# Chapter 80
‘Even so, it’s surprising.’
Iyeon could list more than a dozen reasons to dislike Je Sano. He was always sarcastic, mistreated him, only said what he wanted to say, even tried to kill him, and…
Even while thinking this, Iyeon stole a glance at Sano. His cold, aloof impression was intimidating, but after spending several months together, that feeling had faded considerably.
In the space dimly lit by the hazy moonlight, Iyeon could barely make out the contours of his face, but just seeing those meticulously crafted lines was enough to stir a strange excitement. As he continued watching, the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily, and Iyeon quickly controlled his facial muscles to compose his expression.
Honestly, it was absurd that he felt even a fingernail’s worth of attraction, but his body was too honest to deny it.
“…”
But Iyeon quietly turned his gaze away.
Nothing had changed about their situation. Je Sano was one of the people Iyeon had hoped never to encounter in his lifetime. Though they were already entangled, he had no intention of taking things any further. If Sano knew what he was thinking, he’d probably tell him not to count his chickens before they hatched.
Now that Iyeon knew Sano’s purpose was to find Morpho, his reasons for approaching Iyeon made sense. It also explained why he kept following Iyeon around.
Personally, Iyeon thought it was a waste of time… Even if Sano discovered who Iyeon really was, in a few more months, he would learn that Iyeon was already a person with no connection to Morpho.
That would be the end of it. Sano would leave, and Iyeon would resume his ordinary life. After that, he would only check on Sano’s well-being through the very blurry videos edited by Jonghee. That was how it should be.
Their worlds needed to remain separate. Especially if Iyeon had any decency left.
Thinking about this made him feel a little depressed. Wanting to change the mood, Iyeon started rambling as if nothing was wrong. Fortunately, his voice sounded similar to normal.
“Since Jaekyung-ssi came to find us right away, the Nightmare Elephant probably hasn’t gone far.”
However, he didn’t get an immediate response. When the silence lingered, Iyeon turned to look beside him with confusion.
“Je Sano?”
Sano had the same posture and expression as before. He hadn’t gone deaf in that short time, yet there wasn’t even the slightest reaction. It was as if he was treating Iyeon like an invisible person. Bewildered, Iyeon called again.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Only then did Sano look at Iyeon. He merely shifted his eyeballs slightly, as if even turning his head would be too much effort.
With perfect timing, the moon hid behind clouds. Even the faint moonlight disappeared, and the man, who now looked like a large black shadow, muttered ominously.
“Your needless meddling never changes, I see.”
His tone was full of thorns.
The emotional temperature itself was different from his usual momentary sarcasm. Iyeon looked at him in confusion.
Why was he so angry? No matter how he reviewed the situation, Iyeon couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Was he annoyed because their fireworks viewing was interrupted? Or maybe…
“I told you not to get close to that guy.”
Eyes now adjusted to the darkness could barely distinguish furrowed brows and dark pupils. His severely twisted expression had already turned to glare at nothing in the distance.
“But this couldn’t be helped.”
The Nightmare Elephant… Iyeon’s words were cut off by a sharp voice.
“Thanks to you, we’ve ended up here.”
The sarcastic tone was precisely accusing him.
“…”
Iyeon closed his mouth. It was somewhat unfair to be openly scolded like this. But he couldn’t just ignore a Level 5 variant roaming the forest when he clearly knew about it. Even if it hadn’t been Jaekyung but someone else who reported it, Iyeon would still have entered the forest.
Normally, he would have talked back, but Sano’s face was too intimidating, and… honestly, Iyeon didn’t want Sano to dislike him. No one wanted to be criticized by someone they liked.
Still, this isn’t really my fault. Iyeon grumbled inwardly. Silence weighed down on the two of them. The steady footsteps sounded like they were crushing something.
Thanks to their wordlessly focused walking, they made good progress through the forest. They must have covered quite a distance from the hotel by now.
It seemed they had crossed some geographical boundary, as the trees and undergrowth grew thicker and large rocks became more abundant. The naturally steepening slope had barely been touched by human feet, making it bumpy and unpacked. The sound of water nearby suggested a stream branching off from the lake was flowing somewhere close.
Drip.
‘Oh.’
Feeling moisture brush his cheek, Iyeon instinctively looked up. Jaekyung’s mention of the weather forecast predicting rain crossed his mind. It seemed the meteorological office was right. Iyeon considered using the weather as an excuse to say something to Sano, but the broad back that had already moved about four steps ahead looked coldly determined never to turn around.
That firmness felt somehow a bit unfamiliar, and Iyeon quietly wiped his cheek.
The raindrops, which at first fell once every few minutes, gradually became more frequent. It was still just a drizzle, but there was no telling how long it would continue. Iyeon put on the hood of his windbreaker and observed Sano.
He was walking straight ahead, not reacting to the rain at all. He seemed like someone who didn’t even notice it was raining. Come to think of it, Sano’s black bomber jacket didn’t have a hood.
Despite the dense trees, there were gaps between them, and Sano couldn’t avoid getting rained on completely. Droplets could already be seen forming at the ends of his wet hair.
Though it was summer, the temperature had dropped as darkness fell, and the forest’s proximity to the lake made it much chillier than the city. And now it was raining in such weather.
‘He’ll get cold if he’s completely soaked.’
Iyeon fingered the pen and notepad in his pocket. His drawing skills wouldn’t allow him to create a decent umbrella, but perhaps he could pretend to draw and make a slightly crooked umbrella… that would be okay, right?
Stealthily, Iyeon glanced at Sano and hid behind a large tree nearby. Fortunately, Sano paid no attention to whether Iyeon moved to the side or did a traditional Korean mask dance. Being ahead of Iyeon, he couldn’t see him, and the sound of the rain masked any noise.
Safely positioned behind the wide tree, Iyeon fumbled to take out his notepad and pressed it against the trunk. The paper crumpled slightly against the uneven tree surface.
Even though he had stopped only briefly, Sano had already gone far ahead. He needed to finish quickly before Sano disappeared completely. While holding the paper steady with one hand and reaching for his pen with the other, his rushed movements caused the pen to catch on the edge of his pocket and fall to the ground with a thud.
“Ah.”
After bouncing significantly, the pen rolled away and disappeared into the undergrowth behind him. This is just great. Iyeon clutched the notepad and carefully moved to where the pen had vanished. The slope was quite steep, and wet soil combined with exposed tree roots created a treacherous surface that could easily cause one to slip.
Iyeon was no exception.
Lowering his waist and putting weight on his toes to support his shifted center of gravity, his foot suddenly sank. The front of a tree root had been washed away by the rain, leaving an empty space.
Iyeon’s balance instantly collapsed, and he tried to support his weight with his other foot, but unfortunately, he stepped in mud.
The ground, which had become much steeper due to erosion, was soaked and slippery. After desperately trying to maintain balance and managing a few more steps, Iyeon’s eyes widened at the floating sensation. The scene beyond the hidden undergrowth became visible too late.
A low cliff was waiting for him.
“Shi—”
Before he could finish the curse, his body lost balance and fell.
After that, there was only the sound of rain.
