HIF 19

At Least Saving You All

The scene before my eyes felt foreign. The branch that had eerily pierced Raen’s waist quickly returned to its place. It was instantaneous.

“Cough, huff….”

Raen knelt down as if collapsing. Beneath his trembling hand, placed on his waist, thick blood incessantly dripped. He relentlessly vomited red blood from his mouth.

Raen’s eyes were bloodshot. Cold sweat formed on his forehead. Raen, struggling to lift his blood-soaked hand,

Rustle.

Chanted a magic spell. Vines sprouted from the ground, tightly binding the tree. Among them, one particularly thick branch, stained black, was soaked in blood.

Raen, slightly relaxing his expression as if relieved, immediately reached inside his Robe. He seemed urgent, as if searching for something.

A blue gem with an angular shape dropped from inside the Robe. The gem, slipping from Raen’s hand, was soaked in blood.

Raen, biting his lip tightly, reached out his trembling hand towards the gem. And the moment his fingertips were about to touch the gem,

Thud.

He collapsed powerlessly.

Raen, with his eyes closed, breathed heavily and remained motionless. The sticky pool of blood around the fallen Raen gradually expanded.

The sunset was pouring down. Raen’s red hair sparkled in the sunset light. The pool of blood also reflected the sunset in red, shining darkly. Everything was red, but somehow it felt coldly frozen.

The screen gradually moved away. Raen ultimately failed to rise.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, I regained consciousness. I woke up from the dream. I was still in the dark room.

I was sitting, leaning against the bed as if I had rolled off. My back was damp with cold sweat.

“Ugh, huff….”

Blood was pouring from my mouth. It was different from when I had vomited blood last time when the healing gauge was full. Blood welled up to the back of my throat as if I were vomiting.

A blue Status Window flickered before my eyes.

Future Sight? It wasn’t just a dream? Is it something that will actually happen later?

My fingertips turned cold. Then what will happen to Raen? The image of Raen collapsing at the end was still vivid. The pool of blood spreading around him, too.

It couldn’t end like that.

“…No, ugh…. I don’t want to.”

I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to lose him like that. I didn’t want to lose anyone.

Because you told me that I could be here. You also had to stay here. I didn’t want to see you alone, coldly fading away like that.

Tears poured down. Raen’s actions, prioritizing binding the Monsters over his own fatal wounds, kept replaying in my mind.

Why did he have to go that far? For what.

“Seon Yi-han!”

My eyes snapped open at the sudden voice. Song Ha-gyun was kneeling in front of me. It seemed like the first time I had heard him speak so loudly, so urgently.

I don’t know how long Song Ha-gyun had been there. Song Ha-gyun’s clothes were gradually being stained by the blood I had vomited.

“…Hyung.”

I reached out my arm to Song Ha-gyun. I needed reassurance. The reassurance that I was properly here in this place. The reassurance that what I saw was a future that hadn’t happened yet, I desperately needed it.

Song Ha-gyun embraced me as I leaned on him. Song Ha-gyun’s body was stiff. Nevertheless, the warmth that reached me was somehow reassuring. Song Ha-gyun still had a faint scent of grass.

“Ugh, sniff…. Hyung….”

Tears poured down on Song Ha-gyun’s shoulder. My throat was choked.

The deeply settled night was too heavy. The unseen future was scary, but the seen future was just as scary.

Song Ha-gyun gently stroked my back. Leaning on that warmth, I blankly thought.

‘I.’

Honestly, I don’t really know about saving the world. The System told me to save the world, but in the first place, I’m not a Hero. I wasn’t really interested.

But if you all, just because you’re Heroes, are fading away like that for the sake of the world.

If you’re gradually being worn down and disappearing in unseen places.

Then at least, I wanted to save you all.

By any means.

◇

The blood pouring from my mouth stopped after a long time.

Apparently, Future Sight uses blood as a sacrifice, so it automatically uses the skill and then releases blood afterward.

Everything was so sudden earlier that I was very scared, but after calming down a bit and thinking about it again, I felt relieved. Since I know the future, I can change it.

Then how much of this can I say? Can I even bring it up in the first place?

I didn’t know what would happen when I revealed the future and defied providence. It would be worse if I rashly brought it up and variables arose, distorting the future.

It’s better to proceed as I know it. That way, I can stop it.

‘Raen, he was alone.’

Only Raen was there. The image of Raen’s back, as if melting into the sunset, flashed in my mind, and I tightly closed my eyes.

No, let’s calm down. I struggled to hold onto my sanity. It was an event that hadn’t happened yet. And it was an event that wouldn’t happen. I will make it so.

The time was late afternoon, around sunset. The place was a forest path densely packed with trees. I wasn’t there. So, I just need to somehow follow Raen when he goes out alone.

‘There’s still a cooldown on healing, though.’

I decided not to assume the worst-case scenario in advance. I just needed to stop Raen before he got hurt. I could warn him in advance, or push Raen to a safe place when the branch reached out.

It was better to prevent accidents in advance. I was thinking that I needed to keep a close watch on when Raen would go out when.

“…Seon Yi-han. Right now, this….”

I heard Song Ha-gyun’s voice. Oh, he must have been very surprised.

Song Ha-gyun was looking at me with violently shaking eyes. Song Ha-gyun’s hands were stained red with the blood I had vomited. Blood was thickly pooled on the floor.

Only then did the smell of blood rush up. I covered my mouth with my sleeve. My face must be a mess right now. My eyes were also hot. There must be tear stains on my eyes and blood stains on my mouth.

Song Ha-gyun stared at me for a long time with a stiff expression. Then he raised his hand and used Clean magic. A flash of light appeared, and the blood that had been pooling on the floor disappeared.

Song Ha-gyun reached out his hand to me and carefully lowered the sleeve covering my mouth. At the same time as Song Ha-gyun’s touch, the blood that had stained the sleeve red gradually faded.

It was always amazing to see. I wish I could use magic too.

Song Ha-gyun gently cupped both of my cheeks with his neat hands. The hand that touched me was hot. Perhaps my skin was cold.

“…Is it always this much?”

Song Ha-gyun moved his fingers as if wiping away my tear stains, still in that state. The voice he carefully offered to me was as calm as usual, but I felt a slight tremor in it.

‘What does he mean by this much?’

Song Ha-gyun’s words were difficult to understand at once.

Ah, now that I think about it, I think I know. I mentioned last time that I sometimes vomit blood, so he’s talking about that.

“Sometimes.”

In the end, I had no choice but to repeat the same words I had said back then.

Song Ha-gyun’s expression seemed to darken. He seemed very embarrassed.

Well, it was understandable. Even I would be startled if someone suddenly vomited blood like having a seizure in their sleep. Moreover, if I burst into tears as soon as I opened my eyes, the embarrassment would be doubled.

I awkwardly smiled and added an excuse.

“I had a bad dream just now, so I was a little surprised.”

Ha-gyeon hyung was also surprised, I said with a small smile. That’s right. It was just a bad dream. It’s a future that won’t happen.

And I was embarrassed that I cried, so I hope he forgets about it. Anyone can do that when they’re surprised. Really. Song Ha-gyun still met my gaze with sunken eyes.

“…The reason you’re vomiting blood, you don’t know?”

“Uh…. No. But I’m not sick anywhere. They said there’s nothing wrong with me.”

The System said that I don’t feel pain and I don’t die, so it wasn’t a lie. However, Song Ha-gyun continued to speak faster than usual, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“No. That can’t be.”

“But, that’s actually how it is for me.”

As soon as I said the words, I remembered the conversation that Song Ha-gyun and Raen had once had. Song Ha-gyun had said the same thing to Raen, who couldn’t believe that I could heal.

As soon as I thought of Raen, my body flinched. It was fleeting, but Song Ha-gyun seemed to have already noticed my reaction. Song Ha-gyun took his hands off my cheeks and firmly grabbed my wrist.

“Are you cold?”

I shook my head. I felt uneasy for no reason. I’m already like this just thinking about Raen, I don’t know if I can stay calm when I see his face tomorrow.

“…Your body is cold.”

“It’s autumn, and it’s dawn.”

“……”

A blanket that had appeared in the air wrapped around my back and fell down. It was warm.

Song Ha-gyun traced my wrist as if redrawing it. Then he brought his index and middle fingers to my wrist.

White light faintly leaked from the lamp on the table. Song Ha-gyun’s calm face shone clearly beneath it.

The firm strength that had been holding my hand for a long time slowly loosened. The empty hand somehow felt a little empty.

Song Ha-gyun, who seemed to be thinking for a moment, summoned a small glass bottle about the length of a finger. Then he opened the lid and brought it to my mouth.

Before I could come to my senses, I smoothly swallowed a mouthful in an instant. It tasted sweet. It felt like warmth was spreading through my body.

Song Ha-gyun calmly massaged my wrist to my fingertips again as if nothing had happened. Looking at him, I opened my mouth.

“Ha-gyeon hyung. Can you keep this a secret?”

“…Why?”

“I think everyone will worry.”

“You don’t want me to tell them?”

I nodded diligently. Song Ha-gyun pressed his lips tightly and met my eyes directly. When I looked at him with a desperate expression, Song Ha-gyun eventually agreed with troubled eyes.

“When something like this happens, at least tell me.”

Why? While I was thinking that, Song Ha-gyun slowly continued.

“…Because I can make medicine.”

I see. Of course, it didn’t seem like there would be a need for medicine, but I nodded again.

I was glad that Song Ha-gyun wouldn’t tell. There was only a need for more excuses if I told them for no reason. Now I just needed to keep a close watch on when Raen would go out alone.

‘It’ll be soon.’

It wouldn’t be in the distant future. I couldn’t be sure, but I had that feeling.

The night was settling deeply.

And as I expected, that day was not far away.