Yulli grunted as he opened his eyes, his body protesting in pain and stiffness as though it had just come from a battle zone. His face in the pillow, his blanket draped around him in a loose pile. His head was still lagging behind, slow and fuzzy.
"Wait… since when was I in bed?"
He rubbed his eyes, struggling to put it together last night. His mind was sluggish, but the pressure on his chest was. less.
Then it struck him.
The exam. The failure. The look on the face of all his friends as he stood, waiting for his name—only it was never called.
How he ran, wishing if he went quick enough, he'd be able to outrun the shame.
The manner in which he fell into his mother's arms, no longer capable of holding back the tide of feelings.
His hands shook, brushing against his cheeks. He half-expected them to be damp, but there were no traces of tears left.
Had he actually cried that much?
He let out a gentle sigh. His body was heavy, but his heart was… light in a peculiar way. As if the weight that had been crushing him for years had eased just a bit.
Perhaps crying had not been so bad.
Then—
Thud! Thud!
A knock.
"Yulli, are you awake?"
His breath hitched.
It was his mother's voice. Bright. Cheerful. Healthy.
His stomach churned. Something was not right.
He sat up too quickly, and pain shot through his body like lightning. "Argh!"
He was about to talk when the door opened.
"I'm coming in."
Yulli's blood ran cold.
His mother came in, beaming, standing upright with no difficulty—like she hadn't been in bed last night.
As if she hadn't been dying.
His eyes raked over her form, searching, desperate. No scars. No sign of the infection. No weakening in her posture. She might as well have never been sick in the first place.
His throat constricted. "Mother—!"
She hurried over, kneeling beside his bed. "Yulli! Are you all right?" Her hands were on his face, feeling his forehead, his arms—just as she had done when he was the one who was ill.
But she was not sick anymore.
She was fine.
He seized her wrist, his hands trembling. "What… what's wrong with you?"
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"The marks—the infection—it was spreading last night!" His voice was bitter, as if he feared that by speaking the words aloud, it would happen again.
She cocked her head to the side. "Oh, that? I don't know! You cried, and we both slept, and when I woke up, I felt fine." She held out her arms and smiled. "Stronger, healthier—even getting you to your room wasn't so hard!"
Yulli froze.
"You… carried me?"
"Yes! You were so heavy, by the way," she joked, poking his cheek.
He ought to have laughed. He ought to have joked back. But he couldn't.
Because this wasn't normal. This wasn't possible.
And there she was, holding him, alive, warm, safe.
He had regained his breath, and before he could realize it, he was drawing her into an embrace, nuzzling his face into her shoulder.
"Whoa! Why all of a sudden?" she laughed, hugging him back just as tightly.
His voice was little more than a whisper. "It's nothing. I'm just. glad you're okay."
Because if he had lost her, he wasn't sure what will happened to him.
"Besides, Hare is waiting for you downstairs!"
Yulli blinked, trying to remove the final vestiges of sleep. "Huh? What is she doing here?
His mom shrugged naively. "I don't know~ But you shouldn't keep a girl waiting, you know," she teased, giving him a smirk.
Yulli groaned, passing a hand through his already-disheveled hair. "Great." He stretched his sore body and made his way slowly downstairs.
Sure enough, Hare was sitting upright in the living room, her hands folded neatly together in her lap like a good visitor—except that her eyes were darting around the room like she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Hare?" Yulli exclaimed, half-hoping she would leap.
She rose, almost too quickly, to her feet. "Oh! Yulli!" She coughed, abruptly formal. "I—I stopped by to call. Eliches and Muetaki send their greetings."
Yulli nodded slowly. "I see."
And then silence. Awkward, suffocating, and oppressive.
"We wanted to see how you were," she went on, moving a little. "And, um. apologize. If we, you know. forgot about you."
Yulli brushed it aside. "You don't need to apologize. You two had it coming. I was just. emotional." He paused before saying, "Congratulations, by the way."
"Ah." Hare fidgeted.
And the silence returned.
His mother, who was standing in the stairs, watching, gave a dramatic sigh. Teenagers. She clapped her hands and smiled brightly. "Oh hi, you went all the way down to the slums, huh? Why don't you join us for dinner tonight?"
Hare's eyes grew wide with flattery, but she shook her head immediately. "Oh—no need! I think I'd just be in the way, Miss Charlotte!"
Yulli's mom faked a gasp of shock and immediately filled the gap, both of her hands landing on Hare's shoulders.
"Hehe, just Mother will do—no 'Maam' required, okay? And breathe! You two are making it seem like you're presenting yourselves to royalty or something!" Hare turned red.
"O-okay…" Yulli crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"Well, if you're going to be here, you should probably change... That's. a lot."
Hare blinked. "Huh?" Yulli gestured to her dress—a pink kimono, florally embroidered.
"I'm guessing you've just returned from a family reunion?" She sighed, massaging her temples.
"Yes. Members of the cathedral congratulated me on surviving the exams. It was—" She waved her hand, trying to think of a word. "Exhausting."
His mother then caught Hare's arm. "Perfect! Let me get you some clothes—come along!" Hare barely had time to protest as she was being pulled away.
Yulli just stared as they disappeared down the hall. He exhaled, shaking his head.
"...Huh. Girls."
Yulli went upstairs to change, lingering as he waited for the two to finish. By the time they finally came out of the room, he turned and—
"Huh."
He blinked in surprise at Hare's attire. She had replaced her kimono with a standard yellow skirt, along with a plain white blouse. Her pink ribbon was reassigned, now tying her ponytail back.
"Yellow, surprisingly, suits you," Yulli said distractedly.
Hare's eye twitched. "Ugh."
Before he could even process what just occurred, she puffed and turned away from him, appearing strangely unsatisfied.
"Huh? Hare—?!" He remained standing, confused, as she vanished downstairs.
His mother trailed behind, head-shaking and sighing in the knowing. "Yulli, Yulli, Yulli… You just don't get girls at all, do you?"
She immediately bonked him on the head.
"Ow!" Yulli rubbed the sore area. "What?! I just said yellow would suit her!"
"Exactly," his mother muttered.
"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!"
His mother disregarded his objections and clapped her hands in excitement. "Let's go to the market!"
While they walked, the ground changed, and the condition of their life became apparent.
In contrast to Gonsang, where their institution reigned supreme in luxury and elegance, the slums were a different world altogether. The streets were cracked and uneven, and the air was filled with the faint smell of charred wood and spices.
The structures? A Frankenstein's monster of whatever could be cobbled together—rusted metal sheets, salvaged lumber, and repurposed pieces that had long been discarded by the upper districts.
It was a decrepit, grimy, and at times thoroughly depressing place to call home.
And yet… the people made it work.
Despite the squalor, the slums pulsed with their vitality. Peddlers shouted their best offers on the sidewalk, kids darted through alleys playing with garbage, and elderly people sat on stoops, talking as life went by. It was filthy, disorganized, and being held together by a string—but it was home.
They finally arrived at the market, a bustling strip of shops that dealt in everything from fresh fruit to forged weapons. The area had better days behind it—a big, old sign reading MARKET had a torn 'M,' now dangling at an odd angle so it appeared to read ARKET. A good strong gust of wind would likely make it tumble, but no one appeared too bothered.
As they walked, Yulli saw something…
All were watching.
In particular, they were staring at Hare.
The noble girl had finally noticed and whispered, "Why is everybody staring at me?"
Yulli gazed at her, uncomprehending. "Are you seriously asking me that?"
Hare blinked, thoroughly confused.
"You're literally glowing in this place," Yulli continued, gesturing at the crowd. "The slums are all about dark, earthy tones, and here you are—wearing bright yellow, clean clothes, with flawless skin and a pink ribbon in your hair. You might as well be a walking lantern."
Hare suddenly felt very self-conscious. ".Oh."
Yulli only sighed.
While they walked, scanning the various stalls, Yulli asked his mother, "What are we searching for exactly?"
"Coconut oil!" she sang out. "There's a seller that way—why don't you and Hare go look for it?"
Yulli frowned. "Are you certain you'll be okay by yourself?"
His mother blew out a sigh, setting her hands on her hips. "Who do you think you're addressing?! I've endured more tragedy than you could ever imagine! You think a little shopping at the supermarket is gonna kill me?!"
Yulli blinked. "I mean… okay, sure."
"That's correct!" she nodded proudly.
".Okay then. Come on, Hare," he grumbled, unenthusiastic.
Hare, still self-consciously pulling down her skirt under the pressure of all the staring, followed him hastily.
As they left, Yulli heard his mother laughing to herself. "Kids these days. too easy to mess with."
As they walked through the market, searching for coconut oil, Yulli's interest was caught by a cluster of children playing on the roadside. The children had made a toy flip-flop castle, carefully piling up old flip-flops into a precarious tower. It was a basic game—throw your own flip-flop and attempt to knock it down—but to the children, it was serious business.
One boy wound his arm back, took aim, and hurled his sandal. It hit the castle's roof, and the whole castle collapsed as the others cheered or complained in disappointment.
Yulli laughed. "Oh man… We played that all the time when we were kids."
Hare's eyes grew gentle as she watched. "Yeah… Throwing our sandals at those dumb castles… It seems like a lifetime ago."
There fell a stillness between them—sweet, but bittersweet.
Yulli smiled. "You were such a tomboy then."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Before he could even blink, her fist shot out and plunged into his stomach.
"GUH—" Yulli bent double, holding his stomach. "God—! I was just saying you were harder! What on earth was that for?
Hare puffed, folding her arms. "I'm still tough!"
"Here, here," Yulli muttered, getting up straight. "I was just saying. I'm just not accustomed to seeing you be so… pleasant and shy."
".Oh."
She played with her ponytail, looking away. It was not every day that Hare Sagiri, the acerbic-tongued, self-assured warrior, fidgeted like this.
".I wanted to come and apologize," she eventually confessed. "We all feel guilty, you know. Leaving you like that."
Yulli's smile wavered. He understood what she was saying.
She was talking about the results—of how they all moved forward while he stayed behind.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that as much," he said, brushing it aside.
Hare scowled. "But—"
"I just think being a Hunter suits me better, anyway," Yulli interrupted, staring ahead. "Since Mother's doing fine now, there's no real reason for me to chase that dream anymore."
Hare stopped in her tracks. "...Are you sure about that?"
"You've been working hard for this… for years."
"Yeah, well," Yulli shrugged. "I'll find another job to support my family."
He smiled—a simple, easy smile—but something about it felt wrong.
It wasn't like his usual grins, full of mischief or frustration or tired sarcasm.
This one was just... empty.
Hare clenched her fists but didn't push him. Not now.
Later, maybe. But not now.
They continued walking in silence, exchanging small talk here and there, until they finally got what they needed. With their bags full, they reunited with Yulli's mother and made their way home to cook dinner.