CH 33

Walking down the stairs, I could hear noise in the lobby. People were flocked to one side because of the tight security. Baek Tae-beom was the first one I noticed. It was funny that he stood taller than the others because when I looked at him, I saw a head that towered over everyone else.

It was Oh Kwon-hyuk who was standing there with his black hair in a single braid and an indifferent look. He was wearing a white coat and had an unknown large box on his side. Even as I was looking from the top of the stairs, the pressure was so great that I remembered being strangled just the other day.

‘What’s going on here?’

The conversation between the two was so loud that I could hear it well even from the stairs.

“…So, what’s in there that made you stand here like this.”

“Nothing for you to know.”

“I guess you want your mouth to get ripped off here. Do you think I’ll let you give something dangerous to my Hyung?”

“I keep saying it’s not dangerous.”

“Why would I believe you, you scum?”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Leads The Dead’ inhales.]

I opened my eyes wide and doubted what I had heard. That was because it was the first time I had heard Baek Tae-beom swear so harshly. The atmosphere was seriously overheated, and it felt like anyone could raise fists at any moment.

“If you wanted to beg for forgiveness, you should have put your head down and crawled from the entrance. I guess you can’t even do such a thing because of your big head. Do you even have a brain? Did you crush everything the last time you bumped into a wall?”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Guides the Dead’ is on the edge.]

“Baek Tae-beom.”

“Because of you, my loved one almost died. But why are you standing here now with such a dignified face?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ve said this over and over again, but I won’t accept your apology. It’s Hyung you need to apologize to, not me.”

Then, Baek Tae-beom turned his head and looked at me on the stairs. It seems he already knew I had come down. When I stood there, stiff, and not knowing what to do, Baek Tae-beom slowly loosened his expression, giving me a friendly smile.

“Come here, Hyung.”

[Your contractor expresses his affection.]

Some chills crept down my spine. Because Baek Tae-beom, who was beating people up as soon as I died, was overlapping with his figure now. I slowly came down the stairs, ignoring the gazes that stuck on my skin. I felt like I was the main character, some kind of uke that had appeared.

Was this how Cinderella felt?

No. She at least didn’t see any death glares.

The closer I got to the two, the more solemn the atmosphere got. As I narrowly stood next to Baek Tae-beom, Oh Kwon-hyuk, who looked at me with a shaky gaze, slowly opened his mouth.

“Sorry.”

Frankly, I had nothing to say.

I wanted to blame this person, but I didn’t want to. It was my fault that I entered the dungeon without Baek Tae-beom in the first place, and even though I knew that this man was dangerous, I didn’t distance myself away from him.

It also doesn’t feel real that I had died earlier than the day of my death. Maybe it’s because I’ve already resurrected, or because I was a constellation, but I didn’t feel any emotion towards this man, to my regret.

The only problem was that the first monster incident had been sped up and the future I knew had been twisted somewhere. But I can’t blame Oh Kwon-hyuk, can I?

However, Oh Kwon-hyuk seemed to have felt many emotions seeing me. When I saw the blunt, ungrateful man looking down at me with those eyes.

So for nothing, I said in a joking voice.

“If you’re sorry, then let me use your body.”

“I will.”

Yes?

Oh Kwon-hyuk, who slowly bowed down, knelt in front of me. I could hear the crowd in the lobby buzzing. Baek Tae-beom gritted his teeth next to me.

“What bullshit are you saying now….”

“I have made a huge mistake. A sin that can never be washed away.”

Oh Kwon-hyuk spoke in a slow voice.

“So I’ll take responsibility, for everything.”

“What?”

“Your life.”

I could hear heavy breathing next to me. Baek Tae-beom, who couldn’t stand it, tried to stop himself by clenching his fists painfully. I said bewilderedly.

“Why would I entrust my life to you?”

“Then, who should you give it to?

“How dare you say that in front of Hyung!”

“Wait a minute, Tae-beom-ah, calm down. Be good.”

“Hunter Baek Tae-beom has a very emotional side to him. It is not right for you to entrust your life to him.”

“Right, Tae-beom-ah. Let’s put up with it just this once. Okay? Just this once. We’ll let it slide.”

I squinted at Oh Kwon-hyuk while trying to appease the ferocious beast.

“So, what is that box?”

Then, Oh Kwon-hyuk retained a sense of pride and admiration and then opened the box he had put down on the floor. Inside, items that looked quite expensive piled up one after the other. Did you bring all this as an apology gift?

“I heard that you’ve become a hunter whose grade cannot be measured.”

“Ah….”

“Isn’t it because you were too weak to be measured?”

“What?”

Oh Kwon-hyuk said with calm eyes. In the chat window, Apollo, who was laughing loudly, and Anubis, who was swearing at my contractor, stood out.

“So I brought an item here that could be of help. At this level, I thought that even you, with a weak and useless level of power, could use it.”

“What….”

“Hyung, let’s take a look at it. Huh? Wait, Hyung. Don’t pinch me. Uh, Hyung that’s not nice….”

I had to put down my trembling fist. Baek Tae-beom patted me on the shoulder, saying softly.

“He isn’t usually like that… No, he’s always like that. Hyung, please understand. Because we don’t communicate often….”

I knew that too. He’s supposed to be like that. He was like that in the novel, it was weird I didn’t catch it in our first meeting, and it was strange that I didn’t realize. However, reading in writing and experiencing it in person were two different things.

Annoyance took precedence, instead of anger.

“Leave your guild right now.”

“……!”

Oh Kwon-hyuk opened his mouth with a wounded face as if he’d heard something he should never have heard. It was the same with me, so I laughed.

“Why?”

“Why.”

I knew from my experience that this guy couldn’t communicate well, so I kicked the box as I decided to speak honestly. Items poured out.

“Didn’t you say I should entrust my life to you?”

“……!”

“By the way, you brought these insignificant items?”

“……!”

Everyone around me gasped in surprise. Feeling like the main character of some crazy drama, I stiffened my expression as hard as I could and looked down at Oh Kwon-hyuk.

“From now on, if I call you when I need you, say yes and run to me. Do you understand?”

I then grabbed Baek Tae-beom’s arm, turned around, and went up the stairs again. My heart was pounding. I tried to look back, wondering if it had worked, but Baek Tae-beom hugged me, wrapping himself around my shoulders.

“Beom-ah?”

Baek Tae-beom’s face was indescribably distorted. Looking at me, he seemed to be able to move his face and manage his expression somehow, but it didn’t seem to work.

“Are you actually…?”

“Hm?”

“Are you really going to call that bastard?”

Baek Tae-beom asked in a whisper with a slow voice. When he said that with his head bowed toward me and his face closer to mine, it felt as if a beast was trying to sniff a person.

“To hyung… Is that guy more useful?”

I looked up blankly, wondering what this was, and slowly shook my head.

“Of course not.”

“Really?”

Baek Tae-beom’s golden eyes twinkled. The ferocious appearance of a tiger disappeared, as he quickly loosened his expression and smiled slowly. He raised the corners of his mouth and grinned slowly, making it feel as if his golden eyes would melt snow. At that moment, I felt like I saw a hallucination of nine large fox tails hanging behind Baek Tae-beom’s back.

“Then, am I more useful to Hyung?”

[Your contractor expresses his affection.]

It was obvious what he wanted. He openly craved affection. Like struggling to find what you don’t have and fill yourself in. He was so good to me.

It was cute.

I was thinking just that. Baek Tae-beom, who doesn’t even try to hide his ferocious and sharp appearance from me and believes that I will embrace everything he had, was cute.

I reached out and slowly swept Baek Tae-beom’s hair back. I felt the man stiffening beneath my palm.

“Yes. I like you more than him. Okay?”

Baek Tae-beom’s ears turned red. I looked at him and laughed.

“Hyung, no, I-I asked if you liked me.”

“Didn’t you just ask that?”

“Really? I, no. Hyung, what are you talking about….”

Baek Tae-beom, who was licking his lips, pushed me gently as soon as I arrived in front of the dormitory.

“For now, just stay here and rest. I’m going to talk to Lee Myung-won-ssi this time…

“Okay, okay.”

“Don’t come out no matter who calls you.”

“I know.”

Like that, Baek Tae-beom quickly left as if he was running away. I watched his back and smiled slowly. As soon as I went inside the accommodation, I sat on the sofa.

The space without Baek Tae-beom was too big. With each breath, my chest rose and fell, and the chilly air touched the tip of my nose. I took the item out of the inventory and pulled it to my knees.

I held the <Magical Conch Shell> in my hands.

I should not be fooled by Baek Tae-beom’s current appearance. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It felt like someone was constantly whispering in my ear. You are drawn to him by instinct. I wanted to reject it. Like my constellation name, was it because I wanted to avoid the End?

But can it really be avoided?

With the attention of the other two constellations, I slowly brought my lips together.

[Magical Conch Shell A]

[It whispers a single prophecy. (Available once a year)]

“Magical Conch Shell-nim.”

Perhaps it was me who wanted to deny that Baek Tae-beom might destroy the world the most at this moment.

“Will the world be destroyed in three years?”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun’ swallows his saliva.]

[The constellation, ‘One Who Guides The Dead’ covers his eyes.]

Hearing the answer, I slowly slumped down on the sofa. The second hand of the clock was ticking towards the world’s ruin.