What's that supposed to mean? When Heeyoung wore a baffled expression, Chaeyun answered quickly from beside her, her voice flustered.
“I've heard guides only feel the energy inside their bodies while they're guiding, but espers feel the energy inside us all the time. So we can sense when that energy runs dry. Of course, our senses aren't precise, so we rely on machines to help, but generally it's an esper's habit to be constantly checking our own condition. But right now...”
“Wait, the watch isn't working either?”
“Uh, sis...”
The moment Heeyoung heard Chaeyun's words, she'd checked her watch, and now she cried out in alarm. Serin frantically checked hers too, but it was just a black screen. Chaeyun patted the whimpering Serin and looked around.
“Aigoo, my puppy. It's not a big deal. This seems to be a trait of this dungeon... But then what was that report saying a ghost exists here? You wouldn't have been able to feel your own energy. And with the watch broken, there'd be no way to check either... Besides, that A-class esper who supposedly woke up, didn't they fail to mention anything about a dungeon trait like this?”
Shinyul nodded at Chaeyun's words. It really was strange. A trait like this was fairly fatal to an esper, so it should have been the very first piece of information passed along. Something this obvious couldn't have been missed.
“Then shouldn't we go back?”
At Heeyoung's question, both Shinyul and Chaeyun fell silent.
There was a bit of a problem, but each of them had their own guide standing by, so it was something they could handle, and since they'd come in at full strength to begin with, even if they went out right now to report the situation, there was nothing more they could prepare. This was only her second time entering a dungeon, and her first real assignment as part of a proper S-class pair, so Heeyoung didn't know it yet, but this was generally how an S-class dungeon closing went. In high-risk dungeons, unexpected situations like this happened often enough, and in the end blocking them was their job and their duty, so Shinyul and Chaeyun quickly finished sizing up the situation and exchanged a glance.
Honestly, a situation like this couldn't even be called a crisis, since they weren't in any immediate danger of dying. They'd been through moments far more dramatic than this, and not once had they backed down. If they couldn't block it, no one could.
“For now it seems only our internal sense is gone, and our abilities are working fine. Let's keep guiding and press forward.”
Chaeyun smiled, letting a flame flicker up in her palm with a whoosh. At the sight, Heeyoung scrubbed roughly at her eyelids with her palms and said with a sigh,
“Ha... Fine, let's go for now.”
Fuuuck... Right. It's not like this is some kids' haunted house. We're kind of screwed, so we can't exactly turn back, can we? Heeyoung nodded, talking herself into it.
Shinyul reached out to scoop Heeyoung up again, but she waved him off. With things going strangely and no clear idea of Shinyul's condition either, she didn't want to needlessly add to his load. It wouldn't be too late to say something right before she collapsed while walking. Just don't be a stumbling block, Heeyoung thought to herself. Seeing her refusal, Shinyul quietly laced his fingers through hers and began to walk slowly.
Chaeyun, soothing Serin in her arms, seemed genuinely bothered by Heeyoung's stiff expression, and tossed out a small joke.
“It's all right, Heeyoung. Unexpected things like this happen in dungeons all the time. Though the machines going dead and our bodies feeling off, that part doesn't.”
“You've got no talent for jokes, girl.”
At Heeyoung's sullen voice, Serin burst into giggles. She'd been on the verge of tears just a moment ago, but her mood had cleared right up, and she kicked her dangling feet as she hung in Chaeyun's arms. Finding her adorable, Chaeyun pressed a quick kiss to Serin's forehead and smiled.
Look at me... Guess I've gotten used to this place. Two girls kissing and I just take it in stride... Watching the two of them as she mused, Heeyoung suddenly grew conscious of Shinyul's hand gripping hers tightly.
Wow, fuck... No matter how I think about it, this is ridiculous. Me, walking around with my fingers laced with some guy's... She glanced down at their joined hands and saw a small, thin hand swallowed up in a big, thick one.
His hand's... big. No, is it that this one's small...?
“...”
It felt strange. Like something was tickling one corner of her chest... Honestly, what the hell is this... Staring hard at their joined hands, lips pushed out and face scrunched up, Heeyoung was being watched by Shinyul, who chuckled and then gently swept his thumb over the back of her hand, tickling it.
“Fuck, what the hell!”
“Huh? Something wrong?”
At Shinyul's playful little trick to lighten her mood, Heeyoung jumped like a thief startled by her own guilty conscience and shrieked, and Chaeyun, walking ahead, turned around to ask. Shinyul, still holding her fluttering, trembling hand firmly and continuing to tickle it, played innocent, grinning and tilting his head.
This fucking bastard, this sly fox... Is now really the time for this? Huh? And I can't exactly yank my hand away... Heeyoung ducked her head, face flushed bright red, and stammered out an answer.
“No, uh, the monster, that thing, what is it, I can't see well up ahead... We're going the right way, r-right?”
“Ohh...”
Chaeyun looked back and forth between Heeyoung, red all the way down to her neck and head bowed low, and Shinyul, gazing at her with a beaming smile, then chuckled and took the lead again, playing along with Heeyoung's pretense.
“Espers, especially S-classes, are said to have physical abilities dozens of times greater than an ordinary person's. It's similar even in the dark. Not to the point of seeing clearly in a place like this where you can't see anything at all, but still better than an ordinary person. So don't worry.”
“...”
Listening to Chaeyun's soft, measured explanation, Heeyoung pressed down hard on Shinyul's joined hand. It was a signal to hold still, but Shinyul only tormented her more, running his fingers between hers and tickling her palm.
She couldn't take her eyes off the big, long fingers holding her hand and tickling it. Fuck, fuck... Normally I'd have unleashed a torrent of curses and slapped the hand away... but forget cursing, I can't even get my mouth open. No, wait, I've already done way more than just hold hands with this bastard, so why am I suddenly acting like this?! Acting like some brat who hasn't even grown hair down there, why!
...Then again, this body barely has any hair.
“So can you see what's up ahead right now? Huh? Can you?”
“You gonna start crying again like before?”
The sound of the two of them giggling no longer reached her ears. Every ounce of her attention was fixed on walking side by side, hand in hand, in step with Shinyul. Had there ever been a time like this in her life? she wondered.
“Ah, there's a ghost ahead. Hmm... so that report wasn't total nonsense after all... No, wait, it said a ghost-type monster, but the fact that it's just a plain ghost, that again...”
“I hate ghosts. Good thing they're slow. If they were fast, think how hard a time you'd have, sis.”
“Really? Aren't you being thoughtful for once.”
No, no... In the first place, I've never held hands and walked with anyone... Fuck, in all my years I'd never done that. I'd never even thought about it, actually.
“Tch... Fine, forget it! How far ahead is it? Are we going around it?”
“Right in front. Hmm... For now I think it's best to just keep going like this... The strangeness of the report is bugging me too. What do you think, Shinyul?”
Shinyul stopped tickling with his fingers and gripped Heeyoung's hand hard. With their hands pressed completely together, she could feel with blatant clarity how damp the space between them had gotten. And that stole her attention all over again. Insane, fuck, why is my hand sweating this much? Let's take it out for a second... Can't I just wipe my hand? No, the other, the other hand...
“What about you, princess?”
“Huh? Wh-what did you say? Uh, do whatever. Whatever you think.”
Snapped back to her senses by Shinyul's voice, Heeyoung whipped her head from side to side and smacked her own forehead with her free hand. You've completely lost it, haven't you? Feeling all relaxed? In a place crawling with monsters, with the situation already a disaster, what's the big deal about holding that guy's hand once. Huh? Pull yourself together, seriously.
“...She looks fine in her current state, so let's press on.”
At Chaeyun's suggestion, Shinyul nodded slowly. Soon their stopped legs were moving again, and when Shinyul put strength into their joined hands, Heeyoung dragged her feet along after him. Her hand was still damp, and the feel of the hand holding hers was vivid. Ugh, fuck, seriously.
“Hey, Shinyul. Hold on... let's switch hands.”
“Huh? Why?”
“No, if I say switch, then switch! Fuck, I'm already pissed enough walking around holding hands with a guy at my age, why so many questions!”
Heeyoung snapped, flaring up, and thrust out her other hand. Shinyul obligingly switched his grip. When the held hand came free, the chill of the cold air raised goosebumps. Heeyoung quickly rubbed the freed hand against her clothes to dry it.
“Why? Scared after all? You were sweating buckets.”
“Like hell. Now that you mention it, what was it you asked me earlier?”
The newly grasped hand was dry. It still tickled, but at least it wasn't damp, so it seemed better than before. I'll just switch off every so often. It was a hassle and a pain, but better than walking around out of her mind.
“Uh, Heeyoung? You didn't hear what we were just talking about?”
“What did you...”
Heeyoung, who'd been looking down at the hand she'd scrubbed dry, slowly raised her head at Chaeyun's words and lost her voice. Behind Chaeyun, who had turned toward her, was a broad, enormous, translucent something with its mouth gaping wide open. It even seemed to be creeping toward them, very slowly. Fuck, that thing...
“Gho...”
“Uh, uh, hey! Wai, Heeyoung? Heeyoung?”
Heeyoung fainted right where she stood, eyes rolling back. Her hand slipped free of Shinyul's, and in the instant she started to collapse to the floor, Shinyul quickly bent down to catch her, but the space caved in starting from her feet and in a flash began to swallow up her limp, sagging body.
“Hee...!”
Shinyul swiftly thrust his hand into the pit of darkness, but the darkness sucking Heeyoung in shoved his hand away as if resisting him. Yet Shinyul gritted his teeth and reached even harder. With the horrific crunch of his arm bones snapping into several pieces, the moment he barely reached Heeyoung.
“Shinyul!”
The darkness swallowed the two of them, Shinyul and Heeyoung, and vanished.
