CH 18

I sighed as I laid Baek Tae-beom down on the bed. Baek Tae-beom was still talking nonsense and complaining that he was sleepy. Based on my experience so far, I decided to wash up without getting his permission since this condition would last at least half a day.

After taking a shower, I changed into Baek Tae-beom’s clothes and it seems that I am now used to doing this. When I came out, Baek Tae-beom was lying on the side of the bed, close to falling. His messy white hair was soft, exposing his forehead and straight eyebrows. When I lightly tapped his forehead, he exaggerated.

“Hyung… My head is ringing.”

“I see. Then, lie down straight.”

I leaned over his head and pulled his arm. I could clearly feel the muscles under his clothes beneath my hands. Baek Tae-beom looked up at me with his eyes wide open, as if he was drunk. His neck strained greatly.

“Hyung, why are you always helping me?

To prevent the world from perishing. But I couldn’t answer that.

“As I said before….”

“It’s not like that.”

Baek Tae-beom grabbed my forearm with his hand. The same strong grip that I felt back in the taxi.

[Your contractor feels anxious.]

“No one has ever helped me like this before.”

Something felt like it was stuck in my throat and I couldn’t breathe. Baek Tae-beom’s voice trembled, and his shadowed eyes seemed uneased. The man’s face who was looking up at me felt unfamiliar.

At that moment, I felt uncomfortable.

It was as if I knew that a toy was moving around whilst I was sleeping. When I close my eyes, the furniture comes to life, and the dolls dance, as if they were talking about me. A feeling that made me realize once again that the words once on a screen came alive and is now living and breathing.

Baek Tae-beom opened his eyes. He was alive and breathing, and he was talking to me. The story of the development in the novel that I had changed.

No, can I really say I changed it?

Can this be called fiction?

Baek Tae-beom’s golden eyes are so beautiful.

“You always look like you’re going to go somewhere alone. It must be…”

Baek Tae-beom’s hands slowly drooped.

“That I am nothing.”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Knows The Fall’ is synchronized with the body.]

Looking down at his dimmed eyes, I covered him with a blanket and sighed. It’s a cute sleeping habit to see once in a while. If you want attention, just say so. What’s the point of being honest every time you get this abnormality?

It would be dinner by the time Baek Tae-beom woke up, so I decided to go into the kitchen and cook. Since I overworked myself, I thought it would be good to have a simple meal, so I made a light porridge. After a bit of nagging, I felt proud that the refrigerator was now full of food. I hummed while filling the porridge with sugar, since it would be good to replenish my energy.

Then my phone started to vibrate.

“Huh?”

[☆Lee Myung-won☆ : Ga-hyun-ssi]

[☆Lee Myung-won☆ : Are you busy?]

Why is he contacting me? Were the thoughts going through my head as I replied back.

[You : No?]

[You : What’s going on?]

[☆Lee Myung-won☆ : There’s an unusual dungeon movement.]

[☆Lee Myung-won☆ : I have received instructions from above to gather as many Awakened as possible.]

[☆Lee Myung-won☆ : Can you come with Baek Tae-beom-ssi?]

Unusual dungeon movement. I glanced at the room where Baek Tae-beom was sleeping and replied.

[You : I don’t think Baek Tae-beom can come]

[You : I’ll go alone]

[You : Please send me the location]

Baek Tae-beom won’t wake up until evening anyway, so I think it’d be okay to leave him alone. With that in mind, I put on my jacket.

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***

I arrived near the entrance of the subway station. It was usually full of people, but there was hardly anyone walking around, probably because this area is under control. Hazardous area signs were installed, and people dressed in suits or neat clothes had gathered.

Lee Myung-won, who was in the crowd, saw me and approached me.

“Choi Ga-hyun-ssi, this way.”

“There’re a lot of people, huh?”

“I called as many as I could for support.”

Lee Myung-won told me as he took me into the crowd. While there were people who looked to be strong, there were also people who looked inferior to Baek Tae-beom. I felt it instinctively.

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Hey.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The Fall: What is it?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Fall: That one.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Fall: Be careful.]

That one?

At that moment, a large shadow was cast on me.

I had to strain my head almost twice as much as usual to look up at the man. Long braided dark hair, dark eyes, bloodless lips, and rather clear, thick lines could be seen, and what caught my attention next was his protruding neck and bulky physique.

It was a man who was taller than Baek Tae-beom and likely seemed to easily exceed more than a meter. He was looking down at me with pale eyes. And when our eyes met, the corners of those eyes subtly distorted.

I thought he was just like the grim reaper. Until I realized who the man in front of me was.

‘No way, Oh Kwon-hyuk…?’

I looked up at him in disbelief. Why is someone who will set up the guild that will rank second in the future, next to Hansung, the No. 1 guild, here? But what was even more shocking was what I saw next, the two men who were following behind Oh Kwon-hyuk.

They both looked at me in surprise.

“H-hey, that guy…!”

It was Yoo Jin-woo and Kim Yong-tae, who openly tried to stab Baek Tae-beom in the back.

Why the hell are these guys here? At the words of Yoo Jin-woo, who pretended to know me, Lee Myung-won asked in a puzzled voice.

“Are you acquaintances?”

“…We’ve met before, but I can’t say we’re on good terms.”

But the problem now was not them, but the man in front of me.

‘Information.’

[Summary of Individual’s Information.]

[Oh Kwon-hyuk, Who Consumed The Darkness]

[Title: One Who Consumed The Darkness

Status: Unable to Verify.

Constellation: One Who Guides The Dead

Coins possessed: Unable to Verify.

Skills possessed: [Touch of Death] [Wings of truth] [Balance] … [Distinction]

An Awakened who has contracted with a higher rank constellation. Caution is required.]

And at the moment that followed, a large hand was approaching in front of my eyes. I only blinked for a moment, but in an instant, the hand grabbed my collar. My body was lifted before I was able to resist. I gasped at the sensation of being strangled and kicked Oh Kwon-hyuk’s body with my legs, but he didn’t budge.

“All of a sudden— what are you doing, keuk…!”

“Stop what you are doing now!”

Lee Myung-won shouted in surprise, but the hand holding my collar did not loosen. Oh Kwon-hyuk lifted me up and looked straight into my eyes. His black eyes were empty, to the point of being disgusting. And the moment I thought my heart was sinking-

[The language of another world covers your eyes.]

[‘Balance’ used towards you has been nullified.]

[The constellation, ‘One Who Knows The Fall’ is synchronized with the body.]

The moment my collar was released, I had no choice but to fall to the ground. I groaned from the feeling of somnolence. I held my neck and sighed. This damn bastard. I knew this would happen. My head throbbed continuously.

“Didn’t I tell you not to use that skill?”

When I came to my senses, Lee Myung-won was standing up and shouting at Oh Kwon-hyuk.

“…….”

“Let’s set this straight. You almost killed a man just now. There is a limit to how much I can tolerate even if it’s you.”

“…….”

However, when I looked up and saw Oh Kwon-hyuk’s face, he wore a rather bewildered expression. His mouth was slightly lowered, but I could see.

‘Oh Kwon-hyuk….’

Oh Kwon-hyuk, who would later lead the Goblin Guild, was described as a silent and huge beast-like person, and I could see why. The height and physique of the celebrity were like that of a black goblin, and his blunt face was fierce-looking.

I now realized what he just did to me. Oh Kwon-hyuk used the skill, <Balance> on me. A very subjective skill that weighs the opponent’s soul to determine whether they will be beneficial or harmful to you.

Seeing his alarmed reaction, it seems that the skill did not work properly on me because I was a constellation.

Oh Kwon-hyeok reached out to me again, and Lee Myung-won struck his hand ferociously.

“Don’t touch him. Are you okay, Choi Ga-hyun-ssi?”

“Ah… I’m alright.”

“Didn’t I tell you to say you are not okay at times like this?”

I smiled vaguely at Lee Myung-won’s words. That’s because, similar to Lee Myung-won’s constellation, Oh Kwon-hyeok’s constellation is also an existence that I do not want to lose.

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Didn’t I tell you to be careful? Look who isn’t being careful all the time. How can you live in this harsh world without me?]

He said that he was a person and a constellation but not a nanny, however, it seemed he did not realize that he was certainly acting like a nanny. I took Lee Myung-won’s helping hand and stared at Kim Yong-tae and Yoo Jin-woo, who were basically hiding behind Oh Kwon-hyuk.

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Who are those kids?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The Fall: They are… ugly things.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: What are you going to do now? You aren’t with your lover. Are you going to go in?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows Fall: How many times do I have to say we aren’t lovers?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The Fall: And I have to go in. What can I do? This is my chance to make even more money.]

It bothered me that there was unusual movement in this dungeon, but I did not hesitate because there was still time until the monster incident would occur.