"Do you have anything to say to Domin hyung?"
"Hmm, do you think he'll hear me if I talk here? I should speak to him in the dungeon."
Lee Domin had become part of the dungeon system.
Ever since Kwon Jihan received Domin's message at the midpoint between the Great Dungeon and the exit portal, there hadn't been a single message exchange. But Jihan figured that Domin was busy as the new system administrator. He believed that someday they would be able to communicate through the system.
"Let's talk to him about that later. About the producer of ''Love in Han River'.'"
"Of course. Domin never would've guessed that such a secret was hidden in the making of the drama he loved so much."
"He's going to be so shocked, right?"
"He'll probably faint, huh? Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
"Hahaha."
As Yoon Seo let out a suspicious, sly laugh, Kwon Jihan followed his partner's lead, laughing along with him.
Peep-peep.
In front of Lee Domin's gravestone was a clear display case. Inside it were a pair of military boots. Riceball scratched at the case, letting out a sorrowful cry. When Kwon Jihan extended his hand, Riceball climbed up his wrist.
"You recognized the shoes right away, huh? Our smart little Riceball. You bite my shoes, but you miss Domin hyung's."
Peep.
"Of course, you can bite them. You were only doing it because you didn't want me to leave, right? If hyung let us live together, I wouldn't have to say goodbye to you every night. Then you wouldn't have to bite my shoes anymore. Isn't that right?"
Peep peep.
"Hyung, look. Riceball is nodding."
Kwon Jihan manipulated Riceball's body with his hand, making it nod by moving its upper and lower body up and down at a 90-degree angle. Even though it was being controlled, Riceball happily wagged its tail.
"I told you I'm thinking about living together."
"You've been 'thinking' for three months now."
"It's only been three months. Has your patience always been this short?"
"Three months is a lot! If we're going to live for hundreds of years, or if we become gods and live forever, you have no idea how much time three months really is!"
Yoon Seo let out a chuckle. Recently, Kwon Jihan had started talking as if it was certain they'd eventually become divine beings.
"This isn't really the kind of talk we should be having in front of Domin's grave. Let's continue later."
"Wow, now you're using Domin hyung as an excuse. You're leaving me speechless."
Yoon Seo was relieved that Domin couldn't hear this conversation.
In fact, he was thinking positively about living together. They were already together almost every day, and even on the days they weren't physically together, they were connected through games. Yet, strangely, whenever Kwon Jihan brought up the idea of living together, Yoon Seo found himself acting as if he wasn't interested, even snapping at him. He didn't know why. When it came to Jihan, things rarely went the way he had planned.
'Even in front of Domin, I was acting aloof for no reason.'
Yoon Seo had known Lee Domin since elementary school, back when Domin was much shorter than Yoon Seo and would follow him around the neighborhood like a little duckling. Domin had always looked up at Yoon Seo with flushed cheeks and adoring eyes, but Yoon Seo was more curt than kind with him.
They stopped being in that one-sided admiration relationship and became true friends after graduating from middle school. Once they entered the same high school, they became inseparable best friends.
Once, Domin's parents were going to be out for the weekend, so they invited friends over, bringing all sorts of food and entertainment for a two-day sleepover at Domin's house. For a group of teenage boys, they had fun in a surprisingly wholesome way, probably because they all had similar temperaments.
Domin was especially gentle. Although he could be sensitive at times, he was usually calm and much tidier than you'd expect from a high school boy. Yoon Seo still remembered how Domin, on his own, neatly arranged the shoes scattered around the entrance.
Even in the Great Dungeon, he had taken off his shoes neatly before facing the end.
The military boots in the display case were replicas.
The real ones couldn't be placed at the grave; they were in Seokyoung's laboratory, probably because they were an incredibly rare and mysterious pair of shoes in the universe.
The research team had been overly excited when explaining…
They said Lee Domin's shoes were in a state of quantum superposition.
According to them, everything in the universe could theoretically exist in a state of quantum superposition, but that's only true in the microscopic world. In the macroscopic world, where particles interact constantly, proving quantum superposition is impossible. In this context, the macroscopic world refers not just to large objects, but to any situation where particle interactions have defined a state, so even single-celled organisms that can't be seen with the naked eye fall into this category.
But here they had military boots in a state of quantum superposition, so it was no wonder they couldn't resist studying them.
Initially, Yoon Seo had been furious when the proposal was made. It didn't seem right to use someone's belongings for experiments. However, after thinking it over, he realized that Domin would've preferred to have this rare item studied and used for the greater good rather than just sitting on display. So, Yoon Seo gave his permission. Plus, Seokyoung's lab was easier for Yoon Seo to visit than the national cemetery…
Later, he heard that the research team had also wanted to analyze the soul dust of Lee Kangjin. However, Kwon Jihan, having learned about this in advance, had flown into a rage and made sure they never even brought it up.
If they had asked Yoon Seo about it, he might have taken back Domin's shoes and stormed out of Seokyoung. Kwon Jihan knew exactly what Yoon Seo would or wouldn't allow. He hoped people wouldn't cross those boundaries anymore—not for their own sake, but for Yoon Seo's peace of mind.
"Aren't you going to say hello to the other hyungs and noonas?"
"Of course. Let's go."
Yoon Seo reached out and grabbed Kwon Jihan's hand first. Jihan blinked in surprise but soon responded by holding Yoon Seo's hand even more firmly.
Together, Yoon Seo went around greeting the former Revengers one by one.
He had already introduced Jihan as his boyfriend before… but surprisingly, they were still dating.
And he was pretty sure they were going to keep dating.
The former Revengers had become part of the universe itself, existing in this world in a different form. But if they were still alive, how would they react?
'What? Our youngest is in a relationship?'
'What? And he's dating someone seven years younger?'
'What? Our baby brother has snagged someone who's seven years younger, incredibly handsome, rich, talented, and kind, and now they're planning to get married and go on a honeymoon?!'
"..."
Lost in thought, Yoon Seo smiled. A breeze, as lively and dramatic as the Revengers themselves, tousled his hair. Kwon Jihan pretended to straighten Yoon Seo's hair, only to mess it up even more, but Yoon Seo just let him do it.
***
Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo were waiting for Park Juhong at the café inside the National Cemetery. Park Juhong arrived 30 minutes later, smiling apologetically.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine. I forgot that neither you nor Domin would ever cut in line, you two softies."
"Haha… I'm not exactly soft."
"Softie?"
When Kwon Jihan asked, Yoon Seo explained.
"When Domin was all about promoting 'Love in Han River', this guy actually sat through three whole episodes of that boring show. Sometimes, we'd call him 'Softie Park' among ourselves."
"That's impressive. If it wasn't for my interest in my hyung, I would've given up after the first episode."
"Don't tease me, both of you. But Yoon Seo, you still speak formally?"
When Park Juhong first met Kwon Jihan, he had been surprised by their unusual dynamic, where the younger one used informal speech, while the older one stuck to formal language.
"It's just more comfortable."
Yoon Seo replied casually, but Kwon Jihan responded seriously.
"I'm honestly glad hyung uses formal speech as his default. If he spoke informally in a public place like this, I'd feel really flustered. Sometimes, when he talks informally, it's insanely sexy."
"Oh, I see…"
Park Juhong awkwardly smiled, probably regretting bringing it up.
After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them began chatting about 'Love in Han River'.
Currently, the show was experiencing a sudden resurgence in popularity on Earth. The reason was simple: its storyline bore an uncanny resemblance to the present situation on Earth.
'Love in Han River', a web drama that aired before the Great Cataclysm, had a bizarre plot. It began with a competition to find the best kimchi stew restaurant, but it ended with a twist revealing that the contest was actually a tutorial to select a pioneer for the new kimchi stew universe. This strange conclusion was similar to Earth's current circumstances. Even the fact that the main couple in the drama becomes pioneers traveling to space mirrored reality, where the first humans to venture outside the solar system were also a couple.
Once this was realized, the government, international agencies, and the Hunters' Association all began searching for the producer of 'Love in Han River'.
The outsourcing company that produced the show said they received the script via email and had never met the writer in person. The cast shared the same experience. They assumed the drama was a pet project of a chaebol heir, given how much the writer funded its production.
When they tracked the account where the production funds came from, they found it belonged to a 63-year-old woman who had been declared dead during the Great Cataclysm. She had no family and had grown up in an orphanage, with substantial debts. There were four loans under her name, but all had been paid off in one lump sum the day she hired the outsourcing company to produce the drama.
"The 'writer' must've asked Choi Sooja to lend them her identity in exchange for paying off her debts!"
Park Juhong exclaimed excitedly.
"I heard that Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon are searching for the 'writer'. They say the long vacation they're taking for their honeymoon is really just an excuse to find the 'writer'. If that rumor is true, it's only a matter of time before the 'writer's' identity is revealed. I'm so curious about who it could be!"
Park Juhong, unaware that the two people sitting right in front of him were Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon, was brimming with excitement, confident that no matter how well-hidden the 'writer' was, they would find them.
In reality, Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo weren't just looking for the 'writer'—they already knew exactly who they were.