Mad As A Hatter | bl | ORV

31: the gamer and the manager (2)

The current news on display was about the several corpses found in a deserted alley. It mentioned how brutally they were killed, and Yoo Junghyuk couldn't help but glance at the beau sitting at his side, eating gleefully as if he hadn't been the cause of those murders.

Obviously, those corpses belonged to the group of people who chased after the manager before Eun-Byeol had gone to pick him up earlier.

"What—" Junghyuk suddenly met Eun-Byeol's earthen eyes. "—are you looking at me for?"

"..." He just wondered where on earth did Eun-Byeol get the strength to kill five men who were obviously physically stronger than him based on the photos. After all, it wasn't like Eun-Byeol could use coins to level up his basic stats like in the 'apocalypse'.

"Byeol-hyung."

"Hmm?

"Who... exactly are you?" The question slipped through his mouth before Junghyuk even knew it. His question caused Eun-Byeol to press his lips together, as if thinking whether or not to answer.

"... I'm just an ordinary computer scientist. Nothing more." Though he answered, Junghyuk knew that it was only the surface level of Eun-Byeol's identity at this point of their lives. "Then," Eun-Byeol continued, surprising Junghyuk.

"Who are you?"

"I—"

The window suddenly shattered.

Eun-Byeol reacted faster than Junghyuk, and grabbed the gamer by the wrist. "Fuck," the manager cursed under his breath, dragging Junghyuk behind him. "There's a backdoor leading into the forest. It's pretty hidden with all the trees and bushes, so you can make your escape there.

"There's an entrance at the base of a dead tree 500 meters away from here to an underground shelter. It's pretty old and fits only one person. You head there and hide."

"What," Junghyuk stopped, feet glued to the ground. "Then, what about you? The people outside have guns—"

"Just go," the annoyed Eun-Byeol pushed the gamer forward. "You're a nuisance if you stay here."

"But Byeol-hyung!"

"Just go and hide, idiot! It's not like I'm going to die on my own."

A dreadful feeling overcame Yoo Junghyuk.

...

Fine.

That dreadful feeling was a false alarm.

When the door to this underground shelter opened, he was met with Eun-Byeol's beaming smile, face and other parts of his body stained with blood. He even had the gal to boast about his achievements while helping Junghyuk out of the shelter.

"See? If you stayed back there, you would have gotten both of us killed. Trust my words next time."

Once Junghyuk properly stood on the ground, his body moved on its own and grabbed Eun-Byeol by the shoulders, fussing over him. "Hyung, are you hurt?! Why do you have so much blood on you?!"

But the regressor's thoughts were; he's quite sloppy taking care of them this time. Once upon a time, he might have been very expressive of his feelings. But the current Junghyuk had difficulty expressing them.

Still, it was a surprise to see the always neat and clean Eun-Byeol in such a mess.

...

"..."

Yoo Junghyuk stood frozen against his will.

Just, what exactly was he looking at?

A group of dangerous-looking men stood in a row on both sides, welcoming him and Eun-Byeol. A few days ago, his manager told him that they would go to a more secure place than last time.