Chapter 23: City of Traps |
After the meeting, An Hyeon led me to check on An Sol's condition. Seeing her sleeping soundly on a bedding, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I placed a hand on her forehead to check her internally, and just as I expected, An Sol's mana was in disarray. It hadn't gone too far, so it would have naturally returned to normal over time, but I decided to help her.
“It would be best to have someone watch over An Sol through the night.”
“I'll do it.”
Watching An Hyeon naturally step forward to volunteer, I shook my head. I glanced out the window; complete darkness had already fallen outside. An Hyeon's eyes were already filled with fatigue. Everyone must have been mentally exhausted today. He was holding on with sheer willpower, but it would be a problem if it affected his performance tomorrow.
“You look tired. Go get some sleep. I'll watch her.”
“Aren't you going to sleep, Hyeong?”
“Later. For now, let's let the girls get a full night's rest. You and I can take turns watching An Sol. I'll wake you up when it's time to switch.”
“Ah, taking turns. That makes sense. Then please, take care of my sister, Hyeong.”
I answered with a nod. An Hyeon staggered out and closed the door. I still had questions for him, but seeing him barely fighting off the urge to sleep, I figured it would be better to ask when we had more free time. My mind was a mess with thoughts about the Trap Point and the party's attitude, so I planned to use this time to sort things out anyway. But first, I had to do what needed to be done.
Fixing severely reversed mana flow or tangled circuits along the blood vessels is quite a difficult task. However, simply calming overdriven mana and untangling the mess was easy. As the energy of my pure fire-attribute mana flowed into her, An Sol's body flinched for a moment.
Mana attributes differ depending on an individual's disposition. The attribute of her mana I was sensing now was good-natured, possessing a white light to match. At first, her mana seemed flustered and anxious, unsure what to do in the face of my overwhelming power, but I enveloped it as gently and sweetly as possible, so as not to startle it. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here to help. Good girl, right? Be still now. As I continued to soothe Sol's mana with a calming touch, it seemed to recognize I was there to help, and soon, her mana began to flock towards mine, as if racing to get there first.
I guided my mana as flexibly as possible to avoid startling her, nurturing hers. Seeing her mana particles rub against mine, as if asking to be petted first, I thought they were rather cute. I scanned her entire body, stabilizing the startled areas and untangling the disordered ones. As the process neared its end, a soft blush colored her cheeks. She looked more at ease, too. Was she having a pleasant dream?
There was just one small hitch. After scanning her whole body, when I tried to withdraw my mana, An Sol's mana clung to it unanimously. As I tried to pull my hand away, her internal mana tugged at mine, begging it not to leave, to stay and soothe it a little longer. I finally managed to shake it off and catch my breath.
When I finished, about an hour had passed. I had intended to finish quickly, but I ended up taking longer than expected by meticulously checking everything and even boosting her vitality. I didn't sense any particular presence outside the room. It seemed everyone was fast asleep. I raised both hands, stretched fully, and then slumped down into a sitting position. Since there was nothing else to do, it was probably best to get some shut-eye, even if just for a little while.
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I'm not sure how much time passed. I opened my eyes at the sense of someone opening the door and entering the room. Pitch-black darkness had settled around me. I turned my head to see the silhouette of a well-built person peek in, our eyes meeting directly. Lee Yu-jeong had short hair, and Kim Han-byeol's straight hair reached her shoulders. Since it was neither of them, it had to be An Hyeon.
“You must be tired today. You can sleep more.”
I greeted him in a calm voice, but he didn't answer for a while. I could only see him staring at me blankly. After a minute of silence, I saw An Hyeon's lips slowly part.
“No, it's fine. I was so worried I couldn't sleep well anyway. Hyeong, how is Sol?”
“She's much better. Enough that she should be able to wake up tomorrow. You don't have to worry so much.”
“Really? That's a relief. Um, Hyeong, then...”
I could feel him hesitating, which was unlike him. But I waited calmly for him to speak. For some reason, I felt that's what I should do right now. And An Hyeon spoke up right away.
“Hyeong. There's something I want to talk to you about. But it's difficult to do it here.”
“Anytime. Shall we go to the rooftop?”
“Yes.”
It seemed An Hyeon hadn't gotten much sleep either. His mind was likely a jumble of thoughts, complicated by An Sol's situation. Reading the sincerity in his voice, I immediately got up.
In the living room, Lee Yu-jeong was asleep, hugging her bedding tightly. Kim Han-byeol was nowhere to be seen, likely sleeping in another room. Careful not to wake them, I unlocked the door, and quietly went up to the rooftop with An Hyeon.
Standing on the rooftop, breathing in the cold air carried by the night wind, my head felt clearer. We stood there in silence for a moment, looking at the pitch-black city before us. An Hyeon was the first to speak.
“Hyeong. This city is so quiet.”
“It is. Suspiciously quiet. But we can't let our guard down.”
At my words, An Hyeon's expression turned lonely, then he gave a self-deprecating smile. I could roughly guess what that look meant, but for now, I had no choice but to wait for him to open up.
“When I look at you, Hyeong, you seem truly amazing.”
“What are you talking about? We're all human. There's nothing amazing about me.”
“No, that's not it. That's not what I mean.”
An Hyeon denied it three times in a row, shaking his head. His face was full of turmoil, and I could also see a hint of helplessness. It wasn't that I didn't understand how he felt, but it was still vague, so I kept quiet, intending to hear more.
“After you left today, Hyeong, I had a lot of thoughts. When you were with us, I felt like we all got along really well. Maybe you didn't feel the same, but I truly believed that if the five of us worked together, we could escape this place.”
“I think so too.”
“Yes. But I was wrong. You told me to take good care of the others, Hyeong. But I couldn't lead them well. We were taken down by strange things, and even Sol ended up in danger. And you must have noticed something was off with Yu-jeong and Han-byeol today, right? They fought. Over whether to go rescue you or not.”
An Hyeon's face became pained as he spoke at length. But he didn't stop talking.
“But what I really hated... was that I couldn't make any choice at that moment. I couldn't even stop them. All I could manage to say, as if pushed into it, was, 'I'll go.' That's all it was—being forced to step up. My chest felt so tight.”
“...”
“If you hadn't been here, Hyeong, I'd probably still be thinking like this. What about tomorrow? Can I do well? I struggled with this pressure so much that I even thought about just wanting to die.”
“An Hyeon.”
I spoke his name to stop him from getting more emotional, but he shook his head vigorously again. It was a sign he still had more to say.
“But then you appeared, Hyeong. Like a miracle. Do you know what I felt the moment I saw you? Gratitude? No. Guilt? No. It was relief. I thought, 'Hyeong will figure something out. I can trust Hyeong.' And it's true, isn't it? As soon as you came, the atmosphere improved, and Sol's condition got better. You're always so calm and composed. You feel... unshakable? You seem different from the rest of us. I don't know what it is, but there's definitely something different about you.”
An Hyeon's last words made my stomach lurch for a second, but I managed to maintain a calm expression. Seeing Hyeon hang his head as if he'd said all he needed to, I spoke in a quiet voice.
“Can I say something, then? It won't take long.”
“It can be long. I'm listening.”
Seeing him answer with a relieved voice, I smiled faintly. Then I slowly approached and placed a hand on his head. An Hyeon looked up at me with a surprised expression.
“It's okay to want to rely on someone, and it's okay to feel this pressure. In fact, I think it's a relief.”
“A relief?”
“Think about it. How were we in the forest? It's not like you were some troublemaker trying to do everything on your own. You didn't oppress anyone either. I would give a general opinion, then Yu-jeong and Han-byeol would carefully examine it and add their own thoughts. Then you and I would gather those opinions and choose what we thought was the best path.”
“...”
“We're all helping you. It's natural to feel pressure, but you don't have to carry it all by yourself. Even if things go wrong, I believe it's our shared responsibility, not yours alone.”
“But...”
An Hyeon tried to say something, but this time, I raised my hand to stop him. Understanding my signal, An Hyeon closed the mouth he was about to open.
“You might see me as amazing, but conversely, I think you're amazing too. You brought your timid sister this far, and you always act swiftly and decisively. Just as An Sol relies on you, it's okay for you to want to rely on me. And maybe I, Yu-jeong, and Han-byeol rely on you and An Sol in some ways, too. 'The five of us will escape this place together.' Those were your first words to me. But what you said after that was quite contradictory. There's nothing wrong with relying on each other.”
I meant to keep it short, but I ended up saying more than I planned. But I couldn't stop now, so I decided to add one last thing.
“We'll share the burden you're carrying. So, just do what you can do. That's more than enough.”
“What I can do...”
“Yes. What you can do. You don't have to worry about the rest, right? Because the rest of us will help you with all our strength.”
I felt the night breeze as I watched An Hyeon slowly mull over my words. For some reason, the night wind felt particularly gentle today, almost ticklish as it rustled by. After enough time to drink a cup of tea had passed, An Hyeon lifted his bowed head. His eyes were no longer the unstable ones from when we came up to the rooftop, but the deep, heavy ones I saw when we first met. And a look of relief appeared on his face, as if he had eased some of the worries in his heart.