Chapter 178 - Wavelength
Thump.
'Huh?'
Thump, thump, thump. Suddenly, his heartbeat started pounding loudly. Strangely. Nothing had changed, but something felt off.
Cha Eui-jae rubbed his chest. Meanwhile, Lee Sa-young had already taken a step ahead. His languid voice mixed with a sweet scent lingered in the air. Under the bright hallway lights, only his black silhouette was in Cha Eui-jae's view.
"I was going to include an interview with the director, but she kept refusing..."
"..."
"Jung Bin also turned it down, probably because of the director's orders. So, I got a little annoyed."
"..."
"Oh, but Song Jo-heon was surprisingly easy. I guess it was because of image management... He agreed right away."
There was an oddly playful tone in every word he spoke. Pale skin peeking through black hair, a neck marked with bruises from handprints, his swaying coat, and the sharp profile of his nose and lips visible when he slightly turned his head— Lee Sa-young's violet eyes were focused entirely on Cha Eui-jae. The emotion in those eyes...
"...Hyung?"
"..."
"What's wrong?"
Cha Eui-jae found himself looking at Lee Sa-young anew. Had Lee Sa-young always had such broad shoulders? Was he always this tall? He was now a half-head taller than Cha Eui-jae, who was already not short. When Cha Eui-jae didn't follow and stood frozen, Lee Sa-young turned around to face him.
Oddly enough, there was no trace of the boy whose life Cha Eui-jae had once saved. In front of him stood a fully-grown man. Without thinking, Cha Eui-jae asked,
"Why did you make it?"
"Make what? Oh, the documentary?"
"Yeah."
Lee Sa-young blinked as if Cha Eui-jae had said something strange. His response was so matter-of-fact, like it was the most obvious thing.
"I told you. I made it because stupid people kept forgetting you."
"The dead are bound to be forgotten. With time, everything..."
"Who said anyone's dead... Ugh, why are you suddenly acting like this?"
"Anyway, it was known that I was dead. They even put up a memorial stone."
"Are you so hungry that it's making you lose your mind?"
Lee Sa-young snapped irritably. Uncrossing his arms, he pointed his finger at Cha Eui-jae's face. Beyond his hand, those piercing violet eyes stared directly at Cha Eui-jae.
"The one who grabbed my hand first was you, Cha Eui-jae."
Cha Eui-jae remembered the face he had encountered in the ruins. Barely clinging to life, with a faint heartbeat, a chest rising and falling weakly, lips moving silently. A quiet plea for salvation.
"Please save me."
Cha Eui-jae had reached out his hand. And,
"It's okay."
He had grabbed the withered, deformed hand, melted away by venom, without the slightest hesitation.
Cha Eui-jae blinked. The withered hand was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a large, strong hand was now pointing directly at him. Lee Sa-young spoke as if spitting out the words.
"You promised me you'd come back."
"..."
"I just kept my promise."
Cha Eui-jae slightly parted his lips. He thought it was such a selfish request. Back then, Cha Eui-jae had no certainty that he would even survive. He had only reached out to the one hand he could hold onto, just like a drowning person grabs at anything they can.
But that boy.
That Lee Sa-young.
Even now, after eight years, he had not let go of his hand.
Cha Eui-jae felt his throat close up, unable to speak. What was the basis of this unwavering faith? The source of this endless belief? Lee Sa-young sighed, pulling his hand away from Cha Eui-jae's face. He began fiddling with his own hair with his black fingers.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"..."
"If you get it, come on. We need to eat something. This isn't good..."
Lee Sa-young clicked his tongue and turned around. But Cha Eui-jae couldn't move. No, he couldn't make himself move.
"..."
It felt like the ground beneath his feet was melting away. His fingertips and toes tingled. His heart was beating faster and faster, to the point where it made him feel breathless. His head felt blank.
Cha Eui-jae could barely swallow. He breathed, blinked, swallowed— each natural action felt forced. Every sense in his body was acutely, intensely focused on one thing. On Lee Sa-young.
Lee Sa-young's movements, as he turned back around, appeared in slow motion.
He blinked. With each blink, his long eyelashes fluttered. His plump lips parted slightly. His chest rose and fell faintly. His eyebrows shifted a little, and his brow furrowed slightly. His head tilted slightly to the right, causing his hair to sway. That sweet scent filled the air. His black fingertips, resting against his cheek, trembled slightly.
Cha Eui-jae covered his mask with both hands. Even if he could block out his sight, he couldn't block his sense of smell or hearing.
"Hyung?"
Lee Sa-young's curious voice called out to him. Cha Eui-jae's fingers fidgeted against the mask. Damn it.
'Why is this happening all of a sudden?'
Cha Eui-jae exhaled a slightly labored breath. He felt like he was suffocating, despite not being underwater.
If he kept facing Lee Sa-young like this, he'd collapse soon. He had a sudden, sharp instinct that this couldn't go on. Without realizing it, he took a step back. Then he quickly scanned his surroundings. He spotted the emergency exit door next to the elevator they had come down from. The green emergency light blinked.
"...Hup."
Cha Eui-jae inhaled sharply. And then,
Tap, tap, tap!
He bolted toward the emergency exit. Lee Sa-young, who had been staring at him in disbelief, clenched his teeth and ran his hand through his hair.
"What the... What are you doing now?!"
Cha Eui-jae began to dash down the long staircase. Shortly after, he heard the sound of footsteps thudding down behind him. They were hot on his heels. He could see a glimpse of Lee Sa-young's coat flapping behind him. Lee Sa-young shouted,
"Why are you acting like this? Are you crazy?"
I feel like I'm going crazy if I don't! Why!
Cha Eui-jae gritted his teeth and began leaping down several steps at a time. Thud, thud, thud— his legs were holding up fine. But Lee Sa-young wasn't far behind either. Damn it. He thought he heard a curse from behind, and then the footsteps seemed to take on a rhythm. He must be jumping too. That's when Cha Eui-jae yelled,
"Don't follow me!"
"Tell me why you're acting like this! Have you lost it? Or do you suddenly feel guilty?"
"It's not that, so stop following me!"
"How would I know if you don't say anything?!"
"You don't say anything either!"
"Are you seriously having this conversation right now? What the hell are you doing?"
Lee Sa-young was fuming.
"If you've got something to get off your chest, at least do it somewhere quiet and in person! Does this make any sense, having this conversation while running down the stairs?!"
He had a point. Cha Eui-jae was about to respond but quickly looked down. And he froze. Someone was standing by the emergency exit door, mouth agape, watching them.
Judging by the uniform and name tag, it seemed to be a member of the Pado Guild. Ah, I didn't think of this. After all this yelling, of course someone was going to check it out!
Cha Eui-jae clenched his teeth and moved his feet even faster. Thud, thud, thud— he could hear Lee Sa-young letting out a frustrated sigh from behind him. The presence behind him felt even more dangerous.
"Are you going to stop? How far are you planning to run?"
All the way to hell!
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"Stop now! Otherwise, how are we going to talk, damn it!"
But the more Lee Sa-young pressed, the more stubborn Cha Eui-jae became. He didn't stop. The lower he went, the more people he felt around him, and the more Pado Guild members came out to see what was happening.
They gasped in shock when they saw Cha Eui-jae in his black mask, and screamed in fear when they saw Lee Sa-young, full of fury, chasing after him.
5th floor, 4th floor, 3rd floor— they were getting closer to the lobby. Cha Eui-jae quickly recalled the layout of the Pado Guild building from his last visit. If he went out the main door, too many eyes would be on him. He'd need to hide somewhere, escape through the back, or break through a window. Good. Perfect plan.
2nd floor,
1st floor.
Screech! His boots slid on the smooth floor. Cha Eui-jae grabbed the emergency exit door handle. Clatter. It rattled in his hand; the door was locked.
He glanced up to assess the situation. Lee Sa-young didn't look tired at all, except for his messy hair. And it was the coldest expression Cha Eui-jae had ever seen on his face. His heart was pounding erratically. He couldn't tell if it was from running down dozens of flights of stairs or because of Lee Sa-young.
Cha Eui-jae roughly grabbed the door handle. Without hesitation, he kicked the door.
Boom—!!
Bright light poured in. Cha Eui-jae quickly scanned his surroundings. Thanks to the glass, the wide lobby of the Pado Guild was fully visible along with the outside view.
Beyond the main entrance, there was a crowd of people. In one corner of the lobby, there was a company café where several hunters from the Pado Guild were sitting. He recognized some of the faces. He even made eye contact with Bae Won-woo, who, in shock, spat out his coffee.
A menacing aura loomed from behind him. If he was caught, he'd die. Cha Eui-jae bolted forward. Lee Sa-young, who had followed him out, shouted urgently.
"Wait, Hyu...!"
Lee Sa-young briefly glanced around and swallowed the word "Hyung", realizing where they were. Instead, he called out a name he had once repeated many times, long ago.
"J!"
J glanced back, but only for a brief moment. He began running for his life again. Lee Sa-young took in the scene of the lobby and let out a bitter laugh.
"Ah... this is driving me crazy, seriously."
"Oh..."
Bae Won-woo let out a dazed sigh. He didn't even have any coffee left to spill.
At that moment, a black head suddenly popped out from Lee Sa-young's shadow. It was Seo Min-gi, wearing his usual sunglasses. He slowly pulled his upper body out and placed a paper bag on the ground. It had the logo of a nearby Korean restaurant on it. Seo Min-gi blinked, confused, as he looked around.
"Huh?"
"..."
"Guild Leader? Why are you in the lobby? Weren't you in your office?"
"...Immediately."
"Sorry?"
Lee Sa-young, now watching Cha Eui-jae's rapidly disappearing figure turn into a black dot in the distance, pointed at him.
"Chase him. Now!"