The silence of dawn lingered for a long time. After delaying for quite a while, it seemed time to go, so Kang Sihyun looked up at Yoo Seowoo. He had captured every detail of Sihyun's face as if imprinting it in his memory, then spoke.
"Separate from my feelings for you, I have a favor to ask. Please, don’t do anything dangerous on your own."
"…I understand."
"Don't just say it."
"……."
"You've always charged ahead, making us hustle to keep up with our skills. If it's tough, just talk to me, Sihyun."
There’s no need for you to bear it all alone.
Despite the added weight as he subtly shifted his center of mass closer, his words were well said. Sihyun responded with a promise to do so, patting Seowoo’s back as if to express his agreement, then gently pushed the boy’s shoulder away. Yoo Seowoo, whom Sihyun had expected to be stubborn, moved away without protest.
"Make sure to tell me."
"I said I will, have I ever lied?"
"You’ve tricked us quite a bit."
"……."
Leaving him speechless. Anticipating that the conversation would circle back to similar matters, Sihyun pushed the boy towards the door. The boy, with more to say, hesitated before eventually stepping back, retreating towards the closed door.
"Take care."
"Just go inside."
"Don't stay out too late."
"Yoo Seowoo, am I a child? You should go in quietly and not wake the kids."
Despite acting this way, he must know that I am older. After about thirty minutes in the hallway, Sihyun sent him off, feeling a sense of urgency. Reading Sihyun’s expression, Seowoo entered his room without another word.
As he disappeared behind the door, the signs of his presence faded. Finally, Sihyun sighed and moved towards Hahyuk's room, his grip tightening on a crumpled piece of paper, briefly betraying a sense of bitterness.
Knock, knock.
Taking the elevator up to the floor housing the guild master’s office, Sihyun knocked on the door. Despite the late hour, he was confident Hahyuk would still be up.
Hahyuk hadn’t returned home once since the Gula incident.
A sofa suitable for sleeping was placed in the corner of his office, and Hahyuk, now a workaholic, lived and worked there. He had trapped himself in a pile of work without anyone asking him to.
Thus, knocking with confidence, it wasn’t long before the door creaked open, revealing Hahyuk holding the handle.
"…What’s up?"
The fatigue was evident on his face. Seeing that he was still up working, Sihyun wedged his foot in the door. Hahyuk glanced at Sihyun’s face and the paper in his hand, then stepped back, making room for him to enter.
"You’re still awake."
"Got some things to handle."
As if it's only been a day or two.
Sihyun responded with a brief grunt to the tiredness in Hahyuk’s voice. Feeling sorry for him but remembering their agreement, Sihyun walked over to the table and took a seat. Hahyuk naturally sat across from him.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Came to collect what I asked for."
"Request? Ah… Adam and Eve?"
Remembering the request, Hahyuk let out a short exclamation and asked. Sihyun nodded, prompting Hahyuk to rise from his seat. He walked over to a bookshelf filled with various documents and began searching.
"You came at this hour for that?"
"I was just looking at something myself until now. This is as early as I could make it."
"Couldn’t you have come a few hours later, when it’s bright and the sun’s up?"
"It’s bright enough in here now."
Though not intended to be humorous, Hahyuk laughed at the comment glanced towards the lights. After fumbling around the shelf, he eventually pulled out a file.
"Just so you’re not disappointed, I’ll tell you there isn’t much information."
"I’m aware."
Ruth had also provided limited information. Even with all the contacts Ruth could muster, the accompanying email noted how little they could find. If Adam and Eve were truly divine, or emissaries of a deity, it was understandable. Sihyun nonchalantly accepted the file from Hahyuk, clearly containing just a few sheets of paper.
"Did you also request information from the IRS? Let's compare notes. With so many rumors about Adam and Eve, we should only trust overlapping information."
"You’re not angry."
"Why would I be angry? You didn’t just ask for information; you extracted it."
Was it because, last time , Ruth had provided new information that caused some displeasure?
Sihyun briefly recalled an incident from about two months ago and shook his head, dismissing the thought. His personality must have been quite difficult to deal with.
"Do you want to check it now?"
"If that’s alright."
Seowoo's voice echoed in his mind, contemplating an early return, but reviewing the documents in the presence of the children didn't seem appropriate. The rustling of papers might wake them, so it appeared better to review them in Hahyuk's office before returning.
Having decided, Sihyun began to focus on the documents, while Hahyuk, who had been silently observing, returned to his desk to resume the work Sihyun's arrival had interrupted.
The quiet rustling of paper and the soft fluttering sounds filled the office with a calm white noise, under which Sihyun rapidly read through Hahyuk’s documents. His eyes scanned for new information not covered in Ruth's report.
'Adam and Eve's disciples, too, were unable to find detailed information about their mentors. Adam and Eve merely passed on their techniques to the disciples, never divulging anything beyond their teachings. One day, a disciple, overcome with curiosity, asked, "What kind of beings are you, to possess such vast knowledge?" In response, both Adam and Eve smiled gently, and the disciple, sensing something profound in that moment, innocently inquired if they were gods. To this, Adam and Eve replied:
"If you see me as a god, then I am a god. If you see me as human, then I am human. The criteria for such judgment lie within your heart; if I meet those criteria, I am a god, and if not, I remain human."
Confused by the ambiguous answer, the disciple asked:
"Then, are you here to save us?"
The god replied:
"We are merely assistants, waiting for the hatching."
The conversation between the master and the disciple ended there. After that day, Adam and Eve no longer answered any questions from their disciples and vanished after imparting all their knowledge and leaving a final message.
"Our role ends here. The rest is up to you, may fortune be with you."
The disciples thought Adam and Eve might have been devout religious figures.'
"…Hmm."
The information was ambiguous, more akin to a folktale. Shaking the document with a perplexed look, Sihyun raised his head to look at Hahyuk, who paused, then spoke after a moment.
"Is the conversation between Adam and Eve and their disciples directly from those disciples?"
"That's what I believe. Of course, it could also be false. You know how words can be distorted."
Hahyuk answered without taking his eyes off the document. While his response might seem irresponsible, Sihyun, considering his position, picked up a pen and underlined the key dialogue.
'We are merely assistants, waiting for the hatching.'
That line was particularly striking. What hatching were they waiting for? Was it about Gula's return? If so, would Adam and Eve reappear once Gula fully returned?
Questions mounted, and sighs occasionally escaped Sihyun. Listening to those, Hahyuk looked up, pen in hand.
"If you want, I can arrange for you to meet the disciples."
"…Really?"
"Well, I can't summon them directly, but going to meet them is possible. It’s hard to make a judgment based on just this document. It might not be immediate, but when the opportunity arises, I'll help you visit the disciples."
It was an unexpected gain. Sihyun, seizing the offer, started marking the countries he wished to visit on the paper he held, to which Hahyuk, as if amused, nodded in response. Meeting the disciples directly seemed the most accurate way to learn, so Sihyun got up feeling significantly lighter.
Meeting Adam and Eve's disciples wouldn't be easy, but if requested by the leader of Korea's top guild, an opportunity would arise.
Was this the taste of power? He chuckled softly and placed the file back on Hahyuk's desk.
"Aren't you taking it with you?"
"It would be troublesome if someone else saw it. Just keep it in the guild master’s office."
"And you’ll come back for it when needed?"
"Possibly."
At Sihyun's unabashed reply, Hahyuk chuckled. Quietly declining Hahyuk's offer to accompany him, Sihyun left the guild master's office and returned to his room. Carefully opening the door and entering, he encountered Seowoo, awake and with eyes shimmering in the moonlight. Surprised by the platinum gaze, Sihyun calmed his rapidly beating heart and frowned.
I still don’t understand why we have to shoot a horror movie at these dark hours.
"Didn’t you sleep?"
"…I was worried about you."
"Now that I’m back , you can sleep."
"Did you finish what you needed to do?"
"Yes."
With a brief response, Sihyun slowly slid into the covers. He moved gently to avoid waking the children, and watching him, Seowoo lay back down and closed his eyes.
In a room bustling with the presence of eight sleeping children, Sihyun held his breath and succumbed to sleep much later than usual.
The accumulated fatigue soon ushered in darkness, and for the first time in a while, Sihyun dreamed.
It was a dream he had been waiting for.
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