Chapter 125: Chapter 125

"Hey... why would you say that he likes you, or rather—"

Uijae quickly swallowed the curse that was about to escape his lips. As much as he wanted to treat Sayoung kindly, it was difficult. Sayoung, who had stepped closer to face Uijae, blinked and tilted his head slightly.

"Why?"

"Move your damn— Just move."

"Don’t you like me?"

Sayoung’s long eyelashes fluttered. Uijae clenched his teeth. In his mind, the disrespectful Lee Sayoung and the innocent boy he once knew clashed violently. He understood they were the same person, that Sayoung had been through so much and had waited a long time for him to return. He was grateful and touched by that unwavering promise. However...

‘My first impression of him was... ugh.’

Memories bubbled up of Sayoung in a gas mask, beating people up in a back alley. Not to mention the way he flipped people off without a care and stubbornly stuck to him like glue.

‘Is this why people say first impressions are important...?’

With an ambiguous expression, Uijae looked at Sayoung. He admitted that his own appearance at that time wasn’t exactly respectable either, so their first meeting was probably terrible for both of them. It was like a meeting of two madmen. Lost in thought, Uijae found himself reflecting on that.

But with no response to his question, Sayoung’s lips twisted. In a low, eerie voice, he muttered:

“No answer...”

“No, I like you. Of course I like you.”

It was a mechanical reply, like a customer service representative saying, “Thank you for your business.” Naturally, this didn’t satisfy Lee Sayoung. He glared at Uijae with a crooked posture.

However, from the perspective of the ever-kind employee, Cha Uijae, there was no way to keep up with Lee Sayoung’s leaps of logic. Sayoung had a special talent for snatching away any sense of composure or reunion with a single sentence.

‘Damn, he really is versatile.’

Alright, calm down. Uijae took a short, deep breath. Wasn’t this the boy he had been searching for all this time? Sayoung had surely been through a lot. I just need to show a little more patience, Uijae thought, gripping the black-gloved hand fiddling with the mask. He tried to ask the most refined question he could.

“What kind of thought process leads you to that conclusion?”

Of course, considering the effort, the question wasn’t as refined as it could’ve been.

“Huh? Oh...”

Sayoung shrugged, pulling back his piercing gaze.

“You weren’t planning on meeting with Jung Bin alone like this, were you? Even if you were, you wouldn’t have planned it for now.”

He wasn’t wrong. If Sayoung hadn’t dodged conversations like a slippery fish, Uijae wouldn’t have met Jung Bin one-on-one. They probably would have met much later. Sayoung spoke slowly.

“Despite that, you went out of your way to contact Jung Bin and—of all things—asked about me.”

His violet eyes stared directly into Uijae’s. After a moment, they narrowed into a sharp smile.

“That means you were curious about me. Isn’t that right?”

“...”

“And that curiosity must come from interest...”

Sayoung tilted his chin up slightly, as if showing off a trophy he’d brought back from a hunt. Uijae patted him on the back like a proud cat owner, then put his hands behind his back.

“Sure, let’s say that’s the case. And...”

Uijae glanced behind Sayoung. The squeaking spring noise had died down. It seemed the repairs had been completed, and Minggijeok was now casually seated on the pig-shaped ride, legs stretched out, tapping away on his phone. Sensing Uijae’s gaze, Minggijeok looked up and made eye contact.

“Oh.”

He let out a short exclamation and pulled out a pair of headphones from his inventory. Minggijeok nodded toward Uijae.

“Pretend I’m not here and talk freely. I’m about to embark on a journey into the world of rock.”

“Ah, sure. Do that.”

“I’ll see you later. If you need me, just text.”

“Right, go ahead.”

“Oh, by the way, Romantic Opener is completely knocked out, so don’t worry about him.”

To prove his point, Minggijeok began swaying his head rhythmically, nodding along to the music. Soon after, he seemed to melt into the shadows, leaving only Romantic Opener slumped on the seesaw. He looked so lifeless that Uijae almost thought he was dead. The only sign of life was the slow rise and fall of his back as he breathed.

‘...Well, if he’s knocked out, I guess that’s fine.’

Uijae pretended not to notice and turned his attention back to Sayoung. Sayoung hadn’t taken his eyes off him the whole time. When their gazes met, a delicate smile spread across Sayoung’s face.

Uijae sighed deeply, gathering his words.

‘I can’t beat around the bush.’

In the end, he threw a fastball straight down the middle.

“Let’s stop dancing around and talk for real. Every time I ask, you dodge or change the subject. We’re not getting anywhere.”

“...”

“This time, don’t avoid it.”

Sayoung didn’t respond. As the streetlights flickered, shadows shifted across his face. A moment later, the orange glow brightened, deepening the shadows. The beautifully shadowed face took on an ominous tone. Uijae continued slowly.

“Jung Bin gave me a rough idea of what happened. From the moment you Awakened until now. But there are parts only you know.”

Sayoung, who had been avoiding such conversations, nodded easily.

“Well... yeah.”

“We have a lot to talk about. There’s a lot you need to say, and a lot I need to hear.”

“...”

“Tell me everything. What happened to you after I entered the Rift.”

If Sayoung had really been waiting for Uijae all this time—

He wanted to know everything that had happened during those eight years he hadn’t been there. He wanted to share the burden Sayoung had been carrying, to ease his guilt for not being there to protect him.

But Sayoung—

“Why?”

“What?”

Uijae blinked in surprise. It was an earnest question, not something he had expected. Sayoung, arms crossed, stared back at Uijae, his eyes narrowing. Then, after a moment of thought, Sayoung sighed and tapped his arm with his fingers.

“I thought you might ask something like that. But...”

“...”

“Now that you’re actually saying it...”

Sayoung muttered, his gaze dropping slightly.

“It doesn’t feel great.”

Why?

Uijae’s chest tightened. He’d been cursed at to his face and heard worse things behind his back. But for some reason, these words, which weren’t even harsh, made his heart sink. Unable to understand the strange emotion welling up inside, Uijae clenched his fists. His nails dug into his palms.

Sayoung spoke slowly.

“If you had told me to listen to your story... I would’ve gladly done so.”

“...”

“I would’ve liked it. I’m curious about the time you spent in the Rift too.”

“Then why—”

The words slipped out before he could stop them. Sayoung raised a corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“Let me ask you something instead.”

“...What?”

“Why are you so curious about my past? I’m not being sarcastic; I really want to know.”

Sayoung spread his arms wide.

“I’m right here, aren’t I? The person you were looking for is standing right in front of you.”

“Well...”

Sayoung had been dragged into Prometheus’s research facility while Uijae was trapped in the West Sea Rift. They must have experimented on Sayoung to artificially Awaken him. The files Uijae had found in the Odaesan research lab had hinted at the kind of horrors Sayoung had endured.

It was unforgivable.

Uijae opened his mouth to speak.

“While I was in the West Sea Rift—”

“No.”

Sayoung cut him off firmly.

“You’re starting from the wrong premise.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Uijae snapped, his voice sharp. Sayoung ran a hand through his hair, revealing a pale forehead through his parted bangs. He muttered like a sigh.

“I knew it would come to this...”

“Speak clearly. Stop dancing around it.”

“My past isn’t something you need to worry about.”

It was an absurd statement. Uijae gritted his teeth, spitting out each word like a curse.

“Why the hell shouldn’t I care? While I wasn’t around, you—”

“It’s something that happened a long time ago...”

Sayoung took a step forward. His black-gloved hand reached out, slowly lifting Uijae’s mask. Uijae didn’t push him away, nor did he avoid it. Somehow, instinctively, Uijae knew the hand posed no threat to him. The hand gently removed the mask, and their eyes met, unobstructed.

Sayoung’s lips moved softly.

“It’s not your responsibility. Like I said before, in that dungeon.”

The crumbling Erosion Dungeon. Uijae recalled what Sayoung had said at that time. It didn’t take long to remember.

‘You act like you have to take responsibility for everything.’

But this was different. Uijae muttered silently to himself. Sayoung

was the only one he had saved. The one he had resolved to protect at all costs.

His special person.

“Not take responsibility for you? I...”

At last, Uijae understood the strange feeling gnawing at him.

He was... hurt.

At that moment, Sayoung’s black-gloved hand gently cradled Uijae’s cheek.

“I’m glad you think about me and are curious about me...”

“...”

“But I don’t want that to turn into a burden of responsibility.”

A soft voice whispered.

“An unbalanced relationship, where one person bears all the responsibility, isn’t what I want.”

“...”

“I want an equal relationship, J.”