CH 7

I felt a gentle hand stroking my hair. Just above my head, I could hear Park Yul’s calm voice, “This isn’t good, Yihan-ah. Let’s go up for now and rest. We can talk about the details later.”

I wanted to nod, but I didn’t have the energy to do that. How embarrassing. I didn’t know the day would come when I–someone whose only pride and advantage was my healthy body–would say that I would lack the strength to even lift a finger.

“Do you think you can walk?”

“……”

Could I even walk? Moreover, could I even stand up?

I didn’t know; I was just so tired. I grimaced and closed my eyes, feeling utterly helpless. Suddenly, someone lifted my body.

When I opened my eyes in a hurry, I could see Park Yul holding me in his arms as if I were light. He supported me cautiously with his solid body. Park Yul placed my head on his shoulder; when my forehead touched his wide shoulder, the warmth from under his clothes transferred to me.

“It’s alright. Relax, Yihan-ah.”

My eyes automatically closed at the quiet, comforting voice. I felt faint–on the verge of consciousness. Park Yul moved spryly, as if he couldn’t feel my weight at all.

Click–

I could hear the door closing behind us. After leaving the room, Park Yul slowly climbed up the stairs; my body, in his swarms, slightly swayed.

I was exhausted–physically and mentally. I slept on my way here, but it didn’t seem to be enough. And, whatever had happened earlier, seemed to be a big deal; just what in the world was going on here?

“…That’s strange.” Park Yul’s mumbles sounded muffled. Because of the upcoming sleepiness, I couldn’t think or understand properly; it felt like my head had become stone.

My listless body was laid out; still, I wanted to stay awake. I couldn’t sleep now.

I couldn’t fall asleep, *again*, in front of someone I had met for the first time.

That would be unthinkable.

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

Ridiculous things often followed one after another in this world.

For example, I was laying atop a bed when I opened my eyes. When I looked out the window, the sun was setting. Still, when I was glad that much time hadn’t passed…I learned an entire day had flowed away.

Things like that.

“…Yul-hyung? It’s already been one whole day?” I asked in a trembling voice. 1

Park Yul, who sat on a hair next to the bed, smiled bitterly. He helped me sit up by supporting my shoulders and back.

I felt another soft touch behind me, so I turned around. Min Joohyuk was placing a fluffy pillow–stuffed full of cotton–at my back.

“Sun Yihan, you…” Min Joohyuk’s voice seemed full of worry. He hesitated for a long time; I waited calmly for a while, but…

Creak–

I heard the door open; my eyes turned in that direction.

There was a man, clad in a dark robe and a hat, standing by the door. He took a step inside; then he lowered his head and raised his hand to take off his robe and hat.

Red sunlight poured in from the window. I could see that the man had red hair that matched the sunset glow. His wavy short hair was tied back in a low tie.

“Raen Hyung-nim! You’re here!” Min Joohyuk said, next to me.

The red light of the sun seemed to have seeped into the person’s hair; I stared blankly at the man who looked as if he was glowing. Now that his hat had been completely removed, he slowly raised his head. Then, in the middle of our air, our gazes locked.

Rrring–!

A clear sound rang in my ear.

‘Raen–Don’t doubt me!’ I

Success: Raen’s trust acquired.

Failure: Fainting for 3 minutes penalty

Time limit: 3 minutes

A blue, translucent quest window blinked before my eyes. Then, I heard a cautious voice.

“…What is that. What is that mana?” The man’s eyes were fixed on me. Meanwhile, the time left on the quest decreased, tick by tick.

「Time limit: 2 minutes 59 seconds」

「Time limit: 2 minutes 58 seconds」

Honestly–things didn’t make sense anymore… It was just one thing after another… Things like this seemed to happen quite often now.

I squeezed the blanket and exhaled to calm myself. If I were to faint due to stress, I wouldn’t even need to wait three minutes–I could do it now.

Thanks to a passive effect that seems to have arrived with the quest, my head felt a little tight–like it was being squeezed–even though I couldn’t feel the pain. I wondered what would happen after the time limit passed. After all, this was supposedly a required quest.

Park Yul opened his mouth and spoke while I looked at the decreasing time with shaking eyes. “Raen-ah.” The blonde looked straight at the person standing by the door with tranquil eyes. “That’s for later. Yihan just woke up.”

The man looked as if he wanted to say something, but, at those words, he clamped his mouth shut. Then, he slowly turned his head to look back at me. His gaze looked a bit sharp. “Good evening, Yihan. I’m called Raen. I heard you were coming.”

“Raen-hyung, hello. I’m Sun Yihan.” My voice, tumbling out of my mouth, trembled helplessly. Even now, my remaining time was ticking away.

My head felt taut–How could I convince him to clear his doubts about me in the remaining time? Rather, what was he doubting in the first place?

My hand clutching at the blanket was tense. I had little information and even less time.

“Yihan.” Raen called out to me again. His voice was soft, but rigid in tone, perhaps because of his underlying wariness. Raen, who had been silent for a while with downturned lips, opened his mouth as if he couldn’t endure anymore. “Didn’t you say you stayed at the temple?”

At my small nods, Raen hurriedly continued, “Then what’s that mana? Furthermore, its form and structure isn’t normal. It’s like…”

“Enough, Raen-ah.” Park Yul intercepted–his tone was quite firm.

Raen turned to look at his companion. The sunset glow coming in through the window caressed Raen’s face. The man’s hair, tied to the back, slipped out and flowed down his neck. Even though his face was half-covered by hair, one could clearly see his urgent expression. “Leader-hyung, please wait.”

“Alright. Let’s calm down for now and let Yihan rest a little more. Then, we can slowly converse.”

No–we couldn’t talk slowly. My fainting spell was just around the corner. First… I needed to say something.

「Time limit: 1 minute 14 seconds」

「Time limit: 1 minute 13 seconds」

The number decreased even as I was lost in thought.

My heart pounded with urgency. How much could I say in this short time? I opened my mouth, my voice trembling, “…I…”

I pushed my luck to say something, but I couldn’t think of how to continue. The three men all focused on me.  I lowered my head and glanced at the guileless quest window. Perhaps the system might have had a hint as to what I should say? Any hint at all?

Of course there weren’t. My expectations were futile. The gazes piercing the top of my head stung.

I could feel Park Yul’s hand cautiously stroking my back. I thought I heard someone say something, but I couldn’t concentrate.

「Time limit: 59 seconds」

「Time limit: 58 seconds

Looking at the time ticking down–now under a minute–it felt like my voice was stifled into helpless silence.

‘The reason why I have mana?’ I was curious about that as well. There was no way I could explain something even I was ignorant about. There was no way I could spin something sensible. ‘Yeah, let’s just be honest and say I don’t know.’

“About that. I don’t…really know why either, but…” I tried to explain in a hurry. But, instead of going as it did in my head, my voice stuttered. Obviously, I looked like an idiot.

My fingertips tensed; deep shame and embarrassment washed over me. My face felt burning hot. Clearing my shaky voice, I managed to continue, “It’s just…One day, suddenly… mana stores formed in my body.”

Tears welled up in my eyes; I didn’t know why I had to explain this so desperately. Things hadn’t worked out as I imagined ever since the system appeared. It felt like a bag had been pulled over my head, and I was being dragged to some unknown location.

My throat choked with melancholy and frustration. I quickly inhaled, “…Please believe me.”

My hands trembled–my voice trembled too. Looking up cautiously, I confirmed there really wasn’t much time left.

「Time limit: 37 seconds」 

Could I clear his doubt within the time limit? Impossible.

I couldn’t see any way out; surrendering myself to despair, I closed my eyes tightly. Perhaps my dismal feeling made the bed feel lopsided, as if a divot had formed in the mattress; my body leaned shallowly to one side.

This tense situation was too unfamiliar to me. And, I didn’t want to check how fast my remaining time was decreasing.

Well, perhaps now that it’s come to this, maybe it’s more comfortable to give up. After all, there was nothing I could do–it’s inevitable. Even if I fainted, I’d only be unconscious for three minutes; that’s basically a blink of an eye! Just as I tried to rationalize things to myself…

Bam–

Suddenly, I heard the door slam shut. When I raised my head, Raen, who had been standing by the door, was no longer there. Did he just leave now?

Soon, though, the door opened again. Raen, whose eyes were opened wide, held a small, thin paper bag in his hands. ‘What’s with the bag all of a sudden?’

Just as I thought that, Raen strode up to me. Then, he kneeled beside the bed. With urgent fingers, he opened the paper bag and placed it near my mouth. Its rustling sound echoed in my ears.

Before I knew it, Min Joohyuk was sitting on the bed; his hand was on my shoulder, gripping it firmly. Park Yul was still stroking my back gently.

The warmth that seeped through their touch was so vividly hot.

“I believe you. I believe you, so take your time and breathe.”

I heard a calm voice–who did it belong to?

There was no time to think about responding–the time that had been given to me had ended cold-heartedly.

「Time limit: 0 seconds」

It was time to close my eyes again. The quest window materialized in front of me.

‘Raen–Don’t doubt me!’ I Failed!

The penalty, ‘fainting,’ will be sustained for ‘3 minutes’.

Just as I predicted. I wasn’t even surprised. I was able to accept this result calmly.

Rrring–

At that moment, the ominously clear sound rang in my ears again.

‘Raen–Don’t doubt me!’ II

On Success: Raen’s trust acquired

On Failure: Penalty – High Fever for 3 hours

Time Limit: 3 hours

A quest window that marked the beginning of a new quest. This was something I didn’t expect…

「Time limit: 2 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds」

The time ticked down, dwindling; finally, my vision grew dark.

TL: Interesting. Why do systems always feel so antagonistic?

Also, I’m really busy today so I wasn’t able to post-edit after PR as much. Please let me know if there are confusing bits, typos, grammar issues etc.