CH 41

Standing in the middle of the corridor, his eyes relentlessly pursued Han Cha-soo

He stares blankly into space, then collapses onto the bed, clutching his face in silent agony.

He wraps his trembling hands around his neck, and then throws them away with a snap, as if the thread had broken.

“…….”

Quack, something chilling flashed across Jung Yiheon’s face as he clenched his fist.

The man who had been raised from the dead was incomparably weaker than before. He wasn’t just physically weak.

Han Cha-soo must have reached his limit mentally as well.

‘I should have known when he fainted at the sight of Baek-dam.’

Looking back, so much had happened to him in such a short time.

From saving people in the Frost Giants’ dungeon, to the attack by Geum Myeong-yeol, to the Irregular Gate, to the quarrel in the trade association, to the attack on Baek-dam.

One thing after another had happened to him that would have worn him down long ago.

“No, it’s hard enough for any hunter.”

Jung Yiheon chewed on his lip as he whispered. There had been many who’d gone on raid after raid, relying solely on their mental strength, only to end up in a bad place. The subconscious fatigue and shock were dangerous.

And he’d missed it.

‘I was too complacent.’

He was so impressed with Han Cha-soo’s determination and strength. He unknowingly assumed he would be fine.

But Jung Yiheon now knows that beneath his hard exterior lies a vulnerable heart.

Han Cha-soo was the type of person who would rather break than bend. He would hold all his stresses and emotions inside, only to crumble at the drop of a hat.

A deep sense of self-pity weighed on Jung Yiheon’s heart.

“I should have looked more closely.”

His eyes were serious as he stared into the opaque glass. He should have been more attentive to Han Cha-soo. He should have watched him closely and reacted accordingly. He can’t lose him now, because he know how hard it is to find someone like him.

“Hah….”

His head felt hot with regret. For the briefest of moments, a black speck flashed over his eye.

Whoosh!

The next moment, a harsh heat exploded around him.

Light refracted through the thick air, distorting his vision. Jung Yiheon snapped out of it.

The man on the other side of the window, who hadn’t moved, suddenly stood up.

‘Are you calling for me?’

The hand on the spear tensed. His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

But the next moment, he slammed the door in horror.

“Han Chasoo-ssi!”

“Ah… Kulk, kulk!”

“What are you doing!”

Jung Yiheon moved like a thunderbolt and snatched the piece of glass from his hand. Blood was dripping nonstop from his wounded hand.

Han Cha-soo looked up at him, dumbfounded.

He was picking up the shards of a glass he had deliberately dropped on the floor.

‘What the hell, you bastard.’

You said you were going back, but you stayed? No, more than that, how do you know I broke the cup….

‘Wait.’

The back of his head stiffened. Han Cha-soo quickly looked away and towards the doorway. A long glass window occupied one wall of the hospital room. He clicked his tongue silently; he’d thought it was a simple interior, but it must be one-way glass.

‘So much for being spare.’

It was a ploy that focused all his attention on testing the state of coma, but it must have looked like he’d dropped the cup by mistake to Jung Yiheon, which was a relief.

‘Good thing I didn’t pull out the knife.’

He’d taken advantage of the absence of the medics to find out what level of bleeding constituted coma state. Obviously, it was impossible to slash an arm with a dagger. Doing that in a place with no showers was pretty much asking to be committed to a mental institution.

So he tried to think of an excuse, and a glass came to mind. Something easy to break and easy to put away. When the medics asked why he was hurt, Han Cha-soo was going to say that he dropped it accidentally because his hands were weak. He said it would be too much trouble to call a medic just to clean it up.

But this guy was watching him from the outside. Han Cha-soo was dumbfound.

In the meantime, Jung Yiheon had taken out a healing potion and poured it over the wound.

It felt cold and the wound was slowly healing.

‘My body must have reached its limit.’

Han Cha-soo watched the fifth bottle of potion being emptied with indifferent eyes.

If it was a potion that Jung Yiheon was carrying, it would be A-rank at the very least. But the recovery speed is still so slow. Judging from the way my wounds were healing, I would have believed that the potions were F-rank.

That meant his condition was terrible.

‘At least it’s serious enough to force me to enter coma state.’

It was a shame he’d thought it would be less than the Frostgiant Dungeon hidden boss. He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration, and a low voice rang through the air.

“In the future, don’t do this yourself, call someone-no, call me, do you understand?”

“…….”

“Don’t worry, I can always give you some beads or something.”

The voice was friendly, but the eyes were not particularly warm. Han Cha-soo stopped fiddling with the one and only bead and sighed.

Instead, he waved his hand in the air.

“Does it hurt there too?”

No, I want something to write with.

Han Cha-soo pulled his captured hand free and pretended to write on it. Jung Yiheon made a silly noise and hurriedly fetched paper and pen.

<I don’t need beads.>

“…I guess saying you don’t need them will be a trauma now.”

Jung Yiheon muttered in a low voice. Shaking his head, Han Cha-soo continued to write.

<Are you that worried about me?>

“Of course…!”

<Then I’d like you to change room.>

“A room?”

Jung Yiheon looked unhappy, and for good reason. He’d hate to lose it when he could watch him sullenly like a stalker.

But Han Cha-soo had an excellent excuse. The perfect excuse that Jung Yiheon had just given him.

<Look>

A shadow fell across Jung Yiheon’s face as he saw the direction the pen was pointing. Han Cha-soo stifled a bark of laughter and jabbed the pen at the one-way glass.

After a brief whirl, Han Cha-soo struggled to his feet and approached the glass, his wobbly body about to lean against it.

“Han Chasoo-sii!”

In an instant, he was yanked backwards. Trapped in the man’s arms, Han Cha-soo looked up at the other man.

Jung Yiheon looked very surprised. Han Cha-soo stared at him, then moved his hand again.

<I know it’s not an ordinary pane of glass>

Jung Yiheon sighed deeply as he looked at him with such meaning.

“I knew it, you wouldn’t just ask me to change rooms without a good reason.”

Jung Yiheon’s head is spinning.

Han Cha-soo had always been obsessively uncomfortable with being ‘seen’ by others. At the Irregular Gate, at the Item Trade Association. He was desperate to hide his presence.

Jung Yiheon was not unaware of it.

‘It can’t be helped.’

The stares of others were a huge stressor for Han Cha-soo. Changing rooms seemed inevitable.

Holding the hand that was twitching on his forearm, he cautiously rhymed.

“The bureau didn’t give you this room with purpose.”

Jung Yiheon wanted to clear up the misunderstanding first. If Han Cha-soo thought that the Awakening Management Bureau was watching him, it would complicate things.

‘If he does, he won’t be able to rest here, and things will only get worse.’

First and foremost, he needed to be mentally stable enough to accept my will.

Jung Yiheon continued, hoping that his sincerity would be conveyed.

“I was so busy at the time, I had to set up the treatment device in the room closest to the main entrance, so I couldn’t help it. I’ll ask the centre director to change your room soon, so I hope you don’t take it too seriously.”

Han Cha-soo nodded slowly. Jung Yiheon’s expression brightened, and he mustered up the courage to sneak up.

“And there’s one thing I’d like to ask you to do.”

“?”

“Why don’t you seek psychological counselling?”

Han Cha-soo needed help, time to get rid of the stress and pain that had built up in his subconscious.

But Han Cha-soo’s expression was subtle. The grey eyes stared at him still. As if looking into his thoughts.

Jung Yiheon didn’t back away.

Hadn’t he already seen with his own eyes the consequences of leaving him alone?

But Han Cha-soo was a formidable opponent.

<Guild leader>

“Yes.”

<Do you wish me to leave?>

“…….”

Emotionless grey eyes stared at him. They looked like they could slip away at any moment, and Jung Yiheon pursed his lips.

And then he realised.

‘I’m being rude.’

No matter how desperate he was mentally, Han Cha-soo was Han Cha-soo.

He might break down alone, but he never wanted to appear weak in front of others. And that meant to him that he was still a stranger.

An existence outside the boundaries, unable to show what’s inside the mask. A bond that can be broken at any time.

“…….”

He was not an easy opponent.

No, on the contrary, he was a man who had rejected vast sums of money and honour. Jung Yiheon decided to take a step back.

“You didn’t hear what I said.”

Looking into his impassive eyes, he laughed quietly.

Yes, if you think about it, it’s all worth it.

If Han Cha-soo had known, he would have been instantly traumatized.