Slowly he looked around the world.

  “This place. What a familiar sight.” His indifferent voice resonated across the void.

  Rather than the fact that he was kidnapped, Chaliovan was more intrigued by the area he was in after the kidnap.

  A heavy voice echoed.

  “Chaliovan.”


  His vacant gaze regained its focus but he did not reply.

  Thus, the Regressor called him again.

  “Chaliovan.”


  And only then did he reply.

  “…Speak, Prophet.”


  “Do not act up.”


  With a calm expression, he looked at Yu Jitae.

  “What do you mean.”


  “Just do what you’re told and stop being greedy like a fool.”


  “In what sense was I being greedy.”


  “Chaliovan. What do you think is the reason I’m leaving you alive despite having this much power?”


  “…”


  “I needed a dog that could lead the sheep. You were a decent sheepdog so I let you live and yet now you dare treat me like a sheep. How impudent is that?”


  “…”


  “Chaliovan Greenrain. Do you still think I’m a prophet? Or an ignorant pathfinder of the Association? Or do you think I’m a saviour who’s doing all this stuff to save humanity?”


  Chaliovan calmly took his words in. Perhaps because he had been thinking of Yu Jitae as a sharp claw, he might have assumed that there was a handle attached to it.

  “Answer me. What do I look like to you.”


  “…”


  A crack appeared in his expression. To Chaliovan, he… looked like a murderer.

  Yu Jitae gave a faint smile – a faint smile was drawn on the lips of the murderer.

  “The first time I killed you it was hard, and there was a sense of achievement killing you the second time.”


  The pupils on Chaliovan’s gray irises contracted.

  “How would the third time be?”


  What did this mean?

  Hurriedly rolling his eyes, Chaliovan looked at his body. By the time he realised it, ‘white hands’ born of the abyss behind outer space were grabbing onto his body.

  “So it was the Abyss huh… Unbelievable. How could you possibly have the [Scaffold of the Highest Heavens]…”


  Chaliovan murmured to himself before shutting his lips. His eyes widened as he finally realised something.

  “…Are you, one who has gone against the flow of time?”


  Yu Jitae did not reply. As time passed, Chaliovan’s eyes increasingly widened. Reflecting on various elements, he seemed to be putting pieces together but seemingly realised that it was all meaningless in the end.

  There was no such thing as prophets among humans. Chaliovan was aware of that fact.

  “It’s a warning. Until the end of the night, live as a dog. Dogs listen to their owner. They don’t roll their eyes and they don’t dare act up. Lead the sheep properly. If you do anything funny, I will break your legs and will sew your lips if you bark.”


  At last Chaliovan’s expression cracked.

  “Go where I tell you to go.

  “Stop if I tell you to stop.

  “Bark when I tell you to and crawl when I tell you to crawl.

  “Unless you want to see everything you’ve built by shedding your blood, sweat and at the cost of your conviction; unless you want to see them burn to ashes, do as I tell you to.”


  Each and every word of the Regressor was like a leash pressing down on his neck.

  “Do you get it?”


  His quivering gaze headed above the Abyss – at the place slightly above the shallows. Gazing at that place, Chaliovan finally realised what type of existence Yu Jitae was.

  A deep sense of powerlessness was mixed into his response.

  “…I shall be prudent.”


  Time flew.

  It was already time for the dazzling sunlight to start feeling warm. The sky was high while the wind felt slightly cold.

  He was on the way back from Michael Willbald Freeman’s 9-day ritual and as always, Bom was with him sitting in the passenger’s seat. They were in a car, heading towards the warp station.

  They had already changed back into casual clothes.

  It would be natural to wear autumn clothes in a weather like this, so Yu Jitae was wearing the high neck sweatshirt that Kaeul had chosen for him last year. It stuck tight onto his body and because of that, all the rigid lines of his body that had 7% body fat including his wide shoulders, thick chest muscles and powerful wrists were revealed in full.

  And Bom was furtively stealing glances at that body of his. From time to time, her gaze travelled up and looked at his face and his eyes. Yu Jitae was focused on driving so she felt relieved enough to lower her gaze again.

  She was back to wearing a white t-shirt and short pants as she tended to wear plain clothes compared to other kids.

  The reason he started using cars more often recently was because he realised that watching the world change outside together with the kids had some kind of value to it.

  Therefore, it took them quite some time to go back.

  It was time for just the two of them.

  “Why.”


  “Yes?”


  “Why are you looking at me.”


  “Ah…”


  She turned her head back to the front with several empty coughs.

  “Mhmm… by the way, oppa.”


  “Yeah.”


  “I have a question.”


  “What is it.”


  Thinking back on the 9-day ritual, she opened her mouth.

  “If there are encounters, there will inevitably be farewells as well right.”


  “Is that how it is.”


  “That’s just how everyone lives, yes?”


  “Yeah I guess.”


  “And one day, we will also have to say goodbye to oppa.”


  “…”


  He didn’t reply.

  Bom was right. They will definitely part ways one day.

  Yu Jitae was aware of that.

  When his mind was shaken at the Vintage Clock’s Workshop and when he regained his state of mind thanks to Gyeoul after coming back, he decided to change his attitude when facing the 7th iteration.

  Reason being her exact words.

  With a destined farewell at the end, what should humans living their daily life do in this cycle of inevitable encounter and farewell?

  He pondered and came to a small conclusion.

  That he would try his best in every moment.

  In the end, there will surely be some form of regret left behind but let’s try to not have that regret be as a result of his irresponsibility. Thinking that, he wanted to give only good things to the kids. Without thinking about the complex things that might come in the future, and without calculating everything, to sincerely give them what they desire.

  But that thought chain of his came across as something slightly dangerous for one person. It was none other than Bom.

  He had to give her what she wanted but he still didn’t really know what she wanted. She seemingly wanted his attention, and seemingly wanted him. Maybe she was after his affection as well but even then, Bom kept a line without crossing it.

  There was a difference between her pranks and her honest intention, and there was also a difference with how she acted in and out of the house.

  She nonchalantly crossed the line during her pranks and yet did not cross them for real. She, who tended to pull multiple pranks outside, drew a clear line when they were inside the house.

  Why?

  Her actions didn’t make sense to Yu Jitae. Continuing his line of thought, he was focusing on driving when Bom suddenly turned bigger in the corner of his eyes. Glancing to the side, he realised that Bom was a lot closer to him now.

  “What are you doing.”


  “Just focus on driving oppa.”


  “…”


  He really should. Bom looked pretty today as well and he wouldn’t be able to focus on driving if he were to look at her. Yu Jitae was therefore trying to focus solely on driving but that was when her fingers touched his cheeks.

  “Oi.”


  “Yes.”


  “What are you doing.”


  “…”


  “Sit properly. And wear your seatbelt.”


  “It’s alright. I’m not a child. And not a human either.”


  Bom said that with a quiet giggle.

  Yu Jitae was slightly at a loss – her giggling voice was too clear in his ears.

  But that was just the beginning.

  Bom abruptly touched his cheeks, and grabbed his earlobes. She then pulled it slightly with her extremely meagre strength.

  “Oi. What is wrong with you.”


  He was even more troubled.

  He had feelings for her – after admitting that fact, his head tended to turn blank whenever Bom was teasing him like this. The problem however was that he was in the middle of driving.

  “Bom. Stop. What if I accidentally drive into someone.”


  “It’s alright, you won’t.”


  Right. Something like that wouldn’t happen as long as he was able to focus but even if he was about to drive into someone, Bom would be able to stop an accident. Without crossing the line too much, she was teasing Yu Jitae.

  “Stop.”


  “Nnnn.”


  “What is that ‘nnnn’.”


  She was stubborn so he had to try persuading her.

  “Yu Bom.”


  But what came back in response were her fingers. When he twitched from the uncontrollable urge to do so, she once again started giggling.

  Soon, the car drove past the toll gate into the highway as Bom carefully started moving even closer towards him.

  Leaning her body more forward, she touched his neck. Her fingers seemingly had a destination. Going past the neck, they touched his chin and before long, her index finger climbed up even more and reached his lips.

  When he turned his head to the side from the sense of perplexity, her arm no longer reached his lips. However, she leaned even more forward and touched his nose.

  Nose was better off than the lips as it didn’t make him think of anything in particular so he stayed still. But that was when Bom suddenly put her index finger into his nose.

  What kind of thing is this now? He thought.

  After scraping across the shallow parts of his nose, she brought that same finger towards Yu Jitae’s lips.

  “Ey ey. That’s dirty.”


  Despite there being nothing dirty, Yu Jitae shook his head while Bom held her stomach and quietly kicked the ground. She was holding her laughter in as desperately as possible.

  It was about time to stop after doing this much but as if she had finally found her lifelong toy, Bom didn’t know when to stop. And because she liked playing like this so much, he couldn’t force her to stop despite it being painful.

  After a while, she dropped her hands but this time, she brought her lips to his ears. What is she planning to do now that she was so quiet?

  His head was already blank while his hands couldn’t let go of the handle. He couldn’t turn towards her either.

  Chu chu…


  That was when he heard strange noises.

  Chu chu, chupp, jupp…


  Chu, chupp, juupp…


  What was this about.

  Soon, Yu Jitae realised what Bom was doing.

  With her lips next to his ears, from the small gap inside her mouth, she was making noises by moving her tongue and lips. After realising that fact, he almost lost his sanity for a second.

  “Oi Bom. What in the…”


  Hearing his voice that was louder than usual, Bom started laughing out loud again. “Kyaa! Ahahahahh!”


  But her body suddenly tilted forward in the process and because of her laughter, she couldn’t control her tilted body. In an attempt to support her body, her hand landed on Yu Jitae’s stomach. When her palm touched the clear lines of his abs, she hurriedly pulled her body back with a flinch.

  The weight behind her hand that touched his body for a split second made him dizzy.

  She seemed agitated. Hurriedly breathing out at a visibly faster rate, she fidgeted with her hands and stayed meekly on her seat without saying a single word for a long time.

  He now knew it.

  This was the line between her pranks and her honest actions.

  It was fine when she was the one teasing, because it was a prank.

  But when a situation outside her expectations rose up and it no longer became a prank, she tended to break and turn quiet.

  He was at a loss. If Bom was calm about it, he wouldn’t have felt anything but seeing her embarrassment also made him slightly embarrassed.

  “Umm… you know…”


  “Huh? Yeah.”


  “It’s very, umm… bumpy.”


  “Well, yeah.”


  “Can I touch it?”


  “What?”


  “Ah, is that weird… I didn’t mean it in a weird way…”


  “…”


  When his emotions that had been dead for way too long were revived, it sat in his heart with a childish shape. It was the same when he was harassing buck-teeth at the underground fortress recently. It was an action based on a very childish desire for revenge.

  It was the same thing now. It had been a very long time since he had lost all interest in women. And yet when that was revived in the shape of a romantic feeling, it reminded Yu Jitae of what Kaeul had told him some time in the past.

  – Ahjussi is a little kid…!

  Dumbfoundingly enough,

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “…Do you want to touch it?”


  “Umm… yes…”


  “Then, touch it.”


  While still driving on, he suggested.

  Bom stole a glance at his face before carefully laying her hand on his stomach. Yu Jitae decided to turn off the senses of his stomach for a bit since that should erase the problem.

  …


  But he shouldn’t have relaxed himself too much. Despite turning his senses off, he could still feel Bom’s hands touching from above the clothes.

  “It’s very… umm… hard.”


  “Well yeah. It is a muscle.”


  “Mine is, umm… soft though…”


  “Because you don’t work out.”


  Despite saying stuff, he didn’t know what half of his words meant himself.

  “…”


  When Bom’s hand finally disappeared after some time, Yu Jitae finally felt relieved. With a relieved mind, he looked to the side.

  That was when he suddenly caught sight of Bom raising her t-shirt all the way up to her underwear, fumbling her stomach with her hands.

  It was as if time suddenly stopped.

  Her white stomach and her belly button.

  The thin lines of her waist.

  The faint rim of her abs and a portion of her white underwear.

  It all entered his sight in the blink of an eye.

  “…?”


  Bom, who had been fumbling her stomach till then raised her head, and the two of them looked at each other.

  At a loss, Yu Jitae fixated his gaze on her face while Bom, who was at an even bigger loss than him, slowly lowered her clothes.

  She soon covered her stomach.

  “…”


  There was an anxious look on her face.

  He quietly turned his head back towards the road.

  He had seen a lot of stomachs of women including the dragons. Because of her tendency to be in a hurry, Kaeul’s clothes rolled up quite easily while Yeorum always wore training tops but Yu Jitae didn’t feel anything looking at those.

  But it just happened to be Bom’s stomach.

  “Why would you look here when you’re driving…” said Bom after a moment of embarrassment. Her cautious voice had a hint of moisture to it.

  “Sorry…”


  A bad thought appeared in his mind.

  Fortunately, they were still inside the car.