Chapter 91

After the Gaze

It was only after Jun-sang disappeared back inside the house that Min-seo finally gasped for air, which she realized she had been holding. “Huuufff…” Her trembling hand reached for the pill bottle in the inner pocket of her padded jacket. She tried to shake out the white pills into her outstretched palm, but her shaking hands wouldn’t obey. In the end, Min-seo spilled the pills.

Song Dong-jun, barely recovering from the terrifying fear emanating from Jun-sang’s gaze, wiped the cold sweat from his neck. He then saw Min-seo, who had been standing in front of him, spill something on the ground and then collapse, so he quickly went to her side and sat down.

“My, my medicine…” Her somewhat meddlesome demeanor was gone, replaced by a pale, trembling figure. Song Dong-jun clicked his tongue and picked up a few of the white pills scattered on the ground, bringing them to her mouth. Min-seo quickly took two and swallowed them. As Min-seo swallowed the pills, Dong-jun picked up the scattered pills and put them back into the bottle. It was only when he had almost finished putting the pills away that Min-seo’s hand tremors finally began to subside.

“I’m… sorry.” At Min-seo’s words, Dong-jun shook his head and handed her the pill bottle. “Don’t worry about it. Here…”

“Thank you.” Min-seo took the pill bottle from Dong-jun and put it back in her pocket. He could roughly guess what kind of medicine it was. Dong-jun himself had been dependent on tranquilizers for a while after going through that “tutorial” or whatever it was. It was even more understandable for an ordinary woman who had lived a life far removed from such events. Perhaps her initial overly assertive behavior was an unconscious attempt to deny her fear.

As Dong-jun helped Min-seo to her feet, Joo Kwang-myung, who had been silent until then, spoke. “Wow, that guy’s scary. Red light just poured out of his eyes, it was just…” The moment Min-seo heard those words, she visibly shivered again. Song Dong-jun saw this and subtly spoke to Kwang-myung.

“That’s enough.”

“Huh? Oh, right…”

It took another ten minutes or so for Min-seo to finally return to her previous self. “Phew… I almost died trying to talk to him.”

“…” As Dong-jun watched her silently, Min-seo gave a wry smile and said again, “Don’t look at me like that. I know I’m not normal.”

At Min-seo’s words, Dong-jun quietly said, “I don’t know what kind of medicine it is, but you could get addicted.”

“But it’s better than dying, right?”

“…” Dong-jun nodded silently, and Min-seo clicked her tongue. “I can’t even make a joke. Though it’s funny that I’m making jokes like this.”

“You’re right. Haha…” Dong-jun and Min-seo couldn’t help but smile wryly again at Kwang-myung, who still didn’t seem to grasp the atmosphere.

“Anyway… how strong is that man?” At Min-seo’s words, Dong-jun glanced at the container house for a moment and said, “I don’t know for sure, but that look in his eyes earlier… Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Keep going.”

“Yes. I’ve never seen a special ability like that, but if the fear we felt was one of his abilities, he could easily take down most enemies with just that.”

Min-seo nodded at Dong-jun’s words. “That makes sense.” She then looked at the container house and continued, “If he just kept radiating that look and controlling those wolves, most opponents would probably just drop dead, wouldn’t they?”

“Probably…”

“Lucky him. How great would it be if I had an ability like that. Ugh… Anyway, let’s go somewhere with less wind. It’s too cold here.”

“Alright.” Perhaps because they were on a windswewept canyon, the cold wind bit to the bone. The three of them moved to a spot behind a rock where the wind was less harsh.

“Hmm… We should probably know each other’s abilities, right?” At Min-seo’s suggestion, Dong-jun nodded and unshouldered the pack on his back, revealing its contents. “As you can see, I’m a swordsman. I use a sword and shield. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get any armor.”

“Is that a good one?”

“It’s not particularly good. Just something I happened to get during a quest.”

Min-seo, nodding as if in understanding, then revealed her own abilities. “I’m a martial artist. I learned a bit of Taekwondo when I was little, so I guess that’s why.”

“I heard martial arts are hard to even imitate without skill.”

“I just… won a few awards when I was little.”

“I see, so that’s it.” Dong-jun asked Kwang-myung, who was watching blankly and observing the situation, “What kind of ability do you have, Kwang-myung?”

Kwang-myung, as if he had been waiting, pulled out a filleting knife from his pocket and showed it to them. “I don’t know about anything else, but I’m incredibly good at stabbing bad guys in the gut with this. Hahaha…”

“…” His statement somehow raised suspicions about his past profession. Now, even what seemed like a missing screw earlier felt chilling. Dong-jun deliberately cleared his throat once and then spoke again.

“Ahem, by chance, all of us are close-range combatants. In that case, there’s only one tactic, isn’t there?”

“Blocking the bridge entrance?”

“Since I have a shield, I can block from the front, and the two of you can hit and retreat. The problem, of course, would be if the enemy has ranged weapons.” As that was mentioned, the three of them, as if by prior agreement, looked towards the container house. Dong-jun gave a wry smile and continued, “Of course, that’s assuming that person doesn’t intervene at all.”

At Dong-jun’s words, Min-seo also gave a wry smile and said, “I somehow feel like a prop.” She then shrugged and continued, “It doesn’t matter if I’m a prop or anything else, as long as I can survive.”

“I agree.”

Refugees and Unexpected Events

Just then. The door of the container house opened again. Jun-sang appeared first, followed by Heness, her brown hair tied back in a ponytail.

“Oh?” At first, the three of them watched blankly, then they rubbed their eyes.

“That girl… who is she?”

“W-well, she certainly wasn’t there before.” The two were bewildered by the sudden appearance of the unknown girl, but Kwang-myung smacked his lips enviously. “Wow… Not only does he carry around a house like that, but he also has such a cool girl with him? Wow, I’m really jealous of that guy.”

“…” Anyway, Heness, under the gaze of the three, saddled the red wolf and climbed onto it. When Heness finished preparing, Jun-sang took out a saddle from his inventory and summoned a Ghost Horse.

“Gasp!” While riding a saddled wolf might be understandable, the sudden summoning of a ghost horse made the three of them gape again. When the ghost horse was summoned, Jun-sang slowly moved the reins to ride the horse, then immediately stored the container house back into his inventory. And as Mongmong leapt onto his shoulder, Jun-sang and Heness began to ride north.

“Where are they going?”

“W-well, I don’t know.”

Min-seo and Dong-jun suddenly realized their mistake. They had thought that if there was such a high-level expert, even if his personality was a bit difficult, this quest would be a bit easier. But now that he had suddenly left without a word, they couldn’t help but be bewildered.

“W-wait…” But by the time Min-seo frantically reached out and shouted again, Jun-sang and Heness were already disappearing from their sight.

“Oh, what do we do?”

“…” Min-seo spoke, but Dong-jun had nothing to say.

Heness looked back at the three people who were staring blankly at them and said, “Shouldn’t we have told them where we were going?” But Jun-sang answered curtly, as if it wasn’t necessary.

“No need.”

“…” Heness pouted at Jun-sang’s seemingly cold words. But Jun-sang, ignoring Heness, continued to ride his horse and examine the surrounding terrain. As he was checking the general topography and looking around, he suddenly saw people rapidly approaching with carts loaded with luggage and young children.

“Heness.”

“Yes.” As Jun-sang called her name, Heness, understanding, immediately spurred the red wolf and galloped towards them. The people pulling the carts were startled when a large red wolf suddenly approached, then were greatly surprised to see a brown-haired girl riding on it.

“Puppy, puppy…” As the child in the cart said that, looking at the red wolf, Heness smiled brightly and greeted them.

“Are you going to the Heavenly Bridge?” The middle-aged man, who appeared to be the head of the family, quickly replied to the kind Heness.

“Yes, that’s right.” Heness immediately responded, “Good. We’ll help you.” She then gestured to the other two wolves quietly following Jun-sang. “Kids. Come here!” Jun-sang nodded, and the two wolves immediately approached Heness. The people were surprised again as the calf-sized wolves approached, but Heness said to the middle-aged man, “Do you have a yoke?”

“Huh? Y-yes, we do.” The man quickly took out the yoke that was on the cart. Heness had the large Dire Wolf wear the yoke, then stood beside the cart and guided the way. Jun-sang silently watched her actions, guarding against any potential pursuers.

They soon arrived at the Heavenly Bridge. The three people, Min-seo, Song Dong-jun, and Joo Kwang-myung, who had been restless after Jun-sang and Heness disappeared, finally breathed a sigh of relief when they returned with a group of refugees. Upon arriving at the bridge, Heness unharnessed the Dire Wolf from the cart and said to the refugees, “Once you cross the bridge, you’ll be safe.”

“Thank you. Thank you very much.” The refugees bowed to Heness, then quickly pulled their carts and crossed the swaying bridge precariously.

This was just the beginning. A little more time passed, and countless people began to appear, carrying luggage or pulling carts. Heness, riding the red wolf, herded the other wolves to guide these refugees to the bridge, and Jun-sang guarded the surroundings in case of any unforeseen circumstances. As this happened, Min-seo, Song Dong-jun, and Joo Kwang-myung were left to sit idly by the bridge, watching Jun-sang and Heness like sacks of borrowed grain.

“Somehow… I feel like a prop.”

“It’s not just a feeling; we are props.”

The procession of refugees continued late into the night and finally ended around dawn. Heness, who had been tirelessly running around guiding refugees all night, finally returned to the container house that Jun-sang had taken out and rested when she could no longer find anyone coming to the Heavenly Bridge.

“Lucky her. She can even sleep in a house like that.”

“Well… she worked hard for it.”

“That’s true, but… I still can’t help but be envious.”

Jun-sang had the wolves guard the container house, then strategically placed the spirits around the bridge to keep watch for any potential pursuers. Time passed again, and as morning dawned, the pursuers finally appeared. Jun-sang quietly woke Heness, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

“Heness.”

“Hmm…”

“Enemy.”

“…” At the word “enemy,” Heness’s eyes snapped open, and she quickly got out of bed.

“Wh-where?”

“They’re coming. Get ready.”

“Yes.” Heness quickly went into the bathroom to wash her face, then put on the equipment Jun-sang had prepared for her one by one. After putting on military boots custom-made for her feet and studded leather gloves similar to the ones Jun-sang used, Jun-sang stroked her head and said, “It’s your first time, so don’t overdo it. Just focus on gaining experience. Don’t get hurt.”

“Yes.” Heness replied immediately to Jun-sang’s words, but her movements were stiff, like a robot that hadn’t been oiled in years.

“Are you nervous?”

“N-no.” Jun-sang gave a wry smile. And he thought. Even if this was what she wanted, was it really right to lead this girl down the same path as him? Could this girl truly handle breaking enemy bones and taking their lives in direct, bloody combat? And would she truly not resent him for leading her down such a path? Seeing his dark expression as he stroked her head, the quick-witted girl could easily guess what Jun-sang was thinking.

Heness quietly reached out and took Jun-sang’s hand that was stroking her head, then pulled it down and gently kissed his fingers. Heness, who had been kissing Jun-sang’s fingers as if in prayer for a moment, then looked up at him and said, “Kiss me. Like that night.”

That night… Jun-sang had only performed a kiss-like act towards Heness once. It was the day he left Ibelua, when he was heading alone to the Forbidden Forest to defeat the Army of Darkness, and he had gently kissed her forehead. For Jun-sang, it was merely an imitation of what the fairies had done for him, hoping for good fortune for this brown-haired girl. However, in retrospect, it could be said to be the direct reason why Heness was now with Jun-sang like this.

Jun-sang looked at her. As he gazed into Heness’s eyes, he gently pulled her head closer, closed his eyes, and kissed her forehead. And as he slowly lifted his lips from her forehead… Heness’s hands suddenly wrapped around Jun-sang’s neck, pulling him down. Jun-sang, startled, opened his eyes, feeling soft, moist lips press against his own.