IRNH C67

Chapter 67

“I should get going now.”

“Yes, please go ahead. I’ll come by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Alright.”

Sihyeon stopped the sound-transmission he’d been using and lifted his head.

It was nearly midnight. After the two people left, the room was dark, illuminated only by a dim bedside lamp casting a weak glow near the bed. Sihyeon approached Gyu-min, who was standing alone, and made his presence known.

“Ah, hyungnim. You’re here? You should’ve called.”

“It’s fine. More importantly… the situation seems pretty bad.”

“Oh, you heard? Haha.”

Compared to the day of the incident, Gyu-min actually looked much better. The fact that all of this hadn’t been Gyu-hwan’s intention—and that he hadn’t died—seemed to be the only things giving him comfort.

“Well, seeing hyung, who handled so much work, lying here like this… It turns out he was doing way more than I thought. Ah, and I didn’t want to work either.”

His laugh sounded cheerful, but Sihyeon placed a hand on his shoulder and then dropped onto the sofa beside him.

“He’ll be okay.”

“Of course! He’s still alive, after all. Oh right—most of the Glory Guild members were treated successfully. It’ll take a while, but it looks like the brainwashing can be undone.”

The words sounded optimistic—like things were progressing well.
But notably absent was any mention of undoing Gyu-hwan’s brainwashing.

Sihyeon caught that instantly. He paused for a moment, then spoke.

“I’m tracking down the ones who caused all this. No—Taewoon and I are.”

“…What?”

“So that means there’s a chance we can wake Gyu-hwan up.”

Sihyeon wiped the forced smile off his face and gave a faint one instead as he looked at the stunned Gyu-min. He would’ve preferred handling this alone, but he couldn’t just leave someone who suffered as much as he did out of it.

If things had turned out this way, then he’d pull Gyu-min in and finish this faster—track them down, crush them, and end this.

He had strength.
Gyu-min had money and access to information.

There was no point digging through it alone when he could just use every resource available. And of course, the trust Gyu-min had built with him made the decision much easier.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

It seemed Gyu-min was thinking the same. Without fuss or questions, he immediately offered help.
Only then did Sihyeon smile fully and nod.

“Yes. A lot.”

The mild expression that usually rested on Gyu-min’s face hardened into one of firm resolve—like someone who had just made a major decision.

Gyu-min wanted a way to treat his brother and take revenge.
Sihyeon wanted to uncover and eliminate the ones who kept disturbing his life—both regarding the problem at home and beyond.
And Taewoon… though he hadn’t voiced it yet, he needed to find out why his powers vanished and returned intermittently—and that answer lay with the enemy.

It was the moment all their goals aligned.

“Let’s move somewhere else. Even if he isn’t waking up, it doesn’t feel right talking loudly next to someone asleep.”

“There’s a sitting room in that direction. Let’s go there.”

They moved quickly. As soon as Sihyeon sat down on the sofa in the bright room lit by fluorescent lights, he got to the point.

“As you know, Taewoon and I are strong. But we don’t know the hunter system or legal procedures well. I’m sure you’ve started noticing that.”

Gyu-min blinked, then slowly nodded.

“Yes. I’ve been… suspecting it…”

At first, he genuinely thought Sihyeon was a Dreamwalker and just unfamiliar with things. But the more time he spent with him, the more something felt off.
He didn’t just not know—he didn’t know anything. Basic concepts he grasped vaguely, but actual systems and real-world procedures were completely foreign to him.

Like someone who had experienced none of the last three years since the world changed.

But Gyu-min’s imagination couldn’t go far enough to consider the impossible—that while the world lived through three years, Sihyeon had disappeared and returned overnight.

And Sihyeon had no intention of explaining that.

“And Taewoon… well, he has no legal identity here. That’s something we need help with.”

That wasn’t the biggest issue—the real problem was that many things would obstruct their actions without proper documents. Sihyeon tried to phrase it carefully so it wouldn’t sound like criminal activity.

“Identity… I can handle that easily.”

“…Easily?”

The unexpectedly positive answer echoed through the room in a tone louder than Sihyeon intended. Embarrassed, he clamped his mouth shut and stared at Gyu-min.

“The world seems like it’s functioning well, but it isn’t. That’s just the surface. People are still dying from gates and crimes everywhere.”

“Ah.”

Then Sihyeon understood instantly.

If many people were dying…
It meant there were plenty of identities that could be replaced.

Governments wanted to fix things, sure, but only three years had passed since gates appeared. Humanity adapted quickly, but restoring an entire system was far from possible in such a short time.

“So don’t worry about that part. Anything else?”

With the biggest concern unexpectedly resolved, Sihyeon hesitated.

Is it really okay for things to go this smoothly?

Nothing in his life had ever been this easy.
The unfamiliar smoothness unsettled him, but he decided to take the leap.

“And… we need a guild.”

What came out was the guild issue.

Earlier, when he had some spare time, he’d even posted a recruitment ad—something like a job listing. Websites like Alba Heaven still existed, so he’d been hopeful. He wasn’t trying to hire elite hunters; maybe he’d find someone quickly.

But the world had absolutely no interest in his post.

“It would’ve been nice if I’d known earlier.”

“Why?”

“The Glory Guild.”

Ah.

Sihyeon sighed at the simple words.

“Guilds receive many benefits, but in return they must clear certain gates during a set period. You know that much.”

But the Glory Guild’s members—those able to clear gates—were all bedridden, and no one knew when they would wake. So the guild had filed for temporary suspension.

Sure, LK Group owned one more guild, but that wasn’t run by Gyu-min, and as the second son with no position, he couldn’t exert influence there easily. He shook his head with genuine regret.

“Still, the Association has been slow lately, so undoing the suspension shouldn’t take long. Are you in a hurry?”

“As I mentioned, I’ve got a chance to meet someone who might know about those bastards. The meeting is in the U.S.”

“So you need a visa.”

“Exactly.”

Gyu-min’s expression darkened.

The timing was extremely tight. If the paperwork processed before the suspension was lifted, it would take a lot more time.

Sihyeon felt guilty looking at Gyu-min’s strained face.

He was already emotionally drained—wasn’t this no different from his father telling him to work again tomorrow?

“But if I go this time, I’ll get solid info. If it’s Black Butterfly, he’s bound to know something.”

“Black Butterfly…? That makes it worse, you know.”

But at the brightness in Gyu-min’s voice, Sihyeon couldn’t help smiling. The despair of being unable to do anything had nearly crushed him—but now that he had a path forward, he seemed to be regaining his old self.

“I’m looking into solutions too, so don’t stress too much. We’ll figure something out.”

With renewed energy, Sihyeon stood and patted Gyu-min’s shoulder a few times.

Then, seeing that the clock’s short hand had passed midnight, he turned to leave. There was much to do starting tomorrow.

That was when Taewoon, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke.

“…There should be medicines here that restore qi. He should take them regularly. His internal energy won’t be circulating properly.”

Both Sihyeon and Gyu-min turned at the same moment.

Gyu-min looked overwhelmed with gratitude.
Sihyeon looked like he might burst from pride.

Taewoon realized instantly what they were thinking and chuckled inwardly.

“Good! Then let’s stay in touch as things progress.”

As expected, Sihyeon was in an excellent mood—Taewoon caring about others and offering advice made him unreasonably pleased. After a period of rebellion, it seemed Taewoon was back to normal.

Strength naturally crept into his voice. Somehow everything felt like it would go well.
What he didn’t know was that in a few days, something would spike his blood pressure again.

“So… you’re applying for a support position, right?”

“Y-yes…”

Exactly three days later, Sihyeon was conducting interviews with applicants who responded to his Alba Heaven job posting.

He knew Gyu-min was working on the Glory Guild issue, but he couldn’t just sit around and wait. So he pursued his backup plan simultaneously.

But he never expected to slam headfirst into a massive wall from the very start—hard enough to make him want to rip his hair out.

Sihyeon stared at the burly, bald, bearded man seated before him and finally spoke.