* * *
I clung to his neck with all the strength I had, prepared to die if I must—but only while being carried like this.
My consciousness flickered as if it could go out at any moment, but I bit hard into the inside of my cheek, struggling desperately to stay awake.
Clang.
Even Do Soohyuk, being human, had hands that were bright red and frozen as he clutched the ladder.
From the way he shook them from time to time, it seemed his fingers weren’t moving the way he wanted.
It would’ve been better if he at least showed how hard this was for him—but he simply clenched his jaw and climbed all the way up the ladder until his feet finally landed on the deck.
That absurd mental fortitude of his was nothing short of incredible.
“Just a little… more.”
After catching his breath with a long exhale, Soohyuk hoisted me up again and headed straight into the cabin.
The yacht wasn’t especially big, but the interior was practically a house.
There was a bed, a sofa, a table—most of the usual furniture you’d expect.
Even the refined interior made it clear the owner had poured a lot of care into it.
Still, no matter how nice it looked, it wasn’t enough to keep the cold out.
“Ugh…”
Once I was laid on the bed, I curled up at the chilly, crinkling feel of the blanket.
Now that we had reached our goal, the tension finally eased, and I felt myself fading fast.
Honestly, staying conscious this long had probably been a miracle.
My body had already reached its limit.
Then Soohyuk, who had left me on the bed and disappeared somewhere, returned carrying something in his hands.
I’d seen him rummaging around for a while—turns out, he’d found a kerosene heater about thigh-high.
Would that even work…?
The dungeon break had occurred in June, at the start of summer.
Judging by how it had just been tossed into a corner, it probably hadn’t been used in ages—likely didn’t even work.
Dangerous as it was, I figured we’d be better off lighting a fire.
I closed my eyes without much hope.
Click.
Soohyuk activated the ignition, and like a lie, the heater began to glow red, warming up.
Apparently, there had been just enough kerosene left inside, contrary to what I’d assumed.
The heat that reached my skin felt nothing short of miraculous.
I’d thought I was going to freeze to death, but now it felt like sunlight was streaming down on me.
Chirp chirp.
Just then, little Chirpy scurried out from the cushion and settled right in front of the heater.
Despite the perfectly good bed, he curled up on the cold floor instead.
“Why’re you there? Come over here.”
I barely managed to squeeze out the words, but unexpectedly, it was Soohyuk who walked over to the bed.
No, that wasn’t for you, I meant Chirpy…
But there was no time to explain.
Soohyuk suddenly turned my curled-up body and began taking off my clothes.
The windbreakers I’d bundled up in were swiftly removed, and soon even my gray hoodie was being pulled up.
“W-What are you doing…?”
“Stay still.”
Soohyuk, now settled between my legs, placed a hand at my waistband.
Before I could stop him, he tugged down my pants in one go, letting them hit the floor with a thud.
At least he left my underwear on…
I suppose that was something.
But the shocking part didn’t end there—after scanning my body in silence, Soohyuk began undressing himself.
With just a few gestures, off came his coat and turtleneck, revealing a body sculpted like a statue, now filling my entire view.
Every time he lifted his arms, the fine muscles around his ribs twitched and flexed in real time.
This is… kinda weird.
When he got on the bed with one knee and began unbuckling his pants, I instinctively looked up at the ceiling.
Come to think of it, that was weirder—but it still felt like I was seeing something I wasn’t supposed to.
“Come here.”
Soohyuk climbed fully onto the bed, now wearing only his underwear as well.
Then, as if being close behind me wasn’t enough, he pulled me tightly into him, closing the distance between us completely.
Feeling his bare skin pressed directly against mine made my entire body freeze up.
Of course, I understood what he was trying to do.
This was the best method for surviving hypothermia—logically, I knew that.
But logic aside, I’d never been this close to anyone before, so I couldn’t help but feel awkward and embarrassed.
Especially when that someone was Do Soohyuk.
Was he really that cold…?
His skin didn’t radiate any warmth where it touched mine.
Even those hands that used to feel so warm had turned cold.
Despite looking fine on the outside, Soohyuk was in worse shape than he let on.
If only my body had been okay, he wouldn’t have had to go through all this.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt like this was all my fault, and guilt crept in.
I shouldn’t have stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.
“…”
Sigh.
It didn’t take long for me to make up my mind.
After a short moment of hesitation, I slowly turned over to face Soohyuk.
I wasn’t brave enough to meet his eyes, so I simply threw my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest.
What the hell am I even doing?
It was utterly embarrassing even to me, but I pressed my cheek against his broad chest and closed my eyes.
I didn’t know if I had any body heat left to share, but if I could give even a little, I wanted to.
Maybe this would help warm him up, even just a bit.
“…”
But to my surprise, Soohyuk didn’t react at all.
He didn’t push me away or flinch—maybe that meant it was working better than I thought.
Good.
Maybe because we were in an enclosed space, but with just one heater, the cabin quickly grew warm.
Thanks to that, the drowsiness that had momentarily backed off came rushing back all at once.
It felt like we’d finally passed the worst part.
There was no reason to keep fighting sleep anymore.
…
Blink.
Soohyuk slowly opened his eyes, blinking at the strands of hair tickling his nose.
Just a moment ago, Seo Inho’s hair had been soaking wet, but now it was dry and scattered across the bed.
It seemed he’d fallen asleep without realizing it.
The fact that he was only now waking up probably meant he had been more exhausted than he thought.
He glanced at the clock off to the side—it was just past 5:30 PM.
If they had dozed off around 3 PM, that meant they’d been lying there for about two and a half hours, completely unguarded.
It was the kind of thing he would never normally allow himself to do.
But ever since coming here, he’d found himself doing such things over and over.
Things even he couldn’t understand.
“Your condition seems better…”
Soohyuk let out a small sigh and turned his gaze to the sunlit window.
The sun outside had dipped quite low.
Judging by how far it had descended by 5:30, it was definitely not winter.
Probably early summer.
That meant they had less than two hours before full darkness set in.
Thankfully, the heater was full of kerosene, so they didn’t have to worry about freezing to death anytime soon.
He was about to get up, but then looked down at the still-sleeping Seo Inho in his arms.
That same Inho who had clung so tightly earlier now had his pale arms limp and lifeless.
A sign he was in deep sleep.
“…”
Even with his eyes gently closed, Seo Inho’s sharp, foxlike eyes were angled slightly upward, as always.
His features weren’t exactly delicate, but the sharpness in his gaze often reminded Soohyuk of a fox.
Maybe that’s why—his first impression of Seo Inho hadn’t been all that good.
Perhaps it was because the way Seo Inho looked at him hadn’t been friendly, which only deepened that feeling.
But those hostile eyes that had lingered for years had, at some point, vanished.
And they had disappeared completely—without a trace, as if wiped clean.
What had taken their place was awkwardness, wariness… and curiosity.
Even while being guarded, the curiosity hidden beneath it was something Do Soohyuk immediately picked up on during the “first dungeon.”
It was a kind of curiosity born from admiration—one he had grown far too familiar with to miss.
And that only made it harder to understand.
Because the Seo Inho he knew would never reveal such emotions.
The more he thought about it, the more he was left with a strange sense of dissonance he couldn’t explain.
Eventually, he arrived at one conclusion:
The man in front of him might not actually be Seo Inho.
But was something like that even possible?
Do Soohyuk tilted his head as he looked down at Seo Inho, whose face was now buried in his chest.
Then, placing a hand on Seo Inho’s forehead, his brows furrowed slightly.
The temperature wasn’t normal.
He checked the back of his neck with the back of his hand next, and then sat up completely.
“You’re burning up.”
At first, he thought it might be because of the heater, but Seo Inho’s face and neck were drenched with cold sweat.
His flushed cheeks, too—it was a textbook case of a fever coming on.
But colds and fevers couldn’t be healed with potions, which made things worse.
Quietly slipping off the bed, Do Soohyuk began searching through the cabin.
Not long after, he found a first aid kit in one of the drawers, but it was filled with nothing but useless supplies.
In the end, he pulled clothes from his item pouch and got dressed.
Rather than waste time, he chose to act immediately.
The clothes offered no warmth at all, but the ones he had been wearing were no longer usable.
Thankfully, he was more resistant to cold than most, so things should be fine—at least until the sun went down.
Cheep.
Just then, the little bird that had been sleeping under the blanket quietly poked its head out.
It glanced around nervously, then quickly hid itself in the strands of Seo Inho’s hair.
“I’ll be back soon. Keep an eye on him for me, will you?”
* * *
