Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: A Sudden Kiss and Sudden News
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Haon squirmed, feeling a bit confined, but didn't push Juyeol away.
Juyeol gently stroked Haon's soft hair, thinking.
'She's so small and warm. But she's too thin. How could anyone... to someone so soft...'
Holding Haon with a mix of affection and fluttering excitement, his expression slowly turned to one of bewildered horror, his face paling.
'To someone so fragile...'
A panorama of his own actions flashed through his mind: shooting at Eun Haon, grabbing her by the collar, slamming her to the ground, threatening her, and spewing a stream of harsh words.
To think he had been so cruel to this small, slender girl who fit so perfectly in his arms.
'...'
He wanted to punch his past self. If he could, he wouldn't forget to warn him to just shut the hell up.
"...Hey."
Juyeol felt a cold sweat run down his back as he released his arms from around Haon.
Placing his hands on her small shoulders, he was struck by just how significant the size difference was between them.
"What, what's wrong?"
Haon looked up at him, scratching her slightly flushed cheek.
Faced with her harmless, cute face that only amplified his guilt, he let out an anguished sigh.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh? Oh, it's okay. There's no Mana Engineering here, so how could you believe in dimensional travel?"
"Not about that."
Juyeol continued with an awkward expression.
"I feel like I've done a lot of terrible things to you."
"Terrible things..."
Haon began to recall the things he'd said to her since she first arrived.
"What kind of trick is this?"
"Take your pick. How do you want your head blown off?"
"...Fuck. I told you not to cry in front of me."
...He was really scary back then.
Recalling the gun barrel pressed under her chin, Haon shivered.
'Come to think of it, Juyeol hated it when I cried. Was that his way of holding back? I really could have died the day I fell into this dimension...'
As the color drained from Haon's cheeks, a fidgety Juyeol removed his hands from her shoulders.
"...Sorry. That won't happen again."
"Mhm. I'm just glad you believe me now."
Haon let out a genuine sigh of relief, placing a hand over her chest.
Just then, Blue chirped an alert.
[Haon! New changes have been received! Apply them to the map right away?]
It seemed Nova, who had said he'd check out the underground tunnels last night, had sent his findings.
"Display it first."
Haon turned her eyes to the map, guessing which location would be newly classified as 'definitely not the place'.
But what appeared on the blue holographic map was not the usual red marker.
"This is..."
A yellow triangle appeared near the port. It was a marker for a suspicious discovery.
'But we already investigated the port.'
She zoomed in on the map with her fingertips, but nothing seemed different. What could he have found here?
As she pondered, a call came in from Nova.
[Hey, darling. Sleep well? Did you get the location I sent?]
Hearing the natural, affectionate greeting, Juyeol, who had been observing the map, scowled.
"Nova! I just saw it. Was there more to search at the port? What did you find?"
[I didn't search the port. The day of our date, after you went home, I noticed a new underground passage that wasn't there before.]
At the word "date," Juyeol's expression hardened even more.
"Date? You mean when we went to District 2?"
[That's the one. I kept an eye on it and decided to go inside this time. And guess what I found?]
Nova continued, a smile in his voice.
[A disgustingly huge private generator, running and everything.]
"A private generator...!"
[There seems to be a door past the generator, but I can't go any further.]
"Good work, Nova. You got out safely, right? Let's agree not to approach it until we know for sure what that tunnel is."
Haon ended the call and applied the new changes to the map.
"Are you saying Halo dug a tunnel in District 2 leading to the port and hid a generator there?"
Juyeol asked urgently, pointing at the map.
"It's more likely the plan of the terrorist who came from the same dimension as me."
"..."
"Mana Engineering doesn't just run on mana. It needs a lot of electricity. If they were running a private generator underground, our attempts to track them with electrical signals might have been pointless."
Haon opened a panel on Ttiyong, who was rolling around nearby, and made a few adjustments. She added a setting so it could immediately access the 3D map's information.
"From now on, if you ask Ttiyong, you'll be able to see the information marked on my map."
[I'll remember everything! And I'll kindly inform you!]
Ttiyong triumphantly perched on Juyeol's shoulder.
He gave the fidgety old-gentleman toaster a dubious look before turning away, unable to hide his troubled feelings.
Haon watched him for a moment before speaking firmly, just in case.
"You heard what Nova said, right? You won't be able to get past the generator anyway. If it's really blocked by Mana Engineering, you must not go alone."
Juyeol suppressed the urge to storm into District 2 right away and nodded.
"I'll head back to Headquarters and check if Halla reported any new construction projects."
"Oh, in that case, could you also look up a civilian for me?"
"Who."
"A man named Bae Anjae. He's a counselor at the rehabilitation center."
"Why? Did he do something to you when you went for counseling?"
"Not really. ...In my dimension, Bae Anjae was a terrorist. So, just in case."
"I'll look him up. But if he's a civilian with no criminal record, Headquarters might not have any data on him."
"It's fine if you can't find anything. And, Juyeol."
Haon took his fist, which had been trembling slightly.
"I'll look into Hyeseong's case too, so don't worry too much."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
He unclenched his fist, squeezed Haon's hand once, and left the lab.
Haon walked him to the lab entrance as he left for Headquarters, something that would have been unimaginable considering how coldly he'd stormed out the last time he was here.
Aside from their hearts pounding anxiously over the underground passage Nova had discovered in District 2, they both felt much more at ease with each other.
"Juyeol. Be safe. I'll call you if I find anything."
As Haon waved goodbye, Juyeol gave a slight wave back and turned to leave.
'She's cute, anyway. Are all people from that dimension cute?'
Lost in such idle thoughts on his way to his bike, Juyeol suddenly realized something and froze.
If Haon was from another dimension, then the 'Parang' she'd based Blue on must have been a real person. And the 'our Juyeol' she sang about must also be a real guy over there.
His expression instantly turned vicious, and he gritted his teeth.
'Best friend, my ass. That guy's a sly bastard. Just how much did he sweet-talk her?'
The unconditional kindness and unguarded demeanor Haon had shown him weren't directed at an imaginary friend, but at a real 'Woo Juyeol'.
Not him, but 'another Woo Juyeol'.
'...'
His mood soured, he strode back to the lab entrance, grabbed Haon's chin with one hand, and tilted her head up.
"Hey."
"Mmph?"
"You and Nova aren't anything, right?"
"...?"
Haon, her cheeks squished as she looked bewildered, was cute, but Juyeol needed to know for sure.
"Answer me. What's your relationship with Nova?"
"...Partners who manage District 1 and track Halo together?"
"So you're nothing. Then a greeting like this should be fine, right?"
He let out a smirk, then pressed his lips firmly against Haon's cheek before pulling away.
"And those strong sleeping pills. Stop taking them now."
"Huh?"
"I'll be back tonight. I'm really leaving now."
Haon watched Juyeol walk away, stunned, before sinking to the ground, cupping the cheek his lips had touched.
'...Huh?'
The cheek beneath her palm instantly grew hot.
'Wh-what was that?'
Her pounding heart wouldn't calm down.
She'd never done anything like this, not even with her childhood friend, 'Juyeol'. Was that why?
But it felt completely different from when Nova's lips had touched her.
'Is it because it was so sudden? Because he has my friend's face and suddenly gave me a greeting like that... I was just surprised...'
The lingering heat wouldn't fade, and Haon fanned her face frantically.
And that night, news broke that Bae Anjae, the counselor at Gwonyoung Rehabilitation Center, had been found dead.
***
"What in the world could have done... this?"
"I bet even the medical examiner has never seen anything like it."
The two detectives watched as Bae Anjae's body was taken to the morgue, shaking their heads.
"They said he didn't really have any enemies. His patients must be shocked."
"Tell me about it. What a bolt from the blue."
"Hero Headquarters said they're sending someone to check it out, right?"
"We'll just have to hope the examiner or the Heroes can figure something out."
Everyone filed out of the morgue, and the lights went out.
Silence fell, a chilling air settling over the room. Just then, the vent cover on the ceiling clicked open.