Chapter 95: The Unforeseen Catastrophe

Han Do-hoon waited for Sa-yoon.

As he inscribed Jin Sa-yoon’s name onto the list for the upcoming conference, he reaffirmed his resolve to claim Sa-yoon once more. He desperately wanted to believe that Sa-yoon’s capriciousness meant this was merely a temporary shift in their dynamic.

However, when they finally met again, Sa-yoon was even colder than before.

Every fiber of Han Do-hoon’s being rejoiced at seeing his Guide after such a long time, but Jin Sa-yoon offered no such warmth.

During their separation, Sa-yoon had grown pallid and thin, offering only an awkward smile as he looked at Han Do-hoon.

If Sa-yoon had outright rejected him, saying he disliked Han Do-hoon, he would have pleaded. If Sa-yoon had voiced any complaints, Han Do-hoon would have clung to him, promising to adapt to his every desire.

Yet, Sa-yoon acted as if nothing had changed, erecting an invisible wall that pushed Han Do-hoon away. Each subtle alteration in Sa-yoon’s demeanor caused Han Do-hoon’s heart to smolder with despair.

‘There’s something I want to tell you later. Something I absolutely must say to you, Sa-yoon.’

Han Do-hoon longed to hold onto Sa-yoon. He wanted to reveal his identity as an Irregular Hunter, confess his desire to protect Sa-yoon, and ask him to stay by his side.

He knew Sa-yoon might feel betrayed once he learned Han Do-hoon was an Irregular Hunter. Sa-yoon might even resent him, but that future was preferable to losing him entirely. Han Do-hoon had planned to completely surround Sa-yoon in a place where he couldn’t escape, to confess only after all conditions were perfectly met.

However, when he saw Sa-yoon weeping in the restaurant, Han Do-hoon’s meticulous plan completely crumbled. Seeing Sa-yoon’s tears fall, ignoring the delicious food and unable to even lift his utensils, Han Do-hoon was rendered utterly helpless.

He couldn’t deliver his meticulously planned confession, nor could he explain the situation. Just like in the past, when Sa-yoon had wept piteously in the rain without a sound, his silent tears caused Han Do-hoon’s heart to slow.

‘If… if you truly dislike me that much, I won’t approach you again.’

Those were the only words he could utter. He couldn’t possibly force Sa-yoon, who cried without expression, into a corner and try to persuade him. Han Do-hoon stepped away from Sa-yoon.

It was strange. Han Do-hoon had believed that losing Sa-yoon was the worst thing imaginable. He thought no future could be more unbearable, but the moment he saw Sa-yoon’s tears, his priorities shifted.

More than losing Sa-yoon, he hated seeing Sa-yoon cry.

Han Do-hoon left without a word. He couldn’t even bid farewell, fearing that even calling out Sa-yoon’s name would inflict further pain upon him.

He had thought the world would collapse if he lost Sa-yoon. Yet, the sun still rose, and days continued to pass. Han Do-hoon focused intently on the duties assigned to him. Instinctively, he tore away the threads of his mind that constantly drifted toward Sa-yoon, forcing himself to face reality.

“What’s with you lately? You look like a dejected rookie who got rejected after confessing.”

As usual, Levian provoked Han Do-hoon. Normally, Han Do-hoon would have dismissed it, but this time, he reacted to Levian’s words.

It occurred to him that at the time Sa-yoon had suddenly changed, Levian had been in Korea, during the period Han Do-hoon was away. Despite completing his own mission, that man had stubbornly lingered in Korea. Moreover, it was Levian who, at every opportunity, approached Sa-yoon when he was alone, spouting strange nonsense.

Could Levian be the reason Sa-yoon’s attitude had changed?

“Let’s meet in the training grounds for a bit.”

Han Do-hoon summoned Levian to the training grounds for the first time in a long while. He intended to grill him, to find out if he had filled Sa-yoon’s head with absurd notions or said anything unnecessary.

Han Do-hoon’s prediction was wrong. He crushed the smug Levian, burning his flamboyant blonde hair to a crisp, but he received no satisfying answers.

Even when asked if he knew anything about Sa-yoon’s change, Levian offered no useful information until the very end.

“Damn it. He probably sensed your true nature and ran away. Why are you taking it out on an innocent person?”

Levian’s words, gasped from where he lay sprawled on the floor, struck Han Do-hoon like a dagger. Was that it? He thought he had always been careful around Sa-yoon, but had something been exposed without his knowledge?

“Who would like someone with your personality? You’re like a machine, devoid of emotion. Anyone with eyes would naturally run away.”

Levian spat the words like a curse. ‘Emotionless person.’ He had heard it countless times, but today, it pierced him painfully. Jin Sa-yoon was a delicate soul. He was kind-hearted and capricious. He walked a path entirely different from Han Do-hoon’s, whose life revolved solely around completing missions, uncaring of anything else.

“Hey, hey, stop it! This is supposed to be training, you damn bastard!”

“I’ll remove you from the conference deployment list.”

If Sa-yoon had discovered his true nature and fled, what was he supposed to do? Han Do-hoon couldn’t find an answer, not even at the very end.

Before he could find a solution, it felt as though he was being dragged down into a bottomless swamp.

The sudden appearance of the colossal Rain was an unforeseen catastrophe. Upon its emergence, it half-destroyed the conference hall, resulting in numerous casualties.

The initial plan had already gone awry. The next best option was to evacuate by airship and regroup later. However, the mysterious smoke emanating from Rain rendered even that impossible.

Everything was unplanned. And then, the most unexpected event of all transpired.

“Someone has to stay behind.”

Jin Sa-yoon intended to remain alone to allow the airship to escape. In this place teeming with Rain, which was difficult for multiple people to handle even when cooperating, and enveloped in an unbreathable fog, he planned to stay by himself.

“I will stay.”

This was absolutely unacceptable. Even if everyone here died, even if Han Do-hoon died with them, he could not leave Jin Sa-yoon in such a perilous situation.

Not a single word of Jin Sa-yoon’s logical arguments registered in his ears. Han Do-hoon could not tolerate any of it. The option of leaving Jin Sa-yoon alone here simply did not exist for him.

He hated losing Jin Sa-yoon. He hated seeing him cry. But leaving him here alone was utterly unimaginable.

Behind them, the hum of the airship powering up grew louder. Everyone was being transferred to the airship, leaving only Sa-yoon and Han Do-hoon in a tense standoff.

Sa-yoon’s eyes, as he looked at Han Do-hoon, were furrowed. His expression was complex. Han Do-hoon couldn’t comprehend why Sa-yoon was looking at him with such a face.

A tide of emotions—sadness and resentment, feelings Han Do-hoon had never experienced—swirled in Sa-yoon’s eyes. The emotions were so profound and overwhelming that he remained paralyzed until Sa-yoon embraced him.

What he felt was Sa-yoon’s warm body heat and the profound sense of stability only a Guide could provide. It was an ecstatic peace, enough to make him forget the dire situation.

“Han Do-hoon.”

His name, spoken by Sa-yoon, had always sounded sweet. And so, he let down his guard.

“Irregular Hunter Han Do-hoon.”

When had he known?

Before Han Do-hoon could even react to Sa-yoon’s words, his large frame collapsed. His mind grew hazy from the unknown liquid injected into his neck.

As he fell, his eyes met Sa-yoon’s face. Only then could Han Do-hoon finally read the emotions Sa-yoon held. It was betrayal and resentment. Bitter tears of profound sorrow, directed at Han Do-hoon for deceiving him all this time, streamed from Sa-yoon’s eyes.

Han Do-hoon strained to keep his heavy eyelids open. He couldn’t let Sa-yoon go like this. He couldn’t leave a wounded Sa-yoon alone. He wanted to apologize for the days he had deceived him, to explain himself. He wanted to tell Sa-yoon that he hadn’t meant to deceive him, that it had all been for his sake…

But his descending eyelids were too heavy. Han Do-hoon, unaware that the jewel he held had crumbled into dust and scattered into the sand, sank into the profound darkness.

When Han Do-hoon opened his eyes, the entire situation had concluded.

Rain, which had shaken the earth, vanished without a trace in a massive explosion. The explosion, he was told, was caused by a device secretly planted by the Esper Alliance. It was a bomb prepared for unforeseen circumstances, with several squad members ready to self-destruct alongside the Air Rain.

That bomb had detonated, triggered by the shockwaves of the colossal Rain’s movements.

The person originally tasked with controlling the device had been knocked unconscious due to injuries, and even the Supreme Commander, distracted by the Guide’s injuries, had failed to attend to it. It was an unfortunate accident no one had anticipated. Thus, Sa-yoon, left alone, was caught in the explosion without any means of defense.

“Any traces?”

The squad member managing the scene shook their head. “No survivors.” The cold reply came back to Han Do-hoon. Among the squad members who had lost consciousness in the fog, some had been close to the conference hall. Unluckily, several of them had been engulfed by the explosion and lost their lives.

“Search more. Anything at all.”

Han Do-hoon threw down the documents the squad member had brought. They contained a list for checking the names of the deceased. His mother, a Guide, had been moved to the intensive care unit, and the Supreme Commander was tethered to her side. These were documents Han Do-hoon, as the next in command, was supposed to handle.

And on the first page of the casualty list Han Do-hoon received, Jin Sa-yoon’s name was inscribed.

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