Chapter 23
"Uncle, wake up."
Opened my eyes to a hand flipping my eyelids open, and I looked at Baek Ha-min who was urging me to play hide-and-seek.
No, we stayed up all night yesterday, and now you want to play hide-and-seek first thing in the morning?
Unlike me who let out a sigh, the thoroughly excited Baek Ha-min scurried around the house that he had unilaterally turned into a jungle without my consent.
"Try to find me!"
While Baek Ha-min laughed with a voice that sounded like he was suffocating and ran around, I organized the child's belongings neatly. The leaves fallen on the floor would disappear all at once later, but not the other things.
As I was putting Baek Ha-min's soft, dry clothes into the wardrobe made from a tissue box, a hollow laugh escaped me.
Inside were clothes that Baek Eun-sung had personally commissioned a doll clothes artisan to make for Baek Ha-min, who only ever wore the hoodie torn off from a teddy bear. Of course, it was because he liked those clothes so much that he absolutely refused to take them off.
The texture was so good that when I first organized them, I couldn't let go of them either. If they had made a blanket instead of clothes with this nice fabric, I would have rolled around on it all day long.
While I was having such foolish thoughts, Baek Ha-min started urging me to find him quickly. Instead of going to find the child myself, I ordered Ashil to find him, and soon a small body appeared dangling along.
"Noo! Using Ashil is cheating!"
"You got smaller too. That's also cheating."
At my words, Baek Ha-min pouted his lips and sulked in the far corner, sprouting prickly unknown grasses.
"Your skills have improved a lot. Until recently, you only sprouted clovers at the slightest touch."
Baek Ha-min, whose mood quickly improved, giggled and ran back toward me. Then he started picking at the bread I had finely chopped on the table with a toothpick and eating it, while I packed our bags in the meantime.
Hmm. It's my first time entering a dungeon as 'Seong Do-hyun' too, I suppose it'll be fine.
While I was packing things while recalling the original work's content, my phone rang. I thought it might be Baek Eun-sung, but it was unexpectedly the Association President.
— I heard you're going into a dungeon today.
Well now, I thought he was just a guardian in name only since he only ever used me. I suppose he is worried.
After moderately listening to the numerous pieces of advice the Association President offered and hanging up, the screen showed a missed call notification from Jeon Ji-yoon. Putting aside my annoyance, I called back, and not long after, the ringing stopped.
— Ah, Hunter Seong Do-hyun. Is your body somewhat alright?
I sent a signal to Baek Ha-min, who was blooming flowers and restlessly running around again, to be quiet, then tightened my throat to produce a hoarse voice.
"Yes."
In a season where cherry blossom rain scatters rather than snow, the reason an S-rank Hunter who didn't even have cancer was pretending to be sick was solely because of Baek Ha-min. Unable to leave that tiny child home alone or take him outside, I had made the excuse of having a cold and was secluding myself at home.
— Yu-dam is very worried. Once you recover, please show your face...
"Do Yu-dam?!"
I covered the mouth of Baek Ha-min, who was running on all fours, with my fingertips and hurriedly hung up the phone.
"I told you to be quiet."
"Why is Do Yu-dam worried about youuu!"
Baek Ha-min, who had been thrashing around clinging to my leg telling me not to go see Do Yu-dam, turned his head and sent a pleading look to Baek Eun-sung, who had somehow entered and was standing at the doorway.
"Uncle!"
"What. When did you get here?"
With his nephew causing a scene, instead of trying to sort it out, he was just standing there blankly, not knowing what he was doing.
"What are you doing not coming in?"
At that, Baek Eun-sung, with a face that showed he didn't even realize he was standing blankly at the doorway, hurriedly began taking off his shoes.
Baek Ha-min abruptly ran toward Baek Eun-sung and grabbed his ankle, dragging himself along while saying he really hated that Do-hyun uncle was interested in Do Yu-dam.
"Do...hyeon uncle too, might like Yu-dam."
"No way!"
Watching him scream and fall backward, I thought, as expected of the original work's main villain.
Honestly, there were times when I often felt a sense of dissonance between the original Baek Ha-min and the young Baek Ha-min, but seeing him like this, the signs were definitely there from the start.
When I didn't soothe him, Baek Ha-min, who was lying on Baek Eun-sung's palm whining, sprouted blue flowers rustling throughout the house.
"Clean them all up later before you go."
"I hate you, uncle!"
Baek Ha-min puffed his soft cheeks full and turned his head away with a huff. I let out a light sigh and turned my gaze to Baek Eun-sung.
"So, the dungeon is ready?"
"Ah, yes."
"What?!"
At that, Baek Ha-min, who had jumped up, stomped his feet while looking at me, then suddenly leaped down from Baek Eun-sung's hand.
"No! I'm not going!"
"Oh my? When did you ever say you were happy to go?"
"Th...that's..."
Baek Ha-min, who was moving his mouth while making eye contact with me, looked around my room and then suddenly started running away with pitter-patter steps.
Goodness, after acting like he had a grudge against hide-and-seek for the past few days, Baek Ha-min pulled out the sunflower stuck in his back and threw it away, dodging Baek Eun-sung's hands and running away quite well.
'...What a mess.'
I looked at the room where Baek Eun-sung and the golem were noisily rolling around trying to catch Baek Ha-min, then shook my bracelet.
[Command of the Heavens]
At the jingling bell sound, Baek Ha-min popped out from somewhere, saying that using skills was cheating.
"No! Don't do it!"
[Baek Ha-min.]
"Noooooo!
[Sleep.]
Baek Ha-min, who had been covering his ears and running away, plopped down on the spot and fell fast asleep. Baek Eun-sung, who had been looking at me with a tense face, carefully picked up the sleeping Baek Ha-min.
"Last...time, I think I fell asleep too. How did you do it?"
"I just do it well, on my own."
Where does he get the nerve to pry into someone else's trade secrets with such a shameless face?
With a snort, I cleared my throat and packed my bags. Of course, there was a bit of luck back then, but now I roughly knew how to make only a specific person fall asleep.
I should test it properly when I go to the dungeon. I was about to step outside with slightly excited steps when Baek Eun-sung was standing in the middle of the house, not moving an inch.
"Hey, what are you doing not coming out?"
What's wrong with him today? When I looked at him in puzzlement, he blankly stared for a moment before slowly coming outside. He would be driving personally today, and I wasn't sure if I should trust him and get in the car. If he tries any funny business, I should at least block him with Ashil.
A little later, after starting the car, Baek Eun-sung kept glancing at me with somewhat anxious eyes. Then, only when we got caught at a traffic light, he cautiously spoke to me.
"Um..."
"I get motion sickness, so keep your mouth shut."
When I cut him off sharply with no intention of having a conversation, Baek Eun-sung, uncharacteristically, obediently closed his mouth. Like that, the drive to Baekwoo Guild was very quiet and peaceful.
After arriving at the destination, I firmly grabbed Baek Eun-sung's wrist as he was about to unbuckle his seatbelt.
"You. Don't come out and say crap like you killed me more or whatever."
Then I got out of the car right after finishing my words. Through the tinted window, Baek Eun-sung's face was visible, looking dumbfounded.
He must feel wronged. After all, it was always 'Seong Do-hyun' who proposed bets over such childish things, not Baek Eun-sung.
As I was about to enter the guild, Yang Ji-hwan, who was guarding the entrance, ran toward Baek Eun-sung. Then he noticed me and hesitated in surprise.
Feeling unnecessarily twisted inside, I waved my hand with the most annoying smile I could muster.
"Eun-sung-ah."
Yang Ji-hwan, who had been glancing at me with a face like he'd seen something he shouldn't have, immediately changed his expression and whispered to Baek Eun-sung. Really now, did he think I couldn't hear him just because he whispered? With a calm face, I opened the skill window and adjusted the range of my hearing.
"What's going on?"
"It's because of the entrance test."
"What?"
"What?"
Oops. At such an absurd statement, I reacted out loud without realizing.
Entrance test? What does that mean? Why is he saying that while looking at me? Don't tell me he's trying to put me into the Baekwoo Guild?
As I looked at Baek Eun-sung with a scowl, Baek Eun-sung, who ignored both Yang Ji-hwan's words and mine, strode toward the entrance. Following behind such Baek Eun-sung, Yang Ji-hwan whispered again softly.
"Ha-min hasn't been taking his medicine lately."
At those words, Baek Eun-sung, who had been glancing at me, said he would handle it himself and pushed open the door to the Baekwoo Guild building, going inside.
"Hel—lo, si...?"
The guild member who was guarding the door inside stopped mid-greeting and stared at me with a heavily guarded face. His hand twitching, it seemed like he would have attacked me right away if Baek Eun-sung weren't beside me.
The guild member freaked out and looked at me when Baek Eun-sung explained that we had come together for the entrance test.
I also looked at Baek Eun-sung with surprised eyes before desperately smoothing my expression. No, not a single word to me and suddenly an entrance test? What nonsense is this? I wanted to argue at least a bit, but getting inside was the top priority for now.
"Does the Guild Master know about this too?"
"Hmm, why? I'm also the Vice Guild Master in my own right, can I not admit guild members at my discretion?"
"Ah, no. That's not what I meant."
"Or... were you worried I brought him without any thought?"
Baek Eun-sung, who smiled with his eyes curved, passed the flustered guild member and stood in front of a mirror placed inside the building.
Oh.
I know this.
I saw it in the original work.
The secret door, the only passage connected to 'Baekwoo.'
Baek Eun-sung, who had passed through the mirror first and was waiting, looked at me passing through the mirror with fascination rather than surprise, then pointed to 'Baekwoo' that unfolded before our eyes.
White House.
True to its name, 'Baekwoo,' the symbol of the Baekwoo Guild, was the place where the first Guild Master's coffin was buried.
The house built with white marble had unknown vines entangled on its outer walls. Baek Ji-sung would think of Baek Eun-sung and Baek Ha-min whenever he saw this. And he would hate, envy, and resent the two who inherited the first Guild Master's abilities.
Baek Eun-sung opened the door and hesitantly reached his hand out to me.
"What."
"Only our direct line can enter here."
"So? Are you saying I have to hold your hand to enter too?"
At my question, Baek Eun-sung nodded, and with a reluctant expression, I grabbed the hand that was held out to me.
And at that moment, my body suddenly swayed. Something was rapidly absorbing my mana. Like a sponge absorbing water.
The pink eyes momentarily gleamed with a strange light and then glared at me. As soon as I met that gaze, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a short, deep breath. Then I snatched Baek Eun-sung's hand and gripped it tightly before stepping into the building and quickly letting go.
"Hoo, what are you doing?"
When I turned my head while asking as if nothing had happened, Baek Eun-sung was staring down at his hand.
"Uncle, what's wrong?"
Baek Ha-min, who poked his head out of my pocket, asked me as I was trembling slightly.
"Nothing, nothing happened."
"Then why is your body shaking like this?"
"It's just a bit cold."
As Baek Ha-min said, I was shivering all over at some point.
It wasn't because of Baek Eun-sung's incomprehensible behavior of staring at his own palm. It was because the interior of the building was truly too cold.
Goosebumps rose all over my body with every step I took. It felt like I had entered a freezer. With a small shudder, I looked at the box left standing alone in the room.
I could feel Baek Eun-sung's persistent gaze that seemed like it would bore a hole in the side of my head, but I cleanly ignored it.
Then I loitered around P's box, feigning disinterest. I wanted to use the viewing right, but there was a 'Do Not Touch' sign, so I couldn't touch it. So instead, I scanned the empty interior once.
I had looked around about once, and when I casually glanced over, Baek Eun-sung had somehow regained his composure.
'As expected, Baek Eun-sung also knows about the dungeon's secret.'
If not, there was no way he would suggest that only the two of us—no, three including Baek Ha-min in my pocket—go in.
Baek Eun-sung, who came tromping over this way, placed his hand over the box. At that moment, the air wavered and the empty space split open strangely.
So that's a gate. Seeing a gate that I had only read about in books in person was quite... fascinating. But no matter how it appeared in a novel, this was reality here. I tried not to think of it easily like a game and swallowed a dry breath.
"Are you really sure about this?"
A low voice asking for confirmation was heard. I pondered for a moment, then nodded.
Because I had read the original work, because I knew the laws of the dungeon, I thought it would be fine and confidently stepped into the gate, looking around in admiration.
I had only passed through something like a thin membrane, but the inside had a completely different atmosphere from the outside.
I was slowly looking around the dark cave when my vision suddenly distorted on its own. And just like that, the world turned upside down. My stomach heaved, and I covered my mouth with my hand to avoid vomiting if possible.
As a little time passed, a figure came into my gradually clearing vision. As soon as I confirmed its identity, I barely suppressed a scream that was about to burst out.
'What is this, an out-of-body experience?'
What I was looking at was none other than 'me.'
As I examined the 'me' that had suddenly appeared before my eyes, my brow furrowed involuntarily. Looking closely, that wasn't me but...
'Seong Do-hyun.'