But the only reason for this delusion was entirely because of Baek Tae-beom.
Anyone—literally anyone—would be mistaken if someone that handsome and polished called them hyung, said they wanted to stay by their side, and acted this sweet. Nine out of ten people would be completely convinced, and I wanted to say that loud and clear.
He’s even only this kind to me.
Isn’t this just straight-up Baek Tae-beom’s fault?
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: It’s me.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Is it because I raised him wrong?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What kind of fresh bullshit is this now?]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: Did you just call that bullshit?]
I pushed Baek Tae-beom’s face away with my palm as he tried to meet my eyes with concern, and walked into the house. Making some excuse about it being nothing, I sat across from a clearly unconvinced Baek Tae-beom, ate dinner, and finally shut myself in my room, burying my face in a pillow.
The ridiculously large bed only made the emptiness feel worse.
[CH. Private / Free Wind: What’s wrong? You look just like a heartbroken Apollo….]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What the hell did you just say?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Wuuung (ฅ́˘ฅ̀) I don’t know anything.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Quit it with those damn emoticons!]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Am I just not cut out for parenting?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Has Baek Tae-beom gone too far for me to bring him back now?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Someone smack this guy in the head.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: I don’t think a smack will fix him ㅇㅁㅇ;;;]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Apollo acted the same way when his lovesickness was terminal ㅇㅅㅇ;;;;]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You bastard, I oughta toss you into Tartarus!]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Gasp;;; How could you say something so harsh;;; I’m telling Dad ㅇ_ㅇ]
I stared blankly at the chat window before springing to my feet and sitting at my desk, tearing out a sheet from my notebook. This wasn’t the time to be drowning in thoughts like these.
Gripping a pen, I took a deep breath and began to write slowly.
The world will end within three years.
1)I must stop it.
2)The world ends because of Angrboda.
I tried to bury my unease by writing down these self-evident premises.
3)The number of Constellations or Monsters who believe they’re actual ‘gods’ is increasing worldwide.
4)Angrboda is trying to bring her three children (Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Hel) into this world.
5)What Angrboda is attempting is likely Ragnarok.
And the next line—
6)Angrboda is using Kang Si-hoo.
My pen moved with unwavering certainty.
7)She is influencing this world through Kang Si-hoo.
8)I must stop that first and foremost.
I stared at the sentence for a moment and underlined it.
9)Baek Tae-beom and I must stop it first.
Tap, tap. The soft sound of my pen tapping against the desk echoed. After a moment of hesitation, I kept writing below.
10)Baek Tae-beom follows me unconditionally.
11)Why?
Why?
12)Because… he likes me.
Right after writing that, a surge of overwhelming shame hit me, and I crushed the paper without mercy. I slammed my face onto the desk and let out a dry, bitter laugh.
As if. Don’t delude yourself, Choi Ga-hyeon. You’re so scared this kindness might vanish at any moment, and yet here you are having these delusional thoughts, getting ahead of yourself like an idiot.
‘Stupid fuck.’
I smacked my head a few times, sighed, and tried to lift myself up—when I heard a knock.
“Hyung?”
Startled out of my mind, I shoved the crumpled ball of paper into my mouth.
“Hyung!”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Are you insane?!]
Baek Tae-beom rushed toward me, his face a mask of shock, but I ignored him and swallowed the crumpled paper whole. It was the first time I’d ever seen him make a face like that—like he was staring at a certified lunatic.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Spit it out! Spit it out, now!]
“Hyung, what are you doing? Are you crazy? Did you just eat paper?”
“I suddenly felt like eating some.”
“What the hell kind of excuse is that? No, no—spit it out right now!”
“I swallowed it….”
“I’m seriously going insane.”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You idiot! You’ll get sick eating random crap like that!]
“Baek Tae-beom, did you really swallow it? Are you sure?” He forcibly pried open my mouth, checking here and there, and when he realized that I had, in fact, eaten the paper, a stunned look washed over his face.
“Hyung, do you have something wrong with you?”
“…No.”
“You’ve been making that face this whole time.”
“What kind of face am I making?”
“The kind someone makes when they think their partner’s cheating.”
I suddenly had the urge to check a mirror. He was really just blurting things out now.
“You’re lying, aren’t you?”
“Who knows.”
“Then why are you here?”
Only then did I properly look at him. Baek Tae-beom was wearing pajamas—light brown with gray plaid lines. He looked like a damn model. You could put him next to a bed and snap a photo right now, and it would look like an ad.
By contrast, I was wearing the same pattern of pajamas that Baek Tae-beom had picked out for me, but they were too big and kept slipping down awkwardly. Same design, completely different effect.
“I came to sleep with you.”
“…What?”
“I want to sleep with you. Can’t I?”
Staring up at him in disbelief, I replied,
“You’re twenty-six.”
“I know. But is there some law that says twenty-six-year-olds can’t sleep with their hyung?”
“I’m twenty-eight….”
“Considering the time you were, uh, dead, not really. We’re basically the same age.”
“That’s not how that works.”
With a playful smile, Baek Tae-beom leaned in and whispered,
“It works here.”
“……”
“Can’t I? The bed’s big, you know. Let’s sleep together tonight. Yeah?”
Does this bastard even realize what kind of mental crisis I was just in? I was torn between the urge to sock him in the face and the overwhelming desire to pat his head because he was disgustingly cute and adorable. I sighed and pushed at his shoulder.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Yay.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Baek Tae-beom immediately hugged me tightly. Then, he lifted me up in one motion and carried me to the bed.
As I was hauled off like a piece of paper, I didn’t know whether to lament how light I’d become or scold him for manhandling me without a second thought.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Apollo, I’ve been thinking about something lately… Want to hear it?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Shut up.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: No matter what happens, I bet I’d be better at dating than Choi Ga-hyeon;;;; Just saying, no coaching needed ^^]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I said shut up.]
“Is this not okay?”
“Like I said, I’m twenty-eight….”
“And there’s no law that says you can’t be carried just because you’re twenty-eight. I did the same thing when you passed out, remember?”
There was no arguing with that kind of cheap shot.
I ended up lying next to Baek Tae-beom on the bed. Blinking slowly, I turned my head to the side.
Baek Tae-beom was staring at me with a face full of anticipation. Mischief sparkled at the corners of his eyes, and the way his lips curled up was stupidly charming. His hair was messily tousled, clinging to his cheek.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I always wanted to sleep with you at least once.”
“With me?”
“You always ignored me.”
“‘Ignored’ is a bit harsh….”
Baek Tae-beom let out a soft laugh and reached for my hand. No—rather than grasping it, he gently cradled it. When he began to slowly rub my palm with his fingers, a ticklish sensation made me furrow my brows. Seeing my reaction, he looked amused.
“You were always rushing around like something was chasing you. Never once looked back.”
“…Was I really like that?”
“You were.”
When I flinched and tried to pull my hand away, Baek Tae-beom gripped it tighter and interlaced our fingers. The feeling of his fingers weaving through mine was still strange. His hand was rough with scars—marks from cuts, burns, and battles.
Baek Tae-beom’s hands were so big and solid. They had a way of engulfing me completely.
“So…”
Something felt off. That ticklish touch was poking at everything I’d buried deep. I shut my eyes tight, then opened them again, licking my dry lips for no reason. My throat felt parched.
“I just wondered how it’d feel to lie here quietly next to you like this.”
“…And how do you feel now?”
I worked hard to keep my face neutral as I asked. At that, Baek Tae-beom’s eyes softened, and he smiled.
“Feels good.”
“…….”
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction,’ is synchronizing with the Holy Vessel.]
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction,’ is synchronizing with the Holy Vessel.]
My heart skipped in a weird, offbeat rhythm. Telling myself it was just a fluke, I pulled my hand away from his and yanked the blanket up over my head.
“Okay, I get it. Just go to sleep now.”
“Alright, hyung.”
His voice came in a soft, almost regretful tone. A moment of silence passed, then a quiet whisper.
“Goodnight.”
And the next morning, I woke up in Baek Tae-beom’s arms.
