Upon arriving in China, instead of engaging in a standoff with the members of the Jincheong Guild as he had done in the past, Kang Sihyun found himself waking up after being unconscious for two days, and much had changed. First off, upon his request for Haehyuk to bring Pia to him, Kang Sihyun swallowed his awkwardness as he looked at the people from Jincheong who crowded into the room he was in.
The Jincheong Guild members, who were facing Kang Sihyun just after he had woken up, showed a completely different attitude from what he remembered before his regression. Even Laochen, who managed not to pick a fight despite his clearly unhappy expression, reflected this change.
"If you think the dungeon raid might be too hard, you should tell us in advance," said Luoyixiang, the vice guild master of Jincheong, his tone harsh but his eyes revealing a subtle concern.
"It’s good to see you’re in good health," said Songzhan, openly showing kindness without hiding his inner thoughts.
Excluding Wuwojin, who had always been quiet, everyone seemed friendlier towards him, causing Kang Sihyun to scrutinize their faces curiously. As he pondered whether this change in attitude was part of the "gift" his father had mentioned, Haehyuk leaned in to resolve his curiosity.
"Ever since you collapsed after arriving in China, everyone has been worried about you. After all, you are the key member of this raid team."
This raid team's key member.
That was why their attitudes had become cautious. Frankly, if it had been Lee Hamin or Haehyuk, or even Haru who had been unconscious for two days, the reaction would have been different. But with him, holding information and having prior experience entering the dungeon, becoming ill, even the Chinese government was on alert.
Realizing this, Kang Sihyun nodded in understanding and sat up. While he would have preferred to sit in a chair like the others, the Korean team, including Lee Hamin, insisted he stay in bed, so he was the only one sitting on the bed during the meeting, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed. He looked for support from his teammates as if on cue.
"Guild master."
"Shall we start the meeting?"
Hoping Haehyuk would take the lead, Kang Sihyun subtly called him, and Haehyuk, catching his intent, announced the start of the meeting with a gentle smile. This shifted the atmosphere from one akin to a sick visit to something more business-like.
Kang Sihyun half-listened to Haehyuk's explanation about the strategy for tackling the fourth dungeon that had appeared in China, reminiscing about past memories.
From the moment they entered the dungeon until what happened afterward.
The same mistakes must not be repeated.
The first thing to do then.
"We need to recruit more Awakened individuals with mental abilities."
"What did you say?"
"And eight people won't be enough. Let's try with twenty, including seven S-class members."
His clear voice was firm. Kang Sihyun, faced with questioning looks asking for further explanation, divulged information he had once explained in the past, now in much greater detail.
"The children of Gula have the common ability to interfere with the mental realm. In the case of this dungeon's master, Septimus, his ability is particularly strong. He mainly uses brainwashing, so we’ll be helpless if we’re not prepared. We can't afford to give him a chance to charm us from the start."
"How do you know these things?"
"Really?"
"…?"
"If you don’t believe it, you don’t have to. I’ll be planning based on the information I know. If you dislike it, you can opt out of this raid. I can’t, can I?"
"Hey…"
Usually, it was Kang Sihyun who had to calm down Lee Hamin when he was being too excessive, but today the roles were reversed. The boy, taken aback by Kang Sihyun's almost rudely confident demeanor, grabbed his arm to stop him. Their eyes met in the air. Kang Sihyun encountered a gaze that seemed to say, 'He must be out of his mind after the illness,' and couldn't help but chuckle.
After always encountering people who hid their ulterior motives, both in dreams and reality, and dealing with those burdened with secrets, it was refreshing and amusing to meet someone whose heart was so transparent.
Perhaps that's why he liked the boy.
Even though they fought and nagged at each other, he always stayed by his side.
Maybe it was because he didn’t have to guess the boy’s feelings or bother himself with overthinking when they were together.
Maybe it was because the time spent together felt comfortably cozy.
Perhaps it was because his memories as Adam and those as Kang Sihyun were intermingling, making the memories of 'K
ang Sihyun' feel as if they belonged to someone else. More precisely, he was now able to objectively look back at those emotions and memories.
Things that were confusing or he wanted to ignore, or feelings he was too numb to realize at the time, were now clearly visible to him. Lowering his gaze and chuckling to himself, Lee Hamin's eyes darkened further, likely thinking that Kang Sihyun really had lost a screw somewhere.
Even though he couldn't laugh openly due to the ongoing meeting, Kang Sihyun managed to smile enough to ease his mind and gently pushed Lee Hamin's hand away. His gaze, which had momentarily lowered, turned back to Songzhan, who had posed a question earlier.
"I understand your doubts. It's suspicious to suddenly come across new information. But would you believe me if I say anything?"
"?"
"If Noonus told me, would you believe it?"
"…"
"Or if I say I'm the savior of humanity who can see the future, would you be willing to believe that?"
"What kind of joke is this?"
"It's not that important anyway. If you can't verify the truth of my information, just believe it. What else can you do? I'm the only one who can provide information, right, guild master?"
After stirring things up, he brought up Haehyuk when a solution was needed, embedding a plea for him to atone for the offense caused before the regression. Haehyuk, who had been leaning against the bed's headboard assessing the situation, locked eyes with Kang Sihyun. Kang Sihyun met his gaze, which was chillingly deep, with ease.
Before, that gaze seemed to give him the creeps.
It seemed difficult, skilled, and experienced.
But not anymore. Kang Sihyun, as Adam, had faced even more intense gazes and carried heavier burdens on his shoulders. Compared to the madness in Eve's eyes, or the divine gaze that saw through him, Haehyuk's gaze was relatively gentle.
As if inviting further scrutiny, he raised his head to match the angle of the gaze, and soon a soft sigh escaped the man's lips. The sound of his breath seemed to carry a hint of laughter, about 20 percent mixed in.
"You've been lying down for two days. Must have gotten something interesting out of it."
Choosing not to respond to the meaningful question, Kang Sihyun shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to give the Jincheong Guild more fodder. Noticing the signal, Haehyuk, a beat later, caught on to Kang Sihyun's question.
"Well, since there's nowhere else to get information, it's true we have to rely on Mr. Kang Sihyun at this point."
"But we can't just blindly trust information from an unclear source."
"I'll guarantee it, then."
"…"
"If there's a problem because the information Mr. Kang Sihyun provided is false, Redem will take responsibility. How about that?"
The man's eyes sparkled lightly. Kang Sihyun had only hoped for light support, but Haehyuk readily added the weight of Redem to the topic, leaving Kang Sihyun momentarily speechless.
What kind of man is he?
Having experienced a tragic past, Kang Sihyun had no intention of spreading false information, but even so, Haehyuk's decision seemed too reckless. Wondering what he would do if he made a mistake, Kang Sihyun narrowed his eyes, and the man, turning his head just as Kang Sihyun did, shrugged his shoulders.
Feeling both grateful and wanting to scold him, Kang Sihyun suppressed the urge to hit Haehyuk on the shoulder for treating Redem as if it were someone else's problem and looked at the Jincheong Guild members. Scolding the reckless guild master would come later; for now, he had to manage the situation at hand.
"That's how it is."
"…"
"Shall we continue with the meeting then?"
"…Yes."
"Good. Next, we need to decide how to allocate the classes among the 20 members…."
Taking the opportunity given by Haehyuk, Kang Sihyun took the lead in the meeting, presenting a plan using all the information he knew. The most important thing was to avoid exposure to brainwashing, and next was to recruit Awakened individuals skilled in combat against multiple opponents. Since the dungeon was in China, it was necessary to borrow the strength of Chinese Awakened individuals, so when he fixed his gaze on Laochen, the leader of a major Chinese guild, the man frowned in dissatisfaction and roughly tousled his hair.
"Jincheong will provide five more members. We can ask our allied guilds to bring in about five more. So, the remaining two should come from Korea."
"From our side."
"Yes. Wouldn't that be more reassuring?"
The remark carried a hint of a threat,
as if asking whether they felt safe surrounded by their own people. Kang Sihyun looked at Haehyuk, finding some logic in Laochen's words. As China was providing fourteen members, it seemed necessary to bring in at least two more from Korea. As he was about to speak, Haehyuk's phone rang as if on cue.
Buzz.
The vibrating sound broke the silence. Haehyuk pulled out his phone and shook the screen in front of Kang Sihyun.
[Kang Iheon, almost S-class.]
Seeing the name on the screen, Kang Sihyun swallowed a sigh.
It seemed that the sacrificial lamb this time would again be a poor lamb from the Korean Association.
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