#172
The surroundings were bustling. It was a familiar place.
Lee Han-sol looked around the gate basecamp he had visited numerous times with fresh eyes. The first time, the second time… and how many times after that? Han-sol recalled the times that had now truly become the past. Back then, he couldn’t bear his overflowing feelings alone. It was a time when he still had the strength to desire, to cling, to chase. This was the place where he had followed Ki Baek-woo, desperately wanting to be by his side, as if throwing his life away. This was the final gate Jung Yi-dam had mentioned.
This feels strange, Han-sol thought. He had no good memories of this place. He had always been lonely and desolate here. Baek-woo loved someone else, and everyone despised him. An inescapable death had been foretold.
Nevertheless, he had lingered here countless times, and despite restraining hands, he had stubbornly entered. Baek-woo, I love you this much. I can’t express it in words. That’s why I’m here. So… couldn’t you just look at me? He had only wanted to show that one feeling. It was a time when hope remained that if he loved sincerely with all his heart, they could eventually overcome everything. And this was the place where that hope was repeatedly crushed.
“To think such a day would come in my life…”
Was this what they meant by life’s fortunes are unpredictable? Han-sol felt an unfamiliar and strange sensation. This was a place whose geography he could map out blindfolded all the way to the middle of the dungeon. Yet it felt awkward, as if he were visiting for the first time.
Because everything was the opposite of how it had been before. Han-sol could guess. And that guess was probably correct. He was here now. Not to submit to a prepared death, but to cross the boundaries of drawn reality. Baek-woo was offering his fully exposed heart not to someone else but only to him, which is why Han-sol wasn’t lonely or desolate. Even the gazes directed at the C-rank hunter who was out of place were different from contempt.
‘Even if they’re treating me like a zoo monkey, this much is rather favorable.’
Han-sol, accustomed to being hated, could instantly recognize the temperature of these gazes. The looks reaching him were of curiosity. They were closer to goodwill toward the person who had somehow managed to make the troublesome Baek-woo presentable and brought him to the site.
“Tsk, they all look the same though…”
While the visible surroundings hadn’t changed from before, Han-sol’s situation had completely flipped.
‘I might have dreamed of this once…’
The early-loop Han-sol, who hadn’t yet fully understood what was happening, would have done so. A time distant even to himself. After repeated failures and deaths, he had eventually stopped harboring such fairy tale dreams. The cursed prince defeated the evil forces and rescued the princess. And they lived happily ever after… He would never indulge in such blissful delusions…
Han-sol let out a short laugh, almost like a sigh, as he put on a black windbreaker over his form-fitting black tactical shirt. The fairy tale-like scenario that had been too luxurious to even dream of was now his reality. It had turned out exactly as the initial Han-sol, whom he had always despised for being disgustingly persistent, had wanted. With just his heart, it had come to this.
‘…Damn, what nonsense. Nothing’s happened yet. It’s not even over.’
Han-sol shook his head, dispelling his thoughts. It was too early to indulge in damp sentiments.
“Hunter Ji Woo-won, just a moment! The research team is looking for you!”
“Sir, what about the gate readings? We were supposed to check and recalculate on-site. It’s urgent.”
“The readings are the same? Look, the machine can’t handle it? That means it’s above S-rank.”
“Is it true Jung Yi-dam hunter hasn’t arrived yet? Anyone in contact with him!”
Murmuring and bustling. The basecamp was chaotic. Researchers in white coats, field support team in yellow overalls, and hunters in black combat uniforms were all mixed together without order. Looking at the busy atmosphere filled with tension, Han-sol reminded himself again.
It wasn’t over yet.
The most important, dangerous, and unpredictable task remained. The first and last chance to end the endless loop and the terrible system. Han-sol absolutely could not make a mistake.
‘What if I fail? Well… I don’t know where we’ll end up drifting.’
Yi-dam had grinned as if he didn’t care how broken or miserable they would become as a result of this mission. I don’t care whether it’s this or that, it’s all shit to me. It just feels unfair to die alone. As if wanting to say something like that, he had irritatingly played around before fixing Han-sol with his deathly dark eyes. ‘So do well,’ he had warned, as if trying to burden Han-sol with the fate of his life until the very, very end. Han-sol didn’t want to bear anything more. So emotions had to be put aside. He couldn’t fail.
‘Think carefully, Han-sol. You’ve had enough of submitting and giving up. You clearly decided you didn’t want to do that anymore.’
He was standing here having thrown away even his last shred of pride. He had mustered all his strength to endure losing to Baek-woo again and again until the end. After going that far, surely he deserved to win just once. Han-sol murmured to himself. He had been a nobody for too long. So just once, he wanted to be the protagonist. If it could be a successful revenge, that would be good. He desperately wanted to defeat the system, at least.
“Hyung, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
Before he knew it, Baek-woo, perfectly dressed in combat gear, approached. His hands were full of various items. Like he was about to set up shop, Baek-woo was carrying all sorts of protective gear in his arms. Han-sol shook his head as he looked at him.
“Nothing. But what did you bring so much of? Are you selling something?”
“It’s for you, hyung.”
“Why is Ki Baek-woo deciding that?”
“Because you can’t get hurt. Raise your arms to the side.”
At the firm tone, Han-sol reflexively spread his arms, and Baek-woo moved busily. Like a professional who had worn combat uniforms countless times, he wrapped Han-sol with quick and efficient movements. Starting with a plate carrier filled with first aid kits in the pockets, he meticulously covered Han-sol from head to toe.
“Baek-woo, what are you doing? This is embarrassing. It’s uncomfortable, and no one does this.”
“What does it matter what others don’t do? I can’t stand seeing you get hurt. Give me your hand.”
Han-sol reflexively extended his hand again, furrowing his brow.
“If you want to make a fuss, do it for yourself. I’m your hyung.”
“Yes, and you’re the hyung I love most in the world, so I hate it when you get hurt.”
Baek-woo had completely adapted to Han-sol’s changed way of speaking. Where he used to be wary of Han-sol’s habitual sarcasm, within days he had learned to either let it slide or interpret it in his favor. He continued to focus on his doll-dressing task, letting Han-sol’s complaints flow in one ear and out the other.
Baek-woo wrapped compression bands around Han-sol’s elbows and knees, then added double layers of solid guards. Then, he secured support bands around Han-sol’s wrists, which were unusually white and thin for someone physical, and put full-fingered tactical gloves on his hands. This was already twice the amount of protection Han-sol usually wore during raids, but Baek-woo seemed to find it insufficient and kept adding more. Eventually, he knelt down, gripped Han-sol’s calf, and urged:
“Hyung, this leg just for a moment…”
“Ah, it’s cumbersome…! It’s hard to even move like this. Baek-woo, you should worry about your own safety, take all this—!”
Han-sol’s mouth suddenly closed as he was about to shout “off!” A scene from the past flashed through his mind.
The familiar basecamp, busy people, and watching gazes. And Baek-woo, kneeling on one knee like a faithful servant, fiddling with protective gear. Han-sol felt déjà vu. That is, he remembered a time when Baek-woo had deliberately helped Jung Yi-dam with his protective gear, knowing full well that Han-sol was watching.
After that realization, the thought of pushing Baek-woo away completely vanished.
‘Of course, that Baek-woo was the system version, so I know it’s meaningless…’
But that doesn’t mean the shitty memories all disappear, you know? I’ll always think it was shitty whenever I get the chance. Grumbling internally, Han-sol lifted one corner of his mouth in a smirk.
‘Anyway, fake Baek-woo didn’t go as far as providing shin guards or neck guards or other excessive items to Yi-dam.’
So this time, I won. Han-sol secretly felt satisfied with this childishly petty thought. There’s a reason why the original is the original. The fake Baek-woo was made to fall in love through the system’s mental manipulation, right? But the fact that natural Baek-woo is even more obsessive than the fake one was with Yi-dam. Annoyance aside, it seems the fake really can’t match the real thing. This is why we should always use genuine products.
After reaching his own strange conclusion, Han-sol was nodding to himself when:
“What’s this? That’s a waste-rank. What’s a C-rank doing here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to join the raid?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
