Chapter 16: 16

There must be a price to pay.

 

     A status window popped up at the sound of Park Yul’s cautious voice.

 

「<This Healer will help!> Selected Warrior: ‘Park Yul’

Heal/Import」

 

     I knew this would happen. Up till now, these people had stayed mum about their injuries. What do these people think I’m here for?

     I sighed inwardly and chose the ‘heal’ selection. If the others won’t offer me any information about their injuries, then I’ll have no choice but to find out on my own.

 

「<This healer will help!> Healing, success!」

 

      Blue light cradled Park Yul’s sides and knees before pouring back into me. The gauge I saw last time I used this skill was still there–to the side of the status window. The bar was filled slightly more with that ominous red.

     “Hey, Yihan-ah. It wasn’t that serious.” Still, the hero added a quieter ‘thank you’ at the end of his statement. For some reason, his voice seemed to tremble.

What does it mean for a wound to be serious or trivial? If there is a wound, isn’t it natural to treat it, small or big? “It’s no big burden for me to heal you, Yul-ie Hyung.”

I gave the warrior an eye smile and continued to speak in a clear voice, “Do you know where Raen Hyung is?” Since Park Yul and Raen had gone outside together, I thought Raen might have been hurt as well.

     “He’s probably in his room. He’s always in his room whenever people look for him.”

     Well, if it were me, I’d also like to stay in my bedroom all day if my room had that sort of atmosphere. Park Yul patted me on the shoulder, as if to usher me safely inside, and lifted the watering can again. As I entered the building, I could hear the sound of water droplets falling softly on petals behind my back.

 

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

 

Knock Knock–

     I stood in front of Raen’s door and knocked.

     “..Enter.”

However, I heard Song Ha-gyeon’s voice. I checked again to see if I had come to the right place, however, this truly was Raen’s room. Soon afterwards, I opened the door slowly.

“Ha-gyeon, you’re acting like this is *your* room… Ah, Yihan? Come on in. What is it?” Raen sat, body slightly twisted in a weird shape, on a gargantuan velvet chair. Song Ha-gyeon leaned against Raen’s bed.

In the middle of the room, there was a large map drawn with light. When Song Ha-gyeon waved his hand slightly, the map scattered into tiny light grains and vanished.

     A crystal ball, something I had seen before, lay next to Raen on top of a desk. Beside it were colorful cube boxes and an open ink bottle. Several densely written papers floated in the air above the desk. One by one, the sheets of paper automatically organized themselves into an organized leaflet atop the desk.

     “Sit down, Yihan.” Raen pulled a chair over to his side. Then, towards Song Ha-gyeon, he requested, “Can you look in the drawer of the table right next to you? Is there a silver container inside?”

“…Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

Song Ha-gyeon rose to his feet, as if it were time for him to leave.

When Raen gestured with his hand, a transparent glass and the silver container that was in the drawer floated into the air. Then, they gently flew towards the Warrior. “Yihan, do you like sweet things?”

    “Yes, very much so.”

Raen gave a small smile and twisted open the lid. “I like it as well.”

     I had thought this before, but Raen looked much more comforting when he smiles instead of his usual sharp expression. The gentleness suited him better.

     In the blink of an eye, a small spoon automatically scooped a small pinch of brown powder from the container into the glass cup. Raen summoned a white kettle and gently tilted it; milk poured out from the spout, steaming as it went inside the glass. Raen stirred a few times with the spoon before handing the drink to me.

     The cup was warm to the touch; a single sip washed my tongue with a sweet, chocolatey taste. “It’s delicious, Hyung.”

      “I’m glad you find it to your taste,” Raen said as he swept my hair back slightly.

      “Mmm… Next time, I’ll pour the drink for you, Hyung.” Although, since I had nothing to my name, there was a high possibility that I could not repay him in kind with more cocoa powder. But, still, I wanted to repay this kindness.

     At that time, I could hear Song Ha-gyeon’s slow voice from beside the bed, “…What about me?”

     I had thought the man had left earlier, but he was still sitting right there.

Raen spoke in a bit of a dumbfounded tone, “I thought you didn’t like sweets.”

     “…I don’t hate them.”

     “Since when? Be honest–you’ve never liked them.”

     “……”

Raen sounded suspicious. Since the two went to the same academy, they seemed to know a lot about each other. I should ask Song Ha-gyeon later if he knows anything, anything I could say, to resolve Raen’s suspicions immediately.

     While I was lost in my thoughts, I felt Song Ha-gyeon’s gaze turn towards me. I turned my head and confirmed my hunch. Then, looking at him, I opened my mouth, “Ha-gyeon Hyung, do want to share my drink?”

     “Yeah,” Song Ha-gyeon answered immediately, as if he had been waiting for my question.

     Raen quickly intervened, “Don’t even think about stealing his drink.”

     “…Okay.”

     “Your answer was a little insincere,” Raen stared blatantly at his childhood companion, shrugged lightly, and then continued, “Well, there’s no reason I can’t make a separate cup for you…”

     Song Ha-gyeon met my eyes for one moment, “…No need.”

     “I thought you’d say that.” Raen smiled; his smirk seemed to convey,  ‘just as I expected’.

     Song Ha-gyeon finally stood up fully and strode to my side. Then, patting my head lightly, he said, “I’m going.” He also nodded to Raen before quickly disappearing from the room. He’s such a hard man to understand.

     Raen started the conversation anew once more, “Yihan. So, why have you come here?”

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     Ah, oops! I was so distracted by the sweets that I almost forgot. I reached one hand out to him, “Hyung, please hold my hand.”

     Raen’s eyes opened wide. I could see myself in his clear golden eyes in between each blink. With his eyebrows slightly raised, he smiled awkwardly and reached out. “Like this?”

     The warrior covered my hand with both of his; though soft, his palm felt firm. For some reason, I smelled a waft of something sweet in the air.

 

「<This Healer will help!> Warrior ‘Raen’

       Heal/Import」

 

     The status window appeared. I nodded to Raen before choosing to heal him.

 

「<This Healer will help!> Healing succesful!」

 

     A stream of blue light surrounded Raen before pouring back into me. As I looked at the movement, I heard a voice calling for me.

     “Yihan.”

     When I looked up and met Raen’s eyes, the other looked so stiff and grave.

     “What’s the cost of your healing magic?” He asked.

‘Cost? There wasn’t anything like that?’ I tilted my head to one side.

He continued in a subdued tone, still holding my hands tightly with perhaps even more force than usual. “The law of causality: no change is without any consequence. ” 1 His pupils shook as he spoke to me; I could see his uneasiness in one glance.

     Perhaps Raen’s wary expression was actually borne of anxiety rather than deep suspicion. Worry poured forth from the hand that gripped mine tightly. “Yihan must have paid some cost–in whatever form that cost may come in. For you to heal us so neatly, there must be a price to pay. I’ve thought about this a lot–truly.” Raen shook his head lightly as he beseeched me to tell him the truth.

     “Hyung. There’s really nothing.” After all, I wasn’t using healing magic but rather borrowing the power of the system. There may be no cost–or perhaps I’m lucky enough to avoid any of the downsides. If not that, then…

Ah, I forgot.

The shiny, bar-shaped gauge came into view. It was filled with a dark-red color, leaving about a finger’s length of emptiness at the end.

Suddenly, that gauge appeared so unpleasant. Perhaps the price that Raen was worried about was accumulating, little by little.

…Still, that’s a problem for the future me. There was no need to shirk away in advance. This wasn’t arrogance–the most important thing for me was to do what I could at the moment.

I smiled quietly at Raen’s shaky eyes. I then placed the cup back on the desk and reached out to cover the back of his hand. With my gradual force, the strength of Raen’s grip slowly eased.

     “Yihan-ah, if you figure out what the price may be, later on, you must tell me.” Raen’s voice sounded somewhat desperate.

    I nodded lightly before turning my view out the window; the cloudless azure sky looked so cold.

 

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

 

     Meanwhile, a few more days passed.

     Everyone was busy with their outside business. Of course, I also busied myself by visiting everyone and treating them from time to time. After all, no one told me about their injuries unless it was quite serious.

     There was still a gap left in the healing gauge. I walked to the room on the second floor while looking at the space remaining.

Creak–

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a room washed red by the setting sun. It was time once again–the cooldown for the ‘foreseen future’ skill was exactly 24 hours.

 

「<Skill Upgrade!> Progress!

‘Foreseen Future’ Beginner rank >> ‘Foreseen Future’ Intermediate rank

Progress (9/10)」

 

     Now, to use this skill one more time and bid farewell to this tedious task. Though it didn’t hurt, I wasn’t happy with the increasing number of cuts on my skin.

It just so happened that everyone was out again. Probably. I haven’t encountered anyone else since lunch.

     A happy smile adorned my face; I took off the bandage coiled around my arm and lifted my knife. The moment I placed the blade on my arm…

“Yihan?” Raen stood at my doorstep.

Huh–didn’t Raen leave the house? Moreover, did I really not close the door when I entered? How careless.

Raen slowly stepped, trembling, my way. “Why…No, Yihan. Wai–Wait a minute.”

     His voice sounded so wobbly. I didn’t want to startle the Warrior any further, so I stopped my movements.

Dr-Dr-Drip–

     Although, my blood was already dripping down onto the floor. Anyway, I stopped in my tracks.

     I also felt a bit flustered and embarrassed–I didn’t really want to let any of the others see this. Still, I tried to pull at the corners of my lips in a smile, hoping that Raen would feel relieved.

The crimson sunset seeped its rays over the drops of blood that stained the floor.

“…Yihan.” Raen called out my name again, tearing up.

 

 

 

TL: WELP. Time to come clean Yihan D:

Footnotes

The law of causality is a principle in philosophy: every change in nature is produced by some cause. 

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