IH Ch 109

Chapter 109

“What are you doing?”

“…….”

Dohwa swiftly climbed onto the sofa and hugged his raised knees, as though wanting to insist he had definitely not gone down there and gotten that close to the beast. But since Jae-i had already seen it, he simply stared at Dohwa with a towel draped over his head.

Even if he wanted to pretend ignorance, that piercing gaze made it impossible. Under that intense look, Dohwa sneaked a glance at him. He must have rushed up in quite a hurry—the training pants he had thrown on were crumpled, and the upper half of his body as well as his hair were still damp from not being properly dried.

Lowering both feet to the floor, Dohwa motioned to him.

“Come here.”

“…….”

If he called, Jae-i would come again.

Dragging his feet, Jae-i stopped right before Dohwa and glared sharply at the beast trapped behind steel bars. The creature that had, moments earlier, come all the way to Dohwa was now sprawled far away on the floor.

He now understood that its limpness was nothing more than a ploy to disarm its target. Clicking his tongue in distaste, Jae-i pushed the table away hard with the tip of his foot. The heavy table screeched across the floor. Flinching, the beast opened one eye, but upon meeting Jae-i’s murderous stare, promptly shut it again.

“That damn thing…”

When he took one large step forward, Dohwa hurriedly grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t do that. Sit here. Water’s dripping from your hair.”

As Dohwa kept tugging him by the wrist, Jae-i reluctantly sat at the edge of the sofa. Dohwa quickly raised his knees and leaned close beside him, resting his hand on the towel.

“…….”

He had stopped Jae-i because it looked like he might throw the entire cage out the window. But now he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Then he remembered—Jae-i had once dried his hair for him. His long hair had been scrubbed roughly, the dryer blasting his scalp until it burned. His head had shaken everywhere in those big hands. Dohwa remembered how he had braced his neck just to endure it and, thinking of that, applied the faintest pressure with his fingertips.

“…….”

From Dohwa’s perspective, he was being cautious and gentle because he knew what it felt like. But from Jae-i’s perspective, it was unclear whether Dohwa was drying his hair or tickling him. Still, the touch felt pleasant, so he stayed still. Just when his expression seemed to relax, he caught the beast sneaking glances again and glared sharply. Ready to bite or pounce at any moment, his aura made the creature squeeze its eyes shut even tighter.

“…….”

Seeing that, it was clear the beast was not unintelligent. It had awareness—far too much of it. And with that awareness, it had dared attack Dohwa.

The moment it bit Dohwa’s hair, Jae-i had nearly lost his mind. No, he probably had lost half of it. It had been only an instant, but in that instant, half of Dohwa’s hair vanished as though sliced off, and Jae-i had unleashed fire, turning the entire parking lot into chaos.

It was a miracle nobody had been hurt. The corpse of another beast—one already dead—had been reduced to ashes in the process. Meanwhile, Ahn Yuna had trapped the attacking beast under a strange bronze bowl, flipping it neatly upside-down before calming Jae-i and checking whether Dohwa was injured.

Thankfully, Dohwa was unharmed. He had only lost his hair.

Jae-i had often seen Dohwa toss back his long hair, or frown subtly at night when the strands got caught under his back. It never looked bad, but Dohwa did seem bothered by it, so Jae-i had vaguely considered trimming it someday. Just… not like this.

Pushing aside the towel that had slid over his face, Jae-i looked beside him. Dohwa was kneeling on the sofa, and his chest—and the uneven ends of his hair—were plainly visible.

“…….”

He felt an overwhelming surge of displeasure.

His jaw tightened; a low, dangerous sound resonated. The hand rubbing his hair paused at once. Dohwa, head lowered, asked carefully:

“…Did that hurt?”

“No.”

If anything, it tickled. Jae-i reached out and touched Dohwa’s hair. The hair tied low now fit easily in one hand. Too easily. A shame—he had liked how Dohwa’s long hair curled around his fingers.

He said nothing, but he kept touching it, and Dohwa seemed to sense the mood. He touched his own hair.

“It’ll grow back soon.”

Then he lightly grasped and released the uneven section.

“…Do I look bad like this?”

“…….”

Jae-i tore his gaze from the black strands and lifted his head.

Dohwa grabbed his own hair with both hands, mumbling:

“Was it better when it was long?”

“No. I don’t care if you have hair or not.”

“…….”

“I just hate that damn beast for laying a hand on you.”

He had liked the feeling of Dohwa’s long hair wrapping around his fingers. But it was not something he would be upset over losing. He didn’t want Dohwa worrying about such things, so he added immediately:

“I just hated that it touched you. Hair grows back like you said. And if it’s uncomfortable, you can cut it shorter—I don’t mind.”

That was Dohwa’s choice.

“For me… it’s just that…”

What Jae-i hated was the moment he saw that fist-sized creature leap at Dohwa, the moment Dohwa seemed in danger. It was utterly intolerable.

Everything at the Association before arriving here had worsened his mood. Those people had dredged up Dohwa’s past and tried to use it as leverage against him.

“…….”

Jae-i grabbed the towel on his head and threw it toward the steel bars. It fluttered down, covering the cage. Dohwa’s eyes instinctively followed it, but a large hand cupped his chin, turning his face back.

“Sit,” Jae-i said quietly, his atmosphere shifting.

Dohwa obediently sat down. Jae-i looked at him, then tucked a few loose strands behind his ear. Truthfully, Dohwa should have washed up first. But the thought of the beast having touched Dohwa’s hair bothered him too much.

So he had plucked the severed strands and handed them to Ahn Yuna, telling her to examine them. If nothing was wrong, he intended to wash and trim them afterward. Ahn Yuna had stared at him like he was being ridiculous and said, “If nothing’s happening to his body now, that should mean it’s fine.” Jae-i ignored her.

His expression must have been extreme because Ahn Yuna nodded reluctantly and said she would check. Then she added that the beast should stay here for now.

“It doesn’t seem ordinary. Those steel bars can restrain even an S-rank beast, so it’s safer if the guildmaster keeps it. Carrying it outside might cause attention. At least here, no one comes in casually, and everyone knows to keep quiet.”

The guard nearby nodded in agreement. He had been sent flying earlier when the beast struck him, but thanks to his sturdy protective gear, he escaped major injury. The parking garage was destroyed by the fire, so no one had wanted to stay there longer.

Jae-i had postponed vaporizing the beast with his own hands until the examination came back. For now, he had left it in the room, though it still bothered him. Perhaps he should move it to the storage room.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“…….”

Looking at Dohwa again, after a brief hesitation, Jae-i finally spoke.

“It seems the Association has learned a lot about you.”

The documents handed over by the chairman were thick, filled with neatly stacked lists of the dead. Remembering the very last page—his own name—Jae-i forced open his tightly shut lips.

“Is your final target still me?”

Dohwa’s expression froze. After a moment, he shook his head weakly.

“No.”

“Why?”

Dohwa hesitated, lowering his head. His pale skin warmed faintly with color. Seeing that, Jae-i narrowed his eyes. Then a whisper slipped out:

“…Because I like you.”

“…….”

“Because I’ve come to like you.”

They hadn’t made him watch endless footage of Hwang Jae-i for romantic reasons. They had wanted to find his weaknesses and exploit them. But Dohwa had fallen for him anyway. He didn’t even know why—he simply liked him more the more he saw him.

But to what extent had the Association investigated him? Who had provided them with information? The Association had publicly declared that they had eliminated all major figures linked to Lee Myeonghwan, but perhaps some had survived. If dangerous ones remained and regained power… what then? What if someone other than him targeted Jae-i?

At that thought, Dohwa flinched at the hand touching his cheek and looked up. Jae-i had leaned in close.

“…Are you angry?” he whispered.

“Yeah. But for another reason.”

“…….”

“To be honest, I don’t care what you’ve done to survive until now.”

What he hated was that the chairman had even been holding documents about Dohwa.

Normally, the Association could have taken Dohwa away from him with just that. The only reason they hadn’t was because of Hwang Hajin. They knew Jae-i would react badly because of that man. So they intended to use Dohwa to mollify him.