Chapter 101
Noah’s gaze turned to Julianna.
[ Do you really think it’s normal to suddenly bleed this much? No matter how stimulating it was—… Mmph! ]
Noah blushed fiercely and clamped her hand over Julianna’s mouth. After some time passed, Noah finally calmed down enough for Julianna to continue speaking.
[ Ahem, anyway! What I’m saying is! This guy is definitely hiding something else! Whether it’s an illness, a wound…! Ah! Look at this! ]
As Julianna pointed at Lian’s upper body, Noah’s face turned bright red. Her eyes darted around in confusion, prompting Julianna to click her tongue in annoyance.
[ It’s not like this is your first time seeing a man’s body, so why are you acting like this? ]
Just as Julianna said, it wasn’t Noah’s first time seeing a man’s body. Living in disguise as a man, she had unintentionally caught sight of guys casually stripping off their shirts.
“How is this the same as back then…!”
Even as she said that, Noah couldn’t figure out why she was so flustered. She was worried about Lian, yet her face was burning up. Julianna, noticing Noah’s reaction, smirked like a cat but quickly switched to a more serious expression.
[ You’re just too embarrassed to look closely, huh? ]
Julianna pointed her index finger at Lian’s sternum.
[ All the scars that were here are completely gone. ]
“..!”
Noah, who had been frantically darting her eyes around, now focused on Lian’s upper body. Just as Julianna said, Lian’s torso showed off some sexy lean muscles, with not a scar in sight.
“How is this possible…?”
[ You didn’t hear anything about the scars disappearing, right? ]
“No, I hadn’t….”
Julianna let out a small sigh before continuing.
[ Ha, I can’t believe he’s still hiding things from us. ]
Julianna’s sigh struck Noah’s heart like an arrow. No matter how hard she tried to protect him, Lian was always busy hiding his wounds.
Noah shook her head slightly to shake off the sinking feeling. She no longer wanted to be trapped in despair like before.
‘If he’s hiding something, then I’ll just have to find out.’
Why did Lian keep his secrets?
Noah thought it was due to ‘trust’ and ‘faith.’ If Lian saw her as someone he could rely on, he would have willingly shared his wounds and pain.
That didn’t mean Lian didn’t trust Noah. His faith and trust stemmed from a different kind of relationship.
‘It’s like the trust and faith a parent has while caring for a child…’
Just like a parent who wants to shield their child from their hardships, wishing only to show them the good, Lian also kept his wounds hidden.
Gazing at Lian’s peacefully sleeping face, Noah made a firm resolution within herself.
‘This time, I’ll definitely protect him.’
As Noah solidified that resolve…
Knock, knock, creak!
With a knock, the door swung open. Noah immediately recognized who had barged in.
“Hyung, are you in…?”
Nero, who entered without hesitation since they were siblings, froze at the scene before him.
Noah, about to scold Nero for barging in, became flustered instead by Nero’s frozen state—like he had turned to stone.
“Nero, what’s going on…?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What..?”
Bang!
Before Noah could even react, Nero slammed the door shut and bolted out. Noah stood there awkwardly, hand raised, looking at the door, while Julianna was secretly giggling, covering her mouth.
Still confused about the situation, Noah stared blankly at the door. Then, from outside, Nero’s voice rang out.
“Lily! Hyung, no, Nuna finally laid Lian hyung down flat!”
“What, wha, what?!”
Startled, Noah spun around to look at Lian. That’s when she realized the situation—Lian was lying shirtless on the bed, and she was half-dressed and disheveled from her panic.
Only now did it dawn on Noah how easily a misunderstanding could arise.
“Wait! Nero, wait!”
Her face flush with embarrassment, Noah flailed as she scrambled off the bed.
Thud!
“Ouch…!”
In her haste, she stumbled and fell to the floor. Groaning softly, Noah rushed to the door and tried to open it, but Nero had already disappeared.
She wanted to sprint out and drag Nero back immediately, but she couldn’t leave Lian alone like that. Noah quickly turned to Julianna.
“Julianna! I’m going to go get Lily, so please take care of Lian for me!”
Julianna instantly understood that Noah’s command included ‘handle Nero too.’
“Nero!!”
Slam.
As Noah dashed out of the room, Julianna waved lightly and looked back at Lian.
[ Sigh… It’s going to take ages to see grandchildren at this rate. ]
Julianna pouted but diligently stayed by Lian’s side, just as Noah had instructed.
*
“Where am I?”
I found myself floating in a strangely white and pink world.
“What’s that…?”
At the edge of my vision was something big and peachy—like something straight out of a fairy tale.
“It’s so pretty.”
In a dazed state, my thoughts flowed freely. The pale pink peach floated by, gliding like it was drifting in water.
“Huh…?”
As if there were more and more peaches, they began to multiply. It felt like I was swimming through a river of peaches. Naturally, I reached out to touch one.
“Soft…”
It felt squishy, like a kid’s toy. I squeezed it while tilting my head in confusion.
“Is this really not a peach?”
I mumbled absentmindedly, peering closely at the peach. Yes, it definitely wasn’t a peach—
I woke up from that dream.
*
“Ah.”
With a short gasp, Lian’s eyes flew open. He recalled the scenes from his dream with a dazed expression. It was a hell that felt heavenly.
‘I thought I was going to be crushed…’
The peaches that had crowded around him suddenly came crashing down like waves, threatening to crush him.
‘I survived because they were soft.’
If those peaches had been hard, he would have been crushed flat. That thought left him blinking thoughtlessly as he began to recognize his surroundings.
“This place…”
Lian slowly began piecing together his last memories.
‘I came to Noah’s room upon Lily’s request, to hold her off, and then…’
As he fumbled through the darkness of his memory, he suddenly recalled ‘that memory’ and bolted upright, covering his mouth with his hand. More precisely, he covered his nose.
If he had been just a second late, he would’ve had another nosebleed. With a flushed face, Lian looked around aimlessly.
“Oppa! Don’t move suddenly!”
Lily, having just arrived to check on Lian, grabbed his arm, alarm etched on her face. Seeing Lian covering his mouth as if stifling something, she turned pale.
“Oppa, are you okay? Are you going to cough up blood again?”
“…?”
Lian, still spinning from ‘that memory,’ regained his senses thanks to Lily’s words. Raising his gaze, he caught sight of Nero, Noah, and Lily looking back at him with worried expressions.
‘What happened?’
Lian’s eyes flicked to Nero, whose cheeks were puffed up. His hair was a wild mess, as if he’d just had a tussle.
He wanted to ask Nero what had happened, but the words wouldn’t come out. The reason? Noah was standing right next to Nero.
‘Ugh… I can’t even look at her.’
The gag filter had been activated, and a cloud of vapor obscured Lian’s view. The problem? Lian and Noah were uncomfortably close.
He had seen something he shouldn’t and was now in a panic.
For someone who had lived in a world of comedy that pretty much censored itself, this was far too stimulating!
Why beat around the bush? For the first time, Lian perceived Noah as a ‘woman,’ and suddenly, he was left speechless. He felt like a man who had captured the love of a unicorn.
‘What’s this? Did I just hear something incredibly awful?’
Lian felt a strange dissatisfaction, as if he had just been insulted, and cocked his head, only to be jolted back to reality by Lily’s careful touch.
The atmosphere had grown heavy while Lian was lost in thought. But shifting his focus calmed the storm brewing in his head, and he lifted his hands to show he was okay.
“Guys, I—”
“Are you really in a lot of pain?”
“Ugh..!”
Before he could finish, Noah stomped closer, filling his vision. Though Lian didn’t get a nosebleed due to her disguising as a man, he ended up choking instead.
“Cough, cough!”
“Oppa!”
“Lian..!!”
“Hyung!”
As Lian coughed like he was about to spit blood, panicked voices echoed all around him. His red face appeared to be from coughing, but deep down, he knew it was all due to his earlier thoughts.
Keeping his head down, Lian raised a hand and spoke in a strained voice.
“I—I’m fine. Really, truly… ugh, cough, cough..!”
Too embarrassed to look Noah in the eye, Lian kept his hand over his mouth and avoided raising his head.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine how his actions looked to everyone else.
End of Chapter.
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