#2. Below
There was no way to tell how long or how deep he’d been falling after getting swallowed by the rift.
Thrown without warning into the darkness, an endless plummet followed — as though all of reality were sinking into the earth.
With nothing visible in the surrounding blackness, everything around him became a threatening obstacle. Shattered asphalt, cars, jagged signs and crumbling buildings, and other unidentifiable wreckage.
The deafening crash of things colliding and breaking apart, the sharp, intense smell of something burning — and through all of it, the only thing that remained clear was Moon Woo-shin, held on to with everything Hae-il had.
Moon Woo-shin had pulled him close, shielding Hae-il’s head, leaving himself fully exposed to danger.
Damn ring.
From the moment he’d registered the fall, Hae-il had been fighting desperately to get the ring off. Trying to pull it free without letting go of Moon Woo-shin mid-freefall was harder than he’d expected. The moment he loosened his grip even slightly, he had the terrifying feeling that they’d be torn apart and never find each other again. Given everything around them, that fear wasn’t unfounded.
Out of nowhere, something large grazed his arm and plummeted past. The sudden impact sent both their bodies drifting helplessly through the air. In a fall where he couldn’t even keep his balance, something like pain from the blow didn’t even register.
Hae-il clenched his teeth and held Moon Woo-shin tight.
“Seo Hae-il, don’t pass out.”
Even through the chaos of noise surrounding them, Moon Woo-shin’s voice right at his ear came through crystal clear.
Maybe it was because he couldn’t see his face properly. The emotion underlying that voice sounded different from usual.
“I won’t.”
Does he think I’m still some second-year college rookie. Hae-il snapped back out of reflex, then turned his full focus back to getting the ring off. The thought that they could slam into the ground at any moment made him feel frantic.
Only after pulling Moon Woo-shin in closer did his right hand finally manage to settle over his left. A few times his fingers just scraped against the slippery surface, fighting the resistance of the rushing air — and then at last, the smooth surface of the ring made contact with his fingertips. He applied pressure.
“Ah!”
Both their bodies slammed hard into something. His hand nearly slipped, but he barely managed to grab onto Moon Woo-shin’s shoulder.
If we get out of this alive, I’m definitely asking them to fix this goddamn ring so I can take it off without touching it.
He was gritting his teeth and about to try again when he felt something warm against his neck — and froze. Something wet trailed slowly down the length of his neck.
…Blood?
It wasn’t his.
“Senior. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Answer me!”
He shouted in alarm, but there was no response. Had he lost consciousness? That didn’t seem right — there wasn’t the slightest loss of strength in the hands wrapped around Hae-il’s head and waist.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but in this position he couldn’t get a proper look at his face. If he let go of his arms now, he felt like they’d be torn apart at any moment.
“…I’m fine, focus.”
Only after a long pause did a faint, weakened voice barely reach his ear. Hae-il instantly recognized the familiar but dim sound of it and pressed his lips tightly together.
Fine, my ass. He was clearly hurt.
At the peak of his anxiety, Hae-il released his ability without thinking. He wanted to summon a massive body of water right then and there, wrap it around them tightly, protect them. But an invisible barrier stopped him. The power of the ring.
He was furious that some mere tool was keeping him from using his own power when he needed it most.
A tool is just a tool. You cannot suppress a power that is fully mine — not even at a moment I don’t intend.
Hae-il breathed in slowly, closed his eyes, and focused. He pushed away the sensation of endless falling and held on to only two things: the warmth he was gripping in his hands, and the Wavelength flowing through his body.
The familiar Wavelength came through sharp and vivid, almost tangible. He pushed it outward with everything he had. Strong enough to push back even the barrier wrapped tightly around him — strong enough to finally break it.
Pushing with full force, getting shoved back, then pushing harder again. The more intensely he used his ability, the sharper the pain in his heart grew — but he forced himself to ignore it.
As he struggled against the resistance, Hae-il felt the ring’s power holding him back begin to weaken, little by little. Or maybe it was his own power that was growing, little by little.
He kept pushing and pushing until he was finally free from the invisible pressure.
Crack — at last, the sound of something shattering reached him. Impossible to hear in all this noise, and yet it came through perfectly clearly.
Got it!
With that sharp, distinct sound came a sudden rush of liberation. The ring that had been stubbornly strangling his finger had finally broken. An emotion flooded through him strong enough to dull even the pain in his heart. It was a feeling of accomplishment. Of relief.
But even savoring that success was a luxury he couldn’t afford. Hae-il immediately drew out a massive surge of water with his ability. The power, now freed, roared outward as if reveling in its own freedom. He brought it under control and shaped it into a sphere, wrapping it completely around them.
The moment they settled softly into the cushion of water, the world fell silent all at once. The air that had been slicing sharply across his skin. The noise that had been filling his ears without end.
“Ha…”
Hae-il exhaled a breath of relief and extended a long stream of water downward. He needed to gauge how much further they had left to fall.
Even after stretching it out for a long while, the bottom didn’t reach — only after falling for a few more minutes did the floor finally register at the far edge of his extended ability.
He drew out more water for cushioning to match the landing, and poured everything into making their touchdown as gentle as possible — and at last, the two of them landed safely on the ground.
Even after they’d made it safely to the bottom, Hae-il stayed still for a long while, holding Moon Woo-shin in the same embrace. He needed time to endure the pain in his heart, and fragments were still raining down from above, arriving late.
“……”
“……”
For a long stretch, the only sound that echoed loudly was the breathing of two people enclosed in the quiet water.
Pressing a hand tightly against his heart as it beat in an irregular, aching rhythm, Hae-il tried to steady his breathing.
Once the last of the pieces had finished crashing against the water barrier with their loud, clamoring noise and everything around them had gone completely quiet, Hae-il carefully loosened his arms.
With his ability reduced to a minimum, he finally had room to speak.
“Senior, are you okay?”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.”
Moon Woo-shin’s voice was clearer than before, but Hae-il couldn’t let himself relax easily. He felt like he needed to check him over visually from head to toe before he could be at ease — but it was far too dark around them. Somewhere in the distance a faint light was filtering through, but not nearly enough to examine him closely.
It would’ve helped to have a flashlight.
Special Gates were difficult for exactly this reason. You had no choice but to be thrown into a space with no preparation and no idea what was waiting. If this had at least been an official operation, they would’ve had basic gear and supplies — but caught up in this without warning, they had none of that.
Either way, there was no reversing what had already happened. The only option was to move forward with what they had now.
“Let me take a look.”
Hae-il hesitated for a moment with his hand raised, then slowly brought his fingertips closer. Barely touching the skin with the utmost care, he traced back along the dried trail of blood.
His fingers moved carefully across — from the tip of the chin to the cheek and bridge of the nose, the closed eyelids, then up to the hairline at the forehead — and then drifted through the disheveled strands of hair.
After searching for a while, he found a torn wound on the side of the head. It seemed the bleeding hadn’t fully stopped yet; a damp sensation seeped through to his fingertips.
The moment he confirmed the injury, Hae-il didn’t hesitate — he tore a long strip from the hem of his shirt.
At that, a warm weight dropped over the hand holding his shirt. Moon Woo-shin’s large hand pressed down over his, holding it in place and stopping him from moving.
“How long do you think we’re going to be trapped here? Don’t tear your clothes. Save them.”
“Sure, yeah, I’m sure it’ll feel great when the person next to me dies of blood loss just to save a scrap of fabric.”
He felt annoyed for no real reason at being told to save some clothing when the man wasn’t even thinking about his own condition. Hae-il shook his hand free and tore the rest of the strip from his shirt.
