Chapter 5
The blood splattered on the ground came from the monster corpse Hyunjae was holding. Normally, monster carcasses are stored and transported separately before leaving the Gate, but judging by his appearance, he hadn’t had that luxury.
I grabbed Hyunjae’s outstretched hand and stood up. The thick smell of blood wafted from the dark splotches covering his body. Hyunjae’s eyes, glaring at Cha Suhyun while his arm wrapped around my shoulder, gleamed brightly like a predator in the dark.
Before long, we began to hear the sirens of Combat Division vehicles approaching. Not wanting Hyunjae to be misunderstood after fighting so hard, I deliberately pulled him toward me.
“Let’s go.”
Hyunjae didn’t budge, like a stone statue. After several urgings, he reluctantly turned away. Then he immediately thrust the monster’s head toward the slowly stopping Combat Division vehicle. Since people were swarming around like bees, we had to board the vehicle right away following an employee’s guidance.
The car started moving, slowly passing Cha Suhyun who was still sitting on the ground. Suhyun kept staring at us until the very end. It was an indescribable look. I could only call it unpleasant.
“Stalker bastard,” Hyunjae muttered. Despite his fierce expression, the sight of him sitting obediently in his seat made me laugh.
“Good job. For making it back alive.”
When I gave him a sincere compliment, Hyunjae turned his head to look at me.
“We agreed to go on a trip, remember?”
Though his tone was flirtatious as usual, I couldn’t meet Hyunjae’s eyes. The reason he returned alive from a place where he’d faced death was to go on a trip with me—somehow, it felt a bit embarrassing.
Hyunjae treated me with an attitude that could only be described as blind devotion. If we were just normal humans, I would’ve definitely called this love. But to me, Hyunjae was like a movie protagonist projected on a screen. He clearly spoke, cried, and laughed in front of me, but he felt like a being from another dimension that I couldn’t touch. We could feel emotions together, but when I came to my senses, the credits would roll, and his life would seem to disappear from before me—a hollow feeling.
Because of this, I could always view this world more objectively. As Hyunjae grew up, I handled him according to my own preferences and used the predetermined future. It felt like using cheat codes in a game to control characters at will. Easy to manipulate but impossible to truly attain. Could you really consider the heart of someone you’ve manipulated in this way to be sincere? Like a witch who feeds a love potion to the man she loves, only to go mad in the end because she never receives his true love. To me, the people here, including Hyunjae, always felt that way.
I awkwardly avoided Hyunjae’s gaze. It was so uncomfortable that Hyunjae probably noticed right away. Fortunately, he didn’t say anything more.
The awkward silence was unexpectedly broken by the Combat Division employee sitting in the passenger seat.
“Wasn’t that person just now the director’s nephew?”
“That’s right. Cha Suhyun, wasn’t it?”
The employee driving answered for us.
“Is it okay to just leave him there?”
“I heard the department head has disowned him, so it’s better to pretend we didn’t see anything.”
“Still, he’s a high-ranking person’s nephew.”
“Forget it. Would they really come after nobodies like us for ignoring him a bit?”
Only after carelessly spitting out those words did the driver awkwardly check our reactions through the rearview mirror. I deliberately avoided his gaze. Hyunjae did the same.
Father merely frowned slightly at the sight of Hyunjae, who was relatively intact despite being soaked in blood, but didn’t say anything. It was the moment when South Korea’s youngest Ranker participating in Gate subjugation was born, but only a cold atmosphere filled the house.
“What was the Gate like?”
“Hmm.”
Hyunjae tilted his head. His expression showed he was contemplating how to explain it.
“It was eerie.”
“And?”
“Like, it was a space with nothing in it. Except for the monsters.”
“No trees or anything like that?”
It was a stupid question even to me. Hyunjae nodded.
“It felt like falling into a black hole.”
“And you killed all the monsters there?”
Hyunjae nodded again. Though he wasn’t openly showing off, his face suggested it was no big deal. What an annoying guy. Of course it would be that way since he was born a cheat character. If it were me, I would’ve just pretended to be dead right there.
“Does physical combat work on them?”
“Yeah. But I almost died once.”
“What?”
“When I first encountered them. It was very different from what we learned at school.”
“But I guess you managed to handle it all.”
“I thought of you, and then it was fine.”
Ha, fuck. Is this guy a romance protagonist rather than a fantasy one? I covered my face with my hands and ruffled my bangs for no reason.
I’ve tamed him too much.
Cha Suhyun was caught using mana illegally (that is, using his power on a minor), and it made the front page of the newspaper. It was something along the lines of “Cha Hyerin Combat Division Director’s Nephew Caught Using Ability Illegally.” Rather than feeling satisfied or vindicated seeing that article, I somehow felt a bit anxious. Sensing this, Hyunjae didn’t mention Cha Suhyun anymore.
My parents seemed somewhat shocked when I came home covered in bruises all over my body because of Cha Suhyun. It was especially amusing to see my father make such an expression. But I quickly realized that my parents were worried simply because of Yu Dohyun’s memorial day, which was coming up the following week.
Our family, including Hyunjae, visited the National Cemetery where Yu Dohyun was laid to rest. Knowing that Hyunjae becomes very depressed on Dohyun’s memorial day, I was fully prepared in advance.
The death of Yu Dohyun, who was just a brother in name and practically a stranger whose face I’d never even seen, didn’t resonate much with me. It was just one of the major episodes experienced by the main characters in this novel. After returning home, I only thought about how to comfort Hyunjae, who had locked himself in his room. Because I wanted this Hyunjae to be different from the original Hyunjae in the novel, who couldn’t coldly abandon Yu Chanhee because of the emotional debt he owed to Yu Dohyun.
Hyunjae, who felt deeply indebted to Yu Dohyun, couldn’t fully hate Yu Chanhee even after his death. Even in the episode where the entire district was half-destroyed, Hyunjae still saved Yu Chanhee’s father and mother.
Hyunjae was curled up sitting on the bed. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight, which didn’t match his large frame.
Hyunjae slowly raised his head and looked at me. His slightly downturned eyes caught the setting sunlight, shining brilliantly. The tip of his pale nose was just a little red, making him look especially like a seventeen-year-old. I slowly stroked Hyunjae’s soft black hair.
“You’ve been crying.”
Hyunjae didn’t deny it, and instead, still sitting on the bed, wrapped his arms around my waist. This kind of skinship was no longer surprising, but I couldn’t help the strange feelings it stirred.
“You know, Chanhee.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sadder because you don’t seem to be sad.”
I didn’t give any answer.
“Ever since that day, how should I put it…”
“…”
“It’s like hyung took away your sadness.”
My heart, which had been strangely fluttering until just a moment ago, sank coldly. I felt a bit resentful that I couldn’t tell him that wasn’t the case.
What would you say if you knew I wasn’t the Yu Chanhee you know? If I told you I changed your life for the sake of my own? Would you still hug my waist so tenderly then?
Even setting aside minor episodes, Hyunjae’s awakening was one of the biggest events in the original novel. At this point, where Yu Chanhee hasn’t died, I started to worry about how Hyunjae would awaken. Could it be that he would never awaken? Then who would save the world? Such extravagant thoughts crossed my mind.
Walking along the path, I was lost in various thoughts. Being a weekday afternoon, the walking trail near my house had few people. If Hyunjae were here, he would’ve said that Chanhee was deep in thought again all day.
Since most of the bruises on my body had almost disappeared, I decided to go back to school tomorrow. I was starting to feel suffocated being cooped up at home anyway. That wasn’t all. After that incident, Cha Suhyun kept contacting me. Although Cha Suhyun had always shown interest in Yu Chanhee, the frequency was different from before.
“Bastard.”
I roughly swiped to reject the call. Having spent more time alone at home, even things like this seemed to bother me more. Suddenly, I felt a chill. I should go home. With that thought, I directed my steps toward home.
The chill continued for quite a while even after I entered my room. I felt sick. Thinking I should take some medicine, I went into Hyunjae’s room where the first aid kit was kept. Unlike my room, Hyunjae’s room was excessively neat, and also strangely empty.
Just as I found the first aid kit and was about to take out cold medicine, a dark hardcover book in the corner of Hyunjae’s desk caught my eye. It stood out because it was so worn and so dirty. I carefully picked up the book.
It was a foreign language book I couldn’t understand. But I knew this book.
The book that Yu Chanhee had searched for over several months in the original novel. The secret forbidden text that couldn’t be found anywhere. The only method to raise the dead from their graves. My fingertips started trembling. Why would Hyunjae have this?
I returned to my room. My mind was a mess. I couldn’t understand where things had gone wrong. Necromancy was strictly prohibited by law, and almost no one knew the method. This was also why Yu Chanhee died so cruelly in the original work.
I need to think.
But thinking alone wouldn’t solve anything. Hyunjae would be coming home soon. Should I just ask him directly? In the midst of all these thoughts, suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock.
Before I could answer, the door opened. Only then did I realize it was Cha Suhyun who had entered my room. After some time had passed, the roots of his bleached yellow hair had grown out black. Unlike his usual self, he hadn’t styled his hair, making Cha Suhyun look somewhat haggard. But that annoying smile still lingered on his face, making me think he’d come to pick another fight.
“Who told you to come in?”
“You look good.”
Cha Suhyun seemed a bit out of his mind. The recent anniversary of Yu Dohyun’s death must have played a role. Cha Suhyun pressed his brow firmly, like someone who hadn’t slept in days.
“Wouldn’t your face look good too if someone you hate had their fortune reversed?”
Cha Suhyun didn’t respond. His still-smiling face gave me slight goosebumps.
“That’s true.”
Cha Suhyun threw what he was holding in front of me. It was several credit cards cut in half.
“How does it feel to be all over the news?”
“You know very well, don’t you?”
“I’ve never been in gossip articles like you have.”
“That’s a shame. I’ve seen them often.”
Cha Suhyun slowly began to walk along the wall of my room. He carefully examined the items in my room, to the point where someone who didn’t know better would think he was a first-time visitor looking around.
“You know what?”
Cha Suhyun spoke as he ran his hand over the comics on my shelf.
“You’re exactly like your hyung.”
I tensed my eyebrows.
“…We’re brothers.”
“You think it’s just your appearance?”
Cha Suhyun lightly pulled out a comic his fingertips had touched.
“What you like, what you hate, your habits, your way of speaking.”
“…”
“Even the cologne you use. It’s creepily identical.”
“…Stop joking around.”
“Joking?”
Cha Suhyun looked straight at me.
“Do you want me to say it’s a joke?”
His large body slowly began to approach me. Backlight was cast from the sunlight pouring through the window.
“Every time I saw you, I wondered. Are you tormenting me? Making fun of me?”
“…”
“No. You’re just Yu Dohyun. There’s no other explanation possible.”
“Stop talking nonsense…”
Cha Suhyun grabbed my hair and crashed his lips against mine. Just as his tongue was about to push in, I shoved him away with all my strength. Blood flowed from my lip that had been cut from our teeth colliding. I tried to stay calm, but I was confused. Could Cha Suhyun’s words be true? At least when it came to Yu Dohyun, he wasn’t the type to joke or lie.
“It’s you, hyung, right?”
Tears welled up in Cha Suhyun’s eyes. I hastily stepped back. There was a strange light in Cha Suhyun’s eyes.
“Hyung, hyung. It’s me, Suhyun.”
“Don’t come any closer.”
Cha Suhyun lightly grabbed my wrist. I tried to shake it off, but his grip was so strong it felt like my wrist would be crushed at any moment. Cha Suhyun slowly lowered his head and buried his nose in my wrist.
“You smell like hyung.”
“Fuck, get out. You pervert.”
I struggled, ready for my arm to break. Cha Suhyun eventually used his ability to bind my limbs.
“How could you pretend not to know for ten years? Hyung?”
“Are you going to untie this? You fucking bastard!”
“Should I just cut off your hands and feet and lock you in a room? I think that would be better.”
“Hey! Cha Suhyun!”
“It’ll only hurt a little.”
“Yu Hyunjae!”
Without realizing it, Hyunjae’s name came out of my mouth. I couldn’t believe how weak I was. The fact that I couldn’t do anything without Hyunjae made me so angry that even in this desperate moment, I felt a surge of irritation. So I called Hyunjae’s name even more desperately.
Cha Suhyun slowly began to choke me. Such an ending was not at all what I had planned. I needed an escape route. Yu Chanhee’s death factor shouldn’t be here. The vague feeling that I wouldn’t die this way clashed with the instinctive fear that I would soon die. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like all my airways were blocked. I put strength into my immobile limbs one more time, for the last time. Cha Suhyun’s expression… was truly a sight to behold.
My vision flickered. Belatedly, I heard the door opening. The voice calling me, “Chanhee!” gradually faded away. It was death.
Where did it all go wrong?
“Jjani-ya!”
I opened my eyes wide. Transparent skin, neat black hair, pretty features. An eight-year-old child was looking at me.
“Are you okay?”
I slowly touched my body. It was small and familiar. In that moment, my legs gave out and I collapsed. Just until a moment ago, I was being choked by Cha Suhyun. Like a simulation game without a save function, my life had returned to the beginning. Suddenly, a whirlpool of emotions began to surge like a wave. I burst into tears. It was the most primal form of release an eight-year-old child could manage. Hyunjae’s face turned pale. I continued to cry. As if crying would solve anything.
And that’s how the second Yu Chanhee began.
