I Didn’t Come Back Unharmed

“I wonder if they’d take him with them… if I asked them to, instead of me.”

I muttered while thinking of Won-gyeong and the other men.

Taking responsibility myself would be difficult, so I hoped they would take the child in.

“Ha… we finally made it.”

I let out a sigh as I looked at the grand door of the suite.

Even though it was still just a space inside the rift, reaching a “room” at all brought a strange sense of relief.

Using the administrator’s key card again, I opened the door and stepped inside.

I was about to call Won-gyeong’s name—

When something yanked at me violently.

[Objective completed. The ‘child’ trapped in the field has been safely delivered to Won-gyeong’s side.]

[Sub-scenario ‘Go Doya 1 – Only Good Will’ has been completed.]

[Only goodwill will save us. May your goodwill become a current.]

What is this, why does it always write such embarrassingly sentimental lines?

As I was being dragged somewhere with tremendous force, the system window appeared and spilled out its nonsense on its own.

I didn’t act out of goodwill.

I acted because I didn’t want to feel guilty.

Because I didn’t want to regret not doing what I should have done.

But—

“…ugh.”

If I’d known it would hurt this much, I would’ve just accepted the guilt!

The pulling sensation vanished.

The body that had felt like it was floating slammed down heavily—

And agony exploded through me.

The worst of it was my leg.

Something felt like it was still between my lips, but the pain was too overwhelming to be sure.

When I opened my eyes, Won-gyeong’s face was right in front of me.

His beautiful features blurred and wavered.

My eyes were full of tears.

At the same time, my leg hurt unbearably.

I couldn’t move my foot.

Parts of it felt completely numb.

As I groaned from the pain shooting up my leg, my arm began to throb.

My left arm—the one I’d wrapped around the administrator’s neck.

It felt broken.

My leg had been torn by a monster.

My left arm, I had broken myself.

Being unable to feel pain, losing control of my strength—

That had never been a good thing for me.

And then there was a dull heat and sharp, tingling sensation spreading across my entire abdomen.

That was strange.

I hadn’t injured my stomach at all.

Before I realized it, a thick finger slipped between my clenched lips, prying them apart.

Won-gyeong was muttering something as he stopped me from biting down, but I couldn’t hear him clearly.

‘What happened to the kid I brought?’

Even through the pain, my thoughts went to the child.

As my awareness slowly settled, Won-gyeong’s voice came into focus.

“I’ve finished emergency treatment. We’re leaving right away, so don’t lose consciousness. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

I’d gone through all that.

All this pain—

It was all for bringing that child back.

I killed the administrator.

We could leave the rift right now.

If Won-gyeong left with just me—

Everything I did would be meaningless.

‘Absolutely not.’

As I felt Won-gyeong lifting me into his arms, I spoke like a soldier leaving final words after a battle.

“Save… him… too….”

Take the kid with you.

I don’t even know if I finished saying it.

That was my last memory.

***

Am I the only one who doesn’t know that everyone is suffering?

Why can’t I save them?

Ah—

I’m still asleep.

***

“…!”

Sharp pain stabbed through my leg and dragged me awake.

No—this wasn’t waking from sleep.

It was waking from unconsciousness.

I was leaning back against someone’s body, half-sitting.

One arm was wrapped around my arm and torso, holding me firmly in place.

The size difference was obvious.

Even with one hand, they had plenty of room to restrain me.

Another hand covered my mouth halfway.

A thick piece of cloth had been stuffed inside.

Probably to stop me from biting my tongue from the pain.

When I thrashed after waking, the person holding me tightened their arms, preventing me from moving.

With my body half-raised, I could immediately see my leg.

“Ugh…”

“I’m sorry, Doya. It’s almost over. Just hang in there a bit longer.”

Won-gyeong didn’t even look at me as he spoke, focused entirely on my leg.

He was stitching the wound.

The same scene I’d once watched in awe as he stitched Jaeyul’s head—

Now unfolding on my own body.

But this wound was far worse.

The areas already stitched were split into several sections, barely holding the flesh together.

If it weren’t Won-gyeong, I doubt even this much could’ve been saved.

It was my leg, but it was horrifying to look at.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Jaeyul, hold Doya more firmly.”

His voice, which had been gentle toward me, turned cold when directed behind me.

So the one holding me was Jaeyul.

“Okay.”

He answered shortly and tightened his grip.

Even knowing I couldn’t escape Jaeyul’s hold, my body twisted from the pain.

‘I can heal myself! I got a universal healing potion as a reward!’

If my mouth hadn’t been blocked, I would’ve screamed it.

The needle kept piercing raw flesh.

Won-gyeong was moving fast—but the pain felt endless.

Cold sweat streamed down my face.

Jaeyul wiped my forehead with the hand near my face.

That hand slid down to my cheek.

I was crying.

In my haze, as I felt him wiping my face, a thought suddenly surfaced—

At the same time, Won-gyeong finished stitching and removed the cloth from my mouth.

“The kid…?”

“…We brought him out safely.

He hasn’t woken up yet, but once his strength returns, he should be fine.”

I let out a small breath of relief.

My entire body ached like I’d been beaten, but knowing the child was safe eased my mind.

At least my suffering hadn’t been pointless.

“Worry about yourself first.”

Jaeyul said quietly from behind me.

“Do you even know how bad your condition—”

“Jaeyul.”

Won-gyeong cut him off sharply.

That alone told me how serious my condition was.

Serious enough that they didn’t want to say it out loud.

But I wasn’t too worried.

Once we separated, I planned to use the potion the system gave me.

I didn’t need to endure this kind of treatment—but with Won-gyeong’s affection still high, there was no way he’d leave me injured behind.

Once the curse lifted, his interest would fade.

Then he’d leave.

Right now, though, everything hurt too much.

I leaned more heavily into Jaeyul’s arms and breathed shallowly.

I didn’t even have the strength to wipe my tears, so I squeezed my eyes shut and let them fall.

Won-gyeong wiped them away for me.

When my vision cleared, I saw where we were.

Inside the bunker.

Jeong Iheon and Ju Noeul were there too.

Ju Noeul, surprisingly, was quite close to me.

“What.”

He was setting down a pile of medical supplies beside Won-gyeong.

When he noticed me looking, he muttered irritably.

I didn’t bother responding and looked away.

The child was lying where Jaeyul had placed him.

Jeong Iheon was sitting nearby with his legs crossed.

When our eyes met, he smiled crookedly and gave a small wave.

“You’re finally awake.”

I looked away from his irritating face and checked the child again.

The long hair had been cut short, like a boy’s.

The face looked closer to a boy than a girl.

Androgynous, but unmistakably male.

It was a small relief that the child trapped in that place hadn’t been a girl.

As I was checking my surroundings, Won-gyeong spoke.

“Doya, I’m going to disinfect your leg again. It’ll hurt.”

Ju Noeul was rummaging through the supplies as he said it.

I tried to look down—but a large hand blocked my view.

Jaeyul’s.

‘Why not let me see? I need to brace myself.’

I grabbed his arm and pulled it down with my right hand.

My left arm was immobilized from the fracture.

“It’s better if you don’t look….”

“It’s better if I do.”

Ignoring his concern, I met Won-gyeong’s eyes and nodded.

At my signal, he carefully disinfected the wound.

Without realizing it, I squeezed Jaeyul’s arm hard.

Instead of pulling away, he gently pried my fingers open—

Then laced his fingers through mine.

No matter how hard I squeezed, he didn’t let go.

Even when my nails dug into the back of his hand—

He never tightened his grip back.