Chapter 15: Filling the Empty Space

“…?”

It was a debuff. Even if it were a character, they could respawn in the village, but the Gong Se-yoon in this world isn’t a character.

Could it really be…? No, it couldn’t. No matter how depressed he was, he wouldn’t recklessly take his own precious life.

Even as he shook his head to dismiss the thought, the unease didn’t fade. Even if Gong Se-yoon were truly just a character, seeing him commit suicide because of a debuff he had created would make him feel awful.

“This won’t do. I have to follow him.”

Seong Joo-an completely forgot his promise to wait for Mo Jun-young and began running toward Gong Se-yoon without thinking.

Fortunately, he wasn’t too far from the center.

He tried to call out his name, but seeing him standing silently, staring at the sky, looked so forlorn that he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Gong Se-yoon lowered his head again and sighed so heavily it seemed the ground might cave in. The tears falling with soft plops looked like raindrops.

Why did I have to make such a pitiful setting for this kid? Ha…

Seong Joo-an sighed deeply and approached Gong Se-yoon. T

he boy, who had been staring at the ground, turned his gaze toward him. Blinking several times as if he couldn’t understand the situation, Gong Se-yoon soon turned away with a resigned expression.

Seong Joo-an raised his hand to grab Gongsayun’s shoulder, but it froze mid-air. Gongsayun was already walking ahead. Seong Joo-an followed silently, keeping a proper distance, but still felt anxious.

Every so often, Gongsayun stared blankly at the road as if he might suddenly run into it… What if he really ran onto the street? Seong Joo-an kept his distance close enough to intervene immediately.

Gongsayun kept walking and walking, endlessly. When he could barely move anymore from thirst and fatigue, he finally turned around.

“Why are you following me?”

“…Just.”

When had he started speaking politely? Gong Se-yoon, who usually spoke in blunt sentences, had switched to formal speech.

Was it because of the debuff?

“If it’s because of my appearance, it’s better not to develop any feelings from the start.”

“Huh?”

What was he talking about now? Suddenly, appearance?

Of course, Gong Se-yoon was a striking beauty with icy-blue skin and a melancholic expression, but Seong Joo-an hadn’t expected a comment like this now. Gong Se-yoon continued weakly.

“It’s all the same. When I’m lively, they like my pretty faces, but when I’m depressed, everyone runs away like they’ve seen a ghost. The only one who doesn’t is the Creator of Sacrifice. But he disappeared.”

Seong Joo-an was speechless. When creating the character, he had only considered the impact of his traits on the player, not the character’s emotions.

It was natural that Gong Se-yoon didn’t know how to form or sever human relationships. If he had just paid a little more attention when creating him, he wouldn’t look so pitiful now.

A late wave of regret came with a realization.

For a game to become reality means that the developer becomes a god.

Suddenly a god, the ordinary citizen Seong Joo-an felt the heavy weight of responsibility pressing on his shoulders as he looked at Gong Se-yoon with pity.

“I was alone anyway.”

Gong Se-yoon spoke, turning away, probably thinking he would no longer be followed.

But Seong Joo-an unconsciously caught up to him and gently grabbed his shoulder. The body, unresisting, turned easily.

“You are not alone. I’ll be with you. I also… don’t have anywhere to stay anyway.”

Ah, Mo Jun-young. Only now did Seong Joo-an remember he hadn’t mentioned anything to him. Still, he felt the need to save someone.

He expected Gong Se-yoon to jump with joy at the offer, but surprisingly, he reacted calmly.

“Fine, whatever. But if you came expecting something from me…”

Seong Joo-an firmly grasped his hand.

“I’m expecting nothing. So let’s go together.”

Gong Se-yoon’s lips curled slightly. His eyes were still teary, but the faint smile made him seem even sadder.

Seong Joo-an decided to stay by his side until he stabilized. By then, a solution would probably come.

He tightly held Gong Se-yoon’s hand, as cold as ice.

****

At that moment, the Awakener Management Center was thrown into chaos. Not only had Gong Se-yoon, under treatment, suddenly gone berserk, but the specially protected Seong Joo-an had also disappeared.

Dr. Choi, Gong Se-yoon’s attending physician, turned pale as he spoke to Mo Jun-young.

“This is serious. He ran off after overhearing the staff while being examined, and his depression has reduced his will to survive to less than 10%. At this rate, his life could be at risk.”

“Did he get any injections?”

“Not even that. No medicine either. This is bad. We need to find him immediately.”

It was a headache.

An S-rank hunter who could go berserk at any moment and an S-rank buffer who could be kidnapped at any moment had both vanished. And it happened right in the center.

“First, we need to assess the situation and find them as quickly as possible.”

Sending out a search team was obvious, but the problem was where to start.

How could they find Gong Se-yoon, whose will to survive was barely 10%? And Seong Joo-an’s address was unknown.

Could Baek Eun-hoo have already kidnapped Seong Joo-an after losing to Joo Ji-chan?

…Why not? That’s exactly the kind of person he is.

After reasoning to himself, Mo Jun-young decided to search Baek Eun-hoo’s house first and organized a search team, focusing on the A-rank hunters affiliated with the center.

“Activate the red alert immediately and prioritize finding Gong Se-yoon, Seong Joo-an, and Baek Eun-hoo.”

At that moment, the squad leader of the special forces voiced his opinion.

“What should the priority be? Unless all three are in the same location, we need priorities even when gathering intel through the information guild.”

It was a difficult question, but the decision didn’t take long.

The most urgent target was Seong Joo-an. Even though Gong Se-yoon’s life was important, if Baek Eun-hoo monopolized Seong Joo-an’s triple stat buff, humanity’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

“Priority is Seong Joo-an. Gather information from the guild, but search Baek Eun-hoo’s house first. That’s the most likely location.”

“Yes, understood.”

The search team rushed out. Mo Jun-young equipped his armor and weapons and followed them in full combat readiness.

“Awakeners really are the biggest problem!”

A convenient day never existed for him, but today was especially exhausting. All because of the chaos caused by the Awakeners and the Seong Ju-an.

‘Once the world stabilizes, I’ll get rid of them all.’

Today, Mo Jun-young’s chest boiled with hatred toward the Awakeners and Seong Ju-an.

****

Seong Ju-an arrived at Gong Se-yoon’s house and first turned on the lights to look around.

It was a luxury officetel with two rooms, a living room, a bathroom, and even a fancy bathtub, but the inside was empty. The blackout curtains blocked the window so completely that it was hard to tell if it was day or night without turning on the lights.

“Can I look at the room?”

“…”

From the moment they entered, Gong Se-yoon sat on the empty floor staring at the ceiling as if frozen. Seong Ju-an had no choice but to open the room without permission.

There was a single super single bed by the window, nothing else. No table, bedside drawer, or wardrobe. The desolate scene mirrored Gong Se-yoon’s heart, and Seong Joo-an sighed again.

After leaving the room, he drew back the blackout curtains, opened the window, lowered the screen, and carried the rumpled bedding from the bed back into the room.

Even as Seong Ju-an moved about, touching things freely, Gong Se-yoon remained frozen in place like a statue.

“Gong Se-yoon, help me.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, who else could help here besides you?”

“…Ah… what should I do? But I’m in a depressed state. I lose even to low-grade monsters. Someone like me is better off not existing.”

Ha, depression on top of being self-deprecating. But who could blame him? This was all his own fault.

“So? Are you saying you don’t want to help now?”

“No, I’ll help!”

“Shaking the dust from the window will just bring dust inside, so let’s go outside.”

“Shake the bedding? Why suddenly?”

“When you’re depressed, cleaning is the first step. It’s my usual method, and I hope it helps you too.”

“…Cleaning first…”

Muttering to himself, Gong Se-yoon tilted his head as if sensing something unusual.

“But I clean really thoroughly! My state won’t improve from cleaning. I should be taking medicine and injections, but I didn’t bring any. Still, it seems right. The Creator isn’t here anyway, so what use are the medicine and injection? At this rate, I’d rather just die.”

No, even saying that… why would you die?

He’s still young, and just watching him is breathtaking. His skills are top-tier among Awakeners…

“Not that cleaning. I mean filling cleaning, not sorting or discarding, but filling it.”

“Eh? Fill?”

Seong Ju-an pointed toward the window. Light streamed through, casting shadows on the floor. When his finger moved from the window to the floor, Gong Se-yoon’s gaze followed.

“Now that the blackout curtains are open, sunlight comes in. Shadows appear in the empty space, too.”

“…”

“In the empty space, now we have you, me, sunlight, and shadows. Shall we add one more thing?”

“Huh? More, here?”