Chapter 60

60 The Expedition is Over!

“Ugh…”

His eyelids twitched, and his eyelashes trembled like the wings of a bee. After a while, his eyes opened.

“……”

Ko Byeong-gap could only roll his eyes and look around. It didn’t take long for him to figure out where he was. There was a familiar interior structure around him, and the subtle smell of disinfectant was in the air. He looked down to see an IV needle stuck in his arm. He was in the hospital.

He woke up and realized that the pain had suddenly disappeared. His last memory was of himself struggling with pain.

“…I thought I was going to die.”

The reaction had started as soon as Trovatin’s soul and assimilation were unleashed. There had been a constant feeling of fainting and waking up, then fainting again and again. It happened maybe three or four times, and he felt like he had died.

What was the date today? Byeong-gap raised his head and looked for a clock or a calendar. He caught sight of his cell phone on the table next to the bed.

—December 24th

—11:26 AM

“What?!”

Their battle against the Balrog happened on December 20th. If his phone wasn’t lying, then he had been passed out for four days.

After pulling out the IV from his arm, Byeong-gap picked up his clothes that were hanging on a hanger. They had been washed well. He changed quickly then looked out the window to see a big tree.

“It’s already Christmas Eve… This is not good.”

He was worried about the Goblins. He had not gone to Ashvilam for at least ten days now. They must be worried and waiting for him.

As he packed up his things and opened the door of his hospital room, he saw someone standing just outside. It was Jeong Seon-kyung, wearing plain clothes. She looked up at Byeong-gap with surprised eyes.

“You… When did you wake up? No, are you feeling better?”

She fumbled with his body, and Byeong-gap nodded, removing her hands from his arm.

“I’m okay. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Hey, seriously, I thought you were going to die. Why did a normal kid suddenly turn into a pretzel?”

Byeong-gap laughed softly at the word ‘pretzel.’

“What about the others?”

“Them? They’re all fine, don’t worry.”

“Phew, that’s good.”

“Thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, we’d be shooting with God as a group by now.”

Jeong Seon-kyung jokingly answered. He looked at her reaction, and it didn’t seem like a lie.

“The expedition ended well. Where are you going, anyway?”

“Where am I going? I have to go home.”

“What, you’re crazy! What kind of house are you going home to for you to rush out right after waking up? Go back inside and lie down!”

She forced Byeong-gap back into the room. There was no way he could go against her power.

“What’s wrong with you? I’m fine! I’m fine!”

“You’re fucking with me! You were throwing up just yesterday, what kind of bastard is fine after that?!”

“No, I know my body well. There’s really no problem.”

“Are you insane? Do you really want to die?”

Byeong-gap had to stay in the hospital for a few more hours. He was under pressure from Jeong Seon-kyung and had was only after getting a check-up ticket that there was nothing wrong with his body that her spirits eased a little.

“I recommend that you stay in the hospital for a few more days, but if you want, you can already leave.”

“Look, what did I tell you? I’m fine.”

“No, doctor. Are you sure he’s okay? Until yesterday, he had been vomiting like crazy. You’ve seen it.”

“It’s because Awakeners are different from ordinary people. This is often the case.”

“…….”

Byeong-gap left the hospital at around 4 pm. It was snowing gently. This Christmas seemed to be a white Christmas.

“I think he’s a quack.”

“Are you still talking about that? And why are you following me?”

“What? I’ve already been discharged.”

“…Noona, shouldn’t you be hospitalized more than me? It was harder for you.”

“That’s enough, man. I know my body the best.”

“That’s amazing.”

Byeong-gap received conflicting information from her.

As soon as the first expedition was completely finished, the second expedition had been deployed. A banquet celebrating the return of the expedition would be held next Monday.

Aside from that, an additional 150 million won was to be paid to Group C for killing S-class monsters.

“Oh, yes, I’ve decided not to talk to anyone else about you. I don’t think it’s right to talk about it freely since it’s not my story. Of course, I don’t mean to steal your thunder. We can stand witness if you want.”

“Hmm.”

“Boo Young-geon wanted me to talk to you about it.”

Byeong-gap scratched his chin. He could feel the texture of a messy beard starting to grow.

“I don’t know why you’re hiding your strength, but if people found out that you’ve caught a Balrog, you’ll be invited into many prominent guilds. You’ve always told me you’re living in poverty. Turn your life around. Or you can join our guild, I can put in a good word for you.”

“Undermoon?”

“It’s not one of the top five, but Undermoon is a pretty good guild.”

Byeong-gap thought for a moment, then shook his head. Jeong Seon-kyung made an expression that meant she understood.

“Keep it a secret for now. I’m most comfortable with that.”

“I can’t help it then, if that’s what you want. Speaking of which, what are you really?”

“What am I? Like my body? Do I look like a goblin and not a human?”

“I mean the strange power and ability you use. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”

Byeong-gap smirked and trembled.

“That’s not the way to get my information.”

“That’s…”

“Try a little harder.”

“What? Ha! What does this make me?”

They walked to a large public parking lot attached to the hospital. Seon-kyung stood in front of a luxury SUV that she lightly quoted to be 200 million won.

She added with a mischievous laugh.

“Ta. I work hard all night long.”

Byeong-gap felt something wriggling in his body, and he wondered whether she would point it out or not.

However, today was not the day.

“I have to go home today.”

“…Why? Are you tired?”

“I have work to do.”

“Tsh, do you guard cages in your house? Or maybe a squirrel is waiting for you?”

“Unfortunately, not a squirrel but something similar.”

“Huh!”

Seon-kyung laughed as if she was amazed.

“This is the biggest humiliation of Jeong Seon-kyung’s 31-year life… Hah, you idiot. I’ll bring you home.”

“Thank you.”

Byeong-gap got in her car and they headed to his home.

“Oh, right. I have to stop by the market.”

“Market? Why the market?”

“I need to buy some meat. Just drop me off around here, I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, come on. Alright, let’s go together.”

The two went to a traditional market near his house, and Byeong-gap visited his usual butcher shop.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a market like this. I think it’s been over ten years.”

“Well, where do you go for groceries? At the supermarket?”

“Why are you grocery shopping? You can just buy or order online. By the way, how much meat are you going to buy? I’ll buy it for you.”

“Really? I’m going to buy a lot. Will that be okay?”

“Hey, how much do you need?”

Byeong-gap thought he had won and said cheerfully.

“How much pork belly do you have? Do you have about 300 pounds?”

“Th… Three hundred pounds?”

“Hey, hold on! What do you mean 300 pounds? Don’t play around!”

Jeong Seon-kyung freaked out. The owner of the butcher shop also exclaimed that that was absurd.

“I’m not kidding.”

“Excuse me. How many people are you feeding?”

“A little over 400.”

“Oh my, are you going to a feast…?”

“Four hundred… people?”

When he said that he was feeding more than 400 people, Jeong Seon-kyung’s expression became quite serious.

“Hey, Ko Byeong-gap. Do you happen to be…”

“Huh?”

She took a pause and smacked her lips.

“Nothing. You must be doing a lot of good things.”

She nodded with a knowing look on her face. There was no way to know what she had inferred about Byeong-gap.

“Customer. If you have enough, would you rather buy three or four whole pigs?”

“Is that better?”

“Yes. It would be cheaper and better.”

“Then alright, I’ll take it.”

“Hey. No, I’ll buy it for you. Boss, I’d like to pay for this.”

Jeong Seon-kyung, unlike before, willingly held out her card with a pleased smile.

“I don’t know if it will be kids or the elderly who will eat it, but make sure you tell them it was from me.”

The butcher handed them four whole, dried pigs in a plastic bag. Even carrying it would be too much for an ordinary person, but Byeong-gap had no problems with it.

“Oh my gosh, your boyfriend is a strong man.”

“Right? He’s like a knight. Ho ho ho!”

“Heh heh. I can’t take it. Thank you, anyway. Enjoy your meal!”

“Have a good day~”

The two left the butcher’s shop and went back to the car. Jeong Seon-kyung looked a little nervous.

“I can’t believe you have to put such hideous things in my cutie. Hmm? Wait, what?”

Byeong-gap had sent the four whole pigs to Ashvilam. Originally, his iron rule was not to show his ability in front of others, but there was no problem with Jeong Seon-kyung. He had already shown her more than this.

Jeong Seon-kyung was amazed, her mouth wide open.

‘Does he also have a subspace ability? Come to think of it, that’s also what I saw before… Other than that person, I didn’t think there would be someone else with a subspace.’

“When I look at you, I feel like the common sense I’ve had for the past 31 years is falling apart.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They arrived in front of his house before they knew it.

Byeong-gap managed to stop Jeong Seon-kyung, who wanted to look around the house, and agreed to smoke together.

“You’re so secretive. Anyway, enjoy your meal. Make sure you tell them I bought it.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy the food.”

“Yes, you did a great job. Well done, Ko Byeong-gap.”

“Well, you suffered a lot too, noona.”

“Let’s gather Group C later and have a meal. It feels like no one would join, though. Hehe.”

“Alright. I’ll definitely go out for that.”

“Okay, by the way, you blew your chance. You only have one shot.”

“Chance? What chance?”

“Figure it out on your own, you idiot.”

Jeong Seon-kyung finally left without answering. Byeong-gap saw her off and stepped inside his house.

He was finally home after three months, but nothing welcomed him back but a cold silence.

Byeong-gap skimmed through his six-pyeong studio apartment. This was the last thing he saw before leaving for the expedition.

“Nice to see you again.”

It was nice to see the living room, but there was something else he was looking forward to. He quickly unpacked and opened the door to Ashvilam with excitement.

Without hesitation, he walked through the door.

‘Hmm?’

Byeong-gap was a bit perplexed.

As soon as he entered Ashvilam, his vision was immediately filled with the Goblins.

Looking at the number of heads, all of Ashvilam’s Goblins seemed to have gathered here. Of course, Ea and Doran were also there.

“…What are you guys doing? Why aren’t you working?”

“Huhu!”

“Huhuhuhu!”

“What, what? What’s wrong?”

“Haaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Goblins clung to Byeong-gap, and he almost fell backward.

“Lord, you fool! Why are you just returning now?”

“Lord! What’s wrong with you? Why are you late?”

“I was worried!”

“Lord!!”

The longing of the Goblins exploded everywhere. The Goblin Lord, Ko Byeong-gap, was able to feel their emotions clearly.

“Lord, why did you come so late? We were worried about you!”

“That’s right! We were so nervous because we thought you were gone. Everyone here was worried about you because we knew you were in a dangerous place.”

“Oh, come on. You can be late even at work. Anyway, don’t worry too much.”

Doran and Ea also joined in and spouted their resentment.

In the end, Byeong-gap had to raise both his hands.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Get away from me.”

Only then did the Goblins let go of him.

He carried the dried pigs on his shoulder and addressed everyone.

“You haven’t eaten, have you? Let’s hurry up and eat. I’m starving.”

“Good!”

“Lord! He’s hungry! Let’s get ready!”

On this day, a small feast was held in Ashvilam to commemorate the return of Lord Ko Byeong-gap.

Byeong-gap sipped beer, had a barbecue, laughed, and chatted while watching the Goblins joke around.

‘It would be good to join a guild and turn my life around, but I like this life better.’

The blazing bonfire stimulated his emotions, and Byeong-gap fell deep in thought. As expected, this was the place where he felt most confident.