by Geli Cake
"You're warm."
You fit perfectly in my arms.
Resting his chin on my shoulder, Lena murmured,
"That's why… I like it, I guess."
The feel of his breath against the right side of my neck tickled. I just blinked stupidly.
It felt strange to have someone tell me they liked me. It wasn't a "like" in the romantic sense. It would have felt the same even if it were someone else, not Lena.
One minute's up.
As soon as I heard the notification, I turned and slipped out of Lena's embrace. Lena let me go without a word and only watched as I gathered my things and headed to another room.
"You can't stay still for even a moment."
What was he picking on now?
I glanced at him as I assessed the type of trap magic on the doorknob.
"What are you going to do after you open all the locked doors?"
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When I complete the quest… the next one will appear. I'll just follow that. I couldn't tell him that directly, so I answered vaguely,
"I don't know… Maybe clean?"
"Clean?"
"First, I'll rip out all the windows. It's depressing without sunlight during the day."
"And then?"
"I want to look around the house."
I'm going to enter every opened room. There were more restricted areas than accessible ones in this house. Even when I played the game, my limited control skills prevented me from exploring much.
"And after that?"
"What kind of answer are you looking for?"
"There's no answer I'm looking for. I'm just curious about your plans after you're done with this house."
I'm someone who lives without plans. Even if I made plans, they'd all go down the drain once the original story dictates, "Go this way. Go that way."
"Once everything's over…"
But one thing became clear to me over the past two years.
"…I'll go home."
That's my final destination. I have a place to return to. Even if they don't welcome me back, I think I've always vaguely considered that house my home.
My brother complained about me and all, but when I caught a cold, he practically emptied the pharmacy. I also knew that my sister, Seoyeon, would sometimes come into my room and tuck me in. Everyone had two sides to them.
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Anger and resentment faded with time,, but good memories become even clearer.
I enjoy studying. I realized that while learning magic here, starting from scratch. Learning new things, discovering things I didn't know, it was incredibly enjoyable.
I should go to college, too. I don't care what I major in. I'll keep learning and marvel at how much my world expands.
I wanted to live well, out of spite. Not necessarily to become a great person, but just to live well enough to be satisfied.
"You said your hometown was Asileth?"
Lena's words snapped me back to reality from my daydream.
Asileth… That was also a second home to me. The mercenaries took care of me and raised me like family.
Even though I was already physically grown when I joined them, they helped me grow emotionally. They helped me mature. To be loved is to experience that kind of growth.
"That's right, Asileth."
I didn't deny it. It was also my home. Lena seemed lost in thought for a moment at my words before disappearing when his time was up.
I returned to my room, lay in bed, and thought. This place was real to me, but at the same time, it wasn't.
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If this world really did come to an end. If I chose to go back…
'What will happen then?'
What will happen to everyone? Will my existence be treated as a death, or will I be erased as if I never existed? Will everyone continue living as if nothing happened…?
It was a night filled with thoughts. It seemed I had come to care for the many people around me.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Liar.
Haylan stared at Chahyun in disbelief. He had broken his promise to keep his secret in less than half a day.
"So I accidentally saw it, you know? And perhaps because of that, Haylan keeps avoiding me. Is this… puberty or something?"
"You, why did you…"
Is this what betrayal feels like? How could he break a promise he made to me?
"How would I know? Figure it out yourself!"
"Why are you reacting like that?"
"Like what?"
"What's wrong with thinking about it together? I'm seriously concerned!"
"…Worry about yourself instead of such useless things."
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Honestly, this bothered him more than the betrayal itself. What bothered him about Chahyun was how normal and nonchalant he was acting.
"You were the one who ran away yesterday."
What's your reason for acting like nothing happened?
"I quite like you."
It was a confession he had mustered up quite a bit of courage to make, but Chahyun didn't seem surprised. Either he already knew, or he wasn't interested in him. It was one of the two.
"Why do you like me?"
The latter was probably closer to the truth. Haylan knew it too. Chahyun had a different purpose, a hidden motive. Their late-night connection began with Chahyun wandering around this house, after all.
It wasn't like he liked Chayun from the beginning. He knew that better than anyone.
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Nevertheless, Chahyun kept bumping into him, both literally and figuratively. He didn't dislike Chayun's recklessness. Even now. He quite liked his focused gaze as Chayun listened intently to what he had to say, even though he didn't seem to have any particular feelings for him.
"You are the only person who sees me for who I am."
"...."
"So, I'll try my best to win your heart."
You make me greedy. He swallowed those words.
Chahyun thought for a moment, then pushed him away.
"Trying is good. But do it alone. I'm not interested in men."
"Have you ever dated a woman?"
"...."
Chahyun's expression faltered. He didn't need to see it to know. Chahyun seemed to have priorities, circumstances he couldn't tell anyone about.
"I never asked you to accept my feelings. I'm just interested in you, and I'll continue to act as I feel. You can use me to your heart's content in the meantime."
You need me.
Haylan confessed the sense of unease he had been feeling. Chahyun would sometimes stare into space and talk to himself. The first time he saw it, he thought Chahyun was crazy.
But even after that, Chahyun continued to do it, and whenever he did, his attitude towards him, his thoughts, would change drastically.
There was something different about Chahyun.
"I won't ask what you're looking at… or how you're using me. You wanted to hide it, didn't you?"
If he wanted to hide it, I wouldn't pry. I pretended to be considerate while subtly revealing my true intentions.
"In return, will you do something dirty with me?"
"No."
Chahyun refused shortly after. He thought Chahyun would pretend nothing happened again, but thankfully, he seemed quite flustered even during the day. He was quite pleased that he was the cause of his distraction.
But then…
"What? Why are you opening the doors?"
Haylan thought that Chahyun's all-day contemplation might not have been solely about him.
"There are many doors in this house that can't be opened physically. They've been deliberately sealed."
"I know. I'm a mage too."
Chahyun declared that he would open all the locked doors. Upon hearing that, Haylan couldn't help but think he was crazy. The ghost roaming the hallway passed by them. Haylan pointed at it and said,
"How many of those things are you planning to unleash in this house?"
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"Just cooperate with me. You said you wouldn't question my actions."
It was true that he had said that.
"I do need you."
"...."
And Chahyun said that he needed him too. That alone was enough reason not to stop him.
"So, what do you want from me?"
He wanted to know what Chayun wanted from him. But Chahyun remained silent when asked about his usefulness. Either he didn't want to tell him, or he couldn't.
Then he would find out himself. While observing Chahyun, who was focused on unlocking the doors, Haylan sensed something and muttered,
"You know, you subtly grab my hand whenever that thing comes close. Are you scared of it?"
"...A little."
His response was unexpectedly hesitant. It meant there was more to it.
Haylan had thought Chahyun was reckless. Even the most skilled mages had failed to completely restore this house to its original state. As a result, it had been abandoned, branded as a cursed house.
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But Chahyun was actually accomplishing something. Countless blades rained down on him from beyond the suddenly opened door.
Even Haylan, who couldn't die, was momentarily frozen by the sight, but Chahyun remained unfazed, as if he had known what to expect.
'He activated a Protection Barrier without a magic circle.'
What in the world…?
Chahyun reached out into the air. He was looking at that strange thing again.
"Now you're not even trying to hide it…"
What exactly are you?
Chahyun shrugged and replied,
"Tell me your identity first, and then I'll tell you mine."
"As you know, I'm a ghost."
"And as you know, I'm an ordinary mage mercenary."
It was a meaningless conversation. But there was one thing he had gained.
"I got it."
You're using me like a security system?