RG 51

It was just past 3 PM, but unlike the bright outside, the office was as dark as midnight. Cha Sahyeon had carefully drawn the newly bought curtains over the windows to block any view from outside. When he used his skill, the office was filled with complete darkness, with not a single point of light.

In that darkness, he slowly blinked.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to see anything, but since it was a darkness he created, and because his physical abilities far exceeded those of a normal person, he could see everything clearly.

Cha Sahyeon, who had been staring blankly into space with an unreadable expression, turned his head. Someone was asleep on the bed his gaze landed on.

The hair gently spread across the pillow was a light golden color, reminiscent of sunlight. Below it, the firmly shut eyes, sharp nose, and slightly parted lips from which slow breaths escaped were a harmonious sight.

Cha Seohu, who had just returned from preventing the second crack, hadn’t recovered his energy for two days. As if replenishing the power he’d used, he had done little but sleep, eating barely enough.

Climbing onto the bed and pressing his body close to Cha Seohu, Cha Sahyeon could hear the breathing sounds even more clearly. After staring at Cha Seohu for a long while, Cha Sahyeon lowered his gaze.

The upper body, half-covered by the blanket, was bare. Instead of clothes, bandages were wrapped here and there, and there were scars and bruises. Unable to receive treatment from others or go to a hospital, he had to wait for his wounds to heal with his S-class body’s extraordinary healing abilities.

“…”

With an expressionless face, Cha Sahyeon examined each wound and reached out his hand. His small hand slowly traced the firm abs before moving upward. Passing the chest, his fingertips stopped at the shoulder, where thick gauze and tape were haphazardly attached.

The shoulder injury, pierced by a monster’s claw, healed significantly slower than other places. After glancing back and forth between Cha Seohu’s face and shoulder a couple of times, Cha Sahyeon slowly applied pressure with his fingertips on the shoulder.

Fixing his gaze on Cha Seohu’s face, he pressed down harder and harder on the shoulder. His green eyes glowed coldly in the darkness.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Under the increasing pressure on the wound, blood eventually oozed out. As the bright red blood spread over the white gauze, Cha Seohu grimaced and groaned in pain. The previously calm complexion quickly turned pale. Watching the change without blinking, Cha Sahyeon finally lifted his hand.

As the pressure on the wound disappeared, Cha Seohu’s face calmed again, but he still didn’t look as comfortable as before, likely still feeling the pain in his shoulder.

Unfazed by the blood on his fingertips, Cha Sahyeon lay close beside Cha Seohu. He pulled the blanket snugly over both their shoulders, closed his eyes with a satisfied expression.

***

Half-asleep and about to turn over, I realized someone was in my arms and spoke with my eyes still closed, “Hey, kid…”

As if in response, the other person hugged my waist even tighter. Groggily reaching up, I felt a small head, just as I expected.

“Kid, you can turn off your skill now.” Clearing my throat, I spoke, and the pitch-black shadow filling the room disappeared instantly. Although the room was still dark due to the curtains, I could now distinguish objects around me.

Gently stroking the black hair buried in my chest, I asked, “Did you sleep well?” and Cha Sahyeon nodded quietly.

A glance at the clock on the bedside table showed it was past 11 AM. We woke up at a decent hour.

‘Having rested for a week, it’s time to get moving.’

After spending an entire week in my S-class form, just eating and sleeping, I felt completely refreshed. Except for my still-healing shoulder, all my other wounds had fully recovered.

Sitting up, I spoke to Cha Sahyeon, who was still clinging to me, “Hey, kid. After breakfast…”

“…”

“Shall we go out together?”

Cha Sahyeon’s eyes sparkled at the suggestion. Seeing that, I smiled proudly. “We need to go buy a present.” Although Cha Sahyeon hadn’t exactly kept his promise to me, it didn’t matter. He had saved my life. Such promises should be handled flexibly anyway.

The kid’s eyes widened in surprise, and his cheeks turned bright red as he nodded vigorously. “Yeah!”

See? He’s thrilled. I patted Cha Sahyeon’s back.

“Go ahead and wash up first. I’ll take care of breakfast.”

Watching Cha Sahyeon dash to the bathroom, I deactivated my skill and got out of bed. I pulled back the curtains that had been drawn for a week, letting bright sunlight flood the room.

Turning on the office lights, I took out the side dishes I’d bought and stored in the fridge. I heated the stew from the same store and microwaved some instant rice, managing to set the table decently.

‘Hmm, maybe I should try making some fried eggs.’

Feeling that just store-bought items were too plain, I took out a frying pan. Though I hadn’t done much cooking, I figured I could handle frying an egg. I lit the gas stove and confidently cracked an egg from the fridge.

Sizzling, the raw egg hit the heated pan noisily.

“Oh, right. Cooking oil.”

Lost in watching the egg cook, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t put any oil in the pan.

What now? Should I add it now? It’s probably better than not adding it at all, right? As I pondered, I opened the cupboard and realized something else.

“I didn’t buy any.”

I bought side dishes, instant rice, eggs, and even a frying pan, but I forgot to buy cooking oil. In fact, I didn’t buy soy sauce or salt either. I thought I’d just buy ready-made food anyway…

Sizzle, sizzle.

As I stood there feeling empty, the egg kept cooking and started to burn. I quickly turned off the heat and checked the underside of the egg with a spoon. Of course, it was completely stuck to the pan.

“…”

The fried egg I scraped out and put on a plate looked utterly unappetizing. If I had ketchup, I could have at least drawn a heart on it, but there was no way I had ketchup if I didn’t even have cooking oil.

‘Let’s just throw it away.’

Accepting reality quickly, I picked up the plate with the fried egg and headed for the food waste bin.

Just as I was about to dump the egg with the swiftness of a culprit disposing of evidence, a hand suddenly grabbed my arm holding the plate.

“Ah! You startled me. Are you done washing up already?”

Of course, it was Cha Sahyeon. Damn, I’ve been caught.

Cha Sahyeon tilted his head in puzzlement and asked, “Why are you throwing it away?”

“…Because it’s burnt.”

“Did you make it?”

“…It’s my first time, so it turned out like this. Plus, I didn’t have cooking oil.” Feeling oddly self-conscious, I avoided his gaze and gave my answer like an excuse. “Let go. I need to throw this away.”

“Don’t throw it away. I want to eat it.”

“What? No way.” He’s being stubborn again. I firmly refused, but he kept holding onto my arm and insisted.

“Why not?”

“Why would you eat this? The bottom is burnt and it’ll taste awful.”

“I can just remove the burnt part and eat the rest.”

“Next time. I’ll make it properly once I get cooking oil.”

“But that won’t be the first one.”

I was at a loss for words at his unexpected argument. While I hesitated, Cha Sahyeon snatched the plate from me and spoke clearly, “I like this one because it’s the first you made.”

“Ha…” I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched Cha Sahyeon run off with the plate.

I considered taking it back, but there was no way I could win a physical struggle against him. Forcing it from him could lead to disappointment and potentially increase the seed’s progression, which would be a complete disaster.

‘Alright, it’s just a fried egg. Let him do what he wants.’

Sighing, I followed him and ruffled his hair a bit more roughly than usual.

“Go ahead and eat it. But wait, I’ll cut off the burnt parts for you.”

“Okay!” 

With a joyful smile, Cha Sahyeon and I sat down at the table to start our late breakfast.

Though he had been stubborn, I honestly expected him to…take a few bites and then leave the messy, burnt egg. To my surprise, he finished the entire thing. Seeing the clean, empty plate left me with a strange feeling, so I found myself absently touching my chest.