“Huk, heok.”
I covered my mouth while gasping for breath.
Nausea rose up, making me feel like I would vomit everything inside at any moment.
“Ughk!”
I tried to get out of bed and head to the bathroom after a dry heave, but my legs gave out and I collapsed. I saw Serubi rushing over in alarm after seeing me fall off the bed, but he appeared and disappeared in my blurred vision.
Bang bang, the sound of knocking on the door and multiple footsteps followed. My half-conscious mind couldn’t understand the voices around me. I just instinctively held tightly onto the warmth enveloping me, not wanting to let go.
When I opened my eyes again, it was the bluish dawn. I slightly lifted my head at the careful touch stroking my forehead, hair, and around my eyes. I saw Jeong Seyeon’s face looking down at me as he sat perched on the headboard of the bed.
“Are you alright?”
His clear face without a trace of sleepiness told me he had stayed by my side all night.
I was about to ask why hyung was here, but the memory of Joo Seolhyeon I’d seen in the middle of the night flashed through my mind, making me let out a small sigh.
“Ah….”
The shock was less than before but still present, causing me to blankly open my mouth without realizing. Tears that welled up instantly flowed down the corners of my eyes.
“Hyung, don’t be sick.”
While Jeong Seyeon was wiping away my flowing tears, I heard Yang Garam’s voice from behind me. Only then did I realize I was being held in his arms.
“Why are you crying again.”
And then I discovered Do Wonjin sitting in a chair beside the bed, holding my hand just like when he was guiding me.
This situation of being surrounded by three men around one small bed would have been funny in normal circumstances.
My body, trembling from shock, was quickly stabilizing thanks to them.
Meow.
Serubi jumped onto the bed and cried while passing under my chin, and I took a deep breath in and out to regulate my breathing. I couldn’t stop my tears, but at least I could maintain consciousness unlike before. As my reason returned, the first thought that came to mind was one:
‘Everything is back to square one.’
It was my mother’s last wish, and the time she turned back at the risk of her life.
Thanks to my mother’s keepsake, I had returned to my happiest moment, and now I needed to change the future that my mother had risked her life to prevent.
Not all the puzzle pieces had come together, but the outline was clear.
The Center Director who appeared on the day my mother went missing. My mother’s appearance discovered by Peter abroad. Jane, who lost her memories due to seven years of brainwashing. The executive of the massive terrorist organization Peter was chasing.
Questions about some unsolved incidents remained, but I would be able to find the rest of the answers in Joo Seolhyeon’s memories. I naturally understood why the Center Director wanted to kill Joo Seolhyeon so badly.
‘He probably didn’t expect this outcome.’
If he had known, he would never have handed over the artifact to me on Quardo Island.
“……”
As my mind became clearer, I could see my surroundings. They must have had many questions, but they didn’t ask anything and were waiting for me to speak first.
‘Is it right for me to tell them my story?’
My real enemy had become clear, but that opponent had advantages over me in every aspect. He had a high social position, thick connections, and wealth. If he was also controlling the terrorist organization Peter mentioned, his invisible influence couldn’t be ignored either.
‘What if they’re also put in danger because of me?’
My younger sibling had already been a victim in the past, and now Joo Seolhyeon. I failed to prevent both incidents, and in Joo Seolhyeon’s case, it was just luck. The healing artifact obtained from the S-class dungeon saved his life—it was beyond my abilities.
“Jeongjae-ssi.”
There was no guarantee that such things wouldn’t happen again, but would they still be curious about my story despite the risk? Was I someone of that much value to them?
“Woo Jeongjae-ssi.”
A deep voice pierced through my mind, which had become noisy for different reasons now.
“Yes?”
“If you have something to say, don’t hold back.”
“……”
“Let me make my own judgments, so don’t decide for me.”
Jeong Seyeon said as he removed my lips from between my teeth, which I had been unconsciously biting.
“And try to fix that habit of biting your lips whenever you have something to say.”
My heart sank at the sight of him mixing formal and informal speech since yesterday. The part of my lips where his fingertips brushed became hot, and as I licked them, I flinched at the emotions flowing from Yang Garam.
“Garam, you.”
He had buried his lips on my nape while I was talking with Jeong Seyeon, and now he was openly showing his possessiveness toward me. When Yang Garam tensed up at my call and eased his intensity, this time Do Wonjin’s hand tightened its grip.
“You’re not calling my name?”
His face was smiling playfully, but the atmosphere was chilly. The problem was that it wasn’t just because of the bluish dawn light.
“Ha. You too, Do Wonjin.”
Do Wonjin didn’t seem to hear my sigh as he kissed the hand he was holding and smiled generously.
“Yes, tell us, Jeongjae.”
Since I had decided to reveal everything after hearing Jeong Seyeon’s words, the lightened atmosphere compared to earlier was welcome. But this situation seemed less like it had lightened and more like it had completely let go, so I wasn’t entirely happy.
I pulled my hand from Do Wonjin’s grip and unwrapped Yang Garam’s arm from around my waist. When I tried to sit up in bed, Jeong Seyeon supported my body. His help was welcome as my body had no strength, but when Yang Garam also got up to support me, I felt sandwiched between the two.
“I have something to tell you all.”
Finally, after shaking them both off, I set the mood again. When everyone’s attention was focused, I began my story, carefully taking in those gathered around me with my eyes.
By the time my insignificant story ended, dawn had broken in the sky. The long night was over, and morning had come.
“What do you want to do now?”
The first to speak after hearing my story was Do Wonjin. His eyes were calm, and his usual smile had disappeared. I swallowed dryly and answered him.
“I need to pay back what I’ve received.”
Do Wonjin responded with a slightly more relaxed face than before, as if he had heard the answer he wanted.
“Include me in that plan. Just to be clear, I won’t accept any nonsense about it being too dangerous.”
Despite his light tone, his eyes were serious. Do Wonjin was speaking with 100% sincerity right now.
“Do you not need me?”
As I was about to thank him, Jeong Seyeon asked me.
“I do need you, but…”
Since Do Wonjin had already cut off what I was going to say earlier, I couldn’t bring myself to add that it was dangerous. Moreover, Jeong Seyeon was already involved in plenty of dangerous work. Telling him something was dangerous wouldn’t be appropriate. It wouldn’t resonate with him at all.
“That one statement is enough. If you need me, use me anytime.”
Jeong Seyeon quickly concluded our conversation before I could add anything more.
Suddenly, I recalled the day I asked him for guiding. Jeong Seyeon tended to do things for me even when he didn’t want to. Since he didn’t act this way with others, he might just be overly generous with me.
“If what I ask is too difficult, feel free to refuse anytime.”
I didn’t want him to push himself too hard. Though his emotions didn’t show on his face as much as others, he was still human. Having seen how Jeong Seyeon took care of Woo Jeonghyun without showing his own pain despite being covered in wounds, this statement was necessary.
“There won’t be anything to refuse, so how about you also listen to my request?”
Jeong Seyeon whispered in my ear so the other guides couldn’t hear, and I realized anew that he was someone with clear interests.
“I’ll do that.”
Seeing me nod slightly in response, the corners of Jeong Seyeon’s eyes curved gently.
“You’ve made a good decision.”
Both Do Wonjin and Jeong Seyeon had agreed to join me, but Yang Garam, who had shared Joo Seolhyeon’s memories with me, remained quiet. I turned my head to look at his face. His eyes were firmly closed.
‘Could he have fallen asleep while listening to me?’
But during my story, I had received all the emotions Yang Garam felt. He couldn’t have been asleep.
“Garam.”
When his name was called, Yang Garam’s eyebrows trembled slightly. Yang Garam slowly opened his eyes, and I could understand why he had kept them closed the whole time. His eyes were bloodshot and gleamed almost like a madman’s.
“Hyung, can I go kill that bastard?”
So this is what sharing emotions means.
Yang Garam, who had completely put himself in my place, was overwhelmed with rising anger that he couldn’t suppress. Seeing all the confusion I had felt concentrated in Yang Garam, my emotions welled up again. I hugged him.
“Thank you for being angry on my behalf. But not yet.”
As I patted his back soothingly, Yang Garam exhaled deeply and asked.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“Let’s end this within a month. I don’t think even I can hold out longer than that.”
“If it’s not over by then, I’m seriously going to kill that bastard on my birthday.”
Still unable to calm down easily, he took deep breaths and spoke fiercely. As he hugged me even tighter, his body hot with fever pressed against mine without any gaps, and now I was the one in trouble. Our lower bodies collided too explicitly.
“I get it, so calm down.”
“From what I can see, there’s something else that needs to be released before his anger.”
Do Wonjin, who had risen from his chair at some point, went behind Yang Garam and grabbed the back of his neck.
“Our baby keeps crossing the line with the hyungs around, doesn’t he?”
“Ah, really.”
Yang Garam’s face crumpled like a piece of tissue at Do Wonjin’s intervention.
“Jeongjae, if you give in to him too much, the kid will be spoiled. I’ll take him away.”
His claim about doing archery wasn’t a lie—the strength in his arms holding Yang Garam was no joke. After resisting a few times, Yang Garam was dragged away by Do Wonjin, and Jeong Seyeon also left, saying he would prepare a meal.
The room that had been packed suddenly became empty.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
