The fallen log just below the ridge overlooking the farm made a perfect bench.
Guru and Siwon sat side by side, facing the field, while Serhi leaned next to them, arms crossed.
Siwon blushed and let out a shy smile.
“I showed such an embarrassing side of myself.”
“Don’t cwy, Gwampa Siwon.”
“Did it feel that awful to be called a family with us?”
“No, not at all! Of course not!”
Siwon jumped up in denial, and Serhi flinched, startled by the sudden reaction.
“Ah—okay, got it.”
“Actually... I liked it.”
Siwon lowered his gaze and smiled faintly.
“I don’t have a family.”
“Gwampa Siwon dun haf famiwy too?”
When Guru asked, Siwon’s eyes drifted off into the distance.
“Mm... My parents died when I was little. I had younger siblings, but... my little brother... there was an accident at the orphanage...”
Siwon trailed off and stared quietly at Serhi, as if recalling something.
“Zhenya!”
He heard the voice of his little brother toddling toward him.
“Zhenya. Eat dis potato. Dun weave any.”
After a long day of work, on his way back home, his little brother would be there, sitting at the doorstep at sunset, waiting.
The boy would save and save his rations, then sneak them to his brother in secret.
When Yevgeny hugged the little boy tight and stood up, his sister Irina would be standing not far off, arms folded behind her back, watching the two of them.
“Ira. Did you eat anything?”
“I hate that you have to work so late.”
“There you go again. C’mere, I’ll give you a hug.”
He would open his arms, and Irina would run into them.
His siblings, who fit so easily in his arms, had been his beloved burdens—and a responsibility he bore with joy.
After their parents died, the orphanage that took the three of them in was far from kind.
A poor country, a poor city. The government existed in name only. The nation weakened by the year, and the number of orphans just kept rising.
In such a place, the orphanage director’s cold, dispassionate gaze—enabled by the government's silent consent—kept the children in constant fear.
Inside the orphanage, the rumor that “they’ll sell a kid anywhere if you just pay enough” was accepted as fact.
In that unstable world, the only salvation was the comfort of being together.
During the day, he did whatever odd jobs he could find. At night, he studied.
Everyone praised how hardworking Yevgeny Markov was.
But the only reason he could be that way... was because he wanted to get his sister and little brother out of there. Family was the only thing he wanted to protect.
Then one day, his little brother slipped by the river and had an accident. It was just after the Cataclysm.
The times were chaotic, and the body was never recovered.
He had no choice but to bear the crushing grief. Because he still had Irina.
As the orphanage filled with more and more children, they came and went before he could even learn their names.
He only learned where they’d gone after joining intelligence as a special agent.
That’s when he found out the truth about what had really happened to his brother.
Suddenly, Serhi asked,
“What about your other sibling?”
“Oh, my sister...”
Siwon replied in a quiet voice.
“How do I put it... I guess you could say... we don’t get along.”
Saying they “didn’t get along” might’ve been far too mild.
“Zhenya, if you really want to protect this country, this is your only chance.”
Yevgeny Markov would regret for the rest of his life not pulling the trigger on his sister that day.
“Prove it, Zhenya. Prove it by shooting me. If you really believe this country is worth protecting—even if it means killing the only family you have left—then show me. Do it.”
Even now, he feared that he still couldn’t do it. That, just like back then, he’d fail to protect anything at all.
Yevgeny hadn’t shot Irina.
And because of that failure, Irina started a civil war. Countless people killed and were killed.
A woman clutching her child as she wept. The sound of boots. The crack of bullets. The shriek of sirens.
Some memories carve themselves into your brain and never leave.
“P-please help me... Mister...”
Whenever he remembered the small hand reaching out for mercy, Yevgeny nearly choked [N O V E L I G H T] on the guilt that it was all his fault.
Ironically, what finally ended the civil war was the dungeon Irina had artificially opened.
The dungeon break wiped out nearly everyone who had started the war.
The small country he had lived in was destroyed—first by war, then by the dungeon.
Siwon began hunting Gnosis as penance—for everyone.
The moment he swore to kill every last Gnosis in the world, the System responded as if in acknowledgment and granted him the skill [Whisper of Barrett].
And so, Siwon hunted and killed countless Gnosis, following Irina’s trail all the way to Korea.
He’d entered this dungeon chasing another sign of her.
Didn’t expect the skill restrictions, though.
[Whisper of Barrett] didn’t work here. He had managed to kill the mannequin unit hidden by the Gnosis, but there was no telling how long that luck would last.
He wasn’t afraid of dying—but he was afraid of failing to fulfill his duty.
Because this time, he had to kill Irina.
Once, she had given his life meaning. Now, she was a heavy, terrifying burden.
Siwon pulled a candy out from his pocket. A freebie from a merchant.
“Guru, wanna eat some candy?”
The child’s eyes lit up like stars as she nodded.
“What about Serhi?”
“I’ll pass.”
Serhi answered coolly and turned his head away.
“Looks gross.”
Siwon glanced between the two—so completely different from each other—and smiled gently.
Truthfully, it made him happy that the beastkin kept calling them a family.
He’d grown fond of this odd little arrangement—quietly, without realizing it.
His life until now had been nothing but Gnosis hunting. Joyless.
[Whisper of Barrett] was both a blessing and a curse. Constantly reading people’s information meant he never had a moment of peace.
Maybe that’s why this little moment felt so sweet.
A grumpy but adorable younger brother. A sweet, ridiculously cute daughter.
A feeling like this... couldn’t it be allowed?
As he thought of the long-lost days when he could hold his siblings in his arms, Siwon held out a peeled candy.
“Ahh—”
“Ahhng—”
Guru bit down on the carrot-flavored candy Siwon offered.
Dis is weawwy yucky...!
Serhi seemed to catch the look on Guru’s face and smirked to himself.
Siwon popped one in his own mouth and gave a soft smile.
“This is good.”
Both Serhi and Guru turned their heads toward him.
So dat’s why he always cawwies those ginseng candies...
Guru rolled the candy across both cheeks, then suddenly asked,
“We all diffewent, wight? Den how come dey say we famiwy?”
Different species, different ages and genders—even their candy tastes didn’t match.
Maybe it’s ’cause dey got no fuckin’ bias...?
Siwon gave Serhi another horror-movie-worthy grin, and Serhi quickly looked away, lips tight.
“Families come in all kinds of forms.”
“Guildmastuh said it’s siwwy when heawby dinosauw and meat-eaty dinosauw become famiwy.”
“Did he now?”
Guru explained how she’d gotten upset while reading a picture book, and Siwon chuckled softly.
“Why’d that make you so grumpy?”
“Dunno.”
Siwon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Come to think of it, Guru had said Guildmaster On didn’t even know she’d entered the dungeon on her own.
“You said you wanted to find your mama and daddy at Onion Market, right?”
“Yesh!”
“Because you miss your birth parents?”
“Yesh! Gonna teww dem to wive togevuh wif me!”
“I see... So, does Guildmaster On know about this?”

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