Seo Jaewon forcibly dragged Joo Youngha and lunged toward the only visible exit.
There was no guarantee that anywhere else would be safe, but it seemed more stable than this hall, where all sorts of organic matter were tangled in a mess above their heads.
‘Is it a passage? Where does it lead?’
Unlike the flashy hall, this was a narrow, crude space that looked like a back corridor.
There were no decorations, and only half-melted candles in niches along the stone walls cast a faint, dim light.
Seo Jaewon slung Joo Youngha’s arm over his shoulder and moved forward carefully.
“Hey, Joo Youngha, are you okay?”
“You ask if I’m okay… I couldn’t be better.”
Joo Youngha’s weak laughter reached his ear.
Contrary to his lighthearted answer, Joo Youngha’s body was sagging like water-logged cotton.
It was the first time he had ever seen the guy like this.
Even without attempting to guide him, Seo Jaewon could tell the situation was serious just by their physical contact.
It felt as if ruined energy was boiling right beneath the skin.
The breath touching his ear was shallow and unstable, as if it might stop at any moment.
It was almost indistinguishable from the sound of a faint breeze.
Between the burning fever and the limp body, Seo Jaewon’s heart began to race with urgency.
“Snap out of it. You can’t pass out here.”
“Mmh.”
A feeble response came back.
Despite the state he was in, the guy rubbed his soft head against Seo Jaewon’s shoulder.
At least he still had enough energy left to act like an Esper, which was a relief.
“Just hang in there a bit longer, okay?”
Dragging someone taller than himself was a significant hassle.
Seo Jaewon eventually shifted him onto his back and began walking again.
The passage, which felt like it would never end, finally reached a conclusion after turning a sharp corner.
It was a dead end.
Seo Jaewon clicked his tongue.
By the flickering candlelight, he could only barely make out complex patterns on the surface of the stone wall.
In the hall, they hadn’t seen any exits other than the one they entered.
Just as he was about to lose heart, a faint breeze brushed past his cheek.
‘No, it’s not just a wall. There’s definitely a space behind it.’
Seo Jaewon felt along the stone wall with his hands, looking for where the air was leaking.
The breeze was strongest near the edges of the wall.
He applied more pressure with his fingertips, digging into the uneven gaps, until he felt a distinct groove in one corner.
‘There really is something!’
When he pressed it, a light vibration ran through the entire passage.
The wall receded slightly and then slid to the side, opening the way.
“It worked…!”
Beyond was a space filled with the smell of old paper.
It was just as dark, but there was enough light to recognize rows of packed bookshelves.
The shelves were so high his hands couldn’t reach the top, and the floor was soft with carpet.
It seemed to be a royal library or a study.
Though dusty, it had a clean and organized atmosphere—except for a few places where books had fallen out and were scattered on the floor.
“Phew.”
It was a suspicious sight, but Seo Jaewon let out a sigh of relief despite himself.
At least it was better than the ruins.
Fortunately, he couldn’t sense any presence nearby.
Carrying Joo Youngha on his back, Seo Jaewon moved between the bookshelves.
After walking a bit, he saw a lounge area with a fireplace, a sofa, and a table beyond the shelves.
In the fireplace, logs were burning with a warm glow.
Seo Jaewon lowered Joo Youngha onto the dusty sofa.
Joo Youngha stayed still, letting Seo Jaewon move his body as he pleased.
Sprawled on the sofa intricately patterned with gold thread, Joo Youngha looked like a painting.
While aesthetically flawless, in his current state, it looked like a precarious and tragic scene.
‘No, ‘tragic’? Let’s not think such unlucky thoughts.’
Seo Jaewon intentionally used a stern voice.
“Youngha, can you hear me? Don’t lose consciousness.”
Seo Jaewon placed his hand on Joo Youngha’s white neck to check his pulse.
It was ominously weak and fast.
His soft, smooth skin felt devoid of life.
It was the same when he touched his cheek.
Joo Youngha let out a thin, pleasant groan and leaned his head into Seo Jaewon’s hand.
“Mmh… Jaewon’s hand is warm.”
“Is it because you’re cold? Do you want my jacket?”
“No… just…”
Joo Youngha’s hand overlapped with the back of Seo Jaewon’s.
Then, he grabbed his wrist and gently pulled it to rub his cheek against it.
“I wish you’d warm me up with your body heat…”
“Do you want to die?”
The answer shot out in less than three seconds.
‘I’m worried to death over here, and this guy doesn’t even know how I feel!’
He kept saying annoying things without any tact, but since he was sick, Seo Jaewon couldn’t bring himself to get angry.
“Are you mad again? I feel good right now.”
The guy gave a dazed, squinty-eyed smile.
In his voice, which was even softer and more listless than usual, there was a hint of genuine happiness.
“Usually, you don’t call me ‘Youngha’ very often…”
‘What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?’
Seo Jaewon scowled deeply.
“Stop talking crazy and just wait here, Joo Youngha. I’ll find a way out on my own.”
At that, Joo Youngha stared intently at Seo Jaewon.
“Why is it ‘Joo Youngha’ again?”
“…What?”
“You called me ‘Youngha’ earlier…”
“What kind of nonsense are you on about now.”
‘Does he really have the mind to say that in this serious situation?’
However, Joo Youngha stubbornly continued with his point.
“You’ve only known Min Yoomin for a little while, but you already call him ‘Yoomin’.”
First of all, it was surprising that the guy even remembered Min Yoomin’s name.
But the fact that he was nitpicking how he was addressed was even more surprising.
‘Do you actually care about things like that…?’
“No, well, didn’t I call you by your name sometimes…?”
“It’s only once in a while. Can’t you just keep calling me ‘Youngha’ affectionately?”
‘Affectionately?’
What was this cringeworthy stuff between two grown men?
He had known this guy for a long time and had always called him “Joo Youngha” just fine.
Since they met in a classroom, it felt natural to call him that.
That’s how it was between guys.
“It’s embarrassing between friends.”
“Is my name embarrassing? I’m deeply hurt.”
At those words, Joo Youngha lowered his eyelashes as if he were truly sad.
It was a sight that made Seo Jaewon’s conscience prickle reflexively, even though he had done nothing wrong.
“Oh, what do you mean ‘hurt’! Look, there’s even a blanket here. Just lie down and keep your eyes closed.”
Indifference is the best medicine for nonsense.
Seo Jaewon shook out the dusty blanket and covered Joo Youngha up to his neck.
His legs were so long they poked out significantly, but it looked better than nothing.
However, Joo Youngha, with eyes like a sad puppy,
‘Thump.’
He pushed the blanket away, letting it fall to the floor.
‘This brat?’
“What are you doing now?”
“I worked hard to be charming, but you still call me in a scary way and won’t give me guiding… Now I’m just going to do whatever I want.”
‘Hey, man!’
Just thinking about the times Joo Youngha had done “whatever he wanted” in dungeons made Seo Jaewon dizzy.
Seo Jaewon grit his teeth and spoke calmly.
“If you do that now, you’ll really die.”
‘You could die at my hands, and you could die for real…’
He had become this ill just from using his power a little; if he acted the way he usually did, his internal organs might turn into mush.
Joo Youngha looked up at Seo Jaewon with pouting eyes.
“Then call me by my name.”
Seo Jaewon let out a long sigh.
It seemed the guy intended to throw a tantrum until he got what he wanted.
“Fine, fine! I got it! Now you’re going to close your eyes and lie down to rest, okay?”
It wasn’t some grand wish, so it would be faster to just do it and get him to lie down.
At those words, Joo Youngha looked at him steadily with eyes like a dog waiting for a treat.
He looked as if he wouldn’t move an inch if Seo Jaewon didn’t do as he asked.
Seo Jaewon cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“Young…”
It wasn’t like he had never done it before, but trying to do it now, the word felt stuck in his throat.
His cheeks felt strangely itchy.
“Youngha! Are you satisfied now?!”
Joo Youngha smiled, his eyes curving beautifully in satisfaction.
“Mmh.”
It was a look like a child witnessing a heavy snowfall for the first time.
Even his pale cheeks looked rosy for a moment.
“…You really have a bizarre personality.”
‘You like it? This? Just this little thing…’
A guy who was indifferent to everything else was throwing a tantrum and smiling over something like this.
Because it was fun?
Because he liked it?
He couldn’t even tell how he felt—whether he should be angry that he was being teased, happy that he was easily appeased, or feel sorry for him.
“Call me one more time.”
“It’s giving me goosebumps, so seriously stop it or you’re in trouble.”
Seo Jaewon firmly pressed his hand over Joo Youngha’s face.
“Mmph, ahaha…”
Joo Youngha laughed, clearly enjoying himself.
“We promised, so listen to me now. Stay still here.”
Feeling awkward even making eye contact, Seo Jaewon spoke while looking elsewhere.
“Yes, Teacher—”
Joo Youngha replied in a soft voice, as if he were singing.
His eyelashes tickled Seo Jaewon’s palm as he smiled, making things feel even more itchy.
“If you couldn’t talk, you’d be…”
Seo Jaewon grumbled and picked up a long piece of firewood to light it from the fireplace.
With this, he could keep the area lit for a while.
‘I need to escape quickly before Joo Youngha gets even weirder.’
For some reason, just dealing with him was exhausting…
He had been feeling that way lately.
‘The situation is too bad to face an enemy. Let’s make it a priority to find the exit without being caught.’
He couldn’t see any monsters right now, but he couldn’t be relieved.
He had thought it wasn’t an aggressive dungeon as long as they followed the rules, but because of that human-faced bird earlier, he couldn’t even be sure of that anymore.
Since it was shaped like a building, there had to be a door leading outside somewhere…
Seo Jaewon moved slowly between the bookshelves filling the library.
The library seemed almost endlessly wide.
While doing so, something in the distance caught his eye through the darkness.
‘Wait, the bookshelves over there are…’
A bookshelf in the distance had fallen over.
It hadn’t completely collapsed, perhaps having been stopped by a wall, but the shelves in the area were half-overturned like failed dominoes, leaving a trail of destruction.
Seo Jaewon approached cautiously.
And at an unexpected discovery, he froze, holding his breath.
“……!”
