THIFSGSTW CH 13

Chapter 13: Does’nt exist

After calming down a little, I felt a bit embarrassed about the situation earlier.

But still, it’s moments like these when the person involved shouldn’t show it. I try to stay cool, pretending nothing happened, and the others naturally begin eating. I was relieved.

I take a spoonful of soup and put it in my mouth. The rich, nutty aroma rises. It’s delicious. In fact, it’s beyond delicious. Park Yul is good at cooking.

“It’s delicious, Yul-hyung.”

“Good. Eat as much as you want, slowly.”

Park Yul, speaking with a voice full of warmth, turns his head toward Song Ha-gyeon.

“Ha-gyeon, I didn’t get to see your face after you came back yesterday. ou worked hard.”

“…Yeah. Also, Park Yul-hyung.”

Park Yul nodded. He seemed familiar with listening to Song Ha-gyeon’s slow words.

“The injury from last time… Seon Yi-han treated it.”

As soon as those words are spoken, Park Yul seems to freeze for a moment. Then he quickly turns his head toward me. His eyes meet mine, and they darken, almost as if he’s suspicious.

Is it just my imagination? Maybe it’s just my imagination. Unlike Raen, I didn’t get a “suspicion quest” from Park Yul.

Park Yul slightly narrows his eyes, then smiles brightly again. He speaks in a soft voice.

“Is that so, Yi-han?”

I realized that I should have mentioned sooner that I could treat things. I hadn’t had a proper time to be awake until now, though.

Maybe if Raen finds out later that I’m a healer, his suspicions might lessen? If that happens, I could finish that quest too.

Just as I was about to answer, the dining hall door opened. Red hair sparkled in the sunlight. Raen, wearing a loose robe, quietly closes the door behind him and walks in.

Raen, making eye contact with me, rushes over.

“Yi-han. How’s your body? Are you okay?”

“Yes, Raen-hyung. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry. You must’ve been really shocked. I should have been more careful with my words.”

“It’s okay. I really am fine. It’s not because of you….”

“…Raen.”

Song Ha-gyeon quietly called out to Raen from the side. He then continued speaking slowly.

“Seon Yi-han used healing magic.”

Raen gently swept my hair aside and sat lightly next to me. He then spoke in a clear voice.

“What do you mean by that?”

“My injury from last time… is completely healed.”

“Ha-gyeon, there’s no such thing as healing magic. You know that.”

“But right now, it exists.”

Technically speaking, it wasn’t healing magic, since it was a power granted by the system.

Raen thinks for a moment, then speaks in a hesitant tone.

“Could it be divine power…? No, I’ve never heard that divine power could be used for healing.”

“…Yeah. And Raen, you saw mana too, right?”

Raen’s understanding was right. Divine power couldn’t have a big impact on the world of humans. I hadn’t learned the exact reasons, but it seemed similar to something that shouldn’t be spoken when seeing the future.

Should I just call it divine power? Maybe I could make it work somehow? As I thought about that, Raen, who had been talking for a while, seemed to accept it and continued speaking while looking at me.

“Yi-han. Then, the different shape of your mana could be because healing magic is possible.”

If Raen understood it this way, there was no need to correct him. After all, both magic and divine power weren’t the true source; it was the system’s power, so neither of them was exactly true.

I nodded to Raen. However, the system notification for completing the quest didn’t pop up.

To meet the system’s standards, it seemed I needed to more thoroughly remove Raen’s doubts. It looked like there was still a long way to go before completing that quest.

◇

After that, Raen called me to his room whenever he had time.

There were small items scattered around Raen’s room. Each one was fascinating, drawing my attention every time I looked at them.

A dreamcatcher with large feathers of a strange color, a transparent hexagonal column containing a golden flower, and a round crystal ball with waves inside it, like it contained the sea.

Sitting on a plush velvet chair, Raen cast magic in front of me.

“Yi-han, if there’s anything wrong with your body, let me know.”

Raen confirmed that I had mana, but because my mana took a different form from the usual, he said it was a little concerning. Since someone without mana could suffer strain when exposed to magic, he needed to make sure it was okay to use magic around me, considering my mana might not be normal.

‘Amazing.’

The magic Raen performed was breathtaking—levitating objects in midair, warming the surroundings and creating light in his palm. Each magic he cast was something I had never seen before, and I was mesmerized by them.

“Raen-hyung, did you become a hero because you’re good at magic?”

“No. Ah, did I not tell you this?”

Raen, noticing my expression, raised an eyebrow and smiled awkwardly.

“I guess I didn’t. I’m sorry if you were curious.”

“It’s okay. I just thought of it now.”

I quickly shook my head. Raen gently patted my shoulder, then flicked his finger in the air. A yellow light gathered and took shape, forming a star.

“First, Leader-hyung… Park Yul-hyung, was chosen as a hero. As for me and Ha-gyeon…”

Raen twirled his finger, and three circles of light appeared around the star. Then, he extended a line from each circle to the central star.

“We’ve sworn an oath to be heroes alongside the leader.”

What exactly was this hero oath? I was thinking about it when Raen seemed to fall into thought and slowly continued speaking.

◇

Raen recalled that day.

‘3 years ago ‘

Raen’s Perspective

---

Yes, it was then. On the first day of the new school year, there was a stir in the academy. It was the news that a hero had been chosen at the academy. However, the excitement that had shaken the academy quickly died down in less than a day.

No one seemed to care about it anymore, but somehow, the thought lingered in my mind. Maybe it was because I was the top student of the year, and I felt some vague responsibility to lend my help.

I went into the next classroom and looked for the familiar purple-haired head. Song Ha-gyeon was sitting by the window, as always, staring outside. I climbed up the carpeted stairs and sat down in front of him.

“Ha-gyeon, did you hear? There’s a senior who was chosen as a hero.”

I told him that I was planning to visit that senior to see if I could help. Song Ha-gyeon nodded quietly.

“Ah.. That’s all?” After a brief silence, Song Ha-gyeon spoke. “You’ll become a great help.”

“I didn’t tell you this for compliments. I just thought you’d ask more information or try to stop me.”

“You’ve already made up your mind.”

That was true. Actually, I had started the conversation to ask if he wanted to come with me. When I asked Song Ha-gyeon, his reaction was lukewarm. I couldn’t tell if he was for it or against it. I was used to Song Ha-gyeon acting this way. Since I wasn’t forcing anything, I went alone to find that senior.

The first senior I met, Park Yul, was a kind person. He was two years older than me.

“Hi. So you’re Raen.”

Park Yul smiled brightly when he saw my name tag. His voice was soft. He stared at my eyes for a moment before speaking.

“Yeah. I see. Thanks for coming, Raen.”

When I asked if there was anything I could do to help, Park Yul explained the hero oath to me.

There wasn’t anything special about it. If I decided to become a hero, I just had to go with him to the temple and take the oath. Since he had already confirmed it, there was no need for any further verification.

When I said I wanted to take the oath, Park Yul nodded and calmly continued.

“But what about that one? The one with the purple hair, tied to the side….”

“Ah, you mean Song Ha-gyeon?”

“Seems like it. Do you know where he is?”

“I do, but… What’s about him? I was with him before I met you, I said i was coming to meet you senior, but he didn’t seem interested”

“Really?”

Park Yul just laughed.

I didn’t know why Park Yul was looking for Song Ha-gyeon, but in the end, we went together to find him. Park Yul then asked Song Ha-gyeon if he wanted to take the hero oath as well. His tone was calm as if he had already completed a financial transaction and was only there to pick up the agreed-upon goods.

“…Yeah.”

Song Ha-gyeon’s response was brief. Was it really that simple to decide? He seemed uninterested before.

After Park Yul left, I asked Song Ha-gyeon.

“Ha-gyeon, you didn’t even come with me earlier.”

“…Yeah.”

“Do you really want this? You might not even be able to finish your academy years.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It’s fine if you don’t care about my circumstance, but what about your own…? How could you do that to yourself “

Song Ha-gyeon looked at me with a blank expression, as if nothing was wrong. 

‘His expression itself was the problem’

Anyway, in the end, both Song Ha-gyeon and I took the hero oath with Park Yul.

◇

Sun Yi-han’s Perspective

---

Raen finished explaining, nodding along as I listened. “Raen-hyung, what about Min Joo-hyuk?”

“Joo-hyuk never told me how he took the hero oath.”

Well, that was understandable.

The process of becoming a hero was fascinating. Now I understood why Raen called Park Yul “Leader-hyung.” There was still one more thing I was curious about. The system had said that heroes sacrifice themselves for the world….

“What do heroes do after they’re chosen? Do heroes save the world?”

“Well… if you put it dramatically, yes.”

Raen, looking at me, smiled a little and continued.

“Actually, we deal with monsters and close the rifts.”

Raen grabbed a white pillow from the bed and levitated it in the air. Then, he made a downward gesture. The pillow ripped apart in front of us.

“This is a rift. Monsters flow out of it.”

Raen spun his finger around. Cotton from inside the pillow began to spill out in patches. It was pitch black.

“Ah, is this the color of monsters?”

“Yes. And when all the monsters are dealt with….”

The cotton, frozen in midair, turned gray and then scattered into nothingness.

“When all the monsters from the rift disappear, the rift closes.”

Raen snapped his fingers lightly. The ripped part of the pillow stitched itself back together. He sent the pillow back to the bed and neatly arranged it.

My curiosity was mostly satisfied. Thinking about what the system had told me, fighting monsters might be more dangerous than I thought. I needed to stay cautious.

◇

Since that day, Raen gradually used higher-level magic on me, making sure which level of magic my body could take so it wouldn’t make me suffer. I worked hard to remove Raen’s doubts during that time.

“Raen-hyung, there are so many types of magic. But is there really no healing magic?”

“No, no one has used it so far. Not even been able to, except for you.”

“…I see.”

“Hmm, it’s not something to be upset about. Don’t worry.”

Raen spoke quickly and summoned a square caramel from the air. He used magic to bring it to me and unwrapped it for me. I ate it, and it was sweet and delicious.

Of course, thinking about Raen’s unfinished quest, it left a bittersweet taste in my mouth.

“Yi-han. Is there anything uncomfortable now?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Even summoning magic is okay, huh?”

Raen glanced at a paper floating in the air, where a pen was scribbling. He said it casually as he observed.

“Healing magic isn’t bad, but it’s best not to use it too often.”

“Why?”

“Just like everything in the world has a reason for existing, even things that don’t exist… have a reason.”

His voice had a strange certainty in it. Raen met my gaze directly. In the shining golden eyes, I could see myself clearly reflected.