“Since I’m in front of you, I want to show off a little—act like a proper Guildmaster in front of the others. But honestly, I’m just too nervous. This is the first time I’ve ever been dragged into an Eid Portal alone, without any other Hunters. Earlier, I was so scared I wanted to cry… but I kept my mouth shut and held it in……”
“……”
The voice, soft and tinged with a hint of childishness, clashed oddly with the deep baritone of the speaker, creating a strangely unbalanced tone.
[Death and Beauty is newly impressed that he endured his fear. She finds it admirable.]
Kim Sibaek stayed quiet for a moment, then let his expression soften.
“It’s all right. I’ll protect you.”
Behind Tae Woon’s shy smile—finally earned after being interrupted by Seo Gaeun in the past—there lingered a silence. But now, that silence had turned bitter.
***
Inside the portal, which replicated reality with unsettling precision, a cold wind swept through the buildings.
“Woonie, the wind’s too strong. Come over here.”
To Gwak Yoonsang, both of them were a problem—Kim Sibaek, pulling Tae Woon behind him just because of the wind, and Tae Woon, who scampered over without protest to hide behind him.
Kim Sibaek stood well over 180 centimeters tall, with a lean, athletic build honed by training, but he was still slimmer than Tae Woon. If anything, when Tae Woon tried to hide behind him, about a third of his body remained exposed. It wasn’t clear who was shielding whom from the wind.
…No. Don’t think about it. The second you take this seriously, you’ve already lost…
Right on cue, Kim Sibaek’s serious voice broke the air.
“If the wind gets any stronger, I’m afraid you might blow away.”
“I’m afraid of that too.”
Fuck. Gwak Yoonsang was overwhelmed with the urge to stab his own eardrums.
Once he regained a shred of composure, he directed the group toward the department store, which they suspected was the core of the Eid Portal.
Seo Gaeun and Pi Minhyung took the lead to clear a path. Hunters from the Paranormal Phenomena Response Agency formed the middle to protect civilians. At the rear were Kim Sibaek and the hopelessly weak Tae Woon.
“Chief, are we really leaving him alone back there? From the way Guildmaster Tae Woon was talking earlier, I get the feeling he’ll just stand around and watch unless the sky is literally falling…”
Tae Woon’s behavior in the field usually fell into one of two categories. He either went absolutely berserk, earning the ‘mad dog’ nickname in earnest, or he stood there stone-faced, indifferent to whatever chaos unfolded around him.
Today was definitely the latter. Worse, he was putting on this whole fragile act, and there was no sign he’d even lift a finger.
One of the Hunters whispered nervously, but Gwak Yoonsang brushed it off with a simple nod. Although he had a vague idea of what was going on with that guy—he preferred not to know. Either way, Kim Sibaek was believed to be S-rank.
Still, if he acted like he knew something just because Kim Sibaek was S-rank, there was no telling what kind of retaliation Tae Woon might unleash, so he kept his expression neutral and walked away.
To the others sneaking curious glances at Tae Woon, Gwak Yoonsang wanted to say: I’ve seen that man snuggle into Kim Sibaek’s lap before.
“Mr. Kim Sibaek, do you have your weapon ready?”
“I haven’t been able to get one yet.”
He hadn’t brought the weapon he used in Mak Slechth, so it was probably in Gloiuken’s possession.
“Would you like to borrow the sword I lent you last time?”
It was a sabre—something he was familiar with. As always, Kim Sibaek gratefully accepted the weapon. With no further comment, Gwak Yoonsang turned and walked away.
[Death and Beauty says it has been a long time since she’s seen her Apostle personally wield a weapon.]
“Oh, I did swing it a bit when I first got here, but I guess you were too scared to watch.”
[Death and Beauty claims she got dust in her eyes that day and couldn’t see clearly.]
“There are monsters here too, so with luck, I might be able to replenish a little holy power.”
Kim Sibaek gave the blade a few practiced swings, then lightly tapped the back of his neck with the flat of the sword. Tae Woon, who had been silent, murmured bitterly.
“Even after all these years, your habits haven’t changed.”
“I never practiced or competed in front of you. How do you know that?”
“After you retired, the fencing club coach gave me all your match recordings and training tapes.”
“Oh… right. I left those at the orphanage.”
“Sister kept them. Didn’t throw a single one out. I watched those tapes over and over at the orphanage until the film practically wore thin.”
Tae Woon’s low voice twisted at the end, his expression contorted with pain. Sensing what he must be thinking, Kim Sibaek forced a cheerful smile and gently pressed his index finger against the corner of Tae Woon’s lips.
When he tried to pull his lips into a smile, Tae Woon’s face froze awkwardly, as if his muscles didn’t know how to move that way.
“I’ve told you—it’s not your fault. How many times do I have to say that? Even if I went back to when I was nineteen, I’d still walk into that semi-basement room and choose to meet you. I’ve never once regretted it.”
“……”
“And all the swordplay I couldn’t do here? I got more than enough of it in Mak Slechth. I even picked up a disciple over there.”
He took his finger away and patted Tae Woon on the shoulder. Tae Woon bit down on his lip and roughly scrubbed his face with the palm of his hand.
After a deep breath, he raised his head and quietly asked,
“……Between me and your disciple, who’s prettier?”
“Why ask something so obvious?”
Kim Sibaek gently pulled Tae Woon into a loose hug, patting his back. He might have grown up, but that subtle trembling in his back was exactly the same as when he’d been five.
[LOL caught Tae Woon at the food court again XD]
[He looks scared shitless, fuck; if I’d run into him at night, I probably would’ve pissed myself ㅠ Was there some murder case near the department store or something? He seriously looks like he just dumped a body]
[He’s not alone—someone’s sitting across from him. They seem close. Even holding hands.]
[Not a girl.]
[Doesn’t look like a guild member either lol]
[He’s eating gelato. That flavor’s fire.]
Bae Ji-han, who had been live-texting Tae Woon’s every move to his friends, stared at the chat window where the conversation had suddenly cut off. If he hadn’t sent anything at all, it might’ve been fine—but a half-typed message left hanging like that felt cursed.
“Dude, this seriously looks like the last text a murder victim would send.”
“Yikes.”
A thick arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder, making him jump. He turned to see Pi Minhyung. Feeling a little guilty about the texts mentioning Tae Woon’s face, Ji-han quickly lowered his phone. When had Pi Minhyung fallen back from the front, where he’d been walking with Seo Gaeun?
“You texting your friends? Bet they’re worried.”
It was their first time meeting, but Pi Minhyung’s relaxed demeanor helped Ji-han ease up too.
“Honestly, if they know I’m with your crew, they’re probably just chilling and snacking on popcorn right now.”
And they really were. The fact that Ji-han had the time to casually mess with his phone inside an Eid Portal said it all—any monsters approaching from the front were being handled cleanly by Seo Gaeun and Pi Minhyung.
“We’re still at the entrance, so don’t relax too much. Right now they’re mostly coming from the front, but give it time and they’ll start popping out from everywhere. The fog’s thick—easy to get ambushed.”
“Got it!”
It was something he’d learned back in elementary school, but the excitement of chatting with a real Hunter had him responding with bright enthusiasm. He was at that age where the Hunter world still felt dazzling.
“But were those texts about that baby-faced hyung?”
“Yeah, yeah! A bunch of pics of him are already floating around online. You could probably look him up once we’re out.”
“Oh?”
“He seemed really close with the Guildmaster, but how come you didn’t know?”
“Tae Woon and I may be ‘ball buddies,’ but it’s not like we’re literally touching balls. Some things slip through.”
Ji-han was curious about the man who’d introduced himself as Kim Sibaek—more like a baby-faced ajusshi—but this was an Eid Portal. The real questions were the ones tied to survival.
He leaned in and lowered his voice.
“Is that baby-faced ajusshi strong?”
“I just met him today, so I’ve got no clue.”
“So he’s really covering the rear all by himself? The Guildmaster’s actually sick, right? But he didn’t wanna admit it, so he’s faking it and using the ajusshi as a cover? He sounded seriously off earlier…”
Unable to make sense of the idea that Tae Woon might be faking weakness, Ji-han invented an entirely new theory, which Pi Minhyung looked down on with a faintly exasperated smile.
“Do your friends ever tell you you’re totally clueless?”
“How’d you know?”
“It’s obvious.”
Pi Minhyung let out a long stretch with a grin.
“Whoever that guy is, Tae Woon must have his reasons for putting him in the rear. That bastard might be messed up in a lot of ways, but when it comes to combat instincts? He’s scary good. Trust him—huh?”
His expression sharpened as he picked up on something. Pi Minhyung’s head whipped around. The civilians, clustered together and walking nervously, hadn’t sensed anything yet.
Only Bae Ji-han, who happened to be standing next to him, turned around in time to see it.
He saw it—just before a pack of Three-Horned Roe Deer monsters shrieked a nerve-shredding cry and launched their ambush.
And right then, like someone flipping a switch, Kim Sibaek cut through the space between them—blocking the attack in one clean, seamless motion.
