Until now, Lee had been happy and inquisitive, a behavior that belied his age. However, it all disappeared in an instant, and a fright took over his face.

He let out a sigh before speaking.

“I know it's an honor to meet the Knight, but I really thought hard on whether I should meet you or not. Since I would have to talk about the heartbeat, I had an urge to decline the meeting.”

“You're feeling fear right now.”

“Yes. I feel it. I feel a great amount of it.”

Lee didn’t hesitate to agree with Sungyoon’s statement. He hugged himself and spoke.

“May I ask why you're curious about that, Knight?”

“I hear the heartbeat too.”

“Lord, have mercy!”

Lee covered his face with his hands.

“I remember it now. They said you're a 1st Gen Connector like us. When I think about what you do for a living, I had a hard time believing it to be true.”

“Still, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a 1st Gen.”

“I’m not saying you're lying. I believe you.”

Lee took a deep sigh. He kept opening and closing his mouth and moving his eyes while trying to organize his tangled emotions.

“As you probably know, when we hear the heartbeat, we feel an incredible amount...