Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Beneath the Waves
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Blink. Blink.
‘Why are the lights doing that?’
Haon lay listlessly, her vision repeatedly fading to black and then brightening again.
[—on. Emergen… apply shock….]
A ringing filled her ears, and Blue's voice came through intermittently.
Her mind, murky like a shaken fish tank, slowly began to clear.
“Huh…?”
She soon realized it wasn't the lights flickering, but her own consciousness.
A jolt of electricity shot through her fingertips.
“Gasp!”
Her heart leaped, and her mind snapped into focus.
“B-Blue.”
[You're awake! Terminating the electric shock app!]
Haon groaned, clutching her throbbing head.
She tried to recall the last thing she saw.
A truck. And a bullet.
A massive truck had slammed into their car. It was a truck from a bullet factory, with a bullet painted on its side.
‘Halla!’
She'd expected them to attack District 2, but she never imagined they would do something like this.
The car must have plunged off the bridge; they were submerged in dark water on all sides.
“Juyeol, are you—!”
Haon turned her head toward the driver's seat and froze.
Juyeol was slumped over, blood trickling from his forehead.
Feeling as if she were being strangled, Haon couldn't make a sound. Forgetting to breathe, she brought a trembling hand to his nose.
“Haa…”
She let out a choked breath and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Thankfully, he was still breathing.
“Juyeol. Wake up.”
But no matter how much she shook him or applied electric shocks, he wouldn't wake up.
There wasn't much time. The water was rising, and the car continued to sink.
“Blue. Prepare for underwater rescue.”
[Unable to run the underwater rescue app. Server connection is unstable.]
“...!”
Her heart felt like it had stopped. Right, the server was undergoing an upgrade, so there was little she could do.
‘So that's why it couldn't completely offset the impact.’
Haon felt as if everything at this moment was her fault.
For taking District 2 and not killing Halla.
For not upgrading the server sooner.
For upgrading the server today of all days.
For… falling into this dimension in the first place.
‘Because of me.’
On the verge of tears, Haon desperately searched for a way out. She had to get out of here, somehow. She couldn't let Juyeol die like this.
Then, an app she had made for fun flashed through her mind.
“Blue. Can you run the fireworks app?”
[It can be run, but it's unstable!]
“When the fireworks app is running, how many kilograms can the phone support if a person is holding on to it?”
[Currently, it can support up to 120kg.]
“...How much does Juyeol weigh?”
[Approximately 100kg.]
“....”
Haon buried her face in her hands. Tears streamed through her fingers.
The rising water was bitingly cold, yet her own hands felt colder. She was surrounded by water, but her throat was parched.
‘When was the last time I went swimming?’
Haon lifted her head and looked at the unconscious Juyeol.
The hero of a chaotic city.
The shadow who swept through crime scenes, all while claiming it wasn't for him and that he would quit.
Ghost.
And Woo Juyeol, who had become precious to her.
Wiping her tear-streaked eyes, Haon moved her hands with renewed determination.
She cut the seatbelt, wrapped it tightly around Juyeol's hand to secure the phone, and lifted his arm to aim at the front windshield.
“Blue. Activate the fireworks app as soon as the mana bullet is fired.”
[Understood!]
Haon let out a shaky breath, fired the mana bullet, and immediately let go of Juyeol's hand.
“Get Juyeol safely out of the water! You have to!”
With a loud crack, the windshield blew out, and water rushed in with a roar.
Haon held her breath and slipped out through the shattered windshield.
Looking up, she saw Juyeol's body, clinging to the phone, shooting rapidly upward.
‘It worked!’
Haon also started moving her arms and legs in a clumsy attempt to swim toward the surface.
It seemed she hadn't learned to swim for nothing, as her body was indeed moving upward, but it was too slow, and the surface was impossibly far away.
‘Please. Just a little further.’
Struggling desperately, Haon could no longer hold her breath and let it out with a gurgle. Bubbles scattered from her lips.
Far above, beyond the water's surface, the shimmering light of bursting fireworks flickered.
‘The fireworks app activated properly.’
By now, Juyeol must be suspended in the air, shooting brilliant fireworks from his fingertips.
‘Thank goodness. Now, if I can just make it up there…!’
She moved her heavy legs with all her might, but that was it. Having exhaled her last breath, Haon's body froze in fear.
‘Ah…’
In truth, she knew.
That even someone with excellent athleticism would find it difficult to swim out of here.
That she wouldn't make it out of here alive.
Her consciousness flickered again, and all strength left her body. Sinking down, down, she could no longer see the shimmering fireworks.
The water was so dark and cold; it felt just like what reaching the Void Realm must be like.
Was this what death felt like? Perhaps this was how it felt to lie in a morgue refrigerator.
‘Juyeol will be waiting. Juyeol…’
As her fading consciousness gave way, she felt the cold current wrap around her body.
For a moment, a brilliant golden light seemed to flicker before her eyes.
And when she opened her eyes again, Haon was standing somewhere.
The moment she thought it was a dark, empty space, something moved beneath her feet, accompanied by light.
Water defied gravity, rising in droplets before shattering into mana, and the golden mana unraveled into even finer, more delicate strings that scattered.
As Haon stared blankly at this world made of mana and strings, a sensation brushing against her fingertips made her look down.
The finely unraveled strings gathered in a circle, forming a footprint on the ground.
When she placed her foot on the footprint, a new one appeared before her.
Haon followed the footprints. To where the mana and strings led.
* * *
Beep. Beep.
A rhythmic mechanical sound echoed in the hospital room.
Juyeol, leaning on his arm with his face buried in his palm, listened desperately to that faint sound.
It was proof that Haon's heart was still beating.
“Haa.”
An anguished sigh mingled with the beeping.
It hadn't been long since Solmae had visited, but he wanted to grab him and ask again.
Just when would Haon wake up?
A hospital in Old Town District 1. Haon had been brought here, and two days had passed without her opening her eyes.
Juyeol pressed on the dark circles under his eyes and took Haon's hand.
Her pale cheeks, ashen lips, and small, white hands were heartbreaking to see.
He gritted his teeth, feeling sorrow, anger, and fear all at once.
‘Saving me like that, only to leave me behind… what am I supposed to do? If you’re left like this…’
Thanks to the wildly bursting fireworks, a Chaser had spotted him instantly, and River had dived into the water to retrieve Haon.
Juyeol had woken up around that time.
Just as River was putting her full weight into chest compressions, trying to restart Haon's heart.
It felt like his world was collapsing. It was a memory that made him feel like he was suffocating just by recalling it.
He himself had only suffered a small cut on his forehead and minor burns on his palm.
That alone was enough to tell him what had happened.
‘If you had died then, I…’
He pressed his forehead to her white hand and whispered, “Please.”
‘Please don't disappear. Come back. Just open your eyes.’
After she was moved to the hospital and her condition stabilized, he had placed her phone in her hand.
Juyeol had hoped it might do something, but nothing happened.
It seemed that, just as Solmae had said, there was nothing to do but wait for her to wake up.
As he was chewing on his lip, the door to the room opened, and River walked in.
“Ghost. Found them.”
Juyeol shot up and checked the items.
Two soaking wet T-shirts and two hats. They were the items they couldn't find in the car after it was pulled from the water.
“Thanks.”
“You know it's creepy when you say things like that, right?”
“I mean it.”
“That's why it's creepy.”
River sat down in a chair with a reluctant expression.
She recalled her conversation with him from this morning and shook her head in distaste.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“...A favor? You even know that word? Are you really Ghost? Are you someone else, too? Did you hit your head that hard?”
“There's something I need you to find.”
“Only saying what you want to say… Yep, you're Ghost, all right.”
Of all people, Ghost asking for a ‘favor.’
And a favor to find some not-so-pretty T-shirts and hats, at that.
River, who had been wondering if they were some kind of couple's shirts, frowned at Juyeol's haggard appearance.
“Go get some rest. It's not like Eun Haon is going to wake up just because you're glued to her side.”
Ever since his forehead wound and the burns on his palm were treated, Juyeol had stayed in Haon's room. He wasn't eating or sleeping properly.
As he just stood there blankly, clutching the wet clothes, River pushed him from behind, unable to watch any longer.
“Go get the clothes and hats laundered or something. They'll be ruined if you leave them like that. And on your way back, pick up something for Eun Haon to eat when she wakes up.”
Seemingly convinced by her words, Juyeol glanced back at Haon one last time before leaving the room.
River stared after him with a look of disbelief.
‘What in the world is going on between those two?’