By Zephyria 
〈I’m so glad.〉
〈Pardon?〉
〈It’s the first time I’ve seen my mother smile.〉
At those words, which condensed the arduous past lives of mother and son, Hyo-ju Agnes burst into tears once again. Even as she made arrangements to meet another half-brother and her father later, Hyo-ju Agnes could not stop weeping.
Kim Si-baek, mentally filing away the memory of his younger sister’s crying—which had once left him feeling both awkward and apologetic—sat beside Yang Yura, who flopped down next to him.
“The sister suffered a lot in silence while searching for her brothers. But it’s not uncommon for family members you meet after a long time to be worse than strangers, right? I was worried for many reasons, but I’m truly relieved that her brother turned out to be the Master.”
“You two seem to be very close.”
“Well, we’ve known each other since we were in Seoul.”
He wanted to hear more from Hyo-ju Agnes, but in the distance, Pi Min-hyeong was returning with the children.
“Auntie!”
“Oh my, Seo-jun! Careful, you’re going to trip!”
Yang Yura stood up again to greet Pi Seo-jun, who was running toward them with tireless energy. It was a shame the conversation was cut short, but it was fine. There was plenty of time ahead of them.
Tae-un woke up, stirring at the commotion. As he rubbed his eyes and yawned with his small mouth, the cute helium balloons tied to his plump wrist bobbed up and down. Since the child was so small, Kim Si-baek wondered if he might actually fly away if he attached a few more balloons.
Ignoring the heavy weight on his lap, Kim Si-baek patted Tae-un’s cheek. While talking to Yang Yura, something he had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
“Si-woon told me to come visit his family in the States; let’s go together.”
It was something Cloud had brought up after hearing that he had decided to meet Hyo-ju Agnes’s family.
〈I wanted to suggest it to hyung anyway, but I was holding off because I figured you’d be busy in Korea lately, so the timing didn’t seem right.〉
Cloud had added this as an excuse, insisting that he wasn’t doing this just because Hyo-ju Agnes had brought it up first, but Kim Si-baek was simply happy. Though he did feel a sudden sense of urgency to study at least a little bit of English before going.
Tae-un, who had been blinking with a half-asleep face, asked blankly a moment later.
“Pardon?”
“I said let’s go to the States together to see Si-woon’s family.”
“Me? I get to go too?”
“Were you planning on not coming?”
“I mean, even if hyung told me not to, I would’ve hidden in a suitcase to go, but…”
Kim Si-baek pinched the lips that had blurted out such a dangerous plan as punishment.
“Even if I tell Si-woon that you’ve become younger, we’ll have to keep it a secret from his family, right? I wonder what excuse I should use.”
He pondered a clumsy excuse, such as saying he had taken in the neighbor’s kid and couldn’t leave him alone, when Tae-un asked again.
“Hiding in a suitcase was a joke… but can I really go along to meet Si-woon hyung’s family?”
Unlike his usual self, a faint trace of anxiety flickered in Tae-un’s eyes as he hesitated. It was the same anxiety he had felt when he didn’t accompany them to meet Sister Hyo-ju Agnes. It wasn’t hard to guess where that feeling stemmed from.
Tae-un had been forced to neglect Hyo-ju Agnes and her mother while they were far away, and he had even killed Cloud with his own hands several times. However, this also meant that he was the one who saved Hyo-ju Agnes and Cloud. If not for him, the likelihood of the two surviving intact would not have been very high.
Kim Si-baek smiled faintly and kissed the top of the child’s head.
“Even if other people remembered me properly, the first person I want to introduce to Si-woon’s family is you, Un-ah.”
“….”
“Since we have to keep it a secret that you’ve become younger, you’ll have to pretend to be some other kid instead of Guild Master Tae-un of the Seven Guild when we meet them.”
Tae-un didn’t react to the playful addition at the end. Looking down, Kim Si-baek saw that the child’s earlobes had turned red. Instead of a verbal answer, the bottom that sat on his lap shifted slightly, and his breathing became irregular. Seeing the balloons on his wrist shake, it seemed his fingers were wiggling too.
Tae-un was usually good at controlling his emotions, but perhaps because his body had become younger, his inner thoughts were so transparent that Kim Si-baek almost burst out laughing.
“…I guess I really like hyung a lot.”
Having held back his laughter by clenching his teeth, Kim Si-baek finally let out a clear, bright laugh.
Once Seoul was reclaimed from the magical beasts, lands that had been abandoned for over 20 years began to be developed, creating various economic effects. While the world moved rapidly in a progressive direction, new changes occurred within the 7777 Guild. Yang Eun-ho established a new instructor position that he had been contemplating for a long time.
Kim Si-baek readily accepted, making the time he spent weighing the contract terms feel pointless. However, there was one condition.
“I’m fine with it once the child is old enough to be left alone.”
“….”
Yang Eun-ho had to exercise desperate patience to avoid pointing out that the human wearing that ‘child’s’ shell was actually 36 years old—older than himself.
The reactions of those who found out Tae-un had become younger were split between ‘cute’ and ‘creepy,’ and Yang Eun-ho was firmly in the latter camp. This was partly because he was suffering from an overwhelming workload, as the Guild Master was focusing solely on his romantic pursuits under the loathsome excuse that he had become a little boy.
Please, please let him grow up quickly. Today, too, Yang Eun-ho prayed fervently while watching a shooting star fall from the sky.
Of course, Kim Si-baek had not forgotten the truth that the essence hidden inside was 36 years old. Rather, considering Tae-un’s growth rate and essence, he came up with a hypothesis.
“I feel like you’re not growing, but being restored.”
The boy, who was rolling around with his head on Kim Si-baek’s lap on the sofa, looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re around 14 now, right?”
“I suppose so?”
“It seems certain. You look exactly like you did at 14. Even the fact that your secondary sex characteristics are delayed.”
Following those words, Kim Si-baek held his hand horizontally in front of his chest, as if estimating Tae-un’s height.
“When you were 14, your height came exactly up to here. Even if it’s the same person, it’s a bit strange for the growth process to be so similar when the environment is different, isn’t it?”
“That is strange.”
For Tae-un, who was legally monopolizing Kim Si-baek’s affection, it didn’t really matter, but since the other was being serious, he pretended to be serious in his answer.
“Above all, you’ve grown this rapidly without a single instance of growing pains.”
Only then did Tae-un realize his mistake. He suddenly hugged his knees and began to feign that his joints hurt, and Kim Si-baek quickly patted and massaged them for him.
‘I forgot about growing pains.’
Since the symptoms didn’t manifest externally, it was a wonderful excuse. For the time being, ‘growing pains’ was scheduled to be added to Tae-un’s list of ailments.
Playing along with the obvious ruse while patting his lower back, Kim Si-baek continued the words that had been interrupted by Tae-un’s acting. The important thing wasn’t whether it was growth or restoration.
“How can we confirm when you’ve become an adult?”
“As hyung said, if it’s a process of being restored to my original body, the physical size will be the same, so my—”
Kim Si-baek’s palm quickly covered Tae-un’s mouth. Tae-un, mumbling with his lips pressed, slowly pushed his hand down.
“Why?”
“I felt like an inappropriate comment that shouldn’t come from a child’s mouth was about to be heard.”
“No, in a way, hyung would know better than I—” Mmph.
Tae-un, who had been struggling, was only released after swearing he wouldn’t say it. Panting as if he were out of breath from having his mouth covered, Tae-un sprawled in Kim Si-baek’s arms and chattered.
“Isn’t it when my face looks roughly the same as my ID photo? My height was around 190 then, too.”
If it was being restored as Kim Si-baek guessed, there would be no need to build his body through exercise. Tae-un, who had thought about making his chest bigger than before for Kim Si-baek’s sake, smacked his lips in regret. In truth, the real regret was that once he became that bulky, he wouldn’t be able to fit snugly in his arms like he did now.
‘Then maybe I should stay a bit small… but there are things I’d miss if I stayed small.’
While indulging in these various thoughts and savoring the cozy feeling of being stroked, Tae-un’s shoulders suddenly stiffened at Kim Si-baek’s next words.
“But why haven’t you grown at all since you were 14?”