One Day, a Dark Shadow Fell on My Closet

03

“As far as I know, the country called the Republic of Korea does not exist on the map.”

Set, sitting up in bed, spoke with a serious expression. Yeon Ji-ho also looked at him with a serious face and opened his mouth.

“Of course. The country of Asterra doesn’t exist in the world either.”

“Are you saying I’ve flowed into another world?”

“That might be the case.”

After facing the sword that Set had shown, Yeon Ji-ho decided to somewhat accept this reality. Of course, it could all be a hidden camera prank, or the person in front of him could truly be insane, but for now, he leaned towards the idea that it wasn’t.

For someone who had been living as a hikikomori for over five years, there was no one to throw such a grand event at him. Or if this person had suddenly appeared to deceive him, he would have to appreciate the effort it took to come all the way to this mountain valley.

“Is this place perhaps hell?”

“It’s too nice to be hell, don’t you think?”

Yeon Ji-ho asked, gesturing around. The room he was lying in was his usual space, and naturally, it was the best room.

“…That’s true.”

“So, you really are Set Gorgon, right?”

“Yes.”

Initially thinking of simply kicking him out as a thief, Yeon Ji-ho changed his mind. He felt a sense of generosity to at least feed the man claiming to be Set Gorgon and let him stay for a night.

“Let’s take a look at your wounds first. I only saw a bit while you were lying down, so I didn’t get to check your back and legs.”

“The wounds aren’t severe. It seems I moved before being engulfed by the flames.”

“Yet you have a burn mark on your forehead here?”

Yeon Ji-ho leaned over the bed and pointed at Set’s forehead. As the distance between them suddenly closed, Set frowned and hurriedly stepped back. At the same time, he let his slightly disheveled bangs fall down to cover his forehead.

“…This is an old burn. It’s a scar now.”

“Oh, that can’t be….”

Set Gorgon had a past of being abused by his adoptive father. That scar on his forehead was likely from when he was seven years old, punished with a candle for tarnishing the honor of the duke’s family.

Of course, this detail was passed over in the novel with just a line of text, but Yeon Ji-ho remembered it precisely. He had thought at the time that it was too harsh a punishment for a seven-year-old.

“So, you were transported here after being executed… no, after being put on the pyre?”

“Yes. How do you know that? Could it be that you also came from another world?”

As Set said this, he looked at Yeon Ji-ho with a subtle hint of expectation on his face. Yeon Ji-ho replied with a regretful expression.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve read your story.”

“My story?”

“It was in a book… No, let’s talk about that later. How about you wash up first?”

At Yeon Ji-ho’s suggestion, Set looked down at himself. As someone who had just come from the pyre, his clothes and body were a complete mess.

Moreover, if he had moved right after the execution, it meant he had been trapped in a dungeon for the past two weeks before being dragged straight to the pyre. Remembering this, Yeon Ji-ho grabbed Set’s arm and helped him up.

“The bathroom is this way.”

“…Let go of this.”

“Does it hurt? I’m only holding the part without wounds. And isn’t it hard to get up by yourself? You’ve been tied up all this time.”

Since he had been tied up in the dungeon, it was unlikely he could move freely. Yeon Ji-ho had grabbed his arm to help him, but Set firmly pushed his hand away.

When Yeon Ji-ho stepped back, looking awkwardly at his own hand, Set stood up on his own. However, he soon staggered and looked quite pitiful.

“See?”

“…Damn it.”

“If it’s uncomfortable for me to hold you, then you can hold onto me. That should be fine, right?”

Yeon Ji-ho extended his arm. After hesitating for a moment, Set finally grabbed Yeon Ji-ho’s wrist and managed to stand up. The two of them then took steps toward the bathroom in the living room.

“First, shampoo, then body wash, and rinse. There’s a bathtub, but it takes a while to fill, so let’s just shower for now. Can you manage on your own?”

“….”

Looking at Set with worried eyes, he simply nodded once without saying anything. Since there was no sign that he didn’t understand, Yeon Ji-ho thought to himself that he would probably be fine and left the bathroom first.

He then headed straight to his dressing room to find the largest clothes he had. He couldn’t keep wearing those ragged clothes forever.

And just when Yeon Ji-ho finally found a boxy t-shirt and a pair of shorts he had shoved into a corner.

– Crash!

Startled by the loud noise from the bathroom, Yeon Ji-ho’s eyes widened, and he rushed over. He burst through the door and entered the bathroom, where Set was clearly on the floor, having fallen.

“…Are you okay?”

Ugh, that must hurt.

Having knelt on the tiled floor, it was only natural that it would hurt, but Set didn’t respond at all. Fortunately, he still had his lower garments on. Thanks to that, Yeon Ji-ho approached him with a somewhat less embarrassed expression.

“If it’s hard to do it alone, I can help you.”

“No, it’s fine. I can manage on my own….”

“You know how to turn on the shower, right?”

“….”

Yeon Ji-ho sighed as he looked down at Set, who was sitting on the floor. Then, by chance, he glanced at Set’s back, where an enormous number of whip marks remained. All of them were old wounds.

Set Gorgon had grown up being abused in his childhood. Moreover, after he grew up, he had never had a peaceful day due to his entanglement with Hadad.

Of course, he was a villain, but he had been subjected to harsh treatment several times whenever he failed to carry out the duke’s orders.

It dawned on Yeon Ji-ho that it was unlikely for someone like him to say, “I can’t do it alone.” Carefully wrapping his arms around Set’s and helping him up, he sat him on the edge of the bathtub and said,

“Everything here is new to you.”

“….”

“There are things you can’t do alone. There’s nothing to be embarrassed or upset about.”

The man looked at Yeon Ji-ho with an expressionless face. Yeon Ji-ho quietly turned on the shower, adjusting the water to a suitable temperature as he continued speaking.

“I’ll help you. Would you like to turn around? I’ll just wash your hair and then step out.”

Set, who had been silently staring at Yeon Ji-ho, soon turned around obediently. Yeon Ji-ho carefully wet his gray hair, being mindful of not getting his back wet.

“Let me know if it’s too hot.”

“It’s fine.”

“Not too cold either?”

“Yes.”

For some reason, Set did not refuse. Still, as the adopted son of the duke’s family, he might have been accustomed to being served.

Yeon Ji-ho found it cute to see the large man with his eyes closed and head tilted back like a gentle lamb, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“You’re kinder than I expected.”

“Kinder?”

“Yes. Oh, be careful not to get soap in your eyes.”

As he went through the shampoo and rinse in order, Set didn’t budge. He only occasionally opened his eyes to glance at Yeon Ji-ho’s face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Aren’t I the one who’s kind, not you?”

“Me?”

“You’re letting a stranger into your home and washing them.”

Although there was an internal sense of intimacy built up to the max, Yeon Ji-ho kept his mouth shut about it. Instead, while thoroughly rinsing his hair, he spoke the words he had held onto while reading the novel.

“I thought about this while watching ‘Hadad’s Star’… I mean, while watching Hadad.”

At the sudden mention of the name “Hadad,” Set, who had been keeping his eyes closed, flinched his shoulders. Yeon Ji-ho carefully washed the tips and back of his ears with his blunt fingertips as he continued.

“Hadad is righteous, and perhaps the truly kind one might be Set Gorgon.”

“Kind? Me? How many have died by my hands…”

“Isn’t it true that you’ve saved more? How many people work in the duke’s family?”

It really was true. As a prestigious family, the Gorgon duke’s household had an enormous number of soldiers, and Set often led them into battle.

Every time, they could have easily died due to Hadad’s tactics, but at the end of the chapters where the war was winding down, there were always lines that mentioned how Set ordered a retreat as soon as the Gorgon family’s soldiers began to die mercilessly.

Set Gorgon was that kind of character, or rather, that kind of person. He knew that if he returned without completing his orders, he could be killed by his father, yet he did not use tactics that sacrificed his soldiers.

“That’s it. I’ll leave the showerhead here, so just wash your body quickly and come out. The towels are here.”

Set, who had been keeping his eyes closed, slowly opened them at that moment. He watched Yeon Ji-ho point to the clean towels on the shelf with a clear face before leaving, not blinking even once.

And soon, he was alone. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Set suddenly looked up and gazed at the mirror across from him.

“Kind?”

His eyes met his own reflection. There, amidst his wet mop-like gray hair, was the grotesque odd eye that was revealed.

That wasn’t all. The burn scar occupying one side of his forehead and the faint knife scar by his mouth made him look extremely fierce. Moreover, his stiff expression appeared very ungracious, and his demeanor was not gentle at all.

That foolish man had called someone like him kind. Set muttered to himself.

“Nonsense.”

That man is strange.

Then suddenly, Set noticed a strange sensation in his hands and looked down at them. His fingertips were visibly trembling.

“….”

The moment he saw his fingertips, Set realized. He was afraid. He didn’t know exactly what he was afraid of, but he was.