NOVEL NEXT Chapter 129
Chapter 129: An Unexpected Reunion
“Big Brother’s back…”
Ha-young started to call out to her brother but awkwardly stopped mid-sentence.
Her small eyes widened in surprise.
Our mother stared with her own eyes as large as saucers, just like someone who had witnessed something utterly bizarre.
And honestly, who could blame her?
My brother, who had just stepped out for a breath of fresh air, unexpectedly came back with a woman in his arms.
It was a scene that would leave even a nurse dumbfounded, but this woman didn’t look like a nurse at all.
Hyris, seemingly unfazed by the strange looks cast her and Si-hyun’s way, calmly laid Si-hyun down on the hospital bed.
“Wait, who is this lady…?”
Mom, recognizing Hyris, wore a bewildered expression.
Here was my brother’s ex-girlfriend who had unceremoniously tossed him aside, now carrying him back into the room.
How on earth was I supposed to process this situation?
Meanwhile, Ha-young looked just as confused.
She felt like she had seen this face somewhere before, but the specific memory eluded her.
Ha-young furrowed her brows, struggling to recall.
“Has Si-hyun been in a lot of pain, ma’am?”
Hyris opened her mouth to ask.
With her hand, she naturally brushed the sweat off Si-hyun’s forehead.
Seeing that, Mom looked utterly flabbergasted.
Here was my brother’s ex-girlfriend acting as if she were his wife or something.
“Oh, uh… he wasn’t in that much pain, but… why am I even calling you ‘ma’am’?”
Mom asked in disbelief.
However, Hyris seemed to ignore her confusion and continued speaking.
“Si-hyun’s body isn’t in great condition. Hasn’t it been like this for a while?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Um…”
Hyris began scrutinizing Si-hyun’s condition.
Then, as if she had noticed something, she muttered to herself.
“Now that I think about it, he lacks vitality…”
It felt as if all life had drained out of him, almost as if he had undergone a life-drain attack.
She looked utterly confused.
He had suffered a fatal injury, but the Fruit of the World Tree should have healed him.
But how could he be so drained of vitality?
At least it was a relief that it wasn’t to a deadly extent.
With time, it should naturally recover.
“Oh dear… Ha-young, could you press the emergency bell?”
It finally dawned on Mom that Si-hyun’s condition had drastically changed.
“It’s fine.”
Hyris interjected.
“Excuse me?”
“He’ll recover with time.”
“No, but you’re not even a doctor…”
Mom looked at Hyris as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“…She’s right. Don’t call anyone.”
Si-hyun spoke in a fragile voice.
As his breathing slightly eased, he managed to speak again. The dizziness felt like it was slowly settling down.
“But you look so unwell…”
“It’s fine. Really.”
Si-hyun mustered his strength to raise a hand.
“What on earth happened?”
Mom asked, her face etched with worry.
“Nothing serious.”
“Nothing serious? You come back looking like this! Did something happen between you and this lady?”
“…I swear, it’s really not like that.”
“Then what on earth happened?”
“I suddenly felt dizzy and was leaning against a bench when she helped me get to the hospital room.”
“Were you dizzy again? We really should call someone.”
“No, not anymore. I’m starting to feel better. I’ll be fine after a good sleep. And if the symptoms reappear tomorrow morning, then I’ll talk to the doctor then.”
Si-hyun kept insisting he was okay, trying to calm Mom down.
He could truly feel himself getting better.
There was some strength returning to his previously limp body.
“Feeling a bit better?”
Hyris softly stroked Si-hyun’s cheek.
He was struggling to maintain his composure.
While he could handle experiencing strange events while unconscious, having such a beautiful woman be so forthwith in touch while he was awake was a whole different kind of embarrassment.
…Even though they were technically nothing to each other.
And now, cutting it off just like that wouldn’t be easy.
It was a challenging situation.
Si-hyun strained to maintain his composure amid a torrent of mixed thoughts.
“…I’m feeling much better.”
He ended up answering that way, not having anything else to respond with.
“Glad to hear it.”
This time, Hyris leaned in closer.
Her star-like eyes glittered like jewels right in front of him.
Feeling their foreheads almost touch, Si-hyun clenched his hand tightly.
His carefully maintained expression almost cracked at that moment.
It felt like torture, absolute torture.
…Does our Great Sorceress really enjoy skinship this much?
“Oh dear…”
Mom stared at the scene, looking incredulous.
She couldn’t really understand how these young kids could be so open with their affection in front of adults.
And the fact that this was his ex-girlfriend made it even worse.
“What kind of relationship do the two of you have?”
Ultimately, Mom couldn’t hold back and asked.
It was about time to figure out what the deal was, and Si-hyun wondered how he should respond.
It felt like it might be better to just gloss over it.
After all, Hyris wasn’t going to meet the family again, right?
“She’s my ex-girlfriend, Mom.”
Hyris raised her head and answered with the same line as before.
Mom’s gaze shifted to Si-hyun.
It felt like she was silently demanding that he answer correctly this time.
“She’s right.”
Si-hyun replied.
It was impossible to explain this twisted relationship, and it felt best just to leave it at that for now.
“Is that really the case? Given how you act around each other…”
Mom trailed off, clearly incredulous.
…Mom, please just let this one slide.
Her son was already in enough of a bind trying to navigate this awkward relationship.
“Uh, well… it is kind of like that. We broke up, but it’s not entirely over… How should I put it? We’re friends, not quite lovers? Something like that…”
Si-hyun fumbled through a half-baked explanation.
Mom continued throwing him skeptical looks.
“Could it be…?”
At that moment, Hyris appeared to remember something, and her eyes lit up.
“Lin Xue, the reader?”
It clicked for her.
She recognized the name of the generous reader who had purchased a whopping 1,000 copies of her work, “Love Like Ice.”
“That’s correct, Author. I recognized you at once, but when I found out you were Si-hyun’s sister, I was stunned and hesitated to say anything.”
Hyris winked at Lin Xue.
‘Wait…’
What? So my brother and sister knew each other?
Si-hyun felt himself growing more confused by the second.
“What are you talking about? Isn’t she the woman Si-hyun liked?”
“No, she’s someone else entirely. I’m just as baffled, Mom.”
Ha-young looked just as bewildered.
‘Wasn’t that reader ever my brother’s ex-girlfriend?’
It just didn’t seem plausible.
After all, she was beautiful and clearly well-off, dressed in what appeared to be high-end clothing.
Why on earth would she be interested in someone like my brother?
Plus, she was Chinese.
My brother dated internationally?
When exactly did that happen?
“I’ll introduce you properly, Mom. This is Lin Xue.”
Lin Xue politely bowed her head, smiling with her eyes.
Mom still wore a face that said she could hardly grasp what was happening.
“Lin Xue…?”
“Yes, Lin Xue.”
“Young lady… you’re a foreigner?”
“Yes, I’m Chinese.”
“….”
Dating a foreigner felt like something out of a drama, and the fact that my son had been involved with one left me feeling like I hardly knew him.
“Your Korean is very fluent!”
“I studied quite hard.”
She was an S-Class Awakened Being, essentially Hyris herself.
With Hyris’s transcendental mind, learning a language would be no trouble at all.
“You heard about Si-hyun all the way from China and came here?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly, Lin Xue gazed at Si-hyun with a strange smile.
Then she continued speaking.
“Si-hyun was involved in an incident at Deaijakdo… um….”
Where did that sudden burst of adrenaline come from? Si-hyun quickly covered Lin Xue’s mouth with his hand.
His family didn’t know anything about the incident that had happened at Deaijakdo.
Considering it was an international incident, the government had even asked the press to keep the identities of those involved confidential.
Yet here they were, on the brink of exposing it.
“Hyris… no, you should go now. It’s getting late, right? Let’s talk next time.”
Si-hyun firmly said, his impatience showing.
Lin Xue, with her mouth covered, widened her eyes and nodded.
Si-hyun slipped on his slippers in that state.
“I’ll just walk you to the taxi stop. I’ll be back quickly, so don’t worry.”
“Si-hyun, your health is….”
“I’m fine, no problems at all.”
Si-hyun removed his hand from Lin Xue’s mouth and tightly grasped her hand, pulling her along.
Without giving them a chance to say goodbye, he rushed out the door.
“Am I that embarrassing? You’re holding my hand tightly, you know.”
Lin Xue teased playfully.
“Well, it’s shocking to have you show up all of a sudden. You could have at least called ahead.”
With things being like this, Si-hyun began treating her like a Sword Master.
“I don’t know your contact information.”
The elevator stopped on the tenth floor.
As they stepped onto the elevator, Si-hyun said, “You didn’t have anything you didn’t know?”
“Of course, your heart.”
“I don’t know your heart either, you know?”
His words slipped out like he was drunk.
The elevator doors opened.
Si-hyun pulled Lin Xue towards the hospital exit.
“You really did hold my hand. It’s been a while.”
She murmured softly.
He acted on impulse, and feeling her words brought a sudden wave of embarrassment.
Yet it would be even more awkward to let go now.
Si-hyun bit down on his lip, controlling his emotions as he walked alongside her toward the taxi stop.
“Get in safely. I’ll head inside now.”
Finally releasing her hand, Si-hyun said.
“I want to talk more.”
“It’s too late.”
“Are you a child?”
“I’m a patient.”
“Not happening.”
“What’s not happening?”
“This time, I will pull you away forcibly.”
“What?”
Lin Xue reached out and firmly grabbed Si-hyun’s hand.
Then she lightly flicked her other finger, and instantly, their figures vanished like a mirage.
◈ ◈ ◈
“….”
The scenery around them shifted in an instant.
Si-hyun wore a look of incredulity.
This was straight-up kidnapping.
He had been dragged along before he even had the chance to resist.
“Where are we?”
“My hotel room.”
This girl was something else….
Si-hyun clutched his head in confusion.
“I was about to go back soon.”
“Call. What do you have the phone there for?”
Lin Xue pointed at the cell phone shoved into the patient gown’s pocket.
“Sigh….”
Si-hyun let out a long breath.
Alright, let’s look on the bright side.
Since things had come this far, he might as well tie up loose ends with her now.
He had just decided to calm down and gather his thoughts when—
“Should we do it once?”
“….”
W-what…? So the great Hyris wants to… I mean, she wants to do it…?
Si-hyun stood there, stunned, like a rock.
At that moment, a message popped up.
[Po-ahim tells you to get your act together and behave.]
I know.
Believe me, I do… but Great Sorceress, why on earth are you acting like this…?
“Oh, I was just joking! Why so flustered?”
Lin Xue’s laughter felt oddly sinister.
Suddenly, Si-hyun felt a surge of some emotion rising from a corner of his heart and opened his mouth.
“I’m a correctional officer. And….”
“And?”
“…Just a correctional officer.”
“How dull.”
He felt like he was on the threshold of the afterlife, and chills ran down his spine.
It was a close call; he almost lost hold of his sanity at the last moment.
…But no.
Even so, that would be a definite no.
Revealing that he was Po-ahim would be insanity.
Si-hyun groaned as he clutched his head once more.