His last memory before blacking out was his body burning up, as if he was being cooked inside an oven with the highest temperature possible, and him going to Ryu Jinmu to seek the man's cold skin.
Suddenly, the clicking sound of a keyboard filled the silent room in the middle of the night. Shiro pulled his hair out while groaning as he looked at his notes.
"Ugh."
His face scrunched up, thinking about the story he's working on.
"Ah, it's no good. I haven't really decided, but I should kill him, right?"
Shiro turned to his left.
Baek Seungho flipped a page of the piles of paper he was reading before responding without looking at him.
"Who?"
"Baek Raehwan's brother."
Shiro sighed.
"I mean, if it serves your story well, then why not?"
Seungho flipped another page.
Seeing how his editor didn't bother to even look at him, Shiro couldn't help but pout.
"Hmph. Normally, wouldn't you ask why instead?"
"Right. But you'll end up doing what you want, so what's the point? It's better to just push you to do it. What's it for, anyway?"
Baek Seungho smirked at Shiro.
"About that,"
Shiro scratched the back of his head.
"Since he's constantly bugging the main character, then he has to have some sort of reason for doing so, right?"
"I guess?"
"Right, right. But I haven't really decided what that reason would be! Ha ha, so I thought, let's just make him lose someone important to him!"
Shiro meekly laughed, clearly not thinking ahead when he first wrote the character.
Baek Seungho put the papers down on the desk. He was reading other stories on the way home, and decided to pay this one author a visit since it's been a while.
He wanted to check how Shiro was doing, only to see him scrambling around. He kept a sigh to himself.
Seriously, this kid…
"So what, you're making the main character kill that person?"
Seungho looked at him strangely.
Shiro then quickly nodded.
"Yeah, yeah!"
"You… you can't think of any other idea?"
"What other idea? If you don't like it, then you should write it on your own. Anyway, that's that. I'll do it that way."
Shiro waved his hand off and went back to typing on his computer.
Baek Seungho's face scrunched up. He wanted to say something, but chose to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't sure how Shiro would take his words, after all.
He could only sigh heavily.
"Alright, author-nim. Everything that happens in the story shall go according to author-nim's will."
"That's right. As the author, everything should go according to my plan! He he."
Shiro smirked as he typed vigorously on the keyboard.
Baek Seungho stared at him with a tired expression. He was already starting to regret visiting Shiro's apartment late at night.
It wasn't long until Shiro submitted the draft with the death of Baek Raehwan's little brother, showing Raehwan's backstory before he started to torment the main character. The little brother's name was mentioned only once in the whole series, and Baek Seungho, the editor, couldn't have bothered to remember such a character's name after.
Baek Haemin's death was mentioned in passing, someone who was reduced to a few sentences as an attempt to deepen Baek Raehwan's character.
Had I known that I'd be inside that guy's body in the future, I would've done everything I could to stop Shiro. Dammit.
Just then, the sound of somebody sobbing was heard.
"Haemin-nim… Oh, Haemin-nim! It's my fault…"
A familiar voice…
Light came to vision as he slowly opened his eyelids. The familiar ceiling and a mattress designed to maximize comfort. He could tell, he must be inside Baek Haemin's room.
"Haemin-nim!"
Han Jiwon leaned on him with a face full of tears.
She smiled when she saw his eyes blinking twice, and turned to her right.
"Hurry, call oppa! The young master finally woke up!"
A servant ran to send the message around, and the manor suddenly livened up at the news.
"...Jiwon-ah."
Haemin tried to sit, only to fail.
"Take it easy, young master. You've been out for 3 days, so…"
Jiwon looked at him in worry while supporting him.
"What? 3 days?"
He frowned.
His arms wobbled as they had gone completely numb and had no strength after laying down for so long. Even his throat felt itchy, and he has a needle connected to an IV drip on his right hand.
"Yes…"
Was I really out for 3 days? Seriously?
Baek Haemin's eyes widened when he glanced at her. Underneath her clothes, he caught sight of a red mark on Jiwon's neck.
He instantly stood up as he reached for her.
"Jiwon! What happened to your neck?! Did you get hurt in the dungeon?!"
No, that's not a monster's doing.
It seemed to be more like finger marks, not something that a basan or even the phoenix could have done.
Jiwon covered her neck while avoiding his eyes.
"This is…"
"Tell me, Jiwon. Who did this to you?"
Baek Haemin grabbed her hand to make her look at him.
Han Jiwon smiled at her young master. Was he going to get revenge for her if she told him? Jiwon found her young master adorable.
"Don't worry, young master. This is all my doing."
"What? What does that mean…?"
Haemin got confused by her answer.
A group of people entered the room with a man with long hair in front. He pushed the rim of his glasses silently and started checking his body all over.
Huh? This man… isn't he Jiwon's oppa? The annoying guy back at the Blackmane Guild.
He remembered his previous visit at the guild, on Hunter's Aid floor. Han Jiwon's older brother, Han Seokmin, tried to provoke him before his little sister stepped in to pinch his ear.
Haemin looked at him in pity. Having to check and heal someone he doesn't like must have been tough.
"How is he, oppa?"
Jiwon asked her brother.
Han Seokmin coughed lightly.
"He's fine. He wasn't hurt physically or anything. He only passed out because he used his power continuously inside the dungeon."
"What? Then, did I pass out 'cause I ran out of mana?"
Haemin raised his head in surprise.
No way. I have three times as much mana as Ryu Jinmu, you know? I couldn't have passed out from that.
Han Seokmin tilted his head.
"Not quite. Have you forgotten about your unique constitution already? I heard from Jiwon that you healed hunters everyday at the dungeon, and even supported Hunter Ryu Jinmu. You using your powers continuously, then using a huge amount of mana all at once triggered your body to overheat."
"O, overheat?"
Han Seokmin continued, not paying any mind to his reaction at all.
"Yes. You got a bad fever all throughout those days you were unconscious."