life tiltin' to the left [S-Classes That I Raised]

going upwards

17.

He had to get out of here.

His brother was waiting for him, so he had to get out of here as fast as possible. Bak Yerim was here because their conquered dungeon had been nearby, but she was inexperienced and had weak defense. The moment she is pierced by this unknown bird, it would be a wound which forces her to stop fighting.

Faster. He had to do it faster.

If only he could–

"Fly."

Han Yoohyun didn't turn around. It could be an opening for the bird to exploit, but his hands twitched nonetheless at the sound of a foreign voice. His eyes stayed locked onto the bird which was trying and failing to bat the icy mist away. Bak Yerim's persistence was praiseworthy for a fifteen-year-old girl who Awakened only a little more than a week ago.

"If you step on the Azure Willow Leaves, you can fly."

He wanted to turn around. He didn't. It didn't matter who had this information. The bird had to die, and this person gave him an easy way to do that. After he found the signal of his brother's stolen cell phone would he dig into this matter. But not now.

He had to go out and find his older brother—the only one who loved him wholeheartedly, the one he had to let go[-].

Han Yoohyun used the Azure Willow Leaves and flew.

18.

Yoo Myeongwoo looked nervous. He wondered why, because all he did was inform Han Yoohyun about his skill, but maybe it was a little awkward to talk to a complete stranger with intimate knowledge that only someone who deeply analyzed a skill would know. Han Yoojin had to admit that he would have been nervous too, if a stranger asked that of him.

"Thanks," he said and didn't even grumble when an arm wound itself around his shoulder blades again. Yoo Myeongwoo was a lot more weirdly clingy than he had anticipated. Perhaps he would, too, if he saw someone almost get killed by a giant bird. With a sigh, he pointed to the gate. "Let's go out, Yoo Myeongwoo."

"Is.. Are you all right, Yohan– Um, Lee Yoohyun–?"

"It's Han Yohan," he interrupted patiently. He added, "It's also not my real name."

Yoo Myeongwoo chuckled at that. He questioned why. It was blatantly clear that he didn't trust the other enough to give out his real name, but he seemed relieved instead. Han Yoojin already promised not to run away if Yoo Myeongwoo told Han Yoohyun the special feature of his Azure Willow Leaves, so why the relief? "Thanks for telling me," the man thanked with a smile. He couldn't relate at all to this sentence. There wasn't anything to thank for. A frown replaced the smile abruptly. "Are you– Is everything all right?"

"Yes, of course."

No, it wasn't. The day was terrible, he felt terrible and it will stay terrible, too. Fear Resistance wasn't a depression suppressor, so the familiar feeling of his gut sinking wasn't exactly a welcome surprise. But he also didn't feel distressed. It was more.. disconnected. As if the person in his skin was another person unrelated to him. Someone who didn't know this exhausted, cold looking Han Yoohyun.

It wasn't a good feeling.

"Let's go out," he repeated.

"You're pale," Yoo Myeongwoo remarked as if he was a prophet. As if he knew that he was hiding from his younger brother who left him all alone but still chose to save his useless brother, nonetheless. "You shouldn't push yourself."

"I'm fine." He wasn't.

Yoo Myeongwoo also didn't seem convinced by the amount of frown on that face. Although Han Yoojin didn't let it deter him and lightly tugged the other towards the gate instead. The explosions have stopped. They should leave quickly.