The sound of birdsong circled my ears as I opened my eyes to the warm sunlight greeting me. It felt like morning. As I reached for my phone to check the time, a resounding dong-dong interrupted my movement. It was the bell announcing noon.
Despite having slept from evening to lunch, I still felt exhausted. Blinking my eyes in a daze, I scanned the room, only to see Hamin. As I was about to check the time on my phone, he diverted my attention. His purple eyes stared at me, and I sat up.
"Where are the others?"
"Getting food. I woke you up, but you said you didn't want to eat."
"I did?"
"Yeah. Said you looked tired, so I let it slide this time."
"Mm."
I must have said that half-asleep. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I didn't feel regret. Quietly petting Pia, who was in my arms, Hamin put down the phone he had in his hand.
"Kang Sihyun."
"What?"
"Do you really have no memories?"
"I told you everything yesterday."
"I do."
"Huh?"
"I have memories."
"Really?"
"I remember seeing a massive door with you. You mentioned it, right?"
"Yeah."
"There were strange characters written on that door. Not English or Arabic, but some weird script, kind of like Latin... Hah."
As Hamin spoke, he furrowed his brows, then roughly ruffled his hair. Wondering if he was trying to explain something in detail, I suggested we move on, but he slowly licked his lips in contemplation, his tangled hair finally settling as he arranged it.
"...Anyway, both you and I saw those strange characters on the door. You didn't seem to know what they were, but suddenly you started reading them."
"What?"
"'For mother.'"
For a moment, my head seemed to echo with a sound. Narrowing his eyes at me, Sihyun continued to look at Hamin as if urging him to go on.
Whether it was my worried expression or not, his purple gaze shifted from Pia to my forehead, piercing through the hand about to touch her. The rising hand reached Pia.
"So, after reading it, what happened?"
"I collapsed."
"And then?"
"The door opened."
"What?"
I thought he would explain how we got out of that space, but Hamin abruptly answered that the door opened. There was only one door he mentioned, so I straightened my bent waist. The distance between the beds narrowed, and our two pupils met precisely.
"You went in?"
"Yeah."
"What was inside?"
"A wall covered in similar characters to those on the door. And bones."
"Bones?"
"There was a huge bone. Didn't look human. Considering the size and thickness, probably..."
As Hamin squinted his eyes, seemingly trying to gauge the size of it in his memory, his words trailed off. Unable to find an accurate comparison, Sihyun ventured a guess.
"About the size of an Orc Lord?"
"...Yeah."
He raised his head after a moment of hesitation. Since it was a location found in the Orc Stronghold, it might be a lord, he thought, and his casual remark seemed to hit the mark. Sihyun tried to piece together Hamin's words, floating like puzzle pieces. Passing through a corridor with murals, they descended stairs to find a massive door. Hamin could read the strange characters written on it, and as he read, the door opened to reveal what seemed to be the bones of an Orc Lord. Sorting through the information, confusion lingered. First of all, he couldn't fathom how he was able to read those inscriptions.
Maybe it's related to my possession.
He couldn't be certain of any connection, but he couldn't conclusively say there wasn't. Meeting Kang Sihyun might shed some light on it. However, it wasn't as if he could easily meet him, even if he wanted to. His thoughts became entangled in a fleeting moment.
"...I think those bones might be from a previous Orc Lord."
"Previous?"
"Yeah. They say when a lord dies, a new one is chosen. Since the bones you saw seemed similar to an Orc Lord's, they're probably from a previous one. But there are too many questions. What is that place we saw, and what does the mural mean? I don't understand how I could read those strange characters you mentioned."
If he indeed read the inscription, Hamin wondered if he could also read the writing inside the door. If so, they needed to revisit the Orc Stronghold. Even if he didn't know what it meant, there seemed to be no harm in reading it. Somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that the place in the Orc Stronghold was important.
The more he thought, the more complex Sihyun's head became, and he furrowed his brow.
"Why did you decide to tell me this now? Why keep it a secret from the teachers again?"
If he had mentioned it in the infirmary, there would have been more heads to put together. Considering the magnitude of the issue, it seemed too significant for just the two of them to ponder. Pressing for an explanation, Sihyun noticed Hamin's face contorting uncomfortably.
"You're about to collapse even with the slightest strain. After fainting from reading that strange writing, why tell me this story? What if you faint again?"
"...."
"If you accidentally spill the beans to the teachers and they find out you're doing something dangerous with me, what will happen? I've been agonizing over whether or not to tell you this. If I tell you, you might say something like you're going to the Orc Stronghold. Isn't that right?"
It hit the mark. Although he had always thought he saw through Hamin, this time it felt like Hamin saw through him. Hamin sighed, looking somewhat frustrated.
"Who do you think you are, becoming some kind of hero? Do you even know how much you've changed lately?"
Changed. The words made Sihyun involuntarily flinch. Hamin's face briefly surfaced in his mind, then disappeared. Sihyun's hand scratched his neck.
"Until the placement test, you were avoiding troublesome things. Why are you suddenly overflowing with a sense of duty now? It's like someone told you to save the world. Every chance you get, you faint, you overextend yourself. Why are you so fragile and complicated? You're not made of glass, so what's so difficult for you? Do it in moderation."
Sharp words poured out incessantly. They seemed reasonable at first, but as he continued to listen, it sounded more like a venting session. By now, Sihyun's expression had hardened in response to the increasingly irritable tone.
"What does that have to do with you?"
"Huh?"
"It's annoying when you act like you know everything. You knew I was in a precarious situation lately, right?"
"Yes."
"I admit I've been through some dangerous situations recently. But why does that concern you? Frankly, it doesn't seem like something I need to tell you to this extent."
"...."
Hamin fell silent. The static that had pervaded the atmosphere seemed to cool down the heated tension. Only now did Sihyun realize that he might have been a bit too harsh. Hamin, lying on the bed, conveyed his reluctance to continue the conversation by pulling the blanket over his head. It was clear that he didn't want to talk anymore. Hamin's final words lingered in Sihyun's ears.
Anyway, Hamin was worried about him. Despite the somewhat abrasive words, that fact didn't fade away. It felt like being scolded by someone who had been holding back their stress. It was like getting scolded by an upset sibling.
I guess he's just venting after a rough day.
Anyone could see that Sihyun had made a mistake. He recalled Hamin's words about him not treating him like a friend. Suddenly, he thought of Yuseowoo's words, wondering if he had treated him like a friend at all. Feeling a bit agitated, Sihyun ruffled his hair.
Come to think of it, I didn't ask back then.
When they were separated from Hamin in the Orc Stronghold, he had intended to inquire about his brother but ultimately didn't. Perhaps Hamin's reaction was related to his brother. In other words, it could be connected to Hahyeok. However, the thought only briefly surfaced and disappeared. It was due to the realization that it wasn't right to make baseless assumptions about someone else's personal life.
At least I should apologize.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to apologize, unfortunately, Haewoon and Haru returned to the room.
"Oh, Sihyun's awake! What's this, did Hamin take a nap this time?"
Entering the room, Haewoon flipped the blanket over Hamin and, addressing Sihyun, he saw Sihyun, who was ambiguously nodding at the unmoving Hamin. Hamin's silent figure, as quiet as a mouse, seemed to overlap with someone else.
Second time.
Already, this marked the second time he had gotten into a fight with someone. If you included the incident with Yuseowoo, it might be the third.
All for nothing.
Even though other times could be excused, this time it felt like his fault. A sigh escaped him, thinking that he should visit and talk to him sometime.
I should go talk to him at least once.
As the vacation was approaching, classes were light, and there were no end-of-month evaluations until the start of the new semester. Even if Sihyun thought about visiting Hamin's training room, there was a long pause before he could take his eyes off Hamin.
However, contrary to Sihyun's hopes, an opportunity to apologize to Hamin did not come easily. Hamin didn't actively avoid him like on that one day, but he turned the conversation they had shared that day into something nonexistent.
It would have been enough to go and say, "I...," and try to speak, ending with an apology, but Hamin turned away from him with those words. While it might seem like a refreshing pass for Sihyun, to Sihyun's eyes, he still appeared like a stubborn seventeen-year-old high school student. Clearly, he seemed to want to avoid the situation because he didn't want to talk.
Even when Sihyun asked for some time, Hamin said he was busy. When suggesting they eat separately just the two of them, he was ignored. If he tried to talk when they were in the room, Hamin covered himself with a blanket, making it frustrating to the point where it felt like his insides would burst.
Nevertheless, regardless of his situation, time relentlessly passed, and with just a week left, the date for the start of the vacation was rapidly approaching. At least before the vacation, Sihyun wanted to reconcile, but there was no time for the two of them. Moreover, since it was the last day before the vacation, there were other things to worry about besides just Hamin.
"Are you really okay?"
"...I think I need to go back at least once."
When the vacation arrives, all the dormitories in the strongest school will be vacated. Everyone had to go back home because they couldn't stay at school. For others, it might not be a problem, but for Hamin, it was different. The place he had been living in was a research lab.
Even though he had entered it as if escaping, returning to that place with his own feet was not comforting. Despite saying he would go back to the research lab, now it felt like he was more anxious.
"Just come with me. It's okay."
"I don't think they don't know that I entered. So, I'll go and talk properly. I want to keep going to school like this. Since I've already entered, the school will probably look for me separately if I don't come after the vacation. Don't worry too much."
His voice was clear as he finished his words. It was a calm voice that conveyed no tremor, filled with gentleness. The tenderness and peace of the world seemed to be contained in such soothing sounds. Sihyun felt a somewhat overwhelming feeling in his heart as he looked at him.
When did he become so composed?
Honestly, he had thought he messed up a bit during that time, but now it seemed like his child's farm had prospered.
"Sihyun, you too... Take care and don't get hurt. I won't see you during the vacation...."
There was regret in the voice that said those words. Somehow, it seemed like there was more emotion in that voice than when talking about returning to the research lab. The words conveyed the uneasiness of not being able to protect, and Sihyun, who reassured the worried Hamin, suggested going home together for the last time before giving in.
After finishing the conversation and returning to the room, Hamin, who still hadn't reconciled, was visible, and as usual, Haewoon, who was delighted, was also visible. And Pia, whom Sihyun had promised to take care of during the vacation, also came into view. Since Pia's mana only responded to him, there was no choice.
During the dinner time, Sihyun stared at the sky outside the window.
He stared at the twilight that was swallowing the sun, signaling the arrival of the night. The serene yet contradictory feeling wrapped around his body in the glow of the sunset.
It was the first vacation since the possession.
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