Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: A Stolen Breath
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‘…No.’
Her heart pounded with anxiety as she burst out of the lab and ran to the café.
Maybe if Bani was there, it would be okay.
She could call Chacha over, too, and they could chat all night in the café.
But the café was empty.
“Ah…”
Only then did she remember that today wasn’t Bani’s shift.
That’s right, she’d said she was going on a trip to another region with Chacha.
Haon couldn't bring herself to sit anywhere, pacing restlessly near the sofa.
Every seat was empty, yet it felt as if there was no place for her.
A wave of nausea rose in her throat, and her eyes burned hot enough to ache.
Parang never once appeared in her dreams.
She couldn't even apologize in her dreams.
It's my fault. Because I did something I shouldn't have.
I got him killed.
When she'd mutter like this, ‘Juyeol’ would sit beside her, endlessly whispering that it wasn't so.
“It’s not your fault, it’s the terrorists’ fault.”
“They’re the bad guys.”
“Parang wouldn't blame you.”
Listening to those words, it truly started to feel like it wasn’t her fault.
Just when she felt she would suffocate from the guilt that returned every year, ‘Juyeol’ had always created an escape route for her, a narrow opening to slip through.
But there was no such escape here. This was just a swamp.
Because of me…
I did that to Parang…
Guilt, like a thorny vine, dragged Haon down, down, down.
The more she struggled to break free, the more the loneliness of having no one beside her tightened its grip around her neck.
* * *
In the end, Haon found herself at Juyeol’s safe house.
The place was empty, suggesting he hadn't returned yet.
‘I shouldn’t just barge into someone’s house when they’re not here, right?’
Even if she did, she didn't have the courage to sit alone in the empty house.
After a moment of hesitation, Haon set down the paper bag filled with groceries and leaned her back against the wall to sit.
‘He told me not to come. I wonder if he’ll give me an earful for showing up anyway.’
Even so, she had no intention of leaving. She couldn't muster the will.
Just for today, she truly didn't want to be alone.
Rumble…
A low rumble of thunder made Haon flinch.
She looked up at the sky to see it completely blanketed by dark clouds.
‘Bani did say it looked like it was going to rain.’
Plink. Patter.
The moment she had the thought, raindrops began to fall.
The asphalt grew damp, releasing that distinct smell of rain on the road.
“…!”
In that instant, Haon shot to her feet.
She thought she’d heard a scream from somewhere.
The voice was high-pitched.
‘A child?’
Feeling her heart pound, Haon stood up from her spot.
“Blue. Guide me to where that scream came from.”
[Beginning guidance!]
Before Blue could finish, she plunged into the rain.
With every step, it felt as if the ground was sinking beneath her.
Hurry. I have to find them quickly.
Swoooosh—
The gentle drizzle had turned into a torrential downpour.
The rain was so heavy that the drops stung her exposed skin.
She could feel the splashing beneath her feet, but the rain was so loud she couldn't hear a thing.
In a downpour like this, another scream would surely go unheard.
Following Blue's directions, Haon rushed into an alley and found a young girl, collapsed on the ground and sobbing.
“…!”
A scrawny woman was grabbing the girl, shaking her violently as she tried to snatch something away.
Without even checking to see what it was, Haon immediately fired a mana bullet.
Thwack!
The woman was thrown against a wall and knocked unconscious, while the little girl clutched a small bottle, whimpering.
Recognizing the bottle, Haon approached the girl and held out her hand.
“You can’t drink that.”
“I-I wasn’t going to. My mom keeps getting weird after drinking this, so I was trying to stop her…”
The girl placed the potion bottle in Haon’s palm.
Haon was taken aback, not realizing the person she had attacked was the girl's mother.
“I’m sorry.”
The girl shook her head at her apology.
“Go home. And if you see another one of these, just smash it.”
“Okay. I will.”
The girl then helped her mother up and went into a nearby building.
Haon stood there for a long time, dazed, letting the rain soak her.
On this day, the ground beneath her feet always felt unusually empty.
She would walk around feeling like she didn't know what she was standing on.
As if at any moment, her foot could slip and she would plummet into the abyss.
After standing still for a while, Haon finally moved.
‘Juyeol might be back by now.’
She decided to return to the safe house.
The paper bag she’d left by the door was probably soaked. She hoped the groceries weren't scattered all over the ground.
She didn't know how many steps she had taken when a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, painting her vision stark white.
It was the scythe of death that had snatched away the lovely sunlight.
“…!”
Her breath caught in her throat as she felt her feet sink into the darkness.
Then, a colossal roar of thunder that seemed to shake the very heavens tore through the downpour.
“Heok—”
The sensation pierced her eardrums, and Haon desperately gasped for air.
A torrent of mana like a lightning strike.
The scene of the terrorists’ murderous mana crashing down on people’s heads replayed endlessly in her mind.
The building collapsing.
Discovering an arm wearing a sparrow bracelet in the rubble.
Collapsing in front of it herself.
The ground beneath her gives way.
The terrorists’ mana, which had destroyed everything, roared above her head once more.
Haon clutched her chest and sank to the ground.
She didn't know how long she had been gasping for breath.
She was breathing, yet she felt so suffocated that her ears were ringing.
“Parang… Parang…”
She was inhaling a nightmare and exhaling her soul.
Was breathing always this painful?
Her chest felt like it was being crushed and about to burst at the same time.
“Hey. What are you doing out here again?”
Just then, someone knelt down in front of her.
“Ju…”
Haon was so out of breath she couldn't even say his name properly.
The hand that had been reaching for him pressed against her chest again.
Noticing something was wrong, Juyeol grabbed Haon’s shoulders.
“What’s wrong with you? Hey. Try to take a slow, deep breath.”
Haon squeezed her eyes shut as her head spun.
Seeing her look as if she might stop breathing at any second, Juyeol's eyes trembled minutely.
“I said, take a deep breath. Hey. Snap out of it! Eun Haon!”
“Heok… Hh…”
He muttered a curse under his breath, cupped her pale cheeks, and pressed his lips to hers.
Swoooosh—
In this place where only darkness and the sound of rain existed, an unfamiliar warmth bloomed.
“…!”
Haon’s eyes flew open as she belatedly realized what was happening.
Juyeol’s half-lidded eyes were fixed on her, as if to pierce right through her.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from those dark irises.
It felt like she was being swallowed by something. She flinched, and his large hand gently caressed her cheek as if to say it was okay.
She wanted to be deceived by that gentle touch.
To believe that it was really okay. That it wasn't her fault.
As he gave and took her breath, her own breathing slowly began to steady.
Was this what it felt like for lips to touch?
It was only their lips that met, but the warmth spread all the way to her chest.
It was strange. Just moments ago, the ground beneath her had been a swamp, but now it felt solid.
And how breathing, which had been agonizingly painful, was now keeping her alive.
Their lips parted very slowly.
He rested his forehead lightly against hers for a moment before pulling away.
Without thinking, Haon gripped his clothes tightly. Only then did she notice he was wearing a black suit.
Juyeol froze, his Adam’s apple bobbing as it became more pronounced.
He tilted his head down again, then stopped at a certain point, as if restraining himself.
Even so, the distance between them was more than close enough.
With a trembling hand, he carefully traced Haon’s lips.
“…Why are you like this?”
His voice was husky.
As a wave of relief washed over her, allowing her to finally breathe, tears streamed down Haon’s face.
“Juyeol.”
Juyeol stiffened as Haon threw herself into his arms, then slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.
Her sobbing in his embrace was heartbreaking.
He held Haon securely in his arms and walked through the rain.
With every step he took toward the safe house, Haon moved further and further away from the swamp.
* * *
After emerging from the bathroom, Haon was dressed in Juyeol’s clothes.
He'd said they were old clothes that were now too small for him, but they were still far too big for Haon.
As the feverish fog in her head began to clear, her mind kept replaying what had happened in the rain.
Haon had been anxiously pacing, clutching the doorknob, right until the moment she stepped out of the bathroom.
‘Juyeol was probably just helping me, but…’
While his actions had been nothing more than a simple and effective remedy, her lips still tingled as if they’d been branded.
Haon buried her hot face in a towel and shook her head vigorously.
‘That was my first time…!’
Aside from pecking the orphanage director on the cheek, her lips had never even brushed against a man’s cheek.
Since she was young, Haon's only interest had been Mana Engineering. She had truly done nothing but study.
Even if that weren't the case, she had skipped grades and graduated early from every school she attended.
She had always taken classes with people much older than her, and the war had started before she even became an adult.
She’d never had the thought, or the time, to experience a sweet, youthful romance.
Lifting her still-flushed face, Haon suddenly felt that perhaps she shouldn't be thinking this way.
‘Juyeol is a Hero, and he was just saving someone in distress… It might be rude of me to even think about it like this.’
She clutched the towel in her hands and told herself firmly.
‘So it was just something to be thankful for. It wasn't… it wasn't a f-first kiss.’
Clatter. Clatter.
Just then, a noise from the kitchen broke through her flustered thoughts.