noveldrama
Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Uijae clenched and opened his fists. The strength that had disappeared had now returned. That unfamiliar door that suddenly appeared in *Cha Uijae’s* memory… and the voice he had never heard in the memory, yet somehow recognized. Uijae wracked his brain. That beast-like growling voice...
*Cha Uijae.*
It was eerily similar to the voice he had heard at the very edge of the fragment Yun Gaeul had shown him. Lee Sayoung remained seated, unmoving, with that same eerie smile on his face. A smile so meticulously crafted, it sent chills down Uijae’s spine. Everything about him seemed inhuman.
First, I need to neutralize him. Uijae cracked his knuckles. Then, without warning—
*Bang!*
Uijae shot forward, kicking the chair out from under Sayoung, and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him down. *Thud*, Sayoung's head hit the floor. *Clatter, clatter...* The watch he had been holding slipped from his grasp and rolled away.
Though Uijae had him pinned to the floor, choking him, Sayoung didn’t resist. His smile remained unchanged. Uijae felt an overwhelming urge to cover that smug face.
Sayoung's lips moved.
"Don’t... bother. I wasn’t trying to start a fight."
The skin under Uijae’s palm was cold, but he could feel the faint pulse beneath it. He glanced sideways. Should I break his legs first? Nam Woojin could always fix them later...
Sayoung whispered.
"Whatever... it is, you should test it. It’s your last chance."
"......"
Sayoung carefully placed his hand over Uijae’s, the one choking him. It was cold. Uijae tightened his grip around Sayoung's neck.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, what I want...?"
The muscles in Sayoung's neck trembled slightly. He was laughing, a soft chuckle slipping out between small coughs. That laugh only grew louder, filling the room until it finally stopped after what felt like an eternity. Sayoung’s fingers brushed the back of Uijae’s hand.
"Sleep with me."
"...What?"
Uijae thought he had misheard. Did he just hear that right? But Sayoung was staring up at him, unblinking, with those long eyelashes fluttering. The sweet, intoxicating scent was overwhelming.
"You saw it just now, didn’t you?"
Sayoung tapped his head with his fingers, a rough, careless gesture that showed no respect for his own body. Uijae instinctively reached to grab his hand but stopped. Sayoung continued speaking, his voice unhurried.
"Your dream and my dream are connected. Thanks to that watch."
"......"
"Aren’t you curious? About the things only I know...?"
The warden who had watched the apocalypse for so long. What the apocalypse was, how it came, why they failed—no one knew better than Sayoung. It was a tempting offer.
Uijae stared into those violet eyes, nestled between the disheveled strands of hair. The eyes reflected everything without emotion or opinion, merely showing what was there. Uijae tightened his grip on Sayoung’s throat, and a faint groan escaped his lips.
After a moment, Uijae loosened his grip, just enough to allow Sayoung to gasp for air. His body shook as he coughed. Uijae could feel the muscles beneath his hand moving as Sayoung struggled to breathe. His voice was low and accusatory.
"You could just tell me all of this. Skip the unnecessary process."
"Oh, but that... wouldn’t be fun."
"Fun? You literally said this was our last chance."
"I did..."
"If we lose this chance, we all die. You, me."
"I know..."
"And you still care about fun?"
"Why wouldn’t I...?"
Sayoung blinked slowly. His violet eyes had lightened to a soft lavender, and deep within them, a white flame flickered. Uijae stared, captivated by that flame. Sayoung murmured softly.
"I wandered alone for so long."
"......"
"I’m finally starting to feel... alive."
His pale hands gripped the ones that were still around his throat. Uijae snapped back to reality and widened his eyes as Sayoung rasped in a choked voice.
"Could you squeeze a little harder? This... feels good."
A faint smile crept onto Sayoung's face.
That twisted smile. He was genuinely enjoying this.
A chill ran down Uijae’s spine. In an instant, he released his grip and jerked his hands away, shaking them out as if something vile had touched him. Sayoung clicked his tongue in disappointment. Uijae was horrified.
‘This guy is seriously insane.’
Sayoung's black fingers brushed across Uijae's hand like a spider's legs. Uijae shuddered involuntarily. Sayoung laughed out loud.
"Isn’t this mutually beneficial? You’ve wanted to choke me, haven’t you?"
"You sick freak! Who do you think I am?"
"Really? What a shame..."
Sayoung gently touched his neck, where Uijae’s handprints were still clearly visible. Uijae swallowed hard.
Shit. Isn’t there a summit or something coming up? Sayoung shrugged his shoulders.
"Weren’t you rummaging through my memories to gain something...?"
"......"
"Think about it."
His black hand caressed Uijae’s arm, and his pale lavender eyes narrowed with amusement.
"I’m okay with anything, big brother."
And the moment Uijae heard him say “big brother”—
*Wham!*
He couldn’t hold back and threw a punch.
Sayoung’s lavender eyes rolled back, and his body went limp beneath Uijae. Uijae opened his fist and pressed his hand against Sayoung’s chest, panting heavily. Fortunately, it seemed he had instinctively held back just enough. Sayoung’s pulse was still beating steadily.
Uijae’s hands were trembling. He flexed his fingers nervously. The sensation of Sayoung’s fingers brushing his skin was still disturbingly vivid.
‘What the hell? Is this guy really a pervert?’
Sleep together? Choke him harder? Was he completely out of his mind after wandering for so long? Uijae barely managed to swallow the scream rising in his throat. His heart pounded wildly, though he wasn’t sure whether it was from anger, disbelief, or something else.
‘Lee Sayoung has completely lost it.’
At this point, he missed the Sayoung he used to know—the sharp-tongued brat with a weird sort of charm. Uijae slumped, resting his forehead against his chest. His voice trembled at the edges.
"Hey, hey, wake up, Lee Sayoung..."
"......"
"Why are you never around when I need you...?"
"......"
"You’ve slept long enough!"
Just as Uijae shouted, the body beneath him twitched. A small groan escaped Sayoung’s lips. Uijae snapped his head up. Sayoung groggily held his head, blinking against the pain. His previously perfect face scrunched up in discomfort.
"What the...?"
Sayoung propped himself up on his elbow, lifting his torso off the floor, bringing their faces closer together.
"When did I... why are we like this... wait."
Sayoung narrowed his eyes and studied Uijae’s face, tilting his head. His hand shot out, grabbing Uijae’s chin and cheek, turning his face this way and that. Sayoung frowned.
"Why’s your face so red...? Do you have a fever?"
"My face?"
"Hold on..."
Sayoung froze, clutching his head again, right where Uijae had hit him. Uijae averted his gaze, looking off to the side like a guilty dog avoiding eye contact. Sayoung blinked.
"Big brother."
"...Yeah?"
"Did you hit me?"
"...No."
"Wait... what happened to my neck...?"
Sayoung grasped his neck and cleared his throat. It was exactly where Uijae had choked him earlier. Uijae avoided Sayoung’s gaze even more, practically staring at the wall behind him. Sayoung tilted his head.
"Big brother."
"......"
"Did you find out?"
Uijae whipped his head around. Surprisingly, Sayoung seemed genuinely confused.
What did he mean? Did Uijae realize there was another version of Sayoung inside him? Or was there something else he was hiding? Uijae was confused too, but he couldn’t miss this opportunity.
He nodded, drawing on the skills he’d developed working at the hangover soup restaurant.
"Yeah."
Feigning ignorance while agreeing. Most people, drunk on affirmation, would spill more information when this tactic was used. Sayoung squinted at him for a moment, then dropped his gaze thoughtfully, his long lashes fluttering down.
"...Where did you hear it from? You don’t even have a phone."
Uijae folded his arms and stared at Sayoung, who was thinking hard, clearly running out of ideas. Finally, Sayoung let out a short sigh.
"Oh..."
He ran his hands through his hair roughly.
"Shit. You saw it in the Rankers' chat, didn’t you?"
Under normal circumstances, Sayoung wouldn’t have given him any leads, but he was now babbling without realizing it. Seemed like that punch to the head had really messed with him. Uijae smirked knowingly and opened the Rankers’ chat, which he hadn’t checked in a while. Skimming through the backlog of messages—
What greeted him was...
---
:
:
[5] Gyu-Gyu: J, check the chat~
[5] Gyu-Gyu: If you don’t show up, we’re going to assume you two are really dating~
[8] I Am The Master: What’s the point of talking more?
[8] I Am The Master: Didn’t you see the picture too?
[8] I Am The Master: He was practically cradling him like some holy relic.
[29] Marble Seller Boy: Huh? What’s going on again?
[8] I Am The Master: Another latecomer.
[8] I Am The Master: Hurry up and read the news.
[8] I Am The Master: Apparently J and 240 are dating.
What?
[11] Shield Guy: Ha...
[11] Shield Guy: We don’t know anything about that.
[11] Shield Guy: We’ve disconnected the guild’s phone lines.
[11] Shield Guy: Don’t bother contacting us.
[11] Shield Guy: I’m entering a dungeon now.
[6] Honeybee: Hey, are you going to answer properly or not?
[6] Honeybee: What’s really going on between you two?
[6] Honeybee: Are you dating?
[6] Honeybee: Or are you two up to something together?
[11] Shield Guy: Shield Guy is unavailable.
[6] Honeybee: What the hell? Self-imposed unavailability?
[6] Honeybee: Minggijeok, come out!
[34] A Tiny Miracle Minggijeok: A Tiny Miracle Minggijeok is unavailable.
[8] I Am The Master: The cheek of it, unbelievable.
[6] Honeybee: Hah.
[5] Gyu-Gyu: Hahaha.
[6] Honeybee: Why don’t you just admit you’re all dating too?
[11] Shield Guy: Please refrain from using the word “dating.” It gives me PTSD.
[6] Honeybee: Ugh.
---
Uijae’s eyes narrowed as he grabbed Sayoung by the collar, his blue eyes flashing dangerously.
"What the hell did you do?"