By Zephyria 
Kim Si-baek held him, as he was both taller and heavier. Tae-un rubbed his face against Kim Si-baek’s cheek and neck, whining.
“So many magical beasts came out. They poured out in numbers I couldn’t even count, it was total chaos… I didn’t even know if my arms and legs were attached properly while I was moving.”
“Mm-hmm, is that so?”
“It would have been terrible if Ga-eun hadn’t protected me.”
Seo Gae-un, who happened to be listening to this spoiled behavior from the side, gaped. What made it more absurd was that he wasn’t lying.
Tae-un had hunted the Portal Keeper of the outer core, and it would have been difficult to clear without him, but she was indeed the only one who had hunted the rest of the magical beast swarm. It was only a few seconds ago that Tae-un had messed up his hair even more, insisting that he should look like he’d been through a chaotic brawl.
However, she didn’t have the energy to interfere in someone else’s romantic pursuits (presumed), so Seo Gae-un flopped down onto the ground. Kim Si-baek, who had been patting Tae-un, handed her a canteen.
“Thank you.”
Expressing her gratitude, Seo Gae-un drank the water casually. Then, something strange happened. Until a moment ago, she had been exhausted from overworking her entire body, but as the cool water slid down her throat, vitality suddenly surged.
No matter how much she possessed the body of an S-class hunter, she had spent over seven hours hunting magical beasts alone without proper rest. Though she had no wounds, fatigue had piled up in layers, feeling as if every muscle in her body were torn and every joint shattered, yet drinking the water made that exhaustion vanish.
Puzzled, she moved her limbs and found that her body truly felt much lighter. In fact, she felt refreshed, as if she had slept deeply and then come out of a sauna and a full-body massage.
“Hey, you okay? Looking at Tae’s state, it’s obvious he dumped everything on you.”
“I’m fine?”
“Stop bluffing.”
“No, I’m really fine? Why am I fine…”
Unaware that Kim Si-baek had subtly consecrated the water in the canteen to turn it into holy water before giving it to her, she simply tilted her head in confusion.
After a brief rest, the meeting resumed, with Kim Si-baek joining them under the pretext of supporting the lethargic Tae-un. It began with Seo Gae-un’s astonished voice.
“Over seven hours have passed on our side, but only one hour has passed here?”
From what she heard, it took a long time to reach the outer core, but it only took ten minutes to return. Gwak Yun-sang clicked his tongue.
“The time difference is larger than expected. Shall we rest for two more hours before departing?”
“Strangely, my body feels perfectly fine. How about you, Guild Master?”
“I’m exhausted. I walked for seven hours… so I hope hyung will…”
Before he could finish saying, ‘I hope hyung keeps supporting me,’ Kim Si-baek used his index finger to gently press the lips of Tae-un, who was leaning against him and hugging his shoulder from behind. To him, the mouth was simply the closest part of Tae-un’s body, but to those around them, it looked like something else entirely.
A faint light, barely visible, seeped through Tae-un’s lips into his body, and the physical fatigue was cleanly washed away.
“You’re okay now, right?”
“Hyung was my fatigue recovery medicine…”
Kim Si-baek only smiled at Tae-un’s shy response, his earlobes flushing red, but the faces of the childhood friends—who had grown up seeing everything there was to see since preschool and were practically siblings—twisted further. No one wants to witness the romantic antics of their brothers. Moreover, that loathsome aegyo.
Gwak Yun-sang, forcing himself to look away, cleared his throat and resumed the meeting.
“You two—no, Hunter Seo Gae-un is a key asset, so please tell me immediately if it seems too taxing. How was the outer core?”
Since she couldn’t hide this part, Seo Gae-un explained the outer core’s Portal Keeper.
“I was barely managing to defend against the building debris and keep from falling through the collapsed floors, and as for finding and attacking the core, that was entirely the Guil—”
“Seo Gae-un.”
“…Yes, I did it all. I found the core and smashed it.”
‘The Guild Master must have cleared it.’
Gwak Yun-sang, who had perfectly adapted in a short amount of time, finished organizing the thoughts.
“Did you check the interior of the company building?”
“Only the lobby was similar. The host of the portal doesn’t seem to be a member of our guild or someone who visits frequently.”
Although it reflected reality, scenes unknown to the host were bound to differ from the real world.
‘Even so, it must be related to the Seven Guild, right?’
Gwak Yun-sang didn’t know the exact timing of when the Id Portal opened, but along with the three hunters of the 7777 Guild, the building up to the outer core belonged to the guild. At this point, he couldn’t help but conclude that the host was someone related to the 7777 Guild to some extent.
‘If we can’t find the host, I’ll have to request cooperation from the Guild Master… but will he?’
If things went south, Tae-un would likely be extremely uncooperative and slip away under the pretext of being a victim himself, and previously there would have been no way around it… Gwak Yun-sang’s eyes turned toward Kim Si-baek, who still had Tae-un clinging to him. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but Tae-un smiled gently, his eyes curving. It gave him goosebumps.
Anyway, it would be solved if he persuaded Kim Si-baek instead of Tae-un.
Feeling relieved, Gwak Yun-sang clapped his hands, suggesting they start preparing to depart.
The distance to the department store remained the same, but the result of clearing the outer core was definitely different. The group, who had spent over three hours stagnating in the fog before clearing the outer core, arrived at the department store in just 30 minutes this time. The faces of the civilians, who had been able to come this far relatively safely, were clearly tense.
The hunters from the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency, who had scouted the perimeter of the department store first, reported.
“There are no entrances other than the main front door.”
“Not even the underground parking lot?”
“It was sealed off.”
Would the deepest point, where the core likely resided, be the top floor or the bottom floor of the department store? Amidst these deliberations, Gwak Yun-sang led the group inside. As soon as they touched the heavy glass doors, they suddenly turned into a maw with rows of jagged teeth and swung wide open, so Pi Min-hyeong split it in half.
Unlike the 7777 Guild building, the department store lobby was a direct replica of reality. According to the employees, it was materialized so identically that even to their eyes, seeing it every day, nothing felt out of place.
“Mister, I can see the pop-up store that started this week over there!”
Bae Jihan, who had become close with Kim Si-baek during his absence and was making Tae-un sensitive, chattered beside Kim Si-baek.
It was then.
Rumble!
A massive sound carrying heavy weight plummeted from the high ceiling. The object that fell from the ceiling slammed into the floor, instantly bisecting the lobby.
“Hyung! Si-baek hyung!”
Kim Si-baek, Bae Jihan, and the others—separated from Tae-un and the rest.
The Id Portal, possessing clear malice, thus split the group into two.
Before they could even react, the descending object became a giant wall rising in the lobby. It looked similar to a blast shutter, but it couldn’t possibly be one. There was no reason to install a blast shutter that would seal off the lobby in such an unbalanced way.
Fortunately, no one was injured by being crushed beneath it, but Tae-un’s face turned pale.
“Hyung!”
His power surged forward and hit the wall, but far from breaking, there wasn’t even a sign of a crack. Pi Min-hyeong hurriedly grabbed Tae-un’s arm.
“Hey, hey. Calm down! I know you’re worried, but isn’t your hyung an S-class hunter? This isn’t his first Id Portal…”
“Hyung is weak against kids!”
“Huh?”
“Right now, a guy younger than me is alone with hyung!”
“….”
Ah, that was what he was worried about.
Pi Min-hyeong frowned deeply and let go of Tae-un’s arm. In the awkward, sour atmosphere, Tae-un took a few breaths after venting his anger on the wall.
Roughly sweeping back his hair, he placed a hand on the coat draped over his shoulders.
“Seo Gae-un, Pi Min-hyeong. Escort him. We’re clearing this via the fastest route.”
As the wall descended, darkness took over. Nothing could be seen ahead.
“Hieeek!”
Terrified, Bae Jihan blindly clung to Kim Si-baek beside him. Even in this situation, a calm, unchanged voice was heard from above.
“Jihan-gun, can you calm down?”
“I-I-It’s just too d-dark… The arm I’m holding is yours, right?!”
The dense darkness seemed to flicker for a moment. A cluster of light softly circled the surroundings, and it became transparently bright. Amidst the gentle radiance illuminating the darkness, Kim Si-baek smiled warmly.
“I am here, Jihan-gun. I will make sure we can get out of here, so do not worry.”
Bae Jihan had no interest in older people, especially those the age of his parents, but he was certain that if Kim Si-baek had been a woman, he would have fallen for him in this moment.