The Price of Not Leaving

It should have hurt.

Yet I couldn’t understand why he kept holding my hand.

Watching Jaeyul focus solely on my injuries as if his own pain didn’t matter made my mind clear a little.

After wrapping layer upon layer of bandages around my left leg—injured from calf to thigh—the treatment finally came to an end.

I couldn’t move my leg at all.

By some stroke of bad luck, every injury was concentrated on my left side, leaving me barely able to move on my own.

“It’s okay to rest more, Doya. If you can sleep, do you want to?”

As if he understood my condition, Won-gyeong carefully took me from Jaeyul’s arms and asked.

My field of view lifted, and Won-gyeong’s worried gaze met mine.

“Your face is red…If you start running a fever, you have to tell me immediately.”

Since he couldn’t use his hands while holding me, Won-gyeong pressed his forehead against mine to check my temperature.

I appreciated the concern, but I couldn’t help wondering when the feelings binding us would disappear.

“When is our curse going to end…?”

“Ah, about that…”

For some reason, Won-gyeong looked uncomfortable.

He frowned slightly, gave an awkward smile, and spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll explain later. For now, you should rest.”

“If I’m awake, wouldn’t it be better to talk first? How long are we going to waste time here?”

It looked like Won-gyeong was trying to lay me down in clean bedding so I could rest—

But Jeong Iheon stopped him.

With a drawling tone that bordered on mockery, Jeong Iheon spoke up.

“The rift’s been dealt with. So now we should leave.”

Won-gyeong turned his head slightly and stared at him.

Iheon still wore his ever-present grin.

Won-gyeong, on the other hand, looked cold and irritated.

Before their silent standoff could escalate, I intervened.

“What are you trying to discuss?

If it’s about using the bunker, then sorry, but I’d like to stay here until my injuries improve a little.”

I planned to treat myself and leave immediately after they went.

They didn’t seem heartless enough to throw out someone this badly injured, so I assumed they’d agree.

And then—most importantly—I added,

“When you leave, please take the child with you. I… don’t think I can take care of him.”

After seeing my condition, surely they wouldn’t leave the child behind.

“That would be difficult.”

But after listening quietly, Jeong Iheon rejected me outright.

What an infuriating man.

Won-gyeong turned his body fully.

I thought he was about to set me down to talk, but instead, he adjusted his hold so I’d be more comfortable and simply gestured for Iheon to come closer.

Iheon rose from beside the child and walked toward us.

Ju Noeul took his place by the child instead.

“I already told you my stance last time. You can handle the convincing yourselves.”

Iheon spoke indifferently and turned his back to the child.

From the way he said “convincing,” it seemed they still fully intended to take me with them.

I let my head rest against Won-gyeong’s shoulder and sighed.

I didn’t want the scenario to continue anymore.

It hadn’t even been a week since I met these men—and look at me now.

My body was wrecked.

When a scenario progressed, it meant an incident followed.

Staying with them meant disaster after disaster.

I hated that.

Let them save the world by sealing rifts and killing monsters all they want.

Just leave me out of it.

“We’ll take responsibility for the child. But in return, shouldn’t you give us something too?”

Jeong Iheon narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

He bent slightly to meet my gaze where I sat quietly in Won-gyeong’s arms.

As Iheon moved closer, Won-gyeong stepped back, widening the distance.

Seeing that, Iheon let out a short sigh.

“Look at this. First Jaeyul, now Won-gyeong—everyone’s hovering over you.

How do you expect us to just leave you here?”

“Won-gyeong’s acting like this because of the curse. It’ll go back to normal soon.

And Jaeyul doesn’t even remember me, so what does it matter?”

“I’m sorry about not remembering. But it still matters. I want you to be safe.”

Jaeyul apologized stiffly and stated his opinion.

I rejected it immediately.

“I can live safely in the bunker.”

“We’re low on supplies, and with injuries like that, how exactly are you planning to stay safe?”

“I’ll handle it myself. That’s not something you need to worry about.”

“Doya.”

As my voice sharpened, Won-gyeong called my name carefully.

He looked like he’d been wanting to say something for a while.

But when he only stared at me without speaking, Jeong Iheon cut in again.

“If you can’t say it, want me to do it for you?”

He asked with a careless smile.

“What? What is it?”

“To put it simply—your curse isn’t going to lift. Not for a long time. At least a few months.”

“…What?”

“I’ll explain. Because you didn’t return from the rift while actively using your ability…I placed a stronger spell.”

“A stronger spell…?”

What we’d suffered was supposed to be a weak, system-triggered curse.

Something that should’ve faded in days.

So what was he saying?

“To pull your consciousness back into your body, we needed a stronger connection.

Your body was accumulating injuries. If we delayed any longer, you could’ve died.”

“So you personally cast a spell on us?”

My voice came out sharper than intended.

“What kind of spell did you cast?”

“It’s similar to the curse you were under, but stronger. It binds fate completely and makes you belong to each other.

If fully completed, when one dies, the other dies too.”

What kind of insane nonsense was that?

I learned then that when disbelief reaches a certain point, words stop coming.

‘This lunatic…He cast that kind of spell on me?’

Even affection has limits.

This crossed them all.

I was furious, but I held myself back and spoke carefully.

“…You know how to undo it, right? You can break it.”

Won-gyeong fell into deep silence.

I grabbed his collar with my good hand and yanked him forward.

“Undo it. These feelings exist because of the curse. You know this isn’t healthy for either of us.”

“Doya.”

“You didn’t cast it planning to live like this forever!”

“There’s no way to forcibly undo it…I’m sorry.”

I let go.

My head throbbed.

I asked the one thing that mattered most.

“So if you die…I die too?”

“If the spell were complete, yes.”

Won-gyeong shook his head slightly.

“So it’s not complete?”

Hope flickered.

“You woke up right before the final step. So it’s incomplete.”

Relief washed over me.

At least I wouldn’t die just because he did.

Still, the problem remained.

Won-gyeong loved me.

I liked him—slightly more than “like.”

There was no way he’d leave me behind.

He’d knock me out and take me if he had to.

“Put me down.”

I pressed my hand against his chest.

“You won’t be able to stand alone.”

“I said put me down.”

Coldly, I freed myself from his arms.

He lowered himself carefully so I wouldn’t be jolted, letting my thigh rest briefly against his.

Even after I stood on my right leg and braced myself against the wall, his hand hovered anxiously near my back.

“Do you want me to carry you?”

Jaeyul asked hesitantly, bending forward.

His large frame blocked my view.

“I don’t need you to carry me, Jaeyul. I can stand on my own.”

I dismissed him just as coldly.

Then I looked at each of them in turn—

Won-gyeong’s eyes full of worry and devotion.

Jaeyul’s filled with quiet affection.

Jeong Iheon’s smiling eyes, empty of any visible emotion.

I met Iheon’s gaze and spoke.

“No matter how injured I am, I have no reason to rely on you.

Ability user or not, if I decide not to go, you can’t force me.”

“Of course. Forcing you would only leave you with bad feelings.”

Iheon smiled slyly.

“That’s obvious.”

“But in your current state, you can’t even leave the bunker.

Which means you need the bunker owners’ permission, doesn’t it?”

“That’s…I’ll leave when you leave.”

“No. You need to leave before we do. That way we know you’re not using the bunker.”

Damn it.

Standing there injured and hearing something so cold—

If they gave me even one day, I could heal myself after they left using the potion.

But leaving in front of them was different.

The surface above the bunker was chaos.

‘I can hear monsters.’