Chapter 56
“Ugh…”
It was bitterly cold, as if I’d been thrown out in the middle of winter. The large, warm hand still gripping the back of my neck strangely felt ice-cold. I vigorously rubbed my elbows and forearms against the unexplainable chill. This happened occasionally.
There were times when I stood between these two men that a chill would prick my body and a coolness would spread throughout. There were other strange aspects too, but… I kept my mouth shut as I watched the two figures dimly visible in the darkness. If they were truly suspicious people who might harm me, I would have quickly fled or stayed on guard. But I didn’t see such behavior from them. Rather, weren’t they helping me?
After thinking that far, I remembered something else I’d forgotten. On the day I got angry at their bickering, I had decided to overlook Kim Doyun’s mistake. He hadn’t done anything wrong—in fact, he was full of praiseworthy qualities, but anyway… It would be strange to distance myself from people like these just because I occasionally felt uneasy. As I was biting my lip and thinking about this, something warm suddenly touched me.
“!”
“You’ll hurt your lip.”
I didn’t know when he had moved to my side from following slowly behind. Kim Doyun was pressed close to me, gently pulling at my lip to stop me from biting it. When Kim Doyun came closer, Jang Jae-gyeong shuddered as if it was disgusting and released his hold on me.
“I’m fine…”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and turned my head away. The chill had completely vanished, and instead, heat rose to my ears. My lips tingled with the lingering sensation of his touch. But I couldn’t keep rubbing the spot until the feeling disappeared with Kim Doyun watching me from the side. I hesitantly lowered my hand and stared at the ground.
Come to think of it, he had touched my lips like this a couple of times before. The first time I just let it go, and the next time, the two of them were growling at each other, so I wasn’t really bothered when he touched me. I was also curious about what was between them… As my thoughts reached that point, I squeezed my eyes shut.
When I was with Kim Doyun, my chest felt strangely ticklish and itchy. He made me nervous, and my gaze kept drifting toward him. Looking at his face made me feel good, but meeting his eyes made me shy. It felt as if all the embarrassment in the world was dripping from my face, but I didn’t want it to stop.
“Hey, why are you spacing out like that?”
After I had been standing with my head down for a while, Jang Jae-gyeong lightly touched the side of my head. It was a gentle touch, but it helped cool the heat that had built up on my face a little.
“It’s nothing. Let’s hurry.”
I quickly shook my head. But the heat that had risen to the top of my head didn’t disappear easily and clung to my eyes. The heat traveled from my eyes to my cheeks, ears, and swirled around in my head.
Why am I like this? What’s wrong with me? Like a crazy person, I vigorously rubbed my eyes and face with my palms. I heard Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun asking if I was really okay, but I waved my hand dismissively, pretending everything was fine. I had no time to explain the sudden heat that had surged up.
Honestly, what could I possibly say? That my heart flutters and my face turns red when I look at Kim Doyun? At this timing? How long has it been since we escaped? And in a forest full of monsters? Even just hearing it would sound absurd, let alone saying it now. We were in a life-or-death situation. With an uncertain future ahead of us, saying such things would make even me want to throw a punch.
Thinking about it, this wasn’t the first time I’d had strange thoughts around Kim Doyun. I wanted to look at his face for no reason, and I wanted to hold his hand when he supported me or grabbed mine. Each time, I thought it was because Kim Doyun was handsome, or because his hand was warm, and I liked that warmth so much that I wanted to hold his hand back.
But, but that wasn’t it.
For a moment, it felt like the ground beneath my feet turned pitch black. This sudden realization made me feel gloomy. I deliberately suppressed the emerging numbness and fluttering feeling, pretending not to notice. No, this is really not it. Maybe I’m mistaking my feelings for something else? Isn’t that it? Once again, I stomped my feet firmly on the budding emotion.
Even if it wasn’t a mistake and the feeling was accurate, I had to make it not true. Both Kim Doyun and I are men… Moreover, if Kim Doyun were to find it disgusting. A wave of nausea, like the feeling of suddenly dropping on a roller coaster, shook my body. Just thinking about Kim Doyun looking at me with disgust made me feel…
“I’m going crazy, seriously…”
How did this happen? I roughly rubbed my face with one hand. This is all because Kim Doyun was too kind to me. I briefly entertained that resentful thought before realizing how absurd it was to blame someone for being nice. This time, I vigorously rubbed my face with both hands.
“Seongho?”
Finding my behavior strange, Kim Doyun came close and asked if I was okay. I had started to feel a bit better, but now I was getting worse again. With perfect timing, moonlight cascaded down over Kim Doyun as he looked down at me. How beautiful the light was as it pooled on his long eyelashes.
“…I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh, yes. Really…”
I felt a lump in my throat. Unable to look at Kim Doyun any longer, I turned my head away. As I hastily moved my feet, I almost tripped over a tree root, but Kim Doyun quickly followed and embraced me. The warm body heat touching my back from behind made me feel even more miserable. I was starting to get anxious, but Kim Doyun kept touching me, completely unaware, making me want to groan. But I couldn’t make a sound. If I did, Kim Doyun might think I was hurt somewhere and start touching me all over.
“Are you worried about the monsters? It’s okay, there aren’t any nearby yet.”
Seeing me flustered, Jang Jae-gyeong seemed to misunderstand. But I couldn’t correct him. If I did, I might have to explain my condition. I somehow managed to calm my flushing face and subtly moved away from Kim Doyun. I could feel Kim Doyun looking at me with a puzzled expression, but I deliberately ignored it.
“Still, we never know… let’s hurry.”
I fidgeted with my feet, pretending to be genuinely worried about monsters. Kim Doyun’s gaze made the back of my head tingle. But I couldn’t turn around. Instead, as I was looking at the barely visible ground, Jang Jae-gyeong came to my side and lightly punched my shoulder.
“Want me to tell you something good?”
“Something good?”
One of my eyes involuntarily squinted at the unexpected statement. But Jang Jae-gyeong pointed ahead, smiling, without minding.
“If we go just a bit further from here, there’s something good.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see when we get there. I think you’ll like it.”
Since he was being vague, only saying it was “something good,” I became curious. Even as I squinted and tried to see where he was pointing, it was so dark that I could hardly make out what was there. It seemed like the edge of something was a bit brighter…
“I can see a building.”
As I was walking slowly with my face scrunched up, a low voice tickled my ear. Startled, I covered one ear and turned my head to the side. Once again, I saw Kim Doyun’s face close to mine. My heart pounded heavily.
“A-a building? Really?”
It’s my own body, but it’s not listening to me at all. Even my voice was cracking, making it sound ridiculous. No, this is just because I’m too happy to hear about a building! I tried hard to convince myself. If I was going to be like this every time Kim Doyun was nearby, it would be hopeless. Besides, although Kim Doyun said he could see a building, I couldn’t see anything like that.
“It is a building.”
Fortunately, Jang Jae-gyeong intervened. I happily looked up at him, but after a moment, I became wary and moved slightly away. Thinking about it… I was suspicious that my heart fluttering for Kim Doyun might be because of his looks. The reason I’d never felt this way for a man in the normal world might be because I hadn’t seen such handsome people before? Both Kim Doyun and Jang Jae-gyeong were the first truly handsome faces I’d encountered in my life. If I started feeling the same way for Jang Jae-gyeong too, my future would really be hopeless.
“Why are you backing away like that?”
“I’m just so happy to see a building…”
“That doesn’t look like a happy face.”
“Actually, I’m worried there might be strange people there too…”
I blurted out whatever came to mind, but it somehow made sense as an answer. Jang Jae-gyeong chuckled, asking if that’s what I was worried about. He told me it would be fine and grabbed my arm.
“You just need to stick with me, that’s all.”
But before I could stand beside him, following his lead, my body stopped.
“…Doyun?”
It was because Kim Doyun was firmly holding my wrist and standing his ground. Kim Doyun pulled my arm with a somewhat angry face… Fortunately, my heart didn’t pound heavily this time. That’s a relief. A relief, but really…
“Let go, will you?”
“You let go first.”
My… arms hurt so much. With incredibly strong men holding and pulling from both sides, I felt like I was going to die in the middle. My arms felt like they were going to be torn off, and tears unconsciously welled up in my eyes. If they start fighting and pull with all their might, wouldn’t my arms get ripped off?
“Excuse me…”
When I called out to them in a dying voice, the fierce tug-of-war happening on both sides calmed down. They didn’t let go of my arms, but they stopped pulling. I gently shook both arms and asked them to let go because it hurt. Jang Jae-gyeong clicked his tongue and released me. But Kim Doyun instead grabbed both my hands and began carefully examining my wrist where he had held me. Damn, my heart went crazy again.
“There’s a mark…”
Kim Doyun gently stroked my wrist with his thumb. I wiggled my ticklish toes, cleared my throat, and quickly pulled my arm away. If I stayed like this, I felt like I would die from embarrassment and tension. Even the building had become an afterthought; what on earth was happening?
“I-I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt that much. Oh, but more importantly, there, the building. Let’s go to the building quickly. What kind of building is it?”
Even to my own ears, my tone sounded quite awkward. But Jang Jae-gyeong didn’t seem to mind much, and Kim Doyun merely tilted his head slightly without asking why my tone was strange. They just quietly watched as I hurriedly walked toward where they had pointed.
“…Ah, damn it.”
But that didn’t last long. It was only natural for me to fall since I couldn’t see the night path properly like they could. I had overlooked that. The fortunate thing was that both men acted extremely quickly and caught me before I could fall. The unfortunate thing was that after Jang Jae-gyeong said I’d plant my face on the ground with every step if left to walk alone, I had to walk holding both their hands.
“Haah…”
“Bear with it even if it’s uncomfortable. It’s better than falling. If you don’t like it, should I carry you?”
“…No thanks.”
Plodding along between the two of them, I could only sigh deeply. Despite being in a forest where monsters could appear at any moment, it was good that I didn’t have to worry thanks to these two, but… it was uncomfortable in a different way. I just hoped we’d reach the building soon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
