Chapter 49

 

Han Seo-jin approached the team members with a puzzled look on his face.

 

“Where’s hyung?”

 

“……Seo-jin ah.”

 

Instead of the confused-looking Guides, he stared directly at Woo Han-se, who was in charge of their protection. An ominous premonition crossed the scene when Woo Han-se looked away from his gaze.

 

“Where is Ho-hyun hyung?”

 

“…….”

 

“Woo Han-se. Shall I read you ^[1] his memories ?”

 

He was no longer in a state where he could use his talents, but when he took off his gloves without caring, Woo Han-se finally opened his mouth.

 

“……Inside.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“We were attacked by a monster. We split in the middle, so I don’t know where he went…….”

 

He threw a punch before even hearing the rest. The gazes of frightened people gathered behind the fallen Woo Han-se. Han Seo-jin looked down at Woo Han-se with eyes of disbelief.

 

“So. You abandoned him before the dungeon?”

 

“…….”

 

“You don’t know where he went! Is this what the bastard who went to protect the guide would say!!!”

 

“It was an urgent situation! It’s natural to take care of Seong-woo and Ga-in more than Joo Ho-hyun!”

 

“You crazy bastard!”

 

It was the team leader who stopped Han Seo-jin, who was about to punch Woo Han-se.

 

“Stop. Recovery comes first for now.”

 

“Did you just say recovery in a situation where immediate re-entry would not be enough?”

 

“The search will proceed properly after the wave calms down, so calm down.”

 

“A junior guide without combat skills. There’s no way we can withstand the wave change inside the dungeon!!!”

 

The team leader, who hardened his face to Han Seo-jin’s usually rational rebellion, reached out and grabbed Han Seo-jin’s shoulder hard.

 

“Han Seo-jin. I won’t allow you to make any more fuss. Get back to the center right now. It’s an order.”

 

“No.”

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t intend to remain on a trashy team that abandons its members anymore.”

 

Han Seo-jin shook off the hand of the team leader, who had grabbed his shoulder as if he was touched by something dirty and turned his back.

 

Shortly afterwards, a helicopter landed on the scene with a loud noise. A woman appeared on the open stairs.

 

“Han Seo-jin. Do you think I’m free? If you call me recklessly…….”

 

The man on the sports bike, who arrived almost at the same time, took off his helmet and shouted irritably.

 

“You crazy brat. Why are you suddenly calling someone to rest……. Oh, noo-nim ^[2] Noo-nim is the more formal way of saying noona. It means older sister. ! Good morning!”

 

“Oh, Moo-il.”

 

“Why did you come this far?”

 

“Seo-jin called me…. Were you called too? Perhaps?”

 

Han Seo-hyun and Park Moo-il stopped talking to each other. “Are you coming to sing?”….’ The two were silent for a moment in their pathetic eyes and their reflections in each other’s eyes.

 

Han Seo-jin, the main culprit of this incident, approached, and the silence ended.

 

“Park Moo-il, why are you coming now? Where’s the rest?”

 

“It’s coming……. Hey, you called me in a hurry, and I came here quickly. Dude!”

 

“We don’t have time. Prepare to enter the dungeon at once.”

 

“Dungeon? Suddenly a dungeon?”

 

While Park Moo-il was dumbfounded and lost his words, Han Seo-hyun asked with a strange look.

 

“Didn’t you just come out of the dungeon? Why are you going back in there? Besides, you said there was a wave change. In principle, access to dungeons is restricted.”

 

“What? Do you want me to enter a dungeon where the waves are unstable?”

 

Han Seo-jin bit his lip at the astute attitude of Han Seo-hyun, who was looking at him with her arms crossed behind Park Moo-il.

 

“That’s why I called my sister. Please close the dungeon and open the door. Use it if you can operate a search party under your command.”

 

“No. If anything happens……!”

 

Han Seo-hyun, who refused at once, closed his mouth when he saw Han Seo-jin’s dark expression.

 

“……Tell me what the hell is going on. That’s how I can help you.”

 

“Our team Guide went missing in the dungeon. We must find him.”

 

Among the many Guides, Han Seo-hyun and Park Moo-il were the only ones that came to mind.

 

“Hey, is he…… hyung-nim?”

 

“……Seo-jin ah.”

 

When he was convinced of Seo-jin’s speculation, he prepared to enter the dungeon urgently without further asking.

 

“Hey! Hurry up and come! Why aren’t you coming yet? Get ready for battle.”

 

“Hello, it’s me. I’m in Oi-do right now. Yes, that’s right. In trouble. Did you look up and post it? Oh, you’re going to post it now? Good. Cover up for a second. ……It doesn’t work. What do you mean it doesn’t work. And send a search party here. About three teams. Just do it if I tell you to!”

 

***

 

The sun went down and darkness fell. There were so many people in front of the gate that they couldn’t believe it was only an intermediate dungeon. Lights illuminated the gate and countless people entered the dungeon.

 

It was no longer a task inside the center.

 

“Team One, we have found no sign of a missing person!”

 

“Go back in.”

 

“Yes!”

 

At Han Seo-hyun’s gesture, the first team immediately returned to the dungeon. The team leader of the second team, who was waiting in the back, laughed at them and stepped forward proudly.

 

“Team Two, we’ve found traces of a missing person during a search!”

 

What the team leader of the second team handed out was an empty magazine and a combat uniform that was brutally torn by the monster’s claws. Han Seo-hyun closed her mouth and glanced at Han Seo-jin, sitting next to her.

 

“Good job. Leave it.”

 

Han Seo-jin’s eyes stared intently at the torn vest. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly.

 

Not only did he suppress his power to brainwash himself, but he also cut off his insanely fluctuating emotions. He thought he couldn’t bear it if it wasn’t done.

 

When he opened his eyes again, his emotionally dull head recognized the torn outerwear with blood on it. But he didn’t feel any agitation. Without a sense of reality, it all felt like just felt like a dream.

 

‘It’s a little late. But I can still find him.’

 

This kind of thing didn’t go well with Joo Ho-hyun. It’s a little late to run out right away, but it looked better on him to be scared of what he did.

 

It was not a tricky dungeon in the first place, so it was quick to scan all the terrain of the dungeon as the search party moved systematically. But no one has found Joo Ho-hyun. As time went by, hope faded away.

 

“The disappearance neighborhood is becoming increasingly encroached on by monsters. He must have happened to run to the neighborhood where the wave change worked the most.”

 

“I found the Guide’s gun. Seeing that there are a lot of bullets left, I think you have a situation where you can’t shoot in the middle.”

 

“We found traces of a confrontation with monsters on the cliff. To resist this greatly……. He seemed to have fallen with a monster down the cliff.”

 

“I went down to the bottom of the torrent and looked for it, but I found no trace.”

 

He was waiting in front of the gate in case he missed the time when Joo Ho-hyun came out, but he never came out. The evidence found by Park Moo-il and other search teams, who returned afterwards, pointed to only one fact. Only a torn hem and a gun will remain as Ju Ho-hyun’s belongings.

 

“That’s enough. Close the dungeon door and retreat. I’m going to report the waves and upload them quickly.”

 

It was tantamount to a statement of Joo Ho-hyun’s death. Han Seo-jin rejected it immediately.

 

“What are you talking about? Joo Ho-hyun hasn’t found it yet.”

 

Han Seo-hyun, who dismissed her subordinates with a quick glance, grabbed Han Seo-jin’s arm and dragged him backwards.

 

“I ran through the whole dungeon. My men are the first search party in Korea. Don’t you know what it means to not find him after all this?”

 

“……I’ve got to go.”

 

“The gate wave is so damn bad yet you want to go in after all this? That guide is dead!”

 

“If he’s really dead, there must be a body.”

 

Slap!

 

Han Seo-hyun slapped Han Seo-jin as he was about to head to the gate.

 

“Get a grip, Han Seo-jin. Do you think they don’t know that you’re trying to suppress your brainwashing?”

 

“…….”

 

“I know you find that guide special. That’s why you called the search party without saying a word. Even Moo-il and the kids went in. If he was alive, we would have already found him! That’s enough. That guide is dead.”

 

Han Seo-jin touched his throbbing head. Even though he had obviously suppressed his emotions, it seemed to shake again whenever he thought of Joo Ho-hyun.

 

Feeling uneasy, Han Seo-hyun grabbed Han Seo-jin’s arm with a worried expression.

 

“You can’t do this. Take your guiding first.”

 

“I’m all right.”

 

“If you go wild here, there’s no one who can stop you without touching. Don’t make a big deal out of it and listen to me.”

 

He wanted to say no, but his head was spinning. As soon as he tried to shake off Han Seo-hyun’s hold, which was trying to forcibly take him to a guide, a sound of chatter flowed from a hole next to him and caught his ears.

 

“It’s so fcking pathetic. Did you see the way they gave that sick child a scolding when he said he needed to rest?”

 

“I know. He was totally out of his mind.”

 

“Wait.”

 

He had a hunch that it was Joo Ho-hyun’s story. Those who appeared to be in the gap were among the Esper teams who were unable to return immediately due to dungeon wave problems and were stranded on the scene. As he approached, he could hear the sound more clearly through the open gap. A guide sighed deeply and muttered.

 

“It bothers me, too. Our eyes met at the end…….”

 

“What? Really?”

 

“I couldn’t go get him. The tree collapsed, and the monster that suddenly appeared rushed to catch…….”

 

The team members around him began to comfort the guide who closed his eyes with a look full of guilt.

 

“Hyeong-jun ah. It’s not your fault.”

 

“That’s right. It’s because it’s your first time seeing someone die because you just came to the scene.”

 

“Sigh...…. I don’t know. He was fine till the end, but he suddenly stumbled as if he had eaten something wrong.”

 

At the words of the guide, Hyeong-jun, a woman who was using her cell phone as if she was not interested in it, spit out.

 

“I don’t know again. He may have eaten something strange.”

 

Everyone’s eyes turned to her.

• 1. his memories
• 2. Noo-nim is the more formal way of saying noona. It means older sister.