Chapter 71: A Warning Wrapped in Kindness

I forgot all about the nausea twisting my stomach and instinctively lifted my head to identify the two approaching figures.

The low, cavernous voice was far too familiar to me.

“……”

“Yoonie?”

“…Hello.”

“What the hell? I sensed a familiar presence and thought maybe it was you, but it actually is.”

Kim Seokhwan, Kwon Yiyul, and I recognized each other almost simultaneously.

It had been a very long time since I’d seen Kim Seokhwan after that interview meeting, so things felt strangely awkward.

Kwon Yiyul, on the other hand, looked genuinely delighted to see me.

Why was I standing here alone?
Wasn’t lunchtime already over?
Shouldn’t I be heading back to the office?

He immediately started throwing questions at me one after another.

I’d spent nearly all of yesterday morning attached to his side for guiding sessions, to the point where it felt like Kwon Yiyul’s scent had permanently seeped into my body.

Every time the distance between us narrowed, the unfamiliar fragrance lingering around my neck grew stronger.

“By the way, where are you two headed?”

“Ah, nothing much. There’s a council assembly meeting. We’ll be back soon, so don’t worry and just stay put.”

“I’ll follow your orders.”

“What about you, Yoonie? You still haven’t answered me. Why are you standing here?”

“…I came with someone. They said they were going to the café for a bit, so I’m waiting.”

“Someone?”

“Yes.”

“Then why aren’t you staying with them?”

“Well… it was really noisy around there, and my head started hurting. I barely slept last night, so I wanted to avoid crowded places for a while. So I just…”

My eyes met Kim Seokhwan’s several times while Kwon Yiyul spoke, but neither of us said anything.

As always, Kim Seokhwan wore a cold, expressionless face while carefully reviewing the response sheets he needed to memorize before arriving at the broadcasting station.

I’d overheard that he hadn’t slept at all since last night because of nonstop meetings, yet out of the three of us, I was still the one who looked the most exhausted.

The tightly buttoned collar of his shirt — so severe it almost looked ascetic — perfectly reflected his current mental state.

“That companion of yours… is it that guy over there? The one with the piercings?”

Kwon Yiyul tilted his chin precisely toward Ahn Yijeong, who was lingering in front of the café.

There were plenty of people waiting for their drinks, yet somehow he immediately picked out Ahn Yijeong among all of them.

I couldn’t hide my surprise and swallowed nervously.

Seeing that, Kwon Yiyul casually explained that after I’d previously mentioned having someone I was close to from the Northern Center, he’d memorized basic information about him.

“After you told me you’d gotten close to someone, I looked into him a little. You’re our team’s precious Guide, after all. I can’t just let other people start eyeing you. What if someone secretly marks you as theirs behind my back?”

“…What do you mean ‘mark me’? That’s disgusting.”

“It’s just an example. Though honestly, maybe I should actually mark you someday. Territorial markings sound useful.”

“You’re not an animal, Mr. Kwon Yiyul, and I’m not an object either. Saying things like territory marking right in front of me is seriously messed up. Besides, if we’re talking about marks, you’ve already left plenty. My neck’s practically ruined these days because of you. Do you know how stressed I’ve been worrying someone might notice?”

Honestly, it was genuinely troublesome.

Marks on my neck or around my jawline couldn’t always be hidden by clothing, so every morning I had to stand in front of the mirror covering them with bandages.

That kind of hassle might be tolerable for a day or two, but eventually I became too anxious about someone noticing the bite marks to even walk around the center comfortably anymore.

“Anyway, how’s your burn injury? Is it healed?”

“Don’t change the subject and answer me properly first.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll be more careful from now on. But I really am worried about your injuries. The doctor said the scars would probably stay. Are you actually okay?”

“Ah, yes. The medicine’s been working well, so aside from the scars, there aren’t any major problems with daily life.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really. They also said scar treatment later on should improve things quickly, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

“That’s good, then…”

Unexpectedly, Kwon Yiyul backed off easily.

But then he suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared directly into my face.

It wasn’t hard to recognize that look.

It was the exact same disgusting gaze he used back when he pretended to love me.

Worry? Concern?

What nonsense.

Kwon Yiyul simply hated the idea that something he considered his property had been damaged without his permission.

But he also knew that if he openly acted according to his true feelings, I’d probably finally grow disgusted enough to leave him.

So he was being calculating again.

Honestly, had there ever been even one genuine side to the version of himself he showed other people?

“Do you have something else to say? Why are you staring at my face like that for no reason?”

“Well… there actually was something I wanted to ask you. See? I’m even ignoring Seokhwan over here nagging me to hurry up and leave.”

“Then ask already. What kind of important question has you hesitating like this? Looks like you two are pretty busy.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s not really an important question, but…”

Ignoring Kim Seokhwan standing beside him, Kwon Yiyul gently brushed my overgrown hair behind my ear.

His unnaturally cold body temperature ghosted against my skin.

Unable to endure the strange shiver running down my spine, I instinctively shrank back slightly.

Kwon Yiyul responded by smiling brilliantly — a smile so dazzling the only word that could describe it was beautiful.

For a brief moment, I forgot that he was the traitor who had deceived and betrayed me and simply stared blankly at his face.

“No. I’ll ask later instead. Later, when I’m more certain. If I ask now, it’ll just look like I’m interrogating someone innocent.”

“…What are you even talking about? At least say things people can understand.”

“I told you, it’s nothing serious.”

I was the one feeling sick today, so why was this bastard acting weird instead?

Kwon Yiyul slowly brushed his fingers beneath my eyes before suddenly cupping my cheek fully in his palm.

For that single moment, even his cold skin seemed to absorb warmth from my own body heat.

“Seriously, Yoonie, you must’ve been a flower in your past life. A ridiculously pretty flower. Why does everyone keep swarming around you?”

“…What?”

His hand slid from my cheek down to my neck again, openly caressing my skin.

Conscious of Kim Seokhwan watching the entire thing, I quickly twisted away in an attempt to reject his touch.

But Kwon Yiyul stubbornly refused to let go.

Only when Kim Seokhwan finally looked ready to physically stop him did Kwon Yiyul release me like nothing had happened and calmly straighten my disheveled collar.

“I can’t tell if you’re innocent or just naive. In some ways, I guess you could call it honest. But seriously, you need to be more careful about the people you choose to trust.”

“What do you mean by that? Ahn Yijeong is a genuinely good person. Even now, he’s going out of his way just for my sake—”

“Yoonie.”

“……”

“You already learned once that you can’t judge people just by appearances.”

The gaze Kwon Yiyul directed at me as I tried to defend Ahn Yijeong was chillingly cold.

Like a god pitying the ignorance and helplessness of a foolish lamb, he looked at me with unbearable sympathy.

With what right?

Who was the first person to teach me the humiliation and bitterness of betrayal in the first place?

“There’s no such thing as someone being kind without a reason. Everyone has their own goals. They weigh situations, calculate benefits, and eventually decide it’s worth gaining someone’s favor. Even I used to be like that.”

“……”

“Of course, I’m not saying the guy over there is definitely like that. I just think you should be careful.”

I hated how Kwon Yiyul continued trying to control not just my actions, but even my thoughts, all while pretending it was for my own good.

And I desperately wanted to argue back.

To tell him that this time, he was wrong.

That Ahn Yijeong really wasn’t that kind of person.

Unlike them — the people who constantly humiliated me — Ahn Yijeong sympathized with me, got angry on my behalf, and genuinely tried to understand me.

“If you end up getting hurt again after blindly trusting someone just because they seem nice, then this time you really won’t recover from it.”

But strangely, the words refused to leave my mouth.

Every time I tried to get angry, Kwon Yiyul’s gaze felt far too serious and heavy for me to openly reject his warning.

Was my trust in Ahn Yijeong still too weak?

No… maybe trust itself was too big a word considering we hadn’t known each other for very long.

Still, from everything I’d seen, Ahn Yijeong genuinely didn’t seem like that kind of person.

He really didn’t.

“I’m only saying this because I’m worried about you, Yoonie, so don’t take it too badly. Honestly, I already know that the moment I disappear from sight, you’ll probably ignore everything I just said anyway.”

“……”

“Anyway, it’s getting late, so we should go. It’s cold out here, so once your companion comes back, head straight to the office with him.”

“……”

“And stop biting your lips like that. You’re going to make them bleed.”

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