“Wouldn’t it be better to get guidance?”

Seo Yun-jin suggested again, sensing Myung-hwon’s contained energy.

“It’s fine.”

“…If Myung-hwon says it’s fine, then I suppose it’s okay. But it’s not good to go too long without guidance.”

“It’s fine.”

Myung-hwon’s repeated firm refusal created an atmosphere that discouraged further questions. Seo Yun-jin, realizing she couldn’t push further, fell silent.

Guidance wasn’t something that could be forced.

It was especially impossible to force on Myung-hwon, who harbored an almost phobic reaction to guides.

“I’ll contact the collection team since we finished earlier than expected, so you guys go ahead.”

Kang No-hun spoke cheerfully, breaking through the awkward atmosphere.

“Aren’t you coming, Myung-hwon?”

When the team members had gone ahead, Myung-hwon, who remained behind with Kang No-hun, spoke with difficulty.

“I’m sorry. It seems I sleepwalked all the way to D Department Store again.”

Now alert, Myung-hwon apologized to Kang No-hun, his face haggard. This explained his earlier spaced-out appearance – he had been sleeping.

“It’s okay. It was good that we stayed at hotels for a while.”

Despite what must have seemed like a serious incident, Kang No-hun responded without elaborating further.

“You don’t have to stay at hotels because of me…”

Myung-hwon spoke, clearly uncomfortable with accepting help, but Kang No-hun quickly cut him off.

“I do it because I want to.”

Kang No-hun led Myung-hwon out, saying they should leave now that the calls were done. They had just escaped from the dungeon when it happened.

Rrrrr.

Myung-hwon seemed ready to say something more, but the phone ring forced him to stop.

It was an unfamiliar number, not saved in his contacts. Just before the call would have ended, Myung-hwon pressed the answer button.

—Hello? Is this Yeo Myung-hwon?

“Yes. What is this about?”

After a brief introduction as the team leader of a newly formed TF team responding to AGT’s large-scale crimes, they got straight to the point.

—I’d like to request an identity verification.

“…Pardon?”

—You’re registered as Woo Ju-eon’s guardian, correct?

“Yes.”

Myung-hwon’s expression instantly hardened, seeming to sense something ominous in the voice on the other end.

The other party cleared their throat briefly at Myung-hwon’s darkened voice.

—We received additional information that more bodies were discovered while clearing the D Department Store debris, but the bodies are too severely damaged…

“…”

—We’d like to request identification through personal effects found with them.

“…”

Myung-hwon’s hand gripped the phone tightly.

—Mr. Yeo Myung-hwon?

“…”

—Mr. Yeo Myung-hwon? Can you not hear me well? Mr. Yeo…

Crack!

The phone suddenly split in two.

“…Why did you suddenly break your phone? Who called?”

Kang No-hun, standing beside him, asked while fixated on the broken phone.

“It’s… nothing.”

“Myung-hwon, your hand is bleeding!”

Blood dripped from his palm where his nails had dug in from clenching his fist too tightly.

“I’m fine.”

It remained unclear whether he meant his hand was fine or he was trying to convince himself he was fine.

“Myung-hwon. This is all an illusion. You don’t need to suffer. Myung-hwon…! You just need to wake up from this dream.”

So please don’t make such a pained expression.

Ju-eon clung to Myung-hwon’s side, but Myung-hwon remained oblivious to his presence.

Swish swish swish.

The fog once again crept between the two people.

“Yeo Myung-hwon!”

Ju-eon called out Myung-hwon’s name loudly. The sight of his dark expression filled with grief was maddening to merely observe. A deep sense of helplessness enveloped Ju-eon. His legs trembled from the emotions drained with each changing scene.

This time they were in a dark room. A familiar place. The house they had lived in together. Not a single light illuminated the darkness.

Myung-hwon sat alone in the darkness, motionless, resembling a lifeless form. The silence-filled living room felt suffocating.

“Myung-hwon. Please don’t be like this.”

Ju-eon pleaded, but Myung-hwon remained deaf to his voice.

Why couldn’t Myung-hwon realize these painful moments were false? The Myung-hwon he knew would have shaken off such nightmares quickly.

Ju-eon sat next to Myung-hwon and rested his cheek on his shoulder. No matter how much he shouted or hit him, Myung-hwon couldn’t perceive Ju-eon’s existence.

Watching Myung-hwon sink deeper into solitude brought pain. When would Myung-hwon realize this wasn’t reality?

After staring out the window for a long while, Myung-hwon muttered.

“Should have never said you’d come back…”

Myung-hwon’s suppressed true feelings erupted under cover of darkness. His resentful voice carried undertones of longing. At those words, Ju-eon lifted his head. Myung-hwon’s murmur struck Ju-eon like a powerful blow to the back of his head.

‘Myung-hwon. I’ll definitely come back.’

The words from the past flashed through Ju-eon’s mind again.

Thud.

At this worst possible moment, Ju-eon’s final memory fragment returned. This wasn’t something fabricated by the Nightmare. This recurring nightmare was something Myung-hwon had actually lived through in the past.

There was no need to create a fake world to show Myung-hwon. Because Myung-hwon had been walking through his greatest h*ll for years already. They simply needed to repeat the past. Then Yeo Myung-hwon would self-destruct on his own.

Myung-hwon had endured for years on Ju-eon’s single promise to return, but that promise had already deteriorated. It resembled a decaying skeleton barely maintaining balance, ready to collapse at the slightest breeze.

Everything Ju-eon had seen wasn’t artificially created situations. They were moments that had once been reality for Myung-hwon.

The doll sitting oddly alone on the dining table, when Myung-hwon had changed his words and said he loved him. And even his recent self who, hurt by incomplete memories, wanted to hurt Myung-hwon back by coldly saying they were already separated – it all came back to him.

He had clearly said he would return, but it was too cruel to ask someone to wait based on that one promise alone.

It was him. He had ruined Yeo Myung-hwon.

Only now did Ju-eon realize that his request to wait could transform into despair rather than hope.

His words had been too selfish. Because of him, Myung-hwon couldn’t escape from this nightmare. This was all his fault. Ju-eon stood up and looked at Myung-hwon sitting on the sofa. Guilt weighed heavily on his chest.

“…Should I… leave instead.”

Perhaps even returning had been a selfish choice. He had wanted to recover his memories so badly. But now that he had, his insides felt bitter.

‘Get it together.’

This wasn’t the time to be swept away by emotions. That would be exactly what the Nightmare wanted.

Just as Ju-eon tried to distance himself from Myung-hwon to regain his composure.

Grab.

A hot hand seized Ju-eon’s wrist.

“You’re leaving?”

The gaze that had been wandering through empty space finally focused. Myung-hwon was now looking directly at Ju-eon.

Crackle-!

His fierce energy invaded Ju-eon’s blood vessels through his captured hand. It stung each time the sharp energy stirred inside Ju-eon.

“This is a dungeon right now.”

Ju-eon quickly explained to Myung-hwon who seemed to have regained his senses.

Crackle-!

“Even if everything else is a dream, you right in front of my eyes are real.”

“When did you wake up?”

“The moment you said you were leaving me.”

“There’s a reason I said that. I’ll explain everything.”

Ju-eon spoke in a calmer tone to try to pacify Myung-hwon, but the grip on his hand only intensified.

“You’re leaving?”

“It hurts. Let go.”

“You think I’ll let you disappear like that again.”

“I won’t run away.”

“Liar.”

When Ju-eon tried to remove Myung-hwon’s arm, his hand wouldn’t budge. Myung-hwon, who had risen from his seat by now, held Ju-eon in his arms.

“Ju-eon.”

He called the name that made him want to die just from pronouncing it.

“Even if you die, die by my side.”

The chilling voice coiled around Ju-eon’s heart, traveling up his throat faster than even the Nightmare’s fog.

“I’ll die with you.”

Ju-eon stopped trying to break free when he sensed the anxiety beneath the constricting force.

Crackle.

Crash!

Crash!

The sound of breaking came from all directions. Everything except the two of them started to crack. Starting from the sofa they had been sitting on, the house, even the sky began to crumble into powder.

What remained after everything crumbled was darkness. A void where front and back, high and low were indistinguishable.

W-what’s suddenly happening?

Even the Nightmare, appearing in mid-air and spinning around in panic, seemed to find this moment unexpected.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll die with you anytime. So never say you’re leaving again.”

Swish swish.

Screech.

A spine-chilling sound of the sky twisting echoed. Space-time distorted.

“N-no! Th-this isn’t how it’s s-supposed to work.”

The Nightmare’s dungeon could only be cleared through mental strength. But Myung-hwon hadn’t overcome the Nightmare’s dungeon with mental strength. He had destroyed the Nightmare’s domain with overwhelming power.

Kyaaaaaah!

A blood-curdling scream filled the air.