Chapter 24: That’s Not My Kid

Cute.

Ah-sung added this, tapping Eun-ru’s cheek.

Eun-ru roughly pushed Ah-sung’s shoulder away and walked past him, heading in the direction Jin-yeop had gone.

Ah-sung watched Eun-ru’s retreating figure with an odd expression.

Then, seeing General Manager Yoo-han approaching with his discarded coat, he spoke.

“General Manager Yoo, after Esper Cha Jin-yeop is hospitalized, send a flower arrangement.

With a card.”

“A card?”

“Yeah.

Saying something like, let’s have a meal together after you recover.

He’s the person Eun-ru is absolutely crazy about.

I can’t miss seeing that.”

“…Eun-ru won’t like it.”

“That’s his problem.”

Ah-sung took his coat from Yoo-han and started walking ahead.

Yoo-han sighed and followed.

“CEO-nim, you’re scariest when you make that face.

Especially that twitching corner of your mouth when you want to tease someone.”

“Isn’t it fun?”

“…Director Choi will be angry if he finds out.”

“Ah, where is Seol-i?”

“He contacted me saying he’d come straight to the agency.”

“Tell him I’m dying.”

“Excuse me?”

Yoo-han made a face that asked what nonsense he was talking about, then instantly composed himself and stared at Ah-sung.

“Tell him I’m at death’s door because I haven’t received guiding.

Say I was barely hanging on.”

“…..”

“Didn’t I go through all that trouble to find someone to be his nephew-in-law?

I deserve some praise.”

“I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried…

Director Choi will scold you.”

Despite Yoo-han’s words, Ah-sung just burst out laughing at the thought of finally receiving guiding after a long time.

***

Jin-yeop had absolutely no physical problems, but due to the need for a thorough examination, he had no choice but to be hospitalized.

Unable to resist the pressure from Eun-ru and Director Im, he docilely lay on the bed, and now found himself alone in his hospital room with Eun-bi, an S-class Guide from the Dungeon Response Team.

“I’m sorry to have you come all the way here.”

Jin-yeop first apologized while trying hard to piece together his lost memories.

Eun-bi shook her head.

“No need.

I’m glad you’re in good health.”

“To put it simply, my memories after the re-awakening are patchy… gone.”

“Could you tell me from the beginning, starting with what you do remember?”

“First, after defeating the F-class boss, an anomaly occurred inside the dungeon.

As you know, the dungeon I went to was the F-class ‘Abandoned Doll Sorcerer’s Workshop,’ and the boss was in the state you’re already aware of.”

“…..”

“The dungeon’s appearance completely changed.

To be precise, it looked like it had turned back time and regained its original form.”

“What about the dungeon boss?”

“A system message appeared first.

The grade had changed to A, and the boss was the same.

Not the form I originally knew, but that of a human girl.

It was still a doll sorcerer, though.”

“So your memory is hazy from that point onward?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Jin-yeop then spoke about the more vivid fragments of his patchy memories after that.

He remembered that the name of the dungeon boss that reappeared was Alice, and that they had had some kind of conversation, but he absolutely couldn’t recall the content.

“It feels like we talked about something extremely important…”

“…..”

“The only words I remember right now are ‘Horizon.'”

“Horizon?”

“Yes.

Horizon, and she called the dolls she controlled ‘Shamara’…”

– Shamar!

Just then.

Suddenly, a child’s voice echoed in his ear, and Jin-yeop’s eyes widened as he looked around.

Seeing this, Eun-bi called out to him.

“Esper Cha Jin-yeop?”

“Didn’t you hear that just now?”

“No, nothing…”

“I heard a child’s voice.”

Jin-yeop, as if trying to locate where the voice was coming from, even rummaged through his blanket, looking around, and then the voice came again.

– Not now!

If I go out now, I’ll get in trouble.

“That voice!

It said ‘not now’…”

“…..”

“You really can’t hear it?”

When Jin-yeop asked again with a frown, Eun-bi, with a strange expression, remained silent for a moment before standing up.

“Where are you going?”

“It seems I’ve come too early.

Please rest some more, and I’ll visit again.”

“No, wait.”

“I’m sorry for the intrusion, then.”

Eun-bi bowed politely and left the hospital room.

Jin-yeop watched her retreating figure helplessly, then muttered.

“Does she think I’ve lost my mind?”

Actually, that seemed about right.

It was understandable.

If a man who came back alive from a re-awakened dungeon without even remembering what happened asked him if he could hear voices talking to the air, even he would probably take his leave.

“No, I really hear it.”

And it definitely said ‘Shamar.’

The dolls controlled by Alice, who had the form of a young girl.

He clearly remembered that much.

“…Have I gone crazy?”

Was he hearing things due to unrecognized mental shock?

Yes, that was possible.

After regressing over ten times, his sense of reality had dulled, and he’d started accepting everything as it came, but what happened to him today was far from ordinary.

A dungeon re-awakening.

Something unheard of.

He didn’t remember clearly, but the fact that a monster was capable of conversation was itself exceptional.

He’d thought Director Im and Eun-ru were overreacting, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

He needed rest.

Reassuring himself, Jin-yeop lay back on the bed and pulled up the covers.

Just as he turned over, he found himself face to face with a pair of round, blinking eyes.

“…I really have lost it.”

“Jin-yeop, hi?”

“Not Jin-yeop, it’s Uncle Jin-yeop, you should say hello…

Wait, no.”

“Uncle Jin-yeop, hello?”

“Crazy.”

Jin-yeop threw off the covers and sat up abruptly, examining the child standing beside him with a startled face.

It was that Shamar, vividly etched in his memory, with silver hair and blue eyes.

“Yo-you.

What are you?”

“Shamar.”

“How did you get here?

Huh?”

The Shamar reached out and pointed at Jin-yeop’s wrist.

There, the World Tree watch item sat.

At that moment, Jin-yeop felt a headache wash over him and pressed his hand to his forehead.

Incomprehensible words echoed in his head in Alice’s voice, buzzing loudly.

“Jin-yeop, don’t try to remember.

It hurts.”

“Ugh, ah.”

“Hurt, hurt.

Don’t do it.”

But Jin-yeop, clutching his head, began to cling to the fragmented memories surfacing.

He felt like he’d missed something very important, and it was coming back; he couldn’t stop now.

He tried desperately to recall Alice’s expression, her voice, even the scent rising from her teacup, but the pain grew stronger.

The Shamar grabbed Jin-yeop’s arm and started stamping its feet, its face crumpled as if about to cry.

“Hurt, hurt!

Jin-yeop hurts!”

“…Dad?”

Just then, the hospital room door opened, and someone entered.

Jin-yeop, suffering as he was buried in unrecoverable memories, was startled by the presence, as if ejected from his thoughts, and gasped for breath.

As Jin-yeop barely came to his senses, panting, the Shamar grabbed his hand with its small one and suddenly burst into tears.

At the sound of the child crying, forgetting even that someone had entered, Jin-yeop quickly scooped the Shamar up into his arms.

As he comforted the child, his eyes met Eun-ru’s, who was standing awkwardly by the door.

“Oh, well.

This child is…”

Unable to bring himself to say it came from a dungeon, Jin-yeop hesitated, and Eun-ru spoke first.

“Uh, when did you have it…?”

“Have it, you bastard!

Look at this kid!”

As Jin-yeop shouted in disbelief, the Shamar, which had just barely stopped crying, startled and began hiccupping.

“Sorry, sorry.

Were you surprised?

There, there.”

Patting its small back, the Shamar wrapped its arms around Jin-yeop’s neck and burrowed into his embrace.

Jin-yeop sighed lightly and looked at Eun-ru.

“Close the door.”

Eun-ru nodded and closed the hospital room door as instructed.

Then, stepping inside, he saw Jin-yeop holding the child quite adeptly.

Busy soothing the hiccupping child without even glancing at him, Jin-yeop finally spoke.

“What are you standing there for?

Sit.”

“…It’s really not yours?”

“How could I give birth to a child?”

“Then why did it call you Dad…”

Jin-yeop looked up, dumbfounded by Eun-ru’s question.

Eun-ru pulled over the chair Eun-bi had been using earlier and sat down, staring at the child with its face hidden in Jin-yeop’s chest.

Not joking, he seemed to genuinely suspect it was Jin-yeop’s child, examining the child from all angles with an intense focus.

The slight furrow in his brow made Jin-yeop feel nothing but exasperation.

“It wasn’t calling me Dad.

It was asking if I was in pain.”

“…..”

“Guide Lee Eun-ru.”

“Yes.”

“This child has silver hair.”

“Yes.”

“Silver hair and blue eyes.

If it were mine, would that be possible?”

“…If you’d met a foreigner.”

Eun-ru looked up, meeting his eyes, his expression incredibly complex.

Well, it was understandable.

Not only was he about to get divorced, but a man with an apparent out-of-wedlock child of four or five would naturally be…

Jin-yeop drew a small smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Well, yes.

I’m at that age.

It’s not like I had no dating experience before meeting Kang Jung-hoon.”

“Are you saying you did meet someone, or you didn’t?”

A somewhat sullen voice came out, and Jin-yeop bit his molars, holding back a laugh.

Ah, he shouldn’t get addicted to this, but seeing Eun-ru pouting was quite delightful.

“What would you do if I had a child?”

“Huh?”

“If you wanted to end things here, we could still be close as brothers.

If calling me hyung is awkward, uncle is fine…”

“But, Senior, you said it’s not your child.”

“Turning suspicion into reality isn’t that difficult.”

“What do you mean…”

“Isn’t it possible I’m lying?

If I’d been hiding it all this time?”