Revenant Resonance Ch 12

Chapter 12

 

Unable to believe it, Yu Jiha rubbed his eyes hard and looked again, but the numbers didn’t change just because he did.

“7, 7, 7…!”

“Jiha, you keep saying it, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Shut it with the fake shyness, that’s just creepy, sunbae. You ought to remember how many years you’ve stuffed into your face.”

“I didn’t age a day in the Abyss, so I’m legally thirty-three.”

“So what if your body didn’t age? Your mind was still exposed to the passage of time.”

“To be honest, I was out of my mind until I met you, so I don’t remember much of anything. It feels like I entered the Abyss just yesterday. So mentally, I’m thirty-three. Thirty-three.”

Je Ilheon, who wasn’t usually one to insist on such things, emphasized “thirty-three” as if he resented that twenty-two years had passed in a blink — but Yu Jiha barely heard him.

If he was born in the 70s, that made him older than Jiha’s parents. The mouth that had casually called him “ajusshi” until now suddenly started to feel very uneasy. The idea of calling him “hyung” had long since vanished. The Confucian dragon in his blood roared in protest. Then what should he call him? Elder? Mr. Senior? Ancestor?

Je Ilheon noticed Yu Jiha’s eyes shaking violently and changed the subject with a barely stifled smile.

“By the way, it’s late. Did you call your parents?”

Right. He had completely forgotten. In the confusion, he’d lost track of time — it was already past 4 a.m. As chaotic as everything was, he finally had a good excuse to leave. Jiha grabbed his phone and hurried out of the office.

Once Jiha had left, Je Ilheon stretched lightly, loosening up his body.

“They really changed the interior a lot while I was gone.”

Looking at him with a glare, like he was acting way too at ease for someone who’d just returned from the dead, Kang Sook-young finally voiced the question she’d been holding onto for twenty-two years — a question she hadn’t dared ask with an outsider present just moments before.

“Where’s Yeo-jin?”

“Why would you ask me about her?”

“Because you both disappeared together!”

Unlike her anxious tone, his reaction was infuriatingly nonchalant. Sook-young slammed her fist on the table. Then, realizing she was losing her composure, she took a deep breath to calm down.

“Things got so bad there were even rumors you two ran off together after having an affair and taking a kid with you.”

“A rumor with zero input from the people actually involved. Even if I were the last man on Earth, Yeo-jin would probably wonder if she might’ve been bisexual all along.”

“Then why did you disappear together?”

“I told you — I don’t know. She lost her husband and mother-in-law to monsters on the same day. She was probably in shock. Maybe she shaved her head and entered a monastery or something.”

Sook-young’s face twisted further.

“…You say that way too easily. Her husband was your beloved school junior, and yet you talk like—”

Before she could finish, Je Ilheon opened the door. Jiha, who had already finished his call with his family but hadn’t been able to come back in because of the loud voices, flinched.

“Sorry, kept you waiting?”

He lightly patted Jiha’s hair and leaned against the doorframe with a show of weariness.

“I really don’t know where Yeo-jin is. I just want to rest now, so lend me a room. Before that… how are my siblings? Are they all doing okay?”

“Haah… I really hate that guy.”

Sook-young muttered a string of curses under her breath.

“No one’s dead or hurt, so don’t worry. And your father passed away two years ago.”

“Oh, really? Then he must’ve died peacefully, believing his eldest son was already dead. That’s a good death.”

“For the record, I donated five million won for the funeral.”

“Thanks. I’ll give you ten million when it’s your funeral.”

“You rich bastard, what’s ten million? The minimum is one hundred million.”

Waving him away like she was done with him, Sook-young signaled him to get lost. Je Ilheon chuckled softly and closed the door behind him. Talk of dead fathers being “a good death” and funeral donations — it was a blistering exchange, and Jiha was dumbfounded by the heat of it. But one thing was clear: the two of them were close. So close, the twenty-year gap didn’t even register.

…It was a shallow thought, but still, being close with the head of a national agency seemed kind of amazing. Jiha’s dilemma over how to address him deepened.

“Your parents must’ve been really worried?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah! I got totally chewed out. I went off the grid a couple months ago too after drinking, so…”

He couldn’t exactly confess that he’d run into a monster, so he glossed it over. But both his parents and older sister had laid into him. And honestly, even if he told the truth, they’d probably just nag him more about drinking.

Deputy Chief Jang soon approached.

“The Director asked me to guide you to the overnight room. And as for you, sir, I’ll drive you home.”

“My place is in Suwon…”

“Even if it were in Busan, I’d still have to take you there.”

It was a relief to know he’d be able to get home safely, but… Jiha’s eyes involuntarily shifted sideways. The presence of a tall adult man — someone so imposing he had to crane his neck to look up at him — was something he’d never really been aware of in his life. And yet now, his head was full of thoughts about someone he’d only met a few hours ago.

From trivial concerns like how to address him, to heavier questions like: if they parted now, would they never see each other again?

‘Phone number… ah, he probably doesn’t have a phone.’

He’d been missing for twenty-two years — no way his number was still active. But asking for an email or home address felt awkward too. As Jiha hesitated, feeling a strange sense of regret, Je Ilheon tilted his head gently.

“Jiha, what did you tell your parents when you called?”

“I said I was sleeping over at a friend’s place so they wouldn’t worry.”

“Then… could you stay with me tonight?”

“…What?”

“I had a partner in the Abyss for twenty-two years. Being alone now… it’s going to be really lonely. Just for tonight, could you keep me company? Help me adjust back to reality.”

“M-me…?”

He had been reluctant to part, sure, but that didn’t mean he wanted to become play partners. As Jiha hesitated, Ilheon laughed softly and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“…?!”

Then, with Jiha still stunned and babbling, the man lifted him effortlessly in his arms and strode off. With Deputy Chief Jang leading the way, Jiha didn’t dare struggle — his face was flushed red.

And just like that, they arrived at the overnight room. As soon as Ilheon set him down, Jiha darted into the shower. A blast of cold water calmed the heat, but the lingering sensation of lips on his skin refused to fade. Get a grip. Under the shower, Jiha slapped his cheeks.

It didn’t feel like anything weird — more like a casual peck you’d give a kid. From the perspective of someone born in the 70s, a guy born in the 2000s must still look like a baby, no matter how adult he might legally be. A grandpa giving his grandkid a kiss wasn’t that strange… right?

He consoled himself with nonsense and stepped back out — only to find Je Ilheon waiting, unrolling some bandages in his hands. A chill ran down Jiha’s spine. No way. No way.

“Am… am I supposed to tie you up with those?”

“Hmm? You like that kind of play? Okay. If my Jiha wants to abandon me, I have no choice but to go along. I’m always ready. Make sure to tie me nice and pretty so I can’t get loose.”

“Uwaagh!”

Jiha tried to flee the room in a panic, but before he could reach the doorknob, he was caught. Ilheon smiled shyly and grasped his ankle. Wasn’t I supposed to be the one tying him up?! He didn’t want to be the one getting tied!

But thankfully — or perhaps regretfully — it wasn’t some bondage-abandonment play. The next thing Ilheon pulled out was gel patches.

‘Ah… he was going to treat me…?’

Jiha felt a little embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.

Ilheon applied the gel patch and began taping Jiha’s ankle, his hands as precise and meticulous as they had been in the Abyss. Watching the man tend to his foot so gently, Jiha’s racing heart began to calm, replaced by a ticklish feeling — like soft fluff brushing against his chest.

He’d never really cared what his toes looked like before, but suddenly he was self-conscious. Hopefully they didn’t look weird.

Once Ilheon finished taping, he cupped Jiha’s foot in his hand.