# Chapter 151
“……Jade.”
“Even if you stare at me like ‘how can someone who clearly looks Korean have a name like an American game character,’ my name won’t change.”
“I never said anything like that.”
Sharp guy. Lee Hwan muttered internally as he pulled up a desk chair to make space. Jade sat down without hesitation and silently watched as Lee Hwan filled an empty cup.
“Alright, Jade. So what exactly did that Kang Taesung say?”
“He just asked me to go and keep you here.”
“What was that about the scent or whatever you mentioned earlier?”
“……Let’s go with ‘no comment’ on that.”
Clank. The instant coffee was placed in front of Jade. Lee Hwan took the remaining cup and walked over to sit beside him.
A bittersweet aroma spread throughout the apartment. It was coffee he’d bought online at a 50% discount, but the quality was good enough that he’d thought it would be perfect to serve guests. With no one ever visiting, Lee Hwan had ended up drinking it all by himself.
Jade took a sip or two of the coffee and thoroughly examined Lee Hwan’s studio apartment. The bed, desk, sink, TV… Various household items were packed tightly into the cramped space.
Clothes that Lee Hwan hadn’t managed to clean up the day before were sprawled messily across the bed. He cleared his throat and quickly tossed them into the laundry basket.
Now that he’d brought a stranger in, the place looked even more cramped and shabby. This was why he’d rarely brought Taesung here. Somehow when Taesung entered, the space felt completely filled, making Lee Hwan feel embarrassed.
Lee Hwan pulled the wrinkled bedsheet taut and glanced at Jade. Now the man was scrutinizing Lee Hwan himself, examining him from head to toe as if playing a game of hidden pictures.
“By any chance… what kind of relationship do you two have?”
After staring at Lee Hwan for quite some time, Jade finally seemed unable to contain his curiosity. Lee Hwan rolled his eyes once, then rubbed the back of his neck as he answered.
“Hmm. We’re friends.”
“Kang Tae… I mean, the young master has a friend?”
His tone was rather disbelieving, but it wasn’t worth challenging so Lee Hwan let it slide. Having crossed over seven years, it made sense that Jade wouldn’t know. Even Lee Hwan hadn’t known that a man like this was attached to Taesung. He just seemed like the type of person who would have always lived alone.
“Are you unregistered?” Jade suddenly asked again.
The question was so out of the blue that Lee Hwan, who was about to blow on his coffee and take a sip, choked out a “kurhup” sound and spilled some on his lips.
What kind of person is this? Why is he asking something like that?
Lee Hwan was about to protest that he didn’t look like a criminal when he suddenly became conscious of the year. 2022. A time when, originally, he wouldn’t have awakened his abilities yet.
Naturally, at this time, Lee Hwan would have only been registered as a mana-sensitive person. He had planned to go register as an awakened person with Taesung since they needed to visit the gate anyway, but it had slipped his mind amid everything that had happened yesterday and today.
Not wanting to hesitate too long and seem like he was confirming the suspicion, Lee Hwan answered, though in retrospect his response sounded like a half-confession.
“Why would you think that?”
“If you were a registered Hunter, I wouldn’t be meeting you for the first time. I’ve got a feeling about these things.”
Lee Hwan tried to look innocently offended, but it didn’t seem to work. The way the man’s eyes seemed to see right through him was unsettling.
Though it wasn’t really his eyes—it was actually just the reflective surface of his sunglasses, which made it even more uncomfortable.
“……I only awakened a few days ago. I was planning to go register.”
Lee Hwan muttered what sounded like a top 3 excuse for unregistered awakened persons and turned his head away. Sitting with this man was becoming increasingly awkward and nerve-wracking. He regretted bringing him in, a feeling of belated remorse washing over him.
—♪♬♩♪
Right on cue, his phone rang. At the sound cutting through the silence, Lee Hwan eagerly moved away from Jade to check who was calling.
[Kang Taesung]
Should he answer it or not? The deliberation didn’t last long. The atmosphere was still suffocating, and whatever conversation they needed to have would happen face-to-face once Taesung arrived anyway.
—Lee Hwan.
As soon as he pressed the call button, Taesung’s voice poured out. Lee Hwan quickly put the phone to his ear and glanced sideways at Jade.
—Did you get home?
“Thanks to you. The first floor wasn’t broken.”
Taesung’s confusion was palpable through the phone at Lee Hwan’s slightly barbed response. Did he expect Lee Hwan to greet him warmly and obediently after pulling such a strange stunt?
—Can I come over and explain everything?
“Of course you can. You’ve already sent someone anyway.”
—……That too.
Perhaps because Lee Hwan’s response wasn’t very pleasant, Taesung’s voice, which had been trying to sound calm, now carried a hint of dejection. Lee Hwan could sense it clearly in his voice and struggled to steady his wavering heart.
“Sure, how long will it take this time? I’ve got a lot to do. Unlike someone who just returned.”
—I had to go. It wasn’t just company business, it was related to us.
“……”
—I just don’t want you to misunderstand. I’m serious.
Taesung also seemed aware that Jade was right there listening to everything, so he didn’t go into details. Still, Lee Hwan could tell that Taesung had been handling matters related to their regression.
Without him, matters he knew nothing about.
‘Naru business…’
If that was the case, it must be family business. The issue with Kang Dongha that he’d mentioned earlier, or something like that.
It made sense. He might have family matters he wanted to handle privately. Even Lee Hwan hadn’t revealed every single thing about himself to Taesung.
Still, ever since feeling that initial disconnect, Lee Hwan had been uneasy. There didn’t seem to be any connection between Taesung handling family matters and locking someone in his home.
—I’ll explain the rest when I get there. I promise.
His strangely plaintive voice sweetly penetrated Lee Hwan’s ear. It was as if he could see Taesung’s face with the corners of his eyebrows slightly drooping.
Should he let this slide? Taesung must be just as disoriented. With his feelings in turmoil, Lee Hwan bit his lip hard before unconsciously muttering:
“I wonder what excuse you’ll make this time after locking me up again……”
He really blurted it out without thinking.
In that moment, Taesung went quiet. There was a silence as if the call had been disconnected, and it felt like an intangible wind had passed between them.
As far as Lee Hwan knew, this was the first time Taesung had done something like this. He had never locked anyone up before. Lee Hwan had always walked into Taesung’s home on his own feet and left the same way, with Taesung seeing him off.
It seemed the words had slipped out due to his desire to reproach Taesung. Lee Hwan scratched the back of his head and sighed, and from the phone came the soft sound of Taesung’s breathing.
“Haah… Fine. Just come over. Unless you plan to leave me with a stranger forever.”
As he spoke, Lee Hwan glanced back at Jade, who now wore an even more ominous expression than before. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of such looks from a man he’d just met today any more times than necessary.
Lee Hwan hung up first. After doing so, he could sense the atmosphere and didn’t want to turn his head. How could a person whose eyes were completely covered make his gaze feel so distinct?
“Where and how did you meet him? Without my knowledge.”
“I’m sure we met just fine. It’s not like you know everything he does.”
“What’s this about locking you up again?”
“That… let’s not worry about that.”
Even if this person knew Taesung, Lee Hwan didn’t want to spill every detail.
“Hmph.”
Hearing the exclamation of disbelief, Lee Hwan quietly gulped down the rest of his coffee.
* * *
Taesung arrived less than an hour later. As soon as Lee Hwan heard the doorbell, he sprang up like a coiled spring and headed for the entrance.
Despite the lingering unpleasant mood, he wanted to see Taesung, wanted to interrogate him, and most of all, didn’t want to stay alone with Jade any longer.
At some point, Jade had started observing Lee Hwan with his arms crossed. Having been invited into the cramped room and overhearing the entire conversation, he seemed shocked by his young master’s bizarre behavior.
‘Was that really Kang Taesung… sir?’
‘I can tell it’s him just by his voice.’
‘The content doesn’t seem right.’
He had already balked at the idea that Taesung had a friend. Lee Hwan wondered what kind of image Taesung had during this period that would make Jade react this way.
“Did you wait long? I’m sorry.”
When Taesung entered the apartment with a gentle apology, Jade, who had been drinking water from the cup that previously held coffee, made a ‘kup’ sound and coughed for a while.
He exchanged strange glances with Taesung for a moment, then seemed to grasp the situation and sighed as he stood up.
“I kept him here as you asked, so handle the rest yourself.”
With that, he left without hesitation as if he’d never been there, and disappeared. Thanks to the perceptive Jade’s departure, Lee Hwan was left alone with Taesung in the small apartment.
Taesung seemed to have rushed over; his usually neat hair was disheveled. Lee Hwan instinctively reached out to fix it but curled his fingers back like a mimosa touched by stone.
Taesung took in Lee Hwan’s every movement, then softly blurted out:
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I was anxious.”
His voice flowed plainly, like a confession. His steady gaze showed not a hint of wavering, as if to prove his words were sincere.
Lee Hwan could sense at least some of the complicated emotions behind his words.
“It’s been hard for us, hasn’t it? I was afraid it would happen again.”
“Then you could have said something. I’m not the type to run off without hearing you out.”
“You’re right. But when I thought about leaving you alone, I suddenly couldn’t handle it.”
Taesung looked rather pitiful as he spoke with a bitter expression. Lee Hwan suddenly remembered how pale Taesung had been on the first day after their regression.
‘…This guy.’
Would he be a sucker if his heart ached now? It seemed like Taesung was deliberately making that face.
But even though he had tried to confine Lee Hwan without a word, all he’d done was break the door lock. He didn’t want to torment a friend who had just returned to life over something that wasn’t truly threatening.
After a brief moment of consideration, Lee Hwan finally softened his attitude and put his arm around Taesung’s shoulder. After all, this was the first time since the regression that Taesung had spoken so desperately or apologized so pleadingly.
As the chilly atmosphere dissipated and Lee Hwan’s face turned slightly pouty, Taesung smiled faintly. He turned his head, rested his cheek against Lee Hwan’s arm, and slowly inhaled.
It was as if he were a priest performing some ritual, making Lee Hwan feel momentarily as if he were looking at a stranger.
