Healing Castle | TXT Fantasy Novel ft. BTS

22 - Yeonjun

Yeonjun weaves in and out of consciousness multiple times. There's gray, then black, then flashes of white. Aches undulate through his brain, and he would groan if he could--but he doesn't have the energy.

He catches a few lines here and there, some from his team members and others from people he doesn't recognize.

How much longer will he be under?

I'm surprised he's still here, judging by the impact of magic.

I'm so sorry. I never imagined... I just want you to come back—

Because of the haze of medication and physical pain, all of the words begin to blur together into one symphony of white noise. He tries to focus on singular words, doing everything he can to swim to the surface.

He's in the Castle now.

The Castle's rules state that—

The Castle? Yeonjun wonders whether he's making a slow transition into the afterlife. He decides, instead of fighting to wake up, to relax and let his body recover. The people around him speak in quieter tones now, and his members begin to sound like their normal selves instead of soul mates watching their other half perish before their eyes. He wishes he could wake up and encourage them, adding a few dad jokes or cheesy remarks here and there.

It seems like ages before he can finally open his eyes. When he moves his lips, the words finally pierce through the barrier of injury.

"Guys, stop acting so sad." His first words are throaty. "Especially you, Beomgyu. I want you to be perfectly normal when I use a skill on you."

Soon, he's embraced by every member at once, like four honey bees hovering around a particularly sweet flower. Yeonjun tries not to smile, but he ends up failing. He's more than happy to be with his members again, and seeing them beaming lifts his spirits and makes his body feel like a feather.

The only one who isn't fully grinning is Beomgyu. He offers a tentative smile. "Yeonjun, I—"

"Don't say sorry," Yeonjun says. "I heard everything when you thought I was asleep. I swear I was watching a soap opera or something. I don't want you crying over my body ever again. Okay, honeybee?"

The rest of the members laugh at his endearment. It's only when they pull away from him that Yeonjun realizes he's not in their Dongdaemun apartment anymore.

The room seems to come from a makeshift hospital. But the ordinary, stark white walls are nowhere to be found. Instead, he's surrounded by stone brick. Is he in a dungeon? The air is cold and damp, and the lighting comes from torches from sconces near the doorway and far corners.

The room is bare of furniture except for a nightstand, a few plastic chairs, and the bed he's lying on. His arm is hooked up to an IV. Except the liquid isn't exactly clear--it's tinged with a glimmer of blue, the same magic that Taehyun possesses.

Yeah. He's definitely not in Seoul anymore.

Outside, a rush of footsteps scatters his thoughts. It sounds like a doctor is calling out orders to several nurses.

"Where am I?" Yeonjun asks.

Topaz enters at just the right time. "You're at the Resistance's headquarters. The Mushroom Castle. You remember Henesys, right? One of the main towns in MapleStory. Nearby is the Mushroom Castle. We've managed to secure its underground as our temporary base."

Yeonjun nods, but judging by his expression, he must not look very comprehending--because Topaz immediately continues the spiel.

"Anyway, we've managed to connect the Maple World to Seoul through the help of other mages in the Resistance. So for now, you can think of the Castle as an underground base located near Itaewon. And we can hold approximately two thousand. I didn't want you all to find out about our HQ this way. But we can't help it now. So welcome."