# Chapter 9.
Lee Hwan’s altered voice resonated loudly throughout the luxury apartment complex. The sound blasting from somewhere in the trees or near the road was quite noisy.
—Kids~ delicious~ drinking snacks~ woo~ woo~ tofu kimchi~ tofu stir-fry~ mapo tofu~!
Lee Hwan frowned briefly, then approached the security office pretending to be a resident and knocked loudly on the window. When the security guard, who had been sitting in front of the CCTV screens, jumped up in surprise, Lee Hwan casually handed him a health drink and spoke.
“Thank you for your hard work. I think an unauthorized vendor truck got in.”
—If you~ bring~ two~ customers~ you get~ one block~ free~ pyramid~ tofu~ system~!
“Gosh, a peddler… I’ll go check it out and be back.”
Watching his retreating back as he put on his coat and disappeared, Lee Hwan quietly apologized. It would quiet down in five minutes anyway, but it still felt like he was unnecessarily training a mutt. Working a miserable life—they were both the same in that regard.
But Lee Hwan wasn’t in a position to be considerate right now. He took out a few red ginseng sticks from his pocket, carefully placed them in front of the CCTV, and picked up the intercom.
♩♬♪♬-.
The familiar 8-bit music tickled his ears momentarily. Für Elise. It was a simpler and sweeter connection tone than he expected. Lee Hwan unconsciously hummed along to the familiar notes.
*Click*.
But as soon as the call connected, his spine tensed up and he stopped humming. A familiar voice came from the receiver.
“Yes?”
For a moment, his insides resonated with a ‘zing.’ It was the familiar voice he was hearing again after almost three weeks since his return. Although it sounded somewhat rigid through the building intercom, that one-syllable response somehow made Lee Hwan’s heart flutter.
“Ah… Is this unit 1501? I have a delivery.”
“Delivery? I didn’t order anything.”
“Are you Mr. Kim Jeongshik?”
Taesung always received packages under an alias. He didn’t know why an S-class awakened one needed to be so thorough about who might mess with him, but all the chunks of meat Lee Hwan had devoured were received by Kim Jeongshik. He still couldn’t understand why he used such a tacky alias.
“Haah… Just leave it there.”
“Um, I need your signature, boss.”
Doing his best to disguise his voice, Lee Hwan continued haltingly.
“If you’re busy, a proxy can come down to receive it.”
While saying this, he subtly inquired about the presence of others.
“…I’ll come down.”
The answer was concise. Seems like the sunglasses guy wasn’t there. Lee Hwan smiled with relief.
He had been tense about a character he’d never seen in the future. After all, in comics or movies, the one who hides their eyes is usually the strongest. If someone insisted on wearing dark sunglasses even indoors, clearly something was off about either their skills or their mind.
And without such an aide, Lee Hwan, who had trained this much, could momentarily stop the past Taesung.
“I’ll be at the entrance.”
*Click*. Lee Hwan hung up the intercom after saying only what was necessary.
He had no plans to set foot inside the house, where he’d be like a mouse in a trap. Nor did he intend to cause a scene in the center of the complex where everyone could see him, especially as an unregistered person.
His target was the penthouse-exclusive entrance that required a passcode. As the entire top floor of the building was used as a single residence, only Taesung would be there.
Lee Hwan quickly put on the hat he had brought and rushed into the exclusive entrance. Contrary to his slight concern, the password hadn’t changed. Somehow, Lee Hwan felt a sense of comfort from that.
Nevertheless, his lips felt dry as the moment of confrontation gradually approached.
‘Go back.’
While the elevator was marking the top floor and coming down, reason spoke in Lee Hwan’s mind.
‘You’ve got Kang Dongha on your side, just go back. Just prevent the apocalypse.’
The image of Taesung bleeding flashed before his eyes, and his heart pounded loudly. Lately, he hadn’t been dreaming of that, so his mornings had been peaceful, but suddenly it was appearing before his eyes like a daydream.
But the elevator was quickly, yet somehow slowly, approaching the first floor. At this point, there was no turning back.
Lee Hwan counted down with his still wavering heart.
- 4. 3. 2. 1.
*Ding*-.
The anticipated sound slowly rang out, and Lee Hwan, who had been stuck to the elevator, pulled himself sharply backward. Through the slowly opening doors, a tall figure revealed itself.
Black hair and a fierce expression. Lee Hwan felt goosebumps rise on the nape of his neck.
The sharply defined eyes remained the same even seven years later, but at least they didn’t have this slicing atmosphere. The Taesung before him looked… how should he say it… lacking in composure.
When facing Lee Hwan, Taesung’s eyes usually held a languid or warm light. When he smiled, his sharp eye corners would curve pleasantly. He was like a well-honed sword.
Lee Hwan, who remembered this, found the Taesung before him both familiar and strange. The same face with a different feeling. It was believable enough to mistake them for twins.
His body was in good shape even then. Well-formed muscles were positioned in all the right places, making his solid forearms and physique noticeable even under the loose round-neck. Besides, he hadn’t noticed last time because he was too shocked when his arm was twisted, but there was no scar near his neck.
He had always wondered how badly he must have been hurt for a scar to remain on a hunter’s body, but it seems it wasn’t an old injury.
It was just a fleeting moment. But Lee Hwan’s eyes, trained by his hunter life, scrutinized Taesung in that brief moment. From head to toe, his expressionless face, small movements, and even his aura.
They say awakened ones don’t age well, but Lee Hwan could newly sense something youthful in the Taesung from seven years ago. He felt a fresh sentiment, forgetting the situation.
If this was truly Taesung before meeting him, what had happened to him during that time that was long if considered long and short if considered short? Just as Lee Hwan was thinking this—
*Whoosh*-!
As expected, as Taesung turned his head at the presence, flames erupted in front of Lee Hwan.
‘As expected.’
He would have been delicious if he hadn’t prepared in advance. As it wasn’t an ability meant for defense, even after blocking it, the hot energy rushed in and flickered at the tip of his nose.
Taesung still didn’t seem to recognize Lee Hwan. No, he seemed to recognize him. Because of that, his expression was hideously fierce. From any angle, it was a face that wanted to hit Lee Hwan once and crush him.
Lee Hwan hadn’t expected his memories to return, but still, he felt like the small hope he had was falling to the dirt ground like a half-melted soft serve ice cream.
As Lee Hwan stepped backward, Taesung took a big step to catch him.
“Ugh…!”
Then, perhaps his foot caught on the space Lee Hwan had set, and he staggered as the flames momentarily subsided.
Not missing the opportunity, Lee Hwan pushed Taesung against the wall with his shield at the forefront. Looking at the eyes that held him, Lee Hwan deliberately suppressed his disappointment.
“…So you really don’t remember.”
Right. He had expected this much. It wasn’t really something he had high hopes for to begin with. He came here just because he wanted to talk. That an apocalypse would come in the future. That he was his friend, and that they had regressed.
But while Lee Hwan hesitated momentarily on how to say this in front of these flames, Taesung etched an even deeper groove between his brows.
“Stalker bastard…”
Evolving from a sasaeng to a stalker, Lee Hwan felt ominous about whether this was a good sign.
Taesung clenched his jaw firmly. From that grip strength, Lee Hwan could sense the will to make a cauldron-roasted whole chicken out of him, so he hastily opened his mouth.
“I have something to tell you.”
Naturally, a fist flew at him first. Lee Hwan avoided it by tilting his head and inevitably kicked Taesung. The impact felt almost like kicking a tree stump. He was so solid that even after being kicked, he didn’t retreat a few steps.
It was fortunate that he knew Taesung’s habits. Sensing the attack, Lee Hwan quickly lowered the temperature of a fist-sized space.
*Whoosh*-!
Taesung’s flames, which were about to flare up again, became somewhat smaller. Another fist came flying. Lee Hwan, finding it burdensome to dodge them all, slightly altered their trajectories. The attacks grazed his head by a hair’s breadth and missed.
Taesung looked at his hand with an ominous expression. He realized that Lee Hwan’s ability was different from telekinesis. It didn’t seem beneficial to drag this out any longer.
“Wait!”
Lee Hwan extended his hand to calm Taesung and abruptly spoke. His mindset was that if he just blurted it out, Taesung would hear it whether he liked it or not.
But should he have refined it a bit more in his head before spitting it out? At a glance, it sounded like nonsense.
“Listen, I came from the future!”
At the Terminator-like statement, Taesung made a dumbfounded expression. In that moment, Lee Hwan realized his mistake.
‘Ah.’
From then on, Taesung was looking at him almost like a crazy stalker. That gaze was so blatant that Lee Hwan’s face grew hot. What had he just said? Lee Hwan wanted to beat his head like a djembe.
‘Goddamnit…’
Lee Hwan barely held onto his reason and gritted his teeth. Let’s quickly explain properly. That an apocalypse is coming in the future. That he regressed with Taesung while facing death.
It’s okay if he doesn’t remember. But all of this is actually for him, so please help. That he’s not a stalker. Please believe him.
Somehow, the more he thought about it, it seemed like he was making excuses, but if that contemptuous gaze could be withdrawn, Lee Hwan could repeat it several times.
However, when Lee Hwan opened his mouth again, another mountain of challenges awaited him.
“—. ——. -.”
…?
What is this…?
No sound went through his throat. Instead, it felt like something that wasn’t even language resonated in his head. A long silence followed. Lee Hwan stupidly fumbled at his mouth.
*Clunk*, his heart sank.
