* * *
Ryu Yihan, the large man with the somewhat sharp features, staggered toward Suhyeon.
Suhyeon stared blankly at him approaching.
He had been thinking about contacting him, but in this moment, Suhyeon was shocked by the fact that Ryu Yihan had completely shattered the windows of Hajin’s mansion to get in.
Although he had been experiencing things far removed from ordinary life recently, the Yihan Suhyeon knew was always gentlemanly and kind.
Leaving aside the question of how he knew Suhyeon was here, the fact that that Ryu Yihan had smashed the windows like a bandit—
“Suhyeon,”
Suhyeon snapped back to reality at the desperate voice now directly in front of him.
He lifted his head, and Yihan, his face twisted in anguish, was looking down at him.
“Suhyeon.”
Yihan, who couldn’t bring himself to hug Suhyeon for fear he might disappear if he touched him, only called his name mournfully.
This, too, was a side of Yihan that Suhyeon had never seen.
While Yihan had always been kind to Suhyeon, he had never shown such a tearful face, except for the one time in their childhood when their parents, now a hazy memory, had passed away.
‘Had he ever seen Yihan express emotion like this?’
“Hyung,”
In that moment, Suhyeon clearly realized that his being sucked into the Gate had indeed happened three years ago.
That he must have been considered dead during those three years was also a heavy reality that suddenly surged in.
The fact that it had only been three days for him made it even less real.
“Suhyeon.”
At his name being called again, Suhyeon unconsciously clouded his face.
A sense of guilt, which he hadn’t known he possessed, welled up.
The regret that he should have rushed to contact Yihan as soon as he remembered him surfaced belatedly.
Yihan’s hands were now raised in the air, trembling violently.
“That’s enough, isn’t it?”
The dark atmosphere was shattered when Hajin took a step forward and pushed Suhyeon behind him.
Unable to resist Hajin’s force, Suhyeon ended up hidden behind his back, and when he quickly poked his head out again—
“Esper Shin Hajin, move aside. Who did you just lay a hand on?”
Yihan stood there with a ferocious face that Suhyeon had never seen before.
“hyung—”
Suhyeon belatedly sensed the savage atmosphere and tried to intervene, but the fire had already been lit.
Hajin’s eyebrows twitched.
“Who are you speaking casually to right now?”
“I told you to move aside immediately!”
“Dozens of attempts at trespassing, and now orders? I see you’ve reached a new low. Do you really want to put on such a show for someone who’s been through so much?”
“Who—”
‘Trespassing? Dozens of times?’
Suhyeon, about to cut in, paused for a brief second at the unbelievable revelation.
“Who is it that kidnapped my brother—”
“Me? Kidnapped Suhyeon? It seems your mind calls a situation mutually agreed upon and officially approved by the hospital ‘kidnapping.'”
Suhyeon was utterly dumbfounded.
Yihan’s bloodshot eyes looked out of control.
Well, it would be difficult for anyone to stay sane after finding a brother they thought was dead, but still.
“Who do you think took Suhyeon to the hospital first?”
“Obviously—”
“STOP!!”
Suhyeon let out a scream-like shout, then caught his breath as a sharp headache instantly pounded his head.
Both Yihan, who had been shouting with his veins bulging, and Hajin, who looked outwardly calm but was frowning, instantly became silent.
He glanced up and saw both of them staring at him with wide eyes.
‘I should have done this from the start.’
The room immediately became quiet.
Suhyeon grimaced at the shortness of breath that followed just one shout and struggled to breathe.
That’s when the ominous pain returned.
Perhaps it was the sudden strained breathing, but the pain in his chest erupted like a seizure.
“Wait, Suhyeon—”
Hajin, who had been by his side every time he lost consciousness until now, also seemed to notice the symptom.
He rushed forward so quickly that it made a whoosh sound, catching Suhyeon’s body as if to embrace him.
“Ah, ugh,”
Suhyeon groaned in pain, clutching his chest.
Cough—
Red blood streamed from the corner of his mouth, splattering in dots on the pristine white floor.
‘When was the last time I collapsed?’
It was the day he first set foot in Hajin’s mansion.
It had been more than a week already.
‘Was I too complacent because I felt better than before?’
Suhyeon grimaced and bit his lip.
“Suhyeon.”
“Ah, this is driving me crazy, damn it!”
The second person to react was Yihan, who had already witnessed Suhyeon collapsing once before.
His face contorted fiercely, he pushed aside Yihan, who was standing frozen stupidly, and rushed over to Suhyeon.
“Move aside!”
As if something was different this time, Suhyeon didn’t lose consciousness immediately when the pain struck.
That made it even more agonizing.
He had to feel the pain erupting in his chest and spreading throughout his body.
“Ugh…”
Suhyeon’s face weakly contorted as he struggled weakly in Hajin’s arms.
He felt Hajin hold him tighter.
“Suhyeon…?”
Through his vision, which repeatedly blurred and sharpened, Yihan’s eyes, which he could barely see, were filled with fear and trembling like an aspen leaf.
“Are you okay, Suhyeon? Can you hear me?”
Suhyeon nodded with difficulty at Yihan’s question, who was adjusting the IV drip.
“Exhale slowly. Slow deep breaths.”
Yihan placed a hand on Suhyeon’s chest, applying appropriate pressure, and helped him breathe.
As the pain gradually subsided, Suhyeon was laid on the sofa, gasping for labored breaths.
How much time had passed?
The pain had completely vanished.
Suhyeon, who finally managed to sit up on the sofa, could take in the room, which had gone beyond a lull to complete silence.
Yihan was standing there, deathly pale and utterly frozen, staring at Suhyeon.
He felt something in his hand and turned his head to see Hajin’s blue eyes, which had been holding his hand for who knows how long, meeting his gaze.
“I’ll go get some medicine just in case. It doesn’t look like it reached the point of needing emergency action, but still.”
As Yihan went up to the second floor, the quietness intensified.
Only the outside wind streamed in through the broken windows, and the stinging sunlight shone into the room unfiltered.
Suhyeon sighed at the mounting awkwardness. He detested this kind of situation.
“Shall we go upstairs too?”
Hajin asked, not caring whether Yihan was standing there or not.
If it were up to him, he would have liked to do so, but leaving Yihan like that felt a bit wrong.
Although his aggressive behavior was unimaginable, it was ultimately his own fault for being sucked into the Gate.
No, it was Do Yejun’s fault for having the presence of mind to save Lee Jaeram but not him.
Suhyeon reached out a hand toward Yihan.
“hyung,”
Yihan’s brown eyes, a shade darker than Suhyeon’s, trembled faintly.
His feet were frozen and showed no intention of moving.
Judging by his earlier reaction, he didn’t seem to believe Suhyeon was really there, so how shocked must he be after seeing him collapse?
Hajin, who stood nearby, twitched his eyebrows again, displeased with something.
Suhyeon tickled the hand that was holding his.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Hajin’s face softened completely.
“hyung, my arm hurts.”
Only after Suhyeon finally whispered that did Yihan move.
He walked precariously and slowly sat down on the floor in front of the sofa where Suhyeon was sitting, dropping to one knee.
Suhyeon looked at Yihan.
Unlike Suhyeon, his older brother was a man who always exuded a sharp and imposing aura.
His build was equally large.
The only things they had in common were their similar-colored hair and eyes.
“I’m sorry, Suhyeon…”
Yihan was trembling violently.
This was the first time Suhyeon had seen him like this.
Suhyeon sighed deeply, feeling the guilt creep up again.
Yihan tremblingly grasped Suhyeon’s hand, which was still extended to him.
He squeezed it, and touched it repeatedly, as if confirming it was alive.
Suhyeon let Yihan do so instead of telling him he was okay.
It was a long time later that Yihan finally lifted his head.
Suhyeon then opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner. Since the situation has been like this since I came out of the Gate, I’ve been staying at Hajin’s house.”
He could tell him everything that had happened so far, but Suhyeon summarized it briefly.
He knew Yihan would want to hear it and that he should tell him. But not now.
Even just speaking a few words was difficult now.
Honestly, he felt like he could collapse and sleep right away.
He was only barely holding on because he couldn’t bear to do that in front of Yihan.
The two brothers’ eyes met.
* * *
I really want to see them find out how he ended up in the gate. So excited.
Thank you