Chapter 60

…Is this a dream?

Eui-rim sat frozen, staring at the figure asleep beside him. More precisely, he was staring down at a bare-chested Seo Hae-gun sharing the exact same mattress.

Why is this man in bed with me? I could have sworn I fell asleep on the living room sofa.

Even without a mirror, Eui-rim knew how comical he looked. His slack, gaping jaw and the baffled contortion of his face said it all.

Blinking rapidly, his paralyzed brain gradually hitched back into motion. Rubbing his mouth, he slipped his legs toward the floor. However he had ended up in Seo Hae-gun’s bed, his immediate priority was to vacate the room before the S-rank woke.

“How is your body feeling?”

“Gah.”

A low, sleep-roughened voice rumbled from the pillows behind him. Freezing in his tracks, Eui-rim turned his head, colliding directly with Hae-gun’s amused blue-gray eyes.

Propping his torso up on one elbow, Hae-gun tilted his head with lazy interest.

“Why so startled? Were you doing something suspicious behind my back?” Hae-gun teased.

As the duvet slid downward, Hae-gun’s broad, bare chest came into full view. He’s genuinely massive. Even clothed, the S-rank hunter cut an imposing silhouette, but seeing sculpted muscle and cords of sinew defined in the morning light sent a jolt through Eui-rim’s chest.

Hastily averting his gaze, Eui-rim stammered, “You… you spoke so suddenly, that’s all.”

“For someone possessing a mental barrier, you startle easily over small things,” Hae-gun noted.

Stepping out of bed, Hae-gun clicked a remote control, and morning light flooded through parting motorized drapes. At least he’s wearing sweatpants, thank god. Had the Guild Master been stark naked, Eui-rim would have turned to stone from sheer mortification. Still, his physique is absurd. A wide, powerful back and tapered waist sculpted like living bronze—it was impossible not to admire.

Is this what a statue cast in bronze and iron looks like?

“Aren’t you staring a bit too intently? You’ll make me blush,” Hae-gun remarked with a smirk.

Pulling on a silk robe, Hae-gun flashed a wicked grin. Though Eui-rim thought he had been discreet, he had evidently stared with shameless transparency.

What is wrong with me? Eui-rim rarely paid attention to his own appearance, let alone ogling another man.

To mask his burning embarrassment, Eui-rim stiffened his expression. “I wasn’t trying to stare. Why on earth are you walking around half-naked in the first place?”

“I usually sleep naked. I hate fabric clinging to my skin,” Hae-gun explained nonchalantly. “Out of respect for our guest, I made a special exception and put on trousers.”

“Do you sleep half-naked in dungeons too?” Eui-rim asked dryly.

“Why would I? I’m not an exhibitionist,” Hae-gun replied.

“You just said you can’t stand sleeping in clothes,” Eui-rim pointed out.

“A civilized man adapts to circumstance,” Hae-gun replied smoothly.

The brazen retort was so absurd that a helpless chuckle slipped from Eui-rim’s lips. Shaking his head, he decided to cut straight to the core issue.

“May I ask how I ended up in your bed?” Eui-rim asked. “According to my memory, I went to sleep on the sofa.”

“I carried you over,” Hae-gun said simply.

“Why?” Eui-rim pressed.

“I told you last night,” Hae-gun said. “There’s no guest room, so I told you to take the bedroom. You were the one who refused to listen and passed out on the sofa.”

“I told you the sofa was fine,” Eui-rim said.

“And how could I leave a recovering patient sleeping on a couch?” Hae-gun countered.

Any further protest died in Eui-rim’s throat as memories of yesterday rushed back. Well. If someone had collapsed in a pool of blood, I would have worried too. Considering Hae-gun had literally dragged him out of a hospital restroom, the protective vigilance was understandable.

“Then why did you sleep beside me?” Eui-rim asked.

“Because I can’t sleep properly anywhere else; it’s uncomfortable,” Hae-gun stated matter-of-factly.

“…Do you pack a mattress with you into dungeons too?” Eui-rim asked dryly.

“That falls under occupational hardship,” Hae-gun replied.

Hae-gun looked genuinely puzzled as to why Eui-rim was interrogating such trivial details, leaving the healer utterly speechless. Watching Hae-gun stroll toward the door, Eui-rim rubbed his temples. Engaging in such bizarre banter first thing in the morning was exhausting.

Right. To him, sharing a bed is probably completely casual. It was only an isolated recluse like Eui-rim—who had lived without friends or romance across two lifetimes—who would overthink and lose his composure over such things.

He wanted to push the point, but harping on it felt childish, forcing him to let the matter drop. Drawing a deep breath, Eui-rim got up from the bed and followed Hae-gun into the hall.

Pausing at the door, Hae-gun pointed toward the ensuite bathroom. The smug curve of his lips suggested he was in an exceptionally good mood.

“Go wash up. I’ll leave a fresh change of clothes outside the door,” Hae-gun said.

“No, that won’t be necessary. I know where my clothes are,” Eui-rim replied.

After showering the previous evening, Eui-rim had hand-washed his clothes and hung them discreetly in a corner of the living room balcony, well out of Hae-gun’s sight.

Yet at Eui-rim’s protest, Hae-gun looked genuinely puzzled. Blinking twice, he asked a question of his own.

“Your clothes, Eui-rim-ssi?”

“The clothes I washed last night,” Eui-rim said. “Isn’t that what you meant?”

“I sent those to the hotel dry cleaners last night,” Hae-gun replied smoothly.

“Then what am I supposed to wear…?” Eui-rim trailed off, his eyes widening. “You don’t mean I should wear yours, do you?”

Having borrowed Hae-gun’s oversized loungewear to sleep in, Eui-rim knew firsthand just how stark their size difference was.

“That was the plan. Do you mind?” Hae-gun asked.

“It isn’t a matter of minding; they’re far too large,” Eui-rim argued.

“Oversized looks fine on you,” Hae-gun said, shrugging.

“There’s a difference between oversized and swimming in fabric,” Eui-rim retorted.

“You look so mild, yet you’re surprisingly picky,” Hae-gun teased with a clicked tongue.

Seeing him click his tongue in mock grievance left Eui-rim even more flummoxed. Why are we even bickering about this? He could simply wear whatever was provided and leave; he didn’t understand why he was reacting so defensively.

…Have I already grown that comfortable around him?

“Fine, I hear you, so go get washed up,” Hae-gun said, shooing him toward the bath. “We’ll have breakfast and head out.”

“Are you planning to drive me? I can just take a taxi,” Eui-rim offered.

From medical triage to overnight lodging, he had already imposed far too heavily. Lingering any longer would only inflate his psychological debt, making it prudent to decline further favors.

“We’re traveling together anyway, so don’t complicate things,” Hae-gun said.

“Pardon?” Eui-rim asked.

“Conveniently enough for someone so eager to flee,” Hae-gun said, “I received both good news and bad news overnight.”

Once again, Hae-gun threw his expectations into disarray. Good news and bad news? What kind of developments could have arrived overnight?

“Which do you want to hear first?” Hae-gun asked.

“The… good news first, please,” Eui-rim ventured.

“Optimism is always good.” Hae-gun grinned. “The Association has approved our entry into the Isolation Ward. Going by your estimate, there are roughly seventy-two hours remaining on the clock, so timing will be tight… but the moment the rescue team fails, we have clearance to head straight in.”

“The approval came through far faster than expected,” Eui-rim remarked, genuinely surprised.

He hadn’t expected the process to move so swiftly. For the Association to sanction Cheongho’s direct intervention was extraordinary. Given the strict non-interference pact governing their jurisdictions, it was baffling what had prompted such rapid capitulation.

“Hunter Yoo Tae-geun is spearheading the rescue team,” Hae-gun explained. “If even he fails, they’ve concluded they have no domestic assets capable of resolving it.”

“…Come to think of it, the Association’s high-ranking combatants were dispatched overseas,” Eui-rim murmured.

The explanation unlocked a fragment of past memory. Around this period in his previous life, anomalous gates had erupted across remote islands and maritime borders, pulling high-tier Association hunters into worldwide crisis deployments.

No wonder none of the other A-ranks besides Yoo Tae-geun were anywhere to be seen. So that was why.

“Then what is the bad news?” Eui-rim asked.

“We need permission from White Noise,” Hae-gun replied.

The blatantly obvious statement drained the tension right out of him. Did he seriously consider trespassing?

Even if Kim Si-hoon was currently hospitalized, the dungeon possessed a legitimate managing authority, making formal approval unavoidable.

“To be a bit more specific: Kim Si-hoon stated that if we want permission, we must send you over in person, Eui-rim-ssi.”

“Me?” Eui-rim echoed, blinking.

“Yes. It appears he caught wind of your affiliation with our guild.”

Did he run a background check on me while I was inside the dungeon? Between receiving treatment, handling the fallout of the incident, and filing reports with the Association, his hands should have been completely full. The man was diligent in the strangest, most useless ways.

Managing to keep his expression composed, Eui-rim nodded. “There’s no helping it. If that’s what he demands, I have to go.”

Still, since it was an official meeting on neutral ground, Kim Si-hoon wouldn’t dare pull anything reckless. At most, he would spew venomous insults.

“Even so, just in case… if he makes any ridiculous demands later, could you help—”

“How is it that you never once stray from my predictions?” Hae-gun interrupted.

Eui-rim didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed at having his sentence cut short. Exhaling a soft sigh, Hae-gun reached out and tapped his index finger lightly against Eui-rim’s forehead.