Jaehee thought he would fall asleep the moment his head touched the ground because he was so tired, but once he lay down, he couldn’t sleep. It was because Jeongwoo had pulled Jaehee into his arms and closed his eyes just like that.
Jaehee kept his eyes closed for a while, then quietly opened them.
Jeongwoo’s chest was right before his nose. Over Jeongwoo’s gray knit sweater with nothing underneath, he could feel not only Jeongwoo’s body temperature and scent but also the firm muscles of his chest. Far from sleeping, his heart was pounding so hard his head hurt.
Damn it. He’s supposed to sleep like this? What kind of new torture is this?
In truth, he could just push Jeongwoo away, but he didn’t want to. Making an excuse that even he found embarrassing—that the room was small—Jaehee took a deep breath.
Jeongwoo’s scent filled his body. That made him feel somehow embarrassed, and Jaehee’s face reddened.
Suddenly, imagining two large men embracing in a room as cramped as a box felt both funny and embarrassing.
The knit Jeongwoo was wearing smelled the same as his own. It was natural since they lived in the same house, but once he became aware of it, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The kiss with Jeongwoo that he had deliberately avoided thinking about came to mind. His mouth went dry. Jaehee quietly opened his eyes and slowly looked up. He could see Jeongwoo’s face with his eyes closed. Had Jeongwoo fallen asleep in this situation? Thinking that he was sleeping alone after waking up Jaehee made him feel momentarily upset. But on the other hand, he wondered if he had been that tired.
Last night, Jaehee had to just watch Jeongwoo fight from inside the office. It would have been nice if he could at least see clearly through a screen, but only seeing red flames flashing in the darkness made him feel like his insides were burning. He thought that level of ordeal was nothing to Jeongwoo, and that going himself might have just been a hindrance, yet he was still upset that he couldn’t be there with him.
Jaehee carefully examined Jeongwoo’s face.
He really was handsome. Looking at Jeongwoo’s face anew made him sigh in admiration. He thought it was a face he always saw, but lately, Jeongwoo seemed to be getting more handsome. The somewhat serious and melancholic atmosphere that didn’t match his age also played a part. Like a handsome man with a past, perhaps. One of the big reasons Eternal Guild was getting attention was also because of Jeongwoo. He had heard that a fan cafe for Jeongwoo had already been created on the internet.
Seeing Jeongwoo gain such popularity gave him strange feelings. Along with thinking he was indeed impressive, he also felt jealous. But that jealousy wasn’t about Jeongwoo’s popularity—it was jealousy toward those approaching Jeongwoo.
Realizing that surprised him.
Since when had he developed such possessiveness over Jeongwoo? He had clearly thought that just watching was enough.
Looking back now, he had been quite a gloomy person. After his parents’ divorce, thinking he had been abandoned made him twisted and dark. He had no room to accept others’ goodwill. No matter how kindly his stepmother treated him, he felt uncomfortable thinking it was all pretense.
The feeling of liking someone was the same. It was clearly his own emotion, but he didn’t want to be happy. What a ridiculous thing to say. That he didn’t want to be happy himself.
Perhaps at that time, he thought he shouldn’t be happy. So even if he liked someone, to avoid becoming happy from it, he thought it was enough to hide his feelings and just watch.
But now… when he looked at Jeongwoo, he wanted to make him happy. It was ironic and funny that a person who didn’t even wish for his own happiness had become so desperate for someone else’s happiness.
What surprised him more was that this change wasn’t that long ago.
“Even if your head is complicated, close your eyes for now. No matter how many potions you drink, they don’t completely eliminate fatigue.”
“What, hey… you weren’t asleep?”
He flinched at the voice of Jeongwoo, whom he thought was sleeping. Jeongwoo stroked the back of Jaehee’s head with his large hand. Jaehee bit his lower lip.
“What are you thinking so much about in that tiny head of yours that you can’t sleep? I won’t tease you even if you snore, so hurry up and sleep. We can’t even sleep for a few hours anyway.”
“Then why aren’t you sleeping?”
While pouting his lips, Jaehee closed his eyes. The back of his head that Jeongwoo was stroking felt ticklish.
He felt embarrassed and annoyed, as if he was the only one getting heated up and anxious.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. With your skill level, you’re in the top class even among current Awakened Ones. Even if some amateurs come at you, you’ll beat them all.”
“Me…?”
“Using poison and such is the most troublesome…”
“Huh? Poison, that time…”
“Yeah, you took Moon’s Grace. So there’s nothing to worry about. Would I ever let you get hurt? Come on, sleep now. Your stepmother and Iyeong will come soon. When Kaengkaeng starts running around too, it’ll be chaotic. I’m getting sleepy now too. I need to sleep.”
Jeongwoo spoke slowly while gently stroking Jaehee’s head with his large hand. Jaehee grumbled internally that he still couldn’t sleep, but before long, he fell asleep as if by magic.
Jeongwoo didn’t move while holding Jaehee tightly until Jaehee’s breathing deepened, and only after a long while did he finally get up.
Jeongwoo gazed at the sleeping face for a while.
In the past too, Jaehee had top-tier skills. He had good sense for combat and knew how to utilize various weapons. Since he mainly used his familiar bow, sometimes things would attack thinking Jaehee was weak in close combat, but they would get thoroughly beaten each time. In fact, Jaehee was quite strong in close combat too. So he had foolishly let his guard down. He didn’t think anyone could dare harm Jaehee. As a result, Jaehee was poisoned and closed his eyes.
That was also why he had bought Moon’s Grace and made Jaehee take it as soon as they finished the tutorial.
Poisoning was a good card to play when someone was off guard. But as long as one is human, no matter how careful and cautious, there will inevitably be moments of carelessness.
Jeongwoo quietly left the room and looked at Jaehee once more.
This time, no matter what happened, under any circumstances, he would not lose Jaehee. One such experience was enough.
* * *
Meetings continued endlessly in the office. It wasn’t because opinions clashed or there were unnecessary procedures. It was because there was too much work.
Section Chief Yongtae Lim from the Management Bureau had said he would visit before nightfall but ended up not being able to come. The Management Bureau was already suffering from chronic manpower shortage, and this incident must have been close to a disaster.
“Huh? Vice Guild Master, it seems Guild Sahae has submitted an official notice.”
“An official notice? Put it on screen for now.”
Once Jaehee fell asleep, he didn’t wake easily. Jeongwoo intended to let Jaehee rest more until nightfall, so he didn’t wake him and was receiving reports and handling matters himself.
“Wait, Yumi-ssi! Guild Sahae submitted some official notice, so please come over here. Did Section Chief Lim contact you separately by any chance?”
“Ah, no. He didn’t contact me separately…”
[A Declaration to the Nation]
Guild Sahae takes pride in having done its best to protect citizens’ safety and the rights and interests of Awakened Ones with a sense of mission as the nation’s largest Awakened guild.
Always prioritizing the nation of the Republic of Korea over personal interests or the guild’s position, we have always taken the lead in the Management Bureau’s requisition of Awakened Ones and have worked tirelessly day and night under the banner of fairness and justice.
The reason we quietly did this without publicizing or boasting about it was because we believed sincerity would be understood, and we considered protecting the safety of the nation’s citizens our rightful duty.
Last night, we suffered the pain of seeing all of Guild Sahae’s efforts come to nothing.
We believed all Awakened Ones were doing their best to protect our neighbors with one heart and one mind, but that trust was cruelly betrayed.
During the eve festival of the Night of the Dead mission, Guild Sahae was attacked.
At the moment when Guild Sahae was most focused on the nation’s safety, they attacked the Guild Sahae Master.
Since this Night of the Dead is a mission where the existence of the King is most important, we consider the attack on the Guild Sahae Master as an attack on all of Guild Sahae.
We will not speak at length.
Guild Sahae declares war on Eternal Guild, which orchestrated this incident.
“Fuck. What kind of bullshit is this!”
