Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 47
"Noona!"
Thump, thump!
Minjoo desperately pounded on the collapsed inner wall of the gate.
He struck it until his fists throbbed, but Eunha's voice didn't answer, and the mountain of debris didn't budge even a centimeter.
The suffocating darkness was so thick he couldn't even see his own feet.
Using the bazooka to blow up this entire space would be easy.
But using a bazooka in this confined area would blow his own limbs off too.
Naturally, using the pellet bombs was also out of the question.
But that wasn't the only problem.
"Noona, are you there?"
Thump thump!
Thump!
Thump...
Slump.
"Ugh..."
The small fists pounding the wall dropped powerlessly.
He couldn't breathe properly.
It wasn't due to a lack of air.
"Hah, uck..."
His mind grew faint, and his breathing gradually quickened.
Hyperventilation.
Even so, Minjoo desperately reached out towards the inner wall.
Scratch, scratch.
Unable to make a fist anymore, Minjoo scraped at the inner wall with his fingernails.
Blood welled under his fingers, and his nails wore down, but he ignored it, scratching and scratching at the hard inner wall.
Then, slumping down where he stood, Minjoo's shoulders trembled violently.
It was dark.
A pitch-black landscape that didn't change whether his eyes were open or closed.
Because of that cruel, thick darkness, forgotten memories rushed back like waves.
And those waves swallowed the young boy whole in an instant.
'Minjoo.'
One.
'Close your eyes here and count to one hundred. Don't open your eyes, okay?'
Two.
'Mom and Dad will go hide over there. It's hide-and-seek, the kind our Minjoo likes.'
Three.
'Okay, our son...'
Four.
'Mom and Dad are hiding now.'
Five, six, seven, eight...
As his consciousness faded, Minjoo felt a sense of relief.
'Thank goodness.'
That no one else was here.
He couldn't show this side of himself to anyone, not even the Corps guild members.
The fact that S-Class hunter Trickster, the master of Corps, had such a weak trauma—he didn't want anyone to know.
It must never be known.
Eight years old.
In the ten-pyeong semi-basement home lived Mom, Dad, Minjoo, and thumb-sized cockroaches.
The house had no windows.
So it was less cold in winter and less hot in summer.
The lack of hot water was a slight drawback, but that was okay too.
Mom always boiled piping hot water in a cauldron as big as Minjoo.
They rarely went hungry either.
The government provided a certain amount of rice and ramen every month.
Back then, Minjoo's favorite dish was ketchup rice.
Just as the name suggests, it was plain rice mixed with ketchup.
One bowl of ketchup rice kept him full until dinner.
That day, for some reason, there was a sunny-side-up egg on top of the ketchup rice.
"Mom, can I really eat this?"
"Of course. Want me to fry another one?"
"Yes!"
He was happy.
Two whole fried eggs in one meal. Was that even allowed?
Indulging in such luxury was truly a first in his eight years of life.
Dad didn't go to work that day either.
Dad, who always left the house at the crack of dawn every day, not even skipping Sundays, was sitting across from him, watching Minjoo eat, even though it was past noon.
"Our Minjoo, is there anything else you want to eat?"
"Umm..."
With rice grains stuck to his mouth, Minjoo rolled his eyes.
His round eyes resembled his mother's, and the small beauty mark under his eye was just like his father's.
"Nope. This is the most delicious."
"I see."
Dad and Mom smiled simultaneously.
Now, he would instantly recognize the meaning behind that smile, but back then, Minjoo knew nothing of such things and just giggled along, "Ehehe."
"Well then, after you eat this, shall we play hide-and-seek with Mom and Dad?"
"Hide-and-seek?"
"Yeah. It's Sunday, so the family gets to play together. How about it?"
"...!"
Minjoo's eyes, holding his spoon, widened greatly.
But only for a moment, before Minjoo beamed happily, not even swallowing all his rice.
"Okay...!"
He didn't know back then.
Why Mom had fried two eggs that day.
Why Dad hadn't gone to work and suggested playing hide-and-seek.
"Minjoo, close your eyes here and count to one hundred. Don't open your eyes, okay?"
After finishing his meal, Minjoo stood facing the kitchen wall.
And covered his eyes tightly with both hands.
"Okay, I understand."
"Then Mom and Dad will hide."
One, two, three, four, five...
Minjoo counted the numbers with an excited heart.
He heard a clicking sound from behind, which seemed strange, but he promised not to open his eyes.
Minjoo kept his eyes tightly shut and continued counting.
Seventy-two, seventy-three, seventy-four...
This time, there was a 'thump!' sound from somewhere else.
Startled for a moment, Minjoo hiccuped, pausing his count.
He almost opened his eyes, but it was alright.
Minjoo was a good boy who kept his promises.
'Where was I counting?'
Right. Seventy-five, seventy-six...
Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine.
—One hundred.
"I'm opening my eyes now!"
There was no reply, but Minjoo, brimming with excitement, opened his eyes wide.
But then.
"...Huh."
The house was strangely dark.
Did they turn off the lights intentionally to scare him?
Minjoo fumbled along the wall and pressed the light switch.
Click.
Click click.
But no matter how many times he pressed it, the lights wouldn't turn on.
They couldn't have suddenly broken.
They were working fine just when he was eating earlier.
They must have been playing a trick on purpose.
'I'm an elementary school student now, you know.'
He was past the age of being scared by things like this.
Minjoo quickly scanned his surroundings.
It was pitch black, but after a little while, his eyes seemed to adjust to the darkness.
However, there couldn't possibly be a hiding place for two adults in a ten-pyeong semi-basement house.
Even eight-year-old Minjoo knew that much.
Minjoo quickly headed towards the front door.
Mom and Dad must have hidden outside.
Rattle.
Rattle rattle.
Rattle rattle rattle rattle.
The door wouldn't open.
No matter how many times he pulled and pushed, it didn't budge.
"Uh, Mom...?"
Belatedly, his heart sank with a thud.
Minjoo scrambled his small brain to grasp the situation.
Could it be, surely not, but could his parents have locked him in here and left?
'No, that can't be right.'
Minjoo shook his head vigorously.
He must have counted the numbers too quickly.
He strode back and pressed his forehead firmly against the kitchen wall again.
And pressed his small hands tightly against his eyelids.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
He counted the numbers out loud deliberately.
More clearly than before, more slowly.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred...!"
Flick! Minjoo opened his eyes.
The inside of the house was still pitch black.
Being a windowless house, he couldn't tell if it was day or night.
Minjoo scampered to the front door and tried the handle again.
Rattle rattle.
It didn't open.
Slumping down on the spot, hot tears welled up in Minjoo's eyes.
"Mom! Dad!"
He called out for his parents in the loudest voice possible.
There was no answer.
Rubbing his eyes fiercely with the back of his hand, Minjoo jumped up from his spot.
And pressed his forehead against the wall once more.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
One more time.
"Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen..."
Again, one more time.
"Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six..."
One last time.
But no matter how many times he counted, the sunken darkness did not brighten.
The darkness consumed the little boy's hope, his anticipation, his hunger, and eventually, even his despair.
What came for the boy left as an empty shell wasn't his missing parents, nor his indifferent homeroom teacher, nor the friends who teased him for being poor.
Ding.
[The Twelve Divine Beast 'Rabbit Gazing at the Moon' offers you a contract.]
[Will you accept?]
A bizarrely bright yellow message window.
That was all.
"One, two, three, four, five..."
As if possessed by something, Minjoo, collapsed flat on the floor, only moved his lips.
He no longer had the strength to even scratch the inner wall.
Rubbing his cheek against the dirt floor, he found his own figure, counting numbers like a madman, quite amusing and burst into laughter midway.
Counting quietly, his breathing gradually calmed.
Just a little longer like this, and surely, it would subside.
As it always had.
"Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine...?"
Thump!
A dull sound came from somewhere.
He almost opened his eyes but didn't.
There won't be anyone there anyway.
Minjoo was an S-Class hunter.
No one would likely imagine him trapped behind the debris of a collapsed gate, struggling to breathe properly, floundering in past trauma in such a pathetic state.
Of course not.
[The Twelve Divine Beast 'Rabbit Gazing at the Moon' has found you.]
[Torch and Steel Pickaxe! Only 99 Coins right now! Would you like to purchase?]
▶ Yes / No
...Even in this situation, the damn system called the Twelve Divine Beasts was trying to make a sale.
What could he do? He wasn't a vessel, just a mere contractor.
'Don't need it.'
Minjoo closed the window without much thought.
He didn't want to spend 99 Coins on a mere torch and pickaxe.
No, perhaps it was stubbornness.
He was different now from back then.
He had grown much taller, become clever enough not to be fooled by adults, and strong enough to break through dark places on his own.
'I don't need anything.'
Once he counted to one hundred, his breathing would stabilize.
Then he could stand up on his own.
He could get out of here on his own.
Like he always had.
"Ninety, ninety-two, ninety-three..."
Kwoong!
Startled, Minjoo snapped his eyes open.
It sounded like a tremendous noise just occurred.
Fine cracks were spreading across the thick darkness like spiderwebs.
Watching the cracks slowly but surely spread like a breaking eggshell, Minjoo instinctively grabbed his bazooka.
Kwaang—!!!
Bright light shattered and enveloped Minjoo.
As Minjoo, whose eyes were accustomed to the darkness, squeezed his eyes shut, something cold and slender touched his shoulder.
"Found you."
"...?"
Slowly, very slowly, he opened his eyes.
There, Minjoo discovered flames warmer than sunlight and brighter than moonlight.
A left hand extended towards him.
A hand, calloused and covered in crusted blood despite its slender form—Minjoo had held that hand before.
"Noo—"
The moment he parted his lips, eyes glazed over, Eunha's touch lifted Minjoo effortlessly.
"Ah..."
His lips parted foolishly without him realizing.
Suddenly airborne, Minjoo stared blankly down at Eunha from above.
Only then did he realize she was barefoot.
Dirt-stained feet, cold hands, scratches here and there.
"Noona, did you... come looking... for me?"
Minjoo slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
It was still bright and warm.
He wasn't alone.
Someone was there.
"Let's go back."
A person wearing a black dress, holding a bright light.
