As he lifted his heavy eyelids, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view. Recalling the abrupt cutoff of his memories, he couldn’t suppress a sigh.
He had sensed that his condition hadn’t been great these past few days, but he was a Shining. He had believed he could endure it—passing out was unthinkable.
Forcing himself upright, he clutched his throbbing head. The moment he stepped off the bed, a sharp headache struck again, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Pulling open the stained curtains, he was met with a view of a small, run-down village. As expected—given his current state, it seemed they had chosen to stay here rather than move on to the next town.
There’s no time.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he grabbed his outer coat and left the room. His subordinates, stationed outside, called out in alarm, but he ignored them and strode out of the inn in search of his aide.
“V-Vincent-nim, your condition—”
“We’re leaving for the next town.”
“Right now?”
His pale face was flushed, and cold sweat clung to his forehead. He looked like he could collapse at any moment, yet he was pressing for an immediate departure.
“You can’t. You need to rest a little longer—”
“Did you not hear me? I said, leave. Now.”
A glint of menace flickered in his vivid red eyes. The aide, well aware that the will of a Shining was not something that could be overturned, had no choice but to issue the order to assemble the men.
While waiting for his scattered subordinates to gather, Vincent leaned against the car, his breaths coming in short gasps. Had his body really been pushed this far just from moving around? It was worse than he had anticipated.
“Would you please get inside the car and rest?”
Normally, he would have dismissed the concern, but this time, he obediently climbed inside. The moment his back pressed against the plush seat, as the tension drained from his body, the pain he had dulled until now came rushing back.
He had been shot before, stabbed even—but he had never burned up with fever like this. The sensation was foreign to him. His body felt hot, his breaths were shallow, and his vision wavered.
Has it always been this bad?
Is this what the fever that tormented Seo-yul felt like? Until now, he had only ever been the one watching Seo-yul suffer. But thinking of it that way, the pain no longer felt so unfamiliar.
If Seo-yul had been here while he was this sick, would he have taken care of him the way he always had?
Seo-yul, wiping his body, worrying over him, bringing him food—just like he used to in the storage room. The mere thought of it brought a faint smile to his lips.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen.
With half-lidded, drowsy eyes, he wiped away the sweat trailing down his cheek. He pulled a suppressant from his coat and swallowed it, hoping the medication would take effect.
Of course, it wouldn’t. But right now, all he could do was hope that this fever was heat fever. At least then, he would know when it would end.
No—this had to be heat fever.
Pressing a hand to his stifling chest, he stared into empty space. Each time he had a moment to think, that familiar anxiety crept in, threatening to consume him. He forced it down, repeating to himself over and over—
Seo-yul hyung is alive.
He had to believe it.
***
Night had fallen, dark and heavy, yet Choi Yeo-min still hadn’t returned.
Sitting by the window, I gazed toward the front gate, but beyond the dim forest path leading to the village, everything remained eerily still.
“He’s still not back?”
Helen had come looking for me. I only nodded in response, and she sighed deeply before taking a seat across from me.
“He couldn’t have gotten lost, could he?”
“No way. He’s not a kid.”
“At my age, they all look like kids.”
Helen ruffled my hair playfully, forcing a smile. We were both pretending to be unconcerned, but our eyes, fixed on the forest, betrayed our worry.
The village wasn’t exactly close, but with Choi Yeo-min’s speed, he should have been back long ago. The fact that there had been no word from him this late into the night felt wrong.
He’s not the type to be late without saying anything.
A creeping unease settled in. Had something happened to him in town? The border villages were notoriously unkind to outsiders.
Worse still, the forested hill leading up to the estate was treacherous. Anyone unfamiliar with the terrain would struggle to navigate it, especially at night. And Yeo-min hadn’t even taken a flashlight—he would have no way of finding his way in the pitch-black darkness.
“…He really is taking too long.”
Even after more time had passed, there was still no sign of him. Unable to contain her anxiety any longer, Helen got up, saying she would check the surroundings.
“It’s too dark,” I murmured.
“I’ll take a flashlight. Don’t worry.”
She reassured me as she prepared to leave. I watched as she donned her coat, grabbed a flashlight, and stepped out through the front gate.
Pressing myself against the window, I watched her figure grow smaller as she disappeared into the night.
Everything will be fine.
As I sat back down, staring at the front gate, I waited anxiously for the two of them to return. How much time had passed? A shadow appeared, moving toward the entrance.
Is that them?
I shot up in relief, about to call out to them—but something was wrong. They weren’t coming through the tightly shut gate. Instead, they were climbing over the surrounding wall.
Helen, the owner of this house, would never enter the estate like that. My entire body tensed as I quickly hid behind a wall, watching the intruders carefully.
Who the hell are they?
Strangers, struggling to scale the wall, landed on the other side and began making their way toward the estate. The only light on in the entire house was coming from my room. Naturally, their gazes locked onto it.
Shit.
The two men pointed at my window, exchanging words. A deep instinct told me I needed to get out of here. Unfortunately, in my current state, I could barely walk without support.
I can’t just stay here.
Gritting my teeth, I forced my body to move. My legs trembled violently, like they would collapse at any moment, but at least I could walk. Running was out of the question, but I could still manage to escape.
I stepped out of my room, making my way down the dark hallway. I had barely taken a few steps when I heard the sound of a door creaking open in the distance.
The strangers had entered the estate.
“The second floor, right?”
“There’s the staircase.”
Their voices drew closer. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I heard their footsteps ascend the stairs in quick strides. Running was impossible—I had to hide.
I scanned my surroundings and, just before they reached the second floor, I pressed myself behind a nearby pillar. Fortunately, the darkness concealed me well enough.
“You’re sure he’s here?”
“Yeah. The scent is strong.”
One of them sniffed audibly, tracking something. The man who had been checking the empty rooms was now approaching mine. That was when I realized—these weren’t just ordinary thieves.
“This should be the place.”
“Open it.”
They flung my bedroom door open and stepped inside. Only then did I cautiously slip out from behind the pillar.
This was my chance.
While they were busy searching my room, I had to escape and find Helen. But no matter how desperate I was, my legs moved at a frustratingly slow pace—slower than a damn turtle.
Move. Please, just move.
I clenched my jaw and pushed forward, but I barely picked up speed. Behind me, the men rummaged through the empty room. It wouldn’t take long for them to realize I wasn’t in there.
I finally reached the staircase—but this was where the real problem began.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward.
But the moment I put weight on my unsteady legs, they buckled beneath me.
“Ugh—!”
Thud.
Before I could react, my body tumbled down the stairs, hitting the steps hard. I barely managed to stifle a pained cry, but the excruciating agony that surged through my body was unavoidable. It felt like every bone inside me had shattered.
I forced myself upright, but standing was impossible—my ankle had twisted during the fall. Clenching my teeth, I dragged my body across the floor. My vision blurred, tinged with red. When I reached up and touched my forehead, my fingers came away slick with blood.
“Did you hear that?”
There was no way they hadn’t noticed the noise. Their footsteps drew closer. Panic surged inside me, but my body refused to cooperate.
Just a little more. Please.
I managed to crawl my way to the door. Trembling, I reached out, stretching my fingers toward the doorknob—almost there, just a little more—
But my consciousness was slipping. The blood loss was making my head spin.
I bit down on my lip and lifted myself just a little higher. Pain shot through me as my twisted ankle pressed against the floor, but I endured it. If I could just get outside, I could call for Helen. I just needed to—
“There you are.”
Just as my fingers brushed the doorknob, a stranger’s hand seized my wrist.
I barely had time to turn my head before a dark cloth was shoved over my face.
And then, everything went black.
