Chapter 27: Don’t Say You’ll Run Away

I didn’t refuse and immediately climbed onto his back.

As Han-jun carried me, he asked,

“Hyung, did you lose weight? Why aren’t you heavy?”

Maybe you just got stronger.

“Because of you, I’ve been suffering mentally. I guess I’ve been losing weight from stress.”

Seeing this as my chance, I appealed about my exhausted body and mind.

But my self-promotion didn’t work.

Han-jun’s expression remained stiff.

“I did all of that today in one go… Why did you disappear alone?”

His voice was endlessly dark, as if he was still angry.

“I was going to go back….”

“You suddenly vanished… I thought I was going crazy.”

There was moisture in his trembling voice.

That caught me off guard.

“…Are you crying?”

“…No.”

“You are.”

“I said I’m not.”

“You are. You’re crying.”

“Damn it, I’ll drop you.”

I tightened my arms around his neck so I wouldn’t fall.

“I fainted nearby, and you couldn’t even find me?”

“…Hoo.”

That sigh carried a lot of meaning.

A faint evening moon rose in the sky where the sun was setting.

Riding on Han-jun’s back, I descended the rough mountain path comfortably.

Because I was on his back, the darkening trail didn’t feel scary.

Since I still had some conscience, I asked him to let me down once we reached flat ground, then walked slowly with his support.

In the evening breeze, tall reeds swayed with a rustling sound, and the cool scent unique to the mountains drifted through the air.

“Hyung, I’m sorry for getting angry earlier.”

“Hm?”

“Still… don’t say you’ll run away.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“…My mom used to say that. Every day. That she was sick of it and would leave. That she’d run away. She said it several times a day… It’s funny, but when you said you’d run away too, it felt like my head would explode.”

Walking along the village road in the mountains, Han-jun carefully began talking about his childhood.

His mother, who had him at a young age without wanting to, found everything overwhelming.

Maybe because of that, she would constantly say things like, “If you cry, I’ll leave,” “If you whine, I’ll run away,” “If you don’t listen, I’ll disappear.”

Then one night, when he was five and burning with fever, crying late into the night, she really did leave the house.

Just like she always said she would.

His father was trash and couldn’t be relied on.

Because of that, his mother’s wounds and burdens must have been even heavier.

Han-jun finished the story as if he understood her circumstances.

“Still, leaving you was wrong. What kind of parent does that? How do you leave when your child is sick….”

“Honestly, I liked living with my grandma more. When I lived with my mom, I didn’t eat well, and I got scolded a lot.”

He said it casually.

It made me want to cry.

No—maybe I did a little.

Sniffling, I tried to comfort him.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“…….”

“I’m serious. I told you before. Without you, I’d die. I would’ve been caught by a monster and died long ago.”

“…That’s what you meant? I thought you meant you’d just die without me, not because of monsters.”

“Your comprehension skills are terrible. Anyway, I’m going to stick to you like a leech and suck you dry, so prepare yourself. It’s already too late. I’m never letting go.”

At my words, Han-jun let out a dry laugh.

With a faint smile, he glanced at me and said,

“If you let go, I’ll kill you.”

Why is he always so violent with me?

“You know that sounds serious enough to be scary, right?”

“Does it sound like a joke?”

“…I hope it is.”

“Think whatever you want.”

Walking across the village, we finally saw Grandpa’s detached house in the distance.

Grandpa had come out into the yard and was pacing around with his hands behind his back.

It seemed he had been worried because we were late.

“Grandpa!”

I waved at him, and when he spotted us, he jumped up and down.

“You brats!! Were you trying to worry an old man to death?!!”

He greeted us warmly.

As we neared the house, I glanced at Han-jun again and asked quietly,

“But really… would you kill me?”

Under the sky growing redder by the minute, his still-reddened eyes tilted slightly as he looked at me.

Maybe because I had just heard about his childhood, it felt like I could see something dark writhing deep inside him.

That shadowy part of him he only seems to show me.

“What do you think?”

“…I’ll just live without knowing.”

“It’s better that way. For life.”

Scary bastard.

As soon as we got home, I sat in the living room proudly displaying my monster-bitten leg.

My ankle was swollen, so I’d probably need to rest for a while.

“Oh dear, wasn’t it a snake that bit you? If it’s venomous, that’s serious.”

“Since it’s not turning black or rotting, it’s probably not venom, right?”

“You never know! Back when I was young, more than a few people died from snake bites. Some survived only because their leg was cut off before the venom spread.”

“…Why would you say something so scary?”

I shuddered at Grandpa’s gruesome words.

Han-jun also stared at my ankle with a grave expression.

“What should we do? Should we cut it off now?”

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Why would you cut off a perfectly fine leg!”

Han-jun must have lost his mind.

“It’s better than dying!”

“Even if I die, I’m not cutting off a healthy leg! I’d rather die!”

“Why do you talk about dying so easily?!”

Seeing us argue, Grandpa awkwardly stepped in.

“Enough! I’m just saying! You two are something else. You said it’s been quite a while since you were bitten, and you’re fine, so it’s probably not venomous. If it were, the leg would turn black and rot, and you’d have a high fever. You’d be at death’s door. Look at you, your face is fine. Must not be venom.”

What the hell, old man.

If it’s fine, why scare us like that?

I almost had my leg chopped off by Jun.

“Grandpa, really….”

“Anyway, the mountain’s dangerous, so don’t go near it for a while. I heard booming noises all day long, like the sky was collapsing. Must be some scary thing up there.”

That was Han-jun causing a ruckus.

I glanced at him, but he pretended not to know anything.

Grandpa muttered “tsk tsk” and headed into the kitchen.

“You must be tired. Eat dinner and rest.”

“I’ll help.”

Han-jun immediately stood to assist Grandpa.

And I, the injured one, sprawled in the living room reading old newspapers and fiddling with the radio, trying to catch bits of news about the world.

After dinner, I collapsed face-first onto the bedding in the small room.

Flopping onto the blanket, I groaned.

“Ah, I’m tired.”

I’d been unconscious for half a day—why was I still so tired?

Han-jun, who had just finished cleaning up, came in and plopped down beside me.

“Hyung, want me to massage your leg?”

I looked at him indifferently and said,

“No, more importantly, try that ability again.”

“Ability?”

“Yeah, the rock-throwing thing. Telekinesis, I guess? You couldn’t control it before, right?”

At my question, Han-jun looked at his palm with a serious face.

What’s in his palm?

Curious, I lifted myself and stared at it too.

There was nothing there.

“What? What are you looking at?”

“I didn’t even know I had that kind of power, but in that moment when I couldn’t see anything… it just came out.”

“So can you control it now?”

“A little? But I can’t lift really heavy things well.”

“So you can press and lift things?”

Seems like telekinesis.

Telekinesis is pretty cool.

Floating objects in the air and flinging them around… Just imagining it is awesome.

Suddenly, I felt jealous of Han-jun.

“What about pressing lightly or lifting something delicately and placing it somewhere specific?”

“I haven’t tried.”

“Try it.”

The moment I said that, my body was pressed down.

Seriously.

Shouldn’t you treat the sick with care?

With my face smashed into the blanket, I mumbled,

“Not on me, idiot.”

“When I think about you while using it, I think I control it better.”

His body slowly moved closer.

My face was still buried in the blanket.

Maybe because he had learned control, the pressure wasn’t as overwhelming as before.

I couldn’t move, but I could breathe.

In other words, an even more miserable situation.

“Then just think about me. Why use it on me?”

“I mean, it works well when I think about protecting you, or saving you, or finding you. Or…”

He trailed off, and I felt his body climb over mine.

My back stiffened instantly.

“O-or? If you’re tired, we can do this later. Let’s sleep and try tomorrow.”

I rambled anxiously, but I felt my clothes slowly being removed.

My shirt was lifted, and my back felt cold.

“W-what are you doing? Jun? Grandpa’s outside. Our well-mannered young man wouldn’t do that, right?”

“…Hyung, just a little.”

The hand that had been sliding down my lower back moved lower.

As his hand went down, my pants slid halfway off with it.

Just a little?

A little what?

I swallowed dryly.

“Jun, calm down first. You didn’t even drink.”

He didn’t answer.

His fingers brushing between my cheeks made me lose my words.

“Hyung, you could get up, you know?”

When had the pressure disappeared?

Maybe I was too startled to notice.

Embarrassed, I shifted my body slightly.

As I tried to pull my pants back up from my thighs, Han-jun grabbed my hand to stop me.

“I didn’t say you could pull them up.”