BCGWR Chapter 1

001.

Prologue

Unless one has been forewarned of an impending grace period, given ample time to prepare, and made arrangements for the end, most partings arrive suddenly, at an unexpected moment.

“I’m off to school!”

Some left their homes, greeting the morning as they had done their entire lives, only to never return.

“Aren’t you hungry? Just a little longer, Dad bought tteokbokki and튀김~ Just need to cross the street~”

Others said they would be home soon but never came back, even after countless seasons changed.

“Sorry I’m late, I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

And for some, a cute emoji with clasped hands and a sad face, added at the end of an apology, became their last message.

Han Ji-su also experienced a parting not unlike these stories.

The last message from his older brother read, “The traffic isn’t as bad, I’ll arrive earlier than planned. Take your time.” At the same time, a message from his younger brother was a question, “Hyung, can we ask Jae-yoon Hyung to buy us something delicious later?” accompanied by a hamster emoji tilting its head.

When those messages appeared in the family group chat, Han Ji-su was dozing off with his head down in the car, so he couldn’t reply in time.

Much later, Han Ji-su’s replies were entirely different from their questions.

“Hyung, I’m okay. You’re with Ji-yul right now, aren’t you? Can you see my message?”

“Hyung, I’m gathered here with Kang Jae-yoon Hyung and other people. My portable charger is running low, so I’ll contact you again later. If you see my message, please write down where you are. Okay?”

“Hyung, we’re at the Seoul No. 8 Shelter. We even met government officials. Thanks to Kang Jae-yoon Hyung, they said they’d look into your and Ji-yul’s location, so we’re waiting. We’ll be able to meet again soon.”

“Hyung, I miss you. I miss Ji-yul so much too.”

“Ji-yul. Are you doing well with Hyung over there? Seoul is getting a bit better now.”

“Hyung, how is it over there? Is it cold? I’m in Daegu right now. We failed to clear the Ice Palace Dungeon, so we’re waiting for the 3rd entry. Thanks to that, it’s snowing heavily in Daegu in August. (Photo)”

“Hyung, are you doing well? I’m feeling a bit down today. Suddenly, yours and Ji-yul’s chat names and profile pictures disappeared, and they show up as unknown contacts like this. (Photo) They told me it’s because you haven’t logged in for over a year. They said it can’t be recovered. But it’s okay. I took screenshots of everything just in case. Still, I just feel a bit… I miss you… I miss you every day, but today I miss you even more.”

“Ji-yul, happy birthday. It’s already been three years. Kang Jae-yoon Hyung says happy birthday too. I really miss you both so much. I love you.”

“Hyung, happy birthday. I miss you. I love you.”

“Hyung, Ji-yul, Kang Jae-yoon Hyung and I both received awards from the country. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Today, I dreamed of you and Ji-yul, but you walked too fast, leaving me behind, and I couldn’t catch up. I’m sorry.”

“M.ss y.u…”

“Both of you, please appear in my dreams and let me hear your voices.”

“Today was a tough day. I miss Hyung and Ji-yul even more today.”

…

…

…

Han Ji-su scrolled through the messages he had sent alone for nearly six years, then chuckled softly, scrolled to the very bottom of the screen, and tapped on the keypad.

After typing a message with a series of taps, he felt it would be a bit strange to send just text, so he added a rabbit emoji hugging a heart and running.

“Hyung. Ji-yul. You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you? I’m coming to meet you now. Start coming out to greet me.”

The rabbit sent with the text was running diligently, hugging a heart bigger than its own body. Even as it profusely sweated, its beaming smile, seemingly so happy, felt just like himself at this moment.

After gazing blankly at the screen for a moment, Ji-su put it in his pocket, took a deep breath, and lifted his head. He saw the dark night sky. Looking at the sky sparkling with countless stars, he felt a strange emotion.

Shaking his head to clear away any unnecessary sentimentality, Ji-su steadied himself and strode purposefully into the blazing Dungeon Gate before him.

Upon entering the space where time and space were inverted, the surrounding noise was completely cut off, and a strong wind blew. Instead of a dark, rural area, a vast meadow unfolded before his eyes.

The Dungeon, which had already been cleared five times, showed no detectable dangers. Ji-su surveyed the surroundings, confirmed it was safe, and looked up at the system window in the center of the Dungeon’s sky.

“Time remaining until Dungeon reset: 15:18 / Number of entrants: 1”

As expected, there was no one else in the Dungeon, which was about to undergo Dungeon Annihilation, except for him. As he slowly stepped forward, waist-high reed-like plants swayed in the wind, tickling his sides.

Walking steadily forward as if on a stroll, Han Ji-su looked up at the Dungeon’s sky, which was dyed a deep crimson unlike the night sky he had seen moments ago. The red sky was high, and the wind, though strong, was pleasantly cool, lifting his spirits.

The wind at his back pushed him forward, as if urging him to come this way. Ji-su walked for a few minutes, following the wind, then stopped at a suitable spot near a cliff and offered a faint smile.

Though the plan had been hastily put together under time pressure and was somewhat clumsy, he was glad that with several strokes of luck, it had proceeded perfectly, finally bringing him to this point.

“Whew… What a beautiful day.”

Truly, it was a good day to meet his loved ones.