Don’t Close Your Eyes Yet

The zombies generally did not move unless there was sound or direct physical contact.

Jaeyoung rolled his eyes, mapping out the fastest route to the exit.

Once he had a rough path planned, Jaeyoung took off his shoes and held them in both hands.

He stuffed them deep into the pockets of his padded jacket so they wouldn’t fall out.

Then he picked up anything nearby that looked like it could be thrown.

A coin that had fallen beneath a table.

A bottle cap with its tail curled inward.

Just in case, he grabbed a solid-looking liquor bottle by the neck and held it upside down.

Rustle—

The moment he lifted his foot, danger struck.

He had lived far too long forgetting just how noisy a padded jacket could be.

Jaeyoung swallowed a sharp breath and readjusted his grip on the liquor bottle.

Rip, rrrip.

Thankfully, the sound seemed to be drowned out by his footsteps.

Jaeyoung let out a shaky sigh of relief.

He raised his hand, intending to take off the problematic jacket.

That was when everything stuffed into the padded pocket along with the shoe spilled out all at once.

‘Oh no…!’

Jaeyoung snapped his head up in terror.

The zombies froze in place, like clock hands after the batteries had died.

Then, all at once, they turned their heads toward him.

At the same time, Jaeyoung’s heart plunged straight down.

Their hollow gray eyes felt as though they were staring directly at him.

His chest thudded violently.

His breathing grew shallow.

‘Throw… something…’

Keeping his eyes flicking forward, Jaeyoung dug through his pockets.

Nothing.

There was nothing left.

Biting his lip, he shoved his hand deeper, frantic.

‘Hurry, hurry… anything, please…!’

At last, his fingertips brushed against something hard.

Color returned to Jaeyoung’s face as his fingers curled around it.

The texture in his palm was a coin he had picked up inside the bar.

He yanked his hand free and hurled it toward the far wall with all his strength.

Clang!

The sharp sound tore the zombies’ attention away.

The coin struck the wall, fell, and clattered across the floor.

It rolled until it hit a table leg and toppled over.

Watching the zombies rush from the wall toward the table, Jaeyoung finally breathed out in relief.

Using the sound of their collective footsteps as cover, Jaeyoung hurried across the room.

He crossed half the distance in an instant.

Then another problem appeared.

Not all zombies wandered around with both arms stretched forward.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

One slammed its belly into a table, bounced back, then walked forward only to collide again.

It repeated the motion over and over.

It was forming a horizontal blockade.

Trying to go around wasn’t easy.

A fallen table blocked the path.

‘What do I do.’

As Jaeyoung scanned his surroundings with a troubled expression, he spotted an opening.

Under the table.

He would have to wait for the moment when the zombie stuck to the table and peeled away.

Jaeyoung crouched low to the floor.

‘Now!’

Ignoring the noise from his padded jacket, he crawled forward as fast as he could.

Right beside his hand, blackened, crushed toes came into view.

‘Already…!’

Jaeyoung pressed himself as close to the table leg as possible to avoid the zombie.

The zombie slammed into the table, tilting it slightly.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to notice Jaeyoung’s presence.

Exhaling deeply, Jaeyoung hurriedly crawled out from beneath the table.

The table, already unstable, finally tipped over onto its side.

–Uraaagh!

At the not-insignificant sound, the zombies shrieked and swarmed.

They piled over the table.

And piled higher.

They collided with each other and lashed out in irritation.

Twisting his body left and right, Jaeyoung slipped away from the spot.

‘That almost could’ve been me.’

Jaeyoung frowned at the table, now separated from its legs in a miserable state.

After that, he repeated crouching and standing as he made his way toward the exit.

Thanks to the zombies clustering around the fallen table, it wasn’t too difficult.

‘I’m almost there.’

With only three steps left to the exit, Jaeyoung let out another breath he’d lost count of.

Three zombies were clustered directly in front of the entrance.

Going straight through wasn’t an option.

‘So you’re not letting me go easily.’

Jaeyoung steadied his wavering focus and hardened his resolve.

Moving silently had already taken well over an hour.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

His skin stung from how much he’d sweated and wiped it away.

‘Just a little more.’

After calming his breathing, Jaeyoung twisted his body slightly and pressed himself against the wall.

If he walked sideways with his back flush to it, he might slip past the tangled zombies and reach the exit.

Then one of the three broke away from the group.

With both arms stretched forward, it brushed past Jaeyoung’s front.

Jaeyoung stopped breathing and waited for it to pass.

And then—

The zombie suddenly whipped its body around.

The wall was directly behind Jaeyoung.

There was nowhere to escape.

A pitch-black arm lunged right toward his face.

‘It’s going to touch me…!’

Jaeyoung squeezed his eyes shut and collapsed down.

If he was lucky, like under the table earlier, the zombie’s foot wouldn’t touch him.

Please.

Just this once.

Hhhk.

Hhh.

Jaeyoung’s breath trembled faintly.

The sound of his own breathing felt unbearably loud.

He had to stay quiet.

Zombies reacted to sound.

His mind understood.

But his body refused to listen.

And in that skin-crawling silence, Jaeyoung was wearing down.

‘I want to give up.’

His eyes burned.

“Kim Jaeyoung.”

A low voice sounded above his head.

It was the voice he had replayed in his mind countless times.

The voice from the moment he realized Layoon was looking at him like prey.

From the moment he realized this place was a dungeon.

‘Hyung…!’

A faint smile touched Jaeyoung’s lips in relief.

‘It’s not another creature, right?’

What if it was a creature mimicking the voice he wanted to hear most?

Caught in fierce doubt, Jaeyoung’s eyelids twitched.

“You can keep your eyes closed if you want.”

That follow-up left him no choice but to open them.

That curt tone was unmistakably Saheon.

No creature could perfectly imitate such an infuriating way of speaking.

Jaeyoung’s eyes flew open as he confirmed the man in front of him.

Saheon was kneeling on one knee, looking down at him.

“Really…”

Jaeyoung couldn’t finish the sentence, his voice shaking.

“If there were another one like me, do you think you could handle it?”

Saheon asked, his face completely devoid of humor.

“No. Never.”

Jaeyoung threw his arms around Saheon’s neck and shook his head hard.

At the unmistakable refusal, Saheon’s brows knit together.

“Wh-what about the creatures?”

After burying his face in Saheon’s neck for a while, Jaeyoung finally looked up.

Without saying a word, Saheon glanced behind them.

Jaeyoung followed his gaze.

The zombies were slamming against an invisible glass wall, thudding uselessly.

“Ah…”

It was real.

They were really safe.

This time, relief drained all the strength from Jaeyoung’s body.

“Stay here and rest for a bit.”

Saheon disentangled himself from Jaeyoung’s arms and stood.

Moments later, thick streams of seawater surged through the entrance.

With a flick of Saheon’s hand, the zombie-like things were swept away and dragged back into the sea.

Just as Jaeyoung tried to stand on his trembling legs, Saheon staggered.

“Hyung!”

Startled, Jaeyoung sprang up.

He shoved himself under Saheon’s arm and braced him.

The weight nearly drove him into the floor.

His legs threatened to buckle.

Jaeyoung wrapped his arms around Saheon’s head.

But the pain he expected never came.

“I’m fine.”

A strong arm circled Jaeyoung’s back.

When he opened his eyes, Saheon was standing straight, as if he’d never wavered.

Even so, Jaeyoung couldn’t relax.

“Didn’t you overdo it?”

Jaeyoung cupped Saheon’s cheek.

He turned his face toward himself so he could see clearly.

Dark shadows lay beneath Saheon’s eyes.

He was still handsome.

But exhaustion was unmistakable.

No matter how overwhelming his power, Saheon was still human.

Jaeyoung had only been thinking about his own fear.

He hadn’t spared a thought for how hard this must be on Saheon.

The wild energy raging inside Saheon pricked painfully at Jaeyoung’s skin.

If even he was affected like this indirectly, what about Saheon himself?

Jaeyoung’s face crumpled as if he were about to cry.

The image of a rampaging Esper he’d seen on television overlapped with Saheon’s face.

“Did you come straight from there?”

“Were you inside a dungeon when I called you?”

Jaeyoung couldn’t hide his guilt.

Saheon rubbed his cheek against Jaeyoung’s palm and let out a deep, relieved breath.

“You know this place is a dungeon, right?”

Saheon spoke with his eyes closed.

It didn’t sound like an answer, and Jaeyoung frowned.

“It’s been a week.”

Saheon opened his eyes slowly and spoke in a low voice.

“What?”

“It’s been a week since you left on this trip.”

Only then did Jaeyoung realize Saheon was answering him.

A week was more than enough time for Saheon, who had gone to Canada earlier, to clear a dungeon.

Jaeyoung’s mouth fell open at the unimaginable revelation.

“Th-then my mom… my family… aren’t they worried?”

Flustered, Jaeyoung blurted it out.

Saheon stared at him quietly.

Then he let out a short, incredulous laugh.

“Is this really the time to worry about other people?”

“I’m safe now, and you know that.”

“But my parents…”

Saheon grabbed Jaeyoung’s cheeks firmly.

The rambling stopped.

“The Center moved.”

“I came.”

“And you think your parents don’t know you’re safe?”

Relief burst out of Jaeyoung in a long exhale.

Then he noticed Saheon’s sunken eyes again.

“Hyung. First, let’s do guiding.”

“There’s no time.”

After confirming Jaeyoung was fine, Saheon tried to turn away.

“The Center is moving, but right now it’s just me and Ahn Jaehyo here.”

Saheon frowned.

The Center’s procedures were too complicated.

They’d be assessing ranks outside and selecting an entry team.

He’d always accepted that as necessary to reduce meaningless sacrifices.

But being tied to an emergency himself made it unbearably frustrating.

“There is time.”

Jaeyoung grabbed Saheon as he tried to leave.

Saheon could have shaken him off with a single finger.

But he didn’t.

Smiling in relief, Jaeyoung guided him back against the wall.

He slid his thigh between Saheon’s legs.

He reached up, cupped the back of Saheon’s head, and pulled him down.

“So.”

At the sound of Saheon’s low, scraping voice, Jaeyoung lifted his head.

Saheon’s expression was openly intrigued, as if he’d never been serious at all.

He studied Jaeyoung’s eyes closely.

“So how are you going to do it?”

Saheon asked in a soft, intimate whisper.