Chapter 138: Interrupted Confession

This makes no sense.

Being so tongue-tied that I couldn’t confess.

Being so nervous that my mouth wouldn’t even open.

It’s a physical condition I absolutely cannot understand.

No matter how powerful a monster stood before me, no matter which esper I fought, I’ve never been this tense.

‘I feel the same way you do, hyung.’

Ah, I’ve completely screwed it up.

Of all things, the confession that slipped out was, I feel the same way you do.

Of course, I know my brother doesn’t dislike me.

No, there’s a high chance he feels the same as I do.

Otherwise, how could we have gone through a rut together.

After that incident, his strange behavior started to make sense.

Blushing at skinship, reacting sensitively to physical contact—things like that.

Naturally, my brother didn’t understand my shitty excuse for a confession.

He just looked at me with a serene smile, like an enlightened old man.

Honestly, it would be stranger if he did realize that was a confession.

Overwhelmed by embarrassment, I suggested going for a walk.

I’ll look for another chance.

There’s no way I’m going home like this today.

No matter what happens, I’ll return after reshaping our relationship.

‘Huh.

This place is still here.

You really loved tteokbokki here, didn’t you.’

Unlike me, whose head was too full to see anything, my brother found even a pebble fascinating, exclaiming “Wow!” and “Oh!” with every step.

Then he stopped in front of an old snack shop, swallowing hard.

Judging by his eyes, there’s no way we’re just passing by this time either.

Well, he’s always been a tteokbokki fiend.

If we bought two servings, he’d eat almost all of it himself.

He’d always try to give me more of other food, but when it came to tteokbokki, his eyes would flip.

I liked how eagerly he ate, so much so that I’d be the one to suggest eating tteokbokki first.

Every time, he’d be so happy.

It’s an image I can never forget.

‘No.

You were the one who liked the tteokbokki here, hyung.’

He tilted his head like he didn’t understand what I was talking about.

It doesn’t matter who liked it.

What my brother likes is what I like.

‘Should we eat here?’

Nod, nod.

I love how something as simple as tteokbokki can lift his mood.

That’s one more reason this neighborhood has to be protected.

This is driving me insane.

Why is confessing so damn hard.

I’m honestly amazed that other people manage to pull off something this difficult.

Walking around our old neighborhood, I tried to find the right timing again and again.

Each time, my words got stuck, and I told myself, I’ll do it a little later, pushing the confession back.

Before I knew it, the sun had set.

That meant I couldn’t delay it any longer.

As the sky grew dim, my anxiety reached its peak.

It felt like I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I missed this chance.

The location was perfect too.

In front of the arcade where my brother and I first met.

This time, I think I can do it.

No, I have to do it.

I slipped my hand into my pocket, gripping the ring case, and opened my mouth.

Beep.

Beeep.

If not for the sudden alarm blaring, I would’ve succeeded.

The loud alert shattered the dreamlike feeling in an instant.

The atmosphere for confessing vanished completely.

An emergency assembly alarm at a time like this.

It feels like the entire world is getting in the way of my confession.

‘Ah.

So what were you trying to say?’

My brother seems curious about what I was about to say, but I have no intention of handing over my feelings like this.

Since this confession will happen only once in my lifetime, I want to prepare it properly and make it unforgettable.

‘No.

I’ll tell you later.’

I’m irritated at having failed, but at the same time, it’s a relief.

After all, this is something I’ll only ever have to do once in my life.

Using this failure as a stepping stone, I’ll confess perfectly next time.

“Get a grip, you crazy bastard!”

The sharp blow to the back of my neck snapped me back to my senses.

I don’t even know what I’d been thinking about just now.

Whether I was thinking of ways to find my missing brother, or retracing memories of him.

I turned toward Team Leader Oh Seong-gyu, who was yelling as if scolding me.

“G-Get rid of that thing!

How can you make something like that here, you idiot!”

Following his pointing finger, I saw a pure white sphere floating in the air.

A Light Bomb, growing larger in real time.

It seems I’d used my ability unconsciously.

If it had gone off, this intersection—already attacked by monsters—might have been erased without a trace.

I slowly dispersed the swollen Light Bomb, bloated like my own mind filled with countless thoughts.

Now that I looked around, there wasn’t a single onlooker left at the accident site.

Only rescue workers remained, continuing their work with tense expressions.

“I’m going.”

“Where.

Calm down first and assess the situation before moving, huh.

It’s not like blindly chasing after them will magically help you find him.”

Oh Seong-gyu tried to stop me as I moved toward the direction where my brother had disappeared.

At some point, the other team members had arrived too, watching me with worried eyes.

Why are they looking at me like that…?

Don’t look at me like that.

Don’t look at me with pity, as if something terrible has already happened to my brother.

No matter what, I’ll bring him back safely.

“This is better than wasting time standing around.”

I left behind those heavy gazes and started walking blindly.

I can’t even guess who the culprit is, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way to search at all.

I don’t know how much it’ll help, but at the very least, it’s far better than what an ordinary person could do.

“Nothing here either?”

“Grrng….”

Once again, Poppy shook his head.

Unlike my brother, I can’t communicate clearly with him, but I can at least tell that it’s not the answer I want.

I don’t even know how many places we’ve checked already.

At first, I thought that with Poppy’s help, finding traces of my brother wouldn’t be too difficult.

After all, he’s similar to a dog—tracking my brother’s scent shouldn’t be hard.

As expected, at first we followed my brother’s trail smoothly.

But at some point, the scent vanished completely, and we lost our direction.

If they even erased his scent before taking him, then this definitely wasn’t done with harmless intentions.

“Let’s move on to the next block.”

Worry presses down on me so heavily that I can’t stop for even a moment.

I have to find my brother before this night ends.

Before something happens.

My heart is racing ahead on its own, but I have no concrete plan.

I can’t possibly search the entire city like this, block by block.

Bzzz.

Just as Poppy and I were about to split up and search in different directions, my phone vibrated.

Seeing the caller, I quickly answered.

It’s not a welcome call, but it is one I’ve been waiting for.

“Yes, Director.

Do you have any news?”

Director Na Dongchan.

He acts friendly toward me, but in truth, he only cares about his own safety.

Still, he’s better than someone whose intentions are unreadable, so I’ve tolerated his unpleasant behavior to a degree.

This time, I’d asked him to help search for my brother.

— News?

What… oh, Jin Sehyun?

That’s about to start, soon, soon!

More importantly, Team Leader Seon!

Where are you right now!

Go to Hannam-dong just once!

The chairmen’s mansions are surrounded by monsters, and they can’t get out—

Hah.

So he really isn’t someone I can trust.

Since my brother is one of the center’s key assets, an SS-class guide, I thought they’d immediately launch a search.

But to think they hadn’t even started yet.

Anger boils up inside me.

Na Dongchan must have had his own concerns.

With the lives of chaebol tycoons who’ve amassed unimaginable wealth on the line, it might have been difficult to choose searching for my brother first.

From an objective standpoint, that choice might even be more reasonable.

But to me, it’s utterly unreasonable.

“I won’t be participating.

You should look for other agents.”

— It’s probably nothing anyway.

Do you really think something could happen to an SS-class guide?

Let’s handle the important things first, the important things!

Team Leader Seon, this is another case of disobeying orders, you know that?

Hah…

Have I been giving in to Na Dongchan too much.

Now he’s making demands that clearly cross the line.

Telling me to abandon my brother and go save people whose faces I don’t even know.

“I see.

Disobeying orders wouldn’t do, would it.”

— Right, so hurry up and—

“Then I’ll resign.

Send me the account number for the penalty fee by text.”

— What…?

W-What are you saying!

Team Leader Seon!

Wait, Team Leader Seon—!

I don’t know where he gets the nerve to wield such petty authority.

Disobeying orders?

From the start, I wasn’t obeying orders—I was merely listening to them.

Because what they wanted and what I wanted happened to align.

The goal of eliminating monsters and gates to create a livable world.

I don’t know if they truly wanted that, but at least I did.

Because I wanted my brother to live in such a world.

But I will never protect the world at the cost of abandoning him.

A world without Jin Sehyun has no meaning at all.

I’ll give up on Na Dongchan’s help and focus on finding my brother as fast as possible.

Every second counts.

“Hey.”

Just as I was about to sprint across the road, a black silhouette suddenly appeared and blocked my path.

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