VSP 144

“Lee Dohun! Sejun-oppa!”

Regardless of Dohun’s complicated feelings, the two made their way to the conference room and encountered the Choi twins near the entrance.

“What brings you two here together?”

Sejun replied nonchalantly to Yerin’s question, “We ran into each other on the way.”

Yerin couldn’t hide her inner thought, that bumping into each other didn’t mean they were the type to come together, and laughed hollowly. She then tapped Hangyeol, who had been staring at Sejun since they met, and urged him to hurry inside.

Hangyeol finally moved when he felt the tap on his shoulder and entered the meeting room.

They were to be the last to arrive; other hunters were already inside the meeting room.

“Welcome~.”

Na Yookyung greeted them with a bright smile, while Jeong Siwoo simply nodded stiffly. He looked somewhat awkward. Ryu Sehyun sat at the head of the table, reading documents, he was making use of the spare time. And then.

“Cha Dogyeong.”

Sejun naturally moved toward Dogyeong’s side.

He sat down in the empty seat next to Dogyeong and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and even leaned against him.

This was a stark contrast to the most recent meeting where all the S-rank hunters had gathered, and Dogyeong had sat alone, separated from the others. It was a shocking sight.

Even those who knew the two had grown quite close recently couldn’t help but look stunned.

“…Everyone’s here now, so sit down.”

Ryu Sehyun, who had been quietly observing the scene, announced the start of the meeting. Those who had been standing idly also took their seats, and the real discussion began.

About the current ominous situation, which was anything but ordinary.

***

“No, fuck. I mean, we beat it. We cleared it! So how the hell does it just come back? It makes no sense!”

Lee Dohun was furious. He’d sensed something was amiss lately, even feeling it physically. His appetite, a basic need, had hit rock bottom. It wasn’t just his mood.

“Dohun, don’t get angry.”

“Ah!”

Lee Dohun couldn’t contain his anger even as Na Yookyung ried to calm him. He roughly ran his hand through his hair.

They had noticed that recent events weren’t quite right. But they never imagined, not even in their wildest dreams, that a dungeon similar to the Final Dungeon they had already cleared would appear again.

Perhaps because they had been enjoying peaceful daily lives, their faces paled at the sudden catastrophe that had descended upon them.

“Nothing is certain. But we can make a rough guess. The current analysis is that it resembles the Final Dungeon. If the others dungeons have also been affected, increasing their difficulty, that would make sense.”

Na Yookyung, who had been listening to Ryu Sehyun’s explanation, asked.

“Are you planning to announce it?”

“Generally speaking, yes.”

It meant he didn’t plan to disclose everything to the public. Na Yookyung sighed.

“Yeah, if you don’t say anything and it blows up, you’ll be the one taking the fall. Even if it causes confusion for a while, it’s better to make it known.”

“That’s not the only reason I’m not disclosing everything.”

Being completely transparent sometimes carries risks. This case was no exception.

Starting with the immediate crash in real estate prices around the area where the Final Dungeon appeared, all sorts of negative stories would flood social media and the internet.

Rumors and conspiracy theories would run rampant, and eventually, the blame would shift to the hunters, suggesting the dungeon itself was caused by them. Therefore, while disclosing the current crisis, it was better to conceal certain details.

How much to disclose would require some serious head-scratching.

“Haa.”

Lee Dohun, who had suffered particularly severe injuries in the Final Dungeon, remained silent for a while. He was haunted by memories of the past, before suddenly lifting his head.

“Is there even an estimated timeframe? Like, when it’s likely to appear?”

“None.”

“Back then, we knew something unusual was happening, but we had no clue what was coming or when. It’s the same now.”

“So, other than ‘soon,’ there’s nothing we can know…”

After Lee Dohun muttered in resignation, the room fell silent for a long while.

They wore pensive expressions. Except for Park Hyeongchul, everyone present had participated in the Final Dungeon. The horror and terror of that dungeon needed no explanation.

But the somber mood didn’t last long.

“Whatever shows up, we just fight it. That’s all we can do anyway.”

Choi Yerin’s words were echoed by Na Yookyung.

“We beat it once, so why can’t we beat it again? We even have an EX-rank hunter now.”

They looked at Dogyeong at the mention of EX-rank

Dogyeong shrugged without saying much. Normally, they’d have called him annoying, but even that was reassuring.

“Yeah, everyone’s stronger than before.”

“And a bit older too.”

Na Yookyung, now in her thirties, groaned. That joke lightened the mood a little.

“…….”

Throughout the entire meeting, Sejun didn’t say a word. He just looked around as if this moment felt unfamiliar, and then at some point, he was staring at Ryu Sehyun.

It was a look that felt like he was seeing something missed after a long time.

Ryu Sehyun, who had been looking around the meeting room now filled with a positive atmosphere, turned to Sejun. It seemed he felt his gaze.

“Sejun, do you have an opinion?”

“Hm?”

“You were staring.”

“Ah.”

His expression showed he hadn’t even realized he was doing it. As all eyes turned to him, Sejun looked embarrassed.

“No, I don’t have anything to say.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll just go along with whatever’s decided.”

Just like always.

He twirled a strand of his hair around his finger, his relaxed expression was, in a way, the usual Sejun.

But everyone in the room stared at him then as if they were seeing something unfamiliar.

Seo Sejun wasn’t the type to voice strong opinions.

If someone picked on him for no reason, like Lee Dohun, or Lee Dohun, or Lee Dohun, his voice tended to get louder. But if someone pointed out his incompetence, he’d instantly shrink back, and do his best to align with everyone else’s opinions.

Given the situation, he was always passive when it came to dungeon raids.

Passive and calm might look similar; but they were entirely different.

The Sejun before them now was ‘calm’. As if he was someone who couldn’t care less about which role he was assigned.

“……”

Dogyeong stared at that sight.

“……Anyway.”

Ryu Sehyun broke the silence and summarized the situation.

“An announcement is expected tonight, so things will be chaotic for a while. Dungeons will be prioritized for high-rank hunters, so distribution of raid rights for B-rank dungeons and below will also be suspended. So you guys might get busy, but hang in there a little longer. Don’t get swayed by the media.”

“Okay.”

With that final announcement, the meeting adjourned.

Amidst the dispersing crowd, Dogyeong, who had said little beyond answering questions throughout the meeting, grabbed Sejun.

“Seo Sejun.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s go to my place.”

He hadn’t lowered his voice, and since everyone present had keen ears, They all heard Cha Dogyeong’s words.

All eyes instantly turned to them. Some gazes said, ‘Now they’re not even hiding it!’, others were displeased, and one was shocked.

Amidst those stares, Sejun nodded nonchalantly.

“Alright.”

As if it were no big deal.

Since coming back to the Association to find their cars was a hassle, they decided to split up and head to Dogyeong’s house.

His memory was mostly intact, so finding Dogyeong’s house wasn’t difficult. But for Sejun, just visiting Dogyeong’s house felt unfamiliar.

[You going to Dogyeong’s house? I really am seeing everything now.]

Ruya, who appeared once the area was clear of people, was also surprised.

The residential neighborhood where Dogyeong lived was quiet as usual today.

Cha Dogyeong’s house. He had definitely seen it before in ‘Sejun’s’ memories, but actually being here felt distinctly different.

But he thought, no need to look around suspiciously and draw unnecessary attention. Acting as if he owned the place, Sejun walked confidently toward Dogyeong’s house. But when he saw the actual homeowner standing motionless near the front door, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Cha Dogyeong, why are you standing there?”

No wonder his expression had seemed off since earlier. With a dark face, he didn’t respond, and just stared at Sejun.

“Dogyeong?”

When Sejun pretended not to know and called his name again, Cha Dogyeong asked in a flat voice.

“Who are you?”

The question pierced his ears. Sejun might have looked surprised, but he’d seen Dogyeong’s face stiffen all day, so he’d somewhat expected this.

He’d been caught.

Well, shit. He thought, yet Sejun responded with a smile.

“I’m Seo Sejun. What kind of stupid question is that…”

“No, you’re not.”

Dogyeong cut him off.

“You think I wouldn’t recognize Seo Sejun? Who are you?”

“……”

This time, Sejun fell silent.