#176
‘…Did I lose consciousness?’
It wasn’t the first or second time I’d fainted, so I was used to it by now. I lifted my heavy eyelids.
The first thing I saw was the familiar dungeon exit. Next, I saw the scattered corpses of monsters around it and Liam collapsed on the ground.
‘Where are Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon…?’
I couldn’t feel the warmth of the hands I had been holding just moments ago. As expected, the two were nowhere to be seen.
I knew exactly where I was now. It was the dungeon where I had died. Thinking about death sent a chill down my spine, but looking at the current situation, it was clear that the boss had been completely killed and a path out had opened.
‘I’m safe.’
No one can harm me now. All I need to do is go outside and find those two.
For now, it’s a success just to have returned to the body that had died once. I decided to stay positive.
I couldn’t leave Liam alone here, so I had to wake him up. I crawled over to Liam. As soon as I started shaking him, Liam’s eyelids slowly opened.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Liam slowly opened his eyes, blinked a few times, and then suddenly sat up.
“Ah.”
He looked a bit dazed. As he slowly turned his head and took in his surroundings, life returned to his eyes.
“You saved me.”
“What? I did?”
I blinked blankly. Wasn’t he the one who saved me when I was dying?
‘Come to think of it, there’s no pain in the back of my neck… or any blood stains visible.’
This place was also a bit different from the scene I saw just before dying. The position had completely changed.
“I made a mistake and even drew the boss’s aggro… but you saved me in the midst of that. Thank you.”
Not sure what was going on, I decided to just nod for now. After all, getting credit for saving an S-class Esper wasn’t a bad thing.
Liam kept thanking me. Whether it was for saving his life or for eliminating the danger to Ray and Nikki, I couldn’t tell. It wasn’t bad to be thanked, but I wanted to leave now. I wanted to meet those two quickly.
“Shouldn’t we get out quickly?”
“Ah, right. Ray will be worried.”
I approached the dungeon entrance with Liam and stepped inside. When I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, I smelled the familiar scent of the garden.
“Liam!”
Ray came running with a worried face. It was completely different from his previous prickly demeanor as he buried himself in Liam’s arms, whimpering.
I left Nikki alone, her eyes red from crying in fear. When I turned my head, I saw a crowd of people gathered. From their attire, it looked like there was a dungeon raid team, civilians with cameras around their necks, and some people putting on airs.
“Liam! Lee! What happened inside?”
“Energy exceeding S-class Red was measured in this dungeon! How did a single S-class Esper clear it?”
“Is it true that Lee came to America to clear this?”
The sound of camera shutters went crazy, and questions from reporters poured out. It was very strange to see the previously quiet mansion garden so noisy.
Above all, S-class Red? It definitely didn’t seem like that level of difficulty…
‘I came to America secretly to clear this?’
I was wondering what was going on when suddenly the author’s words flashed through my mind. She said she would write a bit more of the story to restore the world.
Could it be that she not only saved me but also changed the circumstances?
“Lee! Please answer! Did you come to America for this? How was the dungeon clear?”
I thought the reporters would be focusing on Ray clinging to Liam, but surprisingly, they seemed more eager to question me. Moreover, the people who had been standing arrogantly approached me saying things like, “I’m so-and-so from such-and-such party, let’s take a picture,” “You’ve done something amazing,” and so on.
Unable to answer in English, I kept my mouth shut, but Liam approached with Ray dangling from one arm and answered the reporters’ questions on my behalf.
“We will hold an official press conference separately. Lee must be very tired now.”
“The public wants to know about this situation!”
“While the public’s right to know is important, please be considerate of Lee. I failed to properly clear the dungeon, and we almost failed, nearly causing a dungeon break that would have split America in two. It was Lee who saved me and saved America! Lee must be exhausted from facing the boss alone and needs to rest.”
At Liam’s firm words, people looked at me with shocked faces. And I was equally shocked.
‘What did I save?’
I faced the boss? I saved America? In reality, all I did was die, so why has the story changed to some kind of hero’s tale when I came back?
‘Isn’t this… too much of an after-service?’
If the intention was to make me a hero of America, it was certainly a successful development. All the people were looking at me with sparkling eyes. Applause poured out.
‘Uh…’
I blinked. It was somewhat embarrassing to be praised for something I didn’t do. But at the same time, I felt a little… good, like I had become a hero.
“Do you have any thoughts of staying in America like this?”
Someone persistent threw a question at me despite Liam’s attempts to stop them. However, instead of looking at that person, I stared at the two people approaching from afar with overwhelmed faces.
Deep relief was evident in the eyes of the two who had discovered me unharmed.
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
I muttered as I took a step towards the direction where the two were approaching.
‘Because my partners have arrived.’
***
Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun had booked a nearby hotel. Although Ray and Liam offered to lend us rooms in the mansion to rest, the two firmly refused.
I also agreed to go to the hotel, fearing that if they saw the basement where I had stayed, the two would become enraged and destroy the mansion.
I rode the elevator up with the two and opened the room door. As soon as I entered and turned around, as if in sync with my thoughts, the two rushed towards me, causing my face to crash into their hard chests.
“Ow!”
As I let out a short scream, hands immediately touched my face and body in a flustered manner.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon looked at my face with serious expressions. Then they became even more serious, saying my nose had turned red.
Somehow finding this situation funny, I burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing? Your nose is all red.”
“No, it’s just… feeling this pain means I’m alive, right?”
Above all, seeing these two gave me certainty. That I had truly returned to the body of a complete guide. I felt that I could guide these two.
As I spoke laughing, the corners of Shin Haejun’s eyes quickly turned red. Just as I thought he looked tearful, Shin Haejun wrinkled his nose and muttered.
“Thank goodness. Really…”
Just like me who had worried whether I could really come back properly, it seems he felt the same way. Certainly, it’s such an absurd thing for a dead person to come back to life, so it’s understandable to have such worries.
Yeonsoo-nim! It was a short separation, but I missed you!
Just as we were about to have an emotional reunion, Nine popped out from Hyun Dowoon’s arms. With a giant emoticon face.
I looked at the flat emoticon spinning around and sparkling with blurry eyes. It felt like watching a failed PowerPoint effect.
“Can’t you time it better?”
Shin Haejun also scolded Nine with an annoyed expression. However, Nine didn’t back down and stuck to my face. If I looked in a mirror now, I’d probably see a giant emoticon stuck to my cheek like a tattoo. And a glowing one at that.
You two be quiet! Don’t ruin the emotional reunion between Yeonsoo-nim and me!
Then Nine started rattling off words like a machine gun, saying things like how it wanted to come out earlier but didn’t because it was worried about the confusion in the world, how much it missed me, and how I should never leave its side now.
“Where did that… human form from before go?”
I asked carefully. Seeing the emoticon changing shape every second made me feel strange.
That’s because I came out of the phone! Since my body is the phone now, I can only express myself like this! But don’t you think I use these expressions really well?
I’m not sure if they could be called expressions, but I nodded anyway. Nine, excited, stuck to my cheek with a slap. The light emanating from near my eyes made me feel a bit dazzled, but it was bearable.
“Get away.”
Hyun Dowoon, who had been quietly watching Nine flutter around excitedly by itself, took out his phone from his pocket and threw it onto the distant bed.
With that, Nine flew straight towards the bed. It seemed it couldn’t stay far from the phone in that state.
“Jaeha. You’ve been through a lot.”
Hyun Dowoon whispered, caressing my cheek where Nine had been stuck. I leaned into his hand, rubbing my cheek against it.
“I won’t make foolish mistakes again. I don’t want to… be separated again.”
I said, looking at Shin Haejun while leaning my face on Hyun Dowoon’s hand. Having died once, I now knew for sure. I was the type of person who shouldn’t think too much.
“I’ll never lie again.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry alone.”
The two apologized after hearing my resolution. Unable to hold back any longer, I jumped into their arms, burying my face so deep that my nose turned red again.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
