Sawon arched his brow, putting the question on his face.Was that a question I shouldn’t have asked? Some Institute secret, that kind of thing?But if so, the source he’d heard it from was Hunter Seo Hansu. A hunter with no deep ties to the Institute had tossed it off like idle rumor. No way it was classified.“Don’t know?”When Sawon asked again, Ji Hayeon took his eyes away.“It’s classified.”“Heh.”Sawon let out a short laugh.Classified, my ass. The rumor’s made it all the way to the back alleys.Passing him, Ji Hayeon strode right past the elevator toward the end of the corridor. A step behind, Sawon followed.“Lots of ‘classified’ floating around. If it made it to my ear while I was smoking.”“Then they’re involved too, obviously.”“So that means you don’t want to tell me? You have some reason you can’t?”“Do I have a duty to tell you things like this?”“You could just tell me. It’s not that big a deal.”At the emergency stairwell, Ji Hayeon stopped. Opening the door, he snapped:“I don’t know. I can’t tell you because I don’t know.”Sawon reached out and blocked him as he tried to head up the stairs.“Why is it stairs again when there’s an elevator. We have to go up to the 28th.”He’d used “exercise” as an excuse to take the stairs down from the 19th even at discharge. He’d been huffing and sweating the whole way down, and this time it was up. Not one or two floors, but all the way to the 28th. Sawon couldn’t understand his insistence on the stairs. Ji Hayeon pressed his arm down.“Move. I’m taking the stairs.”“You’re going to walk to the 28th?”“Yes.”“You didn’t hear the medic say don’t overdo it?”“It’s not overdoing it, it’s a warm-up.”“You remember how you were panting earlier, right?”For a stamina-type like Sawon, taking the stairs was a warm-up. For an intellect-type Awakened who hadn’t fully recovered his Metena, it didn’t apply.Planting himself, Sawon looked at him like this was ridiculous. Ji Hayeon’s set will didn’t waver.Come on… what kind of new breed of pigheadedness is this.He’d more or less figured out this man’s stubborn streak by now. In situations like this, the only way was to go along with him.Clack, clack. Matching Ji Hayeon’s pace, Sawon went up the stairs. In the stairwell, two men’s footsteps echoed out of sync.Hands in his pockets, Sawon took the steps two at a time. Clutching the rail tight the whole way, Ji Hayeon took them one by one. Eighth, ninth, tenth. Around the fourteenth, he started to stumble. Cold sweat beaded on his nape. The long forelock that had bounced dry with each step was at some point wet with sweat, sticking to his skin. Sweat pearled behind his ears and ran down.“You look beat. Want me to carry you?”No sooner were the words out than Ji Hayeon shot him a sharp look. Then he stomped up harder. And then he misstepped and pitched sideways. Sawon shot out an arm and pulled him into his chest. The back of Ji Hayeon’s head thumped against Sawon’s sternum.“You walk like a newborn fawn, and you think you’re going further like that? We’re only halfway.”“What newborn fawn…!”“If you trip or tumble and something happens to you, who do you think takes the blame.”Sawon’s voice went cold.“Me. I’m your guard.”“……”Raising himself, Ji Hayeon bit his lip. Dropping the chill, Sawon gave a quick grin.“So cooperate a little. I don’t know why you’re dead set on stairs with a perfectly good elevator right there, but……”“……I always take the stairs.”“Yes, sir. Got it. So don’t face-plant and break your nose—just get on.”“……”Staring a hole through him, Ji Hayeon met his gaze. Meeting those light brown eyes, the déjà vu hit Sawon again. Forcing off the strange feeling rising up, he turned and bent his back.“Come on. Hurry.”After dithering, Ji Hayeon finally laid his long arms over Sawon’s shoulders. Before he could change his mind, Sawon hiked him up.“U-pp.”For all his stubbornness, Ji Hayeon quietly wrapped his arms around Sawon’s neck. He set his cheek on his shoulder and evened out his ragged breaths. On the skin of Sawon’s neck, each exhale raised a ripple of goosebumps. Acting unfazed, Sawon started up the stairs.What am I doing.If we were going to end up like this anyway, why insist on the stairs. And why snap with his hackles up only to turn meek as a tame beast in the next instant.Does he just live by his whims. Can’t tell if he’s got manners or not… I can’t get a read on him.One monkey was plenty to look after. Add a pigheaded fawn on top, and he felt like an animal keeper. Silently, Sawon sighed.My lot in life……***Central Bureau, 28th floor, common conference room. The door opened, and a cluster of bedraggled researchers greeted the two.“Chief!”“Chieeef! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”While the researchers checked each other’s survival and shared relief, Sawon ambled off to a corner and took a seat. Crossing one long leg over, he idly wagged his foot—when one researcher approached.“Save me……!”It was one of the researchers who’d burst out of the Institute elevator.“You’re Hunter Gu Sawon, right? Thank you so much for back then.”To the courteous greeting, Sawon gave a perfunctory nod.“No big deal. I just did my job.”“Even so. You saved the Chief, and even came all the way here with him—really, thank you.”“Well, this is my job too.”Even to his half-hearted replies, the researcher only kept a warm, beaming smile. Sawon flicked a glance at Ji Hayeon among the researchers. His face, still stiff as stone, was the same as in the ward, but the edge of anxiety seemed somewhat dulled. The fussy-looking mouth corner and prim-looking eyes hadn’t changed. Under his breath, Sawon said:“Looks rough, working under a boss like that.”At that, the researcher sneaked a look at Ji Hayeon.“Rough? No. Even if he looks like that, the Chief gives us a lot of leeway and cares about us a lot. He’s a good person.”A good person… in what sense? I couldn’t find a good side in that temperament.“Ah. Right.”Again, Sawon answered roughly. As the researcher turned his back to him—Thud!“Is everyone here.”Director Kwon came into the conference room. Right after him, the Institute’s Lab Director, Kim Inhee, followed in. Their air was anything but normal. Slowly, Sawon rose to his feet.What. We weren’t called here just to reunite with colleagues?With a crook of his fingers at Sawon, who stood slanted with his hands in his pockets, Director Kwon called out:“Hunter Gu Sawon. Front and center. We’re holding a meeting.”Lab Director Kim also gestured to the researchers.“Please be seated.”Suddenly convened, the people naturally found their seats. With no choice, Sawon sat in the empty spot next to Ji Hayeon. He sat down with a loud scrape, and Ji Hayeon shot him a displeased look. Director Kwon also cut him a savage glance, then turned on the screen monitor. Photos of the ruined Institute came up.“First, current status. The Institute is blacked out, protected by a Grade-1 barrier, and we’ve applied total light-blocking. Entry and exit are fully controlled. The post-processing team on-site is reporting every ten minutes; so far, nothing abnormal. Damage ranges where there was minor friction on the 29th mid-level, and on the 43rd where the explosion occurred.”Mentioning the 43rd, Director Kwon slid a look at Sawon. But Gu Sawon wasn’t the type to repent because someone gave him a look. Slowly, he blinked once.“The black-sphere formation site is the central lab on the 43rd floor. As you know, that floor was where the new modification project was in progress. All Institute casualties occurred on the 43rd floor; no other floors.”The forty-third was the only floor where researchers had remained late even at dawn after closing time. Thanks to that, the response was fast, but thanks to that, the damage was greatest as well.“Right now, the security system is functioning normally on emergency power, but emergency power has limits. If we lift the blackout, the Deaters still inside the building will react to the light.”At Director Kwon’s glance, Lab Director Kim pushed up his sliding glasses with an index finger. He continued:“If there’s damage while handling the Deaters, that’s a problem. Before Deater disposal, we have to move the experimental data to a safe location. But there’s a hitch. As you all know, access to the 43rd-floor data is set to be possible only inside the Institute. So we need to change the permissions, but……”To change permissions, they had to lift the security system. And the key to lift it was the biometric data of the project owner, Ji Hayeon. In short, it meant ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Ji Hayeon had to go inside himself and change the permissions. Clearing his throat, Lab Director Kim set his voice.“The best recovery plan Director Kwon and I came up with is only one.”Even without being told, Sawon knew the answer. Looking at Gu Sawon, Director Kwon said:“We go into the Institute with a minimum team.”

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