The Face He Had Hidden

Return. She couldn't forget that sight. Lying in her hospital bed, lost in deep thought, the scenes Yusoha kept replaying were the ones she'd witnessed only days ago. The knight who could barely stand had suddenly risen. Golden mana had flooded his body. His battered armor had been temporarily restored, and the torn red cloak had returned to its pristine form, scattering golden light in every direction. And that wasn't all. The broken greatsword he always carried had become whole in an instant, unleashing one final strike. The moment that blow landed, the Orc King's body split in two... and the ashen orcs crumbled into gray dust, scattering on the wind. Finally, the land that had been covered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in cooled lava regained its vitality as grass and flowers bloomed across it. It was an absolutely unforgettable sight.

Yet Yusoha had no memory of what came afterward. She had collapsed unconscious the instant the battle ended, overwhelmed by her injuries. Fortunately, Hwanryeong Team 2 still had enough strength to drag her all the way back to base camp. From there, she was immediately transported to Hwanryeong headquarters after they received the alert. Eclipse, too, had vanished from the team's sight the moment she fell, apparently reverse-summoned. Yusoha felt a lingering regret about that. After all the effort it had taken for him to remove his helmet, she hadn't managed to get a proper look at his face.

She had tried hard to recall it, but the memory refused to surface. Her mind had been hazy from the severe wounds anyway. The only detail that remained was that his hair was black. Everything beneath it—his eyes, nose, lips—was a blank. It made sense. Right after, he had been enveloped in brilliant golden light, completely obscuring his features. She'd asked the others, but they claimed they hadn't seen his face clearly either. When she inquired about video recordings, she was told every piece of footage had been destroyed. The clash between the Orc King's immense mana and Eclipse's had wrecked all nearby devices. As a result, no one truly knew what Eclipse looked like. Only that he had black hair.

They had called him scar-covered. Just how many wounds did he carry? Perhaps his features were more refined than anyone imagined. "I'm so curious I can't even sleep," Yusoha muttered with a small laugh, gazing out the window. Several days had passed, yet her body showed no sign of obeying her. Pain throbbed through her skull. No matter how advanced modern medicine had become... injuries of that magnitude made this outcome inevitable.

Many people had visited her room: Shin Seongmin and the members of Hwanryeong Team 2, who had been injured alongside her but only lightly; her older sister, Yu Danha; her father and mother; and her grandparents. They all told her the North Korea expedition had been a resounding success. Simply defeating the Orc King had caused the erosion across the entire region to recede. It seemed the monster had been the core of the gate contamination for all of North Korea. Naturally, her name had skyrocketed in value. On top of that, her earlier unveiling of her Guardian Star, Eclipse, during the Hwanryeong tournament combined with this latest achievement had sent her reputation soaring to insane heights.

If she recovered and her contributions were fully acknowledged, she would proudly claim a spot on the S-Class Awakened roster. Yet despite all that... her heart remained uneasy. Eclipse had given no response at all. Even though she had woken up.

Life in the hospital room was tedious. Setting aside the occasional spikes of pain, the only thing she could do while lying there was watch the TV mounted on the wall. Day after day, the broadcasts sang her praises. The announcer's excited voice drifted into her ears.

Yusoha turned the TV off without listening further. Silence settled once more over the comfortable private room. For some reason, she felt a hollow emptiness creeping into her chest. Maybe it was because she could no longer hear that familiar voice. It was strange. She couldn't remember ever wanting to hear someone's voice this badly before. Was it because of the bond between a Guardian Star and its contractor? Or because he was the person she had always admired? She wasn't sure... but one thing was certain. She hoped he would appear before her again, perfectly fine.

With that thought, Yusoha looked out the window. Having slept the entire day away, she realized the sun was already high in the sky. Still, she felt no energy to do anything. She reached out and drew the curtains. With the lights off, the room quickly grew dim. Surrendering herself to the darkness, Yusoha closed her eyes.

Eclipse opened his eyes. He retraced his memories. He remembered slaying the Orc King and purifying the gate, but nothing after that. He realized he was holding his dented helmet. Then where was he now? The answer came easily. This was the subspace where Guardian Stars resided before materializing. He looked out at the scene beyond. Yusoha was sleeping in her hospital bed. Her injuries looked quite severe. Then again, she had been caught in the Orc King's mana storm. It was a miracle she hadn't died instantly.

He nodded and looked at her again. No one was at her bedside. Knowing her personality, she had probably driven everyone away. She hated showing weakness to others. With injuries this bad, the pain must have been immense. She would stubbornly grit her teeth and endure it alone. Eclipse knew better than anyone the loneliness of having no one by your side during hard times. He also knew how much warmth it could bring to even the coldest corner of your heart just to have someone there when you were hurting after a battle.

He materialized. The shabby armor, drained of mana and returned to its worn state, appeared in reality. The dented helmet in his hand was the same. He held it for a moment, considering, then simply set it on the nearby table. His hair had grown long enough to obstruct his vision. He swept it back with one hand and quietly watched Yusoha. How long had he been standing there?

"...Mmm."

The sound of her soft groan reached his ears. The moment Yusoha opened her eyes, she sensed someone beside her. Forcing her unfocused gaze to sharpen, she looked up at the figure standing there. Worn armor. Her eyes hadn't even reached his face yet. The instant she saw the armor, she bolted upright in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bed.

"Eclipse? What about your condition?" Her still-healing body screamed in protest, but she didn't care.

"It's fine. Rather than worrying about me, it seems you should worry about yourself first."

Only after recognizing his presence and blurting out her concern did Yusoha's gaze finally reach his face. She could only stare in blank astonishment. They had called him scar-covered. Yet the face before her was flawless, without a single mark. Deep, dark eyes reflected her own image back at her.

"Ah... huh?"

The most shocking thing was, of course, Eclipse's appearance. Yusoha had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women living on Earth. Yet none of them could compare to the refined beauty standing before her. She could declare it with absolute certainty. How could anyone even describe a face like that? If someone called him the handsomest man of the century, everyone would simply nod in agreement.

"Y-your face..."

"Ah." Eclipse touched his face with a worn gauntlet and spoke. "I'm sorry, Soha. For lying to you all this time. I apologize for everything."

The first words out of his mouth were naturally an apology. Yusoha couldn't understand why he was suddenly apologizing. No, the entire moment itself made no sense. The impact of seeing his face was so overwhelming that she couldn't keep her thoughts straight. She nearly fell into a daze.

"Hah... scar-covered, they said..."

"I'm sorry. I ended up deceiving you without meaning to."

"...Why?"

"Because I've been through a lot before."

Eclipse told her about what had happened in his previous world—how a princess whose escort he had been assigned to accidentally saw his face, and how she and the other nobles had tormented him because of it. Yusoha could only nod in understanding once she heard the story.

"I see."

Even so, she still couldn't look directly at his face. If she wasn't careful, she might end up acting just like the princess in his story. What kind of face even was that? She was finally beginning to understand why he had kept it hidden all this time. Just imagining that bare face appearing on the news gave her chills. He would be called the man of the century while obsessive fans stalked him relentlessly. No matter how much Yusoha liked standing above others, she had no desire to receive cursed objects from deranged fans.

It had already been proven that human-form Guardian Stars could be exceptionally attractive, but Eclipse existed on an entirely different level. He practically glowed just by standing still. There was no need to guess how ordinary people would react if they saw him. Yusoha discreetly covered her eyes with her hand. Normal conversation seemed impossible while looking at his face.

"Sorry. I'll stay like this for a while. I'll accept your apology. Now that I see it, I understand why you tried so hard to hide your face..."

She needed time to adjust. She absolutely refused to show him an unflattering side of herself. "But why did you suddenly take your helmet off?"

"Because now I can trust you. You, and the people from Hwanryeong Team 2."

"Ah."

Yusoha's face flushed bright red. She was already doing everything she could not to be charmed, and comments like that were completely unfair. It was driving her crazy. Being too handsome was its own kind of problem.

"Eclipse."

"Hm?"

"This might sound bad after you finally showed your face, but... could you cover it for a while? I think I need time to get used to it."

"Understood."

"And from now on, only show your face in front of me. Got it? If you walk around with that face uncovered, it'll cause chaos. You don't want to deal with that hassle either, right?"

"...Right."

"Good. Then... first, how's your condition? I'll tell you everything that's happened while you were gone."

"I'm perfectly fine. I was simply resting because my energy was depleted. On the contrary, I think you should be more concerned about your own condition."

"I'm okay too. It still hurts a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit, but... the Hwanryeong medical team is incredibly skilled. I'll recover soon."

"What about the other team members?"

"No one was hurt as badly as me. Everyone's safe."

"That's a relief. Ah, by the way, what happened with your S-Class promotion?"

"The S-Class promotion is practically guaranteed. I just need to prove my individual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠capability a little more."

"Individual capability?"

"Yeah. A lot of people are skeptical. Some think Shin Seongmin or you carried the entire expedition. So I need to shut those voices up."

"Sounds troublesome in many ways."

"Once I'm fully healed, it'll be quick. Anyway, as soon as that proof is done, they said they'll issue me the S-Class license right away."

Yusoha's face was radiant as she spoke. Although her hand still covered her eyes, the smile on her lips alone told Eclipse just how happy she was.

"That's good to hear."

"It's all thanks to you. Because of you, I was able to join the North Korea expedition. Because of you, I survived it. Because of you, I was able to grow."

"All of that was only possible because of your own effort."

"Hearing you say that makes me happy. Still... thank you. Having you as my Guardian Star was the greatest stroke of luck in my life."

Watching Yusoha smile brightly at him, Eclipse smiled back. Then, still smiling, he gently took the hand she had been using to cover her eyes and pulled it down.

"...Huh?"

When she looked at him in confusion, Eclipse lowered her hand completely and met her gaze. Was it just his imagination that her bewildered expression looked somehow adorable?

"This is the face you've been wanting to see so badly, isn't it? Look as much as you want."

"N-no, wait! I told you I need time to adjust!"

Eclipse let out a bright, cheerful laugh. Yusoha stared at his smiling face, flushed crimson all over again, and hurriedly turned her head away while shouting in protest.