“This is. So hard. Why. Am I. Even doing this.”
Every time his words broke off, the pickaxe struck into the dungeon wall. Today too, in this peaceful dungeon without monsters, Raon’s labored breathing echoed.
If the collection team came and collected it, it would all become the Center’s property, but if Raon, who entered first, sneakily took it, it would become his. Even knowing he should abandon his greed, Raon couldn’t give up the ore that sparkled right before his eyes, practically begging to be taken.
With this chunk, I’ll make our Jaehwi a helmet, and with that chunk, I’ll make our Jaehwi arm guards. And then that one…
“Ah. I’m… so tired.”
Having finally gotten his hands on ore half the size of his fist, Raon plopped down on the ground and then simply lay flat on his back. His chest rapidly rose and fell, and constant panting sounds came from his half-open mouth.
Barely managing to raise his hand to wipe the flowing sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, Raon took a deep breath in and let it out. Still, the fact that he’d managed this much proved that all the exercise he’d done hadn’t completely disappeared. After all, six pieces of ore were already in his bag.
Three hours had passed since he entered the dungeon. He’d already drunk all the water he’d brought at first, his stamina was at rock bottom, and he just needed to take what he’d just mined and leave… leave…
Now that he was lying down, he didn’t want to get up. The ore receiving the light from the small lantern reflected light off each other, brightening the inside of the dungeon. It wasn’t very bright, but it was enough to move around without discomfort.
“It’d be so great if only dungeons like this appeared. No one gets hurt, there’s no danger. They help everyone.”
As his rapid breathing gradually stabilized and his heart rate slowly returned to normal, Raon could look at the dungeon more comfortably. Once his breathing completely stabilized, there wasn’t a single sound inside the dungeon. And the moment he realized that, goosebumps rose and Raon laughed emptily.
Of course it’s quiet since I’m the only living thing in the dungeon. When he was distracted by the ore, choosing and mining the good ones, thoughts like being scared didn’t even occur to him, but the human heart was this fickle.
Good one moment, bad the next.
Even while thinking everything was good as long as Jaehwi was good, he’d suddenly miss him and long for him and want to return to their previous relationship. By the way, why was he really sitting there like that today? No matter how much he thought about it, there was no one Jaehwi would meet besides himself.
Moreover, he was leaning against his office wall completely openly.
In a very comfortable resting position.
His expression was as relaxed as when he used to enter on his own whim and sprawl on the sofa to sleep.
The problem was that the location was the company hallway. If he’d been sitting in that same position somewhere like a beach, it would have looked like he was enjoying the atmosphere and resting.
Why would Min Jaehwi do that? There’s no reason for it.
Unless they’d regressed together. But that also didn’t make sense.
If he regressed but forgot all his memories?
If he forgot, then why does he act like someone with lingering feelings, like he wants to see me, like he wants to rest by my side?
If he regressed together with all his memories intact, like me, it makes even less sense.
Why would he pretend not to know me? Why push me away? There’s no reason for that. Shouldn’t we be closer than before instead? Ah! Of course, Jaehwi might not know that I’ve regressed. Even so, clinging to me more than before seems like the right answer.
“Ah… I don’t know. I don’t know. My head isn’t as good as that bastard Hyukjin’s. Ah. Why was he sitting there like that too, making people weird. I’m holding back so well. Huh! Wanting to hug him, kiss him, and sleep with him too, but holding back… Ahem. Anyway, whatever it is, I’m rationally suppressing it and barely living and treating him like a human being.”
Hearing his own grumbling voice echo inside the dungeon, Raon let out a deep sigh and sat up. He’d need to walk about 20 minutes to get out of the dungeon, then drive another 2 hours to get home. Then it would be dawn, and if he barely caught a couple hours of sleep, it would be time to go to work. Since this was work he’d chosen himself, he couldn’t complain to anyone that he was tired from lack of stamina.
“At least I’m losing weight thanks to this. My body’s getting firmer too. But I wonder if my face is getting all wrinkly from losing moisture. Should I put on a face mask before bed?”
Raon, who’d been feeling his face, suddenly turned his head. He definitely felt like something was there. Was it his imagination that he heard a rustling sound in the dungeon where nothing could be heard except his own voice?
After focusing on his hearing for a moment, Raon shook his head and pulled over the backpack next to him. Then he opened the zipper, put in the ore he’d been holding, and took out the tablet to check once more the things related to this dungeon.
Since he’d walked around, he carefully examined the types and locations of ore deposits on the naturally completed map. Even after confirming he’d mined all the ore he needed, the expected dungeon dissolution time still didn’t appear.
“If this goes well, MK might make some money, huh?”
It seemed like the atmosphere would regenerate. Just regularly harvesting the ore here would mean they wouldn’t have to make an effort to buy ore from the exchange. Since it was a dungeon that occurred within the Center’s area, there were no ownership issues either.
Feeling good that things seemed to be going well today, Raon put the tablet in his backpack and stood up. Though tired and exhausted, his steps leaving were lighter than when he’d entered. More precisely, only until he exited the dungeon entrance.
“Crazy, this is…”
Sure enough, with a feeling like crushing biscuits, Raon, who came outside, was thrown forward and tumbled to the ground from the tremendous noise and vibration. Having barely grasped the situation while coughing from the pain of suddenly rolling on the ground, the noise, vibration, and even dust, his face was filled only with emptiness.
It wasn’t that the expected dissolution time didn’t appear—it didn’t appear because it was immediate dissolution?
Having lost a fortune right before his eyes, Raon held his head. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve taken out one more. What good luck, my ass. If I hadn’t known from the beginning it’d be one thing, but knowing what’s in there, this isn’t giving and taking back.
Raon, who’d been staring emptily at the dungeon that had completely disappeared leaving only a tremendous dust storm, looked at the backpack that had tumbled with him. Though the dungeon had dissolved, Raon had to console himself with the fact that he’d at least obtained materials to use for his Hwiya and head home.
As soon as he returned, he took off all his dust-covered clothes in the entrance, carefully placed the equally dust-covered backpack beside them, then washed clean with hot water. Then, leading his drowsy body, he jumped straight into bed.
Sleep first, rest. What he really needed right now was rest. Though just a few months ago Raon had suffered from severe insomnia and taken foods and even medicine that were good for deep sleep, now he didn’t need such things. The moment his head touched the fluffy pillow and he was completely wrapped in his favorite blanket, Raon fell into a deep sleep.
***
Squeal—
Raon pulled the blanket up over his head.
Squeeal—
It wasn’t an alarm sound but a strange sound that made him crack his eyes open slightly, but Raon instead curled up his body, trying to feel even a little more of the sleepiness that was fading away.
Raon, who wasn’t trying to lift his heavy eyelids, frowned at a “plop” sound and the sound and feeling of something voluminous falling onto the blanket.
Plop.
Not just once—when the same feeling and sound came again, his eyelids lifted wide as if they’d never been heavy. And Raon, who sat up throwing off the blanket, blinked his eyes. He blinked slowly, and blinked quickly. At first the focus was a bit off, but blinking his eyes didn’t make what he was seeing disappear or make what was clear become blurry.
Having normal vision, Raon couldn’t take his eyes off what he was seeing. And that thing, about the size of his two fists put together, was also staring intently at him. Two large almond-shaped eyes and perky ears. Lips that were slightly raised as if smiling “heh.”
This was definitely an animal Raon knew. People called these things cats, and he knew cats came in various colors. White, brown, black, spotted, tan, etc., anyway, but.
Clearly that face was a cat, the perky thing was a cat, the swishing tail was also a cat. But why is this one light pink? And its pupils are golden. Right. An owner could go crazy and forcibly dye their cat light pink. If they’re a really crazy owner, and golden pupils are possible too. Possible. Yeah, possible.
But… how should he understand the white wings fluttering on the cat’s back?
Thinking it might be a dream, Raon lightly tapped his own cheek, then blankly watched as the thing in front of him made an unfamiliar “pyuing—” sound and flew up slightly before landing a little distance away from him.
“Is this a dream?”
Squeal squeal.
Hearing another unfamiliar sound from the mouth of the tilting-its-head animal, Raon lay back down on the bed. And comfortably covered himself with the blanket. Since it was a dream, sleeping even a little more would be beneficial to him. He planned to sleep until the alarm set for work time went off.
