* * *
“Ah, damn it!”
Why the hell did that phrase suddenly pop into my head?!
I shot up from my seat in frustration.
“Hah…”
My mouth is the problem. Of all the things I could have said, I had to go with ‘Just the two of us’.
No, who am I kidding? If I went back to that moment, I’d probably say it again.
Looking back now, I must have been half out of my mind.
I had just possessed this body, and my only thought was surviving—making sure I didn’t end up like in the novel.
I needed an excuse to tie my relationship with Raizen in a way that wouldn’t lead to my demise.
So I blurted out ‘just the two of us’.
I mean, in Korea, parents often tell their kids, “Once we’re gone, it’s just you two left in the world.”
That’s where I got the idea.
It wasn’t even meant to mean, “Think of me that way.”
It was more like, “I see you like this, so please don’t kill me.”
And now that phrase has come back to haunt me like a boomerang.
I don’t know why Raizen keeps bringing it up.
Is he just messing with me?
Am I a joke to him?
Or… did our future villain actually take offense to it?
‘Yeah… he’s probably pissed.’
Some random younger brother popped up out of nowhere and had the audacity to say something like that to his face.
I stared blankly at the ceiling before running a hand down my face.
‘Maybe I should go to the bathroom.’
A splash of cold water should clear my head.
‘It’s just because today is the last day of the year.’
Not even in my original world, but inside a novel.
And not even in my own body.
Time had flown by.
The uncertainty of the future weighed on me.
When would everything go back to how it was supposed to be?
The thought alone made my chest feel tight.
I got up carefully and stepped out of my room.
The dimly lit corridor was illuminated by magical lamps hanging on the walls.
They looked like torches, and they functioned like torches.
This world didn’t use electricity as an energy source, after all.
I lifted my heels off the ground and walked as quietly as possible.
‘Having the bathroom outside the room is kind of inconvenient.’
If they wanted historical accuracy, there shouldn’t be a bathroom at all.
But still, they have magic tools that look exactly like modern Korean desk lamps, yet the bathroom has to be outside?
I reached the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.
The chill spread from my skin to my skull, making my head throb lightly.
But it worked—my thoughts quieted down.
I wiped off the excess water and stepped back into the corridor.
As I walked back, something suddenly tapped my shoulder from behind.
A person?
A ghost?
Or… that damn curse?
No, it had to be a person.
It had to be.
But what if it wasn’t someone friendly?
An assassin?
An assassin… or maybe an assassin.
‘Haha, there’s no way… right?’
I should just run back to my room.
But my body refused to move.
My legs buckled against my will, and I nearly collapsed.
“Sei…!”
A familiar voice pierced through the silence as strong arms caught me.
“Sei, are you okay?”
‘Raizen?’
It was definitely his voice.
But I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.
‘Why is Raizen here at this hour?’
I stayed on the third floor.
Raizen’s room was on the second.
Every floor had two bathrooms.
Even if he couldn’t sleep or needed to use the restroom, there was no reason for him to be here—unless both second-floor bathrooms were mysteriously out of order.
And at this late hour, there was absolutely no reason for him to be up here.
If there was a reason… wouldn’t that be even scarier?
‘Is the thing behind me… really Raizen?’
He called my name.
The arms around me felt solid.
A human body, for sure.
I swallowed hard and cautiously spoke.
“Hyung…?”
His answer came too easily.
“Yeah. Can you stand?”
“…No.”
Only then did he let go of me.
I quickly steadied myself and spun around.
“…!”
It really was Raizen.
“Hyung, it’s really you, right? For real?”
Before he could even answer, I reached out and grasped his hand.
Unlike most people, his skin had no warmth.
The moment I felt that familiar sensation, a breath of relief escaped me.
“…It’s you…”
‘What the hell are you doing here, you bastard? Do you know how much you scared me?’
The words burned at the tip of my tongue, but I clenched my teeth and swallowed them down.
“Haa… seriously…”
I stumbled over my words before exhaling sharply.
“Did I scare you?”
Or was it just my imagination?
It almost sounded like he was the one caught off guard instead.
Under the dim glow of the torch-like lamps, his face looked strangely tense.
Like he was genuinely startled.
“But…”
Raizen trailed off, his gaze shifting around.
“…This is the third floor?”
A strange chill crept up my spine.
I instinctively tightened my grip on his hand.
“Hyung, what’s wrong? Did it show up again?”
It couldn’t be. The curse…?
Now that I thought about it, things had been unusually quiet.
But if the curse had done something, Raizen wouldn’t look this fine.
Sure, he seemed a little shaken, but he wasn’t a mess like when that black mass first appeared.
Raizen gave me a soft smile.
“Are you worried about me?”
‘Worried, my ass!’
“…Yeah. You’re really okay, right?”
He squeezed my hand a little.
“I’m fine. Nothing bad happened.”
So it wasn’t the curse.
‘Then… why the hell is he here?’
And judging by his reaction, he must have thought he was on the second floor.
“Then why are you on the third—”
“Sei, why are you out this late?”
This bastard. He cut me off on purpose.
‘Fine. I’ll let it slide.’
Not because I was scared of pissing him off.
Definitely not.
“I just went to the bathroom.”
“I see… Then, shall we head back to our rooms?”
His voice was quieter than usual, softer.
Looking at him again, he seemed a little drowsy—like he hadn’t fully woken up yet.
And when he was like this, he resembled my brother even more.
“…Okay.”
I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
Raizen took the lead, and I followed right beside him.
The hallway was dark, lit only by the lamps.
No one else was around.
The only other person in this space was Raizen, his hand still holding mine.
The silence amplified the sound of our footsteps.
Tap, tap.
Just the two of us.
A strange feeling settled in my chest.
‘Like we’re the only two left in this world.’
It was late at night, the final day of the year.
I was trapped in a novel, in someone else’s body.
And by my side was Raizen—my future villain, who looked so much like my brother.
The sheer absurdity of it all made me laugh.
In the stillness, my soft chuckle echoed louder than expected.
And then—
“Sei?”
For some reason, I was crying.
I felt the wetness trailing down my cheeks and hastily wiped my face.
Raizen called my name again and again, but I couldn’t look at him.
Because no matter how much I wiped, the tears wouldn’t stop.
‘But… I’m not even sad. So why am I crying?’
Everything felt off.
The fact that Raizen suddenly appeared in the third-floor hallway was strange.
No, from the very beginning, everything surrounding me had been strange.
‘…How pathetic.’
By now, I should’ve adapted to this situation.
It’s not like I even wanted to return to my original world, yet I still couldn’t fully put down my roots in this one.
I remained in a half-floating state.
Was that why I wavered so easily whenever someone gave me even the slightest pull from below?
Raizen no longer called my name.
Instead, he simply held my hand tightly and led me forward.
I felt the door open.
I rubbed my eyes hard to see properly, but Raizen stopped me.
“…Ugh.”
I opened my mouth to ask why, but instead of words, a suppressed sob escaped.
Before I could react, Raizen wrapped his arms around my shoulders and guided me to the bed.
As soon as I sat down on the edge, I felt him take a seat right beside me.
“You’re not crying from happiness this time, are you…?”
His slow voice seeped into my ears.
“Who made you sad?”
I shook my head instead of answering.
Holding back my sobs, I barely managed to get the words out.
“I… hic …I’m fine… so just go.”
Yeah, don’t ask questions—just leave already.
It’s annoying enough that I keep showing you my crying face.
But of course, if he actually listened, he wouldn’t be Raizen.
Instead of feeling him move away, I felt a cool hand take mine.
Then, as if unsure of what to do, he started kneading my fingers—an awkward attempt at comfort.
“…Ah.”
Ah, I really hate this.
You’re not my brother, yet you have the same face as him.
You don’t know how to give real comfort, and you don’t even understand human emotions properly.
‘Then why…’
Why do I keep wavering because of you?
“…Hic, ngh…”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
As soon as I released the lips I had been biting down on, a pitiful sob spilled out.
I didn’t want to admit it.
At some point, my heart had started to stir at Raizen’s words and actions.
Things he said, which I used to dismiss as mere taunts, now felt different.
‘I… want to trust Raizen.’
The realization was miserable.
‘It’s only because you look like my brother—because your face is exactly the same.’
Once again, I looked for an excuse to run away.
Raizen, completely unaware of my thoughts, simply stayed by my side until my sobs quieted.
Awkwardly massaging my hand the whole time.
* * *
