by Geli Cake
Haylan noticed that the ghost hovering near them seemed wary of him.
He was right. Chahyun, whose expression had been hesitant just a moment ago, now looked shaken, as if struck a nerve. He wasn't good at lying.
"Does it tell you that you're safe when I'm around?"
Now I see, I'm the one with nothing to lose.
"That's not true. You're still the one at an emotional disadvantage, and it's not right for you to keep blackmailing me with trivial things."
That was true. Haylan asked,
"So, am I making a good impression on you now?"
Chahyun nodded. That alone made Haylan feel better than he had all day. Even though he knew Chahyun was using him, why did it make him feel so good?
Haylan offered compensation for allowing himself to be used.
"If you can't think of anything, we'll go with what I decided. How about you letting me do whatever I want to you for five minutes?"
"That's too long. One minute."
"Fine."
He didn't pay attention to what Chahyun was doing in the house. He just waited impatiently for it to be over.
And the moment Chahyun finished with a relieved expression, Haylan reached out as if he had been waiting.
"Is that all?"
"That's all. What else can I do here in one minute?"
Haylan pulled Chahyun close and embraced him tightly. It was the same thing Chahyun always did to him. Even if Haylan looked uncomfortable, Chayun would make him sit on his lap and gently rock him back and forth. He seemed to understand that feeling now.
"You're warm."
A familiar scent emanated from Chahyun's embrace. A faint smell of soap, and the scent of his skin.
Up until now, he had disliked more things than he liked. Perhaps it was because he had become too numb, living life as it came, without any purpose. But Chahyun had told him that he had strong preferences. He spoke as if he knew Haylan better than Haylan knew himself, and Haylan didn't dislike his interference.
Not disliking it meant liking it. Yes, he…
"What are you going to do after you open all the locked doors?"
"I don't know… Maybe clean? First, I'll rip out all the windows. It's depressing without any sunlight during the day."
"And then?"
"I want to look around the house."
"...And after that?"
Chahyun narrowed his eyes and looked up at him at the series of questions.
"What kind of answer are you looking for?"
"There's no answer I'm looking for. I'm just curious about your plans after you're done with this house."
One day, Joe had asked, "Are you curious about our guest?" Now, Haylan could finally answer that question properly.
You were right. I want to know more about Chahyun. I'm curious about him.
"Once everything's over…"
"...."
"…I'll go home."
At those words, he naturally felt the desire to follow Chahyun. He decided to have Joe buy some land nearby. He didn't have much to show for himself, but he had plenty of saved-up money.
"A house in Asileth…"
"The size doesn't matter."
"...It would be best to look for a place close to the Red Lion."
Should I keep this a secret from the guest?
Joe had always been perceptive and understood people well since he was young. That's why he kept him close.
"You're convenient."
At Haylan's words, which summarized everything, Joe crinkled the corners of his eyes and smiled, saying, "You flatter me." He carried out Haylan's orders without asking any questions.
He had lived his entire life rooted in one place. He finally started to feel the desire to move forward, even just a little, under his own power.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
[Sub Quest Progress 30%]
A month had passed. I had deactivated nine trapped rooms so far. The people in this house still didn't know I was dismantling the dangerous rooms one by one.
Lena, who had nagged me initially, seemed to be more at ease now.
Well, there weren't any rooms as dangerous as the first one. Even in the game, the scene with the countless blade traps activating was quite terrifying.
To catch up on sleep, I would take short naps in the late afternoon. Haylan would always join me, stubbornly squeezing himself into my bed instead of using the spacious one in his own room.
Haylan was now more honest about his emotions. He would look at me expectantly if there was something he didn't like, asking me to take care of it, and he also told me when he was happy. This was what I had been hoping for. I had become much closer to Haylan.
Should I say he was particularly attached to me? Heh. Perhaps that's why Haylan felt like my own child, even though he wasn't.
I could finally understand what Ryzen meant when he said, 'Why do I care so much about you when you're not even my son?'
After waking up from my naps, I would study or read books, and sometimes I would go out to play or help out in the kitchen. Some might call this the life of a freeloader, but there were hidden hardships only I knew.
And then today, I was reminded once again that complacency is a dangerous thing.
'Uh oh.'
Lena had gone to the library, complaining that the book he was reading was boring, and I was in the middle of deactivating a trap… It was my mistake to dismiss the ghost, which had been passing through me as if I were invisible.
For the past week, I hadn't had much physical contact with Lena, aside from holding hands or accidentally brushing against each other while handing things over. I tended to be a bit on edge during the deactivation process. Perhaps because I seemed busy, Lena didn't initiate contact either.
This floating sensation… I'll never get used to it. I looked at my blood-soaked form, grimacing, then closed my eyes.
[The original story is reviving the possessor's life.]
[Life has been revived!]
The process of consciousness slowly returning to the body was more unpleasant than dying. Starting from my fingertips, sensation returned to my numb body, a breeze brushed against my nose… I could hear the sound of a book falling…
"...?"
I looked up towards the source of the sound, and Lena was standing there, staring down at me with a dazed expression. I didn't know how long he had been there. But I quickly realized.
'He saw it.'
He saw me die.
[Would you like to view ??'s memory?]
The memories flowed into my mind automatically.
'Calm down, it's just a monster.'
The people in the scene were all familiar to me.
Odin, holding a gun in one hand, stood over the monster's corpse, covered in blood. And crouching before him was…
'Haylan?'
The face was definitely familiar. It was Haylan. But not the cute, brown-haired kid I knew. For some reason, Haylan had fluffy, snow-white hair.
The memory fades as Odin looks down at the hyperventilating boy with a look of disdain. And then, what came back into my view was…
"Lena."
The color drained from his already pale face. He continued staring at me with a terrified expression, only flinching when I spoke.
"Did you see?"
"…You were clearly dead just now…"
So he did see it. I was about to try denying it, pretending he had seen wrong, like I always did, but I didn't feel the need to. He was Lena. I seemed to always show him my worst side.
"That's my secret."
At my quiet words, Lena's eyes widened.
"That time when you were seriously injured… even then…"
When did he see that? I felt a chill run down my spine, wondering if he really knew everything that happened during the day.
"It's similar."
Back then, I hadn't died and revived, I had just been healed. But the context of recovery by the system was similar, so I decided to just go with it. It definitely wasn't because I was too lazy to explain.
"Are you a monster too?"
Lena asked. More focused on something else than the content of his question, I carefully observed his expression.
Surprise, fear, and a slight disgust… I pretended not to notice the emotions I read on his face and asked back, "Who else is a monster besides me?"
Lena didn't answer my joke, but I could guess who he was referring to.
"Is it Haylan?"
He silently affirmed my question.
It had always bothered me that Haylan called himself a monster. Most likely, someone must have said something cruel to him.
Lena must have heard those cruel words and rashly labeled Haylan as a monster. Even though it wasn't true.
"He's not a monster."
I spoke in a firm tone, as if admonishing someone who had spoken ill of him.
"Neither I nor Haylan are monsters."
"…Then what are you?"
"We just have our own circumstances… and it's not right for someone to be denigrated for such trivial reasons."
I didn't want to ruin my relationship with Lena.
"So apologize to me."
I still needed Lena, and it didn't seem like he meant to hurt me with his words.
Anyone can make mistakes. So, a sincere apology would be enough. But Lena chose to turn away.
The sound of his confused footsteps faded away.
I didn't stop him. Left alone, I watched the sunrise from the open window. I felt a strange sense of loneliness.