Chapter 61…
‘What is this? How did things even get to this point?’
I sat at the noisy dinner table, spacing out like someone who had slipped into another dimension.
Where exactly did everything go wrong?
“Wooooow—!! M-mother, your cooking is amaaazing! Hic! I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my whole life, hahaha—!”
“Hic— Hey, muscle-man! What did you think of my mom to say something like that, huh?! Hic— Do you have any idea how amazing my big brother’s mother is—”
“I’m meeting Mother for the first time today? Hic—”
“Kyaaa—! Good! Good! I love meat!”
Our home isn’t that spacious to begin with.
Just enough for a family of three.
So when four people sit at the dining table, it gets cramped.
‘That’s why we normally only keep two chairs out…’
And yet right now, at that very table:
One drunk muscle-pig.
“Grrrr! This broth is killer! Hey, dementia-kid, live here and learn something!”
One idiot who promised he’d take full responsibility for the heavy drinker—only to get equally drunk himself.
“Hic— Mother! I love youuu—! Thanks to the son you gave birth to, hic— I was saved!”
One kid who said she was ‘curious’ about alcohol, took little sips, then turned redder than a persimmon.
“Kyaaaa!! Everything is perfect!! Meat is the best!!”
The only sane one in the room—as expected—was the embodiment of rationality, calmness, and icy emotions.
“Mother, let me help you. Please sit down and rest for a moment.”
The one and only, our Lady Seo Gyeoul.
Through all this chaos, my mother radiated her characteristic gentle warmth, embracing these lunatics like spring sunlight.
“There’s plenty of food, so take your time.”
“Haha, Siwoo said that? Everyone seems to think my child is cold, haha! But at home, he’s surprisingly affectionate. You’d be shocked if you saw him!”
Watching this ridiculous circus show, I felt my mind instinctively detach from reality.
And that detached self began to trace back through time—‘regressing’—searching for where things had gone wrong and whether anything could’ve been prevented.
‘We were supposed to just have a beef dinner…’
I’d talked things out with Seobyeongcheol and resolved the Krader issue.
When I told him about my undercover plan, he said he’d trust me with it.
So we all agreed to celebrate with Korean beef.
Everything was going smoothly.
‘But alcohol ruined everything.’
Krader got curious about Earth liquor and whined until he got to try some.
Naturally, I objected. But I had traitors among my ranks.
‘Kim Pyeongon, you bastard… once you sober up, you’re dead.’
He bragged about being a heavy drinker and said he’d “take full responsibility.”
Then Rebecca, who suddenly turned into a “PaRtY dRiNkS!” parrot.
And then…
— I’d like to have a drink too, since it’s a good day…
‘Damn it. I didn’t expect Winter to be the hidden boss…’
I could’ve physically stopped the others if needed.
But not her.
So I reluctantly allowed it.
And then the disaster began…
First off, the bill was insane.
Once people start drinking, they stop tasting food and just shovel it in.
I’m not heartless enough to tell everyone to shut up and stop eating when the mood is good, so I just had to swipe my card with tears in my eyes.
‘My blood, my money! My moneyyy!!’
Do you know how much it cost?
Remember when I complained about the 300,000 won pork belly bill?
That was cute. Adorable, even.
[“Ubon Beef” Total: ₩1,450,000]
I stared at the receipt in a daze.
…
— Hyuuuung!! Thank you for the feast!!
— Hic— I misjudged you! I thought you were only good at beating people up, but you’re quite generous! Hahahaha!
— Meat! Meat! Meat! The meat-owner is the best!!
My hard-earned money, now sitting in their stomachs.
I wondered if I cut them open right now, could I recover any of it…
— Siwoo, please accept this.
— …?
At that moment, Seo Gyeoul handed me a white envelope.
I still remember it—the envelope practically sparkled.
— The Commissioner gave this from his own pocket. He said it’s to help with the dinner cost. I added a little myself, though it’s not much.
— Ah, I… see…
A human!
Among all these beasts who only know how to eat, there was a true civilized human!
— Thank you!
— Please don’t mention it. It’s really not much.
Huh? Not much?
He’s a commissioner—it should be something decent, right?
I peeked inside.
One 50,000 won bill… two… three… four?
Was there a hole in the envelope?
Why were there so few?
I shook it. Only four Shin Saimdang fell out.
‘…Did Seobyeongcheol give 100,000 and Winter added 100,000?’
My stomach twisted.
From betrayal.
‘Rich people are the stingiest…’
Maybe he was afraid of it being mistaken for a bribe and wanted to avoid suspicion.
So he gave only the bare minimum.
Cold. Too cold.
Like father, like daughter.
I grumbled and tried to tuck the envelope away.
‘Fine. You don’t get money by digging the ground. I should be thankful I saved even 200,000…’
— Hyuuung! What’s that?!
— …Huh? Isn’t that an envelope of money?
Two drunks suddenly clung to me.
I ignored them.
— Shoo! Go away! It’s mission documents! Not money!
I thought I dodged suspicion perfectly.
But I forgot about the human bloodhound.
— No! It’s money! I saw it!!
Rebecca pointed at both me and Winter and shouted.
And unfortunately, Winter was terrible at lying.
— I-it’s… not… money… It’s… mission documents…
— Hic— Winter, is this the first time I’ve seen you stutter? So it IS money?!
— What— are we going to round twoooo?! Hic—
— Hyuuung! Let’s go to second round with that money!!
— Round two! Beer!! Round two! Beer!!
Pyeongon, Krader, Rebecca—three combo attacks.
They evolved from “drink parrots” to “second-round parrots.”
— …I’m sorry, Siwoo.
— Sigh. It’s fine. It was given for the dinner, so I guess it’s right to use it for the dinner… Heaven really sent me this punishment on purpose.
So we decided to go to a nearby convenience store.
Just one can of beer outside to wrap up the night.
But that was my fatal mistake.
‘Damn it, I should’ve just taken them to a bar—even if it cost more…!’
Meeting in my neighborhood for convenience was also a mistake.
We were drinking our last convenience-store beer when—
— Oh my, Siwoo?
— Mother?
We ran into my mom, Park Mikyung.
And that butterfly flap created the storm I’m facing now.
“Everyone, eat lots. I can’t remember when Siwoo last invited friends over!”
Mrs. Park Mikyung.
Let’s be clear.
I did NOT invite them.
But if I said that, she’d kill me.
“Friends? Frieeends?! Kahaha!! Yes! I, Krader, am this guy’s friend—hic! Indeed!!”
“Hic— Actually, I’m older than him, okay? We’re not friends… But! Once he’s big bro, he’s forever big bro!”
“Kahahahaha! You two are so funny! Idiots!”
These lunatics…
Just wait until they sober up.
While Mom chatted with Krader, Pyeongon, and Rebecca, I quietly slipped out into the apartment hallway.
From there I could see the outside.
“…….”
The night sky of Seoul.
Headlights.
Streetlamps.
Store signs glowing bright despite the late hour.
Light pollution.
No stars.
Just a full, bright moon dominating the sky.
“Hah… The neighbors are going to complain. It’s shocking no one has yet.”
Creak—
While I muttered, the door opened and someone followed me out.
Seo Gyeoul.
“Are you alright?”
“There’s nothing to not be alright about. It’s just a dinner.”
“You seemed troubled.”
“It’s just… I’m not used to this kind of chaos. But well, my mom is happy, so that’s something.”
She leaned against the concrete railing and looked up at the sky.
Her breath came out in a white puff from the cold.
“…You’re a good person, Siwoo.”
“Cough— Huh?! What’s with that all of a sudden?”
Was she drunk too? Why was she saying weird things?
I tried to escape.
“It’s cold. I’ll just head ba—”
“Wait.”
“…Yes?”
—yo? Not ‘da na kka’?
Well, she had used polite speech before, but…
This felt… different.
I just wanted to end the conversation and get back inside.
“What is it?”
“You remember what you said you’d explain? Back during the Ghost Signal case—you said you’d explain later.”
“Oh.”
She means how I recognized the bishop-level signature just by touching the gate.
I had planned to mix Julie Pearson’s secret past with my own story and give Winter an explanation.
But she brought it up first.
I shouldn’t be flustered, but I was.
“A-ah, well, about that… I have this friend— No, I don’t mean that—”
“You don’t have to explain.”
“My acquaintance— Huh?”
“I mean, you don’t need to justify anything to me. I’m sure you had your reasons.”
“……”
She looked at the sky, then turned to me.
So I had to look at her too.
She looked like a sculpture carved from transparent ice.
“It’s true I was suspicious before. A genius suddenly fell from the sky, knowing everything, solving everything effortlessly…”
“I’m really not that—”
“No. Please just listen. I suspected you were a spy prepared long in advance by the Cult. But now I understand. Someone this good could never be one of them.”
She said those embarrassingly sincere words with a straight face.
So I had to answer sincerely, too.
“I’m not a good person. In fact, I’ve been called a calam—”
Thunk.
Suddenly, Winter fell onto my shoulder.
Huh? Was she sick?
“Winter? Winter? Are you alri— Ugh, alcohol smell.”
How did I not smell it until now?
It was strong.
“No wonder she was acting strange.”
Shaa… shaa…
Her soft, cat-like breathing came from her nose.
I looked up at the sky again.
The full moon still shone brightly.
“The moon looks pretty tonight.”
I carried Seo Gyeoul on my back and opened the front door.
Warm chaos still filled the home.
The next morning, I nudged the messy-haired, collapsed Kim Pyeongon with my foot.
“Hey. Hey.”
“Ugh… My head is splitting… Hyung?”
“You recognize me?”
“What the hell happened last night?”
“Hah? I wish I knew.”
He’d drunk until late and passed out in my house.
As for Krader—somehow that bastard had chugged a ton of alcohol, took Malteon’s head from me, and staggered away without even wobbling.
— I’ll definitely succeed. Take care of the dementia-kid.
In some ways, the guy is impressive.
But that’s out of my hands now.
I had my own business.
“Get up. We have somewhere to go.”
“…Hyung, I’m dying. Do we really need to go now?”
“If you really want to die, then stay lying down.”
He groaned and got up.
“Ugh… Where are we going? And hyung, water… please…”
“Water’s in the fridge. We’re heading to the new guild office. Actually, it’s a whole building now, so maybe I should call it headquarters?”
“Oh, the guild— Wait, what?! A building? Headquarters?!”
“Yep. Now hurry.”
Today, I needed to check out the new guild HQ we received as compensation.
