HIF 6

Abnormal Access

I couldn’t take my eyes off the golden hair fluttering in the wind.

If you were to draw the word “hero,” it would look exactly like the figure before me.

If Min Joo-hyuk was like the cool breeze of early morning, he was like the midday sun. Under the brightly shining sunlight, his fair and clear skin glowed with healthy vitality.

‘So, people called heroes, they really all shine like this.’

As I stood blankly in front of the gate, lost in thought, I felt a gentle warmth on my wrist.

It was Min Joo-hyuk’s hand. His hand, larger than I expected, completely enveloped my wrist and still had plenty of room to spare. Min Joo-hyuk met my eyes and said,

“Seon Yi-han. It’s okay, come on in.”

Drawn in by his slowly guiding hand, I stepped briskly through the gate. The scent of flowers carried on the wind grew stronger. I heard Min Joo-hyuk’s voice beside me.

“Park Yul hyung! Have you been waiting long?”

“I just came out, Joo-hyuk. You’re here early. And…”

He spoke with a gentle smile, then turned his gaze from Min Joo-hyuk to me. He still wore that bright, innocent smile.

“Hello. I’m Seon Yi-han.”

“Hi, Yi-han. I’m Park Yul. Feel free to speak comfortably.”

His voice was warm and calm, as if sunlight had melted into it.

“Yes, Yul hyung.”

I answered with force, but the voice I uttered somehow seemed to tremble.

◇

Min Joo-hyuk and Park Yul exchanged a few words on the spot. Then Park Yul brought up the topic.

“Joo-hyuk, Raen said he’s reinforced the Defense magic training room.”

The hand that was holding my wrist flinched. Ah, I realized now. Min Joo-hyuk, he was still holding on.

In front of me, Park Yul continued speaking to Min Joo-hyuk in a gentle voice.

“Just like you said before. He told me to tell you when you arrived.”

Min Joo-hyuk paused for a moment without answering.

Looking to the side, his face was a little stiff. I didn’t know what the situation was, but his serious expression made it seem like he wanted to go there right away.

I stared blankly at Min Joo-hyuk’s firm hand. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he was holding me. I poked the back of his hand, and Min Joo-hyuk stiffened slightly. Then he quickly turned to me.

He looked somewhat surprised. I met Min Joo-hyuk’s gaze and opened my mouth.

“Go. It seems like it’s important.”

“No, I’ll take you there first. Do you know where your room is?”

I didn’t. But I didn’t want to waste his time. As I was thinking, I heard Park Yul’s voice.

“It’s okay, Joo-hyuk. Go ahead. Shall I go with Yi-han? We can talk too.”

I immediately nodded to Park Yul, who was looking at me.

Seeing Min Joo-hyuk still seemed a little hesitant, I took off the coat draped over my shoulders and handed it back to him. Min Joo-hyuk looked at his clothes in his hand, then opened his mouth as if he couldn’t help it.

“I’ll go first. Thank you, Park Yul hyung!”

Then he added a few useless words, saying that I looked tired and needed to rest. Park Yul nodded with a smiling face beside him.

‘I’m not tired.’

I wanted to say that I was perfectly fine right now. But the reason was that I had taken a nap on the way here, so I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Min Joo-hyuk finished speaking smoothly while I kept my mouth shut. Min Joo-hyuk, who turned to me, put his hand on my head and lightly ruffled my hair.

“I’ll go. Get some rest.”

Then he ran off briskly and disappeared into the building in an instant.

Chasing after his quick figure, I stood blankly for a moment, then gently smoothed the hair that Min Joo-hyuk had ruffled. Park Yul chuckled and finished tidying up my hair.

I moved my feet slowly. I stepped on a wide, flat stone that was heated warmly underfoot. I raised my head and saw the square, cozy building I had seen earlier right in front of me. The door was in the very center.

Creak.

Park Yul opened the door. It didn’t look very old, but it made a sound like a machine creaking and turning, as if it were rusty.

I couldn’t see anything inside the building. It seemed empty. The interior seemed very dark. I took a step inside.

At the same time, a strong gust of wind blew. Surprised, I instinctively closed my eyes tightly and stepped back. Just as I was about to fall backward because something caught my foot.

Thud, I felt a hand on my back. I slowly opened my eyes. Park Yul was reaching out to my back, supporting me firmly.

“Yi-han, were you very surprised?”

I was surprised. To be honest, I was so surprised that I almost rubbed my eyes hard and opened them again.

It wasn’t because of the wind. It was because of the appearance of the building’s interior.

Bright sunlight was pouring in without filtering. When I raised my head and looked up, I saw a circular glass embedded in the top of the round ceiling instead of a solid wall. Perhaps that was why the interior of the building was sparkling and bright.

A staircase with gentle curves led to the second floor along the wall. A plush carpet was laid on the floor.

‘It didn’t look this big from the outside.’

As I was pondering the discrepancy between the interior and exterior of the building, I heard a clear laugh right next to me. It was Park Yul.

“I’m sorry for surprising you so much.”

His voice, mixed with a faint smile, was playful, as if he were teasing me rather than apologizing. But since I was indeed surprised, I turned my head and looked up at Park Yul with wide eyes.

Park Yul continued in a light voice.

“I needed a large space. But it wouldn’t be good to stand out, so I used magic when I first designed it. To make it look like an ordinary building from the outside.”

So magic could do things like this. As I admired its usefulness and looked around, I felt the hand that had been on my back move away, and then I felt a weight on my head.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? That the appearance is so important.”

It was almost a mumble to himself. When I raised my head and looked at him, Park Yul met my eyes and smiled gently.

“Shall we go for now, Yi-han? There are many things we need to talk about. Both you and I.”

Park Yul lightly ruffled my hair, just like Min Joo-hyuk had done earlier. I met his eyes, which seemed to have calmed down, and nodded slightly.

◇

The place we arrived at was a small room on the first floor.

There was a low table, and on both sides were plush chairs that looked like sofas. Bright yellow sunlight was streaming in through a large window in one wall.

Park Yul poured tea into two teacups in turn. He took out cookies of various shapes and placed them on a plate in the center.

I picked up the teacup placed in front of me. It was warm. Thinly sliced fruit pieces and flower petals floated in the light pink tea. It smelled of sweet honey and flowers.

Park Yul, who was watching me sip the tea, smiled faintly and pushed the plate with the cookies slightly towards me. Then he slowly began to speak.

Park Yul briefly introduced the structure of the building. The dining room was on the first floor, and there were four rooms on the second floor, so each of us was using one.

“So, Yi-han. If it’s okay with you, would you like to share a room with Ha-gyun? Song Ha-gyun, he’s a year older than you.”

The room was spacious, and Song Ha-gyun mainly stayed in the laboratory on the first floor.

Sharing a room was something Song Ha-gyun had agreed to, and if I didn’t like it, there were other options, so he told me to feel free to speak up.

But well, didn’t it not really matter? As long as I could sleep wherever I slept, I didn’t really care. When I replied that it was okay, Park Yul nodded.

“Now, will you tell me about yourself?”

I couldn’t help but be silent at that question. I had no idea where to start. In reality, I didn’t know much either. Park Yul, who was watching my expression, carefully began to speak.

“Um, I’ve heard that people who live in the temple don’t have Mana.”

Ah. This was something I could answer.

“What Yul hyung knows is correct. But I apparently have Mana. I don’t know why though.”

Park Yul stopped raising his teacup. He had an expression as if he was pondering something. Just as I was about to add more because I thought my explanation was too short, Park Yul suddenly lifted his head towards me.

“Yi-han.”

“Yes.”

Park Yul met my gaze. My figure was reflected straight in his clear, light green eyes.

At that moment, a red light flashed briefly in the center of his eyes.

「<Warning!> ‘Abnormal Access’ detected.

Activating Firewall to block.」

At the same time, a Status Window that had turned red appeared before my eyes.

「Firewall Activation: 3 seconds ago」

「Firewall Activation: 2 seconds ago」

「Firewall Activation: 1 second ago」

The numbers blinked and decreased. What is this, I thought, the moment.

Beeep.

My ears rang with tinnitus. I felt like my body was sinking downwards and suddenly lost strength.

Unable to support my collapsing body, I leaned sideways. I grabbed the armrest of the chair with both hands and rested my forehead on it.

“Yi-han?”

I heard Park Yul’s voice in front of me, filled with bewilderment, but it wasn’t a situation where I could react. My body trembled from the continuous tinnitus. A vague sense of fear washed over me.

I heard the sound of a chair being pulled back as Park Yul stood up urgently.

“Yi-han, turn your head.”

I felt urgency in the hand that was tapping my shoulder.

“Just a moment, look over here.”

Because of the tinnitus, Park Yul’s voice was faint, as if it were coming from a distant place. Park Yul gently wrapped one hand around my head and slowly turned it. I barely moved my head at his touch.

Park Yul was kneeling on the floor on one knee. Park Yul’s expression, who was meeting my gaze, seemed a little stiff. A small red light was still spreading in the center of his eyes, which reflected my figure.

“Yes. Don’t close your eyes like that, look at hyung.”

Park Yul frowned slightly. At the same time, the red light in the center of his light green eyes disappeared in an instant.

「’Abnormal Access’ released

Deactivating Firewall.」

The Status Window, which had returned to blue, sparkled before my eyes.

The tinnitus disappeared. The distant sense of fear also disappeared. But strength did not return to my body.

As I lay limp, Park Yul swept up my hair. The air touching my forehead felt cold, as if I had broken out in a cold sweat.

“Are you okay?”

His tone was subdued, as if filled with worry. I wanted to say that I was okay now, but I was too exhausted to speak.

When I remained limp without saying anything, Park Yul jumped up from his seat.