SRW | Chapter 17

Hyunwoo’s eyes welled up with tears as he pleaded with Eunsoo. Seeing his desperate expression, Eunsoo couldn’t hide his flustered reaction.

“What do you mean, what do I know? I don’t know anything, kid.”

An X floated above his head. Hyunwoo’s eyes narrowed.

“People have died. If you know something, sharing it would help us prepare for what’s coming.”

“Yeah, of course it’s tragic people died, but I seriously don’t know anything.”

“…It’s an X again.”

“What?”

Hyunwoo’s face turned icy as he stared at the mark above Eunsoo’s head.

“Sunbaenim… you always lie.”

[System]

Lee Hyunwoo

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Occupation: High School Student

Alignment: Good

Title: [None]

Skill: [Truth or Lie Lv. 1]

*

‘What the hell is up with this kid?’

I’d followed him out after seeing the cracked wall, wondering if he’d awakened, but his sudden interrogation left me stunned. Sure, his suspicions were reasonable, but his refusal to believe me no matter what made it seem like he wanted a fight. As the older one, I had to be understanding. I sighed deeply and held out my hand.

“What?”

“Grab it.”

“Why?”

“Damn, you’re prickly. Just squeeze hard. I need to check something.”

Hyunwoo gripped my hand. If it were an ordinary person’s strength, it wouldn’t have hurt at all, but when he clenched, I heard my bones creak. I yelped in pain, and he immediately loosened his grip.

“Hey, you’ve awakened.”

For some reason, my nose stung. I grabbed his shoulders with both hands. The kid I worked so hard to save even awakened? Is this how parents feel? Smiling proudly, I noticed Hyunwoo’s odd expression.

“What’s ‘awakening’?”

“It means you get crazy strong.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your ability?”

“My… ability?”

“Like, mine’s handling weapons… you don’t know yet?”

Hyunwoo stared at the space above my head. No idea why he kept doing that, but his wariness seemed to deepen.

“…I don’t know.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“So I’ve gained power to fight monsters, like you?”

“Yeah.”

“…I see. When did you awaken, sunbaenim?”

“Uh, the first day?”

Distracted by the first non-me Awakened, I didn’t notice Hyunwoo’s face hardening with every word. I only shared surface-level info, mixing in lies where needed. When I finished, Hyunwoo said he needed time to think and pushed me toward the cafeteria.

The moment I stepped inside, Jaeyoung yanked my wrist. Sit next to him? He nodded. Glancing at my original seat, I saw Sooyeon muttering again. Choose: psycho girl or gay bastard?

Crunch. Crunch.

The sound of Sooyeon biting her nails decided it. I plopped down beside Jaeyoung.

“Eunsoo…you’ve gotten too nice.”

Kim Jaeyoung grumbled in his slow drawl. I hadn’t been paying much attention to him since coming to the cafeteria, and it seemed to have put him in a bad mood.

“What are you talking about? Did you think I was a bad person?”

“A little.”

His immediate answer made me laugh incredulously. He stared at me intently, then added:

“Why…keep acting selfless?”

“Self-what? Speak normally.”

“You never cared about anything but yourself before.”

So… I used to be a selfish bastard, and now he’s wondering why I’m suddenly pretending to be good? Couldn’t he just say it outright instead of dancing around the point?

“Ever think I haven’t changed?”

“Hmm… Well, considering how you still treat me, I guess you haven’t.”

When Jaeyoung laughed, it was disgustingly bright. Damn it. Before I could process his words, I’d already fallen for his charm. I dumbly stared at his smiling face as he tucked my messy hair behind my ear.

“I hope your reason is me.”

“Huh?”

“It’s weird…you’re nice to others now.”

His gentle touch felt oddly dangerous. I slapped his hand away and scowled.

“You keep climbing into my lap because I call you pretty, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry. I don’t get it either…”

Jaeyoung, looking conflicted, closed his eyes like he was done talking. Am I too normal to understand his emotions? Basically: “Stop pretending to be good and just care about me.” Brat. Why’s he so pretty even when pouting? So confusing. Giving up, I spread out a tablecloth and flopped down to sleep.

*

Time passed uneventfully in dull boredom. The survivors lived each day in weak resignation, waiting for death. Though awakened Hyunwoo tried encouraging them, it had little effect. Hyunwoo wanted to reveal his awakening to give people hope. I convinced him to wait until more Awakeners appeared, otherwise we’d bear all the risks alone. Reluctantly, he nodded at my argument that even Awakeners only had one life.

I mechanically chewed and swallowed the room-temperature fusilli pasta stored in bulk. Others used sauce, but dealing with sticky hands was more annoying than chewing flavorless dough. Jaeyoung, extremely picky, had visibly lost weight. Making sure he finished his meals was now part of my daily routine.

Bang!

Perhaps because things were so boring, the sudden gunshot outside startled everyone awake. Hyunwoo was first to the door. He signaled for quiet before slowly opening it. Before stepping out, he looked at me and jerked his chin. Follow me.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

When Jaeyoung tried to get up too, I shoved him back down. He landed hard, a flicker of irritation crossing his face.

“Stay put. I’ll check it out.”

“Jaeyoung-ah, Hyunwoo and Eunsoo will handle it,” said the class president, grabbing Jaeyoung’s arm. The president always clung to Jaeyoung…while glaring at me. What’s so great about him? Hypocrite. He gets mad when I’m friendly with others but lets the president touch him freely?

Leaving Jaeyoung and the president behind, I followed Hyunwoo outside. He peered through gaps in the newspaper-covered windows before stepping aside with a grave expression. Through the opening, I saw a girl desperately fighting monsters with a rifle.

“That gun is…”

“Looks similar to the one we saw in the clubroom.”

Remembering the deaths, Hyunwoo’s gaze turned sharp. It was my gun. Well, technically my father’s hunting rifle.

“Another awakened one.”

“Yeah.”

“What should we do?”

“Can’t we leave her? She looks about to die anyway.”

Hyunwoo looked at me like I’d grown a second head. Come on, we almost died too, and we don’t know her motives. What if helping makes things worse? With each excuse I gave, Hyunwoo’s sighs grew heavier. Since when did this kid sigh so much?

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Another unpredictable element. I extended my baton and climbed out the window. Hyunwoo, with his taekwondo background, went bare-handed. We ran toward the girl.

“I’ll lure them away. You get her inside.”

“Can you handle it alone?”

“It’s easier alone.”

Hyunwoo hesitated, then nodded. He delivered a perfect kick to a monster’s jaw. No hesitation in his first Awakener battle. Impressive. I whacked monster skulls with my baton, drawing the horde away. A few still chased Hyunwoo and the girl, but they’ve Awakened. They’ll manage.