Under Creature Chapter 7.3

“I want to wear this!”

“I’m going to change. We’re going to eat soon, what if I stain my new clothes? Cha Jewoo, why don’t you change too?”

“I’m confident I won’t stain them.”

Leaving the two bickering behind, Yigeom silently gathered the clothes he had worn and entered the fitting room.

🦅࿐

After dinner, Yigeom and Dohyun headed to Ireon, where the shutters were down. As they tried to slip in through the back door,

“Oppa!!”

“……!”

Yigeom turned around, startled as if he had been caught secretly plotting something.

Seo Doa was standing there, her face full of displeasure.

“Why are you….”

“You were trying to solve it by yourselves again, without us.”

She had found it suspicious that Yigeom, who had discussed with Bae Sangwoo about finding the breeding facility, had been particularly insistent on them resting comfortably at the dorm today. She had secretly followed them, and as she suspected, her hunch was right.

“Why do you keep leaving us out! We understand you’re worried about us, but we can also pull our own weight….”

Yigeom hurriedly asked,

“Did Jewoo come too?”

“…No. He doesn’t know anything and is probably at the dorm. I was going to call him after making sure by following you.”

“Don’t call him.”

He quickly approached Doa, who was about to take out her phone, and covered the screen with his hand.

“Why?”

“…Jewoo is sick.”

“He seems to have recovered. He looks fine.”

Seo Dohyun lowered his voice and urged,

“Seo Doa. Go back to the dorm quickly.”

“No!”

“Why aren’t you listening like a child.”

“I’m not listening because I’m not a child. How long are you going to keep excluding us? Do you want me to live under your shadow even when I’m a grown adult?”

“If necessary, yes.”

Doa gasped, unable to contain her anger. Seeing their fight escalate, Yigeom tried to soothe her.

“Okay. I’m sorry, but go back now. I’ll buy you snacks later.”

“Am I Cha Jewoo? Do you think I’ll fall for snacks?”

“…….”

What to do? Troubled, Yigeom rubbed his neck.

Come to think of it, Seo Doa has always pulled her own weight. Perhaps her abilities were even stronger than his.

And as Doa said, she couldn’t stay under Seo Dohyun’s protection forever. It was a problem he had been worried about for a while.

Yigeom had no choice but to ask Seo Dohyun.

“Hey, let’s just take her.”

“Yoon Yigeom.”

Doa’s face instantly brightened, and at Dohyun’s look that seemed to ask why he was doing this too, Yigeom patted Doa’s shoulder and babbled defensively.

“Well, you know… you told me to trust and leave her to me before.”

“…….”

“If anything happens, I’ll take care of her. So let’s take her this time. She’s already come this far, what if something happens to her on the way back to the dorm alone?”

Doa, realizing Yigeom had sided with her, stuck close to his side.

“Exactly! Something bad could happen to me on my way back to the dorm! I’ll be quiet, so take me.”

Dohyun was silent for a moment, then looked at Yigeom and abruptly opened Ireon’s back door.

“Let’s go in.”

It was permission.

With a bright, lively smile, Doa quickly ran to enter but was caught by the back of her neck by Dohyun.

“I’ll take the lead. Gyeom is at the back. Seo Doa, you follow in the middle.”

Doa pouted and reluctantly replied,

“Yes.”

They infiltrated the darkened interior of Ireon and arrived at the suit shop from the afternoon. This was where they first saw the breeding facility.

It might not work, but right now, this was the only place they could cling to hope. Bae Sangwoo’s suggestion was to focus on tracing the initial clues and at least try.

That’s why they agreed to meet here at 8 PM, but….

“You said you were going to meet here? At 8? It’s 8:20 now.”

Despite arriving late at the meeting place due to the unexpected encounter with Seo Doa at the entrance, Bae Sangwoo had yet to show up.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t contacted them since he went to monitor the building manager in the morning.

She thought he might be unable to contact them because he was transformed into something and infiltrating the place like yesterday, but… perhaps? Nah, no way, someone like Bae Sangwoo wouldn’t…

“He’ll be here soon.”

Yigeom murmured quietly.

“The ahjussi never breaks promises….”

Doa looked around the darkened surroundings, wondering if Bae Sangwoo had arrived.

Yigeom sat upright in a nearby chair, focusing on his senses, intending to search ahead while they waited. He could clearly see the interior of Ireon through the water in the flower vase. He tried to extend his vision further.

Even a rough location would be good if pinpointing the exact location was difficult. As he continued to expand his field of vision, he saw a scene, the place 50 meters away, which was the breeding facility.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but it seemed to appear more clearly at night, which was dark and quiet, compared to the bustling daytime, when he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Then he sensed something rushing towards them. Is it the ahjussi? Just as he was about to open his eyes to check more closely….

“Seo Doa!”

Dohyun stretched out his arm and pulled Doa towards him, and almost at the same time, Yigeom pushed Doa towards Dohyun.

Doa’s eyes widened as she bumped her head against Dohyun’s chest.

“…Oppa?”

“Don’t look.”

She instinctively tried to raise her head, but Dohyun held it down. Doa blinked blankly in his embrace, trying to understand the situation. Then she froze, feeling a warm liquid flowing down her forehead.

“O…ppa.”

“Go back.”

Doa called him in a trembling voice, but Dohyun pulled out the dagger stuck in his shoulder and sent Doa behind him.

Yigeom drew the dagger he had brought along just in case and approached Dohyun. Someone was there. And the fact that someone was hostile towards them made him break out in a cold sweat.

“Hey, your arm….”

Blood dripped from Dohyun’s shoulder. He didn’t care and rotated his injured arm as if stretching. Blood gushed out with each rotation.

“I can move.”

“What do you mean you can move!”

Doa tearfully pressed down on his shoulder as if to stop the bleeding.

“Because of me… because of me. I, I….”

Dohyun, who wouldn’t normally stay still in this situation, was unresponsive, suggesting that he hadn’t been able to set a reset point due to the suddenness of the situation.

Perhaps if he had set a reset point the moment he realized Doa was going to be attacked, instead of shielding her, he wouldn’t have been injured like this.

‘Does that mean she’s that precious to him?’

Yigeom tightened his grip on the dagger handle with his sweaty hand and watched for the enemy approaching in the darkness.

Two. He couldn’t see their exact forms, but he had grasped their locations. If there are two, are they the building manager and the person he was talking to late at night yesterday?

More importantly, what happened to Mr. Sangwoo? Was he discovered during infiltration? Yigeom quickly scanned the surroundings.

“Seo Doa, focus.”

Dohyun shook off the hand stopping his bleeding and said quietly.

“The enemy is right in front of you, why are you tearing up? Yoon Yigeom wouldn’t do that.”

Normally, Yigeom would have intervened, but the enemy could attack at any moment. Seo Doa needed to come to her senses quickly….

“Right side!”

As soon as Yigeom shouted, Seo Dohyun grabbed the dagger he had pulled from his shoulder and instantly defended the right side.

The horizontally held metal clashed with the opponent’s sword, producing a chaeng— sound. It was an attack aimed precisely at the injured area.

Seizing the opportunity, Yigeom rushed in to cover Dohyun, and Doa, despite being unarmed, used her natural athleticism to grab the opponent’s forearm, using it as an axis to spin in the air like air before striking his cheek with her knee.

The opponent stumbled and was pushed back. A moment later, another person appeared silently from behind and pushed Yigeom’s back. It was closer to a small touch than a push.

He hurriedly turned around to see the building manager grinning, showing his palms.

“Gotcha.”

Focused on the enemy in front of them, all three were looking in the same direction. Dohyun and Doa also turned to glare at the building manager, realizing he had pushed Yigeom.

The three then stood back-to-back in a triangle formation, facing the enemy.

A cold sweat ran down Yigeom’s forehead at the sudden threat of death.

“Seo Dohyun. Ability?”

“I just started it.”

Ten times from now. Two enemies. The reset has begun, so they could relax a little….

Clap!

Then, the building manager brought his hands together in prayer.

Suddenly, Yigeom’s surroundings went dark.

“…Seo Dohyun? Seo Doa?”

No response. Where was this…? It was the storage room on the first floor. He was clearly in the clothing store on the second floor, so why? It was as if he had teleported. Was this the building manager’s ability?

‘Gotcha.’

…It’s an ability activated by touch. He must have stealthily approached and touched him while he was distracted by the enemy in front. Was the strategy to separate them and fight 3 against 2, which was disadvantageous for them?

Then Yigeom wouldn’t be the only one sent to a different location. The building manager also touched the Seo siblings, so perhaps they were all scattered, and he planned to defeat them one by one in 2-on-1 situations.

The guy who attacked Dohyun with a weapon earlier was definitely the one talking to the building manager last night.

From the beginning, they strategically had one person in front and the other approaching stealthily from behind.

They were completely played by the building manager. Unlike the Blood Hunters from the Jooseungtae incident, they were skilled in combat. One of them even had a record of knocking out Bae Sangwoo.

He had to regroup with his companions as soon as possible. Yigeom hurriedly set out to find Seo Dohyun and Seo Doa.

The lights were off throughout the building, making it difficult to see. He tried to find moving objects in the darkness.

His location was the innermost storage room on the first floor, Seo Dohyun was… a faint light leaking out, his face flashed briefly somewhere and disappeared.

Swords and weapons displayed around him. He was on the first floor, like himself.

From weapons with sleek exteriors like clean white porcelain to swords with brand logos, and if it’s that brand….

Left from the entrance.

Yigeom hurriedly opened the storage room door to join him.

“…Keuhuk!”

“Got one.”

He quickly pulled his body back, but blood spurted like a fountain from the blade deeply embedded in his neck. In his blurring vision, he imprinted the opponent’s face in his eyes.

“Where to next?”

“I don’t know. It’s random placement.”

“Still a useless ability.”

“It doesn’t matter since all three are scattered.”

He heard bickering voices, and Yigeom forced his heavy eyelids open and closed. Both of them came to him. Were they waiting for him to open the door? Or did he open the door at the right time while they were searching?

‘I don’t know. It’s random placement.’

Clinging to his fading consciousness, he replayed their words. It seemed the teleportation ability wasn’t foolproof. Then they must also be wandering around looking for them.

‘Seo Dohyun needs… to reset.’

He said he had just started his ability earlier. But would he know that Yigeom was attacked? Would he reset?

Preoccupied with finding his companions’ locations, he failed to check the enemy’s positions. That should have been his first priority…. It was a clear mistake.

The fear of death was intense.

But somehow, unknowingly, it also felt familiar.

“…Yoon Yigeom.”

Then he heard Seo Dohyun’s voice. He seemed to have come here due to the commotion at the entrance.

Ah, thank goodness. He wouldn’t die.

🦅࿐

Someone appeared silently from behind and pushed Yigeom’s back.

He hurriedly turned around to see the building manager grinning, showing his palms.

“Gotcha.”

Yigeom was rather relieved at those words.

‘I’m back.’

“Are you hurt?”

Seo Dohyun asked.

“You saw it.”

I died.

Yigeom replied, standing back-to-back in a triangle formation.

“…….”

After a short silence, Dohyun asked again.

“Gyeom-ah, where were you initially?”

“I was in the storage room on the first floor.”

“Doa?”

Suddenly called, Doa responded.

“…Me? What?”

“I didn’t see Doa. And there were enemies in front of the storage room door. Both of them.”

Yigeom rubbed his cold neck and muttered.

“I can’t guarantee there were only two.”

There could be others hiding. Dohyun’s words made his hair stand on end.

“Gyeom-ah.”

“…….”

“Go to Doa.”

“What? What about you….”

Go find Doa right after teleporting? What about you? He was injured in the shoulder, yet he spoke so confidently. Moreover, in front of the storage room door….

“If we’re transported to the same place as before, you find Doa. You’re better at finding people.”

“…But.”

Yigeom looked at Dohyun with uneasy eyes. Just as he was about to say something,

“What are you guys talking about… Well, whatever.”

The building manager muttered and quickly brought his hands together in prayer.

Clap!

A clapping sound rang out, and his surroundings instantly went dark.

Still the first-floor storage room.

Then everyone’s location must be the same. Seo Dohyun was to the left of the entrance, and Seo Doa was….

He learned a few things from the conversation he just had. Firstly, even the building manager, who uses the teleportation ability, doesn’t know where the person he teleports will end up.

However, it wouldn’t be such a powerful ability that he could send someone to Seoul when they were in Busan. It would be within Ireon at most. So they must have killed him by chance.

Yigeom quickly scanned the interior of Ireon. He had never dreamed that the flower vases he had set up to find the breeding facility would be used in this way.

‘Where are you. Where….’

He quickly moved his eyes back and forth with his eyes closed, checking the dark and spacious Ireon. Within his water vision, something moved. Earlier, he had mainly checked the first floor. This time, the second floor first.

If Seo Doa had moved towards the entrance, there was no way Seo Dohyun, located to the left of the entrance, wouldn’t know, and if she had been near the storage room where he was, she would have been found by them faster than him.

Doa was most likely somewhere on the second floor.

Then it suddenly occurred to him that it was about time for them to pass by here. Even if he didn’t open the door, they could open it first.

Then he had no choice but to attack first.

In this situation…. Hmm, a gun would be better than a sword.

Fortunately, the first-floor storage room was amply stocked with weapons. Yigeom picked up a pistol.

He hadn’t been able to observe the person he encountered earlier closely because it was dark and the situation was so hectic, but he knew the building manager he saw last time. Moreover, that troublesome ability to teleport people around. He had to deal with him first.

Yigeom closed his eyes. Seo Dohyun was quickly approaching him, and he saw the two approaching the storage room.

It was just a wooden door. Similar to the wooden door at school that broke with the excuse of faulty hinges when Cha Jewoo merely stumbled against it. Destroying it with a gun would be a piece of cake.

Yigeom stared at the plain wooden door and estimated visually. The building manager was roughly 180cm tall, shorter than Seo Dohyun and similar to himself. It should be around here.

When he opened the door, the other guy, not the manager, attacked him first, and the building manager came after. So, if he waited a beat longer than before….

Soon, the two were reflected in the water of the glass vase placed opposite the storage room, and Yigeom aimed the gun at that spot and pulled the trigger.

Now.

Bang—!

A gunshot echoed.

In the blink of an eye, the building manager raised his arm to block the bullet flying straight towards his head. He didn’t forget to quickly transform into a creature in the process.

“Keut…!”

Nevertheless, the bullet lodged in his arm.

Yigeom, momentarily staggered by the recoil of the gunshot, glared at the two enemies.

Judging by the strong recoil and the fact that the bullet embedded itself even in the hardened skin of the creature form, it seemed to be a special gun made by Ireon for hunters, specifically designed for creatures, not an ordinary gun used by civilians. He just grabbed whatever was at hand, and he was lucky.

But he aimed for the head, and that was a failure. As expected, they were on a different level compared to the Blood Hunters he encountered during the Jooseungtae incident.

While the building manager clutched his arm, the other one lunged at Yigeom.

At that moment, Seo Dohyun, who had rushed from the opposite side, clashed his blade against the enemy’s and stood beside Yigeom.

“Go to Doa.”

“But there are two of them….”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?”

The words Seo Dohyun muttered when they were scattered by the building manager’s ability.

‘Trust and leave it to me.’

But there were two enemies, and one of them, although injured in the arm, so was Seo Dohyun. Blood was still flowing from his shoulder.

“Gyeom-ah, we promised.”

Yigeom clenched his teeth. The words he had spoken flashed before him like a panorama.

‘Doa will be an adult soon, let her handle it herself.’

‘If anything happens, I’ll take care of her.’

There might be more enemies hiding besides the two in front of them, and Doa could be in danger.

“…I’ll be back soon.”

“Just hide.”

As expected of her older brother, he was extremely worried about Doa. Understandably so.

Doa had bad memories from her childhood, and even if she had forgotten them now, being placed in a similar situation could trigger all the memories and cause her to panic. That was probably the scenario Seo Dohyun was most concerned about.

Yigeom had no choice but to turn around and rush up to the second floor.

“Where…!”

The Blood Hunter glared at Yigeom, who appeared to be fleeing. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his leg, causing him to collapse involuntarily.

Thud, thud. Dohyun blocked and stopped the Blood Hunter who was about to approach Yigeom.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

As the two clashed blades and grappled, the sounds of shattering glass displays and breaking objects filled the air.

While the Blood Hunter was preoccupied fighting Dohyun, the pain in Yigeom’s leg subsided. As he stood up shakily, he saw that the building manager, who had stopped the bleeding from his creature-transformed arm, had also joined the fight.

Since the one trying to escape seemed to have no intention of attacking, was Dohyun’s plan to finish off one of them first with two against one and then chase after the other?

Hoping he wasn’t too late, Yigeom hurried up the stairs to the second floor.

‘Seo Doa, Seo Doa.’

Such a commotion had occurred on the first floor, she must have heard it, but she still hadn’t shown herself. He tried searching using his ability, but she was nowhere to be found.

This couldn’t be happening. There was no way he couldn’t find her. This shouldn’t be happening.

His eyes started to sting.

Where could she be hiding so well?

Then, he suddenly noticed one place that wasn’t visible.

The manager’s office, it wasn’t reflected.

‘Damn it, I only noticed this now.’

He was so busy searching the vast interior of Ireon that he hadn’t noticed which flower vase had disappeared. How foolish.

He couldn’t regret it now; he had to hurry to the building manager’s office. Yigeom flung open the door and shouted.

“Seo Do…!”

“O…Keuhuk! …Oppa.”

Blood, dried and hardened from Seo Doa’s arm, which was thinly sliced vertically by her own ability, glinted, forming a sharp blade. That blade was pointed directly at Bae Sangwoo. Even though she could attack Bae Sangwoo with the slightest movement, she hesitated, and Bae Sangwoo was….

“……Why is Ahjussi.”

…strangling Seo Doa.

🦅࿐

With a crash, the display glass shattered, and Dohyun, grabbing any weapon that came to hand, paused in thought. Even while doing so, he steadily attacked the enemy.

Where was the ahjussi, who had gone out this morning saying he was infiltrating? Was he already killed? Even if his infiltration was discovered, the Bae Sangwoo Seo Dohyun knew wasn’t someone who would die easily.

Or perhaps… was he caught off guard like in the previous surprise attack?

Come to think of it, Yoon Yigeom just grabbed his leg and collapsed in a place with no obstacles. Why?

‘He said he collapsed with a headache while walking down the street a few days ago, and then he woke up. That’s it.’

‘…What? Shouldn’t he go to the hospital? Shouldn’t he get an MRI?’

‘You punk! I don’t have any underlying conditions!’

Bae Sangwoo suddenly complained of a headache and collapsed, and Yoon Yigeom fell down as if his legs had given way in a place with nothing there.

Ah, the building manager uses a teleportation-like ability, and the remaining one has a pain-related ability.

Things were starting to make sense.

A smile appeared on Seo Dohyun’s face. He had been a vigilante for many years and was skilled in life-or-death combat.

It seemed like the same was true for them, but… were they really better than him?

Ignoring his shoulder wound, Dohyun attacked the building manager.

There was an order to everything. The same was true in battle. Even if their priorities differed slightly, one thing was clear.

Eliminate the weakest, the most frightened one first.

At first glance, the building manager seemed less skilled in combat than his companion, and he was currently in pain due to Yoon Yigeom’s attack. Although the pain would fade with time, now was the time when it would be felt most acutely, the time of greatest fear.

Dohyun ignored the man in front of him and focused solely on the building manager. This one, even at a glance, seemed quite proficient in combat. In contrast, the building manager was weaker, in pain, and possessed a troublesome ability for them.

That was why he was targeting the building manager first.

Trying to defend with creature transformation? This was Ireon. Weapons were scattered everywhere. It would be a very interesting match to see if a shield could block or a spear could pierce.

Dohyun, gripping swords in both hands, lunged at the building manager. The way he prepared to defend and counterattack, as if he wouldn’t run away, was quite amusing.

Running straight ahead, he quickly lowered his body and slashed at the building manager’s legs. Using his foot as an axis, he spun like a top, then clashed swords with the other one rushing towards him. It was his right side, unfortunately.

As pressure was applied to the shoulder injured while protecting Doa, his grip weakened, and the dagger flew into the air.

As the man’s blade came towards his face, he blocked it with his palm. He had injured his right shoulder and now his right hand.

Sometimes, very rarely, when he fought like this, losing Yiseong, he felt like he was really going to die.

Fear, and the thrill that came with it. Exhilaration.

It felt like he was dying, but he didn’t. It felt like clearing a quest. The more he was injured, the more battered he became, the more information about the opponent was inputted.

Then, he returned to zero, a blank slate.

And after that, always victory.

It was just a pierced shoulder and palm. He had experienced worse. This was nothing, something he didn’t feel the need to return to zero or reset for.

In a life-or-death battle, the important thing wasn’t a trained body or tremendous abilities. It was a moment of ingenuity.

Dohyun supported himself by placing his left hand on the floor and then kicked out, striking the man. With a gust of wind, the man flew back and crashed into the wall. The sword that had pierced his right hand also slipped out.

He placed both hands on the floor, kicked up like a handstand, striking the building manager’s chin, and stood up properly.

The sword that had spun away during the fight with the other man was now in Dohyun’s hand.

Creature transformation? How laughable. This was a sword meant for killing creatures.

The dagger plunged straight into the building manager’s heart.

In combat, a moment of ingenuity refers to how one overcomes a situation when it arises. What should be prioritized?

Dohyun prioritized attacking the enemy over tending to his own injuries. As a result, his right shoulder and hand were a mess, but he had brought down the building manager.

Sacrifice flesh to take the bone.

“What did you say earlier?”

When you killed Yoon Yigeom. Ah, that’s right. You definitely said that.

Dohyun murmured, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Got one.”

🦅࿐

“…Seo Doa!”

Yigeom, momentarily stunned by the scene before him, rushed to Doa.

Looking closely, Bae Sangwoo’s eyes were unfocused. However, he didn’t loosen his grip on Doa’s throat. Her face was flushed red from lack of air.

“Cough…!”

Bae Sangwoo remained motionless in that position, completely still. Was he under the influence of someone’s ability? Yigeom tried to pull Doa free from his grasp, but his grip was many times stronger, making it difficult.

At this rate….

Yigeom drew his sword. Doa’s eyes widened. Even though she was being choked to death, she couldn’t bring herself to attack Bae Sangwoo.

But Yigeom was different. He made a swift decision and, without hesitation, stabbed the sword deep into Bae Sangwoo’s wrist. Yiseongically, calmly.

Bae Sangwoo was simply under someone’s ability, unconscious and mindlessly attacking Doa, and Yigeom couldn’t just stand by and watch. Bae Sangwoo wasn’t at fault. But neither was Seo Doa. And if he had to choose between the two, Yigeom was prepared to choose Seo Doa.

No matter how close he had become with Bae Sangwoo, no matter how grateful he was to him, if he had to prioritize, Seo Doa was more important. He had a promise with Seo Dohyun.

‘If anything happens, I’ll take care of her.’

What could he do? He had to keep his word.

“Cough…! Hack, cough, cough!”

Finally freed from Bae Sangwoo’s grasp, Doa collapsed on the floor, coughing raggedly. Her eyes were red-rimmed, filled with physiological tears.

“Ah…Ahjussi. Arm…. Blood, blood.”

To Doa, he was a benefactor who had cared for her and her brother since they were very young. She called him Ahjussi, but he was practically like a father. Even if he had lost his Yiseong and attacked her, Doa couldn’t bring herself to inflict even the smallest scratch on him.

“Gye, Gyeom Oppa. Ahjussi. We need to stop the bleeding….”

“Seo Doa. Pull yourself together and step back.”

Yigeom shielded Doa behind him and kept a wary eye on Bae Sangwoo. Even after inflicting such pain, his eyes hadn’t regained focus.

When Bae Sangwoo regained consciousness, he might resent him for the wound on his wrist. He was a sentimental person, so he might ask if their shared past was all for nothing, or he might praise him, saying he did well because he was trying to kill Seo Doa.

Resentment or praise, it didn’t matter. He hadn’t acted with Bae Sangwoo’s reaction in mind. Yigeom had something to protect.

Whether someone resented him or praised him, there was something he had to protect.

He had promised to take care of Doa, and he brought her here.

You have to live, only you, you have to live.

He had brought her here, and he had to take responsibility.

Did Seo Dohyun say that during the association attack? Even if everyone here perished, you would live. He would save you, no matter what.

Back then, he had taken it lightly. He dismissed it as something said simply to reassure him. But now he understood Seo Dohyun’s resolve.

Seo Doa couldn’t die here.

Although she had insisted, Seo Dohyun had opposed it. It was Yigeom who persuaded him and brought Doa here.

Now, more than ever, he completely understood how Seo Dohyun felt.

Even if Bae Sangwoo resented him. Even if Dohyun was resented by the world, by him.

There were things he had to protect unconditionally.

Yigeom brought Doa to Ireon, and Dohyun brought Yigeom to Latter.

Doa almost died, and Yigeom had a responsibility to protect her.

When Yigeom died at the association, Dohyun worked tirelessly to protect and revive him.

It was a surprisingly perfect parallel.

There was no way he couldn’t understand Seo Dohyun.

He tried so hard not to be like him, but he couldn’t help but understand him. When he realized it, he was doing the same things Dohyun would do.

Fortunately, Bae Sangwoo’s eyes were slowly regaining focus.

🦅࿐

Knock, knock— knock, knock—.

He didn’t show it, but Jewoo didn’t want to be deeply involved in things like tracking down the creature breeding facility.

It wasn’t quite for reasons of life-threatening danger, but still, he wanted to pull his weight at Latter as much as possible, so he diligently made flowers and thought about tracking strategies, trying not to let it show.

Of course, after realizing his condition, Seo Dohyun would occasionally visit his room to check on him and even suggest that he could opt out of this task.

He felt much better after apologizing and agreeing, but he couldn’t help feeling down. So, that afternoon, he tried on Latter’s custom-made suits, ate a large dinner, and went to sleep for a long time.

When he opened his eyes, it was well past 8 PM.

Knock, knock— knock, knock—.

He could have slept longer, but the repeated knocking woke him.

Knock, knock— knock, knock—.

Don’t they get tired?

Eventually, rubbing his sleepy eyes, he sat up in bed.

If it were Gyeom-hyung, he would knock a few times and leave soon, and if it were Dohyun-hyung, he would just open the door with one of the spare key cards.

And if it were Seo Doa’s knock, it wouldn’t be knock, knock but bang, bang, and she would have yelled, “Cha Jewoo! Open the door!” by now. Since it was none of those, he was perplexed.

‘Huh! Could it be Mr. Sangwoo?’

Then he wanted to open the door even less….

Jewoo sent a message to the Latter group chat, saying someone kept knocking on his door, and wondered who was playing a prank by coming all the way to his room.

Meanwhile, another knock echoed.

Knock, knock— knock, knock—.

“Hello… Hellooo. Are you there….”

This time, along with the knocking, he heard a question. …A voice he’d never heard before.

Jewoo secured the door chain and cautiously opened the door a crack to peek outside. A normal-looking man was standing in front of his door.

“Ah! You were there! Hello.”

“…Hello. What brings you here? You’ve been knocking since earlier.”

“I’m a technical hunter in training at Ireon, and I stopped by because I have a small favor to ask.”

“What favor?”

“Before that, could you please unlock this? I think it’s going to be a long story, so I was wondering if I could come inside.”

“…….”

Jewoo hesitated for a moment and then refused.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a little busy right now. Please come back another time.”

Jewoo quickly closed the door and immediately called Seo Dohyun.

— The subscriber you have dialed cannot be reached….

“Hey! Hey! It’s really urgent! Just a moment!”

Ignoring the urging voice beyond the door, he kept calling. When Dohyun didn’t answer, he tried calling Yigeom, and finally Seo Doa, but they were still unreachable.

Thump, thump— thump, thump—.

“I’m really in a hurry!”

Strange. Why wasn’t anyone answering?

“…….”

Jewoo looked at the door and cautiously opened it again.

“I’m really sorry, but it would be better if you came back later….”

“I apologize if I seemed suspicious!”

Just then, the man bowed 90 degrees.

“…Huh?”

“Um… knocking persistently like that, asking you to unlock the chain, I must have seemed suspicious! But it’s really urgent…. You don’t have to unlock it, could you just listen to me here? It’s okay if the door is locked. I think you’ll be able to hear me. Or I can write you a letter… anything. Anything is fine, please just listen to what I have to say.”

Jewoo blinked blankly at the man’s unexpectedly sincere apology.

His image instantly shifted from suspicious to desirable.

“Ah… No. I’m sorry too.”

“No, it was my fault for acting suspiciously.”