CH 9

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No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a good idea. I unconsciously mumbled about asking Seo Taeju for help before shaking my head vigorously.

Seo Taeju, as the protagonist of the novel, was a character with a relatively righteous inner self. He wasn’t the kind of person who would refuse to help if Michael was in real danger.

‘But, what should I say to ask for his help?’

I couldn’t really say, “I read in a novel that a monster wave will occur here,” nor could I say, “I saw the future, and a monster wave will soon erupt, so would you like to join me in hunting monsters?”

‘I’d probably be treated like a madman and locked up at home.’

I briefly envisioned being imprisoned at home and vigorously shook my head again.

“That bastard definitely will do it. Yeah, he definitely would.”

In addition to imprisonment ending as the possibility, on the day Michael would actually face the monster wave, Seo Taeju would be fighting in the S-rank dungeon in Busan. Since the Busan S-rank dungeon was where Seo Taeju would acquire an essential item, I couldn’t really stop him from going there.

“Hmm, what should I do?” I circled Michael’s name and pondered again.

‘If I could summon a large amount of water, considering the monsters’ fire attribute, I could end the scenario. However, where do I draw such large amount of water?’

It would be great if there were a hunter capable of summoning enough water to eliminate all the fire golems, but the best water-attribute hunter in the novel was B-rank and a foreigner, so I couldn’t bring them along. Plus, ordinary water wouldn’t work against monsters from dungeons either.

“What was it? What items appeared in the novel? I feel like there’s something that can summon water—”

Suddenly, an item came to my mind. “Ah, that’s it.”

The item that resurfaced in my mind was called ‘Blue Cloud.’ It was discarded in the cradle as it was deemed useless later in the story, but it was more than enough, no, a perfect item to eliminate the fire golems.

“So, that’s it…”

I searched for the Seoul dungeon map on my newly bought-phone a few days ago. ‘Why are there so many dungeons on this narrow piece of land in Seoul?’

Tsk-tsk, as I clicked my tongue and narrowed the places to forest-attribute dungeons, the number of dungeons I needed to go to drastically decreased from 72 to 10.

Next, I searched for dungeons with Forest Keeper as a boss monster, leaving only one dungeon remaining.

“Found it.”

C-rank Seoul Forest Dungeon.

It was a difficult dungeon for me, a D-rank with lacking stamina, to enter. However, I already knew everything about the dungeon through the novel, including what monsters would appear and how to defeat them. Although I couldn’t kill all the monsters in the dungeon with alchemy, if I brought a few items, it would be more than enough to clear up to the boss room.

“I should drop by the item shop on my way to the mart.”

I then looked at the hideous clothes hanging in the wardrobe. “I need to sell them all.”

◈◈◈

“What’s this?”

“Breakfast,” I yawned leisurely and held out the egg-dipped toast I’d made.

Seo Taeju looked back and forth between me and the toast with a strange expression. But, even though I showed him kindness, he looked at me as if I’d given him poison.

“There’s no poison in it. No drugs either.”

That’s when it happened. Seo Taeju must have been suspicious that there might actually be poison in the toast. Because, after he frowned at my words, he snatched the plate with the toast and threw it into the sink. The sound of the plate shattering resonated loudly.

“You…”

For a moment, my vision turned white.

Truthfully, I hadn’t hoped for a cheerful atmosphere while eating. I would have been fine if he had just ignored it. But still.

‘To throw it away? Right in front of the person who made it?’

Before becoming a police officer, I struggled through life, barely eating one meal a day. And he dared to throw away food right before my eyes. In an instant, the anger I had been barely holding back exploded.

“Damn it… I can’t believe this. What the hell are you doing? Do you think food is a joke?”

“I can’t give you any more money because you’re broke. No, I won’t. I know you’re desperate.”

“What, money? This is ridiculous…”

‘Does this guy really think I’m a beggar? What? Desperate?’

My anger surged at the treatment I’d never experienced, even as an orphan from an orphanage. On the other hand, the person responsible for igniting my anger seemed to have no interest in it.

“Maybe you’re feeling high and mighty because of the Purification Bird, but don’t act so arrogant. Just facing you is disgusting,” he remarked and bumped into my shoulder before walking out.

“What did he just say?”

I was a reader who always cursed Seo Go-woon, who was constantly causing trouble for Seo Taeju, when reading the novel. That’s why I perfectly understood that it was natural for Seo Taeju to act hostile towards me from the perspective of someone who’d possessed the said perpetrator’s body.

Needless to say, I had assumed that our relationship had progressed sufficiently for us to confront each other following Salt’s purification treatment. With this thought in mind, I’ve decided to make toast for the guy I didn’t like, while staying up all night planning how to conquer the forest dungeon.

‘Sunshine Policy? It’s all canceled.’

The strategy was ultimately related to the survival of humanity. We didn’t need to be close to make it work.

‘There’s no need to be friends with that guy once I meet the god through the Wish Bead and return to my world.’

‘He can mind his own business, and I’ll mind mine. There’s no reason to reconcile with him anymore. And what, the guy reminding me of my childhood? It’s all a misunderstanding.’

Even though I had my defenses up, I never did such a thing.

“You used to be a crazy dog that bit anyone, but now that you’ve grown up, you’ve become more human than you were back then?”

I recalled the words of the head of a gang I used to fight with, and ignored them regardless.

Noticing my stillness, Salt tilted his head quizzically. “Ppi?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just sleep. I’m sleepy.”

Even though I liked cleaning, I didn’t want to clean up the broken dishes in this mood.

‘The one who broke them should clean up, why should I do it?’

Pretending not to see the messy sink, I yawned loudly and was about to sluggishly head back to my room when the doorbell rang.

“Who is it?”

On the intercom screen, a man with red hair was making a displeased expression.

“No way, Seo Go-woon, this jerk. He didn’t borrow any money from the loan sharks, did he?”

Although it was a ridiculous thought, the Seo Go-woon from the novel could have easily borrowed money from loan sharks. For a moment, I wondered what to do if he really had borrowed money. I couldn’t ask Seo Taeju for money now. That’s when my thoughts were interrupted.

Growing impatient as I didn’t open the door due to my conflicted feelings, the doorbell was pressed repeatedly.

“Whew, who is it?”

With the intention of identifying the person, I pressed the intercom’s call button and spoke. An irritated response came from the other end.

-Who else would it be! I’ve come to run errands for Taeju hyung, so open the door now!

Taeju hyung?

In the novel, Seo Taeju would talk to others but never let them get close. The only people he considered close were a few party members who accompanied the guild leader together.

‘But if this guy referred to him as hyung, could he be from the guild? But why would Seo Taeju send this guy to run errands? He should have come by himself.’

Feeling irritated by the guy’s face that came to mind, I let out a sharp retort through the intercom.

“Well, if you’re a guild member, say you’re a guild member. What’s with the attitude?”

-What?

“I said I’ll open the door. This brat.”

Grumbling, I opened the door. In no time, the red-haired man entered through the front door, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. “Damn it, it’s so hot I could die, and why the hell you’re taking your time opening the door!”

The man, who was visibly angry, entered the house without hesitation.

‘Whether it’s the vice-guild leader or a guild member, just do your errands quickly and leave. I’m exhausted.’

Feeling fatigued due to the lack of sleep from preparing for the morning, I was soon feeling overwhelmed.

‘Ah, should I skip going to the item store and just sleep? Why do I have to waste my time possessing this body in such a place? I need coffee, coffee.’

Thinking of having coffee in the living room once that shabby man left, I absentmindedly stared at Seo Taeju’s room when the man came out holding a document envelope.

“Hyung has really got himself into a mess. Taejoo hyung sure is having a hard time.”

‘What does it have to do with me that Seo Taeju, that dam*ed bastard, is having a hard time?

I shrugged my shoulders and waved my hand dismissively. “Stop talking nonsense. If you’re done with your business, just leave.”

As I was about to head to the kitchen to get a coffee, annoyed at having waited for no reason, the man grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. “Damn it. Hey, is that all you have to say with that big mouth?”

‘What— the hell is this guy’s problem? Treating someone nicely only makes them take you for granted. Who does he think he is to talk like that? If you’re going to do it, at least do it quietly like me.’

The man’s expression crumpled mercilessly as I furrowed my brows.

“‘What’? Did I just hear a ‘what’ from your mouth?”

“So, when a stranger curses at you, you say, ‘Ah, thank you for cursing at me.’?”

“Ha! You’ve really gone mad.”

“Hey, I don’t know why you’re freaking out, but you should leave while I’m being nice. I’m pretty annoyed right now, too,” I argued, pushing the guy away and turned my body back around.

Even though I possessed Seo Go-woon’s body, I wasn’t Kim Hae ah’s Seo Go-woon. There was no reason for me to take any abuse simply because I had possessed Seo Go-woon’s body, regardless of what kind of accident he had caused.

That’s when the man shouted sharply. “Do you know how much trouble my hyung went through because of the Seohyeon-dong monster wave?!”

‘Seohyeon-dong? Wasn’t that the monster wave I eliminated after possessing this body by closing the Gate? What does that have to do with anything?’

As I turned around, puzzled by his nonsensical words, the man with an angry face gritted his teeth and spoke, “Taeju, my hyung, was in the middle of a dungeon raid with the people from the Association that day! If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have had to give up on the dungeon! He got into debt with the Association because you sent a message! Because of trash like you!”

‘The Association. The government operates Association like an army in order to supervise dungeons that they are running themselves. So the Association that this guy is talking about must be that.’

I snorted at the ridiculous passing of responsibility. “How is that my fault?”

“What?”

‘I didn’t know if Seo Go-woon had sent a message before I possessed him. But is that important?’

“Whether he received a message or not, it was Seo Taeju who made the choice, wasn’t it? Even if he received a message, if he didn’t want to be indebted to others, he shouldn’t have come.”

“You’re insane, is that really what you’re saying now!”

“If I begged for help in a message, if he didn’t want to, he wouldn’t have come, right?”

“Wow, seriously. You’re a real psycho. Now I really thought you are as trash.”

“Right, I’m a psycho. Instead of dealing with a psycho like me, if your precious hyung is so important, why don’t you worry about how he’s going to repay the debt he owes to the Association?”

I clicked my tongue and turned my body around. I was feeling exhausted from being harassed by two people since morning.

‘Is my luck terrible today, or why do these crazy bastards keep barking?’

“I feel sorry for Taeju hung, having a guy like you as his brother.”

“Right. Thanks. So, if you’re done, get lost already.”

As I tried to shake the unruly guy off, I could hear the sound of the guy stomping his feet, unable to contain his irritation from behind me.

His behavior looked somewhat cute, so I chuckled while sipping my coffee.

‘He’s not even a Chihuahua. His owner must’ve taken care of him well,’ I mused.

It almost seemed like I could see an imaginary tail wagging behind him