# 57
The man called Riyekan had a power to intensify his emotions. Jin-ha was somewhat emotionally detached by nature, but strangely, in front of Riyekan, he would get upset over small things and be deeply hurt by matters that should only slightly wound his pride.
Thinking about it now, all of that was because Jin-ha had felt disappointed one-sidedly. It meant he had expectations for the man. Having such expectations for someone with whom there was no established promise was utterly ridiculous.
Jin-ha steeled his resolve.
“That won’t happen.”
“Won’t happen?”
“Because I’ve decided to help you until you become whole.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, things like what happened today won’t happen again.”
Though this feeling was called love, the other party didn’t feel the same way. Wasn’t it just his desire to retrieve what was his manifesting as an obsession, making him unable to control his wanting heart?
It was a spark that would fade with a little time.
In such a relationship, today’s contact was too much. He wasn’t the type of person to have this kind of relationship with someone he hadn’t defined his relationship with. And to think this happened when he had only recently admitted to himself that he liked the man.
‘Why don’t you have some fun this time?’
Suddenly, Cha Ki-young’s voice flashed through his mind. Good heavens. The sudden recollection of those words clearly stemmed from his own desires.
Jin-ha hastily added:
“No, today’s events just never happened. Understand?”
There was no answer. A strange silence followed where not even the sound of water could be heard.
“…Riyekan?”
“Ha.”
“Um…”
“This is ridiculous.”
Swish—the sound of water was heard again. This time it was the sound of Riyekan standing up. As he walked out with heavy, rough steps, he spat out in a grinding voice:
“How can something that happened be treated as if it never did? Right?”
A cold wind swept by. Jin-ha belatedly realized that his emotions had gotten ahead of him, preventing him from explaining sufficiently.
He had resolved to cut off his feelings, but instead, they had grown stronger. It wasn’t just because of today’s physical contact. Riyekan’s unfortunate past had evoked sympathy. In fact, his detailed confession about his circumstances was clearly Riyekan’s scheme. He openly sought Jin-ha’s sympathy.
The problem was that what should have ended with mere sympathy had turned into compassion. A more personal and affectionate emotion than sympathy had caused him to accept Riyekan’s past as deeply as if it were his own.
“……”
Jin-ha silently glared at the water’s surface before hurriedly starting to wash himself. It wasn’t the time to leisurely enjoy warm water.
* * *
When he finished bathing, fresh clothes were prepared on the nightstand. Even as he changed, he thought it was a level of attentiveness uncharacteristic of the Noon Moon Tower Master, but when he went outside, Legas was in the middle of preparing a meal.
At this hour?
“Legas?”
“Mr. Lee Jin-ha.”
“Did you really come to cook?”
“The stew will be ready soon. Let’s sit and wait.”
Legas stirred inside a large pot with a ladle.
Riyekan, who had been reading a newspaper with his legs crossed at the table, glanced at Jin-ha before turning his gaze back to the newspaper. He seemed quite angry.
Jin-ha slowly walked across the space lit by candles in the early dawn and sat opposite him. After a moment’s hesitation, he carefully opened his mouth.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then?”
“It’s, a complicated story…”
“You’re not the only one who’s good at listening to complicated stories, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
Riyekan replied, putting down his newspaper, resting his chin on his hand, and looking at Jin-ha.
Though he had come out intending to talk, meeting that gaze made his throat dry. Jin-ha took a sip of water before speaking.
“…I must have told you that I’m a Hunter.”
“Yes.”
He had already sufficiently explained about Hunters to describe the special nature of the children before making them apprentices of the Noon Moon Tower. It was necessary to explain the magic they used as skills for their future education.
In that process, Jin-ha had also mentioned that he and Seo Ji-seop were Hunters too. However, he hadn’t revealed exactly what abilities they possessed.
“My eyes read information. Information about monsters, artifacts, gates. And about people too.”
At those words, Legas turned sharply toward them, but Riyekan raised his hand to stop his movement.
“You probably can’t read everything. There must be limitations.”
“That’s right. I can only read very limited information about those who are significantly stronger than me. For example, the information I can read about Legas is…”
[ Legas Nightry ]
Deputy Master of the Noon Moon Tower.
A prodigy in magic, especially in scroll crafting.
“That his name is Legas Nightry. That he is the Deputy Master of this tower. And that he has talent in scroll crafting.”
“What about me?”
[ Riyekan Ertolic ]
Master of the Noon Moon Tower.
Soul (74/100)
Jin-ha swallowed dryly, seeing that the soul quantity had increased since the last time he checked.
“That your name is Riyekan Ertolic. That you are the Master of the Noon Moon Tower. And…”
He tightly closed his eyes.
“That you’ve lost part of your soul.”
A moment of silence passed. He thought he might face rebuke for making claims without evidence, but what followed was silence. When he opened his eyes, Riyekan was looking at him, lost in thought.
His sapphire blue eyes gleamed coldly, and one corner of his mouth twisted.
“Interesting.”
“Interesting…? Not unpleasant?”
“Why would it be unpleasant? It’s true.”
“…You knew?”
“Yes. Someone told me about it a long time ago.”
Legas began to serve the completed food. Aware that Riyekan was eating for the first time in days, he had prepared easily digestible foods. As stew, white bread, yogurt, and well-cooked bean dishes were arranged on the table, Jin-ha organized his thoughts.
Perhaps the rest would be easier, now that he had passed what he thought would be the most difficult part to believe.
“Master Senistry. She told me about it and told me to go to the Noon Moon Tower.”
Riyekan, who had been tapping the table with his fingertips, continued:
“So, explain what the fact that part of my soul is missing has to do with saying everything should be treated as if it never happened.”
“A few days ago, I went to the cabin where Legas had gathered things you were once obsessed with. When I checked those items, I found traces of ‘lost soul fragments.'”
“Lost soul fragments?”
“Yes. Traces of your lost soul fragments that had seeped into them.”
Riyekan frowned, as if finding it difficult to understand.
“Riyekan, the reason you were obsessed with all those things was probably because your soul had entered them. And the reason your interest suddenly waned was because the broken soul found its owner and emptied out while you kept them close.”
“So the reason for my obsession was… to retrieve my lost soul.”
“Yes. That’s certainly it.”
“That means Hunter Lee Jin-ha also has my lost soul inside him.”
“That’s right. Your lost soul fragment is also inside me. To be precise, what’s in me is the last piece, and when you retrieve it all, your soul will be complete.”
“……”
It was natural to be confused. He said he had suffered from obsession with specific objects for a long time. Without knowing the reason or cause, when only the desire to possess something surged and became unbearable, what kind of feeling would that have been?
Though he claimed to have accepted it now, it didn’t seem likely that this great wizard hadn’t suffered at all when he first became obsessed with things like brooms or stones.
Among alphas who treated physical pleasure like power, the existence of an alpha who disliked omegas and obsessively kept close to inanimate objects must have been noticeable.
“To be exact, there are twenty-six pieces. I originally had thirty-four in total, but eight have returned to you during this time.”
“If they all come back to me, I’ll become whole?”
“Yes. That should happen.”
When Jin-ha answered with a confident tone, Riyekan let out a hollow laugh. Of course he would laugh. He had just learned the identity of the desire that had been controlling his life in a strange way.
“So that’s what you meant by helping me until I become whole.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And saying we should act like it never happened…”
“When you become whole, you won’t be obsessed with me anymore, so there’s no need to give in to desire like now. That’s what I meant.”
Jin-ha, who answered precisely, explained further:
“To begin with, I don’t think this is desirable. Even though we did it this time because your condition was so bad, between people who aren’t even dating…”
“Are you asking me to date you?”
“No!”
When Jin-ha reflexively shouted, Riyekan tilted his head sideways as he picked out meat from the stew and ate it.
“I’ve been thinking, Hunter Lee Jin-ha has such an old-fashioned personality.”
“I hear that a lot.”
“Unnecessarily serious.”
“That’s just how I am.”
“So, Hunter Lee Jin-ha doesn’t ‘do things’ with someone unless they’re dating?”
“Yes, absolutely not.”
A delighted light flashed in Riyekan’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
