Chapter 199
Translator: uly
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 62
* * *
Yeouhee's eyes snapped open.
The familiar hospital smell. An IV needle stuck in her arm, her whole body aching dully. Her mind felt foggy.
For some reason, the image of Nina Pintta Dun flooded her head the moment she woke up.
Dun? Why was that annoying guy suddenly on her mind?
Her thoughts weren't coming together quickly.
In fact, everything that had happened inside the gate felt so unreal that even encountering a hunter who looked like Dun seemed like some illusion cooked up by her subconscious.
That Dun lookalike taking down a massive monster in an utterly implausible scene.
She'd thought it was Dun back in the gate, but looking back now, there was no way it could have been. Dun was a weakling, after all.
On the other hand, calling it some other hunter didn't make sense either—no one that powerful was on the rankings.
'Guess I must've wiped them all out myself~'
Sure, such a hunter could exist, but Yeouhee chalked it up to her imagination turning it into Dun so she could believe what she wanted to believe. She fumbled around for the remote to her private room TV.
[Busan's massive gate, the Hysis Gate, successfully sealed...]
The TV flickered on, reporting how things had played out.
The Hysis Gate looked like it had closed without issue.
From what the broadcast said, a lot of hunters had died, but all the key Abyss ones had survived—everyone except the missing Byun Woojin.
Yeouhee watched the news listlessly until her eyes suddenly lit up.
'My phone, my phone.'
She had a feeling Saebyeok's messages were piled up. Humming to herself, Yeouhee rummaged for her phone.
She plucked an apple from the overflowing fruit basket, took a crisp bite, and grabbed her phone from the bedside drawer.
'She must've been worried sick—bet there are tons of messages.'
Yeouhee checked KakaoTalk and Messenger with eager anticipation.
Over 99 notifications from various contacts.
Spotting Saebyeok's name among them would make her day.
But...
"Fuck."
She opened the chat with Saebyeok and let out a curse.
Not a single message from her. Absolutely nothing.
'I almost died, and no contact?? I almost vanished for good??'
Feeling slighted, Yeouhee dialed Saebyeok. It rang for a bit before she picked up.
"Saebyeok!!! I'm hurt!"
[Yeah, I heard.]
"What? That's all? You weren't worried?"
[Quit screwing around and work on your tech development.]
Click.
The call ended.
Her temples throbbed at the icy response. Yeouhee called back.
Saebyeok answered again.
[What.]
"Why are you suddenly being such a dick?"
[What do you mean. I'm busy.]
Kieeeek!
A monster's screech echoed through the receiver.
"Saebyeok, you got monsters nearby?"
Click.
Hung up without mercy. Yeouhee ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes.
She dialed again.
Riiiing. Riiiing.
It rang on endlessly. Saebyeok didn't pick up, but Yeouhee kept calling until she did.
[What.]
"Why won't you answer!!! Why are you ignoring me!!! Wait, are you in a gate??"
[Nope.]
Kieeeek!
Another screech from the other end.
Click.
Riiiing. Riiiing.
"Then what's with the monster noises?"
[Oh? Uh... Kieeeek~]
Kieeeek!
[Kieeeek~ Kuweeeek~ Been practicing monster lure cries since earlier.]
"......"
It was obvious she was inside a gate, and the half-assed excuse pissed her off and charmed her at the same time. Yeouhee stayed quiet.
[...I'll stop.]
"Yeah."
As soon as Yeouhee replied, Saebyeok hesitated before speaking up.
[No, just... Woojin's gone missing around the Busan gate, and they were looking for him. No trace at all, which is weird. They say this gate closed funny. B-Class kids mentioned the boss monster didn't die—it pulled back.]
"But how's a disappearance at Hysis Gate connected to poking around other gates?"
[What if the retreating monsters grabbed Woojin and pop up at another gate...?]
Saebyeok trailed off mid-sentence.
"Even if they retreated, you think those clever bastards would show up at another gate the very next day?"
[I don't know!!! Don't hit me with logic and common sense.]
Saebyeok shouted, letting out frustrated quacks. Yeouhee pouted, then remembered Woojin.
"Anyway, he's lucky he can breathe underwater—no way he's dead. Kid was sick of hunter life, so he probably swam off to some nearby island to live it up."
Saebyeok looked a little uneasy, so Yeouhee tried to soothe her gently.
[Oh, yeah, that could be it. Why didn't I think of that?]
Whoa, it was actually landing.
Yeouhee pressed on excitedly.
"Told you, he faked the disappearance on purpose. Sneaky type who'd slip away quietly."
[Damn, you're right. Anyway, I'll drag Woojin along to visit you at the hospital. Rest up. You hang up first.]
"Mm, gotcha."
After the call ended, Yeouhee let out a small sigh.
In the end, it hadn't worked.
Yeouhee, who knew just how dire things had gotten inside the gate, figured there was a high chance Woojin was dead.
Saebyeok probably knew it too—that's why she was out there searching anyway.
Seeing her take Woojin's disappearance so seriously, not brushing it off... Yeouhee hated it, but it felt good too.
Because she could hope Saebyeok would come looking for her just as desperately if it were her missing.
She ended up dwelling on death a lot these days, always neck-deep in life-threatening spots. No family—who would remember her specially? No one.
But thinking of Saebyeok eased that fear a ton.
She'd keep remembering her, even dead—specially, preciously.
The others had pegged her desperate survival in the Abyss as opportunistic, disloyal bullshit. But Saebyeok saw her as clever and gritty, even if immature.
It made her feel like a person, not some combat tool. Not perfect, but reasonable.
Kids had followed her at first for her power and cocky banter. Now, even as an unawakened, they handled Saebyeok with kid gloves because of that vibe.
'Saebyeok... If she shows up all mopey from hospital visiting, I'll cheer her up good.'
Sure, Woojin's death stung a bit, and the disappearance worried her. But he was a good kid—he'd live happier in heaven.
The world's too brutal for the timid anyway.
Still, it hurt. Woojin had been like family. Distant kin, maybe fiftieth cousin twice removed or something.
'Sigh, what a shame. Somehow ended up as the unshakeable top assassin hunter.'
Her lips drooped as she plucked a Shine Muscat from the fruit basket and popped it in her mouth.
"Hng... hng... Woojin... missing... Mmm. So good. Hnggg... hahaha!!!"
* * *
'Heaven?'
Byun Woojin came to and dazedly took in his surroundings.
A luxuriously soft silk blanket draped over him, surrounded by fruits and foods he'd never seen in life.
Starving, he plucked a plump golden grape and popped it in his mouth.
'Guess I'm dead.'
He'd been hurt bad, but nothing ached—felt great, actually.
Everything felt surreal somehow. Woojin blinked vacantly and scanned the room again.
Insanely lavish.
Golden pillars soared grandly from the corners, walls of pristine, high-end marble stretching out.
The room sat high up, and the crisp open window offered a full view of the landscape.
Carved hills below gave way to thick forests and rivers of rainbow streams.
Heaven's scenery was top-notch.
Die and you get a room this nice too, apparently.
Woojin munched the fruit and sank back into the plush bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin.
He stretched out, and something bumped his leg. Cocking his head, he reached down and fished out the object tangled there.
'...Heaven's got comics too, huh.'
He set it carefully on the bedside drawer without reading. He'd always been curious about the afterlife—glad it was a heaven like this.
Even if it took time, he'd see the kids again.
'Hope they're not too torn up.'
Kyungseop, Jiyoon, Saebyeok—they'd fret hard. It weighed on him.
But knowing he'd meet them eased it some. He'd miss them like crazy, though.
'Whoa, Yeouhee's straight to hell for sure.'
Ah, such a pity.
A few other folks who couldn't shield without Yeouhee crossed his mind, and he forced his lips into a droop.
Then Saebyeok popped into his head out of nowhere.
'Hold up—what's the good-vs-evil standard here?'
Anxiety spiked hard.
He'd kept his mouth shut his whole life and probably passed muster, but Saebyeok's rough talk and actions didn't match the saintly heaven types from the media.
Ujiyoon's fan management kept her super filtered—safe. Kyungseop's good boy syndrome meant heavy self-censorship—safe. But our Saebyeok...
Sleep vanished; Woojin just blinked his round eyes.
He slid out of bed, straightened the blanket, and stood.
'Gotta talk to the heaven staff. Or, y'know, God.'
Tense now. God, seriously.
He hurried down the ornate hall. Pillars outside revealed groomed fountains and gardens.
'How's there not a single soul?'
Plenty of dead folks by now—super weird no one milling about.
Cranning his neck, he spotted one person snoozing solo in a hammock in the inner garden.
A single warm sunbeam stretched straight over the hammock and beyond.
It bathed the person's honey-blond hair, closed eyes, and relaxed face in gentle warmth.
Local angel? Woojin stared a moment before something clicked, eyes widening.
'Dun...?'
He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Totally felt like Dun.
Drawing closer to the garden, the face sharpened into view, and Woojin was convinced: it was Dun.
Dun's random appearance scrambled his brain.
Racking his mind to make sense of it dredged up trivia about Dun.
[Dun, game dev's hidden Easter egg?]
[Dunmorons' brainrot leads them to Mars!]
[Unanswered Dun Myths: PC Bang Edition]
Dumb internet crap, anyway.
'Yeah, the thing we saw was totally Dun!'
Plus that personal run-in in the room. Every Dun mystery ever was right there in front of him.
Real world wasn't enough—heaven Dun too.
Only one possible answer.
Oh.
'Dun's an angel.'
Angels must have mysterious powers to roam game worlds freely.
No clue on the logic, but hey, angels are fantasy to begin with.
Anyway, Dun being an angel explained all the weird, intriguing rumors clinging to her.
Zzz. Zzz.
Woojin stood before the loudly snoring Dun and stared.
Gazing at her brought back all her standout personality quirks. Kinda crotchety for an angel.
Maybe not—thinking deeper, a more fitting idea hit.
'Could be a grim reaper?'
Nailed it. Then a massive realization struck.
Ah, that's why I died!
Saw Dun in that room last time!
It all connected!
Moon Serim must be dead too!
Enlightened, Woojin let out an awed breath. Everything clicked; his mind cleared sharp.