Chapter 305

Duck Johnson Jr., 38 years old, was crying at an early hour.

Hong Ki-jun, who had been occupying the dark living room, staggered to his feet.

“Ouch, my head.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a hangover.

Ah, it’s been a while since he drank.

“Ouch, my back.”

It’s been a while since he had back pain too.

His body, accustomed to the bed, didn’t appreciate the hard floor.

He had passed out drunk. Han Yu-young had laid down a soft mat for the fallen Hong Ki-jun, but it was no use.

“Ouch, my balls.”

Testicular pain was familiar.

It was because of Yoo Se-ra, who seemed to dream of playing soccer every night and kicked in her sleep.

Was it because of her that in his past life, his only child was Hong Soo-jung?

Cough cough cough- Purururur-. Puhihihihihing-. Piyungpiyung-.

Badddddd-.

To produce such a noise comparable to the end of the world with his mouth.

“Haha-, Yoo Se-ra. You’re truly an amazing woman in many ways.”

It seemed like he had a worse headache than his hangover from grinding his teeth in his husband’s ear.

Hong Ki-jun, pressing his temples to soothe the headache, glanced around the dark living room.

Is no one here?

Just as he was about to grab his wife’s hand and kiss her forehead, the curtain shadow swayed.

【Old man.】

“Whoa-!”

Damn, that scared me.

【Freedom, old man.】

Suddenly?

Hong Ki-jun adjusted his posture and knelt.

Even then, he didn’t let go of Yoo Se-ra’s hand.

It wasn’t that he was hearing nonsense due to a severe headache. Nor was he seeing things with his sleepy eyes. The curtain fluttering without wind proved Dugu Elil’s presence.

“Is it true? Are you leaving now?”

【I cannot leave yet.】

“Your words keep changing.”

This guy keeps changing his words.

He’s supposed to be a serious being who can’t lie, but every time he opens his mouth, his words don’t match. I don’t even know why we made a contract.

【I still have tasks assigned by him.】

“Ah-, I see.”

Still, the more I look, the kinder he seems.

He’s diligently following Jin Hyuk’s orders, saying he’s being punished by Tulosso.

Hong Ki-jun guessed what tasks Dugu Elil had left.

According to Jin Hyuk, Dugu Elil was investigating where Jin Hyuk’s grandfather was buried and the background of Park Woo-jung trying to harm Son Kwang-yeon. Well, he’s so incompetent that Jin Hyuk has to guide him step by step, feeling like he’s teaching a slow student, but since he’s investigating things that modern investigative techniques can’t confirm, Jin Hyuk is tolerating it.

It’s only right that Jin Hyuk endures it, even if it’s a bit uncomfortable, since Dugu Elil is equipped with a different concept from humans.

【Live as you wish, old man. Noble soul.】

Having spent 300 years with the shadow, Hong Ki-jun thought the shadow’s voice sounded strange.

Suddenly talking about nobility is funny. It feels like he’s missing Hong Ki-jun.

“Why do you seem so down?”

【You said it yourself······, old man. He scolded me. It was bad words. Harsh and ugly words······.】

The shadow, without facial features, shook its head like a scolded child.

Enough to make Hong Ki-jun want to comfort the untouchable shadow.

– “You damn bastard! It’s not like giving medicine after causing illness! If you made a promise, you should have kept it! Am I an idiot for enduring all those years, you damn bastard! You restored the world, did all that, and for what? Did you destroy the Earth? Where are you now? Let’s fight, you damn bastard! What about those poor people who died once? Insults? Hey, you damn bastard! Do you think I didn’t curse because I can’t? Cursing is a passive skill for Korean men who served in the military, you idiot! Release the chairman right now, you damn bastard!”

The shadow flinched as if hearing Jin Hyuk’s curses.

How can a language composed only of consciousness without substance be so terrifying? The killing intent in those words seemed to have torn the spirit apart.

【They said it was something only a villain would do. Like that guy who deliberately broke a bird’s leg. I was just doing what Tulosso ordered······.】

I love birds. That’s why I was even more shocked. The shadow rubbed the curtain where eyes might be.

To Hong Ki-jun, it looked pitiful and pathetic.

“Even if the whole world condemns you, I know you are a neutral being who loves all things. That friend probably didn’t hate you.”

【Thank you, old man. I know. I understand the feeling of cursing. So it’s okay. It’s just unfamiliar. I’m just shocked now.】

Why is he talking like a human all of a sudden?

Hong Ki-jun was inwardly surprised.

“But is the contract really over? Sorry to say, but I’m suspicious.”

Have I ever lied to you, you damn bastard? Hong Ki-jun wasn’t without the desire to curse. But as a decent person, he held back. He also felt sorry seeing the reversed relationship between Jin Hyuk and the shadow.

【I think so too. It’s incomplete. A perfect contract doesn’t exist in the first place. What’s important is both sides being sincere.】

That also made sense, so Hong Ki-jun nodded, forgetting his hangover.

A contract is about mutual agreement and compliance. You only dig into the law when there’s a problem with the contract. And in the first place, can there even be a contract made equally with a transcendent being?

– “There’s something called contract termination, you bastard! You terminate it! Then you don’t have to take responsibility to the chairman! Ugh-, you idiot. You have no power here! Like a consultant who entered the military training camp! If you’re unhappy, come find me! Insults? Yoook-? Do you know how I feel now? You do things worthy of curses but don’t want to be cursed? Want to be cursed all night? Do you know how many curses I learned from Cheon Gil-ryong? I’ll split you like bamboo, you damn bastard!”

The shadow didn’t bother to relay Jin Hyuk’s words.

It was his last bit of pride.

He seemed to sigh.

【Make a wish, old man. I keep my promises.】

Hong Ki-jun, holding Yoo Se-ra’s hand tighter, smiled as he stroked his wife’s cheek.

“I think I can live like this. Someone said living as you are is a human privilege.”

That guy···. The shadow muttered as it stared at Yoo Se-ra.

Though just a silhouette, its constant tilting head resembled a cat or a child observing a strange animal.

Drurung-. Pukakakaka-. Piyupiyung-.

【Dazzling. Is she your female?】

“In our world, we call her a spouse.”

【A beautiful body with nasty sleeping habits. I’d believe she’s a demon from Selbeda.】

Hong Ki-jun nodded, recalling the world of Selbeda, where demon species lived, shown by Dugu Elil. They were mischievous beings, beautiful and kind, despite their demonic name. Hong Ki-jun also thought of his clumsy wife when he saw them.

“She must have been tired from motion sickness. She doesn’t usually do this.”

Even though it wasn’t an important story, Hong Ki-jun defended Yoo Se-ra.

【Live well, old man. Let’s say goodbye······. I still have tasks.】

“You, noble one, are suffering.”

【I have nothing else to do anyway. It’s also a punishment I must endure as Tulosso’s servant.】

“Dugere, Adzeh.”

The curtain stopped moving, and the darkness darker than dawn receded.

After the shadow disappeared, Hong Ki-jun laughed like a madman.

Kukukuku-.

It seemed like he had become humanized.

That terrifying being had turned into a child.

‘Should I call it humanization? Even after 300 years together, he hardly changed, but now he’s changed as if he’s been meditating under punishment.’

Pursuing perfection, always full of flaws. Like a human.

Hong Ki-jun subtly stimulated him, but his strong pride made change difficult.

But living under Jin Hyuk’s harsh treatment, he had changed quite a bit.

It reminded him of a military buddy who lived as a rich playboy but became a solid young man after military service.

‘Right. Team Leader Son was good at rehabilitating people.’

He knew how to discover and utilize the strengths of seemingly lacking team members, pulling all their abilities above average.

But to think he could even reform a god.

“Hahahaha-. It’s funny. Sigh-, oh my head.”

Now it doesn’t matter. The story has reached its end.

There was no expected sadness.

No, rather than an end, it’s the start of a new story, right?

Drurung-. Pukakakaka-. Badddddd-.

Covering Yoo Se-ra, the demon of Selbeda, master of testicular kicks, with a blanket, he put on his jacket.

*

Summer is a peculiar season.

Despite a cloudless day, the dawn sky was filled with heavy dark clouds.

Huuuum- Haaa-.

Breathing in the air filled with the scent of grass and water, he woke his head.

“Ahhh-, it’s good. I haven’t enjoyed such leisure. Oh, you like it here too? Right, you’re pretty-.”

Hek-hek-.

Following the presence, he petted Hongshi, who came to his feet, fully enjoying the rural charm.

Though extremely thirsty, he was too lazy to get water and sat on the bench.

“Freedom, freedom······.”

It was an incredibly unequal contract, a childish contract.

Yet, the word ‘freedom’ made him feel like he had finally returned to being human.

Like the moon revealing its splendid form from behind the clouds.

“Why are you up already?”

Jin Hyuk came out dragging slippers.

He was carrying Yoo Jin on his back and holding a glass bottle filled with barley tea.

“I slept well, even if just for a while.”

Hong Ki-jun tapped the seat next to him.

Jin Hyuk didn’t sit immediately but poured barley tea into a glass and handed it to Hong Ki-jun.

As he took the glass filled with cool barley tea, Hong Ki-jun peeked behind Jin Hyuk.

“Is Yoo Jin already awake?”

“No. If I come out alone, she crawls after me. So I brought her.”

Jin Hyuk, still standing, jiggled the sibling on his back.

What a funny guy. Smiling, Hong Ki-jun rummaged through his pocket.

“I have something for you.”

Seeing what came out of Hong Ki-jun’s pocket, Jin Hyuk’s eyes briefly shone with admiration.

Though made of leather, it emitted a mysterious light resembling the aurora under the streetlight.

“As expected, it’s not from Earth.”

“They say it’s dragon leather. Believing is another matter.”

Considering the credibility of Dugu Elil, who had become a cosmic Jo Il-hun, there was enough reason to doubt. Moreover, how could those who had never seen a dragon recognize dragon leather?

“Did he give it to you?”

“Yes. He said it’s the leather from the part that holds the scales, so it’s tough, fireproof, and doesn’t wear out.”

Hong Ki-jun held out the thick, folded leather.

Inside, there must be technology to traverse the universe. Jin Hyuk smiled and shook his head.

“Even those who know the language said there are errors in the translation process. I don’t know the characters, and I’m not an engineer.”

It’s no different from an illiterate who understands speech but can’t read.

It’s like putting a pearl necklace on a pig if you can’t decipher the document.

“But I brought this for you.”

“Please keep it until someone who can properly understand and implement it appears. Reading it as is without translation can reduce trial and error.”

“Will such a person appear···?”

Hong Ki-jun’s words lacked strength.

Even if an excellent engineer appears, deciphering is the problem. It’s not a language as easy to teach as a foreign language. Hong Ki-jun took over 100 years to barely learn it.

Jin Hyuk smiled without answering.

Even in sleep, Yoo Jin struggled not to come down from her brother’s back, so he laid her on the bench and covered her shoulders with his shirt.

“He said he slowed down time for me, to enjoy the changing era.”

“Yes, he did.”

Compared to past lives, the world has become much faster, an era that didn’t exist before.

Yet, daily life feels slow as if stopped.

Perhaps civilization is like that.

Like a giant’s steps, slow but each step wide. If you look away for a moment, it leaves the past scenery far behind.

“It might be good to go a bit slower. It’s good for others to experience it too.”

“Yes, if that’s what you think, let’s do that.”

Hong Ki-jun smiled contentedly and tucked the dragon leather into his pocket.

“It’s summer, so there are many mosquitoes.”

Jin Hyuk gathered rice husks and mugwort in front of the bench.

He planned to light a mosquito-repelling fire.

“He said you cursed at him.”

“That bastard······ has a really foul mouth.”

Jin Hyuk spat out lightly while crouching to light the fire.

Hong Ki-jun flinched. It felt like the words applied to him too.

Hoo-! Hooooo-!

Jin Hyuk’s upper body shook like a started tractor as he blew hard to light the fire. Kkkk-. Laughter also flowed out.

“I told him that······.”

Jin Hyuk’s face reflected by the fire was smiling.

“···He lives alone, right? I told him to find someone to talk to and chatter away. Not to bottle it up. That’s unhealthy. The hardest part of living alone was having no one to talk to. Anyway, that’s why he got cursed at. He must have gone and told on me right away.”

The kid listens well-. Jin Hyuk poked the fire.

Right. That’s it. I forgot how precious a conversation partner is. Hong Ki-jun stroked Yoo Jin’s forehead.

The darkness that remained like dregs seemed to disappear in the fragrant smoke of the mugwort fire.

Looking at the sleeping child’s long eyelashes, tears welled up for no reason.

“Why do we- from which star- meet so- that we miss each other so desperately-.”

With his lacking skills, Hong Ki-jun hummed like a lullaby.

It was a song with lyrics from a poem.

A song that Son Kwang-yeon, who was happy to meet an old friend and had a good drink, played on the guitar.

Though he couldn’t sing as beautifully as Son Kwang-yeon, he hummed softly, putting his heart into it.

“Why do we- from which star- sleep so- that we shake and wake the dawn-.”

Eung- eung-.

Humming the parts he didn’t know the lyrics to.

“Nanana-.”

Singing ‘nanana’ for the parts he didn’t know the melody.

Jin Hyuk didn’t look at Hong Ki-jun or match the rhythm, just listened quietly.

Trying to gauge the meaning behind Hong Ki-jun, who hates singing, humming a song.

“You and- I-, you and- I-. We open the dawn before the sun rises-.”

Woof! Woof! Grrr-.

Unable to bear it, Jang Gun-i barked fiercely from the second-floor doghouse.

The patience of the great guard dog Jang Gun-i isn’t as good as Jin Hyuk’s.

“Haha-. I must have woken him up.”

Probably not. Jin Hyuk saved his words.

He must have been awake already.

Dogs respond to good songs with wolf-like howls.

But barking like that as if to eat someone······. Hmm.

“Sing more. It sounds good.”

“Really?”

“Yes······.”

Hem-, hem-.

Not knowing many songs, Hong Ki-jun cleared his throat and recalled a song from his school days.

“Drifting- drifting- the boat sails awaaay-. On the clear spring sea-.”

Woof! Woof!

Grrrr!

Thud thud-!

“The boat sails awaaay-. This boat is heading to Gangneung to meet the moon-.”

Even as Jang Gun-i clashed his teeth in warning, Hong Ki-jun remained steadfast.

If Jin Hyuk wants to hear more, I should do my best to sing.

Jin Hyuk only poked the innocent fire. Ah, why did I do that?

Flattery isn’t something you do anytime.

But the kind Yoo Jin responded in her sleep.

“Ung-. Dunaverbe······.”

Understanding his sibling’s sleep talk, Jin Hyuk smiled softly.

‘Open fire.’