* * *
But what truly threw Doyoung off wasn’t just seeing Beom Sinje.
It was the forlorn look on his face, filled with murmured regrets, as he stared at the game screen.
“No… this isn’t it. This wasn’t what I wanted. I just… I just wanted you closer to me… No, I shouldn’t have wished for any reward like that…”
Somehow, his demeanor—at once resigned and obsessively fixated on the game—appeared pitiful.
“Hey, just summon me already! Stop this and look for me instead.”
Thanks to Beom Sinje’s poor choices, the game character fell into another incapacitated state.
Frustrated, Doyoung pounded on his chest and yelled.
He had tapped Sinje’s shoulder repeatedly, poked his back, and tirelessly urged him to call for him, but for some reason, even with Doyoung speaking right beside him, Sinje seemed unable to hear a word.
“Just…”
It was around the time Doyoung was about to give up.
He had been shouting until his voice grew hoarse, but then his eyes suddenly snapped open.
The first thing he saw was a pristine ceiling.
But, puzzled by the unfamiliar sight, he turned his head.
A large, uncovered window, a luxurious yet overtly commercial-looking table, and chairs came into view.
“Oh.”
Slowly, Doyoung realized where he was.
On the other side of the world, near Johannesburg’s international airport, in a five-star hotel suite.
Springing upright, he stumbled out of the bedroom.
But before he could fully leave—
“Uh…”
In the living room, a few people were seated on the sofa.
Strangely, their faces didn’t feel unfamiliar.
“Hyung, you’re awake?”
Beom Sinje greeted him warmly, but Doyoung’s gaze remained fixed on the new faces.
He couldn’t help it.
“Why are they here…?”
∞∞∞
It wasn’t a big deal that things went awry from the very first step, rendering the long trip across great distances pointless.
What really irked Beom Sinje was the uninvited guest interrupting his precious time with Doyoung.
“Where have I seen that face before…?”
Where indeed?
It was clear the man wasn’t just an ordinary civilian.
Whether it was his aura or presence, something about him stood out.
Even in casual clothing, a hunter could recognize another hunter.
As someone who ran a guild and was well-acquainted with domestic and international hunter information, Beom Sinje thought the man’s familiarity suggested either a recent encounter or a memory from another source.
Yet, no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t pinpoint it.
“He reeks of con artist energy.
What could Hyung possibly be talking about with someone like that?”
Most of all, it was Doyoung’s demeanor that irked him.
Not only had he allowed the stranger to intrude while Sinje was briefly away, but he was responding to the man’s conversation with consistent engagement.
When Sinje saw them exchange glances, sip their drinks, and converse, he felt something deep within him stir unpleasantly.
“Hah…”
Recalling the recent memory, a heavy sigh escaped him.
He had to present himself as mature and reliable to Doyoung.
Yet, somehow, things were veering farther and farther from his intentions.
That smirking Latin hunter, who treated him like a kid before vanishing, didn’t sit well with him either.
“Fine. There’s no need to dwell on that one, anyway.”
Even if he vaguely remembered the encounter, it was a fleeting one.
There was no point in giving further attention to such a person.
Watching the bustling late-night streets from the sofa, he tried to clear his head.
He had work to do, but his thoughts were scattered.
However, his body seemed more fatigued than expected.
His eyes grew heavy, and he felt his consciousness slipping.
He wasn’t fully asleep, though.
In REM sleep, he was suddenly met with a strange scene.
“A game? A movie?”
People were bustling about.
It seemed to depict everyday life.
Then, strange holes appeared worldwide, from which monstrous creatures began emerging, launching attacks.
“This is…”
By then, Sinje realized what he was witnessing.
It was the story of the world’s end—a tale his mother had drilled into him as a child, and one he had seen countless times through media.
What followed was familiar and predictable.
Monsters were dispatched with military forces, only for the armies to be annihilated.
Some nations collapsed, and people fled in desperation.
Three years later, as everything seemed doomed, individuals with special powers began to emerge.
“Why am I dreaming about this?”
The question was why he found himself in such a predicament.
“Could someone have intervened?”
Being a hunter, suspicion naturally arose.
Falling asleep so suddenly, despite not being particularly tired, was strange.
And it wasn’t even deep sleep; this half-conscious state was all the more suspicious.
“But who?”
That was the problem—he had no idea.
As Sinje mulled over this, the footage on the monitor kept flowing, reaching a point in time he found familiar.
“Ah…”
And then, he saw an unforgettable face.
How could he not recognize him?
The one who smiled at everyone with such warmth and kindness, yet maintained a resolute distance, never allowing anyone too close.
“Doyoung Hyung.”
Had he noticed being called?
The character bearing Doyoung’s likeness looked his way, his face even fresher, more radiant, and youthful than Sinje remembered.
Unable to tear his eyes away, he stared as if spellbound, watching the passage of time as if fast-forwarded at eight times the speed.
“Hm?”
But something felt off.
He thought the scenes were meant to depict his memories and experiences, but they weren’t.
“Come to think of it, even meeting Doyoung Hyung is different.”
In reality, their first meeting had been when Doyoung, resembling a rebellious heir, visited his home unannounced.
Yet the scenes showed them meeting for the first time at a hunter training academy.
“Well, it’s a dream, after all.”
However, Beom Sinje soon dismissed it as dream.
After all, wasn’t this just a vision and not reality?
While he didn’t understand the purpose behind being shown such scenes, he felt it necessary to see it through to the end to grasp its intent.
As if mocking his thoughts, the situation continued to escalate dramatically.
“Haah…”
A long sigh escaped his lips, born of sheer disbelief.
Contrary to his feelings, the scene around him descended into utter chaos.
It was revealed that Doyoung had not only betrayed him but also murdered their comrades and was, in fact, a villain.
Moreover, it turned out he had been thoroughly used by the government—a truth he learned far too late.
Despite risking his life to clear dungeons, he was misunderstood and vilified by the public.
To make matters worse, the guild he had painstakingly founded lost its members in an S-rank dungeon.
‘Why am I being shown all this?’
Staring at the lone figure standing amidst the ruins of a desolate city, Beom Sinje’s mood sank further.
‘If I were in his position…’
The fleeting thought quickly dissipated.
Somehow, he couldn’t imagine Doyoung allowing things to reach such a point.
‘Yeah, if I were by his side.’
He finally understood why this vision unsettled him so deeply.
‘Doyoung betraying me? That’s impossible…’
Beom Sinje concluded it was all a deliberately staged illusion and began focusing on breaking free from the dream.
At that moment, an opaque bluish window suddenly intruded into his view:
[A Hero Who Saved the World!
Special rewards are prepared for you, who have given your body and soul for the sake of the world. ~(≧▽≦)~
Would you like to check the reward list?]
* * *
