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“Ah! An apple!”
Yohan threw his hand up and shouted with joy. In his hand was a fairly large apple. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
With Hyunmook back in his crazed state—and worried that Yoon Seungryong might burst out of the cave at any moment—Yohan had decided to put some distance between them and the cave. He somehow managed to return to the stump they’d used as a temporary shelter.
But that was it. With no idea where to go next, and having completely run out of emergency rations, he was stuck. After half a day of fasting, his eyes finally caught sight of a tree bearing inmyeongo—human-faced fruits. Braving the grotesque sight, he purified one, hoping it might be edible, and found a bright red Hongok apple underneath.
“...Why does it still have that expression?”
Even after purification, the fruit’s face—which looked like it was screaming—remained exactly as it was. Yohan grimaced, uneasy. Just in case, he sliced off the “face” with a knife, cut the apple in half, and offered one piece to Lee Hyunmook.
“You must be hungry, right? Please have some. If it’s not enough, I’ll purify another.”
He’d been purifying him periodically throughout the day, but Hyunmook was still in a crazed state. Nevertheless, he took the apple slice. As always when he ate, there was a slow, crisp crunching sound. But for some reason, while Yohan devoured his half in an instant, Hyunmook barely took a bite before handing the rest back.
“Oh? You’re not eating it? It’s sweet and delicious...”
Yohan tried not to think too deeply about why an apple from such a creepy tree could taste so sweet. As he bit into the piece Hyunmook had returned, he thought,
‘Maybe... he thought there wasn’t enough to share, so he didn’t want to eat it alone.’
If I purify two more and give them to him, maybe he’ll eat them? As he absentmindedly licked the juice running down his hand, something wet brushed his lips. Hyunmook, who had leaned in without Yohan noticing, licked the apple juice from his lips.
“Uh...”
Startled, Yohan dropped the apple. As he opened his mouth to say something, Hyunmook took the chance and slipped his tongue in.
“Lee Hyun—mmph!”
Yohan’s mind went blank. The thick tongue pushed in and lapped up the sweet saliva he’d built up while eating. He tried to push Hyunmook away, but moving a high-rank Awakener was no easy task.
“St... stop...!”
Even as Yohan turned his head left and right, the man persistently followed, licking him. He hadn’t paid any attention to the apple earlier, but now he was stealing the remaining chunks from Yohan’s mouth and licking up every drop of saliva. Overpowered and half-resigned, Yohan thought vaguely,
‘Is... is this what a kiss is?’
At twenty-three, Yohan’s only romantic experience had been a shy peck with a girlfriend he’d dated for a month. This was shocking physical contact. But as he calmed down and let it happen, it felt... less like a kiss and more like someone licking something tasty.
...But even so, it didn’t feel bad. In a way, it was kind of dog-like, and honestly, it felt... kind of good? Just as he was having this thought, Yohan snapped back to reality. No! Isn’t it wrong to feel that way about something done by someone who’s not in their right mind?
...But technically, he’s the one doing it to me, right?
Unconsciously, Yohan’s arm moved. Whether to push away or pull closer, even he didn’t know. The moment his fingertips touched Hyunmook’s shoulder, the crazed man paused. He stopped sucking on Yohan’s lips and slowly lifted his head. The red glow in his eyes had vanished.
“...Yohan?”
“Waaagh!”
Yohan screamed, tried to push him off, and nearly rolled off the stump. Hyunmook quickly grabbed him before he could fall. After finally managing to sit upright, Yohan stammered,
“S-s-sorry!”
“I really don’t think you’re the one who needs to apologize here.”
Hyunmook, piecing together what must’ve happened while he was insane, glanced at Yohan’s swollen lips as he spoke. Face burning red, Yohan tried to explain as calmly as possible.
“Th-the thing is, um, maybe? You... wanted to eat the apple? Or something?”
It wasn’t going well.
“You don’t need to make excuses for me...”
“B-but I realized that your ability doesn’t work on blood... so I thought maybe... maybe other bodily fluids could work, too...”
“Yohan, breathe.”
Only after Hyunmook gripped his shoulders firmly did Yohan stop rambling. He took three deep breaths and muttered in a voice like a dying mouse,
“I’m calm now...”
“I’m really sorry. I think... the crazed version of me is extremely attracted to you. I can’t say it won’t happen again. If it does, poke my eyes out or punch me or something.”
He apologized with a genuinely regretful voice and lowered his gaze. Yohan couldn’t tear his eyes away from Hyunmook’s handsome face.
“I mean... it didn’t feel bad enough to want to gouge your eyes out. So... if it helps you snap out of it faster, I don’t mind cooperating a little...”
Still blushing, Yohan tried to ease the tension. After a pause, Hyunmook murmured,
“I think my conscience is hurting because you’re so young.”
“Eh? I’m an adult. I’m twenty-three... I’ve got my ID with me, want to see it?”
Yohan frowned. He had packed his ID when they entered the rift, and it was still tucked safely in his backpack. But Hyunmook looked even more troubled after hearing that.
“Twenty-three... hmm.”
He stared off into space for a second, then muttered again, “Twenty-three.” Yohan, realizing there was a ten-year age gap, quickly added,
“And that’s not even a huge gap! I could call you hyung!”
“...What if it’s more than ten years?”
This time, Yohan was genuinely confused. According to the profile he knew, Lee Hyunmook was thirty-three. Had he lied on his profile? Was he actually older? Nervously, Yohan ventured,
“Hyungnim...?”
Hyunmook burst out laughing and ruffled his hair affectionately, making Yohan feel awkward but also relieved. If things had gotten any more tense, it would’ve been unbearable. Trying to avoid bringing up what had just happened, Yohan quickly changed the subject.
“So... what did you do in the cave that made that happen?”
He shuddered, remembering the pitch-black void that had cleanly obliterated the tunnel. And he was curious what had caused Hyunmook to go mad again.
“You’re a high-rank Awakener, so you don’t have any extra abilities... did you do something with your spear...?”
Unlike mid- or low-rank Awakeners who could have multiple abilities, high-ranks only had one. Yohan had once wondered why—but now that he was one himself, he understood. Even a single source of power was too much to contain, leaving no room for anything else.
That meant, just like Yohan, Hyunmook’s only ability was electricity. His spear skills were something he had trained through sheer effort alone.
“It’s a dangerous ability I gained from contamination. There’s not much benefit to you knowing, so I’d rather not talk about it. Sorry.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine!”
The air clearly said don’t ask further, so Yohan nodded like he understood and quickly changed the subject.
“So are we going back into the cave?”
“No. It’s too dangerous. I could go alone, but I can’t protect you in there. That place is completely Yoon Seungryong’s territory. It’s a cramped maze—I have no way to deal with it. It’s better to return to the shelter and come up with another plan.”
So he was a burden, after all. The guilt of being the reason they couldn’t capture Yoon Seungryong weighed heavy on him.
“Then... couldn’t we try to lure him out of the cave?”
“That guy’s gluttonous, but he’s also lazy. He’s probably just sitting in there, feasting comfortably. There’s no way he’d come out when nutrition-rich stuff ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ flows right in.”
So he’s just living off swamp water? That filthy, disgusting stuff? Yohan felt both nauseated and strangely sympathetic. There had to be some way... He scratched his head, thinking hard. Then something clicked.
“Uh, I’m not sure if I remember this correctly, but... didn’t Yoon Seungryong really like pork belly?”
He remembered an interview from a documentary he rewatched several times, where Yoon Seungryong said he ate pork belly two or three times a week. Team leader Hyunmook tilted his head, trying to remember. Then he nodded, as if it had just come back to him.
“Oh, yeah. That’s right... I think he did.”
“Then... maybe he still does? I mean, we’ve got pigs living underground nearby. Pork belly smells amazing, so what if we cook some and tempt him out...?”
Even as he said it, Yohan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Could someone really be lured out with just that? But to his surprise, Hyunmook actually looked intrigued.
“...It’s plausible.”
“Huh? He’d really come out of that place just for some pork belly?”
“Yohan, you don’t understand just how deep contamination-driven obsession can go.”
Hyunmook smiled gently at Yohan, who still looked doubtful. A faint red glint flickered in the depths of his eyes. Despite the calm tone of voice, Yohan instinctively tensed.
“It’s... far more intense than you can even imagine.”
