Baek Tae-beom and I threw ourselves into dungeon raids with everything we had.
The most pressing issue was transferring Baek Tae-beom’s younger brother to a new hospital, and for that, the thing we needed most was money. We sold off every byproduct we got from each dungeon run, but the money didn’t pile up as fast as we’d hoped, so I had to dip into my own Coins as well.
Of course, Baek Tae-beom didn’t know.
“We earned this much, so your share comes out to this.” Every time I said it, his eyes would widen and a bright smile would spread across his face—so unbelievably cute it made my chest ache. Every time, I’d forget that the man standing in front of me was well over 190cm tall and destined to become a villain who would bring the world to ruin.
Since he hadn’t yet officially registered as a Hunter, I had to ask Lee Myung-won to let us stick to low-level dungeons, but even so, we managed to crawl out of the worst of it. Baek Tae-beom’s quality of life improved, and most importantly, his younger brother was successfully transferred to a better hospital.
My Coins, on the other hand, were less fortunate.
[Displaying current Coins.]
[Coins held: 400]
How the hell was this the amount of Coins a Constellation was supposed to have? Sure, I’d bought a few things to spruce up my Sanctuary of the Soul, but still—how did I end up this broke?
Honestly, I’d thought about selling the ring Baek Tae-beom had given me. It would definitely fetch a high price if converted into Coins, and even if I cashed it out in won, I’d get at least five million. But then I’d remember how Baek Tae-beom had slipped it onto my finger, saying it suited me perfectly. The sound of his voice still echoed in my ears, and I couldn’t bring myself to part with it.
So, after about two months of steady dungeon grinding, with his brother safely in a new hospital and Lee Myung-won even suggesting I join his soon-to-be-formed guild, Baek Tae-beom said this to me:
“Why are you so kind to me, hyung?”
“…Kind?”
I repeated the word like it was foreign to me. Blood was dripping from my cheek, and I had a knife in my hand. I was in the middle of clumsily dissecting a monster that hadn’t turned to dust.
The monster we were working on was a mineral lizard—one of those field-type dungeon creatures that didn’t disintegrate after death. We had to peel off its skin to get to the ore embedded in its back.
It was so absurd I had to ask again.
“Why the hell do you always say that kind of stuff when I’ve got a knife in my hand?”
“But it’s true, hyung.”
“No, seriously. Why now, while I’m elbow-deep in a monster corpse?”
Baek Tae-beom looked much more comfortable around me now than he had two months ago, but there was still a lingering unease in his expression. Especially when I acted without hesitation for his sake.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. The way we met—it was crazy. We bumped into each other in an elevator, then started texting. You saved me from getting scammed, and after that, you just kept helping me, one thing after another.”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“You even helped me patch things up with Lee Myung-won. You’re helping me make money for my brother. You’ve done so much.”
Listening to him made me feel like some kind of saint. I finished pulling the last bit of ore from the monster remains and looked up at Baek Tae-beom.
“Why are you so kind to me, hyung?”
“Uh… isn’t it just something anyone would do?”
“Something anyone would do?”
“You need money, and I need money. It’s not like it hurts either of us to work together.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Baek Tae-beom’s voice sharpened slightly.
I stared at him for a long moment. His eyes, glowing even more golden than before, the black roots beginning to show beneath his bleached hair, his porcelain skin, those neatly shaped brows, that high nose bridge, the graceful line of his jaw that moved when he spoke, the prominent Adam’s apple, the crimson lips. I’d been looking at this face for a while now, but it still felt like he’d stepped out of a painting—or more accurately, a novel.
Baek Tae-beom looked like he was struggling to understand something. Or maybe trying not to acknowledge something. Every time he blinked, his lashes fluttered, and the corners of his lips curved down in frustration. Inside this crumbling cave, where water dripped like stalactites from the ceiling and the only light came from a single bulb, Baek Tae-beom’s face was dangerously beautiful.
“Then what is it?”
My voice came out sounding unfamiliar, as if it rolled out of me on its own. Maybe it was the cave.
“You’re just… too kind.”
Baek Tae-beom slowly lowered his gaze. His eyes landed on the ring on my finger. I instinctively curled my hand as if I’d just touched something hot.
“You’re too kind to me.”
“You’re… younger than me.”
My voice stammered.
“You’re younger than me, you have a sick brother, you need a lot of money…”
Baek Tae-beom raised one eyebrow, looking even more confused. I hurried to add more.
“It just… happened. I don’t know if it’s kindness, but… I couldn’t exactly ignore you when you were right in front of me, could I?”
“So, hyung, you’re being kind to me by accident?”
What the hell is with this kid?
Is he going through a late puberty? At his age? Can’t someone just be nice to another person? Or is this a sign he’s about to go dark? Is he starting to suspect me?
A million thoughts tangled together in my head.
“Why would you say it like that?”
“You said it like that just now, hyung.”
“Okay, sorry.”
I apologized without hesitation. If my Contractor says so, then I should apologize. But instead of calming down, Baek Tae-beom looked even more baffled.
“Why do you apologize so easily, too?”
That’s when I started to realize something was seriously off.
I’d known for a while that he always seemed uneasy, like I might disappear at any moment, and that he watched me for signs. But he had never voiced it this bluntly before.
‘Contractor info.’
[Displaying contractor information.]
[Contractor – Baek Tae-beom, One Who Cleaved the Mist]
[Title: One Who Cleaved the Mist
Status: Confused
Contracted Constellation: One Who Knows of Destruction
Coins held: 42,100
Skills: [Sword Aura] [Hermit]
There are skills not yet activated due to unmet conditions. The contractor is affected by a status ailment. Recovery is required.]
Just as I thought. I stashed the ore into my inventory, then grabbed the hand of Baek Tae-beom, who was still chattering beside me, and led him forward.
“Do you think I’ll forgive everything just because you hold my hand like this?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Baek Tae-beom still hadn’t shaken off his habit of leaning too heavily on his skills. Every time he pushed himself too hard in battle, he ended up with status effects like this. I remembered the first time it happened—he suddenly clutched his head and collapsed, muttering all sorts of dark things. I’d thought something was seriously wrong, only to find out he was in a state of Fear.
When he started naturally lacing his fingers through mine and scratching the back of my hand with his nails, I just let him. Instead, I gave his clothes a quick dust-off at the dungeon entrance.
“Do you think I’ll stop doubting you just because you do this, hyung?”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“You don’t even understand how I feel, do you?”
“Yeah, yeah. I guess I don’t.”
I came to a realization. Baek Tae-beom was someone who needed constant, close care. It didn’t matter that I’d pulled him out of danger—his mental state was as fragile as thin ice. If I just left him to do what he wanted now that he was safe, there was no doubt that in two years, I’d be dealing with a fully blackened Baek Tae-beom rolling around in darkness somewhere.
[You have exited Channel #5532.]
As we left the dungeon, still hand-in-hand, a Hansung Group employee standing by the entrance gave us a polite nod.
“Already done?”
“Something like that. Please let Lee Myung-won know, will you?”
“Why don’t you ever speak formally to me, hyung?”
Baek Tae-beom lowered his head and pressed his forehead against my shoulder. His puppy-like behavior made me sigh, and I pushed his forehead away with a finger.
“Yes, Mr. Baek Tae-beom. It’s time to head home.”
“Now you’re using formal speech just to be petty…”
“Let’s go home, Tae-beom.”
I flagged down a random taxi and shoved Baek Tae-beom inside. Slumped over like he was drunk, he didn’t feel like a puppy anymore—he was more like a clingy cat. Even the way he gripped my hand tightly and tried to dig in his nails felt feline.
The taxi driver flinched at the sight of the blood on me but quickly turned his eyes forward without saying a word. It had been two months. People were getting used to Awakened beings and monsters. These days, even seeing someone covered in blood on the street didn’t warrant much more than a second glance.
“Please take us here.”
“Sure thing.”
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What are you two even doing?]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Where the hell have you been? You’re just now showing up?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Do I look like your babysitter?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I have a life too, you know. I’ve got my own Contractor to deal with.]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Oh, I’m sure you do.]
Baek Tae-beom let out a sigh and squeezed my hand tighter. His grip made me wince instinctively.
“Tae-beom, that hurts.”
“Hyung…”
He dropped his head like he was drunk, staying quiet for a while. Then he slowly lifted his gaze and looked at me. His face felt way too close.
I could feel his breath.
“…Hyung, I’m sleepy.”
“Uh… okay.”
Right. I blinked dumbly as I watched him rest his head against my shoulder.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Wow.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: That had to be a kiss moment, right?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Kids these days, seriously—no chill.]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Message filtered. (Reason: Severe profanity)]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Message filtered. (Reason: Severe profanity)]
[CH. Private / One Who Knows of Destruction: Where are you learning these things from???]
