Everyone was managing their expressions perfectly, like the professionals they were, but Heeyoung, feeling awkward for no good reason, gasped for the breath that had built up, then plopped down and crossed her arms.
Shit, honestly, it had been terrifying. In nearly fifty years of life, he'd never been afraid of some bastard charging at him with a knife or a car coming to run him down. But ghosts, even at his age, were scary as all hell.
For one thing, the fact that it couldn't be solved with his fists made Heeyoung feel weak. He'd lived a life where most things could be settled with violence and money, but the fact that none of that worked on ghosts, not even a bean's worth, drove him insane.
On top of that, whenever men got together they'd inevitably show off their so-called guts, and all sorts of terrifying stories would come spilling out. Hyung, this really happened at my grandmother's place, one of them would start, and the tales he'd heard only stoked Heeyoung's fear further.
It wasn't that he was afraid of the dark or terrified of being alone, though. So in Heeyoung's life, which he'd somehow managed to live well enough, the ghost dungeon was the second great ordeal he'd ever faced.
The first, of course, had been opening his eyes in this damned body and meeting that bastard.
He'd figured going to a dungeon would be better than growing attached to this body, but now that he was actually facing it, this was no less unbearable.
Ah, I really should just go back. I can't live like this here...
Chaeyun, who had been watching the expression on Heeyoung's face, an expression that said I'm royally screwed to anyone who looked, smiled kindly and spoke.
“Heeyoung, it's not a real ghost. That name just got stuck to the monster because its form is blurry and people can't touch it. When that monster passes through or brushes against an esper, it makes their guiding value drop sharply, but it can't actually harm a person. It's just that since it has no physical form, there's no way to exterminate it other than closing the dungeon, so it's just a nuisance. We classify it as the lowest-tier monster.”
So how is that any different from a ghost?
Heeyoung wore a look of pure disbelief. No physical form, passes through people, can't be gotten rid of physically... That's just a ghost.
As Heeyoung's expression soured even further, the others waved their hands and hurriedly went on.
“It only sounds that way. Once you actually see it, it's nothing! In fact, it's such a non-issue that you'll probably think even you could beat it down.”
“Didn't you just say there was no way to exterminate it?”
“Well, of course you can't actually beat it down, but it's that much of a nothing...”
What are they even saying... This world really has no answers, in all sorts of ways...
“Agh, forget it!” Heeyoung snapped, temper flaring, and turned his head away. But his anxiety clearly still hadn't been eased, because he kept jiggling one leg up and down. Watching Heeyoung like that, the Strategy Team members wore looks of dread, but Shinyul, Assistant Manager Seong, and Senior Staff Shin started teasing Heeyoung with faces full of mischief.
“Eeeh, Heeyoung. Are you scared of ghosts? Really?”
“For crying out loud, look at the way you talk to your elders.”
“My apologies. Sir, would you happen to be frightened of ghosts?”
“You little shit, go get me a bat.”
The team members chattered among themselves during the lull while the meeting was paused. In truth, the meeting was as good as over. Every bit of information had been shared, and there was a strategy built around it, but from the very start, the fact that two S-class espers had been thrown in made the Center's intent, to just steamroll it with brute force, strategy be damned, plainly obvious, so there wasn't much to say. The meeting hadn't ended only because Heeyoung had barged in at the last minute.
The Strategy Analysis Team members were on edge, worried about what they'd do if Heeyoung, who had a psychiatric history, suddenly declared he wouldn't go into the dungeon. It was because the higher-ups had earnestly, repeatedly stressed the matter of Guide Yoo Heeyoung.
An S-class guide and, at the same time, the matched guide of that very Han Shinyul. Because of him, the efficiency of the S-class esper Han Shinyul had risen exponentially, making him a guide the Center treasured. Especially since, despite being badly injured in the last dungeon, he'd even requested dungeon entry himself, the positive evaluation of Guide Yoo Heeyoung was at its peak.
So if Heeyoung suddenly changed his mind and refused, it was obvious that dealing with the fallout would fall to the Strategy Analysis Team. They too had scrambled to gather information about the dungeon, and to prevent injuries like the last time, it had even come to the point of putting a full two S-classes into a single dungeon, but in any case, they had to make sure Guide Yoo Heeyoung would stay positive about entering dungeons going forward.
Assistant Manager Seong seemed to catch on to the Analysis Team's thinking, because he winked toward them and struck up a conversation with Heeyoung. The Analysis Team's sparkling gazes poured onto Assistant Manager Seong.
Assistant Manager Seong...! Famous for being good at his job... well, really he's famous for going through a lot of hardship, but that's basically the same thing... We're counting on you...!
“Heeyoung, don't worry. Shinyul will protect you well.”
“They said you can't exterminate it, though. And that guy was the one begging me to save him first.”
“Princess, save me.”
“See, look at this... Ugh, my head hurts...”
Assistant Manager Seong, grinning, gave a hard smack, thwack!, to the back of Shinyul, who was shoving his face toward Heeyoung, then forced a smile again and said,
“Do you really hate ghosts that much? Oh, what to do... And our Heeyoung has such a weak body too... Should we just go ahead and cancel this dungeon?”
At Assistant Manager Seong's words, the Strategy Analysis Team members jumped. No, sir...! We were counting on you, what are you saying...! But the one who suddenly raised his voice was none other than Heeyoung.
“Ah, that's that and this is this! Have I ever said I'd do something and then not done it?”
“No, never! As expected~ You're just too amazing!”
The more Assistant Manager Seong and Senior Staff Shin's praise continued, the more Heeyoung's shoulders rose. Having lived his whole life somewhere praise was scarce, even praise that treated him like a child inevitably put him in a good mood. Heeyoung waved his hand, “Ah, stop it, stop it!”, but he couldn't do anything about the faint smile that surfaced at the corners of his mouth.
Whew... The Strategy Analysis Team members, letting out sighs of relief, threw up their thumbs where Heeyoung couldn't see and got busy moving. With everyone's entry confirmed, it was time to quickly open the way and clear the dungeon.
They must have been in quite a hurry, because after a bit of trading dull jokes, they called for Heeyoung, saying preparations were done. Talk about doing everything in a flash... As if a dungeon weren't already unsettling enough to enter, now that things resembling ghosts were wandering around inside, it made him even gloomier. Heeyoung let out a deep sigh, Ugh, and went to stand beside Shinyul.
“Is some weird kid gonna come open a magic door like last time? I kind of want to hit the bathroom.”
“Yeah, that's what'll happen. But, princess...”
“What.”
When Heeyoung answered flippantly, Shinyul stood before him with a genuinely serious face. What, did something big happen? As Heeyoung took a wary step back, Shinyul grabbed his hand firmly and said in an earnest voice,
“Ghosts are scary, so from now on let's go to the bathroom together too.”
“...Before I go to the bathroom, I think I need to kill you first.”
This time too, when he opened his eyes, it was a seashore. Recalling the movement-type esper who'd helped with the transport, Heeyoung thought blankly, With just one guy like that from before, a trip around the world would be over in no time...
Everyone except Heeyoung was busy. They put up fences to keep back the crowd of people murmuring and swarming in, and checked energy levels at the dungeon entrance that rippled in a dark crimson, surveying the situation. Maybe because only four people were entering this time, the gear looked a bit more modest and sparse.
“We'll be entering shortly!”
Heeyoung let out a heavy sigh as he watched Shinyul approaching quickly. Say what you will, he was in the middle of making a fuss to break his attachment to that guy, and yet here he was, about to cross the line between life and death alongside him inside a perilous dungeon. Was he breaking the attachment, or forming it?
Grumbling inwardly, Heeyoung nonetheless nestled obediently into Shinyul's arms. From the moment of dungeon entry, guiding values would drop and people would faint one after another, so they'd decided each guide would be carried in and then move from there. Even without that, Heeyoung had been planning to be carried around by Shinyul anyway. Better than before, sure, but this scrawny body still had astonishingly garbage-tier stamina.
He had no intention whatsoever of tottering around and getting left behind in a suspicious place that, unlike last time, wasn't crowded with people or open to view on all sides.
Besides, Han Shinyul was a guy who could beat down monsters even from a seated position. Even with him clinging on, it wouldn't cause any problems with beating down monsters, and that put his mind at ease too.
No matter what else he tried to think about, there was no helping the tension. The inside was pitch-black all around and ghost-like things popped out abruptly? Just thinking about it broke him out in a cold sweat. He'd almost rather have the last dungeon. Ironically, that dungeon was fairly old and well-known, so there was no dungeon briefing or strategy meeting.
Because of that, Heeyoung had entered without any information about the dungeon at all. Ignorance is bliss. Back then he'd only worried about what kind of monster might appear, and had never once thought about how scary the dungeon itself might be.
Shinyul, who had been quietly watching Heeyoung's expression darken, tenderly brushed Heeyoung's forehead and planted a light peck on it. Feeling the sensation of lips touching his forehead, Heeyoung clicked his tongue inwardly. Are you sure you came here to break your attachment to this body?
“I get it, you two are in love, so can we get going now?”
Chaeyun urged Shinyul on. Heeyoung, who had sunk into his own thoughts, hurriedly glanced around. Everyone was looking at Shinyul and Heeyoung.
Ah, shit, please... Stop with the social murder already...
Holding the despairing Heeyoung, Shinyul crossed the dungeon entrance in an instant.
