Yoon Seo's life is tragic and unfair. Whenever he reveals unexpected sides of himself, it sends a shiver through Kwon Jihan's chest. When he calmly recounts his past, it fills Jihan with a complex mix of emotions that defies definition.
Jihan wants to see Yoon Seo's past and learn more about him.
He imagines Yoon Seo covered in white flour, flustered and stumbling when he first tried baking. He wonders how it felt the first time he heard the fourth movement of Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 2. He thinks about what went through Yoon Seo's mind as he climbed to the summit of Baekdusan, gritting his teeth and cursing the people who left him messages, looking down at the blue earth.
There was a question he couldn't ask.
'Why did Revengers leave such a will for hyung?'
Kwon Jihan already knew the answer, so he kept quiet.
Yoon Seo never climbs the same mountain twice, never knits the 101st stitch, and never surpasses the platinum level.
Everything pointed to one thing.
'Why did they tell hyung to sleep in a bed?'
It was clear he would curl up on the cold, hard floor instead of using a perfectly fine bed.
'Why did they tell hyung to eat three meals a day?'
Otherwise, he would go hungry and eat nothing.
'Why did they tell hyung to look for unusual clouds?'
So that sometimes, he could look up at the blue sky and clear the painful memories from his mind.
All the answers led to one conclusion:
The Revengers wanted Seo Chaeyoon to live.
Even in their final moments, they left such absurd messages because they cared deeply.
And that revealed one undeniable truth:
The Revengers were convinced that without these instructions, Seo Chaeyoon would die after leaving the dungeon.
'Indeed, hyung were trying to die in the dungeon.'
At that moment, Yoon Seo closed his eyes in Kwon Jihan's arms, his expression utterly serene. Though he must have thought he was about to die, as the "guild stone" could only transport one person, he didn't appear fearful at all. Typically, when seeing such a peaceful expression, one might think, "Ah, this person knows they won't die." But what Kwon Jihan felt at that moment was:
'This person is waiting for death.'
At first, Kwon Jihan thought it was due to Yoon Seo's magic exhaustion. He had never experienced the side effects of magic depletion himself, but he had heard that negative thoughts and emotions become magnified during such times.
However, as he spent time with Yoon Seo, he realized that wasn't the case. Yoon Seo wanted to die. Even now. He was only temporarily delaying it because of Revengers' final words. His suspicions were confirmed by those relentless messages urging him to keep living.
Yoon Seo was living only to honor the last wishes of his companions, which is why he didn't react even to the insensitive remarks of someone who knew nothing.
'....'
Kwon Jihan covered his mouth with his hand, fearing that a curse might escape. He hated the idea that Yoon Seo wanted to die. It irritated and angered him to think that someone with such a beautiful, expressionless face was harboring such sad thoughts inside. That anger turned inward, directed at himself for not noticing it until now.
A hero who wanted to die and companions who left behind strange last words to prevent that. And the people who pulled the missing hero back into the world.
The chaotic night deepened.
***
13. Show of Skills
Yoon Seo woke up at his usual time, remembering right away that he had slept at Kwon Jihan's house, so he wasn't startled by the unfamiliar ceiling. As he stepped out of the room, Kwon Jihan emerged from the kitchen, wearing plastic gloves smeared with seasoning, greeting him with a smile that was even brighter than the dazzling sunlight outside.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, and you, Hunter Kwon Jihan?"
"Can't you just call me Jihan? Try saying, 'Did Jihan sleep well?'"
Ignoring him, Yoon Seo went straight to wash up.
After washing up, the two finished jogging together along the Han River, enjoying the beautiful dawn without any speed competition this time.
After a refreshing shower, they had a breakfast that rivaled a feast. When Yoon Seo asked Kwon Jihan when he had prepared the meal, Kwon Jihan replied that he had done it before Yoon Seo woke up. Yoon Seo felt compelled to thank him and did so with a simple expression of gratitude, while Kwon Jihan smiled lazily.
Even though it was a Monday morning when everyone else was busy rushing to work, Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan left the house only when it was almost nine o'clock. Yoon Seo was on holiday until tomorrow, but Kwon Jihan had to go to work.
"Are you going home now?"
"Yes."
"That's nice. I have to go to work."
"Good luck."
As a fellow office worker, Yoon Seo didn't tease Kwon Jihan for having to go to work on a Monday.
The two walked through the spacious hallway of the penthouse towards the parking area. Kwon Jihan cradled Riceball in his arms, as if he had taken a hostage. Yoon Seo didn't insist on taking it back. It would be beneficial if Kwon Jihan and Riceball became friends. The thought of seeing both of them play together made him happy. Plus… there was another reason why they needed to get close.
The parking area was two levels, each capable of holding five cars, but there was only Sticky Rice parked there.
Yoon Seo's eyes widened.
Where was Kwon Jihan's car, which had been perfectly fine just last night?
He remembered Kwon Jihan saying it would now be called "Chewy Barley," and he had even patted the car's body. But now, Chewy Barley was nowhere to be found.
"Hunter Kwon Jihan, Chewy Barley…."
"Oh."
Kwon Jihan replied nonchalantly to Yoon Seo's confusion.
"Chewy Barley ran off to the Seokyoung headquarters by itself while we were eating."
"Excuse me?"
Yoon Seo turned to look at Kwon Jihan. The S-rank hunter, standing at 194 cm with a muscular build, blinked innocently.
"I had it scheduled to arrive at the headquarters by 9 AM, but I forgot to cancel. So, can you give me a ride?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I'm asking you to take me to the office."
"Hah."
Yoon Seo felt even more bewildered than when he had heard the absurd last words in the great dungeon.
Did Kwon Jihan really just ask him to drive him to work on a Monday when he was on vacation?
If Revengers had left such a message, Yoon Seo would seriously consider giving up.
"Yoon Seo hyung, it's just a matter of dropping me off in front of the building. Is that really so hard?"
"Are you sure you only need to go to the building entrance? Will you leave me alone once we arrive?"
"Since we're going that far, let's stop by the cafeteria too. You know our cafeteria serves beef on Mondays, right?"
"...."
Yoon Seo was slightly tempted. Even though he had just had a hearty breakfast and was full, the food at the Seokyoung cafeteria was quite good…
"Stop playing around and give me a solid reason."
But he narrowed his eyes with strong determination, convinced that there had to be a clear reason for Kwon Jihan's antics. Kwon Jihan smiled sweetly, puffing up his cheeks.
"Actually, there's a dungeon briefing today."
"The great dungeon briefing is on Wednesday."
"No, today is for the S-rank yellow dungeon briefing happening this weekend."
Yoon Seo finally remembered the schedule. Kwon Jihan had applied to join a joint raid with other guilds because he wanted to get a feel for things before tackling the great dungeon.
With a deflated sigh, Yoon Seo began to walk toward Sticky Rice.
"Why didn't you just say that instead of this strange nonsense? It's suspicious."
"I figured you'd say no."
"You said I need to get a feel for battle. I want to check out at least three S-rank dungeons before the great dungeon."
"Don't worry about the schedule. I'll handle everything. From now on, I'm your manager, Seo Chaeyoon."
"I must have a great manager."
Yoon Seo chuckled as he got into the car. Even after saying that, Kwon Jihan seemed worried that he might go home alone, so he quickly squeezed his large frame into the car. Kwon Jihan firmly closed the door before greeting Sticky Rice.
"Hello, Sticky Rice."
"Master's colleague has come again."
Sticky Rice greeted Kwon Jihan instead of its owner.
"Just call me Jihan."
"Nice to meet you, Jihan. Please play with our master often."
"Sure, we'll see each other more often. Oh, we're heading to the Seokyoung headquarters."
"Yes, we're off."
Following Kwon Jihan's instructions, Sticky Rice started the car. Yoon Seo found it a bit ridiculous but decided to let it slide.
"Hyung, is there any last-minute activity we can do in the car?"
"There is."
Yoon Seo took out a coloring set from the storage box.
It was a children's coloring book featuring princesses, princes, charming castles, and cute animals.
Kwon Jihan flipped through the pages with an intrigued expression.
"Let's see… with twelve pages per book, you must have finished a hundred quickly, and it looks like there are a thousand of them."
"That's right. One thousand. This is the 991st."
"Oh my, our hyung. You've worked hard. Thank you."
His tone sounded as if he was praising a child. Yoon Seo handed Kwon Jihan the colored pencils.
"Try it if you're bored."
"Huh? I can't do that. It's a last wish left for you."
"What are you suddenly talking about? You said we'd do it together yesterday."
"Well, that was back then… but thinking about it, it is a last wish for you. And, um, there's not much time left for the wish."
"I'd be happy if you finished the wish quickly."
"Uh, well… I guess that's good, but…"
For some reason, Kwon Jihan seemed uncomfortable and was reluctant to accept it. Normally, Yoon Seo would have just taken the coloring book, but this time was different.
"Just color one page."
'Why do we go hiking? But once I reach the top, it feels great. It's like my chest is wide open.'
'Finding clouds is fun. It's been so long since I sat still and looked at the blue sky; it feels like all my complicated emotions are fading away.'
The reason Yoon Seo was encouraging Kwon Jihan to do this was precisely because of those sentiments.
As Yoon Seo colored the pages of a book typically meant for children, he felt a bit… happy. He colored the princess's two braids with brown, the prince's outfit with yellow, the cute squirrel in an impossible pink, and transformed the blue sky into a sunset scene. For reasons he couldn't quite understand, his mood lightened.
He hoped that Kwon Jihan, who hadn't had the chance to experience such simple joy, could feel this small pleasure as well. Having awakened as the world's strongest at a young age, he had lived a busy life, and Yoon Seo wished he could enjoy this kind of leisure, even if just for a brief moment.