The Impact of the Author's Intervention on a Blank Page - Chapter 17
At that scream, Kwon Ja-hyun released the fire dragon he had been twisting in both hands as punishment. The now-tattered fire dragon began expressing its opinion more cautiously than before.
=I may still lack knowledge about the human realm, but this seems certain. You’re worried about something now, aren’t you?=
“W-what would I be worried about?”
=Hmm… That your ‘brother’ is seriously obsessed with you?=
Hearing those words, Ja-hyun clutched his head. He had summoned this creature specifically because it wouldn’t gossip about such matters, but it proved futile. They weren’t on the same wavelength.
“No, that’s not it. Sure, I might have some tendencies like that, but I’m not so blind that I can’t tell the difference… God, this is frustrating.”
Ja-hyun knew his brother wasn’t the type to restrict him, doubt him, or control every little thing he did. More precisely, his brother had declared he didn’t want to be that kind of person.
<Ja-hyun-ah, I want you to do whatever you want to do.>
Of course, his brother had attached trackers to his clothes and gifted him a custom-made watch containing priceless magical tracking circuits. But he hadn’t hidden these actions, nor were they born from distrust.
They were more like totems or talismans for his brother’s peace of mind.
True, when Ja-hyun had returned injured, his brother had taken him to a deserted island… but since he could escape from there anytime he wanted, it wasn’t imprisonment by any means.
There were times when his brother would delete any detailed media coverage about him, but that wasn’t a big deal. When people who didn’t know they were dating tried to set up meetings for Ja-hyun, his brother would pretend not to mind while being clearly displeased… but Ja-hyun would react the same way.
<Do what you want to do. Go where you want to go.>
<That’s the version of you I wished for. Becoming the strongest and most magnificent person, earning everyone’s respect… things like that.>
His brother had once mentioned in passing that he was glad Ja-hyun was stronger and more resilient than himself.
That was his brother’s true heart. The implication being that getting angry just because Ja-hyun was out of sight for a moment in the morning, or acting forcefully, would be unlike his brother.
“Haah…”
=Why not speak to him directly if it bothers you so much? He’s not someone beyond reasoning with. Though he may be different on the inside than the outside, I remember he’s always been favorable towards you…=
“Well… I don’t really want to go that far… It’s awkward to bring up.”
Though frustrated, Ja-hyun couldn’t share all the detailed incidents with his brother to the fire dragon. These were deeply personal matters, and individually, none of them seemed particularly strange.
For instance, that morning when he’d left his deeply sleeping brother to take a shower, only to find him silently waiting outside when he emerged.
Or how his brother’s eyes had turned pitch black in the darkness as he called out “Kwon Ja-hyun” in a low voice, striding forward. How he hadn’t stopped there but suddenly grabbed and dragged him to the bedroom. When Ja-hyun had asked bewilderedly what was wrong, his brother had pressed his lips tight, examining him with an unsettling gaze.
Ja-hyun had embraced his brother then, asking if he was alright, worried that his physically weaker and more susceptible-to-illness brother might have fallen sick. Only after a long while did his brother’s expression soften as he apologized, saying “I’m sorry, I had a nightmare.”
His brother would return to normal after a few hours of such strange behavior. It felt awkward to question him about his morning actions when he wore his usual gentle, caring expression.
‘At first, I thought he was just going through something personal, so I tried to cheer him up.’
But that wasn’t it….
To make matters worse, his brother’s symptoms grew more severe as time passed. It wasn’t long before Ja-hyun vaguely realized these symptoms were connected to some kind of ‘nightmare.’
Of course, this discovery wasn’t purely coincidental.
[Breaking news: Last night, a massive black form approximately 1km wide was reported between Olympic Bridge and Jamsil Bridge, causing disturbance in the area. No tunnel wavelengths were detected at the location, and no monster appearances were confirmed.]
Though his brother’s physical body remained fragile, he was far from an ordinary human who merely practiced sorcery. For Ja-hyun’s sake, he had become this world’s sub-administrator.
However, even for a sub-administrator, when his brother began having such nightmares, the world was affected. His brother’s nightmares gradually synchronized with this world, taking physical form.
[…While no damages were reported, numerous citizens claim to have witnessed the phenomenon. Local residents are anxious about whether this could be a precursor to large-scale non-standard tunnels or spatial curses. Various government departments and agencies have launched investigations regarding this incident….]
