# Chapter 195
“W-Wait a moment.”
Iyeon stammered as he opened his mouth. He needed time to understand Sano’s words that were connecting on their own.
What Sano was saying was too different from what Iyeon had been thinking. Not only the direction but, above all, it was strange that he was acting like someone desperate. Hadn’t Sano lived without wanting for anything, and hadn’t he often said so himself?
“I know what Jesan is like.”
Sano, looking like he had a lot to say, glared at Iyeon but still answered.
“So what.”
“Y-You know, it’s a company created by people you saved who admired you. And I read interviews with people you rescued from illegal laboratories, and I saw internet communities, and videos of you… You lived such an impressive life…”
The more he knew about Sano, the more he was impressed by how hard he had worked. The numerous large missions and requests that poured in as soon as he became a hunter. The overwhelming success that drew admiration. He literally saved people continuously. Especially in the early days of being a hunter, his schedule was so packed it seemed like he had no time to rest.
Despite it not matching his personality at all, Je Sano was the very embodiment of a hero who practiced public service and upheld justice. He was someone who naturally deserved all kinds of praise.
That’s why Iyeon thought it would be better for him to go back to that place. There wasn’t much good in being with Iyeon, and he was afraid something bad might happen instead… If Sano returned to the path he had paved himself, wouldn’t he regain a fulfilling and rewarding life?
“I was a bit confused by this current mission because it’s different from what you usually do, but I thought you were trying to reduce damage to people even more…”
“What exactly have you been hearing all this time?”
“Huh? What?”
“Didn’t I say I’d go first?”
Sano frowned deeply as if he really didn’t want to talk, but soon continued irritably.
“That’s how you lived.”
Sano was fundamentally different from Iyeon. He actually had no interest in others whatsoever. Not only that, but he felt the same about money and fame. Since he didn’t care, he had no greed either. If someone who had been beside him yesterday died today, he would simply say, “I see,” and move on.
But Sano wasn’t a fool. He could make simple calculations in an instant.
At the very least, he could calculate that he shouldn’t live like that if he wanted to stay by Lee Jeongyeon’s side.
Power and authority alone weren’t enough. It had to be an attractive position where Jeongyeon would voluntarily want to stay. Something Jeongyeon would like. The answer came quickly without even having to think.
‘My dream is to be a hunter. I think it would be exciting to become hunters together and beat up mutants.’
All the words the young boy had said, like his name, became Sano’s foundation.
At that time, Sano couldn’t even know whether he was alive or dead, but that didn’t matter. Whether Jeongyeon was alive or dead, that place beside him absolutely had to be his. He couldn’t be stupid enough to lose it again while measuring half-baked possibilities.
Lee Jeongyeon was such a brilliant person even as a child, so he would be even more so after growing up. If that was the case, Sano also needed to shine just as much. Enough for Jeongyeon to naturally give up the place beside him.
He needed to become someone who wouldn’t be pointed at when standing next to him. He wanted to appear as someone worthy of being together in anyone’s eyes.
So Sano imitated the Jeongyeon he knew.
He rescued imprisoned people and defeated mutants that destroyed cities. Instead of killing criminals as he pleased, he handed them over to the government, and instead of yelling at a crying child to stop crying, he gave them a balloon. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what Jeongyeon would do. After all, he always chose the stupidest option among many choices.
It was such a tedious and long path that he often got irritated, but a little dissatisfaction was worth enduring.
Because all of it was a process to reach Jeongyeon.
“I had to become someone like you so that you would stay by my side.”
“…”
“I’ve only just caught up, and now you think I’m going to let you go?”
Sano’s eyes glowed blue again. At the change that seemed like flames were rising, Iyeon came to his senses. Everything Sano was saying was so unbelievable that, even though he was hearing it directly, it felt like he was only filtering in the words he wanted to hear.
“I, I didn’t mean it that way when I talked about Yeong-ssi.”
Sano frowned immediately at the mention of Yeong’s name but tilted his head slightly as if telling him to continue. A man who had lived his life solely to stand by Iyeon’s side was staring at him intently.
Looking at that face, Iyeon completely forgot what he was going to say. The fragments of words he had been about to say before getting blocked became jumbled in his head. I had courage, to not be ashamed, my parents’ footsteps… What was I supposed to answer? What did Je Sano ask? If I like Yeong-ssi? Iyeon vaguely searched his memory. The voice that came out in the meantime was closer to instinct, bypassing the brain.
“The one I like is you…”
As those words were uttered, silence fell. Sano slowly squinted one eye, and Iyeon was observing it with a blank expression.
And three seconds later, he came to his senses.
“No, no. Wait. Sorry. I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant to say.”
“You’re saying you don’t like me?”
“No, that’s not it. Well, that’s not not it.”
“So you’re saying you do like me?”
“Well…”
He’s really something else. Iyeon tried his best to be vague while struggling to control his feelings of wanting to jump out of his skin. He absolutely, definitely had no intention of confessing so carelessly like this. He had intended to have a slightly more serious, sad, and grave conversation.
“Then what is it?”
Strangely, Sano’s face, as he stared blankly while demanding an answer, seemed to brighten very slightly. As if that conversation was really something he needed.
It was such a subtle change that Iyeon couldn’t be sure even as he thought so, and was uncertain. Looking again, it seemed like it might be an illusion, or it might not.
But as he steadily met those eyes, all other issues began to feel trivial.
“I like you.”
So at that moment, he blurted out what felt most important.
“I’ve come to like you, so, so much.”
It was a simple expression, like a child’s, but it was the best Iyeon could do. His heart beat rapidly.
Like a defendant waiting for a verdict, he stared intensely at Sano’s face, but Sano didn’t answer, wearing a strange expression. Only when Iyeon had become a bit more clear-headed did a low voice flow out.
“I don’t believe you.”
It was a type of response he never expected. …Then what should I do? Just as Iyeon hesitated, wondering what kind of evidence he should provide, Sano lowered his head.
“Push me away if you don’t like it.”
At the same time, a soft sensation strongly collided with his lips.
It was completely different from the playful kisses they had before. Iyeon was surprised to feel a moist flesh, not the lips he had become somewhat familiar with from previous experiences, licking his lower lip, and he opened his mouth in shock. Sano invaded his mouth as if he had been waiting. In an instant, the other’s tongue swept across his palate and teeth, and wrapped around Iyeon’s tongue.
Large hands grasped both of Iyeon’s cheeks to keep them from moving. He could feel the pulling force through the fingertips. He said to push him away if I didn’t like it… Iyeon thought even in the midst of this. It wasn’t a strength that could be pushed away with ordinary force. Though he had no intention of pushing away anyway.
Seeing Iyeon’s docility, Sano greedily sucked inside Iyeon’s mouth. Their noses rubbed together, and his thick tongue ceaselessly swept the tender flesh inside. The feeling of their saliva mixing and touching felt strange, causing Iyeon to unconsciously make a moaning sound. Iyeon’s tongue, which had been awkwardly standing still, not knowing what to do, twitched in response.
“Mmph, hm…”
At that response, Sano’s movements became a bit more intense. Their upper bodies pressed closer together. As Sano pressed down from above, Iyeon’s waist bent sharply. Iyeon, who almost lost his balance, grabbed Sano’s forearm for support. He could faintly feel a pulse beating through the thick cloth beneath his palm.
Only after concentrating on the kiss for a long time did Sano slowly separate their lips. There was a light sound as the wet surfaces parted. When his hands, which had been almost burning hot, also left Iyeon’s cheeks, a strangely empty feeling remained.
Sano’s face looked similar before and after the kiss. His cold-looking eyes just stared at Iyeon without saying anything.
It was Sano who spoke first.
“You made me who I am.”
“…But I, I almost killed you.”
“I can become a better person only when you’re with me.”
His firm voice overflowed with conviction.
“You made me that way.”
It was the best confession Iyeon could ever receive from another person.
