“What the hell is this…?”
He stared between my face and the Book of Wishes, visibly shaken. I couldn’t meet his eyes and glanced away.
I had no idea how to explain this. I never thought the Book of Wishes would get exposed so carelessly. But I couldn’t just stay quiet now.
“Well… this is the Book of Wishes I’ve been collecting all this time.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“There’s a wish I have to make once I’ve gathered them all. That’s why I couldn’t tell you.”
Kang Bijun’s face twisted with conflict. I clamped my mouth shut, not knowing what else to say. His gaze slowly shifted from me to Kang Biso.
“You knew too?”
“…Yeah. I knew.”
“Of course you did. That’s why you had no problem pulling out the Book of Wishes like it was nothing. You two were hiding it from me all along.”
“We had no choice. You wanted it too.”
“You could’ve at least told me!”
“And if we had? Would you have just said, ‘Oh, okay,’ and let it go?”
“So you kept it a secret because you thought I’d throw a fit?”
“Yeah. And anyway, these books all belong to him. I don’t have the right to decide what happens with them. So neither do you—stay out of it.”
“You seriously think that’s okay to say right now?!”
Hurt and betrayal flashed in Kang Bijun’s eyes.
Did he really have to go that far?
I hadn’t expected Kang Biso to be so blunt. Things were already tense, and now this might wreck their relationship too.
I should’ve been more careful…
I opened my mouth to try and explain, but Kang Bijun had already lost his patience. His voice rose as he glared at his brother.
“Remember what you said back then? That even if the government seized the Book of Wishes, you’d make sure Hwang Seol-bin got it. No matter how many times I asked why, you never answered. So this is why? You were just lying to me the whole time?”
Neither of us could say a word. Watching our silence, Kang Bijun snapped again.
“You said we’d figure it out once we got the book—but that was all bullshit.”
“It wasn’t. I meant to keep that promise.”
“Oh sure, like I’m supposed to believe that now. You’ve been lying to me from the beginning. You don’t even care about the organization, do you?”
“You done yet?”
“No. I’m not. Until now, I kept quiet no matter how reckless you got—because I thought you were doing it all for the team. Even when you stopped working and started chasing after Hwang Seol-bin, I let it slide. I tried to understand. But I’m done.”
“What?”
“Do whatever the hell you want. Run the organization without me. Chase after the Book of Wishes or whatever. Doesn’t matter. You never trusted me from the beginning anyway.”
“Hey, Kang Bijun!”
But he was already storming out, slamming the door behind him.
Kang Biso bit down on his lip, hard. The silence left in his wake was stifling.
I couldn’t shake the guilt. It really felt like this was all my fault.
Maybe I should’ve just been honest from the beginning. But that thought came too late. I glanced at Kang Biso, whose eyes were still locked on the door, his face frozen stiff.
“…What do we do?”
“…It’s fine. That’s just how he gets when he’s angry. He’ll cool off soon like nothing ever happened.”
He tried to sound casual, but his heavy expression said otherwise. Deep down, I think he was the one hoping things would blow over quickly.
If we wanted to fix this, telling the truth was the only way. The real question was whether Kang Bijun would even listen.
…He will. He has to.
Sitting around here wouldn’t solve anything. I should go talk to him.
I picked up the Book of Wishes and headed for the door—but Kang Biso caught my arm.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I think it’s better if I tell Kang Bijun the truth.”
“But if you do that… you’ll have to reveal your secret too. You don’t need to go that far—”
“He’s your brother. I believe he’ll understand. So it’s okay. Besides, we can’t keep fighting like this. We need to focus on rescuing the others.”
Kang Biso pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.
“Haah… No one can stop you, huh. Fine. I’ll come with you.”
He sounded exasperated, but there was a quiet relief in his voice too. I smiled and nodded.
“Works for me.”
“…But then, what do we do about the Book of Wishes? Only one of us can use it, right?”
“Well…”
I let my gaze fall to the Book of Wishes in my hands.
My wish had always been to return to my original world. But I’d already made peace with that.
There’s no going back now.
Since arriving here, I’d made memories I could never let go of—bright, beautiful days spent with Kang Biso, filled with laughter, warmth, and love. Every time I thought about how sincerely he cared for me, how much he loved and protected me, my chest swelled with emotion.
There was nothing waiting for me on the other side worth giving all that up. And now, I could finally say it without hesitation.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…What? What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”
“I don’t have a wish anymore. So I don’t need to use the Book.”
Kang Biso went quiet, but slowly, his expression began to brighten—like the sun rising after a storm.
“Wait… You mean… you’re not going back? You’ll stay here… with me?”
I gave a small nod. His reaction came instantly—a loud cheer that echoed through the room. He looked so happy, he didn’t even seem to care if Kang Bijun heard. Beaming with pure joy, he rushed over and grabbed my hands tightly.
“I’ll make you happy. I promise. I’ll love you with everything I have, for the rest of our lives. You’ll never regret choosing to stay.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. His joy, his sincerity—it was all so adorable. The way he lit up just because I said I’d stay… it filled my heart with warmth. I nodded slowly, smiling at him.
After watching Kang Biso bask in happiness for a while, I spoke up once he’d calmed down a little.
“Alright, let’s go talk to Kang Bijun.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Just in case Biso accidentally said something that might rile his brother up again, I made sure to warn him to watch his words before we headed downstairs.
But the moment we arrived at Kang Bijun’s room, we were hit with a cold rejection.
“Go away. I don’t have anything to say.”
He didn’t even look at us. His voice was cold, sharp—completely shut off.
I hesitated for just a second, but then stepped forward.
“I came because there’s something I really need to tell you. It’s important. Please, just listen once.”
Kang Bijun looked like he wanted to slam the door again—but curiosity seemed to get the better of him. With a sigh, he waved a hand at us, gesturing for me to speak.
“You little—!”
Kang Biso immediately bristled at the attitude and stepped forward, but I quickly held out a hand to stop him. He paused, clearly frustrated, but nodded and took a step back.
“This might take a while.”
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
I held out the Book of Wishes. Naturally, his eyes went straight to it.
“I think I need to start by explaining why I’ve been collecting these.”
“The reason?”
“Yes. It’s… very personal.”
Kang Bijun gave me a skeptical look. I took a deep breath and met his eyes.
“The truth is, I’m not really Hwang Seol-bin.”
“…What?”
His expression twisted in disbelief, and he blinked at me like he hadn’t heard right. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. If someone told me something like that out of nowhere, I’d probably react the same way.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but… I came to this world from somewhere else.”
I began telling him everything—just like I had with Kang Biso. As the story unfolded, his eyes narrowed in confusion and disbelief. His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, but he didn’t completely shut down. He wasn’t fully convinced, but he wasn’t outright rejecting it either.
“…And that’s why I started collecting the Books of Wishes.”
Once I finished, Kang Bijun turned to his brother.
“…You knew?”
“Yeah. I only found out recently.”
“And you believe him?”
“I have to. He’s my hyung.”
“…Haah… I don’t even know if I should believe any of this. But fine, let’s say I do. Then what? What were you planning to do after collecting them all? Use the books to go back?”
His question made me glance at Kang Biso. Our eyes met, and he looked completely at ease—probably because he already knew I’d decided to stay.
Looking back at Kang Bijun, I spoke clearly.
“No. I’m not going back.”
“…Yeah. I figured as much.”
“So here’s what I was thinking. We collect the last two books, and then decide what to wish for.”
“Because the story written inside is about you?”
“That’s part of it. But since we already have three… once we finish the set, maybe we can use the wish for ZEC. Something for the organization.”
Kang Bijun’s eyes widened in surprise. He blinked, glanced at me, then at Biso, then let out a soft sigh and gave a nod.
“Alright. That sounds fair.”
“Great.”
Then, without warning, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Kang Biso.
“But seriously, you could’ve just told me all this sooner. Why keep it to yourself and piss me off?”
“…Shut up.”
“No backing out later, got it?”
“…Yeah. When the time comes, you two decide what to do with the wish. I’ll stay out of it.”
“Good.”
With that, Kang Biso finally backed off, and Kang Bijun’s expression fully relaxed for the first time. The tension had lifted.
Thank god. Things had almost gone sideways, but we’d managed to talk it out. It just confirmed what I already knew—talking things through was always better. We had more important things to focus on now, and there was no room for lingering grudges.
Then Kang Bijun glanced at the Book of Wishes again, a curious look in his eyes.
“…Hey. Do you mind if I take a look inside? Just once?”
“…Of course. Go ahead.”
I nodded without hesitation. Honestly, I wasn’t worried. He wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.
He opened the book and flipped through a few pages, but soon started skimming faster and faster. Before long, he shut the book with a frustrated look.
“Yep. I can’t read a single word of it. But you’re saying your story is really written in there?”
“…Yes. I’m hoping something will change once we collect all five.”
“All five, huh… yeah, that’s probably our best shot.”
After that, we sat down and talked for a while, tossing around ideas and theories about the Book of Wishes. Then, all of a sudden, Kang Bijun’s eyes lit up.
“Oh! I just had a great idea.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not like I’ve been holed up in my room doing nothing, you know. We can’t keep running from the government forever. So hear me out—what if we did this instead?”
And just like that, he launched into his plan.
