Chapter 87: Trap

“Hyung.
Sehyun hyung…!”

A violent wind tore through the temporary tent.

Lee Rihyun came rushing in, carrying Park Bomyeong in his arms.

Using even wind-type special abilities, he ran in almost as if flying.

The sight of such a small guy carrying a man nearly twice his size should have been ridiculous.

But the moment I saw Park Bomyeong in his arms, I knew this was no time to laugh.

“What happened?”

“We finished clearing the gate, but the last one we left behind suddenly ambushed us….”

It had already been two weeks since our first gate subjugation.

During that time, the team’s teamwork had improved dramatically.

While other teams struggled to clear even two gates a week, our team was clearing at least three or four high-level gates.

Of course, they were still human.

They got tired.

They got injured.

Just like Park Bomyeong now.

“…Looks like he let his guard down because it was the weakest one….”

I placed my palm over Park Bomyeong’s abdomen, where blood was gushing out, and began healing him.

Maybe because he was a brute-force physical type, he was still conscious despite such a massive wound.

“That tiny bastard… who knew…
Am I… am I dying…?
I still hate you…
I don’t want to die by your hands… cough!”

Should I just let this bastard die for real…?

Why waste energy spouting nonsense at a time like this.

“Yeah.
You almost died.
If Rihyun hadn’t carried you out this fast, you would’ve bled out.”

In truth, it wasn’t that severe.

For someone else, maybe.

But Park Bomyeong was a body-enhancement type.

It was as if even his organs were made of muscle.

Compared to the amount of blood, the wound itself wasn’t that deep.

Still, if Rihyun hadn’t brought him out so quickly, his condition would’ve worsened for sure.

Judging by how the rest of the team still hadn’t returned, it was clear how far Rihyun had run at full speed.

“Wow… the bleeding stopped…!
Haah… thank goodness.”

Two weeks in, most of my doubts were gone now.

My doubts about Lee Rihyun.

A person can fake expressions and emotions in the moment.

But keeping up the same behavior consistently over a long period means they really might be changing.

Even now, Rihyun looked the most relieved as he watched Bomyeong’s wound close.

“This is as far as I’ll heal you.
Wrap it up and go to the center hospital for the rest.
Though honestly, with your body, you’d probably heal in a few days even if you just spit on it.”

Bomyeong’s treatment ended faster than expected.

I deliberately didn’t heal him completely.

The center hospital needed something to do too.

“What the hell… guess it wasn’t even a big deal.
If this fake healer can fix it.”

Damn it.

Why does this guy hate me so much.

Still, I’d figured it out by now.

Bomyeong’s complaining was his way of showing familiarity.

Kids tend to act snippy toward people they’re interested in.

They don’t even talk to people they truly dislike.

It felt like that.

“Rihyun, you need treatment too.
What happened to your arm.
I gave you healing potions.
Why didn’t you use them.”

After finishing Bomyeong’s treatment, I grabbed Rihyun’s arm.

His slender arm was covered in numerous cuts and bruises.

“…I didn’t use them to save supplies.
You never know what might happen in a gate….”

Smart or foolish.

In places like gates where resupply is impossible, whoever uses supplies first wins.

Your own wounds hurt the most.

Why save things for others.

Still, it wasn’t a bad judgment.

In a gate, anything really could happen.

“What.
You’re already done treating them?”

As I finished stopping the bleeding on Rihyun’s arm, the rest of the team returned to the temporary base.

Thankfully, no one else seemed seriously injured.

“Ah, nothing serious, so it didn’t take long.”

“That’s good.
The center just contacted us.
Looks like we might have to enter another gate later.
Check everyone’s condition.”

At Jaeyul’s words, complaints erupted from the team.

More whining than real protest.

After two weeks together, they’d grown close.

Aside from Jaeyul, everyone spoke casually as older brother and younger sibling.

Even while making a fuss like this, they’d obediently enter the gate when the time came.

Then someone poked my side.

It was a signal for me to say something.

“…I think today will be tough.
Everyone’s exhausted, and Bomyeong needs stability.
Shouldn’t we rest for at least a day?”

“…I see.”

Jaeyul fell silent for a moment, then picked up his phone.

He instructed the remaining work to be transferred to another team or the center.

“He’s changed a lot.”

Ueden, the one who poked my side, murmured quietly while watching Jaeyul on the call.

“Changed how…?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?
Back when Jaeyul was the team leader of the special-ability crime response unit, he was pretty famous.
Didn’t matter if it was suspects or teammates, people died left and right.
So many died during missions that they called him the Grim Reaper.
Compared to then, you’d believe he’s a completely different person now.”

This was news to me.

But thinking back, I’d heard similar rumors before.

Before reuniting with Jaeyul, there were stories that every criminal caught by special-ability suppression teams ended up dead.

I’d assumed it was exaggerated gossip.

But even teammates dying so often…

It was hard to believe, so different from the Jaeyul I knew.

“…Rumors always get exaggerated.”

“Maybe.
I don’t think so though.
Well, believe whatever you see with your own eyes.”

An unreadable guy.

Ueden often seemed friendly toward me, yet occasionally dropped pointed remarks like this.

Jaeyul and the Grim Reaper.

Honestly, even if it were true, I didn’t care.

It suited him surprisingly well.

Still far from enough compared to his past reputation.

“Th-This is insane.
We’re becoming immortal!”

The quiet office suddenly echoed with a loud voice.

It was Park Bomyeong.

While rolling around under the excuse of stretching, he jumped up holding his phone and shouted nonsense.

“What are you talking about?”

“News.
Turn on the news.
Hurry!”

Lacking verbal skills, Bomyeong gave up explaining and told someone else to turn on the broadcast.

A live news report filled the room.

“According to information obtained by intelligence agencies, the newly discovered material in the United States can be extracted from monsters’ bodies, and has shown effectiveness against most diseases previously considered incurable.
Government authorities are urgently verifying the details….”

“What the hell…
If that’s true, it cures everything.
And it can be harvested from gates?
Why didn’t we know this until now?”

“They’re saying it might even work on Gate Disease?!”

The team erupted.

A panacea.

And possibly a treatment for Gate Disease, the dangerous side effect of monster meat that had recently gained attention.

Of course people would be excited.

From the brief report alone, I knew exactly what it was.

At that moment, my eyes met Jaeyul’s, phone in hand.

He seemed to have checked the news separately.

He gestured for me to follow and headed toward the guiding room first.

I’d expected something like this to happen someday.

Just not this soon.

Reluctantly, I followed him inside.

“What do you think this is, hyung.”

As soon as I entered, Jaeyul locked the door and stepped close, shoving his phone screen in front of me.

The distance was too close.

His sharp gaze made me uncomfortable, but my back was already against the wall.

There was nowhere to retreat.

“…W-What is this….”

On the screen was an extremely familiar item.

So familiar I could recognize it upside down.

“Why is our house’s supplement here.
And why is it being called a panacea.”

“…Ah… well, that is….”

He’d been taking it like vitamins since childhood.

There was no way Jaeyul wouldn’t recognize Petra.

Even now, I made him take it regularly.

My prepared excuses failed to come out under his pressure.

I forced myself to speak, but he cut me off.

“You’ve always known way too much about gates.
You met me when I was seventeen.
At that age, it’s not easy to have an eye for valuable items like that.
And now this supplement too….”

We’d spent too long together.

He’d seen too many unguarded sides of me.

Some of them clearly didn’t match my age.

Individually, they could be brushed off.

But piled together, they must have looked suspicious.

“…Honestly… I know all your secrets, hyung.”

Thud.

My legs nearly gave out at Jaeyul’s words.

“You can’t hide every secret forever.”

How much…
From where…
To where…?

With every word Jaeyul spoke, my heart began pounding unnaturally fast.