The medic wore a puzzled look but focused on the immediate task. Keeping Ji Hayeon lying down, he checked breathing and pulse, then assessed his symptoms. Seeing the blue vein track standing out along the clavicle, he immediately took out a syringe. Just before the needle pierced skin, Sawon stopped him.“Is that for stamina-types?”“Eh? Yes. Of course it’s a stamina-type sedative.”“…Wait.”“Hey, hey, you can’t just haul him up like that!”Sawon abruptly propped Ji Hayeon up and leaned him against his chest. Then he undid the shirt buttons and set his hand over the left side of the chest.“Nine. Read him.”“Squeak.”At the same time as Nine’s reply, blue light curled around Sawon’s hand. Borrowing Nine’s power, he began to read Ji Hayeon’s Metena. Beneath his palm he felt a rounded, threadlike skein coiling together.…No matter how I look at it, he’s intellect-type.Stamina-types and intellect-types circulated Metena along fundamentally different flows. Ji Hayeon was plainly an intellect-type hunter. If you put a stamina-type sedative into him, it would be no different from transfusing the wrong blood type. Sawon looked between the man in his arms and the medic. The medic couldn’t bring himself to get angry at Sawon and only fidgeted in agitation. Then Ji Hayeon clutched at the pocket of his lab coat. Sawon quickly searched it. What came out was a pill bottle.“When did you even grab this.”Sawon rested Ji Hayeon’s head on his shoulder. The man’s reaction had been consistent from the start — he needed to finish this medication.“You’re saying you have to take this, right?”Ji Hayeon nodded. Sawon immediately opened the not-fully-closed bottle and brought it to his lips. He asked the medic for water.“Okay, open up.”Sawon tipped a few pills into Ji Hayeon’s mouth, then trickled in a mouthful of water.“Uugh.”After moving his tongue a few times, Ji Hayeon gagged.“Hey. Don’t spit it out. You said you have to take it.”Sawon clamped a hand over his mouth.“Urk, kuh…!”Red blood seeped between Sawon’s fingers. As part of Metena overload, it didn’t surprise him much, but the medic recoiled and tried to stop him.“Hunter! It would be best to give a tranquilizer first.”“He’s in a special situation — says we can’t use a tranquilizer.”To the medic’s baffled look, he added one more line.“He said so himself, so it’ll be right. Isn’t that so, Mr. Ji Hayeon?”Even as he spoke, Sawon didn’t take his hand away from the man’s mouth. Then, firmly, he tilted Ji Hayeon’s head farther back.“You said you have to finish it. Endure it even if it’s rough. Swallow it.”Though he winced like he was in pain, Ji Hayeon did his best to swallow what was in his mouth. ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ After a long moment of convulsing, his throat bobbed.“Good job.”Tears ran down Ji Hayeon’s cheeks. As if soothing Nine, Sawon patted his shoulder and tipped the bottle again.“Are you sure this is the right method? Sir, do you really have to take this medicine?”“Uugh!”He gagged. Even so, when he gave a slight nod, Sawon once again covered his mouth. Pills that had nearly been spat out mixed with blood and went back down his throat. Watching the medic who couldn’t make sense of the situation, Sawon smiled.“This is how he’s supposed to take it. Don’t worry.”The medic bit his lip hard and silently prayed that Sawon’s method truly was the best.***“Nine. Be good.”Nine stopped tapping the IV line and scampered back to Sawon. This time the small hand tapped the cold hospital wall. Clad entirely in white marble, the place was the National Awakened Center, a hunter-only hospital.'Until there’s a call, stay by Chief Ji’s side and keep watch.'Propping his chin on his knee, Sawon sighed.“They’re wasting high-grade manpower like this.”He had no desire for rank or power, but it still felt like he’d been sidelined. Hunters sometimes did security or protection work. But this kind of babysitting was usually assigned to Grade 4, Grade 3 at most.“Are they going to use me properly or not….”Grumbling, Sawon flipped up the hood on his coat — his way of showing dissatisfaction. Ji Hayeon slept like a corpse without the slightest movement. The heart monitor’s graph and the faint rise and fall of his chest told Sawon he was safe.Nine leapt into Sawon’s arms, then watched Ji Hayeon in the same pose as his master.Sawon mulled over the clipped call with the Director.“About the senior researcher there. He’s an intellect-type Awakened, yes?”“We’ll talk about that later. For now, stay by Chief Ji and stand by.”Sawon poked Ji Hayeon’s cheek with his index finger.“That sly old man — what the hell is he hiding.”Poke, poke, the half-hearted jabs didn’t stop. Watching quietly, Nine climbed onto Ji Hayeon’s chest. Then he fussed with the man’s lips — tugging at the corners, peeling them back, carefully inspecting like he was grooming fur. Even, white teeth peeked between red lips.“Uu…”At the faint groan, Nine tilted his head and looked back at Sawon, letting out a small whine as he beckoned toward Ji Hayeon. Long lashes fluttered, then slowly lifted.“He’s up.”Opening his eyes, Ji Hayeon stared at the ceiling for a moment, then lowered his gaze to his chest. Seeing Nine, he jolted and pushed himself up.“W-what is that…!”Startled as well, Nine fled into Sawon’s arms. Patting him, Sawon answered flatly.“Are you a bit more lucid now, Chief Ji?”Frowning, Ji Hayeon glared at him.“…Who are you.”“Wow. ‘Who are you,’ he says. Nine, did you hear that?”“Squeak.”With the hand that had the IV catheter, Ji Hayeon rubbed at his eyes over and over. His voice was low, as if not fully awake.“So who are you.”“Which way do I need to say it for you to get it? Code name? Real name?”“Either.”Blinking wide a few times, he shook his head clear. Lounging back in the chair, Sawon answered dryly.“CODE 16.”At the reply, Ji Hayeon froze. He slowly turned to look at Sawon.“…Gu Sawon?”Scrubbing his eyes hard, he stared again.“Yeah. Gu Sawon. But why are you looking at me like that? What, do you know me?”His pupils trembled uncontrollably.“…H-how could I not. Scrapper.”His voice was still unsteady. He turned his head and brought a thumbnail to his lips. Tock tock — teeth clicked against nail. Sawon’s gaze drifted naturally to his hand. Now he noticed the state of the nails. Beyond the finger pressed between red lips, every nail was torn to rags. Lifting a brow, Sawon reached out.“Pretty casual tone for a first meeting with your lifesaver, huh?”He flicked Ji Hayeon’s wrist with a fingertip. Only then did Ji seem to realize and snatch his hand back. Fidgeting with both hands clasped, he asked:“Lifesaver?”He tried to act composed, but the busy fingers betrayed raw anxiety. Pushing his hood back again, Sawon studied him closely.“I pulled you out of your lab, fed you your pills, carried you here like a princess, and I’ve been nursing you since.”It was closer to sitting there because he had no choice than “nursing,” but Sawon inflated his achievements. At that, Ji Hayeon’s shoulders flinched.“You?”“Yeah, me. You really don’t remember anything?”“…”He dropped his gaze and clenched the blanket. Judging by the confusion, he really didn’t remember. The corner of Sawon’s mouth, until now expressionless, curled with mischief.“That’s not all. While you were in my arms you were groping my chest, rubbing your cheek on my neck, clinging, hanging — a whole scene. You even tried to take my clothes off, and I barely—”“D-don’t lie!”“Not a lie. It’s true. Right, Nine?”Nestled in his arms, Nine cocked his head. Flustered, Ji Hayeon gripped the blanket even tighter, the tips of his ears turning red. After kneading the innocent fabric for a while, he suddenly looked up as if something had flashed through his mind.“The lab? What happened to the lab? There are specimens in there — is the lab okay?”Before he could be stopped, he swung his legs out of bed and promptly pitched forward. In one quick motion, Sawon caught him. Sticky hair, still not cleaned of fluids and blood, tickled Sawon’s cheek.“Let’s talk about the Institute after you finish treatment.”“No. There’s important data. I have to check it first.”“Hey. I said no.”Sawon wrapped an arm around his waist and flung him back onto the bed.“Ugh…! What are you doing.”“Sorry, but you won’t be going into the Institute for a while. It’ll take some time to repair. Off-limits until then.”“What are you talking about?”Sawon scratched his forehead with an index finger.“I scratched it up a little.”“Scratched what. The Institute?”“Yep.”His pupils shook even harder than before. Red lips stayed frozen for a long moment, then slowly parted.“…How much?”“Mm… let’s see… enough that you won’t be using it for a few days…?”

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