Resurrection Chapter 100 - Hyung, Get a Grip

“A goooood?”

Yoon Younghyun dragged out the end of the word bizarrely as he asked back. Mr. Min Gongchan, as if asking if he really had to say it like that, frowned and replied.

“He believes he will become a transcendent being if he reaches the max level. And he’s prepared to do anything for it. Now that he has the Dragon Slayer title and possesses the highest-level body in existence, there aren’t many ways to stop him.”

The words Mr. Min Gongchan muttered echoed with an unwelcome sense of reality. Faced with this unprecedented situation caused by an S-rank Awakened, everyone was so stunned they were at a loss for words. Even Mr. Min Gongchan fell silent, and I too was silent, when I suddenly felt a piercing gaze.

When I turned my head to the side, I noticed Heesoo hyung staring intently at me. Finding it strange, I blinked my eyes as if to ask why he was looking at me like that.

Why is he getting distracted by me? We’re in the middle of a really serious conversation.

Just then, Heesoo hyung reached out with his long fingers and once again pulled up my collar.

What is it, is something wrong with my clothes?

I usually wore a t-shirt made of a synthetic material that didn’t easily burn or tear under my leather jacket. Right now, having just gotten up from a cot, I was without the jacket, wearing only the t-shirt.

It wasn’t a particularly strange outfit, so Heesoo hyung’s behavior was odd. Puzzled, I raised my hand and unconsciously scratched the back of my neck. Then, for some reason, Mr. Kang Cheoljun, Yoon Younghyun, and Mr. Min Gongchan all looked at me at the same time.

Somehow, everyone’s reaction was peculiar. Mr. Kang Cheoljun turned his head away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, and Mr. Min Gongchan raised a hand to cover his face as if he were guilty of something. Yoon Younghyun’s face turned strangely red as he feigned indifference.

While I was feeling extremely puzzled, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Don’t tell me.’

Acting as if nothing was wrong, I cleared my throat, ahem ahem, and said.

“Just going to the restroom for a second.”

As if I had an urgent call of nature, I hastily turned and looked for a restroom. Spotting a public restroom nearby, I quickened my pace towards it.

Finally, upon reaching the restroom and looking in the mirror installed above the sink, I realized what a state I had been walking around in. I also figured out why a bandage had been put on a wound that was already healed.

“Damn it.”

I cursed out loud, stepped closer to the sink, and peered into the mirror. Then, I stretched the collar of my t-shirt and examined the reddish-purple marks remaining above my collarbone.

It was definitely the spot where Mr. Min Gongchan had bitten me. Thanks to the treatment, the wound where his fangs had pierced was gone, and only a bruise remained. The problem was that the bruise looked just… just… like a hickey.

—The Golden Emperor clicks his tongue, saying you’re a real piece of work.

Come on, can’t you just pretend you don’t know at times like this?

I blushed and blamed the poor Golden Emperor. Even though he must have known exactly how I felt, the Golden Emperor went on and on with his nagging.

—The Golden Emperor urges you to pull yourself together and be careful, very careful, as dangerous guys are swarming around you.

I know that already. Hoping the Golden Emperor would quickly get lost, I rubbed the reddish mark with my fingertip. Since I was wearing a white t-shirt and the location was, of all places, my neck, it was extremely noticeable. It was a mark that anyone could see was from having one’s skin sucked fiercely, and the back of my neck felt like it was on fire.

Knowing it was useless, I turned on the cold water and washed my neck. Of course, it wasn’t like something was smeared on it, so washing it with water wasn’t going to make it disappear.

‘Should I apply a potion? No, the hole in my neck healed because I applied a potion. It looks like I’ll have to wait for this to heal naturally. So do I have to wear a bandage until then? Why on earth did I take the bandage off!’

As I was having all sorts of thoughts, like whether to go to the infirmary and ask for a new bandage and what I would say if they asked why, I saw Heesoo hyung just entering the restroom through the mirror. He seemed to have followed me, worried after I left in a hurry.

I hastily clutched the collar of my t-shirt and turned to face him. Heesoo hyung approached me with a worried look on his face and asked.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. It’s not like I’m sick or anything.”

The front of my t-shirt was all wet from washing my neck, and water was dripping from my hands, which I hadn’t had a chance to dry. I gave Heesoo hyung an awkward smile and said.

“I didn’t realize, but I looked in the mirror and the wound is a bit… Do you happen to have a bandage or something?”

Instead of answering, Heesoo hyung took off the t-shirt he was wearing. He held out the t-shirt, which was made of the same material as mine, to me with his bare torso.

“Mine is a mock neck, so it will cover the bruise.”

“Uh, but my t-shirt will be too small for you.”

“It’s a stretchy material, so it’ll be fine. Let’s switch.”

Having no other choice, I pulled the water-soaked t-shirt over my head and took it off. I held out my t-shirt to him, but instead of taking it, Heesoo hyung casually touched the mark on my neck.

“They said they administered an antidote, but… I’m not sure if being bitten by a royal vampire can be solved with a general antidote.”

“Huh? What? Royal vampire? Not noble?”

“Mr. Min Gongchan himself said so. Considering the power his abilities showed, it’s credible. Since he himself is an ordinary person and not an Awakened, he must have thought he needed to be at that level.”

“Ah! So that’s why Shin Lion’s mutual destruction technique was so weakened. I was wondering what happened, since my wide-area defensive barrier shouldn’t have been enough.”

“He said he sucked Shin Lion’s blood before Yaksha woke up, drastically nerfing his stats. That must have been a factor, too.”

“What good did that do? He still let Yaksha get away. Besides, isn’t the bigger problem that Mr. Min Gongchan became a royal vampire? Even just becoming a regular vampire turns you into a wreck trying to suppress the bloodlust, but a royal? What if he just snaps and goes on a rampage?”

“He laid a hand on your body, Mr. Yitae, but he didn’t go all the way, so he must be confident he can control himself.”

“Just because he did it this time doesn’t guarantee he will next time.”

“At the very least, he won’t bite you again, Mr. Yitae. Because I won’t let that happen.”

Heesoo hyung’s fingertip traced the spot where Mr. Min Gongchan’s fangs had sunk in. At the tingling sensation, I flinched my shoulders, and Heesoo hyung asked softly.

“Does it hurt?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that it hurts, it’s more like……”

“Then?”

It felt strange to say it was tingling. Instead of answering his question, I changed the subject.

“Transforming into a royal vampire. He’s not in his right mind. He’s really crazy!”

It was almost a mumble to myself, but Heesoo hyung said as he pulled his t-shirt over my head.

“What could he be going crazy over?”

“Huh?”

“He’s trying to stop Yaksha, even to the point of doing something crazy.”

“Well, that guy is a regressor, so he must know that it’ll be a big problem if Yaksha goes around doing things like that.”

“Even so, I’m the one who destroys the world.”

At his muttered words, I looked at his face in surprise.

Heesoo hyung’s face, standing close, was expressionless, making it impossible to read his thoughts. At first glance, it felt unfamiliar, as if I were looking at a different person.

Feeling somewhat uneasy, I stared at him blankly, and he pulled down the t-shirt he had put on me. He even tucked my arms in as if dressing a child. In the process, his fingertips brushed against my body fleetingly.

He might have just been helping me get dressed, but tension filled my entire body. All my senses stood on end, and it must have been visible on the outside.

I quickly finished putting on the shirt and rubbed my chest with my palm as if to cover it. Heesoo hyung, who was watching, spoke in the same emotionless tone as before.

“Mr. Min Gongchan is doing that to protect you from Yaksha.”

I was very confused by his strange attitude. It didn’t seem like he was saying something completely wrong, but I didn’t really want to agree.

In fact, it was his gaze, more than his words, that bothered me. A peculiar light flickered in his black eyes, giving them a secret gleam.

Even after he had finished dressing me, Heesoo hyung continued to fiddle with the hem of my shirt. He straightened the wrinkled collar and pulled out the rolled-up sleeves, tidying up my clothes, and spoke so slowly it was frustrating.

“Perhaps it’s not just me who goes crazy from loving you.”

👑

After Kim Yitae left, and Seo Heesoo followed him, the atmosphere became chilly. It didn’t seem like any particularly good solution would come from the remaining three arguing among themselves.

Yoon Younghyun swung his aching shoulders, a side effect of his full transformation, and asked Mr. Kang Cheoljun what he had been curious about.

“By the way, if Hwang Chihong’s soul is gone and only his body is left, does that mean Hwang Chihong is dead?”

Mr. Kang Cheoljun frowned and did not answer. It seemed he couldn’t give a definite answer since this was the first time such a case had occurred. But in Yoon Younghyun’s view, Hwang Chihong was as good as dead. As a result, the worm inside his stomach was bothering him quite a bit.

“If Hwang Chihong is dead, what happens to the worm in my stomach? Hwang Chihong was controlling it, right?”

As Yoon Younghyun’s questions continued, Mr. Kang Cheoljun let out a small “Ah,” as if he had just remembered the worm’s existence. Yoon Younghyun was so dumbfounded that he jumped up and down on the spot.

“You put that horrible thing in my stomach and you don’t care at all?”

“……”

Mr. Kang Cheoljun glanced at Yoon Younghyun and stroked his chin. To Yoon Younghyun, it seemed Mr. Kang Cheoljun didn’t know what would happen to the worm Hwang Chihong had controlled. It would be a relief if the worm was still functioning properly, but it would be troublesome if it regained its ego due to Hwang Chihong’s death and started moving on its own. The thought that it might be gnawing on his intestines right now and preparing to lay eggs was horrifying.

“Wow, f*ck! I need to run to the hospital right now and get open-belly surgery or something.”

As Yoon Younghyun cursed and flared up, Mr. Kang Cheoljun finally threw out a word.