Chapter 141: The Owner of the Empty World

“How far are we going?
We’ve come this far already, isn’t this enough?”

Jaeyul seems to be taking this opportunity to walk around the world on foot.

We’d gone so far that not even the smoke rising from the area attacked by monsters was visible anymore, yet he still didn’t stop walking.

No matter how dangerous the accident site was, running this far felt like an overreaction.

What’s even stranger is that the guy who would normally be fussing over whether I was hurt hasn’t said a word.

“No one could’ve known a monster would suddenly appear there.
If it weren’t for you, I’d have been in serious trouble.”

Holding my wrist and leading the way, Jaeyul spoke lightly, as if brushing it off.

I’d ignored his insistence not to go alone, gone out anyway, and gotten caught up in an accident.

I was nearly killed, but Jaeyul must’ve been just as shaken.

Maybe that’s why he’s sulking like this, not saying anything.

“I see.”

Ah… yeah.

I’m sure now.

Jaeyul is sulking.

The flat, emotionless reply makes it clear this isn’t mild at all.

So I’m about to get an earful, right?

This time, I should respond in a genuinely remorseful tone.

All I need to do is time answers like
‘Yeah, you’re right.’
‘It’s all my fault.’

“Jaeyul…?”

I braced myself for the lecture, but he still didn’t say anything.

He just kept walking.

Something felt off, so I dug my heels in and stopped.

Only then did Jaeyul turn back to look at me.

Walking this far without even scolding me meant this wasn’t something minor.

“Why?”

“Are you… really that angry?”

But Jaeyul’s expression wasn’t quite what I’d expected.

“Angry?
You’re the one who almost died.
Why would I be angry?”

No matter how I looked at him, he didn’t seem angry.

His voice wasn’t bright, but it wasn’t filled with anger either.

More than anything, he seemed strangely unaffected.

“Well… I mean… I ignored you and insisted on going alone, and that’s how I got into that mess.”

I can’t believe I’m confessing my own crime.

The fact that he isn’t mad makes me even more uneasy.

Honestly, I’d rather just get scolded once and be done with it.

Even after I said that, Jaeyul didn’t react much.

He just stared at me.

So intently it started to feel embarrassing.

Just when I felt like looking away, his expression changed.

It returned to normal quickly, but I definitely caught a fleeting smile.

“So you can make that face too.”

He spoke with a hint of amusement and lightly pinched my cheek.

What is this… arrogant little gesture…?

That’s something you do to a kid.

It’s my first time experiencing this kind of skinship, so I don’t know whether I should like it or hate it.

I’m flustered.

“W-what are you doing?
How can you just touch your hyung’s cheek like that…?”

Well… the skinship itself…

It feels like I’m being treated like a child, but since it’s Jaeyul, it’s not exactly bad.

The fact that the near-death accident doesn’t even feel important anymore proves that I like it.

“That’s interesting.
Were you always this expressive?”

“Me?
No one’s ever said that to me before.”

It’s a random question, but I can’t accept that.

I’m really good at keeping a straight face.

I’m not someone who lets my emotions show that easily.

“No way.
I can tell at a glance.”

What’s with that look like he’s looking down on me?

I immediately went expressionless.

“So what am I feeling right now?”

Go on.

Try guessing.

“Hmm.”

Jaeyul openly examined my face.

I could feel his gaze moving over my features.

And yet, why does this make me nervous?

It’s just a face he sees every day.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.
But I can tell it’s not annoyance, anger, or sadness.”

Well, of course.

I manage my expressions perfectly.

Only now do I feel relieved.

“Anyone could say something like that.”

“Still, it doesn’t look bad.”

This time, he scratched my chin with his finger like I was a puppy.

Now he’s just openly disrespecting me.

I was about to say something, but his next words stopped me cold.

“You’re pretty.”

Pre… tty…?

Me?

“Sort of.”

Huh…?

Is that a compliment or an insult?

“Are you hungry?”

If he said I was pretty, then it must be a compliment, right?

“I brought some food.
At least eat this for now.”

No.

Sort of pretty means I barely qualify as pretty at all.

Like I’m standing right on the line between ugly and pretty….

My thoughts were noisy the entire time I followed Jaeyul into this strange neighborhood.

Because of what he’d said.

How could he tell me I’m sort of pretty?

Thinking back, he’d also said my expression wasn’t bad.

Not good.

Just not bad.

The accident from earlier in the afternoon had already been pushed to the outskirts of my mind.

If I’d known it would be like this, maybe I should’ve studied Alpha language beforehand.

I have no idea what he meant.

Was it praise or an insult?

“Hyung.”

“H-huh?”

The light tap against my shoe snapped me out of my thoughts.

Wait, did he just kick me while calling me…?

Ah, no.

His hands were full.

That must be it.

There’s no way he did it on purpose.

“Eat this.
You skipped dinner, didn’t you?”

Without thinking, I accepted the black bag Jaeyul handed me.

Inside were foods that had become harder and harder to obtain.

Cup ramen, canned ham, things like that.

As the situation worsened, hoarding of daily necessities had become rampant.

There probably weren’t any properly open stores around here.

I have no idea where he got all this.

But… there’s no water.

How am I supposed to eat cup ramen…?

“Oh, right.
You haven’t eaten either.
You must be even hungrier after coming back from a mission, so why did you bring us here?”

I followed Jaeyul without questioning it, but I still didn’t know why we’d come here.

It was technically still classified as a habitable area, but it looked recently ruined by monster attacks.

The building we were in was the only tall structure around.

There was no electricity, so we had to float a light bomb in the air just to see.

“There’s something very important I need to do.
Wait here for a bit.”

“Something important…?”

Wait.

Important.

Important…!

Something suddenly flashed through my mind.

Could it be those words I was planning to say over dinner at the hotel today?

The hotel must be in ruins anyway, so maybe he brought me here instead, where the stars and moon are visible.

Looking around with that thought in mind, the night view isn’t bad at all.

The twinkling residential area far in the distance, and stars scattered across the pitch-black sky.

It seems Jaeyul really had it all planned out.

I shouldn’t have asked so cluelessly.

“Let’s eat together.
There’s more than enough for two.”

The hotel food had been replaced with instant food, but who cares?

I feel like I could chew on rocks right now.

“But what’s this bouquet?
You were holding it, so I brought it along.”

He picked a pretty late time to ask.

After saving me, he carried it all the way here before questioning it.

“It’s just… well, I thought it’d suit you.
But it’s all messed up now.”

The bouquet I’d carefully prepared was, unsurprisingly, a mess.

The petals were ruined, the stems bent.

Nothing’s going according to plan today.

Still, if I look back on this day someday, all of it will probably turn into memories.

“This… for me?”

Maybe because it’s been a while.

I’d bought him flowers a few times for competitions in the past, but he’s acting like he’s never seen a bouquet before.

Or maybe he’s upset because it’s damaged….

“Of course.
Who else would I buy it for?
You don’t like it?”

Even to me, it doesn’t look great in its current state.

But it’s nothing to be upset over.

Considering the explosion, it’s impressive it survived this much.

“Well, why would you… ah, no.
I don’t mean I don’t like it, it’s just….”

“It’s too messed up, right?
It’d be better to just throw it away.”

Since he didn’t seem very pleased, I told him it was fine to discard it.

“Should I?
Anyway, thanks, hyung.
I never thought you’d prepare something like this.”

With a light smile, Jaeyul tossed the bouquet out the broken window.

I did say he could throw it away, but seeing him actually do it caught me off guard.

I never thought he’d really throw it out.

And like trash, too.

Still, judging by his expression, it doesn’t seem like he disliked it that much….

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

The way he looked at me with confusion made it clear he had no idea what was strange about his actions at all.

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