Chapter 14: Yi-Gyeol lifted [...]
Yi-Gyeol lifted his eyes and carefully looked around his room.
A flickering light as if signifying it was time to move into a new one, a room that wasn't cleaned properly, a bed lined with only a single mat, a low chest of drawers with only tissue papers and wet wipes inside in case Yi-Gyeol spilled something while eating, a faded notepad and pen, a burnt glass bottle with an old purple artificial flower and an old cell phone.
All of them seemed to remind Yi-Gyeol of his current plight. It was as if he had become a sick animal in an old cage with minimal care.
His eyes tinged in the sudden feeling of depression. Yi-Gyeol, who has come to his senses right away, raised his hand, which he couldn't lift well, and slapped his cheek a couple of times.
'Get yourself together, Joo Yi-Gyeol. If you get sent to the doctor again because of this, you'll just be a nuisance.'
Within a few months of getting sick, he fell into a serious depression. Why does he have to be like this, what sins did his family commit that everyone has to suffer so much, and when the hell will he be able to get back on his own two feet again? But it was regrettable that there was no one who could give answers to his questions.
There were even times when he decided that it's much better to just die because of the uncontrollable depression and guilt. Even when he stayed awake for more than two hours on purpose to commit suicide, his determination did not waver. However, as soon as the limited time passed, a shattering headache that came as soon as he moved drove Yi-Gyeol into a pit of fear. It was so scary to think that the headache was a process that's gnawing and killing his brain little by little. The scent of death accompanied by pain and fear made Yi-Gyeol even more discouraged.
When Yi-Gyeol's family noticed that he's struggling with pain and had collapsed because of depression, they took him to a psychiatrist. He talked a lot with the doctor in charge, but there was only one piece of advice that he remembered from him.
That his depression makes it difficult for those around him.
In conclusion, the words of the doctor in charge worked well. Yi-Gyeol's face had a smile on it whether he was happy or sad, and thanks to this, his family did not have to worry about him making an extreme choice. In the past, he had met the doctor one more time when he talked about his out-of-body experience, but since then, he pretended not to be and appealed that there was no need to spend more money for the hospital.
Perhaps that's why his family doesn't know that he still has depression.
'Get a hold of yourself. Get it together, Joo Yi-Gyeol. You're already a useless baggage to them, you shouldn't cause any more trouble. You know that the consultation fee is so expensive.'
He unconsciously wiped the tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand. Once depressed, it was difficult to control his emotions as if he was drowning at the bottom of the sea trying to reach its surface. Memories of the past and negative thoughts that he did not want to recall comes up over and over, but as always, as a temporary measure, he deliberately tries to forget about other thoughts and press them down hard inside his heart.
He thought he had improved a lot since he met Seth recently, but it seems too unreasonable to be rid of it completely.
He looked down at the paper butterflies in his hands and the folded papers scattered over his legs, deliberately trying to erase his bad thoughts.
He wasn't before, but now he feels quite fond of butterflies.
The first letter written and given to him by his sister was also folded in a butterfly shape like this. Even though it was just a small, trivial paper butterfly, it seemed to somehow give him warmth, perhaps because it was also warm and pleasant to see the white butterflies in his spiritual state. Not only that, but recently, he even met Seth, who can hear his voice thanks to the golden butterfly.
Butterflies were like a comforting warmth provider to Yi-Gyeol.
After thinking so, he remembered Sethian's face and a small smile came out.
'No matter how you look at that face, it's far from warmth.'
If he had to categorize it, he was a person who was best suitable for the expressions such as cold as ice or a sharp blade. Nevertheless, the reason he feels some warmth from him is probably because he always listens and pays attention to his words, even though he considers Yi-Gyeol a ghost.
His pure interest and pitiless concern made Yi-Gyeol delighted beyond measure.
When he is next to him, he forgets that he is just an inconvenience in reality. He can completely accept the attention Seth has poured into him without hesitation. It's not the obviously forced creaky smile, but one that's genuinely pleased always surfaced in his(Seth) gorgeous face. He feels like he has friends just like in the old days.
There is nothing more wonderful than having someone need you. And being able to encourage someone was also a happy thing.
The current Yi-Gyeol thought so.
He looked down at the paper butterfly in his hand and took out the pen he had prepared along with the memo paper in advance. As he was writing a short note for his younger sister, a strange anticipation slowly bloomed on his face.
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Yi-Gyeol crossed the dimension following the golden butterfly again today and went down toward the castle with a pounding heart.
However today, Sethian was nowhere to be seen. He looked all over the Emerald Castle, which was said to belong to him, but he still couldn't find a single strand of Sethian's purple hair. Yi-Gyeol rose high above the castle wondering where Seth had gone in broad daylight and was already starting to get nervous.
'We only have two hours to talk, where have you been?'
He was worried that he might end up going back after just looking for Seth like this for two hours. Then, all of a sudden, he thought of something he shouldn't have.
'He didn't get into trouble while I'm gone…didn't he?'
Once Yi-Gyeol began thinking of negative thoughts, an uncontrollable anxiety came over him. Since he has said that he's suffered from numerous threats of assassination since childhood, there's no guarantee that one of them won't luckily succeed.
−Seth….
Yi-Gyeol prayed he wasn't, at the same time he called Sethian's name.
−Seth!
Passing through the Emerald Castle, he went to every corner of the other castles where the owners were unknown and called for Seth. He cried out frantically, hoping that his voice would reach him.
In the midst of that, he suddenly heard someone mention Seth's name.
"Then Sethian will…."
Yi-Gyeol abruptly stopped at the words he heard as he was quickly passing by through several rooms. He passed so quickly that he had to turn back to see from which room he heard it.
Then he saw a man and a woman talking about Seth. A young-looking woman in a rich and colorful dress that looks like something that came out of a manhwa and a long-haired man with a decent face seemed to be having tea time sitting at a colorful table. From what he heard from Seth, all of the Imperial family members had their iconic purple hair. Then it was clear that these two were either Seth's siblings or relatives.
A woman in her early 20s, who tilted her teacup of tea and took a sip of warm tea, had a dark smile on her lips.
"Will we be able to get rid of him this time?"
"We have to. We even made an alliance just for that."
The man crossed his legs and smoothed his long hair like a habit.
"As Brother said, we don't have much time left. Before Sethian could even take any interest in the throne, it's better to get rid of him in advance and then compete among ourselves."
Hearing this, Yi-Gyeol had an intuition that they were trying to kill Seth. From what he vaguely heard from Seth, his siblings were trying to assassinate him for the throne, but as the parties were in front of him, he couldn't help but get furious.
'How could they treat their brother like that with such unconcerned expressions….'
The frustration and anger of the difference between heaven and earth from what he saw in historical dramas came up. Despite the frequent threats of assassination and the transparency of who did it, Sethian has never tried to retaliate. He doesn't think much of it, saying that it would disappear after someone ascended to the throne anyway. But now that he sees it, it wasn't something to pass over. They didn't seem like human beings at all, talking about trying to kill their brother like that in a casual way.
"It'll work out well, right?"
"We've already completed the contract. Now we just have to wait for Sethian to disappear in five days. They'll take care of it and make it seem like he's missing."
"I don't like Canael, but I think they're the best in terms of skills."
The man's eyes lit up and he moved closer to the woman sitting opposite him. He asked, slightly lowering his voice.
"Did you just release the Research Team?"
The woman nodded her head with a smile.
"Recently, all the knights who went on reconnaissance in the Protel Empire went missing, right? At that time, the commander of the knight was quite an experienced and talented person, but all the knights, including him, disappeared without a trace, so we still can't find them now."
"The cause of that incident…."
Seeing the woman responding with a beautiful smile instead of answering, the man let out a pleasant laugh.
"It seems that there's no need to worry about cleaning up after the task."
The woman gently placed her soft hand on the back of the man's hand that was on the table.
"The real battle will only start after Brother Sethian is sorted out. Brother Mendel and Brother Zair would think that I was also competing, but I'll be on your side and always look after your back."
The man looked at the woman with warm eyes and gently stroked her hand that was on the back of his hand.
"Thank you. Even if I ascend to the throne, please always support me as you do now."
"Naturally, Brother."
The two looked at each other and smiled meaningfully.
Seeing this, Yi-Gyeol suppressed his anger and stormed out. He's not quite sure about the content, but it was clear that they were trying to kill Seth and make him disappear.
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