The extended vision blurred. Time deliberately slowed down. His eyes fixed on the path they had been walking—that's when he realized no one was coming back to save him. The path was clear, without any human presence. Cheon Areum's eyes darted back to the person on top of him. He was trying to bite him, but he felt nothing—like he was watching a scene, having no actual association with the victim.
"Hey?"
"Why can't I feel your pulse? Are you dead with your eyes wide open? Pft."
Cheon Areum fixed his eyes on the same spot, unblinking. The world around him seemed to be darkening, shadows closing in at the edges of his vision. Someone was speaking close to his ear, but he registered none of it. The hand around his neck had moved away in the meantime, but his body remained still—frozen, detached.
When the teeth sinking into his ear stung, only then was he moved to respond, purely from the botheration of it. The hands resting on the sand gripped the dampness furiously. The person lifted his head—perhaps recognizing the movement or having had his fill of biting his ear—looking down at him arrogantly.
Cheon Areum's body moved as if he had been possessed. No hesitation in his movements as he lifted his upper body, bashing his head into the face in front of him, throwing him back. He climbed on top of him.
"Ugh... you-..."
The hands full of wet lumps pushed into the eyes of the one who dared to intimidate him. He shoved everything his hands contained into the two small holes, forcing them to open by poking inside with his fingernails. Unhurriedly, languidly, scratching the mushy and tender eyeballs.
"Ahhh... Please stop! Ahh!"
The screams, disguised as music, traveled to his eardrums, jolting him awake. The brightness adjusted back, engulfing the darkness bordering him. Cheon Areum finally recognized the person writhing under him in excruciating pain.
Park Gunwoo.
Cheon Areum scarcely stood on his feet. No one was holding him down. He needed to get away from this person as soon as possible.
The gate. I need to exit this dungeon.
The dungeons were the only enclosed spaces where laws and regulations were ineffectual—meaning nothing in front of someone who only hid their true evil intentions behind a facade of proper human morals. For Cheon Areum, who was at his weakest point, this place—full of alphas he couldn't fully trust—was as good as the underworld right now.
Maybe I should've stopped Jia from walking away... No, she might be B-Class, but she was also an omega. If she had collapsed from the barrage of alpha pheromones, she would've been helpless too.
Running without pausing to catch his breath, Cheon Areum had already caught up with the others. They all turned at once, alerted by the sound of tumultuous footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.
"Areum...? What's going on?"
It was Kim Ryung's voice. Cheon Areum flinched, recognizing it. Should he stop? The thought crossed his mind but was thrown out as soon as it formed.
"Wait! Areum!"
"Weren't you with Gunwoo, Areum!"
Passing everyone, he only reached for his goal. The gate—he could see it. Just a few more steps. Almost there. Cheon Areum was the first to exit the gate, starting the five-minute timer for its closure. He ran through the gate, knocking into a sturdy figure before he could fall from the impact he was suddenly drawn into a hug.
"Cheon Areum!"
The person pessimistically mentioned him. Cheon Areum couldn't breathe anymore. He was outside the gate, and this person recognized him—that much was enough. The last thread of his consciousness broke.
*
A gloomy atmosphere. A white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant. He was in a hospital.
Cheon Areum scanned the room. He was the only patient here.
How much does a VIP room cost again? Who's paying for this?!?
Startled, he shot up from the bed. A young man was sitting on the couch under the window, dozing off with his arms crossed.
Was he paying for it??
Black tousled hair fell over his forehead. Pale skin and striking facial features. A black button-up shirt tucked into matching black pants, fastened with a black belt. After carefully observing the man sleeping beside him, he grabbed the nearest thing—a glass of water—and dropped it to the floor.
*SHATTER*
Surely, the young man was awakened by the sound. Their eyes locked the moment he opened his. It was a serious, slightly brooding expression—his eyes narrowing with a piercing, intense gaze.
"Are you paying for the room?"
"..."
"I need you to answer me—wait, what's your name?"
The more he looked at the young man, the more skeptical he became.
No way...
"Yoon Seoyul. And yes, I'm paying."
Ah... fuck.
Cheon Areum had run right into the hands of the hero of this book—the S-Class main character, Yoon Seoyul.
I haven't done anything to him. It's not like he'll despise me for no reason at all just because I'm suppose to be the villain... right?
Yoon Seoyul brushed through his hair and sighed tiredly. His black hair fell back onto his forehead, vaguely parted in the middle.
"Um, sir... why am I getting a blood transfusion?"
"Your ear was bleeding..."
Yoon Seoyul held up his hand, pointing to his right ear. Cheon Areum touched his own—it was bandaged. Gunwoo had bitten his ear, now that he remembered. What else? He threw off the blanket, searching his body closely.
"Thankfully, you don't have any more physical injuries."
Yoon Seoyul yawned and walked over to him, covering his body with the blanket again. He glanced at his neck with a strange glint in his eyes. Cheon Areum grazed his fingers against his throat.
"Where's my phone?"
"The screen was broken, so I had it replaced here. Don't take your phone inside the gate next time—it's useless."
Yoon Seoyul grabbed the phone from the couch and handed it to him. Cheon Areum took it without much thought—he already knew phones inside dungeons were practically useless. There was no service, no internet connection, and any attempt to record or snap pictures of the dungeon would be futile. It was just a dead piece of technology in a world cut off from the real one.
"But you can play downloaded offline games."
"...."
Cheon Areum turned on his phone. It was still the same day—9 PM.
"I need to go, grab someone to take this out. It's unnecessary."
"It is necessary. What's the rush? The doctor hasn't discharged you yet."
He had left early in the morning—more than 12 hours had passed. Rian didn't have a phone; he couldn't even reach him in case of an emergency. Had he eaten anything? Was the remaining water and food enough for him?
"Call the nurse right now—unless you want me to pull it out myself."
"Just wait for it to finish. I'll let you go then."
Yoon Seoyul's response was calm—as if he knew he could easily subdue him if he acted out.
"I need to go home. My brother is still young; he gets anxious easily. He said he would wait for me—he wanted to have dinner together. What if he hasn't eaten yet? What if he starts crying?"
He began speaking in a piteous tone, but by the time he reached his last words, he was practically shrieking at Yoon Seoyul. That's when a knock echoed through the tense silence, and the door to the room creaked open. It was Kim Ryung, whose eyes widened upon seeing him.
"Areum? Can I come in?"
"Aren't you already inside?"
Kim Ryung scratched his head with a light smile tugging at his lips as he quietly closed the door behind him. His footsteps were unhurried, casual, as he made his way over to Cheon Areum.
"Apologize."
Yoon Seoyul bluntly muttered. Kim Ryung nodded readily and performed a deep bow by the bed.
"I'm truly sorry, Cheon Areum. As the leader, I am ashamed of myself for not being able to keep my fellow teammates safe."
The apology flew over him. Kim Ryung fit the description—Yoon Seoyul's right hand, the blazing inferno. Cheon Areum hadn't recognized him because his name was never mentioned in the book. Weren't they in the same guild? Is that why Yoon Seoyul had come to the gate?
"Can you please tell me what exactly happened in the dungeon with Park Gunwoo?"
"What did Gunwoo say?"
"He's planning to sue you...."
"Haa...."
Cheon Areum kicked off the blanket, his hand reaching for the IV drip, intent on pulling it out. But before he could, a firm grip caught his wrist—Yoon Seoyul. His expression had hardened.
"Ryung, get him discharged."
He spoke without looking back at him, his voice firm. Cheon Areum paused, lowering his hand slowly before sitting back on the bed. The door clicked softly as Kim Ryung exited the room.
"I'll take care of this matter. Park Gunwoo won't be able to sue you—but unless you speak about what happened, we won't be able to hold him accountable for anything."