With only a month and a half remaining until the Great Dungeon, time was tight. They quickly summarized their upcoming schedule.
First, on Wednesday, September 1st, they planned to announce the prophecy of the Great Dungeon to the world. Enough time had passed since Seo Chaeyoon's return article, so the chaos would be minimal. However, if too many people were still anxious, they would stagger the announcement with hopeful news about the hunter training plan and space development.
After the announcement, they would allow ten days for people to register as volunteers. Following the analysis by the quantum computer, they would select the hunters who would produce the best results and conduct joint training for four weeks.
Yoon Seo personally had a lot on his plate. He planned to collaborate with Seokyoung to create items for the Great Dungeon strategy and further refine the approach. Seokyoung had prioritized the production of status recovery potions. Yoon Seo didn't want to lose his immunity to healing, and it didn't seem like he would, but he let them do as they pleased.
They concluded not to reveal the horrors of ten years ago to the public. More specifically, they decided to delay it until after the Great Dungeon was cleared. Now wasn't the right time.
Yoon Seo also hoped to keep Seo Chaeyoon's healing immunity a secret, so they decided to remain silent on that for now.
After organizing the schedule, Yoon Seo returned home, sat on the sofa, and ruffled his hair.
His mind was clouded with many thoughts, but one thing bothered him the most.
'What? You want to see the future? That's crazy. Am I losing my mind?'
The emotions that had swelled inside him at Yoo Juncheol's mansion had turned into heavy worries now that he was alone.
How could he want to see the future?
So many kind and righteous people had died, and he had witnessed those horrifying scenes up close. Yet, he still dared to dream of the future, which was terrifying in many ways.
As his mind grew more complicated, Yoon Seo absentmindedly poked at Riceball with his finger.
"Why do you think La Bijina only returned you now? It's not like this is the first time in ten years that she's regained her sanity."
"..."
"Stop trembling and say something."
"..."
Imagining how irritated Riceball must be on the inside only deepened his worries, so he stopped trying to talk.
In the past, whenever Yoon Seo was exhausted of mana, Riceball couldn't maintain its animal form and reverted to a dagger. Then, when it turned back into a bird, it would chirp and peck at Yoon Seo's hair. Its eyes would glare resentfully as it tormented him, but Yoon Seo wasn't even ticklish, so he just left it alone.
'Riceball, leave your master alone. Your master is exhausted too.'
Chirp!
'Riceball, come to me. Look at my hair. It's long, right?'
Chirp chirp.
Even though the one being tormented stayed still, everyone around was fussing to cheer Riceball up.
'Why do you keep making Riceball a female? Riceball, try being a male. A male.'
Chirp.
'Chaeyoon. It's time you settle this. Is Riceball a female or a male?'
'This thing is just an item.'
'That's so cold. Our little savior…'
Chirp chirp!
'Even Riceball says you're cold. Come here, Riceball. Yeah, you were upset, right? Our Riceball is still alive.'
Maybe because they had been talking about the Great Dungeon so much lately, memories from that time kept coming back whenever Yoon Seo was alone.
Yoon Seo took out the medicine bottle. The pills, always generously filled, rattled inside. He had to take one whenever memories of the past resurfaced. If not, all sorts of symptoms would come crashing down on him.
"..."
Yoon Seo's fingers trembled slightly as he rubbed the cap before slowly opening the bottle and swallowing a single pill.
He took a deep breath in and exhaled. His eyes, which had been closed tightly, slowly opened again.
He repeated this for a few minutes.
The fast, pounding heartbeat gradually calmed down. His trembling hands stilled, and the thoughts of the past grew faint.
Yoon Seo placed Riceball on a soft cushion and stood up.
Maybe I'll bake some cookies.
If he stayed still and did nothing, loneliness and emptiness would quickly overwhelm him. At times like these, it was better to focus on someone's last will.
Whether it was running until drenched in sweat, playing the piano in a trance, painting, watching dramas, or mindlessly making cookie dough, it helped him clear his mind and feel better. Why was that? Yoon Seo wasn't exactly sure, but he guessed it was because fulfilling someone's last will brought him closer to his own death, even if just a little.
'I should bake some for Kwon Jihan too.'
They had agreed to meet at dawn tomorrow. Yoon Seo would have breakfast, but young people these days often skipped it, so he thought it would be good to give them cookies to snack on. Since lunch wouldn't be until later, they'd need something to tide them over.
As he took out the cookie cutters, spatula, and other utensils, his phone buzzed repeatedly with short vibrations on the table. After he finished preparing, Yoon Seo checked the message.
[Tae Jaesik] Hey… what are you up to… you haven't forgotten about me, right?
The contract Yoon Seo had with Tae Jaesik and La Bijina was different from the one he had with Kwon Jihan, so it hadn't been automatically terminated yet. He planned to meet with La Bijina in three weeks when Grace was expected to receive her prophecy, and he would cancel it then. But with Tae Jaesik…
"..."
Yoon Seo chose to ignore it for now.
[Goh Heewon] What's with the attention seeker fire ㅋㅋㅋ
[Park Youngbum] Huh?
[Goh Heewon] Something must've happened. Check out Hong Euiyoon's SNS.
"Huh?"
Without thinking, Yoon Seo let out a sound similar to Park Youngbum's and, feeling a bit embarrassed, opened Hong Euiyoon's SNS.
HELLHONNG
Regret.
Sorrow.
A feeling I've never experienced in my life—
Is it always this painful?
Again today,
I hold onto an unspoken apology
within my heart.
(photo)
Attached was a moody black-and-white selfie taken in the outdoor garden of Seokyoung's headquarters.
It's kind of absurd, but it's up to them what they post on social media…
[Goh Heewon] I heard it directly from a former member of the End Fire Guild. Apparently, they asked how to apologize to someone they wronged.
[Park Youngbum] What does that even mean? Do they not know how to apologize?
[Goh Heewon] Isn't that cute? ㅋㅋㅋ
[Park Youngbum] Oh please, there's nothing cute about that. I'm more interested in Seo Chaeyoon getting on social media.
[Goh Heewon] Ugh, me tooㅠㅠ Yoon Seo oppa, you've never run into Seo Chaeyoon while staying at Seokyoung's headquarters?
[Yoon Seo] I haven't.
[Park Youngbum] Our precious talent, the fallen leaf… I hope they're not being ostracized there, sitting alone by the wall.
A line of people was waiting to get an autograph.
[Park Youngbum] If you've become a spy at headquarters, shouldn't you at least tell us something about Seo Chaeyoon?
[Goh Heewon] What would Yoon Seo oppa even know~
[Goh Heewon] A normal person like him has probably never even seen a single strand of Seo Chaeyoon's hair.
[Park Youngbum] True. Unlike the world's most special Seo Chaeyoon, our Yoon Seo is the most ordinary person in every way except for his face, huh?
[Goh Heewon] And if he ever did run into Seo Chaeyoon, he would have bragged about it to us right awayㅋㅋㅋ
Yoon Seo immediately sent a photo to the group chat.
[Park Youngbum] What the heck is this!?
[Goh Heewon] Oh my goodness;;
[Goh Heewon] No way… Kwon Jihanㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was a photo of Kwon Jihan, Yoo Juncheol, and Grace Elysia eating the cookies Yoon Seo had made.
'Hold on, let me take a quick picture. Can you strike a pose?'
'Huh? Oh, a picture, you mean?'
'Hyung, should I do a V sign?'
'Whatever you want.'
At Yoon Seo's words, the three awkwardly posed with V signs, and Kwon Jihan smiled handsomely while holding a cookie.
[Park Youngbum] This is Yoon Seo's homemade choco crack cookies.
[Goh Heewon] I'm so jealousㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Kwon Jihan, of all peopleㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Goh Heewon] Why can't I ever catch a breakㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Park Youngbum] I'm so jealous, I feel like my head's about to explode…
[Park Youngbum] Is that the Seokyoung Guild Master next to him? And the Europa Guild Master too?
[Goh Heewon] Looks like the deputy guild master of Seokyoung is there too.
[Goh Heewon] This is such a teaseㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Exactly. Yoon Seo had deliberately taken the photo to make these two envious. Seeing all their 'ㅠㅠ' reactions lifted his spirits significantly.
Still smiling, Yoon Seo checked the unread messages. One of them was from Soo Jaehee.
[Soo Jaehee] Hyung, are you resting well? I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you don't get surprised. There are a few people suspecting that Yoon Seo is actually Seo Chaeyoon, so I told them it's absolutely not true, but they might ask you about it when you return to the guildㅠ
Yoon Seo almost dropped his phone in shock after reading Soo Jaehee's message, warning him about a suspicion that had arisen. Without hesitation, he called Soo Jaehee, and after only three rings, the call was answered.
– Hyung! How are you?
"I'm well, Hunter Jaehee, and you?"
– I'm having a sweet break, but I can't wait to dive into an S-rank dungeon. I miss you, hyung!
"Is it true that someone suspects I'm Seo Chaeyoon?"
– Ah, so that's why you're calling.
"Who is it?"
Yoon Seo switched his phone to speaker mode and carefully measured the right amount of butter and cream cheese into a transparent bowl. There was no need for exact measurements. After baking around 65,800 cookies, this was second nature to him.
– Namgoong Shimhae and Kim Jinhae, from our temporary team, outright asked me. They lowered their voices, all deep and authoritative, like, 'Is Yoon Seo actually Seo Chaeyoon?' It was intimidating; I almost got scared myself.
"Why are they suspecting me?"
– Well, you became the main contributor during that temporary dungeon mission. And with the rumors about Seo Chaeyoon being stunningly beautiful spreading everywhere, it makes sense they'd be suspicious….
Yoon Seo regretted not concealing his face sooner. However, had he done that, it would have raised suspicion in other ways.
– Anyway, Soobin and I firmly denied it. We insisted that Yoon Seo has nothing to do with Seo Chaeyoon. I'm not sure if they believed us, but before they left, they said there was something they desperately wanted to tell Seo Chaeyoon and asked if we could pass on the message.
"Something they want to say?"
– This isn't something I should tell you over the phone… Apparently, one of the Revengers is their brother….
"Ah, I think I understand."
Yoon Seo spoke calmly, sensing Soo Jaehee's hesitance.
At a merger banquet, the brothers had been discussing their family, lost in a great dungeon. They mentioned that they were looking for Seo Chaeyoon to learn about their eldest brother's final moments.
'Shimhae hyung, do you think knowing how our big brother fought and died will bring us any peace?'
Now that someone who knew their brother's last moments had surfaced, it was only natural that they would want to meet Seo Chaeyoon, hoping it might provide closure. Whether hearing about his end would actually bring peace was another matter. But with Seo Chaeyoon now being their only lead, they were more desperate than ever.
However, Yoon Seo couldn't bring himself to tell them that, instead of some heartwarming, affectionate final words for his family, their beloved brother's last request to Seo Chaeyoon was something as absurd as asking him to catch 10 seabream, each over 90cm, during a dawn fishing trip…