Chapter 346

"Choi Lee-kyung."

"......"

"......"

"Choi Lee-kyung, Choi Lee-kyung, Choi Lee-kyung..."

After I ordered him to not touch me, Moon Issak didn't try to do so anymore.

However, he followed me and Kim Sangyoon persistently and continuously called my name. Though Kim Sangyoon looked a little curious, his stares towards Moon Issak were filled with not only curiosity but wariness as well.

Amidst this strange atmosphere, we exited into the yard where Moon Issak's car was parked.

I turned towards the investigator-something I hadn't done on the journey here; he looked at me like an obedient dog. If he had a tail, it would have wagged gently.

"Give me your car keys." Of course, I only bluntly held out my hand.

Moon Issak obediently took the car keys out of his pocket, but, before he placed it in my hand, he asked, "Where are you going?"

"You don't have to know."

"Then, let's go together."

"Don't want to. Just give me the keys."

"......" He looked at me with a frown. Then, he pulled back the arm that held the car key and grumbled like a child, "Where are you going?"

"......"

"You can't go where you used to live. Bae Jaemin probably has someone stationed there. You'll get hurt."

"It's none of your business."

"I don't want Choi Lee-kyung to get hurt..."

I laughed at his mumbles. How amusing for someone who had tortured me to the point that I couldn't use my hand properly to say such things.

However, there was a difference between Moon Issak back then and Moon Issak now. Even though everything had reached an unbearable point, I took a deep breath and spoke sincerely to his genuinely concerned face. "Wait here. I'm going to go out for a while before coming back."

"How long will you take?"

"It won't take more than a few hours."

"......"

"I won't even run into Bae Jaemin." I shook off his grip. Moon Issak hesitated and looked at Kim Sangyoon with a conflicted expression.

Then, black blood began to drip slowly from his nose: the penalty that was inflicted on him every time he tried to resist hypnosis. Kim Sangyoon flinched at the sight but remained silent.

Moon Issak began to murmur to himself, almost as if he were trying to persuade himself, wiping his blood with tattered sleeves, "Choi Lee-kyung is going to come back. In a few hours, so..."

"......"

"I have to let him... go..."

The car key was hanging on Moon Issak's trembling fingertips, and the keychain started to warp. Perhaps he had exerted too much force.

Worried that the car key might shatter in his hand, I approached him. Then, I grabbed hold of Moon Issak's arm.

I looked at his burning red ears with disgust. However, Moon Issak tried to embrace me, ignoring my expression. I knocked his arms out of the way, trying to keep this conversation as short as possible.

"...Wait here. Alright? I'll be right back."

"Then, hug me just once..."

"......"

"Cough..." Kim Sangyoon, observing us from behind, released a startled cough. I tried not to pay attention to him.

I quickly dug myself into Moon Issak's arms as he wanted, but before he could hug me back, I snatched the car key from his weakened hand. Moon Issac looked vacant as he stared at me slip through his grasp.

"Sangyoon-ssi, let's leave," I said.

"Yes, yes..."

Meanwhile, I threw the car keys to Sangyoon-ssi. He skillfully caught it and took the driver's seat, while I quickly got into the passenger seat.

I saw Moon Issak take a few belated steps closer, but Kim Sangyoon tactfully stomped on the accelerator. Fortunately, as soon as we stood in front of the parking brake, the door opened automatically. Only then were we able to leave this tiresome mansion.

Kim Sangyoon was tense as he glanced in the rearview mirror. Once we started driving onto the road in front of the mansion, he let out a sigh as if he had been holding back his breath.

"That... What is going on with that madman?" Kim Sangyoon asked.

"...He just hurt his head a little." I couldn't come up with anything to say, so I answered a bit haphazardly. Kim Sangyoon didn't look convinced, but he didn't refute and closed his mouth after a while.

Then, he entered Koo Hui-seo's home address into the GPS. Along the drive, he moved according to the guide's voice while stealing glances at me.

Cautiously, he said, "Excuse me, but... I've been meaning to ask."

"Yes?"

"Your hand... Did Moon Issak perhaps do that?"

"......" I didn't say anything, but that seemed to be answer enough. Kim Sangyoon let out a pretty vulgar swear.

It was then-

"Lee-kyung-ah."

"Arrgh!" I was startled and almost leaped up by the low voice that tickled my ears. If it weren't for the seatbelt, I might have hit my head on the car ceiling.

However, the person who surprised me didn't seem to care but instead extended a delicate and beautiful hand from the backseat. Following that hand, I turned around and called out their name, my heart heavy with overwhelming emotions. "Dawon-ah!"

"...D-Did you say Seo Dawon?" At my words, Kim Sangyoon's face paled. He looked around uneasily, but I didn't care about the Warrior's reaction and simply held onto that cold, white hand. Dawon also disregarded Kim Sangoon's panicked words and stroked my chin.

After caressing my roughened, irritated skin a few times, he clicked his tongue and said, "Just as soon as you gained some weight..."

"Hm?"

"...Let's eat something tasty later."

"Ah... Should we?"

"......" Sangyoon-ssi must have been wondering if I was talking to myself, but I ignored him.

'It's not a secret to Sangyoon-ssi anymore, anyway...'

I rested my head on the headrest while Dawon-ie stroked my hair slowly. His touch made me feel comfortable-made me feel as if I had come home.

That realization felt strange. Did I feel relieved because the Mage was nearby? Even though I couldn't return home because of Bae Jaemin and was currently running away in Moon Issak's car-the one I basically stole from the investigator?

"The other... Servants? What about them?"

"You'll be able to see them soon."

"Really...?" I yawned and glanced back. Dawon was expressionless until he met my eyes- then, he smiled. The smile seemed a bit insecure, but, before I could ask him about it, he gently suggested, "Sleep a little."

"But..."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Ridiculously, I felt tired as soon as I heard that.

I ended up closing my eyes. My last memory inside the car was feeling the cool hand-which would never turn lukewarm-sweeping across my forehead.

* * *

I found myself being held in someone's arms as they walked down a long corridor. Only the faint sound of footsteps, muffled by the thick carpet, reached my ears.

By then, I was slowly regaining consciousness. When I opened my eyes, a familiar mansion entered into view.

And the person holding me was...

"Huh??"

"Are you awake, Lee-kyung-ssi?"

...was Koo Hui-seo.

I startled at his face, which I hadn't seen in a long while; Koo Hui-seo watched me flail with wide eyes. I rolled out of his arms and sat at the foot of a sofa. "W-When did I get here... No-What about Sangyoon-ssi? Dawon-ie?"

"Mm... Sangyoon-ssi has been treated in a ward as soon as he arrived at the mansion. Seo Dawon is... Won't Lee-kyung-ssi know better than I? It's just the two of us here."

"Ah... I-Is that so?" After exchanging a few words, I was able to calm down a little bit.

I looked over Koo Hui-seo; his pale skin, skinny body, and large glossy eyes looked the same, but his complexion was somehow worse than before.

As I looked at the sunken skin underneath his eyes, I automatically asked, "Hui-seo-ssi... Are you severely unwell?"

"It hasn't been long since I've recovered."

"......"

"Still, it's alright. The doctor said that if I continue to take medicine regularly, I'll be able to live a few more years."

"What did you say?"

Not even 10? He just had a few years left? Was he talking about a terminal condition?

Startled, I stared at Koo Hui-seo; he stared back with a complexion that, now that I thought about it, wouldn't make me surprised if he fell dead the very next minute. I wondered if he was making some absurd joke, but the man wasn't mentally well enough to engage in such banter.

Eventually, I asked him again, "Excuse me, if you're talking about a few years..."

"If all goes well... about 3 years?"

"What? Then...!"

"So, that's why I'm saying... Lee-kyung-ssi... I have a request to make." Koo Hui-seo, who was still sitting down, reached his frail hand to me.

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TL: So... Moon Issak isn't killed? Will this become a liability or a resource?