Chapter 51
“I said I understand.”
My brother, leaning against the wall, clicked his tongue.
“Wow. Why don't you two hook your pinkies and promise while you're at it?”
Han Siwoo smiled slightly.
“Should we?”
“What do you mean, should we?”
Seriously.
My brother always had to say something unnecessary.
“I should get going too. Call me immediately if anything happens.”
Han Siwoo left the hospital room.
My brother watched him go and shook his head.
“That guy really has it hard.”
I suddenly looked at my brother.
Was it because he was actually my biological brother?
Or had he simply been born annoying?
How could every single thing he did irritate me?
I glared at him.
“Why aren't you leaving?”
“You? You?! Did you hit your head inside the dungeon? Sorry, but you're supposedly a critical patient, so one guardian has to stay with you.”
“I told you I'm fine. The doctor said I can leave after a few tests.”
“You think I'm staying here because I've got nothing better to do? My shift starts soon too. Just wait a little. Mom will be here soon anyway.”
Mom?
Maybe because my last memory had been facing death...
That single word made something inside my chest soften.
My tone became quieter.
“Then give me my phone.”
“Seriously. Phone addict.”
My brother dug through his clothes and tossed the phone toward me.
You crazy bastard!
Do you know how many installments I still have left on this thing?!
I caught it safely and glared at him.
“If there's even one scratch, I'm charging you.”
“Hey. That thing isn't worth much used anymore. Stop making a fuss.”
Ah.
We've barely spoken and I already feel mentally exhausted.
Because of my brother, my mind was probably in critical condition too.
I really suffered because I had the wrong brother.
Sighing internally, I unlocked my phone.
A huge pile of messages waited for me.
Only then did the fact that a month had passed finally feel real.
Honestly, I thought they were exaggerating a little.
I really had been unconscious for an entire month.
I replied to several messages while scrolling.
Then my hand stopped.
A message from Lee Dohyun.
[University Lee Dohyun] Contact me when you see this.
Apparently, he already knew what had happened.
There were no other messages.
I was about to reply when my brother rested his chin on my shoulder.
“What? Dohyun? I heard he's busy lately, but I guess he had time to message you.”
I immediately frowned.
“Stop reading other people's messages. More importantly, why is he busy?”
“Man, what a temper. You know, that... guild thing? Apparently he's busy with that. He's probably overseas right now.”
So it's already that time...
It had been about a year since monsters appeared in the world.
In the novel, Guilds were established around a year and a half later.
That meant within several months, high-ranking Hunters would start gathering together and forming them.
Lee Dohyun was already one of the country's strongest Hunters.
In the novel, he was one of the founding members of Korea's greatest Guild.
Since they were preparing to introduce the idea of Guilds to the world for the first time, he was probably busy with all kinds of preparations.
Well, it probably doesn't have much to do with me.
At least having a rich friend meant I might occasionally get free food.
Though seeing him would probably become even harder.
Then what happens now?
I lay back on the bed and thought.
Just like in the novel, I had sacrificed myself for my teammates.
In other words...
My role in the novel should now be over.
Guild promotion would slowly begin behind the scenes.
More Hunters would start operating without taking direct orders from the Center.
The reason the government had established the Center in the first place was to protect citizens and prevent unpredictable Dome phenomena.
The Center and Guilds had overlapping interests.
That meant the government couldn't simply oppose Guilds.
Some large corporations were probably already investing in future Guild businesses.
Eventually, the government would have no choice but to accept them.
A new force entering society would cause confusion at first.
But only temporarily.
Once observant Hunters began leaving the Center, Guilds would quickly become an accepted part of the world.
Still, Guilds would operate for profit.
They wouldn't be as stable as the Center.
Safety couldn't be guaranteed either.
And during the confusion, some Hunters would inevitably choose neither the Center nor Guilds.
That was when I planned to quit.
A peaceful life where monsters no longer chased me.
A quiet life where I could get angry over stupid things and laugh over small ones.
I wanted to return to that.
Not a life where I had to constantly fear dying horribly inside a dungeon.
“Jia...”
A voice I always missed.
I looked away from my phone.
A smile appeared automatically.
“Mom.”
Right.
Hunter life didn't suit an ordinary person like me.
