Chapter 7: The Lee Family’s Pet (7)

　　Tears welled in his eyes, freezing into tiny crystals on his lashes.

　　Her chest tightened. He’s in so much pain.

　　She found herself leaning toward him. Mr. Joo saw her and roared, "You! What are you doing? Don’t go near him! We don’t know what will happen if your body, contaminated by a demon beast, touches him!"

　　Dana knew. As a Contaminant, she was forbidden from touching Doha. But she couldn’t just stand by and watch.

　　Suddenly, she could see it: a white energy spreading through Doha’s body at a terrifying speed. It moved with the fluid grace of a living parasite, writhing violently around his heart. She had never seen anything like it.

　　More urgent than understanding what it was the fact that the more the energy raged, the more Doha suffered. It morphed into sharp points, moving erratically as if trying to devour him. It couldn’t be allowed to run wild.

　　Doha’s breath hitched. Unable to bear his suffering any longer, Dana impulsively grabbed his convulsing hand. It was a blind, protective instinct, the same one that had led her to put a sleeping pill in his tea when he was overexerting himself.

　　The warmth of her skin against his frozen flesh was a violently stimulating shock. Doha groaned.

　　Terrified that something would go wrong and he would be caught in the crossfire, Mr. Joo screamed curses at Dana, but he only stomped his feet, knowing how dangerous it was to touch someone during an implantation. Money was important, but his life was more so.

　　Just then, Doha’s eyelids fluttered. His gaze, though weak, refocused.

　　"Young Master, don’t lose consciousness. You can’t die," Dana whispered desperately, her reflection captured in his brown eyes.

　　Doha kept his eyes open, staring only at her as the ice crystal was absorbed. He suffered countless seizures as its energy swept through him, but Dana never left his side, not even as her own hand grew cold.

　　The moment she, too, finally succumbed to the encroaching chill and lost consciousness, the crystal’s rampaging energy grew calm.

　　As Dana collapsed, Doha carefully pulled her into an embrace. He staggered for a moment from the shock of the assimilation but quickly regained his composed posture. The turbulent energy in the air settled.

　　"Hah, what in the world is she? She’s not a cryokinetic, yet she didn’t freeze? Is it because she’s a Contaminant? We almost had a disaster on our hands because of that lowly thing, Young Master."

　　Doha started to lay her on the bed, but seeing the frozen sheets, he spread out a fresh blanket instead. As he gently placed her down, Mr. Joo, annoyed at being ignored, spoke with discontent. "Congratulations. You actually absorbed the ice crystal. Something hunters much older than you have failed to do."

　　Doha looked up. His pale skin seemed to glow. He smirked, and Mr. Joo flinched. Doha had always possessed a frail, ethereal beauty, but now there was a strange new magnetism to him that made it impossible to look away. He had the air of a single red flower blooming alone in a vast, snow-covered field.

　　"Good work, Mr. Joo."

　　"Y-yes. Once you’ve recovered, you’ll need to be re-evaluated."

　　Doha gave a cursory nod, as if that were the least of his concerns, his gaze returning to Dana’s pale lips.

　　"…You keep doing dangerous things."

　　Everything she did was for him. But this time had been truly dangerous. She could have been frozen alive. For Doha, who had regained his senses thanks to her warmth, she was a fascinating mystery.

　　After a moment’s hesitation, he carefully hooked his finger around hers. As he’d expected, it was warm.

* * *

　　"Why would you do such a thing? I heard from Mr. Joo that you called for that filthy Contaminant at such a critical moment. Are you trying to make some kind of statement?" Director Jeong pressed her temples, complaining of a headache. Her son had never acted this way before.

　　Doha let his mother’s words, which painted his actions as teenage rebellion, wash over him. His gaze was fixed on the world outside the window, where the gardener was scolding Dana. Of course, the quick-witted girl was unlikely to have made any real mistake. Her only crime, perhaps, was being a Contaminant.

　　"Your father is furious, you know."

　　Director Jeong’s muttering barely registered. Doha smiled, watching Dana’s expressionless face as she bowed to the gardener.

　　Why did he keep the filthy Contaminant around? They only asked because they were ignorant. To Doha, Dana was an interesting card to hold, its potential unknown, which only made it more exciting.

　　"I can’t tell you how shocked I was to hear that the boy who was supposed to be training in an ice cave had participated in a Gate battle. I suppose she feels like a spoil of war to you. But still, one must maintain a certain standard. If it were something like a demon beast’s horn, I could understand…"

　　She’s far more interesting than a demon beast’s horn.

　　‘So, you’re my Guide.’ Did I hear him right? I must have.

　　"Where did you find this filthy child?"

　　"I was caught up in a Gate battle on my way back."

　　"Don’t tell me…"

　　"Yes. I saved her."

　　A truth laced with a lie. In reality, he had barely participated. It was more accurate to say he couldn’t. After watching his attendant get torn in half by a demon beast’s claws, he hid in a safe place. Doha was smart and pragmatic. He had no intention of sacrificing his life to save others, nor did he challenge the impossible. There was no meaning in becoming a hero after death.

　　The world was divided into the lucky and the unlucky. It was just bad luck that a Gate of such terrifying magnitude had opened in that small town. The townspeople were unlucky. And the people from BM Group who had tried to save them were fools.

　　Doha had watched with bated breath as the people from BM Group—the very people he and his family despised—fought against a colossal demon beast. The one who had distinguished himself most was the smallest boy among them.

　　Mujin Park.

　　Doha’s face hardened. But no matter how skilled that bastard was, he was unlucky all the same. What good was it to defeat the gatekeeper if he was too exhausted to fight off the other demon beasts? He had even lost his prize.

　　Spoils of war. That was right. Dana had been his spoil of war. Unfortunately, she had become a useless Contaminant.

　　Still, one never knew.

　　Even if he asks for her, I’ll never give her back.

　　He had power now, too. Doha clenched his fist, feeling the icy energy flowing through his veins. But as it turned out, he needn’t have worried. News arrived that Mujin Park couldn’t remember the details of the battle due to his injuries.

　　Doha clicked his tongue. "Well, that’s no fun."

　　And for a time, he forgot all about it.

* * *

　　Upon learning that Doha had safely absorbed the ice crystal, the Lee family immediately invited the overseas expert who had first measured his rank. The reply stated it would take some time due to a busy schedule, but with Mr. Joo’s assurance that Doha was now an A-rank Esper, re-evaluation or not, a festive mood had already settled over Yangundang.

　　Of course, that mood didn’t always last.

　　CRASH!

　　"You touched him in that dangerous situation! If something had gone wrong, this would be the least of your worries!"

　　A small body was thrown into the corner of the study. President Lee, his large frame heaving like a wild boar, roared at her. Dana wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and nodded.

　　"Get the hell back to your room!"

　　She stumbled out of the study, her entire body aching. Her first thought wasn’t for herself, but for Doha. She had been dragged away by President Lee the moment she awoke and hadn’t even had a chance to see him.

　　He could have at least shown his face first…

　　A wracking cough escaped her, as if she were vomiting blood. It continued for a long time. She was bedridden for the rest of the day and the next. Even buried under blankets, she felt a deep, unshakable chill, as if she were trapped in an ice cave.

　　When she finally managed to get up, she went looking for Doha, only to be told by President Lee’s secretary that he had left with Mr. Joo for training. The ice crystal’s power was so immense that he needed special training to control it.

　　Wiping her nose, Dana glanced out the window at the pitch-black night.

　　Has it only been a week?

　　The secluded training Mr. Joo had mentioned was supposed to last six months.

　　I hope he comes back soon.

　　A sneeze so powerful it felt like her throat would tear ripped through her. She wrapped her coat tightly around herself. She just had to get better before he returned.

　　Three months later, Doha came back, far earlier than expected.

* * *

　　"Are you okay?"

　　How many times had she asked that question? More often than "Have you eaten?" it seemed.

　　Lying in bed, Doha nodded. His handsome face was creased like crumpled paper, the lines etched so deeply they seemed permanent.

　　"Yes."

　　At his hoarse voice, Dana clenched her fists. She imagined it was how a parent felt watching their sick child, wishing they could take the illness upon themselves. What did ice crystals or special training matter now? No one had even noticed how badly his health had deteriorated.

　　The family was horrified when Mr. Joo carried him in.

　　"He managed to absorb the ice crystal, but drawing out its power was another matter entirely," Mr. Joo had explained in a timid voice after being struck by the furious President Lee.

　　"The more he uses the crystal’s power, the more his body will collapse."