Chapter 3: The tense person

Chapter 3

 

The tense person

 

 Sun Yihan:

     I did some deep reflection after hearing Min Joo-hyuk ask me if I was having a difficult time. Did I really let myself go like that and show my exhaustion in front of someone else? Someone who came to pick me up at the crack of dawn, at that?

     I wasn’t really all that weary either. I was just a little tired from a little bloodletting and lack of sleep. When I looked at him in surprise and embarrassment, Min Joo-hyuk added awkwardly, “I wondered if you get motion sickness.”

     I pondered for a moment, wondering how I should craft my response. But, other than that, there was no way to explain my physical condition.

     Eventually, I simply agreed with the man; Min Joo-hyuk encouraged me to sleep, saying that sleep was the best way to handle motion sickness.

      I almost thanked him and closed my eyes immediately but, luckily, rationality stopped me in my tracks. No matter how you slice it, it would be mannerless to sleep in this situation. Min Joo-hyuk must also have been tired from his long journey; I didn’t want to be the first to fall asleep.

     I refused and told the warrior that my motion sickness wasn’t too severe; Min Joo-hyuk murmured his understanding in a low tone. He continued to speak, and I responded with chirpy yet shallow exclamations.

     Of course, none of what he said fully entered my brain. If it were important, he’d repeat his words later. I was sure Min Joo-hyuk noticed I was answering quite half-heartedly.

     …Honestly, if it was going to be like this, would it have been better for me to sleep? Maybe? Meaningless thoughts floated around my blank brain.

     Still, it seemed the distance between me and Min Joo-hyuk decreased as we made small talk.

     Min Joo-hyuk would call to me informally, “Hey, Sun Yihan.”

     I would return the same level of informality; thus, our dynamic didn’t feel one-sided. Min Joo-hyuk had even smiled satisfactorily after I called out to him in an informal manner; his amused face was quite striking.

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Wait. Weren’t we getting too close too quickly? It’d only been 3 hours since we met.

     ‘Well, whatever. I suppose this can only be good.’ My thoughts complacently trickled away. I leaned against the rattling carriage walls, half-asleep.

     The trip was largely peaceful–though, there was a little commotion in the middle of the journey due to my nosebleed. At first, I stared at the blood dripping out of my nose, totally bewildered. Honestly, didn’t the system say the ‘healer’ was immune to pain? What’s with this nosebleed?

But, come to think of it, it really didn’t hurt–just that. No pain. ‘Aha! So my fatigue builds up normally, huh? What an important observation.’ I nodded, satisfied. 1

     I hurried to gain control of the situation with the startled Min Joo-hyuk; after everything was cleared up, the warrior forced me to rest against the carriage wall and put me to sleep.

     It was too hard to resist; the air felt incredibly warm. Now that the fuss had been dealt with, my body felt that sleep would be rational.

     The hot air inside the carriage mixed with the cool air coming through the cracks in the borders of the window. Due to the warrior’s outer coat covering my lap, my body felt toasty.

     ‘Hm? Whose outer coat? Why is this thing here?’

     In any case, this was the perfect condition for slumber.

     And, I plunged into sleep immediately.

 

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

 

Min Joo-hyuk: 

     When I first entered the temple, I thought, ‘Aiya, this place is so bleak.’

     It had been a long time since I visited, but nothing had changed. The magnificent temple, painted in white and decorated with gold, exuded an oppressive atmosphere that seemed capable of freezing its residents in time, withering them. If I hadn’t arrived to pick up a new party member 2, I would have never set foot in this place again.

     I could feel the distant gazes of those that pretended to ignore my presence; the priests dressed neatly in their new, white robes–each going their own way, absorbed in their own business–felt cold rather than solemn.

      I didn’t really let myself get bothered, but the atmosphere still displeased me.

     ‘Is this the place?’

     As I had been told in advance, there was a small annex of the larger compound that was set aside in a far corner. I raised my hand to knock on the door but then paused.

     ‘They said his name was Sun Yihan, right?’

     Not long ago, Park Yul Hyung had received a call from the temple. The temple had declared that someone from their order would be joining the party in their adventure. No further detailed explanation.

–Sun Yihan, 17 years-old. He’ll be of help to you warriors.

     The other hyung-nims 3 didn’t seem pleased by this sudden and one-sided notification. ‘I wasn’t really dissatisfied, though. If we’re going to spend a lot of time together, wouldn’t it be best to welcome him with an open heart?’

      Besides, I was pleased that Sun Yihan and I were the same age. ‘Everyone else is a hyung, and I’m the youngest. It’s better if there’s two of us. Come to think of it, he’s a little pitiful.’

     Unlike the other warriors, Sun Yihan wasn’t joining us of his own free will and probably would not feel at ease.

     I felt complicated–who knows if that person’s being forced into this? Still feeling some dissonance, I knocked on the door.

Creak–

     After a brief moment, the door opened.

     “Hello! You’re Sun Yihan, correct?”

     At that question, Sun Yihan slightly raised his head and made eye contact. Light blue eyes glittered like clear water under pitch black hair; his pupils looked like they had no light in them.

     Behind Sun Yihan’s back, I could see no proper personal touches or furniture. The thin cover atop the bed was also straightened without a hint of disorder to show it had been used. There seemed to be not a single ounce of warmth in this spacious room.

     “…That’s right. I’m Sun Yihan.”

     I could see myself in the middle of Sun Yihan’s clear eyes. Then, he blinked absentmindedly before smiling half-heartedly. It was a gentle smile, but somehow he looked tired.

     Sun Yihan went back inside the room to pack and organize; I waited outside for a while.

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     The sun was high in the sky; the days were already well into autumn. Looking up at the cloudless, clear sky, I was reminded of Sun Yihan’s eyes. ‘It doesn’t seem like he’s been forced to follow us.’

     His expression didn’t show any hints of uncomfortableness. That was a relief.

     The four warriors in this generation, except for Park Yul who had been ‘chosen’ as a warrior, had chosen to bravely pledge themselves to the cause freely. That’s the case for me and the same for Raen Hyung-nim and Song Ha-gyeon Hyung-nim.

     ‘Then, did Sun Yihan also take a warrior’s oath?’

     He didn’t seem like the combat-ready type. Plus, I’d heard that those residing in the temple couldn’t use any magic.

     Was he the researching-type, like Song Ga-hyeon Hyung-nim? That Hyung used magic and was a skilled researcher, but perhaps Sun Yihan might only be an intellectual.

Well, we can get to know each other gradually. Besides, I believed that Park Yul Hyung-nim would judge for himself the temple resident’s devotion to the warrior’s oath–I trusted his perspective on matters like this.

      Just as I thought that, I heard a voice calling out to me.

     “Min Joo-hyuk.”

     I turned my head; my breath caught for a moment.

     Sun Yihan stood underneath the blue sky.

     His white clothes swaying lightly contrasted greatly against the backdrop of the rigid temple. It felt too foreign–too far apart in the spectrum.  If there existed only straight lines in this place, he was like a curve. He exuded a light and soft atmosphere, standing out even though he was doing nothing special.

     The clothes that Sun Yihan wore looked similar to a priest’s uniform, but, on a closer look, the robes were different. The thin cloth fluttered in the wind–quite different from the tightly restricting Priest’s robes. Even the sleeves were billowy and large; the end of the sleeve covered the back of his hand.

     Sun Yihan blinked as he stared blatantly at me. I managed to recover from this brief lapse of focus. “Shall we leave?”

     Sun Yihan nodded and voiced his agreement in a light voice. Even though he was under the bright sun, he looked a little unstable as he walked.

     Despite having smiled this entire time, the man looked exhausted; I couldn’t easily uncover the reason for his weariness.

     His white hem flapped gently in the breeze; he somehow seemed like he was barely standing, so I quickened our pace towards the carriage.

     We went back on the same path I took towards the temple. Finding my way out of the temple took less time than finding my way to Sun Yihan’s room; after all, the carriage was parked in front of the temple.

 

◇~◇~◇~◇~◇

 

     I boarded the carriage with Sun Yihan. The interior rattled lightly as the carriage set off.

     Sun Yihan, who sat opposite to me, leaned into the walls–almost burying himself into a niche–and looked clearly paler than before. Perhaps that’s why his flushed cheeks looked so prominent. Was it flushed from touching the cold wind on his way here?

     ‘But, we walked for only a few minutes.’

     Sun Yihan didn’t look totally frail, but he didn’t look very strong either. Perhaps the wind temperature was colder than usual for this climate. “Sun Yihan. It’ll take us a few hours to arrive.”

     “I see,” he replied.

     I meant to imply that, since there was much time left in our journey, he should take the opportunity to sleep. However, Sun Yihan seemed to have no intention of doing so; he languidly blinked his eyes, looking at me.

     ‘Well, I can at least explain a few things on the way.’

     With that in mind, I opened my mouth, “Then, you may as well listen to my spiel on the way there.”

      Sun Yihan nodded slightly. I watched my reflection appear and disappear in his pupils as he slowly blinked his vacant eyes. I continued, “Our base is in Reddeo.  Originally, one resides in this place when they become a warrior, though I’m not sure how the place got its name.”

     “Reddeo…”

     “When we arrive, we’ll probably meet Park Yul Hyung-nim. He’s 20 years old and the oldest out of all of us.”

     “…Mhmm. Yul-Hyung…”

     “Raen Hyung-nim and Song Ha-gyeon Hyung-nim have briefly left on an errand. You won’t be able to see them until tomorrow at the earliest. They’re both 18–just one year older than us.”

     “Tomorrow…I see…” He seemed to be putting forth his best effort, but his words came out strangely slow. Looking at his blank face, I could tell he was exhausted.

“Tomorrow…” Sun Yihan said again, almost a mutter this time. He raised his hand carefully and then covered his mouth with his long sleeves. His head bobbed forward helplessly in the rattling carriage.

      ‘Ah, is he perhaps feeling sick instead of sleepy?’ I thought he may be suffering from motion sickness instead.

     I’ve never had motion sickness, so I wouldn’t know what it feels like; however, Raen Hyung-nim often suffered from nausea severely. Sometimes, when riding a carriage, he said he felt like he was going to die.

     “Sun Yihan, are you perhaps having a difficult time?”

     If Sun Yihan’s sickness was as severe as Raen Hyung-nim’s, then it was cause for worry. At my cautious question, he opened his eyes wide, startled. His pupils trembled, as if he were asking, ‘How did you know?’

     His eyes looked strangely red. I was briefly nervous because I thought he was crying, but, fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Still, he seemed to be in a bad state.

    “I wondered if you get motion sickness.”

     Sun Yihan clamped his mouth shut, looked down at the ground before raising his gaze to meet mine again, and said, “…I suppose I do.”

     His voice sounded tamped down, suppressed.

 

 

TL: I wonder if, by receiving the memories of a child in modern Korea, Yihan tends to follow Asian ideals of propriety. (For example, his unwillingness to be rude by sleeping in the carriage in front of a stranger).

Also:
Yihan: I’m doing well, only a little tired. Oh also, some bloodletting (and yes, that’s bloodletting, aka, extracting or purposefully releasing some of your own blood)
Joohyuk: Oh god he’s dying.

Footnotes

I’m not sure you should be so satisfied with this Yihan-ah. New member in a gaming group–not the “celebration” sort of party lmao Hyung means ‘brother.’ This is something a younger boy might call an older boy for being a) actually an older brother, b) older non-related person you have a close relationship with

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