Suppressing the doubts in his mind under Suzy’s watchful gaze, Mark scooped up a spoonful of canned meat. Once he took that first bite, there was no stopping him.
He was starving. Ever since leaving home, not a single drop of water or morsel of food had passed his lips.
He made short work of the canned meat before turning his attention to the instant noodles. The moment he peeled back the lid, a rich, savory aroma filled the air, making even Suzy swallow her breath. Though she wasn’t particularly hungry, the smell was undeniably tempting.
Mark was already devouring the noodles at breakneck speed. His movements were anything but refined—he ate almost like a ravenous beast, completely lacking grace.
Suzy found it a bit hard to watch, but she understood. The poor guy had likely gone without food for a long time. When starvation sets in, eating like that was only natural.
In under five minutes, he had completely polished off the bucket of noodles and the canned meat. Yet, he still looked like he could go for more.
Though he didn’t say anything, Suzy took the initiative to ask, "Do you want more?"
Mark offered her a slightly surprised look, momentarily unsure how to respond. The truth was, he wasn’t full yet, but he felt too embarrassed to keep consuming her supplies.
Reading his inner struggle, Suzy didn’t press the question. Instead, she retrieved a few more cans and snacks from the drawer, dumping them in front of him all at once.
"Eat," she said. "We can talk after you’re full."
"Okay," Mark replied, reaching for a piece of bread and tearing open the wrapper.
As if suddenly realizing something, he lowered his head and asked timidly, "Could... could I have a blanket?"
Suzy tossed him a blanket, finding the situation both funny and exasperating. So this guy only just realized he’s not wearing any clothes. Still, it was a relief that he didn’t seem to mind her having stripped him down earlier.
Without breaking stride, Mark wiped out the rest of the food in front of him.
Once every last bite was gone, a long-awaited feeling of fullness settled in his stomach, and he narrowed his eyes in contentment.
Across from him, Suzy took a sip of warm water and got straight to the point.
"Mark."
Mark sat up straight and looked at her. His pitch-black eyes appeared dark and glistening under the warm interior light, making him look remarkably docile.
"Yeah?"
"How did you end up here?" Suzy asked. "Were you planning on going to the base?"
"Yeah," he murmured.
"What about your sister? Why isn’t she with you?" she pushed further.
Sister?
Mark lowered his eyes in thought. Soon, a familiar face drifted into his mind. "She didn’t want to go to the base. She stayed back at home."
"Is she alright?"
Mark shook his head. "She’s fine."
Hearing that, Suzy breathed a silent sigh of relief. If the woman was safe and she had now saved her brother, her debt to them could be considered fully settled. The realization made her feel considerably lighter.
She asked a few more questions about his sister and his current situation. Once she verified everything was fine, she brought the conversation to a close.
"It’s getting late," Suzy said, glancing at her wristwatch. "Get some rest. I’ll drop you off at the base tomorrow night."
It was only a ten-kilometer drive back to the base from here. Since she had a vehicle, giving him a ride was no trouble at all.
"Thank you."
As the night grew deeper, Mark remained lying on the bed at the rear of the RV.
Suzy laid out a thin blanket over the driver’s seat, leaned back into the chair, and closed her eyes. Before long, her breathing turned steady and even.
Mark, however, remained wide awake.
Lying on his side wrapped in the blanket, he quietly stared toward the window. The curtain wasn’t drawn completely shut, leaving a narrow slit. He blinked into the dark, entirely devoid of sleep.
His body was still adjusting.
Adjusting to this... absence of pain.
He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last lay down like this without agony. Before, every time he rested, he could feel that thing slithering slowly beneath his skin like a subtle serpent coiled inside his blood vessels. Even in unconsciousness, its presence remained palpable, as if long fused with his very soul—no matter which host body he inhabited.
Yet right now, it was gone.
"Strange... how strange..." Mark whispered under his breath, his voice barely audible.
His hands rested at his sides, clenching into fists and relaxing repeatedly, his face a picture of absolute bewilderment.
It was far too strange.
The curse inside his body... had genuinely vanished.
Having coexisted with it for so long, Mark understood the subtle shifts of his own body better than anyone. That damned curse—the very thing he had tried every conceivable method to purge—was completely gone.
It had disappeared so abruptly that he hadn’t even had time to process it.
He stared blankly at the ceiling of the RV, momentarily lost.
For as long as he could remember, his sole purpose had been to rid himself of that curse, no matter the cost. Now that it had suddenly vanished, he found himself floundering in a strange state of aimless confusion.
So... why?
What on earth caused the curse in my body to disappear?
Mark carefully traced back through every event since his arrival in this world.
He remembered vividly that before stepping into this new world, the curse was still firmly rooted inside him. That entity had tormented him without pause, its potency growing increasingly volatile due to their prolonged symbiosis. On multiple occasions, his consciousness had nearly been swallowed whole by it.
By all logic, a curse of that severity should have been infinitely harder to eradicate. Yet here he was, having done nothing more than sleep a bit, and it was gone.
The very thorn in his side that had plagued him for so long had vanished... It was almost laughable.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his head snapped in Suzy’s direction.
Could it be her?!
Mark scoured his memories—if there was a single variable in this entire equation, it was Suzy.
After the curse flared up, it was Suzy who saved him. And upon this very awakening, the curse inside him was gone.
Looking at it this way, the answer was strikingly obvious.
Just who on earth was this woman to possess medicine capable of breaking a curse like that?
This really was... fascinating.
Beyond fascinating!
As a thought crossed his mind, a bizarre smile slowly crept onto his lips. The sharp curve on his exquisitely pale face gave him an ethereal, sinister look—like a demon lurking in the dark night, breathing eerie malice.
If other people found out about this... what would happen then?
He found himself actually looking forward to it.
The night grew deeper.
Fortunately, after Mark dealt with those two scavengers earlier, no one else came near the RV to harass them.
Suzy slept soundly until dawn.
When the first ray of morning light flickered across the sky, she opened her eyes. The very first thing she did was pull aside the divider curtain between the driver’s cab and the main cabin, glancing toward the rear.
Mark appeared to still be fast asleep. There was no noise coming from the back; the entire vehicle was dead quiet.
Suzy stepped through the divider and walked up to his bed.
When she drew back the curtain, sure enough, Mark was still resting with his eyes tightly shut and his lips pressed into a thin line.
She had no intention of disturbing him and was just about to drop the curtain back down when Mark suddenly opened his eyes.
Their gazes locked unexpectedly, making Suzy feel a bit awkward.
"Morning."
She felt a bizarre pang of guilt, as if she had caught herself interrupting someone’s sweet dream.
Once Mark recognized her, the faint guard in his eyes slowly dissolved, replaced by a polite, gentle smile.
"Good morning."
"Did I wake you? Do you want to sleep a bit longer?" she offered politely.
Mark was already sitting up. "...No."