Guest Ch 25

Mixed Perspectives, Misdirected Emotions (2)

Lee Yiseon finally turns to my call. A guy who hates hearing his name more than anything is acting unusually calm. Black Foot was so absorbed in the game that he didn’t even realize I had called the captain’s name.

I stopped paying attention to Black Foot and focused solely on Lee Yiseon. He leans diagonally against the refrigerator shorter than him, looking down at me. His black eyes, which reveal nothing of what he’s thinking, can’t possibly be more annoying.

I smiled brightly on purpose. This guy always disliked it when I smiled, so I made sure to smile even more cheerfully this time.

“Did you have fun?”

I wonder how surprised the people here were when they saw my foolish behavior. In a place where formal speech is only used between lovers, I was trailing after Lee Yiseon, speaking to him formally. They must have thought I was hopelessly obsessed with him.

Ah, so that’s why everyone let it slide. Even though I share a room with the person in charge of this fortress, no one tried to stop me, thinking it was too disgusting.

Just as I was about to laugh with the corners of my mouth trembling, unable to contain my boiling frustration, Lee Yiseon spoke indifferently.

“Hm.”

What a bad person.

“I guess you didn’t find it fun?”

I told you, he’s really a bad person.

“Try being the one people make fun of. Should I tease you?”

“If you’ve got something to tease me about, go ahead.”

“Uh… well…”

“Go on.”

Do you think I can’t do it? I know at least one thing you hate.

“Lee Yiseon.”

He used to react so strongly to hearing his name that he’d even drop whatever he was holding. But now, maybe he’s gotten used to it, because he answered casually.

“What?”

Seeing that he didn’t react even when I stabbed at him, I lost the will to fight.

“…Never mind.”

Lee Yiseon smiled strangely as he watched me back down. He looked more lively, like someone who had suddenly regained their appetite after forcing down bland potato porridge.

Is it that satisfying to beat me?

“Rhythm games are hard. Do you have any other game cartridges?”

I pointed to the game console case for the fickle Black Foot, who had quickly lost interest.

“There are three more. Pick whichever you like.”

At those words, he eagerly opened the case and happily pulled out three cartridges.

“But you don’t have much luggage. Why did you pack a game console in your bag? Do you really like games?”

“Yeah, I like them. I even planned to play on the train.”

“Train?”

“I bought a train ticket at Seoul Station to go to Busan.”

Black Foot, now switching to a puzzle game cartridge, muttered absentmindedly.

“I guess Busan in your world was nice. It’s not worth going here; the smell of the rotten sea is unbearable.”

Has it turned black like the Han River? The river looks like a long, tangled strand of black seaweed. What would the sea be like? Probably like a pitch-black field.

I stopped trying to imagine the rotten sea, which I could only picture up to a certain point. Lee Yiseon spoke to Black Foot, who was engrossed in the game.

“I didn’t call you to play games. Why would someone I know act like this?”

If it had been anyone else, they would’ve tensed up under that remark. But Black Foot seemed used to Lee Yiseon’s demeanor. He paused the game briefly, looked up, and spoke.

“If you’re asking about the wild dogs’ movements, they haven’t shown up yet. It’s like they’ve all gone into hiding.”

“Wolf Fang’s forces must have been severely weakened, so they’ll need time to regroup. That’s to our advantage.”

“That’s not it. The situation outside the fortress is really bad right now.”

“Why is it bad? Are more giant sinkholes forming?”

“No, the ground collapsing has been quiet lately. Even when it happens, it’s only small ones.”

“Then is another fortress making a move? Did they find out we have the Prophet with us?”

“I haven’t checked that far. What I’m talking about are the wild dogs. They’ve been buying large quantities of drugs with hypnotic properties through the northern fortress.”

Hypnotic drugs? As I wondered what that had to do with the wild dogs, Black Foot explained what he had seen and heard.

“I guess this Prophet’s ability is ‘dreaming.’ They probably plan to drug him, put him to sleep, make him see the future, and use that to their advantage.”

Unlike Black Foot, who spoke indifferently, Lee Yiseon immediately turned to look at me. This time, I couldn’t avoid it by pretending like an outsider and saying, ‘Why are you looking at me? I don’t know.’ Somehow, I instinctively knew what Black Foot meant by ‘dream.’

A dream. The grandmother and Lee Yiseon I saw in that field where red spider lily flowers fluttered. Could it be that it wasn’t just a random dream but something truly related to foresight?

I vaguely remembered what Wolf Fang said while growling with a knife at my throat.

‘You’re going to take a lot of drugs when we get there. You’ll have so many dreams. All for me.’

Could it be true? That my dreams could shape the future? That I could have precognitive dreams related to the survival of the people here… But I haven’t had any dreams that significant. At most, I’ve only dreamed about my grandmother and Lee Yiseon.

“Prophet.”

Black Foot’s call snapped me out of my thoughts.

It’s not certain yet, but it seems difficult to keep pretending I don’t know. I don’t want to keep ignoring it only to end up being dragged around with a rope around my neck again because the wild dogs are trying to put me to sleep.

“Have you had a lot of dreams since coming here?”

“I’ve had three.”

“What were they about?”

“They weren’t about seeing the future or anything like that. One was about my grandmother, and in two of them, he appeared.”

At those words, Lee Yiseon’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I thought it was just a random dream.”

Seeing the truth in my eyes, he didn’t scold me further for not mentioning it. Instead, he continued with more questions.

“Who’s the grandmother? Is she a relative of yours?”

“Yeah. I came here after visiting my grandmother’s house and falling asleep there.”

“What did she say in the dream?”

“She told me to find a beast I could control. That the beast would help me until the end.”

“A beast?”

As he pondered quietly, Lee Yiseon looked over at Black Foot.

“Is it me she’s talking about?”

Lee Yiseon said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I, on the other hand, found it absurd.

“You’re the only one among the fortress leaders who has anything to do with animals.”

Black Foot agreed with him.

What is this? A beast, they said. Not a person, but a beast.

“Why would the beast be you?”

“Because I’m called Blue Hawk.”

“No… I mean, you know, an actual animal.”

“There’s no animal here that can be controlled.”

“What about the wild dogs taming wolves?”

“That’s their business.”

“The beast in the dream could be a wolf or one of the wild dogs, not you.”

“Ah, so that’s why Wolf Fang made such a fuss trying to capture you, thinking that kind of shameless interpretation was possible. Don’t even think about it. That’s not going to happen.”

“…What?”

“They won’t help you until the end. There was even a case where they cannibalized a Prophet out of desperation for food, but I doubt your grandmother would give you such dangerous advice in a dream.”

Now I was even more confused.

Did my grandmother tell me in my dream to go find Lee Yiseon? So, have I come to the right place? But, logically speaking, Wolf Fang or the wild dogs seemed more like ‘beasts’ than Lee Yiseon….

Lee Yiseon seemed to read my complex emotions. His rough hand grabbed my chin and made me look only at him. He held me with just his gaze, keeping me from thinking about anything else.

“Don’t worry about anything else right now. I’ll worry for you.”

At that unfamiliar command, my lips trembled slightly. Strangely, it reminded me of when Wolf Fang had pointed a knife at my throat.

‘Look at me. Stop thinking about anything else.’

I was uncomfortable with his controlling behavior, but a more subtle feeling slowly began to rise.

Why is Lee Yiseon so fixated on me? Because I’m a Prophet? If he needed my precognitive abilities, he could just tie me up like the wild dogs did, yet he also takes care of me emotionally. If he were someone who was naturally kind and liked physical affection, I could understand that he would act this way towards everyone, not just me. But he’s a cold person, and he only pays attention to me. He touches me casually, makes eye contact from a close distance, and examines every feature—my eyebrows, the bridge of my nose, even my lips.

I can’t figure out Lee Yiseon. He said he hated the Prophet, even to the point of expressing hatred. He acted like he wouldn’t care if I died. And yet, he’s confusing me like this. I don’t understand why he’s so concerned about me. I’ve tried to pull myself together, but his actions just make it harder.

“Tell me what your dream about me was.”

I flinched at the breath that brushed my lips. He’s too close. If this is all unintentional, Lee Yiseon, you really have a problem.

I tried to steady my voice.

“It’s no big deal.”

As expected, he narrows his eyes and looks right through me.

“I think it is a big deal.”

After observing me so exhaustively, it seems he has learned to tell the difference between my fake smiles and real ones. I thought it would be hard to fool him, so I decided to be honest.

…How do I say I dreamed about having sex?

“…I’m going crazy.”

I mumbled to myself and bit down hard on my lower lip. Lee Yiseon’s gaze was fixed on my lip, pressed under my upper teeth. Maybe because I was recalling the situation in the dream, but the hand holding my chin was starting to give me strange feelings.

The dream was so vivid. It felt like something that was really happening. It felt like he, who was lusting after me, and I, who was excited by his lust, truly existed. If it’s a precognitive dream, then what the hell am I going to end up doing with him?

“So….”

My face was burning. Lee Yiseon’s gaze turned strange as he watched me fidget, clearly wondering what I could be thinking.

Ugh, this is so embarrassing. Is it really okay to say this?

I muttered in a barely audible voice.

“…I did something strange with you….”

Lee Yiseon frowned. Tilting his head, he asked in his signature low voice.

“Tell me exactly.”

“Well…”

Is there really no way to avoid this? How do I even say it? Can I really tell him this? In this kind of atmosphere? Damn it, can’t you at least let go of my chin?

“…It’s… that…”

With a face like I was about to cry, I looked up at Lee Yiseon and, after hesitating for a long time, finally spoke in a small voice.

“…I had s3x with you….”

Even if it’s dismissed as nonsense, it’s still mortifying, and it’s not something I can confidently claim was a precognitive dream.

The reaction I’d been anxiously waiting for from Lee Yiseon was shocking.

“Hm.”

He seemed completely unfazed. Almost like he thought it was possible. I, who had been so on edge, was the one left wide-eyed in shock.

“So that’s how you knew my name. I never told you, but you found out through that dream.”

…No. No, that’s not it. Hey, your attitude is weird. Aren’t you supposed to feel bad about this?

“S3x .”

The fingers that had been holding my chin now brushed over my lips, which I had been biting. As his calloused fingertips grazed my lips, I involuntarily shuddered, goosebumps rising on my skin. It felt like he was trying to gauge whether the ‘s3x’ he just mentioned was something we could actually do.

I hurriedly pushed his hand away and backed off.

Thump thump thump thump.

My heart was about to burst out of my chest.

“Don’t you think this is weird?”

At my urgent question, he simply raised one eyebrow.

“What?”

“This being a precognitive dream?”

“I suppose it’s possible.”

“No, wait a minute. You and me? Why?”

“How should I know?”

“Shouldn’t I start by doubting my dream? Like, it’s just nonsense!”

“We’ll find out if it’s nonsense when the time comes.”

You lunatic, why are you so calm about this? Are you really okay with sleeping with a guy? I’m not! And why, in the name of common sense, would I sleep with a man when I could be with a woman? Ugh! No, this isn’t why I brought this up, enduring all this embarrassment just to see this kind of reaction!

Black Foot, who had been lounging on the sofa, raised his hand.

“Stop talking about things only the two of you know and let me in on it.”

Lee Yiseon let go of my chin. Then he picked up the dark blue coat draped over the refrigerator.

“Black Foot. Let’s go see the Doctor.”

He even grabbed my coat and nodded toward me.

“To talk more about the dream.”

Lee Yiseon was clearly trying to embarrass me to death. Is he seriously asking me to talk about this sex dream in front of the Doctor?

You’re not a bad person.

You’re a bastard.