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Given the circumstances, the reason why Yoonseo, who had been very submissive to Chae-rim’s words, found herself at odds with Chae-rim stemmed from a particular incident.

It was probably around the time we were fervently advancing towards the building where Bora was hiding.

I couldn’t tell if it was something she had from the start or if it was something newly manifested as she transformed into an Another, but nonetheless, witnessing her effortlessly overpowering the monsters utilizing her talent seemed quite impressive to onlookers.

Avoiding the rampaging monsters, one of those hiding inside the building rushed toward us to plead for help.

However… perhaps it was due to the urgency in his heart.

With his cry for help, the man charged at us but fell flat on his face before he could reach us.

The problem arose thereafter.

I had merely intended to lend a hand to the man, who was bleeding profusely from his knees, and took a cautious step forward.

However, as I approached to extend my hand toward the man lying on the ground, his body began to spasm erratically, and he transformed into an Another right before my eyes, crashing down on me.

Of course, the man’s attack never made contact with my body.

Just before the jaw of this insect-like transformed man touched my nape, Yoonseo’s scream pierced the air, and the man atop me turned into a colossal chunk of ice.

And that moment was precisely when the opinions regarding the monsters split between Yoonseo and Chae-rim.

“Why can’t we? You saw it, didn’t you, unni? If my response had been just a little slower…”

Having witnessed such a dangerously close call, Yoonseo, her head ablaze with fury, became the one to argue for a more aggressive response.

“Still, we can’t.”

Chae-rim, now leaning more towards being responsible for the incidents rather than directly engaging, took the opposite stance.

To play it safe, we should focus on subduing rather than eliminating.

And that was precisely the argument Chae-rim had been reiterating since earlier.

Me?

Well, since I understood both Chae-rim’s and Yoonseo’s positions, I kept my mouth shut from the start.

At the same time, I was dutifully fulfilling my role as Yoonseo’s battery.

Having overexerted my talent moments ago, my face had gone pale, but after making contact with me, the damaged Talent Organ began to recover, barely allowing me to breathe again.

Yoonseo’s complexion began to regain some color.

So, with things as they were, I thought maybe it would help with her blood circulation if I gave her hand a bit of a massage, but it seemed that doing so in this situation felt a little embarrassing.

“So, what are we gonna do? If we just stay here, more of them will swarm us…”

Yoonseo, cutely clearing her throat, continued in a tone that seemed a bit more relaxed than before, “First… didn’t Bora say we had about five hundred meters left to the building?”

“Uh? Ah, yes.”

“Then I’ll go get Bora, so you guys just… wait here for a bit.”

At that moment, a question mark popped up in my mind.

As she said it wouldn’t take long and told us to wait, Chae-rim wrapped herself in a blue electric current and floated into the air.

Then, she broke through the ice barriers surrounding us and flew off into the distance in an instant.

“Oh right…”

That sister could fly, after all…

Every time I saw it, I couldn’t help but be amazed at her ridiculous operational ability.

How on earth could someone wield the power of electricity in such a way that they could fly through the sky?

With my brain leaning far more towards the humanities than the sciences, I couldn’t fathom the principle behind it at all.

“Haah… seriously…”

Though it was a bit of a revelation to see her now, unlike me who was busy admiring, Yoonseo, who had fiercely argued with Chae-rim just moments ago, must have felt both bewildered and exasperated when her opponent suddenly zipped away like that.

The grip on my left hand, which had essentially been reduced to a mere battery, tightened with newfound strength from Yoonseo.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but utter a word.

“Uh… don’t worry so much. I’m sure she said that thinking about you…”

“Who cares? I’m not worried at all!”

For someone who seemed to be clutching my left hand with a bit too much tension, that was a strong denial.

The immense pressure coursing through my hand caused me to let out an awkward laugh involuntarily.

“I’m just…”

A small mumble broke through the noise created by the hordes gathering beyond the ice walls and reached my ears.

Of course, the voice was so faint that I could only sense she said something without catching the content.

“Huh? What was that?”

I asked mainly for that reason…

“…Forget it, idiot.”

In response to my question, I was met with a sharp tone reminiscent of those I hadn’t heard in a long time.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward, but it didn’t feel too bad given it had felt like a trip down memory lane hearing that voice from Yoonseo after so long.

‘If only those zombie-like creatures weren’t around…’

The reason Chae-rim had firmly blocked Yoonseo earlier was most likely to prevent her from getting caught up in trouble resulting from today’s events.

‘Right now, everyone looks like that…’

I had clearly seen it.

Just a moment ago, despite bleeding from his knees, that man had seemed largely fine, but then he transformed into an Another in the blink of an eye.

And that… was a sight I was somewhat familiar with.

While there was a difference in speed, my left arm had transformed in a similar manner before.

I too had writhed in pain just like that man who had attempted to attack me, and my left arm had also…

Just as I was about to think that far…

“…Ugh!”

A sharp pain shot up my side.

That brought me back to reality, shaking off the drifting thoughts.

And the moment I regained my senses, a voice invaded my ears—

“You’re not thinking some useless thoughts again, are you?”

It was Yoonseo’s voice, chastising me.

“Hey, what did I do…?”

“Really? You don’t realize? You had that stupid look on your face like you were lost in thought!”

“How do you know that?!”

“Just look at you. Do I really need to explain that?”

With those words, Yoonseo scoffed as if she found my predicament laughable.

That was Yoonseo, the one I knew.

And maybe… that was the reason.

Bored by the awkward atmosphere that had ensued, I spoke impulsively to Yoonseo, who had been anxiously squirming with her hand still wrapped around mine.

“By the way… um…”

“…What?”

“Um, you know earlier…”

As soon as I brought up “earlier,” did she immediately understand what I was referring to?

A tremor passed through her hand that was gripping mine.

It was a clear sign of her agitation.

Thanks to that reaction, the words climbing up my throat got caught midway.

“Why… did that happen…?”

Despite that, my question stubbornly made its way up and reached the intended target.

Probably because it was the thing closest to my heart.

After all, I still didn’t understand.

So… how on earth did Chae-rim and Yoonseo end up doing ‘that’?

If it had been just Chae-rim who had done ‘that’?

I would have been confused about how to face Chae-rim moving forward, but at the same time, I might have just accepted it as the norm.

That was only natural since Chae-rim had consistently sent me signals over the three years.

What about Yoonseo?

Though she had sent a signal of reconciliation recently, up until then, it had always been icy between us.

But suddenly, having that kind of… relationship with the very Yoonseo who had been distant was bewildering, and I found myself unconsciously searching for the reason behind it.

However, even with my best efforts to ponder, no plausible explanation came to mind, leading me to ask Yoonseo directly…

Could it be my question hit closer to home for her?

Yoonseo’s face, which had been slightly flushed, instantly turned beet red.

 

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