Chapter 4
The researcher’s face clearly showed the sentiment: I’ll let it slide because they’re S-rank. As expected, Namhae saw right through that transparent inner thought—and ignored it anyway.
After that, the pleading look was turned toward me, but I also looked away. I didn’t have enough motivation to step in and mediate, so I decided to leave it be. Whoever wins is on my side.
With Namhae hovering beside me like a watchful mother bird, the doctor and researchers carried on with a simple Q&A and physical examination, sweating nervously the whole time. Then, at one point, the needle snapped in half before it could even pierce my skin.
Instead of being troubled, the researcher actually looked delighted.
“This is proof of high mana! Strong Awakened individuals instinctively protect themselves from external mana. There’s even a joke that you’re more likely to get a paper cut than be injured by a low-level beast.”
So that means the needle had mana in it, right? …What exactly were they trying to do to me?
“Not only do we have a returnee, but one with high mana as well—this is a great blessing for our country!”
If being strong is such a good thing, then why am I being welcomed like this while Namhae is treated like something terrifying?
After quite some time, it seemed they had finished all the tests for the day, and I was guided to a room that resembled a consultation office. I sat next to Namhae and waited for the diagnosis.
A woman in a white coat—whether she was a doctor or a researcher, I couldn’t tell—flipped through a stack of documents. Under Namhae’s intense gaze, she cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking.
“First of all, it appears that you are a high-ranking physical-type Awakened. According to standard hunter examinations, there are no issues with your health. In fact, your condition is exceptionally good.”
At that diagnosis, I simply blinked. Namhae, on the other hand, visibly relaxed—only to stiffen again at her next words.
“However, there is something concerning. We reviewed your high school records, and your height and weight are exactly the same as they were back then. Your current appearance is also identical to the photos taken just before you were swept into the Gate. Physically, it seems you are still nineteen… but the mind is another matter. So I’d like to ask—”
I heard the sound of Namhae’s breath catching beside me, as if he had realized something.
“Just how long were you trapped inside the Gate?”
I didn’t quite understand the intent behind the question. To begin with, concepts like “physical-type” still felt unfamiliar.
“…Didn’t I say it’s been four years?”
Back when I was inside the Tower—the dungeon—I had no way of tracking time. But the time before entering and after exiting the Gate was clear. The last time I was on Earth was in 2021, and now it’s 2025. Exactly four years.
But the doctor—or researcher—shook her head.
“Black Gates are different. …Ah, since you were caught in one early on, you might not know. Have you received a general explanation about Gates?”
I nodded, recalling the rough explanation Director Choi had given me on the way here.
Four years ago, cracks began appearing in midair all over the world, like wounds torn into space.
These randomly formed fissures were doors to another world. Beyond these ‘Gates’ lay ‘dungeons,’ inhabited by monsters known as ‘beasts.’
The beasts remain trapped inside the Gate, but after a week, they emerge and attack people. To prevent that, ‘Awakened’ individuals—also called ‘hunters’—must enter the Gate within that week and eliminate the beasts inside the dungeon.
It’s said that you don’t need to kill every single beast—defeating the ‘boss’ is enough to close the Gate. But while it sounds simple, it’s anything but easy.
In any case, hunters have to willingly step into danger and risk their lives. Clearing a Gate before it bursts is called “closing the Gate” or “clearing the dungeon.”
Even after the boss dies, it takes about a day for the dungeon to fully disappear.
“In a normal Gate, a so-called ‘dungeon break’ occurs after a week, and the beasts come out. But the ‘Black Gate’ you were caught in is different.”
“…How so?”
“In a Black Gate, the dungeon break works in reverse. It absorbs everything within a certain radius into the Gate, as if sucking it in, and then disappears without a trace until it is cleared. Moreover, regardless of rank, the clear conditions are extremely difficult. To date, only seven Awakened individuals worldwide—including yourself—have ever escaped a Black Gate. They are called ‘returnees.’”
A dungeon so difficult that only seven people in the world managed to clear it in four years… No wonder climbing the Tower had been such hell.
“According to returnees, time and space inside a Black Gate are distorted, so it cannot be measured by Earth’s time. In fact, the name ‘Black Gate’ comes from its resemblance to a black hole—both in how it absorbs its surroundings and how it distorts spacetime. There is no way for us to determine exactly how much time passes inside.”
The researcher went on to describe other returnees’ cases.
One person returned after a single day in Earth time but felt they had been trapped for months. Another returned after a year but believed only a week had passed.
Even among Black Gates, the clear conditions and time distortions vary so much that no consistent conclusions can be drawn.
“However, none of the other returnees showed a complete lack of physical growth like you. Whether this is due to time distortion or a unique property of your specific Black Gate… we’ll need to hear more from you to know.”
Forgetting even to glance at Namhae, the researcher looked straight at me.
“So I will ask again. Just how long were you trapped inside the Gate?”
The repeated question left my mind slightly dazed. I could feel Namhae stiff beside me, but I didn’t have the bandwidth to care.
“…I don’t know. The sky there was always red, and the full moon never moved from its place. It felt like a very long time had passed, but my body never changed…”
That’s right—even though I neither ate nor slept, my body functioned just fine. Inside the Tower, everything would periodically reset. My clothes never wore out; even if they got dirty or torn, they would return to normal. My watch and phone were broken and useless. There was no way to measure time.
But…
“…Still, if I go by how it felt…”
Enough time had passed for anger and sorrow to wear away completely.
“…maybe decades?”
A sharp intake of breath came from beside me.
The researcher studied me quietly before speaking in a low voice.
“If it felt like decades to you, then it may truly have been decades.”
“……”
Physically nineteen, but mentally aged by decades.
It still didn’t feel real.
When I glanced sideways, Namhae looked more shocked than I did.
…So I thought he’d become older than me after four years, but does that mean I’m actually older?
Even after hearing something this significant, that was all I could think about. Honestly, I felt nothing.
Still, it must have been a big deal to others, because the physical exam wrapped up rather abruptly. Apparently, none of the other returnees had experienced more than a year subjectively. They seemed at a loss over what to do with someone like me, who had spent such an extreme amount of time in a dungeon.
Afterward, a team called the Investigation Unit came looking for me. They said they wanted a detailed account of what happened inside the Black Gate. But Namhae, who had gone quiet in shock after hearing “decades,” came back to life and caused such a scene that it never happened.
“Are you seriously trying to interrogate someone who just got out after decades without even giving them time to rest? You call it an investigation, but it’s basically an interrogation! I let the physical exam slide since it’s about health, but this is different! Does the Association have no sense of decency? They haven’t even had time to change out of their school uniform!”
Then, as if something clicked in his mind, he started muttering to himself.
“…Ha, decades in a single school uniform… that’s just tragic…”
…Was he always this fixated on trivial things? My memory was hazy, so I couldn’t tell.
Caught between the Association trying to hold onto me and Namhae trying to take me away, I stood there like a third party, just watching.
Honestly, I didn’t care either way, so I had no opinion to voice. Fight it out yourselves. Whoever wins, I’m on their side.
This time, too, it was Namhae who ended up on my side.
Victorious, he led me out of the Association building, ignoring the flustered staff behind us.
“Let’s go, Yeo Juhyeon.”
As he said that, Namhae naturally placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to guide me along.
Now that I think about it, he used to do that a lot. We had been friends far longer than we had dated, so instead of holding hands or linking arms, he often draped an arm over my shoulders.
The problem was, I was no longer the same Yeo Juhyeon from back then.
The moment that unexpected contact touched me, I reacted instinctively and knocked it away.
I didn’t mean to do it. If I had to explain, it was because I had spent decades in the Tower being torn apart by monsters, which had made me overly sensitive. When he held my hand earlier, I had seen him approach carefully, so it was fine. But this time, it caught me off guard, and my body moved on reflex.
It wasn’t just a light smack—it was a heavy thud.
Namhae’s arm was knocked aside so forcefully that his entire arm swung with it. The spot I hit turned red instantly. I wasn’t sure if I’d damaged the bone.
I was the one who did it, but I was also the most shocked, drawing in a sharp breath.
“…S-sorry.”
I was genuinely flustered. It might have been the strongest emotion I’d felt in a long time. Even when I killed the boss and escaped the Gate, I hadn’t felt this shaken.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you—I just reacted on instinct… are you, are you okay?”
Namhae looked down at me as I stumbled over my words, then broke into a soft smile.
“Our Juhyeon’s gotten quite the fierce hands.”
He must have been surprised too, but he deliberately spoke lightly, as if joking. The sharp, tense look he had earlier was gone, replaced by a bright, playful expression. He casually shook out his injured hand.
“This kind of bruise is nothing when you’re running dungeon raids. Don’t worry—it’s nothing. If anything, I should be sorry. After fighting for decades, yeah… it makes sense you’d develop defensive instincts. …No, wait—if that’s the case, then the fact that someone who used to chatter so much has become this quiet and numb…”
What started as a light remark gradually darkened again. His emotions swung up and down like a roller coaster—he really kept himself busy.
Was that a normal reaction, and I just found it excessive because I’d grown numb? Or was there something off about him too? With my social skills forcibly reset, I couldn’t tell.
But no matter how numb I’d become, I truly didn’t want to hurt Namhae—physically or emotionally. So I finally voiced the resolve I had made even before meeting him.
“…Hey. I appreciate you looking out for me… but you don’t have to anymore.”
“What?”
