Chapter 23: The City of Traps.
Chapter 23: The City of Traps.
After the meeting, I followed Ahn Hyun to examine Ahn Sol. Seeing her sleeping soundly on a single bedroll made me feel sorry for her. I placed a hand on her forehead and checked inside, finding her Magic Power tangled just as I had expected. It had not crossed a dangerous threshold and would eventually return to normal through self-correction, but I decided to help.
“It would be best if someone stayed with Ahn Sol to watch over her tonight.”
“I’ll do it.”
I shook my head at Ahn Hyun, who naturally volunteered. Looking out the window, I saw that complete darkness had fallen. Ahn Hyun’s eyes were already clouded with fatigue. Everyone must have been under immense mental strain today. He was pushing through on willpower alone, but it would be a problem if it affected his performance tomorrow.
“You look tired. Go get some sleep for now. I’ll watch her.”
“Aren’t you going to sleep, hyung?”
“Later. For now, let the girls get a full night’s rest. You and I can take turns watching Ahn Sol. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to switch.”
“Ah, taking shifts. That would work. Then I’ll leave my sister in your care.”
I nodded in response. Ahn Hyun staggered out and closed the door behind him. There were still things I wanted to ask him, but seeing him barely fight off the urge to sleep, I figured it would be better to ask when we had a more leisurely moment. My mind was a mess with thoughts about the Trap Point and the group’s attitude, so this would be a good time to sort things out. But first, I had a job to do.
After confirming that the door was tightly shut, I calmly raised my Magic Power. Like ripples spreading across still water, a faint vermilion glow began to shimmer around my right hand. I slowly extended it over the center of her chest and projected Magic Power into her body. Since I was already treating her, I might as well do a little extra while I was at it.
Correcting a severe reverse flow of Magic Power or tangled circuits along the meridians was difficult. Simply calming overdriven Magic Power and untangling it, however, was easy. As my pure fire-attributed Magic Power flowed into her, Ahn Sol’s body twitched.
The attribute of a person’s Magic Power varied with their disposition. Ahn Sol’s carried the Good attribute and shone white. At first, it hesitated anxiously before my overwhelming power, but I enveloped it as gently and soothingly as possible so it would not be frightened. It’s all right. It’s all right. I came to help. That’s it. Stay still. As I continued to coax Sol’s Magic Power, it seemed to recognize that I meant to help and began gathering eagerly around my own.
I handled my Magic Power as gently as possible so I would not alarm hers. The way Sol’s Magic Power rubbed against mine, as though competing to be stroked first, was unexpectedly cute. I swept through her entire body, calming what had been startled and untangling what had become knotted. By the time I was nearly finished, a rosy flush had spread across her face. She looked peaceful. Was she having a pleasant dream?
There was one complication. After examining her entire body, I tried to withdraw my Magic Power, only for Ahn Sol’s to cling to it. When I attempted to pull away, the Magic Power inside her tugged insistently, as though asking me not to leave and to soothe it a little longer. I barely managed to shake it off and catch my breath.
The whole process seemed to have taken about an hour. It should have been quick, but I had been meticulous, even boosting her vitality, which took longer than expected. I sensed no particular movements from outside the room. It seemed everyone was dead asleep. I raised my hands, stretched deeply, and then plopped down on the floor. With nothing else to do, I figured it was best to close my eyes, even if just for a moment.
*
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. I opened my eyes at the sense of someone opening the door and entering the room. Pitch-black darkness had settled around me. I turned my head to see the silhouette of a well-built figure peek in, our eyes meeting directly. Lee Yoojung had short hair, and Kim Hanbyul’s straight hair came down to her shoulders. Since it was neither of them, it had to be Ahn Hyun.
“You must be tired. You can sleep more.”
I greeted him in a calm voice, but he didn’t answer for a while. I could only see him staring at me intently. After a minute of silence, Ahn Hyun’s mouth slowly began to open.
“No, it’s fine. I’m so worried I can’t sleep well anyway. Hyung, how is Sol?”
“She’s much better. Enough that she should be able to wake up tomorrow. You don’t have to worry too much.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Um, hyung, then…”
I could feel him hesitating, which was unlike him. But I waited patiently for him to speak. For some reason, I felt that was what I should do right now. And soon, Ahn Hyun spoke.
“Hyung. There’s something I want to talk to you about right now. But it’s difficult to do it here.”
“Of course. Shall we go to the rooftop?”
“Yes.”
It looked like Ahn Hyun hadn’t gotten much sleep either. He probably had a lot on his mind, what with Ahn Sol’s condition and everything else. Reading the sincerity in his voice, I immediately got to my feet.
In the living room, Lee Yoojung was sleeping, hugging her bedding tightly. Kim Hanbyul was nowhere to be seen, so she was likely sleeping in another room. Careful not to wake them, I quietly unlocked the door, and Ahn Hyun and I went up to the rooftop.
Standing on the rooftop, the cold night air cleared my head. For a moment, we stood in silence, looking out at the pitch-black city before us. It was Ahn Hyun who broke the silence.
“Hyung. This city is so quiet.”
“It is. Suspiciously so. But we can’t let our guard down.”
At my words, Ahn Hyun’s expression turned bleak before he gave a self-deprecating smile. I could roughly guess what that look meant, but for now, I had no choice but to wait for him to open up.
“When I look at you, hyung, I think you’re really amazing.”
“What are you talking about? We’re both human. What is so amazing about me?”
“No, that’s not it. That’s not what I mean.”
Ahn Hyun shook his head, denying it three times in a row. His face was full of turmoil, and I could also see a hint of helplessness. It wasn't that I didn't understand how he felt, but my understanding was still vague, so I kept quiet, intending to hear him out.
“After you left today, I had a lot of thoughts. When you were with us, I felt like we all got along really well. You might not have felt the same, but I truly believed that if it was the five of us, we could work together and escape this place.”
“I think so too.”
“Yes. But I was wrong. You asked me to look after the others, yet I could not lead them properly. Those strange things took us down, and even Sol was placed in danger. You noticed something off between Yoojung and Hanbyul today too, didn’t you? They fought over whether we should go rescue you.”
Ahn Hyun’s face contorted in pain as he spoke at length, but he didn’t stop.
“But what I really hated… was that I couldn’t make any choice at that moment. I couldn’t even stop them. All I could manage to say, as if I was being pushed, was, ‘I’ll go.’ That was it, just reluctantly stepping up because I had to. My chest felt so tight.”
“……”
“If you had not come back, I would probably still be thinking the same things. What would tomorrow bring? Would I be able to handle it? I was writhing under that pressure, and I even thought I wanted to die.”
“Ahn Hyun.”
I spoke up to stop him from getting more emotional, but he shook his head vigorously again. It was a sign that he had more to say.
“But then you appeared, like a miracle. Do you know what I felt the moment I saw you? Gratitude? No. Guilt? No. It was relief. Hyung will find a way. I can trust Hyung. And that is exactly what happened. The atmosphere recovered as soon as you arrived, and Sol’s condition improved. You are always calm and composed. It feels like nothing can shake you. You seem different from the rest of us. I do not know what it is, but there is definitely something different about you.”
Ahn Hyun’s last words made me flinch internally, but I managed to maintain a calm expression. Seeing him hang his head as if he’d said all he needed to, I spoke in a quiet voice.
“Then, can I say something? It won’t be too long.”
“Take as long as you need. I’ll listen.”
I smiled faintly at his relieved tone. Then I slowly approached and placed a hand on his head. Ahn Hyun looked up at me, surprised.
“It’s okay for you to want to rely on someone, or to feel this kind of pressure. In fact, I think it’s a relief.”
“A relief?”
“Think about how we were in the forest. It is not as though you acted like that troublemaker and tried to decide everything alone. You did not suppress anyone either. When I offered a broad opinion, Yoojung and Hanbyul examined the details and added their thoughts. Then you and I gathered those opinions and chose what we believed was the best course.”
“……”
“We are all helping you. It’s natural to feel pressure, but you don’t have to carry all of it. Even if things go wrong, I believe it’s our collective responsibility, not yours alone.”
“But…”
Ahn Hyun tried to speak, but this time I raised a hand and stopped him. He understood the signal and closed his mouth again.
“You may think I am impressive, but I think the same of you. You brought your timid sister this far, and you always act quickly and decisively. Just as Sol relies on you, you may want to rely on me. Yoojung, Hanbyul, and I may rely on you and Sol in our own ways too. ‘The five of us will combine our strength to escape this place.’ Those were the first words you said to me. What you said afterward, however, contradicted them. There is nothing wrong with relying on one another.”
I had intended to keep it short, but I ended up rambling a bit. Still, I couldn’t stop now, so I decided to add one last thing.
“We will share the burden you’re carrying. So you just do what you can do. That’s more than enough.”
“What I can do…”
“Yes. What you can do. You don’t have to worry about the rest, right? Because the rest of us will help you with all our might.”
I felt the night breeze as I watched Ahn Hyun slowly mull over my words. The wind felt unusually gentle tonight, almost ticklish. After enough time to drink a cup of tea had passed, Ahn Hyun lifted his bowed head. His eyes were no longer the unstable ones from when he first came up to the rooftop; they were the deep, steady eyes I had seen when we first met. A look of relief washed over his face, as if a great weight had been lifted from his mind.