The Frog in the Well (5)
The school break time was filled with chatter. Jinho looked at me and let out a quiet sigh of admiration.
"I really thought I was going to lose my mind from how obvious it was," Ina added with a dramatic sigh.
Jinho shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, even thinking about it again, I can't believe it. Is a guy's face really that powerful?"
"Stop saying weird things. They say it's not the face that matters, it's the heart."
"I seriously want to punch you right now…"
"What's the point of being good-looking if your senses are basically at crustacean level? What kind of guy in the world just follows along with whatever a woman tempts him with?"
Ina, who had been listening to our conversation, fanned herself with her hand as if she couldn't stand it anymore.
"If it were me, I would've flipped out a long time ago."
"Hey. Compare fairly. You think everyone else is like you? How can you say something so rude to a refined young lady…"
"You're dead, you bastard. Get over here!"
"Ack!! Hey! Someone help me!"
Jinho backed away, begging for rescue, but I simply shook my head.
"You deserve to get hit more."
"You heard him. Stay still."
"My arm! My arm! It really hurts!"
"Shut up!"
The sight of Ina beating Jinho like a rag doll had become so familiar that I felt almost nothing. But it wasn't because their relationship was bad. I now understood that this was simply their own unique way of expressing affection.
In a sense, Jinho and Ina were like an older brother and sister who looked after me. That's why, when I first learned that these two who were always bickering had become a couple, I felt a truly strange emotion. Back then, I thought I was the only one who liked Yeon, so I even wondered if a day like that would ever come for me too.
Thinking about it now, the fact that we had ended up in this kind of relationship was truly unbelievable. We were the same age and attended the same school, but no one would ever think that a country bumpkin like me and Yeon were equals. Moreover, Yeon was the cherished daughter of a prestigious family.
I knew all these facts very well, which was why—aside from Jinho and Ina who already knew everything—I hadn't told anyone about our relationship. If we had met somewhere other than this village, or if Yeon had been healthy, perhaps it would have been difficult for us to become like this.
"Hyun, is Seoyeon doing a bit better these days?"
Ina, who had just finished enthusiastically pounding on Jinho, asked with a refreshed smile.
"…Yeah. She said she's gotten better."
"Really? That's a relief. I guess being born into such a noble family means her body is naturally a bit frail."
"I think so too. Anyway, we should…"
I gave a vague answer and quickly changed the subject, suggesting that the four of us should hang out together next time. No matter what, I couldn't tell them about Yeon's illness, so I always kept that part appropriately vague.
But contrary to the answers I gave or the hopes I held, Yeon's condition was gradually worsening. The hours during the day when she could still be active were growing shorter and shorter. With each passing lunar cycle, her pain multiplied.
They said that because Yeon possessed the qualities of an outstanding mage, her Particle Hypersensitivity Syndrome was also deteriorating at an accelerated rate. At this pace, forget turning seventeen—she might not even live to see the first sunrise of the new year.
I tried my best to ignore those facts. I simply focused on creating as many memories as possible for Yeon. And simply because she was spending that time with me, Yeon enjoyed every single moment.
It was one such Sunday.
From early morning, when rain was pattering down, I heard a knock at the door. Still half-asleep, I opened it to find Yeon standing there in her pajamas, holding an umbrella.
"…Sleepy…"
Yeon naturally burrowed into my arms. Her small, wriggling movements made me smile. But I could also clearly feel how frighteningly cold her skin was. It was so cold I wondered if she was almost a corpse.
Whenever Yeon went outside, she always tried to look fine, and today was no different. However, the signs of her illness were already so apparent on her face that even light makeup could no longer hide them.
All I could do was smile and greet her.
"Did you sleep well? What's in that basket?"
I deliberately shifted my attention to the basket Yeon was carrying.
"…Ah, this…"
Yeon slightly lifted the edge of the cloth covering the basket. Inside, nestled on a thick layer of fabric, was a newborn wild kitten.
The kitten looked terribly ill at first glance. Other than its limbs faintly trembling and its tiny breaths, it showed no other signs of movement.
"When I woke up this morning, it was collapsed outside the door. So…"
Perhaps because she saw herself in it, Yeon could never just leave dying creatures alone. She would water withering plants until they bloomed, and return fish that had mistakenly jumped onto land back to the water.
This time seemed to be the same, but the problem was that its condition looked far too severe. There was naturally nothing we could do with our limited knowledge, and there were no animal hospitals in the capital anywhere near our area.
"Isn't there any way…? It's so pitiful…"
Yeon's beautiful face crumpled with sorrow. Her sadness was not something I enjoyed seeing. Unable to just stand by, I racked my brain for ideas until I suddenly recalled something I had read in a book once.
It said that in critical situations, drinking blood could replenish nutrients. The book had been talking about animal blood, but since humans were animals too, there probably wasn't much difference.
It seemed a bit reckless, but at the moment, I couldn't think of any other solution. I told Yeon to wait a moment, went to the kitchen, and brought back a kitchen knife. Then, ignoring her bewildered expression, I swiftly slashed my palm.
A moment later, a throbbing pain hit me, followed by the sensation of lukewarm liquid flowing out.
"Hyun… Hyun!"
"Ugh… It hurts… Just wait a second…"
Seeing my sudden action, Yeon let out a near-scream. The pain was worse than I expected, so my face reflexively twisted. Still, having come this far, I had to finish what I started.
I pressed my bleeding palm against the kitten's mouth where it lay on the cloth. Surprisingly, the little kitten extended its tongue and began eagerly lapping up the blood. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but it seemed like vitality was returning to its body.
After hearing my belated explanation, Yeon exploded in frustration.
"…Idiot. How could you just cut yourself like that? What if it leaves a scar? I'm so upset…"
"…Sorry. I won't do it again. But this guy is really drinking a lot. It looks like it's going to suck all the blood out of my body."
"What? That absolutely can't happen… Wait a second."
Whether it was a final struggle for survival or not, the kitten was now licking my palm with fierce intensity. Seeing this, Yeon fell into thought for a moment. Then, before I could stop her, she pricked the tip of her finger with the knife just as I had done and brought it to the kitten's mouth.
"What are you doing!"
"I'm feeding it my blood too. What if it really drinks all of yours?"
"You're a patient! What if something happens to you…"
"I only made a tiny cut, so it's fine. And I don't like it when only you get hurt. I'm going to feed it too."
This time I got angry, but Yeon shook her head fiercely from side to side. She rarely showed such stubbornness, but this seemed to be one of those moments. I couldn't overcome her intense refusal, and in the end, the kitten licked up quite a bit of Yeon's blood as well.
Afterward, we spent a long time getting scolded by Mom while treating our wounds. Yeon stayed at our house for a while before putting the kitten back in the basket and heading home.
I worried about the shock Yeon would receive. Thinking about it calmly again, it didn't seem likely that such a fragile kitten would survive just from drinking a little blood. Mom also said that newborn kittens had very limited things they could eat, so it might actually make its condition worse. She even nagged us again, saying we could catch a disease from the wild animal.
However, the next day, my expectations were beautifully shattered.
When I opened the door to the familiar knocking sound, I saw Yeon with a face full of joy, cradling the kitten in her arms. What was astonishing was the kitten's condition. It was so healthy and energetic that it was hard to believe it was the same creature from the day before. The kitten even meowed and wandered around the living room floor.
And perhaps recognizing its saviors, it became incredibly attached to us. In the end, Yeon and I decided to continue taking care of the kitten. After much deliberation, we even gave it the name Ttangkong.
However, because Mom was allergic to cat fur, Ttangkong ended up being raised at Yeon's mansion. And perhaps because I had been out in the rain, I came down with a cold. I suffered from a high fever for two full days before I could finally get out of bed. Or maybe, as Mom said, I had caught some illness from the cat.
Anyway, that was how Ttangkong was added to our daily lives.
Time continued to flow after that. Several months passed, and by all accounts, Yeon's illness should have worsened to the point where she could no longer endure it. It should have been time to prepare for the end.
But Yeon was still alive.