EFME 25

Sunyul came out of the infirmary with Muyoung. After sending everyone who remained out, the two crossed the now-quiet exhibition hall and got into Muyoung’s car.

“If you’re tired, get some sleep.”

“I’m okay. I’ve been sleeping this whole time.”

“Alright. Get some good rest when you get home.”

“……I want to take a bath when I get home.”

“Contact Juyoung and let him know.”

Following Muyoung’s advice, Sunyul contacted Juyoung, then looked out the window on the way home. After telling the worried Muyoung that he was really okay now, he went into the bathroom.

Before getting into the tub, he showered and washed off the blood he hadn’t been able to clean completely. It felt strange to see the blood flowing down by his feet.

Sunyul soaked his body in the water Juyoung had drawn. Sinking into the warm water, his tension eased a little. Sunyul stayed submerged until the warm water cooled, then got out.

Even though he had bathed for as long as he wanted, the tension still hadn’t fully dissipated. With a still-uncomfortable heart, Sunyul crawled under the covers.

The terrible pain came back to him again, and Sunyul clutched his stomach.

Thinking about the moment he was stabbed was horrific. But the most terrifying thing wasn’t the fear or pain of being attacked by a stranger.

It was the look in their eyes, certain that Sunyul had done something, defining him as a monster.

Sunyul couldn’t deny that their thoughts were wrong. Because even Sunyul didn’t know himself perfectly.

The fact that he might actually be a monster, just as they thought, was the most terrifying thing to Sunyul.

Sunyul fumbled at the back of his neck. The patch that clung to him like a part of his body felt alien today.

“Ugh, sob……”

The tears he had desperately held back in front of Muyoung finally burst forth. Sunyul couldn’t hold it in and wept. He wanted to cry his heart out, but even that didn’t go as he wished. Only choked sobs, as if he were suppressing his breath, escaped.

[The ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ comforts you.]

The constellation’s message rang out briefly. Being comforted by someone made the tears well up even more.

‘I wish I were human.’

Why did I come from a dungeon? If I had been found somewhere else, I might have been able to blend into society. Why can’t I remember anything? If I’m really not human, I could at least give up on being understood…….

Sunyul cried endlessly, despairing and fearing himself.

As he was crying like that for a long while, someone grabbed the blanket and pulled. There was only one person who would do such a thing.

It was Muyoung.

Sunyul tried to stop his tears without lifting his head, but it didn’t work as he thought. Suddenly stopping crying was harder than one might think.

“Come here.”

Muyoung, sitting on the edge of the bed, called to Sunyul. After hesitating, Sunyul moved closer to him. Muyoung suddenly grabbed Sunyul and pulled him into a hug. Sunyul was so surprised that even his tears stopped.

Muyoung gently patted Sunyul’s stiffly frozen back. Sunyul remained frozen for a moment, then slowly leaned his body against Muyoung. Accepting the weight that naturally settled onto him, Muyoung whispered in a low voice.

“What are you so scared of?”

“……How did you know I was scared?”

“Because of that look on your face.”

What kind of look was that? He didn’t know for sure, but Sunyul just thought Muyoung was amazing. For guessing his feelings so easily.

Sunyul pushed Muyoung away and straightened his body. Muyoung obediently let him go.

Muyoung looked down at Sunyul silently. He wondered what on earth was going through that small head.

After a long moment, Sunyul managed to part his lips.

“What if I……”

“Yes.”

“What if I’m really a monster?”

Having mustered the courage to confess, Sunyul sucked in a breath. After saying it, a wave of fear washed over him. Fear that Muyoung would agree with him.

“You’re not a monster.”

Fortunately, Muyoung denied it. But a corner of Sunyul’s heart had already grown sharp and couldn’t take the words at face value.

“You don’t know that, though.”

“……”

“You know. If I really am a monster……. can you kill me?”

Sunyul asked without being able to look Muyoung straight in the eye. His voice grew smaller and smaller, until by the end, it was trembling so much that it was hard to understand.

“Lim Sunyul.”

His voice was stern, as if scolding him. Sunyul lifted his head, which had been hanging low. Muyoung was staring at Sunyul more seriously than ever before.

“Don’t listen to what others say and define yourself as a monster or an item. You are not defined by others. You are defined by yourself, by your own self.”

He had expected Muyoung to either deny it or comfort him. But Muyoung’s answer was different from what Sunyul had anticipated.

At the unexpected words, Sunyul’s heart stirred.

Muyoung was directly refuting his heart that had been swayed by the evaluation of others, telling him to stand firm in that place.

Sunyul didn’t have the confidence to do as Muyoung said. But he wanted to be like Muyoung said. Sunyul’s belief was weak, still insufficient to stand on its own.

“I want you to believe… that I’m not a monster, Guild Master-nim.”

“I believe that you are no such thing as a monster.”

“……”

“You are a person, Lim Sunyul.”

“……Ugh.”

The tears that had momentarily stopped began to gush from Sunyul’s eyes. As Sunyul started crying again, Muyoung hugged him. Sunyul clung to Muyoung and began to cry his heart out.

Muyoung patted Sunyul’s back and accepted it all without a word. Sunyul cried and cried until he was exhausted, and only managed to stop when no more tears would come.

Sunyul forced himself to sit up straight. Muyoung rubbed his own soaked face with his hand, then, deciding it was no use, brought a towel. Sunyul wiped his face with the towel.

“Are you okay now?”

“……I don’t know.”

Sunyul answered in a muffled voice, his face buried in the towel. He was sure his face must be a mess, so it was hard to lift his head.

“Get some sleep. You’ll feel better after sleeping a little.”

Sensing him moving away, Sunyul quickly lifted his head. And he grabbed Muyoung, who was just about to leave the room.

“C-Can’t we sleep together?”

Muyoung turned to look at Sunyul. Faced with Muyoung’s very surprised expression, Sunyul’s face flushed.

“You want to sleep together?”

I should say no, that I don’t have such childish thoughts.

Even while thinking that in his head, Sunyul nodded. Because if he was alone, his bad thoughts would grow more and more. He wanted to be with him as much as possible.

“Yes. Will you sleep with me?”

“That much is no problem at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Just a moment.”

Muyoung turned off the room’s light. In the darkness, he felt the presence of Muyoung getting onto the bed. Lying down next to Sunyul, Muyoung pulled the hesitating Sunyul closer. A thick arm lightly embraced Sunyul. Sunyul held his breath without realizing it.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“……Yes.”

“Sleep well.”

Sunyul nodded. He tried to ignore his heart, which was still pounding, and closed his eyes.

Slumber soon came.

It was a peaceful sleep.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

‘Sunyul, the team leader is looking for you.’

‘Me?’

‘Yeah. I think he’s angry?’

At his senior’s words, Sunyul tilted his head. Because Shim Jaehee had never once called for him while angry. Feeling a little nervous, Sunyul went to find the team leader.

‘Team Leader-nim, you called for me?’

‘Lim Sunyul.’

He was really angry. Sunyul became a little tense. Not wanting to unleash his anger on Sunyul, Jaehee tried to calm down by taking deep breaths. Watching that, he realized that he really had done something wrong.

‘……I-I’m sorry for what I did.’

‘What did you do wrong.’

Jaehee said chillingly. Was that not it? Sunyul shut his mouth. The man sighed deeply at Sunyul.

‘I heard Kim Myunghoe has been bullying you.’

‘What?’

‘I just came back from confronting that bastard.’

‘What did you say?’

‘Literally. I confronted him.’

‘……Did you hit him?’

‘Of course not. Assault would give him the upper hand, so I would never do that. I just said, if he bothers our kid again, I’ll expose all the power-tripping he’s done with the Paranormal Administration and emigrate.’

Kim Myunghoe was the current mayor of Seoul. He had many flaws but also many achievements, making him a quite popular figure who was even being considered as a candidate for the next presidential election. No matter how much of an ace Jaehee was at the Paranormal Administration, he was not someone he could confront carelessly.

‘Team Leader-nim.’

‘Sunyul, why didn’t you tell me that son of a bitch was bullying you?’

‘……It wasn’t that big of a deal.’

Although Sunyul had obtained a Hunter license, he was still a minor under eighteen. Therefore, for safety reasons, he was often sent for other support missions rather than dungeon raids.

Sunyul’s abilities were quite versatile, and he was needed in many places. The one who called for Sunyul particularly often was Kim Myunghoe.