THIFSGSTW CH 58

Chapter 58: Important Matters

The status window, which had been flickering and unstable just moments ago, now appeared completely normal.

In fact, it was even handing out penalties. Worrying that it might be broken had been utterly useless. There was no need for it to assert its presence this aggressively.

I quickly covered my mouth. I could feel the blood trickling out. Song Ha-gyeon must not see this. I hurried to continue speaking

“Ah, cough… Hyung, come in…”

I shot up from my seat. However, having just woken up, my legs immediately gave out. As I collapsed onto the floor—

Crash.

The chair I had been sitting on toppled over with a loud noise. It was absolute chaos. I wasn’t used to these kinds of sudden situations.

I had to stay calm. The most important thing right now was to make sure no one saw me like this. I quickly lifted my head and forced my voice out.

“Don’t… come in…”

But the door was already flung open.

Light purple eyes took in the sight of me sprawled on the floor. Things never went the way I wanted.

‘Please, let this be a dream.’

I was ashamed. But there was no way this was a dream. Song Ha-gyeon rushed toward me. A faint breeze stirred from his quick movement.

“Hyung… wait, I’m fine—ugh.”

The taste of iron filled my mouth. The blood pouring out made it difficult to form words. Still, I had to make an effort to explain this situation.

“Don’t speak.”

Song Ha-gyeon cut off my voice firmly. Then, placing one hand on my back, he spoke in a calm tone.

“Spit it out. Don’t hold it in.”

The area where his hand touched my back felt warm. A clot of blood spilled from my mouth. Ah, when would this finally stop? The floor was a mess.

I could only tell Song Ha-gyeon that I was okay once the penalty had completely ended. For now, all I could do was wait.

Song Ha-gyeon sat quietly, rubbing my back. The penalty finally ceased after a long while.

“Ha-gyeon hyung, I’m okay now. It stopped.”

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. Only after confirming that I had stopped coughing up blood did Song Ha-gyeon cast a cleanse spell. Then, without a word, he lifted me up.

My body was lifted from the cold floor and gently placed onto the soft bed. The warm blankets wrapped around me.

“Does your stomach hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Song Ha-gyeon, who had been gazing down at me, stopped asking questions. He then pressed a hand to my forehead and the back of my neck.

After carefully checking my condition for a while, Song Ha-gyeon summoned three flasks filled with different-colored liquids in midair. Then, he grabbed a large, empty flask in his hand.

Each of the three liquids poured into the large flask in precise proportions, mixing together in measured swirls. Holding the neck of the flask, Song Ha-gyeon watched the mixture and slowly swirled it.

Over the sound of sloshing liquid, his slow voice overlapped.

“You’re a little feverish. Since you coughed up blood, your body’s probably not feeling great either.”

A fever? That couldn’t be right. I placed a hand on my forehead, but it felt lukewarm.

Song Ha-gyeon took my hand away from my forehead and lowered it. Then, placing the flask in my hand, he spoke.

“…Not all fevers rise only in the forehead.”

What did he mean? I thought about it for a moment before realizing—ah. My hands were warm too, so I wouldn’t be able to tell.

But I really didn’t think I had a fever. I didn’t feel sluggish at all. Body temperature was relative, after all. Maybe Song Ha-gyeon’s hands were just cold.

After I took about three sips of the liquid from the flask, Song Ha-gyeon took it back. With a flick of his hand, all the flasks floating in the air vanished in an instant. Then, he spoke.

“Can I check your legs?”

“Huh?”

“…You just fell earlier.”

I didn’t really fall, I had just collapsed onto the floor. But since the chair had made such a loud noise when it fell, I supposed he could think that. There was no reason to hide it, so I nodded.

Song Ha-gyeon slowly lifted the fabric of my long clothes. The sound of cloth rustling filled the air. My body shivered slightly. Since I always wore long clothes, my legs were rarely exposed, so showing them like this felt a little awkward.

There were no visible injuries. Of course. And there wouldn’t be any internal injuries either.

Song Ha-gyeon carefully pressed my leg in several places. After confirming there was nothing unusual, he gently grasped my ankle this time. My foot moved subtly under his steady touch.

“Does it hurt?”

I shook my head. After repeating the motion a few more times, Song Ha-gyeon let go and pulled my clothes back over my legs.

“…There’s nothing wrong for now. But if you feel pain later, tell me immediately.”

“Okay. Thanks, hyung.”

“Do you think you can sleep?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah?”

“…I was worried you might have trouble sleeping after this.”

Song Ha-gyeon met my gaze. I wasn’t particularly shaken, and I had no trouble sleeping. But he must have seen something in my expression, because he quickly summoned another flask.

This time, a transparent, pink liquid swirled inside. Song Ha-gyeon carefully poured just a spoonful, making sure it wouldn’t spill.

The spoonful of liquid hovered just in front of my lips. I had no choice. As I opened my mouth, the honey-like sweetness coated my tongue before I swallowed it down.

“What kind of medicine is this?”

“…It helps you sleep. Relaxes you.”

After ensuring I had swallowed it properly, Song Ha-gyeon patted my back a couple of times as if to help me settle. Then, he slowly laid me down. His voice was low and gentle.

“If you take too much, you’ll build a tolerance.”

Ah, so that’s why he only gave me a little. Judging by how my body was already feeling a bit sluggish, it seemed like I still had a long way to go before building any resistance.

“…This much is fine. You’ll get sleepy soon. Just go to sleep.”

Just as I was about to drift off—

‘Ah, right.’

I remembered what to do now. An important thought finally came to mind. Important matters always surfaced after lying down. Luckily, Song Ha-gyeon was still here, so I could tell him right away. That was a relief.

I forced my heavy eyelids open and focused my mind. I turned to face Song Ha-gyeon.

“Hyung, how long are we resting once we get back to Redeo? Before we move to the next location?”

Song Ha-gyeon gently turned my head back so I was facing the ceiling. Soon, a cool, dry cloth was placed over my eyes. The faint chill soothed my forehead.

I could sleep just fine without this. But since Song Ha-gyeon continued speaking right away, I didn’t bother to mention it.

“Why? …Are you exhausted?”

“No. That’s not it….”

Of course, my stamina was a bit of an issue. I needed to figure out a way to fix my depleted energy, but that wasn’t what I was trying to say right now.

“I need to visit the temple.”

“…Do you have to?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

To visit the temple, you needed to request permission weeks in advance. Without approval, there was no way to enter the temple grounds.

“We’ll rest for about a week.”

“Hmm….”

That might not be enough time. I had heard that things would get really busy as the weather got warmer, and it seemed that was true.

I couldn’t just give up. Maybe I should go to the temple and try to meet my teacher first. It would be difficult to break the set rules, but perhaps I could ask for a favor just this once.

As I was thinking that, Song Ha-gyeon spoke again.

“…You need to go, not want to?”

“Yeah. I have something I need to check.”

“Is it important? Is it about the divine power you mentioned earlier?”

“Something like that. It’s important to me. But I understand that the team’s schedule comes first. I just wanted to know when it might be possible.”

A gentle hand brushed through my hair.

“…Alright. We’ll discuss the schedule together. For now, sleep.”

A faint herbal scent wafted from the cloth on my forehead. With Song Ha-gyeon’s silence, the room was filled with a peaceful stillness. Even the air felt quiet. As I drifted further into sleep, a thought crossed my mind.

“Ha-gyeon hyung… why did you come find me tonight?”

“…Just.”

And for a long while, he said nothing. Then, in a small voice, Song Ha-gyeon added, “I was worried you might have caught a fever.”

Somehow, even his knock had been so quiet that it was barely audible. If I had been sleeping properly, I wouldn’t have heard anything at all.

“…You were outside for a long time.”

You don’t catch a fever just from that. Just what does Song Ha-gyeon think of me?

I wanted to tell him that was ridiculous, but the words just spun around in my head. My consciousness was growing hazy, and I didn’t have the strength to move my lips.

But when was Song Ha-gyeon planning to leave? He was still sitting beside my bed, in the chair.

“Go to sleep now.”

I thought I heard his voice faintly. That was the last thing I remembered.

◇

Sun Yihan lay still in front of Song Ha-gyeon, fast asleep.

The night was deep. Outside the window, bluish flowers continued to fall, sinking into the darkness.

The steady sound of breathing filled the room. Song Ha-gyeon quietly watched over that brief moment of peace, absorbed in its stillness.

“…Ugh… hngh.”

A faint groan broke the silence. Song Ha-gyeon instinctively created a soft light and reached out to wipe the cold sweat from Sun Yihan’s forehead. His palm grew warm from the heat.

He pulled back the blanket covering Sun Yihan and cooled the surrounding air. A gentle, chill breeze settled over his fevered body.

‘Is it a fever? Or is he having a nightmare?’

It was hard to tell. Maybe it was both.

He had expected the fever. Given Sun Yihan’s condition, it was entirely natural. He must have overexerted himself all day. Even earlier, he had a slight fever.

That was why he had given him medicine, but it hadn’t brought the fever down completely. If anything, it seemed to be rising.

‘If the fever isn’t going down even now, then maybe it really is because of a nightmare.’

The first time Song Ha-gyeon had ever seen Sun Yihan have a nightmare was around this same time, deep into the night. He still couldn’t forget that moment.

That night, he had left his research lab to retrieve a book from his room. It had been purely by chance. Normally, he would have just used a summoning spell.

Even Song Ha-gyeon didn’t know why, on that particular night, he had decided to go himself. Maybe it was just a hunch. Or maybe, for some reason, the image of a sleeping Sun Yihan had simply crossed his mind.

And when he opened the door to his room, what he saw was Sun Yihan, buried deep under the covers, breathing heavily in his sleep.