About thirty minutes had passed when the children, having calmed their excitement, began to eat. Kang Sihyun joined them, occasionally glancing at Haewoon to check on him. Doctors had come upon hearing the news to examine Haewoon, and surprisingly, they found no signs of poor health or nutritional deficiency. It was astonishingly healthy. After confirming their perplexity, Hahyuk, who had dropped by for a check, was sent off, and Kang Sihyun, having finished his meal, looked around at the children.
"Can I step out for a moment? I have something to discuss with Kang Haewoon separately about the dungeon. We can't just send the patient out."
"Can't you talk in front of us?"
"...There's something I want to ask privately."
The children did not know that Kang Haewoon had died and been revived. Thinking he was just severely injured from the dungeon, they looked troubled, prompting Jihye to read Kang Sihyun's expression and lead the children out of the room.
"I'll be back in about 15 minutes? We're leaving in an hour, so I'd like to return before then."
"Ah, yeah. That should be enough time."
"Okay."
"What's okay?"
"Nothing. Let's step out for a bit. Come on, kids."
Like herding cats, Jihye linked arms with Daun and Hamin and pulled the children out, closing the door behind her. Kang Sihyun stared at the closed door before turning his head. The man who had received his blue gaze straightened up from leaning against the wall.
"Ah, should I leave too?"
"I'd like it to be just the two of us."
As if he would be an exception. With a look, Hahyuk let out a short sound of disappointment and left the room. Kang Sihyun had expected some kind of protest or conditions but was surprised by his compliance.
"We'll see each other again at the airport anyway."
With a slight smile, the man disappeared behind the door. This would be the last time Kang Sihyun would see Hahyuk in the guild area before heading to Russia.
Feeling slightly guilty for seemingly dismissing someone who had come out of concern for Haewoon, Kang Sihyun made an apologetic face, which caused Haewoon to shiver as if he had goosebumps.
"Finally gone, huh."
"What's up, you don't like Iha Hyuk?"
"It's not that I dislike him; it's just uncomfortable. Being in front of him feels like he can see right through me. I don't like that feeling!"
Even though they were brothers, Haewoon was nothing like Hamin?
Haewoon added with disbelief. Agreeing that Hamin and Hahyuk were of different natures, Kang Sihyun extended his sensory range to check for any presence and frowned.
"Sigh."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just a moment."
Kang Sihyun stood up and walked towards the door. The sound of his footsteps made the outside a bit noisy. Although it was just a whisper, Kang Sihyun, whose senses had become sharper, could not miss it.
Bursting open the door without warning startled the children waiting outside, who then looked at Kang Sihyun in surprise.
"..."
Silence ensued as eyes met. Realizing the children were there to eavesdrop on his conversation with Haewoon, Kang Sihyun couldn't help but wear an expression of slight amusement.
Every time their differing eyes met, the children's shoulders twitched. Thump, Kang Sihyun leaned against one wall of the door, scrutinizing the children with a slanted gaze.
"Weren't you going somewhere else?"
"We, we were about to go... Right? Haha."
Jihye awkwardly responded, and as Kang Sihyun looked at them as if asking if they really thought he'd believe that, they hesitantly took a step back and avoided his gaze. The standoff didn't last long.
"The kids just wanted to listen in for a bit..., sorry."
"...It's fine."
Jihye was the only one who showed willingness to step aside, understanding the situation, while the other children, except for the girl, were curious and remained. Even if Jihye tried to stop them, controlling all of them would not have been possible.
Considering how Jihye could manage when angry, she might have been able to control the situation, but the problem was that Jihye herself was curious about the conversation between him and Haewoon.
Not an unexpected turn of events, Kang Sihyun sighed shortly to give them a hint.
"Go to a café or something. Or even just drop by the convenience store downstairs. I'll explain everything to you after we're done talking."
"We will."
"Okay."
"Why do only the two of you get to talk? What about our doctor?"
If
Hamin had let this pass easily, he wouldn't be Hamin. As always, the boy raised objections, prompting Kang Sihyun to look at Geonu. Recognizing the intent behind the gaze, the boy swiftly lifted Hamin onto his shoulders and nodded.
"Hey!"
"See you later."
With an effortlessly carried boy on his back, Geonu spoke plainly. Hamin's shout was ignored as Kang Sihyun blinked in gratitude.
"I'll call you when we're done talking."
"Okay."
This allowed him to smoothly send the children away. Closing the door and heaving a deep sigh, Haewoon let out a chuckling laugh.
"Do you find this funny?"
"It's hilarious. You tell them to stay out, and why were they even there?"
"They must have been curious."
"How did you know they were waiting?"
"Just a feeling. They're not the type to just leave because they're told to."
Choosing a casual response, Haewoon agreed, nodding. Kang Sihyun smiled softly as the boy stroked his chin and mumbled, "Our kids aren't the type to be embarrassed anywhere. They're like beagles, aren't they?"
The biggest beagle was talking about others.
"So, you're really okay?"
"Wow, I've heard that question 15 times today. So this is how you felt, Kang Sihyun?"
Despite hearing assurances 14 times, Kang Sihyun asked again, just in case, making Haewoon make a face as if he was fed up. It was an unexpected point of empathy.
"If I were in that bed, you guys would have been worse. Last time, you asked me if I was okay every day for a week."
"Well, you've collapsed several times before, Kang Sihyun. This is only my first time!"
"At least I've never died."
"What?"
"Don't act surprised. You must have guessed when you woke up; you were dead."
Not breathing, heart not beating. That was the state he had been in.
As Kang Sihyun lowered his voice, the smile vanished from the boy's face. After a moment of stiff expression, Haewoon looked around, shifting his gaze from the window to the floor and back, and then awkwardly laughed and fiddled with the blanket.
"Really?"
"Really? What do you mean, really? That's why I kept asking if you were okay."
"...Honestly, I thought I might be dying or something? But then I woke up and saw you, so I thought it wasn't true..."
The boy laughed sheepishly, but Kang Sihyun didn't find it amusing. Moving his chair closer to the bed, Kang Sihyun overlaid his hand over Haewoon's and looked into his golden eyes.
"You know I'm entering the next dungeon."
"The next dungeon?"
"Ah, I didn't tell you. ...We've decided to call similar places that appeared in Egypt dungeons. In the dungeons, children of that strange-eyed Irregular we saw in the sky appear. The one in Egypt was the twelfth child. And now, a dungeon containing the eleventh child has appeared in Russia. I'm going there."
Kang Sihyun explained swiftly and concisely, leaving no time for a lengthy explanation. As Haewoon blinked, listening to Kang Sihyun's story, his expression turned blank. It took a while for the boy to process the information, evidently unwilling to believe it.
"You're going in again?"
"I have to."
"Why?"
"I think I need to meet the being there."
So he needed to obtain a weapon. The voice had said that fragments of his weapon were left in places touched by Adam and Eve, and he needed to collect all the fragments. An instinctive feeling told him he needed that weapon to face the Gula.
Haewoon frowned deeply as Kang Sihyun spoke with determination.
"How can you think of going in there again?"
"I have to. So, you need to tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"What happened with Dekumanus. Why you ended up in that state."
Tell me everything you remember.
This was why he had to send the children out. If they heard Haewoon's story, it would reveal that he had died and been revived, and the children would try to cancel their plan to send him into the second dungeon alone. Even now, cancelling or opposing wouldn't change the planned course of action, but it would prevent emotional damage.
Urging him by tapping his hand, Haewoon scanned Kang Sihyun reluctantly, realizing he had no intention of bending his will, and sighed.
"Actually, it was nothing much. I just got separated from Jihye because of the maze, and then I heard this strange voice, so I went to see, and there you were."
"You were there?"
The last memory Kang Sihyun had of seeing Haewoon in the dungeon was when he was dead. Surprised,
Haewoon nodded.
"Yeah. But it wasn't you, Kang Sihyun, that I was talking about."
"What do you mean?"
"I was glad to see you when I was lost, so I approached you, but then you suddenly laughed and stabbed me."
"...What?"
"I was shocked, and when I looked at you again, your appearance had changed. You had horns, and your lower half had turned into something animal-like. That's when I realized, I don't know what, but I had been enchanted by this strange creature. I tried to run away? But it was so strong, and I'm not exactly skilled in combat. I struggled as much as I could, but then its long claws pierced through my stomach, and after that, you probably know the rest."
That was his last memory.
Kang Sihyun was silent as Haewoon added his words nonchalantly. Kang Sihyun had anticipated some kind of incident but hadn't expected it to involve being attacked by a Dekumanus that looked like him.
Is that even possible?
How did Dekumanus know my appearance before meeting me?
Why did it freeze after moving freely? Is there a time constraint?
"Exactly..."
Lost in confusion, Kang Sihyun fell silent, prompting Haewoon, who had also been quiet, to suddenly remember something and let out a short gasp. Kang Sihyun looked up.
"What is it?"
"Now that I think about it, right before I lost consciousness, that thing said something."
"It spoke?"
"Yeah. I don't know exactly what it said, but it definitely spoke like this."
Clearing his throat, Haewoon spoke. The strange pronunciation couldn't be identified as any specific language, but after a moment, Haewoon's voice echoed in Kang Sihyun's head again.
'I smelled a high-grade core... but it was a failure.'
The language of the Irregulars was translated into Korean in his mind.
Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.
As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:
For $5
- Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public.
- You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.
- Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
- The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
- You Get Ad-free Chapters.
For $10
- You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.
- You get access to Digital art.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).
For $20
- You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.
- Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).
Plus, you can Cancel your membership at any time.
Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!
