Chapter 18: The Light at the Summit

I turned back and waved both arms widely in farewell.

Thinking we hadn’t heard her, the woman shouted even louder, jumping up and down.

But we didn’t stop.

We kept walking.

“Let’s get up there before sunset.”

“Okay.”

“But you’re not going to ask why we have to go?”

“You said there’s something there.”

“There is, but… Jun. You really trust me, don’t you?”

Watching his broad back as he walked ahead, I felt moved.

He had been sulking just moments ago.

I’d snapped at him out of emotion, but thinking about it again, I felt grateful.

We’d heard there was a strange light flickering up there.

A monster could jump out at any moment.

Yet he was still climbing to the summit with me, based only on my vague and unconvincing explanation.

He must be scared too, even if he doesn’t show it.

If it were me, I would’ve cut ties before hearing the whole request.

“…It’s not that I trust you.”

“Not that you trust me?”

Hanjun glanced back at me.

He looked at me as if I were hopeless, then sighed and faced forward again.

What was that?

He started to speak, then pressed his lips shut.

His face was blank, but something about it looked dissatisfied.

Even the way he strode ahead screamed, I’m annoyed.

Why was he irritated all of a sudden?

“Jun, there are two ways to annoy someone. Want to know what they are?”

“What.”

“First, stopping mid-sentence. And second—”

“Yeah?”

“……”

Even under his sharp glare, I kept my mouth shut.

Well, who told him to stop talking halfway?

“Finally… the summit.”

We followed the signposts diligently and reached Cheonwangbong by evening.

I wanted to shout hooray three times, but that would only invite monsters.

The open summit was battered by relentless wind.

With nothing but rocks around, there was nowhere to take shelter.

We squinted and braced ourselves against the gusts.

A large stone marker declared this the peak, and beyond it, ridges rolled endlessly into the distance.

I craned my neck and spun in place three times.

Standing on the highest rock, I scanned the area.

Nothing looked unusual.

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

“I don’t know. It feels like it should be around here.”

I searched carefully for any sign of a portal.

But no matter how much I looked, there was nothing.

No flickering light.

No hidden glow in the bushes or between the rocks.

“Does it appear at midnight?”

I recalled what the man had said.

A faint light flickering in the pitch-black of midnight.

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon.

The once-blue sky now carried deep blues, purples, and fiery orange hues.

Normally, I would’ve stood there admiring the beauty endlessly.

But my heart was too anxious.

All I could think about was finding the portal.

If it grew just a little darker, maybe we could see the light leaking out.

I kept looking around so obsessively that Hanjun frowned.

“What are you looking for?”

“That light the man mentioned.”

“Why?”

“Because you need to be exposed to it to—”

To gain powers.

I stopped myself and glanced at him.

Would he call me crazy again?

But the world was already insane.

Monsters existed.

Superpowers didn’t seem that far-fetched anymore.

As I tried to figure out how to explain, a shadow fell over me.

Hanjun stepped right in front of me, frowning.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, we’re here like you wanted.”

“Yeah. We are. And the reason we came here is—”

“Then you should give me what you promised.”

“…What?”

“Stop pretending. Waiting is getting boring.”

What was he waiting for?

He looked at me like a debt collector, eyes dark.

“W-why are you like this? Did you eat something weird?”

I stepped back cautiously.

But every step I took back, he closed the distance.

When I blinked in confusion, he grabbed my shoulders firmly.

I couldn’t retreat anymore.

I met his eyes.

The red sunset reflected in them, making them glow.

Maybe it was the sky.

Or maybe his eyes were really flushed.

Like someone who’d cried.

Or someone feverish.

He inhaled deeply.

I couldn’t look at him properly.

My chest tingled.

My lips felt dry.

So I stared at the ground.

“Hyung, look at me.”

“Uh?”

When I slowly lifted my head, his face was closer.

“Do you need more time?”

“Huh?”

Time?

The time until the portal opened?

“M-maybe?”

“Until when?”

“Until it gets darker?”

“It’s dark enough.”

His grip tightened painfully on my shoulders.

He leaned closer.

The nearer his face came, the louder my heartbeat roared in my ears.

“N-no, Jun.”

It’s not dark enough.

I can’t see where the light is coming from yet.

You need that energy.

This isn’t the time.

“Hyung, you’re the same as me. You blushed every time you looked at me since we first met.”

What?

I did?

I couldn’t even ask what he meant.

Was it the heat of his hands on my shoulders?

Or the way his eyelashes trembled?

Or his slightly uneven breathing?

I gasped.

“Jun, what are you—”

“Before it gets any later… just…”

His lips parted slightly.

My gaze locked onto them.

If he came any closer, I thought my heart might stop.

I knew I should stop him, but I couldn’t move.

Just as our breaths mingled—

He suddenly stopped.

His eyes shifted past me.

A strange disappointment flickered inside me.

Not that I was expecting anything.

It just felt… unfinished.

“What?”

I turned sharply.

There it was.

A faint white light shimmered from the summit stone marker.

The backside of the marker was cracked open.

From that fissure, light leaked out, growing brighter.

“Ah!! That’s it!”

My mind snapped back to clarity.

I grabbed Hanjun’s shoulders.

This wasn’t the time for whatever that was.

“Jun.”

“Yeah?”

“Come here. Now!”

“Hyung, wait.”

He seemed like he still had something to say.

But I dragged him forward.

“Hyung, this isn’t the time to be fascinated by—”

“Shut up and come!”

Maybe even from this distance, it would be enough.

It was strong enough to affect people far away.

But greed pushed me closer.

As we approached, my body reacted strangely.

Cold wind lashed at us, yet sweat dripped down my back.

My vision blurred.

My legs weakened.

So this really was Respia energy.

Just as the man had described, staring directly at it made my eyes sting.

The light was faint, yet unbearable.

I swayed, and Hanjun caught me.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

He looked perfectly fine.

That alone was a relief.

I felt like I would faint any second, yet I had to stand right in front of it.

With trembling legs, I reached the stone marker.

The shimmering light stabbed into my eyes.

It flowed toward us as if alive.

An overwhelming flood of brilliance swallowed us whole.

“Hyung!”

Drops of red fell at my feet.

I wiped under my nose—

My hand came away crimson.

A nosebleed.

My senses dulled.

A splitting headache surged through me.

“I’m… fine… I…”

I tried to reassure him.

But my body gave out.

The world flashed white.

The last thing I saw was Hanjun’s pale face as he caught me.

He was shouting something.

But my hearing had gone distant.

Am I dying here?

Is this where my role ends?

Will Hanjun be okay without me?

As my consciousness faded,

I found myself worrying about him.

He might not look it,

But he’s softer than he seems.

Yeah.

I guess I was worried.