THIFSGSTW CH 66

Chapter 66: Say it Properly

Song Ha-gyeon gently pushed open the wooden window. The warm night air rushed in through the opening. The soft sound of crickets filled the room, and the fresh scent of grass drifted in.

“…Lie down first.”

“What about you, Ha-gyeon hyung?”

“…Later.”

Uh-oh, that was a problem. We needed to sleep in the same bed to clear the quest.

“Can’t we sleep together?”

Song Ha-gyeon turned his head away from the window and looked at me. He stared silently. The quiet buzzing of crickets filled the room’s stillness. Maybe I needed to be more direct?

“I want to sleep with you, hyung.”

Song Ha-gyeon’s eyelids fluttered slowly. I could see myself reflected in his soft violet eyes, only for the image to flicker and vanish. His long hair swayed slightly in the summer breeze.

And then, in the blink of an eye, Song Ha-gyeon was right in front of me. I looked up at him. Maybe it was because this place felt unfamiliar, but something about him also seemed unfamiliar now.

Before I knew it, he had lifted me up. I wasn’t sure if it was magic or just his own strength. Either way, I soon found myself laid flat on the bed, lying on my back.

The bed let out a creaking sound.

Song Ha-gyeon climbed over me and locked eyes with mine. His strong arm planted firmly beside my face, and his deep violet hair cascaded down, tickling my cheek.

Hearing that creak, the bed seemed a little flimsy. Was it really okay for two people to sleep here? While I was thinking that, Song Ha-gyeon spoke in a calm voice.

“Say it properly.”

“Say what?”

“What you mean.”

Did I usually talk so vaguely? But still, I was pretty sure I was clearer than Song Ha-gyeon most of the time.

Well, it was better to succeed at the quest quickly anyway, so saying it one more time wasn’t a big deal. This time, I made sure to spell it out clearly so he could understand.

“I’m worried you won’t sleep. I want us to sleep together.”

Song Ha-gyeon stared down at me for a long moment. Then, without a word, he slowly backed away.

The bed creaked again. I felt like I had conveyed my meaning well, so why was he moving away? I turned my head and saw him standing stiffly beside the bed.

Before I could say anything, Song Ha-gyeon spoke first. “…Okay.”

His voice was as slow as usual. But if he agreed, why was he standing so far away?

“Hyung, aren’t you going to sleep now?”

“Sleep, Sun Yihan.”

“You’re not planning to stay awake all night, right?”

“…No.”

His voice was dull, but at least I got a clear answer, so I felt relieved. I was sure that when I woke up, the quest would be completed.

Song Ha-gyeon gently brushed my bangs aside. The cool and comforting touch made me close my eyes for a moment, and then I felt him move away from my side. I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back, so it seemed he had sat down in front of the desk.

Lying on the bed, I rolled over and pressed my back against the wall. The damp smell of wood filled the air. I needed to make space since Song Ha-gyeon would come to sleep later.

‘There’s only one pillow.’

I figured he’d probably summon another one with magic, but just in case, I slid the pillow aside and rested my head. I could fall asleep quickly as long as my head was on it, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

The orange light on the ceiling flickered faintly. Every time I shifted, the thin blanket made a soft, cool rustling sound against my body. Everything felt new, even though the only thing that had changed was the location.

“What are you doing?”

My voice pierced the silence. Song Ha-gyeon’s voice answered. “…Sleep”

“I can’t hear anything. It made me curious, hyung.”

“…Just preparing.”

I peeked over. Song Ha-gyeon was slumped slightly in his chair, flipping between a white, grid-like map floating in the air and a notebook in his hand, writing something down.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“…I’m fine. We’re leaving early tomorrow.”

That meant I needed to fall asleep quickly. I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I blocked out my vision, my other senses seemed to sharpen. The scratch of the pen moving across paper sounded quieter than usual, but somehow, like a calm, flowing melody. The repetitive sound was comforting. My body grew heavy, and sleepiness washed over me.

“Hyung, I think I really like that.”

“…What?”

“The pen… the sound of you writing.”

“…Mm.”

The soft scratching tickled my ears.

“When you wake up tomorrow… I might not be there.”

I thought I heard him say that. I think I asked, “Why?” But I couldn’t remember if I got an answer. My thoughts just… cut off.

◇

I opened my eyes. The wooden ceiling above me was bathed in morning blue light.

I was lying perfectly straight in the middle of the bed, tucked up to my shoulders under the blanket. My head was resting on a pillow, too. Everything felt unusually comfortable.

As my mind cleared, I realized that the quest window wasn’t floating in front of me.

‘Quest window.’

The moment I thought it, a blue window popped up.

<Unexpected! Quest> ‘A Night Together!’ In Progress!

Hero you will spend the night with is Hero Song Ha-gyeon

The quest wasn’t over yet?! Did Song Ha-gyeon not sleep? Then what was that answer he gave me last night? Or… did he just not climb into the bed? I sat up abruptly. The room was empty.

I threw off the blanket and rushed to open the window. Warm air hit my face. Like the room, the outside world was completely silent.

A lonely peace in an unfamiliar place. My heart dropped suddenly. I didn’t know why, but everything felt like it had momentarily stopped. It felt as if I was the only one left here.

Then, a faint rustling sound paper fluttering in the breeze.

‘A note?’

A small piece of paper was pinned under the desk lamp. I felt like I was finally back in reality. The handwriting was neat and upright, though a little rushed.

「Min Joo-hyuk is next door. Find him when you wake up.」

So it wasn’t just his way of speaking — Song Ha-gyeon kept his writing short, too. Somehow that felt fitting. Where had he gone so early?

I stood in front of Min Joo-hyuk’s door, but it was firmly closed. What if he was still sleeping? It didn’t seem urgent, so I thought I could come back later. Just as I was lowering my hand that had been raised to knock,

“Come in.”

I heard Min Joo-hyuk’s calm voice from inside. I had thought I was making no noise at all. But apparently, that wasn’t the case.

If I was this obvious, how hard must the priests have tried to ignore me when I was in the shrine? Their effort was truly remarkable.

Click.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, Min Joo-hyuk, who had been lying on the bed, sat up. He leaned against the wall and looked at me.

“You woke up early.”

“And you?”

“I woke up even earlier.”

That wasn’t a real answer. Seeing Min Joo-hyuk’s demeanor seemed more subdued than usual, he looked tired. When I stared at him silently, he smiled slightly as if to excuse himself.

“The hyungs are all out. It’s just you and me here.”

“Min Joo-hyuk. Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. Pull up a chair and sit.”

I closed the door behind me and climbed onto the bed where Min Joo-hyuk was. The bed creaked again. It was clear that this bed was meant for one person. I hoped it wouldn’t collapse.

Min Joo-hyuk glanced at me, then slowly pulled the blanket up, cocooning himself.

Even curled up like that, he didn’t look any smaller, he was huge, but I could tell he didn’t want me too close. He spoke in a hard voice.

“Why’d you come here?”

“To check on you.”

“Sit over there. Don’t touch me.”

That was a sharp response. I stared at Min Joo-hyuk’s stiff face. It was clear something was wrong with him, not me. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt I needed to try healing him.

As I reached out my hand toward Min Joo-hyuk, he lowered his head. A hesitant voice came out softly. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just pushing myself a bit. Can you help me a little?”

Veins were visible on the back of Min Joo-hyuk’s clenched fist.

‘He should have just said something from the start.’

He must be really struggling. I had never seen Min Joo-hyuk like this before. I quickly placed my hand over his large hand. I could feel the tremors.

「<The Healer Will Help You!> Healing, Success!」

As the blue light entered me, I could see the healing bar gradually filling up. There was still a fair bit of empty space left, but it still made me uneasy. I would also need to look for a place where I could spit out blood if necessary. I decided to think about that later.

“Hey, Min Joo-hyuk. Are you okay? What was wrong?”

Now that I looked, Min Joo-hyuk had one hand pressed against his abdomen. Still hunched over, he leaned his forehead against my shoulder. His muttering voice sounded clearly in my ear.

“…I think I’ll live.”

It seemed he was feeling better now. That was a relief. As Min Joo-hyuk quietly rubbed his face against me, he suddenly lifted his head. Our eyes met at a distance close enough that I could even hear his breathing.

“Are you okay, Sun Yi-han?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Min Joo-hyuk cupped my cheeks with both hands and turned my head this way and that. His eyes, carefully studying my complexion, were full of concern as he spoke.

“You were really sick last time too, after you treated Raen-hyung’s mana exhaustion.”

That wasn’t exactly true. I had just spent a long time lying in bed afterward. No, wait.

“Wait… were you suffering from mana exhaustion just now?”

Min Joo-hyuk brushed my bangs up and placed the back of his hand against my forehead before answering.

“No. It wasn’t mana exhaustion. I just pushed myself a bit too hard, so I wasn’t doing great.”

Ah, right. Status abnormalities from mana exhaustion couldn’t be healed with the healing ability. I was so flustered I hadn’t even thought about that.

“Last time, Raen-hyung had completely drained his mana. I still don’t know how he managed to squeeze it all out like that.”

Muttering as if talking to himself, Min Joo-hyuk added, “He has so much mana too,” and I finally spoke up.

“So what happened to you this time?”

“I had a few things I needed to do.”

Min Joo-hyuk reached out and gently brushed the back of my neck. His careful, sweeping touch tickled. After lingering like that for a moment, he finally spoke in a relieved voice.

“Your body’s not trembling. No fever either. Thank goodness.”

“Yeah. And what about you? Why did you end up like that?”

Min Joo-hyuk plopped down onto the spot. Naturally, he ended up resting his head on my thigh.