Rotation of the Night

Episode 6

Baek Yi-hyun was silent. His dark eyes were steadily looking down at me.

I didn't avoid his familiar yet strange gaze and looked straight back at him. My heart pounded anxiously. Longing and fear were mixed together, and I couldn't understand my own feelings.

Finally, Baek Yi-hyun opened his mouth.

"Why are you protecting me?"

I understood his words a beat late. My face flushed instantly. I was dumbfounded that I had been found out so easily, compared to the solemn determination I had steeled myself with.

Immediately after, I realized that this emotion had also been revealed.

"Who would believe you if you said you mistook someone with such a pathetic face? It can't be that you're suddenly afraid of scamming me, so what's your angle?"

"I don't have an angle, I don't."

"If you claim to know me, my status will drop as I'll be treated as an Outlander as well?"

I was speechless, having been hit right on the mark. I rubbed my cheek with the back of my hand. It was hot with fever.

"Your face is red. Is that part of the act too?"

"No, it's not."

Without realizing it, my words came out coldly.

"Why are you worrying about me? Are you trying to look more like a friend while pretending to worry?"

"Don't ask if you're not going to believe me anyway."

Baek Yi-hyun quietly looked at me before reaching out to the side. I flinched. However, Baek Yi-hyun's hand only pulled open a nearby metal drawer.

He took out a small container from inside and scooped out a generous amount of blue gel with his fingertips. He knelt down on one knee as he lowered his body.

"You said you can see the Status Window."

Before I could say anything, Baek Yi-hyun grabbed my foot. Baek Yi-hyun supported my heel with one hand and rubbed the gel on my ankle with the other.

The moment he did, my ankle throbbed, and I reflexively pulled my leg back. However, Baek Yi-hyun held on tightly and didn't let go.

After rubbing all the gel in, he grabbed my other ankle this time.

"You know and mentioned it, but those who can see the Status Window are special. We'll verify whether you can really see the Status Window soon, and your fate will be decided based on the results. So, I won't mention anything about the Status Window here."

A cool sensation spread through my throbbing ankle, and the pain subsided. Only then did I realize that my ankles and wrists were red. It was the result of struggling not to be put on the operating table.

I thought I was going to be subjected to a live dissection, but other than being changed into a thin, white dress, nothing seemed to have changed.

Over there, in the trash can, my clothes, stained with blood and filth, were thrown away. They were my clothes. To be exact, they were my pajamas.

I had been playing a game at home when a light flashed, and I lost consciousness, waking up inside the Gate.

"What I'm curious about is who's behind you."

Baek Yi-hyun stood up. He scooped out some more gel. Then, he grabbed my wrist. It was a gentle, dry touch. As soon as the gel was absorbed, the swelling in my wrist disappeared as if by magic.

I stared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at Baek Yi-hyun's hand touching my wrist, not at my own wrist. I muttered as if to myself.

"There's no one behind me."

"I suspect you're a spy. Because you're different from ordinary Outlanders in many ways."

"I don't even know what ordinary Outlanders are. Are you saying I'm conspiring with someone else and pretending to be your friend?"

I was so dumbfounded that I wasn't even angry. I took my eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off Baek Yi-hyun's hand rubbing my wrist and raised my head.

At that moment, I heard the sound of metal clicking into place on my wrist. Just as I was about to look down to check my wrist, Baek Yi-hyun opened his mouth.

"You have no connection to the Order?"

"The Order? What's that?"

Baek Yi-hyun didn't explain. He just stared at me.

"I don't know what Order you're talking about. Is it some kind of religion? I'm not religious."

"Ordinary Outlanders come here after they die. You said you just lost consciousness. Coming to this world without dying is impossible without borrowing the power of God."

"I don't know anything about—"

I stopped talking. It wasn't as if there was nothing that came to mind.

"I did pray to God."

After losing Baek Yi-hyun, I went to various religions that I had never been interested in before. I went to temples with my mom, churches with my friends, received free wet wipes handed out on the street and went to church, and even listened to strangers babbling about the afterlife without pushing them away.

I was that desperate. I missed him, and I regretted letting him go like that. If I could turn back time, even by selling my soul, I would have done it.

"I prayed."

My voice was hoarse. I spoke slowly.

"I prayed every day to see you again. Even if it was just in my dreams. Of course, I didn't want it to be like this."

Only after finishing my words did I realize that I had been assuming he was my friend.

Before I could correct myself, I suppressed my breath. I didn't want to show tears. I quickly blinked away the moisture gathering in my eyes and raised my head.

Beyond Baek Yi-hyun, I saw a small device in the corner of the ceiling. It looked like a CCTV camera with a small red light blinking.

I looked at Baek Yi-hyun again. I didn't know when I would have another chance to be alone with him. I wanted to make sure.

"Is that a CCTV camera?"

"Yes."

"Does it record sound too?"

"To some extent. Why?"

"I don't want anyone to hear, so come here for a second..."

I gestured for Baek Yi-hyun to come closer. Baek Yi-hyun stared at me without moving.

His indifferent face pressed down on my heart, and I felt like a fool for constantly treating him like my friend.

Then, as if he were lying, Baek Yi-hyun gently lowered his upper body.

The straps hanging from his uniform brushed against my shoulder as they fell downwards, and I swallowed my breath. Trying not to show my nervousness, I tilted my head close to Baek Yi-hyun's ear and whispered softly.

"Are you good with your left hand when you fight?"

For a moment, Baek Yi-hyun didn't react. He blinked and looked back at me.

"What do you mean?"

I gestured for him to come closer again, but Baek Yi-hyun only straightened his body. He didn't seem to feel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the need to whisper anymore.

Looking up at him, who had moved far away with a straight posture, I had no choice but to cover my mouth with my hand and lower my voice.

"When you spar with other people, even though you're not supposed to use your hands, you hold them so they don't fall..."

"There's no problem."

My strength drained away, and I lowered my gaze. Even though I had somewhat expected that he wasn't the person I knew, my throat tightened.

"Why are you asking this in a whisper?"

"Because it could be a weakness."

I answered weakly.

"Because that was a habit that you, no, my friend, wanted to fix."

My voice was about to break at the end of my sentence, so I bit my lip tightly to swallow it. After suppressing my emotions for a while, I raised my head.

Our eyes met. I stared up at his face, which still didn't reveal any emotions but was so dearly missed, as if possessed. Even though I knew it was just lingering attachment, I really couldn't help it.

"You're so... so similar. Is this possible? Is it like a doppelganger from another dimension? When did you start having memories? If you died in our world and came over here, maybe you lost your memories and forgot your habits, and that's why you can't recognize me..."

Baek Yi-hyun moved. I stopped talking and stiffened as I watched him sit down right next to me.

The hem of Baek Yi-hyun's clothes brushed against my knee. There was a faint metallic smell of iron. It was the smell of blood. My heart clenched again.

"What else is there?"

"Pardon?"

"The me you know. Tell me more."

Something was strange. No matter how much I talked about my friend, it should have been nonsense to him.

My back felt cold. At the same time, I felt something foreign on my wrist.

I lowered my gaze. Baek Yi-hyun was holding my wrist. A slender piece of metal was visible under his large hand.

Something had been fastened to my wrist without me even realizing it. It was a smooth, shiny, silver metal ring.

I hadn't even noticed that something like this was being put on me. It was always like this when I faced Baek Yi-hyun. He was skilled at capturing the other person's attention.

Only then did I realize. Baek Yi-hyun taking care of my wrists and ankles, continuing the conversation with me. It wasn't kindness or patience. He had been testing me all along.

"I won't harm you. It's for confirmation."

"Confirming what?"

"The truth of your words."

Baek Yi-hyun slowly stroked the surface of the smooth metal ring on my wrist, not my wrist itself. His gaze was still fixed on me. He said in a low voice.

"Tell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me the most important information you know about me."

The most important information.

I looked straight at Baek Yi-hyun. The Baek Yi-hyun in front of me was exactly the same as the Baek Yi-hyun I knew, and I could instantly recall the past.

The days that had steadily accumulated since I had been with him. The cycle of seasons that had repeated so many times. The thin, deep layers that had been built up smoothly and firmly over those years.

The most important information. Which one should I choose?

The day we first met. The incident that made us aware of each other's existence. The reason we started living in the same house.

The time it took for you to call my parents Mom and Dad. The awkward relationship between siblings and friends.

The bullying I suffered just because I lived with you. The look on your face when you stood up to my classmates for me. And what you said when I told you I was going to quit sports.

I sifted through those many layers and chose one.

"You saved me and died instead."

Baek Yi-hyun's calm pupils scanned my face carefully. His persistent gaze, as if trying to catch even the slightest reaction, lingered for a long time before falling downwards.

"There's no basis for your words. The problem is..."

The ring on my wrist was silent. Baek Yi-hyun stared at the calm metal without any warning sounds or luminescence and concluded.

"There's no basis to say you're lying either."