HIF 14

Nausea

Raen’s words sounded ambiguous. I felt like I knew what he meant, but also like I didn’t. Raen, who had been studying my face, continued in a gentle voice.

“That was too vague. Since nothing has been revealed about healing magic yet, I just meant it would be good to be careful.”

Of course, what I was using wasn’t healing magic. Still, I nodded vaguely. Raen, who had held my hands and even used Teleport magic, finally said in a relieved voice.

“So far, Yi-han hasn’t shown any abnormalities, so it seems like using magic next to him doesn’t put a strain on his body. That’s a relief.”

Of course, it was a relief.

I returned to the room I shared with Song Ha-gyun and sat blankly on the bed, thinking. What wasn’t a relief was that three days had already flown by.

<Mandatory! Quest> ‘Raen – Don’t Doubt Me!’ Ⅲ Failed!

The Penalty ‘Nausea’ will be maintained for a duration of ‘3 days’.

A new Quest Window popped up in front of my eyes in quick succession.

<Mandatory! Quest> ‘Raen – Don’t Doubt Me!’ Ⅳ

Success: Gain Raen’s trust

Failure: Intermittent Nosebleeds for 3 weeks Penalty

Time Limit: 3 weeks

If life is a series of trials, then I must be living a pretty fulfilling life.

I took a deep breath. Darkness had already fallen outside the window. It was midnight. When the last quest started, there was a round moon in the sky, so this was exactly the right time.

‘…Ugh.’

It felt like acid was rising from my stomach. I hugged my pillow tightly and leaned against the head of the bed. The soft sensation made me feel a little better, but of course, my stomach didn’t improve.

I turned my head to see that the opposite bed was empty. Song Ha-gyun seemed to be in the lab even at this hour. Even though I go to sleep relatively late, I had never encountered Song Ha-gyun at night.

Is there a place to sleep in the lab? Or does he not sleep at all? I wondered when Song Ha-gyun, who was consistently upright without showing any signs of fatigue, ever slept.

However, that curiosity didn’t last long. My stomach was churning severely. What I was most curious and questioning now was my future.

‘I won’t be able to eat anything for three days.’

Park Yul’s food was so delicious…

Honestly, it felt a bit unfair. I was the one being doubted by Raen, and I was the one who had to resolve that doubt. It was unfair that I was the one who received the Penalty when I failed.

I glared at the Status Window floating in the air. The time limit for the newly started quest was quietly decreasing.

I buried my face in the pillow I was holding. I felt wronged. My stomach seemed to churn more with every breath I took. In the midst of all that, the pillow smelled nice.

‘Herb scent.’

A subtle herb scent permeated the room. It was a scent that reminded me of summer nights. Come to think of it, the paper Song Ha-gyun had put on my forehead last time had a similar scent.

Does Song Ha-gyun research herbs and medicinal herbs in the lab?

I should definitely ask him next time. As I had thought before, I shouldn’t expect Song Ha-gyun to tell me anything before I asked. He was someone who never talked about himself.

‘Ah, wait. I really feel like I’m going to throw up.’

Suddenly, I felt a surge of nausea. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

Of course, nothing came up. It was strange that I only felt nauseous and didn’t throw up, but it was still a relief.

I lifted my head. Time had already passed quickly. My eyelids felt heavy, so it seemed like I was way past my usual bedtime. I was tired.

And it was dark.

In a dark, wide room with not a single ray of light. I was left alone. That fact suddenly hit me hard.

…I didn’t like it. I didn’t like this. Dark, scary… heavy. My heart was pounding. I need to pull back the curtains…

Click.

The doorknob turned quietly. I turned my head sharply. The door was slowly opening.

Song Ha-gyun was carefully entering the room, neatly levitating several thick books in the air.

Song Ha-gyun, who found me sitting on the bed, flinched slightly. Then, he opened his mouth in a low voice.

“…Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Because I feel like I’m going to throw up. Unable to bring myself to say that, I just stared blankly at Song Ha-gyun’s face. On closer inspection, even his usually calm face had a bit of a change in expression.

He looked slightly surprised now. Just slightly.

Song Ha-gyun roughly sent the books he had been levitating flying onto his bed. The books fell with a thud.

Song Ha-gyun, who had rushed over to me, summoned a small, rectangular white box in the air. Song Ha-gyun touched the floating box with his fingertip. Then, a faint light spread around it.

Song Ha-gyun placed it on the table next to the bed. A faint light quietly covered the darkness.

“…Did you have a bad dream?”

Song Ha-gyun asked, slowly reaching his hand over my head. I couldn’t even fall asleep in the first place. I shook my head slightly.

Song Ha-gyun, who paused for a moment, swept up my hair. My hair, slightly damp with cold sweat, was swept up by his neat hand.

“…Does it hurt?”

Whether I was hurting now or not was quite complicated. Thanks to the passive effect, I wouldn’t feel pain, but the Penalty was applied.

Does that simply mean that a slightly upset stomach isn’t considered pain? Or is the Penalty separate?

Come to think of it, why is ‘pain’ the standard for everything in the System?

“Seon Yi-han?”

I heard Song Ha-gyun’s voice. It was a flat tone, but his voice seemed to be laced with concern.

“I’m okay, Ha-gyun hyung.”

Actually, it wasn’t to the point where I could say it hurt. It’s just that I’m usually healthy and haven’t been sick before, so saying it was hard to this extent was an exaggeration.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet, hyung?”

Come to think of it, Song Ha-gyun was also awake until this late hour. Is he very busy? I asked Song Ha-gyun a question, but what I heard was not an answer.

“…Where does it hurt?”

It doesn’t hurt. I was sure I said I was okay, but I wondered if he was even listening to me.

Song Ha-gyun was looking down at me with a slightly stiff expression. It felt like he would continue to stand there like that until I answered properly.

Song Ha-gyun might really do that. I reluctantly opened my mouth.

“I’m okay, it’s just that my stomach is a bit….”

As soon as I finished speaking, Song Ha-gyun shook his hand slightly. Two round flasks of different sizes appeared in the air. The glass surface shone in the darkness.

The pink liquid in the small flask was swirling inside as if in a vortex. The slightly larger flask was about half full of a clear liquid like water.

The small flask tilted. The clear liquid gradually became tinged with pink. Song Ha-gyun seemed to be lost in thought as he watched it, then floated a small leaf, about the size of a finger, in the air.

Rustle.

The leaf, crushed in the air, became a fine powder and fell into the flask.

Song Ha-gyun held the neck of the flask with one hand and lightly swirled it around. The pink liquid gradually turned into a dark purple color. It was the color of dawn.

Having finished all the steps in an instant, Song Ha-gyun handed it to me. I felt the cold sensation of glass in my hands.

“…Just drink a little.”

Honestly, it was a color that was too precious to drink. Inside the liquid, which seemed to have transferred the night sky as it was, small powders were sparkling and shaking. It was like containing the Milky Way.

As I stared at the glass bottle, Song Ha-gyun continued.

“Is your stomach, really bad?”

Ah, I’m really okay. I must have taken too long. I shook my head lightly and brought the mouth of the glass bottle to my lips. Song Ha-gyun carefully supported the bottom with his hand.

“Just take a sip if it’s hard.”

It’s not like I’m a sandcastle that crumbles when touched. I was embarrassed to make him worry this much.

Since I wasn’t at the point where I couldn’t even swallow water, I took two gulps, and Song Ha-gyun took the glass bottle from my hand.

“Don’t force yourself to drink it.”

It was his usual slow but slightly firm voice. It was sweeter and cooler than I expected, so it was pretty good, but I was a little disappointed.

Song Ha-gyun, who made the glass bottle disappear, gently grabbed my chin. Then, he turned my head towards him. Song Ha-gyun’s fingers gently brushed my lips.

He seemed to be wiping away the potion that was on my lips. …I don’t think I drank it so messily that it got all over my face like that.

“…Lie down now.”

Song Ha-gyun quickly moved a pillow from his bed. And he put it right next to me and patted it lightly. I was getting sleepy anyway, so I obediently put my head on Song Ha-gyun’s pillow.

After drinking the medicine Song Ha-gyun gave me, my body felt strangely relaxed. I felt like I was falling asleep. Song Ha-gyun pressed down on the pillow I was holding in my arms with his hand. The pillow gradually became warmer.

I remembered there was something similar among the magic Raen had shown me. Holding something warm and fluffy seemed to lessen the nausea a little.

Song Ha-gyun pulled the blanket over me and covered me. And he put his hand over my head and gently stroked it.

“It’s okay. Sleep.”

My eyelids closed on their own as if my body was melting. Is this also magic? Song Ha-gyun’s slow voice sounded like it was getting farther and farther away.

The light emanating from the small box placed on the table gradually faded.

“…Good night.”

Before falling asleep, I thought I heard such a voice.

◇

When I opened my eyes, sunlight was pouring into the room. I was still holding a warmly heated pillow in my arms.

The sun was already high in the sky. It was a peaceful afternoon. My physical condition was not peaceful, though.

I still felt nauseous. When I took the medicine Song Ha-gyun gave me yesterday, I was fine for a while, but when I woke up, I was back to square one.

I sighed deeply and moved my steps out of the room. Still, three days was pretty good. People don’t die from not eating anything for three days.

“Ah, Yi-han-ah.”

I was going down the stairs when I ran into Park Yul coming up from below. Park Yul strode up to my side. Then, he covered my shoulders with something he was holding in his hand, as if wrapping it around me. It was a light sky-blue blanket.

“How’s your stomach? Are you feeling a little better now? I heard about it from Ha-gyun this morning.”

I nodded to Park Yul, who added that he was about to wake me up anyway, and went down the stairs.

I opened the door and entered the dining room, and Raen was there. On the plate in front of him were some sliced round bread and soup.

Park Yul asked me what he could make for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything, so I refused with tears in my eyes.

“You’re still not feeling well.”

Park Yul said in a worried voice and warmed up the kettle. Then, he put a few green leaves inside.

“Ha-gyun gave this. He said it’s a medicinal herb that soothes the stomach.”

The tea had a light herb scent. After taking a sip, I felt like my body was warming up.

I held the warmed glass in both hands and sipped the tea, when Raen, who was sitting across from me, asked me.

“Yi-han. Can’t healing magic be used on oneself?”