It was about Yun-Jung. Since it was something I had already been considering, I nodded calmly. I gave a subtle signal, like 'Go ahead, let's hear it,' but An-Hyun kept hesitating, opening his mouth only to close it again.
I waited patiently for him to speak.
After a moment, An-Hyun swallowed hard and finally began.
"Hyung. I'm not trying to snitch or anything, but... I think Yun-Jung's recent behavior has been a bit too much."
"Didn't you say we should just leave her alone?"
When I responded with a faint smile, An-Hyun scratched his head awkwardly.
"Yeah, that's true… Honestly, I just wanted to agree with Yeon-Joo-Nim back then. Of course, I still don't think what Yun-Jung did was right. But lately, over the past day or two, her behavior seems to be crossing the line… The atmosphere's been really weird too."
Go Yeon-Joo, huh. Has she already gotten to An-Hyun? I clicked my tongue inwardly and asked again.
"What kind of behavior do you mean by 'too much'? Tell me more specifically."
When I showed even a slight sign of paying attention, An-Hyun seemed to make up his mind. With a determined look in his eyes, he began voicing the frustrations he had been holding in.
"You know too, right, hyung? She barely talks to the rest of the group these days. It got so bad that Sol tried to force a conversation with her yesterday, but Yun-Jung completely ignored her and just walked upstairs. You saw that, didn't you? And that's not all. She didn't even come down to the first floor yesterday or today. Well… I guess it's possible she came when I wasn't around, but I don't think I've seen her training at all lately."
"Hmmm."
As I let out a low hum, An-Hyun glanced at me to read my reaction, then continued in a more cautious voice.
"I know I said before that we should just forget about her… But still, we've been through a lot together. I just think it might not be a bad idea if you said something to her—before things get worse."
Hearing An-Hyun's words, I let a small smile form on my lips. It was clear that over time, his personality had changed a lot. The sharp-edged side of him I'd seen during the rite of passage had softened. His current traits, now leaning toward Amity and Moderation, proved my thoughts. It seemed like he couldn't just leave Yun-Jung as she was—something about it still bothered him. Well, after all the clashes they'd had, maybe even resentment had turned into a kind of attachment.
I nodded once at his request and quietly opened my mouth to speak.
"Well… considering how much time we've spent together, just leaving her like this doesn't make sense."
"Right?"
When I responded affirmatively, An-Hyun brightened up and quickly followed up. I gave a soft smile, but continued in a cold voice.
"Yeah. Abandon—hmm. No, at the very least, she deserves one more chance. Since we're already talking about it, might as well deal with it now. An-Hyun, go find Yun-Jung and tell her to come to my room."
At my words, a flicker of surprise crossed An-Hyun's eyes. Honestly, I had to admit that saying it outright didn't sit right with me either, so I changed 'even if I abandon her' to 'at least'—a subtle correction. That one chance was, in a way, the line I'd drawn.
As long as she didn't cross that line, I was still willing to guide her going forward. While I didn't approve of her current behavior, I understood the feelings she held toward me—and I could empathize with the emotions she was going through. However, if she kept acting this way, then no matter how much potential she had or how devoted she seemed, my stance on her would inevitably change. After all, this was Hall Plain.
For now, I'd follow my own judgment. But if things didn't improve, I'd have to take Go Yeon-Joo's opinion more seriously. Sensing the strange shift in my mood, An-Hyun hesitated for a moment before reluctantly responding.
"She might be asleep right now…"
"Then wake her up and bring her."
"Huh? Oh… okay, hyung. I'll go get her right now."
Without even waiting for my response, he dashed out of the room. Watching him rush off, I quietly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Then, I reached into my coat and brought out the demon sword, Sculepf, which I'd kept tucked away for some time.
The moment I saw its blood-rusted blade, Sculepf let out a chilling wave of murderous energy. Without hesitation, I struck the blade hard with my knuckles.
Thwack!
"You dare radiate killing intent in front of me?"
Vmmm!
"Oh? You've got some nerve."
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Vmmmm…
After striking it three times in a row, Sculepf finally withdrew its bloodlust, settling quietly into my hand. Staring down at the now-docile demon sword, I spoke to it in a low voice.
"Stay still. The one who might become your new master could be on their way."
Vmm. Vmmm.
"I'm not lying. Seriously. Anyway… I don't mind your personality, but you need to learn your place."
"Uung?"
Looking at the guy who pretended like nothing happened while buzzing with vibrations, I growled out my words.
"Keep it in check. A little aggression is fine, but… if you go blood-crazy again, I'll rip you away and toss you into the toilet. Or maybe offer you up to the temple's purification altar. Got it?"
"Ung...! Uung. Uung. U~ung."
I pressed down on the squirming Scureph in my hand, waiting for An-Hyun. Scureph was writhing in rebellion, as if it actually wanted me to use it. But there was no way I was giving in. The cursed sword had been letting out a pitiful hum for a while, but eventually it gave up, its blade (or what could be considered one) drooping weakly.
I killed time by idly tapping on Scureph (though it didn't respond anymore). While I waited, I heard someone stomping up the stairs with heavy steps. I crushed out the last of my cigarette and nudged the sword awake.
"Hey. Wake up. I think your owner's coming."
"Ung!"
At that moment, Scureph vibrated once in response to my words. It was pretending not to care, but it clearly seemed excited about meeting a new master.
But the moment the door burst open and I saw who came in, my expectations were completely off. The person who stormed in wasn't Yun-Jung—it was An-Hyun. Something was clearly wrong—his face was flushed red, and he was panting heavily, breathing like he'd just run a marathon.
"Hyung!"
As soon as An-Hyun saw me, he shouted out loud. His voice was laced with a strong sense of injustice.
"You… What's going on? And where's Yun-Jung?"
"Ah…! Don't even ask. I must've been out of my damn mind to worry about that crazy girl even for a second. Ugh, seriously. I just wanna—gah! I'm so pissed."
"What happened?"
"Don't even get me started. She wouldn't open the door, no matter how much I knocked. So I forced it open, and bam—full-blown hysteria. She scratched me, hit me, cussed me out like crazy. I barely made it out alive. Look at this!"
An-Hyun shoved his arm toward me, clearly desperate to prove how unfair the whole thing was. Sure enough, there were long red scratch marks and the outline of a hand clearly visible on his skin—bright enough to stand out even at a glance.
I stared silently at his arm for a moment, then slowly stood up. As I started walking toward the door, An-Hyun panicked and tried to stop me.
"H-Hyung, don't go right now. Yun-Jung totally flipped. She might go off on you too!"
Yun-Jung cursing at me and swinging her hands? An-Hyun's words made me scoff without meaning to. The Yun-Jung I knew would never do something like that. And even if she had, then…
Before stepping out the door, I asked An-Hyun in a low voice,
"Is Yun-Jung on the third floor right now?"
"No. She packed her things and moved down to the second floor. But hyung, seriously—"
"If she doesn't want to come, then it's better I go. Anyway, you did well. Leave the rest to me and go get some rest."
I cut An-Hyun off firmly, not letting him finish his sentence. He looked troubled, probably still uneasy about the way I had responded earlier. His lips trembled slightly, like he wanted to say something more.
But I didn't stop. I turned my back and walked out the door.
"Hyung…"
I heard An-Hyun's anxious voice behind me—but I didn't respond.
Just as An-Hyun said, I couldn't sense Yun-Jung's presence on the third floor. So I went straight down to the second floor and drew out as much mana as I could, expanding my detection field widely. A massive flow of mana swept through the second floor—and I picked up her presence in the room at the very end of the hallway on the left.
I stopped briefly in front of the door where I felt Yun-Jung's presence, then knocked lightly a couple of times.
Knock knock.
I wondered if she might ignore me, but—fortunately enough—she responded right away.
"Piss off."
"..."
Knock knock knock knock.
"Ah… fuck, seriously. Hey. I said piss off, didn't I? Do my words sound like dogshit to you, you crazy bastard?"
Yun-Jung probably thought I was An-Hyun. Hearing her rough way of talking again after so long actually felt kind of refreshing. A mischievous impulse came over me, and I decided to knock one more time—but this time with a rhythm.
Knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock knock. Knock knock.
As the rhythm echoed through the door, her voice came again—this time even more irritated.
"For the love of God, just fuck off, you goddamn son of a bitch! Don't stand there spewing bullshit—go jack off to that chick with the spear or something. Jesus… some nutjob keeps pestering people like he owns the place."
I chuckled at her explosive swearing, then casually turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
Once I entered, I saw Yun-Jung lying in bed, completely buried under her blanket. She couldn't see me with it pulled up over her head, but she must've realized someone had entered—the covers gave a big flutter, probably from her kicking hard inside.
I slowly closed the distance between us, approaching the bed. As I did, a sharp voice, muffled slightly by the blanket, rang out through the room.
"I'm warning you. Touch me again like before and I swear I'll kill you. You lay even a finger on me, and we're both going down."
"..."
"I told you not to come. If you're just here to say more bullshit, then get out."
Bullshit, huh. What in the world did An-Hyun say to get called out like that? I could guess that when he came to fetch Yun-Jung, he probably said some pretty rough things. Curiosity about what exactly was said tugged at me, but those answers would come in time—so I slowly approached her.
Once I was right beside the bed, I reached my hand toward where I assumed her head was. And without a moment's hesitation, my hand slipped under the blanket.
"...!"
Soon, I felt soft hair against the palm of my hand. And the moment I touched her, I could feel her whole body flinch. Without stopping, I gently stroked her hair. Once, twice, three times, four, five…
"Ugh...."
After stroking her head more than ten times, the trembling in her body gradually began to settle. By now, she had probably realized that the person who came in wasn't An-Hyun. No—she had most likely figured out it was me. Honestly, I found it a bit fascinating. That she could tell it was me just from the touch of a hand brushing her hair.
"…Op…pa…?"
After a long stretch of awkward silence, it was Yun-Jung who finally spoke first. I gently gave her hair a small squeeze in response, letting her know it was me, and then pulled my hand away.
When I softly tried to pull back the blanket that was covering her, a faint resistance held it down—it wouldn't budge. It seemed like Yun-Jung was holding on tightly from underneath. With a faint smile, I spoke in a gentle voice.
"Yun-Jung-ah. Lift the blanket a bit. Let me see your face for a moment."
At my words, Yun-Jung shook her head. The part of the blanket puffed up over her head wobbles side to side. When I tried again to lift the blanket, she pressed it down firmly once more. I wasn't using much force—and neither was she. I could have pulled it off easily if I applied just a bit more strength, but I didn't want to.
About a minute passed as we continued this small, meaningless power struggle. Then, I saw the blanket begin to lightly tremble. At the same time, the strength with which Yun-Jung had been holding it down gave out completely. Letting out a quiet sigh inside, I gently pulled back the now-weakened blanket.
And then, I saw Yun-Jung with her face buried in the bed, her shoulders trembling intermittently. She was crying—silently, trying to hold it in.
"Yun-Jung-ah. Let's talk for a bit."
As I spoke gently and softly tried to turn her head, I felt a slight resistance. She was doing everything she could to avoid showing her face, but in the end, unable to resist my persistent hand, she finally let her face show just a little.
Yun-Jung, whose face was now partially visible, had her eyes tightly shut and her lips firmly bitten. As I watched the clear streams of tears continue to flow from her closed eyes, I sat down lightly on the edge of the bed.
"Aaang…"
The moment she fully turned her head, Yun-Jung finally let out the sob she'd been holding back all this time. Tears streamed down her face without end, as if everything she'd been carrying burst at once. Watching her cry like that, I spoke in a calm voice.
.
.
.
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