NPC Fell onto My Bed C25

Chapter 25

It was roughly twenty minutes later when Gu Taeheon returned. He approached the living room, where Noah and Iron sat in serious conversation. As he got close enough to overhear, both men stopped talking and turned their heads toward him at once.

Their gazes—two outsiders, sharp and piercing—made Taeheon halt mid-step without meaning to.

Noah was the first to speak.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah. Here.”

Reaching into his pocket, Taeheon pulled out the soy milk he’d brought and handed it over. It was still warm from the convenience store heater. Noah accepted it with both hands, pressing it lightly to his cheek as he smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Mr. Taeheon.”

A moment later, An Jeonghyeok stumbled in behind him, panting like he’d sprinted.
“Goddammit, Taeheon, why did you start running all of a sudden?!”
“You’re just slow.”
“I thought you forgot something at the store—you nearly killed me. Ugh. Anyway, Iron, this one’s yours.”

Jeonghyeok rummaged through the plastic bag dangling from his wrist and tossed a red can of cola toward Iron, who caught it effortlessly.
“I told you, Jeonghyeok, I prefer the blue one to this red kind.”
“For God’s sake, just drink it! You drank all my blue ones anyway!”

Despite his annoyed face, Iron looked down at the can. Instantly, with a soft crack, the sealed tab opened on its own, fizz hissing out. The giant warrior raised it to his lips and took deep, satisfying gulps.

Watching him, Noah tried to do the same with his soy milk. But unlike a can, his was tightly sealed with plastic wrapping, impossible for his short fingernails to pierce. When his fingers kept slipping, Taeheon reached over, took the bottle, and twisted the cap open easily. The protective seal tore away with a soft rip, earning a small sound of admiration from Noah.

“So how are you removing that metal rod in Taeheon’s leg anyway? You’ve got to cut him open, right?” Jeonghyeok asked curiously, sipping his drink. Even if Iron could control metal, the bar inside the leg had to come out somehow.

Noah wiped a faint trace of soy milk from his lips before answering calmly.
“Yes, exactly. So once I create the incision and open a small gap, Iron will extract the rod through it—”
“Noah. You can’t stand the sight of blood.”

Taeheon’s quiet, steady voice cut clean through Noah’s explanation. Startled, Noah looked up at him.
“That’s not true. I can handle it.”
“You might handle it, but you still hate it.”
“…”

His words hit squarely. Noah fell silent. He didn’t faint at the sight of blood—he had survived countless battlefields—but he never slept well on nights after seeing it.

No one had ever recognized it so plainly, nor said it aloud. His throat tightened, and before he could find an answer, Iron barked a hearty laugh.
“Ah, I see! I never knew you disliked blood, Noah. Don’t you worry—I’ll make the cut myself. You can just focus on the healing.”

He patted Noah’s shoulder reassuringly, gentle by his standards. Noah didn’t exactly look reassured, but with the conversation flowing that way, he couldn’t object.

Eventually, Jeonghyeok stayed behind while the other three moved into the spare room. After about ten minutes, Iron emerged first.

Jeonghyeok glanced up from his phone.
“What, done already?”
“It doesn’t take long when the world’s greatest warrior is involved.”

He grinned and held up his hand. It was soaked in blood. Between his thick fingers glinted the extracted metal rod.

“Ugh—holy hell,” Jeonghyeok muttered, shivering. “Taeheon’s still alive, right? He’s okay? That’s a lot of—”
“Of course he’s fine. Hildegart is with him, isn’t he?”
“Still, though… Noah’s healing was supposed to be weaker, remember?”

Iron’s booming laugh filled the small apartment.
“Weaker, you say? Jeonghyeok, would the mountain crumble because a few stones fell from its side?”

He clenched the metal in his hand.
“Noah’s healing is that mountain. As long as there is breath in you, he’ll pull you back from the edge.”
“Talk about blessed.”
“Blessed?” Iron smiled faintly, though his voice turned bitter. “More like cursed.”

“Why?” Jeonghyeok asked softly.

“Because every person who’s ever known Noah has climbed onto his shoulders.”

Iron’s tone turned low and heavy.
“They think mountains never bend. They feed on him, lean on him, believe he’ll hold them forever. None of them have ever tried to imagine what that weight feels like.”

“Mr. Taeheon, please—just a moment, let me…”

Noah was completely unlike his usual calm self. Beside the bed where Taeheon lay unconscious, he moved with frantic haste.

Iron had extracted the rod moments ago, but a shallow wound still gaped along the leg. He’d performed only basic first aid before leaving the rest to Noah. Now, Noah’s energy all but trembled at his fingertips.

“First, I’ll close the wound completely…”

The moment his hand touched Taeheon’s leg, warm light poured out from his palm. The torn flesh knit together, the scar fading entirely before his eyes. Yet Noah couldn’t stop there.

“Just in case—purification magic, and then… oh—restoration of vitality, yes.”

Every healing spell he knew—every incantation of recovery—he summoned them all, one after another. In his urgency, he forgot moderation and balance; he simply poured everything he had into Taeheon.

When at last it was over, Noah sank back into the chair beside the bed, breath softly unsteady. He waited quietly for Taeheon to wake.

But time passed, and the man didn’t stir.

“…Why isn’t he waking up…”

It wasn’t normal. Anxiety creased Noah’s brow. Finally, unable to bear it, he started again—layer after layer of restorative enchantments, spells that promoted energy, vitality, and rejuvenation—until Taeheon’s body shimmered faintly with raw life force. More than thirty buffs in all.

“…Ugh.”

At last, Taeheon’s hand twitched. Noah’s head snapped up, a bright smile flooding his face.

“Mr. Taeheon!”
“Haah…”

“You’re awake?”

But something was off. Taeheon’s breathing grew heavier—uneasy. His expression scrunched, almost pained. Noah’s eyes darted downward, following his gaze—down his torso, to his lower body—

“What the…” Taeheon rasped.

Noah froze.

“Oh… oh no…”

Because right there, straining from beneath the sheets, was a massive tent—large enough, perhaps, for a dozen campers.