Free Web NovelKWAANG!
Even though Lee Hyunmook had covered Yohan’s ears, the sheer noise still made his whole body vibrate with a heavy, dull ringing. A thunderbolt of overwhelming force struck the ancient tree, crushing down from the top and spearing straight through it. Through Hyunmook’s eyes, Yohan could see the stiffly frozen shape of the tree slowly splitting apart.
In Hyunmook’s pitch-black irises, a dark red gleam flickered. Mad delight shimmered there. Only then did Yohan truly realize that, despite the massive purification from last time, the contamination in Hyunmook remained. The more power he released, the more the contamination reacted and surfaced. Yohan, terrified that Hyunmook might revert to being a madman, instinctively reached out his hand.
KWAANG!
As another bolt of lightning struck, a hand glowing with a rippling halo of light pressed against both his cheek and ear. Hyunmook flinched and turned his gaze. His straight brows twitched. The light that flowed from Yohan’s body like mist grew stronger.
The glimmering, galaxy-like light seeped into Hyunmook’s eyes and ears. The gray ash scattering from the charred tree disintegrated as if melting near them. Even the violent flashes of lightning began to calm.
“I thought maybe it was loud for you too....”
Unable to bear the steady gaze locked on him, Yohan mumbled a flimsy excuse and lowered his hand. Wondering ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) nervously if he’d overstepped or upset him, Yohan stole a glance—and found Hyunmook’s eyes warm and gentle. Relieved, Yohan exhaled.
“Thank you.”
Instead, Hyunmook expressed his gratitude.
Watching Hyunmook walk away to retrieve his spear, Yohan’s lips curled faintly upward.
The ancient tree monster had been struck so thoroughly that not even a recognizable shape remained. Because of the intense flames, acrid smoke wafted through the air. Hyunmook casually walked through it and pulled out the spear, now glowing red-hot. As Yohan dusted the ash off Hyunmook’s clothes with his glowing hands, he eyed the weapon with curiosity.
The spear he’d only ever seen in photos and videos was now in Hyunmook’s hands. Long, heavy, and sharp. But after being left unused for years, it was mottled with dark stains. Or at least... it looked like it had been.
‘Huh? I could’ve sworn there were stains here just now.’
Did I purify them by accident? As Yohan tilted his head in confusion, Hyunmook lightly swung the spear.
“Nothing beats a weapon you’ve used before. Got myself a fine lightning rod.”
A weapon other Awakeners would kill for was reduced by Hyunmook to just “a lightning rod.” And to be fair, he really did use it that way quite often. Yohan asked, thrilled.
“Could I... hold it just once?”
Hyunmook generously handed over the weapon. As soon as Yohan took it, he felt how incredibly heavy it was—and still warm, as if alive, likely from the recent lightning strike. Overwhelmed, he dared not swing it and carefully handed it back.
“I can’t believe I got to hold this... It’s really an honor.”
“Is it that much of an honor? I bet this guy’s happy too.”
Hyunmook’s voice carried a faint laugh, but Yohan was sincere. If they were back in Korea, someone like Hyunmook probably wouldn’t even know he existed.
“The only good thing about ending up here... is that I got to meet you.”
Hyunmook didn’t respond right away. As Yohan, suddenly self-conscious, rubbed the back of his neck and looked around awkwardly, Hyunmook softly called his name.
“Yohan.” freeweɓnovel.cѳm
That voice was so gentle, Yohan’s heart leapt and then tumbled down.
“You have no idea... how happy I am to have met you in this awful place.”
The emotions in those eyes watching him were so deep and weighty that Yohan momentarily forgot to breathe. Hyunmook gave his stiff shoulder a light pat.
“Come on. Let’s get some rest.”
* * *
It’s a crush. A fan crush.
Yohan, who had woken without sleeping well, thought bitterly. He sat in a daze, thinking over and over about the person still nearby, then quietly grabbed a handful of his own hair.
This is insane... Seriously... Still, this has to be a fan crush.
Even though they were both high-tier Awakeners now, Yohan still felt like the difference between him and Hyunmook was night and day. Sure, his purification ability was amazing, but that didn’t make them equals. It was Hyunmook, after all. His benefactor. Of course he’d feel this way. Yohan, having reached a firm conclusion, stood up.
The sheets where he’d just been lying were soft and dry, like freshly washed fabric. Apparently, even while sleeping, his power had leaked out. When he woke up, the dusty bed was completely clean. Yohan figured he’d swap beds with Hyunmook tonight and clean that one too. He felt like a walking air purifier....
“Did you sleep well?”
Opening the bedroom door, Yohan greeted Hyunmook.
“Yeah. You too, Yohan?”
“Yes! Slept great!”
After cheerfully responding, Yohan began preparing breakfast. Meals were his sole responsibility, and for a good reason—some of the ingredients had started to spoil in recent days, so Yohan needed to purify them with a touch to make them safe to eat.
Today’s menu was pork marinated in gochujang and steamed rice. After a delicious meal, they even enjoyed a luxurious dessert: canned yellow peaches to celebrate retrieving the weapon. Hyunmook scooped some of his portion back into Yohan’s bowl and said:
“I thought it over after what happened yesterday. I think I need to bring one of my teammates here.”
He said it as casually as if going out to buy groceries. Yohan didn’t get it right away, and a piece of yellow peach he was chewing dropped from his lips. Without even noticing how unsanitary it was, he stammered.
“W-Wait a second. How are you going to find a teammate? Judging by the Abyss’s appearance frequency, statistically we won’t see new land or people for another couple months... There’s no guarantee anyone alive is even here, and even if they are, finding them in time—”
“Mm...”
Hyunmook gave a sheepish smile. At that moment, something flashed through Yohan’s mind.
“Sorry, just to be sure... are you saying one of your teammates is still alive?”
“Well... something like that. We... had a pretty big falling-out and split up.”
“They’re alive?!”
Yohan was shocked. The reason he’d never asked about Hyunmook’s missing team was simple—he’d assumed they were all dead. He hadn’t wanted to reopen an old wound. And now Hyunmook casually dropped that?
“It is pretty surprising, huh?”
“‘Surprising’ doesn’t even cover it!”
While Yohan reeled, Hyunmook poked at his canned peach and quietly passed the rest to Yohan.
Yohan couldn’t wrap his head around it. He could understand Hyunmook keeping it to himself before Yohan Awakened—if even Hyunmook was that badly contaminated, the rest of his team must’ve been in even worse shape. It would’ve seemed hopeless. But now it had been a week since his Awakening. And Hyunmook’s team Sunrise was famous for their tight bonds, which made this even stranger.
“Then we should go find them right away. I can purify them now!”
“I just wasn’t sure it was worth the risk and trouble...”
Hyunmook replied in the driest tone imaginable. Yohan almost doubted his own ears—this gentle, kind person didn’t sound like someone talking about old comrades at all.
“But after what happened yesterday, I realized you really need someone to protect you in a fight. You know as well as I do that my powers are dangerous to those nearby. Blind attacks are bound to happen. I make mistakes too. I can’t keep you close, but I also can’t send you far away. That’s a problem.”
Yohan understood what he meant. Hyunmook was the rare exception—most flame or lightning-type Awakeners worked alone, because their powers were too risky for allies. Even he had a few videos floating around where his attacks went wild, and his teammates were seen screaming or getting injured. Still, none of them had suffered permanent damage, despite the ferocity of those battles.
Yohan took a moment to think. There must’ve been good reasons why Hyunmook hadn’t suggested retrieving his team earlier. Judging him as heartless without knowing the full story would’ve been deeply unfair.
‘He said they had a falling-out, didn’t he?’
He called it a difference of opinion, but maybe it was something far more severe. If Yohan had fallen into the Abyss with Park Seungmin, he’d probably have ended up treating him like a mortal enemy too. And besides, everyone here was contaminated. The Abyss made it easy for conflicts to spiral. Yohan collected himself and asked carefully:
“So... who are you planning to bring back?”
“There’s one guy not too far from here. Haven’t seen him in... what, thirty years? No clue what shape he’s in now. Wasn’t easy to talk to back then, either.”
“...Huh? Thirty years?!”
Yohan blinked in disbelief. Hyunmook blinked once, then gave a crooked smile.
“Guess that sounded a little too much like an old man’s joke, huh?”
“Ah—ahh! You mean like, three months ago!”
Just like how old guys liked to joke about ₩1,000 being ₩10 million—Hyunmook had that kind of humor too. Yohan couldn’t help but laugh.
‘If I remember right... there were six members total.’
The Sunrise Team had consisted of Hyunmook as the leader, and in age order: Go Jaewon, Lee Chanha, Seo Yakrin, Yoon Seungryong, and Joo Hoyoung. Of those, Go Jaewon had gotten lucky and escaped. The remaining five were lost to the Abyss and assumed dead, effectively disbanding the team.
“So, who’s the one near here?”
“Yoon Seungryong. Lazy, gluttonous bastard.”
