Chapter 71

"Do you have someone you like?"

Seo-un doubted his ears.

<Indonesia, Sulawesi, July 15th, a Stage 6 mutant is expected to appear. It will be the first human mutant on Earth.>

It felt like two bombs had exploded in his head simultaneously.

"…Human?"

Seo-un's mutter made Chahaya frown.

"Do you like all humans?"

"No, no, a mutant!"

This time, a more unpleasant reaction was added. Then, as if in deeper contemplation, a low sigh followed.

"…Did you hug the toad because of that?"

The stench and mucus of the mutant toad, which he had forgotten, came back to mind.

"No, you idiot! A human mutant is going to appear!"

Chahaya, who had opened her eyes in surprise, soon placed her hands on her hips.

"Alright, but Cha Seo-un, you still haven't answered my question?"

With a human mutant appearing, it shouldn't matter who I like, right? But he seemed more annoyed that his question was ignored.

"Hey, that's not important right now."

"Do you know the person?"

"There's no such person, it's just that the mutant is human?"

"You don't have someone you like?"

This seemed like it would lead to endless circular questions.

Chahaya wanted a clear yes or no answer. But asking if he had someone he had given his heart to seemed somewhat ridiculous. Perhaps because of that, it wasn't hard to answer honestly.

"There was, but I gave up a long time ago."

"Did they die?"

He was bewildered by how he reached that conclusion but soon realized why.

This kid has never failed in love. If he had a crush, he would have dated without much difficulty, so there was no premise of it not working out. Moreover, he has never liked a man, so there was no chance of failure.

Seo-un's heart felt colder than the chill from the bathroom.

"I'll handle my love life, so don't worry. You said you have an uncle in Indonesia, Sulawesi? A human mutant will appear there, and the date is July 15th. Try to contact your uncle as soon as possible."

He only knew about the human mutant, so his uncle was his main concern. At the very least, Chahaya should be in Indonesia by the mutant's appearance date, right?

The problem was that as a notable mutant, Chahaya wouldn't be able to travel abroad easily. While Seo-un was thinking about this, Chahaya narrowed her eyes.

"Shrew, you're not getting a hunch but talking as if you received information from someone?"

…Mistake.

He had always said he got a hunch about mutant alerts, but this time he didn't have the presence of mind to package it as a message.

He had told other guild members that he had reawakened as an elephant shrew, but Chahaya knew him as a Seer.

He didn't know how much she knew about Seers, but since she was friends with DK Seer, she must know at least as much as he did.

Seers were said to glimpse certain scenes of mutants appearing as if in a dream, even while living their daily lives. The surroundings would turn white and pass by like a premonition. That's why he couldn't get perfect information about mutants.

If it weren't for the phone call with Seo-yeong, the registrar who left the Oseong Guild, he wouldn't have known this information. Through the call, he also learned some new facts about the Gate.

But why did the Messenger tell him not to reveal its existence?

He had been receiving help from the Messenger, but he had no idea what it was. At first, he suspected it was a prank by a mental mutant. However, there were no known mutants that could perfectly read others' thoughts, and the information provided by the Messenger was too accurate to be dismissed as hallucinations.

So he had assumed the Messenger was a new ability like a Seer. But the Messenger's premonitions were almost omniscient, surpassing the known abilities of Seers.

Perhaps the Messenger exists for all top-tier Seers?

Kim Seo-kyung is said to have reawakened as a top-tier Seer, but that's just the Oseong Guild's opinion. Kim Seo-kyung hasn't predicted the appearance of a Stage 6 mutant yet.

Of course, a Stage 6 mutant hasn't appeared in the country yet...

"Who is it?"

Chahaya blocked his wandering gaze.

"Who is who?"

Seo-un swallowed hard, trying to find an excuse.

"Whether you're a Seer or hiding your loss of power, it's fine with me. You can tell others, but not me."

The Messenger said it would disappear if he revealed its existence. In other words, he had to hide it somehow. It felt wrong to lie to Chahaya, but he had no choice but to deny it.

"Why are you getting so serious? Other Seers see mutants appearing in their dreams, but I get a clear signal."

Seo-un pointed to his heart and joked that there was an elephant shrew there.

<This time, it will really disappear. What a thrilling experience! 'Impromptu Elephant Shrew' awakened!>

He wanted to tell Chahaya the truth, but if the Messenger disappeared, he wouldn't even be at a lower level.

"Will you just believe me?"

"Believe or not, it's true."

"Will you believe me?"

Chahaya's eyes were cold and unblinking, giving off a sense that she would eventually demand the truth, like the day she pierced the sofa with Mata Hari.

"Then they died?"

Seo-un, confused by her question, was impressed by her persistence. He even thought she might have asked about the previous doubts just to get to this question.

"…No, they didn't die."

The person I like is still alive and pressuring me.

"But why did you give up? Were they younger?"

You like kids, right? That's what you said.

"Are you crazy? I just find kids cute."

"Then, are there many?"

"Why are you suddenly so curious?"

"Are you sure you gave up?"

Could this kid... have noticed? If he had, he wouldn't have asked if the person was younger or older.

"Hey, I don't want to talk about this with you. I've never been curious about your love life."

Chahaya's eyelids closed and opened calmly.

"I've shown you everything."

Seo-un frowned, thinking she was saying something absurd.

"I've never hidden the people I've dated from you."

If he hadn't seen them, he might not have suffered, but he saw them clearly and suffered.

"I just had a brief crush on someone in the past, but it didn't work out. That's it."

"Did you confess?"

"No."

"Why?"

It's not a crime to like someone, but it felt like an interrogation.

"The person I liked was already in a relationship."

"If you had confessed, they might have switched."

What a jerk. What's the difference between taking someone else's partner and what you're suggesting?

"Did you do a lot of switching?"

"Switching? I was always abandoned at the station."

"What?"

"I was just an accessory."

Chahaya laughed as if nothing had happened.

"An accessory that's nice to have around, but once you realize it's a fake, you throw it away. Because I'm poor."

What kind of relationships did this guy have?

Seo-un couldn't think of anything to say. From high school, rumors about Chahaya were rampant. Some couldn't accept his poverty and made up false family histories, while others attacked him for being poor.

Seo-un also knew that Chahaya had been dumped a few times because of money.

"Kid, you must have had someone you genuinely liked."

"You're comforting me because I'm poor? If you saw my house, would you want to run away again?"

Chahaya's misunderstanding was inevitable, as it was all due to his own slip of the tongue.

'I couldn't even go to the snack bar without feeling self-conscious, and I couldn't casually suggest going out to play.'

'You were a shameless kid who sucked my wallet dry, and I was a fool. I didn't like how kids talked freely, got it?'

Seo-un shook his head, feeling guilty.

"What do you mean? You've climbed from a basement to the top floor of a building, and I'm proud of you. Chahaya, you've donated all your wealth and are a great kid. Honestly, if you put your mind to it, you could be richer than me."

Seo-un praised him as much as he could, feeling guilty.

"Shrew, then you can't run away, right?"

Her tone was playful, but her eyes were like a hunter looking for a mouse that had overturned the house.

"If you do, you'll have to kiss my ass a thousand times."

Despite the chill down his spine, Seo-un just pursed his lips.

He didn't miss Chahaya all the time when he was away. He had even tried to date other people. He had even wondered if his preferences were influenced by Chahaya, but he realized in his freshman year of college that it wasn't the case. When a guy with a stench approached him, he immediately felt repulsed.

But the reason he couldn't form other relationships was all because of Chahaya. The guy had completely messed up his habits. No one had treated him as well as Chahaya, so he always compared others to him.

<'Mangchu,' a human mutant.>

His tone of voice made him snap back to reality. Right, this isn't the time for that.

<'Gate' is trying to summon 'the elephant shrew Cha Seo-un who has forgotten his duty.'>

Trying to summon me now?!