RG 137

“—hu.”

A faint voice reached my ears.

“Hunter Cha Seohu.”

A low, quiet voice calling my name. My consciousness, sunk deep in sleep, began to surface.

“Haa…”

This is driving me crazy.

The person let out a sigh and muttered. The moment I heard it, I realized the voice belonged to Ryu Seonghyeon.

‘Big Bro Seonghyeon?’

Sensing that Ryu Seonghyeon wasn’t in the best mood, I immediately opened my eyes. A blurry view of an unfamiliar ceiling entered my sight. Then, as if I were engulfed in flames, searing heat surged up the back of my neck, and a splitting headache spread through my skull. A large hand gently brushed across my furrowed forehead.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes, I… ugh…” I tried to answer reflexively, but the pain in my throat forced my mouth shut. It felt like I had swallowed a blade—sharp and piercing.

As I rubbed my neck and began to sit up, Ryu Seonghyeon, who was sitting beside the bed, sighed deeply again. “Don’t try to get up. Your fever is high.”

“Fever…”

“It’s best not to talk, either.”

My voice, escaping through my lips, was terribly hoarse. The pain gripping my head and throat remained unrelenting. Honestly, my body was being so honest, it was impossible not to notice.

I thought to myself with a dull sense of resignation.

‘I caught the cold.’

And judging by the swollen throat, the chills making my body shiver, and the sheer weakness, it was a pretty serious case.

It had been a while since I caught such a bad cold.

Well, I had spent all of yesterday trudging around in snow-covered mountains—it’s no surprise I ended up like this. Still, with a few days of rest and medication, I’d recover well enough to move around, so I wasn’t too worried.

“Vi— khm, Vicemaster.”

“You shouldn’t speak.”

After watching me cough for a moment, Ryu Seonghyeon took something out of his inventory. A pen and a small notebook.

He always had a bit of an old-fashioned streak. Ever since the old days, whenever he needed to jot something down, he’d pick up a pen and write it by hand instead of using his phone. Judging by the familiar look of the notebook, it was probably the same one I’d seen before the regression.

Seeing that notebook at such an unexpected moment gave me a strange feeling.

‘Before my regression, he used to read aloud the notes written in the front pages and share stories with me…’

Some of those notes were extremely personal, like a diary. The fact that Ryu Seonghyeon read them to me without hesitation had felt both surprising and heartwarming.

Without noticing my wistful gaze, he handed me the pen and notebook. “If there’s something you want to say, write it in here.”

“Ah, tha— cough.” I stopped myself quickly, but a cough escaped instead. I pulled at my sleeve and covered my mouth.

‘I need to be careful.’

Even though Ryu Seonghyeon was an S-class and not easily taken down by the common cold, being a DPS with a stronger constitution than most civilians didn’t make him immune to disease.

Spewing viruses from my mouth near someone wasn’t exactly great. It’d be unpleasant for them too. Covering my mouth was basic etiquette.

Turning my body to the side, I finished coughing, then picked up the pen.

Leaning back against the headboard made it easier to write in the notebook. But just because it was easier didn’t mean my handwriting looked any better. I wrote what I wanted to say and showed it to Ryu Seonghyeon, who gave me a curious expression.

“Your handwriting is… um, quite…”

Was it too messy?

Yeah. I had terrible handwriting. I rarely had to pick up a pen, and my naturally impatient nature made it hard to write slowly or neatly. Still, the goal right now was communication, so at the very least, I needed to write legibly. I put in much more effort than before to write clearly.

<Would this be okay?>

I was tempted to write it carelessly, like texting on a phone—something like “okay?” as “k?”—but I gave up on that idea, thinking Ryu Seonghyeon might mistake me for someone who didn’t even know proper spelling.

“Yes. First, let me check your condition. Your forehead felt quite hot when I touched it. How about the rest of your body?”

<My face feels hot, and my body is excessively sluggish and weak.>

To improve readability for Ryu Seonghyeon, I left a space and continued on the next line.

<I have a headache, and it feels like my throat is swollen. Definitely a cold.>

It felt a little too heavy, so I lightly added.

<ㅜ^ㅜ>

Ryu Seonghyeon, having read from the first line down to the emoticon at the end, cleared his throat. I think his eyes wavered slightly near the emoticon. “Right… yes. Then it seems it is a cold. Wait here. I’ll go down and ask the mountain keeper if he has any medicine, and also try to get some food suitable for breakfast.”

“Ah.” I grabbed the hem of Ryu Seonghyeon’s clothes as he stood up. When he looked at me, puzzled, I shook my head and picked up the pen to write in the notebook again.

<Wait.>

<Did you forget the plan we made yesterday?>

I was too frustrated to stick to perfect grammar at that point.

Screw it. My image with Ryu Seonghyeon was already at rock bottom—what difference would it make now?

<We have to stick to the plan! Things are even better now cuz I’m really sick!!>

<٩(°̀ᗝ°́)و>

“No, that’s…”

<Use this as an excuse to bring the mountain keeper up to the room.>

<While I pretend to be seriously sick, you ask if we can stay here for a few days.>

<Got it?>

“…Hunter Cha Seohu. You’re not pretending—you really are sick.”

<ㅇㅅㅇ;>

As expected of him. Sharp as ever. I flipped to a new page and wrote again.

<You’re going to do it, right?>

“Hoo… alright. But your throat’s swollen, so don’t talk, and you don’t even need to act. You already look plenty sick as it is.”

I held up the notebook again with my response and gave him a wide, reassuring smile.

<Just trust me!>

<ᕙ(>◡<)ᕗ>

After seeing my smiling face and the notebook message, Ryu Seonghyeon let out a third sigh. Why, though?

***

Creak, clack.

After closing the door and stepping out into the hallway, Ryu Seonghyeon pressed a finger against his furrowed brow.

‘This feels wrong…’

Cha Seohu’s face lingered in his mind. His skin was flushed in several places, especially his face, which was bright red—clearly from the fever caused by his cold. When he had touched Cha Seohu’s forehead before he woke up, it had felt burning hot. He needed food, fever medication, and plenty of rest—immediately.

‘And yet he’s still fixated on the plan…’

Using someone that sick to deceive others made Ryu Seonghyeon feel like absolute trash. But he didn’t have the heart to say no to Cha Seohu, who had smiled so brightly while showing him a notebook message that said things like “Since I’m really sick, the plan will go even better!”

After a moment of hesitation, Ryu Seonghyeon clicked his tongue and began walking, heading downstairs to find the mountain keeper. Even as he descended the stairs, part of his mind stayed on Cha Seohu’s face.

The truth was, he had been worried about Cha Seohu’s condition since yesterday.

After receiving treatment from the Healer that Kwon Taehyeok brought, Cha Seohu’s pale complexion had regained some color. His previously white cheeks had turned slightly pink, and his lips had also flushed healthily.

But once they began ascending the mountain, that healthy color vanished without a trace. Cha Seohu, now pale again, began visibly sweating as time passed. When his trembling hands became too concerning, Ryu Seonghyeon grabbed one—and sure enough, it was ice cold. He was genuinely relieved they’d met the mountain keeper and made it into a warm shelter. If they hadn’t, Cha Seohu probably wouldn’t even have realized how sick he was before collapsing while trying to keep up.

He walked into the kitchen, where he sensed someone’s presence, and the mountain keeper turned around to face him. Ryu Seonghyeon bowed slightly, greeting out of habit. “Hello. Good morning.”

“Yes, good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Thanks to you, I was able to rest comfortably. More importantly, um…” He wanted to remain polite, but there wasn’t time for it. Swallowing dryly, Ryu Seonghyeon continued, “The man I came with isn’t feeling well. Since you know this place better than I do, I was hoping you could check if something unusual might’ve happened.”

“Is his condition serious?”

“He has a high fever and can’t hold himself up. Under normal circumstances, I’d assume it’s just a cold, but given where we are, I’m worried.”

“Ah, I understand. I’ll come take a look.”

The extreme cold and chill of Mount Taebaek wasn’t something you could call normal weather. The mountain keeper nodded in understanding at the suggestion that the symptoms might be related to that.

Ryu Seonghyeon and the mountain keeper climbed the stairs together. The cat that had been lying in the living room saw them and, with a soft meow, quietly trotted after them.

When they opened the door that had previously been closed, they found Cha Seohu lying in bed, now without the notebook and pen from earlier.

‘Did his condition get worse while I was gone?’

At the sight of him limp on the bed, a sudden panic gripped Ryu Seonghyeon. “Hunter Cha Seohu.” He rushed over to the bed, calling Cha Seohu’s name—

“Yes…” Came the weak, drained voice, as Cha Seohu slowly pushed himself up. The blanket slipped down from his shoulders as he rose sluggishly.

Ryu Seonghyeon was about to ask if he was okay, but the moment he met those obsidian-like eyes, the words caught in his throat. 

Long lashes fluttered beneath messy hair. His pale face was slightly twisted in pain, and the corners of his eyes were red as if he were about to cry.

Ryu Seonghyeon hadn’t expected Cha Seohu to exude such a delicate, fragile presence, and found himself flustered and hesitating. Then Cha Seohu turned his head slightly so only Ryu Seonghyeon could see, and parted his pale pink lips.

‘What are you doing?’

Urged on silently by him, Ryu Seonghyeon finally came to his senses and averted his gaze a bit awkwardly as he spoke. “The mountain keeper offered to check your condition, so I brought him here.”

The mountain keeper, who had also been startled by how much worse Cha Seohu looked than expected, finally stepped into the room. Even while sick, Cha Seohu managed a strained smile as the mountain keeper approached.

“Th-thank, you? Thank… cough thank you.”

His throat must have been swollen—his voice came out dry and cracked, painful to hear. It was the kind of sound that evoked sympathy on its own.

‘I told him not to speak…’

Frustrated that Cha Seohu had gone against his request, Ryu Seonghyeon suddenly found his gaze drifting downward—toward Cha Seohu’s neck. The white shirt he wore now had two more buttons undone than before. Because of that, his pronounced collarbones and even the upper part of his chest were exposed.

Seeing his sweat-dampened skin lightly glistening, Ryu Seonghyeon was at a loss. What on earth did showing off his chest have to do with pretending to be sick?

Sure, he was a grown man, and exposing a bit of collarbone or upper chest wouldn’t cause a scandal. Logically, Ryu Seonghyeon knew that—but he still couldn’t stop his hand from shooting out on instinct.

“…?”

When he pulled the blanket back up and wrapped it snugly around him, Cha Seohu blinked in confusion. Feeling oddly self-conscious, Ryu Seonghyeon gave a sheepish excuse. “…You looked cold.”