Resurrection Chapter 91 - See You Again Then

Seeing the hulks searching every alleyway, I lowered myself onto the roof. The floor was filthy, full of rat droppings and dust, but I had no choice. I peeked out from the very top of the roof, surveying the situation below. But it seemed Park Gyu had already been rescued.

Down below, I could see Park Gyu surrounded by his lackeys. He seemed dizzy from having chugged a potion. Still chewing on an unlit cigarette, he gave this and that order to the small fry.

One of them caught my eye.

It was a man wearing a hood. Like me in the past, he seemed to be one of Park Gyu’s underlings, but his aura was quite strong.

No sooner did I think I should be wary of that guy than he slightly raised his head. I was so startled by his gaze looking directly at me that I quickly ducked my head.

What? Was I discovered?

I felt I had to get out of there. I scrambled down the roof backward and landed on the ground. The moment I turned to run, an unwelcome voice came from above my head.

“Stop right there.”

“You think I’ll stop just because you say so! Haste!”

Even though I knew the effect would be diminished, I used the spell. I accelerated and dashed through the complex back alleys with the goal of shaking that guy off. But my opponent was no pushover. My attempts to lose him were useless as he stuck right to the back of my head.

I had no choice but to leap onto a building’s rooftop, grabbing the railing made of steel pipes. I broke it off with my strength, gripped it, and as I landed on the rooftop, I turned and swung.

“Enchant!”

I swung the rusty steel pipe after reinforcing it, but my opponent easily dodged it. I cast Haste again, its effect having worn off, and attacked at a speed invisible to the eye with the added acceleration.

This much would have been enough to knock out any ordinary guy, but my opponent’s skills were far too excellent for one of Park Gyu’s lackeys. He blocked my attack by putting up a shield, then surprisingly pushed it toward me.

He pushed me back with a movement like a tanker, and I stepped backward. A sharp pain shot through the wrist that had been swinging the steel pipe, and I tried not to get worked up, moving calmly as Heesoo hyung had instructed.

More than anything else, I paid attention to my footwork and looked at my opponent’s eyes, not his hands. My plan was to pretend to go on the offensive the instant the shield’s effect disappeared and then flee, but for some reason, my opponent’s face looked familiar.

My opponent must have had the same thought. He stopped the motion of trying to kick me with the shield. Then, he suddenly pulled back the hood he was wearing over his head.

Seeing his fully revealed face, I was half in doubt. With perfectly symmetrical yet harmonious features, he was a handsome man by anyone’s standards. It was the kind of face that was hard to forget once seen, but I couldn’t recall it at all, perhaps because I’d seen it a long time ago. I furrowed my brow and tilted my head.

“Who?”

At my question, my opponent spoke, sounding a bit crestfallen.

“…You don’t remember me?”

“I don’t.”

When I asked as if to say, “Is there a reason I should remember you?” the opponent looked disappointed.

“I guess I’m the only one who remembers.”

“When did we meet?”

“At Nowhere, a few years ago. You don’t know?”

Nowhere was the name of the bar I had just gone to in search of Park Gyu. Since it was a place I had frequented a few years ago, him saying that didn’t help much…

As I puzzled over it, I finally realized.

“Ah!”

When I finally recognized him, he smiled as if satisfied.

“Looks like you finally remember.”

“No.”

At my immediate denial, my opponent looked dumbfounded.

“You still don’t know?”

“I did remember something, but I still don’t know who you are. I’m not the type to remember every single one-night stand.”

He was someone I met at Nowhere and had a night of fun with. If it had been a woman, I wouldn’t have recognized the face, but my experiences with men were few and far between, so I remembered. He was also the only one I’d ever bottomed for, so I hadn’t been able to forget completely.

He spoke in a tone that suggested he wouldn’t be offended.

“It can’t be helped. You’re a celebrity, but I’m not.”

“I’m honored you recognize me, but what are you planning to do? If you’re going to fight, make it quick. So I can knock you down and run away.”

At my words, he shrugged his shoulders without much sign of contemplation.

“We’ve met after so many years, it wouldn’t be right to be so cold, would it?”

“Aren’t you one of Park Gyu’s lackeys?”

“Let’s just say we’re business partners rather than lackeys.”

He strode toward me, and I took a step back. But it seemed he wasn’t planning to drag me away despite his words, as he pushed open the door leading down from the rooftop.

“Go in here. I’ll take you to a place you can escape from.”

“Do you even know where this is?”

“I’m sure you know the Oleander Alleys inside and out, too. If I lead you to the wrong place, you’ll notice right away.”

He had a point, so I stepped inside the door. He took the lead, and I followed behind him, trying to dredge up memories of the past. But I couldn’t remember anything. The only thing I could remember was…

As if sensing that I was digging through my memories, he glanced back at me and asked.

“Does anything come to mind?”

“Well, I can’t remember anything except that your technique was pretty good. I was a bit drunk that day.”

At my shameless words, my opponent let out a short burst of laughter.

“I’m glad you at least remember that.”

“You seem to have no ambition, being satisfied with just ‘pretty good.’”

“That’s just what you say, but in reality, you liked it so much you were writhing.”

“Who was writhing? I almost died from the pain!”

When I yelled, he abruptly stopped walking. He turned back to me and asked, as if puzzled.

“…It hurt? That can’t be. I put so much effort into it.”

“What makes you so confident?”

“No way, was it your first time?”

I realized that in a situation where I should be fleeing for my life, I was having a ridiculous conversation with some guy. I glared at the guy, who was feigning wide-eyed surprise, and threatened him.

“Stop hitting on me and just lead the way.”

“You caught me.”

He shrugged and smiled, and I gradually started to remember what kind of guy he was. We had met at Nowhere, but I had seen him several times picking up partners in the Dungeon Street area where hunters mainly gathered. He must have been genuinely gay, as he only ever picked up men, and there was a rumor that he only chose Awakened ones.

Guys like that were often into rough play. Among the hunters who fought monsters in dungeons, some would occasionally develop strange hobbies after experiencing so much pain.

These types found no pleasure in healthy relationships, so they enjoyed a kind of play that fell short of even being called SM. I had intended to keep my distance, thinking he was that type, but that day I had drunk too much and was in a self-destructive mood, so I had rashly fallen for his temptation.

Naturally, I almost died, and I regretted it immensely the next morning. To be honest, it wasn’t that I disliked it entirely, but it wasn’t to the point where I could ignore the sense of shame that washed over me when I came to my senses.

So unlike me, to have tumbled with a man, not a woman, and a potentially dangerous one at that. I berated myself, thinking what I would have done if something had really happened to me, and made sure to avoid ever running into him again.

After that, I completely forgot about it. But to run into him like this.

It was a relief that he was unexpectedly friendly, but I knew all too well that this kind of favor could turn into a dagger at any moment. Watching the back of the guy’s head as he descended the endless spiral staircase, I spoke.

“Why are you helping me, even to the point of betraying Park Gyu?”

“Do you really need a reason to show kindness to someone you have a connection with?”

“Of course. You’re helping because you want something, aren’t you?”

Around then, the stairs ended. There were doors on both sides of the narrow space, but the guy leading the way didn’t enter either of them. Instead, he opened a manhole cover on the floor.

Along with a damp stench, a ladder leading down came into view. I scowled and said.

“You want me to escape through the sewer?”

“Of all the paths I know, this is the only safe escape route. If you don’t like it, you can go outside and have a go with the guys who are hell-bent on catching you. It shouldn’t be a difficult task for an A-rank magic swordsman.”

He spoke as if to flatter me, but the barrier was getting in the way, so I couldn’t use my magic as usual. I might be able to handle Park Gyu or his small fry, but dealing with the monsters of the Oleander Guild would be a struggle.

More importantly, this was not the time to be wasting my energy here. I couldn’t get caught after having bragged to Heesoo hyung that I would take care of my own safety.

In the end, I had no choice.

“Damn it… The sewers in Sejong City are unbelievably filthy…”

As I grumbled reluctantly, the guy started casting. Was he a magic-user?

The guy kissed his palm and blew, as if blowing a kiss. It was incredibly cheesy, but a small light from his breath stuck fast to my forehead.

“That will guide you. Follow the direction the light shines.”

“Thanks for the help, but don’t even think about bringing this up later. If you helped me without a reason, then just leave it at that.”

At my emphatic words, he let out a smirk.

“I didn’t help you without a reason, though?”

“Are you a man of two words?”

As I spoke reluctantly and stepped onto the sewer ladder, he placed a hand on my cheek. I flinched and hunched my shoulders. Uncaring of my startled reaction, the guy lightly brushed my ear with his fingertips.

A strong scent of musk and lavender mixed together came from his wrist. He must have been wearing perfume, just like the cheesy guy he was.

“I helped you because I have ulterior motives. I told you, I remembered you. I had a good time that night.”

“You’re full of shit.”

I let his words go in one ear and out the other as I climbed down the ladder. When I finally reached the sludgy bottom, the guy waved from the round sewer entrance above.

“See you again, then.”

I turned away without answering. He must not have expected a reply, as I heard the sound of the manhole cover closing above my head.

Soon, darkness enveloped everything, and the light on my forehead grew brighter. Seeing it stretch out straight ahead, I started walking in that direction.