The Last Guardian || KTH

17:

That very evening, Hyejin came by unannounced. The first thing she did finding Zeila lying on the bed, face and lips pale and worn out with exhaustion, was hold Taehyung responsible.

Taehyung watched over her, observing her keenly. They weren't alike at all, the Hyejin who they fought and the Hyejin who stood there, worried for Zeila. He even tried getting a glance of the back of her neck, trying to see if the symbol he had seen on their previous meet-up was still engraved onto her skin.

But now he wasn't too sure if he had seen it in the first place.

When Hyejin got too close to Zeila, Taehyung scurried to pull her away, reasoning with her that Zeila needed space.

"You're acting weird, Tae." Hyejin pointed out.

"Just cautious," he whispered to himself and wasn't all too sure Hyejin heard it when she peered at him.

Eventually, Zeila had gotten up, unaware of Hyejins presence. "Uh, my body hurts from all that beating Hyejin gave me."

Then she saw Hyejin blinking, standing stiff and confused.

Reflexively, she backed away. The memories poured down in torrents, still fresh in her mind. The hair on her skin stood alarmed, the ghost of Hyejins sword against her neck, her leg pressed into her chest, all the bruises she left began throbbing in pain, her muscles screaming.

When Taehyung coughed, Zeila realized. "From my dream, I mean."

"Weird dream to have," Hyejin said, then she began scrunching her face, raising her eyebrows. "Especially when you're sick."

"I was so worried you didn't come to class today and you didn't pick up my calls," Hyejin said, turning to look at Taehyung. "Neither did you, Tae!"

For a second Hyejin faltered, frowning, like what she said made no sense. It was true, Taehyung didn't have a phone. But the mystric worked well to cover that fact.

"How long were you sick for?" Hyejin asked, pulling the chair to sit beside Zeila. "Was it after the library?"

Zeila's eyes widened at that.

"I knew it!" Hyejin exclaimed, without giving Zeila a chance to reply. "The place was too old and too broken with no sense of hygiene, when I went there. And your immune system wasn't the best either when you were a kid."

Zeila almost smiled. She was worried she had to think of a reason to calm Hyejin down.

"I started coughing when I went there, and knew I'd fall sick when I came back," Zeila said. Taehyung tried his best not to snicker.

Hyejin touched her forehead. "Your temperature is down."

Zeila pushed her hand away. "Taehyung gave me some medicine." She feigned a smile, remembering how she stopped herself from lurching the contents out. "It was absolutely delicious."

Hyejin smiled, satisfied that Taehyung took care of Zeila. "Wouldn't have expected any less from Tae."

"He does love you enough to save the world," Hyejin remarked. Her words immediately sparked tension in the room, lighting up awkwardness like a candle.

Taehyung forced a laugh, not oblivious to Zeila turning her head around.

"Sure, sure," Taehyung said, feeding into Hyejins belief.

"Thank you for coming, Hyejin." Zeila let a feeble smile grow. It was hard looking at Hyejin now; with Taehyung, his presence was a constant reminder of his death, something that had already worn her over. But with Hyejin, it was a profound reminder of her weakness. Of her responsibility. Of everything she was not, everything she lost and everyone she hurt. Everyone she would hurt.