By Zephyria 
Na Jeong-woo’s face was a picture of misery as he sipped a caffè latte at the café on the first floor of the company building. The fellow hunter sitting across from him seemed to enjoy himself even more as Na’s expression grew more distorted.
“I’m telling you, every time he teaches, it just sinks right in. He uses a lot of cushioning language, but if you tell him it’s okay to be blunt even if your mental state shatters, he throws straight fastballs. I feel like I’m about to cry, but he’s absolutely right.”
“…….”
“Have you ever been conscious of your center of gravity when holding a weapon? I had a rough idea based on instinct because of my experience, but he pointed out the theory so precisely. Ugh, I can only imagine how long the waiting list behind me has grown.”
“Fuck. I use a dagger, not a longsword like that cultist.”
“Hey, haven’t you read wuxia novels? They call it ‘all paths lead to the same end.’”
“My ass they do.”
Na Jeong-woo grumbled aimlessly, chewing on the straw in his mouth. While guild members were creating waiting lists as rumors about Kim Si-baek spread, Na Jeong-woo had avoided approaching him out of sheer pride.
‘Argh. He should’ve just not treated me.’
Who could understand the misery of being treated by the very person who had knocked you unconscious with a single blow? Recalling the embarrassment of mocking him as a cultist made him want to bury his face in the caffè latte and die.
“Who knows if what I learned now will be the chance that saves my life later? Cultist or not, if someone is teaching for free and you can’t take advantage of it, you’re an idiot.”
“…….”
The idiot who couldn’t take advantage of it could only grit his teeth.
The fellow hunter’s eyes sparkled as he scrolled through a group chat where people were whistling while taking their place in the waiting line.
“I heard the mentor is going to an amusement park. How about apologizing naturally at the amusement park?”
After sending off the fellow hunter, who had to retrieve a weapon he’d sent for repair to the production department, Na Jeong-woo walked toward the smoking booth behind the building. He felt like he needed a cigarette to calm his agitated mind.
‘Apologize? Should I just slam my head on the ground and do a grand bow? Dammit.’
His pride, wounded by being taken down in one hit, vehemently refused to bow before Kim Si-baek, but unfortunately, his ears were wide open. Even if he didn’t want to hear them, the guild members’ testimonials sank right in.
Na Jeong-woo floundered in the dilemma of whether to slam his head down, apologize for acting out, and get help, or to maintain his pride until the end.
‘Embarrassment is only temporary, so maybe I should just close my eyes once for the sake of my future…’
It was just as the scales of his wavering heart were tipping toward enduring a moment of shame.
As Na Jeong-woo turned the corner toward the smoking booth, a stranger suddenly appeared before him. Before he could realize the man was a foreigner who had been sitting nearby in the café he just left, the man took off his sunglasses.
The moment he locked eyes with pupils that were pitch black, even the sclera, the darkness swallowed him whole.
✽ ✽ ✽
Upon returning to Earth, the remnants of his younger brother took the form of nightmares, visiting him more frequently than before. The nightmares were usually similar: a young brother resentfully asking why he hadn’t looked for him.
But today’s nightmare was different.
The beginning of the dream featured a younger version of himself reading a fairy tale book to his brother, a gift from a teacher who knew their situation. The brother, who rarely reacted even when read to, was staring intently at a picture for once. It was a drawing of a baby bear playing happily at an amusement park.
As if in answer, the brother’s gaze looking up at him followed him until the very end of the nightmare.
Even after waking up gasping from the nightmare, Kim Si-baek groaned for a long time, pressing his hand to his forehead. Was it because he had been given a quest to go on an outing to an amusement park that he had such a dream? Back then, he never managed to go to the amusement park with his brother. Because his brother had disappeared.
“……I’m sorry.”
Knowing that his words would not reach his long-dead brother, he covered his face, letting out a painful breath. The void in his soul, which could never be healed, dripped painfully rotting blood.
Despite his efforts to erase the traces of the nightmare from the previous night, it seemed a remnant remained.
“Hyung, is something wrong?”
Tae-un tilted his head with concern. As he felt Tae-un approach, the fact that two weeks had passed suddenly occupied Kim Si-baek’s mind. Even though Tae-un’s eyes held nothing but worry for him.
He felt flustered by his own overreaction and sorry toward him. Tae-un wasn’t the only one who had been counting the two weeks day by day.
Kim Si-baek found himself staring at Tae-un’s lips before barely regaining his senses. As if the heat that had once clung to those lips was spreading through his body again, his throat felt parched.
“I think I just slept poorly. It’s nothing.”
“Really?”
“I said I’m fine. More importantly, let’s get ready and go. How much time is left until the appointment?”
Those words cast a gloomy shadow over Tae-un’s face. Of all people, the person standing next to them when the topic of the amusement park came up was Pi Min-hyeong.
Pi Min-hyeong had taken the agile approach of targeting Kim Si-baek first, ignoring his friend’s intentions. At first, Kim Si-baek intended to politely decline. He didn’t want to form deeper ties in his private life.
However, Pi Min-hyeong’s parental remark touched his heart. When did the baby who had been abandoned alone in front of an orphanage grow up so much that he was now raising children?
Thus, the solo amusement park date that had briefly excited Tae-un was changed into an outing joined by a friend’s family.
“The kids’ names were Seo-yeon and Seo-jun, right? Seo-yeon is the older one.”
Kim Si-baek had been shocked to learn that Pi Min-hyeong, who wasn’t even married, had children, but the circumstances were different from what he expected. A fellow hunter couple who had shared joys and sorrows since the shelter in Seoul had died together in battle, and there were no close relatives to look after the children. Pi Min-hyeong had agonized over it, but in the end, he couldn’t turn away from children who would end up in an orphanage just like he had.
That was already three years ago, and the eldest had already entered elementary school. Kim Si-baek felt slightly sorry for having suspected that he had caused a scene before getting married.
Biyendwe, reading the surface psychology, narrowed his eyes and glared at Kim Si-baek. Wasn’t it entirely Tae-un’s fault for cutting out the middle and throwing Pi Min-hyeong as a sacrifice to avoid the nightclub interrogation? But since Kim Si-baek wouldn’t listen to such things, he only let out a deep sigh.
“What is it?”
[Death and Beauty tell you to be grateful for your god’s consideration.]
“……?”
It was only after meeting Pi Min-hyeong’s family and entering that Kim Si-baek realized why Pi Min-hyeong had smiled slyly while mentioning the amusement park.
“…….”
Tae-un’s face was blank as he looked at the information sign.
After the Great Cataclysm, safety regulations had become extremely strict to prevent the occurrence of Id Portals caused by various accidents.
Meanwhile, Tae-un was tall. The rides Tae-un had picked for their date course were the thrilling ones popular at the amusement park. Due to safety regulations, thrilling rides had height restrictions. In other words, the 196-centimeter Tae-un could not ride them.
Kim Si-baek, at 184 centimeters, barely made the cut, and Pi Min-hyeong couldn’t ride them either. Pi Min-hyeong, who couldn’t ride other attractions anyway because he had to watch the kids, burst into laughter.
“Bwahaha! Hey! You went through all the trouble of picking a date course, but you didn’t even check the basics? What on earth were you doing? Want to go over there and ride the carousel with my kids? Oh right! You’re a muscle pig, so you probably can’t even ride that!”
“…….”
Tae-un, who would normally have thrown Pi Min-hyeong, was so devastated that he couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal. Even Pi Seo-yeon, who found him intimidating, tugged firmly on his sleeve.
“Uncle, cheer up…”
Kim Si-baek also patted his shoulder.
“Well, it can’t be helped. We didn’t come here just to play, right?”
“Hyuuung…”
Just as a slightly cheered-up Tae-un looked back with a pitiful expression and was about to suggest going to rides without height and weight restrictions, Kim Si-baek took Pi Seo-jun’s hand.
“Un-ah, you just treat this as a sightseeing trip and rest. I’ll go ride other things with Seo-yeon and Seo-jun.”
“Wait—”
Pi Min-hyeong quickly cut Tae-un off and intervened.
“Hyung-nim, come with us! I’ll take the photos!”
As Kim Si-baek walked ahead, holding the children’s hands in both of his, Tae-un had no choice but to follow trudgingly while glaring at Pi Min-hyeong.
“Hyung. This one has an age limit.”
Eventually, Tae-un pointed to the sign for the plume ride, which stated that those 60 years or older could not ride, and tried to stop him.
“You rude brat. Hyung-nim isn’t even fifty yet, what nonsense is this? In this day and age, the 50s are still youth. Isn’t that right, Hyung-nim?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
The 97-year-old, whose only thought was to finish the quest quickly regardless of what he rode, played innocent and shamelessly stood in the waiting line.
✽ ✽ ✽
The man and woman sitting on the bench looked like a typical couple often seen at an amusement park. However, the conversation passing between them could not be considered that of an ordinary couple.
“The quest to germinate the magical beast seed at the amusement park is definitely today, right?”