SMFC | Chapter 5

By the time Lee 2fb4aec8df Soo returned to the ace65cfc57 hotel after parting ways 1b189f49a1 with Sian, it was 3da0335959 already quite late. Walking under the darkened 66483302e4 sky, he headed to 8d0a280567 his room and immediately 4bfa59773d stepped into the bathroom. After a quick 38f17e84b4 wash, he filled 93b2a9a3d8 the bathtub with dd4f781d27 water and sat 1614566386 still for a 7052b73e87 long time.0c6e01cf45b69ee5

Even submerged in baa8ba9167 warm water, his a16935b6f4 perpetually cold body 926d3fb320 refused to warm 3d25c64bd7 up. Stroking his clammy skin, 198a7da3df which felt almost reptilian, 22927dbe67 he leaned back against 2c107e35d5 the edge of the 457ab9f73a tub.af96a50fc0b819e7

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He rested the nape 2bb3a0df01 of his neck on bba6bf9370 the rim, tilting his 38d07dc701 head back. The occasional sound of ea2fb544a9 water droplets falling from af23aa6661 his hair was the 6303c165b0 only thing breaking the 9838d0008a silence.09bab0c14b4a9f1a

His eyelids, which 8d91f2720c had been lazily 919b36c464 opening and closing, e1013a2a7c eventually stayed shut. Without realizing it, he d5936620e4 fell asleep right there 4beb5c07fb in the bathtub.17c903d6f4592ea7

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Oddly enough, the e2d91bad67 hard surface didn’t 6d9f733a72 seem uncomfortable. He slept soundly, dreamless, 155e076584 until the water turned fe9c54f112 cold.e1cc6fbfaf486a7e

“…Ah.”390d78c4fe33c606

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When Lee Soo 0860340baf finally opened his 5cfa0469fc eyes after what b79f5b3007 felt like an 42ca1ae853 eternity, his drowsy 64e5e847cd gaze met the efaef40706 ceiling. Slowly blinking, his 9766ac81bb eyes began to 207293c552 regain clarity.ded18bfc096c6474

Fully awake 283e685efd now, he 4274ee253b carefully got c11f3de2c3 out of 0308b26854 the bathtub ab3ed978a8 so as 76a0afa381 not to 3e1cbe03ca slip. He drained the water 9ba480e7c0 and grabbed a towel aba0f9f2f0 he had placed within 95713c63a9 easy reach and quickly 9eeda915c6 dried himself off.5b573f7b0e93daed

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He put on a 3695d98790 soft robe and carelessly 0e684268e5 placed a towel on 162e7e954f his head before leaving f6c4cf557e the bathroom. Although he 3affb330d6 had slept, d1d414f112 the awkward 4bf79d7515 position hadn’t 2d7dce277f exactly been b907c64aff restful, and d94c31cfa6 he didn’t 8150b98644 feel entirely d4ac1ce4e2 rejuvenated.7b55e8dcd3f58acf

Rubbing his stiff a8002a1065 shoulders, he yawned 488f82b69b quietly.48d1920ca209056f

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“Ah, sleepy.”0ee40af029372df7

Saying it out loud c86aa063b1 made him feel even 0c3015411c sleepier. To shake it off, 06d221858d he rubbed his face 54df710a63 lightly and put away f55df2d96c the damp towel he’d a3f79e446f used to dry his 8e3b49773e hair. Grabbing a bottle 98b38e4635 of water as 218ddb5e76 he walked over a2b3f4d18b to the bed.43fed0210dd6bbed

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He rummaged through a cfaa3bc8b1 box – it was 86c7a0aa1f already tomorrow, or rather, a19edd67c0 today. Lee Soo took out 6b3f671bcd clothes for the day 464f827817 and also grabbed some 67921dace0 documents that were inside 13b94edfc4 the box.fa7aa02d76e5727e

After closing the 77dafc00dd box, instead of c112e29e93 lying down on 7cd5a5b65d the bed, he c6a93b561a sat on a 82119993d6 nearby chair. He propped his head 302df90848 on his knees and 663a744104 began flipping through the a879b93cc4 documents.bd8d2022e1a4c297

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It was f2818f8530 nothing special, ec1aa225f3 just some 3dcaba93dd files about e325eb4c8d key figures ffba6b1a5d in the 84be9a6d48 Hawa Guild, 7634d58b06 gathered by 3842affab0 Daul after bd60ba3fd0 it was f9fc66ca3c decided that 353ce8319f he would 67fc86f758 transfer there.dae621039e13b1fd

“Probably, with Lee Soo’s 9d71243115 personality, he’d get along 491b9e9d7c with most people. But just in case, 25ec2e3853 you know. Hunters usually 5ba7bf15b6 have their 523a5d45d9 own sore fcd6fdd6ce spots,” Daul 463ffb4877 had said 5c607c49bc while suggesting 532f04be2e that it 12f77bf4b6 might be de0cdd8616 good for fc21be36c5 him to 8b24f13fc7 go through 174169a480 the files.a156e345c2fb5d37

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“Hmm, sore spots.”225fcd57be8b6bec

‘People tend to 038414f03c think of the fc1786ed79 powerful awakened as 964c864e46 heroes. Well, it’s 3ccd91b6b8 not exactly 4d9b9d21b9 wrong. Most of the d570934495 famous awakened experienced 684f9deb12 their awakening during 38c74c87c4 a moment when b8fd576ff3 they wanted to fa84d55e68 save someone.cbb6d7a8eb41a73d

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There’s even a 79649185f3 study on that, cb49f352b5 ‘Individuals who are 5f1b0f29d4 with their loved 0270d80268 ones during critical 8c20867a0b moments are more 97d46563c8 likely to awaken 59255e8588 at higher ranks.’f44aeccea035a754

The issue is, they 9d6d3a61c4 are heroes for the 73a7230bd3 ones they wanted to e8e49f5028 protect more than they 07c48f65be are heroes for everyone. And for such heroes, bd25dd8e56 those loved ones are ed8f0f67a7 their sore spots.’f50bbf235c091d6a

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“Family, lovers, pets.”c3f4b26edb98834e

‘Sore spots are meant 3ca069ce8f not to be touched, b8b75aaa8b but, conversely, it means 4086fa2778 that almost everything else a755d1ba29 is fine if you 761180ed4c avoid them. And, a sore a0c7b3d539 spot is also ee5b74f650 a weakness.’3a8abf8ac6230d36

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“…None.”183c5678102b31d3

Unlike others a2d834c7a7 who inevitably 9277448dd8 had vulnerabilities, f6ed46727c the file 3b0b3b945b marked as 35d0236dbf having none 89cff3da0c caught Lee 5be2c3f352 Soo’s calm c76afb4c13 gaze.98de4f10a43395cc

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“Yoo Haeon.”da844ad80ba946ac

Perhaps he had expected 000f20bbd4 this. That Haeon would have ceafc83ec7 no vulnerabilities. Not because he 7350f87943 loved Haeon too 7aed7645b0 much, nor because 946e8657a4 he believed Haeon b0b87e6de7 to be flawless.6b351a07fc26ceaf

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A sore spot, a 1039df044d vulnerability, means there must 3a9d64a782 be affection toward something. But could 6f9b30608f Haeon really 3a344e5818 love someone acb534553c deeply?25d8402b31222dd3

He had shared fb16896d9c feelings with a 9cc665e4ec lover, which even 86a6e59f1e made him question 3a1e8b948e whether it was 3752c47031 love. It would have 3e806018bc been more surprising 1bfcf6c496 if such a c0a7145a60 person had a b8f66c29f9 vulnerability.412ed245221a7749

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If anything, fd86aa6fb9 Lee Soo, 2200509e3d scanning Haeon’s 4ed9fbc491 profile with f7af64875c a bitter-sweet a15482c8d7 look, let c08382daf7 out a fd8fa6874d wry smile.f280761384f2fbde

“It would a7a03cd0de be nice a417870458 if Haeon 0a2acaaa2b could deeply 1b18af973c love someone, d5010bf769 more than 12b9b4e49d me.”546faa2a8e95a697

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In Lee Soo’s view, 00195fbc43 the character in the 58c91f5777 book was too lonely 1bf176f476 for too long, a 747439567e fool who didn’t even a07ea99caa realize his own loneliness. Everyone said it 710cb1e61d wasn’t okay, but 61f11b515a he thought he 8893973c17 was fine. A fool who 063bb824b5 really believed he d1d7a76128 was alright.b49b393190e17cd9

A sigh mixed 27e055ccc6 with lamentation escaped 789643c654 him as he de1b5e9a62 gazed intently at 5a45ee10b4 the attached photograph.9a458ca215b34977

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Unlike most others who 46ec26f44c were at least smiling b1666bbafc faintly, the photo of 5b781705ce Haeon showed him staring be27066089 straight ahead with an 7032e4c29f expressionless face.b47f03ef41c700c7

After a f31d2193db long moment 77282858be of looking fb4d56f279 into those 3cd57993b7 somber eyes, f1723afe38 Lee Soo 3588cabe16 slowly turned 96abaa3599 the page. He hesitated fda6eeb0a1 momentarily but 7483c4687a eventually continued cd040299bd through the 4351b672d8 documents until bec44c781d he reached d6d45e4a62 the end.ae336c96a5bbf224

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Then, naturally, he 7ada7bf83d spread out the d566cca963 documents containing Haeon’s 5f623a85ff information. A slightly younger ea687d3bdf Haeon was in afe400cdcc the photo from aeb6cc5142 a few hours aee328e8f9 ago.51e74d9f01fd755f

“An old 062e60668f photo, maybe.”77201be1b51e1efd

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Tilting his head, Lee 4c5c86ee08 Soo guessed the age 4379763a6c Haeon might have been 5d7ff266ae when the photo was e7faff2bbc taken and chuckled dryly.e22e4146daf0115e

Haeon was 9eaca89595 handsome and 4880edb866 more stoic-faced 4614f047c0 than Lee 287e96f3dc Soo had 1070434eb1 clumsily imagined 6916b8284e without any 1543231c57 illustrations. Reading from a book, 03b15e4dfe he couldn’t have truly f2ffe65a71 imagined this.90a7bde8c76b13b7

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The man described f7f6808de0 in the book ee36140147 was indeed beautiful, 53b2328797 crafted with delicate 5968b93182 lines. It was true 62023fcc99 he was made 17015647fb of delicate lines, 489a44e28c and it was 3572832eb2 true he was 940e0bf2a5 a beautiful man, 19a71122f4 but the complete 9f7cd32f22 picture was different ad9fbd8ec9 from what Lee 29e833ffc3 Soo had expected.9592357e84c9c290

Whether it was 2e5d5b7a95 his lack of 8be013e126 imagination or the 8cacd59d27 author had seen 7e99697f7f Haeon too prettily, af3a031937 too lovingly, Lee fcb0f6716f Soo wasn’t sure.4676497acbc454a0

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Ah, no. That the author loved 294e4af329 Haeon was nonsense. If the ee753f7951 author really fe926d8eae loved him, 918b95ed6a he would 04bb5c3fd5 have given c265542ba0 him a 50dd3ecb21 happy ending, 040aab931a not a c4b892b346 tragic death.c9e21cd9bf229228

Although Haeon didn’t seem dbd243c741 to find his death 90d5d91e33 particularly horrific, for Lee 0a6810453e Soo, it was dreadful.19b05dd6f248f242

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Seeing the real ed474b8857 Haeon and wondering 8ba1d3b3ff how such a 31a98882fd being could exist 802dbc43b3 in this world 0f8dd06997 was baffling. How could the 197f865081 author who imagined 735d42493f such a person e5abc41f3b have killed Haeon 98f18f1711 with any kind 70d6993603 of conscience? Lee Soo couldn’t understand 0c86dc6c85 it.3d1b8a2508c08f48

Thinking about Haeon’s death 3cd6abbaca made his expression worsen. His face hardened as 37b41a8819 he stared into space, 09c8fc811e then relaxed with a dd119de166 sigh.c4a9a6f76edeb01a

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It was 557f77cd50 more productive 3c7f72645c to think c5f9900b49 about how 3295fd034b to save 9b8a50261c Haeon than 5e28ae05b0 to resent 3076f8641c an author 9b1e38dec6 he could 88204f4bb2 barely remember e1c31f10d4 now.079a1beddb5f4162

Mumbling a few more c3324f8bb5 words to himself, Lee bf88ff9a5c Soo’s gaze drifted and bc22bf6842 he noticed a chipped 6dbed44fc7 fingernail.63c546d811d00098

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“It chipped already.”0acb547e0793ca72

He grimaced and 4ab5a1c920 muttered, recalling the 08b1fef6af tender person who 77d23948ac had applied the 2f56a4316d nail polish.3bb019e782fe2de5

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It was an a539342f6c almost dead-looking nail. In the hospital room, 91462d4688 she had not liked f31a771000 the sight of the 815b520f67 damaged nail but applied c0d4ae5e68 the polish anyway, with 5af9c222fc a nonchalant expression.73d4fb13ae6183fe

People are vulnerable to 16337b8c3b appearances, she had said af90c4834f while applying the nail 83c0b00f93 polish, considering it a b925e9f5d2 mark of personality, but 5f9a1955ba everyone thinks carrying around 51a407b9a4 dead-looking nails is horrifying.fb9e1959f6014e73

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Her usually clear voice 726a610e0a was calm that day. Lee Soo’s face softened 4636887a89 immensely as he remembered 79b25047e4 how she had carefully cd6aaa318c chosen her words to 57fbf46b7a not hurt his feelings.d50955eec5a26dba

‘If it chips, just 59012f93e0 tell me. I’ll reapply it. Don’t get it ruined bb08da0872 by someone else and 924e1db76d come complaining. Just tell me from a249a43fda the start. Got it?’b8a97aff982a5da9

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Her voice, 1aeba29748 as if c0019511b0 soothing a 2b3e03f4bd child, made 44be375cb1 him chuckle. He had 1d60a70ec0 been holding a116b83dab the documents dd3dac6dcb in his a78608d271 hand and a801eca22e now placed 1e6ff293dc them on ce71d601ef the table 370c0952d3 in front 57ff6e932e of him.98b19355acb22848

He had to 27d14dff52 go to work 8c97e35b9b at the Hawa 1374677d43 Guild when he ce9a2672e9 woke up. The main 52f4233690 events would 58f4a33978 start once 3bce5adfab the original 001e55e2d4 story began. He still 689093e253 had time.1c65aedb59a3646a

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“Haeon won’t die. I’ll save him.”8cbcd0ec4b63deea

As if ef34e8c1fc vowing, Lee 30631c2b8a Soo muttered e019eff558 and took abc715cdd7 a deep b53b5f83cc breath.4c1de08ad5503cd4

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It would be c8f648c96d nice if this 188bf2df18 world could be 6ac0ca9a1c a bit kinder f57406e731 to Haeon. Thinking of af284ba2e2 his death, 490c04baf7 Lee Soo 0a00ade689 lowered his 7efb126f0d lips and edea6c3f23 then absentmindedly 8f62cf874c rubbed the c71dd85137 edge of 0271ed6eb3 the table.723cfbceee8953bf

Haeon was now 25 b369c6abd7 years old, with two 8a9c033b25 years left until the 5ba57a1070 original story. If he could become 78c4d035fc close to Haeon slowly, 467568b0b6 gain his trust, and 4faa95e861 then be diligent around bccdeae6f2 the time the original 1d315acdd8 story starts, Haeon could 8314ae872c be saved.f48163ea6570b6ab

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The protagonist’s misfortunes d807fdbcd3 that would occur ca685af939 before then could 2678897869 be mitigated with 82f07fe174 a little help d4a4f66b32 on the side. Joo’s help as the 77ab26d0e7 heroine could also be 71def1d628 more easily resolved with 03e2d593de his involvement.e81f48fe7fa907ff

And if dying… 727e4286a8 was due to 4848e07ea4 incorrect dungeon preparations 8a7faadd1e because of faulty bc6a6cd8c1 information, he could 9cd766d11b prepare separately with 11bd1ee0f1 correct information.2b47d3785106ab86

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He might 542eb485d9 die from ddf22d8ba3 his physical a3ebb68ecf condition before d48068d022 then… but 87e8307b1e maybe Haeon e4583cbf4a could extend 3f1715f189 his life 795e260392 just a 988c23e774 little?8da95254219e37c9

Even if it was 0b1110d73d just half a year d981d36877 longer, that should be 4f14e535f3 enough to save Haeon. Thinking he should d98e6e312d ask him later, f0833a245e Lee Soo nodded.18e50b4170a4db6d

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“Should I play the d239abe4fa role of a prophet 8e2fbd345a if it gets tough…”fe0fefdbe3b27f11

Laughing at the 2c269b4f0b thought of telling ae210a1576 Haeon he had 7defec5dd5 foreseen the future, d06d728af7 advising on which a99df6b57a dungeons to enter, a2a700f431 not to trust 00e27023cb the dungeon information 62222ebad6 managers, and to 19356770c3 know the strategies 706d3559de in advance as effb6ad32b if he had 3e8594fd9a seen them.218d48ed8e3b1ca4

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Pulling out his d84ef08f70 laptop to organize 569bad7bed the thoughts in 13b9946dcb his head, Lee d84c25f6fe Soo stared at 81938f3137 the blank screen. Reading the sentence carved 448b5e8ccb there, he slowly lifted 400257996d the corners of his a6f0b2db88 lips.67a27ee4ba8061e9

“See you a17514e454 soon, my 8952e43a4f protagonist.”88fe25c3a75c337f

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