HIF 4

Red Bloodstains on White Clothes

Seon Yi-han’s face, already pale, seemed even more wan.

‘He’s really suffering from motion sickness. If so, he should have said something…’

It’s not like I could have done anything, but it’s better to say something if you’re not feeling well. But Seon Yi-han didn’t seem to like showing that he was in pain.

Click.

I reached out and slightly opened the window. Raen hyungnim used to do this when he felt motion sickness. A little bit of cold air seeped in through the small opening.

“Then sleep. It’ll be a while before we arrive.”

“Uh… It’s not that bad.”

Seon Yi-han, looking as pale as if he were about to collapse, stared blankly out the window.

If he insisted he was okay, I was going to continue telling him about the hyungnims, but after saying a few words, it didn’t seem like he was listening properly.

I decided to change direction and ask questions instead, since I could explain later.

“Seon Yi-han. Are you going to stay awake like that?”

“…Yeah.”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“…Uh.”

I was tired just looking at him. I swallowed the words that rose up and opened my mouth.

“Your face is pale.”

“Uh-huh… Is that so….”

“Don’t you feel sick?”

“…Yeah.”

“…You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”

“…Uh-huh.”

If he was going to be this stubborn, he should at least nod. Seon Yi-han continued to answer stubbornly, even with a dazed expression. Though it didn’t seem like he was really listening.

His light blue eyes, turned towards the window, blinked slower and slower. But even so, Seon Yi-han never fell asleep.

“Hey, Seon Yi-han.”

Hey, hey. I called him that a few more times. Seon Yi-han turned his head and met my gaze.

“Seon Yi-han, you’re really, really.”

…So stubborn. I swallowed the words I was about to say. He looked so unwell, but just sleep, I was about to repeat what I had already said several times, when Seon Yi-han slowly opened his mouth.

“…Hey, Min Joo-hyuk.”

Suddenly, the way he called me felt much more comfortable. Well, I had been calling him comfortably since earlier.

Seon Yi-han was the same age as me, so I thought he felt strangely awkward using informal speech, but now it seemed like there was no awkwardness at all.

It seemed like he was half out of it, but I liked it if he would treat me this comfortably in the future.

I smiled and looked at Seon Yi-han, signaling him to continue. Seon Yi-han continued in a languid voice.

“…I’m really… I’m really, okay… I, …said.”

Correction. I liked that he was treating me comfortably, but I wished he would at least listen to me.

‘What do you mean, okay….’

I suddenly worried about what to do when we moved forward.

People without Mana are strained if they are heavily exposed to magic. So I won’t be able to use Teleport for Seon Yi-han.

Whether I was worried or not, Seon Yi-han, with a blank look that didn’t reveal what he was thinking, turned his gaze back to the window.

◇

I wondered if Seon Yi-han would fall asleep on his own if I didn’t say anything, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Each time the carriage shook, Seon Yi-han’s slender neck tilted slowly. Seon Yi-han still kept his gaze fixed on the window. I wondered what he was looking at so intently, so I followed his gaze.

Um, I see grass, and I see trees.

I felt sorry for having these thoughts in front of Seon Yi-han, who was looking so intently, but since only the same scenery was passing by, there was nothing to really see.

‘He’s just staring blankly, Seon Yi-han.’

Even after a long time of silence, Seon Yi-han remained awake with his pale face.

“…Ah.”

Then I heard a quiet voice. Wondering what was wrong, I took my eyes off the window and turned my gaze to Seon Yi-han.

Seon Yi-han was looking down. His white clothes were slowly being stained with red drops of blood, one by one.

“Hey, Seon Yi-han!”

The languid feeling vanished. I was so surprised that my heart dropped, and I jumped up from my seat.

Thud, thud.

The sound of blood droplets falling on Seon Yi-han’s thin clothes echoed quietly. The clear sound, inappropriate for the situation, felt foreign.

The bright red marks slowly spreading on the pure white background were eerily vivid.

“Hah.”

A situation overlapped with that image. Suddenly, I felt breathless. My heart beat violently. My hands trembled. My vision seemed to spin.

‘No. Don’t think about it.’

I clenched my fist tightly. This was not the time for this. Past memories should be used as stepping stones to move forward. I couldn’t allow myself to be buried and floundering in memories. It couldn’t be allowed.

But, contrary to my desperate wish, the situation from the last battle was vividly drawn in my mind.

◇

Wooong.

A faint barrier rippled around us.

In the last battle, I cast Defense magic around us, as I always did. And I chanted a spell to hold back the Monsters that surged forward.

Park Yul hyungnim and Raen hyungnim were using Attack magic against the Monsters in the front.

Song Ha-gyun hyungnim was standing to my right. He occasionally cast Attack magic at the Monsters that slipped through, and wrote something in a notebook while wearing his Monocle.

“Uh.”

Suddenly, Raen hyungnim took a short breath and turned around. At that sight, I also tried to turn my head back, but,

Thwack.

Song Ha-gyun hyungnim pushed me hard. A gruesome sound of flesh being pierced rang out above me as I collapsed to the ground.

Raen hyungnim urgently shot magic to attack the Monster behind me, but it was already too late.

“Ugh….”

Song Ha-gyun hyungnim was holding his left shoulder. His clothes were quickly soaked with bright red blood. The blood that flowed down dripped onto the floor.

I was breathless. If I had noticed the Monsters’ presence more quickly. If I had put up more layers of Defense magic. Countless regrets and guilt stabbed at my heart.

Song Ha-gyun hyungnim’s notebook was lying right next to me. Hot drops of blood slowly poured onto it.

Thud, thud.

The sound of blood droplets falling echoed quietly. It was a clear sound that didn’t fit the situation.

The bright red marks slowly spreading on the pure white paper were captured in my vision, eerily vivid.

◇

Rustle.

The small sound of fabric brushing against each other broke through my thoughts. Seon Yi-han was raising his hand.

Seon Yi-han slowly brought his pale hand down to his face. Drops of blood fell onto his white palm, one by one.

I let out a small breath. My dizzy vision gradually stabilized. My mind calmed down a little. Fortunately, not much time had passed while I was lost in thought.

“Seon Yi-han. Hold this against it.”

I took a handkerchief out of my pocket and handed it to Seon Yi-han.

I was glad I had a handkerchief with me. I couldn’t use Summoning magic, which required a lot of Mana, next to Seon Yi-han.

“…Why.”

Seon Yi-han muttered in a small voice. Then, holding the handkerchief in his hand, he looked up at me with a blank face. His clear eyes were shaking slightly. They were filled with bewilderment.

‘Does he not know how to stop the bleeding?’

Looking at his expression, I thought that might be the case.

“Hey, don’t lift your head.”

I put my hand on the back of Seon Yi-han’s round head and gently pressed down. His soft hair touched my palm. Seon Yi-han kept his head down as I touched him.

I folded the handkerchief a couple of times and brought it to Seon Yi-han’s face. Then I pressed his nose firmly to stop the bleeding. Seon Yi-han still had a bewildered expression and looked like he was thinking hard about something.

Suddenly, Seon Yi-han slightly furrowed his brow. I wondered if I had pressed too hard, so I slightly loosened my grip, but,

“…Ah.”

Seon Yi-han exclaimed as if he had realized something. It seemed like he finally understood how to stop the bleeding.

“Yeah. Stay like that.”

I grabbed Seon Yi-han’s hand and brought it to the handkerchief. After confirming that he was properly stopping the bleeding, I removed my hand from the back of his head.

Seon Yi-han kept his head down. He seemed proud that he was stopping the bleeding well, and had a somewhat satisfied expression.

◇

Seon Yi-han’s nosebleed finally stopped.

I was worried because it didn’t stop for longer than I thought, but fortunately, after waiting and watching, it did stop.

‘Um… What should I do about the blood on his clothes.’

I had roughly cleaned up the floor, but the problem was the clothes that were already stained with blood. The red marks were clear on the sleeves and the hems of his trousers. The only way to clean this was to use magic.

“Seon Yi-han. Have you ever seen anyone use magic around you?”

“…No?”

Seon Yi-han seemed to understand the question and thought for a while before answering. Since he lived in the temple, it seemed like he wouldn’t have been exposed to magic.

But Clean magic used so little Mana that it was taught as soon as you entered the academy, so it should be okay to use.

“I’m going to use magic to remove the blood from your clothes now, so if anything feels strange, tell me right away.”

“…Okay.”

“It should be fine, but just in case. You don’t have to worry too much.”

I knelt on the floor and brought my hand to the hem of his trousers near his knee, where the blood was. As I chanted Clean magic, the vivid blood faded away and soon disappeared.

“Seon Yi-han. Are you okay now?”

“…Yeah. I’m okay.”

Seon Yi-han, who answered immediately, still had a blank expression, but he didn’t seem to be in pain or uncomfortable. As expected, it seemed like he was okay with being exposed to this small amount of Mana.

‘But it’s better to minimize the use of magic as much as possible.’

Since his physical condition didn’t seem very good, it would be good to be careful even with small things. I thought I could hide the blood on his sleeves by folding them up a little.

“I’ll just fold up the sleeves.”

Saying that, I slightly rolled up and folded Seon Yi-han’s sleeves, which were covering his hands widely.

‘…What is this.’

I saw a roughly wrapped bandage. The bandage ran from just above Seon Yi-han’s slender wrist to about halfway up his forearm. I could vaguely see blood through it.