By Zephyria 
“I wanted to act cool since I’m in front of you, and as a Guild Master, I wanted to save face in front of them, but honestly, I was so nervous. It was my first time being pulled into an Id Portal alone without any other hunters, so I was so scared I wanted to cry earlier, but I just kept my mouth shut and endured it…”
“….”
It was a soft, spoiled tone, yet because the speaker possessed a heavy, resonating bass, the voice sounded remarkably unbalanced.
[Death and Beauty says they evaluate you anew as commendable for enduring your fear.]
Kim Si-baek remained silent for a moment before his expression softened generously.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
Silence flickered behind Tae-un’s shy smile—the words he had finally succeeded in hearing after Seo Gae-un had hindered him in the past. It was a silence that had turned somewhat awkward.
✽ ✽ ✽
Inside the portal, which meticulously replicated reality, a building-induced wind blew.
“Un-ah, the wind is too strong. Come here.”
Gwak Yun-sang thought that Kim Si-baek, who pulled him behind him claiming the wind was too strong, was a problem, and Tae-un, who scurried over to hide from the wind behind Kim Si-baek, was also a problem.
At a glance, Kim Si-baek was tall, over 180 centimeters, with a physique honed by lean muscles, but he was slimmer than Tae-un. To exaggerate slightly, it felt like a third of Tae-un was still exposed even while hiding behind him; Gwak Yun-sang couldn’t tell who was blocking the wind for whom.
‘…No. Let’s not think about it. The moment I take this seriously, I lose…’
As soon as he made that resolve, he heard Kim Si-baek’s serious voice.
“I’m worried you’ll blow away if the wind gets any stronger.”
“I’m worried about myself too.”
Fuck. Gwak Yun-sang was overcome by a violent urge to pierce his own eardrums.
Following the instructions of Gwak Yun-sang, who had barely regained his composure, the party began to advance toward the department store, presumed to be the center of the Id Portal.
Seo Gae-un and Pi Min-hyeong were tasked with the vanguard to clear the path, while the hunters from the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency took the middle to protect the civilians. And the ones tasked with the rear were Kim Si-baek and the weak, useless Tae-un.
“Chief, is that man really going to be okay alone? Judging by the way Guild Master Tae-un was talking earlier, it seems like he’ll just watch the fire from across the river unless it’s an extreme situation…”
When Tae-un went into the field, his response usually fell into two categories. Either he would run wild and tear everything apart, proving that the rumors of him being a mad dog weren’t born out of boredom, or he would expressionlessly ignore whatever battle was happening in front of him.
No matter how he looked at it, this time felt like the latter, and since he was disgustingly pretending to be fragile, it seemed he wouldn’t lift a finger.
A hunter whispered anxiously, but Gwak Yun-sang dismissed it with a vague nod. He had a rough idea of why that man was acting like this—or rather, he wanted to remain ignorant—but regardless, Kim Si-baek was presumed to be S-class.
However, fearing the aftermath from Tae-un if he acted like he knew Kim Si-baek was S-class, he didn’t let it show and walked toward them. Gwak Yun-sang wanted to tell the others, who were still stealing glances at Tae-un with strange expressions, that he had personally witnessed the man rubbing himself against Kim Si-baek’s lap.
“Mr. Kim Si-baek, is your weapon ready?”
“I haven’t managed to procure one yet.”
Since he couldn’t bring the sacred artifact he used in mak slecht, Gloiuken was likely keeping it.
“Then shall I lend you my sword again, the one you used last time?”
Since it was a sabre, it was a familiar weapon. Kim Si-baek gratefully received the sword from him today as well. Having finished his business, Gwak Yun-sang turned back without another word.
[Death and Beauty says it has been a long time since they’ve seen their apostle use a weapon personally.]
“Ah, I used a sword when I first arrived, but you probably couldn’t see it properly because you were scared.”
[Death and Beauty explains that they couldn’t see it that day because dust got in their eyes.]
“Since magical beasts appear here too, if I do well, I might be able to replenish a bit of divine power.”
As Kim Si-baek swung the sword a few times and tapped the back of his neck with the spine of the blade as if massaging it, Tae-un, who had been silent, muttered bitterly.
“Even after all this time, your habits haven’t changed.”
“I never competed or practiced in front of you, so how did you know?”
“After you retired, the fencing club coach gave me all of your match videos and the tapes recorded during training.”
“Ah, right. I left them at the orphanage…”
“The sister didn’t throw them away; she kept them. I watched those in the orphanage until the videotapes stretched out.”
Tae-un’s lips twisted painfully as he murmured lowly. Guessing what he was thinking, Kim Si-baek smiled brightly and pressed his index finger against the corner of the mouth of the child—now a fully grown adult.
As he pushed the corner of the mouth up to mimic a smile, Tae-un’s face froze awkwardly, like someone who had never used their muscles to smile.
“I told you it’s not your fault. How many times have I told you not to keep it in your heart? Even if I went back to being 19, I would enter that same semi-basement room and meet you. I’ve never regretted it once.”
“….”
“And the swordplay I couldn’t do here, I did it until I was sick of it in mak slecht. I even got a kid who’s like a disciple.”
When he removed his hand from the mouth and patted his shoulder, Tae-un bit his lip and rubbed his face roughly with his palm. Taking a deep breath and looking up, Tae-un asked quietly.
“…Between me and the disciple, who is prettier?”
“Why ask something so obvious?”
Kim Si-baek lightly hugged Tae-un’s back and patted him. Though the child had grown tall, the slight trembling of his back was the same as when he was five.
-Omg found Tae-un at the food court lol
-He looks so intimidating fuck; I would’ve pissed myself if I ran into him at night T_T Was there a murder case near the department store? He looks like he just dumped a body lmao
-He’s not alone, he’s sitting with someone in front of him. They seem close, they’re even holding hands
-Woman-
-Doesn’t look like a guild member though
-He’s eating gelato, that looks tasty
While relaying Tae-un’s appearance to his friends in real-time, Bae Jihan, who had been swallowed by the Id Portal, looked at the chat room where the messages had abruptly cut off. If he hadn’t sent them at all, it would be fine, but because the text was entered and cut off ambiguously, it looked unlucky.
“Hey. This looks like the kind of last text a murder victim leaves behind.”
“Hieek!”
He was startled as a thick arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder. Turning around, it was Pi Min-hyeong. Because the comments about Tae-un’s face bothered him, Bae Jihan quickly scrolled down the phone screen. When did the person walking with Seo Gae-un at the very front move to the middle?
“Were you texting your friends? They must be worried.”
Although it was their first time meeting in person today, Bae Jihan shed his tension thanks to the man’s easygoing attitude.
“If they knew I was with you guys, they’d probably just be eating popcorn in peace.”
That was actually the case. What else would be the reason he had the leisure to fiddle with his phone while walking through the Id Portal? The magical beasts approaching from the front were all being cleared by Seo Gae-un and Pi Min-hyeong.
“We’re only at the entrance of the portal, so don’t let your guard down too much. Right now, most of them are appearing in the front, but as time passes, they’ll pop up everywhere. The fog is thick, so it’s easy to be ambushed.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was information he had already learned since elementary school, but he answered enthusiastically due to the excitement of talking to Pi Min-hyeong. He was at an age to be intoxicated by the exploits of hunters.
“By the way, is the text about that young-looking hyung over there?”
“Yes, yes! Lots of photos were taken, so if you search the internet after we get out, you’ll find them.”
“Oh.”
“You seemed really close with the Guild Master, so why didn’t you know?”
“Tae-un and I are childhood friends, but it’s not like we’re the kind of friends who touch each other’s balls. I might not have known.”
He was curious about the relationship between Tae-un and the young man who identified himself as Kim Si-baek—no, the man with an impossibly young face—but this was an Id Portal. There were other questions related to survival.
Bae Jihan whispered in a low voice.
“Is the young-looking mister strong?”
“I just met him today, so I don’t know.”
“Then is the mister really taking the rear alone? Guild Master is actually sick today, right? His pride was too hurt to admit he’s sick, so he lied using the mister as an excuse, right? The way he talked made it sound like he was really sick…”
Pi Min-hyeong looked down with a hollow expression at the boy who, unable to understand the causal relationship of the premise ‘Tae-un pretending to be weak to act coy,’ had created a new logic.
“Do you hear a lot from your friends that you’re clueless?”
“How did you know?”
“You just look like it.”
Pi Min-hyeong stretched own.
“I don’t know what kind of person he is, but Tae-un must have a reason for entrusting the rear to him. That bastard might be lacking in other areas, but his combat sense is on a divine level, so you can trust—” Huh?
Having sharply sensed the approach of a magical beast, Pi Min-hyeong’s head whipped back. The civilians walking anxiously in a cluster hadn’t even realized the threat yet. Only Bae Jihan, who was talking right next to him, reflexively looked back.
Because of that, he was able to see it.
The moment a swarm of magical beasts called Three-Horned Gorani let out a screech that was painful just to hear and were about to ambush, Kim Si-baek blocked them, his figure cutting through the air as if extinguishing a flame.