Chapter 83

At Noquia’s question, Blaine froze mid-motion. His movements cut off with a hard stop, then he slowly, stiffly turned his head to look at her. His eyes were full of bewilderment, clearly asking, How do you know about that, Noquia?

Judging by the fact that he barely remembered what he’d even said, he really must have been desperate when he tried to stop Theo earlier. Noquia glanced at Father and Holanghee. Both of them had the same expression, What are you talking about?

Noquia pulled over a chair and sat in front of the bed. Then she snatched the cup of milk from Blaine’s hands, downed it in one go, wiped her mouth, and spoke.

“You said it earlier when you were holding onto Theo. That you wouldn’t wait in front of your Hyung’s house anymore.”

“I… I did?”

Blaine’s voice shook miserably. Noquia silently nodded, and Father, who had been listening, frowned deeply.

“Don’t tell me you spent months pulling all-nighters in front of Theo’s house? While taking Retai powder?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Blaine, carrying an uncomfortable edge. As those faint but unsettling looks pierced into him, his breath caught in his throat. His heart raced, and cold sweat soaked into his palms.

It felt like he had been driven to the edge of a cliff. Part of him wanted to kick off the bed and run somewhere their eyes couldn’t follow. But he couldn’t leave the bed. If he did, Theo wouldn’t come to get him.

Blaine pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze. Fear crept in with every look directed at him, and his eyes threatened to overflow with tears. Enduring the weight of their stares raining down on him, he soothed himself again and again until, after a long while, he finally managed to speak.

“I’m sorry…. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry… I won’t do it anymore…”

Even so, his pronunciation was crushed by the knot in his throat, and his voice wavered badly. The sob he had forced back made his palate ache.

Watching Blaine tremble and apologize without even lifting his head, like someone who had committed a grave sin, all three of them felt a wave of confusion. They exchanged glances, each as flustered as the next.

Did we really push him this far?

After a brief, silent exchange of looks, they reached the same conclusion—that they hadn’t. Father turned back with an awkward expression, hesitated several times, then lightly tapped Blaine’s knees.

“No, listen, Blaine. Let’s get one thing straight. We’re not trying to scold you, okay? We’re not trying to pressure you or corner you.”

Blaine, who had been tightly curled in on himself when his knees were tapped, slowly lifted his head at the clear sincerity in Father’s voice. The first thing that stood out were his lashes, completely soaked.

“Ahh….”

Unable to hold them back any longer, tears fell, and seeing that, Holanghee let out a deep sigh and gently wiped the corners of Blaine’s eyes.

“We’re just curious. Did you really take Retai Powder and stay up all night in front of Theo’s house for months? And if you did, why?”

Theo had only told them that Blaine had gone months without sleeping because of Retai Powder. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Blaine staying overnight in front of his house. He knew that was the kind of story that would make someone uncomfortable, and he worried Blaine might be met with hostile looks.

Knowing Theo had deliberately left that part out, they should have pretended not to hear anything. Still, curiosity won out.

Blaine met each of their gazes one by one. Then, hesitantly, he opened his mouth.

“I just… wanted to be with Hyung…. But we can’t be together at night, so… if I waited, I thought I might get to see him first thing in the morning…”

“Waiting all night for months couldn’t have been easy,” Father said.

At that, Blaine’s face flushed slightly.

“I felt happy and excited just thinking about seeing him in the morning…”

Hearing Blaine say that even the waiting itself had been pleasant left Father at a loss for words. She stared at him with hollow eyes, as if asking whether it had really been that good, when Holanghee’s firm voice cut in.

“Even so, you can’t keep hurting your body like that.”

Startled by her slightly angry tone and expression, Blaine nodded with a crestfallen look.

“I’m sorry… I won’t do it anymore.”

He looked genuinely remorseful. Only then did Father and Holanghee relax their expressions and nod, seemingly satisfied.

See? Our kid listens when spoken to…

“Why?”

Noquia broke the flow of conversation with a natural, offhand question. Blaine, blinking in confusion at the incomprehensible query, tilted his head and asked back, still dazed.

“Pardon?”

“Even if it was wrong not to sleep, waiting in front of Theo’s house isn’t really a problem, is it?”

Her absurd statement left everyone momentarily speechless.

“What are you talking about?”

But before long, Father muttered under her breath, frowning deeply, and Noquia turned to look at him.

“That’s not even Theo’s private property. If he wants to sleep on the street, what right does Theo have to stop him? Not every inch of the streets of Ratteon belongs to him.”

“…….”

Thinking about it, she had a point.

“And besides, Blaine isn’t Theo’s property either.”

Again, that was true.

“Look, think about it. If we spent nights in front of Theo’s house, causing a ruckus or throwing drunken parties and ended up dead on the street, do you think Theo would even care?”

Care? Not a chance. He’d leave you to rot till your bones turned white.

Seeing that Father and Holanghee didn’t contradict her, Noquia shrugged as if to say, See?

“Do what you want, but take care of your health. If Theo doesn’t like you waiting in front of his house, then wait somewhere else, right? What’s he gonna do then?”

Blaine listened blankly to Noquia’s words and glanced at Father and Holanghee. Both subtly avoided his gaze. Truth be told, there was no way to argue against Noquia’s logic.

“If he’s worried about you sleeping on the streets, he’ll figure something out. Maybe let you in the house, or register you as a companion.”

Father coughed awkwardly at Noquia’s clincher, while Holanghee quietly returned the Retai Powder to Blaine.

Blaine’s eyes sparkled as he glanced back and forth between the returned Retai Powder and Noquia.

The three of them left the room to give Blaine some space to rest. Father walked down the corridor with light, unburdened steps. Unlike them, Holanghee kept glancing back toward Blaine’s room. Then, her voice tinged with concern, she asked,

“Are you really okay with all this?”

Before she could finish, Father and Noquia stopped walking and turned back to ask in unison,

“With what?”

Holanghee pointed to Blaine’s room.

“What if he overdoes it and ends up getting disliked even more?”

Noquia followed Holanghee’s gesture and stared intently at Blaine’s room. Then she let out a small, wry laugh.

“Dislike him? Look at how adored he is.”

Theo returned to the guild house late in the evening. His heavy, dragging steps suggested that the day had yielded nothing but failures.

After exchanging greetings with the guild members who welcomed him back, he made his way upstairs to Blaine’s room.

Standing before the door, Theo grasped the handle and paused, listening for any sign of movement inside. All was silent. Wondering if Blaine might not be there, he slowly opened the door. The steady rhythm of breathing reached his ears.

Pushing the door open just a little more, Theo saw Blaine lying quietly on the bed, asleep. The angelic calm of his face and the gentle rise and fall of his chest brought a wave of relief. He’s sleeping well.

Swallowing a sigh, Theo stepped into the room carefully, muffling his footsteps as he approached the bedside. Looking down at Blaine’s sleeping face, a soft smile escaped him.

He lingered, unsure whether to wake Blaine or let him rest. But Blaine looked so peaceful that Theo didn’t want to disturb him.

Deciding to let him sleep a little longer, Theo perched carefully on the edge of the bed, leaning against the headboard. Perhaps it was the sound of Blaine’s breathing, or the subtle movements from his restless day, or the toll of a long, exhausting day—it wasn’t long before Theo’s own eyes began to close.

Some time later, Blaine stirred, turning onto his side and bumping into Theo’s leg, waking his eyes. Blinking through the haze, he was startled by the dark shape before him. Instinctively, he sat up, only to realize that the dark form was Theo. His eyes widened in surprise.

Fearing he might wake Theo, Blaine quickly covered his mouth, remaining still. Only once he was certain Theo was still asleep did he slowly lift his upper body and gaze at him.

A smile involuntarily spread across his face. He really came to get me.

A rush of emotions tickled his chest, swelling so full it was almost overwhelming.

Blaine’s eyes fell on Theo’s hand resting on his knee. Tentatively, he placed his own hand over it. The warmth and texture of Theo’s skin radiated through his palm. His cheeks flushed a deep crimson.

Hesitant but unable to resist, Blaine scooted closer, resting his head on Theo’s leg. The firmness of Theo’s thigh met his hair as he gently leaned against him.

Every nerve was on alert, afraid he might wake Theo. Only the pounding of his own heart filled his ears.

Gradually, the tension in Blaine’s body eased as time passed and Theo remained asleep. Feeling reassured, Blaine looked up at Theo’s face one last time before slowly closing his eyes, drifting back into sleep with him.