Chapter 32: To fall and rise again
"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked behind him.
Rong Ye blinked slowly, recognizing the owner of the voice immediately. His lungs burned and his breath came in ragged gasps, but he sighed heavily nonetheless. He didn’t feel like looking.
"No..." he said.
He heard footsteps approaching cautiously over the shards of glass scattered on the floor. Then, a body knelt beside him. Eun-woo’s hands rested on Rong Ye’s neck, right where the warm blood was still oozing from the claws Arthur had dug in.
"Stop pretending to care." Rong Ye glanced at him.
"Sorry... I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to help you."
Rong Ye narrowed his eyes. A bitter laugh escaped his throat, choked with exertion. Blood still soaked his neck, and the icy wetness was beginning to chill his bones, but the apology felt unbearably ironic.
"Really?" He snorted contemptuously. "You didn’t arrive in time, you didn’t choose me as your Guide... and now you look at me like I hurt you. Stop looking at me with pity."
Eun-woo shifted his gaze to the gaping wounds on Rong Ye’s neck. Blood continued to trickle down in slow lines, staining his chest and dyeing the hem of his torn shirt. He was breathing heavily, and though he tried to maintain his composure, every gasp made it clear that he was consumed by pain.
Without saying anything, Eun-woo stood up and looked around. He walked through the wreckage of the smashed window, carefully dodging the glass, until he found an old rag hanging on the counter. It wasn’t ideal, but it was clean and dry.
He took it and quickly returned to Rong Ye, knelt beside him, and with trembling hands pressed the cloth against the wound on his neck.