Chapter 135

 

I spoke up because I felt awkward but Seong San-ha, who had been sharply scanning the hallway, asked me.

“Nothing happened, right?”

“Happened? What do you mean?”

Tilting my head, I also glanced down the corridor. Seong San-ha let out a hollow laugh.

“I thought something had happened since you called me so urgently.”

The tension on his face melted away in an instant. Returning to his usual relaxed demeanor, he playfully asked.

“Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? Did you come because you missed me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Countless things I wanted to say beyond the original reason for coming flooded my mind when I saw Seong San-ha’s face. But, there wasn’t a trace of seriousness on his face. His casual gaze made it clear that he just planned to entertain me for a bit before brushing me off.

Feeling like I was the only one desperate here, anger boiled inside me, and I glared at him. But even when he faced my sharp gaze, he simply chuckled. Grabbing the edge of his loosely open robe, he tilted his head, pretending to be bashful.

“The way you’re looking at me so intensely makes me shy.”

“…Fck you.”

“So, what’s the reason for your late-night visit?”

‘Right, there’s a purpose to this visit. I’ll talk about everything else later.’

I mentally chanted “patience” over and over, suppressing my crumpled complaints once again.

“It’s nothing big. I was just wondering how long I’m supposed to stay here.”

“Is something bothering you? I thought you’d be happy since everyone’s gathered here.”

“It’s comfortable. But I can’t stay here forever. Plus, now that my identity has been revealed… shouldn’t I move to the workshop?”

When I asked with eager eyes, Seong San-ha let out a low chuckle.

“Hm, I was planning to tell you as a surprise gift.”

“A gift? What is it?”

Given the situation, I had a pretty good idea of what it might be. Filled with anticipation, I looked at him, and he nodded.

“We’re preparing it. The land around your workshop has mostly been cleared, and major guilds, including Cheon Rang, along with branches of big workshops, are getting ready to set up there. Since they’re all heavyweight players, neither Nox nor any cult-like groups will be able to recklessly attack that place.”

“That’s… incredible.”

“It’ll become a workshop district as big as Wolgye Naru. And right at its center will be your workshop.”

Just hearing about it filled me with excitement, and I couldn’t suppress my smile. My feet tapped the floor eagerly as I asked.

“So there’ll be tons of customers, right?”

“Of course. There’ll be so many that it might actually become a problem.”

“That’s crazy!”

Not just stopping at the workshop but going even further with such an admirable move! Overjoyed, I grabbed him in a sudden hug.

I felt his body flinch in my arms, but I was too thrilled to pay attention to that.

“You’re that happy?”

“Of course!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

After a while, Seong San-ha gently pushed me away by holding my shoulders. My eyes naturally fell to his jet-black hand resting on my shoulder.

Since he had just come out of the shower, he wasn’t wearing gloves, revealing his bare hand. Though it wasn’t my first time seeing that blackened, necrotic skin, I still couldn’t get used to it.

‘That curse from back then…’

I took his hand off my shoulder, holding it between both of mine. I gently stroked it and pressed down lightly here and there.

“Does it hurt?”

Seong San-ha shook his head with a strange expression.

His hand was straight, solid, and well-proportioned—from the fingertips to the joints, the thick flesh under the thumb, and the wrist it connected to. If not for the skin, it would have been a beautiful, strong hand.

‘There’s no issue with the function of his hand. It just looks grotesque on the surface.’

As I fiddled with his hand, wondering how to approach treating it, I gradually applied more pressure without realizing it. Just as I was about to tell him to relax a bit so I could press better, his hand slipped right out of mine.

“Wait, let me see your hand again—”

“That’s enough. If you’re done being curious, go back.”

“Already? Come on, let me stay for a bit. I want to come inside.”

“Nope. Sleep well if you want to grow taller.”

“What? Hey, wait a sec!”

With nothing but a brief, humorless laugh, the door slammed shut right in front of me. Stunned by how quickly it all happened, I stood there dumbfounded before banging on the door.

“Yah! Seong San-ha!”

I pressed the doorbell multiple times and called his name, but the door never opened again.

He seemed fine for a moment, but now he’s acting up again. His obvious attempt to avoid me made me almost miss the times when he’d just tease me smugly.

“Damn that, lunatic bastard. He always does whatever he wants.”

I stomped back toward my room on the opposite side of the hallway, seething with anger, unable to contain my frustration.

The only way to relieve this suffocating irritation was alcohol. Determined to have a drink after a long time, I fumed all the way to my door and swiped my key card at the lock.

However, the red light blinked, and the door wouldn’t open.

“Huh?”

Thinking that the door might be broken, I flipped the card over—and realized it wasn’t my room number on it. It was Seong San-ha’s.

When I asked for his room earlier, they must have misunderstood and handed me the wrong key.

I stared at the four-digit number printed on the key card. I could go back down to the lobby and get it swapped… but my lips curled in a pout.

Instead, I marched past the elevator and headed straight back to Seong San-ha’s room. Without bothering to press the doorbell, I swiped the card and walked right in.

Our eyes met as he stood there, looking bewildered.

“How did you get in here, Kang Eui-jin?”

“Why are you avoiding me?”

The words burst out of me without permission, catching both of us off guard. Seong San-ha’s lips closed tightly, silence confirming the truth—he had been avoiding me.

His lack of denial made all the hurt and disappointment I’d been holding back erupt at once.

“I told you, didn’t I? You’re fucking weird.”

“…”

“Did I do something wrong? Then say it, damn it. Stop quietly slipping away and pissing me off.”

As my words grew more emotional, Seong San-ha ran a hand through his damp hair, letting out a small sigh before shaking his head slightly.

“…It’s not your fault. If there’s a problem, it’s with me.”

“What problem?”

Seong San-ha gave a faint smile and shrugged. His body language clearly said he wasn’t going to explain, which only made me narrow my eyes.

“Why aren’t you telling me? It’s obviously related to me.”

“It’s late. Let’s talk about it later, okay?”

“Do you think I don’t know? This started ever since you found out I’m Kang Eui-jin!”

The attempt to brush me off fell flat as Seong San-ha pressed his lips together in silence. We stared at each other, neither saying a word.

“Does the fact that I’m Kang Eui-jin really cause a problem for you?”

The words spilled out before I could stop them — my deepest, buried thoughts finally surfacing. Ever since seeing the experiment records, I hadn’t dwelled on it, but I couldn’t completely ignore the possibility. 

What if Seong San-ha resented me? Guilt faintly reared its head at the thought that I alone had survived under Tae Jae-heon while the children at the Alpha Room and the orphanage had all perished.

In the heavy silence, it was Seong San-ha who finally spoke first.

“It’s just a personal feeling. It’s not something you can fix.”

“So what the hell is it, then?”

I stood my ground, determined not to leave until he gave me an answer. Eventually, Seong San-ha let out a long sigh and spoke reluctantly.

“…I’m confused because of you and Joo Ho-hyun.”

“Hah, what?”

I couldn’t make sense of it. If he was just spouting nonsense to escape the situation, that would’ve been easier to believe.

“You expect me to believe that right now? The only thing that changed was the name!”

“It’s not that simple—”

“Why does it even matter who I am? Both of them are me anyway!”

My frustration spilled out in a shout, and Seong San-ha froze.

“What?”

“From the very beginning, when you said you’d smash my face in, up until now — it was always me! Damn it, what’s there to be confused about?”

The dumbfounded look on his face was ridiculous. His lips parted slightly.

“You’re… the same. You and Joo Ho-hyun.”

He lowered his gaze and muttered with a bitter laugh.

“Right. It was you from the start. I was such a fool not to realize.”

“You’ve been spewing nonsense to dodge the issue, but don’t think I won’t keep asking—”

Seong San-ha suddenly lifted his head. His gaze sharpened, inspecting me thoroughly with a newfound intensity that was worlds apart from before. It made me take a step back without thinking.

His eyes bore into me relentlessly, and the corners of his mouth curled upward in a slow smile.

Then he strode toward me with deliberate steps.

“It was all just one person, wasn’t it… Eui-jin?”

“…You just realized that now? Idiot.”

As Seong San-ha advanced, I instinctively backed up until my back hit the window. With the light behind him, his figure looked even larger than usual. His face, smiling softly as he looked at me, was beautiful enough to make anyone gasp — but there was something unsettling about it.

“Ask me why I avoided you.”

“Yah, what’s with you?”

“Hm? You said you were curious.”

…He wouldn’t say a word earlier, and now this sudden change? What the hell is wrong with him?

But I was curious, so I cast a wary glance at him before reluctantly speaking.

“Why did you avoid me?”

“Because I felt guilty.”

“Guilty? Toward me?”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, I blinked wide-eyed. Seong San-ha’s lips curled into a gentle smile.

At some point, his hand had cupped my cheek without me even noticing. I stared blankly at his face, momentarily dazed.

“I felt guilty for not recognizing you right away. Guilty for being drawn to Joo Ho-hyun despite that.”

“…What?”

“I was confused, wondering if I was attracted to Kang Eui-jin or Joo Ho-hyun. That’s why I avoided you.”

“Hey, Seong San-ha. You…”

I was so flustered that I couldn’t even speak properly. Though I tried to force a laugh, my lips stiffened. Without realizing it, my eyes flicked toward the door behind Seong San-ha. 

But he shifted closer, blocking it completely. Even if I wanted to retreat, all that awaited behind me was the glass window.

His hand gently cupped my cheek, tilting my face toward him as if demanding my attention.

“Eui-jin ah. What should I do? I don’t think I can hold back anymore.”

“H-hold back! Damn it, hold back!”

“That promise I made back then… I’m going to claim it now.”

“Promise? What the hell are you—”

Before I could finish my sentence, his face drew closer, filling my entire view in an instant. Alarm bells blared in my head. The moment something soft brushed against my lips, I shoved him hard, but his body didn’t budge.

Instead, his arms tightened around me, pulling me closer. The lazy gaze in his eyes slowly faded as they closed, and his parted lips pressed firmly against mine. And then…

Then…!

“Damn it!!”

My eyes flew open wide. The sensation against my lips was hot and soft, something I had never experienced before. My thoughts spun wildly as if I were about to lose my mind.