HIF 25

Because I Trust You

Still, among the choices, there were some parts I could guess. The lab was where Song Ha-gyun would likely be, and the greenhouse garden was where Park Yul would be.

Then, the art room or the study? Which one is it?

Thinking it over, I remembered that Raen was always looking at books or papers whenever I went to his room.

I leaned towards the study. You should always follow your gut feeling in these situations. The moment I made my decision, a line of blue light particles appeared before my eyes.

「Guiding you to the ‘Study’.」

I could tell from the Status Window’s kind explanation. It even guides you? This is such a convenient Quest.

I left the room and followed the light. The building was shrouded in darkness. Following the path of light within it felt a bit strange.

The light went down to the first floor and stopped in front of a small door near the end of the hallway. A faint orange light was seeping through the crack in the door.

I knocked on the door and carefully opened it.

Click.

It was neither a large nor a small room. The study was filled with a cozy orange light. Thick books were densely packed on the large bookshelves on both sides.

Directly in front was a large window. A semi-transparent, thin white curtain was slightly drawn. The night sky was visible outside the window. It was pitch black and silent, with no moon or stars.

“…Yi-han?”

A trembling voice was heard.

Raen was sitting facing this way, his back to the window. He had a white eye patch on one eye, as if he was injured.

The desk right in front of him was full of scattered books and an open ink bottle.

Thud.

Dozens of papers floating in the air fell to the floor in an instant. Light seeped over them.

“Yi-han.”

Raen jumped up from his seat. Then, he tried to walk quickly towards me, but stopped abruptly.

Even though the scattered papers were being crushed mercilessly under his feet, Raen didn’t seem to care.

Raen blinked his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe it. His golden eyes seemed to tremble and sparkle.

Soon, transparent teardrops fell silently. Light was faintly contained within the falling tears. Raen’s gaze was directed straight at me.

Suddenly, I thought of eyes like a full moon. Like a moon shining quietly in the darkness without a single point of light, Raen was fully capturing my image in his bright golden eyes.

I slowly took a step towards Raen. Raen’s fluctuating gaze followed my movements.

Raen took a step back. For some reason, the light from the lamp illuminating the room seemed to flicker faintly.

“Don’t come closer.”

It was a voice that was uttered with difficulty, as if whispering. I stopped at that voice. Raen’s expression was stiff. Why?

I stared intently at Raen’s face with a questioning look. Raen met my eyes without avoiding them. Then, he slowly opened his mouth.

“I trust you, Yi-han.”

Suddenly? But Raen’s expression was serious. Raen spoke without wavering, calmly, as if confessing. There was a deep sense of guilt in his determined voice for an unknown reason.

I had heard this voice somewhere before.

‘When was it?’

A large room with pitch-black darkness. Kneeling in front of young me, holding my hands and meeting my eyes…

Who was it? What did they say to me? A blurry memory flickered in my mind, as if it was about to come to mind.

“Yi-han. Whatever it is.”

Raen’s voice pierced through my thoughts.

I snapped back to reality. Yes, whatever that memory is, if I’ve already forgotten it, it’s not something to worry about now. What’s important is not the past, but right now. I focused on Raen’s continuing voice.

“I’ll trust everything.”

I wanted to keep telling you, Raen said, wiping away the ceaseless tears.

As I watched Raen, who kept retreating without realizing it, I slightly rolled my eyes to the side. The Status Window that I had put off checking earlier reappeared.

Along with the notification that the Quest had failed, the Penalty was written. I read that sentence over and over.

Right next to it, a new Quest Window was floating.

The time limit was already running out, as if it had started while I was unconscious. I thought this Quest had already succeeded.

What do I have to do to end this Quest? As I sighed inwardly, I heard Raen’s voice carefully being conveyed to me.

“Because I trust you, so please don’t do that anymore.”

Do what? I almost asked, but I could tell from Raen’s cautious retreat. He’s talking about acquire.

If you think about it from Raen’s point of view, it was surprising enough. I suddenly collapsed without explaining in detail. It must have been cumbersome to carry a person who had lost consciousness.

It’s not that I don’t understand that feeling. But still….

“Raen hyung.”

As soon as he heard my voice, Raen bit his lip hard. The light filling the room flickered dimly and then returned to normal.

“Are you going to keep avoiding me like this?”

I slowly took a step towards Raen. There were many things I wanted to say, but there weren’t any words I could actually say.

‘I won’t let that happen again?’

That’s what I wanted to say the most, but even I couldn’t be sure.

Of course, it seemed like I wouldn’t be using acquire anymore. There was a way to empty the healing gauge before it was full. I haven’t checked yet, though.

Still, things in the world don’t always go the way you want them to. I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep.

In the end, there was only one thing I could say. I smiled awkwardly and looked at Raen.

“Thank you, hyung. I should have said this first.”

Raen, who had been slowly retreating, stopped abruptly.

There was a large window right behind Raen. The pitch-black night was eerily dark, like an empty space.

Raen’s figure standing right in front of it was unwavering. But his appearance, with his shining golden eyes wide open and frozen, seemed precarious, as if he would disappear into the darkness.

I reached out my hand towards Raen’s face. Raen’s back, with nowhere else to retreat, touched the cold window.

“…Yi-han. Don’t, please.”

It was an earnest voice. Raen lightly grabbed the end of the sleeve flowing down my wrist. It was a gesture as if to push me away.

The light in the room flickered almost like it was blinking. Raen’s figure standing under it repeatedly darkened and brightened. I opened my mouth calmly.

“It’s okay.”

I thought I heard a voice saying, “Just a moment,” but my hand touched Raen’s cheek first. The Status Window appeared before my eyes.

When I selected healing, a blue light enveloped Raen’s eyes. It was his left eye, which was wearing an eye patch.

I reached out and carefully untied the knot. The softly untied white eye patch fluttered and fell.

The eye patch, which had been falling powerlessly, lightly touched the floor like a snowflake.

Whoosh.

The light that had been circling around Raen’s eyes poured into me.

At the same time, the orange light that had been blinking and illuminating the room disappeared in an instant.

A silent darkness swallowed the room. Only Raen’s golden eyes were shining brightly right in front of me. With me fully captured in them.

“Raen hyung.”

I smiled softly and gently stroked Raen’s eyes. His eyes were red.

“See, it’s okay.”

Raen quietly listened to my voice mixed with laughter. He still didn’t say anything, with his lips still bitten.

It was a strange expression, as if he was smiling and crying. He seemed relieved, and he also seemed very heartbroken.

Tears quietly flowed from Raen’s left eye, which had been freed from the eye patch. I carefully wiped away the tears with my fingers. Still, it was better than seeing blood flowing down like last time.

“Yi-han.”

It was a soft voice, but it sounded somehow muffled, as if it was locked.

Raen lightly grabbed my wrist and then released his strength. Then, he leaned against me as if collapsing. A sweet fragrance rushed in from Raen, who was tightly embracing me.

A few strands of his short, tied-up red hair came loose. The flowing hair touched me fleetingly. For some reason, the room seemed a little warmer.

With his head leaning right next to my neck, Raen slowly continued to speak. A whispering voice was heard right next to my face.

“I kept saying it.”

Raen inhaled as if he was overwhelmed. The next words, which he uttered with difficulty, were words that Raen had heard many times.

“That’s not okay.”

There wasn’t even a trace of sobbing in Raen’s voice, but for some reason, I still felt like Raen was crying. I could feel a slight tremor from his touching body.

Raen might be an even more delicate person than the easygoing Min Joo-hyuk or the calm Song Ha-gyun. That’s why he’s so worried even though I said I’m okay.

“It’s really okay, Raen hyung.”

Raen, who heard my words, hugged me tightly as if clinging to me. An even greater tremor was conveyed.

It wasn’t the situation to do so, but I chuckled softly. That’s why people say you don’t know until you experience it.

I stroked Raen’s broad back and opened my mouth.

“Still, if Raen hyung says this isn’t okay.”

Behind Raen, there was still an empty darkness spread out. It was a heavy night as if pressing down, but even this was okay. Because I wasn’t alone.

But, if you’re so worried about me….

“Then I’ll think about it. I don’t know well, though. So please tell me, hyung.”

I finished speaking with a smile. Raen answered in a trembling voice.

“I’ll tell you anytime. And I’ll trust you. Everything Yi-han tells me.”

I couldn’t see Raen’s expression, who still didn’t raise his head, but I knew that these words were sincere. I nodded quietly and thought.

‘Then why isn’t this Quest ending?’

Blink.

Right next to me, the time limit for Raen’s doubt Quest was decreasing.

Whose doubt is this about Raen, and what is it about? Is it even about doubt about me in the first place? Or maybe,

Ding.

The thoughts that had been continuing were cut off by the sudden clear sound. The Quest Window belatedly appeared before my eyes.

As soon as I checked, the Quest Window disappeared in an instant.

The pitch-black night was passing outside the window. The purple dawn that had driven out the empty darkness was slowly dyeing the sky.