Chapter 65

Chahya wandered.

From the park to the Han River, and finally to the East Sea.

People usually feel an urge to nibble and suck when they see something adorable. However, no matter how cute, he didn't want to suck on a puppy, and the mouth of a wriggling fish was just ridiculous.

Just as he tried to find a reason when Seo-un distanced herself from him, he needed a clear reason for his own actions. Despite traveling the country in search of answers, he couldn't find any.

Chahya, entrusting his body to the waves of the East Sea, gazed at the sun, which was so bright it hurt his eyes. His body had drifted far from the shore.

“Do you like him?”

“The one who broke the site, it was you, right?”

Eumji-geun's words were spot on. Of course, he liked Seo-un, which is why he took down the site that was treating her so badly.

But what makes me any different from those guys?

I became a thief, stealing a kiss from Seo-un while she was sleeping, and to my embarrassment, I got an erection. After the kiss, I just stood there.

Chahya glanced down at his lower body, but there was no reaction now.

He had never felt an uncontrollable urge to kiss someone, not even the dog he raised in Sulawesi.

“Just friends?”

If there were people who toyed with Han Don-hee or Kang San in that way...?

Would I have done the same?

Leaving all else aside, I should have confessed to Seo-un first that I kissed her while she was sleeping. If it were the Seo-un I know, she might get angry or demand an explanation.

What would I say in response?

Chahya's inner turmoil was louder than the surging waves.

At that moment, a pungent smell, which he initially thought was the sea, was spreading in all directions.

Everything is so troublesome...

Chahya turned his cold face and submerged himself in the sea. He had no intention of hunting mutants and swam back to the shore. From the deep sea, something was rapidly approaching. It was a jellyfish with an opaque brown bell and thousands of red tentacles, at least 10 meters in diameter, clearly a mutant.

As Chahya tried to pass by, the jellyfish curled its large body and extended its tentacles, closing the distance in one swift motion.

The jellyfish's appendages, extending from under the bell, looked like four legs, each covered with thousands of tentacles.

Upon spotting prey, the jellyfish shot out stinging cells. When the stinging cells hit Chahya's arm, red spots appeared and then disappeared.

For Chahya, it was just a slight tingling, but for a normal person, it would be fatal. Ignoring the mutant, which clung like gum, he swam toward the shore.

If it followed, he would deal with it; if it didn't, he would leave it alone. Given its size and toxicity, it was probably a level 3 threat.

The jellyfish's venom caused underwater creatures to sink or float. Although he could handle it underwater, Chahya didn't want to waste the energy. That changed when the jellyfish wrapped its tentacles around his leg. He grabbed the jellyfish's bell with his hand.

Swimming with the jellyfish in hand, it desperately shot out stinging cells. The blue sea turned red with the jellyfish's venom as Chahya approached the shore.

Shaking his head, he pulled the jellyfish onto the sand. The creature, which had inflated in the sea, now lay limp, its tentacles writhing.

With a thud, he tore the jellyfish, which was several times larger than his body, with his hands.

As he ripped the four appendages, red fluid gushed out. The thousands of eggs it carried burst, causing people nearby to scream.

Chahya didn't release any cosmos to protect himself while tearing the mutant apart. It was only a level 3 threat, and any lingering toxicity would soon dissipate. So, this was partly a way to vent his frustration. It was a price to pay for the discomfort he felt while floating in the sea.

Chahya, drenched in blood, walked on the sand. Behind him, the mutant's body burned. He got into his car without bothering to clean the stench.

Red spots appeared on Chahya's body due to the venom, but they were hidden by the red fluid. He pressed the accelerator without knowing where he was heading.

The venom seemed to contain a substance that stimulated his sympathetic nervous system, making his hearing more acute. His vision also sharpened, and the midday light flickered brilliantly.

The cars ahead seemed to move slowly, so he increased his speed. The engine's heating sound was like thunder overhead. The tunnel lights were as bright as the sun, and his nerve cells were on edge, heightening his senses.

He placed his phone on the wireless charger. If it was damaged by seawater, there was nothing he could do, but if it worked, that was enough. Despite his heightened nervous system, he felt powerless. As soon as the power turned on, messages flooded in.

[Where are you? I met Lee Gwan-ung from the Ohseong Guild today. I called Han Don-hee because you weren't here.]

The last message was a text, received about 20 minutes ago.

I called Han Don-hee because you weren't here.

The words stuck in his mind like a fixed photo. He pressed the accelerator harder. He sent a message to Han Don-hee asking where she was.

Everything seemed to move so slowly that it was almost boring.

[Meeting at the guild headquarters. You went AWOL, and Cha Seo-un is extremely angry.]

Chahya threw his phone onto the charging pad. The rattling sound from the car's movement was annoying. He threw the phone behind him and faced forward. His eyes, red from lack of sleep since leaving Seo-un's house, were bloodshot.

I called Han Don-hee because you weren't here.

This feeling was like the dirty sensation he experienced at the theme park.

If he were to be precise, the reason wasn't elsewhere. Since the person he did something despicable to was Seo-un, the answer would be with Seo-un. With his nervous system in chaos, Chahya's thoughts were almost cut off.

***

“I'm going to lose it.”

Seo-un circled Chahya's room in the guild building.

The meeting was interrupted when Chahya fainted, but that wasn't the main issue. Even though this was his first unexpected visit to Chahya's home, he had no time to enjoy it.

The shock of seeing the room's interior was brief; he first needed to clean the fluid off Chahya's body. Since then, he had been waiting for Chahya to wake up.

However, as an hour passed, then two, Chahya's condition became strange. Gradually, he was shrinking, or rather, getting younger.

He considered calling Han Don-hee, who had returned home, but knew she wouldn't provide any answers.

Should I call Jo Gyeong-min?

He didn't want to inform someone who didn't like Chahya about his condition. Over several hours, Chahya shrank to his high school and even middle school size, which Seo-un had never seen.

Is it because of the mutant? Or a side effect of using the gate?

Chahya was the first to use the gate. If this is a side effect, it would be a significant issue for all manseong.

Seo-un wiped the sweat from Chahya's forehead. His forehead was now small enough to be covered by Seo-un's hand.

He had been calling Chahya desperately, but there was no response. Finally, he had to call Jo Gyeong-min as a last resort. If Jo Gyeong-min tried anything funny, he vowed to destroy his healer guild.

Jo Gyeong-min arrived when Chahya had shrunk to about seven years old. Is he going to become a baby? Seo-un, running his fingers through his hair, paced anxiously.

“Is this a prison?”

Jo Gyeong-min, entering the room, surveyed the surroundings and clicked his tongue.

Chahya's home on the top floor of the guild building had only a bathroom and a combined living room and bedroom. Apart from a bed and a desk with a laptop, there were no other pieces of furniture.

It looked worse than a typical studio apartment. No one would believe this was the home of the top manseong.

“What's with this kid? Are you kidnapping children now?”

Jo Gyeong-min scolded Seo-un, who was pacing like a madman.

“You should have a reason for calling someone. Don't tell me... did you kill this kid's parents?”

He looked disappointed, saying they were that hopeless.

“If you don't keep this secret, I'll do everything in my power to destroy you and your guild.”

Jo Gyeong-min initially reacted as if Seo-un was talking nonsense but then scowled.

“You called for help, but now you're threatening me?”

Seo-un showed no reaction, only staring with his purple eyes. Despite his sharp features, his eyes usually felt warm, but now they were cold. This must be a serious matter. Jo Gyeong-min clicked his tongue.

“Tell me what's going on. I'll keep the secret as long as it's not a crime.”

“It's Chahya.”

“What?”

“The kid lying there is Chahya.”