The Last Guardian || KTH

16:

Zeila had passed out into Taehyung's arms the moment they set foot inside her house. Her skin was burning when he touched her forehead, making him rush her to bed. Taehyung shifted uncomfortably under the weight of knowing the reason behind her condition.

He had understood it the minute Hyejin was used from Zeila's memories—snatched and molded into a monster strung under his control. The truth was unveiled when he learned that Ji-wook used the two places etched deep in her mind to build his subcus dimension.

And that only meant one thing.

Ji-wook was connected to her magic. Clinked to her, a phenomenon where two living guardians share their magic with each other before passing it on to the other. And this knowledge brought fear upon him, because the only conclusion he could draw from this was the guardians pendant being under Ji-wooks control.

The entire night Taehyung stayed awake, fending to her needs, using his own magic to build a shield for her, making herbs to alleviate her conditions. He remembered Elena describing how it felt the first time she clinked and all the remedies the nine witches had given to her.

But most importantly, Elena had her family by her side.

And Zeila had none. This wrenched his heart, even though he knew he once was a part of her life. But nothing would make up to the spiritual comfort a family would give.

So Taehyung did his best, not resting even when dawn broke and exhaustion lulled him to sleep. Needless to say, his mind that had raced with thoughts also helped in keeping him up the entire night. He weighed all the options they had now.

Perhaps it was then he began to doze off, still seated on the chair beside Zeila, arms folded and head dangling to the side. It was also then that Zeila woke up from her sleep, wincing in pain.

She opened her eyes to the sight of Taehyung, then the bandages wrapped around her wounds and the ointments and herbs kept on the table.

Zeila felt discomfort clawing her throat.  Knowing Taehyung had stayed up all night, carefully tending to her made her feel more guilt than gratitude. Hyejins words rang clear in her mind. 

She was fooling herself, even though there was nothing between them. But the thought that she felt comfortable around him merely because of his stark resemblance to her Taehyung and not because of who he really was began filling her up with guilt.

But the answers always ended the same: does it really matter in the end? He's here to train and protect you and you're here to learn and protect the world. He's not him, you barely know him.

Zeila cautiously moved towards him, stretching out her arms to push his hair to the side.

This little movement stirred Taehyung awake and he pulled her hand reflexively.

Zeila tumbled, leaning forward with her hand now against his chest and his eyes preening into hers. She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. Then the guilt subsided whatever she felt. "Uh, good morning."

Taehyung let go of her hand, faking a cough. "You're up."

"Yeah," she said.

"How are you feeling?" Taehyung asked.

Zeila stretched her sides. "Like shit."

Taehyung leaned forward without any caution. His hand reached up to her forehead. "Your fever is gone."

Zeila jerked back at once, touching her cheeks. "Looks like it."

"Any pain?"

Zeila twisted to her sides, regretting it the minute her chest began burning. "A little," she replied, biting down on any further information. He had already done enough for her, she thought.