THIFSGSTW CH 69

Chapter 69: Just for a While

The moment I accepted the text on the status window, a blue light spread broadly around Yeon Seo. The blackened area staining her skin gradually began to shrink. Then, the blue light surged into me and all of it disappeared, completely and cleanly.

I leaned in to bring my ear near her face and heard the sound of calm, even breathing. Her color had returned to her face too. It seemed she was completely healed. If there were no issues, she would wake up soon.

I turned my body toward the child sitting in the chair and reached out without hesitation, grabbing the child’s small ankle. I intended to use another reward.

“Hyung? What’s wrong?”

As the child spoke, a status window popped up before me.

Would you like to use ‘Import for non Hero (1 time)’?

As the light swirling around the child’s ankle entered me, the blackened area disappeared without a trace. But I wasn’t in any pain or discomfort, was there really nothing wrong with me? I was about to roll up my pant leg to check when—

“…Ugh, cough cough.”

I covered my mouth with my sleeve. A metallic taste filled my mouth. I didn’t dirty the floor, but even though it hadn’t been long since I’d used Clean Magic, the sleeve was already turning red again.

But what did this “Import” have to do with coughing up blood? As if responding to my question, another status window appeared before me.

Penalty ‘Intermittent Hemoptysis^[1]’ is currently active.

…What? Are you kidding me? This is ridiculous. The kid will be terrified. I really didn’t want to show him me coughing blood a second time. Tears were already welling up in his round eyes.

I let out a deep sigh. If the system truly held divine power, then that god must be unbelievably heartless. How could they assign a penalty like this right in front of a child? Could it really just be a penalty? Given the situation, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Hy-hyung.”

“I’m okay. …Just a sec.”

I carefully pulled up my pants leg. The area around my ankle was pitch black, but then a pure white light dropped in a circle from the center and began to gradually erase the black. Soon, it was completely gone. I twisted my ankle, everything seemed fine.

‘This wasn’t even a life-threatening injury.’

Yet it healed on its own. Moreover, unlike before, it was a white light. It was possible that the reaction was different because the miasma had seeped directly into my body.

Not knowing when the penalty would stop, I couldn’t keep spitting blood in front of the child, so I took a deep breath and spoke.

“Can you keep it a secret that I did this?”

“Yes… sniff… yes!”

As soon as I finished speaking, the child nodded vigorously. Good, I could trust them. Just as I was about to stand up, I realized something hard was stuck in my pocket.

That’s right, I had received a candy earlier. I quickly handed the child a lollipop the size of their face and hurried out of the house. Now that the person spitting blood was gone, I hoped they wouldn’t cry.

Click.

The door closed behind me. The world was still peaceful. As if nothing had happened, the golden sunlight gently wrapped around my body. I walked aimlessly and entered a narrow path. Insects chirped through the thick trees. Heat rose from the dry, cracked ground.

‘I don’t have any rewards left.’

My heart felt heavy. Now I couldn’t heal anyone except the Hero. What would I do if something like this happened again? What could I even do anymore?

My heart pounded anxiously. I crouched down. Tiny ants were crawling in a line on the ground. Around them, drops of blood fell from my lips.

I stared at it for a while, then shook my head.

‘Get it together.’

For now, I just had to do what I could. If I kept trying my best, I’d find a new solution when a new situation came. Since the penalty had almost stopped, I used Clean Magic to tidy myself and the area, then started walking again.

‘I need to go back and tell everyone about this.’

The child said there were no more people in this village with wounds tainted by miasma. However, there was a possibility that there were situations the child didn’t know about. I needed to confirm it for sure.

My mind felt uneasy, and it seemed to make my steps unsteady. Before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the wooden building.

Creak.

I opened the door and entered. The place was starting to feel a little familiar. As I stepped inside, everything I’d just gone through felt like a fleeting dream. So much had happened.

I climbed the stairs to the second floor and knocked on Min Joo-hyuk’s door. This time, the door opened immediately without him saying anything. I guess his mana had recovered somewhat.

Min Joo-hyuk was lying on the bed with one arm behind his head, scribbling something into the air with his other hand. When I came in, he sat up quickly and spoke.

“Hey, took you long enough. You checked out the village and… huh?”

His voice was so familiar, I felt a little tension leave me just knowing he was here. His expression stiffened mid-sentence. He got up from the bed and came straight toward me.

“What’s with your face? What happened?”

My face? Aside from being flushed from the heat, there was nothing wrong.

“It’s just the heat. Anyway, there’s no building here to pray to the gods.”

“Ah… I figured there wouldn’t be.”

Min Joo-hyuk snapped his fingers. A cool breeze fluttered my clothes and wrapped around me.

“You can use magic now?”

“For now, yeah. But seriously, what happened, Sun Yi-han?”

“Nothing happened.”

I flopped onto Min Joo-hyuk’s bed, feeling utterly drained. I realized that I might be lacking not just in physical strength but also in mental resilience.

“When the others get here later, I have something to say.”

I spoke quietly, still staring up at the ceiling. It was better to talk when we were all together. I needed time to organize my thoughts, and it would be too much for Joo-hyuk to handle alone.

After all that effort, how heartbreaking would it be to hear someone got hurt anyway? If I brought up how the children had suffered from the monsters, they might feel guilty, and that made my chest heavy.

‘It’s not like anyone did anything wrong.’

Even so, everyone was suffering. The Heroes were constantly throwing themselves into danger, yet victims still existed. The world suddenly felt overwhelmingly harsh.

The bed creaked as Min Joo-hyuk sat beside me and gently brushed my hair back. Then, in a light voice, he spoke. “What is it? Tell me in advance. I’ll listen.”

I rolled my eyes up to look at him. His brown hair fluttered in the cool breeze surrounding us. Suddenly, I remembered the view of Min Joo-hyuk’s back that I had seen in a future vision.

My heart felt tender. It ached a little. Not just for Min Joo-hyuk, but for everyone. For Park Yul, for Song Ha-gyeon, for Raen. Sometimes I felt this way when I thought about them.

It wasn’t just about returning the favor for what I’d received. It was something bigger than that. I couldn’t clearly define what kind of feeling it was.

“Min Joo-hyuk.”

“Yeah?”

“Stay with me. Just for a while.”

“Why just for a while?”

Joo-hyuk smiled brightly and replied, “I’ll stay with you for good.”

“Promise me. If you ever go anywhere, tell me.”

“…Something happened, didn’t it?”

He leaned closer, studying my expression. Just then, the sound of someone running up the wooden stairs echoed outside the door.

“Huh? The others shouldn’t be here yet…”

Min Joo-hyuk stood up. And at that moment—

Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded on the door. Joo-hyuk waved his hand, and the door opened instantly. Standing at the door was a middle-aged man, his clothes disheveled and his breath coming in ragged gasps. He looked at us and widened his eyes in surprise.

“I heard one of you was here.”

Min Joo-hyuk had already stepped in front of him, speaking in a calm voice.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, sorry, I’m late to introduce myself. I’m the village representative. Are you one of the Heroes?”

“Yes. What’s going on? Why are you here in such a rush?”

The village representative wiped the sweat off his face and quickly continued.

“There’s no time. Didn’t your comrades head to the valley? There’s a place you must know about. It’s dangerous. You have to stop them before they get there.”

“What do you mean?”

He waved his hand, conjuring a map in the air. He pointed at a spot and continued urgently. “Here. You need to leave right now. If they’re already on the way, they’ll need support. I’ll come with you. Let’s go.”

“Calm down. If we’re going, we need to know exactly what’s dangerous to respond properly. Please explain in detail.”

Min Joo-hyuk’s voice quickened. He seemed to be trying to remain calm, but he looked flustered. I felt the same way. The village representative continued to speak in a hurried manner, as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

“There’s a place where monsters are clustered. It’s not like other places. From a distance, it looks like a regular white cloud, but when you get close, it turns black and attacks in an instant. By the time you realize it, it’s too late.”

Min Joo-hyuk tensed up, his body going rigid at the village representative’s words.

“I went there a long time ago, so the situation has likely worsened since then. I just heard that heroes had arrived, and I rushed over.”

I could see Min Joo-hyuk clenching his fists tightly, and my heart began to race.

“First, we need to check whether the Heroes are near that place. If they’re not, we have to warn them to be cautious.”

There was a sense of urgency in the village representative’s voice, and I felt as if he were pacing back and forth, even though he was standing still.

“Please, Hero. Your comrades are precious. There’s no time to waste. The longer we delay, the greater the risk. Let’s go now.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.

I slowly turned my head. My throat creaked like rusted metal.

Outside the window, I saw the round, blazing sun. It glowed a burning red. The sunset was sinking in. I realized that the room was bathed in a soft sunset glow.

Damn it. Could it be that the moment I saw in the future is happening right now?