Kang Bijun snapped at Kang Biso the moment they stepped out into the hallway.
“Cut the crap. You do know something about the Book of Wishes, don’t you?”
“I told you—I don’t.”
“Ugh, seriously? Save the lies for someone who’ll buy them. Even if Hwang Seol-bin’s clueless, I can read you like a book.”
“I’m not lying. You’re just imagining things.”
Kang Biso’s shameless denial made Bijun’s brows twitch in frustration. What the hell was he hiding? Just thinking about how the Book of Wishes had gone public on the news—and how that would attract every greedy bastard out there—made his stomach twist. And now Biso was clamming up like this?
“Do you honestly think we’ll be able to snatch the Book from the government at this rate? What’s your deal, seriously?”
Cornered, Kang Biso hesitated, clearly weighing his options. After a moment of silence, he glanced around, then spoke quietly.
“I can’t tell you… but…”
“But what?”
“…If we get that book, it’s going to Hwang Seol-bin.”
“What? What kind of bullshit is that?”
Bijun blinked. Did he hear that right? After stonewalling him all this time, that’s the bomb Biso decides to drop?
“That’s all you need to know. I made a promise. The Book of Wishes goes to Hwang Seol-bin. So help me out.”
Bijun’s face twisted in disbelief. Did his brother even hear himself? Was he seriously this far gone?
But Biso’s expression was calm—serious, even. Eyes steady. There was no hesitation in his voice.
“…Are you out of your damn mind? You know how hard we’ve worked to get that book. And now you want to just hand it over to Hwang Seol-bin?”
“Say what you want. That book belongs to him.”
Unbelievable. Stubborn didn’t even begin to cover it.
Bijun let out a sigh, unable to hold it in any longer. He usually let Biso have his way, knowing how impossible it was to change his mind once it was made. But this time? This time was different.
“…I don’t care what you say. I’m not giving up the Book of Wishes.”
“I’ll say it again. That book is Hwang Seol-bin’s. That’s not going to change.”
“No. We need that book. I know you like him, but this is where you draw the line between personal and professional.”
“I am drawing that line. That’s why I’m saying this.”
The last of Bijun’s patience snapped.
“Don’t screw with me! I’m not backing down either. Not this time!”
With that, he turned away, jaw tight, silently swearing he wouldn’t let his brother win this fight.
***
“Hey, did you see the news yesterday?”
“Oh… you mean that book?”
“Yeah. If the government’s putting research teams on it, there’s gotta be something there.”
…Everyone’s losing their damn minds.
When I walked into the cafeteria with Kang Biso, the air was buzzing with gossip about the Book of Wishes. Agents were huddled in groups, whispering with wide eyes and furrowed brows.
“Everyone’s really worked up about the Book, huh?”
“Can’t blame them. It’s rare to see something like that paraded around so openly.”
“…Yeah. Makes sense.”
My stomach twisted with unease. Am I really going to be able to get the Book of Wishes…? If things went south, I might even end up fighting ZEC over it.
And judging by the look in Kang Bijun’s eyes, he wanted the book too.
I glanced at Biso, anxiety creeping in. He tilted his head curiously.
“…Hm? What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No… It’s nothing.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
“…I am eating.”
I picked at my food, trying to regain some sense of normalcy. But before I could take another bite, the screech of a chair dragging across the floor cut through the air—and suddenly Kang Bijun was sitting across from me.
“Oh… Hello.”
I offered a stiff greeting. Bijun glanced at my tray, piled high with food, then let out a humorless snort and shot a jab at Biso.
“You don’t even look after your own brother, but you’ve got plenty of time to fuss over Hwang Seol-bin, huh?”
“…Mind your own damn business.”
Biso snapped, clearly irritated. But Bijun just stared back at him like he was the one being ridiculous.
“Finish up and come to my room. We need to go over the plan.”
“Yeah. I’ll go with you.”
“And Hwang Seol-bin?”
“He’s coming too.”
“Says who?”
The tension between the two of them was thick enough to choke on. I didn’t want any part of their territorial pissing match, but if I didn’t cut in now, I was going to lose my appetite entirely. So I raised my hand and stepped in between them.
“I’ll just stay in my room. You can go without me, Kang Biso.”
“You know what happens when we leave you alone. You always cause trouble. Just look at what happened yesterday… That’s exactly why I’m saying we should go togeth—”
“Oh, yesterday. Right. Yeah, let’s definitely avoid a repeat of that. You left him a complete mess—he’s still in the infirmary, barely hanging on.”
His words were clearly meant to blame Kang Biso, and I couldn’t help but stare at Biso in shock. We’d been together ever since the news broke yesterday, hadn’t we? When did he sneak off to cause that much damage? Just how bad was it if even Kang Bijun was this worked up?
“He laid a hand on my hyung while I wasn’t there. He deserved what he got.”
“God… You really need to learn what moderation means.”
“What? What did I do now?”
“Are you seriously asking that? Do you even remember you’re the Captain of ZEC?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying tone it down. Do you have any idea how much crap we have to clean up because of you running around doing whatever the hell you want?”
Okay, what is going on between these two?
At first, I thought it was just typical brotherly bickering, but the longer it went on, the more off it felt. This wasn’t just a spat—it was sharp and tense, the kind of fight born from something that had been festering for a long time. Kang Bijun was throwing jabs without holding back, and Kang Biso was clearly done pretending everything was fine. They stared each other down, eyes full of heat and old resentment.
…Did something happen between them?
I didn’t know what was going on, and the tension was making me anxious. All I could do was keep my mouth shut and try to read the room.
***
The Book of Wishes… huh.
Dungeons were still full of mysteries, so something like a magical book showing up wasn’t that strange. What was strange was why no one higher up had mentioned it before now. Why had they kept quiet? And why were they suddenly making it public?
There had to be a reason for broadcasting it like this. The government wouldn’t just announce something so big for no reason. Was it really like the name implied—a book that could grant wishes? That sounded like something straight out of a fairytale. Kang Hak-gwan shook his head.
Then the news cut to a close-up shot of the Book of Wishes, showing off the cover in detail.
…It looked oddly familiar.
He was sure he’d seen something just like it before. A book with that same design, tucked away in his home library…
Should I check?
If that really was the Book of Wishes, this could be his golden opportunity to wedge himself into whatever the government had planned. That kind of move could definitely help with a promotion.
Without wasting another second, Kang Hak-gwan rushed home.
“Oh my, honey. You’re home early. Is something wrong?”
He barely acknowledged his wife’s greeting as he began tearing through the bookshelf. He searched shelf after shelf, but the book he remembered was nowhere to be found.
“Didn’t we have a book like this?” he asked, holding up his phone to show her the picture from the news.
She studied it for a second, then clapped her hands like it had just hit her.
“Oh! That one?”
“So we did have it?”
“Well, yeah… But I gave it to someone recently. As a gift…”
“…What?”
The brief glimmer of hope in Kang Hak-gwan’s eyes disappeared instantly. His wife seemed to realize she’d messed up and cautiously continued.
“I mean… we couldn’t read it anyway. And someone said they really needed it, so I just gave it to them…”
“You what?!”
The anger flared before he could stop it. His voice rose sharply, and his wife flinched in surprise. Realizing he’d shouted, Hak-gwan sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
“Haah… Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was important…”
“God…”
He let out another long sigh. So it was the Book of Wishes. The damn thing had been sitting right here at home. And now she’d handed it off to someone else—like it was nothing. The regret was enough to make him want to punch a wall.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself to focus. What mattered now was getting it back.
“Who did you give it to? I need to get that book back.”
“Well… It was someone who helped me at the bank a while back…”
“…You mean during that robbery?”
“Yeah. I ran into him again recently at the park. I invited him over for tea, and when he saw the book, he said he really needed it. So I told him to take it.”
She’d given it to the man who saved her life. That made things a lot more complicated. He couldn’t exactly demand it back now. But why had that man wanted the book?
The Book of Wishes had only been shown on the news last night. Which meant the guy had taken it long before that.
Wait… did he already know what it was?
But how?
Driven by unease, Kang Hak-gwan leaned in, pressing harder.
“Do you have his contact info? Do you know where he lives? Anything? His name?”
“I… I don’t. We just bumped into each other. I haven’t seen him since…”
“Then what did he look like? Can you describe him?”
Hak-gwan stared at her, willing her to remember something—anything.
“…There were actually two of them.”
“There were two?”
“Yeah. I saw them walking through the park and invited them both over. They were… really striking, actually. Not the kind of people you forget.”
“Striking?”
That brought a flicker of hope. If they stood out that much, maybe there was still a chance.
“The man who helped me… he was beautiful. Like, really beautiful.”
“…Beautiful? He was a guy.”
“Yes. And he had a mole under one eye—that’s how I remember him.”
It wasn’t enough. That description was still too vague. He needed something more—something solid.
“Is there anything else you remember?”
“Oh! Now that I think about it, he kind of looked like that person who’s been all over the news lately.”
“…Someone from the news?”
There was only one person who’d been on the news nonstop lately.
The SSS-Rank Guide who’d vanished into thin air, slipping past the surveillance of countless Espers— Hwang Seol-bin.
Kang Hak-gwan pulled up a photo on his phone and showed it to her.
“This guy?”
“Mm… Yeah. That looks like him.”
“Goddamn it!”
“Waaahhh!”
His curse echoed through the house—and like clockwork, the baby burst into tears. His wife hurried off to calm the child, leaving him standing alone, fists clenched, glaring at the photo like it had personally offended him.
Of all people… it had to be Hwang Seol-bin.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the guy had gone rogue and vanished, now he’d walked off with the Book of Wishes too?
…I don’t care what it takes—I’m going to find that bastard.
