Wavelength

"What did you do?"

"…What?"

"I said, what did you do!"

Despite having his collar grabbed, Lee Sa-young just blinked with a blank expression, showing no resistance. He still didn't seem fully conscious.

But Cha Eui-jae wasn't in his right mind either. He couldn't even calm his pounding heart, still reeling from Lee Sa-young's shocking statement, only to now be faced with this unbelievable reality. The dating rumors, which had seemed like nothing more than idle chatter, had exploded to the point of even being discussed in the Hunter channel!

'What the hell did those Mackerels do?'

They said one call would clear things up, but it seems like that was all empty words. Cha Eui-jae ground his teeth.

'It would've been better if the rumors were about us being enemies or rivals.'

Cha Eui-jae, in an attempt to snap Lee Sa-young back to his senses, shook the collar he was gripping. Lee Sa-young's head bobbed weakly. Soon, Lee Sa-young winced and grabbed his head.

"Hyung…"

"Speak clearly."

"It hurts…"

Cha Eui-jae loosened his grip on Lee Sa-young's collar. Or rather, his strength just gave out. A groan escaped from Lee Sa-young's lips.

Had it been so long since he'd hit someone that he lost control of his strength? Even if he's an S-grade, could it still hurt? It must, right? While Cha Eui-jae was lost in thought, Lee Sa-young slowly lifted his body, then promptly buried his face into Cha Eui-jae's shoulder.

The soft hair brushing against him woke Cha Eui-jae up. He quickly grabbed the arm that was wrapped around his waist like a snake.

"You're trying to get away with this by being cute again, aren't you?"

"…Huh?"

Lee Sa-young, who had been burying his face in Cha Eui-jae's shoulder, lifted his head. With his cheek resting on Cha Eui-jae's shoulder, Lee Sa-young gazed up at him with a sulky expression.

"It really hurts…"

"…"

Is he acting right now, or is he really hurt? Cha Eui-jae was still feeling uneasy. He glanced at Lee Sa-young's pale, slender neck and saw red marks where his hand had been. Cha Eui-jae scratched his head. Sharing a body like this was more uncomfortable than he expected.

"Does your neck hurt?"

"Yes, and my head."

A small cough escaped. Cha Eui-jae, now awkward, muttered while staring off into space.

"…I kind of choked you."

"Oh…"

Lee Sa-young let out a soft sigh, squinting his eyes. His black fingers grazed the red marks on his neck. Now that his senses had returned, his eyes glinted with interest, the dullness gone. His lips curled into a smile.

"So, that's your thing, huh?"

"No, it's not!"

Cha Eui-jae shouted abruptly. Lee Sa-young, still rubbing his neck, murmured.

"Choking people is kind of…a bad habit, don't you think?"

"When I woke up, there wasn't you but some other guy standing there, so what was I supposed to do?"

"Oh… And you choked without saying a word? That's pretty violent…"

"That guy was saying weird things."

"What weird things?"

"…"

Cha Eui-jae clammed up. He didn't want to repeat the vile words that had been spoken. Lee Sa-young squirmed against his waist, nudging him to speak. When Cha Eui-jae looked down, Lee Sa-young's expression was surprisingly calm, despite being possessed and attacked.

Well, it was probably better to explain everything now rather than letting things spiral out of control. Cha Eui-jae mumbled and began to speak.

"He suggested that we sleep together…"

"Huh?"

Lee Sa-young frowned. Cha Eui-jae hurriedly clarified.

"Just to sleep! Literally sleep! Nothing weird!"

"I wasn't going to misunderstand, but now it seems like you're the one who had weird thoughts, Hyung."

"Shut up."

When Cha Eui-jae clenched his fist and shook it, Lee Sa-young smiled and made an X over his mouth with his fingers. He raised his eyebrows.

"I get it, keep talking. What happened next?"

"Then he asked me to choke him more… I mean, is that guy crazy? Why would he want to be choked more?"

"Oh… So you choked him again? Is that why my neck is like this?"

"Are you nuts? I let go right away."

"Sigh…"

Lee Sa-young sighed deeply, blinking slowly as if exhausted.

"And then, what else?"

"And then…"

Cha Eui-jae remembered the face that kept smiling as he choked him.

According to Hong Ye-seong, their 'fundamentals' were the same. By 'fundamentals of the soul,' it must mean the core nature of a person. Even if they lived completely different lives, if their core didn't change, they would be the same being.

But…

"…"

"Hyung?"

"But it just felt…"

But the Lee Sa-young he had just faced gave him an odd feeling of discomfort. Not because of the absurd suggestion to sleep together or the perverse request to be choked. If someone asked him where the discomfort stemmed from…

From everything that made up Lee Sa-young.

In fact, there had been a strange sense of unease from the very first moment he saw him. His eyes, like empty glass beads, reflected nothing but Cha Eui-jae.

They say eyes are the windows to the soul. But in the eyes of that Lee Sa-young, there was no soul or self. They only reflected what was in front of them, like a mirror.

And even the energy he gave off felt strange. More like a dungeon than a human…

"…"

"It just felt… off."

Cha Eui-jae finished his sentence uncomfortably. Lee Sa-young lowered his gaze, deep in thought, and licked his lips. As Cha Eui-jae watched Lee Sa-young's black tongue slide across his red lips, a sharp glare returned to his face.

He had almost let himself get sidetracked again. This guy knew exactly how to distract people with his looks and touches before sliding into a different conversation like a snake.

Cha Eui-jae grabbed both of Lee Sa-young's cheeks with his hands. Lee Sa-young's eyes widened as he looked up at him.

"Anyway, what did you do?"

"Weren't you already aware of this?"

"Say it yourself. Before I storm over to the fish market."

"What… I didn't do much."

Didn't do much? No way the Hunter channel would be blowing up over nothing. When Cha Eui-jae shot a glare, Lee Sa-young smirked.

"I just did what you did, Hyung."

"What I did?"

"When I saw you asleep, I picked you up and carried you home."

Lee Sa-young tilted his head slightly, blinking. His eyelashes fluttered.

"Is that a crime? I just did what you did, Hyung."

Carried him? Cha Eui-jae's mind flashed to an image associated with that word. A hazy, low-resolution image formed in his head. The photo of J carrying Lee Sa-young. At that time, J had cradled Lee Sa-young like a princess…

'Fuck.'

Chills ran down Cha Eui-jae's spine. He jumped up from his seat and began rummaging through the room. Lee Sa-young sat on the floor, propping his chin on one knee.

"What are you looking for?"

"Where's my phone?"

"I have it."

Lee Sa-young pulled Cha Eui-jae's phone out of his pocket and handed it over. Cha Eui-jae snatched the phone and quickly turned it on, connecting to the internet. The headline on the portal site's main page looked ominous.

[What's the relationship between Lee Sa-young and J? The Pado Guild remains silent…]

With trembling hands, Cha Eui-jae clicked on the article. As the loading icon spun for several seconds, Cha Eui-jae's anxiety grew.

Tap, tap, tap. He nervously tapped the floor with his foot. As soon as the article finished loading, Cha Eui-jae found himself staring into Lee Sa-young's eyes. Not the real Lee Sa-young in front of him, but the one in the photo.

The Lee Sa-young in the picture was smiling as if he had seen it all…

"…"

And the masked man held him quietly in his arms.

As Cha Eui-jae froze, Lee Sa-young stood up lightly and walked behind him. Then he pressed his lips to the nape of Cha Eui-jae's neck, exposed beneath his soft gray hair. Cha Eui-jae's body tensed in response.

At the same time, a delayed message notification popped up over the photo on the screen.

The sender was;

Ha-eun: Uncle, Grandma's asking if this is true

The body in Cha Eui-jae's arms trembled. Lee Sa-young pressed his lips to the end of Cha Eui-jae's hair once more.

"They say you can't even drink water carelessly in front of kids."

***

Cha Eui-jae didn't get angry, surprisingly. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that he didn't have the energy to be angry. He simply stood there trembling with his phone in hand for a while, then suddenly pushed Lee Sa-young away, who had been kissing the back of his neck. Stumbling slightly, he walked toward the bathroom.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Click.

He locked it.

Every action flowed as naturally as water. Lee Sa-young didn't tell him to open the door or knock on it. Instead, he pulled over a chair where he could see the bathroom door, sat down, and waited quietly.

It was kind of cute… If he wanted to isolate himself, he could've chosen the bedroom, but hiding in a corner like the bathroom? That was so typical of Cha Eui-jae.

Cha Eui-jae didn't come out for a full hour, and aside from the occasional heavy sigh or muffled scream, there was little sound from inside.

Lee Sa-young, who was now sitting backward on the chair with his arms resting on the backrest and his chin propped on top, rolled his eyes. Once separated from Cha Eui-jae, the unwelcome guest within him began to stir again. His consciousness, which had been focused on Cha Eui-jae, slowly drifted toward the intruder. Cha Eui-jae's voice echoed in his mind.

"Then he asked me to choke him more… I mean, is that guy crazy? Why would he want to be choked more?"

Lee Sa-young let out a short sigh.

'Why, you ask…'

He knew why the intruder had acted that way. Resting his cheek on his arm, Lee Sa-young relaxed his body.

Could someone who wandered alone in a world on the verge of destruction for a very long time still be normal?

'No way…'

Like a large rock eroded by water and wind, both the body and mind would have gradually worn away. Once everything had been worn down, even the emotions that once consumed him would've eroded as well. 

Sorrow, anger, regret— all of it would've vanished. And in their place, he would've spent each day ruminating on nothing but his purpose.

Only obsession would remain.

'Am I right?'

The intruder didn't respond. But Lee Sa-young knew he was right. He could feel the other version of himself writhing in discomfort.

How would someone who had lost everything, including their own body, react upon having a living body again? They would surely be excited by stimuli that once felt familiar but now seemed foreign. Especially if the one providing those stimuli was Cha Eui-jae…

Lee Sa-young touched his still throbbing neck. He didn't need to check to know that there was probably a bruise. Closing his eyes, he listened to the sound of water running— Cha Eui-jae must have turned on the faucet.

Was there anything that made one feel more alive than the stimuli that Cha Eui-jae provided?

'If it were me, I would've asked for more too…'

Lee Sa-young understood the other Lee Sa-young's feelings. And it deeply disturbed him.