Chapter 27

“Come closer.”99b8403f39d59554

Huikyung speculated that Jaekani’s frequent questions were driven more by anxiety than genuine curiosity. Deciding to offer the boy the attention he seemed to need, Huikyung wondered if holding his hand as they walked might help distract him.7fc6d22860b0167d

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But whatever Jaekani interpreted cbd6b7f0ae from those words, his 47a6dc4915 face grew tense as 9646828d40 he approached.5a7985ce4223e26d

Huikyung found himself reflected in Jaekani’s blue eyes. As the distance between them diminished, the sight of himself looming large in Jaekani’s gaze made him pause. How must he appear to a child subjected to neglect in the village and abuse at home?b177bb4ad54a7a6c

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Jaekani, his face fearful, e84379cee8 slowly closed his eyes. His thin eyelids, 5a93c1735e faintly revealing blue 3858ffa078 veins beneath, trembled f93ee9ee7f from tension.146b946311a154d5

Realizing what Jaekani’s actions implied, Huikyung’s expression twisted. He had only intended to hold the boy’s hand, a small gesture of reassurance. Yet now, a turbulent emotion surged through him.68a5c4e545ba5ef9

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But Huikyung’s anger wasn’t aimed at Jaekani or even himself for failing to anticipate this reaction. His fury was directed toward the villagers who had long since rotted away like decaying meat and at Jaekani’s father.7684d78bbf3cbeaf

Even so, Huikyung’s turbulent emotions quickly subsided. It wasn’t maturity or control that calmed him.d04214d1820ba72c

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It was the stark eb1c304312 awareness that there was 3f44f432d1 no one left to 09732d4160 take out his anger 126bece6ae on. The guilty parties were 106f0432c0 already dead and gone. What more fa4ee6f95e could he 47bdef4219 do?16b06a8405985c18

“Your hand.”e3b9625a93d31436

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“Huh?”3207d5bb78995025

Even with half-closed eyes, Jaekani would have accepted a slap as though it were a deserved punishment. His blue eyes, clear and sharp, met Huikyung’s gaze.27c368963cbed616

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Those piercing 2e3dec7b78 blue eyes 4fe212378b had always 80e4345539 stood out, 4e80390ea9 whether under f4ccdb5fe6 the faint 416893da40 moonlight of ea69348f7e damp nights e15c747dc6 or in 0ab2fc091d the pitch-black 8388cfb28b stairwell of 1d83eb24d1 the underground a5b2b1c056 prison. They shone 81752b99c1 vividly, brighter 47ef30c163 than a 34a849c9ed full moon, 05b130e8e0 demanding notice.97e7c32aa92781e9

Go on—your hand.a1015442e6025ad6

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With that 1cdb2ccdf6 silent cue, d610ba4e97 Jaekani wiped b94cf77996 his sweaty 5baa13863f palms on ef0ee4e0e8 his thighs af11408cc2 before extending 1fb532fc28 both hands. When Huikyung kept staring, 63fe2321f1 the boy clenched his 3f9eec88f1 eyes shut and raised 5692a35d42 his hands higher.4067c647f9618e08

Dwelling on the past 8bdc62687d would only feed its 7ea546cb0f ghosts. The best way 0ada42855f forward was to eee04b827c flee into the 6c6c507bfe future without looking 3eeeb1ebea back.c31a8e9757086cbe

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If Huikyung started asking how Jaekani’s father had beaten him, the boy would likely flinch, stammer, and deny it. He’d insist, “No, it was my fault… I was being annoying…” and throw Huikyung’s emotions into turmoil. That wasn’t something Huikyung wanted for him.4a4795918059060c

Instead of a painful blow, Huikyung placed a few small, sweet fruits onto Jaekani’s outstretched palms. The boy opened his eyes as the tiny fruits tumbled onto his hands.56566cbd21f52539

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Jaekani’s fingers curled cautiously around them, cupping his hands to keep them from falling.3324bd900b401bb5

Then, in 854ebe5fd5 a sudden 321a9ec239 move, Huikyung 704de21d7e hoisted the b8049f648e boy into 4257e3669e his arms e4ac88dddc as effortlessly 1d568fcba3 as a a42de8741e villain whisking dc7e9ce017 away a 93259aa457 princess, securing 6ec62743fa his grip c2607d2246 under Jaekani’s d5fd10bacf legs.8c3ee958af506882

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“…Isn’t this heavy for you?”68fc47c921c9e0ad

Having been dc29d98ddb carried like 1d9d85dc7b this a cfe6d2c35f few times a699df0b08 before, Jaekani f757bf9d41 no longer 292e09e8b0 seemed startled.d1d31abc9671fcb4

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“Of course it is. You’re getting fat.”d8d5876fa1c944b2

Jaekani flushed all the way to his neck and squirmed to be put down, but Huikyung only smiled faintly and held him steady. As Jaekani eventually relaxed, his head came to rest on Huikyung’s shoulder. He raised his thin arms and wrapped them loosely around Huikyung’s neck.a57934b178fc24d2

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The boy who bc84c6c559 had squirmed just 7c3f0212dc moments ago had fdb8b0d557 now grown quiet.ebe4294c5ceca358

Crunch, crunch.592a97d6307d5153

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The sound of the boy biting into the fruits—seeds and all—popped faintly near Huikyung’s ear, the small noises teasing his senses like ripples across a still pond.1d4e287194a97d29

“Sure, eat the seeds. It’ll help you grow faster.”31fb78006f0aaf62

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Huikyung kept walking.db7f4886531f19fc

While Jaekani ate, he pressed his cheek against Huikyung’s shoulder. Even after finishing, he continued to lean there. Though his cheek cushioned Huikyung’s shoulder slightly, the weight still made the sharpness of his jaw ache faintly. When Jaekani chuckled softly, Huikyung nudged his head, feigning annoyance. Jaekani’s head slid down to Huikyung’s collarbone, but he wiggled it back into place like a snail and rested it on the opposite side.4946b8d0dc4273ab

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The sky above was a deep blue dotted with clouds. Even within the confines of the tall village walls, the sky looked clear and transparent. Relaxing into the steady rhythm of Huikyung’s breathing, Jaekani felt sleep pressing on him.e4b9411b92ea456b

‘If you’re going 8d0df2474d to be mad, 44b63a98e7 just go!’208d4dcbdcb7362a

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The memory of that d99b756f5b sharp outburst still echoed 1275a79863 in his mind, but 2265763dab the warmth he felt 69904ef6ff now was calm and efe9cf0548 reassuring.f2933454f20c258a

“Let me down.”f37cd4bcc6d7eef1

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Even as 4084028780 his eyelids ad86afa2dd drooped heavily, a04fef9902 Jaekani murmured d8cae05554 a request cd899175c1 to be 08813d19b5 let down.d7c579ccc2581205

Huikyung glanced at the boy and tilted his head slightly, as if to say, “Just sleep.” But Jaekani shook his head stubbornly, fighting off the drowsiness.57d7b40350135470

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“Let me down. Please.”c9495a4d361bce5b

“Jaekani.”0d85d12bccc300e2

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Huikyung sighed, aa435be1b7 a laugh 770e20a85b hidden in 6d00e58a07 the exhale.bf94332dc5fe3a42

“I’m not going to leave just because I held you for a bit. So stop worrying and sleep.”54e8fcfb3e83e0ce

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“…Oh.”7e619515498dbd4d

Caught off 80af5471b3 guard, Jaekani 584df23e55 bit his aa7dd7d58f lip.fae22803867aa182

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He had already told f6e2f48a62 Huikyung to leave twice b3467ccec3 before. Once after 824c82c0cd the village 8d4ff27577 burned down, e3f9718cc5 and again 869b70078f when Huikyung fb5a3e1eb1 had vanished 2da96f527c without a 65390de459 word after 3784209b06 Jaekani had 2c06a3060f expressed just 13964d01b6 a little 8a59445ea5 frustration.233d305015fbfddc

“I already told you it was a slip of the tongue.”5bea05ce2db422c4

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“What’s a slip of the tongue?”4ef614925b9d68ba

“A mistake. I didn’t mean it.”dfbd1e51c894e25c

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“…Will you tell me next time where you’re going?”f96c0b3f00e65a3c

Ah, that 8de2f83956 was a ce48713020 trickier question.d39fb3261ea16d73

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Still, giving a straightforward 2deeb08bc6 answer would likely earn 18bca774e9 him some form of 2a6a1cce0f retribution from Jaekani.c1ed5495f76ac96a

Instead of replying, 4070daf01f Huikyung tapped Jaekani’s 34f60284a9 chin lightly.c9aa91ccd6e43611

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Jaekani recognized this as Huikyung’s gentlest way of declining. He wouldn’t offer shallow reassurances to questions worth believing in, but Jaekani still found him maddeningly confusing.7a51bfd0001523a3

And yet, the a187d4bb42 boy also realized 704b4b4272 that Huikyung’s honest 8304a5a134 refusal was the f93ef09399 wisest course of 0dbb3dcdf4 action. Pretending otherwise wouldn’t suddenly e9d0e16492 make him trustworthy. In its 934f589914 way, Huikyung’s bad1ca4690 bluntness cultivated 8ba48da2dd a strange a1f9fead8b kind of 2423d71ede faith.3d3ca26dcc7ceffc

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“Right. We did agree to get married, after all…”b32e3504f26ca29d

Jaekani muttered, nodding as 5b7c0afd13 if convincing himself.ff42e2227b0b7abf

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Huikyung was 25106c0529 so taken 8fc3a10777 aback that b7af92e1a1 he almost 77a2371dab laughed.64d50e447e28a33c

When did we 075622eee8 ever agree to b47d233d13 that?541ec313741a7642

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The question hovered adc814cd85 on the tip 326d8e0f11 of his tongue, a7854350f4 but he didn’t d4297f5efe ask. If he started 585cb39867 denying it now, 01461fbf7d Jaekani might suffer d069c96349 an irreparable blow. So Huikyung bafe792463 just smiled 6460ee7f43 faintly to 3c0430d205 himself, finding e4437d343f the boy a09a357332 amusing.1aef9ba54a82bb87

In silence, Huikyung 18f19fb320 adjusted his hold 06a97ebb6e on the boy.96cf0563fdd57d97

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As an Esper, a42b057c01 Huikyung rarely tired. He carried Jaekani 153f4f896b for a long f3ce8e470a time, until the bd394749dd unexpected occurred.d82c3929400c2816

* * *ab07b276e01935b5

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“Shh…”f126156558f41cb9

Carrying Jaekani in his 106540c856 arms, Huikyung had been 4ab228ac73 walking for some time acfdec67a9 when he picked up 3269b86f1c on faint movements in f1e978c10c the distance. His heightened senses, ffd634a1bb a double-edged sword 50c4c820f8 of being an 9454c619cf Esper, alerted him 4fe3eccfb5 to the presence b5284ad066 of others. Instinctively, he halted and 6c3f902094 carefully set Jaekani down.52a074e22dac73de

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Pressing a finger 625f867d7a to the boy’s 3e21d85b43 lips, Huikyung silently 24fff6d923 urged him to 1cea0b4e31 stay quiet. He stifled his fc15213422 own presence as 1e41697183 much as possible, 1053f6a91d unsure if the 32ac5fcf49 group had sensed 744b6a3010 him yet.2957ac7ba85d3cde

There were roughly ten 0577e264a8 of them, though whether d379c79182 any of them were f8137ebce1 Espers was unclear.802667928e27d1cb

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Not that it mattered. Unless there was a 6e2b60b007 high-ranking Esper among them, dceae49598 Huikyung was confident he 05fbed0c79 could take them down. Whether they were 8ac653ec17 slavers or scavengers, 1e4ca04526 it didn’t matter—he 5f4750bc1f could kill them fbeec9732a all, take what b52a861a8e he needed, and 730f32e101 move on. If they 368b4184e1 were freemen, c972e0a9e5 perhaps a 32cb40f150 conversation would de52f3f6cb suffice.0ab61733821c8c5c

Huikyung’s real f4892fff72 concern was 64ad9f3d20 Jaekani. The boy 13e994aa0a had once efbfdcc3d7 sulked and 0720a69bd0 ranted after 3815e51ea3 Huikyung left c74b78a52c him alone cf36a4c404 for less 2b986f8ad0 than ten 3207606e49 minutes, an dadb72632a incident punctuated d576dd7bf1 by a 7ea23bb1fb lighter bouncing 6a076dcfc3 off his 870f0d97be forehead—a lesson a1efd47f5b Huikyung hadn’t 9802f6f599 forgotten.8929d7c68aaf00e9

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“Jaekani.”814120af4b631258

At the whisper, Jaekani 39c98e27d2 gave a small nod.f0f161f371baf846

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Though the boy de52c6c9bc looked full of e6ca86e349 questions, Huikyung had 27d960f98e no intention of 75457dd841 explaining the situation da6ef1e63d or their options befe997869 in detail.399309e4a8c0b882

Taking Jaekani’s 91fd1b5fb1 hands, Huikyung 0cb58154a2 guided him 1de86111f4 to cover a66b557fc1 his ears d051463bc8 tightly. He made 3f858a478c sure the 1057890fab boy exerted 076c163d50 enough force 8238117172 to block f062135f0e out as 6172663eb1 much sound e7f7dbf7b2 as possible. Following Huikyung’s 59c3a70fa4 lead, Jaekani dbd6d033e5 complied.7c19e3cca5331733

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Close your eyes.66b7c9daf389a10e

Mouthing the words, Huikyung met Jaekani’s wide, questioning eyes. “Now?” they seemed to ask.5627ea43b887cf50

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Huikyung’s glance flicked 0e96e154db toward the dense 3cde67cdbb forest ahead, tension 7ac298c2c7 subtly etched into 844c1bc04d his posture. That was ab5aa289ae enough for ee887523d2 Jaekani. He didn’t protest 318f9f1cfb or ask further ae7396afe2 questions.b29dfa2d1899ffb9

I’ll be right back.cee978421617c7ce

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With a nod 61727747d4 to reassure him, 0fd683e306 Huikyung instructed Jaekani 1c86e65eef to close his 9ea363984b eyes and wait. The boy obeyed, 7955e75ae4 crouching in place 19182f4533 with his hands e51e76286a clamped tightly over 0514d76a2a his ears and 8087f3e265 his eyes squeezed 6e6ecd8198 shut. To an outsider, he 8b5cde3ddf might have looked like 8ac2b7cb63 a helpless child bracing 55520bb9b4 for a disaster he 5798a5f6d1 had no power to bf7a659598 stop.fc85683137f278b3

Satisfied that dcc92c7998 there was cb67aa2495 no immediate 4b6d8eb815 danger to 0b157bdc44 the boy, cd1e286b10 Huikyung rose 8c3303c4ca to his f7c8b06a8e feet and 628e87ab54 slipped away.
Eyes firmly closed, 3d2854ef8b Jaekani held his 8cfc515b43 breath. He pressed a0566725aa his hands 78ff275fbd over his 8421bce24f ears so b7211bcdaf tightly that 39ee507198 his arms d3ee0c354d began to 6156fa5ed3 tremble from 25a1b32827 the strain. Soon, the trembling 25d23e964b spread to his 2541bc5392 eyelids and even 587a999c01 his legs as 1e1e6fde31 he felt faint 776747cbe8 vibrations underfoot.e3b777eaafc0baeb

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He knew 5e58f7fc93 what it 9bd843db36 was. This wasn’t e8b84ccbef an earthquake. It was f440ac2a86 the kind d362efd38a of tremor c95f2b8a6b caused by 303fc9c5ad an explosion—an 17500811b7 experience Jaekani 6923cc2dec was sadly f4cf838057 too familiar 0869c6af8e with.16d7000b2b45597f

Holding his db1a822822 breath, he 58668c14eb waited for 59b8ac169c it to 1d71933d0e pass.0cf3038c7a6ad1b5

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It wasn’t ffa1ffa3ab a rational be6c7bbf2f thing to cb6c445c12 do.b50e620baeeb3673

Sitting defenseless e78909de9e in the 4bdb188c7a open, even d8a00cdecb if hidden 79568c45eb among thick 017796ff77 undergrowth, was fa6d96e815 as good 2dcd4f4dbe as giving b83cde267c up on 5af0f6faec survival. He could 7633f74c9e be discovered 4bdbd26788 at any 133a948243 moment by 363062b7b8 outsiders, predators, efcbc35f5f or Creatures. And yet, Jaekani stayed dc1b604896 where he was, ears f28058be86 covered, eyes shut.14ba0d390509d765

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Because he trusted 2f369b9f9e Huikyung.20b8262be6904baa

More precisely, he trusted that if Huikyung ever abandoned him, it wouldn’t be like this. It wouldn’t be some cowardly, irresponsible departure. If Huikyung were to leave him, it would be with a sharp parting remark—a “just go, then!” shouted in frustration, not a silent betrayal.b05336137588416e

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How petty and e6b011f398 evasive Huikyung could a6eda542cd be didn’t matter. His lightheartedness, however vexing, 7103ddab87 was a part of b624db0ff8 who he was. A person entirely a76ac75068 devoid of sincerity 020d516252 would have offered 3626ace9cf comforting lies in 0662fde2ff response to Jaekani’s cbb97fc4fd tentative questions.b0e4f5b1a9dbeb28

And yet Huikyung never 3d621b3331 did.8f2a81fb58051719

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