Chapter 37: Eun-ha-ya, Thank You.

Since that day.

Just as Eun-ha avoided Jin-wook little by little, Jin-wook also avoided his friend Hwang Eun-ha little by little.

There was no other reason.

It was already hard to treat her like before because she started looking like a woman to him.

On top of that, he kept recalling the actions Eun-ha took toward him when her eyes rolled back for some unknown reason.

'Ah, fuck. Why did I do that?'

That day, he didn't know why he acted out of spite because he was upset.

But because he fell for it and sucked and bit his old friend's breast, he couldn't look her in the face properly.

He was at an age of vigorous vitality.

Since Hwang Eun-ha was the prettiest woman he had ever seen, Jin-wook felt guilty.

But whenever he recalled her appearance, giving her chest to him helplessly—though she probably did it on purpose—it was quite hard to endure the lust that crept up.

If I happen to overlap my friend with the woman Hwang Eun-ha...

He was afraid of touching her deep wounds, so he was being careful on purpose.

That was the reason he said he would go down to his parents' house for a week without explaining much.

He thought he could treat her a bit more naturally only after calming his heart down a little.

"Uh, uh?"

He left the house as if running away, but was his choice wrong?

Wondering if a Dungeon Break had erupted somewhere, a crazy woman with horns on her head, looking like a monster, was walking toward him emitting murderous intent—the kind Eun-ha emitted only when she truly wanted to kill someone.

He realized he was truly fucked.

If it were usual, Eun-ha would have run to protect him wherever she was.

Simply realizing the difference of her presence and absence on his skin.

At the woman's behavior, looking at him as if he were prey, Jin-wook swallowed dry saliva automatically.

"Hmm, I definitely ran here feeling a familiar energy... but it's not Hwain (Fire Human)?"

Hearing the woman's voice spouting incomprehensible words, and feeling the chilling coldness that seemed ready to twist his neck right now...

He couldn't take a single step.

No, he couldn't even twitch a fingertip.

If I move...

I felt like I would be devoured by that woman right then and there.

"Who are you? Do you happen to know Hwain?"

Predator and Prey.

A cool aura that felt like he couldn't be easily caught even if he brought other Hunters who weren't Eun-ha.

In this moment, even though Jin-wook wanted to avoid her (Eun-ha)...

He realized himself hoping for her to appear from somewhere and protect him, and thought himself pathetic inwardly.

But, it's okay to be pathetic.

Please come and save me.

With a voice that wouldn't come out, Jin-wook was shouting loudly to his friend, at least in his mind.

"If you want to live, leave him and get lost."

Eun-ha's angry voice coming from behind sounded like a heavenly voice to Jin-wook.

"Jin-wook-ah, are you okay?"

Being hit by an unknown force like that.

Even while falling asleep, Jin-wook slowly closed his eyes, thinking that Eun-ha's embrace was warm.

"Haa, Jin-wook-ah. You really have bad luck too, right?"

Looking at Jin-wook sleeping on my bed, I muttered quietly so as not to wake him.

I recalled the incident when I went down to my parents' house before.

The incident where a truck tried to hit Jin-seong Hyung's car we were riding in.

'That was definitely Riana's doing.'

Recalling the woman who hid her body amidst the moonlight, mouthing that she would come to find me soon, I ground my teeth.

Bitch, do you know what kind of existence Jin-wook is?

"He is the heinous rapist who took my virginity, you know?"

Although I said that.

I was acknowledging it inwardly now.

Wait, it was true that I allowed him my body, even though I was drunk at the time.

...Thinking about it afterward, I didn't know Jin-wook would really ravish me, though.

"Still, he sleeps well."

When I poked Jin-wook's cheek with my fingertip as he slept quietly like the dead...

Perhaps feeling the poke in his sleep, Jin-wook frowned.

Pondering how I could better protect my small and precious Jin-wook, I quietly manifested telekinesis and placed it gently on his chest.

'So that he can buy a little time in an emergency where I can't get to him quickly.'

A small amount of telekinesis flowed from my hand and slowly permeated Jin-wook's body.

Normally, it would have no effect on his body, but in a truly critical situation, the telekinesis would manifest and temporarily strengthen his physical body.

Even if fighting against a high-ranking enemy like an A-Class wouldn't be possible, it would allow him to run away.

"Where the cold territory touches, she said."

Recalling the message that bitch Riana left me earlier, I muttered to myself.

I didn't expect to hear that metaphor even after returning to the modern world.

How on earth did she pierce through dimensions and come all the way here?

'Crazy bitch.'

One thought led to another, biting the tail of the previous one, and soon my head started to get complicated.

I thought I could stop caring after returning to the modern world.

The days when I endured out of spite, saying I would return home no matter what against those bastards.

"Haa."

I wanted to ask why she came to find me, who was managing to live well and stable, just to mess up my head.

Cold Territory.

In the world where she was originally from, and where I was, it was a word referring to Death.

'Does she mean to meet on a night when even the moon has set?'

In that world, they used to express death in a roundabout way as darkness, comparing it to all light being extinguished.

If you take it a step further from here, they called it a Cold Territory without warmth.

It might sound nice to listen to, but for me, it was an expression I didn't really want to hear.

"Umm..."

While I was contemplating how to crush her.

Hearing Jin-wook's voice, I quickly sat up and checked if he had woken up.

But seeing that he was still sleeping deeply, I was about to get up.

His hand fumbled on the bed, and to get comfortable, he started touching my breast that was resting on the bed.

"Ah shit, this pervert, seriously. You're actually awake, aren't you?"

I quickly snatched his wrist and asked accusingly, but Jin-wook still didn't move an inch.

Wondering if he was sleeping, I stared at his face piercingly.

Seeing not even a minute movement around his eyes, it seemed he was really sleeping deeply.

'Did he tell them he was coming home?'

Talk of the devil and he shall appear.

Just in time, Jin-wook's phone vibrated. Seeing the number on the screen, I took a small breath in and out.

"Hello."

[ Oh my, is that Eun-ha? ]

"Yes. Hello, Auntie."

[ Are you with Jin-wook? ]

"Yes. Jin-wook is sleeping right now."

I quietly left Jin-wook's room and answered the phone instead. Since he seemed to have told them he was going alone, not with me...

Auntie's voice came through, sounding like she was asking why I was popping up there.

[ Sleeping? He definitely said he departed. ]

"Uh, well, there was a little incident, so I don't think he can go today."

[ What happened for him to be like that? ]

Something happened.

If I say, 'A connection I met in another world followed me here,' would Jin-wook's mother believe it?

Even if she knows I went to another world, she wouldn't know what happened there.

"It seems he was unlucky enough to encounter a monster on the way."

[ Monster? No, did another Dungeon Break erupt other than the one at school? ]

"Not that, but it seemed to be an entity that escaped without my knowledge when I was blocking the school break earlier."

Eventually, I had no choice but to lie to Jin-wook's mother.

But rather than telling a story she wouldn't believe...

Wouldn't it be better not to make her worry at least?

[ Jin-wook is okay, right? ]

"Yes. Fortunately, I was nearby."

[ I see. Then he can't come today. Eun-ha-ya, please take good care of our Jin-wook. ]

"Just leave it to me."

Like that, I finished the greeting and hung up.

I felt a bit bitter about lying, but at least I made sure she wouldn't worry.

This was the power the name 'S-Class' held.

If I say so, she would believe that I could erase even the traces of most monsters.

"Eun-ha-ya?"

At that moment, Jin-wook's voice came from behind. When I turned around, he hugged me tightly.

I was surprised by Jin-wook's sudden action of embracing me, wondering why he was doing this.

But soon, his deep sigh of relief flowed out. It seemed he accepted what happened earlier as a dream.

"J-Jin-wook-ah?"

But I should do a little acting.

To give him the certainty that meeting her earlier was a dream.

"As expected, it was a dream. That's a relief..."

"Why, why. Did something happen?"

"No. I just had a bit of a nasty dream, so I wanted to check which was reality."

"Did you have to hug me to check that?"

As if expressing dissatisfaction about surprising me.

When I spoke with a mix of slight whining, Jin-wook nodded and spoke in a relieved voice.

"Your embrace in the dream was warm, but I didn't feel this kind of reality."

"So?"

"You came to save me at the end, and it was thankful, cool, and warm... but unlike now, it felt like you were far away, so I wanted to check."

Seeing Jin-wook flop down on the sofa mended with clumsy stitching, I was inwardly relieved and sat beside him.

As if trying to feel me.

Jin-wook lay down using my thigh as a pillow and said quietly.

"Eun-ha-ya, thank you."

...Hearing those words, anger toward Riana really seemed to surge up.

I swore I wouldn't let this slide.

It was time to show what happens when someone touches my person.