EFME 46

“Welcome, I heard about you.”

“Hello. My name is Lim Sunyul.”

Sunyul politely greeted Jaehoon’s mother, who welcomed him warmly.

He rarely had the chance to talk with non-awoken people who weren’t hunters or ability users, and on top of that, he was now staying in the same house. No matter how much Jaehoon had assured him it was okay, Sunyul was extremely tense.

“Hyung, you’re home?”

Jaehoon’s younger brother, who was just as tense as Sunyul, came out to greet Jaehoon and his eyes met Sunyul’s.

Jaehoon had two younger siblings; his sister was an office worker, and his brother was a college student. Including their father and mother who ran a business together, they were a family of five… or so Jaehoon had told him on the way.

“Ah, hello.”

“Ah, ah. Yes. Hello.”

Sunyul and Jaehoon’s younger brother exchanged stiff bows. When the bowing didn’t seem to end, Jaehoon took off his shoes, entered the house, and slapped his brother on the back.

“That’s enough. Hey, you come in too.”

“Yes. Excuse my intrusion……”

In the living room, Jaehoon’s father and younger sister were waiting. Jaehoon’s father stood up, strode over to Sunyul, and held out his hand. Sunyul, caught by surprise, shook Jaehoon’s father’s hand. It felt incredibly awkward to grasp the firm hand.

“Um, make yourself comfortable during your stay.”

“Yes, I’ll be in your care.”

Sunyul kept bowing his head over and over. It felt like all he’d been doing since arriving was greeting people. After also exchanging greetings with Jaehoon’s sister, who just gave a slight nod, Sunyul was shown to the guest room.

“You can sleep here.”

Jaehoon said, putting down the suitcase he was lightly carrying in one hand.

“You’re going to eat, right?”

“It’s okay if I don’t.”

“Just eat. It looks like they cooked a lot of tasty food since you were coming.”

Sunyul reluctantly nodded. After unpacking his things, Sunyul was called for dinner and eventually made his way to the dining table.

True to the words that they had cooked a lot of tasty food, a rather lavish spread was set on the table. Jaehoon’s mother’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled gently.

“I tried my best, but I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”

At this gesture of hospitality, Sunyul said thank you and offered a smile. Whatever it was, it was a grateful thing for them to have prepared all this for him.

Sunyul sat down, took a bite of the galbi, and his eyes widened.

“It’s really delicious.”

“That’s a relief. Eat a lot. If you run out of rice, have some more.”

At his mother’s words, Jaehoon clicked his tongue.

“You gave him a huge portion already, what more can he eat? Look at him. Does he look like he can fit all that in?”

“You don’t look like you can eat five bowls of rice either.”

“That’s because I’m a hunter. He’s not an awakened being.”

“Don’t mind what Jaehoon says, and eat more if you want to.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Sunyul hadn’t thought Jaehoon’s family would be bad people, but they were even kinder than he had expected. They kept offering him this and that, and by accepting it all, he ate about twice his usual amount.

In the end, Sunyul was only able to return to his room after being offered strawberries in front of the TV. He had been so tense the entire time he was in front of Jaehoon’s family that a sigh escaped him as soon as he closed the door.

They are good people. He could see they were trying hard to be nice to him.

And yet, it was difficult to relax. Was it because he was being ungrateful? Thinking of their kind smiles made his stomach ache with guilt.

I’ll probably get used to it after a few days. Sunyul thought as he prepared for bed.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

“Huck……”

Another dream.

In the dream, Sunyul was in that unknown place. Unlike the times he used to wander, he was lying still as if he had lost his mind. On and on and on.

“Ugh……”

His head throbbed with a piercing pain, as if being stabbed with an awl. He wanted to see Muyeong. Muyeong, who he would only be able to see in a few days after he entered the dungeon. Because there was no one else he could rely on.

Sunyul whimpered by himself for a long time before he finally managed to calm down. It seemed he should drink a glass of cool water before trying to sleep. Even though Sunyul’s body didn’t need water, right now, his throat felt tight with thirst.

Sunyul quietly opened the door. It was the middle of the night, but it was faintly bright, as if a light was on somewhere.

Just as he was about to open the door and step out, a voice pierced Sunyul’s ears.

“Hyung is the crazy one, what did I do?”

It was the voice of Jaehoon’s younger brother. A rather irritated voice was followed by a sigh.

“Muyeong oppa asked for a favor. Can’t you put up with it for a few days?”

Following that was his younger sister’s voice. The somewhat ominous atmosphere and content of the conversation made Sunyul freeze up.

“Do you think it takes a few days to get killed? That fucking thing, if he pulls some weird shit, we’re all dead.”

“What weird shit would he pull? He seemed quiet.”

“Your head is full of fucking flowers. He’s probably just pretending to be quiet.”

“Hey, you’re the one being an asshole, okay? Think about it logically. Even if he were a weirdo, would he cause trouble when oppa is around? You dumbass. And why now, of all times, after being perfectly fine until now? You have to make sense. Do you think oppa got us those expensive shield items to use for something like this?”

“Nuna, you don’t know. Mom was super anxious too, you know?”

“Hah……. Whatever, just stop your bullshit and go to sleep. Before I tell oppa.”

“Go ahead and tell him, fuck.”

“I’ll have to tell him to cut off your allowance.”

“Fuck off, what does it have to do with you.”

“You? Youuu? I should just deck you……”

“……”

He felt like he shouldn’t keep listening, but Sunyul was frozen in place.

He knew well that he was an unwelcome presence, but hearing it said out loud… was certainly painful. And they weren’t just reluctant; they feared him like he was some kind of time bomb.

‘But I haven’t done anything.’

While Sunyul stood there blankly, the siblings continued to bicker. Just when he thought, ‘I really should stop listening and go to sleep,’ another voice cut in.

“Kim Jaehyun.”

It was Jaehoon’s voice. Unlike the usual lighthearted Jaehoon, his deep, low voice hinted at how angry he was.

“You really… hah, you can’t even put up with it for a few days?”

“Hyung! I was just……”

“I don’t even want to talk long. You’re tarnishing my reputation right now.”

“……”

“Whatever, you’re getting no allowance for three months, so go reflect on your actions.”

“Ah, hyung……”

Sunyul listened up to that point and quietly closed the door.

His stomach churned. He really wanted to see Muyeong. Desperately.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

“Can I sleep in the guild’s sleeping quarters today?”

Sunyul cautiously asked Jaehoon on the way to work. Jaehoon, who had stopped at a red light, glanced at Sunyul and covered his face with his hand.

“So you heard……”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Jaehoon let out a deep sigh.

“Hey, really… I’m sorry. The youngest was spoiled rotten, so he’s immature. I should have kept him in line.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s understandable that I might make him uncomfortable. I understand.”

“I’m really sorry. Should I get a hotel? No, wait. That might cause a misunderstanding……. But the guild’s sleeping quarters… Kwon Muyeong would probably try to kill me……”

Jaehoon muttered to himself. After a long moment of contemplation, Jaehoon came to a conclusion.

“Let’s go sleep at the guild’s sleeping quarters. They’re pretty well-equipped, anyway.”

“Okay. I’m sorry for making things inconvenient.”

“I told you there’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m the one who’s sorry. Really, I’m going to fix that brat Kim Jaehyun’s attitude once and for all.”

“I’m fine now.”

“No. Really… I’m really sorry. When I think about how stupid Kim Jaehyun is… ugh, that brat, really.”

Jaehoon kept apologizing until Sunyul begged him to stop. Jaehoon ended his apology by saying to put this down as a debt he owed.

Not long after arriving at the guild, Dakyung came to find Sunyul. And just like the other day, he said, “Let’s hang out,” and dragged Sunyul out.

He had felt awkward because Jaehoon seemed sorry about his brother’s actions, so he was very happy that Dakyung had come to find him.

“I heard you slept at Jaehoon hyung’s house yesterday. Was it okay?”

“Yeah.”

Sunyul tried to answer calmly, but it was all over his face. Seeing that, Dakyung’s expression became peculiar.

“It looks like it wasn’t okay.”

“……It was fine.”

Sunyul tried to do damage control too late. His face as he said it was fine looked extremely downcast.

“Did someone give you a hard time?”

“It wasn’t a hard time, but……”

“So something did happen.”

“……”

Having fallen for the leading question so easily, Sunyul shut his mouth. Dakyung looked at Sunyul with pity.

“If only I didn’t live with my parents, I would take you in, hyung. But my parents find it uncomfortable to have anyone over, not just you, so I can’t. I’m telling you, they even find it uncomfortable when my uncle’s family visits.”

“I’m fine.”

“Bada hyung would be perfect. Why did he have to go into a dungeon right now of all times… It’s about time he came out, should I contact him?”

Sunyul shook his head at the eager Dakyung.

“It’s okay. I’m going to sleep in the guild’s sleeping quarters today.”

At the words that he was leaving the house entirely to stay in the sleeping quarters, Dakyung’s eyes grew wide.

“It seems like something really did happen.”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it was. By the way, the sleeping quarters……”

Dakyung mumbled as if worried. The way he kept repeating, “sleeping quarters, sleeping quarters…” fostered a strange sense of anxiety.

“What’s wrong with the sleeping quarters?”

“There are… ghosts there, you know.”

Dakyung said ominously, his voice lowered to a whisper. Sunyul felt a little let down.

“Ghosts?”

“Yes. They say this place was a hospital site decades ago. So many people died in that hospital that ghosts are said to roam around.”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world.”

“How can you be so sure they don’t exist? They might.”

“……”

“Let me tell you what kind of ghosts appear. The ones that mainly appear in the sleeping quarters are a young female ghost and an old grandpa ghost……”

After hearing Dakyung’s ghost story, Sunyul started to dislike the idea of the sleeping quarters. He even considered just going back to Jaehoon’s house, but……. Putting aside his own discomfort, he felt sorry that the younger brother, who had been scolded by Jaehoon, would feel uncomfortable because of him.

From the younger brother’s perspective, it might be natural to be wary.

There was no need to feel bitter. He just had to accept it as a natural thing. Sunyul steeled his heart once more.