Chapter 43: Lights On, Secrets Revealed

“…Is there a room with two beds?”

“No.”

“I see.”

At this point, there was no helping it. The only option was to just go to sleep quickly. Ju-an climbed onto the bed and pulled the blanket over himself.

Soon after, Baek Eun-hoo got onto the bed as well, still wearing his robe. It would’ve been nice if he’d changed into pajamas, but bringing it up might make things even more awkward. So Ju-an simply turned his back and closed his eyes.

‘Fall asleep. Fall asleep.’

He kept repeating it like a chant in his head, but the bright lights made it hard to drift off.

“…Could you turn off the lights? If it’s a hassle, I can do it.”

“I can’t sleep with the lights off.”

What kind of nonsense was that? Was that part of Baek Eun-hoo’s character setting?

“I’ve always had too much to do, pulling all-nighters. I got used to the brightness.”

That actually made sense. With Baek Eun-hoo’s personality, if he had a goal, he’d sacrifice sleep to achieve it. Now Ju-an understood why his blue eyes were often bloodshot.

Even if it was driven by ambition, being a workaholic was practically an illness. It made him feel oddly sympathetic.

“Why? Can’t sleep because it’s too bright?”

“No… I’m fine.”

Every time Baek Eun-hoo breathed, a warm breath brushed against the back of Ju-an’s neck. He thought turning away would help, but instead, it made him more uneasy, what if something happened behind him?

So he turned back to face him.

Without hesitation, Baek Eun-hoo stretched out his arm. That wasn’t what he meant by turning around.

Ju-an instinctively tensed up, but Baek Eun-hoo’s arm slipped behind his neck while his other arm pulled him closer. Ju-an’s face pressed against his bare chest, and the blanket came over them, plunging everything into darkness.

“This should work. Good for you, good for me.”

His voice was low, heavy with fatigue. Ju-an could hear his heartbeat through his chest, strong and steady, just like him.

This is… kind of strange.

Ju-an fidgeted his fingers against Baek Eun-hoo’s chest, then suddenly lifted his head.

“Even if it’s uncomfortable, just bear with it and sleep. Don’t get any weird ideas.”

Ju-an, who had been about to ask to be let go, lowered his head again.

It was dark, quiet, warm, and the scent was pleasant. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat was oddly calming.

‘…This isn’t so bad.’

Maybe Baek Eun-hoo was a better person than he had thought. Then again, maybe that was only natural. Characters inevitably resembled their creator.

Since Ju-an had created him with care, Baek Eun-hoo couldn’t be a bad person. Feeling oddly reassured that the character closest to a villain was still somewhat warm, Ju-an let himself drift off to sleep.

****

‘Depressed. Depressed. Depressed.’

Gong Se-yoon clutched his hair in distress. Seong Ju-an was definitely the Creator of Sacrifice. He didn’t know how he had become a buffer from a Constellation, but he was certain.

If he had realized it sooner, he would’ve hidden his depression and treated him even better.

The thought that he hadn’t recognized him right away, and had wasted time doing pointless things, terrified him. What if Ju-an already hated him?

As anxiety consumed him, memories of what his parents and friends had said came flooding back.

“I can’t believe I gave birth to something like that.”
“We can always have another child. Just pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“You’re a monster. Mom said I might get hurt playing with you.”
“You look like my type, but an Awakened is a bit too much… I prefer a normal guy.”

Something like that. Nonexistent. Monster. Dangerous Awakened.

Gong Se-yoon had been called everything but his name. That’s why he couldn’t forget the way Seong Ju-an had called his name so warmly.

“…I miss you, hyung.”

Tears streamed down his face as he clenched his fists.

At this point, there was only one thing he could do, complete what Ju-an had asked and earn his favor.

Winning someone over one-on-one was already hard enough, and the other party members were all eyeing Ju-an too. To stand out among them, there was only one method:

Extract information about the dungeon from the Constellations.

If the Constellations were planning something like last time, he’d need to uncover that too. Fortunately, the Warrior Who Rides the Chariot, who favored him, had a rather simple-minded side. It wasn’t impossible.

Se-yoon calmed himself and lay down, sending a request.

<Awakened Gong Se-yoon requests connection to Constellation, Warrior Who Rides the Chariot.>

As always, the response came instantly.

<Constellation, Warrior Who Rides the Chariot greets you warmly.>

“Warrior, I have a favor to ask.”

“I’ll tell you if you promise to do it.”

Se-yoon smirked slightly. This Constellation was hot-tempered and impulsive. If provoked just right, he’d spill even what he shouldn’t.

“Are you upset? I thought you were the only one who liked me… Guess I was wrong. Well, who would like someone like me anyway?”

‘Too easy.’

Still, he couldn’t let his guard down. If he wanted to win Ju-an’s favor, he had to succeed.

“On second thought… maybe I shouldn’t say anything. You might not be strong enough anyway…”

“Getting angry won’t solve anything. I’m serious. Maybe that’s why I haven’t made a contract with you.”

After giving him a moment, the Constellation spoke again.

<The Constellation says he won’t get angry, so go ahead.>

Se-yoon swallowed and spoke carefully.

“I’m scared. What if another guerrilla dungeon appears and I die? I don’t want to die.”

“How do you know? What if the other Constellations are plotting something?”

“Really? So we can clear Stage 1 step by step like planned? Otherwise… does that mean you’re being excluded by the others?”

<The Constellation admits he can’t guarantee the safety of other Awakened.>

That was enough.

Just like last time, the Constellations were definitely plotting something.

“Ah… so you’re not strong enough to know the details. That’s fine. If something happens, I’ll just die, I guess.”

The Constellation erupted.

Messages flooded in, anger, frustration, agitation.

He really was as hot-headed as rumored.

“Oh? You’re stronger than I thought. I don’t like pathetic people… but you seem different.”

“When will the dungeon appear? I’m at my weakest right now.”

<The Constellation hesitates about making a contract…>

“Forget it. I won’t contract with someone who doesn’t trust me. I’m logging off.”

The rest was just bragging.

He had already gotten what he needed.

Time. Place. Date.

Now only one thing remained.

Se-yoon crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes.

“You probably don’t know the dungeon difficulty, right?”

“You do? Wow… you’re amazing. So, what stage is it?”

<The Constellation mutters: Stage 5.>

Got it.

Se-yoon almost cheered.

He had everything. Ju-an would definitely be pleased.

As he moved to disconnect…