Silence had settled over the greenhouse.
Elian, who had dozed off leaning against the window frame, found himself awake before he knew it. The man lying with his head in his lap was still fast asleep, his face peaceful.
The pale cheeks that had lost all color were now touched with a faint flush, and the deep furrow of pain that had creased his brow was smooth — as though it had never been there at all. Like a beast emerging from a long hibernation into the warmth of spring, Calix looked at peace.
…Why me, of all people?
The fundamental question surfaced without warning. Kim Jaehyeon — an ordinary civil engineer from South Korea. Why on earth had he possessed a nameless extra lord in this novel, of all things?
He traced the memories of his past life, still vivid and clear. The novel, The North’s Winter Never Ends. The sleepless nights he’d spent addicted to that brutally bleak and devastating romance.
But what had captured Jaehyeon’s heart was the side character. The tragic sub-male lead — Calix — who had been utterly ravaged by the female lead and tossed about by the malice of his creator, the author, never even granted the mercy of death.
Truth be told, Jaehyeon had always been a bit of an oddity among the readers. In a romance fantasy catered to women, he had been the sole male voice cheering passionately for Calix with every single chapter. He recalled the one time he had slipped up among the comments he habitually left.
[Calix, hang in there for real. If I were your hyung, I wouldn’t have let any of this slide.]
It had caused a small stir in the comment section back then.
[↳ Wait, are you a guy?? The way you wrote that really gave off real older brother vibes lol]
[↳ Even a guy thinks it’s too much, right? Save Calix ㅠㅠ]
[Author, please just let our Calix be happy. Let him breathe!]
[Just let him die then. No wait, give him to me instead. I’ll take him in.]
The whole thing had quickly blown over as a small incident. Even though thinking about Calix broke his heart, he couldn’t stop reading. He kept hoping that maybe, as the story progressed, Calix might find some happiness. But until the very end, that never happened.
The original novel had been wildly popular, drawing thousands of comments every day. Somewhere in that flood of voices, it had been him who had written: [I seriously want to install a boiler in the North for him.]
Readers’ comments were never just a string of words on a screen. Even if a character existed only within the pages of a story — the sincere, warm wish to truly empathize with them, love them, and hold them close.
Ah…
Elian’s gaze drifted to the System Window floating in midair. The reason even Eden, the original author, had been unable to delete this strange power. The reason everything connected to Calix had moved forward so seamlessly, as though everything had been prepared in advance.
It was because this System was not the creative work of a single author — it was a defensive mechanism born from the concentrated love of tens of thousands of readers who had watched over this world.
Right. I didn’t come here alone. They — we — sent me here.
But the question still lingered. He couldn’t have been the only reader who cared about Calix. Out of all those aspiring saviors, why had it been him?
“Why me?”
He muttered to himself without thinking, and the blue System Window flickered and crackled as new text appeared.
[System: Displaying summoning criteria.]
- Will to save the target (Calix): Highest — ‘S+’
- Possesses knowledge of ‘warmth (facilities/construction)’ that the target requires
- Decisive factor… Gender condition met: The sole ‘male’ reader (｡•̀ᴗ―)✧
“…What? Male?”
Elian’s eyes went wide.
[System: The majority of readers yearned to find Calix a ‘partner’ — so that he would be happy, so that he would not be alone. However, in order to shatter the tragic constraints of the original genre and open new possibilities, a ‘new story’ entirely beyond the author’s expectations was needed.]
[System: Congratulations. You are the chosen ‘Savior,’ unanimously selected from among 99.9% female readers.]
“Ha… that’s insane.”
Elian let out a hollow laugh of disbelief. So to summarize — all those devoted Calix fan-moms had been praying, “Please, just find our Grand Duke someone already!” — and it just so happened that the only male in the entire world who met those exacting conditions was him, and so he had been chosen.
I was… hand-picked by the Calix fan club?
It was absurd. But it didn’t feel bad. Whatever the reason, someone had wished so desperately for this man’s happiness, and he was standing here as the representative of those tens of thousands.
The readers’ proxy. The sole variable capable of tearing apart this unhappy narrative and rewriting it. That was who he was.
Elian gently smoothed back Calix’s tangled hair. The strands beneath his fingertips were cool and soft.
“Don’t worry. Calix, you don’t know it, but you’ve got thousands of people rooting for you. The support of your fan-sisters is stronger than anything — you better believe it. They’re the ones who sent me here, so they’ll keep helping us along.”
Elian glanced toward the System Window, and as if on cue, a message appeared.
[♪( ›◡‹ ) L E T ‘ S G O ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و]
A small smile crossed Elian’s lips at the sight — and then his gaze hardened with resolve. Right. The path ahead was clear now. It had always been this way, even in his past life. Whenever something moved his heart, he dove in headfirst and gave it everything he had.
This life — it’s you, Calix.
When I think about it, you’re the one who gave me a second life.
We’re going to save each other.
“If the author tries to kill you… then I’ll write a story that saves you, in my own way. A warm, healing story — of my domain, my people, and living alongside you.”
Elian’s declaration. It was a declaration of war against Eden — the author who wielded godlike power within this world — and at the same time, an answer to the countless souls who had sent him here.
* * *
What greeted Calix as he slowly opened his eyes in the pale light of dawn was an unfamiliar sensation. A body light as a feather. The refreshing absence of the cold that had weighed him down like iron his entire life — and the unpleasant buzzing hallucinations that had plagued his ears — was simply gone.
“You’re awake?”
He turned his head at the familiar voice. Elian was looking down at him, chin resting in his hand. He looked haggard beneath his eyes — as though he’d been catching fitful sleep in an uncomfortable position all night — but his gaze was warmer than morning sunlight.
“…It wasn’t a dream, then.”
Calix murmured in a hoarse voice.
“It would be a problem if it were. My legs are practically cramping from keeping watch over you all night.”
Elian grumbled as he kneaded his numb leg. At the sight, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Calix’s mouth. He wanted to pull him into a crushing embrace right then and there. To say thank you for coming, thank you for saving him even if he couldn’t quite remember it clearly, to beg forgiveness for having left without so much as an explanation.
But Calix’s hand faltered in midair. It was because of what had happened at the hot spring. The image of Elian freezing up in fear the moment he had let his desire show — it shackled him like iron chains around his wrists.
No. I can’t make him run again.
Calix forced down the surge of emotion and calmly, as though it were nothing, wrapped his fingers around Elian’s wrist.
“Thank you. I’ve… been in your debt again.”
“In my debt? I only did what needed to be done.”
Elian placed a hand on Calix’s shoulder, creating a small distance between them, and met his eyes with a serious expression.
“There’s something I need to say to you. It might come as a bit of a surprise.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll understand.”
“All right. I’m not a mage. The source of my power is… you.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. I have the ability to absorb mana through physical contact with you and convert it into objects or materials. The power that everyone else avoided as a curse — it’s my only source of energy.”
Elian paused for a moment. He chose his words carefully, afraid Calix might misunderstand and think he had been using him.
“Which means… you are, to me, the most precious and irreplaceable partner in the world.”
“Partner…”
Calix lowered his gaze and turned the word over quietly. Not a lover. A partner. A clear, deliberate line drawn in the sand. I’m by your side because I need you. Even so, to Calix, even that was more than enough.
If you need me — then I’ll gladly let you use me.
Calix’s eyes grew quietly, deeply serious.
“That I’m someone you need… I’m glad.”
“Y-yes, exactly. So going forward, you’ll need to keep cooperating with me.”
Elian swallowed dryly and got to the heart of the matter — the most important part. He had no idea what kind of counterattack Eden might launch now that the author had noticed the existence of a foreign element like him. He needed to be prepared. That meant building strength immediately and making the North safe. Time was running out, and he felt the urgency pressing in on him.
“There’s a bit of an… efficiency issue.”
“Efficiency?”
“Yes. The greater the area of contact, and the more intense it is, the stronger the power grows — exponentially. Holding hands is one thing, but an embrace is better, and more than that…”
Elian’s gaze traveled past Calix’s lips, coming to rest somewhere below his abdomen.
“Anything beyond that is… considerably more efficient.”
Calix’s crimson eyes wavered with something he could no longer contain. He understood immediately what Elian was implying. But he couldn’t rush in recklessly. Was this a business proposal — or an expression of feeling?
If I throw myself at him like an animal right now, will you panic and run from me again?
“…Do whatever you want.”
Calix let the tension drain from his body, leaned back against the window frame, and held Elian’s gaze.
“Pardon?”
“If my body… is of use to you, then do with it as you please. Whatever you need.”
Gulp. Elian’s throat moved involuntarily. That enormous man was looking up at him — arms folded behind his back, completely defenseless, as if trying to prove just how harmless he was. A breathtakingly handsome man with the kind of body Elian had never encountered even once in his past life — his ideal, made flesh.
I — I’m a man too, you know.
He was doing his best not to let it show. But looking at those faintly reddened cheeks and the slightly parted legs — something inside him ignited like a flame catching. Elian swallowed once, and opened his mouth.
“Then… I won’t waste the opportunity you’ve given me.”
