Chapter Text
The next S-rank meeting she goes to happens approximately two months after the first. There was one or two in between that she missed and if you ask Yerim, she could skip this one too. But that plan Moon Hyuna originally proposed had Yerim attending the first few sessions before skipping.
Yoo Myeongwoo's arrival changed that, as well as the work on decimating Hope Resources.
So, the next S-rank meeting she ends up going to is the one where Yoo Myeongwoo is also being introduced.
"Where do you keep finding them?" Sung Hyunjae asks, amused.
"I think Breaker should share," is Choi Sukwon’s input, delivered between gritted teeth.
"It does seem a little bit suspicious," Han Yoohyun grunts.
"Thank you for turning the paperwork in ahead of time," is all Song Taewon says.
"Like attracts like, and Breaker keeps its mind open," Moon Hyuna says with a smile. "It is not the fault of Breaker that the other large guilds seem too intimidating."
"Bak Yerim's easy acceptance as someone who had re-awakened is what inspired me to reach out to Breaker," Yoo Myeongwoo says smoothly.
"It’s so strange, how many people are re-Awakening these days," Choi Sukwon says with a raised brow.
"Really strange," Moon Hyuna says. "Just like how MKC has had zero cases of abnormal dungeon activity?"
Choi Sukwon's fists clench. It really is just MKC left—even Seseong has experienced its own cases now.
The fight begins soon after that. Yerim sits this one out as well. She may join in, but she mainly is trying to catch Yoo Myeongwoo up on who’s who. He’s much less cultured in these things than she is.
"Ah, so not all adult men are utterly detestable to Bak Yerim-yang," Sung Hyunjae's voice says and Yerim is already rolling her eyes.
"Fuck off," she says and goes back to explaining her assessment of the other S-ranks, particularly Sung Hyunjae.
Yoo Myeongwoo looks very uncomfortable, though whether that's because of her disrespect or Sung Hyunjae, she's not sure, especially when he places himself between her and Sung Hyunjae.
"Ah, you're no fun," Sung Hyunjae says.
"I'm glad," Yoo Myeongwoo just says and remains tight-lipped.
"Anyways," Yerim continues, "all the others just fight and Officer Song has to break them apart. I think it’s some kind of therapy more than anything. I guess that normally, Mr. Balding would make life worse for Officer Song, but today he's just plaguing us."
"It's rather unoriginal to target my hair twice,” Sung Hyunjae points out. “You could try something else."
"I don't want to be too mean," Yerim says, curling a lip. "Your fragile, old man bones may not be able to take it if I let out my true opinions."
"Yerim," Yoo Myeongwoo says in a low voice.
"No, no, let her speak her mind," Sung Hyunjae says. "I think we should always listen to the next generation."
"Yoo Myeongwoo is your next generation, grandpa, not me," Yerim snaps.
Sung Hyunjae raises a hand to wipe fake tears away. "Ah, she acknowledges the family resemblance at last."
"As if," Yerim says. "Oh wow, look over there! It's the undertaker looking for a missing corpse. Sung Hyunjae, your coffin misses you."
"Death may try but I will always delay that appointment," he says.
"Stunning conversation," Yoo Myeongwoo says. "I think Officer Song requires your help, Sung Hyunjae-ssi."
Yerim doesn't see what he sees, but apparently Sung Hyunjae believes it.
"Ah, how can I refuse a call from our darling officer," Sung Hyunjae sighs. "Even an office worker needs to be rescued from time to time, I suppose."
"Weirdo," she says and he departs into the fight. From her perspective, he honestly just makes the fight worse.
"Does he always act like that toward you?" Yoo Myeongwoo asks.
"This is only the second time I've talked to him," Yerim says. "He's just trying to be an annoying adult figure. All you S-ranks are kind of like that."
Yoo Myeongwoo looks vaguely sickened.
"Okay, not exactly like that, but you try to be this big brother figure, Unni is Unni, and now, Sung Hyunjae being the weird but 'kindly father figure.' I haven't talked with the others much but I think Officer Song has a soft enough heart to try something."
"If that's what you think," Yoo Myeongwoo says, in that tone of voice where he thinks that she's just being a kid and not understanding the situation.
"Anyways, this is a good opportunity to see how these people fight," she yawns. "Not that you should probably end up doing a lot of fighting, but ya know."
Yoo Myeongwoo nods, though his gaze remains focused on Sung Hyunjae. The guild leader is doing much the same as he did the last time she was here, though it's more impressive considering he's actively fighting.
It really does speak to his skill, though, that this fight is not even enough to fully engage him. Yerim doesn’t want to know what fighting him one-on-one is like.
When the S-ranks all break apart Moon Hyuna drags her and Yoo Myeongwoo out and brews in silence on the ride back to Yerim's apartment.
"Get a good night's rest," she says in front of Yerim's door. She warned Ahjussi that Moon Hyuna was coming up and she just hopes that he had enough time to hide, just in case Moon Hyuna actually enters the apartment. "You're going to a solo dungeon tomorrow."
Yerim grins. "Finally!"
Yoo Myeongwoo, out of habit, shushes her.
"Bright and early," Moon Hyuna says, "but come and confirm with me first, okay?"
Yerim nods and they bid each other good night.
"Ahjussi?" she whispers when they go inside. "Unni is gone."
There's a clambering sound from down the hallway and Yerim stares as a vent unhinges and Ahjussi starts to crawl out.
"Yoojin-ssi," Yoo Myeongwoo says, hurrying over. "Do you need—"
Ahjussi falls to the ground and Yoo Myeongwoo is just there to catch him before he crashes into the ground.
"Well, that's a hiding place," she says.
"You didn't give me a lot of time," Ahjussi says. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to take a shower now. That vent is nasty."
Ahjussi disappears and Yerim makes sure to grab her toothbrush before he hogs the shower.
She should sleep soon, she knows, but instead, she drags out brushing her teeth so she can catch Ahjussi to tell him how the day went.
He indulges her, but he’s really too much of an ahjussi to let her stay up too late. It’s only as she’s going to sleep that she realizes she didn’t tell him about the solo dungeon run tomorrow. Well, she could always tell him afterwards.
Yerim does her due diligence and she checks in with Moon Hyuna before she goes to her dungeon. She, by everyone’s accord, does everything right.
So tell her why it all goes to shit almost immediately? There are more beasts than anticipated and the beasts that are here are much higher-ranked than expected.
It's nothing she can't handle. She did kill Lauchitas. And killing Lauchitas gave her protection she didn’t have beforehand.
Still, hordes of S-rank creatures are a bit much to handle. By the time she limps out of the dungeon, she knows for certain that something was wrong with it, especially since she's greeted by an entourage of S-ranks.
"Unni," she wheezes out. "What a mess, eh?"
She thinks she says that to Moon Hyuna. She may have been facing Yoo Myeongwoo when she said that, actually.
"Come on," Yerim says, sitting on the ground as Yoo Myeongwoo starts sounding frantic, the words slipping past her ears like honey. She tries not to slur as she continues, "I contained it. Everything's fine."
"Let her catch her breath," Moon Hyuna says to someone above Yerim's head. "She needs to recover her strength."
"Yerim-ah," Yoo Myeongwoo says, crouching next to her. Good, he’s talking slower and she can actually hear.
"I'm just tired," she says. "I wanna go home."
I wanna see Ahjussi , is what that means.
"I have a car," a new voice says and it takes a moment to place it as Sung Hyunjae's. He doesn't sound as stupid as before.
"We have our own vehicle," Moon Hyuna says.
"Not anymore, I think," Sung Hyunjae says. "Look at how the dungeon expanded."
Yerim raises her head and sees that the building containing this dungeon portal is indeed mutilated.
"Of course your car is fine," Moon Hyuna spits out.
Yerim’s head rocks back so she can see the golden blur that is Sung Hynujae.
"Why are you actually being nice?" Yerim gets out.
"This isn't me being nice," Sung Hyunjae says. "You've been a catalyst for some very interesting things, Bak Yerim-yang. I have a vested interest in making sure you stay alive and well."
"You really do sound like a creep that way," she mutters.
"I'm an old soul, forgive me for getting sentimental at seeing the youth," he says.
"We'll borrow the car, old geezer," Moon Hyuna says. "And damn, never thought I'd see the day you'd get sentimental."
"I'm always a perfect gentleman," Sung Hyunjae says. "Don't you know how I indulge Kang Sooyoung?"
Yerim doesn't know what that's supposed to refer to, nor can she even guess, because the minute that her head hits the heatseat, she passes out.
Yerim wakes up to movement around her. She at first almost calls for Ahjussi, and then she realizes that Moon Hyuna and Sung Hyunjae are in her apartment .
She is so glad that Ahjussi has work.
"Unni's allowed cause she's unni," she says and both S-ranks turn to her. "And Yoo Myeongwoo is Yoo Myeongwoo. Why are you here and where is he?"
Sung Hyunjae looks… a bit tired. It’s a weird look on him. "Bak Yerim-yang, can you really not accept that I want to see that you are alright?"
Yerim takes the time to consider it and then says, "No."
"We were discussing the dungeon breaks," Moon Hyuna says. "Yoo Myeongwoo is crafting some defenses for you to replace the ones that were broken, so he’s in the forge."
"Why is my living room the meeting room, then?"
"Most convenient place," Sung Hyunjae says. "Besides, of the major guilds, Seseong would truly have the best partnership with Breaker."
"Heh?"
"MKC doesn't have these problems,” Sung Hyunjae says and Moon Hyuna mutters something darkly at that. Sung Hyunjae shoots her a look and continues, “And that is an issue to investigate another day, but young Han Yoohyun is especially reticent with his information. Which leads us last two guilds to work together, especially since I was in the area."
"Was it really that bad?" she asks, because that's really the only reason she can imagine that Sung Hyunjae would be willing to work with Breaker.
"Yes," Moon Hyuna says.
Yerim hums and then laughs a little. She’s aware that that’s not the sane response, but she thinks she’s left that land long ago.
"Things aren't boring anymore, now are they, old man?" she says.
"They are not, that's true," Sung Hyunjae. "There is something missing, though."
"Such as?"
"I feel there's something, some piece of information that we need to figure this out," Sung Hyunjae says. His gaze seems piercing and she holds it. He looks away first. "Ah well, it'll come in due time, I’m sure."
"Take tomorrow off," Moon Hyuna tells her, getting up. "Text me with updates, so that I know you're alive. Text Choi Gaeun, too, okay? She worries."
"Will do," Yerim says and gets up to escort the two to the door.
Only when the door is shut does she check her text messages.
There's a bunch from Ahjussi, asking if she's okay because Yoo Myeongwoo mentioned something vaguely.
Please come home early , she just texts.
I'll be home as soon as I can , is the immediate response.
Ahjussi is home two hours later and almost looks like he wants to cry. Yerim starts to feel the urge as well, and she can’t really explain why.
"It's happened again," Ahjussi mutters after rubbing his eyes so hard she was afraid he’d actually push his eyes out of their sockets.
"What do you mean, again?" Yoo Myeongwoo asks.
Before Yerim can interject or distract, Ahjussi continues, "Yerim-ah's re-Awakening. It was because she was stuck in a dungeon with an L-ranked beast."
"Holy shit," Yoo Myeongwoo says. At Ahjussi's look, he says, "Ah, sorry."
Ahjussi frowns. "Who else has been caught in these dungeons?"
"From my understanding, Yerim is the only one who's been in dungeons when they've actually changed," Yoo Myeongwoo says. "Or at least, she's the only one who's been in such extreme cases and survived."
Yerim doesn't like the deepening frown on Ahjussi's face.
"Yoo Myeongwoo," Ahjussi says slowly, "has anything strange happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Anything dangerous, even?"
Yoo Myeongwoo takes a moment and Yerim doesn't like that he's actually thinking about this.
"Well, I don't take public transit or walk anymore," he says. "Too many freak accidents recently. Then again, I don't go out often to begin with."
"Ahjussi, what are you thinking?" Yerim asks.
"Nothing, nothing," Ahjussi says.
"You think S-ranks are being targeted?" Yoo Myeongwoo asks.
"Something like that, maybe," Ahjussi says. "It's late, you two should sleep. I'll... think more about this. I'm sure it'll all be alright."
"If you think of something," Yerim says, "you better let us know. Don’t just disappear on us."
"I will," Ahjussi promises, but she goes to sleep uneasily that night, remembering a time in which Ahjussi grew quieter and quieter.
It's a consistent, but rapid, falling apart after that.
The conversation the three of them had seems to have a catalyst for everything getting worse. Any dungeon Yerim goes into solo outranks her and the dungeons she doubles up on are starting to become volatile. Yoo Myeongwoo cannot exist outside of his subspace without something occurring. There's fires in the apartment, traffic accidents galore, things flying through the window aimed right at him, even though they’re on the top floor.
"This is ridiculous," both Moon Hyuna and Ahjussi say when they each hear of it.
It's made even worse by the fact that only Yerim and Yoo Myeongwoo seem to be experiencing these things. Yerim knows it’s especially bad because Choi Gaeun has stopped enforcing her schooling regimen in favor of making sure she’s safe.
But the worst thing, she thinks, is that Ahjussi is unwell again.
He hides it, but even though he works less hours now, she barely sees him, and when she does, he's quiet. Sometimes he looks sick and she doesn't remember the last time he ate. Or slept.
It truly falls apart when Ahjussi asks to meet Moon Hyuna.
"I think... I think I have some information that will help," he says quietly. Ahjussi tries to smile but he hasn't eaten a bite. He assures both of them he does eat but neither she nor Yoo Myeongwoo believe it.
And so, the next day, all of them go to Breaker.
It's really just her luck that that's the day that Han Yoohyun and his familiar decide to visit.
Really, Yerim doesn't have a lot against Han Yoohyun. He seems pretty stuck up and all but she hasn't interacted with him ever outside of the meetings.
She's not even sure why he's really here today, much less why he's accompanied by a familiar.
And it wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the fact that he and his animal are blocking the way to Moon Hyuna's office.
Yerim is about to tell Han Yoohyun to get out of the way—a bus had tried to flatten Yoo Myeongwoo out of existence on the way here—but the beast turns around first and lunges at them.
She and Yoo Myeongwoo leap back, but Ahjussi doesn't move.
Yerim lunges forward, going to get the beast off of Ahjussi, when she realizes that the beast is nuzzling against him and he's not screaming, just too busy telling it that, Peace, you're too big for this now, get off .
Yerim forgets most times that Ahjussi was anything other than human. She's about to shovel that as a good explanation for whatever shit is going on now when she realizes that Han Yoohyun is there, staring at Ahjussi like he's a ghost.
"Hyung?" comes the most strangled and quiet word she's ever heard from Han Yoohyun.
Ahjussi looks up and Yerim wants to protest. Ahjussi might've been a part of the system, but he's her Ahjussi, he's not someone else’s hyung. That name, Han Yoojin, it's just a random fake name. The Han family name can't refer to Han Yoohyun, it really can't.
"Yoohyun-ah," Ahjussi says, dashing all of her expectations. "You're doing well."
"You're alive?" is what Yerim thinks Han Yoohyun says, but it seems like even he is confused as to what he wants to say or do. He moves forward, arms outstretched, and then stops. His voice is wavering, a question, and yet, full of wonder.
"Ahjussi?" Yerim asks, and breaks the illusion. "How—"
"How do you know hyung?" Han Yoohyun says angrily, back to his normal self.
Ahjussi tries to get up but Peace has not left his lap. "Ay, Yoohyun, don't sound so rough—"
"He takes care of me," Yerim says, crossing her arms. "How do you —"
"He's my brother," Han Yoohyun says. "Who are you to—"
"Yoojin-ssi?!"
Yerim's head snaps back at Yoo Myeongwoo's cry and she sees Ahjussi crumpled up on the ground.
Her "Ahjussi?!" and Han Yoohyun's "Hyung?!" fill the air as they both rush to his side. Even Peace is whining.
"I'm fine," comes Ahjussi's voice as a crackle, but the hand that he holds out—well, it's not the hand that Yerim sees everyday. It's see-through in one section, and a good portion of his hand is blue, just as it was when he was a hologram.
"Hyung, what's going on?" Han Yoohyun asks.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ahjussi says, but now that he's uncurling, she can see that parts of his neck are also just like when he was a hologram. His voice is starting to take on that mechanical, tinny quality again, as well.
Except... Ahjussi had to have been a real person for Han Yoohyun to say he's his brother like that, right? ‘Cause Han Yoohyun doesn’t seem to know the hologram part of Ahjussi. So, if Ahjussi was a human before, does that mean—
"Ah, the System is catching up," Ahjussi says. One his eyes… one of his eyes is gone —
"Ahjussi, are you—” Yerim’s voice cracks and she doesn’t even try to control it “—are you becoming a hologram again?"
"It's going to be okay," Ahjussi says amidst Han Yoohyun's stutters. "I just need to go away for a little bit. Fix up a few loose ends."
"What loose ends? You don't need to do anything, Ahjussi," Yerim says. "You're out of the System now!"
"You were in the System?" asks Han Yoohyun.
"That's the deal I made," Ahjussi says and Yerim is so, so confused but horror dawns on Han Yoohyun’s face.
"Yoojin-ssi," Yoo Myeongwoo says.
"Take care and I love you," Ahjussi says, but already, his voice is becoming distant. "I'm sorry."
Yerim blinks and Ahjussi's gone.
There's just her kneeling in front of clothes scattered on the ground, next to a dungeon beast, a Guild Leader and Yoo Myeongwoo.
"You..." she says, turning her gaze up to meet Han Yoohyun. His own eyes are red and she might hate this man with all her passion right now, but they are at the very least, united in their absolute anger at the other.
"Yerim-ah, Han Yoohyun-ssi—" Yoo Myeongwoo starts.
"Stay out of it," they both snap.
"He was fine before you showed up here," Yerim says, shoving Yoohyun away from her.
"Evidently he wasn't, or rather, was it that you just weren't aware that anything was wrong?" Han Yoohyun says. "At least when I was with him, I always knew—"
"When you were with him? When was that?" Yerim can't help the way that her volume and pitch rise. "He's never fucking mentioned you!"
Han Yoohyun looks taken aback. "Hyung—"
"You keep calling him 'hyung' but I think that's just wishful thinking on your part."
"At least I knew he's human," Han Yoohyun says. "You seriously thought he was a hologram this entire time? You didn't even see him as a person?"
"That's not the point!"
"Not the point, my ass!"
"What is going on here?" A loud voice rings and Yerim can't take her eyes off Han Yoohyun to face Moon Hyuna.
"None of your business," Han Yoohyun says.
"Don't talk to unni like that," Yerim says. Then she turns to Moon Hyuna. "He ruined everything ."
"You made my brother cease to exist!" Han Yoohyun screams at her and it's only when fire sears her hands that she realizes the two of them have started to fight.
"You spoiled brat," he says.
"Imagine not being enough for Ahjussi to stay," Yerim hisses and kicks Han Yoohyun in the face.
"Can you two just not?" Yoo Myeongwoo screams in the background, but she barely registers him.
"Ahjussi chose to stay with me, and what, his deal for you was to leave you?" Yerim asks and sends a cascade of ice at him.
"He was still alive."
"He's still alive now!"
Something hits her in the side, but it's not Han Yoohyun because Han Yoohyun is also going down across the room.
"We're going to not be uncivilized, okay?" Yoo Myeongwoo says from where he has her in a death grip. Moon Hyuna is on the other side of the hall, having wrestled Han Yoohyun to the ground, not even flinching as he burns her.
"Ahjussi," she says, though it’s more of a wail.
"I understand," Yoo Myeongwoo says and holds her as she starts to weep.
"Literally, what the fuck," Moon Hyuna says when they're all in the meeting room. "What the fuck—actually no, let's not do that."
Moon Hyuna takes a deep breath. "Let's get the story straight. Bak Yerim?"
"Why don't you make him go first?" Yerim mutters.
"Don't test me," Moon Hyuna says.
So, Yerim slowly spills the story about Ahjussi, from the beginning.
"Yoojin-ssi said the same to me," Yoo Myeongwoo says. "That he was a System-provided guide."
"Well, I certainly didn't get a little Han Yoojin," Moon Hyuna says with raised brows. "Han Yoohyun. Your turn."
Han Yoohyun is quiet.
"Look, do you want your brother back? He seems to be related to whatever's going on, so the more information you share, the more we can actually work together. Stellar concept, I know."
"Fine," Han Yoohyun spits out. "He's my older brother. He took care of me when our parents passed. When the dungeons broke, he found me. I got dragged into a dungeon, he followed after me. I don't really know what happened next, other than he led me out. But before we could both leave the dungeon, he pushed me back and stayed behind. I've been looking for him since then."
"Ouch," Moon Hyuna says and Yerim can’t help but agree.
"Back then, he mentioned... a deal," Han Yoohyun says slowly. "And he said now that… that being in the System was his deal? I—I've been researching only dungeons this entire time."
"So he made a deal to get you out. Traded himself for you, I guess," Moon Hyuna muses. "You have research on dungeons? Let's see it. We’ll need all we can get."
“Why do you care?” Han Yoohyun gets out.
“Funnily enough, this is more than getting one man back,” Moon Hyuna says. “We need to fix those volatile dungeons, and I’m certain your brother is connected to it.”
“Hyung would never—”
“I’m not saying he caused it. Just—let’s go.”
All the adults stood, and Yerim stood as well.
Moon Hyuna looks between her and Han Yoohyun.
"Don't get into any more fights," she says.
Yerim nods.
"And shake hands. You're both united to get your brother-dad back. Focus on that, not how much you're jealous of one other."
Yerim makes a face at Moon Hyuna but she looks decidedly unimpressed.
Yerim does her best to absolutely crush Han Yoohyun's hand. He does his best to destroy hers in turn.
"Ah, the forgiveness of youth," Moon Hyuna says, wiping a fake tear away. "Myeongwoo. Call the other S-ranks, all except Choi Sukwon."
"You're suspicious of him?" Han Yoohyun asks.
"He still hasn't received any dungeons that were misranked," Moon Hyuna says. "Better leave him out of this for now."
Song Taewon, when he arrives, is somber as always. Sung Hyunjae, on the other hand, is decidedly annoying about the entire affair.
"An older brother," he says after learning about the existence of Han Yoojin. "Ah, is he the one that texted you that first meeting?"
"Maybe," she says and ignores the way that Han Yoohyun glares at her, because she's trying to be something called civil. Not that Han Yoohyun would know civil if it bit him in the ass.
"Did he manage to say anything? Some kind of hint?" Song Taewon asks.
Yoo Myeongwoo shakes his head. "He wanted to tell Moon Hyuna his suspicions."
"He did ask you as well if you had any near-death experiences," Yerim points out.
"And have you?" Song Taewon asks.
"Vehicles hate him," Yerim informs him promptly.
“There've been a lot of almost accidents when I leave the forge,” Yoo Myeongwoo says.
Sung Hyunjae hums. "The two people who know Han Yoojin the best," Yerim is certain she hears Han Yoohyun's jaw crack at that, "are the ones who get targeted the most. Hmm, has that dungeon beast had any problem recently?"
"What do you mean?" Han Yoohyun asks.
"The story you painted is that the beast leapt on Han Yoojin-ssi, as if it knew him. So, I assume the beast is another charge of his. Has the beast had some close calls recently?"
"Yes," Han Yoohyun says.
"Han Yoojin made a deal," Song Taewon says, "which leads to him being stuck in the System. He interacts with three beings that we know of and that all have had near death experiences. Perhaps he broke an aspect of his deal?"
"Do we know of anyone talking of other 'System-holograms'?" Moon Hyuna asks.
That is how they all find themselves hunched over Sung Hyunjae's smartphone, because of course he has the biggest screen, trying to find other people who mentioned a hologram-guide.
"Oh, you're hopeless at searching," Yerim says after ten minutes of fruitless results. She grabs Sung Hyunjae’s phone and starts pulling up a bunch of hunter forums.
"You're quite adept at this," Sung Hyunjae notes but she doesn't pay it any mind.
As she’s scrolling, she asks, "Yoo Myeongwoo, when'd Ahjussi leave you? And when'd you meet?"
Yoo Myeongwoo rattles the dates and Han Yoohyun starts.
"The date Yoo Myeongwoo met hyung is when Haeyeon took Peace from a dungeon," Han Yoohyun explains when Yerim stares at him for an explanation.
"So it’s like Han Yoojin-ssi hopped from charge to charge," Moon Hyuna says.
Yerim is already filtering dates on forum posts and scrolling through.
"Slow down," Song Taewon grumbles and she obliges.
"There," Han Yoohyun says, grabbing the phone and clicking on a post. Yerim elbows him but he keeps the phone out of her reach. "Hong Jongho."
"Wait, what?" Moon Hyuna asks, stealing the phone. Sung Hyunjae looks mournfully at his phone.
"Why the question?" Sung Hyunjae says.
"He's dead," Moon Hyuna says. "He's Hong Yeonghui's son. And here he is asking about a hologram-guide."
"Who?" Song Taewon asks.
"Ah shit, that's why Ahjussi got all weird around her name as well," Yerim says.
"The replies include some other inactive accounts," Moon Hyuna says, frowning. "One reply confirms the existence of a hologram."
"Let's see who confirmed it for this user then," Yerim says and takes the phone back, entering the account to search.
It's not a comprehensive record, but she's able to find a handful of Hunters going back to when dungeons first broke. And, after having the other S-ranks check on their own phones, they can confirm that all these people are dead.
"Han Yoojin-ssi really doesn't have a good track record, huh," Sung Hyunjae says and Han Yoohyun hits him.
"It's not like Ahjussi's killing them," Yerim says.
"No," Song Taewon says. "Whatever this deal is seems to be."
All of them sit in silence for a bit longer.
"So what do we do now?" Yerim asks.
The resounding silence is not a reassuring answer.
The problems seem to solve on their own, even as what the S-ranks do solve nothing. They investigate Han Yoohyun's extensive dungeon library and suddenly, dungeons are a lot less volatile, even before they can apply their conclusions. They experiment with Yoo Myeongwoo's forge subspace, and the attempts on Yoo Myeongwoo's, Yerim's and Peace's lives all go to virtually nothing.
The next full S-rank meeting rolls around and Choi Sukwon is preening about how this is probably all just a natural problem and just needed to resolve itself.
"Really just like a star turning supernova," he says, nodding at her, and she really can't muster the energy to even be annoyed.
She just... she just wants Ahjussi back.
She has all these warring feelings, she won't lie. There is a part of her that is so very mad, because Ahjussi promised to say if something was wrong and then he just... didn't. He lied. Ahd she can’t even fucking help him because he’s shared nothing. No one can help him.
"He always does that," Han Yoohyun says after their usual mutual fight. They have a lot of them these days. They also always end up having a weird talk session afterwards, which they mutually never bring up outside of the sessions themselves. "He'll pretend like everything's fine and then when it turns out nothing was, you just... don't know what to do."
It’s a disgusting amount of honesty from someone she’s mostly just jealous of—stupid Han Yoohyun with his entire childhood of memories of a brother that cared—but this is exactly why what happens in beatdown sessions stays in beatdown sessions.
It feels blasphemous to say, but she thinks she's mad at Ahjussi.
It feels bad, because he's obviously behind solving all these problems. He’s ‘tying up the loose ends.’
She should be thanking him. She should want him to come back, and that's it.
She does want Ahjussi to come back. Of course she does. But she remembers how much he hid. She thinks about him dying for her—she doesn't think she can tell anyone about that, because whenever she thinks about it, well, the thing is that she can't think about it—and she should only feel love toward him.
It's that thing she said to Sung Hyunjae. He doesn't know what a father's love is supposed to be. Yerim has had two fathers now: her own, who died too early, and Ahjussi, who took the mantle of the ‘father’ by being the first adult who cared about her after her parents died.
That’s what it’s like on the surface at least, but the more she thinks about it, the more she wonders if she even knows what a father is supposed to be like.
Ahjussi filled in that role because he was there. He was the only one who was there.
Except... there are more adults who care now. To an almost annoying degree, but it really paints Ahjussi in a new light.
Not a bad light, she thinks, just a different light. Yoo Myeongwoo is gentle but firm when he needs to be and he never lies. Choi Gaeun is upfront and a bit brusque sometimes, but she cares. Moon Hyuna is by no means a parent, but Yerim thinks that she fulfills the unni role well.
It's really annoying but Sung Hyunjae and Officer Song even act responsible when it comes to her. The latter just seems to have a complex about these things, which she can deal with, but Sung Hyunjae, who usually just acts so unhinged and just weird, seems to have taken on responsibility as a new interest to keep himself from growing bored.
"I'm just interested in meeting Han Yoojin-ssi," he says as if it's an excuse. "Once again, Bak Yerim-yang, you're the catalyst. I hope you'll remain well to bring about many other interesting things."
Sung Hyunjae lies, most of the time. But there is still a fair amount of straightforwardness in his actions. Really, he only tends to lie when talking about his reasoning.
Ahjussi, in retrospect, lied a lot. He lied about being a hologram, he lied about why he'd have to leave the first time, he withheld so much about her, he probably misled her that time she went to first trap Yoo Myeongwoo.
God, Ahjussi and Sung Hyunjae would probably hit it off.
The point is, she understands why Ahjussi lied. Of course she understands why. It'd also be hypocritical for her to not forgive him when she hasn't been very honest either. She hasn’t told him that he died. She probably never will. And there’s going to be things that he’ll never tell her if— when he comes back.
Doesn't mean that she doesn't feel conflicted. She wants him back but that doesn’t mean she won’t want to ask why he did all of this.
Perhaps she stays with all these questions because the hypotheticals, the future of Ahjussi coming back, that's easier to plan for than a future where Ahjussi is just... gone.
She sleeps more deeply than she ever has before.
But there are no dreams.
No nightmares, but no dreams.
"Your taste in food is absolutely disgusting," Yerim says as she eats a Han Yoohyun prepared breakfast. He was replicating a dish Ahjussi made, apparently, but he has to be a terrible imitator, because this is just burnt.
"Well, you're eating it," he says waspishly. "It's not my fault your kitchen is so badly prepared."
"Well, you're here, aren't you?" she asks even though there's worse she could toss back. Your brother prepared this kitchen is one.
They don't fight over Ahjussi anymore. Because it's been three months and while that's nothing compared to Han Yoohyun's three years, it means for Yerim that she has to accept it may be a long time till she'll see Ahjussi again and it means for Han Yoohyun that he just lost his brother again.
"Doctor White is coming over," Han Yoohyun says as he swallows a particularly burnt piece. She doesn't understand how he doesn't even wince. "She may be able to provide some insight."
"Let's hope for that," Yerim says. She does try to eat more, because she was raised to be polite but she ends up discarding most of the breakfast. Han Yoohyun takes most of it before she can put it in the trash like it deserves to be.
"Lame," she says, but there's no heat in it.
She, instead, uses her new water skills to clean some dishes and get ice cold water. Because she could do that now. Ahjussi would be so proud, if only he were here.
Ahjussi would probably be extra happy, because once he saw that Yerim made a breakthrough, Yoohyun manifested blue flame out of spite. It was really rather impressive. She wondered if she could annoy him into making rainbow-colored fire.
Yoohyun shoves her out of the way of the sink to wash his own dish—she steps on his foot, just so he knows he's a huge-ass jerk—when someone knocks at the door.
Yerim frowns. Yoo Myeongwoo has a key, Moon Hyuna knocks loudly, Sung Hyunjae just stands outside the door until she picks up there's an aura emanating from beyond the door, and the one time Song Taewon came, he used the doorbell.
This knock, by contrast, is soft.
"Aren't you going to go get it?" Yoohyun says.
"Why don't you? You're just a freeloader here." Yerim snaps.
"I'm washing the dishes," he says, and she thinks he's flexing, the way that steam rises from the water. She really needs to learn how to create boiling water. Yoohyun would be so over once that happened.
She stomps to the door. Her downstairs neighbors moved out two months ago and Yoohyun bought the space not long after. It's rather fun to stomp, especially since Yoohyun delights in slamming the ceiling the nights he stays there instead of his usual apartment,
Yerim doesn’t bother looking through the peephole before yanking the door open.
"Hel—" Yerim abruptly cuts herself off, staring.
"Hi, Yerim-ah," Ahjussi says.
A plate shatters in the kitchen and she's so gonna make Yoohyun pay for that later.
"Took you a while," she says, her voice only almost cracking. ‘Cause she's a strong, independent hunter, now, she doesn't need the reassurance of before—
Something barrels into her and she falls onto Ahjussi. Han Yoohyun looks at her, annoyed, as if he wasn't the one who barrelled into her and led her to be stuck in the middle of a hug between Yoohyun and Ahjussi.
In fact, Yoohyun releases the hug just to shove Yerim away.
Yerim kicks him. Yoohyun grabs her foot, probably to throw her away, when the loud of someone clearing their throat interrupts them.
"Don't fight," Ahjussi says, exasperated already. "And let's move out of the hallway, yes?"
Yerim's not sure why that's the straw but she starts crying.
"Stop being a baby," Yoohyun hisses but she's sure that if she could see something of him that isn’t a blurry shape, she'd see him crying as well.
"It's okay, it's okay," Ahjussi says, and this time, the hug is much less violent and much more comforting. Probably because Ahjussi instigates it, not Yoohyun. "I'm sorry."
If Yerim cries a bit more, well, no one really needs to know.
Ahjussi makes them promise not to call anyone just for a little bit longer.
"Need to catch my bearings," he says and then silence descends on the three of them. Ahjussi looks so fond and after her little crying display, she feels a bit awkward with all her questions of why. She's also sure that Yoohyun would murder her if she dared be angry at Ahjussi.
"What, cat stole your tongue?" Ahjussi asks and rubs the back of neck. "You can say whatever. I know I—I know I left, okay?"
"I'm glad you're back," Yoohyun says quietly and then drops his head on Ahjussi's shoulder. Ahjussi pats his head fondly and Yerim wishes that were her.
"Me too," she says, but she only scoots a bit closer. "What—are—will you leave again?"
"I never plan to," Ahjussi says.
She can’t stop the question from spilling out. "Then what happened?"
"I can't tell you everything."
"Can't or won't?"
Han Yoohyun shoots her a look, but it's something she has to ask.
"Can't, this time," Ahjussi says. "Or well, I have the ability to tell you, but trust me, it will make things a lot worse if I do."
"What can you tell, then?" Yoohyun asks.
"To get you out, Yoohyun, I made a deal," Ahjussi says slowly. "But something backfired. I was trapped in the System and I thought that I could just try and get out. I always got caught in between. That is how I met Yerim, Myeongwoo, the rest.”
"And most of them died," Yerim says when the pause grows too long.
"Yes," Ahjussi says, eyes focused on the wall. "I thought it was just a coincidence at first. Then I realized, the longer I stayed with someone, the more likely they were to die sooner. But I couldn't stop being there when people Awakened. So I’d just leave sooner."
"How'd you get out, hyung?" Yoohyun asks.
Ahjussi looks at her and she shrugs.
"Don't ask me," Yerim says. "You were just there. I didn't draw you out."
"Didn't you?" Ahjussi asks. "You were the person I stayed the longest for. I tried to leave multiple times, but each time I left, you called me back."
"You had actually left?" She winces as her voice cracks and resolutely looks away.
"I didn't want you to get hurt," Ahjussi says and Yerim's not cruel enough to point out how well that worked out.
"Why didn't you find me?" Yoohyun asks and Yerim wants to know the answer as well—why was she chosen? Why were any of the other’ charges’?
"It was all random," Ahjussi admits. "If I had the choice... well, I wouldn't have been stuck in there to begin with. I did send Peace to you, though. You… you needed someone to look after you."
Yerim’s mind is still focused on that first part.
Luck. It all came down to goddamned luck .
Yoo Myeongwoo told her once not to forgive him because her circumstances were better based on luck. She wonders if that principle can be applied in the opposite direction—could she not love Ahjussi because it was only luck that led him to her?
"So why'd you go back?" Yoohyun’s asking, because of course the chance doesn’t bother him. He’s just glad that he would’ve been chosen if the option was there.
"Lack of luck," Ahjussi smiles. "If Yerim was the one who called me here, then that could only last so long. I still made that deal."
"So you... terminated your deal?" Yoohyun asks. "Are you safe? Is it okay?"
"It's all right," Ahjussi says. "Just... took longer than anticipated."
At that phrase, Yerim takes the chance to examine Ahjussi closer. His clothes are new, but he has deep bags underneath his eyes and there's a smattering of white hair that makes him look older than he already is. There's also wrinkles that shouldn't have had time to form.
She knows Yoohyun sees the same things that she does. Neither of them ask how long it took for Ahjussi. Ahjussi hugs them again, this time tighter than before, and they let him have it.
Yerim understands why Yoohyun doesn't tolerate a word against Ahjussi. With this self-sacrificing behavior all the time, she wouldn't want to speak a word against him either.
It doesn’t make Yerim feel any better about the situation, though.
They do have to tell the others, though. Yoo Myeongwoo is happy and the S-ranks express their appropriate pleasure to see him. Which is to say that Choi Sukwon makes Yerim concerned, Moon Hyuna slaps Ahjussi on the back, Song Taewon looks rather distressed that Ahjussi is not an S-rank, and Sung Hyunjae starts up this banter that's weirder than what he directs at Song Taewon, made worse by the fact that Ahjussi actually engages.
Yoohyun, the bastard, is content. Of course he's pissed that Ahjussi's attention is so divided—and damn, that's gonna become a problem again—but he's just glad Ahjussi's back, and for real this time.
Yerim ducks into corners and avoids Ahjussi.
It's stupid, really stupid, especially since they sleep in the same apartment. But things don't feel the same.
Ahjussi tracks her down one day when she's about to lock herself in her room after coming home from work.
"Oranges are in season again," he says, and so she's dragged to the living room to eat orange slices.
"Yerim-ah, what's wrong?" Ahjussi asks, dropping an orange slice into her hand.
And everything that's been bubbling up just lets itself out. She's screaming and sobbing over an orange slice, looking at the white bits instead of Ahjussi's face.
"It's not—I don't hate you. Don't—don't go," she says. "But it's just really, really frustrating. You didn't... you didn't really tell me anything."
More slices make their way into her hands and she sniffles as she eats them.
"I'm sorry," Ahjussi says after a long moment, and she thinks that his voice sounds choked. "I'm so sorry, Yerim-ah. And I wish I could say something that, uh, that fixes all of it."
"But?" she says, sniffing loudly.
"I didn't realize," he says. "I didn't realize that it hurt so much. I'm sorry."
"Stop saying, you're sorry," she says, wiping the back of her hand against her nose. Ahjussi mutters and cleans up her hand with a tissue and hand sanitizer.
After that, Ahjussi holds her hand and asks, "What do you want me to do?"
It's very slow, what she does. Most other hugs have been a spur of the moment thing, or an emotion of the moment thing. Ahjussi can clearly see where she's headed and he doesn't move away. He just puts the plate and knife away and holds her as she leans against him.
"Maybe we both kinda messed up," she says.
"Yeah, maybe," he says.
Perhaps it was only luck that brought Ahjussi here. And maybe fortune born of luck wasn't really grounds for forgiveness, but Yerim figures it's not the source of fortune that really matters.
Ahjussi is here, solidly, now. She thought at first that she could just be content with just him, but because of him, there's so much more to Yerim's life now. He's not the only person that matters. He matters a lot, and though the other adults care, Ahjussi's place will forever be special.
He matters a lot, and due to him, something in Yerim has thawed.
She's not alone anymore. And that's the greatest fortune of all.