essentially putting both our lives at risk without my knowledge or consent.

Without realizing it…

“Hyuuungg…”

I knew Chae Won-u was staring at me, but I refused to look back. Stubbornly, I faced away from him and closed my eyes.

Despite feeling exhausted, my mind was clear. According to research, anger lasting more than five minutes indicates that your brain has consciously decided to remain upset. In other words, I wanted to stay angry.

Chae Won-u had a decent relationship with the hunter I had briefly mentioned the name of, and he liked sharing random stories with me because he knew a lot.

He simply said he wanted to study. Back then, I had merely asked if that was his dream. And then, without missing a beat, I admitted that my dream was to graduate high school. Perhaps if that Hunter had lived, if the ending with my first partner had been different, I might never have crossed paths with Chae Won-u.

However, he died.

He was the first person I opened up to after losing my family. I thought of him like an older brother who never existed. He died during combat, but the reason for his death was due not only to the strain from our guidance sessions but also because he had taken performance-enhancing drugs. I closed my mouth as nausea surged within me.

Soon, the sound of propellers started. The noise was so loud that conversation became difficult, and I appreciated this distraction. There was an unpleasant sensation of floating in mid-air. Chae Won-u soon stopped talking too, although it might have been drowned out by the engine’s roar.