Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 137

[I’m out of the dorm now, Unha. By the utility pole next to the villa.][2:03 AM]

 

He really did sound urgent.

 

— [Huh? Oh, I’ll head out now too.][2:03 AM]

 

When did he even go outside? We were clearly exchanging messages just a second ago… The fact that he arrived outside before I even heard the digital lock open was disconcerting.

 

[Don’t rush out. Just act natural.][2:03 AM]

 

‘I know that.’

 

[Where are you now?][2:03 AM]

 

‘Why is he being so mindful of the other members…?’

 

Did he not want the others to know we were meeting to talk about something else? Given that Joo Wooyoung had been through many parties, I could understand it if I assumed he was trying to avoid creating factions within the team, but….

 

‘Is it really something that requires this much caution? Can’t I just say I’m going to talk to Wooyoung hyung for a bit? Well, since we’re sharing things we can’t tell others, it makes sense, but….’

 

Even so, it still felt a little strange. My phone hadn’t stopped vibrating the entire time I held it because of the messages he was sending. It almost felt like some kind of emergency had broken out. Even at this very moment, the phone was buzzing.

 

I tilted my head down to look at the screen. I saw Joo Wooyoung’s messages: Are you coming? How’s it going?

 

The messages had been arriving so relentlessly that for a moment I thought I was getting an actual phone call. 

 

‘I guess I don’t need to come up with an excuse.’

 

I began to move cautiously. And, as if he had been waiting for that….

 

“Where are you going?”

 

Jegal Hwi’s voice rang out.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I asked where you’re going.”

 

“The bath—no, to take a call. There’s an urgent call I have to pick up….”

 

“…….”

 

“What?”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

“You can take the call here. I’m not going to sleep yet.”

 

“No, I’d feel too bad. And it’s a bit private, so… ah! And I don’t want to disturb hyung’s and Suhyeon’s sleep.”

 

“…….”

 

‘What? What is his problem now?’

 

“…….”

 

I stared at Jegal Hwi in silence. He was looking at me with half-lidded eyes. 

 

‘It’s not like he’s my guardian or something….’

 

He had never acted like this before, which only made it more unsettling. The expression reflected in my eyes seemed unusually sharp for him. The dorm felt like it was freezing over. I even started breaking into a cold sweat.

 

‘What is this?’

 

It wasn’t mana or anything of the sort, yet it felt as though something was steadily pressing down on my body. No, was it constriction? What was he doing? It was getting harder to breathe.

 

If it hadn’t been for Baek Suhyeon mumbling, ‘O Spirits…,’ in his sleep, I might have actually fallen into a state of panic. 

 

Just as I said, Baek Suhyeon’s sleep talking shattered the tension filling the room. Jegal Hwi, who had seemed so tense just moments ago, quietly let out a sigh before saying, ‘It’s late, so take it quickly and come back’, signaling his desire to end the brief interaction.

 

‘No, seriously, what was that?’

 

After hurriedly leaving the room, I looked at my palms; they were drenched in sweat. 

 

‘What just happened? Was it just an illusion?’

 

I didn’t know how to accurately describe that feeling. It had seemed almost like a supernatural ability, so I instinctively began analyzing the sensation.

 

‘Was… wasn’t there something off about him?’

 

Was it mana? Or was it bloodlust? No, it was neither. I could swear it was a sensation I had never felt before. No, before that, I wasn’t even sure if what I felt from Jegal Hwi was real.

 

‘Was it an ability?’

 

I wasn’t even sure if ‘ability’ was the right word. I, Lee Unha, had seen and felt all sorts of things in the other world, but I had never experienced a sensation like that. Of course, that didn’t mean there couldn’t be abilities I’d never witnessed before…

 

‘Was he… one of those as well?’

 

No way. Joo Wooyoung’s earlier mention of Jegal Hwi and what had just happened briefly overlapped in my mind, but no matter how I thought about it, the odds that three people from that other world would all end up in the same group were simply too low.

 

Rather than there being something unusual about Jegal Hwi… Maybe it was just me….

 

‘I’m just on edge for no reason. I’m just oversensitive…. My whole body is bristling because I’m about to meet Joo Wooyoung.’

 

That was likely the answer. It had been my own decision, and I was the one who had set all of this in motion, but even at this moment, my body, my heart, and my head were filled with worry about Joo Wooyoung. I had been in a state of hyper-tension since earlier. Jegal Hwi was simply a trigger. 

 

The mixture of a tense Lee Unha and the sense of distortion from an unusual behavior pattern must have affected my body in some unknown way.

 

‘Right. That must be it….’

 

***

 

As if confirming that my conclusion was right, even after leaving the room my breathing remained uneven. I still hadn’t managed to shake off the tension.

 

‘Right. Stop thinking useless thoughts and focus on Joo Wooyoung. That comes first.’

 

I was just going out for a short conversation, but… it wasn’t as if there were no risks involved. For instance, Joo Wooyoung could cast a spell on me like last time. Or perhaps the Archmage he called in advance was waiting for me. It would be weirder not to be nervous.

 

‘And….’

 

Seeing how quickly he took action made me feel even more suspicious. 

 

However, I couldn’t judge this matter based on mere feelings. I couldn’t postpone or hide this based on a hunch or intuition. Yes, facts supported by circumstances were more important than feelings and hunches. 

 

Joo Wooyoung cared about me, and even if he suspected I was a dangerous element, he probably wasn’t in a position where he could simply eliminate me.

 

While cooling my head, which was a mess for various reasons, I stepped outside.

 

Sure enough….

 

‘See…. Just look….’

 

Joo Wooyoung’s worried expression came into view.

 

‘I knew I was right. Joo Wooyoung… he really was worrying about Lee Unha.’

 

The tension I had felt from the moment the quest was completed, through the encounter with Jegal Hwi, until arriving here, vanished in an instant. The moment I felt so exhausted I could barely take a step, Joo Wooyoung’s face entered my vision.

 

He still wore a warm expression. Even though I knew I had to act anxious, the corners of my mouth kept trying to twitch upward.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Huh? Ah…. Yes. About what? My… my eyes?”

 

“No, did… did anything happen inside?”

 

“Inside?”

 

“Yeah. Did you wake any of the other members or….”

 

“No… Jegal hyung just asked where I was going, so I told him I was taking a call. He didn’t seem to say much….”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. The atmosphere felt a bit strange, but… that was really it. Suhyeon was sleeping, too.”

 

“That’s a relief…. Then l-let’s at least go to the park and talk. No… this isn’t the time for small talk. We should get straight to the point… It’s already late, so… Unha.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You definitely said your eyes were strange, right?”

 

“…….”

 

“…….”

 

“Yes. They are strange. They really… feel weird.”

 

“Can you tell me exactly how they are strange?”

 

“They hurt.”

 

“Huh? You mean there’s pain besides what you mentioned last time in your pupils?”

 

“I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not even sure if they hurt or not. It’s strange. I don’t know how to explain this myself. The feeling… I can’t put it into words. It’s like an unknown sense of alienness… I think it’s causing both discomfort and pain. Like I told you before, they still sting a little, but honestly, the discomfort is worse than the pain. And today…”

 

“Today?”

 

“I looked in the mirror this evening… and suddenly… suddenly, my eyes….”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“It felt like they weren’t my own eyes. Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I felt like I was going crazy… I was just thinking, ‘What do I do? What do I do?’, and then I suddenly remembered you asking how my eyes were. Honestly, I was thinking about going to a hospital once our promotions are over… but I feel like it’s more of a mental issue….”

 

“Mhm…. Yeah….”

 

“Do you think there’s something wrong with me? What if all of this is just in my head?”

 

“…….”

 

“You know, don’t you, hyung? What’s happening to my body? Seriously? Do you know? Have you s-seen someone among your acquaintances who had something similar? Am I… like a character in a movie… am I going to go blind later or….”

 

“No, that won’t happen, Unha. It won’t. So just calm down first….”

 

I poured my absolute soul into the acting. Compared to the time I’d imitated Graham the Revolutionary before, this performance wasn’t even in the same league. I recalled the faces of every slave in the lab who had begged for their lives while rubbing their palms together, and I mirrored them in my own expression.

 

Anxiety, nervousness, terror, dread. In Joo Wooyoung’s eyes, the current Lee Unha must have looked like he was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. I even exhaled in ragged gasps, as if hyperventilating.

 

‘Is… is this enough?’

 

Or should I pretend to actually hyperventilate?

 

“I’m scared….”

 

Should I shed some tears too?

 

‘No, overdoing it might make him suspicious.’

 

For now, I maintained my current posture, waiting to see how Joo Wooyoung would react.

 

“Haa…. Phew…. Haa….”

 

And….

 

‘I might as well just show him.’

 

I subtly activated the Succubus’ Eye.

 

“Calm down, Unha. First, just calm down and slowly….”

 

Joo Wooyoung’s eyes, as he spoke, suddenly fixed on my gaze.

 

“Calm down for a second… everything… will be fine….”

 

The expression on Joo Wooyoung’s face turned grave.

 

Clearly….

 

‘He’s looking at it.’

 

No.

 

‘He’s analyzing it.’

 

I could see him trying to figure out how my eye was manifesting, what its rank was, and exactly what functions it possessed. Joo Wooyoung must have realized it was different from the version he saw last time.

 

‘You aren’t going to chant a spell, are you? Don’t suddenly go Unchiora on me….’

 

Fortunately, the scenario I imagined didn’t happen.

 

However….

 

Words I never expected came out of Joo Wooyoung’s mouth. The guy, who had been so focused on examining my eyes, suddenly….

 

“Unha. Go back to the dorm now.”

 

He opened his mouth.

 

He even had a somewhat chilly face. He wore a slightly cold expression that made me wonder if I had done something wrong.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Go back to the dorm right now. You can go back alone, right?”

 

“Y-Yes… But why all of a sudden? I…”

 

“Don’t say anything for now. Just go…. I’ll look into your eyes a little more before I explain anything. This isn’t some psychological problem or anything like that. So don’t worry.”

 

“Huh? Ah…. Okay.”

 

“Trust me, Unha. Nothing bad will happen. So, relax. Don’t be too anxious about your eyes; I’ll find a way somehow.”

 

“O-Okay…?”

 

“Go. Quickly.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Hurry.”

 

I moved my steps with a reluctant face. I didn’t know what on earth just happened, but I realized a serious situation had occurred. I didn’t even have time to wonder what Joo Wooyoung was doing or what he was going to do from now on. Right now, I felt that going back to the dorm as he said was the priority.

 

Sure enough, as soon as I started walking….

 

I felt a black figure following me.