HIF 30

Staying Together

Park Yul stared at me intently for a moment, then smiled brightly.

“The important thing is now, Yi-han-ah. It’s better to find what you can do within a situation than to cling to things you can’t change.”

He was right. What I could do now was more important than what had already passed.

I nodded and looked back at the flickering flames before me. The air touching my face was cold, but my body felt warm.

I took a sip of the cocoa in my hand. It was still warm. The marshmallows Park Yul had dropped in were melting softly inside, creating a deeper sweetness.

Perhaps from eating something sweet, my body felt pleasantly relaxed. Park Yul’s voice came from beside me.

“Yi-han-ah, are you sleepy?”

I wasn’t particularly sleepy. I was about to say no when a sudden thought made me pause.

‘Right. The Healing Bar.’

I hadn’t checked the Status Window yet, which I’d put off since waking up. I almost forgot. Since I’d be using healing magic in the future, I needed to figure out how to empty the gauge before it filled up completely.

It seemed better to say I was going to sleep and check it when I was alone. Reading letters floating in mid-air probably wouldn’t look natural.

I answered that I was feeling a bit sleepy. Park Yul gently took the cocoa from my hand and said.

“Shall we go to bed then?”

I quietly nodded. I stood up and followed behind Park Yul.

As we moved away from the campfire, the cold air rushed in. It was winter. I could feel on my skin that the year’s end was approaching briskly.

White breath scattered and disappeared into the air. The small grass growing underfoot crunched as if frozen as I stepped on it.

Following Park Yul, I walked across the fabric and entered the tent. Perhaps due to magic, the air inside was warm.

The interior was surprisingly spacious. A stand placed right next to the entrance softly illuminated the large space.

A bed was placed at each end of the tent. They were spacious enough for two people to sleep comfortably. On them were rolled-up white blankets that looked fluffy. It was almost like moving an entire room here.

“Yul, this place is more than I thought…”

“Yeah, Yi-han-ah. Spacious, right?”

Park Yul, who had stopped, gently pulled me along and continued.

“I put in a bit more effort this time.”

His voice held a hint of laughter. Park Yul sat me down on the bed.

“Sleep comfortably.”

Saying that, Park Yul bent down to meet my gaze.

“Shall I stay with you?”

No? Then there’d be no reason for me to come in here. I quickly shook my head. Park Yul blinked, thinking for a moment, then spoke.

“Then I’ll be right outside.”

“Yes, Yul.”

Park Yul brushed my head lightly and moved away.

“I’ll leave the light on. Is that okay?”

I answered yes to Park Yul, who was pointing at the stand by the entrance and asking. Thinking about it, it was amazing how this small stand could brighten such a spacious area. Of course, it wasn’t extremely bright.

Was this a Magic Stand too? It could be, or it might not be. Even if it wasn’t magic, light inherently covers darkness. No matter how vast and deep that darkness may be.

“Alright. Get some good rest.”

Park Yul’s voice broke my reverie. You must be tired after suddenly coming to an unfamiliar place, he continued, waving his hand lightly before going outside.

A rustling sound was heard as the fabric at the entrance closed.

As Park Yul said, it was an unfamiliar place I was seeing for the first time. Yet, nothing was particularly difficult or uncomfortable. I wasn’t tired either.

‘Because everyone is being so considerate like this.’

The bed inside the tent, the blanket. Everything was similar to being in my room. In a corner of the floor, a few purple wildflowers were placed. A scent similar to the one faintly permeating Song Ha-gyun’s room was spreading.

I knew that since arriving in this forest, everyone had been sending concerned glances about my condition. Yet, I couldn’t directly tell them I was fine.

To be precise, even though I directly said I was fine, it didn’t get through. No matter how much I said it with my own mouth, everyone didn’t easily accept it.

‘So it can’t be helped. I just have to show them through actions.’

They might be concerned like this now, but if I truly looked fine, they’d soon shift their attention. I just needed to keep showing them my healthy self from now on.

Still, I didn’t dislike this brief kindness. Even now. It felt like a familiar space, which seemed to put my mind a bit at ease.

‘Shall I check the Status Window now?’

My mind had calmed down, and quite some time had passed since Park Yul left, so it seemed like the right time. As soon as I thought that, the Status Window appeared before my eyes.

There was no other particular explanation. A bar gauge floated up right beside it. A dark red color had filled it a little.

I reached out and placed my hand where the bar gauge was.

A clear plop sound seemed to briefly ring in my ears. A strange sensation, as if passing through a thin curtain of water, occurred as my finger passed through the bar gauge. Simultaneously,

“Ugh.”

Blood surged up from within. I hurriedly covered my mouth. The pouring blood flowed down over my hand.

Wait, hold on. It hadn’t even been a few minutes since I thought about showing a healthy appearance. It seemed the System was somehow trying to interfere with what I wanted. A metallic, bloody smell rose.

Feeling absurd, I quietly looked down at the falling drops of blood. From above, a familiar ding sound was heard.

I raised my gaze. A short sentence was written on the Status Window.

The cheerful-looking exclamation mark suddenly seemed irritating. What do you mean tutorial complete after just making me spit blood? The moment I thought that accusingly, my head throbbed with pain.

It was a headache I’d experienced once before. The day I first saw the Status Window. However, unlike then, this time the headache subsided in an instant, as if brushing past.

In the place where the pain had vanished, unfamiliar information welled up. It was an unpleasant sensation, exactly as if someone had rummaged through my mind and forcibly inserted it.

From the fragments of information not yet organized, I barely managed to retrieve one sentence.

And I suppose you’ll cough up blood proportionally. As I spat blood, the red color of the Healing Bar was decreasing.

I hadn’t thought I could empty the gauge without a cost. But coughing up blood wasn’t exactly welcome.

Still, it was better than waiting for a week-long cooldown. I had to acknowledge what needed acknowledging.

Still getting used to the surging blood, I lowered my head toward the floor below the bed. I couldn’t dirty the pure white blanket.

Fortunately, thanks to past experiences, I could remain calm even in this sudden situation. Indeed, all experiences and learning have meaning. In some way or another.

I quietly watched the blood droplets falling below. Just as I was wondering if I still had any paper with Clean magic left, the next sentence rose in my mind as if being inputted.

Huh, should I stop first and then think? I shouldn’t try to solve anything hastily.

First, stop spitting blood, calmly sort out the situation, and then continue—it wouldn’t be too late. A new Status Window appeared before me.

The moment I was about to answer inwardly, a sentence flashed through my mind.

Isn’t this the key information? I almost wasted today’s opportunity. Of course. There’s no way I’d be given time to think calmly.

It was the same during Raen’s suspicion quest. Remembering the urgent situation back then still made me feel suffocated.

Somehow, I felt like the System was pushing me. It might be a misconception. But if the intention was to wish hardship upon me, it was successful.

“Cough.”

Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth lightly with my sleeve, I raised my head. My gaze landed on the bar gauge at the edge of my vision. The red color had worn down to about half.

A little more and it’ll stop. The moment I was worrying about how to get rid of the blood smell, the sound of the tent entrance fabric rustling open was heard.

“Yi-han-ah.”

I shifted my gaze. Park Yul was standing there, seemingly frozen.

Quietly raising my hand, I covered the corner of my mouth once more. Would this make the blood on my sleeve less visible? Of course, it was useless.

Park Yul approached in one step. In an instant, Park Yul was before me and spoke in a calm voice.

“Keep your head down.”

Park Yul wrapped one hand around the back of my neck. Then applied gentle pressure. My head automatically lowered. The touching hand somehow felt hot.

“Don’t swallow it, let’s spit it out.”

Saying that, Park Yul took my hand, which was covering my mouth, and lowered it. Park Yul’s hand touched and then left my blood-stained sleeve.

The hand gently stroking my back spread warmth through my body. The falling blood was slowly soaking the floor.

“Are you feeling very unwell?”

I wasn’t. But Park Yul, speaking in a worried voice, seemed ready to take me back to the Heroes’ lodging immediately no matter how I answered.

Showing this side wasn’t in my expectations. If I’d known Park Yul would suddenly come in, I would have stopped emptying the Healing Bar earlier.

Stopping now would be useless. Park Yul had already seen everything. And there wasn’t much blood-spitting left anyway.

“Yul.”

I raised my head straight. I faced Park Yul. My reflection was captured in his unwavering light green eyes.

“I’m going to keep staying together.”

For a moment, Park Yul’s eyes seemed to widen greatly. It seemed I was right that he was about to suggest taking me back.

I couldn’t just vaguely return like that. I came here for you all, but also for myself.

Because only by helping you all could I escape even a moment sooner from this tedious System and the quests strangling me.

I don’t have the ability to save the world, but at least I have the ability to heal you all who are saving the world.

‘And I’m not really unwell either.’

I understood what Park Yul was worried about. If you’re sick, resting is natural. Park Yul knew it, and I knew it too.

But Park Yul didn’t know that I wasn’t sick. So to Park Yul, it might seem stubborn, but from my perspective, there was not a single reason to go back.

Park Yul had a certain decisiveness somewhere, so here I needed to be strong too.

“…Yi-han-ah.”

Park Yul looked at me with an unreadable expression, seemingly mixed with various emotions. Park Yul carefully cupped my cheek with one hand. Then slowly brushed just below my lips with his thumb.