Chapter 59
“Then I’ll go check out the building.”
“I’ll survey the surroundings as quickly as possible. Be careful, just in case.”
As soon as Jang Jae-gyeong finished speaking, Kim Doyun added his words. He gently caressed my shoulder with a concerned gaze. I cleared my throat to hide my reddening face. His actions couldn’t have been more affectionate, but the problem was that my heart couldn’t accept it straightforwardly. Every gentle gesture from him fanned the flames inside me. Wouldn’t it be okay? Someone this kind—what’s wrong with liking him a little? Does the bad situation mean I can’t even like someone freely? What’s so wrong about feeling butterflies? Questions perfect for getting swept away buzzed chaotically in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“It’s not like this is a test of patience…”
“Pardon?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I had been muttering to myself, then shook my head at Kim Doyun when he asked. Then I quickly shooed the two of them away. Kim Doyun seemed to move reluctantly at my gesture, but he turned around to look down at me. Maybe it was because he had held me while we slept. I suddenly wanted to bury my head in the ground. I felt too shy to face him, and his body heat came to mind… How surprised I was when I opened my eyes in the morning to find his face right in front of mine, asking if I’d slept well with a smile. While I was rubbing my burning ears, I glanced up at Kim Doyun, who hadn’t said anything yet.
“Finally, I get to see your eyes.”
When our eyes met, Kim Doyun smiled brightly. I opened my eyes wide in surprise.
“You’ve been avoiding my eyes since this morning.”
“Oh, no. I…”
“I was worried I’d done something wrong. But I couldn’t remember anything… Did something happen last night?”
Kim Doyun’s bright smile slowly faded. Seeing the concern that replaced his smile, I scratched my forehead.
“…What do you mean ‘wrong’? Nothing happened.”
Well, something did happen. I squeezed my eyes shut as I recalled that large thing that had been rubbing against my leg. But what would a sleeping person know about that? With the situation as it is, masturbation or whatever… Anyway, with no way to relieve himself, he probably got hard while asleep from the stimulation. I was surprised since I had never thought of him sexually, but given that I was developing feelings for Kim Doyun, it was disconcerting but not horrifying.
Ah, let’s stop thinking about it.
“It’s just… I have something on my mind, so don’t worry too much. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I waved my hands dismissively and smiled hard. All Kim Doyun had done was help keep me from falling when I was worried about my sleep habits.
“Something on your mind?”
“Yes, yes. Just a slight personal concern…”
I brought it up to reassure him, but for some reason, Kim Doyun’s expression wouldn’t brighten. Kim Doyun gently took both my hands with an even more serious face than before.
“Doyun-ssi?”
While I was flustered, looking at my captured hands, Kim Doyun opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Is it something you can’t tell me?”
“What?”
“If you have concerns, I’d like to help.”
“No, no. It’s not something I need to tell others about, it’s personal…”
“I see…”
There was a hint of disappointment in Kim Doyun’s expression and voice. I became even more flustered and didn’t know what to do. But the only concern I’d had since earlier was about Kim Doyun’s… that part… I couldn’t mention that. Kim Doyun blinked slowly with his eyes slightly downcast.
“If I’ve done anything wrong, please let me know right away.”
His downcast eyes lifted slightly, and his revealed gaze caught mine. His long fingers, which had been holding my hands, slid down to my wrists and gripped them firmly. It wasn’t painful or held with excessive force, but strangely, it was difficult to pull away. Looking at my captured wrists, the size difference between Kim Doyun’s hands and mine suddenly struck me. My hands aren’t small, but maybe it’s the difference in our builds.
“I hope you don’t dislike me, Seongho-ssi.”
“What? Why would I dislike you? I don’t.”
“But seeing how you avoid my eyes… I can’t help but think it’s my fault.”
“That’s…”
While I was flustered and just rolling my eyes around, unable to speak, Kim Doyun moved even closer.
“If I could be more reliable, maybe you could share your concerns with me.”
Kim Doyun whispered in my ear. His lips were so close that I could feel his breath on my ear. I jumped in surprise and covered my ear with one hand. The hand that seemed like it wouldn’t let go had relaxed, so it wasn’t difficult to pull away. Kim Doyun smiled at me as I turned bright red.
“I… I’m already relying on you a lot. If I rely on you any more, it’ll be trouble…”
“Really? But not enough to share your concerns.”
Kim Doyun’s thumb lightly stroked my chin.
“I’ll have to try harder.”
At his promise to try harder, a denial rose to my throat. You don’t need to try harder, I don’t dislike you. Rather… But the words couldn’t leave my mouth. I just kept nodding before I noticed Jang Jae-gyeong looking this way. He was stroking his chin with a strange expression.
Only after checking Jang Jae-gyeong’s expression did I clear my throat and hurriedly move away from Kim Doyun.
“Ahem! Before it gets later, let’s get moving. Doyun-ssi, be careful out there.”
“You be careful too, Seongho-ssi, and if anything happens, make sure to call for me.”
“Yes, of course.”
I urged Kim Doyun down to the base of the tree. Before descending, Kim Doyun looked at me one more time, then nimbly climbed down the tree. At the bottom, he gazed up for a moment before slowly entering the forest. Only after confirming Kim Doyun had disappeared did Jang Jae-gyeong grab onto a tree vine and stand up.
“You’re not going to tell me to be careful too?”
Jang Jae-gyeong grinned. With his head tilted and the vine he was holding swaying back and forth, he looked like a mischievous child. I let out a small laugh.
“Of course I will. Be careful out there.”
“You be careful too, and don’t eat anything you pick up.”
“When have I ever done that?”
“You pick things up all the time; you’ll get in big trouble that way.”
I had no idea what Jang Jae-gyeong was talking about. I frowned hard, trying to remember what I had eaten yesterday, when Jang Jae-gyeong lightly flicked my nose.
“You shouldn’t trust people. Seongho-ya.”
“…You too, Jae-gyeong-ssi?”
“You need to trust me.”
Jang Jae-gyeong said while gently stroking my head. He tells me not to trust people, but then says I should trust him. I burst into laughter. I guess Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun have a bad relationship, and he doesn’t like that I’m getting along well with Kim Doyun. After shaking my head, I told him not to worry because I trust him. Jang Jae-gyeong grumbled that it wasn’t satisfactory, then said he’d better go before it got later and jumped down holding the vine.
I let out a small gasp of admiration. Jang Jae-gyeong’s jumping form was impressive. It was perfectly angled, like what drill sergeants demonstrate in the military, making me wonder if he had served before the accident. Maybe I’ll ask him later. While I was trying to guess Jang Jae-gyeong’s occupation, he waved his hands and disappeared toward the building.
“I guess I should get going too.”
I looked down at the tree and let out a deep breath. I wrapped a vine around my waist and slowly moved my feet, like during rappelling training. I couldn’t descend smoothly like Jang Jae-gyeong and Kim Doyun, so it didn’t look stylish, but I managed to get down to the bottom of the tree safely.
“Whew…”
Just descending that one tree had sapped some of my strength. While those two moved around effortlessly… But I couldn’t compare myself to them. If those two were motorcycles, I’d be a tricycle—the comparison was ridiculous.
I lightly stretched my body and looked up at the building that Jang Jae-gyeong was supposed to check. Since Jang Jae-gyeong wanted to search the building and we were curious about the previous family’s whereabouts, we had divided the morning’s tasks. Jang Jae-gyeong, who had a weapon, would examine the building to confirm the family’s whereabouts or the men. Since the men might attack, it was better for him than for Kim Doyun or me, who didn’t have weapons. To be honest, Jang Jae-gyeong seemed to want to say he was better than Kim Doyun, regardless of whether he had a weapon or not.
Kim Doyun agreed to explore the forest. The people in the building might have harmed the family, so he would look for their traces while checking for other buildings or debris. According to Jang Jae-gyeong, if you searched the debris thoroughly, you could find many useful things. Kim Doyun’s expression looked quite displeased as he listened to Jang Jae-gyeong’s explanation. Even if it was correct, he seemed reluctant to follow along. How bad must their relationship be…
And my task was simple. Both of them absolutely refused to let me go to the forest or the building, saying it was too dangerous, so I had no choice. Honestly, I was dumbfounded. These two men, who couldn’t stand to exchange words or even look at each other, were nodding in agreement with the same opinion. Did I look that weak and useless? Despite appearances, I was a decent fighter before the accident…
When Jang Jae-gyeong said it would be best if I didn’t wander around and stayed up in the tree, and Kim Doyun agreed for the first time, I couldn’t help but sigh. I understood that they might see me that way because they were both so sturdy and capable, but still…
“How can I just sit still? I need to do something.”
Isn’t it a bit ridiculous to just sit there blankly while the two of them are busy moving around? I’m not a patient… Honestly, my injuries have healed now. Do they still see me as a patient? I sighed as I rubbed my shoulder where the scar remained.
To these two who absolutely wouldn’t back down, I tried hard to persuade them that I would at least examine the area around the tree. I’d search through the debris here—if they opposed even that, it would be too much. They must have realized how I felt, because they finally nodded slowly.
“There probably won’t be much to find anyway…”
The debris was so scattered that there didn’t seem to be much to search through. Still, it was better than doing nothing. I cleared away some concrete fragments with a bitter taste in my mouth and lifted some weak-looking tree roots. Then suddenly, I remembered the tree I had seen yesterday. The tree where small things were wriggling around. It wasn’t far from the tree we were at, and would be visible just by turning my head. I turned my head without thinking, then froze.
At the base of that tree, something pitch-black had sprung up. The small, round thing was moving around, but when it seemed to notice me, it stopped its movement abruptly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
