Chapter 2
“Duke.”
“I told you to call me comfortably when it’s just the two of us.”
“How could I dare to speak Your Grace’s name?”
The long silver hair tied up swayed gently in the wind. With his snow-white skin, shimmering silver hair, and brilliant amber eyes—all features that had earned him a reputation for being divine—William Grace Bolton of House Bolton looked at the man who had a much larger build than himself.
“It feels like just a few days ago when you were calling me ‘hey,’ ‘you,’ or ‘mister.'”
“That was 3 years ago.”
Short black hair and sun-tanned skin. A small scar left on his chin. San Guonnu, the knight also known as William’s right hand. The young man from a minority tribe whom William had rescued from the war had now become a proper knight since the war ended.
“It’s finally over.”
“All thanks to you, Duke.”
The sunset sky was as beautiful as a painting, and the tranquility felt after a long time due to the finally ended war was quite peaceful. William, who had led the war to victory, would now return to the empire and begin a new battle there. In some ways, the real fight was just beginning.
‘I didn’t want to get caught in the princes’ fight and get my back split open.’
Since it was the princes’ fight that had caused William to roll through war for 3 years, his back could already be considered split open, but the problem was that there was still more back left to split. House Bolton was in a position where it needed to extend a line to one of the crown prince candidates who would become the next emperor. What William had to do now was wage a political war.
“Our Sangu~”
“Yes, Duke.”
William’s amber eyes, illuminated by the sunset, shone even more beautifully. Those eyes looked at Guonnu with a smile. William’s strange habit of shortening people’s names had already become familiar, so Guonnu showed no sign of bewilderment at the playful nickname.
“You stay here.”
“…”
“I’ve had the experience of unintentionally falling into an unknown place with a thud! It was very scary, awkward, resentful, and lonely.”
“…”
“Having to worry about my life in that situation was really hell… Although I shouldn’t be the one saying this, having used you, I hope you won’t be put in such a situation anymore.”
Guonnu’s black eyes took in William’s face. Those black eyes, familiar in Yoon Jin’s world, were considered a symbol of the cursed in this place. The martial tribe who rebelled against the god at the beginning of time. Because of this, the tribe that lived quietly gathered in the forest had their homeland threatened by this war, and Guonnu was naturally among them.
Even that tribe, which had been given overwhelming strength in martial arts, could not win against the overwhelming power of numbers. It was William who saved Guonnu as he was being sold as a slave.
Not only that, William had also rescued other people who were being scattered and moved as slaves, allowing them to stay in a safe place. If it hadn’t been for William, they would have had to live as slaves until death with bodies that wouldn’t die from ordinary wounds.
‘I did think it was pitiful… but it wasn’t an act done out of pure kindness.’
Yoon Jin, who wore William’s mask, wasn’t such a gentle human. What he received in return for that unilateral rescue was San Guonnu, who was the most skilled in martial arts. Because war needed strong weapons.
So there was no reason for Guonnu to follow William afterward. Now that the war was over, what could be better than settling down and living peacefully with the others? It would at least be happier than a life where he had to get involved in the princes’ fight.
“With the money I give you, buy a decent house, find a good wife…”
“I refuse.”
William’s eyes widened at Guonnu’s firm rejection. Since the day he had knelt before William as a sign of loyalty, Guonnu had never once refused William’s orders, so the words of rejection sounded quite awkward.
“No, I’m telling you, if you follow me, it’ll be a dog’s life? Are you a dog? Why would you voluntarily go through such hardship?!”
“If I need to become a dog to follow you, Duke, I’ll try to be one. If you command, I’ll even bark.”
“Huh…”
Guonnu knelt before William, lowering his gaze. The once upward-looking gaze now moved downward, looking at him in disbelief.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to bloody your hands in war for 3 years.”
“Instead, I would have died miserably as a slave.”
“…”
“It was you, Duke, who said you needed my strength. Are you now saying you don’t need it and discarding me?”
“Who said anything about discarding you?!”
A manner of speech without dignity, which he rarely showed to others. Guonnu liked this side of William that he occasionally showed only to him. At first, Guonnu had thought William had saved him with the intention of using him as a meat shield. Nevertheless, he also thought it was fine since others had survived.
‘But who would take a sword for a meat shield?’
To Guonnu, who had cried out asking why William had done it, William, drenched in blood, had said that while it was true he had taken Guonnu’s strength, he did not hold Guonnu’s life in his hands, and that Guonnu had to return alive.
“Woof.”
As Guonnu imitated the sound of a dog barking, William beat his own chest in exasperation. William wouldn’t understand Guonnu’s loyalty until Guonnu explained it directly. The scar on William’s chest from taking a sword in Guonnu’s place. He wouldn’t know that the scar hidden under his uniform was proof that Guonnu had been protected as a human being for the first time in his life.
“Should I bark once more?”
* * *
A large-bodied man hazily entered Yoon Jin’s vision as he painfully opened his eyes. His body felt as heavy as if he had been soaked in water, and his head felt like it was about to split.
‘It’s our stupid Sangu…’
Short black hair and that large build—as far as Yoon Jin knew, there was no one with such a build except for Guonnu. So returning to his original body was just a dream after all.
‘Well, Sangu was barking like a dog, so I guess it really was a dog dream.’
Yoon Jin slowly closed and opened his eyes, trying to refocus. Minhun’s face came into his line of sight.
‘What, is this still a dream… well… he really did turn out handsome. It’s nice to see him even in a dream…’
“Oh.”
Yoon Jin abruptly sat up and looked around with round eyes. He saw a pristine white hospital room with Minhun and Guonnu standing there worriedly. Soon, the IV attached to the back of his hand caused a small pain, making him let out a short groan, which caught the attention of the two men.
“Hyung! Are you okay?”
“Yoon Jin-ssi, are you alright?”
The two men rushed to Yoon Jin’s bedside, making a fuss, but Yoon Jin, still unable to properly grasp the current situation, just blinked blankly. The subtle scent of disinfectant, the IV dripping quietly one drop at a time, Minhun’s face that he had seen earlier. So returning to his original body wasn’t a dream after all?
“W-wait… just be quiet for a moment…”
“…”
“…”
The two men fell silent as if they had made a promise when Yoon Jin staggered and held his head. If returning to his original body was reality, then why on earth was Guonnu here? Yoon Jin scrutinized the face of the man in front of him piece by piece. Black eyes, short black hair, a sturdy face, thick eyebrows, even the scar on his chin—all exactly the same. But what was this feeling that something was different?
“Sangu?”
“Yes?”
“Is it really you, Sangu…?”
“Hyung? What’s wrong, it’s manager Sanggu hyung…”
“So, Sangu?”
“Yes, our manager Sanggu hyung.”
Minhun explained with a worried expression that Sanggu was their manager, but unfortunately, Yoon Jin wasn’t in good enough condition to notice the pronunciation difference between ‘Sangu’ and ‘Sanggu.’ Heh. Yoon Jin laughed hollowly inside, then slightly smiled and closed his eyes.
‘Since I don’t know what’s going on, I’ll just pass out again for now.’
His head needed rest right now.
* * *
“We couldn’t find any particular abnormalities in the tests… but it could be short-term amnesia due to temporary shock.”
“Amnesia…!”
‘I feel like I’ve seen this scene in morning dramas when I was young.’
Yoon Jin thought blankly. Of course, he hadn’t been able to access TV in the world where he had been for 7 years, and before that, he hadn’t watched TV much due to his trainee life. Yoon Jin knew for certain that he had returned to his original body and lost consciousness due to the headache that came along with returning memories.
From the memories that came afterward, he learned that Sanggu was not Sangu but just his manager who looked exactly like Guonnu, and other minor information also entered his mind. It was just like when he first entered William’s body. He had really returned to his original body.
After Yoon Jin passed out again and woke up, the doctor who came conducted some examinations and was now having such a conversation with Sanggu and Minhun.
“Can amnesia happen so suddenly?”
“It’s not entirely uncommon. Amnesia can occur not only from external shock but also internally, um… that is, for self-protection when experiencing severe mental shock. Was there anything suspicious?”
“Nothing like that…”
The unreal situation before his eyes was like a play. But during his time living as William, what Yoon Jin had done best was to stay focused in any situation.
Stay focused, organize thoughts, and make plans for the future. It was a very simple saying, but Yoon Jin knew how effective it was.
After being possessed into William’s body, Yoon Jin had suffered from headaches for months every time he recovered memories left in the body. There was no regularity to the returning memories. He could suffer from small headaches all day long with memories continuously returning bit by bit, or it could end with one big headache like earlier. The frequency could also vary—he might have headaches dozens of times in a day, or not even once for several days.
‘The pattern will probably be exactly the same as back then…’
Letting the voices of Sanggu and Minhun, who were arguing with the doctor, go in one ear and out the other, Yoon Jin became lost in thought.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
