Compared to nightmares of his younger brother—soaked in pain and guilt—dreams of Tae Woon felt so sweet that even someone with little understanding of human emotion could tell the difference.
To be honest, Biendeoé still found it hard to believe that the delicate-featured, soft-eyed boy from Kim Sibaek’s dream was the same person as the Tae Woon she knew now. Since it was a subjective dream, she assumed the boy had been idealized. But after digging through some old photo albums, she realized the dream hadn’t been far from the truth.
She couldn’t fathom how that cute, fragile “Woonie” had grown into such a towering, formidable man.
Human growth really is unfathomable.
The dream Kim Sibaek had most often was of his first meeting with Tae Woon. Though his memories of Earth were gradually fading the longer he stayed in Mak Slechth, that one memory remained vivid.
Nineteen-year-old Kim Sibaek. Five-year-old Tae Woon.
That meeting had turned both their lives upside down—not just Tae Woon’s, but Kim Sibaek’s as well. It made sense that he could never forget it. Biendeoé thought that if those two had never met, their lives would have unfolded in completely different ways.
To put it bluntly, if not for Tae Woon, Kim Sibaek would never have thrown himself into the Rift twenty-one Earth years ago. He would never have crash-landed in Mak Slechth. And she herself would likely still be an obscure, nameless young god. Feeling the profound ripple effect of a single encounter on the world and its destiny sent a chill down Biendeoé’s spine.
And now, Tae Woon was probably the reason Kim Sibaek looked troubled. Concerned for her Apostle, Biendeoé took a quick peek at his surface thoughts.
Woonie’s an adult now, so wet dreams and stuff—fine, that can happen… The whole ‘dick’ and ‘cock’ thing, well, the kid had a rough upbringing. Maybe he just picked up bad language habits. Still, me worrying about this makes me sound like a total geezer. But I am getting old, so maybe that’s just how it is. Anyway, saying something like ‘my cock is huge’—that’s just guy talk, I guess. But erogenous zones? That crosses a line. No, no, no. Woonie’s grown up now. He’s probably got a girlfriend or two—no, a hundred, maybe. He grew up handsome and cool. He was super popular with girls. Some even came all the way to the orphanage just to give him gifts… But still, saying something about that being an erogenous zone… that’s just… yeah, no. That’s a problem.
“……”
What a mental train wreck.
Biendeoé pecked her Apostle’s head with her short beak—tap tap tap tap.
“Ow! Ow ow ow! What was that for?”
[Death and Beauty laments that her Apostle’s intelligence takes a nosedive whenever it involves Tae Woon.]
“Huh? Out of nowhere?”
[Death and Beauty says she’s felt that way for a long time. She scolds you to just think about the World Cup instead.]
“Oh, right. Come to think of it, the Cataclysm caused the World Cup to get canceled. I heard the damage was bad since so many people were out watching in the streets.”
[Death and Beauty responds that Earth was tragically unprepared for the Monster Swarm.]
“Do you know exactly when monsters first started appearing in Mak Slechth?”
[Death and Beauty says—it’s breakfast time.]
Kim Sibaek chuckled at Biendeoé’s blatant dodge. Well, he hadn’t known why Earth was round or how it orbited the sun when he was a preschooler either.
[Death and Beauty protests that she wasn’t that young.]
“Hyung, breakfast’s ready.”
Right then, Tae Woon knocked and called out from outside the door. Kim Sibaek moved quickly to help set the table, but Tae Woon had already taken care of it. As usual, it was a Korean meal ordered in.
Since Tae Woon had gone back to normal after that comment, Kim Sibaek was pretending it never happened. Still, just in case he accidentally triggered the topic of erogenous zones again, he kept a bit of distance as he sat down. Whether that “zone” really was an erogenous zone or not was beside the point.
“This place is good, but eating takeout every day can’t be good for you.”
“Should I order from a different place next time?”
“I was thinking maybe we could cook at home.”
Since he was basically unemployed now, he figured he might as well take charge of the meals. He’d checked the fridge earlier—nothing but bottled water. It was obvious Tae Woon hadn’t been cooking at all.
As Tae Woon casually pulled out his chair for him, he said, “I’m good with a knife, but I’m terrible at seasoning. If the measurements are precise, it’s not bad, but if the recipe says ‘season to taste,’ I always mess it up.”
“Seasoning’s not easy.”
“That’s why I’d love it if you helped me cook, hyung.”
“Sure.”
It had been decades since Kim Sibaek last cooked anything himself, but he figured he’d manage somehow.
Tae Woon gave him that cheeky, angelic smile, and Kim Sibaek instinctively reached out to pat his head—only to stop just short. Tae Woon, as if reading his mind, said,
“That’s not one of my erogenous zones.”
“……”
Kim Sibaek silently flicked his forehead with his fingers. Tae Woon rubbed the reddening spot, eyes sparkling with delight.
“Hyung, hyung. Do you want me to give you a list of all my erogenous zones so you don’t get confused again? Or I can just let you keep guessing. Your call.”
“Let’s eat, Woonie.”
“Okay~”
After breakfast, while clearing the table, Kim Sibaek spoke up. Biendeoé, who had substituted her meal with a few plums, was nodding off in her chair, cushioned and half-asleep.
“What do you think of Director Noh?”
It was meant as a light, offhand question—but suddenly, Tae Woon’s expression clouded over, dark and heavy.
“She’s awful, hyung. Really awful…”
“Uh, what? What did I even say?”
Startled by the extreme reaction to what he thought was harmless curiosity, Kim Sibaek blinked. He hadn’t been gossiping—was asking something this simple really so bad?
“How could you ask something so cruel, knowing exactly how I feel…”
“H-How you feel?”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never once seen Director Noh as a woman, so I can’t answer that question. And I don’t want to, either. If you’re seriously thinking about marrying her, just know—I’ll sob uncontrollably at the wedding, enough to soak the aisle. I’ll cry the whole time. I’ll even follow you on your honeymoon and make such a scene you won’t be able to sleep on your wedding night…”
“……”
Kim Sibaek wordlessly pinched Tae Woon’s cheeks with his thumb and forefinger and stretched them wide.
“I told you—it wasn’t a blind date.”
“Mmmrrh, hyung.”
Even with his cheeks stretched out, he still managed to pronounce “hyung” perfectly. Oddly impressive. After releasing him, Kim Sibaek watched as Tae Woon slumped dramatically over the table, pretending to sulk. Resisting the urge to play along, he braced himself and asked,
“Why are you so obsessed with my blind date, anyway?”
He had hesitated to ask this, unsure if it was the right thing to say. After all, twenty-one years had passed—it was hard to believe Tae Woon’s feelings were still exactly as they had been when he was a child. And yet, Kim Sibaek still couldn’t understand why he’d tried to sabotage the meeting.
“Because… I don’t want anyone to matter more to you than me. I’ve spent twenty-one years thinking only about you, and it hurts to think that you’ve gone on to make so many important connections with other people…”
“You’re not wrong. But you’re still my precious little brother.”
“That’s not enough.”
Tae Woon reached out and gently brushed the back of Kim Sibaek’s hand resting on the table. His touch was soft, as if he feared it would vanish at the slightest breath, but beneath that caution was a firm, unwavering intensity.
“When you die, I want to be the last person you think of. I want your head to be so full of me it feels like it’ll explode. I want you to die with only me in your heart. Just me, hyung—please die like that.”
And in that moment, Tae Woon’s wish already began to come true. His presence overwhelmed Kim Sibaek’s thoughts so completely that he couldn’t even form a reply. He parted his lips, stunned and speechless. Seeing this, Tae Woon let out a small smile and withdrew his hand, as if to say he was only joking.
“It’s just a metaphor. Who even knows if people can think at the moment they die?”
“…Woonie.”
“You’ll go back to Mak Slechth eventually, right? This quest won’t last forever. It has to end at some point. And when your time here is already limited, how could you waste it on something like romance?”
Though he said it lightly, with a hint of a smile, Kim Sibaek let out a quiet sigh and lightly tapped Tae Woon’s still-reddened cheek.
“I’m not planning on dating, so don’t worry. I’m in the middle of a quest tied to the survival of Earth—starting a relationship now would be irresponsible. Besides, I don’t want to leave behind any lingering traces.”
Tae Woon alone already made it hard enough to say goodbye. If he were still fourteen, like when they last parted—or if he had grown up but had nothing to show for it—Kim Sibaek might have seriously considered finding a way to bring him to Mak Slechth.
But Tae Woon had become a full-fledged adult—a respected, exceptional person. The reputation and achievements he had built in this new world weren’t something that could be dismissed. Kim Sibaek couldn’t let his own selfish desire to keep his brother close override everything Tae Woon had accomplished.
Just as Kim Sibaek’s place was now in Mak Slechth, Tae Woon’s place was here.
“…Unless, you want to come with me?”
