"Everyone, make sure you're not late—huh, Director Song!"
I had been about to head out to the hotel entrance, only to stop dead in my tracks. What on earth had happened to Director Song? His whole body was drenched in blood, and even at a glance his complexion looked steeped in exhaustion. Compared to him, Noah-ssi looked fine apart from being wet. His expression was bright, too.
"Ajusshi! We found everyone!"
"Boss Kim-seobaaang! I was so scaaared!"
Yerim shouted proudly, while Yoon Yoon clung to me with a thoroughly tearful face. Was it because of Director Song? Even so, they had somehow endured and brought him back.
"Good job, good job."
"That guy was useful."
Young Chaos said. Wait—when did he get here?
"Mr. Yujin, I'm glad you're safe."
"You too, Noah-ssi. But did something good happen?"
At my words, Noah's cheek twitched slightly. A smile even began to form over his lips. So something had definitely happened.
"I'll tell you later."
Noah said with a bright smile. More importantly, what were we supposed to do about Director Song?
"Mm, I think we probably need a change of clothes. The others too."
If someone had only gotten wet, then drying things out would be enough, but Director Song's clothes were beyond saving. Some parts were even torn.
"Me! I'll hurry and go get some."
"Me too, me too! I like treasure hunts!"
As though they hadn't tired at all, Yerim and Yoon Yoon both raised their hands high and announced that they wanted to go out again. There was still a little time left, so they could make it back if they left now.
"But I don't think it'll be easy to find clothes in Director Song's size."
Yoohyun and Sung Hyunjae didn't fit ready-made clothing well either, but Director Song seemed like he'd be an even worse case than either of them. There definitely wouldn't be anything in an ordinary shop.
"…There should probably be clothes at my house."
Song Taewon said in a tired voice. Ah, right.
"That makes sense. Then Yerim, Yoon Yoon—go get some clothes. He'll need underwear too, right?"
"Th-that… yes."
"Don't worry! I've seen that ajusshi's underwear too!"
"Yerim! No, I even did the laundry separately!"
I had purposely put in three washing machines too. When had she seen it? One for me and Yoohyun, one for Yerim, and one for the monsters. I had even dried them separately too.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No, mm. If there are some clothes for me too, that'd be good. Noah-ssi, do you want to change as well?"
"I'm fine. I'm only wet."
"Angel-nim should come too!"
Yoon Yoon said, tugging on Noah's arm. Angel-nim? Well, Noah-ssi did look kind of angelic. Since he could fly, Noah-ssi could come too, and it would be better than sending the kids off by themselves. Noah-ssi was on the younger side too, but still an adult, at least.
Yerim, Yoon Yoon, and Noah took Song Taewon's address, then left the hotel saying they'd be back soon. Anyway, everyone being safe was enough to take a load off my mind.
"Alright, alright, let's head upstairs."
I went over to Director Song, grabbed his arm, and tugged. Naturally he didn't come along just because I pulled, and instead his heavy gaze fell on me.
"Your leg… wasn't it treated?"
"Ah, this? Well, it's not an ordinary injury."
Was he thinking it was an injury I'd gotten before entering the dungeon?
"More importantly, come on. You should wash up quickly."
"It would be better to wash up, just as Han Yoojin-gun says."
Sung Hyunjae also stepped out into the lobby and backed me up. I didn't know what had happened to Director Song, but I could guess a little. The monsters in this dungeon—the ones who had left Director Song covered in blood—must all have worn human faces.
"How come the second one's nowhere to be seen for once?"
Young Chaos said, looking toward the restaurant.
"He's in there making dinner. Well."
"Ah, right."
Young Chaos nodded, then started walking toward the restaurant. It seemed he already knew there was another me.
"Mr. Sung Hyunjae, get the elevator for us."
"Shall we go to a suite?"
"Those are all too high up. Let's go somewhere closer. They should all have bathtubs."
At this point, soaking in hot water sounded best. Was there any bath powder around?
"The bathtub sizes will be different, though."
"Really?"
Before the regression, I had never had a reason to go to fancy hotels, and after the regression I only stayed in expensive rooms. Total extremes.
"Will the bathtub in a regular room be small?"
"It's fine."
"It'll probably be small. He'll likely have to bend his knees a lot."
Thinking of the size of an ordinary bathtub in a regular house… yeah, that'd be small.
"Then let's go wherever has the biggest bathtub."
"It's fine."
"What about going straight to the sauna instead?"
"The water might not already be filled there. Then it'd take forever."
Once we got into the elevator, I explained the precautions to Director Song. Don't open the curtains, don't open the door even if someone comes, don't go up to the roof, things like that.
"This bathtub's big. I'll fill it for you, so get undressed. How hot do you want the water?"
"Isn't he S-rank. Make it hot. That'll loosen his body up at least a little."
I turned the faucet all the way to the hot side. Water began gushing into the tub. Where had Director Song gone? Surely he hadn't run into himself, right? And how much had he found out?
"I can undress by myself."
With a short sigh, Song Taewon stepped into the bathroom. He still had only his top off. Blood had soaked down under the collar of his clothes, faintly staining his skin as well. And really.
Wow, seriously. Wow... man, really, wow.
"I'll wash up by myself."
"Ah, yes. Then, uh, when your clothes get here, I'll leave them in front of the bathroom."
"Thank you."
I stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door. Only then did it hit me.
Right—I had meant to tell Director Song about the regression.
"Aren't you being just a little too obvious about how much you like this?"
"It's not like I'm doing anything."
Sung Hyunjae silently looked at me. What? Why?
"…I'm just jealous, okay? It also feels like I'm appreciating a work of art."
"If it is a work of art—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know you're handsome. Sure. Fine. If I donate you to the Louvre under my name, nobody would notice you're a living person, right? So how about you wrap yourself in bubble wrap, climb into a packing box, and stay there."
I'd send Sung Hyunjae away and keep Yoohyun safely at home.
"Bubble wrap?"
Do you not know bubble wrap? I shooed Sung Hyunjae out of the room and told him to go see whether the kids were bringing back the clothes. In the meantime, the sound of running water stopped, as though the tub had finished filling.
I walked up to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Director Song, you're in the bath, right?"
"…Yes. Please do not come in."
Had I stared too obviously? I leaned my back against the bathroom door for lack of any better idea, then slowly slid down to sit on the floor. Since I couldn't put as much strength into one leg, even the good leg that was carrying more of my weight hurt a little. I really was out of shape.
"Did you… see someone?"
"Yes."
"I guess it was probably the future. And Director Song, you…"
"They said I died."
His voice was calm.
Director Song still wouldn't know that the people in this dungeon were from before the regression—that they were both the future and the past. Or maybe his own death simply didn't matter to him.
Song Taewon was the kind of person who felt as though, if it were necessary, he could throw away even his own life without hesitation. And naturally, that necessity would never be for his own sake.
"That's right. Did you also hear that it was related to the Seseong Guild Leader?"
"Yes. I heard that there were suspicions that the Seseong Guild Leader killed me."
Splash—a faint sound of water. It didn't sound like he got out; maybe he just shifted position.
"It was the Awakened Persons Management Office."
Song Taewon continued slowly.
"The monsters in that place all looked human."
Damn it. My teeth clenched on their own. Of all places. It wasn't as though I couldn't have predicted it, since everyone had gone somewhere connected to them, but still.
"You don't have to tell me."
"I am fine."
"Don't talk nonsense. It's obvious you're not fine."
I needed to stop him from saying he was fine. Fine, my ass.
'Can I tell him now?'
I lifted a hand and scratched my head. Even if you thought the people in the dungeon were just monsters, it would still be upsetting because they looked so much like the real thing. But if he heard that they were actually based on real information from before the regression—that they were grounded in something real—
Wouldn't that make things even harder for Director Song?
But things had already reached this point. I couldn't keep hiding it forever either.
"There's something I need to tell you, Director Song."
"You don't have to tell me."
What were we, a pair of parrots that only knew how to say I'm fine and you don't have to tell me?
"I'm worried about you, Director Song."
"Then please tell me."
"How about trying to value yourself a little more? Wow, you didn't even pause."
"I—"
"Say you're fine one more time and I'm opening that door and smacking you across the back. Then my wrist will probably break."
A short silence fell.
If we could get out of the dungeon right now, then I could wait until after we were back in Korea to explain everything. After Director Song returned to the Management Office and met people who were alive and well.
But the dungeon still hadn't been cleared. In a situation where I had no idea what might happen, it seemed better to tell him in advance.
"This dungeon… is made of things that really happened."
I continued in a low voice.
"It's the future, but it's also the past. So actually, I was thirty. Thirty-year-old Han Yoojin turned back five years. The traces of those five years that were rewound are exactly what this place is."
Silence again.
I wanted to know what Director Song was thinking, and at the same time I didn't want to know.
"Did I die?"
"Yes. I don't know the details well. At the time, I was only an ordinary F-rank Hunter."
"Hunter Moon Hyuna did not seem to know Han Yoojin-ssi very well."
"You met Hyuna-ssi?"
"Yes. She believed Han Yoojin-ssi had a bad relationship with his younger brother."
"That was how it was then. Everyone believed that."
Moon Hyuna from before the regression. I suddenly wanted to meet her too.
"She also said the Seseong Guild Leader had sent Han Yoojin-ssi postcards."
"Ah, really? So that was true after all."
I hadn't been able to tell whether it was a joke or not. So he really had sent them.
"And she said that Hunter Moon Hyuna and I were engaged."
"…What?!"
What? I sprang halfway to my feet, then stood up slowly because my leg hurt. Engaged? For real?
"Hyuna-ssi and Director Song, oh my god!"
I'd had absolutely no idea! This couldn't be real! Had they secretly promised to get married? Then it made sense that I wouldn't know. Wow, the two of them, seriously. I'd thought they might suit each other, but were they really dating?
"Th-then do you still have feelings for Hyuna-ssi now, by any chance? She is a really good person. Cool, dependable, trustworthy. No, but really, how in the world did that even happen? Who confessed first?"
My heart was pounding. Really? Really those two, really? But Director Song had… left too soon. Hyuna-ssi...
"The Seseong Guild Leader married Hunter Evelyn, and the Haeyeon Guild Leader with Hunter Kang Soyoung—"
"…Huh?"
Wait. What?
"Sung Hyunjae has never been married!"
I shouted as I flung open the bathroom door. My Yoohyun had never dated anyone either. I'd seen his memories—there's no way I wouldn't know! I could believe that Sung Hyunjae had secretly gone and gotten married once, since he was old enough for it, but Evelyn? And Kang Soyoung too? Soyoung-ssi only cared about Soyoung-ssi, period!
"Yoohyun too, he's all cold breeze and no romance, ngh!"
My foot slipped in the pool of water spread across the floor. Normally I'd never have fallen, but my balance was off.
"Han Yoojin-ssi!"
Splash—the loud sound of water, followed by the crack of part of the bathtub breaking. Song Taewon grabbed me just as I was falling and held me up.
"Thank you—but wait, were you joking?"
A joke from Director Song, of all people. I should've recorded it.
"It was what Hunter Moon Hyuna said. And Han Yoojin-ssi—"
His eyes, sunk deep and heavy, looked down at me.
"Your reaction is not that of someone hearing a lie."
"Ah..."
So he had been mixing lies and truth together to test me. Warm water spread over my feet from the overflowed bath. I drew in a deep breath of the hot air.
"It sounds like Hyuna-ssi really was the same as ever."
There was no way that was a story Director Song had made up. Hyuna-ssi must have been joking.
"Yes. She said Breaker Guild was gone and that she had left Korea, but even so, she was still herself. She said she was very active overseas."
All at once, I wanted to see Hyuna-ssi. I had thought the Breaker Guild Leader had failed too, but that wasn't true. Moon Hyuna was still Moon Hyuna.
"She told me what had happened to her."
"Cigarettes? So she even got a skill like that."
Soyoung-ssi too, honestly. Though Yoohyun had been pretty cold back then.
Song Taewon calmly told me what he had experienced. He sounded composed, but most of the story was tied up with Moon Hyuna. If she hadn't appeared, he probably would not have been able to speak so easily about what happened in the Management Office.
"So Hunter Moon Hyuna told me to come back with my companions."
"It looks like the people here are all about one Rank higher than they were in reality. Then is Hyuna-ssi still at the Management Office?"
"…No. At that time—"
Song Taewon's voice cut off abruptly.
At the same instant, goosebumps ran all over my body. Even with Fear Resistance definitely active, a chill slashed through my chest like a knife. What the hell was this—
KWAANG!
Something slammed against the glass wall beyond the bath. The drawn curtains shook violently. With a gasp, I grabbed hold of Director Song's arm almost as though clinging to it.
"Wh-what is that..."
"…Moonlight."
Song Taewon also wrapped me up protectively, his expression tense. His gaze fixed on the curtain swaying faintly.
"It transformed into silver chains and attacked me. Hunter Moon Hyuna blocked it and disappeared."
Moonlight. Don't tell me that was Crescent Moon?
"It does not seem able to enter this hotel."
"…Yes, looks like it."
Maybe because the target was a transcendent, my heart was still hammering hard. Damn it—what kind of chaos was this?