* * *
So this is what it feels like to have your head spin.
I never, not even in my wildest dreams, expected Raizen to react like that.
My hands instinctively flew up to cover my face.
“Hy-hyung! That’s not what I meant!”
“Hmm? Then what did you mean?”
‘Stop lowering your voice like that!’
My mind was short-circuiting.
There was no way a person could act like this unless they were trying to seduce someone.
And why—why the hell was his pheromone level rising all of a sudden?!
“Hyung, I’m still a minor!!”
Not in Korea, but in this world, I was still seventeen!
If he kept flirting like that, well—that’s a serious problem!
“Hahaha…!!”
Raizen burst into laughter at my desperate outcry.
His sudden laughter made me slowly lower my hands from my face.
And there he was, half-bent over, laughing uncontrollably.
His brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes crinkled into crescents, barely revealing his pupils.
“……”
I had never seen him like this before.
A different kind of feeling seeped into my heart—something warmer, something deeper than the flustered embarrassment I had been drowning in.
It was a warmth that felt like it was flowing directly into my heart.
‘He’s getting better.’
I was sure of it now.
Raizen and I—we—were moving toward something better than before.
After laughing for a while, Raizen finally calmed down, though he still let out a small cough, as if trying to shake off the lingering amusement.
I led him to the table, and, like always, we sat facing each other.
‘Should I ask if he’s been doing well?’
But now that we were actually sitting down, I had no idea what to say.
I could just say something, but every topic that came to mind felt awkward.
‘How did we even talk to each other before…?’
Had the time apart really left such a big gap between us?
‘It feels familiar, but also strangely distant.’
Before, he had felt more like an older brother than just a man.
Sure, I had liked him, but I hadn’t expected anything to happen.
But now that I had met him again, carrying even the smallest sliver of hope…
‘He feels like a man.’
Of course, Raizen was always a man.
But not in that way…
‘Oh my god.’
The thought alone embarrassed me so much that my face felt like it was on fire.
I couldn’t just fan myself out of nowhere, so I awkwardly lowered my head.
Then, Raizen spoke.
“By the way, Sei, were you a minor in your world too?”
“…Huh?”
That was unexpected.
I thought he’d ask about what had happened while he was gone.
‘He’s asking about… my old world?’
Raizen had always been wary of the idea of me returning to my original world.
I had assumed he didn’t even want to acknowledge the fact that I wasn’t originally from here.
Had something changed?
“Oh, uh… No. I was an adult there.”
“Then… you ended up in a younger body?”
“…Yeah?”
It felt so strange to be having this conversation so casually.
I never thought I’d discuss something like this with him.
“What was it like there?”
“You mean Korea? Oh, that’s the name of my country. Anyway, um, it’s pretty different from here. There’s no magic, no monsters…”
I didn’t bother explaining that things like the caste system and absolute monarchy had been abolished a long time ago.
“Instead, science and technology developed a lot. We use energy sources like oil and electricity, so even without magic, we can keep food cold all year round. And while teleportation isn’t a thing, there are really fast ways to travel between places and even countries.”
Once I started talking, the words just kept pouring out—even surprising myself.
“Actually, there are a lot of similarities too. The ‘video sphere’ you guys use is kind of like a camera. It can take pictures and record videos. And…”
Raizen listened attentively the whole time.
He met my eyes, nodded occasionally, and even let out small exclamations of interest.
“Then… is your divine beast’s name from your old world too?”
“Yeah. It means ‘snow.’ It’s a Chinese word. Korean mostly uses Hangul, so technically, it’s a foreign word, but Korean has a lot of Chinese-derived words since we share a cultural history.”
“Because he’s white like snow… ‘Seol’?”
“Yeah.”
Now that I thought about it, why had I chosen that name?
At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought, but looking back, it was a bit of a mystery.
‘Maybe I should’ve gone with ‘Snow’ or ‘Blanc’ instead…?’
But no matter how much he thought about it, Seol was Seol.
Once that name came to mind, no other name seemed to fit.
‘…I’ve never had a pet before.’
As a child, he had wanted one, particularly a dog.
But it was nothing more than a dream.
In a household where even he, as their own child, was treated like a burden, raising another living being was out of the question.
‘Even as an adult, I never really wanted one.’
As he grew up, he was too busy taking care of himself to even consider keeping a pet.
So he had never thought about what name he would give one—until now.
Why, then…?
“Sei?”
Raizen’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.
“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something.”
“It’s fine. Oh, right, Sei—can you teach me Hangul?”
“Of course!”
Why did he suddenly want to learn that?
Unfortunately, there was no time to dwell on it.
The fact that Raizen was curious about his life in Korea made him unexpectedly happy.
He had wanted to forget that part of his life, to leave it behind if possible.
But… maybe not.
‘It’s still the life I lived, after all.’
Maybe he had wanted someone to acknowledge the time he had struggled through.
Preferably, someone he liked.
‘And… maybe he’ll remember.’
The time Raizen spent as “Hyung” in that world.
Sei retrieved paper and a fountain pen before sitting back down at the table.
Naturally, he started with consonants and vowels.
Raizen, as expected, learned them quickly—so quickly that it almost seemed like he had known them before.
“This says… ‘bag’?”
“Yeah! Hyung, you’re learning so fast. Almost like… you already knew it.”
Can expectations become a habit?
Once the thought took root, it was impossible to stop.
Maybe these small triggers would help Raizen recover his lost memories—just like in novels or movies.
“Haha, really? No, it’s actually harder than it looks. The pronunciation is unfamiliar.”
“Oh…”
Of course.
There was no reason to be disappointed.
It was his own fault for getting his hopes up so easily.
“Yeah? Well, people do say it’s a difficult language to learn.”
Raizen nodded with a faint smile.
Sei wrote down a few more words and had him practice their pronunciation before shifting the topic.
“Hyung, how was the subjugation?”
He had heard news through the duchess, but it was mostly about Raizen’s safety.
He had no idea what Raizen had seen or felt during his first battle.
“Were you scared or anything?”
“Not really…”
As expected, Raizen’s answer trailed off.
“It was just… a little lonely.”
“Huh?”
Raizen lifted his gaze and stared at him.
“I was waiting for your letter.”
Waiting? For my letter?
“Th-that…”
Sei struggled to keep his composure.
Raizen always caught him off guard.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to be a distraction…”
Raizen just smiled instead of saying anything.
Then, there was a knock on the door.
“Young Lord, His Grace is requesting you.”
“Alright. I understand.”
Sei quickly ushered Raizen out.
Raizen left with a casual “See you later,” and once the door shut, Sei pressed his forehead against the wall.
“Ha… This is driving me crazy.”
It felt as if all the things he had secretly hoped for were coming true.
Like he was dreaming.
‘At this rate…’
He was starting to want to return to Sean Kreveta as soon as possible.
Maybe… he would end up telling Raizen about his decision sooner than expected.
* * *
