in sickness and in death (totcf)

roses catch dust over time

After calming down, Cale gasped as Choi Han swept him up in his arms, carrying him effortlessly down the hill.

"Hey! Choi Han, wait—"

Choi Han stopped and stood still, staring at Cale worrisomely.

"Is this okay?" he asked, shifting Cale in his arms. "You were stumbling earlier. Are you in pain? Is this uncomfortable?"

Cale sighed at the innocent expression on the swordmaster's face. "No, Choi Han. I'm just saying I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself."

Choi Han frowned and held his liege more securely in his arms.

"Cale-nim..." Choi Han glared at the ground as if it had called his mother a bitch. "Your legs aren't working perfectly. Let me carry you until then." He pleaded.

Cale sighed and gave up. He was too tired to argue since he had been awake for quite some time and his 'sickness' from before he 'died' was starting to catch up on him. Cale closed his eyes and leaned against Choi Han's chest, feeling the steady rise and fall as they walked.

The swordmaster's warmth was comforting, and Cale couldn't help but appreciate it when he noticed his temperature was dropping. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, knowing that he was in good hands with Choi Han by his side.

—Can you hear me?—Cale, child, how are you feeling? Super Rock asked worrisomely.

And while Cale would never admit it, he almost cried when he heard the voice in his suddenly not so empty head.

—Ah, shit! He's getting colder! Cheapskate cursed.

—Sob I-I warned you guys that i-it could happen! Crybaby kept breaking out into sobs between his words. Sob, sob! I'll—sob t-try to heal you quickly, Cale!

—Anyone else wanna kill a certain XXX someone? Crazy Kid fumed. Possibly the same person who dared to kill our Cale in the future!

—But we don't know who that is. Thief's husky voice reasoned as Glutton spoke up.

—I'm hangry. 😡 But anyway, we were so confused when we got sealed for a moment! It's good to be back.

(Isn't Glutton just the cutest?!🥺)

The tension that hummed with killing intent inside Cale's head was too much for him to bear, so he bit his lip. Heck, what was this, a thriller movie?

Choi Han frowned as he looked down and saw that Cale's complexion was getting paler by the second. The redhead was also biting his lips, and Choi Han took that as a sign to call out to him.

"Cale-nim?"

But Cale was too busy chatting with the friends in his head to notice.

"Where have you guys been this entire time?"

—I have a theory. Thief concurred. What if, since we are bound to your soul, we died and became a ghost inside your head along with you?

—Woah... Cheapskate gushed. So we're together with you even after death? That's neat!

—Ahem. Super Rock coughed pointedly at the fire-attribute power.

—I mean, it's neat that we still get to be together in the future! The whole dying thing is still... awful. Cheapskate corrected himself.

"Yeah." Cale agreed aloud. "Although I still hate it, dying seems a little less bad when..."