THIFSGSTW CH 36

Episode 036: Words I wanted to hear.

Song Ha-Gyeon’s Perspective

---

The bright red line near Sun Yi-han’s eyes was clearly visible. His eyes were still a bit swollen. I gently placed my hand on Sun Yi-han’s cheek and slowly lifted his face.

“Ha Gyeon-hyung…?”

Sun Yi-han blinked his eyes. Our gazes met. His blue eyes, reflecting me, were shaking a little, as if unsure of what to say.

“…Yeah. Just stay like this for a moment.”

I wiped his eyes. Sun Yi-han closed his eyes again in silence. I felt the heat from his eyelids as they touched mine. Carefully, I placed the towel on top. At the cold temperature, Sun Yi-han shuddered.

Since he had cried so much earlier, it was no wonder his eyes were swollen.

It was after I had caught him, who had suddenly fallen from above. His body had stiffened as if shocked.

Sun Yi-han tried to force a smile, raising the corners of his trembling lips. Then, in a wavering voice, he mumbled.

– ‘I’m sorry for surprising you, Ha Gyeon-hyung. I’m not hurt, thanks to you. …I’m fine. I was just a little panicked, it was a mistake. I’ll make sure something like this won’t happen again… I’ll be more careful from now on. And…’^[1]

Every time Sun Yi-han blinked, a tear dropped. His body, cold like ice, trembled slightly. Yet, his face still held a faint smile.

I didn’t know what to say.

I gently wiped away the tears that fell from his soft cheek. The tears on my fingertips felt warm. Every sensation felt strangely clear.

Even though it was clearly a pitch-black night, Sun Yi-han alone shone brightly. It felt as though the surrounding light was all pouring onto him. I embraced his light body tightly as if it might scatter.

The white clothes that glow in the darkness. His black hair, fluttered in the wind. The loud sound of heartbeat coming from his skinny body.

In the midst of all of that, Sun Yihan stared at me. Meeting his gaze, I suddenly thought… I am…

“… I don’t know.”

Sun Yihan’s small voice came in. My mind snapped back to reality. Sun Yi-han lifted his head, fiddling with the towel on his eyes, and continued.

“Ha-gyeon hyung. Why did you put this on me?”

“…Just… to help you calm down.”

“I was always calm.”

“…I know.”

“hmm…..”

For a moment, Sun Yi-han stopped speaking, and the corners of his mouth gently curved into a smile. The nearby fire softly lit up his white face.

“But… I liked it.”

Hearing that voice, my body froze for a moment. Sun Yi-han slowly removed the towel and continued speaking.

“It was cool. Thank you, hyung.”

In his eyes, my reflection was clearly visible. The swelling near his eyes had subsided. I ran my fingertips gently over that area. The sensation of his skin, cold from the towel, was strange.

I handed Sun Yi-han a glass and opened my mouth.

“…They’ll be back soon.”

◇

Sun Yi-han’s Perspective

---

“Already? I guess more time has passed than I thought.”

I answered Song Ha-Gyeon, who said it was about time for everyone to return. Song Ha-Gyeon nodded silently.

Blinking seemed a bit easier now.. It seemed thanks to the towel that was placed around my eyes. The towel had a faint herbal scent. The warm tea that Song Hagyeon handed me also had a similar scent.

However, everything felt subtly different. The scent from the towel was slightly bitter, but the tea I sipped tasted sweet.

‘Where could he have gotten so many types of herbs?’

I wished I could ask Song Ha-Gyeon, but he must have been busy, so I thought it would be a while before I could find the right time to ask.

Maybe, after we save the world, there will be more time to spare? Although, I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to meet everyone after that. By that time, the powers the system gave me would disappear, and I wouldn’t have anything to help with.

Thinking like that, my heart felt a little heavy.

I stretched my legs toward the campfire. The closer I got to the flames, the warmer it felt. I didn’t expect that I wouldn’t be able to walk on my own legs. Even though I wasn’t penalized for not being able to walk.

‘I don’t expect Song Ha-gyeon is going to hold me.’

But at that moment, I ended up getting a nosebleed.

Even though it was a random nosebleed, I felt a bit unfair to have it at that moment. I’d rather receive a penalty all at once, like the nauseous penalty, rather than a random one.

Wait. What was the next penalty again? As soon as I thought of it, the quest screen appeared in front of me.

<Required! Quest> ‘Raen – Please Don’t Doubt!’ V

Success: Gain Raen’s trust

Failure: Random coughing up blood for 3 months

Time Limit: 54 days

The timer below was steadily decreasing. Watching the time slowly decrease, I felt somewhat hopeless.

I knew it wasn’t good to think about failure before even starting. But I couldn’t help pondering the core issue. The way this quest was designed left me with no choice but to expect failure right from the beginning, and that wasn’t entirely on me.

Are you listening, system? I wasn’t the only one who needed to reflect. At this point, I had no clue what I needed to do to clear this quest. I had already done everything I could.

As I let out a long sigh, the flames of the campfire before me seemed to flicker momentarily. A gust of wind blew in from somewhere nearby.

“Oh, Sun Yi-han! You’re awake. Ha-gyeon hyung, we’re back!”

Min Joo-hyuk called out cheerfully, waving his hand enthusiastically. Beside him were Park Yul and Raen. With everyone back, it felt like the surroundings grew brighter.

After convincing each person one by one to let me heal them, despite their reluctance, I brought up the topic of that strange barrier. Everyone had puzzled expressions.

After some thought, Park Yul projected a map into the air. Listening to their conversation, it seemed they were organizing the steps to move forward. Once the conversation finished, Park Yul turned his gaze to me. His soft smile somehow looked slightly tense. With a sad voice, he spoke.

“Yihan-ah, from what Ha-gyeon said, things could’ve gotten really dangerous.”

“I’m sorry, Yul-hyung.”

“…That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“I promise it won’t happen again.”

“That’s not it, either.”

“…Please tell me, what should I do hyung.”

I raised my head, which I’d bowed in regret. Park Yul looked like he was smiling bitterly. He crouched slightly to meet my gaze and, with a clear voice, he continued.

“What I want to hear is that you’ll always go together with us from now on.”

Why? The words almost escaped my lips.

Even if the quest hadn’t specified that I had to do it alone, this would still have been my responsibility. I didn’t want to drag anyone else into it unnecessarily. Besides, the quest itself wasn’t dangerous. This time, I just made a mistake.

I was about to nod and let it slide, but Park Yul’s expectant look pinned me down. I couldn’t ignore it. In the end, I muttered awkwardly.

“…I’ll try.”

“Good. For now, that’s enough.”

With a bright smile, Park Yul placed his hand on my head, ruffling my hair rougher than usual. He added softly, almost like a passing breeze,

“I’ll wait.”

Wait for what? Before I could delve deeper into the thought, Park Yul called out to Raen, who was discussing the map with Song Ha-gyeon and Min Joo-hyuk.

Raen approached as Park Yul lightly patted his shoulder and said, 

“Raen, I’m counting on you. Travel safely.”

“Yes, Leader-hyung.”

After a nod, Park Yul returned to Song Ha-gyeon and Min Joo-hyuk. He rearranged my messy hair before walking off.

“Yi-han. I’m going to go there now. ”

After a brief hesitation, he added,

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you come with me? …I’m not sure about the exact location.”

“Yes, I’ll go with you, Raen-hyung.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to push yourself. Ha-Gyeon already gave me a rough idea of the spot.”

At his cautious tone, I nodded without hesitation. Raen gave me a complicated look before biting his lip slightly.

“If it’s too much, tell me, at any point.”

The fact that Park Yul and Raen were so concerned was largely due to Song Ha-Geyon. I hadn’t planned to mention it, but Song Ha-Geyon blurted out that I had fallen from midair in an instant.

Normally so reserved, his detailed recounting of the situation had left me too flustered to argue immediately.

I was stunned to hear someone who is usually so quiet to explain every single detail of the situation. I couldn’t even argue back right away.

‘And he exaggerated way too much.’

I never reacted the way Song Ha-gyeon described. Maybe the monocle he’s wearing has a feature that allows him to see things differently.

By the time I gathered myself and tried to correct the misunderstandings, it was too late.

‘No one seemed willing to believe my side of the story.’

Dramatic stories were always hard to erase. I understand that. Still, Song Ha-Geyon could’ve explained the situation more clearly from the beginning. If something like this happened again, I’d have to explain the situation myself before Song Ha-gyeon could speak. 

Resolving to do so, I told Raen,  “I promise I’ll tell you, hyung.”

Raen’s expression softened slightly, as though reassured. Then he announced to everyone that we’d be heading out.

Min Joo-hyuk hurried over and lightly patted my shoulder. “Hey, Sun Yi-han. Be careful out there.”

“That’s my line. Stop getting hurt, Min Joo-hyuk.”

“You… Are you okay now?”

“I was never not okay.”

“Yeah, you always say that.”

Min Joo-hyuk reached out and lightly pinched my cheek with one hand. Before I could say anything, he quickly dashed off. …Next time, I won’t let it slide so easily.

“Raen-hyung, safe travels!” 

Joo-Hyuk’s enthusiastic farewell made Raen nod. Then he gently took hold of my sleeve and led me a few steps forward. Raen slowly removed the robe he was wearing. At the same time, my body was gently lifted into the air and softly landed into his arms. He held me tightly.

Wait a second. Did we really have to travel like this? Wasn’t there some magic he could use as long as there was contact? I hurriedly spoke up.

“Raen-hyung, hold on. Do we really need to—”

“Yi-han. It’ll be quick.”

Raen cut me off mid-sentence, bowing his head toward me as he spoke softly, almost in a whisper.

“Just for a moment… stay like this.”

There seemed to be a faint tremor in his voice. Raen lifted his head slightly, meeting my gaze. His golden eyes shone brightly, even in the darkness, capturing my reflection within their quiet depths.