“……Ah.”

Blinking, Nari opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. In a dimly lit room with the fluorescent lights off, something soft was covering his body.

Looking down, Nari noticed a navy-blue blanket draped over him and realized he was lying on a fluffy pillow. The Lude avatar had already been released.

The room was dark, with no lights on, and through an unfamiliar window, the sky had already turned pitch black. Confused, Nari abruptly sat up.

“What the… Where am I?! Whose house is this?!”

Unsure how long he had been unconscious, where he was, or when the avatar had been released, Nari frantically looked for the essential modern tool – his phone. The time was already pointing to seven in the evening.

“What? It’s already evening?! Is it because I went underground…?”

Aware that time flowed differently in the Deep World, Nari hadn’t expected it to have passed so much. He hurriedly tried to get out of bed but…

“Ouch!!!”

Tripping over the blanket, Nari tumbled ungracefully to the floor.

“Ugh, great timing with the warning… really.”

Groaning from the pain in his knees, Nari curled up. Suddenly, the door burst open, letting light into the dim bedroom.

“Nari? Are you awake?”

Before Nari could guess who it was, a familiar gentle voice reached him. The fluorescent light from the doorway made his blonde hair shine.

“Ah.”

“Yikes, are you okay?! Your knee looks hurt!”

Yi Hyeon rushed to Nari and held his knee. As he murmured something, a warm golden aura spread over Nari’s knee.

“Is this your house?”

“Yes, you collapsed there, so I brought you home immediately. I thought about taking you to your place, but I was worried about the paparazzi.”

“I see.”

As Nari watched the light emanating from his knee, he softly muttered.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect to collapse like that.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. Are you feeling any other discomfort? Dizziness or anything? It’s because of the reporters, right? I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier.”

Yi Hyeon’s worried expression brought his hand to Nari’s forehead. Feeling the large, warm hand, Nari instinctively lowered his eyes, understanding the meaning of what the agent of chaos had said about Yi Hyeon influencing him.

“Yeah. I think I had a panic attack then. It’s nothing serious. Thanks for taking care of me. And take your hand away.”

“Oh! Yes!”

Nari sighed and pushed Yi Hyeon’s hand away, then got up. He put on a hoodie hanging neatly on a clothes hanger.

“You’re leaving already? At least have dinner…”

“No, I need to go now.”

“Nari, is something wrong? Why are you leaving so suddenly…”

Yi Hyeon’s blue eyes looked concerned as he grabbed Nari’s hand, about to open a dimensional rift.

“No, it’s nothing. Just tired, so don’t worry about it…”

“Don’t keep saying that. I am concerned. I’m human too. How can I not care? It’s about you, Nari.”

Nari’s expression turned grim.

“My issue?”

Nari yelled out abruptly, turning around. Yi Hyeon flinched at the sudden action, but Nari continued without regard.

“Why are you doing this to me?! Are you betting on me or something? Did the guild master of Sungjeon instruct you?”

“A bet?! What are you talking about… Did you hear something strange, Nari?”

“You thought I didn’t know?!”
Nari was pouring out speculations that seemed almost paranoid. It was understandable, as her anxiety had been escalating recently.

Nari eventually covered her face with her hands. Her back trembled as she closed her eyes, not wanting to face a harsh reality. With a shaky voice, she managed to speak.

“You’re the nephew of the Sungjeon Guild Master, right? And your parents were the former Guild Masters of Sungjeon. They died because of my mom!”

Nari had once thought his kindness was just fleeting interest or sympathy.

But after learning Yi Hyeon’s true identity, her thoughts changed. His parents had died in a way related to Nari’s mother, yet he stayed by her side, which made Nari feel more than just perplexed – she felt suspicious.

“Why are you still nice to me then? Did you think I wouldn’t notice? That I would just bury it forever?”

Tears began to fall from Nari’s eyes, unable to contain her repressed emotions.

“What, like some contract with the Archangel that can be circumvented, right? I don’t know, if you too are being nice to me for that reason, it’ll drive me insane!!”

She had spent every day anxiously, fearing she might do something to earn his dislike, compounded by the guilt about his parents. Nari shook her head and said,

“You know it. I didn’t just casually trust you. It was the last time I decided to trust someone. If you betray me too, I’ll never be able to get back up again!!”

The thought of him suddenly leaving her, just like someone did seven years ago, was unbearable. She could withstand it once, but not twice.