SANN | Chapter 7.3

Still groggy from medication, Gureum’s dazed eyes flitted between Sieon, the hospital room, and his hospital gown. Finally, his gaze settled on Sieon again. After a long pause, Gureum’s chest heaved, and tears began streaming down his face.

“Huuh, h-heuh…!”

“Hey, are you in pain? Should I call the nurse?”

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Gureum shook his head frantically, sniffling. It wasn’t pain that made him cry. Sieon pulled him close, cradling his head and patting his back gently.

“You were scared, weren’t you? It’s okay now. You’re with me.”

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“Y-yeah… Hyung, hyung…”

Gureum instinctively nuzzled his forehead against Sieon’s chest. Sieon smirked to himself, eyebrows raised in delight, as he hugged Gureum tighter.

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As he comforted Gureum, the sobs eventually subsided. Holding Gureum’s small face in his hands, Sieon looked into his eyes.

“My little rabbit, we need to talk, don’t we?”

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“…Y-yeah…”

Gureum nodded hesitantly, avoiding Sieon’s gaze. Sieon pressed a light kiss on Gureum’s eyelids and spoke gently.

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“When we talk, you need to look at me, okay?”

“S-sorry!”

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Struggling to meet Sieon’s gaze, Gureum’s shoulders hunched nervously, his fingers fidgeting.

“Gureum, can you tell me who hurt you?”

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“…W-well…”

“Be honest with me, okay?”

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Sieon already knew the answer but wanted Gureum to say it himself. Gureum hesitated, glancing nervously at Sieon before whispering a plea.

“Hyung… Please don’t report him… Please.”

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“I won’t report him.”

Why report him? I’ll kill him myself.

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“So tell me. Who was it?”

“…It’s… it’s my dad…”

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“Yes, it was my father.”
“…He hit you… Why would your father do that to you, Gureum? Can you tell me everything?”

Sieon gently stroked Gureum’s soft ears as his fingers slid through them, and under Sieon’s tender touch, Gureum slowly began to speak.

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“My mother… When I was about ten, she left home… Probably because she couldn’t stand it anymore… My father has an obsessive nature… And he thinks she left him because of me… That’s why he often, very often hit me…”

“…”

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“Back in elementary school, he didn’t hit me that hard… But as I grew up, he became addicted to alcohol, and his violence intensified… Eventually, he began to dislike even looking at me, saying I looked like my mother…”

“…”

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Seeing Sieon silently processing this, Gureum attempted a weak defense, as if feeling the need to explain further.

“Later, I figured out how to avoid getting hit too much… If I just stayed out of his sight, and if I gave him money regularly, he wouldn’t be too harsh… But I had to do the household chores like laundry, cleaning, and cooking, so I couldn’t avoid him completely… That’s when I got hit often…”

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If what Gureum said was true, it meant he had spent years trapped in a tiny room within their cramped house, barely breathing. What kind of life had Gureum lived? It was a life Sieon could hardly fathom.

Sieon imagined a young Gureum, unable to freely roam even within his small home, bullied and eventually dropping out of school due to his notorious family situation. That’s probably when he encountered Cloud Online.

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Gureum’s only companion in his secluded life became Cloud Online, clinging to it all day, and all the in-game money he made probably went straight to the abuser wearing the mask of a father. Sieon’s heart felt tight with incomprehensible frustration. His eyes narrowed.

“…Did you give all the money I gave you to your father?”

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“Th-that… Yes… I gave it all to him… I’m really sorry…”

Gureum’s eyes, just drying, reddened again. Sieon shook his head and gently kissed his cheek.

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“It’s not your fault, Gureum. You were in an unavoidable situation. I just wanted to know the truth.”

“Ah…”

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After a moment of moistening his eyes, Gureum opened his mouth again, as if deciding to continue.

“Before the Maze Queen, almost all the money I made from selling items I gave to him… I kept just enough for food since I had to cook… And the twenty million won from the recent split, I lied that it was only two million… I knew it was risky to lie, but I strangely wanted to… But he found out immediately after checking the bank records… That’s why I was beaten…”

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“…”

“He was really, really angry that day… He accused me of selling my body… and asked if I was going to take the money and run away like my mother did… I can’t remember everything he said because it just went blank, my head and the pain were too much…”

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A bitter laugh escaped Sieon’s lips. To ask his own child if they were selling their body—what a monstrous thing to say. It was fortunate in its own tragic way that Gureum, due to his sheltered, naive nature, did not fully grasp what was being insinuated.

As Gureum grew older, he would inevitably come to understand the implications of those words. The wounds he hadn’t felt at the time would double in pain later.

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This wasn’t the first time for such words and actions. Inside, Sieon was sharpening his knives, his murderous intent barely contained as he gently stroked Gureum’s hair.

“Our Gureum… You must have had such a hard time.”

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“…Me?”

“With no mother and a father who only knows how to hit. You had no one to rely on, so you had to endure everything alone, didn’t you?”

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“…Did I?”

“…Hmm?”

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“…I… I didn’t even realize if I was suffering…”

Gureum’s voice trailed off, and he seemed to freeze, lost in thought for a long time.

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“Ah…”

Eventually, a soft sigh escaped his lips.

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“That’s right… I was alone… all alone…”

Tears streamed down Gureum’s cheeks again. It seemed there was no solace for him. Sieon lifted Gureum’s chin and pressed their lips together.

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“I, I didn’t have a mother, and my father always yelled at me, beat me… At school, the other kids bullied me, and the teachers disliked me… Even when my father yelled and I screamed, no one in the neighborhood cared… I was alone, all alone…”

As Gureum recounted the regular occurrences of his past, he finally confronted his sorrows head-on and let them out.

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“I was so lonely because everyone hated me… I thought if I listened well, maybe they’d love me… But they didn’t. Not my father, not my friends… No matter how hard I tried, it was useless…”

“…”

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“I became scared of people… So I hid just to avoid the hatred… I was, I was so scared… You’re the first person to hold me, to caress me… And I liked it so much…”

“…”

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“That day, I lay in bed all day, just imagining you coming to see me… I didn’t want to show you this unhappy side of me, so I just imagined it… But then you really came. I thought it was a dream…”

“…Gureum.”

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Sieon was now completely resolved. Death to that bastard. He opened his arms, inviting Gureum to embrace him. Gureum looked up with tear-streaked confusion.

“You should cry in my arms.”

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“What if I get your clothes dirty?”

“Then it’s up to Gureum to decide. Either I lick up all your tears and snot, or you just quietly hold me.”

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“Ah…”

Flustered, Gureum finally buried himself in Sieon’s embrace. Sieon, securing Gureum’s head between his sturdy chest muscles, whispered gently into his ear.

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“I’ll handle the problem with your father. You just focus on recovering.”

“If you report it…”

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“I won’t report it.”

Because I’m going to kill him. Sieon pressed his lips to Gureum’s head, understanding his fears. It was time to solidify their relationship, making it as strong as possible. There was no need to delay anymore, especially since the intention to help had turned out to be beneficial for Gureum as well.

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“Instead, Gureum should come live at my place.”

“…What?”

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Gureum looked up at Sieon in astonishment.

“You’re old enough to live independently, so there’s no issue living at my place, right?”

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Gureum’s mouth opened slightly, his eyes wide as he stared up at Sieon. It was as if he had just been hit with a surprising new reality he hadn’t considered before.

“Can I… live with you?”

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“Of course. You’re an adult now, Gureum, and you can make that decision for yourself.”

“…”

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“Haven’t you ever thought about using the money I gave you… to move out?”

“…”

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“…Gureum?”

“…Huh.”

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“Crying again? Our little one has a lot of tears.”

As Gureum’s tears fell freely onto the sheets, Sieon continued to comfort him. No matter how often he cried, Sieon never seemed tired of soothing him.

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But with every gentle touch from Sieon, Gureum’s sobs grew louder. Sieon let him cry freely in his arms.

“Let it all out.”

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“Huh, heugh, guh, ugh, heugh…”

With Sieon’s permission, Gureum cried like a child, unafraid to let his voice be heard, his sobs filling the room. It was the first time he had allowed himself to cry so openly.

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“Huh… I didn’t know… Why didn’t I see…”

“It’s not your fault, Gureum.”

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“Why did I… huh… just take it all as normal…”

Despite earning money through Cloud Online, Gureum had never considered moving out. Even when Sieon paid extra for the money he earned, he was just happy that he got beaten less, foolishly thankful for the increased income and still handing it all to his father.

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Even after defeating the Maze Queen and receiving twenty million won as a reward, Gureum hadn’t thought to escape his father’s grasp.

He had long realized that no amount of obedience or effort would bring his father’s love, but he still couldn’t leave home. The gaslighting he had endured from an early age had castrated his will to act independently.

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“Huh… Can I really live with you, hyung…? Are you sure…?”

“Of course. I want to live with Gureum too.”

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“Heugh… Yes… I want to live with you. Please let me live with you…”

“Alright, our Gureum… Let’s live together now?”

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“Yes, yes… with hyung…”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Gureum pressed into Sieon’s embrace for the first time. Unable to bear it, Sieon held him tightly, undisturbed by the tears and snot mingling on their faces, and kissed him.

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Sieon leaned one leg off the bed, conscious of his physical reaction in front of the heartbroken child. Instead, he took advantage of Gureum’s disoriented state to slide his tongue between those cute, breathy lips, drawing a deep breath from him. Gureum’s breathing hitched for a moment.

The moment passed before Gureum could even register it. Suddenly, a loud stomach growl echoed through the room. Gureum’s reddened face was all Sieon needed to identify the source. Sieon chuckled softly.

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“Our baby needs food.”

As Gureum froze in embarrassment, Sieon simply smiled at him, unfazed.

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