#114
“No… that’s… Master is very jealous… He might be watching…”
Bennis whispered quickly in a low voice and then avoided the topic.
Jin-ha was at a loss for words. So, it seemed like Riyekan and he were in a real relationship, but Riyekan was so jealous that he might be spying here with his excellent abilities, so he wanted to avoid any potential issues beforehand.
Jin-ha silently reached out his hand to Bennis, who handed him the medicine bottle as if he had been waiting.
“The injured intestines from rough magic will heal quickly. But it won’t be a complete cure, so it’s best to observe for a few days.”
“Yes, thank you for the explanation. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t use magic until he’s fully recovered.”
“That’s right! You’re the only one in the tower who can say that, Lee Jin-ha.”
“I suppose so…”
Well, Legas tends to be on Riyekan’s side.
As Jin-ha was about to turn around, Bennis continued.
“Um, what should I do when Legas returns?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Should I tell him not to disturb you, or should I say it’s okay to come up…”
“Tell him to come up right away.”
Jin-ha didn’t wait for an answer and turned around. He had noticed that the missing magicians had gone to Legas, but to think that he and Riyekan might be doing something that shouldn’t be disturbed at a time like this, he was a young man who didn’t know whether he was perceptive or not.
* * *
“Did you behave yourself?”
The first thing Riyekan said when Jin-ha returned to the bedroom. Jin-ha, who hadn’t expected him to be obediently in bed, looked surprised, and Riyekan smiled innocently.
Suspicion and sympathy arose simultaneously. The reasonable wariness of not being deceived by that cunning man and the desire to believe that he was showing a well-behaved appearance as a sign of reconciliation.
“Really. I didn’t move a step.”
“Are you perhaps naked inside…”
“I’m properly dressed.”
Riyekan showed him the blanket as if he was wronged. It was true.
Jin-ha approached with relief and held out the medicine bottle. Riyekan only glanced at the medicine bottle and drank the liquid medicine in one go. Then he pretended to be a docile patient again as he had before.
“What should we do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Should we keep lying like this?”
“Why are you asking me…”
“Well, you told me to lie down earlier. Tell me what to do next.”
Riyekan lay down and tilted his head, looking up at Jin-ha. He looked like a child acting spoiled.
It wasn’t the first time this man had pretended to act like a child to him, but it felt subtly different from usual. Usually, Riyekan’s childish behavior hid his desire to do everything his way, but now there was no such intention. He was genuinely curious about how Jin-ha would react.
“…Are you trying to play some strange game again?”
“Hmm, it’s not like that…”
Riyekan rolled his eyes and acted cute. The problem was that the sight looked really cute to Jin-ha. Jin-ha felt his anger dissipate, thinking that his infatuation was too much.
“I just… like being scolded.”
“…What?”
“I’ve never been scolded for something like this before.”
“…Are you doing this on purpose?”
“Hmm? What?”
“Are you deliberately acting pitiful to make me sympathize with you…”
“Sympathy?”
Riyekan thought for a moment and then reached out his hand to Jin-ha. Lying weakly on the bed and slightly stretching out his hand, it somehow looked pitiful. Jin-ha unconsciously reached out his hand.
Then Riyekan, holding Jin-ha’s hand tightly, whispered. For some reason, Riyekan’s hand was a little damp.
“I really want your sympathy, Lee Jin-ha. How can I get more of it?”
“…I won’t get angry, so stop it.”
Jin-ha sighed deeply and pulled over a nearby chair to sit down.
“But I still need to nag a bit.”
“Nagging. Yeah, I really want to hear it.”
Jin-ha narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Riyekan’s expression to gauge his intentions, but it was hard to tell if he was sincere or not, as he was a man whose mind was difficult to read.
In fact, whether he was sincere or not, nothing changed.
“From now on, never lie about your health. If you’re sick, you should say you’re sick. Pretending to be fine when you’re hurt, what kind of behavior is that? Besides, worrying about you is my right. As long as we are in a serious relationship, it’s my right that you can’t do anything about.”
“Then is worrying about you my right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Let’s respect each other’s rights from now on. Understood?”
“I understand.”
“…Why are you so obedient? You’re not usually like this.”
Riyekan chuckled.
“I told you. I’ve never been scolded for something like this before.”
“…You’ll be scolded a lot in the future, so don’t get sentimental for no reason. It doesn’t suit you.”
“A lot in the future?”
“Yes. Are you someone who would listen in one go? You’ll have to be scolded several times to get better. Isn’t that right?”
Even with words that would usually make him complain, “Are you picking on me?” Riyekan just nodded obediently.
Watching the scene with concern, Jin-ha eventually placed his hand on Riyekan’s forehead out of pity. As expected, his forehead was burning hot. He had pretended to be fine, saying it was just a slight internal injury, but when did he get this fever?
Jin-ha suddenly got up to go out, but Riyekan tightly gripped his hand and wouldn’t let go. To get another medicine, he had to go downstairs to the first floor…
“It’s okay. It’s nothing. The side effect of this medicine is that you run a fever for a few days while the injured intestines heal quickly. If I rest like this, I’ll get better…”
“Side effect…”
“Just stay by my side.”
“…Are you sure it won’t get worse?”
“Yeah, by tomorrow, the fever will go down quite a bit. Really.”
Jin-ha looked down at Riyekan, who was laughing foolishly with a feverish face, and sighed deeply. Riyekan’s eyes were red, and his focus was blurred. Despite that, he was holding Jin-ha’s hand tightly and not letting go, which somehow looked pitiful and sad, like Riri who used to curl up alone in bed and sniffle when he was sick as a child. He couldn’t just leave him like this.
He was really a shameless man. After making someone angry with lies, he now sought sympathy with a pitiful appearance.
Jin-ha lifted the blanket and crawled in.
“Huh…?”
“Shh.”
Jin-ha quietly hushed Riyekan, who seemed to want to ask something with a blank face, and went deeper into his embrace. As their hot body temperatures touched, Riyekan flinched. It was clear that he was awkward, wondering what was happening.
Jin-ha was displeased, thinking that this was such a surprising event, but from Riyekan’s perspective, it was inevitable. Jin-ha was generous enough to give a little caress, but when the physical contact deepened even slightly, he accepted Riyekan’s actions rather than approaching himself. It meant he avoided active contact. So, the current action was bound to be very surprising.
Riyekan whispered with suspicion.
“Will you leave when I fall asleep?”
“If I say yes, will you try not to sleep?”
“Yeah, I’ll try to hold on as much as I can.”
Jin-ha sighed deeply and gently stroked Riyekan’s hot cheek with one hand, whispering.
“I’ll stay here, so sleep well.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow… Lee Jin-ha’s nursing is the best…”
Has his personality changed? Jin-ha frowned and looked up at Riyekan. He was still smiling foolishly. Riyekan hugged Jin-ha tightly once and then relaxed his body with Jin-ha in his arms.
“I need to get better quickly with you doing this much for me.”
“Hmm, honestly, it would be okay if you didn’t get better quickly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your current state is quite cute.”
“What…”
Riyekan’s eyes became sulky.
“If you say that, I’ll get jealous later…”
“You, who are not sick, of yourself when you are sick?”
“Yeah, I’m already getting jealous…”
“That’s nonsense. You’re the same person, so there’s no need to be jealous.”
Jin-ha gently soothed and patted Riyekan’s back. As he continued to pat his back, Riyekan, who had raised the corners of his eyes in discontent, gradually stabilized his breathing and soon fell asleep. Quickly enough to make his claim of trying to hold on seem meaningless.
The current Riyekan was hot like a puppy. Come to think of it, when he was young, didn’t Riri push the dog away and lie between them when he was playing with a dog on the beach…? Jin-ha, who tried to recall the still hazy memories of his childhood, also fell asleep not long after.
A quiet and peaceful time passed.
It was late at night when a visitor came to the room.
“Master.”
Legas, who entered after knocking, paused when he saw the two sleeping tightly in each other’s arms in the pitch-black darkness. He had just returned after leading the young sea serpent to the island safely, replacing Riyekan who had left alone.
Three magicians had come to assist, but they were busy enough dealing with the by-products of the mother sea serpent. No, if they hadn’t come, he would have spent the night doing nothing between the young sea serpent trying to escape, the dead mother sea serpent, and other monsters eyeing the corpse, so it wasn’t that they weren’t helpful…
He was about to express his gratitude, but it seemed it wasn’t the right time. Legas carefully closed the door and left without making a sound.
The warm peace filled the room again.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
