The one who left this will was Lee Kangjin, who had played the role of the leader of the Revengers. Unlike Yoon Seo, whose main skills were in protection, Lee Kangjin specialized in offensive skills. Since they worked well together as a team, they often stuck together.
'Whether all of us make it out, or only one of us does, we have to find a good home. A cozy and peaceful place. Three rooms, two bathrooms. A spacious terrace, with plenty of sunlight. We can decide later whether to get a pet or raise plants, but first, once we get out, we have to buy a house right away. We promised.'
Lee Kangjin had repeated those words so often they were ingrained in Yoon Seo's mind. Especially after Lee Domin's death, he had become even more insistent. At that time, Yoon Seo had already planned to die once he left the Great Dungeon, but seeing how exhausted and worn out Lee Kangjin was, he had linked pinkies and promised him.
The last person Yoon Seo saw before leaving the Great Dungeon was also Lee Kangjin. When he opened his eyes in a comfortable hospital bed after escaping, he was told that Lee Kangjin had not made it out of the dungeon.
Though Lee Kangjin hadn't left a specific will for him, Yoon Seo could only consider the words he had always repeated as his will and had no choice but to follow them.
A cozy and peaceful home. Three rooms, two bathrooms. A spacious terrace, with plenty of sunlight.
The house Yoon Seo had spent a fortune on was structured exactly as he had described. Perhaps because he had spent too much on the shield traps, the soundproofing wasn't perfect, and he could hear the children next door fighting, the loud thuds of footsteps from above, and the barking of a dog from somewhere. But when he sat in the comfortable chair on the sunlit terrace at midday, closing his eyes and basking in the warm sunlight, all the noise became insignificant.
However, despite having such a beautiful terrace, the place where Yoon Seo spent most of his time was actually the living room sofa.
More precisely, in front of the TV.
Today, as soon as he returned home, he showered, sat down on the sofa without even drying his hair, and turned on the TV. Having been significantly stressed out from his conversation with Kwon Jihan, he decided to postpone today's wills and start by rewatching Love in Han River. It was a 42-episode drama, and this would be his tenth time rewatching it.
The table was always covered with snacks for his TV sessions. His water cup was filled to the brim, and he adjusted the lighting. Now, all that was left was to sink into the plush sofa and enjoy the drama.
"Ah."
He had planned to skip today's wills, but this one had to be done.
Yoon Seo bent his knees, stretched his arms forward, straightened his back, then slowly straightened his legs after holding the position for a moment. He repeated the motion. Squats.
At first, it had been so exhausting that he had wondered why he even needed to do this—he had even considered ignoring all the wills and just dying. But now, ten years later, he could even focus on the drama while doing squats.
"In kimchi jjigae… you have to add pacific saury…."
"No, you put pork in kimchi jjigae. Get a grip, please!"
"Pacific saury… pacific saury and aged kimchi…."
"Let's eat aged kimchi. But instead of pacific saury, I'll use pork, okay?"
"There's no meaning if it's not pacific saury…."
Just as Yoon Seo was watching the conflict between the supporting couple, who were divided between the pacific saury faction and the pork faction in episode one, his phone buzzed three short times on the table.
He calmly finished five more squats before flopping onto the sofa and checking his messages.
[Soo Jaehee] Hyung! Can you take a call right now?
[Soo Jaehee] Yoon Seo hyung, what are you doing?
[Soo Jaehee] Hyung hyung~~~~
[Soo Jaehee] Yoon Seo hyung, you're not ignoring my messages, right? It's not about what happened with Jihan hyung today, so please pick up.
As memories of his meeting with Kwon Jihan, which he had barely managed to forget, resurfaced, Yoon Seo furrowed his brows. Thinking it would be better to deal with it quickly, he immediately called Soo Jaehee. Soo Jaehee greeted him with exaggerated excitement before getting straight to the point.
– I was so startled earlier that I forgot to mention it, but since tomorrow is the weekend, do you want to go to the item market together? The guild master hyung told me to make sure Yoon Seo Hunter gets a weapon since you don't have one yet.
"Are you talking about the Yangpyeong item market?"
– Yes, the guild master hyung even gave me a 20% discount coupon to help you buy one. It's a coupon that only Seokyoung A-rank or higher can get.
"I don't need it. I'll just pick something suitable from Seokyoung's item crafting department."
He couldn't waste his precious weekend on something like that. Yoon Seo was a very busy person. He had to go hiking, fishing, write poetry, paint, play the piano, and bake cookies.
– Ah, hyung. Why thoOoOoo?
As soon as Yoon Seo refused, Soo Jaehee whined in a cringeworthy, exaggeratedly cute voice, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
– The guild master hyung specifically told me to go with you. That way, I get a 20% discount coupon too.
So that's what this was about. Just as Yoon Seo was about to smirk and refuse again—
– I also have things to buy, and tomorrow evening, Seo Chaeyoon's weapon item is going to be on display, so I have to go no matter what.
"…What weapon?"
– Seo Chaeyoon's weapon item. It hasn't hit the news yet, but the actual dagger that Seo Chaeyoon used will be on public display for just this weekend. No matter how lazy you are on weekends, you have to go see this!
Yoon Seo froze, still holding his phone. If it was the dagger Seo Chaeyoon had used, there was only one….
"'Existing Spirit'…."
– Yes, yes. That's right. I knew hyung would know.
When Yoon Seo absentmindedly muttered, Soo Jaehee sounded delighted. Yoon Seo, feeling dizzy, pulled the noisy phone away from his ear and pressed his forehead. He considered taking a sedative but decided it wasn't that serious.
He thought he had left it in the dungeon.
He had believed it was lost forever, yet it had been waiting for him somewhere all this time?
His heart pounded violently. That wasn't some object meant to be displayed somewhere.
'I have to save it.'
Yoon Seo had to take responsibility for 'Existing Spirit.' Since it was bound to him… After ten years, he had no idea what condition it was in. Maybe the spirit had already faded away, but even so, Yoon Seo had to reclaim it and take responsibility.
– Only the real VVIPs were invited, and on Saturday, it's open for 30 minutes, while on Sunday, it's open for an hour. Even Seokyoung only got ten tickets, but five of them were given to our Perfect Team 1. The guild master hyung knows we're all Seo Chaeyoon groupies. If they hadn't given us tickets, we would've just taken them by force, so they handed them over willingly. Alec ahjussi and the couple hyung-noona decided to go see it on Sunday, but I don't want to be around them, it's too chaotic. And there's no need to stare at an unmoving weapon for an hour, so I want to go tomorrow.
"Understood. See you tomorrow."
– Oh, so hyung is interested too, huh? When it comes to Seo Chaeyoon, we're all the same.
Yoon Seo set a time and place with Soo Jaehee before hanging up. After that, he couldn't focus on his drama anymore.
Pressing his temples to ease his throbbing headache, he eventually popped a handful of sedatives and went to bed early. Naturally, the dream he had was a nightmare, and he soon woke up with a start… Only after taking more sleeping pills than usual, which he always kept on hand, was he finally able to fall asleep.
***
Peep. Peep peep.
A small blue bird had been flitting around Yoon Seo all morning, pestering him. At first, he simply went along with it, but when he stopped responding, the bird began tugging at his black hair with its beak, throwing a tantrum.
'Chaeyoon, calm this thing down. It's going to pass out from crying.'
Eventually, unable to watch any longer, Lee Domin spoke up. The bird, as if understanding his words, let out an even more sorrowful cry.
'Our eardrums are going to burst because of Seo Chaeyoon's bird. Hurry up and calm it down.'
'Seo Chaeyoon is a bad person for tormenting a tiny bird.'
'Chaeyoon, what kind of fortune are you trying to gain by fighting with that tiny thing?'
As his friend started speaking, others began chiming in with their complaints. Even foreign hunters added a word or two in Korean, and in an instant, hundreds of remarks piled up. Yoon Seo finally sighed and raised his palm, calling out the spirit's name.
Peep! Peeeeep!
The bird fluttered over, landing in his palm, then dramatically turned its tiny face away as if sulking.
The reason the spirit was acting like this was because, the day before, Yoon Seo had briefly used another hunter's dagger to fight a monster. The situation had been too urgent to choose, so he had simply grabbed whatever weapon was closest and finished the battle. When he turned around, the little bird was staring at him with wide eyes, as if to say, 'How could you use another weapon instead of me?'
'You know I had no choice yesterday. That was the only thing within reach.'
Peep!
'Alright, alright. I won't do it again. I'll just take the hit next time, okay?'
Peep. Peep.
'What exactly do you want me to do….'
Yoon Seo let out a small sigh and gently stroked the bird's back with his other hand.
Peeeeeeep.
The bird lightly tapped his finger with its beak, then rubbed its round face against him. Yoon Seo's lips curled into a faint smile at the tiny display of affection. Seeing that, the bird flapped its wings excitedly. It sulked easily, but once comforted, its mood lifted just as quickly.
Beside them, Yoon Seo's friend chuckled. Other hunters also softened with warm smiles.
That was back when they had started with 1,203 people and were down to 597.
***
Yoon Seo woke up before his alarm rang. His entire body ached as if he had been beaten. It was probably the stress from the dreams he had. The moment he opened his eyes, he took his medication, did some light stretching, then turned on the TV while heading to the kitchen.
The news anchor's excited voice filled the room, reporting that Seo Chaeyoon's weapon would be on display at the item market for two days over the weekend. It seemed the article had been published at dawn.
"With growing concerns that limiting the exhibition to a select few is unfair, the organizers stated that, due to security reasons, extending the viewing hours is impossible. However, they will allow video viewing and are currently negotiating with the weapon's owner regarding increasing the number of spectators."
With dark circles under his eyes, Yoon Seo began cooking stew and setting out side dishes. Even when eating breakfast, he made sure to have black rice, three types of vegetable sides, one meat dish, and either stew or soup, ensuring a hearty meal.
Of course, it was because of a will.
'Who knew joining Perfect would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.'
He thought to himself as he plated the side dishes.