“How long are you going to stay like this?”
Thanks to the active cooperation of the children, Haehyuk, who was rolled up in a blanket on the bed like a sushi roll, asked. Seeing him show signs of impatience after only being in that state for three hours, it seemed he really was addicted to activity.
Is this what they call mirror therapy?
Haehyuk, who seemed foolish for wanting to go to work less than a day after waking up, was tightly rolled up again in his blanket by Kang Sihyun without a word. Sihyun blinked, wondering if the people who had been watching him felt this way before. He was puzzled why only he had been left behind while the kids went out to support the crack.
Haehyuk wriggled in the blanket, turning to look at Sihyun. The blanket would easily come undone if he tried to escape, but surprisingly, Haehyuk didn’t disregard the children's intentions. Maybe he had given up because of Sihyun continuously wrapping him back up whenever he tried to get out.
It was a pity, but unavoidable. Whatever the reason, he had to stay attached to this room under the guise of surveillance to prevent the patients from escaping. Let them try escaping. The kids in class A might interrogate them quite fiercely.
“Mr. Sihyun.”
However, Haehyuk was persistent. He seemed determined to keep calling him until he got an answer, so Sihyun, pretending to do something, closed the book he was reading. He got up from his chair and wrapped the blanket around Haehyuk one more time, which darkened Haehyuk’s expression.
“If you’re bored, try to sleep. The person next to you sleeps well, but what’s the problem with the guild leader…”
As it seemed impossible to leave the room, Haehyuk immediately tried to sleep, snoring, and Sihyun wished he’d learn from Ruth who was sleeping next to him. It was commendable how he complied without trying to escape. As he spoke teasingly, Haehyuk twitched his nose. Sihyun had felt this before, but Haehyuk really hated being compared to Ruth.
“How can I sleep peacefully in this situation?”
“The other person is sleeping peacefully.”
Sihyun’s eyes shifted towards the blonde man. As he gestured to look, Haehyuk, rolling his eyes, looked at Ruth with a pitiful expression. Even though his expression twisted, he seemed to agree that Ruth was indeed sleeping peacefully.
“Mr. Sihyun.”
“That won’t do. If I release the guild leader, I’ll get scolded by the kids.”
Sihyun’s firm refusal seemed to finally make Haehyuk give up. Haehyuk sighed and comfortably lay down on the bed. However, he still looked like a rolled-up worm, so Sihyun observed him with curiosity as Haehyuk slowly closed his eyes and then spoke.
“Was there nothing unusual?”
“I woke up on the same date as the guild leader.”
“Not that.”
“Ah.”
Realizing what he was referring to a beat too late, Sihyun straightened up.
There had been a lot of work.
“Nothing unusual.”
There was no need to explain to Haehyuk. It wasn’t necessary to detail stories about past lives that didn’t involve him to a third party. Deciding to keep silent, Haehyuk looked at Sihyun again as he closed his eyes.
“You’ve been asleep for three months with nothing unusual?”
“I must have been very sleepy.”
“That excuse won’t work on me.”
“…”
“Sihyun.”
Suddenly, he called his name. Lowering his voice was not a common occurrence for Haehyuk, so feeling the weight of the conversation, Sihyun clicked his tongue. Such a demanding person. Still, Sihyun avoided giving a direct answer, hearing a soft chuckle. It wasn’t a pure laugh; it seemed like a tactic to exert pressure, hoping to make Sihyun feel it. Realizing he understood him, Sihyun shut his mouth. Birds of a feather flock together. He didn’t want to understand such psychology.
“You should at least clarify things to the people who are worried about you.”
“…”
“It seems polite to me.”
The authoritative tone he hadn’t heard in a long time finally made him surrender. Dealing with Haehyuk was never pleasant. He always pressed Sihyun with irrefutable reasons, and Sihyun avoided battles he saw no chance of winning. How could he not speak up in such cases?
Reluctantly, Sihyun frowned and sighed in resignation.
Fine. If Haehyuk, who had been acting in his stead while he was lying down, was curious about his past three months, he should willingly inform him.
There was something he wanted to ask Haehyuk, after all.
Putting
aside a concern he had briefly buried due to more pressing matters, Sihyun neatly summarized his previous life’s story to Haehyuk in three dry sentences. Haehyuk was amazed by the curious connection, leaving Sihyun no choice but to laugh self-deprecatingly.
A curious connection, indeed.
While it might have been so in a past life, the connections in his current life were almost forcibly formed by him. Could those simply be called fate or destiny?
As his expression darkened with deep thought, Haehyuk, wriggling around, eventually managed to sit up on the bed, still wrapped in the blanket. What a strange talent. Did geniuses show their skills even in such situations?
Staring at him in disbelief, Haehyuk slightly narrowed his eyes.
“You seemed to be troubled.”
He was indeed a quick-witted opponent.
“I was wondering if the relationships with the kids can merely be dismissed as fate. I forcibly held onto them. It seems too romantic to call what I did fate or destiny.”
Those kids wouldn’t have been born into this world if not for him. They wouldn’t have to face irregulars or risk their lives in dungeons every moment; they might have had a more peaceful and tranquil life.
Admitting this frankly made Haehyuk laugh.
“Is it because you’ve lived as a demigod? Mr. Sihyun, you always ponder quite interesting issues.”
“Do I look amusing to you now?”
“I regret that Mr. Sihyun seems to take it quite seriously.”
What kind of wordplay is this?
Sihyun, who had laid out his serious concerns, frowned at not being properly listened to. As he prodded Haehyuk to speak more accurately, Haehyuk spoke uncomfortably, glancing at the blanket wrapped around his body. It was a trade offer.
He’d listen to the consultation in exchange for loosening the blanket.
“I can’t let you out of the room.”
“I won’t run away. It’s just a bit suffocating.”
If that was the case, it was fine. Even if Haehyuk tried to escape, it would only be a minor inconvenience, and Sihyun was confident in capturing him again. After a brief hesitation, Sihyun loosened the blanket wrapped around Haehyuk’s body. The man, now with free arms, clasped his hands above his head for a stretch, then rubbed his stiff shoulders, smiling.
“That feels much better now.”
“Then continue what you were about to say.”
“You’re in a hurry.”
The man chuckled, placing a pillow behind his back for a more comfortable position on the bed, then spoke.
“Have you ever told the kids?”
“That because I held onto them, they became unhappy?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Fearing they might reproach him for such thoughts, and not focusing on their feelings because he cared for them, he hadn’t brought it up. Such concerns should be borne by him, the creator of this situation, not shared with them.
Haehyuk had asked him to tell him directly, and Sihyun himself wanted his help, so that was an exception.
Thinking this, the man, as if he knew all along, recited Sihyun’s thoughts outright, accusing him of making assumptions and not speaking. Sihyun, hit right on the mark, looked at Haehyuk without saying a word.
No, he hadn’t even spoken his inner thoughts aloud. How could Haehyuk possibly know what he was thinking?
“Did you learn mind-reading?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Well, nothing…”
After everything was over, he could even become a fortune teller. While thinking of Haehyuk as a fortune teller in his mind, the man made a piercing remark.
“As long as those kids are happy when they’re with Mr. Sihyun, that’s enough. Do they seem unhappy to you, Mr. Sihyun?”
“…”
They hadn’t seemed unhappy. Remembering the kids crying and laughing by his side, he shook his head, and Haehyuk smiled, saying that was enough. He added not to think too complicatedly.
“Humans seem infinitely complex, but when you delve into it, they’re amusingly simple. If you try to see it as complicated, it appears complicated, and if you try to see it simply, it’s simple. That’s just how people are.”
His gentle tone eased the atmosphere. A weight seemed to lift from his chest instantly, only to be replaced by an inexplicable surge of emotion and a touch of awe. As he felt a bit confused, Haehyuk tidied up his thoughts and stared intently at Sihyun, suddenly smiling broadly.
“On the other hand, it’s surprising. I thought Mr. Sihyun would talk about another concern.”
“What?”
“Like a love consultation.”
“…”
Really, was mind-reading his thing?
For a moment, Sihyun wondered if it wasn’t he who had lived as a half-god but Haehyuk. It was a reasonably logical suspicion, given his past experiences.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
