I had no idea what was happening. Se-min stared blankly at Cha-hyeon, who was snapping at him to hurry up and go back. But all Cha-hyeon did was rake his hair any which way and keep spouting things that made no sense.
“Ah, when did you get here? In the… middle of this? Why the hell did you come to the site? You’ve gotta be kidding me. I told you not to come, no matter what, because I was in danger.”
Cha-hyeon stood up and looked around. He moved like he might shove Se-min out the door this very second. Dazed, all Se-min could do was look up at him.
“I told them, whatever happens, do not call the kid. Se-min, how’d you even find your way here? Who called you, seriously?”
He couldn’t make sense of why he was acting like this. Nothing in the conversation they’d been having just moments ago warranted the conclusion that Se-min should go home. He’d only asked what the reward—the one still sitting there as a question mark—actually was.
This was like… he’d suddenly forgotten the whole situation out of nowhere.
“……”
…No. Out of nowhere, the “hyung” who would say something like this to Se-min—
For a moment, it felt like ice water got dumped over his head. A gap opened between Se-min’s lips. Gooseflesh rippled across his bare skin.
“…Cha-hyeon hyung?”
A trembling voice leaked through his parted lips. Even though he was the one who called to him, he sounded like he couldn’t believe it himself. The question that had hesitated, like a dream he’d eventually wake from, turned into certainty the moment it left his mouth.
“Are you Cha-hyeon hyung?”
As if that were the strange part, Cha-hyeon looked at Se-min. Ah—those eyes. Se-min’s mouth fell open wider and wider.
How could he forget those familiar eyes, full of affection and warmth, yet unable to hide their exhaustion? He’d thought he’d cried so much there were no tears left, but strangely, his eyes burned again.
“Is it… really you? It is, right?”
Tears bled into Se-min’s voice. Seeing it, Cha-hyeon quickly lowered himself. Not caring if his clothes got dirty, he went down on one knee to meet Se-min’s eyes.
“What’s wrong? Why are you about to cry? Did someone bother you?”
“Nngh…!”
In the end, unable to hold back the surge of emotion, Se-min threw his arms around him. Because he looped both arms around Cha-hyeon’s neck and clung hard, Cha-hyeon staggered for a second; then, dazed, he cupped the back of his Guide’s head.
Swelling Guiding energy poured into Cha-hyeon. A tangle of joy and sorrow, tenderness and relief flowed into him as naturally as breath. Sniffling, Se-min asked in a rush.
“Hyung. Answer me, quick. Do you know my name? Do you remember me? Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Se-min. My Dongsaeng. Why are you asking weird questions?”
Even though he himself didn’t know what was going on, Cha-hyeon answered steadily. All the while, the hand stroking his hair was as familiar and gentle as ever. Se-min burrowed deeper into his arms, tightening his hold.
“U-hic…! Hyung, hyuung…!”
It was him. It was Cha-hyeon hyung. His memories were back—no doubt about it. The memories of him he’d completely lost had returned.
He’d hoped for it, but Se-min had never let himself picture the moment in detail. He’d had vague feelings like I’ll be happy, won’t I? and fears like How will he react to how our relationship has changed?—but reality was nothing like that.
All his worries shrank to nothing. He was so happy he wanted to stop every passerby and thank them, just because his hyung’s memories had returned.
He didn’t know why they’d come back so abruptly, but he had a guess.
Maybe it was because of the Unclaimed Rewards they’d been talking about just a minute ago. Maybe hyung went into the gate and that reward only now activated.
But none of that mattered anymore. The hyung he knew had come back. It felt like he’d been lost in a strange place and finally found his guardian.
At last, relief washed the tension out of Se-min’s body now that he was sure hyung remembered him clearly.
“Th-thank goodness. Thank God…”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
In the end, Cha-hyeon had to ask. It was because Se-min clung to him so desperately, like they’d be torn apart forever if he let go for even a moment.
“Nnnh, hyuung…”
The tail of Se-min’s words dragged out. Rubbing his hot eyes against Cha-hyeon’s shoulder and shaking his head, he let out a weak sound. It was a whiny, childish complaint airing how wronged he felt, but between “the two of them,” it was natural.
When he finally lifted his head, his face was swollen with pent-up hurt. Puffy like a steamed bun, he grumbled in a voice gone soft and fragile.
“Your memories are really all back, right? Do you know how worried I was? How far back do you remember? Do you remember going into the gate alone? The gate rank changed all of a sudden and I… I seriously thought you were going to die…”
His worries burst out like a breached dam. As he poured out all the bottled-up grievance, he sniffled.
“…But hyung, do you know why you’re here? What about the time when you’d lost your memory? No—after you cleared that Special-Type Dungeon Gate back then, do you remember what’s happened up to now?”
Worry crept into the face that had been bright with nothing but joy. He realized belatedly that even after getting his memories back, Cha-hyeon hadn’t shown any real reaction to how different everything around them was.
If the last moment before he lost his memories was right after clearing that Rank-Changing Dungeon… Was he calm because everything since then was still intact? Or else…
“Do I remember what’s happened up to now?”
A faint crease formed between his brows as he mulled over Se-min’s words. Narrowing his eyes like he was rummaging through his mind, Cha-hyeon murmured softly.
“I… ngh!”
A sudden headache slammed into him and he grabbed his forehead, pained. Startled, Se-min tried to stop him.
“Are you okay? If it hurts, don’t force it. We can take it slow, later…!”
Cha-hyeon lowered his head even more. His fingers rubbed slowly at his brow, then he scrubbed his face with both hands. Watching, all Se-min could do was fidget helplessly.
“……”
Without a word, Cha-hyeon kept rubbing at his eyes. Staring at his pitch-black hair and the round whorl at his crown, Se-min’s lips worked soundlessly with worry.
How long did he watch, heart in his throat? At last, in a low voice, Cha-hyeon muttered to himself,
“…Crazy bastard. Has he lost it, this fucker…?”
His voice was so small you wouldn’t hear it unless you were straining to listen. Face full of worry, Se-min studied him anxiously.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
What should I do? Do we go to the hospital? Right—the doctor said, if his memories came back or anything happened, we should come in. Check for any additional injuries, get proof that the memories related to me have returned…
Gritting his teeth so hard his skin smarted beneath his hands, Cha-hyeon abruptly stopped scrubbing his face. Like a machine with the power cut, his movements broke off in jarringly clean snaps.
Covering his eyes with one hand, he fell silent. Still kneeling on one knee, he went so utterly still it made you wonder if he’d fainted.
A strange unease swept over him. Se-min’s chest fluttered. Lips moving soundlessly at his hyung’s odd behavior, he finally called, careful and small.
“…Cha-hyeon, hyung?”
“Ah.”
A low breath slipped out. A sigh that sounded like a groan, or maybe a lament. He slowly lifted his hand from his eyelids.
Like a predator with its prey in sight, Cha-hyeon raised his head in a slow, deliberate motion. His eyes—too dark—flashed with a foreign light.
“Because it’s ridiculous.”
“…Huh?”
A fine crack ran through the space between Se-min’s lips. The answer didn’t connect to anything they’d just said. The body that had crouched to meet Se-min’s eyes uncoiled, rising. Se-min’s gaze slid upward, following as that body loomed larger and larger.
“I took a day off just to see this… What, was it supposed to be that impressive? A conditional reward?”
But hadn’t Se-min just gone through this exact same thing?
Light slowly drained from Se-min’s bright face; then, as if resigned, his eyes dropped.
His instincts recognized it before his head did. The Cha-hyeon hyung he knew was gone. He’d slipped back into that dungeon gate.
…Survival rate 7%, S-rank, dungeon, rampage, Gate Flood, death, amnesia…
Dizzy for a moment, Se-min squeezed his eyes shut. Even knowing that Cha-hyeon was right in front of him and not someone else, he couldn’t help but check.
…Status window.
Otherwise, he felt like he’d start begging for what would sound insane to everyone else—that they had to save Cha-hyeon right now. His insides heaved like he had to spill everything out.
Pair Partner – Sung Cha-hyeon (S) ○
Se-min’s throat bobbed. Swallowing down something hot rising from deep inside, he felt the tip of his nose go warm. It didn’t take long to realize the feeling was hollow despair.
But things weren’t all that different for Cha-hyeon either. Unlike the original Cha-hyeon—who’d accepted the scene without a hitch—the amnesiac one noticed, in a blink, that his posture and position had changed.
Just like when he’d come to and opened his eyes in a hospital room. Just like when he’d gotten the diagnosis that he’d lost all memories of his Pair Guide…
“But fuck… what is this?”
Teetering between curiosity and disgust, Cha-hyeon muttered.
