The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C78
$78
“I’m back.”
Woo-hyun’s complexion, lying on the bed, was even paler than a few days ago. Seo-heon’s hand trembled as he caressed Woo-hyun’s face. The shadow of fear stretched long beneath Seo-heon’s feet, as if mocking his confidence just moments ago that he could save Woo-hyun.
‘What if this doesn’t work either?’
Seo-heon, who was again assuming failure, shook his head. He had never been so afraid before and didn’t realize he was panicking.
[Using special skill, <Life Force LV.1>. The target’s skill <Life Force> resonates.]
The moment that skill window appeared, Seo-heon took a deep breath. Relief finally settled around him. A beat later, the shadow lurking beneath him hastily departed.
A blue thread connected Seo-heon’s body to Woo-hyun’s. He clearly felt his life force being transferred to Woo-hyun. It was a welcome and sweet connection. Seo-heon momentarily fell into such a fulfilling emotion that he thought if he could stay connected to Woo-hyun like this for life, it might be enough.
However, the situation wasn’t so simple.
[Due to the low level of <Life Force LV.1>, the initial transferable life force is 30 days.
Cooldown: 3 days]
[With additional uses of <Life Force LV.1>, the transferable life force becomes 10 days. To transfer more life force, please raise the level and increase proficiency.]
Seo-heon had planned to give Woo-hyun exactly half of his life force. But the skill level was terribly low for that.
‘Still… still…’
Seo-heon tightly grasped Woo-hyun’s hand. Just succeeding in transferring life force created a possibility.
‘Skills naturally level up with use.’
Instead of despairing, Seo-heon stared intently at Woo-hyun’s face, waiting for some change. After what felt like an eternity, Woo-hyun’s eyelids fluttered.
***
It felt like I had fallen into a deep sleep after a very long time. When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying alone in an unfamiliar space. Feeling the shallow water lapping at the floor, I vaguely realized this must be my remaining life force.
I had thought complete darkness would come when I died, but it was very different from what I’d imagined.
Was it because I was still alive?
I didn’t bother to think deeply and closed my eyes again. I alternated between falling into deep sleep and having my consciousness rise shallowly. I even engaged in useless exploration, wondering how I could be aware of my existence even in this state of half-sleep.
Unlike the reality where I had been waiting for death to come immediately, I felt at peace in this space. I even thought it might not be bad to stay here forever.
“Why did I want to die?”
Stepping back from the source of pain, I somehow became composed. Then suddenly, I wanted to move. I got up from where I was lying and wandered around.
The place I thought only had shallow water turned out to have many things when I looked closely. No, it seemed like things were gradually appearing. The first thing that caught my eye was a seashell I had picked up at the beach with my parents. The shell, taken out of the water, sparkled in the light. As I put it in my pocket, the surroundings became more and more detailed.
A familiar neighborhood floated on the water.
“It’s our house.”
In front of the house entrance were the inline skates I had first bought. I remembered when I was too scared to take a step, and my dad held my hand. I recall the lemonade we drank after practice being delicious. Remembering that sour taste made my mouth water. I was about to enter the house but stopped. I didn’t have the courage to go in yet.
Instead, as I moved to the side, Seo-heon’s house appeared.
“I was here not long ago.”
Perhaps because this world was created based on my memories, Seo-heon’s house, when I opened the front door and looked inside, was no different from what I had seen a few days ago. I strode up to his room and opened the door.
“I guess this isn’t really Seo-heon’s room.”
Unlike Seo-heon’s neat personality, the room was somewhat messy. The DVD we first watched together was playing, and things were scattered everywhere.
Among those items were things we had bought together and things we had given each other as gifts. Looking at each one made my chest feel tight. The past, which I had thought would be painful to recall due to longing, was shining even brighter than I remembered when I faced it again.
I examined them closely, losing track of time. And just as I was wondering if I could now go to our house too, it happened.
[Woo-hyun…]
I heard a voice calling me. Because it was mixed with various noises, I couldn’t tell who the voice belonged to.
At first, I thought it might be Seo-heon, but the voice, lacking confidence as if wet with water, didn’t suit him.
[Woo-hyun…]
This time it sounded like Ihan’s voice. Despite Ihan usually calling me ‘Woo-hyun hyung’, it was like that. Confused, I couldn’t answer and just wondered who it could be.
[Baek Woo-hyun.]
This call was a bit clearer.
“Would I hear better if I go outside?”
I left Seo-heon’s house with regret. As long as I’m in this world, I can come back whenever I want. However, the moment I stepped outside, something unexpected happened. A blue thread slowly descended from the sky and connected to my wrist.
“What’s this?”
Although I should be wary of something I’ve never seen before, I didn’t particularly feel the need to untie it. The warm temperature of the blue thread softened my mood. The thin but sturdy thread pressed against me more and more strongly, but not to the point of pain. I sensed something was off right after.
“Why is it increasing?”
The water level, which I thought would only decrease like sand in an hourglass, was gradually rising. The water that barely reached my ankles now came up just below my calves.
Could it be related to this thread?
[117 days of life force remain. The state of half-sleep will be released.]
Before that curiosity could be resolved, a guide window appeared. I was seized by the urge to stay a little longer in this place where my heart felt at ease. If possible, I wanted to remain in this half-sleep state.
[Woo-hyun.]
However, the strength of the person holding me was too strong. Someone’s large, soft hand grasped me as I moved sluggishly. That hand urgently urged me to come quickly while guiding me to a safe path so I wouldn’t get hurt. Hesitating even as I followed, I finally entrusted my whole body to that hand.
A dazzlingly bright light entered my body. My heavy eyelids slowly lifted. Someone was standing still in the dark hospital room.
“Kang Seo-heon?”
The owner of the long-stretched shadow was Seo-heon.
Was it Seo-heon who had been calling me all this time?
“Yes. It’s me.”
His face, as he answered like that, looked quite haggard. I thought I had slept deeply for about 3 days, but seeing Seo-heon’s gaunt face, it seems I had been lying down for at least ten days.
“Did something happen? You don’t look well.”
Before I fell asleep, we had had a fierce argument. But was it because I had traced my memories, or because the momentary anger had subsided due to deep sleep? The negative feelings towards Seo-heon had been greatly diluted.
That’s not to say I would understand everything Seo-heon had done, though.
“You were lying down continuously.”
“Huh?”
I had asked thinking something big had happened, but Seo-heon said something completely different.
“Woo-hyun, you collapsed with only 100 days of life force left. How could I have maintained my sanity?”
“Because of me? You?”
In fact, despite hearing Seo-heon’s shocking statement before I collapsed, it hadn’t felt real. So, the fact that Kang Seo-heon could break down like this because of me wasn’t easily accepted.
“Now that you’ve opened your eyes, that’s enough.”
Seo-heon spoke as if I had completely recovered. However, unfortunately, my life force had only increased somewhat, but the fact that I didn’t have much left compared to others remained the same.
Wait a minute.
Suddenly, I became curious about how my life force had been restored. Kang Seo-heon, who could accomplish anything he wanted, might have found a method I couldn’t even imagine.
No one else came to mind who would be tenacious enough to keep my lifeline attached to this world except the person in front of me.
“How did you save me?”
Perhaps because his body was worn out, he was unable to hide his emotions as well as usual. I could tell just by how he flinched momentarily at my question.
“What?”
“My life force, you know how it increased, don’t you?”
Seo-heon, perhaps feeling he had no way out, didn’t try to feign ignorance anymore.
“Yes. I know.”
“What’s the method? No, is it more appropriate to ask what means you used?”
Looking at the situation, I felt that the method Seo-heon used probably wasn’t normal.
“Do I have to tell you?”
This time, Seo-heon more clearly expressed his intention not to answer.
“I think I have the right to know since it’s related to my life.”
My thoughts, which had been moving sluggishly, were starting to find their pace. In contrast, Seo-heon seemed somewhat irrational.
“You knew your life was running out but didn’t tell me either.”
“I thought there was no need to tell because it was about my life and death. It’s not like I didn’t tell you about your remaining life, so it’s not something to compare now.”
Seo-heon closed his mouth tightly and then answered in a voice so soft it seemed drained of energy.
“From now on, we’ll share life and death. There’s nothing more I can tell you beyond this.”
“Are you saying you’ll die if I die?”
That was something completely unexpected for me.
Memes From Aida