episode_0101

Noah’s gaze turned towards Julianna.

“Suddenly, do you think it makes sense to shed this much blood? No matter how strong the stimulus is – …Ugh!”

Noah covered Julianna’s mouth, his face turning bright red. After some time passed, Noah could barely calm down, and Julianna could speak.

“Ahem, anyway, what I’m saying is! This guy is definitely hiding something else! Whether it’s an illness or a wound…! Oh! Look here for a moment.”

When Julianna pointed at Ryan’s upper body, Noah’s face flushed red. Unable to focus his gaze, Julianna licked her lips.

“It’s not like I’m seeing a man’s body for the first time. Living disguised as a man, he unintentionally saw men casually taking off their tops.”

“How is this like that time..!”

Noah couldn’t understand why he was so shaken. Despite Ryan’s worry and restlessness, his face remained flushed. Julianna looked at Noah’s appearance, smiling like a cat, then quickly composed herself and spoke.

“You seem embarrassed, can’t see well.”

Pointing near Ryan’s neck, Julianna said, “All the old scars have disappeared. Cleanly.”

“..!”

As Noah’s eyes rolled eagerly, they focused on Ryan’s torso. As she said, Ryan’s body showed only sexy lean muscles, with no scars to be found.

“How is this possible…?”

“You haven’t heard about the scars?”

“No, I haven’t…”

Juliana sighed softly and continued, “Ah, there must still be something hidden.”

Juliana’s sigh and words pierced Noah’s heart like an arrow. No matter how hard she tried to protect him, Ryan always busied himself hiding his wounds.

Noah felt a sense of relief as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He no longer wanted to dwell in despair as he did in the past.

“If it’s hidden, I’ll find out.”

Why does Ryan keep things about himself a secret?

Noah believes it’s about ‘faith’ and ‘trust.’ If Ryan thought of Noah as someone to rely on, he would have willingly shared his wounds and pain.

However, this doesn’t mean Ryan doesn’t trust Noah. Ryan’s faith and trust are different from those formed in equal relationships.

“It’s like the trust between parents and children… Just that kind of faith and trust.”

Just as parents don’t want to burden their children with their sorrows, wanting only to show the good side, Ryan also doesn’t reveal his wounds to others.

Staring at the peacefully sleeping Ryan, Noah made a silent vow multiple times in his mind.

“I will protect him this time.”

As Noah was firming his resolve,

Knock knock, creak!

The door opened with a creak. Noah immediately recognized who the visitor was.

“Hyung, are you here…?”

As siblings, Nero entered without hesitation, but upon seeing the scene before him, he was speechless.

About to say something to Nero, Noah was taken aback by Nero’s frozen state, looking as if he were under a spell.

“Nero, what’s wrong…”

“I’m sorry.”

“What..?”

Bang!

Before Noah could react, Nero roughly closed the door and left. Noah, still looking puzzled towards the door with his hand raised, saw Juliana covering her mouth and chuckling wickedly.

Noah, still not grasping the situation, just stared blankly towards the door. Then, Nero’s voice came from outside the door.

“Lily! Not hyung, noona finally seduced Lian hyung!”

“What, what, what..?!”

Noah, startled, quickly turned his head towards Lian. It was only then that he realized the disheveled figure on the bed, hastily putting on clothes to cover his blood-stained ones.

Noah belatedly realized how easily misunderstandings could arise.

“Wait a minute! Nero, wait!”

Blushing furiously, Noah awkwardly got off the bed.

Thud!

“Ouch..!”

He stumbled and fell to the floor. Noah groaned softly as he rushed towards the door, but Nero had already disappeared.

He couldn’t leave Lian alone like this to chase after Nero immediately. Noah quickly turned his head to Juliana and said,

“Juliana! I’ll bring Lily, so please take care of Lian!”

Juliana astutely caught the implication in his words, including teasing Nero.

“Nero!!”

Thump.

As Noah rushed out of the room, Juliana, left alone, waved lightly and then looked at Lian.

“Oh dear.. it’ll take a while to see my grandson and granddaughter.”

Juliana pursed her lips but faithfully stayed by Lian’s side as Noah had requested.

***

“Where am I?”

I was floating in a strangely white and pink world.

“That is…”

At the edge of my sight was a huge peach, something you might see in a fairy tale.

“It looks pretty.”

In a daze, the thought flowed naturally. The white and pink peach floated past me as if drifting in water.

“Huh..?”

One peach, then two, started multiplying. There were so many that it seemed like a river of peaches swimming by. My hand naturally reached out to touch one.

“Soft..”

Like a squash ball children play with, I marveled at the soft texture as I gently touched my head.

“Isn’t this a peach?”

Murmuring absentmindedly, I peered closely at the peach. Yes, it wasn’t a peach but…

…I woke up from my dream.

***

“Ah.”

Letting out a short sigh, Lian blinked his eyes open. Remembering the scene from his dream, he realized it was like heaven turned into hell.

“I thought I was suffocating..”

The peaches that filled the surroundings suddenly surged like waves, pressing down on Lian as if to suffocate him.

“I lived because it was soft.”

If the peaches were hard, he would have been suffocated. Lost in thought, he blinked slowly, gradually becoming aware of his surroundings.

“Here is…”

Lian slowly began to piece together his last memories.

“Clearly.. I came to Noah’s room to hold him back at Lily’s request, and…”

Feeling like a blind person fumbling through dark memories, Lian recalled ‘that memory’ and sat up abruptly, covering his mouth with his hand, more precisely under his nose.

Just a little late, I almost spilled blood heavily again. Lian’s face turned red and her pupils shook uncontrollably.

“Oppa! Don’t move suddenly!”

Arriving at the room, Lily, who was examining Lian’s complexion, grabbed Lian’s arm with a bewildered expression. Seeing Lian cover her mouth as if to hold something back, she spoke with a pale, nauseous face.

“Oh, are you okay, Oppa? Are you going to vomit blood again?”

…?

Caught in a state of confusion due to “that memory,” Lian regained her composure at Lily’s words. When she raised her head slightly, she saw Nero, Noah, and Lily looking at her with worried eyes.

“What happened?”

Lian’s gaze briefly swept over Nero’s swollen cheeks. It seemed as if he had just gotten into a fight somewhere, with his hair disheveled.

Although she wanted to ask what had happened to Nero, the words didn’t come out easily. She blamed Noah for standing next to Nero.

“Ugh… I-I can’t make eye contact.”

Clearly, the comedy filter was applied properly, emitting denser steam than usual, obscuring Lian’s view. The problem was that Lian and Noah were too close.

Originally, Lian wouldn’t have been able to see anything inappropriate, but she panicked.

In a world where the laws of the world censor themselves, it was a very provocative incident for Lian, who had lived in a comedy world.

How should she put it in a roundabout way? For the first time, Lian found herself unable to even address Noah as a ‘woman.’ He was a man who received a unicorn’s love.

“What’s this? It feels like I just heard something really unpleasant.”

Feeling oddly upset as if she had been insulted by someone, Lian shook her head, then regained her composure under Lily’s cautious touch.

While Lian was lost in thought, the air was heavy. Thanks to diverting her thoughts, she felt like she wouldn’t burst into tears anymore and tried to raise both hands to show that she was okay.

“Guys, I -…”

“Is it really hurting a lot?”

“Cough..!”

Before she could finish speaking, Noah stepped forward and filled her field of vision. Thanks to Noah dressing as a man, she didn’t burst into tears, but she was caught off guard.

*Cough cough!*

“Oppa!”

“Lian..!!”

“Hyung!”

As Lian coughed as if she were about to vomit blood, pale voices poured in from all directions. Because she remembered something severe, her flushed face looked as if it had reddened due to coughing.

With her head bowed and one hand raised, Lian spoke in a suppressed voice.

“I-I’m fine. Really… *Cough*!”

Lian couldn’t bring herself to look at Noah with a normal face, covering her mouth with one hand and unable to lift her head.

Lian never imagined how she would appear to others in that state.