THIFSGSTW CH 33

Chapter 33: It’s Always Night Here

Sun Yi-han, who fell asleep in an instant, was still lying quietly with a white face. Park Yul stood next to him for a long time, lost in thought. Eventually, he forced himself to get up, as if cutting his thoughts short.

A faint murmur drifted in from outside—it seemed the others had returned.

It was time to step out.

Rustle.

Dragging his reluctant steps, Park Yul finally left the tent. Cold air rushed inside for a brief moment before dissipating.

Outside, the darkness stretched on without end.

“Yi-han just fell asleep,” he said.

At his words, Raen’s eyes flickered with concern. He stepped forward, brushing Sun Yi-han’s hair away from his forehead. A small table appeared beside the bed, summoned in an instant. He placed a cup and a jug of warm water on top of it.

Min Joo-hyuk pulled the blankets up to Yi-han’s shoulders, carefully tucking them in. Then, he took Yi-han’s cold hands into his own, rubbing them gently.

Feeling how icy they were, he conjured a pair of soft, white gloves in midair. The design was simple—only the thumb was separate, while the rest of the fingers shared a single opening.

“Hey, Sun Yi-han. Don’t even think about using healing magic the moment you wake up this time.”

His voice was lighthearted, but the way he carefully slipped the gloves onto Yi-han’s hands was anything but. The fabric was thick yet airy, wrapping his hands in warmth.

Without a word, Song Ha-gyeon fastened a small pouch of herbs near the bed’s headboard. The delicate scent of wildflowers spread through the space. Then, he was the last to step out of the tent.

It was only after some time had passed that Sun Yi-han finally woke.

◇

Sun Yi-han’s Perspective

---

I opened my eyes. The air was warm. The surroundings were faintly bright, and there was a faint scent of grass. And I was buried under layers of blankets.

‘This just keeps getting better and better…’

I felt refreshed. But I didn’t like this kind of refreshment. I’d lost count of how many times I’d passed out and woken up like this. I couldn’t even keep track of time anymore.

I used to have no problem staying up for several nights in a row. So why had my stamina suddenly bottomed out? Should I start working out? I had been fine without it until now.

Next to me, the healing gauge flickered. It was completely empty, without a trace of red. Right, that was the last thing I checked, Emptying the Heal Gauge tutorial. And I had coughed up blood in front of Park Yul.

Just thinking about it made me dizzy. Next time, I needed to make sure no one was around before I emptied it.

‘I should step outside first.’

I needed to assess the situation. Slowly, I sat up.

There was a glass of water on the table beside me. I reached for it, only to notice the white gloves on my hands.

Gloves? I didn’t even know it was there because I didn’t feel it. He squeezed and unfolded his hands quietly. The fabric was soft and warm to my hand. Why would someone put these on me?

‘Was there a reason?’

It was probably best to ask before taking them off, just in case. There might be some kind of magic on them. I didn’t know much about that, so I had to be cautious. After taking a sip of the warm water, I stepped outside the tent, pushing aside the entrance flap. The cold air hit my face.

Outside, it was dark. A campfire burned in the distance, casting flickering light. A figure sat on a log nearby.

“Ha-gyeon hyung?”

The firelight shimmered over his neatly tied-back hair. Song Ha-gyeon sat motionless, his posture calm. The campfire wasn’t too far from the tent. But it wasn’t too close either.

Even as I approached, Song Ha-gyeon didn’t notice me at first. He was slowly writing something in a notebook, sketching what looked like a map.

“He looks busy.”

I had just taken another step when he suddenly lifted his head. His gaze locked onto me.

“…Sun Yi-han.”

He quickly shut his notebook and stood up. Before I could react, he grasped my shoulders firmly, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself sitting where he had been.

“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

He said Park Yul had told him what happened. I nodded. Song Ha-gyeon remained standing in front of me, looking down with a faintly concerned expression. I had always been fine. It was them who weren’t. I’d thought that so many times that it had become exhausting.

I met his eyes. There was something I needed to ask.

“Right, Ha-gyeon hyung—”

“Sun Yi-han. Last time…”

Ah, we spoke at the same time. As I began to speak, Song Ha-gyeon hesitated before opening his mouth. I looked at him, signaling for him to continue, but he simply shook his head silently.

Seeing him firmly pressing his lips together, I had no choice but to speak first. Extending both hands slightly toward Song Ha-gyeon, I continued.

“Can I take these off?”

I had to do my duty. It meant that I had to use Heal on Song Ha-gyeon. And for that, I needed to remove my gloves.

Come to think of it, the first person I ever healed was Song Ha-gyeon. Back then, the status window appeared even when my hands touched over clothing, but ever since then, my skin had to come into direct contact for the window to show up.

Why was that? Was it just being lenient because it was my first time? Well, it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t a difficult task anyway. As I was lost in thought, Song Ha-gyeon still hadn’t answered my question.

“…Ha-gyeon hyung?”

Song Ha-gyeon was quietly looking down at me, his eyes slightly widened. He was completely frozen in place.

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew from the side. The campfire’s flames flickered in our direction before retreating again. The hot air brushed close, then faded away.

His pale violet eyes seemed to tremble faintly. Was I not supposed to take these gloves off?

I stretched my arm out this time, waving my hand right in front of him. Song Ha-gyeon’s gaze slowly shifted toward it.

He blinked a few times before lifting his hand. Then, he gently grasped my wrist and carefully removed my gloves. He didn’t grip tightly, yet I could clearly feel his touch.

Gathering the gloves neatly, he placed them over my hands. Then, he spoke slowly.

“…Yeah. You can take them off.”

…Was this really something that needed so much thought? Well, knowing Song Ha-gyeon, it was possible. He always took his time. But I didn’t mind that.

Tucking my gloves into my chest pocket, I reached for his hand again. His firm, cold fingers wrapped around mine. Maybe it was because my hands, which had been inside the gloves, felt warm in contrast.

I looked at the status window that appeared before my eyes and selected Heal.

<The healer will help!> Heal, success!

Song Ha-gyeon quickly withdrew his hand. But the healing had already been completed. Watching the light absorbed into me, he spoke faster than usual.

“You don’t have to do that for me.”

He should be asking me to heal him first, yet why was he avoiding it so much? It wasn’t just him, everyone else was the same. Unless it was a serious injury, they tried to just brush it off.

Raen had once asked about the cost of my healing. Could it be that everyone thought there was a price for it? But even if that were the case…

“Ha-gyeon hyung, you’re doing what you need to do, right?”

So I had to do what I needed to do as well. That was only natural.

“This is what I need to do.”

“…Why is this something you have to do?”

“Because it’s something I can do.”

Doing what I could. Because that’s the right thing. At first, that was the only reason.

But now, it wasn’t just that. I didn’t want only them to be the ones sacrificing for the world. I still didn’t fully understand what it meant to save the world, but I knew I didn’t want to watch them suffer.

“And healing people isn’t a strain on me. So if you’re hurt, just tell me first, hyung.”

“…Not a strain, huh.”

Song Ha-gyeon stared at me. His eyes showed that he wasn’t convinced. His reaction was something I couldn’t understand either.

“I’m not the one overworking myself, you are. All of you keep running around so busily without even a moment to rest….”

“We made that choice ourselves. Well, except for Park Yul hyung. But what about you?”

Song Ha-gyeon met my eyes directly. I see. He must have guessed that I hadn’t really had a say in the temple decision.

It was true that my involvement wasn’t entirely my own choice from the beginning. The system’s appearance had been completely unexpected. The same went for me ending up with everyone else. Nevertheless….

“Hyung. Is that really so important?”

Whether I had chosen this from the start or not, it didn’t matter much. What mattered was that right now, I could do this, and I wanted to do this. Wasn’t that reason enough?

“What’s important is the present. So, it’s fine.”

“…….” Song Ha-gyeon didn’t say anything more. He remained silent as if lost in deep thought. What was he thinking so hard about?

I took a deep breath. The cold air was strangely infused with the warmth of the campfire. It was both chilly and warm at the same time. Both sensations were vivid.

The surroundings were still pitch black. And they probably would remain that way. This place would always be night. But beyond this darkness, the sun would still be rising every day. Even if I couldn’t see it, I knew. 

Not everything had to be witnessed with my own eyes to be understood.

It was night. A deep night, where the sun might be rising somewhere far away.

◇

The quiet crackling of the campfire echoed in the silence. After a long pause, Song Ha-gyeon finally seemed to have sorted out his thoughts and spoke slowly.

He said that when he had returned from looking around the forest, a rift had opened. It hadn’t been left unattended for long, but it still needed to be dealt with quickly, so they had all moved out.

As I nodded and listened, Song Ha-gyeon quietly watched me. His gaze felt as though he was checking my condition. Then, he turned his head back forward and spoke.

“Sun Yi-han. If you’re feeling okay… want to take a walk with me?” His tone was fleeting, like a passing thought.

It sounded as if my response didn’t matter if I said yes, no, or even didn’t answer at all. It was clear that he was asking, but the meaning was conveyed in a vague way. “I’d like to walk with you.”

Besides, I wanted to take a look around anyway. I needed to find a place where I could secretly empty my Heal gauge later.

Song Ha-gyeon turned his head toward me, meeting my gaze. In his dawn-colored, violet eyes, I saw my own reflection. Even though he didn’t say anything, it felt like he was silently asking again, Are you really okay?

Without realizing it, I nodded.

Song Ha-gyeon spoke again, his voice sounding slightly relieved.

“…Alright. I’ll also show you the boundary of the defensive magic.”

Maybe because of the firelight nearby, his monocle seemed to glisten for a brief moment.