IRNH C45

#45

Yes, Taewoon was such a fragile little child he barely reached Sihyeon’s waist.

Moreover, he was an extremely polite child who never invaded personal space without permission—yet now Sihyeon had to lock the door to keep him from sneaking in at will!

It really felt like the world was playing a boring joke on him.

Sihyeon tore at his hair again in frustration over the twisted situation and tossed helplessly on the mattress, trying not to make a sound in case Taewoon heard him from outside.

‘No, I have to grab him and have a serious talk.’

But he couldn’t keep avoiding the issue by staying like this—awkward and unable to speak. He had some idea why Taewoon was like this. Clenching his fists, Sihyeon slipped off the bed and without hesitation threw open the door.

“Taewoon!”

His determined voice swept through the living room but, where usually an immediate reply would come, there was silence.

He paused, then moved to stand in front of the room Taewoon stayed in, taking a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door.

“Taewoon, are you still asleep?”

At that moment, the silence felt strange, stirring a bad feeling.

Taewoon had never once failed to respond when called.

Lowering his head to check the time, the screen showed exactly 11 a.m. Meaning he definitely shouldn’t have been sleeping.

Sihyeon quickly flung the door open.

The interior was chillingly cold, and he bit his lip staring blankly inside.

The room was as orderly as yesterday, suggesting no one had entered for quite some time.

Hastily closing the door, Sihyeon began searching every corner of the room for Taewoon.

“Taewoon!”

He peeked under the table and opened the fridge once, running his hands nervously through his hair.

“No, where did he go?”

Taewoon was the kind of good, diligent, and smart child who never acted out or caused trouble without a word.

Still, no matter how many times Sihyeon searched, the result was the same.

He wandered the room a long while before slumping on the sofa, dragging exhaustedly over his face.

He regretted it.

No matter how much Taewoon had changed, Sihyeon shouldn’t have treated him like that.

In this strange place, he was the only one Taewoon could rely on.

Besides, this confusing and difficult new world meant the boy would need adult care, and Sihyeon felt deep shame for not understanding that properly.

‘What if he’s disappointed in me…? It shouldn’t be hard for me to share my bed even if he’s a bit inconvenient…’

For a moment, he recalled how cold and harsh Taewoon had been yesterday, angrily telling him not to enter.

And how Taewoon had lingered outside the door for a long time, unable to come in.

Ah, wait.

“Could it be… he ran away?”

The shocked voice broke the cold silence.

Sihyeon’s legs shook, and he frowned deeply, clutching his now icy hands tightly.

Of course, he wasn’t worried Taewoon was attacked by anyone. There were far worse dangers here.

He feared, with Taewoon’s delicate and gentle nature, that some scam artist or fake claiming sympathy might capture and scam him.

Or if unlucky, Taewoon might get caught in an explosive gate again, which would be disastrous.

“Damn it. There’s no way to contact him now. What the hell.”

Sihyeon jumped up, ready to search for Taewoon, but being unsure where to start, he sank back down.

His illusion that Taewoon was always nearby like air shattered into pieces.

Buzzzzz—

Then the phone he had tossed somewhere vibrated, signaling a call.

“Hello? Kyu-min? Yes… yes…? Taewoon?”

Surprised, Sihyeon bolted up and rushed toward the room door.

“Hmm… when will you be here?”

Taewoon sat calmly in a café, his long, silky black hair flowing behind him, wearing the simple shirt Sihyeon had brought and matching pants.

The café was unusually quiet, except for occasional swallowing sounds, hardly what one would expect from a café.

Though it was morning and not many people were around, the atmosphere was very subdued.

‘Hyung… what on earth is happening here? Please save me…’

Sitting opposite was Kyu-min, sweating coldly.

Kyu-min, sipping coffee quickly and nervously bouncing one leg, kept glancing sideways at the composed and relaxed Taewoon beside him.

An hour ago.

At dawn, someone woke Kyu-min. Normally a late riser, he unknowingly swatted the hand away, irritated.

Then he was grabbed by the collar and dragged awake, staring wide-eyed and screaming as if seeing a demon—the black and red figure in front of him.

Of course, his scream was quelled after a second, and he was harshly brought to a café near the hotel.

That was already an hour ago.

“Why don’t you try calling the master?”

“Hm?”

“As I said earlier, subtly leak our location.”

Yeon Taewoon smiled faintly, tilting only the corners of his eyes emotionlessly before making an odd request to Kyu-min.

A surprised gasp and soft murmurs spread nearby, but Kyu-min had no idea why this was happening. He just wanted to cry.

He still vividly remembered the events inside the gate.

Though Taewoon was gradually becoming more comfortable with Sihyeon’s gentle demeanor, the black creatures surrounding them and the oozing blood that cascaded felt like they were resetting all the trust to zero.

• “Look, Taewoon is harsh because he’s lived through such hardship. He’s rude but kind and gentle inside. So please don’t misunderstand, and take care of him.” 

Just now, Sihyeon had quietly approached Taewoon to remind him, and he probably smiled brightly in agreement then.

‘Hyung… it’s not a misunderstanding… please accept him quickly.’

Kyu-min quietly lifted his phone and called Sihyeon.

“Ah! Hyung… yes, um, we went out with Taewoon, and I thought you might be worried… yes…”

As Taewoon heard Sihyeon’s urgent voice through the receiver, he leaned his chin on his hand and leisurely lifted a glass of iced chocolate.

By now, it was well past the time Sihyeon usually woke.

Though sometimes late to bed, he never overslept, so he assumed Sihyeon would answer the phone and come find him.

As expected, the call connected quickly, and though a bit reluctant, Kyu-min seemed to carry out orders properly. Taewoon smiled with satisfaction.

[Analysis complete.]

At that moment, an emotionless voice echoed inside Taewoon’s mind.

‘What’s the cause?’

[Unknown. There’s a 50% or higher chance of recurrence.]

Taewoon frowned deeply, clicking his tongue softly at the unsatisfactory answer.

The strange phenomenon inside the gate had instantly hardened the energy inside his body.

Though it had vanished like a mirage as before, the experience was new and alarming even for him.

Now, it was unknown why it happened and there was a high chance it would happen again.

In a battle, moments stretch life and death dozens of times over.

If that phenomenon caused harm to his master again, he would never forgive himself.

‘Useless. Could similar things be involved?’

[No. None here.]

Taewoon became even more uneasy, and with that unease grew impatience.

“Ah, Taewoon. Here.”

Just as his frustrations mounted, Kyu-min’s voice came unexpectedly.

“What’s that?”

“I should have given it earlier. As you know, things have been hectic… This was from a monster you defeated inside the gate.”

Taewoon examined closely what Kyu-min pulled out from the bag he’d been clutching since the dorm.

It was a dull, finger-sized object with a shine, neither quite a jewel nor a simple metal chunk.

But aside from its faint life force, it was a trivial trinket and quickly lost his interest.

“Why even give me that?”

“Originally, whoever kills the monster gets first claim to loot. And since you pretty much handled everything without help, the guild members all agreed.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Hey! That’s not allowed!”

Taewoon shook his head without regret and turned to something parasitic in his mind. This mattered more than that trivial thing.

‘What about the necklace?’

[The conscious self is likely sealed. Signs of change appeared when the user’s stats scattered.]

Taewoon had laughed when first feeling desire upon wearing the necklace.

But now his body weakened and it was trying to escape?

There was no doubt that whoever was inside possessed a dark and twisted soul.

‘How to unseal it?’

[By absorbing the energy of one thousand spirits.]

“Huh?”

“Eh??”

Taewoon gasped incredulously, prompting Kyu-min, who had been watching quietly, to reply eagerly.

Taewoon waved a hand, diverting attention and asked another question.

‘Is there a way to forcibly extract it?’

[Unknown for now. The seal is strong.]

“Damn.”

“Uh, yes?”

“Sigh…”

Taewoon once again waved away Kyu-min’s answer reflexively.

His irritation was growing.

That awful feeling resembled when he briefly left his master before—a memory almost a year old.

“Hm?”

Just then, with a crease on his brow from the tangled situation, Taewoon suddenly relaxed and smiled brightly.

From far away, someone using lightness martial arts approached swiftly.

The aura felt very similar to his own.

The newcomer leaked energy uncontrollably as they hurried toward the café.

Taewoon exhaled softly, gripping his arms tight as goosebumps crawled up them.

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“Master will arrive soon.”

Kyu-min, who had been tense until then, nodded rapidly, touched by the strangely wild but wide smile.

Footnotes:

“Lightness martial arts” (경공, Gyeonggong) is a traditional eastern martial arts technique enabling swift, agile movement.