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[I can’t feel any presence around.]
This time, it was Beom Yeonhu who answered. As Yeonhu surveyed the surroundings, his steps suddenly halted at a certain point.
[Why did you suddenly stop?]
[…Step back, Dokyeom. The air current has changed.]
Given that my vision was receding, I must have stepped back without a word. Only Baek Jiun stood by Beom Yeonhu’s side, intently staring at the spot Yeonhu was examining.
Baek Jiun watched Yeonhu tap and touch the stones, checking their hardness, and then muttered something.
I couldn’t hear it well.
But a feeling that I shouldn’t have heard those words washed over me. Anxiety crept up from below my chest. It felt like I was about to lose something.
[Uh… I don’t know how to say this… But I feel something strange. It’s like there’s a mosquito net or a thin barrier. Something is there… And I think I can dispel it. Yeonhu hyung, step back for a moment.]
Those words heightened my unease.
The moment I realized, I was already reaching out toward Baek Jiun. My mouth opened. But before I could speak, Baek Jiun’s voice whispered a skill name.
[
“Haah!”
“Dokyeom!”
“Hyung!”
Dokyeom gasped as someone shook his shoulder firmly. The pitch-black world returned, and in front of him were Beom Yeonhu and Baek Jiun with tense expressions, and Dali and Agon looking startled.
Cold sweat dripped down. There was no time to figure out what that was.
“Dokyeom, do you recognize me?! Breathe slowly, yes. Does it hurt anywhere? Tell me if something hurts.”
Yeonhu’s hands, frantically examining his body, grabbed Dokyeom’s cheeks. His eyes, seeming to touch him, were dilated as if about to burst.
Baek Jiun’s face was pale, and Dali and Agon, who had woken up groggily, were also watching him with dark complexions.
“Haa, ha…”
If that glimpse was a premonition, and it was about Baek Jiun’s death in the near future.
“Last time too, are you sure you’re not hurt?! Should I call a doctor?!”
Maybe I can change it.
I don’t know. It seemed there was no choice but to hold onto them all. Watching them fret over me like this, meeting their gazes one by one, how could I push them away?
“…Jiun. Hyung is fine… you don’t have to go.”
Dokyeom called Baek Jiun to stop, mumbling. He finally let out a long breath and looked at Baek Jiun’s pale face, letting out a hollow laugh. That worry stuck in his throat like a thorn.
Ha, I don’t know. Let’s just hold onto them. Yes, that’s all. Even if I die, I’ll die holding onto all of them. It won’t change anything if one more person is added, so I’ll just hold onto them all.
Dokyeom organized his ragged breathing and tightly grasped Beom Yeonhu’s hand. The flinching hand was welcome. The moment he felt warmth, Dokyeom was already smiling.
“No, actually, it hurts a bit. Aigo… I’m dying.”
Baek Jiun, who was about to dash over, frowned in bewilderment at those words. As if realizing only then, he glared as if to ask what he was talking about, then immediately let out a sharp sound.
“It hurts?! I thought you’d never admit it even if you were dying, but for it to hurt this much…! But why are you grinning creepily all of a sudden?”
“Shut up. I have something to say, so come sit here. Hyung, bring a chair and sit too.”
“Dokyeom, let me examine you first…”
“What? Ah, our hyung wants to sit on my lap.”
“…”
Beom Yeonhu, who had been opening and closing his mouth as if to say something, finally let out a deep sigh, brought a nearby chair, and sat next to Dokyeom’s bed. Baek Jiun also grumbled, grabbed a rolling chair, and quickly sat down.
How should we proceed if we want to run along the derailed railway with all of them?
“Jiun, my eyes are blurry right now. Can you check if there’s a USB on the table?”
“A USB? There isn’t one?”
The original video was already in Taeseongyeon’s hands.
Dokyeom rested his chin on his hand, then saw Dali rubbing his sleepy eyes. He offered one side of his lap for Dali to lie down. Agon, who had been dozing and then buried his head on Dokyeom’s shoulder, was also drowsy.
Dokyeom leaned back against the bed headboard so that Agon could rest comfortably. Following him, Dali and Agon soon fell back into a deep sleep, holding Dokyeom’s waist, lying side by side in his arms.
Dokyeom patted their backs and quickly organized his thoughts.
Now that Taeseongyeon, who had gone to Japan amidst this chaos, was back in Korea, he would probably deal with the Chinese situation first. For that, they needed an incident that could quickly dispel this turmoil.
“Maybe I should have recorded a video.”
“What video?”
“The moment we met the kids outside the hospital earlier. I should have recorded that. Ah, it would have been perfect.”
“But I did record it.”
Dokyeom reflexively turned to Baek Jiun. Beom Yeonhu also seemed guilty and quietly lowered his gaze.
“I told you earlier, hyung, that I sent you a video. That’s a video of you. I wasn’t the only one; everyone there was amazed and recording it. Look, this.”
Baek Jiun shoved his phone under Dokyeom’s nose. With a smug expression, he said, ‘Hyung, you look good on camera,’ while wriggling his eyebrows.
[Beeeep-]
[Isn’t that a chimera? No… why is it stuck on the wall like that?]
[Whoa, it’s coming down?!]
[Are you crazy?! Get back!]
[Wait… look over there.]
[Oh, it must be the owner… ah, it came to find its owner.]
[It’s crying, man… guess it’s sad that the owner is hurt.]
The murmuring sounds from the speaker began to fill the hospital room. The phone Baek Jiun handed him contained the tearful reunion from a few hours ago.
The camera briefly panned away, then captured the disturbed crowd and the hospital scenery. Then it pushed back through the people and focused on Dokyeom’s gaunt side profile.
His haggard appearance, as if he hadn’t eaten properly.
“I saw earlier that videos and photos were popping up on social media. They haven’t revealed your name yet, but soon they will. I was going to upload it on my channel too, but I waited for your permission.”
When he moved the video bar to the beginning, Baek Jiun had already turned on his phone and started recording from the moment he ran down the stairs. Dokyeom scrutinized the video closely, then looked at Baek Jiun sitting there idly, asking ‘What are you going to do?’ Then he called Beom Yeonhu.
“Hyung, my phone is on that drawer. Please turn it on and see if there’s any contact from Reporter Ju Nohaan.”
He was convinced after seeing the video. This would work well even with simple PR.
Beom Yeonhu quickly found the phone, turned it on, and among the buzzing notifications, he swiftly located Ju Nohaan’s name.
Amidst the persistent missed calls and messages from other reporters, Ju Nohaan had left only one message, a single bold sentence.
[Call me anytime if you need something, Hunter Han (thumbs-up emoji)]
Straight to the point and concise. Above all, among the countless lengthy interview messages, it stood out with its boldness.
The words ‘let’s rise together’ faintly lingered. Dokyeom reached out, opened a bottle of water, and gulped it down. He wiped his damp lips and calmly looked around the now silent room.
Since things had come this far, he planned to help Taeseongyeon and make sure to get proper credit. For that, he needed to make the first move.
“Hyung, write down what I say and send it to Reporter Ju Nohaan.”
One sentence would be enough. Asking him to spare some time, as they hadn’t seen each other in a while.
Of course, that man would drop everything and rush over, listening more attentively than anyone else to Dokyeom’s words.
Dokyeom looked down and patted the backs of the sleeping Agon and Dali, who were breathing softly. Seeing their slightly relaxed faces, they seemed to be having a good dream.
He pulled the blanket up to cover them properly, and only then felt relieved. Yet for a while, Dokyeom couldn’t take his eyes off them, as if they were seeking their mother’s embrace.
***
Tick-tock-
Inside the Saha Guild legal team office, only the sound of the second hand ticking was clear today. However, it was different from the anxious and dry air of the past ten days. Everyone was biting their nails, unable to swallow, trembling as they stared at the monitor with gaunt faces full of impatience.
Then, after a moment, when someone clicked the mouse, the eyes of everyone in the office focused on one spot. They all looked at the man who made the sound with determined eyes.
And soon, he shouted.
“The, the article is out! The article is out!”
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