Yoon Seo spoke calmly, without changing the tone of his voice, and Kwon Jihan listened quietly without interrupting.
When the story was finished, Kwon Jihan softly said.
"Thank you for sharing. That must have been really tough."
"Yeah, well… back then."
"..."
"Now it's harder to deal with the things I have to chew over more than twenty times."
Yoon Seo made a joke to lighten the mood, seeing how troubled Kwon Jihan looked. Maybe sensing Yoon Seo's intention, Kwon Jihan let out a short sigh and relaxed his furrowed brow.
"If Seo Chaeyoon had been running around delivering messages like a fairy, the rumors would have spread."
"I used
"…So you delivered the messages and erased their memories?"
"Not erased, but modified. They'll remember the deceased appearing in their dreams and leaving those messages."
"I see."
Kwon Jihan murmured to himself and then fell silent again.
Yoon Seo finished eating his strawberries. As he savored the sweet and tangy taste, he thought, 'People don't do confessions for nothing. It really does lighten the heart.'
And then he thought, 'I feel lighter, but Kwon Jihan seems heavier…'
They say sharing a burden halves it, but it doesn't mean the burden is divided into two halves. It means it is transferred to someone else, becoming their burden.
Kwon Jihan's expression said as much. His furrowed brows and tightly pressed lips showed pain and sorrow. The once sly and smirking guy now had a hardened jaw and deeply troubled eyes.
His drink was getting cold, but he seemed to have forgotten about it.
Outside, it was a sunny summer day, and the spacious café was filled with soft music. Other patrons chatted and laughed warmly, but Kwon Jihan sat with a mournful expression, as if guarding a grave. It was a pain stemming from Yoon Seo's story.
Yoon Seo's own expression while listening to Kwon Jihan's past had likely been similar.
Sharing a secret wasn't always just beneficial.
But what could he do? He had already shared it.
Yoon Seo found it quite new to see someone empathize with his pain and make such an expression. He also found it unfamiliar, but not unpleasant, to want to share in someone else's burden. It was an unfamiliar, yet not unwelcome feeling.
***
As they were about to leave the café after sharing their secrets, Kwon Jihan asked.
"Hyung, I'm curious about something. Can I ask?"
"Go ahead."
"What about the seventeen last words you haven't finished yet? Squats, fishing, hiking, chocolate crack cookies, and what else?"
"Do whatever you want with them."
"Let's do them together. It's boring to do it alone."
Yoon Seo tapped the empty strawberry latte cup with his fingers.
"We have a month until the great dungeon. We need to focus on training."
"Training is training, and leisure is leisure. I'm serious about both work and hobbies."
"I'm not. Since I've been away from the field for so long, I'll need to get back into the swing of things with some combat during this month."
"You won't leave work at 6?"
"I plan to enter smaller dungeons even during the evening. I need to get familiar with dungeon tabs and earn some experience."
"Oh, right. You do need to get more acquainted with the Gaia system."
Kwon Jihan took out his U-Pad and tapped the screen with his thick fingers. The U-Pad was something only awakened ones had, attracting the attention of a few customers. Kwon Jihan ignored them and spoke to Yoon Seo.
"There's an S-rank Yellow Dungeon raid this weekend. Ten Seokyoung members, fifty Rainbows, and thirty-four other guild members. Want to join?"
"A Yellow Dungeon should be fine. But isn't the team already set?"
"A Yellow Dungeon…"
Kwon Jihan made a quick gesture on his cheek and said, "Do I look like someone who can't put two hunters into a raid team?"
"Why two? Are you going too?"
"If you're going, how could I not?"
Kwon Jihan smiled as if it were a given. While Yoon Seo was still in shock, he immediately sent a message to Yoo Juncheol.
[Kwon Jihan] I'm joining the S-rank dungeon this weekend with Yoon Seo hyung, so please arrange the paperwork.
Kwon Jihan showed the screen to Yoon Seo. It was impressive how he could execute plans so quickly. A call from Yoo Juncheol came right after, and Kwon Jihan answered with a chuckle.
Yoon Seo wanted to ask how he could make such decisions without proper discussion, but seeing Kwon Jihan's smiling face, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.
It didn't seem to matter much.
The kid seems to enjoy it, and I don't mind either…
***
Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo met at dawn, went hiking, had a meal, talked about past events and the wills in a café, then moved to another café to tackle one of the wills.
The will was 'find a dog, a chick, a shark, a child playing soccer, and a sunflower-shaped cloud.'
"Ah, so the clouds I was staring at blankly in the hospital were actually related to the will you was supposed to fulfill."
Kwon Jihan clapped his hands together as if realizing something and actively helped Yoon Seo.
They sat side by side in comfortable rocking chairs on the café's outdoor terrace, looking up at the blue sky and searching for clouds. Surprisingly, they found the soccer-playing child cloud quickly, but it took longer to find the sunflower-shaped cloud.
When Yoon Seo found a cloud that looked like a sunflower, Kwon Jihan said it looked more like a pumpkin flower. When Kwon Jihan found a sunflower-like cloud, Yoon Seo thought it looked like a hibiscus. After several rounds of debate, they finally agreed on a cloud that both considered to be a sunflower.
The number of wills dropped to 16.
"Look, we've solved one will thanks to me. If we work together, we can handle the wills faster."
"Maybe."
Kwon Jihan, who didn't realize that solving the wills only brought him closer to death, cheerfully joked around, but Yoon Seo remained indifferent and refused him.
"Oh, hyung. I didn't bring my car. Could you give me a ride?"
It was as they passed the entrance to Gariwangsan and headed towards the parking lot. Yoon Seo, surprised by the shameless remark, opened his mouth in astonishment but soon narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me? Did you really run all the way here?"
"I came by train and bus."
"That's a lie."
"Seriously."
Kwon Jihan turned on his phone screen and showed his mobile ticket. It was indeed a train ticket for today. Yoon Seo was flabbergasted. So how was he planning to return to Seoul?
"Give me a ride, hyung."
Kwon Jihan was acting cute. Yoon Seo, both astonished and slightly amused, had no choice but to head to the parking lot with him.
Having carried Sticky Rice for eight years and never letting anyone else ride, Yoon Seo was surprised to find the AI in the car reacting strongly to the presence of another person.
"Master, a thief has joined."
"A thief? Don't you usually think of them as an acquaintance?"
"Master, you've never had a single acquaintance in the car."
"…He's a colleague. Say hello."
"I can't believe you're letting a colleague in the car. Master, if you're being threatened, please sing a line from a ballad."
Kwon Jihan laughed and said, "Hyung, are you singing alone in the car?" Yoon Seo had never sung a single note; it was just the AI's preference.
"Stop talking about ballads and just say hello. He's really a colleague."
"Hmm, hello, colleague. I'm Sticky Rice. Nice to meet you."
"Call me Jihan. Nice to meet you too, Sticky Rice."
Kwon Jihan responded warmly.
The car smoothly exited the parking lot, and Kwon Jihan admired the clean interior.
"You keep it so clean. Considering the name is Sticky Rice…"
"What about Sticky Rice?"
"Sticky Rice, Riceball… Do you have brown rice or black rice as well?"
"No."
Yoon Seo sharply replied to Kwon Jihan, who was clearly teasing him, and then his eyes suddenly sparkled.
"What's the name of your AI car?"
"Are you asking out of genuine curiosity?"
"Yes."
"I didn't have a specific name, but seeing your Sticky Rice, it felt so lacking that I think I should name it today."
"Name it what?"
"Brown rice or black rice. Which would be better?"
Yoon Seo rolled his eyes, wondering if Kwon Jihan was still teasing him.
"I recommend Chewy Barley."
"Sounds good, Chewy Barley."
Kwon Jihan accepted the suggestion without hesitation, confirming that it was indeed a joke.
The car smoothly glided down the road and out of the mountains. Yoon Seo, holding Riceball in his arms, gazed out at the green trees while reflecting on Kwon Jihan's story.
A scruffy little kid. Losing his only family at a young age, with the world turning into a monstrous place, and being tormented by bullies—how could he grow up to be someone who upholds justice? Common sense would suggest he should have become a villain consumed by hatred for the world.
Instead of becoming disillusioned with humanity and turning away from the world as the adults around him did, he chose to help other kids like him and acted on that choice. Despite his flaws of being indifferent and arrogant, Yoon Seo could never throw stones at him.
Kwon Jihan claimed that his upbringing was thanks to the will of the deceased. He said his mother's will kept him from going down the wrong path.
But Yoon Seo didn't agree with that.
Kwon Jihan was simply that kind of person—a rare benevolent soul in this world. No matter the environment, he would have grown up to be this kind of person. And Gaia was fully aware of this. Out of 6 billion people, it recognized that Kwon Jihan possessed such a rare disposition and chose him as the 'chosen one.'
Yoon Seo was relieved that Gaia hadn't taken away his own 'chosen one' characteristics. He was more determined than ever as he listened to Kwon Jihan's story.
'If there is a black portal in the Great Dungeon, I'll be the one to enter it.'
Grace wouldn't allow someone like Kwon Jihan to be the one to enter.
Since he had already resolved to face death, and Kwon Jihan was shining brightly with his conviction to create a just world, Yoon Seo felt it was only right that he should be the one to make the sacrifice if needed.
"Hyung."
Lost in such serious and profound thoughts, Yoon Seo was jolted by Kwon Jihan tapping his arm. Turning to him, he saw the excited face of Kwon Jihan, looking like a child thrilled about something.
"Let's go to a PC room. Let's play a round of 'Hunter & Skill' PVP."
"Suddenly?"
"I've wanted to play since you mentioned it was a gold medal game earlier. It's been a while since I last played too."
"I've quit that game."
Kwon Jihan gave a knowing look.
"Afraid you'll lose to me? Should I play with my left hand?"
Kwon Jihan offered to handicap himself in a show of generosity. Yoon Seo, finding it amusing, said quietly:
"Sticky Rice, drop us off in front of the nearby PC room."