CH-046

Beep—.

Beep—.

A familiar scent brushed past my nose.

I lifted my heavy eyelids. A white ceiling came into view.

"......"

Turning my head, I saw a blue sky beyond the window. The vivid saturation made me realize reality.

It wasn't a dungeon.

"Hospital..."

Judging by the sound of birds, it seemed like morning.

My mind was languid. I slowly blinked my eyes.

Iron door, emergency stairs, dark corridor, collapsed people...

Phantasmagoric memories flickered through my head.

How did I get out of the dungeon?

.......

"Ah."

The red brooch I had barely gotten my hands on came to mind.

I hurriedly raised my upper body and looked around. My clothes were gone.

A chill ran down my spine. I lowered my legs one by one and got up from the bed.

It was the moment I put strength into my feet and stepped on the floor.

"Ugh, fuck..."

It felt like my stomach was being stabbed with a knife. I naturally clutched my stomach and hunched over. Just as I was quietly enduring the pain, the hospital room door opened and someone entered.

"Sunbae, you're awake...!"

It was Lulu. Lulu, in casual clothes, widened his eyes upon seeing me and ran over with tears welling up.

"You shouldn't be up already!"

Supported by him, I got up and looked steadily at Lulu.

"What about my clothes?"

No answer came back. Lulu blinked rapidly and hemmed and hawed.

"Well, they got really dirty..."

"Did you throw them away?"

"The things in your pockets, I put them safely in the drawer. You're looking for your belongings, right?"

As soon as I heard that, I checked the drawer. A jewelry box was placed alongside my cellphone.

'It's here.'

I let out a sigh of relief. Lulu, who had trotted over, placed a shopping bag on the drawer.

"Lulu didn't touch your things, so don't worry."

I didn't trust him.

In the process of sitting on the bed, another wave of abdominal pain hit. Even the slightest movement hurt as if it was gouging, so I put my hand on my stomach.

"......"

"I told you, it's better if you keep lying down. Your complexion is bad, Sunbae."

Did the monster tear my insides apart? It was a pain I couldn't understand otherwise....

I obediently lay down. As I lay down and covered myself with the blanket, Lulu sat next to me.

"How long has it been since I lost consciousness?"

"It's only been half a day since we got out of the dungeon."

It hadn't been as long as I thought. Lulu's face was clean, unlike someone who had just come out of a dungeon. He didn't even look tired, so I thought at least a day had passed.

"You must have found the core safely. That's a relief."

"Ah, about that."

Lulu scratched his cheek.

"I don't really remember. At some point, I opened my eyes and I was in the hospital room!"

"?"

Feeling a throbbing in my head, I pressed my temple.

"Sunbae. How much do you remember about what happened in the dungeon?"

"Hmm..."

The dungeon. The events that happened there feel half like a dream.

My shoes were found in the penthouse, and I was interrogated by Yeom Hajae. I think the atmosphere got a bit hostile...

My memory is hazy from that point. After entering the 31st floor, my stomach condition kept being strange. I almost lost my mind denying it was because of the monster egg.

Just think about an unknown life form squirming in your stomach. It's natural to want to deny it to the end. That it's just indigestion, that my appendix burst.

Thinking back now, it was an unnaturally distinct movement. Seeing as I don't remember, maybe I fainted because of the monster after all.

"Actually, I don't remember much. I think I might have seen Hunter-nim getting slammed into a wall."

"Oh, I seeee."

"Haha. Still, there's no way two perfectly fine people would fight with the core right in front of them, so it must have been a hallucination."

I thought he would add an explanation, but Lulu just sat there blankly.

"A hallucination... right?"

"......"

"Did something happen?"

"No! Absolutely nothing happened at all!"

Something definitely happened.

'Yeom Hajae is alive, right?'

If something went wrong with Yeom Hajae, I'd be in trouble too. Because of that crazy bastard Choi Haegang.

Just as I was about to press further, I sensed a presence outside the door.

Slide—.

The hospital room door opened.

"How is your physical condition?"

A doctor entered. It was a doctor I had encountered before.

"Aside from a bit of stomach pain, I'm fine."

"It's an intestinal rupture. A frog-type monster was found inside your rectum."

.......

The doctor stopped talking upon seeing my face. He seemed to belatedly realize that this was a nauseating story from the perspective of a patient who had just woken up.

"The intra-abdominal bleeding was severe."

"That mean frog bastard!"

Lulu clenched his fist exaggeratedly.

"Treatment..."

"Lulu worked hard to save Sunbae."

He cut off the doctor and whipped his head around to look at me.

"......"

The doctor stopped speaking. As an eerie silence continued, a phone rang.

"Just a moment."

Checking the caller, Lulu said he would take the call and went outside.

Once the noisy fellow left, only the clattering sounds could be heard in the hospital room with just the doctor and me.

"The intestinal rupture isn't solely due to the monster..."

"Huh?"

The doctor muttered something, but I was thinking about something else and didn't hear it well. Before I could ask him to repeat it, the door burst open.

"You waited, right!"

When Lulu returned, the doctor shut his mouth again. He left the hospital room without even finishing his explanation, saying he had something to check. Lulu, approaching my side, also packed his bag.

"Sunbae, I think Lulu has to go too. Something came up at the cafe."

"Go safely."

"Lulu wanted to take care of Sunbae until the end!"

I smiled at Lulu.

"My clothes, don't use them for anything weird and throw them in the trash."

"...Yes."

Leaving only an untrustworthy answer behind, Lulu departed.

In the quiet hospital room, while looking out the window, a vibration sounded. It came from the drawer. I pulled out the vibrating cellphone and checked.

Looking now, there were several missed calls from the same number. I answered the phone immediately. Because I had a hunch who it was.

"I answered the phone."

-......

"Hello?"

-Hyung.

As expected, the owner of the number was Yeom Hajae.

"Ah, Hunter-nim. Are you okay?"

-Yes. Are you really okay, Hyung?

It was a strangely gloomy voice.

"Me? More importantly, are you calling because you want to see my back?"

-Huh?! N-No!

"Then?"

-Well.

"Well?"

-Well, th-that, that, so...

Yeom Hajae kept repeating "well" and couldn't continue.

-Th-tha-that, well. Th-that. Hic.

"Haha..."

Did he perhaps hurt his head? I was genuinely worried.

"Are you really okay?"

-I-I'm, sorry. Hic.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and waited for his hiccups to stop.

"By any chance,"

-I!

Our words overlapped.

"Yes?"

-...Well, you see.

Even though I yielded, Yeom Hajae hesitated for a long time. Tens of seconds passed like that, and just as I was starting to feel frustrated, a trembling voice came through the phone.

-In the dungeon... I'm truly sorry.

What was he apologizing for?

'The bothersome incident on the emergency stairs? Interrogating me on the 31st floor?'

There were too many things that came to mind.

"It's already in the past, it's fine."

-What?! Are you forgiving me... that easily?

"Well, honestly, I don't remember it well. I was probably out of it."

-Ah....

"You must have been out of it too, Hunter-nim. I'll accept your apology, so don't worry too much about it."

The sound of inhaling breath, as if about to say something, was heard several times. Again, quite some time passed before he opened his mouth.

-Have you met Lulu-ssi?

"Yes. He was right next to me until just now."

-......

"Now that I think of it, what happened to the people inside the dungeon?"

-...They were all rescued safely. Not a single one left out. Not everyone has regained consciousness yet, but I heard most will wake up safely.

"Not a single one left out" must include the junkie. I had almost forgotten about the junkie I'd left on the 1st floor sometime ago.

-Hyung, you'd better worry about your own body first.

"I'm fine."

-You're not fine!

Yeom Hajae suddenly yelled.

-If it had been just a few minutes later, your life would have been in danger.

Every time we met, I always saw him running around trying to save people. But I didn't feel any pride in his voice about having saved people.

-And breaking up with that woman...

"Huh?"

Woman?

-Ah, never mind.

Yeom Hajae hurriedly said goodbye and hung up the phone.

'He doesn't look good.'

Maybe it was because I couldn't figure out the reason for his strange reaction. Even after hanging up, I felt uneasy for a while.

***

The hotel incident was roughly concluded. The director apparently came out of the dungeon without a single scratch. He nonchalantly sent a message saying let's meet again next time. Perhaps because his business partner hadn't died, unlike my previous life, I didn't get particularly scolded by the Boss either.

And so, I returned to my peaceful daily life.

It was a day when the Boss, myself, and Go Sangwon were all supposed to go on a mission together.

Having prepared as instructed, I ended up hearing thunderous news.

"Huh? What about me?"

"I'm told the number of people who can board the boat is limited, so it can't be helped."

"...Is the cat considered a person?"

"I am clearly a sapient lifeform, meow."

"Haha."

The plan had gone awry.

Taking the cat instead of me. The Boss trusts the cat more than me. A person who even has a cat fur allergy!

I couldn't accept it. I turned my head, thinking of presenting a counterargument once more.

Not knowing when he started looking at me, my eyes met the Boss's directly.

"......"

It was a look that seemed to say, 'Got a problem?' I smiled brightly.

"Have a safe trip."

"Fix the broken electricity, meow."

"How many times do I have to say, I don't have that kind of ability."

In the end, I had to smile and wave at the three disappearing figures.

It was an afternoon on a day when the hideout was empty like that.

My schedule being suddenly canceled put me in a bad mood. I needed a change of pace. I felt like enjoying a hobby for the first time in a while.

'Where should I raid today?'

First, I stood in front of the rest area. There are organization members who sometimes leave things behind here....

I opened the door triumphantly.

"Hmm?"

I naturally thought no one would be there. My eyes met Jang Yijoong, who was perched on the window.

"Yijoong-ssi, you were here?"

"...!"

Jang Yijoong didn't answer. He looked frozen. Did I catch him red-handed doing something bad?

I scrutinized him thoroughly. A white tail was swaying behind Jang Yijoong's back.

"Pets are prohibited in the hideout."

I smirked, then closed the door again and came out into the hallway.

He must have brought a cat or something, but one cat in this hideout was enough. I walked towards my next destination.

While passing through the hallway.

I saw someone coming out of the archives.

'?'

Judging by the blue outfit, he looked like a repairman. The talk about there being a problem with the hideout's electricity came to mind.

"......"

The moment the man silently passed by me.

Grab.

I grabbed his forearm.

"I don't think I've seen your face before?"