A sweet scent tickled Uijae's nose as soft strands of hair and the cold surface of Sayoung’s gas mask brushed against the back of his neck. Uijae shuddered involuntarily. He wasn’t slow at grasping situations, but for some reason, his brain wasn’t working right.

Thud, thud, thud… The rapid beating of an unknown heart echoed loudly. Through the half-open door, faint red light and the sound of the TV drifted out.

In a corner untouched by the light, Cha Uijae was held in Lee Sayoung's arms. To be precise, he was awkwardly kneeling, half-climbing onto Sayoung’s lap. Uijae blinked slowly.

‘...What the hell is this?’

Despite grasping the basic situation, that was the only thought that popped into his head. More questions followed. Why had Sayoung been crouching in front of the door? Why had he pulled Uijae in for a hug? Why now? The only other time this guy had initiated physical contact was during the Artisan Exhibition when he was in pain.

Could he be injured? But there was no smell of blood. Was it internal?

Just as Uijae’s head began to spin with thoughts, he felt the leather-clad thumb of Sayoung gently brush over the back of his hand. It seemed Sayoung hadn’t let go of the hand he’d grabbed earlier. Uijae voiced his thoughts aloud.

“What’s up with you? Are you hurt?”

Sayoung's indifferent response echoed in his ear.

“Just ‘cause.”

“You think that explains everything? Get up. What the hell are you doing, sitting here all miserable?”

Since Sayoung didn’t seem to be injured, there was no reason to stay in this awkward position. With a gruff response, Uijae shook his hand free. But instead of letting go, Sayoung squeezed tighter, intertwining their fingers.

Uijae’s eyes widened as he stared at the top of Sayoung's head, which was pressed against his neck.

“What are you doing?”

Sayoung’s voice came out low, almost like a childish complaint.

“Just stay like this for a bit.”

“What do you mean, ‘stay’? You can’t just—”

Though he grumbled, Uijae stopped trying to free his hand. Sitting like this, with Sayoung holding onto him, he felt like a bamboo pillow. Sayoung’s fingers lightly grazed the knuckles of his hand, sending a subtle tickling sensation through his skin.

Sighing softly, Uijae stared at the swirling black hole in the night sky before speaking again.

“So, why were you sitting here in the first place?”

“...”

“If you came by, you could’ve knocked like last time.”

He recalled that night—like something out of a horror movie—when Sayoung had burst into the restaurant uninvited, making demands. Back then, he was nothing but an insufferable lunatic. When had things started to change between them? Uijae’s thoughts wandered.

Time had a way of changing things. Nothing could remain unchanged in the face of time—people, relationships, everything shifted over time.

Even Uijae, who had been absent from the world for eight years, wasn’t an exception. The insufferable lunatic had become a reliable, trusted companion. In the past, Uijae would’ve kicked him into a trash heap without hesitation.

Just then, Sayoung spoke.

“If I stayed here like this…”

“...”

“I thought you might come out.”

Uijae’s eyes widened. Sayoung lifted his head slightly. Through the lenses of the gas mask, Uijae could see the faint curve of his narrow eyes. There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“And you really came out.”

His eyes seemed genuinely happy.

Watching Sayoung’s eyes behind the lenses, Uijae averted his gaze and changed the subject.

“It’s been a while since we came out of the Corrosion Dungeon. Why show up now?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you’d show up with a bunch of questions….”

“It turned out this way for various reasons.”

“What took you so long? Were you busy?”

The movement of Sayoung’s fingers stopped. After a brief silence, he responded.

“I was tied up in an investigation.”

“An investigation?”

“Yeah, trying to bluff my way through, saying I hadn’t seen a certain ‘important’ someone. Though it was a lie that no one believed in the first place.”

The Awakener Bureau must’ve been pressing him hard for information about J.

Of course, they wouldn’t have let him go easily. Given the unprecedented event, they were probably desperate for any leads, even if it meant holding someone like Lee Sayoung for questioning. Uijae asked.

“What about Hong Yeseong and Gaeul?”

“Yun Gaeul was given leniency since she’s a high school senior. As for Hong Yeseong… well, he’s around somewhere.”

So that’s why the mask hadn’t been delivered. Uijae let out a short sigh.

“The Bureau is still the same, huh.”

“...”

Sayoung didn’t reply, only shrugging, looking more tired than usual.

‘...Is this okay?’

Hesitant, Uijae raised his free hand and started to gently pat the top of Sayoung’s head. Honestly, Sayoung’s hair was soft, and it felt nice to pet. Sayoung, who had lifted his head as if to say something, slowly responded.

“I’m fine. I managed to take care of some things while I was tied up… and Jung Bin got discharged.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… Though he’s still in a cast, he’s moving around just fine.”

Sayoung’s tone was indifferent. The way he switched between being disinterested and suddenly animated made it hard for Uijae to keep up.

As he petted Sayoung’s head, his fingers brushed against another strap—probably the one securing the gas mask. Uijae hooked his fingers through the strap and tugged it upward. Sayoung’s head lifted in response. The strap slid off, revealing his face, which was twisted slightly in a frown.

Satisfied, Uijae twirled the strap around his finger.

“What are you doing—”

“When you’re talking to people, take off the gas mask.”

“...”

Sayoung silently released his grip from Uijae’s waist and leaned back against the door, though there wasn’t much room to retreat. He hadn’t let go of their intertwined fingers, though. Uijae clicked his tongue.

“I’m telling you, don’t worry about the poison. I’m fine.”

“What, does J have an S-rank detoxification trait or something?”

“...”

Sayoung’s sarcasm often hit the mark. When Uijae clammed up, Sayoung squinted at him.

“...Do you?”

“...Well…”

“Then why did you cough up blood?”

The conversation circled back to that incident. Uijae grimaced and told the truth.

“It didn’t kick in that time. Maybe it was because it was the first time I encountered your poison.”

“Oh, really…? And you expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Does it even make sense for a trait to not activate?”

It was the truth, but how could he explain it? The real issue was that Sayoung’s poison was so potent that Uijae’s detoxification trait couldn’t handle it in one go. But Sayoung’s deep-rooted distrust didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Sayoung continued eyeing him suspiciously, as if trying to solve a mystery. He looked like a detective comparing a suspect’s face to a composite sketch. Uijae glanced at the rusty door Sayoung was leaning against and spoke again.

“Do we really need to sit out here like this?”

“Why?”

“We could go inside and talk. Why are we sitting in a corner like this?”

“I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Bullshit… Get up, get up.”

Uijae flicked his knee, stood up, and gave Sayoung’s hand a sharp tug. Sayoung resisted for a moment, but Uijae’s strength was greater. Sayoung stumbled as he stood.

Once Sayoung was on his feet, Uijae peeled his fingers off one by one, finally breaking the grip. Sayoung, scowling, stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. Uijae raised his hands in surrender.

“There, done. We’re good, right? We had fun.”

“Yeah, sure…”

Sayoung gestured toward the restaurant with a nod.

“Since closing the shop is more important than me, I’ll let you go.”

For a moment, Uijae froze. He couldn’t deny that, deep down, Sayoung’s snide remark felt oddly… comforting.

‘Am I losing my mind?’

Quickly, Uijae dashed back inside and grabbed the broom. Just as he was about to head back to the door, he heard Sayoung’s low voice drift in.

“Cha Uijae.”

Uijae stopped in his tracks. Through the glass in the iron door, he could see Sayoung staring straight at him, his posture slightly hunched. His plump lips moved slightly.

“Uijae. J. Uijae, J, Uijae…”

Sayoung repeated the names several times before looking at him with a faint smile. His voice was slow, deliberate.

“I’ve always wondered why you chose that hunter name.”

“...”

“Now I get it.”

Sayoung chuckled.

“You just reversed your own name to get ‘J.’”

“...”

“So simple.”

Annoyed, but with no room to argue, Uijae could only glare. Sayoung was right, after all. It was obvious to

 anyone who knew both Cha Uijae and J. The fact that no one had figured it out until now was only because no one knew both identities. Until now.

Still smirking, Sayoung waved.

“I’ve been curious for a while. I just wanted to check.”

“...”

“That’s why I came by today.”

“...”

“Because now I can.”

With a final glance, Sayoung pushed the door closed. Just before the door clicked shut, Uijae heard his soft voice slip through the crack.

“Goodnight, hyung.”

Click, the door closed. Uijae stood there, replaying the last few words in his mind, the ones that hadn’t been loud but still rang clearly in his ears.

“That was something I wanted to say, too.”

A cheer erupted from the TV. Only then did Uijae snap back to reality. He reached into his apron pocket and pulled out his phone and Minggijeok’s business card. Just as he was about to enter Minggijeok’s number into his phone, a text message arrived.

**010-XXXX-XXXX: This is Seo Min-gi. I have some information for you and will visit tomorrow.**

It was a message from Minggijeok, the elusive miracle worker.

________________

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!