“…Myung-hwon?”

Ju-eon, who had reflexively squeezed his eyes shut, looked up at the person shielding him. Though the attack had been blocked, he felt the fiercely fluctuating air from Myung-hwon’s rapid breathing. Before Ju-eon could say anything, Myung-hwon directed his angry voice at him.

“Why are you here?”

“Because you’re here.”

“If you escaped, you should have gone somewhere safe, why did you come all the way here!”

“Am I only supposed to run away? Because I’m not helpful at all?”

When Ju-eon shot back without backing down, Myung-hwon roughly ran his hand through his disheveled hair. Today was supposed to be a good day. It should have been a day to make up for all the time they couldn’t meet.

He felt angry because nothing had gone right.

“No… ha… Ju-eon.”

“I’ve always hated this about you.”

Myung-hwon’s eyes widened at Ju-eon’s blunt word choice.

The way he held back and didn’t speak up, thinking he was being considerate. Myung-hwon had no idea how Ju-eon would feel when he eventually found out.

“I don’t want you to go through hardship because of me.”

“Did I ask you to sacrifice yourself for my comfort?”

Though they had been dating for a long time, it occurred to Ju-eon that they might be the ones who knew the least about each other. Because they were too young, because they only wanted to show their best sides, because they didn’t want to break up. They had been holding back. And the more they held back, the more their relationship festered.

In the past, they could have dismissed it as immaturity, but not anymore. Even though they had been apart, time had passed for both of them. They could no longer return to their previous relationship. They couldn’t remain stagnant either, so they had to move forward. To stay by each other’s side.

“Ju-eon. I’ve never once thought of this as a sacrifice.”

The terrorist attack, the kidnapping—all of it was his fault. Myung-hwon couldn’t understand why Ju-eon felt angry. Ju-eon liked normalcy. Having lost his parents early, he said he wanted to live an ordinary, unremarkable life, fitting in with others.

“I don’t want to see you suffering because of me. I don’t want to make you give up what you want because of me…”

Why could they only reveal their true feelings when pushed to such extreme situations?

“Then what about me?”

“…”

“Do you think I’m okay seeing you suffer?”

“…”

“We’re not in a relationship where one protects and the other is protected.”

“…”

“Why don’t you understand that it hurts me more when you hide things from me, Myung-hwon?”

Ju-eon had been holding back too. Just as it takes two hands to make a clap. Myung-hwon looked down at Ju-eon with a calm, settled gaze as Ju-eon spoke in a bitter voice. Even in this situation, he found Ju-eon’s nervously bobbing Adam’s apple adorable and wanted to kiss it.

“Myung-hwon!”

Only when Seo Yun-jin shouted desperately did Myung-hwon remember they were in the middle of a battle.

“I’m coming. Ju-eon, later we’ll… ugh…”

Ju-eon roughly grabbed Myung-hwon’s collar as he was about to turn around. It happened in an instant. Ju-eon’s lips landed on Myung-hwon’s dry, heat-parched lips. Myung-hwon’s eyes widened even more than before.

**

Lee Ho-yun, leaning against a pillar next to Yeo Ji-woong’s cold corpse, was still there, looking at Kang Yun-jae standing across from him.

He could clearly hear an older man loudly telling Ju-eon about something he had forgotten.

“Ah, right! The thing you left behind last time!”

After these words, he heard Ju-eon leaving and someone else entering the building, followed soon by Ju-eon’s familiar voice.

Agitated voices echoed through the building. Though the conversation wasn’t completely audible due to occasional explosion sounds, he could make out what the person talking to Ju-eon was saying.

“It’s so quiet in here that I can hear everything even from quite far away.”

Ho-yun muttered as he listened to the echoing voices.

What was he still doing here, wanting to see more unsavory scenes? Just as he was hoping the other would mock him, he held his breath at the conversation he overheard.

Ho-yun glanced at Yun-jae. Yun-jae silently looked down at Yeo Ji-woong’s cold body—once like a towering mountain—then shifted his gaze toward where Ju-eon had disappeared.

Just a brief glance. That was all. Ho-yun stared at Yun-jae, but he didn’t notice the observing gaze.

It felt strange to stand side by side with a corpse between them. Though they were in the same boat, they had never properly talked to each other.

‘He doesn’t seem to care at all.’

All his attention seemed directed toward where Ju-eon was.

“And this isn’t the medication provided by the agency.”

“…”

“Where did you get this?”

Ho-yun couldn’t tell if Ju-eon had answered but it wasn’t audible, or if he hadn’t answered at all. He just heard Ju-eon leaving again soon after.

After a moment of silence, Ho-yun spoke.

“You made the rampage drug, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“With that many people at the scene, I don’t think even an S-class like me could guide them all.”

Not wanting to let him go alone, with regret dripping from his gaze, his tone came out more crooked than he had intended in his mind.

“I gave him a suppressant.”

While making the rampage drug, he had also created a matching suppressant.

“Is it really a suppressant?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know Ju-eon well, but if it were me, I’d rather die while guiding than trust someone like you who plays both sides.”

“…”

Yun-jae’s gaze finally fell on Ho-yun. It was sharp, but not wrong. If Ju-eon were to use the suppressant, Yun-jae knew who the target would be. That’s why, for a brief moment, he had considered giving him the rampage drug instead.

The absurd thought that if Myung-hwon disappeared, Ju-eon might return to him.

“It is a suppressant.”

Yun-jae chewed on the tender flesh inside his mouth. Would Ju-eon trust him? The answer didn’t come easily.

What expression had Ju-eon made when questioned if it was really a suppressant?

Someday, when his feelings settled, he wanted to remain friends at least. He couldn’t bear to admit that he had caused the end of this relationship himself. Because even without love, Ju-eon remained precious to him.

‘We can’t even be friends like before.’

But now he realized that might not be the case for Ju-eon. Because he had completely lost the trust necessary for any relationship.

This was the price for his deception. Yun-jae had told Ju-eon not to forgive him, but only now did he truly feel the weight of those words.

“…I need to go.”

He needed to go tell Ju-eon directly that it was a suppressant, that he wasn’t lying. Even though Ju-eon might not believe this either.

If Ju-eon had thrown away the medicine and was forcing himself to guide, as Ho-yun suggested, Yun-jae would never forgive himself for helplessly standing by.

Yun-jae’s feet, which had been still, began to move. Soon his steps turned into a sprint.

Tap-tap-tap!

Watching Yun-jae run, Ho-yun felt the other man moved forward, while Ho-yun himself remained trapped alone with a dead ghost. Of course, Yun-jae probably just ran frantically with the thought of reaching Ju-eon as quickly as possible.

“This feels like sh*t.”

Ho-yun got up and dusted himself off. Why had he stayed here? Perhaps he couldn’t leave because he feared what he had done. Maybe he wanted someone to condemn him for committing such a grave sin. It might have made him feel a little better.

“Should I go…”

Perhaps it was because Yeo Ji-woong still felt too large. Ho-yun picked up the glass shard he had used to stab Ji-woong. Then he threw it on the floor without regret.

Crash.

It would be hard to believe a m*rder had taken place at such a horrific scene. There were so many people around too. Ho-yun briefly looked toward the CCTV.

The CCTV control room had collapsed during the initial explosion. And Yun-jae had said he wouldn’t report it.

“Ju-eon probably doesn’t have the presence of mind for that either.”

Ho-yun left the place. Though the building had collapsed in various places and finding a way out would require a lot of wandering, he believed that if he kept walking, he would eventually reach the outside.

**

Through the slightly parted lips, a soft tongue entered without hesitation.

The nerves where he touched Ju-eon trembled with joy. He gently rolled his tongue to calm his fierce strength. It felt like all the power drained from his body.

“Mmh…”

Ju-eon let out a faint moan. This wasn’t a situation where he could focus on guiding just one person. Thinking it was enough to put out the urgent fire, he tried to pull his lips away.

“Mmph?”

Myung-hwon grabbed the back of Ju-eon’s neck and pulled him forward. As their bodies pressed together without any gap, he felt breathless. It felt like Myung-hwon’s energy stirred inside him freely.

“Hah…”

Only after Ju-eon hit Myung-hwon’s chest hard did their lips finally part. Ju-eon roughly wiped his glistening lips with the back of his hand.

“You…!”

“Sorry.”

Myung-hwon murmured with a dazed look as he gazed at Ju-eon. His eyes held only Ju-eon.

“This suppressant, can we forcibly administer it to the people who are rampaging?”

“…This is.”

It was only natural that Myung-hwon would notice immediately, since even Gu-young had. This suppressant differed from the kind issued by the agency.

“They say it’s a highly effective suppressant.”

Myung-hwon didn’t ask where this suppressant came from. He just gripped the pill bottle a little tighter in his hand, seemingly making a pledge.

“If it’s from you, I trust it completely. You know that, right?”