“Ga-hyeon-hyung, you’re a Hunter whose rank can’t even be measured, right? And you made a contract with a badass Constellation, yeah? I’m trying to pick a Constellation now, but I have no idea who to choose. I need your help.”
“You could’ve just said that. Why say it like that?”
“Dramatic flair, obviously. It sounds way more epic.”
Yoo Ji-won grinned broadly, but quickly wiped the smile off his face when he noticed Baek Tae-beom’s expression. Baek Tae-beom sat silently next to me, arms crossed. Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-won was on his knees with both arms raised like he was being punished.
It was quite the amusing tableau. For the record, the front door had somehow been reattached.
“I was going for something with impact…”
“……”
“Tae-beom-hyung, don’t look at me like that. I already know Ga-hyeon-hyung is yours.”
Baek Tae-beom’s expression relaxed slightly. I, who had been eating tteokbokki, nearly choked.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Word’s already out, you know? That Choi Ga-hyeon is Baek Tae-beom Hunter’s ideal type. So head over heels that he goes around guarding him like a lunatic. Hence, totally lacking manners.”
“What did you say?”
“There are even rumors that Ga-hyeon-hyung is actually a woman. And that the two of you are dating.”
Baek Tae-beom’s face was fully relaxed now. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wrap my head around any of this.
“Why does no one suspect Baek Tae-beom of being a woman?”
“That’s the issue you’re taking with this?”
“He’s just so pretty!”
I grabbed Baek Tae-beom’s jaw and shoved his face toward Yoo Ji-won. Tae-beom blinked, confused. Yoo Ji-won recoiled in disgust.
“Ga-hyeon-hyung, you seriously have no awareness of your own face, huh.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Anyway, like I said, that’s why I came. So what do you think?”
At some point, Yoo Ji-won had subtly lowered his arms. Baek Tae-beom, who had remained still while I was holding him, quietly adjusted his posture when I let go. As he tilted his head, trying to lean on my shoulder for no reason, I pushed him off with a finger and responded calmly.
“Well, yeah. It was weird that someone like you didn’t have a Constellation.”
“I avoided it because I thought it’d get in the way of my career. But lately… something feels off.”
Yoo Ji-won’s expression gradually stiffened.
“Setting aside the Red Apple situation, I can’t stop thinking about the guy we saw in the last room of the Tower of Hellnest. You two know something, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say we don’t.”
“The final boss’s name was ‘Hel.’ While researching different Constellations in preparation for accepting one, I found out there’s actually a god with that name.”
As he spoke, Yoo Ji-won got up and took a seat on the sofa. Meanwhile, Baek Tae-beom tried to lean his head on my shoulder again, and I pressed his forehead firmly with my palm.
“And that guy took Hel with him. I’ve never seen a dungeon end like that before. Besides, the guy was human. Right?”
“Right.”
“No wonder it’s suspicious. Publicly, the whole thing is being hailed as a success, but none of the major guilds are talking about that guy. In fact, one of Gongmyeong’s guild members even called him ‘Guildmaster.’”
Leaning back against the sofa, Yoo Ji-won spoke slowly and clearly.
“So yeah, I feel like this whole situation is dangerous. I’m not gonna ask you to spill everything, just help me choose a Constellation. If you do, I’ll share what I’ve found out about Gongmyeong.”
Yoo Ji-won’s eyes, as if to say that’s my offer, held not a flicker of doubt. I let out a sigh. Then, ignoring Baek Tae-beom trying to lean on me again, I turned to Yoo Ji-won.
“Alright. So how do you want me to help?”
In The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, Yoo Ji-won never ends up with a Constellation. Probably because nothing this directly threatening ever happened—unlike the Tower of Hellnest. Yet again, this was a deviation from the original plot.
As I roughly ruffled the heavy head leaning on my shoulder, Yoo Ji-won glanced at us with a strange look before letting it go with a resigned expression.
“It’s simple. I’ll tell you their names, and you just pick the one that suits me best.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
“The first one is…”
Yoo Ji-won spoke.
“‘One Who Weaves Euphoria.’”
My hand froze mid-pat on Baek Tae-beom’s head. I stared blankly, then let out a hollow breath.
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Are you kidding me?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: What? ^^]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Are you seriously trying to plant a spy around me now?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Calling that guy a spy feels a bit much, don’t you think?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: We tried to stop him, alright? But he insisted on joining because it looked fun.]
Yeah, sure you did.
One Who Weaves Euphoria. That name referred to intoxication, revelry, and madness. The only Constellation whose followers approached the level of fanatical, near-possessed devotion was Dionysus.
Why was that guy, of all beings, hovering around Yoo Ji-won?
[CH. Private / Free Wind: I told you, our youngest is a fan of Ga-hyeon.]
As if. If something like that started clinging to him, there’d be no fixing it.
“What’s next?”
“The second one is a Constellation called ‘Chain Armor of Battle’…”
Chain Armor of Battle?
That could only mean Brynhildr.
Brynhildr. A Valkyrie who served Odin in his palace, Valhalla, and was known to have fought on his side during Ragnarok.
While Dionysus might go poking around Yoo Ji-won out of interest, Brynhildr definitely shouldn’t be. She had no reason to pay attention to someone like him.
‘Could it be because of me?’
That was the only way it made sense. There was no other reason Constellations with seemingly poor compatibility would be interested in Yoo Ji-won. Unless it was someone like Hermes.
[CH. Private / Free Wind: You just thought about me, didn’t you? Talked shit, didn’t you?]
Otherwise, this might be all due to the looming threat of a re-enacted Ragnarok—a potential apocalypse. Even the Constellations who hadn’t spoken to me had started to grow wary of Angrboda’s movements.
“And the last one?”
Then the final Constellation must be…
I nodded the moment the name came out of Yoo Ji-won’s mouth.
“Go with the third one.”
“You’re deciding just like that?”
“The first and second would be too much for you.”
“Why?”
“They’re not compatible with you. It’d be worse than not forming a contract at all.”
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Ga-hyeon, are you serious?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: We need to talk more, but yeah, I’m serious.]
Yoo Ji-won reached out and waved a hand in the air with a face full of reluctance.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, hyung, but… come on…”
“What.”
“The first and second Constellations just sound so cool. Why’s it gotta be the third one?”
“If you care about what sounds cool, you could’ve picked for yourself.”
“I mean, I’m not complaining exactly…”
Yoo Ji-won muttered under his breath.
“The name just sucks…”
I let out a short laugh. The name sucks, he says. True, compared to the others, it lacked flair. Still, if my guess was correct, the unimpressive name was more than compensated by its true value. The fact that that one had even made a move said enough.
“Not exactly something I can brag about…”
“Anyway, now it’s your turn to talk.”
I adjusted my posture. Baek Tae-beom, who’d been half-collapsed against me, sat up as well. Then he picked up a piece of tteokbokki and held it up to my lips.
I accepted it without a word, and Yoo Ji-won gave us a look that said, Well, that explains the rumors.
“Now I get why those rumors started.”
“Shut up and give me the info.”
“Alright, alright.”
Yoo Ji-won snapped his fingers. A phone flew out from inside his jacket and hovered in the air. His fingers moved faster than seemed humanly possible as he rapidly responded to a backlog of messages, then pulled up a photo and showed it to us.
“Sprout Star Orphanage?”
At that moment, a phrase flashed through my mind.
‘Gongmyeong donates 3.2 billion won to Sprout Star Children’s Foundation—again today.’
Baek Tae-beom spoke.
“What about this orphanage?”
“This might surprise you, but I’ve actually volunteered there before. See that look on your face? Knew it. But that’s not the point. Just listen.”
Yoo Ji-won swiped to the next screen, revealing a short video clip shot from a diagonal angle.
[So the kids who left never contacted you again?]
[Yeah, oppa. So we think the monsters took them. That’s why I don’t mind not being adopted.]
[Maybe they just didn’t want to contact the orphanage again.]
[No way! Min-ji and I were super close. She’d never do that.]
After showing the video, Yoo Ji-won shrugged and pointed at his phone.
“See? Suspicious as hell, right?”
He folded his fingers one by one as he laid things out.
“As far as I know, Gongmyeong sponsors Sprout Star Orphanage. But do they only sponsor it? Nope. They also handle pairing guardians with the kids. But what if the Gongmyeong we know isn’t really the one pulling the strings here?”
Waving his fingers in the air, Yoo Ji-won spun the phone around and accessed Gongmyeong’s homepage.
“What if Gongmyeong is in cahoots with Red Apple? If Red Apple’s into child trafficking and Gongmyeong is sponsoring those kids… where do you think the children went?”
I stayed quiet for a moment before replying.
“I can’t be sure yet.”
“Hyung.”
“If they were really doing something like that, there’d be some kind of trace. They’re not ghosts, they’re people. How could they—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
They weren’t people.
They were Constellations.
Constellations who believed themselves to be true gods. To beings like that, would the lives of children mean anything? If they were operating an orphanage and a foundation on the surface while secretly using children for trafficking or some kind of periodic ritual…
What if Red Apple was just one piece of a much larger plan?
“…Where is that orphanage located?”
