“Talking about ID cards reminded me—I have no idea how I’m supposed to prove my identity. …My records are gone, so doesn’t that mean my resident registration’s gone too?”
“A bunch of government data centers were destroyed during the Cataclysm, so there ended up being a lot of unidentifiable people. Even now, we sometimes find corpses in monster zones still carrying old, unrecovered IDs. You could probably just say you’re in a similar situation.”
“But I haven’t aged a day.”
“Just say you’ve got a baby face.”
Is that really something you can just brush off like that? Still, Tae Woon seemed completely unbothered. And proving his identity wasn’t the only issue—Biendeoé was also a concern.
The most efficient way to restore divine power would be to spread faith in Lord Biendeoé…
That would probably mean revealing that he was a returnee. The odds of being dismissed as crazy were far higher, though.
“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, my ability might seem kind of out of place here. I healed Manager Gwak’s injured hand, and he looked genuinely shocked.”
“…You healed him? You can heal other people?”
“It’s not all that effective—my god and I aren’t exactly compatible—but yes. Are there any Awakened who can heal others?”
“No… There are some, like Gaeun, who can accelerate their own recovery, but…”
Tae Woon looked genuinely surprised, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
[Death and Beauty points out that healing is not an awakened ability but a divine blessing. She explains that awakening powers and divine power are entirely separate domains.]
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Kim Sibaek relayed Biendeoé’s words to the puzzled Tae Woon.
“Come to think of it, even in Mak Slechth, all the healers were clergy. It was so normal I never thought twice about it. But here, I’m the only believer, so I can’t exactly throw around divine power carelessly.”
“Then I’ll be Earth’s first believer.”
Tae Woon raised a hand immediately, but Biendeoé—staring straight into his eyes—shook her head with a sigh.
[Death and Beauty sighs, saying true devotion is not so easily found.]
[She adds that while it’s not entirely clear, faith already seems to dwell within him. However, because the divine realm of Mak Slechth is different from Earth’s, she can’t be certain.]
“…So, what, did you start going to church?”
Tae Woon opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He lowered his gaze, finished the water in his glass, then licked the droplets from his lips before finally answering in a calm voice.
“Mm, no. I was an atheist right up until I heard you’d become an Apostle. Just hearing that didn’t suddenly make me religious.”
“Then what’s with the faith talk?”
“Maybe it’s because of you.”
“Huh?”
“Faith is about believing in a higher being, right? So for me, that’s you. If you told me you could make fermented soybean paste out of red beans, I’d already be making stew with it.”
Then he even crossed himself and pretended to pray toward Sibaek, making Kim Sibaek burst out laughing.
“Don’t do that in public. People will think you’ve joined a cult.”
“Sibaekism has a nice ring to it.”
“Anyway, don’t worry too much. You might not even be fully aware of it yourself. And there are other ways to replenish divine power.”
“Let’s figure things out together, little by little. You haven’t even been back a full week yet.”
By the time their conversation wrapped up, their bowls of jjajangmyeon and the plate of tangsuyuk were wiped clean.
“Since we’re already out, want to go on a date with me?”
“To where?”
“You don’t have an ID yet, but I figured it’d be good to get your phone first.”
Is there any urgent reason to buy a phone right now?
The thought crossed his mind, but the hopefulness in Tae Woon’s voice when he said “date” made him agree without hesitation.
“Ah, wait a sec.”
Just as they were about to get out at a parking lot near the phone store, Tae Woon called out. When Sibaek looked over, wondering what was up, he saw Tae Woon take off the glasses he’d worn while driving and step out of the car. Then, circling around the hood, he opened the passenger door.
“Watch your step.”
“…”
Keeping up with his pace might actually require a cane at this rate, Sibaek thought as he got out of the car.
“Hey, Woonie.”
“Yeah?”
As tall people often do, Tae Woon instinctively bent slightly toward the sound of the voice. It used to be the complete opposite dynamic. Seeing how much he’d grown in their time apart, Sibaek felt a mix of pride and the awkward realization that his younger brother had now overtaken him in height.
Kim Sibaek quietly studied the face that had just been wearing glasses, and the left side of Tae Woon’s neck. There were two things he was curious about, but he hesitated to ask. After a moment’s pause, he decided to let it go—for now. There would be time to ask gently later.
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
The store wasn’t far. As they stepped inside, the clerk who had been giving a routine greeting suddenly widened his eyes. It looked like he recognized Tae Woon.
Kim Sibaek gave him a discreet nudge in the side and leaned in to whisper by his ear.
“You know him?”
“Not really. But since I run a guild, every now and then someone recognizes my face.”
“…You didn’t end up in the news or something, did you?”
It wasn’t like he was some big-shot CEO. How many people really knew what a private company president looked like? Sibaek started to worry that Tae Woon had gotten caught up in something serious while he was away, but Tae Woon just gave him a warm, eye-smile.
“I told you, I haven’t done anything that’d make you ashamed of me.”
Still… that thing on his neck…
Just as Sibaek found his attention drifting again to the mark on the left side of Tae Woon’s neck, Tae Woon gently nudged his shoulder and strolled ahead.
The store employee, stealing glances at Tae Woon with a hint of nervousness, began showing them the latest smartphones. To Kim Sibaek—whose last phone had been a tiny flip model that fit neatly in one hand—the sheer change was overwhelming.
Where did all the flip phones go? Why are phones so huge now? Isn’t that annoying to carry around?
[Death and Beauty remarks that Earth’s technology is… passable.]
Listening to the employee’s explanation, Sibaek gradually got a sense of the phone specs and sizes, but none of it really appealed to him. Most of the features seemed unnecessary.
Picking up on that hesitation, Tae Woon jumped in.
“They still make flip phones for older folks—they call them ‘filial piety phones.’ But honestly, smartphones are way better. There are even senior-friendly apps that are super easy to use.”
The employee looked puzzled. The younger man with Tae Woon looked way too young, yet he was calling him “hyung.” That would put the man in his late thirties, maybe? But a thirty-something who’s unfamiliar with smartphones in this day and age? Even old people use them now.
“As long as the phone makes calls, that’s enough for me. I’m sure I’ll get used to the apps eventually, but don’t you think these things have way too many unnecessary features?”
“Hyung, hyung. Smartphones can take photos with camera-level quality.”
“Huh?”
He hadn’t thought much about photos, but then Tae Woon struck a cute pose, hand tucked under his chin like a flower, and snapped a selfie—then showed it to him.
“…!”
“See? Great resolution, crystal-clear image—photos come out beautiful even on a phone. Since you’re getting a new one, wouldn’t it be nice to make your wallpaper a good-looking pic of me?”
“Yeah… I guess that wouldn’t be bad…”
“While we’re at it, let’s take one together.”
Seizing the moment, Tae Woon leaned in quickly and snapped a selfie with Sibaek, then promptly set it as the wallpaper.
“You’re gonna keep that as your background, right? That way, every time you check your phone, my face will be the first thing you see. Maybe it’ll remind you to think of Woonie~”
With that playful tone and the way he fiddled shyly with his fingers, there wasn’t a chance in the world Kim Sibaek could have refused him.
The store clerk, who had unwillingly witnessed the whole exchange, was in utter disarray. Is that really the Mad Dog…? All the photos and videos had shown him with a cold stare or a scowl. What is this? Even the eyewitness accounts were all consistent. Is there some hallucination-type monster nearby or something?
Completely unaware of the clerk’s mental spiral, Sibaek finally picked out a phone—only to suddenly remember something important.
“Wait, aren’t smartphones expensive? I already feel bad enough crashing at your place… how should I repay you?”
“Just pay me back with something else.”
“Like what?”
Light from the store cast a subtle shadow across Sibaek’s face. Tae Woon leaned in close, resting one arm on the display case, and gently slid his gloved fingers under the cuff of Sibaek’s sleeve.
The whisper at his ear was smooth and low.
“With your body?”
“Hk.”
