# Chapter 126
“If it’s at the harbor, there will be surveillance cameras everywhere. It won’t be easy to escape.”
When Lee Hwan quickly turned his head to face him, Taesung drew in a breath and his expression slightly hardened.
“I can’t meet with Praxis, can I?”
“That’s true, but…”
They already knew Lee Hwan’s appearance. If someone else went, they wouldn’t meet them even if that person knew the signal.
It was the same on Lee Hwan’s side. Though he had received the contact information later, he had already been given the description of the person he was to meet.
Black hair, black eyes, average height of about 175 centimeters, brown clothes, and a thick silver ring on the left index finger.
They had chosen the most ordinary appearance, but there would be a pattern on the clothes. Since there was no chance of someone else going, he had been instructed to run away and reschedule if even one detail didn’t match.
“Still… it’s too dangerous.”
“That’s my concern, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“I don’t know about that. I think it would be better not to go to a terrain where you could be isolated, even if it means delaying the contact.”
“Have you forgotten what our primary objective is?”
The resolute voice pierced his heart. Lee Hwan clenched his teeth, swallowing the protest that had risen to the tip of his tongue.
He hadn’t forgotten. He had never forgotten. Deliver the evidence to Praxis and then disappear. This was the plan he had gone over almost daily since coming out of Building D.
But this wasn’t right. Judging by how confidently Taesung spoke, he seemed to think he could evade Naru again without issue, but Lee Hwan couldn’t ignore the ominous feeling churning inside him.
‘Lately, I’ve been having these strange feelings…’
For some time now, he had felt like he was living with a bomb about to explode right in front of him. Because of this, Lee Hwan had been hesitant in his thoughts for the past few weeks. It was different from before, when he had been running solely toward his goal.
If he had to pinpoint when it had started…
‘The Red Room.’
It was since discovering the fragment of causality in Building D’s basement. Since then, it felt like an unknown future was constantly pressing against him. As if whispering that the end was near.
And not just anyone, but himself. His unconscious to his conscious.
Afterward, Lee Hwan began to recall past memories more frequently. When he fell asleep, he would have nightmares again. He didn’t know the exact reason, but it felt like a signal that he had noticed something.
‘I just want to ignore it…’
But even that wasn’t easy. Hadn’t it been thanks to that instinct that he had been able to collect fragments of causality and gradually approach the core?
Having regressed with absolutely nothing, Lee Hwan had always followed his intuition. Chased uncertain sensations. Now, trying to act according to reason made him anxious. But how could he explain this to Taesung?
Just that the feeling wasn’t good? That when he thought about the future, deep worry came before any sense of relief?
“You don’t trust me.”
Taesung broke the long silence. Only then did Lee Hwan realize that he had been staring at him wordlessly for quite some time.
“…That’s not it.”
Lee Hwan averted his eyes and answered a beat late. He felt sorry for spacing out in front of him, but more than anything, he felt like Taesung had hit the nail on the head.
Though it was just a 4-year difference, the current Taesung and the one Lee Hwan knew were quite different people. The younger Taesung was quiet, unpredictable, and had a nasty temper, making it quite difficult to get close to him.
He often did strange things too. Like meeting someone with their face completely covered in a café, or choking Lee Hwan at will, then treating him at his own discretion.
Before trust, he couldn’t even properly understand what Taesung was thinking. So when asked if he trusted him, he had nothing to say.
He just cared for him unconditionally, simply because he was Taesung. That was all.
“…”
Had his thoughts shown too clearly on his face? Taesung’s gaze, which had been somewhat friendly for a moment, turned cold. It was a sharp look, as if he had been hurt by that one beat of hesitation from Lee Hwan.
“I just don’t want to push for such a risk because of my plan.”
Again, a late answer. Even though he had spoken sincerely, it somehow sounded like an excuse.
“You seem to have some misunderstanding. Do you think I’m doing this for you?”
The sharp words flew like a blade and struck without even a waiting period. His voice was so firm and clear that it was as if he was forcibly holding Lee Hwan’s head and reciting to him.
“…Why did the conversation turn this way?”
“After receiving the drug, Jade’s situation became entangled, making it difficult for me to pull out. The best direction was to take your hand, and I joined regardless of my feelings.”
It was a truly embarrassing way of speaking. Lee Hwan narrowed his eyes, showing that he was offended, but the cool voice didn’t stop.
“Since the Semi-Awakening project began until now, I’ve always moved toward finding the best solution. I plan to find the best solution this time too.”
“That best solution doesn’t seem to be the best for me.”
If the result of that “best solution” was putting himself in danger with Lee Hwan, he couldn’t go along with it. Lee Hwan firmly rejected Taesung’s words.
Taesung let out a small snort.
“Then there’s no choice.”
“…?”
“If our opinions don’t align, we’ll have to part ways here.”
Though his heart sank at the cold tone, Lee Hwan didn’t think to stop him. Partly because he was a bit annoyed too, and partly because he judged that might be safer for Taesung.
In any case, he had planned to make the contact alone. Taesung had always seemed to dislike him, so even if they grew more distant now, it wouldn’t make much difference.
However, as Lee Hwan was trying to organize his thoughts, another thunderbolt of a statement reached his ears.
“And my choice is still to be a decoy. Let’s each do our best from our respective positions.”
There was no chance to ask what the hell he meant by that. As soon as he finished his declaration, Taesung abruptly stood up and walked into his room without looking back.
And just like that, the strategy session that had been briefly going well ended in ruins.
‘That, that crazy bastard.’
Looking at the door that had slammed shut, Lee Hwan let out a dumbfounded sound. It was completely incomprehensible.
‘He asks if I don’t trust him? Why would I?’
Between them, who were just beginning to cooperate, was that something to be so upset and angry about?
Their last meeting had been a stranding in the cold, chilly gate. Until they fell into that pit, Taesung had distrusted him so much that he had fired those fireballs at him.
So what progress had been made since then that he would suddenly talk about trust? Lee Hwan fumed internally.
It was laughable. Clearly, until that guy woke up, Lee Hwan had been gloomy and so heartbroken, but now he couldn’t help but laugh. Separate from how Lee Hwan became tender-hearted whenever he saw Taesung’s face, it seemed that during this period, Taesung was most beautiful when asleep.
‘Anyway, he’s the one doing all the strange things alone.’
Now that he thought about it, since meeting Lee Hwan here, Taesung kept seeming dissatisfied with something. He would furrow his brow just when Lee Hwan bit his lip. Even when Lee Hwan stopped humming as soon as he saw Taesung, he had a displeased expression.
He gave dirty looks just because Lee Hwan didn’t eat the strawberry jam once, and when Lee Hwan flinched at his movements, the corners of his mouth hardened.
Even though it all looked like the same expressionless face, Lee Hwan could roughly tell the subtle changes and emotions thanks to his experience from before the regression. Since waking up in the safe house, Taesung had been steadily growing more displeased in his interactions with Lee Hwan.
So this time, too, it seemed his anger had risen with a similarly incomprehensible feeling.
‘He’s really impossible to understand.’
But in any case, that guy was Taesung. Lee Hwan didn’t want to let him get hurt doing something dangerous. The headache was that he needed to persuade him.
Lee Hwan sighed, got up, and approached the door. After pacing in front of it for no reason, he tried knocking, but there was no response, neither “come in” nor “go away.”
Even though he knew it was unlikely, Lee Hwan knocked once more, thinking Taesung might not have heard. But only silence filled the house. The quiet air in the house felt quite cool and awkward. Lee Hwan sighed and leaned against the wall next to the door.
‘Fine, let’s see how long he stays holed up.’
From what he had observed on the first day, there was neither food nor a bathroom inside the first-floor room. So if he waited here, they would eventually meet regardless of whether Taesung liked it or not.
Lee Hwan slumped down against the wall where he had been standing. The sofa was right in front of him, but he felt that if he stayed in the living room, Taesung would pass by without even looking in that direction.
It wasn’t particularly difficult. By now, waiting had become the thing he did best. Lee Hwan quietly passed the time by going through everything he had experienced after the regression in his mind.
* * *
What would their relationship have been like if Taesung hadn’t lost his memories? While killing time leaning against the wall, Lee Hwan vividly imagined all sorts of things that had never come to be.
Somehow, in those imaginings, Lee Hwan was holding a money gun. He was shooting bills fluttering everywhere, turning Taesung’s living room into a mess.
He probably would have prevented the destruction without much hardship and piled up money to the sky in anticipation of what would happen in the future. Then, even after Naru collapsed, he would be taking care of Taesung too, enjoying a comfortable and happy life.
Taesung would surely have made jokes like:
‘Since we earned the money together, should we get married to own it jointly?’
Then he would have said that was nonsense and stuffed whatever snack he was eating into Taesung’s mouth. The situation was so obvious that even in his imagination, a smile appeared on Lee Hwan’s lips.
By now, he should be tired of all memories and imaginings related to him, but somehow, they only became more enjoyable as the days went by.
Taesung wouldn’t know. How often Lee Hwan thought of him and missed him. Somehow it was irritating, so he decided never to tell him that.
Just as Lee Hwan was making such a pointless resolution, suddenly there was a rattling sound of a door beside him. Lee Hwan quickly came to his senses and slowly turned his head.
In his downward field of vision, a large foot came into view. As he raised his eyes, he could see Taesung with his still hardened face.
‘How long have I been sitting here…?’
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like it hadn’t been short. That was why momentary surprise had flashed across that guy’s face.
Taesung turned his head as if deciding to ignore him and began to move his feet. Lee Hwan made a dumbfounded expression before quickly shifting his hips.
‘No, you don’t.’
Suddenly, a long leg stretched out toward Taesung’s feet. The timing was exquisite.
