126
The next morning.
Yeon Ji-ho was able to sleep comfortably at home for the first time in a long while. Instead of getting up immediately, Ji-ho slowly turned to his side, realizing the weight in his belly.
He then saw the chest that had been embracing him from behind. Slowly raising his head, he saw Set sleeping with a faint smile.
Last night, Set had thrown the sleeping beasts into the empty pension rooms one by one before heading home with Ji-ho alone. Of course, Baal, who had gone into the forest last night, hadn’t returned all night, but there wasn’t much to worry about as there weren’t many dangers in Korea.
Thanks to this, Ji-ho, who woke up in bed smelling the familiar scent, lingered a bit longer under the covers. He didn’t want to get up because of the pheromones Set had released in the room.
“…Haah.”
Ji-ho let out a low, contented sigh and slowly got up, careful not to wake Set.
In fact, Set hadn’t had a deep sleep since returning to Korea. He always fell asleep later and woke up earlier than Ji-ho, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Ji-ho had never seen him sleeping.
Seeing such a person finally resting at ease, Ji-ho didn’t want to wake him. He carefully lifted the blanket covering him, stretched his feet to the slippers under the bed, and quietly went outside.
As soon as he entered the living room, a warm heat rose. Since he didn’t remember touching it, it seemed Set had turned on the boiler in the middle of the night.
Last night, they had eaten and drunk until late in the evening and postponed cleaning up until today. Although it would be difficult for him to clean everything alone, he went outside intending to bring in at least the simple items.
“Wow, it’s already cold…”
The cold air characteristic of early winter mornings enveloped Ji-ho’s body. He thought about going back to get a cardigan, but since he planned to go in and out several times, he decided to wear it later and first entered the barbecue area.
Surprisingly, the barbecue area was already cleaned up. Last night, he and Set had definitely agreed to clean up together in the morning.
Puzzled, Ji-ho looked around the barbecue area a bit more. He surveyed the pension where the beasts were scattered sleeping, but there were no signs of anyone awake yet. Then who could have cleaned up?
“Hmm… More importantly, what should I make for breakfast?”
Setting aside who had cleaned, Ji-ho started thinking about another concern. He had a lot to consider about the menu, as he had to feed 8 people. Something they could all eat together, and food that could also help with hangovers since they had drunk…
“Should I make a clean pollack soup?”
He had frozen pollack in the freezer, and it wasn’t difficult to cook. Ji-ho decided to make japchae in addition for breakfast. Japchae, which could be made in large quantities at once, was an unbeatable meal when eaten hot over rice.
I’ll have to go out briefly to buy ingredients.
He needed a lot of radish for the pollack soup and ingredients for the japchae because of the number of people. Thinking he probably couldn’t find everything at the neighborhood supermarket, he moved with the intention of driving to the busy area to go to a discount mart.
Ji-ho approached the front of the house, wondering whether to wait for Set to wake up and go together, or to quietly go alone. But at that moment, a strange noise came from inside the house.
Thump, thump…
It was the sound of someone’s hurried footsteps. Ji-ho stood in front of the large window instead of entering through the front door and looked inside the house for a moment. Then he saw Set bursting out of his room door.
His face looked somewhat urgent. His appearance was disheveled as if he had just woken up, and Set was turning his head back and forth, looking for something. His mouth opened and closed slightly as if muttering.
Ji-ho. Ji-ho…?
Ji-ho now realized that he was looking for him. It seemed he had woken up and was alarmed to find Ji-ho not beside him. Ji-ho smiled faintly and was about to call out to Set and wave his hand to reassure him when…
Set, who normally would have easily found Ji-ho standing in front of the large window with his keen senses, seemed unusually disoriented. His hands trembled as he searched for Ji-ho. Eventually, Set’s hands searching for Ji-ho touched something.
It was the gas stove Ji-ho used for cooking.
Ji-ho stared blankly at Set’s back standing in front of the gas stove. His back, bare of any top, was covered with old scars. This made his already massive figure look even more threatening. Set, with his huge and threatening back, trembled as he moved his hands urgently.
Click, click, click-click, click-click-click…
He was turning on the gas stove with nothing on it. Ji-ho couldn’t understand why he was doing this.
But at that moment, Ji-ho saw Set suddenly thrust his hand into the flames of the gas stove. Ji-ho’s eyes widened in shock.
Ji-ho forgot he needed to take off his shoes and go through the front door, and flung open the large window. It was fortunate that the window lock wasn’t set. Otherwise, he might have been able to stop Set only after his hands had completely melted.
“Set!”
There wasn’t even time to call him “Mr. Set” gently as usual. Ji-ho rushed to Set, almost tripping, turned off the gas stove, and yanked Set’s thick wrist.
Fortunately, Set’s hand didn’t seem to have any major burns. Just slightly reddened skin. After confirming this, Ji-ho didn’t hesitate to pull his hand to the sink right next to them. As he turned on the faucet, he thrust Set’s hand under the gushing water with a whoosh.
“…Ji-ho?”
Meanwhile, Set was still staring at Ji-ho beside him with a dazed expression. He didn’t seem to care whether his hand was burned or if cold water was touching it. Ji-ho suddenly felt angry looking at Set’s dazed face.
“Why did you do that?”
“…Huh?”
“Just now!”
Feeling his voice about to rise, Ji-ho took several deep breaths. Getting angry wouldn’t solve the situation. Ji-ho closed his eyes deeply, then opened them and asked Set as if admonishing him.
“You put your hand into the fire…”
Set repeatedly opened and closed his mouth at Ji-ho’s words. In fact, he had nothing to say. It was only after Ji-ho pointed out his action that he realized in his mind what he had been about to do.
It was something his body had done before his mind could process it.
When Set woke up and found Ji-ho not beside him, he fell into a panic state. Surely, surely after finishing cleaning the barbecue area, he had returned to bed and fallen asleep seeing Ji-ho peacefully sleeping on his side. Set had fallen into a deep sleep for the first time in a while due to the slight effects of alcohol and accumulated fatigue.
But what Set faced when he opened his eyes was an empty space beside him. The moment he realized this, Set felt his heart sink.
Had Hadad, whose neck he hadn’t cut, returned? Or had Ji-ho crossed over to the other world through a gate? Various imaginations swept through Set’s mind like a storm.
Set, who rushed out in confusion, didn’t even think about going outside to look for Ji-ho, and unknowingly approached the gas stove. He had long since learned how to use it.
…And now, here he was.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s not about apologizing, why, why… Why did you do that?”
“…”
Set couldn’t bring himself to tell Ji-ho that he felt like something inside him had broken.
Since returning to Korea, no, since sending Ji-ho alone back to Korea with Hadad, Set had been slowly going mad.
Looking back, tying himself to a stake and setting it on fire wasn’t something a normal person would do either. However, when it came to Ji-ho, Set had experienced his brain escaping his control and acting on its own several times.
When Ji-ho wasn’t by his side, anxiety and impatience that made him feel like he would go crazy shook Set’s mind. He dared to guess that if Ji-ho wasn’t in sight, he would no longer be able to function in daily life.
Even yesterday, when he went to buy meat with Chronos, leaving Ji-ho behind, it was actually a struggle. Although Chronos, who had come to Korea for the first time, was curious about various things, Set had hurried back after buying only what Ji-ho had asked for, with a stiff face.
“I’m sorry, Ji-ho. Next time…”
“That’s not it!”
“…”
“You shouldn’t be sorry to me, you should be sorry to yourself, Mr. Set.”
The Set that Ji-ho knew, Set Gorgon, wasn’t someone who would give up on life so easily. Ji-ho’s heart ached thinking that he might have changed that.
Ji-ho carefully caressed Set’s hand extended under the flowing water, his eyes reddened. The back of his hand, which had suffered a shallow burn, repeatedly turned pale white and then back to normal with each touch.
Even though everything had ended, the wounds that remained had turned into scars that still clawed at the inside. Ji-ho, holding Set’s hand with both of his trembling hands, cried silently.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Poor baby