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You avoided Khun whenever possible. It wasn’t that you didn’t like him. You liked him a lot actually. You weren’t sure if it was in a romantic or platonic way, but there was a definite pull. While joking around with the other teammates flowed easily like water, it was different with Khun. As soon as you joined the team and looked into his cold blue eyes you knew that he had the power to wreck you. Your attraction to him scared you. It wasn’t something you could control and it intimidated you. So you decided to keep your distance from Khun out of self-preservation. “Go ahead and call me a coward,” y/n thought to herself, “but there’s only one reason I’m climbing this tower and I can’t let my emotions compromise that.”
It was only a couple days after this sentiment that you witnessed Khun receive a blow to the head. Your eyes widened and you froze, unsure of how to react. Here was this boy you looked up to lying lifeless on the ground. If you had barely talked to him, why did it feel as though someone had ripped something precious away from you? As the world around you moves in slow motion, you recall how the opponent mentioned someone named Maria, the way Khun’s expression changed into one you’d never seen from him, and how the opponent took advantage of that one moment, driving the club into Khun’s head with a horrible thunk. You turn your head around.
And suddenly you are running to protect your teammate’s defenseless body. Logically, your team could not afford to lose Khun, but you knew there was a deeper reason driving you as well.
Coming between Khun and his opponent, the mysterious man gives you a malicious smile before running toward you with his knife. Dodging his attacks, you search tirelessly for an opening. When he goes for an attack straight to the center of your chest, knife aimed at your heart, a quick “found it.” sounds your thoughts. Right before the knife can make contact with you, you use both hands to clamp down on his wrists, effectively stopping the momentum and trapping him. The tides had turned, and with that, you deliver a powerful kick to the man’s chest, knocking him into the ground several feet away from you. You take the opportunity to pull back the bow you are carrying, narrowing your gaze before sending an arrow into his body. He is motionless on the ground and the fight is yours. You stand there breathing in the quiet air for a second before turning around to scoop Khun up and search for a safe place to wait out the rest of the round.
You find an enclosed area at the bottom of a cliff, you make sure it is safe enough before sinking down into the ground. This will do. You check your pocket. With only thirty minutes left, the probability of anyone finding you two before time was up was little to none. You breathe a sigh of relief. You guys should be able to safely wait out the rest of the test. Turning your attention back to Khun, you lift his head and check his injury with gentle hands. Positioned right on the back of his head, you’re sure that Khun will have a sizable lump on his head by tomorrow, but at least there was no bleeding. You move your hands from his head to his neck, pressing two fingers to his neck and lean your ear down to his face to check his pulse and breathing, both of which are thankfully still there. Slowly, you lie his head back on the ground and move away, folding your legs and resting your chin on your knees. There wasn’t much else you could do but wait. You take a look at Khun’s pale, exhausted face, patches of dirt smearing his skin. What kind of storm was raging under that peaceful face? His eyebrows seemed to be furrowed in pain and oh, you realize he’s lying right on his injury. You quickly inch back toward him, taking his head and placing it on your lap, hoping it gives him some semblance of comfort. You dust some rocks out of his hair and find yourself staring down at his face. He looks so different like this, almost child-like. You surprise yourself with the tears that land on Khun’s face. There’s a slight breeze, cooling the trail of wetness on your cheeks. You realize how much the pain of betrayal must have warped him, forced him to be strong. You turn your eyes up toward the blue sky. You weren’t crying because Khun was in danger of dying. Everyone who had made it this far up the tower knew how likely death was. You just wished he had been able to smile more freely, but that had been stolen from him.
“Are you... crying?” You heard Khun say. Your eyes snap open at his voice. As you turn your head, you are met with a bolt of electric blue staring into you. You jolt, immediately removing your hand from his head. It’s funny how in a situation as dire as a life or death, you can still feel embarrassment.
“Uh...” you begin, quickly wiping away your tears. Staring back down, his owl-like eyes are looking up at you blankly. “Yes,” you say dumbly. There is a silence between the two of you and you go from embarrassed to mortified when you realize his face is wet from your tears. You feel your face heat up. Crap, who the fuck wants to wake up covered in body fluids? “Sorry for getting your face wet. Here, I’ll get that for you,” you say, avoiding eye contact. You rub his face roughly with your sleeve out of embarrassment.
“Agh!” Khun winced.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” you said. God, it was so much easier to take care of him when he was unconscious. You take a breath and collect yourself. Just focus.
“How are you feeling?” You ask, dabbing away the last bit of wetness. Khun brings a hand to his eyes, still reeling from your unintentional elbow attack.
“I feel like shit, but I’m alive. Thank you for saving me, y/n,” Khun says.
“Of course, we can’t afford to lose the brain of the team,” you smiled down at him and it was true. You really were glad he was alive. “You’re alright here right? You’re not uncomfortable?” you ask, blushing a bit because he was still on your lap. It’s subtle, but you notice Khun a change in Khun’s expression as well. However, it’s gone in the next instant as he closes his eyes.
“No, this is fine,” Khun says nonchalantly with closed eyes before opening them back up at you with a serious look. “We still have to pass this floor, so don’t let me hold you back from going back out to fight. How much time is left?” You pull up the pocket watch for the both of you to see.
“Twenty minutes to go,” you say, looking to Khun, “So-”
“We’re safe,” Khun nods in agreement. You sigh in relief. You quietly note that Khun doesn’t probe about the safety of the location. It’s a sign that he trusts your abilities, which is telling after the messy family situation you had just heard from the knife-bearing man. In the silence you stare down at his icy blue hair and how it cascades down your thigh. You felt the need to address it.
“I’m sorry about what happened to you with your family,” you say, “it seems that you’ve had a difficult life, Khun.” Khun looks up at you and you see something click. “Eh~ is that why you were crying?” he says with a hint of a smile. Your eyebrow twitches. Was he making fun of you?
Khun waves his hand and says in a bored tone, “If you’re one of the great families, those are just the responsibilities you’re born with.”
You frown. He was acting nonchalant but you remember that expression he had on his face earlier, as though he had been slapped in the face. Maybe he was used to royal duties but being betrayed by someone who mattered to you was different. Your long brown hair has since slipped from its ponytail, forming a curtain of sorts between the two of you. You are about to probe deeper when you remember the promise you made to yourself before Khun got injured. Don’t compromise the plan, a voice whispers in your head. You quickly pull away, not even realizing that you were leaning into him and ask in a chatty tone, “Have you ever wished you weren’t born a member of one of the great families? All that responsibility sounds like torture,” You say. Sure, you had diverged the topic, but your words did come from a place of truth. You valued freedom over a lot of things and being a part of a great family sounded like being born into somebody else’s game that you had no interest in playing. Khun pauses for a moment, thinking about it.
“Oh no, I would’ve been bored to death,” Khun says with a smile, “Besides, it’s not torture if you’re playing by your own rules.” You let out a chuckle but shivers run down your back.
“I can’t imagine anything worse than being bored,” you say sarcastically, holding a concussed Khun in the middle of a death match. You see him smirk.
“Boredom isn’t the worst thing, but I’d still rather die than be bored,” khun says, eyes shifting to yours, his voice is playful but the look in his eyes is serious. Your head tilts in confusion.
“Boredom can’t be that bad, if you’re dead there’s no chance for anything,” you say a little exasperated.
“If I’m bored with my life, that’s the same as not living at all,” Khun says easily in response. You are quietly blown away by the power behind Khun’s words and resolve. You think about the self-induced burden both of you had put on each other going up the tower. Both of you could’ve lived a peaceful life but you knew there was something powerful driving the two of you. Something so important that you can’t imagine not going after it, even if the price was death. While you had acknowledged it, khun had embraced it, throwing all notions of safety out the window.
“I never thought about it like that,” was all you could mutter in response. Despite him being right there, Khun has never felt more far away.
10 minutes left. The two of you sink into a comfortable silence. Looking for something to do with your hands you begin braiding your hair. Khun lies there with his eyes closed. A sleeping panther... you think to yourself.
“So is there a reason why you’re avoiding me?” Khun asks suddenly. Your eyes widen as a nervous smile paints your face. How the hell was he so damn perceptive all the time?
“If your head hurts shouldn’t you not be thinking?” You say.
“If I'm the team leader, shouldn’t I know why my teammate doesn’t trust me?” Khun rebuttals airily. You sigh. This guy was going to destroy you one day. You didn’t see a point in lying to Khun, not that you were much of a liar in the first place. You liked being honest with people, but maybe not with yourself.
“It’s just… you’re kind of intimidating,” you admit, looking away. There’s a pause.
“I’m intimidating?” Khun questions. Are you kidding me.
“Yeah.. you are,” you say. Khun still looks confused.
“You’re just as powerful as I am, y/n,” Khun says simply. Your heart leaps a little at the praise, but you feel conflicted. Sure, technically you both had the same level of power, but Khun had this ability to commit to things, to dive in headfirst. You could only wish to have that level of confidence.
“I guess,” you say, scratching your head.
“What is this, an inferiority complex?” Khun says with a smirk.
“No, I just avoid things I like! I’m going up the tower, so I can’t afford to get hurt or distracted,” you say eyebrows furrowed. There’s an unreadable expression on Khun’s face.
“If you like something, you should go after it. I think you can handle it,” Khun says, “Also you like me?” You flick him in the forehead, to which his hands fly to his forehead along with a string of curses. You can’t help but smile down at him, defeated.
“Of course I do,” you say. You see Khun’s eyes widen in surprise. It felt nice to catch Mr. Brain off guard. “And you’re a surprisingly good person, Khun.” You say with a big smile.
“Oi, what do you mean surprisingly-” Khun says.
“The world needs more people like you,” you say gently, thinking back to your past. You give his head a soft pat and relish in the blank look on his face. “If that answers your question, you should rest. I’ve got it from here.” Wow look at you! So responsible. You would give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back but you’re a bit distracted by the way Khun’s eyes flutter shut into your touch as he mutters, “Alright.” You look down at him with a hint of a blush on your cheeks. Everything about you feels warm, from your gaze to your cheeks to your heart. You don’t turn away this time, but decide to relish in the gentle heat, that soft sunshine.