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Taebeom received the monster’s heart.
Taebeom’s heart, which had already stopped, couldn’t revive his body. The only option was to transplant someone else’s heart.
Thanks to time being frozen inside the gate, Taebeom was able to receive surgery in time.
[Move quickly!]
The black cat beastkin took the lead and placed Taebeom on the operating table. It was also he who protected the beating heart with his ability.
All conditions matched perfectly, as if the heart had been prepared for Taebeom. Just like the miraculous matching rate with Siwoo.
The heart transplanted into the cold body quickly maintained a steady beat while pumping hot blood.
The tenacious life force that wouldn’t die even when the body was torn apart continued in the new body. The Baekya Guild no longer called the one who gave up his heart a monster.
“Brother, about that person…”
Seojun, who had brought a new blanket, carefully broached the subject. Jihan was busy putting a pet nail clipper deep into the drawer of the bedside table.
Seojun hesitated as he covered Siwoo with a thick winter blanket instead of a thin one. Jihan, who would normally have asked for clarification, quietly filled a water glass. The water bottle prepared for Siwoo always ended up being used by the espers.
“Should we not talk about it?”
Seojun studied Jihan’s face and tried to gauge his reaction. Though he was more comfortable with his brothers than before, his habit of being cautious hadn’t disappeared.
“No, go ahead and talk.”
Jihan shrugged and smiled. After reporting the situation to the secretary, they hadn’t mentioned anything about that day at all.
No one had suggested keeping quiet, but they naturally remained silent. They hadn’t had time for proper conversation while dealing with gates. More accurately, they hadn’t had the emotional capacity.
“Do you remember what he said at the end?”
Jihan didn’t answer right away. He just smiled calmly while stroking Siwoo with his eyes downcast.
“I remember.”
At Jihan’s slow response, Seojun’s expression grew complicated.
The high-ranking esper who had become a monster called Siwoo his “son.” He even shed tears until the ground was soaked while giving up his own heart.
“He was mistaken. Let’s not dwell on it.”
Jihan patted Seojun’s shoulder with a fake hand. He’d been using this ability often since meeting the black cat beastkin. It was a small habit of the copy ability user.
“That must be it, right?”
Jihan nodded to reassure the youngest. But in reality, it was an issue worth exploring further.
The Baekya Guild still didn’t know the monster’s true identity. This was because the person who knew had disappeared.
The cat beastkin had vanished suddenly without saying goodbye. He left only a note saying he would return on his own and not to look for him, and hadn’t shown himself since.
At least they had discovered the identity of the man. The secretary and Jihan had found his name through his appearance and ability information.
Go Doyeon, an esper. He had been registered at the Center as an S-class ability user in the past.
The reason his name was unfamiliar despite being a precious S-class ability user was because he was a historical figure.
He belonged to a generation that was active even before the former Guild Master who was over 100 years old. Those who knew him no longer existed in this world and had all fallen asleep in history.
So there was no way that high-ranking esper with the horrific appearance could be Siwoo’s father. All those who had entered the gate interior were figures from the distant past.
But they couldn’t definitively say there was no connection either.
If even one of Siwoo’s parents had been alive, the story would have been different, but he had grown up in an orphanage from birth. He knew nothing about his roots.
Jihan told the secretary to wait before investigating further. It wouldn’t be too late to investigate after confirming Siwoo’s wishes when he woke up.
There was no need to rush anything anymore. After resolving the beastkin episode incident, all that remained was to wait patiently for bodies to recover.
They needed to take their time. Even if they had to force themselves.
Grumble.
Jihan, who had been trying to smile, leaned over Siwoo’s stomach. Is he hungry? Just as he was thinking this, Seojun awkwardly tapped his own stomach. The sound had come from there.
“Go eat something.”
“What about you, brother?”
“I already ate.”
Seojun hesitated briefly before leaving the hospital room, saying he’d be back soon. Until just a few days ago, he could barely swallow water. Now it seemed his appetite was returning.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
Jihan touched Siwoo with his gloved hand and spoke to him. If the guide were awake, he would have forced the youngest to eat despite his decreased appetite due to the episode aftereffects. He was most sensitive about meals, after all.
“I actually haven’t eaten, Guide.”
Jihan leaned toward Siwoo’s fluffy white ears and whispered softly.
“I haven’t slept either.”
He wasn’t complaining about being tired. It was a form of blackmail.
“I’m not going to eat or sleep until you wake up, Guide.”
His gentle voice was buried in the pillow. The bed smelled of medicine instead of Siwoo’s warm scent. He would be able to smell it if he buried his nose in Siwoo’s white body, but he couldn’t do that.
“If you don’t wake up soon, I’ll eat you.”
His hand burrowed under the blanket and wrapped around the limp body. He playfully murmured while listening to the small heartbeat.
“I’ll swallow you in one bite without hurting you.”
He pretended to open his mouth wide, then lowered his head as if to kiss Siwoo’s chest. He wanted to hear the heartbeat more clearly.
“Are you a pervert?”
A large palm slammed down on Jihan’s back. Even though it wasn’t a fist but just a palm, it made a tremendous “THWACK!” sound. It was loud enough that a nurse passing by in the hallway slightly opened the door to the room.
“Ah… Geonho.”
Jihan, collapsed in place, genuinely groaned in pain. This time it wasn’t an act.
“My ribs haven’t fully healed yet, you know.”
“So what?”
Geonho threw Jihan far away with his telekinesis. He glared at Jihan, who hadn’t even heard him come in, and clicked his tongue forcefully.
“Just go out and eat something. Don’t make Han Siwoo worry.”
Unlike the thin Jihan and the youngest, Geonho looked healthy. He hadn’t lost weight or appeared fatigued.
He ate well and slept well. He also did the most work.
“Acting pitiful works well with the Guide.”
Jihan winked and lay down on the sofa. Though it was a bit away from the bed, it was a position where he could see the entire hospital room.
“Han Siwoo, did you hear that? That bastard Yoo Jihan is just pretending. Don’t be nice to him.”
Geonho arranged Siwoo’s blanket and spread out the snacks he had brought around his bedside. If Siwoo didn’t wake up, he would take the snacks back and replace them with new ones every day.
He was searching for snacks Siwoo might like until he showed interest. Though he had failed every day so far, he didn’t give up.
Geonho and Jihan silently kept vigil by Siwoo’s side from their respective places. They weren’t very talkative to begin with, but Geonho had become especially quiet.
On the surface, he seemed to have returned to normal life the fastest, but that wasn’t the case. He ate excessively, and before sleeping, he always crushed sleeping pills and mixed them with water.
“Stop staring at the sky.”
A snack bag flew at Jihan’s face as he was blankly looking out the window. Jihan, who had been habitually staring at the sky, couldn’t dodge and was hit directly.
“People might think someone died.”
Jihan’s eyes, which had widened slightly, soon curved into a round shape.
“Ah, does it look that way?”
Jihan chuckled and rested his chin on his hand.
“I was looking at it because it reminds me of our Guide.”
The clear sky reminded him of Siwoo’s blue eyes. He had been looking at the sky instead of Siwoo’s eyes, which he hadn’t seen for the past fortnight.
“Shut up and sleep.”
Geonho used his telekinesis to close Jihan’s eyelids. He even pushed his body to make him lie down on the sofa.
“Geonho is so concerned about me. I’m touched.”
Jihan, who had been acting shameless, finally stopped talking when his mouth was covered. He didn’t want to sleep, but with Geonho there, he relaxed, trusting him.
Recently, Geonho had become quite dependable. The one who had always been like an unpredictable child had finally become an adult who stood firmly on the ground.
The secretary was most impressed by this change. He couldn’t help but marvel at how a person could change so suddenly.
If the leader had seen it, he would have been pleased inside. This thought was kept only in his heart.
“Beware of perverts, Han Siwoo.”
Geonho glared at the dozing Jihan and stacked pillows to protect Siwoo. “Perverts” included himself.
“If you don’t wake up, I’ll touch your balls.”
He leaned his face against the pillow instead of Siwoo and warned him threateningly.
“I’ll take tons of pictures too.”
He also tattled that Yoo Jihan had already taken pictures. In fact, his own phone also had hundreds of photos of the white peanut.
They were photos taken when he thought Siwoo was an ordinary cat. Photos from when he lived with the name “Shiro” that he had given him.
He had treasured them, knowing Siwoo would make a fuss. But if Siwoo continued not to wake up, he planned to print the photos and hang them all over the hospital room walls.
Maybe then he would wake up out of anger.
“If you don’t like it, wake up soon.”
Geonho knocked down the pillows he had carefully stacked and lay down on the bed beside Siwoo. Like his brother had done, he wrapped his arm over the blanket to hold Siwoo.
It was frustratingly unsatisfying since their skin didn’t touch. The urge to touch him and kiss him burned inside like black fire. But he acted even more indifferent, not showing his feelings.
“Let’s wake up and eat something delicious.”
Geonho swallowed Siwoo’s faint breath and kissed the air.
“I bought a million Churu treats.”
There was still no response, as if that wasn’t enough. It seemed Churu could only entice him during their first meeting.
He should have tempted him properly then. Made him so fat and lazy that he wouldn’t venture into dangerous situations.
But then his brother would have died. And I would have died too.
“Han Siwoo.”
The subdued voice penetrated the deeply sleeping Siwoo’s ears.
“Our brother says he wants to see you.”
The low whisper reached Jihan, who had woken from his light sleep, and Seojun, who had just opened the hospital room door. They both overlooked Geonho’s lie.
“He says wake up soon.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. The leader would want to see the Guide in his heart too.
“I’m dying to see you too.”
He wanted to see those beautiful round eyes wide open and running around, not just the sleeping face. Whether as a cat or a human, he just wanted him to open his eyes, no matter what form.
“Please wake up now.”
Geonho buried his face in the bed sheet. Since he couldn’t properly hold Siwoo, he pressed hard against the poor sheet.
Because of this, he missed seeing the blue eyes that had opened beneath the white eyelids.
Jihan and Seojun were also busy swallowing their bitter emotions.
In the end, Siwoo was the first to make a sound.
Aeong…
At the cracked voice, the three drooping heads shot up.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
