48.
Was it really Leviathan who committed this act?
Do people believe that? And if they do, why do they believe it? When he thought about it that far, something occurred to him. In the novel, Leviathan initially hid its existence. It was only later that it openly revealed itself and tried to dominate the continent, but that was part of a later story. Those in high positions knew about Leviathan’s existence early on, but others didn’t. So, the fact that Keith, who was likely to have fabricated the massacre scene, knew about it meant…
‘Hyung is someone related to Leviathan.’
That was the only conclusion he could draw. Because he knew well, and even had some kind of connection with them, he could make Jinhyeon’s actions appear to be Leviathan’s doing. Yu Jin stared blankly at Keith. He thought he knew everything about him after living together for so long, but apparently not. Keith had things he was hiding from Yu Jin too.
‘It’s possible.’
Keith was a separate person from Yu Jin, and he could do anything. Yu Jin knew this, but somehow felt disappointed.
“I see. That’s what you decided?”
Yu Jin asked as if confirming, and Keith nodded.
“Yes. By the way, how are you feeling? You woke up after two days.”
“Two days?”
At those words, Yu Jin looked at Jinhyeon.
“That’s right, two days. You were groaning in pain the whole time. You even had seizures.”
No wonder his body felt weak. Even lifting his hand felt difficult.
“So eat something and rest more.”
Jinhyeon said, trying to soothe Yu Jin. The meal served was thin rice porridge. Despite the horrible experience, he was hungry and able to eat. As food entered his mouth, his mind began to work a bit better.
‘Strangely, I’m in good condition.’
Of course, this didn’t mean his physical condition was objectively good. He was in pain all over as if he had full-body muscle aches, so Jinhyeon had to help him eat, but considering what he had been through, he was doing okay. There was some eye-fighting with Keith during the process, but they didn’t openly fight. They seemed to be considerate of Yu Jin. It was fortunate that Jinhyeon had some human aspects.
‘No, that’s not it.’
For now, he needed to find out why he was okay rather than focusing on how Jinhyeon had become gentler towards him. This time, Yu Jin had experienced something so terrible it was hard to put into words, and he was shocked by it. It was the kind of thing that could leave trauma, but when he opened his eyes and faced Jinhyeon, he was fine.
Was this body actually stronger mentally than he thought? If so, that would be fortunate. That’s what Yu Jin thought until then.
However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that thought was wrong.
When his body had recovered somewhat, Yu Jin started taking walks. It was an effort to restore his body weakened from lying down, but he had a seizure in the middle of it.
“Aaaah! No!”
Yu Jin couldn’t even run away properly and collapsed on the spot, falling into panic. He cried, screamed, trembled, and finally tried to harm himself before Jinhyeon, who appeared belatedly, stopped him.
The cause was one thing: encountering another man. Just seeing the mansion’s gardener, who had nothing to do with the incident, brought on an overwhelming fear. It was then that Yu Jin realized.
He could only be okay when Jinhyeon and Keith were in front of him. It seemed to be because the men who had attacked him with their filthy genitals at the Granadan mansion were male. There were women there too, but their impression was blurred compared to the men who had pounced on him, so he seemed to fear only men.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
To have such symptoms when there was so much to do. Yu Jin gritted his teeth. Considering that half the world’s population was male, this was a symptom that absolutely had to be fixed. But how? After thinking hard, he came up with one method.
There was a saying that if you frequently encounter what you fear, you become accustomed to it. He had heard that this method was sometimes used to treat people.
Fortunately, there were many people working in the mansion, so there was no shortage of people. From that day on, Yu Jin occasionally called in male servants. And whenever he did, Keith or Jinhyeon was always by his side.
“Ueeegh.”
Jinhyeon frowned as he watched Yu Jin have a seizure and even vomit at the sight of a man.
“This method is too extreme. Is it really necessary to go this far?”
“I-it is. I can’t live in fear forever.”
Yu Jin was desperate in his own way. Some time had passed since the Granadan mansion massacre. During that time, Yu Jin hadn’t been able to do anything due to his trauma. Keith seemed to have managed the situation somehow, but Yu Jin didn’t know exactly how it had been handled.
Because Keith wouldn’t tell him. Or even if he had told him, Yu Jin would have wanted to check for himself. And to prevent Ahmed from causing trouble again, he needed to meet his father once.
Originally, he had planned to try and resolve Ahmed’s mischief on his own as much as possible, but now he knew Ahmed was capable of even worse things. He needed help from someone with more power. His father had cut off contact with Yu Jin after his mother passed away, so he wasn’t sure how much help he would provide, but…
‘It’s better than doing nothing.’
For this, Yu Jin steeled his resolve.
“Tell him to come in again.”
“You’ve already thrown up twice.”
“Three times is okay.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Jinhyeon grabbed Yu Jin’s wrist and shook it.
“You’re losing weight from throwing up when you haven’t eaten much. If you lose any more, you’ll be calling a skeleton ‘hyung’.”
“That joke isn’t funny.”
“Enough. We’re done for today.”
Jinhyeon said firmly and picked Yu Jin up. After the last incident, Jinhyeon treated Yu Jin like a fragile porcelain doll. When Jinhyeon was nearby, Yu Jin couldn’t even walk properly on his own. If he tried to walk a little, Jinhyeon would just pick him up.
“Why are you going this far?”
Originally, he had planned to practice overcoming his trauma with Keith. He didn’t think Jinhyeon would help. But when he started the recovery practice, the first person to rush over and cling to Yu Jin was Jinhyeon.
At Yu Jin’s question, Jinhyeon looked up at him. Then his eyes curved like crescent moons.
“Why do you think I’m doing this?”
How should I know? Is it because you want to be more useful? As Yu Jin was pondering, Jinhyeon laughed out loud.
“You’re too dull.”
What’s with that sudden remark? If Yu Jin had been dull, he wouldn’t have survived this long.
“It’s all over your face. You think that’s not it, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“But you don’t know anything.”
“What don’t I know?”
“You don’t know.”
Jinhyeon stopped walking and put Yu Jin down on the floor. On the ground, their eyes met a little better.
“Yu Jin.”
At the affectionate calling of his name, Yu Jin’s shoulders unconsciously flinched. Had Jinhyeon ever called him by name before? As he was searching his memory, Jinhyeon continued speaking.
“I like you.”
Yu Jin blinked and looked at Jinhyeon. He clearly heard the words, but couldn’t understand them.
“Say it again? You like me?”
Huh? That can’t be right. Jinhyeon’s preference wasn’t men, but women, and among them, he liked beautiful women with good figures. Someone like Roena, for example.
Yu Jin looked into Jinhyeon’s eyes. Looking at his eyes, it didn’t seem to be a lie.
‘Does he really like me?’
After a brief doubt, his thoughts reached that point. But he couldn’t easily answer. Yu Jin didn’t know what feelings he had for Jinhyeon.
‘Let’s think about it.’
What kind of person is Jinhyeon to him? He kills people carelessly and nonchalantly, but sometimes he acts kindly. Especially the consideration he’s shown recently seemed unlike him. But he couldn’t call that love.
As Yu Jin hesitated while looking at Jinhyeon, Jinhyeon spoke calmly.
“It’s okay if you don’t like me now. You’ll come to like me soon. It’s just a matter of time.”
His confidence is impressive. But thinking about the women Jinhyeon had in the novel, it was confidence with basis. How many women had devoted their lives to him after falling for him? Thinking that far, he realized.
The confession Jinhyeon just made is probably true. But how long will this last? And how many people will hear similar words? Yu Jin had no intention of becoming one of Jinhyeon’s many lovers.
He didn’t want to live a tiring life of worrying about losing him to someone else and being jealous. That’s why Yu Jin could answer Jinhyeon.
“I will never like you.”
Even if time passed and he really came to like Jinhyeon, Yu Jin had no intention of accepting Jinhyeon’s feelings. That much he could say firmly.
