We had grown quite close by now, sharing meals and exchanging what could be called conversations.
“Whenever I dream, there’s always a vast ocean. I curl up like a fetus there, and when I become conscious, I swim up to the surface. Then I see a beautiful island before me. As if enchanted, I climb onto the island and sit under the large tree at its peak. When I close my eyes and open them again, I wake from my sleep.”
One day, I was telling him about a dream I often had. This recurring dream always left me with an aching nostalgia before it faded.
I laughed as I mentioned how I had woken from this dream that morning with a heavy heart. Herth stared at me quietly before lowering his eyes.
“Do you want to go back?”
Though I had only shared a dream, he had pierced my emotions with remarkable precision. In truth, this was less a dream and more my subconscious. The things that had taken root inside me as I imprinted with my guides. The ocean was Yang Garam, the island was Do Wonjin, and the tree was Jeong Seyeon.
At first, my concern for revenge took precedence, but now, three months later, revenge was the last thing on my mind—just thinking about them made it hard to breathe from longing.
“Yes, I want to go back.”
I had always shown a smiling face to Herth, but this time it was difficult to hold back. As time passed, what grew within me was despair and emptiness. Though Serubi stayed by my side and Herth kept me company, I knew that nothing would quench this thirst.
“I miss them so much.”
“…”
Herth looked at me silently before standing up.
Then he twirled the flower he had given me that morning between his fingers. Though barely half a day had passed, the petals had lost their initial vitality and were slowly withering.
“Then go back.”
He tucked the flower into my hair and lifted the corners of his mouth. It was an awkward smile, as if imitating the ones I had shown him.
“How?”
“I’ll send you.”
Hearing our conversation, Serubi perked up his ears, jumped to my feet, looked up at me, and meowed. Instinctively, I picked Serubi up, and when I looked ahead, I saw a gate emitting a blue light.
“Farewell, Jeongjae.”
It was the first time Herth had called me by my name, but I couldn’t turn to look at his face. He had already pushed me, with Serubi in my arms, into the gate.
“Ah…”
My surroundings changed to the familiar sight of my room.
I stood there dazed for a long while.
Dawn was breaking outside the window.
“I really came back.”
Sensing the wavelengths of the guides in the house was quicker than feeling the dawn air fill my lungs. Unable to contain my surging emotions, I collapsed and burst into tears. The guides, sensing something amiss, rushed to my room. And then I faced the faces I had longed for so much.
I later learned that the time I spent in the demon realm amounted to only six hours in reality. From their perspective, it must have been strange to see me crying with shoulder-length hair and ragged clothes after just one night, but no one pointed this out. They just treated me as they always had.
Only after I calmed down could I recognize what I looked like. Although I bathed daily in the lake of the demon realm, I had only one set of clothes, and without proper washing facilities, I looked terrible.
Cradled in Jeong Seyeon’s arms, tightly holding Yang Garam and Do Wonjin with both hands, I reluctantly let go.
“I’ll go wash up quickly.”
Though it had only been three months without seeing them, I feared them disappearing from my sight even for a moment. Unable to ask them to wait, I hesitated, and Do Wonjin stood up from his seat.
“Shall we bathe together?”
“Hyung, you stay here with me.”
Yang Garam quickly grabbed Do Wonjin’s arm, and Jeong Seyeon nodded at me.
“Go wash. We’ll wait.”
Reassured by their words, I took only a change of clothes and went to the bathroom. Even as I felt the warm water, I kept checking and rechecking the wavelengths of the guides outside, wondering if I was dreaming.
And then I suddenly recalled Herth, who had sent me here.
‘What was Herth’s true identity…?’
Though I had hoped Herth was an ordinary human, deep down I knew while being with him. That no ordinary human could exist in the demon realm, and that Herth had tried to appear human for my sake.
‘There’s no way to know now, and even if I did know, I probably won’t see him again.’
I could only guess that he was a higher-grade Masu than Roberi, based solely on how easily he opened a gate in one second that Roberi had struggled with for an hour. But my carefree thoughts ended there. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom with a warm, refreshed body, I remembered the homework I had to solve.
‘How do I explain this?’
The time had come to confess that I’d gone to the demon realm without saying a word. Serubi, who had visited the demon realm with me, seemed to have foreseen this situation and was pretending to sleep curled up on a corner of the sofa.
Just moments ago, those were the faces I had so longed for, but now under the gaze of the guides looking only at me, my mouth went dry, and I wanted to run away from this place.
“Actually…”
“Ah, I got up early and now I’m hungry,”
As I struggled to open my mouth, Do Wonjin simultaneously interrupted me.
“I’m still sleepy, can I sleep a bit more next to hyung?”
This time, Yang Garam came out with something completely random.
“Get some more sleep and then come down. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
At Jeong Seyeon’s words that summed up the situation, I looked dumbfounded.
“Since Seyeon hyung has given permission, hyung, let’s sleep.”
Before I knew it, I was pulled to the bed by Yang Garam, who then climbed on top of it as well.
Do Wonjin expressed regret that if the bed were just a bit larger, he would have joined us too, but at Jeong Seyeon’s call, he went downstairs without a word to prepare a meal.
Yang Garam lay on his side and patted my chest.
“Garam, you’re the one who’s sleepy, so why are you trying to make me sleep?”
“If hyung sleeps, I’ll sleep too.”
Lying close together on the single bed, his heartbeat and body heat were transmitted directly. I turned my body to face Yang Garam. After quietly looking at his loving gaze directed at me, I burrowed into his arms first. A cozy and comfortable feeling enveloped me, like being submerged in the ocean I had always dreamed of.
“How hard it must have been for you alone. Rest now.”
Though I wasn’t sleepy at all, sleep overwhelmed me instantly.
At the edge of consciousness, I thought I heard Yang Garam’s whisper.
The nights in the demon realm were long, and I always had to be vigilant against Masu, so I was constantly tense even when sleeping. Not that I felt particularly uncomfortable about it.
‘I slept so deeply.’
But when I opened my eyes in Yang Garam’s arms, I realized that sleeping in the demon realm wasn’t really sleeping properly.
“Did you sleep well?”
I wasn’t sure if Yang Garam had slept while I was sleeping, but he rubbed his eyes and greeted me.
“Yes, I slept well. And you?”
“I did too, thanks to you.”
With a broad smile, Yang Garam kissed me. It was a bird kiss that lightly touched my lips and then pulled away.
“It feels good to see hyung’s face when I open my eyes.”
“Me too.”
At my honest answer, Yang Garam’s eyes, which had been half-closed with sleep, flew wide open. Amused by his reaction, I gave him a morning kiss on his lips too. Although I had only slept for a few hours, my time in the demon realm now felt like a dream.
“Let’s go eat.”
I got up from the bed and stretched, and Yang Garam took my hand. Despite having slept well, not much time had passed, and downstairs the table setting was just being completed.
Peter, who was in the living room in time for the meal, dropped the tablet he was holding when he spotted me and Yang Garam.
“Oh my God.”
Peter clutched his face in shock and astonishment, and I realized I was freely releasing my energy just as I had in the demon realm.
“What on earth happened overnight?!”
Though I hadn’t mentioned the awakening, I could tell from that one line that he had noticed. Unable to tell Peter what I hadn’t even told the guides yet, I gave an awkward smile and pointed to the kitchen.
“Shall we eat first?”
I felt a lump in my throat with each spoonful, each movement of the chopsticks—it had been so long since I’d had a proper meal. Besides the guides, what I missed most while in the demon realm was the food Jeong Seyeon prepared.
The extreme living conditions in the demon realm had taught me how precious the things I took for granted in my daily life were.
Thinking I couldn’t delay any longer, as soon as the meal ended, I gathered the guides and Peter in the living room. Then I told them everything that had happened to me overnight.
But except for Peter, the guides already knew. Serubi had told them everything while I was washing up.
I expected to be scolded, but no one reprimanded me. What they wanted from me was just one thing.
“Promise us you won’t disappear without a word again.”
Many emotions were condensed in those words. I read all those emotions and realized they were the same as what I had learned during my three months in the demon realm.
“If I promise, will you stay with me no matter what happens from now on?”
“Hyung, what kind of question is that…”
“When it comes to moments like this, Jeongjae is surprisingly doubtful.”
“Do you need an answer?”
Looking at the three different reactions, I put strength into my eyes.
“Answer.”
“I’ll stay with you even after death.”
“I’ll be with you for life.”
“…”
Though hearing their answers made me incredibly embarrassed, the fulfillment rising in my chest was indescribable. Finally, I looked at Jeong Seyeon, who hadn’t said anything. Somehow, my heart tingled.
“What about Seyeon hyung?”
At my question, his indifferent eyes turned to me. Perhaps because Yang Garam and Do Wonjin had answered so immediately, all my nerves were focused on his every movement.
“If that’s what you want.”
Jeong Seyeon’s eyes deepened as a smile settled on his lips.
Had Peter not fake-coughed beside us, I might not have come to my senses for a long time, as Jeong Seyeon’s smile was the most beautiful expression I had ever seen from him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
