IBHGNH 11

Chapter 11

“No!!”

The young boy—or rather, Euncheon—shouted and woke up from his dream.

Ever since the mysterious fire incident eight years ago, the boy had been thrown into horrific nightmares every night.

What had kept him going all this time, through his despair, was his younger sister who had survived alongside him, though she had lost both the ability to speak and her memories.

Since that day, Euncheon had never truly had a proper night’s sleep.

But it wasn’t that he didn’t want to dream—even if they were nightmares.

Even in a nightmare, he could at least see his parents’ faces again.

“…Kugh!”

Yet every time he woke up, he was overwhelmed by a burning pain and a hot body as if he had been scorched.

Instinctively, Euncheon grabbed his sword and stepped outside to cool himself down.

Dragging his body that felt like a lump of molten iron, he wandered until he finally came upon a pond.

Without hesitation, he stepped into it.

—Splash!

And at that moment, he caught the attention of Seorin, who had been walking toward the pavilion.

“Eh?!”

Seeing a man fall into the pond, Seorin rushed over without hesitation and dove in. It wasn’t reckless—she was certified as a first responder, and confident in her ability to save lives.

The skills she had trained to save hotel guests from drowning were finally coming in handy…

“…I have to do this! Why is he so heavy?!”

Both she and the man were wearing clothes that had quickly soaked up the water, becoming unbearably heavy. But Seorin didn’t give up. She went behind him, slinging her arms around his neck, and tried to save the unconscious man from the water…

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah!”

In an instant, the sky and the pond seemed to flip, and the two of them switched positions.

Seorin suddenly found herself lying on the surface of the pond, held in the man’s arms.

At that moment, clouds covered the moon, casting the man’s face in darkness. Seorin herself was swallowed by the shadow his figure cast.

For a while, they stared at each other without seeing one another clearly.

A deep, cavernous voice finally broke the silence.

“…Who sent you?”

A cold sensation touched her neck.

‘A sword?!’

“Um, could you, uh, move this aside so we can talk…?”

But the man’s voice sounded strangely familiar. Where had she heard it before?

“!”

Unlike Seorin, Euncheon immediately recognized the voice of the person in his arms.

‘Oh, Seorin?’

It was the voice of Candidate No. 11, whose outstanding skills had amazed not only him but all the examiners. Euncheon quickly lowered his sword.

“I-I, I just saw you fall into the water, so I tried to save you…”

“…Fall into the water? Me?”

“Yes! You were definitely flailing in the water earlier…”

However, the pond was only waist-deep on the man.

“Ahaha! I must have been mistaken. Ah…haha…huh?”

At that moment, the moon briefly emerged from behind the clouds, illuminating the man.

…His face was extremely familiar.

‘…Of course, how could I forget? Such a perfect face.’

That perfect face was looking down at him intently.

Bathed in moonlight, Seorin’s appearance was also fully revealed. She was the very woman whose clothes he had covered her with at the stable.

Euncheon quietly stared at the woman wearing the clothes he had given her.

“A-Ah! I-I’m not a strange person! I’m a candidate here for the preliminary exam—”

“…I know.”

“Oh, you know?”

“…Why are you here at this hour?”

“I-I couldn’t sleep, so I came out… and tried to help the examiner. But um… can we get up now?”

The two of them remained in the pond in a pose reminiscent of the finale of a tango, with Seorin arched backward in Euncheon’s arms.

A drop of water from Euncheon’s forehead fell onto Seorin’s neck and trickled down along her collar.

Unconsciously staring at it, Euncheon slowly helped Seorin to her feet.

“But why did you jump into the pond at midnight, Examiner?”

“I couldn’t sleep either…”

“…What? You jumped into the water because you couldn’t sleep?”

Seorin stared blankly, clearly flabbergasted, and Euncheon turned his gaze away.

“…Shall we get out of here, then?” Euncheon suggested.

Seorin moved toward the pond’s edge, trying to climb out with her hands and feet, but she slipped. The oversized, waterlogged clothes were hindering her movements.

“Ah, I’m usually quite agile… why, why is this happening? Hahaha.”

Her face looked pale even under the moonlight, as it was no surprise after falling into cold water on a chilly autumn night.

Euncheon sighed softly and approached from behind.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

He slipped his hands under her legs and lifted her up in one swift motion.

“Kyah!”

Startled, Seorin instinctively wrapped her arms around Euncheon’s neck.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“This time, I’ll save you.”

“Ah…”

Holding her in one arm, Euncheon skillfully climbed out of the pond by gripping the wall with his free hand.

As his body shifted, Seorin instinctively hugged him tighter, her warmth brushing against him.

‘!’

Euncheon stiffened.

Feeling him swallow nervously, Seorin quickly pulled back her arms.

“I-I’m sorry!”

When Euncheon put her down, Seorin stepped back hastily.

Euncheon quietly stared at his empty arms, feeling something unfamiliar. He didn’t know what that feeling was.

Then he noticed the clothes Seorin was wearing, and the feeling vanished.

Seorin clutched her cheeks, squeaked internally, then shouted “Hah!” and hurriedly began securing the perimeter, cautious not to be seen.

‘A man and woman falling into water together under the moonlight! If the examiners saw this, I’d fail immediately…’

…Wait.

She realized this person was the Chief Examiner?!

Relieved that her “accomplice” was the most powerful figure at Hyeumwon, Seorin panicked when she noticed him looking at the clothes she was wearing.

“These… these are my younger brother’s clothes. I borrowed them because it was cold at night…”

“…I see.”

Euncheon recalled her submitted records.

Orphan Seorin Oh. She didn’t have a younger brother.

‘…Why does she keep lying, even during the interview?’

Euncheon looked at her as if trying to read her mind, and Seorin felt her heart pound.

‘Even during the interview… why does he keep looking at me like that?’

Her confusion didn’t last long. Seorin’s eyes fell on Euncheon, standing bathed in moonlight.

His wet hair and strikingly handsome face made her heart race even more, and the contours of his soaked, sculpted muscles were visible through his clothes.

She instinctively turned her head and said,

“If he were born in modern times, he’d be top-class immediately.”

“…Top-class?”

‘Oh no! Did I just say that out loud?’

“I-I’ll go inside now! You should too, Examiner!”

With that, Seorin dashed toward her lodging.

Euncheon watched her leave, then turned to go himself.

Somehow, the burning pain in his body had vanished.

The next morning

“Phew, luckily the clothes are dry enough to wear.”

After the chaos, Seorin worried about her soaking wet clothes.

“…Well, I couldn’t help it. Someone was drowning right in front of me—how could I think about taking off my clothes?”

Once back in her room, she wrung out her clothes, covered them with a cloth to squeeze out water, and hung them on a dry rack to finish drying.

Seorin took the dried clothes down, recalling the events of the previous night.

‘Why was the Chief Examiner in the pond yesterday? And why did he have a sword…?’

And naturally, Euncheon’s face came to mind.