Chapter 50: A Temporary Promise

“We’re only living together temporarily. Temporarily. Got it?”

When those words—let’s live together—came out of hyung’s mouth, I was stunned.

I didn’t know how to react.

To be honest… when I was alone, I often had thoughts like that.

How nice it would be if I could live together with him, in a cozy, warm space filled with hyung’s scent.

That absurd dream had come true, so of course I was dazed.

The kindness I received for the first time in my life felt overwhelmingly good.

His words telling me not to enter gates because it was dangerous,

the food prepared just for me,

the clean and pretty clothes…

All these first-time experiences felt good, and yet they made me anxious.

When hyung didn’t come home until late evening, that anxiety grew even stronger.

What if… hyung abandoned me too and disappeared?

“Hyung! Hyung!”

The moment I could see his figure from afar, that anxiety vanished in an instant.

“What’s this? Why are you out here?”

When he patted my head, I couldn’t help but smile.

I hadn’t cleaned or done the laundry—

just coming out to greet him was enough for him to… like me.

The happier I was with hyung, the bigger my anxiety grew.

It felt like that happiness might disappear one day, as if it were all an illusion.

There was no way such baseless luck would come to someone like me—

it felt like it would all be taken away, dismissed as a mistake.

“Even if I grow really, really big… will you still hug me?”

I asked that question when anxiety suddenly surged.

It was a roundabout way of asking—

you won’t abandon me, right?

“Yeah. I’ll hug you forever.”

I don’t know how relieved I felt hearing that.

I buried my face in hyung’s warm body.

There was a time when I was afraid I might really lose hyung—

Jin Sehyun.

“H-huff…!”

“Hyung…? P-please, wake up…!”

I don’t even know how scared I was when I saw him collapse, gasping for breath.

Even though we hadn’t known each other for long, he was the most precious person in my life.

The only one who was gentle to me, who protected me.

The thought that hyung—who showed kindness for no reason—might die just like that made my vision go dark.

“We can’t handle this. Call that place, the trait center or something.”

“Do you have money? If not, we can’t help you. Buy this medicine and give it to him.”

I must have been mistaken while living with hyung—

the world hadn’t changed after all.

The emergency responders and the people at the trait center coldly refused to help.

I felt helpless.

Hyung’s body was burning like he might die any moment, but no one helped.

Tears flowed on their own.

I wanted to protect hyung the way he protected me,

but not having the power to do so felt unbearably unfair.

Still, I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.

“…I’m sorry, hyung….”

So I entered the gate and mined ore to sell.

Since I’d learned how to pick good stones from hyung,

half a day of work was enough to earn roughly a day’s worth of medicine.

“Hyung, let’s eat and take your medicine.”

“U-ugh…!”

I came home, cooked rice into porridge,

wiped down his overheated body with a wet towel,

and blew on the porridge before feeding it to him.

Whenever he vomited everything back up, my heart ached terribly.

But I couldn’t afford to get tired,

so I forced myself to stay strong.

As long as hyung could wake up safely,

I swore again and again that I would do anything.

The morning I saw hyung wake up safely,

I made a vow to myself.

That I would do anything to protect him.

“Poppy, what do you think this is?”

Viiiing.

Viiiing.

A white sphere blooming at my fingertips illuminated the dark room.

I was probably around fifteen then.

That was when I realized my body was different from ordinary people’s.

If I didn’t control my strength properly, I often inflicted serious injuries on others—

and eventually, I began using strange abilities.

“This kind of ability doesn’t even show up online.”

I learned that it was the technique of a special ability user—

one of the combat skills of so-called espers.

But there was no information about a brightly glowing sphere like this.

Light that wasn’t electricity or fire.

I thought long and hard about telling hyung, but I didn’t.

I even threatened Poppy never to tell anyone either.

Why?

“Did you have a scary dream? Come sleep next to hyung.

I’ll protect you, so don’t worry!”

Because hyung’s embrace was so warm.

Because I loved the hyung who took care of me and protected me.

If I grew strong too quickly and became an adult…

I might have to leave his arms someday.

That was something I truly didn’t want.

So I lied about having scary dreams and kept my awakening a secret.

It wasn’t that I felt no guilt,

but it didn’t matter.

As long as I could stay by hyung’s side.

Still… feeling sorry, I became an even better child.

I tried to become the kind of child hyung would want—

one who didn’t cost much money.

I studied hard,

and worked hard at the sports hyung liked.

Whenever I brought home awards or good grades,

an even more beautiful smile would appear on hyung’s face.

He never once told me to study or exercise,

but that smile became my driving force.

Whenever he smiled at me, I could finally feel at ease.

At least for now… at least for now,

it reassured me that he wouldn’t abandon me.

“Jaeyul, come sit here for a moment.”

Then, a crisis came.

I must have been around seventeen.

I sat in front of hyung without much thought,

but the moment he grabbed my wrist, a strange force began flowing into me through his hand.

Instinctively, I realized I had to hide my power,

and pushed his force back.

I already knew hyung was a special ability user.

Ever since I awakened, I could recognize others like me.

“…That’s strange….”

“What is?”

“Huh? No… it’s nothing.

If you notice any changes in your body, you have to tell me, okay?”

“…Y-yeah….”

Even I didn’t fully understand my own feelings.

I wanted to grow up quickly and be helpful to hyung,

but at the same time, I wanted to stay in his arms just a little longer.

The warmth of his embrace was simply too good.

My entire world was dyed in Jin Sehyun’s colors,

his scent.

That belief shattered on the day hyung disappeared.

The day he… abandoned me.