Chapter 5: Regret

Apollo sat at his beige desk in a comfortable black chair that was within his dorm room. His professors have given him so many assignments over the last few weeks, making it somewhat difficult to keep up. On top of his assignments, he has to work at the hunter association at least four times a week. Currently, he was working on an essay discussing the repercussions of gates appearing and how it has completely altered the world.

As he was working, his phone began ringing loudly, disrupting him from his concentrated state. The golden-haired male groaned a bit, before checking out who exactly was calling. Seeing that it was Sung Jin-Woo took away any annoyance he had in the first place, as he has been deprived of his best friend for weeks on end.

"Jin! I've missed you!!" Apollo happily exclaims, wanting to see his best friend as soon as possible. However, that dream seems to be fading away as he takes a second look over the amount of work he has to complete. "I've missed you too Apollo. Hey, are you busy right now? I'm going to a D-rank dungeon raid with a group of people, including Lee Ju-Hee. We could really use your help to finish it quickly." Apollo wants to cry out about how unfair everything is, as the timing is just awful right now.

Over the years of their unbreakable friendship,Sung Jin-Woo has become far more comfortable around him. That innate timidness of his isn't around when they're together. However, once other people are around, his friend retreats into a kitten shell. It's a bit funny at times, whenever his friend talks normally to him and then a few seconds later, he becomes ten times more introverted simply by the appearance of another person. He'd never fault his friend however, as E rankers aren't treated great in the first place.

"I can't Jin. I'm swamped with assignments right now. However, maybe we could meet up after the dungeon? I know of a new barbecue place near my campus that has amazing reviews already. I'll even pay!" His friend sighs in disappointment, something that Apollo completely understands. He wishes he could go on a raid, but many of his assignments are due in a few days and there's no way he can spare a few hours in a gate. Eating out, however, is another thing entirely. It doesn't require going on a one hour drive to another part of Seoul and he could get back to his dorm within 10 minutes of finishing his meal.

"Alright, i'll come to your dorm in hopefully two hours, with three being the maximum amount of time the group will probably take." With that said, his friend hangs up and Apollo goes back to his dreadful essay. Every word he types is another step towards completion.

Stressed out is an understatement in terms of Apollo's current state of mind. He checked his calendar on his phone and realized he has a charity event on Saturday, the exact day a majority of his assignments are due. Sometimes he regrets his choice of college, having heard how work-heavy it is prior to enrollment, but the idea of being able to become an astronomy major through an honors program was too much of an incitement to pass up. Apollo often felt as though he belonged up in space, amongst the stars. Instead of entering gates, he would rather be creating them.

Those thoughts always felt out of place in his mind and yet, he wasn't completely deterred by the idea. Over his lifespan, sometimes he felt as though another personality existed within the confines of his mind, desperately waiting to break free.

Taking a deep breath, Apollo resumes his work for the next few hours, awaiting Sung Jin-Woo's arrival. He had finally finished his essay, when his friend had yet to show up. At first, he wasn't too worried. There was a chance that his friend got up. Then, another 30 minutes went by and still, there was nothing. By this point, Apollo was mildly panicking.

Grabbing his phone, Apollo quickly dialed the hunter's association, hoping to get some answers. "Hello, this is the Korean Hunter's Association. At this moment, we are currently busy. Please stay on-hold until further notice." Once the message finished playing, awful scratchy music began playing. 'I'll call dad then.' Apollo thought to himself, hanging up the hunter's association line.

Quickly finding his father's contact, Apollo prays that his father will pick up. Sometimes, as his father is an enormously busy man, he simply won't pick up for a bit but usually gets back to him within 5-10 minutes. Luckily for Apollo, his father currently wasn't busy. "Dad! Would you be able to find out which gate Sung Jin-Woo's group took? It's a D rank dungeon and it should've been finished with maybe an hour ago by this point, yet i've gotten nothing from him. No texts, no calls, nor has he showed up for our dinner plans tonight. What if something happened to him?!?" By the end of his speech, Apollo's breathing had sped up as an oncoming panic attack was on the horizon. He didn't want to lose his friend to a D rank dungeon..no, he'd forever blame himself if that were the case as he decided to prioritize his work over the raid.

"Son. Calm down, i'm sure he's alright. Give me a second to look through the files on my laptop." Apollo remains quite as he steadies his breathing, letting the sudden glowing from his hand die down. He may have control over his abilities, but it's much harder to control during an emotional event. "Alright, do you remember the construction site near the Daisy coffee shop? It's right there. Be careful son, if something is wrong, you call me immediately." His father firmly stated, leaving no room for negotiations. Giving his father an affirmative hum, Apollo quickly hangs up and grabs both his jacket and keys, leaving his dorm swiftly.

His father had gotten him a car when he moved into his dorms, a beautiful red Hyundai Accent. He had the option of using his own hard earned money to purchase something far more expensive but chose not to, finding no reason to spend so much on a vehicle. He quickly started up his car and dropped in the coordinates into his gps, driving as if his life depended on it. Normally, it would take around half an hour to arrive at the location, but Apollo was able to make it within 20.

He got out of the car and watched in horror as people exited the dungeon, injured to various degrees. However, after some time, no one else came out and Apollo couldn't spot Sung Jin-Woo anywhere. His saving grace came in the form of Lee Ju-Hee, who was helping another male walk. He quickly ran up to her, panic evident within his eyes. "Ju-Hee! Where's Jin?!? He should be with you right? RIGHT?!?" He grabs onto her shoulders, tears threatening to escape his sky blue eyes.

Instead of answering him, Lee Ju-Hee breaks down into tears, giving him enough of an answer. As if the world has gone into slow motion, Apollo falls down onto his knees as he stares at the blue gate in horror.

'Gone, he's..gone.' Those thoughts appear in his mind repeatedly as he finally breaks down, large sobs escaping him. Eventually, a scream leaves his lips as he grieves for his best friend. He should've gone on the raid. He should've protected his friend. What's the point of having power if it can't be used to save those you love?

Slowly, Apollo gets back up and in a zombie-like state, he walks straight into the gate, intent on bringing his friend's body back onto Earth. The entire dungeon brings about an eerie feeling, but Apollo's mind is elsewhere. Eventually, after mindless searching, he comes upon a massive door that towers over him.

Pushing it open, Apollo is met with an interesting room full of statues and one massive statue that would give anyone the creeps. His eyes roam around the room until he comes upon the altar, where his friend lays as if he were dead to the world. Shakily, he walks over, slowly reaching out his hand. His friend has no visible injuries on him whatsoever.

Sung Jin-Woo looks as if he were simply sleeping. Slowly, Apollo gets on his knees and places his head upon his friend's chest, tears constantly escaping his eyes. He lays there for a bit, until he hears the lightest thump. Startled, Apollo tries to find the source of the sound, until he realizes it's coming from his friend.

"..J-jin." Apollo utters out, too stunned for any other word. He places his head where Jin's heart would and waits for the thump, hoping to whatever god above that it's true. It takes time, but another thump is heard.

Relieved, Apollo breaks down again, having felt as though he'd lost everything earlier. "Y-you stupid i-diot." He stutters out, tiny hiccups making it difficult to speak. "Y-you can't d-do that to me a-again." Though Jin couldn't hear him, Apollo continued to speak out words of gratitude, thanking the gods above for saving his friend. Lee Ju-Hee had been under the impression that his friend was a goner, so something must've happened, but currently, Apollo could care less.

He places his larger hand into Jin's hand, holding on tightly as if his friend would disappear the second he let go. There and then he vowed to never let his friend go into a dungeon without him.

This event marked many changes between the two boys. Their relationship, Sung Jin-Woo himself, and Apollo. Whether those changes were positive or not have yet to be determined.