Chapter 29
Ayeon’s lips moved to speak, but her words trailed off. Without even realizing it, Shin Hae-jun found himself staring at her lips, his appetite unknowingly aroused. For a moment, he felt an urge to kiss her. The sensation of exploring those soft lips and endless depths last night remained vivid in his memory. Shin Hae-jun struggled to suppress the rising impulse and urged her impatiently.
“Why did you stop talking?”
Despite his frustration, Ahyeon hesitated, opening and closing her lips repeatedly before finally speaking.
“Have you ever taken a sociopath test?”
“…..”
Why would she ask that?
Although the question seemed out of place, Shin Hae-jun couldn’t bring himself to ask why she was asking. He felt it would cause him more distress if he found out the question’s intention, and he didn’t want to share the truth about the test results just because she asked. While he lacked the ability to understand others’ emotions fully, he could sense them to some extent.
So Shin Hae-jun remained silent, turning his gaze away from Ahyeon and starting to tap the steering wheel. He felt strange. No, more precisely, it wasn’t good. Why was that? Just a moment ago, he was pleased that he could spend time alone with Ahyeon… Now, he felt irritated for no reason. He was annoyed. Maybe it was because…
[Then see you again at the next scheduled time. I hope you have a good day today. Thank you.]
No, it was probably because of Ahyeon’s sudden smile, which he had never seen before. He gazed at Ahyeon’s smile, which was not a feigned or forced one, but one that genuinely showed her joy. It made him feel uncomfortable. He was irritated.
“It’s different from the face you showed me.”
“Isn’t it natural for your face to change depending on who you’re talking to?”
This is really too much, Shin Hae-jun thought. Wasn’t this the same Ahyeon who just asked if he was a sociopath? Yet here she was, radiating warmth and affection towards some unknown voice on the radio, not even physically present. His clenched jaw tightened involuntarily.
“So, do you like this radio guy better than me?”
“Yes. I’m a fan.”
Ahyeon responded immediately, and Shin Hae-jun’s mood sank just as quickly. A fan? Was this guy really that impressive in evoking such feelings in Ahyeon? Shin Hae-jun frowned, muttering curses under his breath. Glancing at Ahyeon, the traces he had left on her neck were visible whenever she moved.
“Shin, Hae-jun….”
Just a few hours ago, she was clinging to him and moaned his name. The image of her begging for him to thrust harder, refusing to let go of his cock, was still vivid.
But now,
‘She’s smiling after hearing the voice of some stranger she doesn’t even know?’
Tch… Muttering the curse under his breath, Shin Hae-jun noticed the cars blocking the road had cleared, so he pressed the accelerator, increasing speed.
“General? Why are you driving so fast?”
“It’s on my mind.”
Vrooooom! The engine roar grew louder as the scenery flashed by. Ahyeon was taken aback by the sudden increase in speed, but decided to trust the seatbelt for now. There wasn’t much else she could do anyway—she couldn’t just jump out of the speeding car.
Ahyeon started humming along to the now-ended song playing on the radio, looking out the window, while Shin Hae-jun focused intently on driving. It was the same situation as before turning on the radio. The only difference was that Ahyeon’s mind felt a bit more at ease, while Shin Hae-jun was irritated to the point of anxiety.
After some time, as the sunset sky filled the car window, Shin Hae-jun suddenly spoke up.
“Min Ahyeon.”
He rested his left elbow on the window frame and leaned his cheek against his clenched fist. His grip on the steering wheel was loose as he delivered his belated response.
“I’ve taken the sociopath test.”
“…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that?”
“The sociopath test. I’ve taken it.”
What, really? Not a joke?
Shin Hae-jun’s serious tone left Ahyeon at a loss for how to respond, her eyes darting restlessly as she looked at him. Shin Hae-jun continued.
“But it’s okay. Even if there are problems… or at least, it can change with effort.”
Doesn’t that mean there’s a problem? No, more than that, what is he even trying to say with this? And she had just asked that out of sarcasm, but now it turns out he actually took the test, so Ahyeon was taken aback as well. She decided to just go along with it and nodded.
“Ah… yes. I see.”
“Yeah. I’m trying.”
“Mm-hmm… I see.”
“Well, then.”
The conversation kept circling back, and Ahyeon hesitated before carefully speaking up.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the intent behind you telling me this.”
Shin Hae-jun couldn’t immediately respond because he didn’t even know why he said it himself. He suddenly gripped the steering wheel tightly, deliberately avoiding Ahyeon’s gaze as he muttered.
“The radio.”
“…Pardon?”
“Don’t listen to it in front of me, okay?”
Ahyeon was even more confused. What did that have to do with the sociopath test? No, more importantly, why was he suddenly in a bad mood? She couldn’t figure it out at all. So she tried to ask for clarification, but before she could, a noise interrupted them.
———!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Where did they come from?
Where did they come from? The car’s headlights? Or was it the noise? Regardless, the infected emerged from the darkened road, lunging towards the car. Thud! Whizz! Without fear of death or pain, the infected rushed towards the car, grabbing onto the car’s side, and ruthlessly tearing at the tires.
“Hold on tight!”
“Ugh!”
Shin Hae-jun tightly pressed his arm against Ahyeon’s body to keep her steady as he desperately gripped the steering wheel. Screech! The car had turned around and a half before finally coming to a stop. Through the windshield, a horde of infected can be seen. Shin Hae-jun hesitated for a moment, then pulled Ahyeon’s arm to make her grab the steering wheel.
“Hold onto the steering wheel. I’ll handle the shooting.”
He then shifted the gear into reverse, partially leaned out of the car, and raised his gun. Without a moment for Ahyeon to feel startled, she instinctively placed one foot on the driver’s seat and gripped the steering wheel.
“Just focus on avoiding obstacles while reversing. If the speed slows down, we’ll all die. Got it?”
“Damn it, I understand. But don’t trust me too much. Hold on tight.”
Vroom! The Jeep started reversing at tremendous speed, its exhaust roaring. The sky was growing darker, and with them driving backward instead of forwards, the driving was extremely difficult.
Especially since Ahyeon’s driving skills were still so amateur that she was confused about even putting the car into gear until a moment ago. The weaker taillights compared to the headlights, and the movements of the infected creatures surrounding them. Ahyeon continued the perilous driving with clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, Shin Hae-jun remained calm and aimed his gun at the things rushing towards them.
Bang! Bang!
————!
The approaching infected creatures fell back with their heads blown off. Unlike the ones they saw yesterday, these creatures moved without avoiding or hiding, making it easier to deal with. Fortunately for survival, unfortunately for research, they were not mutant infected.
Rat-a-tat-tat! Shin Hae-jun sprayed rounds from the rifle on his right hand while using the pisol on his left hand to take down the infected one by one. His body was more than half hanging out of the car, teetering dangerously, but he just kept firing, unconcerned with his posture. However, just then, a massive infected appeared in front of Ahyeon as she was carefully watching the road while reversing.
Crash!
The rear bumper collided with the infected, causing Ahyeon’s body to jerk violently back and forth as if in a traffic accident. But her body wasn’t what mattered. She quickly reached out of the window and shouted.
“General!!”
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Thank you for reading! ♡
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[ The Multidimensional Cocktail Bar of the Other World ]
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
