"Areum!"
Jia's voice cracked as she called out, hoarse and filled with worry. She scrambled toward him as he blinked repeatedly, forcing his eyes to not shut. Light rain dotted his pale face, the drops trailing down like tears. Above them, the reflecting shield began to dissolve, folding back into Inho's system with a faint hum.
"Can't you see the condition he's in? Our healers are collapsing, and you let the shield down? You want them to drown in rainwater now?"
"I can only use it once for five minutes. Besides… this much rain isn't going to drown anyone."
"You're right."
"Wait—why are you agreeing with me? Don't do that. That's scary. I'm getting goosebumps."
Cheon Areum lay still, his gaze fixed blankly on the dark, rain-filled sky. His body screamed for rest, but his mind clung stubbornly to consciousness.
"I'm sorry, Areum. It's all because of me."
Jia whispered, kneeling beside him.
"The monster dragging you into the water and almost killing you was your fault. The fact that healers can't heal themselves is also your fault. Me being an F-Class—is that also your fault?"
Cheon Areum spoke with a calm, almost detached tone, still gazing up at the stormy sky as rainwater traced slow, glistening paths down his cheeks. His soaked hair clung to his neck uncomfortably.
Shin Jia sat silently beside him in quiet thought. After a few moments, her voice came soft and steady.
"Thank you for healing me."
"You're welcome."
Then, with quiet effort masked behind a composed expression, Cheon Areum pressed his hands into the wet sand and pushed himself upright. His movements were sluggish, his limbs heavy with exhaustion, but he made no show of the struggle it took just to sit up.
"Can you really get up in your state?"
Aera stood over him, eyeing him half-curiously, half-pityingly.
Cheon Areum didn't answer right away. His body trembled subtly as he steadied himself with one hand pressed into the damp ground.
"He's fine."
The response came from Gunwoo instead, his tone sharp with irritation as he dusted off his clothes with quick, careless swipes.
Ignoring him, Cheon Areum stood up, glancing in Kim Ryung's direction. He was now walking over their way with ease, Hwan distressfully following behind him.
"....."
"Areum, Jia—are you both alright?"
"Your nose is bleeding...."
Kim Ryung raised a brow and swiped at his upper lip with the back of his hand. A smear of red appeared, but he only chuckled and casually smiled.
"This much is nothing at all. You don't have to worry."
"I wasn't worrying..."
Cheon Areum mumbled inaudibly but was cut off by Hwan frantically shouting.
"Leader, wait for me! You're not okay—that much energy output is dangerous without a booster!"
"Areum, here—have these. I keep them in my inventory for when I use too much of my energy."
Shin Jia quietly handed him a small stack of chocolate energy bars. Starting from B-Class and above, Awakened individuals gained access to personal inventory space—a dimensional storage only they could access. It was one of the many small conveniences the upper classes enjoyed.
Cheon Areum didn't waste time with politeness. He accepted three bars without hesitation, tearing one open and taking a large bite. He needed to refill enough energy to walk back.
"Areum, can you walk back to the gate? I can give you a piggyback ride if not," Kim Ryung offered indifferently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Beside him, Hwan silently injected his arm with a vial of glowing red liquid while Hajoon handed him a chilled bottle of water from his inventory, the condensation glistening in the rainlight.
"I can walk by myself now… What's inside this?"
Cheon Areum chewed slowly, trudging toward them.
Hwan glanced at him briefly, then tapped the empty injector into his inventory, where it vanished in a blink.
"It's to lower his body temperature. It's too high."
"You're a lunatic, building up that much energy output without a booster..."
Aera walked over, her boots splashing against the wet sand, and snatched the jacket from Kim Ryung's hands. She draped it over Jia's shoulders. Jia flinched slightly at the sudden gesture but didn't protest—her thin white dress clung to her from the rain, nearly translucent.
When Cheon Areum finished the last bite of his energy bar, the group quietly began their trek back to the gate. The rain was falling heavier now, soaking through their clothes, but they moved with a steady pace through the destroyed landscape.
"Watch your steps," Kim Ryung warned calmly from the front, glancing over his shoulder. "There are a lot of slimy patches on the ground from the boss monster."
Cheon Areum eyed the trail ahead—mud, broken tree limbs, and slick stains that gave off a faint stench.
"Wait a minute, Areum."
Gunwoo, who had been walking alongside him and Jia at the back, suddenly stopped and crouched down. The sound of their steps on the wet, uneven ground faded as they paused. Jia halted a few steps ahead and turned around, her damp hair clinging to her cheeks.
"Your shoelaces are untied. Shin Jia, you can keep going. It'll only take a moment—we'll catch up."
"...."
Cheon Areum glanced down. His shoelaces were, in fact, undone, trailing loosely over the slick, muddy ground. He didn't protest as Gunwoo reached for them, fingers moving quickly and efficiently. Jia lingered for a moment, casting a brief look back, before turning and jogging ahead to rejoin the others, who had begun to disappear.
"Do you think I brought you here just so you could go around seducing everyone else?"
"What?"
Cheon Areum blinked, caught off guard. The words weren't hard to decipher—he understood exactly what Gunwoo was implying—but the bluntness of the accusation still threw him. His voice came out low, uncertain, more from the sheer absurdity of it.
Gunwoo finished tying the laces and slowly rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on Cheon Areum with an unreadable expression. There was something unsettling in the way he stared—too focused, too still.
Had he planned this? Waited for the right moment to pull him aside, away from the others, just to say that?
No… it had to be more than that.
Cheon Areum instinctively took a step back, his fingers tightening around the second energy bar he'd just opened.
"The leader was right about you. You're nothing more than just your face."
As those words fell, a cloyingly sweet scent assaulted his nostrils—sharp and intoxicating. Gunwoo's pheromones. His body tensed. The half-eaten energy bar slipped from his fingers, the unopened one falling shortly after. He barely managed to raise his hand to cover his nose, but it was too late. The scent flooded his lungs, thick and overwhelming.
His vision blurred slightly as a sharp headache bloomed behind his eyes. His body, already drained from healing Jia, trembled under the weight of fatigue and pheromonal pressure. He wasn't in any condition to fight back, let alone outrun a C-Class Alpha.
"Stop, Gunwoo!"
Cheon Areum yelled, glaring fiercely at Gunwoo. But he stood his ground, unmoving, a shadow cast over his face as rain streaked down between them.
Then, slowly—deliberately—Gunwoo reached out, his fingers brushing along the curve of Cheon Areum's neck. His touch was light, but the sensation, mixed with the lingering pheromones and the cold rain, sent a shudder through his body.
"Don't touch me!"
His hand shot up and slapped Gunwoo's away with force.
Then, as if something inside him snapped, anger overtaking reason, Gunwoo lunged forward and gripped Cheon Areum's neck in a sudden, violent motion.
With a harsh thud, Cheon Areum's back hit the wet sand, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. Rain splattered around them as Gunwoo pinned him down, straddling his waist. His fingers tightened around his throat, cutting off the little air he had left.
Cheon Areum's eyes widened in panic as he clawed at Gunwoo's wrists, his legs kicking weakly against the weight pinning him in place. The crushing pressure on his windpipe made it impossible to breathe, and his vision blurred at the edges. The world around them spun; the only sound he could muster was desperate gasps.
"St...op."
Cheon Areum choked out, voice barely audible through the tight grip. His limbs trembled as he tried to push Gunwoo away, but his body was too weak—utterly spent. The strength difference was brutal, insurmountable. All he could do was try to plead with him.
Gunwoo's fingers loosened slightly around his throat, just enough for a shallow breath to pass. His face dipped lower, breath brushing against the side of his neck. One hand remained cursorily coiled around his throat, the other sliding down, slipping beneath the hem of his damp shirt. Cold fingers pressed against Cheon Areum's stomach, stroking listlessly.
Cheon Areum's entire body stiffened. The rain poured harder, masking the ragged sound of his breathing as his eyes darted toward the direction of the gate—desperately hoping someone would come, or that Gunwoo would stop.