Jaehwi didn’t say anything. He just stared at the large eyes looking at him while sitting on the bench. Clearly it was Raon who shook their relationship, acted selfishly, and made things difficult and complicated, yet all of this felt like his own fault.
With his lips firmly pressed together, Jaehwi tossed the jacket he was wearing onto Raon’s lap as he made a hurt expression, and turned around. His fingertips were too cold to turn around coldly. His face paler than usual, his slightly chapped lips, even his unstable breathing—everything held onto his feet, but what he had to do was keep his distance from him.
“Min Jaehwi.”
Even at Raon’s call, Jaehwi didn’t turn around.
“Why are you giving me this!”
As much as he walked, distance formed between him and Raon.
“Hey!”
He felt Raon, who had been yelling angrily, shrink with a groan as if feeling pain again, but Jaehwi, who had his teeth clenched, didn’t stop walking or turn around.
He didn’t want to recall ever again the fear he felt the moment he saw Raon collapsed covered in blood on the sandy beach inside the dungeon. Holding his limp body and hearing the groans expressing pain even while unconscious with rough breathing, what he faced the moment they escaped the dungeon was Choi Hyukjin and several Center staff members.
They moved to the Center as they were, and while Raon received treatment, all he could do was wait and watch. Contacting Jay and stopping Hyukjin’s action of trying to notify Raon’s family was quite an impulsive action.
With words that they entered the dungeon together and that he failed to protect him. So with words that he wanted to take responsibility and care for Raon, he was able to bring him to his house.
Ironically, Raon was in pain, but his own pain was decreasing. Just being in the same space made the sensations that had been raging roughly settle down calmly. Without sleeping or eating, he stayed by the side of the sleeping Raon.
Bbobbo also curled up its body next to Raon’s pillow and lay down, falling into a long sleep. Had there ever been such a peaceful, languid, and cozy moment in his life? He even hoped that moment would last forever. Because when Raon opened his eyes, another pointless squabble would begin.
He was the one who should be begging and pleading to please become his Guide, to please form a bond.
‘I was really in pain. I’m still in pain now. The bandages are wrapped tightly, and I took painkillers too. But when I see you, it doesn’t hurt. Is it the same for you?’
He wanted to answer honestly to Raon’s question from earlier.
That just thinking of him alleviates the pain. From the moment he approached his side as he crouched trembling in pain and fear, lowered himself and met his eyes, Raon became the goal of his life.
Even at this moment leaving the garden with Raon behind his back, Jaehwi wanted to return to him. He wanted to sit below him sitting on the bench and lean against his legs. Then cold fingertips would caress his head. Knowing that he dislikes it, Raon would subtly put energy into his hands, and he would appropriately pretend not to know and enjoy the moment when his energy spread throughout his entire body.
That he dislikes his energy? Watching Raon’s eyes droop at his shameless lie, Jaehwi sneered at himself inwardly to his heart’s content. It was Raon who got hurt by words and actions different from his vile, insidious, and dirty instincts.
While bringing up grades at his words about wanting to become a Guide, disparaging and ignoring his guiding abilities, he secretly sought out Raon. Sitting in the empty hallway in front of his office, he felt him beyond the wall. His breathing among the small noises made while working, his talking to himself, even his appearance concentrating on work. If he secretly stole glances like that, his energy would come find him.
It was much better to be by his side like that than receiving guiding from five or six high-grade Guides. On days when he couldn’t go find Raon, Bbobbo would come find him. As if doing a barter exchange, Bbobbo would give him his energy it brought and receive ore.
It was all his greed that he couldn’t refuse Bbobbo, who shamelessly did such cunning things even when Raon was right in front of him.
He wanted to place Raon in a space no one else could see. Just as he does, he wished Raon would live only for him. For his eyes to follow only him, for his hands to caress only him, for his languid voice to be heard only by him. For Raon’s world to be filled entirely with only him.
For that, Raon was freedom itself.
It would have been better not to know.
It would have been better not to have met him 10 years ago.
It would have been better not to have held him before regression.
But knowing all of that, Jaehwi’s present was no different from wandering an endless abyss. He knew how sweet his lips were, how much that usually cold body would heat up. He already knew how warm, clear, and thrilling his energy was that reached out toward him, spoke affectionate words, and melted softly into his body.
Knowing the taste of heaven made accepting other people’s guiding even more disgusting.
Should he say it felt like being forced to eat bread full of mold that was so hard it scraped all the tender flesh inside his withered mouth and had no taste at all, just to survive?
He had to push away him endlessly approaching and protect his life.
He realized once again while meeting Raon’s mother who appeared with Jay. How different he and Raon were.
She didn’t press him or speak harsh words.
She simply asked about the course of events. At his words that they accompanied each other to the dungeon and that he failed to properly protect Raon because he was paying attention to other things, she only let out a short sigh.
‘Whatever the circumstances were. I’m not sure if he got hurt like this because of you or if it’s fortunate that he was only hurt this much because of you, but anyway, thank you for taking care of him. I’ll take our child back now. Jay. Carefully lift Raon.’
That was the last thing she said. And during that conversation, she didn’t look at him. With eyes full of worry, she only looked at the sleeping Raon.
For a week, he ignored all the contacts that came frequently.
Because being swayed by him was due to his inability to gather his heart completely. If he heard his voice, he would want to run to him again, and if he saw him, the heart he had barely suppressed would have its latch smoothly released.
Didn’t he do so even now?
Was it Park Hajun? He said his profession was doctor.
He’s probably the right person for him. Born into a similar household, having much from birth, and probably having walked an elite course. The person Jay mentioned in his past life.
The person who, if there were no special problems, would naturally stay by Raon’s side.
At the same time he left the garden at a speed neither too fast nor too slow, Bbobbo appeared.
“Sswuu?”
At the same time it approached his side, he took out the ore he had in his pocket and gave it at Raon’s energy it brought. And Jaehwi, who placed Raon’s energy Bbobbo brought on his palm, slowly inhaled then exhaled even more slowly. The energy that had been round and large enough to fill Jaehwi’s entire palm gradually diminished and seeped into his body. His lips rose crookedly at the pain that subsided along with the energy spreading throughout his body through his blood vessels.
The secrets Raon doesn’t know will gradually increase.
Because he would manipulate the compatibility test results with him that could show even more than a perfect match, just like before.
“Bbobbo.”
Jaehwi called Bbobbo, who was flying in sync with his footsteps.
“Ppik.”
“Can you stay well by Raon’s side?”
“Ppik.”
“Can you follow him to dungeons, build your abilities, and protect him too?”
“Ppik!”
At the louder and more confident answer than before, Jaehwi smiled faintly. When entering dungeons and meeting monsters with higher grades than itself, even while trembling in fear, was the reason it always attacked once really to build its abilities?
“Eat ore in moderation. Don’t be picky with ore. Honestly, it’s not like you’re struggling because you don’t eat ore for a few months. You fully recover your condition just by entering an ore dungeon once and coming out.”
“…….”
“Not answering?”
“Sswik!”
“Even without me, follow A Team and raise your ability stats. Cooperate a bit with Team Leader Choi’s research too.”
Bbobbo, which had been flying around in circles, came in front of his face, stared at his face intently, and started flying backward. It tilted its head conveying the meaning that it wanted more explanation of what he just said, but Jaehwi closed his mouth.
He intended to perfectly succeed this time in what he failed at last time. But there was no need to tell all of that.
“If you’re done with your business, go back to Raon. Stop bringing energy now too. Why do things you’re not told to do? I give you ore plenty even if you don’t bring energy.”
As if it didn’t like his words, Bbobbo openly turned its body, smacked his cheek with its tail, and quickly left as if running away. Watching this, Jaehwi shook his head. In this world, the only ones who disregarded him so much were Bbobbo and its owner.
