Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World Chapter 69

“By the way, what is Lee Suho’s ability?” 

 

Yoo Jian, who had finished her enthusiastic cheering and sat back down, shrugged.

 

“I don’t know. We were about to talk about it, but then you came in, and then Ha Cheongwon came in, and it turned into this.” 

 

“I heard he uses shadows?”

 

“Shadows? That’s similar to Ko Youngwoo. So it’s like an upgraded version of Ko Youngwoo.”

 

“But why is that hyung just standing there doing nothing?”

 

Jeong Mueum pointed at Cha Jaeha.

 

It had been about a minute since he had said they should start, but Cha Jaeha hadn’t moved. With his gloved hands clenched, he was staring at Lee Suho.

 

“Hey! Cha Jaeha! What are you doing?”

 

Yoo Jian shouted. Since Cha Jaeha wasn’t moving, Lee Suho had also stopped along with him. Trembling. He still looked frightened, perhaps because he was quite scared. His tightly clenched fists looked like someone gripping onto something with all his strength just to hold on. Even the way he bit his lip made it seem as though he was forcing himself to endure.

 

“Yoo Jian.”

 

The moment Cha Jaeha opened his mouth, Lee Suho flinched in surprise.

 

“Be quiet.”

 

He wasn’t the type of person to stay still so obediently. 

 

‘Shadows, huh.’

 

Hwashin looked at Lee Suho again.

 

‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’

 

The fact that Lee Suho possessed such an ability wasn’t in the novel. Of course it wasn’t. To begin with, the character Lee Su-ho didn’t even exist in the original work.

 

Ah, this is fun. The development of the story was amusing enough to make him laugh. And Riel is just watching this interesting scene from the sidelines?

 

—I can read your thoughts too, so could you not say it out loud?

 

Yoo Jian frowned when she noticed Hwashin chuckling as if laughter had spilled out like water already poured.

 

“Why is he laughing? What’s so funny right now?”

 

“Hyung, why are you laughing?”

 

Hwashin stood up from his seat. Looking more closely, Cha Jaeha was grinding his teeth.

 

Even so, his eyes were shining. Considering how helpless he looked, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to laugh bitterly. Watching Cha Jaeha’s mind working busily wasn’t unpleasant.

 

Hwashin cupped a hand beside his mouth and called out to Lee Suho.

 

“Suho, why don’t you release him now? At this point, isn’t it your victory?”

 

“Pardon? But it hasn’t—”

 

“Just release him for now. I think we should explain what’s happening first.”

 

Hwashin slowly approached.

 

“Th-that is… I’m also using my ability here for the first time, so I can’t control it properly. I-I can’t regulate it on my own.”

 

“Really?”

 

Hwashin reached Suho in long, brisk strides. Lee Suho tensed up, and Hwa-shin brought his handsome face down toward Suho’s feet. 

 

After staring at the ground for quite a while, Hwashin suddenly stood up and whispered into his ear.

 

“Suho, tell me your ability exactly. Just to me.”

 

“….Ah, well.”

 

Whisper, whisper.

 

“Ahh, I see.”

 

Ha Yujin, who had been watching the two of them for a while, tugged on Ha Cheongwon’s sleeve.

 

“Oppa, why is Cha Jaeha-ssi just standing there? And why did Uncle Hwashin suddenly jump in like that?”

 

“….Yujin, when that person acts like this, you just… just stay still.”

 

“What kind of answer is that? That’s not a real answer.” 

 

….Actually, Oppa doesn’t know either, little sister.

 

That was Ha Cheongwon’s true inner thought. Right. Even Ha Cheongwon had no idea what was going on. Is the newcomer really that powerful? 

 

Enough to make even Cha Jaeha like that?

 

Ha Cheongwon pushed up his glasses.

 

Right, when that man behaves like that, it’s better to stay quiet. He might cause some kind of incident again, but he had proven reliable before. Besides, what kind of trouble could happen in this situation anyway? Heroes fighting in the training center wasn’t rare, and heroes getting injured happened often. If it were S-ranks, an entire center could be blown away, so they tended to restrain themselves, but even they occasionally sparred—under the premise of controlling their abilities.

 

“Ha Cheongwon-ssi.”

 

Hwashin waved with a teasing grin.

 

“Do you happen to have a ballpoint pen?”

 

“….Pardon?”

 

Scribble, scribble. While making a motion as if writing something in the air, Hwashin mouthed the words once more.

 

Ball. Point. Pen.

 

*** 

 

“Isn’t that hyung going to die at this rate?”

 

“You’re the one standing in line too.”  

 

“But when else would we get such a good opportunity? I’m going to draw a cat.”

 

“Ah, I already called the cat. Jeong Mueum, concede the right to draw the cat to your noona.” 

 

Suho, hang in there until the end. Saying so, Hwa-shin moved his hand diligently. 

 

The hand holding the ballpoint pen darted across the wriggling canvas as if possessed. It was so flashy that Ha Yujin, who was standing behind him, gaped and let out a fascinated “Oooh.” Yoo Jian chuckled quietly, while Jeong Mueum looked somewhat uneasy. Ha Cheongwon had stepped back from the beginning, as if he wanted nothing to do with that prank.

 

“How is it?” 

 

Hwashin stepped back slightly to admire his work. Hmm, as expected—even if you scribble on a handsome face, it’s still handsome.

 

“….Yoo Hwashin.”

 

Cha Jaeha murmured in a low voice. His face was already trembling, yet he still couldn’t move. Jeong Mueum, who had been handed the ballpoint pen, drew a round cat despite his trembling hands.

 

“By the way, Lee Suho, your ability is seriously amazing.”

 

Ha Yujin, with her hands clasped behind her back, had already run over to Lee Suho. Lee Suho still couldn’t move from his spot because he was holding Cha Jaeha in place.

 

At Ha Yujin’s words, Yoo Jian nodded in agreement.

 

“Right. Plus, the ability name is totally cool. ‘Shadow Ghost Story’! Oh, but Yoo Hwashin, how did you know Suho’s ability? You looked like you’d noticed it even when you were just sitting down.” 

 

“Ahh, that.”

 

Hwashin had somehow obtained another ballpoint pen and this time drew a worm above the eyebrow. As the eyebrow moved, the worm seemed to gain life as well.

 

“He didn’t have a shadow under his feet.”

 

“A shadow?”

 

In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to one place.

 

“The lighting here hits objects at an angle, so shadows are guaranteed to appear. When I checked Cha Jaeha’s shadow, it felt abnormally long. If one side has no shadow at all and the other side’s shadow is strangely large, what would you think?”

 

Hwashin narrowed his eyes and stepped back.

 

“You’d have to assume one shadow moved over to the other side. Besides, with Cha Jaeha’s personality, would he want to waste time in a spar? He’d want to assess his opponent’s power immediately. And on top of that, whether that person might become a threat to him. So if someone like Cha Jaeha is standing still in place?”

 

Hwashin turned around.

 

He answered with a bright smile.

 

“Lee Suho stopped him. With his own ability. Lee Suho’s ability probably lets him control opponents using his own shadow. Since he’s S-rank, it would be possible for him to restrain Cha Jaeha, who’s also S-rank. Though he’s still inexperienced at using it, so Cha Jaeha gradually adapted enough to speak. Look even now—his eyebrows are twitching.”

 

Hwashin’s finger pointed toward Cha Jaeha’s face. His face, now decorated with flowers, worms, and even a dragon, was quite splendid. Hwashin easily ignored the killing intent in Cha Jaeha’s eyes.

 

“And that ability isn’t omnipotent either. Right, Suho?”

 

“..Ah, yes. Th-the opponent’s shadow has to be stepped on for my shadow to move over there.”

 

“One thing for sure, once Jaeha Hyung is able to move, you’re definitely half-dead.” 

 

“Ah, is that so?”

 

Yoo Jian nodded. Ha Cheongwon seemed to agree as well.

 

“But when you think about it, it was a good opportunity for you guys.”

 

When he turned back again, a goblin was standing there. Somehow his expression had grown fiercer, and the position of his hands had changed as well.

 

“U-um. I can’t hold on any longer—”

 

The moment Lee Suho finished speaking, Cha Jaeha’s shadow rippled.

 

The black shadow bulged upward. Face, body, legs. The black shadow took on the shape of a human and burst out in an instant. The shadow that had leapt into the air dropped back beneath the feet of the collapsed Lee Suho.

 

“Hwashin hyung! Behind you!”

 

A pale Mueum shouted.

 

When Hwashin turned around, a fist shot out right in front of his eyes.

 

Whoosh.

 

Hwashin’s hair fluttered in the wind pressure. As his bangs flipped back, the mocking expression on his face became even clearer. The incoming fist stopped just in front of him.

 

“That startled me.”

 

Startled?? Yoo Jian pursed her lips in disbelief.

 

‘No, that face doesn’t look startled at all.’

 

‘Does that Uncle ever get startled, Oppa?’ 

 

‘I’ve never seen it.’

 

If he were startled, he should at least blink once. Smiling brightly while claiming he was startled wasn’t convincing at all.

 

“It was Ha Cheongwon who lent the ballpoint pen, and Cha Jaeha, you were the one who got caught by Lee Suho’s ability because you let your guard down. So it’s not my fault, right?”

 

Twitch. The worm drawn on Cha Jaeha’s face wriggled.

 

Even Jeong Mueum, who had been listening, was dumbfounded.

 

‘No, that hyung did all the doodling himself, and now he’s washing his hands of it.’ 

 

‘Uncle is sneaky.’

 

“Am I wrong?”

 

At Hwashin’s question, Cha Jaeha finally let out a short laugh.

 

“Fine. Everything you said is correct.”

 

“Right?”

 

Mm-hmm, I knew you’d think that. Hwashin casually glanced at the clock behind Cha Jaeha. A digital clock that showed the exact date and time.

 

Not long after the second Red Gate appears, the third Gate follows.

 

After the workshop, the Association officially announced that all members of the SH Unit would focus on Red Gates from now on. 

 

Red Gates had now moved beyond being a problem occurring only in Korea and began appearing all over the world. S-ranks from various countries began returning to their home nations, and fortunately, the majority of Korea’s S-ranks were already in the country. 

 

Would the third gate unfold the same way as before?

 

—Just so you know, your Gates. They’re intertwined with other dimensions, so the content might change slightly along the way. 

 

You’re telling me that awfully late.

 

“Right, so you’re saying you’re not at fault.”

 

Cha Jaeha rotated his fist in front of Hwashin, who was lost in thought. The expressions of the people behind him froze. Especially Ha Cheongwon and Jeong Mueum. 

 

Jeong Mueum remembered that day.

 

Back when he was heavily fanboying over Cha Jaeha. He had seen Cha Jaeha make that kind of expression once in a video. It was through a live broadcast aired by the Association. Filming a top-tier S-rank hero clearing a Gate was a frequently used promotional tool. 

 

Surprisingly, the video Jeong Mueum saw that day was now suspended.

 

It was because the live broadcast included the scene where Cha Jaeha beat a hero, who had barged onto his site without permission, half to death. 

 

—P-please spare me…

 

—Not necessary.

 

Well, since the guy was already infamous for going to sites that were likely to become famous or to the sites of famous heroes just to scrounge for scraps… people who saw it didn’t say much. 

 

Ha Cheongwon was thinking the same thing as Jeong Mueum.

 

In any case, when Cha Jaeha made that face—

 

‘It’s the day he decides to beat someone senseless.’

 

‘It’s the day that hyung tries to kill someone.’

 

The wrist Cha Jaeha had been rotating stopped.

 

Cha Jaeha smiled brightly. Lee Suho realized for the first time that day that someone could frighten others just by smiling.

 

“Yoo Hwashin.”

 

At that moment. The moment he heard that voice, Jeong Mueum thought—

 

“Why don’t you take the next round?”

 

…..Has there ever been a precedent of disposing of a corpse at the center?