IRNH C41

41

“…I told you, ha, that I liked you. I told you I’d never leave you for the rest of my life. Huff.”
Taewoon’s words kept getting interrupted because he could barely breathe; his speech came in broken bursts. As he whispered, his unconsciously bitten lips split open, fresh red blood oozing out.
Yet Taewoon, unfazed, kept biting his lips, not stopping even as the blood soaking him blended with his own.
“Taewoon! Breathe, breathe. Ugh… Don’t bite your lips. Calm down.”
Sihyeon instantly recognized Taewoon’s instability, lifted his hand, and hesitated at his injured fingertips before softly tapping the edge of Taewoon’s lips with the cleanest part of his hand.
“Sorry. But it’s still better than you getting hurt. You aren’t hurt much, right?”
Ah, you… You always tear apart my wretched heart like this and pull me out into the open.
Taewoon grabs Sihyeon’s hand as it touches and leaves his lips. Slowly, almost reverently, he presses it back to his lips and closes his eyes before opening them again.
From now on, I’ll do what I want. But you’ll accept it, right? Won’t you?
“…Taewoon?”
Sihyeon flinches, surprised, but Taewoon holds his grip tightly, not letting go, and Sihyeon has no choice but to remain caught. The back of his hand, pressed to Taewoon’s lips, feels uncomfortably hot and distracting.
What is this…
At that moment, their gazes lock; Taewoon’s deep crimson eyes begin to pour out his innermost emotions like a tidal wave.
Sihyeon realizes that what Taewoon feels for him is not just respect and admiration for a mentor—it’s something much thicker and darker.
Now he understood why others described those jewel-like eyes as blood-red. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Taewoon’s face. It felt like he was being pulled helplessly into the red glow.
Sihyeon’s own eyes trembled, and heat rose in his head. Though he’d seen this face countless times, now it felt so unfamiliar, as if it belonged to someone else. His breathing grew labored.
At that moment, the vague feelings he’d sensed before began to overlap, forming something tangible, something that seemed to keep asking him, “Don’t you know my name?” But Sihyeon feigned ignorance and hid it far away.
‘What is… this…?’
With confusion on his face, Sihyeon could only avert his gaze. His wildly shaking eyes swung hastily to empty space, and in response, Taewoon’s crimson eyes filled with a quiet kind of delirium.
‘You should never have tried to save someone like me, Sihyeon.’
Carefully, Taewoon hugs Sihyeon, whose body instinctively tried to flinch away, and buries his face in the older man’s nape.
Even though they were both covered in blood, he gently nuzzles Sihyeon’s cheek, eyes curving up, smiling brightly. But Sihyeon couldn’t respond as he always had, unable to embrace or comfort Taewoon’s back.

Exiting the gate felt mindlessly easy compared to entering. With buffs for movement and stamina, and a partially completed map to follow, Sihyeon once again realized the importance of a well-organized party.
But the problem wasn’t the way out. As usual, Taewoon stuck close to Sihyeon. Though it didn’t look much different from before, the circumstances had changed significantly.
Sihyeon felt cold sweat beneath Taewoon’s pretty hands wrapped around his waist, his back stiffening uncomfortably as he forced himself to walk awkwardly.
“Uh… Taewoon, could you let go for a bit?”
“Why?”
“It’s… uncomfortable.”
“What if you collapse again on the way?”
Sihyeon couldn’t find another response and fell silent, trying to gently push Taewoon away and create some distance between them.
But the space he made disappeared instantly.
“…Why do you keep avoiding me?”
“No, I’m not—”
“Hmm….”
Taewoon tilted his head as if calculating something, then smiled innocently and glued himself back to Sihyeon, leaving not a single gap.
Through the torn sleeve, Sihyeon saw the veins standing out on Taewoon’s white forearm.
Ugh…
Glancing around without reason, Sihyeon sighed in resignation when he saw no one at the rear of the group watching them.
Ever since yesterday’s incident, Sihyeon hadn’t been able to treat Taewoon naturally.
He wasn’t an idiot; after seeing Taewoon’s expression then, it was impossible not to notice the boy’s feelings. But it didn’t make sense—he was like a parent or an uncle to Taewoon, raising him since elementary school.
Ten years. It seemed Taewoon had suffered many shocks and now was confused, and Sihyeon wondered how to gently correct him.
To make things worse, yesterday Taewoon kept crying every time Sihyeon tried to bring up the subject, so he never found a good moment to talk about it.
And technically, Taewoon hadn’t said anything directly, so it would be awkward for Sihyeon to bring it up out of nowhere.
‘Really… what am I supposed to do? Ha…’
And now, whenever those red eyes openly sought his affection, Sihyeon started to feel as if he’d failed to give enough love, as if he hadn’t done right by him. Self-reproach was creeping in.
What did I do wrong?
Once again, Sihyeon replayed the last ten years in his mind, wondering how on earth things ended up this way.
Not that he expected any answers, but at least thinking about it helped stop him from being swept away by Taewoon’s emotions.
“Master.”
“Huh?!”
Just then, the familiar husky voice struck him square in the ear. Sihyeon instinctively jerked his hand up and covered his ear.
“Ha ha.”
Laughter spilled from Taewoon, close by—a mix of cheerfulness and something twisted.
Sihyeon thought he might break into a cold sweat.
…He’s driving me crazy.
Ever since they reunited, Taewoon’s behavior had started getting more and more erratic, like a button had been switched on.
To be fair, he had changed a little even before, but hugging or displaying affection had always happened occasionally, so Sihyeon hadn’t taken it too seriously.
Not anymore.
Once more, Sihyeon caught Taewoon’s wandering hand on his waist and clenched his teeth.
‘I need to watch some videos about child behavior correction right now.’
He desperately longed for one of those lectures—something that could offer guidance, since last time he learned that people sometimes grow obsessed with the person closest to them after enduring great pain.
‘So this must be just—just a misunderstanding, that he—j-j-j-just likes me… That’s definitely it.’
Ugh, damn.
As cold self-doubt crept up his neck, Sihyeon shuddered.
He’d barely survived death in that gate, but right now those memories didn’t even matter.
Only three things played in his mind, looping over and over: “Why is Taewoon acting like this? Is it all my fault? Ah, it must be my fault.”
Nervously, Sihyeon bit his lower lip hard.
He paused.
Wondering what he should do next, he gnawed his lip nearly to bleeding when a pale fingertip brushed it, gently pressing and then pulling away, stopping his thoughts short.
Quivering, Sihyeon managed only the softest reprimand:
“You, you! Seriously, don’t do that!”
“I refuse. Master always does as he likes, doesn’t he? Unfortunately, that’s all I’ve ever learned.”
Taewoon retorted without a care. Seeing this side of Taewoon—the insolence—left Sihyeon defeated, head hanging.
‘Hmm?’
Just then, Sihyeon noticed a small split wound on Taewoon’s wrist, which had been wrapped around his waist.
He froze, forgetting everything, and grabbed Taewoon’s hand.
“What’s this? When did it happen?”
“I don’t know.”
“Haa… I’m going crazy.”
Sihyeon hurriedly fished out a leftover potion bottle from his pocket and splashed it over the wound.
To check if it healed properly, he tugged Taewoon’s sleeve to wipe away the excess, but before he could do more, Taewoon’s arm slipped around his waist again.
“I like this so much.”
Sihyeon was startled for an instant, but then, seeing Taewoon’s bright smile, he resigned himself, patting the boy’s forearm softly.
No matter what, he wasn’t cruel enough to push away someone who’d been hurt and worn out.

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap!
Elegant fingers flew wildly over the keyboard of a computer in a spacious room.
“I… I basically raised this kid since I was young. Uh… there’s a neighbor’s younger brother, and suddenly, there’s so much physical affection… Ugh.”
As Sihyeon typed his question, he paused, rubbing his warming neck in embarrassment before resuming.
Hello. I’m an adult in my mid-twenties….
I have a neighbor’s younger brother whom I pretty much raised.
He’s being way too affectionate, and I think he likes me… Of course, I know it isn’t for real. He’s just confused because he’s young, right?
But I also hurt him a bit… I don’t want to be harsh. How can I explain things in a gentle way?
I have no one to ask about this… I genuinely know nothing, so I’m posting here….
Tap!
The sound of hitting “Enter” echoed within the room, cheerful and sharp, belying the complexity of his feelings.
Nervously, Sihyeon bit his lips, waiting for replies.
-Yeah, another delusion.
-Go outside and get some sun, man.
-Handsome?
“Goddamn, what kind of antisocial nutcases are these? Always lying…”
But that’s all most of the comments were like. It was frustrating beyond belief. Even after researching and watching videos, Sihyeon couldn’t find an answer that convinced him.
He thumped his chest with his fist, sighing deeply, when a new reply appeared below.
-If this is for real, shouldn’t you just reject it immediately? You write as if it’s ‘just a kid thing,’ but keep making excuses and seriously agonizing over it? Yikes, that’s terrible.
In the end, Sihyeon bashed his head into the table and groaned.
“Terrible, huh…”
He crouched and covered his face, thinking of Taewoon waiting for him outside the room.
It had only been a day since leaving the gate, but so much had happened.
When the missing guild members were brought out, the entrance was shockingly empty, as though no one had expected it.
But a resident staff member quickly called emergency vehicles, and the unconscious Yujun was taken to the hospital.
Then, as if on cue, reporters started showing up one after another, with news of Yujun’s “reawakening” and Sihyeon and Taewoon’s names beginning to circulate.
Of course, the shock of “reawakening” as a title was so great that it overshadowed all other facts.
-Crazy. Reawakened? Does that mean I have a chance too?
-As if someone like you could do it.
-So the reawakened guy was always a Dream Walker? Whoa, this feels like ultimate FOMO.
-Wow… reawakened. What’s the secret, I wonder.
-Name: Seo Yujun, 15, C-rank. Heard his awakening ability is killer, what rank will he get?
-He’ll come out A-rank for sure.
-If Korea gets another A-rank, we’ll be top five globally. National pride.
-How’d he do it? FFS, someone tell me.

Footnotes:

1. “Buff” is a term used in gaming and fantasy genres, meaning a temporary enhancement or improvement to a character’s abilities.
2. “Dream Walker” is a fictional job/class that seems to have special abilities awakening under stress or trauma.
3. “A-rank,” “C-rank,” etc., are part of a tier system for abilities, common in fantasy and gaming fiction; higher ranks denote greater power.