Episode 2
Flash!
When I opened my eyes, the darkness of night was tinged with a faint blue hue.
It must have been early dawn.
‘…….’
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
I jerked upright. Looking around, I realized it wasn’t just the ceiling that was strange.
I was sitting on a bed, glancing about the unfamiliar room.
‘What—what is this?’
Unable to make sense of the situation, fear surged up inside me.
“Eunah ten-ten-mi. (Eunah teacher.)”
I called out with a trembling voice, but there was no answer—no sign of anyone at all.
I wanted to burst into tears, but I held it back.
‘I’ll find teacher.’
With a grunt, I carefully slid off the bed backward.
Swoosh. Thud!
“Ow!”
I slipped while trying to hold onto the blanket and landed squarely on my bottom.
Startled by the sound I’d made, I clapped both hands over my mouth and looked around.
Fortunately, everything was still and quiet.
‘Gotta be careful.’
I pressed my palms to the floor and pushed myself up.
‘Mm.’
Feeling uneasy going empty-handed, I clutched the pillow that had fallen with the blanket tightly to my chest.
The door was already ajar—thankfully, I wouldn’t have to struggle to open it.
“Waaah.”
Beyond the room stretched a long corridor.
Dawn was faintly brightening, but the far end of the hallway was still cloaked in darkness.
I hugged the pillow closer—it was the only thing giving me courage.
I was scared, but I had to find my teacher.
Tap, tap—my tiny footsteps echoed softly down the hall.
“Ten-ten-mi…… (Teacher…….)”
I called in a small voice, but there was no reply.
After wandering aimlessly for a while, I couldn’t hold back any longer—my lips began to tremble.
“Ten-ten-mi eop-tteo. (Teacher’s gone.)”
Had she gotten tired of me and gone somewhere far away?
Eventually, I plopped down right in the middle of the hall, buried my face in the pillow, and began to sob.
Sniffle, sniffle.
How long had I been crying?
“Ah!”
My body suddenly lifted off the ground!
I dropped the pillow I was holding and flailed helplessly.
“What is this?”
A man I didn’t recognize muttered as he held me up by the scruff of my neck.
“N-no jwo-yo! (Put me down!)”
“Be quiet.”
The man frowned, his handsome face hardening, and I hiccuped in fright.
“Who brought you in here?”
“D-dunno……”
“Don’t know?”
I nodded vigorously, but he didn’t seem convinced or inclined to let me go.
Then—
Thud!
A loud crash echoed from somewhere nearby, and without thinking, I clung to the man’s shoulder in terror.
“!”
Caught off guard, the man instinctively supported me with one arm under my bottom.
“What are you—”
“S-scary.”
Shaking all over, I clung to him tightly. He stared at me in disbelief.
“Get down.”
“Uh-uh.”
When I shook my head and held on tighter, he sighed.
“Ha…….”
Then he detached me and set me firmly back on the ground.
‘No!’
Instinctively I reached for him again, but he pushed me away.
“Whoever brought you here must be around. Go back.”
“But……”
“Go to where you were. Go sleep.”
“……”
When I just stood there staring at him blankly, he frowned.
“What are you doing? Go.”
“I don’t know where……”
“I don’t know either.”
Coldly dismissing me, the man turned away—heading toward the source of the earlier noise, perhaps.
‘No!’
Being left alone scared me. I hurried after him with my short legs.
“……”
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
He turned sharply, glaring down at me. I froze, eyes wide.
“……Haa.”
Thankfully, instead of yelling, he just sighed and kept walking.
After waiting a moment, I followed him again—tap-tap-tap-tap.
How long had we walked?
‘I’m tired.’
At last, we reached a huge living room.
There were piles of boxes stacked in the middle.
That must’ve been the source of the earlier crash.
“What’s all this?”
The man who’d brought me muttered around a cigarette hanging from his lips.
A tall, broad-shouldered man checking the boxes turned and replied,
“Cleaning out the storage for the first time in ages. Oh, you.”
He strode closer.
“How many times do I have to tell you—no smoking inside, Hwan.”
“Tch.”
Next to the big man, the one called Hwan looked noticeably younger—more like a boy than a grown man.
The taller man snatched away his cigarette and ruffled his hair playfully.
“You troublemaker as always… huh?”
Then his gaze landed on me.
I was sitting on the floor, breathing hard and dizzy.
“Do you know this kid?”
“Of course. I brought her.”
“You brought her?”
“Yeah, from Seoul National Hospital. I spotted her while managing the Gate incident there.”
“You can’t just pick up a kid because you saw her!”
The man called Hwan just laughed.
“Of course not. But she’s special.”
“Special, how?”
“I’ve told you before—I can sometimes sense Awakeners suffering from Awakening Fever.”
“And you were right this time?”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Hwan scooped me up carefully.
“She’s burning up. How’d she even get this far?”
His eyes were a light brown—there was confusion there, but also concern.
Seeing those eyes, my trembling lips moved on their own.
“Ten-ten-mi…… (Teacher…….)”
“Looking for your teacher? She’s resting right now.”
He soothed me gently, pressing a hand to my forehead.
“Yeah… she’s on fire.”
“Do kids that young even get Awakening Fever?”
“It’s rare, but possible. If she went back to the orphanage like this, she might’ve had an accident during awakening. But she’s too young to hand over to the authorities.”
“So…”
“I decided to take her in.”
Maybe it was because I’d been crying, but my fever got worse. My ears started to ring, and their voices became distant.
“Hey, kid? Kid?”
And then everything went dark.
The child burned with fever as she lay unconscious.
Hwan suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
‘I didn’t realize she was sick…….’
Remembering how she had struggled to keep up with her tiny legs made his stomach twist a little.
As soon as the child collapsed, Shin Jae immediately summoned the healer who lived in the mansion.
“……You woke me for this child?”
The healer, dragged from bed at dawn, didn’t bother hiding his annoyance.
Even after the First Gate opened and Awakeners increased in number, healers were still rare and valuable.
So even someone like Shin Jae—the leader of Changcheon, one of Korea’s top guilds—had to treat them with care.
“Sorry for waking you, but the child collapsed. I had no choice.”
“Where did she even come from?”
Hwan glared at the healer, unable to hide his irritation.
‘Getting an apology from the Guild Master and still questioning the kid’s origin instead of helping?’
Arrogant didn’t even begin to cover it.
Shin Jae ignored the tension and replied calmly,
“She’s under my care for the time being.”
“Tch.”
The healer clicked his tongue openly. In his eyes, Shin Jae was far too soft on children.
But he was only half right. Shin Jae was gentle with kids—but this was the first time he’d ever brought one home himself.
The healer didn’t consider that and just muttered,
“You could’ve woken Dr. Baek, the attending physician, instead of me.”
“Well, it looks like she’s suffering from Awakening Fever.”
“What? Awakening Fever?”
The healer frowned as if hearing nonsense.
“I’ve never heard of a child this young developing Awakening Fever.”
“But I’m sure of it.”
Shin Jae’s tone was calm but firm—leaving no room for doubt.
“This girl is definitely in Awakening Fever, and since you’re an Awakened healer yourself, I thought you’d better examine her.”
“……”
The healer scowled but couldn’t argue with the Guild Master in his own mansion.
“Fine. I’ll have her moved to the infirmary.”
“Step aside. I’ll carry her myself.”
“Go ahead.”
As the healer moved out of the way, Hwan shot him a cold glare. The healer only snorted dismissively.
‘That bastard.’
Shin Jae laid the unconscious Ayoon gently on the infirmary bed.
“……”
“Hmm.”
Even in her sleep, drenched in sweat, her lips moved faintly as if trying to say something.
Shin Jae murmured,
“It’s not normal for Awakening Fever to last this long.”
“Well, they say the longer it lasts, the stronger the Awakener becomes.”
Though the healer said it casually, he clearly didn’t believe she was suffering from Awakening Fever at all.
