Jegal Min couldn’t remain calm like Namgung Ryeo. He clenched his fist.

“Bloody Cult. We don’t know what they might do. We must go save Yeona right away.”

“We must first find out where the Bloody Cult’s headquarters is.”

The Bloody Cult was a place that committed all sorts of brutal acts without hesitation. Naturally, they were hidden in a dark forest.

The general location was known to the martial arts alliance, but no one except the insiders of the Bloody Cult knew the exact structure of the building.

‘We must launch a signal hawk to locate it.’

It was when Danmokbi hurriedly got up from his seat. Jegal Min grabbed Danmokbi’s sleeve.

“Wait a moment, Danmok Sage Lord.”

Danmokbi looked back as if to ask what was going on. Jegal Min opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Yeona said she was considering marrying you… Is that just my sister’s thought?”

Danmokbi did not answer. But his face itself was enough for an answer.

His face turned red in an instant just from the fact that the word marriage had come from Yeona’s lips.

The answer was sufficient with just that stonelike man making such a face. Jegal Min sighed and let go of the sleeve.

“It was a rhetorical question. Let’s go then.”

“Go where?”

“I marked the assassin’s sleeve with a signal. Tracking him won’t be difficult.”

Jegal Min showed his finger, slightly cut at the end, where a scab had formed. Since there was no ink, he had hastily marked the location using the blood from his finger.

(This is a time separator.)

When I woke up from sleep, I deliberately kept my eyes closed. I felt the gaze tickling my cheek.

‘Ugh, he’s staring right through me. He’s definitely looking right through me.’

Who on earth was staring at me like this?

I tightly closed my eyes and endured it, but even after some time had passed, the gaze didn’t leave my side. Eventually, I couldn’t bear it and squinted my eyes to ask.

“…Why are you looking down on me like that?”

As I suspected, the figure gazing down at me was none other than Hyeol Jung Hyuk.

Hyeol Jung Hyuk propped up his chin and chuckled as he answered.

“It’s my first time seeing someone sleep.”

“Everyone sleeps.”

“Why would I watch someone sleep?”

“…….”

Why then does he keep looking at my face?

‘Really a strange person.’

It’s like he’s slightly broken somewhere, isn’t it? The words he spat out didn’t connect smoothly; they were all over the place.

I got slightly annoyed and sat up in bed. As I brushed down my tangled hair with my hands, Hyeol Jung Hyuk chuckled and said,

“You grind your teeth a little in your sleep. Did you know that?”

“…Really?”

There was no sign of pain in my molars? Reflexively, I felt my jaw with both hands, and Hyeol Jung Hyuk tapped my lips with his finger.

“And you drooled too.”

“Gasp!”

Did I make such a spectacle of myself! It was strange to wipe my lips with my sleeve. Just as I was about to pout, Hyeol Jung Hyuk grabbed his stomach and laughed.

“Hahaha, all lies. You were sleeping quite decently. I thought you were dead because you didn’t even move.”

“…!!”

My face turned even redder than before. I nervously wiped my lips with my sleeve, grumbling.

“Playing a stupid prank.”

Even though I was blatantly annoyed, Hyeol Jung Hyuk continued to chuckle and answered.

“That’s right. It’s my first time doing this, but it’s more fun than I thought?”

“Do it to a friend.”

“I don’t have friends like that.”

Sure enough, it’s strange that he has friends with that personality. I turned my head with an expression that said I knew it all along. Hyeol Jung Hyuk cocked his head.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve had such a long conversation with someone else.”

“Why do you keep talking to me then?”

“Perhaps, because it’s fun?”

Hyeol Jung Hyuk looked at me again, propping his chin in the other direction this time. It seemed strange to him even after he said it.

“That’s true. Why do I keep talking to you? Your face looks like a pressed dumpling. Is it because it’s funny?”

“…A pressed dumpling?”
That was the first time I had ever heard such harsh words. At my disbelief, my lips twitched, and he flashed a mischievous smile, as if he had caught a weakness.

“Don’t think you’re extremely pretty, do you? Wake up from that dream then. There are plenty of women in the world prettier than you, no matter how you look.”

“No, I haven’t done anything, and you’re talking rudely?”

What did I say to deserve such harsh words right after waking up? He pricked my twitching cheek with his forefinger and said,

“Look at those plump cheeks. Why are they so plump even though you’re not a child? Have you not lost your baby fat?”

“Don’t poke. Do you think I’m a child?”

I pushed his hand away with the back of my hand. But he dodged my hand like an older brother who wouldn’t listen and kept poking my face.

“Your eyes are round like beads, and your forehead sticks out, too.”

“I told you to stop.”