When Blood Appears

“Gah—!”

Jeongyun jolted upright in bed, bursting out a breath that sounded like a scream.

Ragged breaths spilled nonstop from his parted lips.

His deathly pale face was drenched in cold sweat.

“f*ck….”

After gasping for a long while, Jeongyun realized he had woken up from another nightmare and cursed under his breath.

He had been reliving the day his parents died over and over in his dreams.

It had been more than ten years of the same dream, so you’d think he would be used to it by now.

Yet he still woke up like this, soaked in sweat and startled out of his wits, which almost felt ridiculous.

The vivid image of his mother’s eyes—red from blood mixed with tears—flashed before him, and Jeongyun clenched his fist tightly.

Both hands trembled helplessly.

When would nights like this finally end.

And if they couldn’t end, couldn’t he at least grow used to them enough to pass through them calmly.

The accident had happened more than twenty years ago.

Jeongyun was no longer a child crying because he missed his mom and dad.

Then why did he still have to meet his parents only through horrifying nightmares.

“…Still, for once I didn’t get sleep paralysis.”

As his thoughts spiraled, his emotions settled, and Jeongyun muttered in a deliberately light tone.

Normally, on nights when he dreamed of the accident, he would be crushed by the worst episodes of sleep paralysis.

For some reason, tonight he had only woken up in shock.

He had still watched his parents die once again, but by his standards, this was a fairly lucky night.

Pretending not to notice his still-trembling hands, Jeongyun swept his sweat-soaked bangs back and stood up from the bed.

There was no chance he’d fall asleep again right away.

He wanted to wash off the sticky sweat clinging to his body.

He planned to drink some cold water to clear his head, then sink into the bathtub.

If he soaked long enough in warm water, maybe—if he was lucky—sleep would come again.

With heavy steps, Jeongyun crossed the room.

Maybe every waking moment was just another nightmare too.

Behind Jeongyun, who pretended not to notice the wave of sorrow welling up, a dark shadow stretched long.

“…!”

Seha sucked in a sharp breath and opened his eyes.

It wasn’t pitch-black, but the atmosphere around him felt unfamiliar.

He hadn’t had a nightmare, yet he’d woken in a jolt.

A strange chill crept over him, and tension rose for no clear reason.

Soon, Seha realized he was in Cha Jeongyun’s house.

Since he was used to sleeping at home whenever possible because he worried about his sibling, it seemed he needed more time to adjust to staying here.

Outside the window visible through the curtains, it was still completely dark.

Seha turned onto his side, trying to fall back asleep.

“Huh…?”

That puzzled sound slipped out at that very moment.

His cheek against the pillow felt damp.

At the same time, liquid trickled down from his nose.

Instinctively raising his hand to cover his nose, Seha hurriedly got out of bed, turned on the light, and looked at himself.

The hand covering his nose and the front of his clothes were soaked in red.

“What the hell….”

Seha’s eyes shook violently.

Blood was flowing from his nose, but there was far too much for it to be a simple nosebleed.

He rarely got nosebleeds no matter how hard or exhausted he was, which only made him more shocked and flustered.

It wasn’t like he’d been doing anything especially strenuous lately either.

Questions flooded his mind.

But first, he needed to deal with this gruesome state.

Carefully, Seha opened his door and stepped out.

“Was I that stressed…?”

He muttered while pressing tissue to his nose.

Even in the brief moment it took to grab the tissue, blood dripped down in heavy drops, soaking his clothes.

It was scary enough to make him wonder if bleeding this much was even normal.

He hadn’t heard any loud noises or anything, yet waking up startled like this wasn’t like him.

Normally, once Seha fell asleep, he wouldn’t move until his morning alarm rang.

All he’d done today were a few small errands and some light cleaning of the kitchen and living room.

Compared to his past work, it hardly even counted as tiring.

Jeongyun had picked fights and spat harsh words at him constantly, but even that hadn’t weighed heavily on Seha’s mind.

He couldn’t figure out why this was happening.

In the end, Seha decided not to think too deeply.

Not everything had a clear cause-and-effect.

Maybe this was just the result of stress and exhaustion piling up over time.

Or perhaps it was because his tension had finally eased.

It was almost his first time being freed from a relentlessly packed schedule with no room to breathe.

Once the bleeding slowed somewhat, Seha straightened up.

The dried blood on his face, hands, and clothes couldn’t be handled with tissues alone.

He couldn’t run the washing machine right now, so at least soaking them in water seemed necessary.

Seeing the bloodstained pillow and blanket made his mood sink even further.

It wasn’t intentional, but after already being disliked, he’d gone and caused a major incident right after arriving.

Was he even allowed to use the washing machine freely.

If there were other clothes inside, could he wash them together.

Jeongyun had told him to handle housework, but what if he got angry over someone touching his clothes without permission.

Trivial yet important worries chained endlessly together.

It had been a sudden ordeal in the middle of the night, and his thoughts weren’t coming together properly.

He needed to at least wash his face and clear his head before deciding what to do.

Moving quietly, Seha carefully stepped out of his room.

“…….”

Just as he was heading toward the bathroom, Seha froze, holding his breath.

From the living room some distance away, a large silhouette was standing there, facing him.

Thanks to a few pendant lights dimly illuminating the darkness, Seha could make out the person’s face.

It was Cha Jeongyun.

Yet even after realizing that, the pounding in his chest wouldn’t calm down.

Something about Jeongyun seemed off.

“Jeongyun…?”

Seha cautiously called out to him.

At the same time, he found himself wishing Jeongyun would immediately curse at him for wandering around at this hour.

Not because he liked being yelled at.

But because if Jeongyun reacted that way, this strange, indescribable unease might disappear.

It was definitely Jeongyun standing there, yet an unfamiliar, eerie sensation brushed across Seha’s skin.

It wasn’t so much Jeongyun himself as the atmosphere surrounding him.

The chill filling the house only added to it.

The cold crawling up his spine was different from the refreshing coolness of an autumn night.

“Jeongyun, did something happen…?”

Unsure whether to step closer or retreat, Seha spoke again.

Anything was fine—cursing, shouting—he just wanted some kind of response.

They said I came in as a talisman, but maybe the real problem isn’t bad luck—maybe Cha Jeongyun is just insane.

A reel of horror movies he’d seen flashed through Seha’s mind.

Or maybe Jeongyun was planning to quietly get rid of him while the secretary wasn’t around.

Images of ruthless third-generation chaebol villains from movies—burying troublesome commoners without a trace—came and went in his thoughts.

“Y-you….”

Just as Seha seriously began considering whether he should run back to his room and lock the door, Jeongyun spoke.

The moment Seha heard his voice, the faint fear creeping up from his toes vanished in an instant.

There was a subtle tremor in that voice.

Jeongyun sounded frightened.

The reason became clear with his next words.

“Is that… blood?”

Jeongyun’s trembling finger pointed at Seha’s chest.

Following the gesture, Seha lowered his head, and a short gasp slipped out.

Blood from earlier was smeared heavily across his clothes.

That wasn’t all.

There was still blood on his face and hands that he hadn’t managed to wipe away with tissues.

The moment he realized it, his heart dropped.

At the same time, the secretary’s voice echoed in his mind.

Jeongyun panics at the sight of blood, and in severe cases it can trigger breathing difficulties and seizures, so please be extremely careful.

The secretary’s face had looked especially grim when he said it, as if there had already been several dangerous incidents.

Seha hadn’t heard why Jeongyun had that condition.

He had only vaguely assumed it was due to the accident in his childhood.

Seha bit his lip.

This was unexpected, but it wasn’t a situation where excuses would work.

His heart began pounding wildly.

Still, Seha forced himself to answer with a calm face.

“This?

Blood, no way….

I couldn’t sleep and got hungry, so I was eating something and spilled it.”

It was a ridiculous excuse.

Seha didn’t think Jeongyun would actually believe it.

He just wanted to distract him somehow, even if it was futile.

“So I came out to put it in the washing machine.”

As he spoke, Seha hurriedly pulled off his shirt and put it back on inside out.

He repeatedly wiped his face with the back of his hand that wasn’t stained with blood, then clasped both hands behind his back.