From Now On, Answer When I Call

A chilling air filled the tent.

The association employee glanced at Jaeyoung’s youthful face.

Even being generous, it was hard to see him as an adult.

“He said ‘like family,’ so he really cherishes his younger brother a lot.”

Jaehyo patted Saheon’s shoulder as if he understood everything, with a benevolent smile.

‘Um, hyung-nim……. Your pronunciation is a bit off…….’

Jaeyoung stared at Jaehyo with complicated eyes.

When he saw him on the dungeon broadcast, he wondered how such a decent person got involved with Saheon, but now it all made sense.

“So, how was the creature? Did you recognize it?”

In any case, Jaehyo was desperate to divert the topic from Saheon’s shameless remarks, not knowing any shame.

Despite the rapid-fire questions, Saheon calmly tilted his head.

“I didn’t see it because I was kissing.”

Jaehyo’s efforts were in vain.

Feeling the shame for both of them, Jaeyoung froze on the spot.

“Hmm, Creature, didn’t you kill it?”

Still, Jaehyo was more human than Saheon.

Seeing Jaeyoung’s pale face turning red with shame, he tried to pretend he didn’t hear.

“I can do that with my eyes closed.”

Can’t you?

Saheon’s gaze clearly conveyed that message.
Jaehyo, whose specialty wasn’t combat, smiled awkwardly.

“You weren’t keeping your eyes closed……”

Jaeyoung, who had already recovered from the shock, muttered in a small voice.

The problem was that everyone in the tent was an Esper with enhanced physical abilities.

The people who heard Jaeyoung’s muttering flinched.

Saheon narrowed his eyes and looked at Jaeyoung as if he found it amusing.

“Um……, I saw it.”

Jaeyoung raised his arm with a nonchalant expression, as if he didn’t notice the curious glances.

“Then, could you draw it here?”

The association employee, thinking he could finally escape the strange atmosphere, beamed and handed over paper and a pen.

Jaeyoung hesitated for a moment as he received them.

“Take your time. You can roughly smudge the parts you don’t remember.”

Jaeyoung slowly moved the pen at the gentle, coaxing words.

All eyes around him were focused on Jaeyoung’s fingers.

“Its eyes were red. Like blood……”

Recalling the moment their eyes met, the blood in his body ran cold again, as if he had been plunged back into the water.

“Its mouth was torn below its ears, and its teeth were very sharp. And there was something like chunks of meat stuck between them……”

Jaeyoung didn’t drop the pen even with his hands trembling.

The creature’s appearance, which he had seen up close, was vivid in his mind, even though he tried not to recall it.

‘What on earth did it eat? Fish, probably fish?’

But the gruesome thoughts kept trying to invade his mind.
Jaeyoung shook his head and continued drawing.

“There were webs between its fingers and toes. Its hair was jet black, and its nails suddenly grew long when it tried to attack me.”

Jaeyoung drew the fingertips sharply.

Jaehyo, seeing the maple leaf-shaped fingers, covered his mouth to suppress a laugh.

“Really, it’s cute……no, terribly ugly.”

Jaehyo scanned Jaeyoung with a fresh gaze.

His appearance was neat, like a model student who could do anything well, but his drawing skills were on par with a kindergartner.

In the midst of all that, it was cute that he had diligently used all four colors of the ballpoint pen.

Jaehyo, who had covered his mouth with the back of his hand, turned his gaze to Saheon.
Seeing the face of the man who was making him tired, his smile vanished.

“Is it all water down there?”

When Jaehyo asked with a serious face, Saheon casually nodded.

“You have to be able to breathe underwater, and you have to be good at physical combat.”

Jaehyo continued speaking, not caring much about Saheon’s insincere attitude, as if he were used to it.

Jaeyoung thought, ‘Indeed, he’s the princess’s partner.’

“Ah, show me the magic power measuring device.”

The employee, who had been examining Jaeyoung’s drawing with a troubled face, suddenly reached out to Saheon as if he had remembered something.

Saheon rummaged through his pockets and took out a machine that looked like a clumsy walkie-talkie.

“What’s this?”

Jaeyoung stuck close to Saheon to get a better look.

Saheon glanced down at the warmth he felt on his side.

Watching the round head shaking from side to side, he put his arm around Jaeyoung’s shoulder and pulled him closer to his side.

Jaeyoung only felt that it was easier to look, and didn’t seem to be thinking about anything else.

“It’s used to measure magic power at the dungeon entrance and determine the level.”

It wasn’t Saheon, who was holding the magic power measuring device, but Jaehyo who was explaining.

But no one thought it was strange.

“Wow.”

Jaeyoung exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

All the average citizens knew was that each dungeon had a level, and Espers appropriate for that level were dispatched.

“But is this accurate?”

Jaeyoung asked cautiously, worried that his question might be rude.

He just couldn’t overcome the surging curiosity without asking.

“Mostly.”

Jaehyo’s mood improved again at Jaeyoung’s childlike honest reaction.

“To prepare for any possible errors, two or three more high-level Espers go in together.”

Jaeyoung nodded, looking amazed.

“What level is this?”

What appeared on the screen was a number with more than five digits.

Jaehyo leaned in from the side to check the value.

“It’s B-grade.”

Jaehyo, who seemed to have memorized the standards for dividing the levels, said immediately in a heavy voice.

If it was B-grade, Espers of A-grade or higher had to go in together.

Jaeyoung lifted his head and confirmed that Saheon was making a displeased expression.

It was clear that he had to go in.

Jaehyo’s hands seemed busy even as he was talking, and he was preparing to depart.

As Saheon’s partner, it was natural for him to accompany him.

Jaeyoung realized that it was time for him to leave.

“Then, can I go now?”

At Jaeyoung’s words, Jaehyo smiled apologetically.

“Pretend nothing happened and go play at the PC cafe with your friends.”

He didn’t know what the schedule would be like afterward, but Jaeyoung nodded readily.

In fact, his mind had cleared up a bit while drawing the creature’s appearance, so there was no need to worry too much.

“Thanks to you, really nothing happened. Thank you for saving me.”

Jaeyoung bowed to Saheon and Jaehyo in turn, and then tried to do the same to the association people in the tent.

But Saheon grabbed the back of Jaeyoung’s neck with one hand and pulled him up.
Jaeyoung looked at Saheon with puzzled eyes, his head forcibly raised.

“I saved you. The others didn’t do anything.”

The association employees’ expressions became ambiguously distorted.

With Saheon’s one word, it seemed as if they had done nothing and were just trying to receive greetings.

It was true, but there was no need to stop even the greetings they were already receiving.

Until now, it had been the employees’ role to receive thank-you greetings for the rescue efforts that the Espers had carried out, so Jaeyoung’s gratitude was natural to them.

“Yes, well, what did we do.”

The employee said with an awkward smile.

Jaeyoung thought it would be better to leave quickly.

“Then I’ll be going.”

They wouldn’t be seeing each other again anyway.
Jaeyoung quickly left the tent.

Thump, thump.

But the sound of footsteps behind him didn’t stop.

Jaeyoung tilted his head, then turned around slightly.

Saheon was following him.

‘How long is he going to keep following me?’

Jaeyoung urged his steps with a pale face.

However, Saheon, who had longer legs and enhanced physical abilities, easily caught up.

“It must be hard to breathe underwater, so you’re going to have a hard time fighting the creature.”

Finally walking side by side, Jaeyoung started talking to overcome the awkwardness.

“A mere B-grade is nothing.”

Jaeyoung’s face crumpled at the indifferent reply.

Those weren’t words to say in front of someone who had been trembling with fear of being torn apart by a mere B-grade monster.

Saheon’s gaze was fixed on Jaeyoung’s profile.

“Are you worried?”

He stared intently before spitting out those words.

“Excuse me?”

Jaeyoung asked back, mixed with bewilderment and absurdity.

“Are you worried about me.”

Saheon said again, looking at Jaeyoung with blazing eyes.

“You said it’s just B-grade.”

Jaeyoung, whose feelings had been hurt by Saheon’s nonchalant words, pouted and grumbled.

The attitude of ‘I’m sulking, so apologize to me’ was unconsciously revealed.

“So you’re not worried?”

But Saheon was different from the people who found such Jaeyoung cute.
He narrowed his eyebrows threateningly and growled.

“I, I am, worried.”

Saheon raised the corners of his mouth, as if satisfied with the answer he had

forced out.
It was a sinister smile that made Jaeyoung’s heart pound with anxiety.

“Take it.”

Saheon, having heard the desired answer, held out his smartphone to Jaeyoung.

Round eyes alternated between the smartphone and the man’s face, which was shining to an overwhelming degree.

‘He’s not going to tell me to take a picture of his crown with this, is he.’

Jaeyoung rolled his head around along with his eyes with a confused face.

“……A photo?”

Jaeyoung asked, perking up as he thought he had finally found the answer.
But Saheon narrowed his eyebrows, as if he was completely wrong.

“What would I use that for.”

Even so, Saheon’s reply was cold and firm.
Jaeyoung, unable to find the answer, lowered the corners of his eyes.
Over there, the Espers who had finished preparing were calling Saheon.

“Um, I think you should go……”

Jaeyoung, who was unrelated, was watching carefully, while the person who should be paying attention was only looking at Jaeyoung.

Saheon sighed deeply as if he was frustrated.

“Put your number in.”

“What are you going to use that for.”

Jaeyoung, who had been slightly hurt by Saheon’s words earlier, muttered with his lips sticking out.

Saheon twisted the corners of his mouth.

“Acting cute.”

He definitely wasn’t finding him cute.

Jaeyoung, who had grown up receiving love from everyone, couldn’t have failed to read that emotion.

Saheon’s gaze was too murderous to obediently receive cuteness.

Jaeyoung quietly took the smartphone.

“Answer when I call.”

After putting in his number and returning it, Saheon uttered another heart-stopping sound.

“……Why?”

Saheon looked at Jaeyoung with narrowly opened eyes at the rebellious question.

Goosebumps rose at the sunken pupils.

“You’ll have to answer if you’re curious.”

Saheon reached out over Jaeyoung’s head.

Jaeyoung instinctively shut his eyes tightly.

Something hot and soft touched his head and fell away.

‘This, no way…….’

Jaeyoung’s eyes widened.

Saheon scoffed at Jaeyoung, who had frozen in shock.

“From now on, give thanks with your body.”

Jaeyoung’s face contorted with horror.

Saheon had taken the greeting that Jaeyoung hadn’t even given.

When Jaeyoung came to his senses, Saheon was already gone.

“Kim Jaeyoung! Are you okay?”

“Did you see the creature?”

“Did you get Jin Saheon Esper’s autograph?”

As Jaeyoung moved away from the association tent, his classmates crowded around with curious faces.

Thanks to them, Jaeyoung was able to forget about Saheon’s physical contact that had filled his head.

“Hey. Stop bothering the kid who already went through a lot.”

Haewoon pushed away the crowding friends and grabbed Jaeyoung’s wrist, pulling him away.

Even Minta and Dongjun surrounded Jaeyoung like bodyguards.
The classmates licked their lips and stepped back.