175. Tidal Wave 1

Yoon Tae-ha hesitated, then placed her hand on his back. Cheon Geon-young then buried his face in the nape of her neck with an affectionate gesture. His large, firm back intermittently rose and fell. She felt suffocated by the sorrow emanating from him.

“You said it was quite cold back then.”

That was Cheon Geon-young’s first remark. Yoon Tae-ha stroked his back, then, belatedly realizing what he meant, spread her palm wide, making it spasm.

“It’s the Arctic, you know.”

“I heard you got frostbite then.”

“Lee Hae-kyung isn’t always perfect at controlling her abilities either. My brother accidentally froze my ankle bone. It still aches when it snows.”

He gave a weak laugh. It was more like a struggle to ease the pain in his lungs.

“I heard everything. From him.”

“Right.”

“The story about Moon So-eun and her nephew too. He explained them as the Black Team.”

“Did you hear the story of the Red Snake too?”

“I did. I’m glad you came back alive.”

Cheon Geon-young straightened his posture and looked down at Yoon Tae-ha. His eyes were dry. There were no tear stains on his cheeks. Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he had cried. It was the first time someone capable of burning monsters with fire felt so vulnerable.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling.”

He released his arms from her waist and stood beside Yoon Tae-ha, gripping the railing. It was the exact same posture she had taken while waiting for him.

“I lived thinking that woman was most likely dead. It’s difficult for someone involved in such affairs to live out their natural lifespan and die normally.”

“A logical... inference.”

Yoon Tae-ha put all her effort into speaking carefully. But she felt as if she was constantly going off track, as she had never imagined a situation like this. Should she just keep her mouth shut? Then she’d seem indifferent to his pain. That was precisely the direction she wanted to avoid the most.

“If she were alive, I would have wanted to kill her myself. If she were dead, I would have wanted to kill the person who gave her the orders.”

“I ended up being the obstruction to your first wish.”

“Usually, you wouldn’t call that an obstruction.”

Cheon Geon-young, who had been looking up at the clear sky, turned his face. Trying to find distrust and suspicion in his eyes was as difficult as trying to find a house-sized storm cloud in a clear sky.

“Call me a benefactor.”

“That’s too much. I just killed a monster. I didn’t know what kind of affair I was involved in until just now.”

“Precisely. You killed the monster I’ve been chasing since I was ten.”

“Cheon Geon-young.”

“Thank you. For letting me know she’s dead.”

The wind squeezed in between them.

“Considering the Director-General’s methods of handling things, I might have never known. If it hadn’t been you who was deployed that day, if you hadn’t met me, if I hadn’t told you how my parents died...”

His gaze, which had seemed fragile, gradually hardened. As she watched him change, the terrible thoughts that had filled Yoon Tae-ha’s mind slowly receded. Cheon Geon-young had no intention of leaving her. He hadn’t lost his goal either. Instead, the flame burning within him seemed to have grown even more intense. Cheon Geon-young, who had been organizing his thoughts for a moment, looked at her.

“If I hadn’t met you.”

“...”

“I would have been miserable.”

His conviction and trust armed her. Yoon Tae-ha felt as if she had put on a sturdy shield and hugged Cheon Geon-young tightly. The anger towards her enemy and her affection for him overwhelmed her, making her lose her composure.

“I’ll do anything. Never forgive them. I’ll make everyone who hurt you kneel. I’ll bring them all to you. You just have to say their names.”

Her expression was unusually strong for her. She wanted to forget the teaching to be lenient to the weak now. They are not weak. They are merely evil. So evil that they took loving parents from a child.

“Why have you become so aggressive?”

“You have to accept it, even if you don’t like it. The woman you like is originally like this. She’s better at revenge than forgiveness.”

“Wow. Scary.”

Cheon Geon-young, who half-heartedly played along, hugged her. It was a fervent gesture, like someone starved, in her embrace.

“Even if my colleagues whistle from behind, let’s just stay like this. Forever.”

As he said, a sharp whistle was heard a few seconds later. She faithfully followed his words. They clung together like one body, not letting go of each other.

Soon, a strong wind blew from a corner of the otherwise calm sky. It was a wind that somehow tasted of salt.

After catching their breath for a while, they returned to the meeting room. Lev, having heard the explanation, voluntarily decided to remain on the carrier. His argument was that someone was needed to monitor Changcheon from the Black Lion’s perspective.

Kwon Hyuk allowed Lev to stay there while the carrier remained in the airspace of the Green Sea. They also received a promise that the cat would be dropped off in the Red Canyon anytime he wished. Of course, this promise was secured by Cheon Geon-young. Yoon Tae-ha returned to the ground, seeing off Lev, who was perched on Oh Gi-cheol’s shoulder.

“You’ve returned safely.”

Upon arriving at the camp, Kim Du-eon received the motorcycle Yoon Tae-ha brought and smiled meaningfully. He seemed to have heard news from Changcheon.

“Was it uncomfortable?”

“It was stable. And the movement was good too.”

She was referring to the carrier, not the motorcycle, and Kim Du-eon immediately understood.

Cheon Geon-young was quieter than usual. It seemed he also needed time to process the shocking news. Yoon Tae-ha understood that feeling. She let him into the RV and sternly told him to rest.

He gave Yoon Tae-ha a short kiss, then lay weakly on the sofa. She covered him with a blanket, just as he always took care of her, and then stepped out of the vehicle.

________________________________________

The next day, a massive downpour began in Phlegethon. The rain soaked the world, creating minor chaos within the camp. People with shovels hurriedly dug trenches, and large tarpaulins were spread over waterproof tents. They even had to re-adjust the shields to prevent them from swaying due to the unstable ground caused by the rain.

Because of this, her wish to let Cheon Geon-young rest became futile after half a day. He silently joined the work. Yoon Tae-ha, who was re-installing shields around the perimeter with Baek Sang-ho, saw him heading somewhere with Shim Gyu-jong, carrying shovels.

Cheon Geon-young, clad in a dark navy raincoat, looked like a knight preparing for battle. She wanted to see his face. But his head was covered by the hood, and the wind and rain obscured her view.

“To think I’d see Chairman Cheon’s grandson shoveling.”

Baek Sang-ho, who was installing a V-shaped shield, muttered lowly. Yoon Tae-ha pressed down on the shield he had fixed, burying it deeper.

“He’s different, isn’t he? Diligent, considerate of others. Doesn’t seem like the type to stubbornly insist he’s always right. Is that why you like him more?”

She roughly wiped away the rainwater running down her cheeks and gave an awkward smile.

“I pretended not to care, but I was curious. About the man who would finally settle down with the office’s precious troublemaker.”

“That’s a misleading statement. I’ve always maintained a clean relationship with my guides.”

“Right. Just like I’m acting with my guide right now.”

Baek Sang-ho connected the shield to a thick nearby tree with a chain.

“Is there still no progress in finding Ms. Iroa?”

Yoon Tae-ha, who had disassembled the plastic box that contained the shield, held it over his head. When the rain, which showed no sign of letting up, finally subsided, Baek Sang-ho lifted his head. He saw the young woman, wearing only a raincoat herself, creating a small roof for him.

“No. I’m giving up now. It’s better to think she’s dead.”

Resignation was evident in his expression.

“That guy, he’s been strange for a while now.”

The stinging rain continued to fall. But Baek Sang-ho’s gloomy voice was clearly audible.

“Was it a year ago? He said his body wasn’t obeying him, then that he was hearing hallucinations. His condition was very bad. His fear worsened when guiding didn’t work properly. We tried changing guides and all sorts of methods, but we couldn’t even diagnose the illness.”

“Did he get examined inside Arc?”

“Of course. How could I trust another organization with my body?”

Baek Sang-ho’s trust in Arc was unwavering. Yoon Tae-ha felt bitter.

After re-installing the shields and repairing the tents damaged by the rain, evening arrived.

Cheon Geon-young, who had also finished his work and returned, and she, each ate a sandwich and then collapsed into sleep. Hoping for a clear sky tomorrow. However, contrary to their hopes, the rain continued the next day.

Early in the morning, Yoon Tae-ha, tasked with dealing with small monsters that appeared nearby, met a crow on her way back. The rain-soaked crow gently flew and perched on her outstretched arm.

It was Nox.

“You’re watching Raphael, right?”

The bird nodded its head up and down.

“He’s dangerous to the people here. He’s been holed up in his tent all day, and there’s no telling what he’s doing. I was hoping you could lure him out.”

This was the conclusion Lee Hae-kyung and Changcheon had reached after much deliberation. Keeping Raphael inside the camp was dangerous. He had to be kept far away from non-combat personnel somehow. It was rare for things to end well when a disgruntled outsider took civilians hostage.

“If he spots you, will he come out of the camp?”

The bird, after a moment’s delay, nodded.

“Then can you lure him out at midnight tomorrow? We’ll pretend to chase you and Raphael, but we’ll only deal with Raphael. You protect the substance and contact Charlton periodically. If contact is lost, we’ll assume you’ve changed your mind and attack you as well.”

“Caw!”

The bird screeched, scratching her raincoat-clad arm as if protesting the unfair treatment. But Yoon Tae-ha was resolute. The crow spitefully pecked her arm, then spread its wings and flew into the dark forest.

She quietly returned to camp.

Rain poured incessantly from the gray sky. The drainage ditches that the work team, led by Choi Bo-mi, had dug yesterday crisscrossed the center of the camp. Muddy water flowed through them, overflowing.

Yoon Tae-ha surveyed the camp, then turned and headed for the RV. Cheon Geon-young would likely be waiting in the car, as he had no morning schedule. The thought of drinking warm tea with him lifted her spirits a little. Just then, a woman appeared in front of her, carrying only a black umbrella without a raincoat.

“Ms. Yoon Tae-ha?”

It was the Director-General’s Titan, Yeo Soo-min.