Chapter 60
“How long do you think I can keep protecting you when you keep walking into dangerous places?”
“…”
“If that bastard had truly wanted to kill you, you’d be in its stomach by now. Your nape would have been torn off instead of your shoulder, and you would have died instantly.”
Seo Won couldn’t say anything and just pressed down hard on his shoulder. He bit his parched lips and stared blankly at the blanket with hazy eyes.
“I regret my choice back then when I granted your request.”
“…”
“If I had forcibly separated you, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
Baek Rak still spoke in an emotionless voice.
Words that might have sounded like worry flowed out in an indifferent tone, so they only sounded like reproach for his mistake. Regret that he shouldn’t have given even a little leeway.
“From now on, there will be no exceptions. You must absolutely only do what I tell you to do.”
“…”
“Because that’s the only… way for you to survive.”
It felt like a wall even firmer and higher than before was blocking between them. Somehow it felt suffocating.
Perhaps it was because words he had heard once before now came across as bigger and more painful.
Please don’t speak like that, in such an emotionless voice. Baek Rak’s coldness seemed to leave a bigger wound on him than Haru’s unconscious rejection.
But even before hearing his plea, Baek Rak was already drawing a line as sharp as a knife.
“Losing a Guardian would be a big blow to us too.”
“…”
“So cooperate. For each other’s benefit.”
The times when he was coercive seemed better. At least then he showed emotion.
The gaze that had persistently and tenaciously watched him had always been burdensome, but now he couldn’t look at Baek Rak’s eyes, wondering if even that had disappeared. He wouldn’t have felt this way if he had just continued being swayed around.
Baek Rak had no intention of listening to an answer as he immediately got up from his seat. The pressed bed sheet quickly returned to its original state.
“We’ll leave in three days.”
“…”
“Take good care of your body until then.”
It was another warning not to be a burden. Seo Won squeezed his eyes shut. Strangely, his head felt like it was spinning.
When things calmed down a bit, he opened his eyes. But nothing could be seen beyond his blurry vision. Even looking around, no black mass was visible.
“…”
Baek Rak had disappeared like that without even saying goodbye.
Seo Won covered his face with both hands and let out a sigh. He didn’t know how to express this feeling. It felt like negative things were all tangled up and filling his insides.
Baek Rak’s flat voice kept coming to mind. The words he had said felt like they were lodged deep in his chest rather than his head.
Something seemed to be broken somewhere.
His head, his chest, and even his throat. Perhaps other parts too.
This was the first time he had ever disliked silence as much as today. He deliberately rustled the blanket to make noise, but even that wasn’t comforting.
He had no idea how to relieve this stuffiness.
He just quietly closed his eyes.
“What, Baek Rak already left?”
After Baek Rak disappeared, Yu Sol entered the quiet room opening the door. Only then did Seo Won lower the arm covering his eyes and sit up.
“…You came?”
“Huh? Why does your face look like that?”
Yu Sol, who had run over quickly, plopped down on the bed and reached out her hand. The small, soft hand that settled on Seo Won’s face moved carefully.
“Did you secretly bleed or something? You’re paler than before.”
“I guess I’m starting to resemble the people here.”
When Seo Won said this while slightly rubbing his face against that hand, Yu Sol pinched his cheek and shook it around.
“What are you saying, it doesn’t suit you at all? Your original face looked better, so don’t say such nonsense.”
“Ow, it hurts.”
“We’re originally like this, but there’s nothing good about it for you. If you keep this up, you’ll really get in trouble.”
“…Stop scolding me. I feel like I get scolded every time we meet.”
“You get scolded because you always do things worth scolding for, hmph.”
When Yu Sol removed her hand, Seo Won covered his own cheek. She hadn’t shown any mercy, so only his cheek was bright red. Seeing his flushed face and finally satisfied, Yu Sol crossed her arms and said,
“Did you fight with Baek Rak?”
“…No.”
“Then?”
When Seo Won just silently rubbed his cheek, Yu Sol sighed.
“Yoon Seo Won, do you know something?”
“…What?”
“How desperate Baek Rak looked when he brought you here injured.”
Of course he would. A precious Guardian was about to die, so how could he not be desperate? He knew what misunderstanding Yu Sol had, but he felt sorry that he couldn’t clarify it.
But it was a bit regrettable that he hadn’t seen Baek Rak like that. It meant that the guy who had acted so coldly just before had been shaken because of him.
“I’ve never seen Baek Rak that desperate before. To the extent that I thought maybe Baek Rak had been putting on all his expressions until now. He seemed angry, but also seemed to be in pain.”
“…I went too far.”
“It’s a bit weird hearing that from someone who came back from the dead?”
“Huh?”
Seo Won stared blankly at Yu Sol, forgetting even to rub his cheek.
Came back from the dead?
“Your heart stopped for a moment. I told you, right? That you lost too much blood. If it weren’t for that special constitution, you would have already died.”
“…My heart stopped?”
“Yeah. I did hemostasis first, and Baek Rak performed CPR until your heart started beating. We were going to do a blood transfusion too, but strangely there was no blood that matched yours.”
“…”
“Anyway, after barely saving you, I continued treating you…”
Yu Sol continued speaking while recalling yesterday’s events.
“Baek Rak stayed by your side the whole time until the treatment was finished. Even when I told him to rest a bit since you were getting better, he wouldn’t leave. He just kept staring at you sleeping for a long time and only left when the captain called him.”
He couldn’t believe that Baek Rak had stayed by his side even after the treatment was finished. Once he knew he was alive, worry should have ended there. Baek Rak himself was the one who had established that kind of relationship.
But what on earth was he thinking…
“Was it your fault that you got attacked by the Alpha like that?”
Seo Won flinched in surprise, then slowly nodded. This was undeniably his fault with no room for excuses.
“I understand why Baek Rak was angry. I understand that feeling. Yoon Seo Won, you strangely don’t take good care of your own body.”
“That’s…”
He opened his mouth to try making an excuse, but Yu Sol shook her head telling him not to speak. Then she continued,
“When that happens, you usually prioritize other people. You did that when you saved me, and when you were driving the truck too. This time you tried to help a creature in human form, right?”
“…How did you…”
“It doesn’t make sense that you got hurt that badly when Baek Rak was next to you. Baek Rak is stronger than anyone else. To a clearly different degree. What I said before was absolutely not a joke. Among the people Baek Rak wanted to protect, not one got hurt. You’re the only exception.”
“…”
“Of course he’d be angry when you keep jumping into danger.”
Yu Sol, saying the exact same thing as Baek Rak, didn’t look like a child of that age at all. She might have matured too early, but she was originally a child with this kind of disposition.
Seo Won silently dragged his hand down his face.
Hearing it like this, it seemed like he really was a problem. He hadn’t meant to be like this, but somehow it had turned out this way. Maybe he should look back at himself at least once.
“That’s pretty harsh to someone you’re dating. Fix that bad habit.”
While he was blaming himself like that, Yu Sol’s finishing attack drained all his strength.
Since Baek Rak had already tacitly confirmed it, even if he said no now, Yu Sol obviously wouldn’t believe him. Right. Let’s not waste energy for nothing.
Besides, Baek Rak was more of a problem right now. The news he heard from Yu Sol only made his head more complicated.
It’s not like he could consult anyone about it either.
He couldn’t entirely blame Baek Rak, which made it an even more difficult situation. He didn’t know how to untangle the knotted thread, nor could he understand what Baek Rak’s true feelings were.
Was it really right to continue like this?
Seo Won just smiled vaguely at Yu Sol, who was urging him to answer quickly.
His head was complicated.
***
Three days passed more slowly than expected.
During that time, Baek Rak never came to visit even once, and he also didn’t seek him out.
Unlike his uncomfortable feelings, his body recovered steadily, so he barely felt any shoulder pain. After properly eating the meals given as injured person privileges, the dizziness also disappeared.
Only after night passed and morning came could he meet Baek Rak.
“…”
It felt like he was seeing him after a very long time, but Baek Rak didn’t seem to feel the same way.
While receiving items from Han Seong Hyeon, Baek Rak said,
“Time passed quickly.”
“It’s a problem that it passed too quickly. We’re already short as it is… Anyway, you’re leaving right away, right? This time don’t stop anywhere and go straight to Gangnam Station.”
“You were the one who told us to stop places.”
“…I’m sorry, sorry.”
Han Seong Hyeon bowed his head deeply and sighed. Hadn’t they almost been attacked by the Alpha because of him? Making them dispose of creature corpses for nothing… He had no face to show.
Baek Rak asked Han Seong Hyeon while adjusting his appearance,
“Did you find out anything about the hunter with flame abilities?”
“No, it’s still completely mysterious. We’ll have no choice but to search directly.”
“That’ll take time to find.”
“The only thing I can do is get you inside Gangnam Station shelter, that’s all. So you need to go as quickly as possible.”
Han Seong Hyeon, who had patted Baek Rak’s shoulder and smiled weakly, approached Seo Won who was standing there blankly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
