113
“Hadad.”
“Hmm?”
“Get out.”
Set stood up after pulling the blanket up to Yeon Ji-ho’s chest and tidying the bed. He lightly brushed off Hadad’s hand that had been on his shoulder.
“Let’s talk outside.”
As Set also prepared to leave, Hadad didn’t refuse. Hadad, smiling brightly at him, left the hospital room first. Set was about to leave as well when he noticed.
Yeon Ji-ho, still asleep, hadn’t let go of his sleeve.
“…”
Unable to forcibly shake off that touch, Set hesitated before finally taking off the thin coat he was wearing. He had only a short-sleeved shirt underneath as he had changed in a hurry, but that didn’t matter.
Set folded his coat neatly and placed it in Yeon Ji-ho’s hand before leaving the room. The well-oiled sliding door of the hospital room didn’t make even the slightest noise.
As soon as he stepped out, his eyes met Hadad’s, who was standing against the corridor wall. Set walked past him, heading towards a place as far away from Yeon Ji-ho’s room as possible. The eyes of people passing through the hospital corridor were drawn to the two men who looked unmistakably foreign.
Eventually, Set arrived at the rooftop garden on top of the hospital.
Thud…
A loud sound echoed as the door to the rooftop garden closed. Fortunately, the garden was empty, and Set, seeing that no one was watching them anymore, didn’t hesitate to manifest his sword energy. A blue sword bloomed in his hand.
“My, Set. Be careful, won’t you? It may look like no one’s here, but there’s something called ‘CCTV’ in this place.”
“Do you think I would consider such things?”
“Ah, but you can’t go to prison and leave Ji-ho behind, can you? Set, do you know? This country called Korea is sensitive to crime instead of having ranks or titles. If you kill someone in the city, you’ll be caught immediately.”
Hadad smiled smoothly and raised both his hands. It looked as if he was surrendering, but Set didn’t even crack a smile.
“You’re going to live here now, right? So am I. I don’t want to return to Asterra anymore. I’m sick of that place and also… well, anyway.”
“…”
“So let’s resolve this through conversation. Like ‘modern people’.”
At Hadad’s words, Set closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. It was then that the threatening sword energy flickering in his hand subsided. Set’s gleaming odd eyes turned towards Hadad.
“Now we’re talking! Haha, yes, Set. That’s how you need to be to adapt to this place. You can’t solve everything with violence, can you?”
“Shut up and get to the point.”
Set’s reason for withdrawing his sword energy towards Hadad wasn’t simply because he was swayed by his words. It was only because Yeon Ji-ho was by his side. He had made a promise with Yeon Ji-ho, and he was merely keeping it.
“First, I’ll admit this. I was arrogant.”
Hadad’s shoulders slumped dramatically. It was an exaggerated gesture.
“I thought if I left you there and was alone with Ji-ho, he would accept my courtship. Right? You had your chance, but I didn’t even have an opportunity to be alone with Ji-ho.”
Hadad added that opportunities should be fair. Set’s expressionless face swept over Hadad’s visage.
“But things didn’t go as easily as I had hoped. Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this way.”
While Hadad was clearly expressing frustration at things not going his way, his expression didn’t match. Hadad seemed rather excited. The fact that not everything was going according to his will seemed to intrigue him.
Placing his hand on his chest, Hadad looked down at the ground, let out a long sigh, and said:
“Yes. Regrettably, it seems Ji-ho has already fallen in love with you.”
That was Hadad’s conclusion. As long as Set was alive, he couldn’t turn Yeon Ji-ho’s heart towards himself. It was his mistake to have underestimated their love, just as he had his own.
So Hadad quickly acknowledged his mistake. He knew better than anyone that clinging to failures and mistakes would prevent moving forward. That’s why he didn’t stop Yeon Ji-ho from contacting Set, even knowing he could.
“So I’ve changed my thinking a bit.”
“…”
“The protagonist who falls in love with him doesn’t necessarily have to be just one person, right?”
Hadad’s voice was filled with euphoria. He was delighted as if he had discovered some great solution. As if this method would be helpful for Set too.
“Set, there are many forms of love here. So let’s love Ji-ho like that. You can have Ji-ho’s heart, and I… well, imprinting would be enough for me. I won’t ask for more.”
“Imprinting?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? I bit the back of Ji-ho’s neck.”
Hadad talked about how he had tried to forcibly imprint on Yeon Ji-ho as casually as if he were reciting a lunch menu. Listening to Hadad’s words, Set felt his heart pounding violently to the point of pain as he spoke.
“Is that why you tormented him?”
“What?”
Set’s monotone voice cut through the air. A look of confusion crossed Hadad’s face, who had been excitedly rambling on as if intoxicated by his own words.
“You pressured him, tormented him, and eventually drove him to the edge. Do you know how precious each step he takes outside is?”
“What are you talking about? When did I ever torment Ji-ho? That was just…”
“Hadad.”
Set called Hadad’s name in a low voice. At that moment, Hadad’s eyes clashed with Set’s odd eyes.
“Love isn’t just some letters written in a novel.”
At those words, Hadad took a deep breath. His chest swelled as if it might burst.
“It’s not something you can easily erase if you don’t like it after using it carelessly.”
From Hadad’s perspective, there was clearly anger lurking in Set’s eyes. However, Set was in the process of suppressing that anger. Hadad couldn’t understand this part.
The Set that Hadad knew wasn’t someone who would hold back his anger. Although Set Gorgon rarely got angry, he wasn’t one to let those who attacked him off easily. That’s why Hadad thought Set would attack him this time too.
Because he had messed with Set’s Yeon Ji-ho.
But Set moved differently from what was expected. Far from expressing his anger, he was calmly reprimanding Hadad with a composed face. That part… Hadad didn’t like it at all.
“Set.”
“…?”
“Set, Set, Seeet.”
Hadad, with his head lowered, called Set’s name repeatedly in an oddly manner. Sensing something amiss, Set also watched Hadad without letting his guard down.
Finally, Hadad raised his head while running his hand through his hair. The eyes that Hadad raised were no longer the green eyes that held the fields. His eyes were red.
“Why don’t you charge at me?”
“What?”
“Why don’t you swing your sword, saying you’ll kill me?”
Set’s eyes blinked slowly. Soon, he easily understood Hadad’s words.
Hadad was waiting for Set to attack him.
Now Set understood why Hadad had been saying things to provoke him. If it had been his former self, the self before meeting Yeon Ji-ho, he would have drawn his sword without hesitation. But not now.
Set had something to protect, and because of that, he needed to be cautious. It was no longer possible for him to recklessly jump into a fire pit when all he had was himself.
“So it’s become more troublesome. It would be difficult for both of us to be the protagonists together. Yes, in fact, I didn’t really want that either.”
“Hadad.”
“I’m used to having everything to myself.”
Simultaneously, a red sword sprang from Hadad’s hand. A sharp sword energy aimed at Set’s neck sliced through the air.
Set, who hadn’t been relaxing his guard either, quickly drew his own sword and cut the red sword energy in half. The severed sword energy dissipated like smoke behind Set.
“Hadad.”
“Why do you keep calling my name? You hardly called it after our academy days.”
“Haven’t you ever thought it was strange?”
“…What?”
Set’s sword, which had been sharply raised towards Hadad, gradually lowered. The more it lowered, the more Hadad’s face crumpled. For some reason, he deeply disliked the current situation.
“The you I knew always shone.”
“If you’re going to say I’ve become ordinary again…”
“The reason you shone wasn’t just because of your appearance. Your sense of justice was always brilliant, and your wit and humor made people follow you. Each time, I was outmaneuvered by your strategies.”
The more Set spoke, the more Hadad’s hands trembled. He didn’t want to hear what Set was saying. No, it felt like someone in his brain was shouting that he shouldn’t listen.
“You weren’t such an impulsive man.”
“…”
“Isn’t it strange? Did you really never think that someone might be moving us like chess pieces?”
