“So what the hell is this?”
“Huh?”
While I was still caught off guard by how suddenly the kid was acting close to me, Hyun Dowoon’s voice brought me back to reality.
“You were babbling about being kidnapped by some lab, and now you’re showing up with a kid I’ve never seen before? What the hell are you doing?”
“Ahh.”
Right. This wasn’t the time to get distracted—I had a purpose for coming here.
Still holding the child, I took the seat Hyun Dowoon had been using and spoke to him.
“Bring me an empty box. Any kind will do.”
“...?”
Dowoon narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced at the curious women watching us from the side. With a sigh, he grabbed an empty box from the corner and set it on the table.
I placed the box on the desk, unbuckled the hip pouch I’d been wearing all this time, and opened it. Then I started taking out the items I had borrowed—well, stolen—from the lab.
“Holy shit, what is all this?”
“Magic stones? Pretty decent quality too.”
“Are these artifacts?”
“Seohu, where the hell did you get all this?”
“Let’s just call it the price of my life.”
Leaving out the robe and sword I’d kept for myself, I transferred everything else from the bag into the box.
“Ladies, would you mind selling these items for me? You can take a reasonable cut for the effort and send me the rest.”
I was originally going to have Dowoon handle the sale, but since the black market managers were already here, I figured it was better to ask them directly.
Even if they took a fee, the items were valuable enough that I’d still end up with a nice sum.
“And Dowoon. I’ve got a few favors to ask.”
“Why do you always dump so much crap on me?”
“Because you’re the only one who can do it.”
When I answered seriously, Dowoon pouted and scratched the back of his head in defeat.
“What is it this time?”
“First, set up a guild for me. Something legit.”
“Yeah. Also, find me a decent place to live near Gangnam. I’ll be living there with her.”
“What?”
“And I need a fake ID. For her.”
“......”
Dowoon’s expression worsened the more he listened. In the end, he sighed deeply and shook his head.
“So your entire plan is to commit crimes from start to finish.”
“How is this a crime?”
“Then why don’t you go to the Association and submit a proper application to form a guild, instead of harassing me here?”
“Oh come on, you know I can’t do that.”
“Let’s just not even talk...”
Looking thoroughly fed up, Dowoon turned away and dragged a new chair over to his computer.
“If you want all that, I’ll need to start with the kid’s ID. What’s her name?”
Click-clack, click-clack—the sound of him typing filled the air.
‘Here it is...’
I’d known from the start that I’d need to register her identity. The problem was, I didn’t actually know her name. I hadn’t asked, and there was no way a kid who only ever nodded would just tell me.
“So, uh... her name is...”
“Her name?”
“Uh... It’s... um, I forgot... haah, I can’t remember...”
“...You’re not seriously saying you don’t know, are you?”
“No! I mean, I heard it! I just... I’ve been forgetting things a lot lately, so even her name kind of slipped...”
“Sahyeon.”
“...Huh? What was that?”
A whisper, barely audible, tickled my ear. Startled, I grabbed the kid’s shoulders and gently pushed her back, but she tried to crawl right back into my arms, whispering again.
“Sahyeon. That’s my name.”
“...Wow.”
Just like that? She’d ignored everything I said until now—at most, just nodding occasionally. And now she just tells me?
I stared at her in disbelief, still in shock, while Dowoon clicked his tongue.
“Tch. So you really forgot. You’re unbelievably careless, seriously. Fine—her name’s Sahyeon. What about her last name?”
Now looking like some world-class scumbag who forgot a child’s name, I answered bitterly.
“...Make it the same as mine. Cha. So people will think she’s my little sister.”
“Okay. Cha Sahyeon.”
The women who’d been watching our conversation with curiosity now jumped in.
“Cha Sahyeon, huh? Nice name. So where did you meet her? You’re planning to live together, so I guess you’re trying to take responsibility properly?”
“It’s... complicated.”
“She’s not your daughter, right?”
“C’mon, unnie! He’s way too young for that. Seohu’s only, what, 32?”
“...I’m twenty-six.”
“Wait, that young?”
I mean... isn’t there a big difference between 26 and 32? Even counting the two years of regression, I’m only 28. Do I look 32? I felt oddly offended.
Trying to shake off the feeling, I turned to Son Gayoung—the most senior of the women—and made one more request besides the item sale.
“By the way, do you have any portable inventory items in the black market? Preferably something like an accessory.”
The hip pouch was starting to get annoying. Even if it was pricey, a good inventory accessory was worth having.
“Hm... There’s a gem in stock. If we mount it onto something, it should work. What kind of accessory do you want?”
“A ring or necklace would be ideal.”
Gayoung pulled out her phone and sent a message somewhere.
“I’ve already got someone working on it. There weren’t any spare rings available, so it’ll be a necklace.”
“A necklace is fine.”
Rings were the most stable choice, but a necklace wasn’t bad either—as long as no one snapped the chain.
“I’ll deduct the cost from whatever’s left after we sell the items.”
“Can’t you gift it to me?”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I grinned cheekily, adding a little playfulness to my voice. Gayoung smirked back as she placed an unlit cigarette in her mouth. She didn’t light it—probably out of consideration for the kid.
“Gift it? You think that face is cute enough for a gift? You disappeared without a word, and now you show up only when you need something.”
“You’re as sharp as ever, noona...”
I had a lot I could’ve said in response, but talking about being abducted and turned into a lab rat would only earn me mockery—and worse, put Cha Sahyeon in danger.
“Here.”
While I was bantering with the women, Dowoon had already finished and handed me a few documents.
“I submitted the guild creation request just like you asked, and bought a decent office space in your name. The guild name can be finalized by text within the week—just send the ID number listed here.”
Even with a few illegal shortcuts, this was my first time setting up a guild, and everything about it felt new. As I looked over the documents, Dowoon continued.
“The kid’s documents are in the back. Cha Sahyeon, age 12, listed as your sibling. I just went with what she looks like. If you don’t like it, too bad.”
“Twelve? Do twelve-year-olds usually look like this?”
I thought she was ten. Even as we talked about her age, Sahyeon just clung to my neck, arms wrapped around me like a damn koala.
While Dowoon shrugged off the responsibility with a blank face, the women jumped in to help.
“Twelve’s a borderline save. Kids that age really vary in height.”
“True. Seohu, weren’t you about this tall when you were twelve? It’s probably about right.”
“Still, seeing you two together like that, you do look like siblings. Something about the vibe.”
“Right? I thought the same thing. Can’t put my finger on it, but they kind of resemble each other.”
Son Gayoung, who’d been observing quietly from the back, exhaled smoke and muttered,
“Could she be your half-sister?”
“Not a chance.”
There was no way. I was a kid when I got dumped here in Zone C-281. A sibling with this kind of age gap? I would’ve remembered something, even vaguely.
Even if someone connected to me—genetically—had a child, and that child ended up being Cha Sahyeon, destined to become the Catastrophe, and was coincidentally captured and experimented on in the same lab as me...
No. That would be absurd.
“Alright. I’ve taken care of everything, so I’ll be heading out.”
Perfect timing—the necklace Gayoung ordered had arrived.
I took the necklace from the staff member, looped it around my neck, and gently pulled Cha Sahyeon off me. She blinked up at me, clearly displeased, but calmed down once I took her hand.
“You’re leaving already?”
“You’re not ghosting us again, are you?”
“If you disappear again, we will track you down.”
Their mix ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) of worry and teasing made me laugh. I replied with hollow smiles and empty promises like, “Of course not,” and “I’ll call soon.”
“Cha Seohu!”
Just as I reached for the door handle, trying to escape before the nagging got worse, Dowoon called out from behind me.
“You’re really leaving? What about... y’know, she’s probably waiting.”
He trailed off, eyes flicking upward.
I instantly understood who he meant—and stopped without thinking.
Before I could say anything, Son Gayoung spoke as well.
“Shouldn’t you at least say hello? She’s probably already heard you came back.”
“......”
“How are you going to deal with the aftermath later?”
I barely managed to swallow the deep sigh building in my chest. I kept a smile on my face and replied lightly.
“Well, I’ll just let future me deal with that. I’m not in the mood today. Alright then, I’m off!”
“...That crazy bastard...”
Leaving Dowoon cursing behind me, I walked away without regret.
As I stepped out of the dark hallways, the flashing lights of neon signs immediately stabbed at my eyes. Crime-ridden, lawless, and suffocating even with all the space—this place was no place to linger.
‘Yeah. Definitely not somewhere I want to stay long.’
Gripping the child’s hand, I quickened my pace.

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