The Citadel of Bingyeon (Ice Smoke)

Episode 3: Gaze

I held the warm ceramic mug in both hands, letting its heat sink deep into my frozen skin as I carefully took a sip of the sweet, nutty medicinal broth. After swallowing that warmth down my throat, I looked up at the three men standing tightly around the mattress.
I held the warm ceramic mug in both hands, letting its heat sink deep into my frozen skin as I carefully took a sip of the sweet, nutty medicinal broth. After swallowing that warmth down my throat, I looked up at the three men standing tightly around the mattress.

"Seoha."

In the low voice I let out, the faint traces left by the harsh frontier frost still lingered lightly.

"Seoha……."

Chan-yeon softly traced and repeated that syllable at the corner of his lips. The moment his low, gentle voice rang through the quiet stone room, my name seemed to flow beautifully, like a sweet line of song. His sun-bright smile, dazzling enough to blind, blossomed once again across his face.

"All right, Seoha. Under the royal healer's strict orders, you can't take even one step out of this room until we judge that your body has fully recovered. It's a thorough doctor's order."
"And that's our order too."

Hyun-jin finally uncrossed his arms and leaned forward toward the bed again to add on. The embarrassed flush that had colored his cheeks had already softened away, but that uniquely puppy-like, fretful, worried burst of energy was still fully charged through every nerve.

"The healer said you need absolute rest, but honestly, we're planning to extend the scope of that order a little. You have to stay completely hidden inside the commander-nim's private office here, where even the guards' patrols can't reach."

Ji-seok said nothing, but he showed deep agreement with a firm, stubborn nod. He had carefully adjusted his hearing aid device so he could block out every other sound in the fortress and focus entirely on the quiet space between us. His large hand was still warmly wrapping mine, and his kind gesture, softly and rhythmically rubbing the back of my knuckles, was an unspoken, certain promise that there was absolutely no need for worry.

I took turns looking at the three people busily taking care of me and sharply caught the slight but heavy tension flowing beneath their kindness. With my head slightly tilted, I quietly asked in a perfectly natural tone.
"Is it dangerous for me to be here?"

Chan-yeon's expression changed in an instant in his eyes. The playful leader's mask vanished completely, and in its place there was a rough, protective, heavy seriousness. He reached out and gently set his hand on my shoulder, and his thumb, braced against the fabric of the thick velvet blanket, carried a solid strength meant to reassure me.

"An outsider falling through a dangerously wavering rift in space-time is something that's never happened even once in this kingdom's history."

His low murmur dropped another octave, carrying a raw, intense gravity.

"The Supreme Council and the high officials of the fortress are... consumed by severe paranoia. If they become aware of your existence before we can fully identify the mechanism of how on earth you penetrated into this world, they'll regard you as a massive hostile force threatening the kingdom."
"Exactly."

Hyun-jin playfully let dark wisps of smoke trail around the cuff of his shirt, and continued in a low, urgent whisper as if plotting a secret conspiracy.

"While you properly play the role of a patient and rest comfortably, the three of us will secretly search every inch of the frontier border. Before anyone else can detect this magical trace, we have to find the exact coordinates where you fell and completely close that rift in reality."

Ji-seok caught my gaze as he stubbornly and firmly squeezed my hand, and the bright, dazzling smile blooming across his face wiped away the heavy tension wandering around the room in an instant. He pointed at Chan-yeon and Hyun-jin with his fingers, then made a motion toward me with both hands as if building a solid shield. No matter what cruel plan the Supreme Council or the high officials came up with, it was a gentle declaration that the three of them would become an unyielding wall standing in front of me and protect me so no danger could touch me.

"So for now, just rest."

Chan-yeon quietly lowered his head and gently took the empty mug from my hands, setting it down on the bedside table. In his dark eyes as he looked up at me was a deep, precious affection that felt like it could melt my heart. Once again, he smoothly slid his hand behind my waist and supported the weight of my body, helping me lie comfortably beneath the thick velvet blanket in one seamless motion without any friction.

"We'll protect you perfectly, Seoha. Just trust us."

As Chan-yeon firmly and stubbornly tucked the edges of the blanket around my shoulders, Hyun-jin busily adjusted the pillow height with tenderness, and Ji-seok never let go of the warm pulse of the hand holding mine. In that moment, the terrifying mysteries of this unfamiliar world drifted far away into the background static. Even though I was an outsider who had fallen into the middle of a cruel court full of countless dangers, now, warmly wrapped in the perfect and absolute devotion of those three men, I felt safer than I ever had in my life.