Chapter 21: Locked in Heat

“Um, e-excuse me, Joo Ji-chan. I’d really appreciate it if you could run just a little more slowly.”

“Shut up. Do you have any idea why I’m going through all this trouble right now?!”

Was he talking about the kiss from earlier?

No, that was just shameless, after saving me from a situation where I could’ve died, the least he could do was say thank you instead of snapping at me.

While I was fuming internally, Joo Ji-chan, who had been running for quite some time, suddenly entered a building.

It was his home.

Well, going to the Center would’ve been a problem, and going to the Awakeners’ residential complex would’ve caused issues too, so objectively speaking, it wasn’t a bad choice.

Still, for some reason, an ominous feeling crept up on me.

Still being carried by Joo Ji-chan, Ju-an looked around the house.

Unlike Gong Se-yoon’s place, it had a spacious living room and kitchen filled with furniture that showed clear signs of everyday life, and everything about it felt luxurious.

It was obvious that, like other Awakeners, he was far from poor.

But then why wasn’t he putting me down, even after we’d reached a safe place?

When I cautiously lifted my head, our eyes met.

His gaze burned fiercely, like a predator staring down its prey.

“Uh, um, Joo Ji-chan?”

“…”

“Thank you for rescuing me safely, but could you put me down now?”

His deep, heavy gaze drifted to my lips.

The blatant way he stared made me feel like I shouldn’t say anything else.

He’d flat-out refused when I suggested a kiss for a buff earlier, so why now…?

Ah, was he trying to get another buff?

Joo Ji-chan brushed his hand slowly across my cheek.

I followed the pale mark his fingers left behind with my eyes as he spoke in a tightly restrained voice.

“Hey. This isn’t normally my kind of thing, but I’m kind of in a hurry right now.”

“…Pardon?”

He let out several deep sighs and roughly messed up my hair.

Avoiding my gaze, he exhaled painfully, then squeezed his eyes shut.

He looked angry, no, more like he was desperately suppressing something.

I could only blink, confused.

“So f*ck-seriously, I’m going to lose it!”

Why was he suddenly swearing?

When I glared up at him, he growled back.

“I really don’t think I can hold it in. So don’t move. Stay exactly where you are. Even if I end up breaking down a door, you better endure it. Got it?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but his expression was so serious it didn’t seem like a joke.

His gaze swept over my entire body.

“f*ck. It’s not like I even want to do that anyway. Who the hell would, with someone they barely know… I’d rather just die.”

After muttering those incomprehensible words, Joo Ji-chan practically threw my body onto the floor and stormed alone into a room at the end of the hallway.

Bang!

By the time I followed him, there was a thick iron door that looked impossible to open with ordinary strength.

In the center of it was a small glass window, just big enough to see inside.

As I peered through it in confusion, Joo Ji-chan’s voice came from within.

“There’s a steel padlock on the door, right?”

“Y-yes, there is.”

“Lock it tight. So tight that I absolutely can’t get out of here-!”

He cut himself off mid-sentence, his lips trembling.

I didn’t know what was happening, but he was clearly in pain, so I figured I should do what he asked.

Ju-an hurriedly locked the door with the padlock and looked through the glass again.

Joo Ji-chan was curled up in a far corner of the room, hugging himself.

The sight made it look as though he’d imprisoned himself on purpose.

Even so, he was my lifesaver, and seeing him like that worried me.

Carefully, I spoke up.

“Joo Ji-chan… are you okay?”

I hadn’t even spoken loudly, but he lifted his head immediately.

Had his hearing been tripled too?

When I looked closer, I noticed tiny holes densely drilled beneath the glass window.

An iron door with a glass pane, a heavy padlock, and ventilation holes underneath.

Staring at a structure that was no different from a prison, a thought crossed my mind.

Why would Joo Ji-chan build a room like this inside his own home?

“I’m not okay. Don’t pity me with that half-assed sympathy, get lost. Looking at your face makes my stomach churn.”

No matter how much he disliked me, wasn’t that a bit too harsh?

My pride screamed at me to turn around and leave, but seeing him tremble violently, drenched in cold sweat, made my heart ache.

“Please don’t just get angry. If you tell me what’s wrong, I might be able to help.”

Joo Ji-chan’s eyes flashed sharply.

“You’ll help me?”

He approached the door in an instant.

All I could do was nod.

He began muttering to himself, growling under his breath.

“No. No way. No matter how hungry I am, I’m not eating food of unknown origin!”

‘…Food of unknown origin? Did he really just compare me to that?’

Any desire I had to help vanished instantly.

“If you don’t need it, fine. I don’t even know what’s wrong with you, but I was thinking of buying you some medicine or something… Ah. Medicine…”

Mid-sentence, I realized something.

At the shopping mall, I’d only grabbed the armor Gong Se-yoon had forcibly paid for.

I hadn’t bought a single potion, the one thing I actually needed.

“What? You’ll buy me medicine? Who do you think you are-”

Joo Ji-chan clenched his teeth, the muscles in his jaw twitching.

What on earth was he so furious about?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a clue.

“Why are you this angry anyway? What did I even do to you?”

The fact that he’d locked himself up the moment he reached a safe place, despite radiating heat earlier, didn’t give me enough to go on.

Could this be an awakening side effect?

When I created the characters, I hadn’t added any special side effects beyond the standard ones…

I’d planned to add unique ones gradually after the first update.

Gong Se-yoon’s Liveliness and Depression were debuffs, not side effects.

While I was mulling it over, Joo Ji-chan suddenly started taking off his clothes.

First his jacket, then his shirt, and even his pants, and yet his entire body was still flushed red.

Did he overheat easily because he mainly used fire-element skills?

No.

That made no sense.

Joo Ji-chan had the highest fire resistance among all Hunters.

“Hah… haah…”

Every time he exhaled, the glass fogged up.

Through the mist, I could see the vague outline of bare skin moving back and forth when his voice came again.

“When I got Mo Jun-young’s call, do you know how dumbfounded I was?”

“Why?”

“Why are you perfectly fine? An Awakener who just awakened today should be suffering from side effects.”

I tilted my head.

It felt like everyone else knew something Joo Ji-chan didn’t.

Baek Eun-hoo couldn’t possibly have stayed silent about it…

“Didn’t Baek Eun-hoo say anything to you?”

“What are you talking about… hah, haah…”

His breathing was growing rougher.

The fogged glass made it hard to see inside clearly, and pained groans kept slipping out.

“Joo Ji-chan, are you really okay? You look seriously unwell.”

“Stop rambling and keep talking about what you were saying.”

“I’m being unfairly accused right now. I really did awaken today. But Baek Eun-hoo insists I awakened earlier and contracted with the Creator of Sacrifice. Do you honestly think that makes any sense?”

As I vented, a strangled sound came from inside.

“Hhk… ngh…”

Was he about to die?

A terrible premonition hit me, and I started pounding on the iron door.

“Joo Ji-chan! Joo Ji-chan! Are you okay? If you think you’re dying, say something. I can’t call the Center, but I’ll figure something out-”

“Haah… shut up! That’s not a problem you can solve!”

I pressed my lips together.

Even though he was a character I’d created, I couldn’t grow attached to him at all.

Mo Jun-young and Gong Se-yoon weren’t exactly kind either, but watching them still gave me a sense of pride as their creator.

With Joo Ji-chan, every word he spoke shaved away whatever goodwill I had left.

After a while, the fog on the glass slowly began to clear.

When I looked inside, Joo Ji-chan was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing someone vanish so suddenly made my heart lurch with fear.

“Joo Ji-chan?”

A moment later, his voice echoed from inside the room.

“So? You really didn’t smuggle the Creator of Sacrifice away?”

My head throbbed at the abrupt shift in topic.

“Of course not. I told you, I awakened today too. I don’t even understand what’s going on myself.”

“Then what’s the problem? If you didn’t smuggle them, just say you didn’t.”

Was he lacking in comprehension?

Right, among the Awakeners, Joo Ji-chan had always been the dumbest.

A party needed both strategists and people who could just smash things with raw power.

That was why I’d designed him that way, but actually meeting him made me regret it deeply.

‘Calm down, Seong Ju-an. This is all your own doing.’

“Baek Eun-hoo won’t believe me. And Gong Se-yoon seems suspicious too.”

“So what do you want to do about it?”

“…”

That was exactly the question I needed.

What did I want to do?

The nonstop chain of events had robbed me of my composure.

What mattered most right now was waking up and returning to reality.

But how?

From everything I’d experienced so far, it seemed unlikely I’d get back unless I somehow finished this game.

Whether as a Constellation or an Awakener, that meant reaching the ending.

But finishing the game as a buffer, not even a Hunter, was unrealistic.

“Why? Are you interested in the Creator of Sacrifice too?”

“Interested? Don’t be ridiculous. Constellations in this world are completely useless. While people die, they do nothing but indulge their own greed. Why would I care about trash like that? I’m sick of it!”

Joo Ji-chan ground his teeth in genuine disgust.

At the thought of being found out as a Constellation, my knees nearly gave out.

While I hugged my arms and shivered, Joo Ji-chan reappeared.

He stood near the door, shifting until he was visible through the glass.

His narrowed eyes scanned my face, full of suspicion.