# Chapter 16
His face, which should have been dark and haggard from the exhaustion of conquering the dungeon, was strangely glossy. Had he applied something to his face in that short time? Dohyuk frowned with one eyebrow as he observed Seungmin.
“I’ve heard that the frequency of dungeon occurrences and outbreaks has increased significantly compared to the past, and monster behavior patterns are gradually changing. Did you notice this during this dungeon conquest?”
“According to research results so far, lower dungeons are generated right before a higher-grade dungeon is created. These subsequently generated lower dungeons have a considerably higher possibility of going berserk. Though nothing is certain yet, we need to prepare for future dungeon gate occurrences with that possibility in mind. Reports on changed monster habits and details about this dungeon are being compiled. The Korean Ability Management Headquarters will announce them in the near future.”
On the last day, they encountered an A-class monster that shouldn’t have appeared in the B-class Chwiak cave.
It was a terrifying situation that could have led to a major accident if the first person to encounter the A-class monster had been Minseok rather than Seungmin or Dohyuk, or if the monster had appeared near their base.
The conquest took longer than planned as they conducted additional investigations into this anomaly. However, unable to find any clues, Dohyuk and Seungmin collected the A-class monster’s corpse. They planned to send it to the headquarters’ laboratory for further research.
This information was only briefly communicated to headquarters. To prevent panic, headquarters decided not to disclose this information to the public for the time being.
“There is considerable concern among citizens. What are your thoughts on this?”
“I understand that people can’t help feeling anxious due to the recent rampaging dungeons. However, we are detecting and preventing dangers with minimal error through the latest technology and abilities, transparently disclosing all information, and working with citizen safety as our top priority.”
Seeing that Seungmin was handling the interview more skillfully than expected, a relieved Dohyuk returned to the temporary lodging to check his belongings and the byproducts he had collected. Minseok, who had been watching Seungmin’s interview with an admiring expression, followed Dohyuk to organize his belongings and spoke in an excited voice.
“Do you think I could become like that too? I’m still very inexperienced though.”
“Like Esper Park Seungmin, you mean?”
“Yes!”
Dohyuk’s lips curved at the sight of the large figure seemingly shouting, ‘I want to become a cool adult too!’
“Esper Kim Minseok is already doing well. Of course, you’ll get even better in the future.”
They say praise makes even whales dance, and Minseok’s mouth opened as wide as a basin. Despite having a muscular build that didn’t look like a support-type Esper, his expression was unmistakably that of a twenty-year-old kid.
“Oh! Speaking of which, Esper Park Seungmin-nim said that since we’re in Gapyeong, we should have something delicious for dinner. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Hmm.”
The team members who had conquered the dungeon planned to rest for one night at a temporary lodging for ability users in downtown Gapyeong before returning to Seoul the next day. Dohyuk had indeed heard Seungmin singing “restaurant, restaurant” while tearing open battle rations.
But Dohyuk, who hadn’t been feeling well since the first day, still had a splitting headache and no appetite whatsoever.
“I’d rather rest before eating. The interview should be wrapping up soon, so Guide Kwon Jihun and Esper Kim Minseok should go have dinner with Esper Park Seungmin.”
“Hup. Understood!”
Minseok must have organized Seungmin’s belongings too, as the room looked tidy.
Minseok wore a worried expression at Dohyuk’s words, but when Dohyuk shook his head once more, he obediently responded and put on his shoes. Then, as if waiting for Jihun, who had belatedly emerged from the shower, he stood firmly by the door, but Jihun sent Minseok away alone, saying he wasn’t in the mood for food either.
“Esper Choi Dohyuk-nim.”
The tips of Jihun’s hair were still wet.
“Do you need guiding, by any chance?”
He seemed to have noticed Dohyuk’s poor condition. Dohyuk knew that his choker’s light was green, but he nodded with a half-frown due to his throbbing headache.
“But skipping dinner because of my guiding seems a bit…”
“No, I have no appetite, so I plan to finish your guiding and rest early.”
When Dohyuk rolled up his sleeve, Jihun approached and carefully grasped his arm. This was how it had been since that night when they had conversed. Consciously or unconsciously, he would glance around Dohyuk’s vicinity, and if Dohyuk appeared even slightly uncomfortable, Jihun would instantly appear and ask how he could help.
Dohyuk found such behavior from Jihun burdensome, but fearing that creating distance would make Jihun dejected, he decided to leave him be.
If only Jihun would try to strongly suppress him or show sharpness, then Dohyuk felt he could deal with it firmly. But for this kind of behavior, Dohyuk wished someone would give him a lecture on how to respond.
“You don’t particularly need guiding, but you look exhausted, so it’s likely physical depletion. Please sleep while I guide you. You were awake for at least twenty hours yesterday, weren’t you?”
Unable to disagree, Dohyuk lay down.
The temporary lodging was more like a guesthouse than a hotel, with an ondol-style room without beds, but for Dohyuk, who had been hunting for days without proper washing, it was like heaven.
“…Guide Kwon Jihun.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be surprised if I suddenly collapse.”
After refreshingly washing and lying down while receiving guiding, sleepiness that had been suppressed came pouring out like a broken dam. Jihun seemed to laugh quietly at Dohyuk’s voice, which had sunk lower than usual due to fatigue.
***
Dohyuk, who had fallen asleep as if unconscious, opened his eyes.
Perhaps due to lack of rest, he felt refreshed today after sleeping comfortably in a peaceful place.
Rising up, he gazed through the small window. The sky outside was dim. It seemed like early dawn, with quite some time left before morning.
In the spacious ondol room, with their own bedding laid out, Seungmin, Jihun, and Minseok were still asleep. They must have been as tired as Dohyuk.
Minseok had constantly located enemies through scanning, Jihun had been responsible for guiding the three Espers, and Seungmin had been hunting non-stop with Dohyuk.
Dohyuk approached the sleeping Seungmin and examined his injury site again.
It seemed he had received proper treatment after leaving the dungeon, as his bandage was much neater than the one Dohyuk had applied. If he was careful for about two days, he would recover as if he had never been injured. Dohyuk turned his gaze away with a silent sigh. After thoroughly scanning the room, Dohyuk properly covered Minseok, who was sleeping with only one leg wrapped in the blanket, unlike Jihun who slept neatly, and then left the temporary lodging with silent footsteps.
When he left the room, which had been warmed by the body heat of the four people, his warm cheeks quickly cooled.
Gapyeong’s dawn air was refreshingly different from Seoul’s. The low-lying mist that had settled from early hours beckoned coolly.
Dressed lightly in a black T-shirt and training pants, Dohyuk stretched his arms fully. Enjoying the distant scenery of mountains instead of tall buildings, he began jogging lightly. He loved running quickly on an empty road. It was comforting to focus only on the wind brushing against his skin without thinking about anything.
After finishing a short jog and taking a shower, his body, which had been stiff all along, seemed to properly loosen up. There’s a different taste to this than treadmill running, really. Dohyuk thought pleasantly as he came out of the narrow shower room.
“Owww, you’re so diligent.”
Dohyuk, who was wiping the moisture from his hair with a towel, looked up at the voice that was mumbling drowsily as if just waking up. Seungmin was still buried in a pile of blankets, only waving his hand aimlessly.
“You’re just lazy.”
“That’s unfair.”
“The air is nice.”
“Well, it’s Gapyeong. It’s a place where everyone comes to play, but we only come for work, which is tearful.”
Lamenting his situation as soon as he opened his eyes. Dohyuk took out a 500mL bottle of water from the small refrigerator and drank it in one go.
“Even when I worked in Busan, I don’t remember going to the beach for fun.”
“Babe, but the Seokmo Island shore we saw together was nice, wasn’t it?”
Dohyuk, who had tidied up the wet towel and left his not-yet-dry hair as it was, clicked his tongue. Looking at Dohyuk’s half-furrowed brow, Seungmin giggled as Dohyuk said:
“True. Yesterday we even had a cave tour. I’m looking forward to where we’ll go next.”
“Esper-niiim… are you going on vacation somewhere?”
Minseok, who hadn’t properly heard the conversation due to sleep, got up pathetically, wobbling like a retriever trying to stop his owner from leaving for a walk without him.
“What’s this one saying now. Where would we have vacations?”
Seungmin spoke curtly to Minseok, but as if accustomed to taking care of the youngest, he pressed down on Minseok’s jutting hair.
“Choi Dohyuk. But what time is it now? Is it morning?”
“Just a moment.”
Since almost everyone seemed to be awake except for Jihun, who remained stubbornly asleep despite the small commotion, it wouldn’t be bad to start preparing soon.
