“What the hell happened?”
Only after the girls went to the bathroom, Choi Hyun-woo, who had been watching this side, cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Did you fight with Yuna again, Ji-hyuk?”
“Hey, do you think I have anger management issues? I don’t always fight and argue with her.”
At my sharp reaction, Choi Hyun-woo showed an awkward and embarrassed smile.
“It’s not that, but you and Yuna were often involved in such things.”
I felt a sting at his words and closed my mouth for a moment.
“No, I know that too, and it was definitely my fault… But not this time. I really don’t know why she did that this time.”
It wasn’t a joke, I was really wronged this time.
She came into the room out of nowhere and started crying without doing anything.
Her crying face made me wonder if I had made a mistake.
She cried so pitifully that anyone who saw her would feel sorry for her.
It wasn’t acting or anything like that, and there must have been a reason for it.
“I’ve never seen her like that before.”
As he said that, Ivan muttered while rubbing the back of his head.
“Hey, don’t misunderstand me, this is not bragging or showing off, okay? You guys know that Yuna and I entered the academy as co-first place, right?”
“That’s right.”
“So maybe that’s why we hung out a lot at first. The academy would call us to take promotional materials or interviews… It’s not a boast, but I’m not that bad-looking, and Yuna is pretty too, so… I thought I came to take a pictorial at first.”
“Oh, yeah. I saw the pamphlet and you and Yuna took a lot of pictures. That’s why Su-young and I thought you guys were seniors at first.”
As Choi Hyun-woo nodded and agreed, Ivan smiled slightly.
“Anyway, what I felt then was… Yuna was kind of similar to me. I used to act tough when I was young so that I wouldn’t be looked down on by others, but I could clearly see that Yuna was also wary of being vulnerable to others.”
He said that and laughed softly.
“I was so cold that I couldn’t even greet properly. But lately, she’s become a lot more friendly…”
Ivan trailed off and glanced at me.
“Why. What is it?”
“No, nothing.”
Ivan gave me his characteristic sly smile and said.
“I just thought you were very generous, Ji-hyuk.”
“Oh, I admit that. Really.”
Next to me, Choi Hyun-woo, who had been casually lifting weights, nodded vigorously as if he agreed.
I was about to say something, but I realized that I had no one on my side and just shook my head.
“But Ji-hyuk, can you exercise when you’re not feeling well?”
“Did I catch some deadly disease?”
I snickered and laughed, answering Choi Hyun-woo’s question.
Actually, until just before, I was so stuffy under the thick blanket that I lifted the weights to move my body.
I hadn’t gotten permission to go for a walk yet.
“I feel sore just lying down. And I can’t go outside the ward as I please, so I feel so frustrated that I’m going to die.”
“Do you want me to bring you a game console?”
I shook my head at Ivan’s question.
“They said the electromagnetic waves are harmful, so they don’t let me use any electronic devices except my phone. Even my phone has a set usage time.”
At that, Choi Hyun-woo looked around as if something was strange and nodded as he saw the television.
“That’s true. The plug is pulled out.”
“Then how about a board game or a book…”
As he said that, the door of the ward opened and Han Su-young, Jin Ye-seul, and Yuna, whose eyes were still swollen, came in.
“I’m sorry…”
Yuna uttered an apology that no one knew who it was directed to.
Jin Ye-seul quickly pulled out a chair and Han Su-young carefully seated Yuna on it.
Choi Hyun-woo, who was looking at them awkwardly, opened his mouth.
“Yuna, are you feeling better now?”
“Ah, yes… I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Why are you apologizing for that?”
Han Su-young and Jin Ye-seul looked at Yuna with an expression that they couldn’t understand.
Then, Jin Ye-seul, who was closer to her, leaned over and patted her shoulder and back as if to comfort her.
“Are you calm now? Are you okay?”
Yuna nodded silently.
Then, Han Su-young narrowed her eyes and looked at me.
“Ji-hyuk, you…”
“Hey, Su-young. I really didn’t do anything.”
Her eyes widened even more at my words.
“Really? Really, really nothing?”
“Yeah, really. Why would I lie about this?”
Then, Han Su-young nodded as if she understood and looked down at Yuna.
“Then, Yuna can explain it to us.”
“That’s right.”
Jin Ye-seul nodded and whispered in Yuna’s ear with a quiet but sticky voice.
“What did you mean by ‘sidekick’… Can you explain it to us?”
She heard it.
Jin Ye-seul looked at Yuna with a look that she wouldn’t accept a refusal.
Yuna flinched for a moment and lifted her head to look at me with a hard eye.
“…Yes. I’ll explain everything.”
She said that and looked around, then slowly opened her mouth.
“First of all, I’m sorry for keeping it a secret from you guys. It’s ridiculous to say this now, but… I never meant to deceive you.”
She started with that and began to explain calmly.
She had a rare disease called Mana Syndrome.
I helped her out of pure kindness, and in the meantime, she found out that it cost a fortune to treat it.
She couldn’t just let it go, so she tried to repay me by working for me, and with the help of Shin Woo-seok, who was Ye-eun’s servant, she got her name on the list as my sidekick.
She explained everything in detail.
But she also subtly distorted or omitted some of the stories that would make me uncomfortable.
For example, when he asked why I had to keep it a secret that I hired her.
Yuna glanced at me and lowered her head as if she was embarrassed.
“That… He asked me to keep it a secret.”
As she said that, Jin Ye-seul suddenly remembered that she could detect lies.
If she said something wrong here…
She was tense with that thought when it happened.
Yuna blinked slightly at an angle that only I could see.
It was a gesture that seemed to say, don’t worry and trust yourself.
“Didn’t you say to keep it a secret?”
Yuna nodded at Jin Ye-seul’s question.
At that sight, I had a doubtful thought.
‘Could it be that she already knows that I can tell when she’s lying…?’
And as if to prove my thought right, she began to weave her words with a clever mix of truth and lies.
“To be honest, I was embarrassed… You know, Suyoung and Hyunwoo, you probably know this too. Before, Jihyuk and I had a similar problem and we blushed at each other, right? That happened, and I also had some personal reasons… So I decided to keep it a secret for now.”
Her words were all true.
She was speaking very subtly, in a way that could be easily misunderstood… But there was no doubt that it was the truth.
“Oh…”
“I see.”
Suyoung and Hyunwoo, who remembered the incident, nodded at her words.
Even Jin Ye-seul, who didn’t seem to feel that she was lying, frowned slightly but reluctantly nodded.
“Then why were you crying earlier?”
Everyone’s eyes focused on her at the blunt question from Aiban, who had been listening quietly until then.
To be honest, I was curious too, so I unconsciously looked at her.
“Ah…”
Yuna blinked her eyes for a moment, glanced around, and opened her mouth quietly.
“Why, I was…”
That was when it happened.
There was a sound of someone outside the door, and then the door opened.
The person who opened the door was none other than An Joo-hyuk.
“Ah, you’re awake. Your friends are here too.”
He looked at me and nodded as if he was relieved.
“Like I said yesterday, I’m going to try a different way of treatment today.”
And then he turned his body slightly and brought in two people who were waiting behind him.
“Hello, long time no see. Are you well? Wow, you’re the boy from Huntga, right?”
“Excuse me, Evangeline.”
They were none other than Evangeline Roengrin.
And Laura Hartmann.
The two of them, dressed in casual clothes, greeted us while bickering, but they also had bandages and gauze on various parts of their bodies.
Especially in Laura Hartmann’s case, even I, who had weakened power, could feel that she had suffered serious injuries.
“Hmm, hmm.”
An Joo-hyuk calmed them down with a small cough.
And then he nodded at me.
“Let’s go for the treatment right away. This time, we have to do it in a special place.”
***
“…Sigh.”
Lee Myung-joon sighed deeply and leaned his head back.
In his head, the conversation he had just had with Alice Blessbuck was spinning around.
Her voice echoed in his head, showing no sign of fading.
‘I inherited vampire blood from my mother and human blood from my father. …But I don’t know anything about my father. He must have been eaten by my mother or killed without leaving a trace. My mother slept with my father as a mere amusement and got pregnant with me. And for some reason… she gave birth to me without any trouble.’
She began to explain her background in a calm voice.
‘My mother was… a pureblood vampire. In other words, she was the royalty of vampires, you could say.’
‘Pureblood, I know that too. But I thought all the pureblood vampires were extinct hundreds of years ago… Don’t tell me your mother is a survivor?’
‘Well… for now, yes.’
Alice Blessbuck continued her explanation in a bitter voice.
‘My mother was a traitor to her clan.’
‘…A traitor?’
‘The Nameless Seven… Yes, she voluntarily swore allegiance to Milted.’
She continued to explain in a calm voice.
‘She tried to persuade the other purebloods to join her. But the other clans all refused her offer, and my mother, enraged, slaughtered the other purebloods and clans herself as a proof of loyalty and venting her anger.’
‘That story is…’
‘My mother told me herself.’
She smiled faintly.
Lee Myung-joon knew very well that she had been abused by her mother.
She would say things like ‘I’m sorry, mother.’ or ‘Please forgive me, I’ll do better.’ in her sleep.
Or ‘I’m a filthy hybrid, I’m sorry for not living up to your expectations.’ as if her mother made her say it.
Her mother was not a good mother, to say the least.
‘Anyway, Milted was more ambitious than the other Seven in expanding his power. He had ten powerful subordinates, but… I confirmed that only six of them were alive until just before the seal. And…’
‘And?’
‘It seems that there was a recent internal conflict. As a result, at least half of them seem to have disappeared. There’s enough evidence and circumstances.’
She added quietly, giving him some encouraging news.
‘The remaining ones are the lich, the dragon, and my mother… That’s three.’
Hearing her story, Lee Myung-joon sighed and said,
‘…I hope you’re not saying that for the reason I think you are.’
‘Unfortunately, you’re probably right.’
Milted’s seal would soon collapse and be released.
His head felt like it was splitting from the headache caused by Alice’s words, which were as good as a certainty.
‘Why, why are the seals of the Seven suddenly…’
Was the world going to end?
He spat out a meaningless word with a hollow laugh and quietly took out his phone.
“Yuzuki, it’s me.”
― Boss. What’s up?
“There are some things I want you to look up for me. I’m really sorry, but please do me a favor.”
― What things?
“Yeah.”
― …Wait, okay. Tell me now.
“Intelligent dragons, and lich-level undead sightings, and lastly, vampire sightings that are powerful enough to warrant a death warrant and are also cunning. Data… Anyway, gather everything related to them.”
― Okay, I’ll do that.
“From now on, all the way back to… 300 years ago.”
― …What?
She asked back as if she couldn’t believe it, and he said as if he was asking her.
“Just collect the data. I’ll sort it out.”
― …I’ll try to sort it out as much as I can.
“Thanks.”
― Thank you, my ass. …I’ll call you later.
After the call ended, Lee Myung-joon slowly got up from his seat.
In his head, he thought of the person who had defeated the powerful enemy that even the ten of them together couldn’t handle.
“…”
And now he couldn’t expect anything more from him.
He had collapsed as a price, and more importantly, he was a young student who they had to protect.
“I have to try something.”
He had no time to groan or whine.
As he had just muttered to himself, he had to try everything he could.
