A quiet hour between flesh and silence.
On the other hand, Lan Kansai stirred awake.
The morning light was soft, but it caught the side of his face like a hand nudging him gently out of sleep. He blinked, eyes slow to focus—and the first thing he saw made him still completely.
Lan Suji.
Asleep.
Slumped near the edge of the bed, his head resting just barely near Kansai's. His silver hair had fallen forward, covering half of his face like a veil, and his slender fingers clutched something in his palm—something Kansai couldn't quite see.
Kansai blinked harder, then sat up slightly.
"He… was here the whole night?"
He whispered it to himself, rubbing the blur from his vision. His gaze dropped down to his arm—perfectly bandaged. Clean, snug. The wrapping had Suji's precision written all over it.
His eyes then trailed back to the figure beside the bed… and just as he leaned forward to glimpse the thing in Suji's grasp—
—Suji's eyes snapped open.
Cold. Sharp. Like a winter wind slicing straight through Kansai's soul.
Kansai's hand jerked back instinctively behind him, as if caught doing something forbidden.
"I… g-good morning, Lan Suji. You… didn't sleep in your room?"
He tried to sound casual, respectful, even friendly—but the words tumbled awkwardly out of his dry throat.
Suji slowly sat upright. His back straightened almost immediately, as if his spine recognized the weight of his rank even before he was fully awake. He looked around briefly, clearly surprised to find himself here as well.
But then, without saying a single word, he rose to his feet.
His face was slightly flushed—perhaps from the sleep—but his gaze was unreadable. Still clutching the object tightly in his palm, he turned and walked out of the room.
"Lan Su—"
Kansai's hand rose half-heartedly, but the other boy was already gone. Vanished through the doorway like mist. He let his hand drop and fell back into his pillow with a sigh.
"Was that… cold ignorance? The kind only high-ranking people do?"
He murmured it into the silence, though his mind was already spiraling.
His thoughts reached back—to last night.
Into Flashback....
"Um, Lan Suji… I could bandage it myself. You don't have to—It's not really your task, you know…"
Kansai's voice was soft, unsure, a little hoarse from the fever simmering under his skin. He gave a weak smile, trying to ease the tension.
But Suji didn't reply.
He simply continued his work—quiet, meticulous. The way his fingers moved over Kansai's wounded arm carried a strange gentleness, even as his expression stayed cold.
Suji—the Second Grandmaster of the Yin Lan Clan, a name spoken with pride and precision—bandaging the wounds of someone far beneath his station. It didn't make sense. Grandmasters usually kept their distance, and when they didn't, it was for orders, training, or punishment.
But Suji had been different lately.
Even more attentive. Even more distant. Even more… sudden.
"Now you'll teach me what I'll do or not?"
Suji's voice cut through the silence like a blade, calm but harsh.
"Just rest. Don't talk too much. Already lost half a pound of flesh from that Crawn Ribbon's blow… and now you want to lose your last bit of energy too?"
His words were scolding, but Kansai heard the hidden thread of concern beneath them.
Suji hated being told no. If he offered or craved something and it was rejected—directly or indirectly—he took it seriously. Too seriously...far from body and close to soul
Kansai tried to speak again, but Suji shot him a glare that froze his tongue mid-breath.
So he sighed, looking away toward the bookshelf by the corner.
"Everyone treats me like a child… like I shouldn't speak unless spoken to. Even the kids—Utsushi and Kyoren—get to act like real cultivators. Master Suiren gives them important tasks. And I…"
He shut his thoughts and forced another breath, deeper this time, borderline dramatic—but Suji's next look silenced him again like a slap.
Kansai coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat, trying to distract himself by watching Suji work. His mind drifted, brooding.
"I'm being scolded by the 2nd Grandmaster for losing half a pound of flesh by the fox king ? Just my luck. Everyone else was fine. No one else got hurt this bad. It's all Kuradome's son's fault… If he hadn't jumped in the way—"
"—then Kuradome wouldn't have gone mad. He can't even heal right now, and still threw himself into danger. What was he thinking?! And that freaking glare--- "
He clenched his jaw, but Suji's voice interrupted his spiral again.
"There. Your wound's too deep to heal with spiritual power alone. Keep it bandaged properly. Don't remove it without my permission."
Kansai blinked and looked down at the wrapping. It was flawless. Elegant. The edges folded with precision. Suji moved to pack away the supplies into a polished marble first-aid box, the kind one might mistake for an artifact case.
Kansai stared.
Suji looked up again...
Caught staring, Kansai panicked and blurted— like God, how does he always knows if anyone is starting at him with pr without reason ?
"Uh… that box is… beautiful. Never seen a first-aid kit richer than me. It's living in a marble palace…"
Silence.
Suji stared. The awkwardness hovered like a mist...like it wasn't enough to save him from this situation .
"S-sorry! Sorry! Suji… kumsun!"
Kansai bowed quickly, ears burning. That probably sounded far too casual for their difference in status.
But Suji surprised him.
"No need."
His voice was calm again. The usual frost had melted just a little.
Kansai looked up. Suji's face was oddly serene. Still unreadable—but like a peaceful sea on a cloudy day.
"I'm a little bored of all the regular respect " Suji added. "Sometimes, disrespect makes the respect that follows more valuable. You were lucky tonight."
Kansai gulped , thought :
" Lucky? I could've been scrubbing washroom floors right now—or stuck copying sect rules until sunrise…"
He exhaled with a relieved sigh.
"T-thank you."
Suji nodded once, then stood, first-aid box in hand.
"I'll be back after returning this. Decide what you'll eat for dinner. Not what you want—what you should eat in your current state."
Kansai nodded, trying to look as composed as possible. Suji turned, robe sweeping softly behind him, and disappeared down the hall.
His mind drifted back to present...
Now, alone in the present morning light, Kansai lay back down with a small groan.
"Did I… even eat last night?" he murmured, brow furrowed. "Or did I just pass out before dinner?"
His mind felt foggy, uncooperative. His thoughts scrambled like loose papers in wind.
"Maybe I'm overusing my brain. Always memorizing techniques, rituals, rules… Maybe that's why I've started forgetting normal things…"
He rubbed his forehead and exhaled.
"At this rate, I'll forget my own name next."
His eyelids fluttered closed again. His body demanded rest, and this time—he didn't fight it.
The room fell quiet once more.
Only the bandage remained as proof of what had passed.
And perhaps… the faint warmth on the side of his bed, where someone had been.