Creating Hidden Endings - Chapter 23

Is that a remnant of a dream? Or is it a dream itself?

From the young Han Chorok to adult Han Chorok. 

It was as if it had turned a person’s life into a movie. I tried not to pay attention because it felt like I was secretly peeking at someone’s life and thoughts. Because I also thought it would be bad for anyone to know too much about my life too.

There’s also a dream to be by Lee Jehee’s side till the day he dies. Isn’t it something he doesn’t want everyone to know about? So, I focused on going down the stairs as quickly as possible while concentrating on the stairs.

How far did I come down? Fear gradually grew in the landscape that seemed to have come down for a very long time but nothing particularly changed.

I thought it should have gone up rather than coming down. When I couldn’t overcome my anxiety and stopped in one place, looking back on the way down, my legs’ strength suddenly weakened and I lost energy. I just managed to keep my balance while leaning on the wall as I almost fell because of my wrong step.

“W, what is it?” 

It was a really dizzying moment. I sat down on the stairs with my weak legs and looked at my body in embarrassment.

I was biting my lip at an unknown phenomenon, but there was one thing that came to my mind. Haven’t I had a similar experience like this before?

The first day I ran out of mana while putting Lee Jehee to sleep. It was the same as the symptoms I had that day.

No way, did I use all the mana already?

I made a difficult expression with a feeling similar to that. The mana consumption of the ‘Dreamer’ skill was high, so it was possible.

I haven’t even tried anything yet, should I just give up and cancel my skills?

At that time, it was clearly said that lack of mana reduces vitality, not physical strength. When mana reaches zero, it does not reduce physical strength, but lifespan.

Then I was frowned thinking about what to do. Suddenly, a faint light appeared from my body, and my energy returned. 

“No way… Is it Lee Jehee?”

There was no sudden loss of energy, so Lee Jehee must have done something outside.

With my body slowly regaining strength, I stood up against the wall and looked down at my hands. I was empty-handed, but it feels like full of energy inside. I clenched my fists tightly and move my feet again. 

I need to find out at least what happened to Han Chorok before I can’t move again. Fortunately, because I was in a dream, I could run as long as I wanted and never ran out of breath. 

“Hey, Han Chorok! Han Chorok, this punk! Where are you!” 

I ran down the stairs quickly, calling out his name over and over again, wondering if he could hear me. Anxiety did not subside at the seemingly endless staircase. It was literally like being lost in a nightmare.

*****

Even though he made this room, he never thought that a guest would really stay in this room.  Lee Jehee sat in bed with an unfamiliar thought and looked down at the two sleeping persons.

It was familiar for Han Chorok because he had seen that face every day. If he considers what he saw each time he returned, it would be longer than the years he had lived. 

Lee Jehee turned his eyes away from the familiar Han Chorok and looked at the man who had his face half-buried in his arms. The face with his eyes closed was the most unfamiliar face of his long and boring life. 

Yeon Seonwoo was a person with colorful expressions. He may pretend to be good at hiding it, but just by looking at those furrowed brows, it was obvious what he was thinking.

His appearance was ordinary. He had a neat face due to his white and clean skin, but he always halved the feeling with so many facial expressions. Instead, the round, light brown eyes embraced a variety of emotions and gave a lively feeling. Although he wrinkled his nose with a cursing look, he gave more of an impression of ferociousness. 

Should he say that it feels like a small white puppy is purring with its teeth exposed? A funny person who spit out swearing wildly with his face but flattered him with his mouth. 

For Lee Jehee, Yeon Seonwoo felt like that. It feels like a puppy sitting with its butt attached to the side as if it had no choice but to quietly lower its tail. 

So it was interesting.

The feeling of being heavy and hardened over the years sank to the very bottom of his chest. For him, feelings of joy and sorrow were not important to him. The only thing that mattered was whether he liked or disliked the present reality that appeared due to cause and effect.

However, the interest hidden in curiosity that continued through the hard cover made Lee Jehee happy even a little bit.

It was like that again this time. Yeon Seonwoo, who was always in a hurry to avoid anything, has faced him with straight eyes as if he had made a firm decision. It was different from looking at him with a look of reluctance every time he looked at him. 

That may be the reason why his bright brown eyes with determination keep leaving afterimages. Because it was different from usual.

An exclusive supporter only for Lee Jehee.

“My supporter…” 

Just for me, my person.

It was when Lee Jehee had a faint smile as he looked down at Yeon Seonwoo as if staring at something weird in the strange feeling of that tone.

[Servant’ Yeon Seonwoo’s mana drops to a dangerous level. As a Master, please take a look at your Servants!]

[Servant’ Yeon Seonwoo’s mana drops to a dangerous level. As a Master, please take a look at your Servants!]

[Servant’ Yeon Seonwoo’s mana drops to a dangerous level. As a Master, please take a look at your Servants!]

[(….)]

As if announcing danger, a red status window came up and blinked continuously to inform Yeon Seonwoo’s condition. For Lee Jehee, it was a warning window he had not seen in a very long time. It’s because he’s never been through something dangerous enough to receive a status message like this. 

His gaze naturally turned to the watch he was wearing. It’s only been 30 minutes and Yeon Seonwoo’s condition is already bad. After contemplating for a moment, Lee Jehee reached out his hand into the air and clenched his fist. He had a mana potion in his hand.

“Ha…” 

But how to feed a sleeping person like this? 

Lee Jehee looked at Yeon Seonwoo with an awkward look. There was no sign of waking up from the man who was asleep with his eyes closed with a neat face. And if he doesn’t wake up like this, Yeon Seonwoo will die. 

Taking turns looking at Mana Potion and Yeon Seonwoo in his hand, he sighed briefly. And slowly got up from his seat and walked toward Yeon Seonwoo’s stomach.

Yeon Seonwoo’s hand was covering the back of Han Chorok’s hand. Lee Jehee, who approached him, was careful not to let his hand fall and hugged Yeon Seonwoo so that he leaned it on his shoulder. 

His head tilted toward his chest, and his lips slightly opened as if he had no energy from sleeping. Looking down at it silently, Lee Jehee rarely strained the muscles all over his body. 

At that time, as if he had noticed his hesitation, a new red status window appeared.

[Servant ‘Yeon Seonwoo”s mana becomes ‘0’ and his vitality is reduced. As a Master, please take a look at your Servants!]

There was no time to worry about it. After removing the cap of the mana potion with his teeth, Lee Jehee immediately poured it into his mouth and kept it. After that, he grabbed Yeon Seonwoo’s chin with his hand that wasn’t holding him, opened his mouth, and put his lips together.

Little by little, the potions to save Yeon Seonwoo were coming in. 

After a while, Lee Jehee, who slowly removed his lips, wipe them with the back of his hand and looked down at the person in his arms. Although it was originally white, the complexion that seemed to turn blue was returning to its own color. Lee Jehee, who felt relieved for no reason, was surprised while sighing with relief. 

He looked like he didn’t understand why he was so relieved when he had only seen him for a week. He stopped moving while trying to put down Yeon Seonwoo with a complicated face.

The time limit of 30 minutes began to count again. Will Yeon Seonwoo wake up at that time?

Lee Jehee looked at the clock with a frown on his forehead. If Yeon Seonwoo doesn’t wake up after 30 minutes—. He, who was agonizing over it, hugged Yeon Seonwoo again. 

My supporter. Lee Jehee hugged his body more tightly in his arms.

The soft body conveyed warmth. Just as he makes it clear to Lee Jehee that he’s still alive, and as if he’s working hard and trying his best. 

*****

“Ah, damn it! You damn stairs!” 

Curses are leaking out one after another. It’s not that my physical strength is worn out, but what if only the stairs continue like this? 

What era is it, and what are the stairs? Wouldn’t it be nice to have an elevator or escalator installed?

First of all, I go down the stairs because there is only one road, but I don’t know if this is the right way. I have never had the experience of entering into someone else’s dream. Without knowing where this place was or what to do, I was just going down the stairs in search of Han Chorok. 

In the meantime, I almost lost strength on my leg twice already. Fortunately, each time, the body shone weakly and quickly recovered its energy, but it was slowly getting dark because the cause was not identified. 

I think it has something to do with mana, but I don’t know what it is. At first glance, Lee Jehee seems to be helping, but—.

“Ah, fuck it! I don’t know!”

A harsh swear word echoed through the narrow space. The echo that bounced back from hitting the wall was so disgusting that I felt like I was insulting myself.

How long has it been since I decided to act, and how much do I already want to give up? I tried to calm down my desire to give up due to anxiety that I might have taken the wrong way and hurried my steps roughly.