BRH 29

Throb!

Lime must want something too. Peeking inside to see what’s there, and then transforming into something useful later, would be helpful.

Left alone in the empty conference room, Ha Do-heon leaned back deeply in his chair and picked up his phone again. He diligently searched for ways to find the Goblin, but it was so elusive that he couldn’t even find eyewitness accounts of anyone seeing it.

He needed to know its appearance or presence to even begin searching.

‘This bastard… threatening to kill it won’t make it come out, will it?’

Tch, that’s nonsense. Ha Do-heon scratched his neck ruefully and sighed deeply. It seemed he would have to put in a request, at least.

***

It had been a week since he started looking for a job around the Hoehyeon-dong area. Today, Ha Do-heon was rejected again and returned home exhausted, collapsing. It wouldn’t be so frustrating if there were no jobs at all.

“Ugh, we don’t hire hunters. Yesterday, one of them got into a fight and started throwing punches at a customer.”

“A B-rank hunter? No, why would someone like that work at our place… It’s scary. I feel like he’ll hit me.”

“Can you flip this? Come here and flip it. Hey, tsk! It’s all torn! What kind of hunter isn’t quick?”

“I’m looking for someone gentle, Adam-like, and docile.”

Eventually failing to find a job, Ha Do-heon trudged home dejectedly and sat in a corner, morosely checking the Goblin’s SNS for a reply.

‘If I can’t find anything by tomorrow, I’ll just have to do dungeon grunt work, damn it…’

Buzz.

Just then, the phone in his hand vibrated. Do-heon glanced down to see Song Woo-yeop’s large name and a message below it.

[Hyung, are you free today?]

[I made a lot of young radish kimchi, so I was wondering if you wanted some.]

He seemed to be contacting him every other day lately. Did this guy have nothing to do? Do-heon squatted in the corner of his room, staring intently at his phone, before jumping up and opening the refrigerator. Hmm, empty. Nodding, he quickly sent a message.

“He’s giving me young radish kimchi again.”

It was known as Song Woo-yeop’s young radish kimchi. The reason for this name was simple.

‘Even if ten people eat it, nine might die without knowing.’

That was the kind of modifier attached to the kimchi. The first reason was that Song Woo-yeop’s culinary skills were so good they could make three master chefs weep, and the second was that it was a secret recipe passed down through four generations. Anyway, it was another reason why the kimchi contained the essence of the Song family, passed down through generations.

The taste was so amazing that in his past life, there were countless members who waited for Song Woo-yeop’s kimchi-making day.

[Woo-yeop-ah. How did you know I liked young radish kimchi?]

[I was just asking….]

[I’d be happy to have it if you give it to me]

[Then should I go to Hyung’s neighborhood?]

[Tch, the receiver should go in this case. Where should I go?]

[Then come to Exit 4 of Sillim Station, and I’ll come out.]

Do-heon, who had been squatting in front of the refrigerator sending messages, immediately prepared to go out. He thought he should get the kimchi, ask after Song Woo-yeop, and check if he was doing well.

“Sillim Station… Sillim Station.”

Ha Do-heon immediately turned on the map and scanned the route to Sillim Station. After checking the way, he put on a hat, took Lime, and left the house. He thought about taking the subway, but he hated crowded places, and Ha Do-heon had legs as strong as iron.

Whoosh.

He darted through deserted alleys, working his legs. In a few moments, the subway station entrance came into view. Ha Do-heon walked casually out of the alley, leisurely crossed the crosswalk, and arrived at Exit 4 of Sillim Station.

[Woo-yeop-ah, Hyung’s here.]

[Already? Just a moment, I’ll be right out]

He must not have expected him to arrive so quickly, as a flustered typo stood out. Do-heon put his phone away and stood in front of the station, looking around at the scenery. Hmm, good sunlight, good air, gentle breeze.

If he could just find a job, he wouldn’t ask for anything more.

He had deliberately avoided the prime commercial district of the Yakum Dungeon because of the risk of exposing his face too much, and had been looking for work in the relatively outer areas of Hoehyeon-dong, but he wondered if he should just turn his attention to the prime area.

Morning Star Cafe always seemed to have job openings… He should go there tomorrow.

While Ha Do-heon was secretly making up his mind, someone came out of the corner and ran towards Ha Do-heon, calling out to him.

“Hyung!”

Song Woo-yeop’s sideburns were soaked with sweat as he ran through the midsummer heat. Even though he was a D-rank hunter, Song Woo-yeop, who had better stamina than the average person, was sweating so profusely that it was as if he had run at full speed.

Ha Do-heon raised his head, and their eyes met. Song Woo-yeop’s eyes curved gently.

“Oh, yeah… you’re here?”

But he wasn’t alone. A small hand with chubby cheeks was tightly gripping Song Woo-yeop’s clothes. A small child was held in Song Woo-yeop’s arms. It was a boy wearing a bear hat and overalls. The cheeks under his thick eyelashes looked soft and plump.

Song Woo-yeop appeared holding a child! Ha Do-heon was stunned and slightly opened his mouth. Did he… have a child? Was Song Woo-yeop married? While Ha Do-heon was faltering with complicated feelings, Song Woo-yeop lifted the child and said with a troubled face.

“I’m sorry. My younger brother kept saying he wanted to see Hyung.”

“Bro, brother?”

“You can tell we look alike… Hyung, you’re not thinking strange things, are you? I’m only twenty years old. The kid looks like he’s at least four years old.”

“Oh? Oh, yeah… he looks like it.”

If he was 20 and his brother was 4… that was quite late. He seemed to be at an age where he should be looking for his mom or dad, but seeing him smiling happily in his Hyung’s arms, he felt proud and pleased.

“Eun-chan-ah, you said you wanted to see Do-heon Hyung. You have to say hello.”

“Uh-huh… yes.”

The child turned his head and looked at Ha Do-heon. The bear hat also spun around to the side. His smiling cheeks looked soft. Do-heon, seeing the small and harmless creature, couldn’t even reach out his hand, afraid that he might hurt it.

“Hello. Uh… Eun-chan is, Song Eun-chan from the Sunshine Class. Do-heon Hyung, I wanted to see you.”

Ha Do-heon smiled, thinking that the child spoke so clearly and articulately. It was then. The sparkling eyes under the bear hat smoothly rose and met Do-heon’s eyes. And at that moment-.

Thud.

A huge weight fell in his head.

A black and white world, frozen in time, was reflected in Ha Do-heon’s eyes. A world where everything had stopped. And a city that was rapidly reversing as if it were being rewound.

The stopped city produced a bizarre scene like a black and white movie.

A child running with a white bag of ice cream. The child held his Hyung’s hand tightly and smiled, showing his baby teeth. The man smiled back at the child’s laughter.

It was Song Woo-yeop and Song Eun-chan, who had just turned 4 years old.

But Ha Do-heon, he… knew the misfortune that would happen later.

Kwaang!

An explosion was heard from somewhere. Smoke instantly swallowed the city, and people poured out into the streets like a swarm of bees, running in one direction. Pushing, trampling, pulling each other…. The city quickly became a bizarre street overflowing with blood.

There, Song Woo-yeop ran with the child in his arms. But he was hit and pushed by people, and violently bounced out to the corner of the road.

Around that time, a huge shadow rose over the city. Six monsters covering the sky. Monsters with two heads and four legs each, reaching 50 meters in height, began to destroy the city. Siren sounds rang out in the burning city, and emergency evacuation announcements swallowed the city.

Song Woo-yeop was found that day, covered in blood, unable to escape Sillim-dong. He knew it well.

-He was still a young brother… He was caught up in the Gate incident and left on a long journey before me. I was infected at that time and re-awakened.

The image of Song Woo-yeop speaking bitterly with tearful eyes belatedly revived in one corner of his mind. He had realized, looking at Song Woo-yeop’s dead eyes, that the brothers who had lost their parents early were everything to each other. Even though his head was throbbing, Ha Do-heon couldn’t take his eyes off the scene in front of him.

Sillim-dong. He should have realized it as soon as he heard it, but ignorance almost led to another sacrifice.

Song Woo-yeop’s re-awakening stemmed from the Second Great Disaster.

That day, the Gate that occurred in Sillim-dong was classified as a disaster level 7, and categorized as the Second Great Disaster. Ha Do-heon was dispatched to the scene as a rescue hunter to rescue citizens. There, he directly rescued Song Woo-yeop, who was covered in blood, and in his arms….

“…”

It was that child. The child Ha Do-heon failed to save from the Second Great Disaster on an autumn night. The Sillim-dong Gate incident, which resulted in 446 deaths out of 3,523 victims.

Due to this situation, many people were infected with Weird Cells and re-awakened.

Clench.

As Ha Do-heon clenched his fist tightly, the black and white world crumbled. Not a second time. Somehow, he would do whatever it took to prevent their sacrifice this time.

A colorful and vivid world reappeared on his coldly hardened cornea. Song Woo-yeop’s frowning face, calling out to the stunned Ha Do-heon, finally caught Do-heon’s attention.

“Hyung? What’s wrong. Are you sick somewhere?”

Only then did Do-heon realize that he wasn’t breathing. He slowly, deeply exhaled the breath he had held to the limit. He brushed back his hair as if to hide his throbbing head and smiled as if it was nothing.