By Zephyria 
✽ ✽ ✽
“Has it already been five days?”
Because the connection between Biyendwe and the mak slecht remained, albeit faintly, his divine power had recovered, but it was slower than expected. The place where he had slept for five days was not a hospital, but a penthouse.
Since he had been receiving high-nutrient IV fluids, he felt a bit lethargic, but his physical condition wasn’t bad. No quests had been randomly generated while he was unconscious, so the Earth hadn’t been destroyed.
“They said you were recovering smoothly, so I checked you out. I thought it would be more comfortable for you to rest at home, Hyung. But that bird is still sleeping; is it okay?”
“It will take a bit more time because it needs to recover using divine power refined through me.”
Caressing Biyendwe’s tiny avatar, which fit perfectly in the palm of his hand, Kim Si-baek waved the other hand that was being held by Tae-un.
“How long are you going to keep holding my hand?”
“I just find it fascinating all over again that my hand has grown larger than yours, Hyung.”
“I guess so. Your hand really did get big.”
“Other places grew too.”
“Where? Your feet?”
Kim Si-baek answered without much thought, recalling that Tae-un’s shoe size was larger than the sneakers he comfortably wore.
“My cock.”
“……Huh?”
“Cock.”
“…….”
He hadn’t misheard. Kim Si-baek blinked blankly for a moment before barely managing to squeeze out his voice.
“You shouldn’t use slang, Un-ah…”
“Then what should I call it? Dick?”
“That’s also slang…”
Kim Si-baek agonized in the face of the reality where words like ‘cock’ and ‘dick’ were coming effortlessly from the mouth of his cute younger brother, who had looked so soft that it seemed he would never even experience secondary sex characteristics.
Objectively, Tae-un was an adult. If a 35-year-old wasn’t an adult, then what was?
As he said, not only his hands, but his height was greater than Kim Si-baek’s, his shoulders were broader, and his chest was thick—a perfectly trained and completed physique. His voice was a heavy, resonating bass, so no matter how much rose-colored glasses Kim Si-baek wore, he couldn’t deny that Tae-un was a robust adult male.
However, recognizing the objective fact that Tae-un was an adult and having indecent words come out of his mouth were two separate issues. Our Un-i doesn’t use such bad words.
“……Private part?”
“Calling it a ‘private part’ would hurt my pride given the size.”
“Then, the reproductive organ for your offspring…”
“I have no intention of having kids, so just call it the sperm ejection organ.”
That didn’t seem quite right either, but since it was better than hearing words like cock or dick from Tae-un’s mouth, Kim Si-baek nodded.
“Anyway, not only my hands, but my sperm ejection organ has grown a lot too, so even if Hyung holds it with both hands, there’ll be some left over.”
“Why would I hold yours?”
“Because I’m fragile, Hyung.”
…said the man with a physique larger than a refrigerator, speaking confidently in a deep voice.
“That is true.”
Kim Si-baek responded as if it were a given.
“I’m so weak that I once fainted from dizziness at the public bathhouse in the past.”
“When you bet Min-hyung on who could stay in the hot water longer?”
“My physical condition isn’t much different now. If we go to soak our bodies together and I faint because I can’t handle the heat, Hyung would have to dress me.”
“That’s true.”
“While dressing me in underwear, wouldn’t you end up touching the sperm ejection organ?”
“I can just cover your lower half with a towel until you wake up.”
“What if I catch a cold?”
“Ah, that would be a problem.”
It would be a disaster if a child who was already frail caught a cold. Tae-un rubbed Kim Si-baek’s palm, which he was still holding, and smiled innocently.
“That’s why I’d really like Hyung to put my underwear on for me.”
“But the bathtub at home is quite large; is there any need to go all the way to the public bathhouse?”
“…….”
Kim Si-baek replied nonchalantly to Tae-un, who had fallen silent after being completely blocked.
“And it’s not like I’ve only bathed with you once or twice…”
Kim Si-baek was the one who first washed a five-year-old Tae-un, who had been so filthy with blood bruises and scabs that he couldn’t even wash his face, let alone bathe. …But it grew that much? To the point where two hands couldn’t hold it?
Kim Si-baek’s gaze unconsciously drifted downward. Toward a certain area of Tae-un, who was sitting next to the bed.
It was just as Tae-un’s shoulder flinched, sensing the suspicious gaze.
[How was your time spent on the returned Earth?]
A system window popped up unexpectedly. The timing was as if it had been waiting for him to regain consciousness. He didn’t feel glad to see it after so long, but its appearance was rather reassuring.
[To be honest, you’re not very keen on stopping the destruction of an Earth where no one even remembers the Returner, right? I understand (ಡ ̯ ಡ) But what can you do. It’s a fact that Earth is going to be destroyed. If you diligently carry out the quests, you’ll be able to return to the mak slecht, so you can make that your goal instead of stopping Earth’s destruction.]
[In that sense, the full-scale quests finally begin.]
✽ ✽ ✽
Pi Min-hyeong, who was strolling down the hallway with a box of macarons in one hand, spotted Seo Gae-un and waved.
“Oh, Seo Gae-un. Are you going to see Tae too?”
“I was worried that the mentor might not have woken up yet. Did you buy a get-well gift?”
“Macarons. Middle-aged guys are surprisingly crazy for sweet things.”
“Since an ‘uncle’ is saying it, it’s credible.”
“Hey. How is someone in their 30s an uncle?”
“If they have a child, they are an uncle.”
“……I can’t deny that.”
Pi Min-hyeong agreed, pretending to be serious.
“Tae-un hates sweet things, so he won’t sneakily steal and eat them before Hyung wakes up.”
“I don’t mind if he steals and eats anything, I just hope Tae-un oppa consumes proper food instead of energy bars.”
“That’s true.”
The two chatted as they walked toward the private elevator leading to the penthouse. Since the elevator connected directly to the entrance, they pressed the call button and waited for a moment, but it didn’t move.
“Huh? Are they not home? He didn’t go to work today.”
Pi Min-hyeong tilted his head and tried calling, but there was no answer. Just as he was thinking of coming back later and distributing the macarons to the engineering team, he heard Seo Gae-un’s voice.
“I found Tae-un oppa. It seems he’s at the cafe on the first floor.”
“Eh, how did you know?”
On her phone screen, a post from the guild’s internal intranet anonymous board was displayed.
7777 Guild
Anonymous Board >
Finally, the crazy puppy—of course, I’m talking about the puppy in my house, Your Honor.
“Does this bell ring when the coffee is ready?”
“The vibration is quite strong.”
As he touched it out of curiosity, sure enough, after a short while, the vibration bell began to crawl across the table with a drrrr sound. Startled, he pulled his hand away, and Tae-un smiled as he picked up the vibration bell.
“I’ll go get it.”
“Won’t it be heavy?”
“I have to endure it since I have to look after an elder who will be a hundred years old the day after tomorrow.”
“……Would you rather just say I’m 49?”
“Aw, Hyung. That’s too shameless. How can you shave off half a century from your age?”
“…….”
Was it just his imagination that Tae-un seemed to have found a new hobby in poking at his age…
After seeing Tae-un off and remaining alone at the seat, Kim Si-baek looked around. People at the surrounding tables, who were subtly watching him while pretending not to, flinched and hurriedly looked away or buried their faces in their phones.
Still, since this was a cafe located within the guild building and most customers were guild members, no one was openly taking photos as they would in a department store.
‘People look at their phones a lot. Do they have that many messages to send?’
Kim Si-baek found it fascinating how they glanced at him while rapidly tapping their screens with both hands. Naturally, he was unaware that the internal anonymous board and group chats were currently exploding.
“Hyung.”
Tae-un returned soon with a tray. Since it looked heavy, Kim Si-baek quickly stood up, took the tray from him, and placed it on the table. He had laid out a separately brought cushion and handkerchief on an empty chair for Biyendwe to lie on.
The ordered menu consisted of two cups of coffee and a brunch plate filled with rye bread, salad, bacon, mushrooms, and more.
“Your stomach has been empty; is it okay to eat greasy food right away?”
“I was fine even after tearing into meat after starving for ten days.”
Not knowing which coffee would suit him, he ordered one Americano and one Caramel Macchiato. After taking a sip of the Caramel Macchiato through a straw, Kim Si-baek unconsciously frowned. It was sweet. Far too sweet.
“I don’t usually mind sweetness, but this is really sweet.”
“Then drink the Americano.”
“It’s not just the coffee; I feel like food in general has become sweeter. I can’t be sure since it’s been so long since I last ate, though.”
“I guess it’s because stimulating food is in fashion.”
“But are you okay drinking something that sweet?”
Even if one liked sweets in the past, it’s common for tastes to change as one becomes an adult. Kim Si-baek was about to give him the Americano if Tae-un said he couldn’t eat sweet things, but Tae-un rested his chin on his left hand and gave a soft, eye-smiling look.
“Because Un-i has a baby palate.”