Free Web NovelDo Yehyun’s brows furrowed slightly as he looked at me.
“...It’s not that you don’t want me to worry. You just don’t want the hassle, right?”
Unnecessarily sharp.
Instead of answering a comment that was too on point, I just blinked. That was when Do Yehyun’s hand moved back toward my cheek.
'He’s picked up a weird habit.'
I almost pulled away from that hand that always tried to touch my face, but changed my mind and let it be. Noticing I didn’t avoid it, Do Yehyun slowly brushed my cheek with his fingers. The faint, grazing touch was ticklish.
“Is there any chance it’ll be dangerous later?”
“Well. This trip I’m leaving for is to try to solve that very problem.”
“And when you come back, things will be safe? You’re not lying about that, right?”
“When have I ever lied?”
“...You lie a lot. All the time.”
Do Yehyun spouted nonsense, moving the hand from my cheek to push the hair from my forehead back. At first he at least acted hesitant, but now he didn’t even bother.
“How about you stop touching me?”
“Will you promise not to do anything dangerous there?”
He completely ignored my suggestion and threw out another question right away. freёweɓnovel.com
“If you cause trouble in another country, you’ll probably get arrested, right?”
“If it all turns out safe... then I’ll keep the secret too.”
“...Thanks?”
I tossed out the gratitude half-heartedly, and his eyes dropped again.
'Feels like I’ve been scolded enough already.'
“Do I need to explain more?”
“......”
The question was basically, Can I go now? But instead of answering, Do Yehyun just stared at me. Then, after a stretch of silence, he asked something strange instead.
“Do you... have any desire to die?”
...What the hell is this? A threat?
Do Yehyun’s habit of chopping off both ends of his sentences always made his words come off weird. I frowned and pushed his hand away again.
“No. I really, seriously want to live. I’m pretty sure I said something like that just recently too.”
Even though I knocked his hand aside, it hovered in the air for a moment before falling limply. His expression twisted into something complicated, like he was deep in thought.
“I tried to understand you from a normal point of view...”
“......”
“But I don’t think you’re someone who can be understood like that.”
“...That’s random.”
Well, if I explained my behavior using completely normal logic and he still couldn’t get it, then the problem obviously lay with him, not me.
Do Yehyun lowered his gaze to the floor and murmured quietly.
“...Still, I’m glad you didn’t die today.”
“Right.”
“And the fact that I’m the only one who knows the secret... I like that too.”
That’s nonsense.
“Even though I found it out.”
“I like you, after all.”
So he wants exclusive rights to the secret? Well, yeah, Do Yehyun’s always been into things like that.
Still, it had been a long time since the topic of him liking me had come up.
'I thought he’d sorted out his feelings on his own. Guess not. Bringing it up again now means his heart shifted again already?'
“I know.”
When I replied lightly, Do Yehyun opened his mouth like he had more to say.
“If I keep liking you... would you hate it?”
Why would I? I considered his question, then met his eyes and grinned.
“No.”
“......”
“You said yourself you don’t expect anything, right? Then why would I hate it?”
“......”
“If you like me, you’ll stay by my side. Worry like this... get restless, show up when I need you.”
Honestly, listing it out, it was nothing but positives. The only flaw was—
'The risk that his feelings could flip someday.'
Other than that, it didn’t matter. In fact, it was much more advantageous for me than some pointless contract.
“But if you suddenly stop liking me, then I’d hate it. I’d have to start worrying about how you might turn on me.”
“......”
“So if you’re going to like me, then keep liking me.”
Do Yehyun stood there blank-faced, then ran a hand down his face. Well, if he’s going to like me anyway, it’s better if he doesn’t stop halfway. I let the smile fall and said seriously:
“I’ll treat you well.”
I mean, I already do. Food, shelter, even awakening his ability—pretty damn good guardian, if you ask me.
But Do Yehyun just smiled like I’d cracked a joke.
“Every time you say things like that... I get bad thoughts.”
“That’s weird...”
“That’s my line.”
He said that and then climbed onto the bed, pressing his knees down. He didn’t sit beside me, but angled himself like he was about to straddle my thigh.
“...Planning to sit on my lap?”
I grabbed his waist with one hand, and felt his whole body flinch. Instead of actually putting weight on me, he just stopped close, head lowered.
“...I’m glad I can heal you.”
“I think so too.”
“Since you’ll only need me when you’re hurt...”
He paused, carefully gripping my shoulders. I waited a moment, then prompted him first.
“You want me to get hurt?”
“......”
“Didn’t you just say not to die?”
“...Don’t get hurt either.”
“Okay.”
I nodded at the blessing. Still, this posture was pretty damn awkward.
“So what exactly are you doing? If you came up to sit, then sit. My neck hurts.”
Because of the way he propped himself on his knees, I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. When I moved the hand from his waist down to hold his thigh, his brows twitched.
“Why did you climb up here?”
“You’re going to China with Seowon in a few days, aren’t you?”
“You going to keep answering sideways?”
“I want to go too.”
“Mm, I don’t have the pull to get you in.”
“...Then next time, will you go with me instead?”
Would there even be a reason to go abroad with just him? For now my goal was not leaving Korea at all.
“If it’s domestic, sure.”
“...I meant just the two of us.”
“That’s what I meant too.”
“......”
Anyway, we’d been talking about him liking me, and now the subject had shifted again.
“So are you going to keep liking me?”
Do Yehyun just blinked without expression. Surprisingly, he wasn’t someone who smiled much. Add in his natural sharp looks, and moments like this felt downright chilly.
“...Can I sleep here tonight?”
At last, an answer—but in question form.
“If you sleep here, will you keep liking me?”
“Yes.”
“You think you’ll dream about what we saw in the dungeon?”
“No. That kind of stuff doesn’t scare me.”
“Then you just want to sleep next to me?”
“Yes.”
Pretty honest. Well, Do ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Yehyun wasn’t good at hiding things, expressions or not. Not like he had anything to hide from me anyway.
'And every time we brush against death in a dungeon, he gets like this.'
I agreed easily to what wasn’t even much of a condition.
“Fine.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. Go wash up. I’ll wait.”
“......”
Sleeping together wasn’t hard. The only issue would be my sleep quality going down, but one night was manageable.
I grabbed his thigh and stood up from the bed. He quickly clutched my shoulder to keep from falling backward, then I set him down on the floor and gestured toward the bathroom.
“Go on.”
“I’ll be quick.”
“Take your time.”
Once I saw him head into the bathroom, I stepped out of his room to change into sleepwear myself.
After changing, I came back out and spotted Joo Seowon standing awkwardly in the hall.
'Smells like smoke.'
I didn’t care if he smoked, but sometimes the smell grated. He flinched when he saw me, then stepped back.
“What?”
“...I just had a cigarette.”
“I know. You reek.”
“I tried to get the smell off.”
“Why don’t you just quit while you’re at it?”
I shot back firmly, and he coughed before lowering his voice.
“When you and Do Yehyun went to the dungeon today... something happened? I overheard someone in the kitchen say the report got mixed up.”
“Nothing major. Turns out it was already resolved.”
“Well, that’s a relief...”
He nodded, then gave me a puzzled look, eyes flicking over me.
“...Wait. You’re going to bed?”
“Yeah. In Do Yehyun’s room.”
“...What? Why?”
“He asked me to.”
I just stated the facts plainly, but Seowon’s expression turned odd. He tilted his chin and stepped toward me, then stopped short.
“Hey, the smoke—”
“Forget it. Just say what you want.”
“You’re sleeping in Do Yehyun’s room? You’re not the type to be that... nice.”
I had no clue what kind of crap he was about to spew. I frowned.
“Seowon. Who’s more considerate than me, huh?”
“......”
“If that’s all, I’m going. Sleep well.”
I patted his shoulder lightly, and his eyes followed me. As I moved to pass, he suddenly grabbed my wrist tight.
“Hey, listen.”
“What now?”
“...About Do Yehyun.”
I turned back to meet his gaze, and he raked a hand through his hair, hesitating.
“Isn’t he... a little too dependent on you?”
“On me?”
“Yeah. He’s twenty-one. An adult. And, look, I hate to say it, but with what he’s been through, shouldn’t he have some independence? If things like today keep happening...”
“Keep going.”
“...You might need to be careful.”
Careful of what, exactly? That he’s dependent?
I glanced at him, then at the hand gripping my wrist.
“What do I need to be careful of? It’s not like I plan to make him independent. Losing a healer would be a damn waste.”
“That’s not what I mean—”
“Seowon.”
When I said his name quietly, his eyes locked on mine. He was sharp, so maybe he’d already noticed what Do Yehyun was really thinking. Do Yehyun wasn’t even trying to hide it, after all.
But was it just Do Yehyun?
The longer I held his gaze, the more he wavered, eyes darting away. I followed that hesitation and smirked.
“You’ve got it twisted. I want Yehyun to rely on me.”
“......”
“You too.”
“......”
“You didn’t know?”
