Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Raon doesn’t care about the past, or who his human used to be. His human was his human! Rather than the vessel, the soul dwelling on it is what mattered.

Raon would love and care for his weak human, even if he woke up one day as a potato– hopefully he would turn into an apple pie, though; they were prettier and way more delicious!

Raon was great and mighty, so he knew an outward shell was just that.

However, Raon was also a curious being. He knew that his human was his human, obviously, but one day his curious mind couldn’t help but wonder: what about the other guy?

Were his human and the missing person similar enough? After all, Lemon Gramps and Kind Beacrox couldn’t tell the difference, and they were suuper observant!

As for the Count– ah, Duke, right. Raon didn’t know him that much, but he caught onto his human plan of playing dead once, so why couldn’t he tell the difference?

Of course, Raon didn’t want the Duke to notice at this point in time, since it would put his human in an awkward spot! But! But… 

It was kind of… sad.

Disappearing one day without a trace, and no one noticing, not even your parents. Raon would be really sad if this happened to his human, his hyung, his noona, his goldie gramps or anyone from his family! He would destroy the world right there and then!

So, in a rare day in which it was just the two of them, Raon carefully put a noise-concealing barrier in the room and cried:

“Human!”

“Hn?” Cale peered at him lazily from his rocking chair, like a cat in the midst of sunbathing.

Raon flopped onto his lap, carefully! Because his human was weaker than a dry branch in winter.

“What was the other soul like?” He inquired. “Was he really trash?”

“... why do you ask?”

“I’m curious!” Raon proclaimed mightily. Then, tilted his head, unsure. “Can’t I?”

“Of course you can.” His human’s hand rested on his head, as if to tell the silly thoughts to fly away. Raon allowed himself to be petted. “That guy, well… I don’t know much, but I talked to him once.”

“Really?!” Bright blue eyes grew even bigger in size.

He definitely did not expect this! At best, Raon hoped for a hypothesis based on what Cale already knew; after all, his human was the smartest —but also the dumbest— of all, so if someone would be able to piece it together, it’d be him.

“Yeah, in my dreams.” Cale said. “Actually, I guess it was the God of Death’s work, since dreaming and death are somewhat similar. It was because of him that I knew where to find the Ancient Power that gave me a hint to finish the White Bastard.”

Raon’s wings fluttered open in surprise. What was that? He didn’t know that, either! That other guy, wasn’t he kinda gre– cool?!

“So he was a good guy!”

Cale couldn’t understand what had gotten into the young black dragon, but he was happy to see the child acting his age, even if it was about a strange topic.

“He didn’t look the part, though.”

Raon eyed his human from head to toe, excitement replaced by an unimpressed look.

“Well, you don’t look like a good person at first glance, too! That means you’re both similar, human!”

For the first time in a while, Cale was left speechless.

That evening, Raon wished goodnight to his hyung, his noona and his human and thought to himself.

‘Thank you for helping my human, other guy! Because of you, our family and home was protected, so, um– I’m a great and mighty dragon! And I’ll live for a long, loong time! So don’t be sad, wherever you’re now, I’ll remember you! Promise!’

It was a bit sad that Raon couldn’t tell the person himself, but it couldn’t be helped! If he could, he would.

This innocent way of thinking was the catalyst of what followed.

Chapter Text

The first time it happens, it’s merely an accident.

Raon startles awake in the Super Rock Villa. The first thing he notices is that his noona, his hyung and even his human’s scents are missing. 

“Human! Human!” Raon calls, silence being the only answer he gets. “Hyung! Noona!” He tries again, with similar results. “Goldie Gramps, Strong Choi Han, Smart Rosalyn?! M-mom?!”

He teleports from room to room while quickly checking for traces of mana and aura in his surroundings, but his search turns out to be a fruitless endeavor– he’s alone! Just where did everyone go?

There’s also dust everywhere, enough to make him sneeze a little.

“If you don’t come out now, I will… I will blow everything up!” Raon doesn’t want to blast their home into oblivion, mind you, but luring everyone out of hiding takes precedence.

No one shows up.

Raon wants to cry a little, but he won’t! He’s great and mighty, and finding his family is his highest priority.

He decides to check Harris Village next.

He doesn’t teleport this time around, just in case the others were in the Forest of Darkness– maybe Good Mary had found more awesome bones and everyone went to help her bring them back?

However, this optimistic thought vanished upon exiting the villa.

The black castle was gone.

“We were looted!” Raon’s indignant cry resounded in the vast forest. Then, an outrageous thought struck him like lightning: “They were looted!”

Raon’s family would never willingly leave him behind, therefore they had to be looted along with the castle!

‘Who dares!’ He’s angry, rightfully so. His pupils become even thinner, if possible.

All the monsters nearby still, freezing in terror. The earth shakes. Those who can fly make a run for it.

Raon’s speed puts hummingbirds to shame, but that’s expected with his level of greatness.

He makes a beeline for Harris Village, resolute. He needs to check if the others were also taken away! Then, he needs to check on the Crown Prince! And the human’s family, too!

However, in the midst of his flying, his senses pick up something familiar.

Raon takes a sharp dive, like a bird of prey, and yanks a bewildered Choi Han off the ground; a powerful gust of dust and scattered foliage is the only proof left behind.

In such an anticlimactic way, Raon finally finds the answer he was looking for: they were not looted, no one was taken away.

Just in case, he restrains this world’s outlander with his mana, and takes a proper look at him. The Choi Han precariously hanging from his grasp feels younger, weaker and has a dumb expression on his face.

‘To think our Strong Choi Han was this feeble!’ With this, Raon is sure now: he’s in the past.

He wonders how that is possible, but takes it in stride. Regressing in time is way more believable than his family being looted, anyway. 

— Don’t worry, Feeble Choi Han! I’m a great and mighty dragon, but I won’t harm you!

Raon feels Feeble Choi Han shiver slightly– tsk, this wouldn’t do! So he casts some magic to warm him up.

(Choi Han isn’t cold, he just wants to free himself and understand what the fuck is happening.)

Eventually, Raon lands in a safe spot and tries his best to communicate a few more times, but all attempts fail miserably.

It seems that Feeble Choi Han didn’t know their language yet! Whenever Raon spoke to him, Feeble Choi Han either gave him a weird look or writhed on the floor like a worm, still tucked in a mana cocoon because Raon is not stupid, thank you.

Feeble Choi Han was weaker, but a feeble Choi Han was still super strong in human standards!

Still. Raon is a genius– he absorbs knowledge like a sponge, but he’s not very good at teaching unless it is magic.

So he pulls a Cale and decides to make the situation someone else’s problem.

A teleporting later, Feeble Choi Han finds himself being yeeted back into civilization. Literally.

Raon is six and the concept of Butterfly Effect is unknown to him, so he decides to put Venion Stan’s name in God of Death’s most recent list while he’s around, because why not?

He couldn’t kill the bastard last time, but there was no reason to hold back now. It’s not as if the Marquis Stan would miss him, right?

He’s wondering which would be the most satisfactory way of getting rid of the corpse, when the library’s door creaks open and a small Taylor Stan walks in (because he apparently could do that at this age, huh) stopping on his tracks as he takes in the murder scene before him.

“I’ve suddenly lost my sight.” As a matter of course, Taylor closes his eyes and pretends not to see.

Sucks for Venion, but he was already dead, and the marquis’ eldest son had never been an idiot.

“Good child.” Raon pats him on the head and offers him an apple pie.

Taylor accepts it carefreely and takes a bite; if the dragon wanted to slay his whole family, he would’ve already done so. He has no reason to be afraid.

The boy is the embodiment of chillness, and Raon likes that. He will tell his human to play with Taylor more often!

“Nice Stan.” Raon calls, after a while. “Hypothetically, if you were to get rid of a body– how would you do it?”

Taylor is young. He shouldn’t know how to get rid of a corpse and the following clean up.

... but the Stan household is full of crazy motherfuckers, therefore little Taylor is awfully familiar with these topics.

“... would you like to set him on fire?” He offers.

“Can I do that?!”

A serene smile meets this excited question.

“I know just the place, dragon-nim.”

They put Venion in a small boat and watch him burn to ashes, then get swallowed by a whirlpool in the Ubarr territory.

As thanks, Raon talks with Taylor about Cage– these two were best friends, so it wouldn’t hurt if they met a little bit ahead of time, right?

Revenge is served and pies are eaten, Raon makes another pit stop by the royal palace to set King Zed’s beard on fire and the Queen’ dress while he’s at it.

He gives a toothy grin to a speechless Alberu, whom Raon allows to feel his mana.

—Repayment for your tasty tea and cookies! Excellent service! Five stars! 10/10 would recommend!

He almost teleports away with that, before remembering– that’s right!

—You must become king, okay? I don’t want any of these pathetic humans in charge of our home’s politics, so I’ll be rooting for you! Fighting!

Alberu flips mentally for fourteen seconds straight, then nods to himself as if making up his mind.

He sits back and revels in the chaos around him for the remaining time.

Finally, Raon arrives at his most important destination: the Henituse Estate from twelve years ago.

Of course he hadn’t forgotten! Raon just didn’t want to get distracted by other things, but he also didn’t want to forget his impromptu to-do list, too. So he took care of the small matters first.

Turning himself invisible, he looked around first.

He saw the past Lemon Gramps, Kind Beacrox, even Hans was there! However, the Henituse were nowhere to be found.

‘Did they go out?’ Raon tilted his head to the side, feeling just a tad bit disappointed.

Of course, he didn’t dwell on it for long and was quick to move again. In such a big house there should be servants with loose mouths somewhere.

“Will it be alright? Lately, young master Cale has been…” 

“Emily, better shut that imprudent mouth of yours. The inside matters of the family aren’t ours to intrude.”

“I’m just worried he might cause trouble again.”

‘Jackpot!’ Raon cheered, mentally thanking the gossiping maids in the laundry room.

Of course, his gratitude was only extended for as long as they were useful. Once he got back home, Raon would also make sure they got fired (if they already hadn’t) for talking behind their master’s back.

In the meantime, Raon was able to locate the Henituse in some small-fry Baron’s party.

He stole some snacks as he looked around, growing bored pretty quickly. The snacks weren’t as tasty as Kind Beacrox’s or the Crown Prince’s.

‘There’s the human’s father and… why is the human’s mother with these three old-hags?’ He wondered as he floated closer enough to listen in on them.

The women in question were way older than Countess Violan, they also wore fancy clothes and a lot of jewelry, but they didn’t look pretty at all.

Rather, they looked a bit ridiculous and even more so due to their age, which made his human mother’s sophisticated looks stand out more.

“It must be difficult for the lady due to her age, so we’re here to help out.” One of the ladies said.

Her words suggested she was being kind, but her expression wasn’t kind at all.

“Madame.”

“Yes?”

“Apologies for the misunderstanding; I wasn’t calling you, but correcting you.” Human’s mom said calmly. “It must be difficult for Madame to remember that I’m now married, given her age. So I helped her out.”

She finished with a sharp smile.

Raon had a hard time controlling his laughter, but somehow managed to hold it in.

“You–!” The old-hag’s face grew red. “A lowly merchant dares–!”

“Madame seems to have forgotten, once more,” Violan stated, taking a sip of champagne. “That I was, too, born a noble.”

“Noble, what noble? Don’t make us laugh, you come from a fallen family! Know your place!”

“... shall I take these words as an offense to the late Countess, then?” Her blue eyes turned icy. “As you should know, Madame Henituse came from a fallen barony. Are you disrespecting her memory now? ”

“That–!”

“I don’t particularly care what you say behind my back. Cowards will be cowards, after all.”

Countess Violan gave a step forward. Raon even admitted that, at that moment, she looked pretty cool.

“But be careful of what you say or even imply about the late Madame. My husband is a kind man, but I? Not so much.” She turned around and prepared to leave. “Next time, don’t speak carelessly. Unless you’re prepared to hold accountability for your words.”

Raon wanted to clap furiously as his human’s mom got further away, but decided on the best next thing.

‘Let’s throw this bitch over!’ He thought, unapologetically, diving forward and tripping the fuming old-hag. Her own drink ended up drenching her flashy clothes.

Raon smiled mischievously as he flew away. 

Raon finds himself sighing exasperatedly not even half an hour later.

It’s been, what? Fifteen minutes? It took him five minutes to find his human’s little brother, surrounded by other brats. Apparently all the kids were supposed to be outside in one of the gardens. Go figure.

It took eight minutes for said brats to stop ignoring Basen.

And it took only two minutes before Raon decided that child murder was okay.

The weak Basen had been minding his own business, harmlessly reading under a tree's shadow, when five little brats that smelled like camembert approached him.

“What is this?”

“Hey–” Weak Basen protested, well, weakly as his tome was taken away from him.

“Did you say something, Luis?” Brat #1 asked.

“Nothing, Oscar.” Said Brat #2.

“Huh. Must have been a fly.”

“Oh? What’s this? I didn’t expect you to acknowledge your own lowliness out loud.” A familiar voice piped in. “Good job, Luis. That’s the first step.”

Cale Henituse– the other guy, that’s it! Finished with a round of claps.

And just like the old-hag Countess Violan met earlier, Brat #1 face turned red in embarrassment.

“C-Cale! How could you–!”

“Sorry, why are you calling my name so comfortably?” The red-head asked innocently.

“... Huh?”

“Aren’t you twelve, hyung? Didn’t you already have your debut in society?” Cale continued, ignoring the dumbfounded stares he got.

“O-of course! I’m all grown up!”

“Then hyung should understand, right?” A wicked smile appeared in the redhead’s lips. “Who is the small fry between the both of us?”

‘... Does trash-talking run in the family?’ Raon wondered briefly, slightly! Awed. ‘Wait, no. Human’s mom and the other guy are not related!’

“You, you–!”

“‘You, you.’” Cale parroted, mockingly. “My name is Cale Henituse. I think you’ve heard of us, yes? Shouldn’t a low nobility like yourself bow and wag his tail before the upper class?”

Woah, the other guy was truly good! Good at being a bad guy, that is.

This time, Raon didn’t have to intrude. The other Cale made a big shitshow without anyone’s help and dealt with the brats quickly. Raon even took notes.

“What are you guys looking at?” The redhead asked the other brats, who quickly turned away or ran. He then turned to his weak young brother.

“H-hyung, thank–”

“Basen.” Cale cut him off, making the other flinch.

Raon didn’t understand the reaction, though! The human didn’t sound or look angry at all.

“You need to learn to deal with those small fries by yourself. Next time, don’t stay there frozen like a dumbass while others make fun of you. Stand up for yourself. Talk back. You’re a Henituse, whether it is a Viscount or a Baron, they can’t touch you.”

“... Yes, hyung.”

Raon wasn’t sure whether the weak Basen really understood.

Raon’s opportunity comes in the evening.

He wastes no time, after the other Cale is tucked in bed and Lemon Gramps leaves. He quickly soundproofs the room and reveals his mighty being.

“Hi! I’m the great and mighty Raon Miru!”

“Cale Henituse.” The tiny human says, blinking. Then adds, as if an afterthought: “filthy rich.”

Raon likes this kind of introduction the most, so he claps enthusiastically.

“What can I do for you, dragon-nim?” The redhead asks.

“Raon.”

“Raon-nim?” Cale probs.

“Raon.” He emphasizes. “Formal language doesn’t suit you, sparkly!”

At this, Sparkly tilts his head.

“Why sparkly?”

“Money sparkles and you have a lot, thus sparkly!”

The redhead nods, accepting this logic without further questioning. Good!

“What do you want from me, then?” Sparkly ask again.

“Hmph! Don’t be cocky! What could a weak human like you possibly offer to a great and mighty dragon?” He asks, arms and tail crossed around his body.

“Money.” The answer is automatic and confident.

Which, okay. Fair enough.

“A-aside from that!” He’s totally not flustered. He! Is! Not!

“Well.” Sparkly says, and Raon has an ominous feeling as he sees the mischievous smile on his face. “I’ve been told that I’m very pretty.”

Which, again, fair enough.

“... Anyways!” Raon moves forward. Not because he’s speechless, no! Of course not! “I was just curious about you.”

“Because of my money?”

“It’s not about the money!” Raon snaps.

“But…” Sparkly hesitates, which is new. And Raon doesn’t like it. “I only have money.”

Oh.

Oh. Raon gets it now.

And, knowing what he knows, that sentence hits harder. His mighty heart even aches a little.

“Silly human!” He sighs, but there’s no heat behind his words. “This, this is why I’m here.”

Raon isn’t dumb. By now, he has long figured out that whatever this is, is somehow related to his attribute and his thoughts before going to sleep.

“Because of–?”

“If you say ‘money’ one more time, I swear on the motherfucking God of Death, I’ll set the room on fire and kidnap you.” Actually, Raon might just do that either way.

Sparkly just stares.

“By the way.” Raon eyes the redhead from head to toe. “How old are you, sparkly?”

“Eight.”

Aw, shoot! There went his older rights!

“... I’m six.” He says, definitely not pouting! “And I haven’t hatched yet, so I can’t meet you yet. Well, even if I hatch, the one in the egg and I are different. Still! I’ll be your family– the current me, I mean!” 

“... why would you do so? We only met today.”

“Because we’re family, duh!” Had Raon been wrong? Was Sparkly truly as dumb as his human?

“We are?” Oh god, he was!

“I just told you!” His wings flapped exasperatedly. “Do you have any hearing problems?”

Wait, that could be an actual thing.

“... do I need to kidnap a priest or something?!”

“No, no! I’m good!” Sparkly was quick to assure, but Raon didn’t think he could take his words to face value.

After all, didn’t this one and his dumb human have a bullshit record? These two fuckers might share a cup of tea with each other while the world is burning down around them.

Actually, didn’t his human and sparkly have a nice chit-chat while Dumbass Cale’s plate was melting?!

‘God damnit.’ Raon felt his blood pressure rising.

Oh, how Raon understood a bit of his Goldie Gramps now!

“Are you sure?” He stressed, because of reasons. “Because I know a Saint and a Holy Maiden…”

The Church of the Sun God didn’t deserve Saint Jack and Hannah, anyways.

“Totally sure.” Raon searched for something in those reddish-brown eyes, but found no lies. “It just–  doesn’t make sense? Why me? I’m not special.”

‘This bastard turned back time and he says he’s not special!’ Ah, isn’t this another thing his Goldie Gramps would say?

Raon sighed, but he would enlighten this silly human. Hopefully Sparkly was still salvageable, unlike a certain someone.

“Sparkly, you’re a good human! You’re tiny and weaker than the tip of my front claw now, but you will grow up into a kind and kinda cool human being!” He could say this confidently after today.

And even if he hadn’t witnessed this young Cale standing up for the weak Basen, Raon wouldn’t change his mind.

“Our family is safe because of you– I met my human because of you. So, thank you! Thank you for all you’ve done, and for all you will do!” These were Raon Miru’s sincere feelings.

That’s why Sparkly– no, Cale Henituse, knew.

He didn’t understand the context behind this little dragon’s decision, but Cale knew that Raon Miru meant each word he just said.

It was the first time since his mother’s passing that someone thanked him, rather than demand things from him.

It had always been ‘be strong’, ‘behave’ or ‘be accepting’ since then.

“Ah…” Maybe that’s why his eyes stung a little.

Raon saw this and patted his head.

“Silly human; if you want to cry, just cry! If you want to break things, break them!” He said. “Live proud and free, like me! My human told me that being alive is the best!”

So live.

Live however you want.

And so, for the first time since his mother’s passing, Cale cried in front of someone. He cried until his throat was sore and he was so exhausted that, rather than falling asleep, it felt like passing out.

The last thing he recalls is that cute dragon’s voice, saying:

“Ah, looks like I need to go now? I think we won’t see each other for about ten years, too… but! I’ll think of you daily until we meet again! Okay? Humans can forget, but I’m great and mighty, so I won’t! Pinky promise!”

After all, Raon’s plate was the world, and his family was his treasure.

And this Cale, too, was part of it.

Chapter Text

Raon opens his eyes and he’s back to his usual spot on his human’s bed; the moon is still high in the sky, his siblings’ soft breathing mixes with his guardian’s, it is as if time hadn’t passed at all.

As if Raon had… dreamed it.

He knows better, though.

His senses are sharp and great just like himself; and the trail of scents collected from his trip, albeit faint, still linger on him. There is the forest, Choi Han, little Taylor, smoke, the Crown Prince and Sparkly.

Raon glances at the sleeping redhead.

He can tell the difference in scents between the both of them, no doubt a result of their own individual habits: Sparky smells like a sunny day and fresh grass damp with dew, while his human oozes the fragrance of clean laundry and sweet wine.

The only thing they both share is a subtle citric essence, no doubt Grandpa Ron’s doing.

Thanks to this, Raon is certain: what he saw was real.

He stares at his paws, unblinkingly, trying to figure out how it all happened.

‘Present’, his attribute was such a mysterious and abstract concept; he hadn’t figured it out and yet was able to use it in such an unexpected way?

However… it was ‘present’, no ‘time’, so why…?

Raon had many, many questions. Unfortunately, no one had the answers he sought.

The second time it happens, it’s coincidental.

Raon told no one about his adventure, not even his human.

He felt that Cale would worry over nothing and it would mess up with his already weakass constitution; as for the others, he didn’t know how to explain it without providing a convincing reason that didn’t expose his human’s secret.

Sure, he could talk with Choi Han and the Crown Prince, as they were aware of it. There were only two problems with that:

Firstly, Choi Han knew shit about magic, except for what he already knew how to beat.

Secondly, while the Crown Prince sure was strong and knew his way around magic, that guy barely had time to breathe with the Kingdom’s reconstruction procedures taking place.

Raon didn’t want Uncle Cookie to die from overwork, you know? Let alone when he was supposed to live many, many years; he had to go down in history as a great King, then retire and keep Strong Choi Han, Goldie Gramps, his mom and himself company until he died from old age.

That’s how it was supposed to be.

(Alberu didn’t really have a choice anymore.)

Thus, Raon decided the best course of action would be continuing to practice his magic on his own.

Yes, his Goldie Gramps had already taught him everything he needed to know, but clearly it wasn’t everything he could do.

If Raon Miru didn’t go to the mountain, he would freaking teleport it.

‘I promised Sparkly to meet him again in ten years!’ Raon had thought of his Cale when he made that promise, as it wasn’t a lie– he would indeed meet Cale Henituse when the latter was eighteen years-old.

Still.

Raon recalled Sparkly’s lonely appearance.

(This promise, too, he would like to fulfill.)

Ten months go by in the blink of an eye. In the same fashion, Raon goes to sleep in the Super Rock Villa and once more wakes up in the past, this time in the Henituse County’s manor.

“I did it!”

Thud.

His head whips around to face the source of sudden noise. What he finds is a spilling bottle of wine and a stupidly-looking, grown up version of Sparkly.

“Hey, Sparkly! You have grown up a lot!” Raon had forgotten that his human’s body used to look this healthy, with how skinny it seemed these days.

The reddish-brown’s pupils shook.

“You came back…” There were a lot of feelings imbedded in his shaken whisper, relief and longing were the most prominent, and the ones which mattered the most to Raon.

“Of course! I promised, didn’t I?” He hopped off the bed and flew to Sparkly’s side. The young dragon added, just in case: “sorry if I was late.”

Sparkly just stared– indifferent to the fallen bottle and its contents staining the carpet, and seemingly to the dragon’s voice as well.

Had Raon been younger, he would’ve mistaken that state for sheer wonder.

But it wasn’t, not with the slight fear mixing in there.

Raon knew this feeling, too, he was awfully familiar with it– awe. The same he felt when he looked at the night sky for the first time.

This young Cale stared at Raon with the same eyes: marveled at the development, yet afraid of losing something this precious as quick as it came.

And so Raon fell on his lap, slowly, carefully. To show the other he was here.

“Raon.” A choked voice called his name.

He only leaned closer.

“Yes.”

“You’re here.” A warm hand touched his snout. Raon pretended not to notice the way it shook.

“Yes!”

Soon, a pair of arms enveloped his body. Raon could feel how much Sparkly needed this, how alone and heartbroken this person felt, so he stayed quiet and allowed himself to be hugged.

This sort of comfort was something he couldn’t provide for his own human, because his Cale wouldn’t acknowledge his own pain in the first place, thus he could only offer apple pies instead.

Raon wasn’t good with words, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be relied on! So he was glad to be of help to Sparkly in this way.

They lay on bed for hours, cuddling while staring off into the same abyss the moonlight doesn’t uncover. Cale’s husky voice fills the quietness that covers the Henituse Estate like a blanket.

The human won’t let go no matter what, and the young dragon has no desire to tell him to. 

“That’s… dumb.” This is the judgment Raon makes, after hearing what’s been going on for the past ten years from an exhausted-sounding Sparkly.

A weary chuckle meets his statement.

“Yeah, but it’s the best I could come up with, back then. No one was on my side or willing to listen.”

Raon finally shifts and faces Cale.

“What about Lemon Gramps?”

He has to ask, because Ron and Beacrox are part of Raon’s family and he cherishes them dearly, but it won’t do if they treated this youth poorly. 

“You mean Ron?” Reddish-brown eyes blinks, confusion briefly reflecting in them. “I like him, but we’re not close. That’s what it means to be master and servant.”

There is no resentment, no bitterness, nothing but casualness in his tone.

Raon can understand, more or less: to this Cale, Ron Molan is just a constant, a being that acts within his expectations; Ron won’t dive too deep and disrupt Cale’s affairs, but he wouldn’t neglect his needs as this is the role he was given.

Neither stood in each other’s way, and they were able to live in harmony because of that.

Raon had been given this young man’s heart, so he could see the difference in treatment. The redhead cried for him– mourned him, buf if the Molan were to ever leave the estate, this Cale would go: ‘ah, as expected of such a cold-hearted man’, and move on with his own life.

“And I was just a kid.” Sparkly continued, unaware of the other’s thoughts. “You’re great and mighty, so people respect you, but I… I was just a child no one paid heed to.”

In other words: asking for help was useless, because no one would take him seriously.

Raon didn’t like how easy it had been, how eager everyone seemed to push the red head aside, how they unknowingly followed Cale’s plan down to a tee, reinforcing his belief that he wasn’t needed in the process.

All he did was stop meeting people’s expectations and he was dropped like a hot potato.

In Sparkly’s eyes, it was easier to act like a mad dog, because this way people would learn to fear him. They would take him seriously, they would listen.

Raon knew.

He knew about the rumors, and knew they weren’t true. He knew that, if Cale had shown even a sliver of weakness, they would’ve torn him apart.

The wounded souls had no voice, they held no authority.

He knew, so Raon wasn’t surprised after hearing all this, he was just… disappointed in everyone.

Leaving aside the fact this was all a but performance, this young person had embarked on a path of self-destruction… and no one had cared enough to stop him?

The world truly took Cale Henituse for granted, didn’t they?

Backing off after the first round of harsh words, that wasn’t even close to trying! It was straight up giving up and being a coward. Someone who cared wouldn’t let that discourage them; they would keep going, until the message finally got through.

Raon closed his eyes. He wasn’t seething, but he was certainly almost there.

‘Cry a lot until you’re satisfied, sparkly! In the future, you won’t have to cry anymore; only the baddies are to be looted!’ He didn’t know how he would fulfill this promise, but Raon would figure something out; he was a mighty dragon– no, he was the last dragon lord’s son, after all.

Everything this human had given, it should be given back to him.

Raon would give it back to him.

“Sucks for them, but I guess it’s fine.” His voice came out, unnaturally calm. It gave Cale goosebumps, for some reason, but he wasn’t afraid of the child in his arms. “Will make it easier when I snatch you away from here.”

‘... There must be something wrong with my hearing’, it’s the first thing the redhead can think when white noise no longer rings in his head.

… no, actually, didn’t Raon threaten to burn down his room and kidnap him in the past?

He was being serious.

This young dragon was being deadly serious.

Cale felt himself choke, unable to deal with the maelstrom of emotions taking over him.

“I told you, Sparkly: we’re family!” He felt Raon’s paw pat his cheek, comfortingly. “Did you think I would leave you here? Hmph! If they can’t appreciate you, you’re better off with someone who does. My siblings will love you.”

It’s too much for him.

It’s really too much. Cale is drained both mentally and emotionally, his body feels like a rag that has been torn, stretched and tossed aside. He has no tears left to shed.

He’s tired, but he doesn’t want to fall asleep.

He fears the morning, he fears waking up to a cold bed and an empty room.

He fears losing the sole person that cares about him,  again.

The sun rises.

It’s past noon when he opens his eyes, if the rays intensity is anything to go by. It hurts and the soreness he feels doesn’t help, but the redhead has more important things to do; he hurriedly checks his surroundings.

The spilled bottle is still there, yet Cale’s bed is empty.

His heart aches, but his mind is too numb to process the pain. There’s a bout of dizziness and next thing he knows, his face is on his hands– a lot of things happen at once, but there’s only one thing his brain successfully registers:

He wants to end it.

Ron knocks on the door, and Cale is too tired to voice a complaint. For the first time in ten years of hard work, of not slipping even once, he– Cale is too tired to perform.

(He wants to end it.)

“Young master, this Ron is aware that you’re awake.”

A sigh escapes his lips.

“Enter.”

Ron does as he’s told. He steps in, moving around swiftly– soundlessly and begins helping Cale to prepare. Cale himself just allows his body to be moved around like a doll.

(He wants to end it.)

— Human, are you alright?! I went to the bathroom, but didn’t expect Lemon Gramps to come in while I was gone. Why is he holding you like that? Are you feeling unwell?

Relief floods his entire being in an instant.

Raon hadn’t left without telling him.

He didn’t soothe Cale all night just to throw him away the next morning, he didn’t embrace Cale and gave his warmth just to keep Cale away for the next years to come, out in the cold and waiting.

Raon hadn’t abandoned him.

“Ha.”

The realization hits him like alcohol has never done before.

It’s flooring, it’s jarring. It makes Cale feel weightless and as if he's about to drown in the bathtub.

“Hahaha!”

Raon wasn’t his father.

“I’m fine.” He says. To Raon, of course. Ron probably thinks he has finally gone insane and the redhead honestly couldn’t care less. “Better than ever, yes.”

Dressing up feels as if he’s a soldier about to get dispatched. The atmosphere shifts dramatically as soon as the last touches to his attire are done.

“Young master…?” Naturally, the butler with sharp senses is able to pick on it.

“Ron,” Cale interjects, smiling with an edge he hadn’t shown anyone in his eighteen years of life. “I feel like eating with everyone, so lead the way to the dining room.”

Today, Cale Henituse would end it all.

As expected, the room’s mood becomes awkward as soon as he strides in.

Cale pays no heed to this and takes a seat in the far end of the table, the place commonly reserved for guests according to etiquette, and yet the spot Cale always occupied in his own house ever since his mother’s passing.

Cale made himself alienated from this happy family of brown-haired people, and he showed it to others: the Count is gracious and generous, yet I’m not his favored son; the one you seek is the second child.

Had his father not noticed the implications? With his position, it was unfathomable. Perhaps he just turned a blind eye to it, writing it off as one of Cale’s whims.

In the end, it’s not as if someone had tried to stop Cale.

It always came down to that.

“Cale, is the steak alright?” Speak of the devil and it shall appear.

Perhaps because it was a rare occurrence that Cale came to the dining room on his own volition, his father felt compelled to attempt some small talk.

“Of course.” Cale smiles, but he supposes it looks more like a sneer to others. “Beacrox’s cooking is really the best, after all.”

“As I thought– Huh?!”

“I lied.” He dismisses the dismayed expressions his statement garners. “Actually, I really like Beacrox’s cooking.”

Raon’s voice chimes in his head:

— Beacrox’s cooking is indeed very tasty!

“Is that true?” Deruth hesitates. “But you always... threw the food away.”

“Such a waste of food, I really feel bad about that.” A firm nod follows his declaration.

“Cale…?”

“Father," Cale lightly caresses the stem of the cup in his hold, “what kind of food do I like most?” He answers the question with another.

— Sweets! You like sweet things, right human? The body works independently of the soul, so your palate is intact!

He couldn’t understand the dragon's ramblings fully, but his guess was spot on.

“Luxurious meals with strong seasoning.” … unlike his own father’s assessment.

Of course, Cale often did order food with strong seasoning and did not touch it; he ate only what Beacrox made and left the others dishes for display.

The reason was simple: food seasoning was another way of showing one’s wealth and status; spices were unique to some regions, and the transportation fee was something only a wealthy person could afford.

Then again, the same applied to sugar and pastries. Commoners had no access to such luxuries.

Because of this, Cale hadn’t even bothered to hide his sweet tooth for the past years.

Why couldn’t his father even get that answer right?

“Sweets.” He corrects, ignoring the feeling of bile rising in his throat. “I like sweet things most.”

Reddish-brown eyes stare at the glass on his right hand.

“You know, my tastes haven’t changed since I was eight.”

“A-ah. Is that so?” At least he has the decency to look somewhat flustered. “But…”

“It’s not my fault if you can’t discern such an obvious lie.” Cale cuts him off. “Well, I’m a great performer, so it’s not like you ever stood a chance.”

He finishes with a sip to his drink.

“... I was under the impression you always drank lemon tea?” Perhaps because she couldn’t stand the sight of her pathetic husband any longer, Countess Violan chose to intervene.

— That’s just Lemon Gramps being friendly!

Cale scoffs.

“That’s just Ron being an asshole.” He corrects Raon. “What? I like him, but it’s true.”

The redhead shrugs after noticing the bewildered stares around him.

“Still, thanks for watching over my meals, Countess.”

Cale always knew it was because of Violan that he never suffered open mistreatment by the staff, despite his trashy reputation– not that Ron would fail to keep the servants in line, as it could put his role in jeopardy, but his stepmother’s gesture was still very much appreciated.

“Oraboni, you’re acting strange today.” His little sister couldn’t help but mumble.

Well, children are sensitive, so perhaps she couldn’t bear the stagnant atmosphere.

“Perhaps. Although, that is wrong per se, Lily.” Unfortunately, Cale didn’t plan on easing up the air in the dining room. “For starters, we don’t know each other well, so why are you saying that I’m acting strange? You only have ever seen me kicking up a fuss, so I don’t blame you for thinking otherwise, but I don’t do that 24/7. It’s impossible for people to remain in a constant state.”

— That’s true! If I stayed excited all-day long, I wouldn’t be able to nap later in the day.

Cale ignored the silly comment that didn’t fit in with his dramatic script.

“I cry, too. I hurt, too.” The admision seemed to startle everyone out of their shock. “I cried a lot when my mother died, but I couldn’t show my grief at the funeral because my relatives told me to bear with it, and dad cried a lot on his own. It made me feel guilty for wanting to be comforted.”

“Cale…” His father’s eyes watered, but unlike he always did, Cale refused to put his own needs aside to prioritize the other.

“It hurt, back then. But now I can only resent everyone.” It was the bitter truth. “I resent our stupid relatives for telling me how I should feel, I resent myself for playing along, and I resent our father the most, because he didn’t show up his face for months and when he deigns to appear before me again, is only to tell me he’s getting married.”

His head was free of voices, but he could feel a familiar weight on his lap.

“Ha.”

Cale swept his red hair backwards, the motion giving him an excuse to reach out for Raon’s paw under the table. It latched onto his hand as soon as they came in proximity.

“I love you, father, but you’re the worst. I’m happy to see you’re a better dad to Basen and Lily, at least.”

Deruth looked… hurt.

“Son, I–”

But so was Cale, all this damn time.

“I’m not done.” His words came out with more force than intended, but it did the job. His father’s jaw quickly shut itself with a click. “Are you going to listen for once to what I have to say, or do I need to leave?”

It wasn’t a threat, but a promise.

(He was going to end it.)

“Countess, I don’t hate you. You’re a thorough person, so I assume you probably thought my father had at least talked about your relationship with me, before accepting his proposal. Only to come here and find out it wasn’t the case.”

Why would a sensible woman such as Violan marry Deruth in that short period of time?

A woman like her would never trample on Cale’s mother’s memory, for she always held herself with dignity. Violan would never lower herself to marry for money or status, let alone when she was doing fine on her own.

She married merely out of love.

Obviously, it was also because she thought the affairs within the household were steering into the right direction.

Unfortunately, his father was the type that would spout what he perceived as the truth; if things were going well for him, he would say so, regardless of how everyone else felt.

Violan probably had a great shock the day she was introduced to Cale, only to realize the child hadn’t known anything all along. She probably was ashamed of herself ever since.

But being ashamed didn’t cut it.

She was a suitable stepmom and the one in the wrong had been mostly Deruth; however, aiming for harmony through maintaining perfunctory interactions wasn’t the right answer.

Cale wasn’t Ron so as to be treated in such a way.

“Basen, Lily: you’re children and you’re not to blame for your parent’s mistakes, nor mine.”

Cale was family.

“Hyung…?”

Cale was supposed to be family.

“You grew up well, Basen.” He gave a curt nod to the startled youth. “I hope now you can stand up for yourself.”

But never once in the past ten years, did Cale feel he belonged.

“Cale…?”

The redhead got up from the table.

“It’s late.” He said, finally finding comfort on the weight perching on his shoulders. “It’s too late, but I hope this happy family of brown hair does well from now on.”

His words felt like a farewell to them.

“Are you going to leave?”

Don’t get him wrong, Raon approves this development. After all, he has a feeling that Sparkly wouldn’t turn into his Cale.

He had wanted to meet the original owner of the human’s body. Therefore, Raon was in a world where Kim Rok Soo either had yet to exist, or didn’t exist at all.

If it was the former, then Raon’s journey would end after this encounter.

If it was the latter, then this Cale would have to go through hell and back all alone.

Neither option appealed to him, if being honest.

“You’re going to leave, eventually.” Sparkly pointed out, bluntly.

“Not willingly.” Raon didn’t deny it, for he knew it would be a lie. Thus he could only emphasize his reluctance to leave. “But yeah, I have to go back so I can figure out a way to snatch you away!”

“You’re sticking to that, huh.” Something akin to amusement flickered briefly in the reddish-brown eyes. 

“Hey! I’ve kept all the promises I made to you!”

‘You’d be the first.’ Cale thought.

“Then I myself have to leave, as well.” He continued. “Things won’t change as long as I’m here, I have made it that way.”

He could change it, though.

If he put his mind on it, Cale could flip everything over and revert things to its original state, become once again the golden child and write off the past decade as a phase.

Yet…

“... I’m done with being the one always making the one-sided effort.” Those were his honest feelings. “Whether we mend our relationship or not, that’s their problem now.”

Cale was the one to break things off, but the others never made an effort to reach out. And yet they refused to fully let go of him.

That indecisiveness was like shackles to him.

So, Cale would leave and take with him the only thing that had never been denied to him, and with that cold, loveless money, he would make a warm home for himself somewhere else.

This lovely family of four could be happy. For Cale, too, would go and find his own happiness.

“Then…” Raon was about to continue, but stopped himself upon realizing something. “Wait, you can’t leave yet! You haven’t met Choi Han!”

He didn’t know the details, but if it had been ten years, then Sparkly and Feeble Choi Han were fated to meet at some point of the current year.

Shoot! Has Harris Village already been destroyed?

“Who is that?” Cale asked, unaware of the young dragon’s dilemma.

His voice sobered Raon’s chaotic train of thoughts. Right. Why was he so agitated? Thinking and planning meticulously every step wasn’t his thing, but his human’s.

Caution was for weak mortals, and he was a freaking dragon, anyways.

‘Yeah, let’s just flip it all over.’ He decided then.

Cale, for some reason, felt a chill go down his spine.

“He has hair and eyes that are like my scales!” Unfortunately, Raon’s excited talk didn’t leave him room to wonder. “Be nice to him! He’s lonely, and might have lost his second family by now.” A pause.  “He will get better once he meets Smart Rosalyn and Lock! So make sure he finds them!”

“I’m not sure where those people are, though…?”

And so, Raon finally tells him everything.

He talks about Choi Han, Rosalyn Breck and Lock the future Wolf King. About Crown Prince Alberu, Mary and many, many others.

He also tells him about the war and the White Trash.

Cale listens to every little detail.

“... I don’t know about that prince.” It’s the first thing he says. “To me, it seems he would get more benefits for being associated with me.”

“He will be a strong ally.” The young dragon appeals.

“Meh.”

“He will be your walking wallet.” Raon sighs.

“Ohh?”

Their first stop is Harris Village. Which, fortunately, hasn’t been razed to the ground yet.

“Careful.”

“I won’t scare him!”

Raon does scare him.

“It’s you!” An extremely surprised Choi Han startles awake, narrowly avoiding headbutting the creature floating above his bed.

“You remember that brief encounter ten years ago?” Cale asks, casually leaning against the wall.

He behaves as if he’s out for a stroll or on vacation, instead of trespassing in someone else’s bedroom. 

“It threw me off the sky!” Choi Han would hardly forget such a wild scenario.

“That’s on you for being an illiterate, Feeble Choi Han.” Raon dismissed his complaints, waving his front paw in a flippant fashion. “We couldn’t communicate, so I dropped you at the best place where I knew you could learn, and look at you now!”

“As hilarious as this skit of yours is, we need to get going.” Cale cuts in, his eyes finally meeting Choi Han’s. “Buckle yourself, man. Because you got a free ticket to the continent’s biggest shitshow.”

Fortunately, the swordsman decides to listen instead of attacking —perhaps recalling how easy it was for Raon to get a hold of him and deciding he did not want a repeat—, his demeanor changing as their story progresses.

By the end of it, Choi Han has decided to join their crusade. It’s a no brainer: protect the village by protecting the continent.

And since the events would happen regardless of what role he picked, he might as well put his fighting ability to good use.

Cale Henituse obtains his late mother’s ancient power next, which turns out to be a rather underwhelming experience.

There was no trial, no requirements to fulfill; he just had to drop by and pick it up.

It was so easy that he couldn't help but get mad. A lot of people died in vain because a goddamned bastard couldn't bother to sneak into a village, dig a hole beneath an oak tree and be on his merry way out.

To add to his annoyance, Choi Han attempted to leave that same night with only his sword and the clothes on his back.

They were in a hurry, but not to the point of throwing away basic manners.

“Tch. Were you planning on leaving a note and vanishing into the night? Don’t be an ungrateful bastard, Han. We will pick you up in two days, finish your business here by then.” These are the words Cale spats, before teleporting back with Raon to the main estate.

The only thing Choi Han can think in his speechlessness, is: this grumpy young master isn’t trash at all.

Cale strolls around the slums in Rain City, for once grateful of the reputation he had built for himself.

People don’t even dare glance his way, which makes snooping around easier while following Raon’s (admittedly) somewhat lacking instructions.

“What are we looking for?” He asks once more.

— Kittens. Well, they should look like normal orphans, but-

“Beast people, then.” Cale guesses.

— Yes!

“Describe them to me.”

To no one’s surprise, their first day of searching is an utter failure.

They still come back the next day. Although, this time, Lady Luck smiles at them after half a day of looking around.

A few days of small talk and food bribing later, Cale walks back to the Henituse Estate with a pair of kittens in his arms.

“About my other self's whereabouts, I think Marquis Stan should know. So we could go ask the nice Taylor.” Raon comments over breakfast. He doesn’t have to hide himself, since they’re in Sparkly’s room and the only other person present is Choi Han.

Officially, Choi Han is a guest. Unofficially, he is Cale’s future partner in crime. 

“Would he turn on his father in order to help us?” The swordsman wonders, a frown etched on his young-looking face.

“Don’t worry! I killed his brother and he was cool with it!” Raon merrily rebukes.

This, naturally, is not the answer that Choi Han is expecting. Nor does it reassure his doubts in the slightest.

“What.”

Cale just reaches out for a slice of bread.

“For reference, the Stan are all crazy.” He says, unhelpfully.

“You don’t say.”

Unsurprisingly, Ron picks up on Cale’s weird behavior and preparations.

“Young Master, are you going to leave?” Surprisingly, though, he actually confronts the other about it.

“As expected, you’re quick on the uptake.” He doesn’t deny it, knowing Ron didn’t care enough to snitch on him. “Yes, I’m leaving soon; I no longer have business in the Henituse Estate.”

“... will you be leaving with that punk?”

“Openly questioning your master, you have some nerve for a servant.” Cale said with a click of his tongue, but his words lacked heat. “Then again, that’s why I liked you so much.”

He shrugged, pretending not to see the way Ron’s eyes widened for a second.

“Yeah, I’ll be leaving with Choi Han, are you planning on following him? Wait, no, that doesn’t sound like you at all. Is it Beacrox, then?”

Ron isn’t sure what expression he is making, but the puppy young master he raised takes a look at him and smiles.

Not in the way a naive, spoiled child does, but in the fashion a predator who is done playing with its prey.

“Of course I knew something was off about you two; I’m not dumb, just a great actor.” There is no disdain or scorn for Ron in his heart. After all, Cale is just stating facts. “Well, it’s not my problem what you guys do from now on, so do whatever you want.”

He walks away just like that.

The day comes– or rather, night.

Cale has Raon perched on his shoulder, Choi Han standing by his side and the not-so-unexpected duo of Ron and Beacrox a few steps away from them.

There’s no letter left behind for the Henituse, just Cale’s empty room.

Will his father seek him and finally see the abyss his eldest son had to face all these years? He doesn’t entertain that thought for long.

Cale turns away from his childhood home.

“You really were about to leave without us!” An angry voice breaks the quiet of the night. It belongs to a little girl. “Unbelievable!”

“Heartless!” A small boy echoes.

Two kittens make their way down from the first floor, the way only felines could.

Their big eyes seem to burn a hole in Cale’s skull.

“Ho.” He ignores Ron altogether.

Naturally, Cale didn’t plan on taking these kids along with him. Why would he? Hans would take care and pamper them without prompting.

As long as the deputy butler wasn’t fired, the pair could live a good life and never have to worry about food, sickness or having to look for a roof to cover their heads. It was a good deal.

So why were these brats throwing it away?

“I’m not going on a field day.” He warns.

“We know.” On says, tersely. “We’re still tagging along.”

“Why would you even–? Ha, whatever.” Cale’s hand sweeps his hair away in frustration. “Just don’t regret it later on.”

The girl’s response is to puff her chest out and smugly walk towards Choi Han with her brother in tow, demanding to be held.

Raon snickers in his mind.

— I told you my siblings would love you.

Chapter Text

Raon’s newfound drive for magical research is infectious— not that their group’s youngest hadn’t been supportive of a little bibidi babidi chaos before; as long as it didn’t pose a danger for the young master Cale, that is. Yet no one had ever seen him pursue it with such burning passion before.

So far, the only thing Rosalyn had seen Raon getting this worked up for before was… well, young master Cale.

However, the dragon swore on the white bastard’s —fucking. finally— dead body, that what had thrown him into this state had nothing to do with their Cale.

(Curious thing to emphasize. Then again, at this point, most of their group had reached that level of possessiveness.)

Knowing no danger lurked ahead, everyone let Raon do as he pleased —not that they would’ve been able to stop him, anyways—; Eruhaben and Sheritt were there for him physically and spiritually, quite literally, so no one was too worried about things going awry.

Little did they know of what was taking place in the grand scheme of things.

On dreams.

She’s mad at Cale– surprisingly, not for one of his usuals self-endangering related stunts.

It hurts just as bad, though; she and her brother were almost left behind by the redhead after he took them in, and On wasn’t about to get over this fact anytime soon.

They had been traveling together for a few days now, Rain City long left behind. It soon became obvious that Cale was leading this party, as Choi Han dutifully followed him, so did Hong and herself.

As for the Molan duo— well, she was curious, but didn’t particularly care as long as they didn’t cause trouble.

“Ahjussi.” She calls out, wishing for Cale to feel the consequences of his actions. Even if it is via calling him by a title that didn’t suit him.

“Cale.” He gently corrects, not minding his companions’ amused looks, or the way Choi Han coughs into his fist to disguise a snicker.

“Ahjussi.” This is the childish-est argument of her short life, but On doesn’t care about looking mature.

She’s feeling petty and willing to die on this Hill.

“Sparkly also works.” Cale offers and On blinks because, huh. She didn’t expect the cute nickname drop. “If not, at least add my name in the beginning; this group is full of ahjussis, after all.”

On rolls her eyes, but acknowledges the point. 

“Sparkly Ahjussi.” She settles for, before finally asking what has been gnawing at the back of her mind for a while now: “where are we going?”

Cale’s smile is soft yet sorrowful as he states the following:

“To fetch our youngest.”

Only Choi Han seems to understand his words, nodding to himself– solemnly so, as Cale absent-mindedly places a hand on his empty shoulder.

On decides right there and then: she hates that expression on Sparkly Ahjussi the most.

It takes a month for them to realize that her Orabeoni is gone.

Ron and Beacrox’s departures were sudden and shocking, as they could only wonder about the cause.

There had been no resignation notice, no explanatory letter.

One day father and son were there, dutifully tending to their tasks, only for everyone to wake up the next day to find them gone.

As the madame of the Henituse, Violan administered the estate and the internal affairs, therefore she had to be aware of such things.

When the news broke out, Lily was with her mother.

The Countess asked Hans to check on Cale. Ron had been Cale’s sole caretaker, so it was natural to worry about her step-son; that old butler had been the only person the young man had kept by his side… until now.

Cale didn’t answer the door, his room seemingly empty.

Cale’s guest was also nowhere in sight, but no one was alerted by this; that man— Choi Han, was it? Lily heard he had been stuck to his brother’s side ever since he arrived at the Henituse castle, so most people assumed that both young men were together at the time.

‘Cale must be in town… drinking’, they didn’t say it out loud, but Lily supposed this was the general consensus the adults had reached; her mother heaved a sigh as Hans delivered the news with an awkward expression.

This time, though, they all assumed that this particular outing was just a poor attempt on the young master’s part to get rid of his heartache.

Except, that couldn’t be. No complaints were brought forward that day.

A day became two, and then a whole week without incidents of any kind had passed by.

No reports of any involvement in bar fights arrived at the Knights Order. All meals delivered to Cale’s chambers were left untouched. Cale also never showed up to claim his allowance money. 

Something was clearly wrong.

Basen had to depart to the capital just a few days after Mr. Ron and his son vanished, but if he were here, her brother would have agreed with Lily’s assessment.

It was too quiet. An untouched meal, Lily could understand, but every-single-one? Her orabeoni would be dead by now, there was no way he could go all these days without a single bite.

And yet—

Whether it is the knights, the servants, her father; no one seemed to be concerned about the lack of news regarding Cale. No one was in a hurry to take action, despite how concerning this behavior was.

It was all chalked up to the young master grieving the disappearance of Ron.

‘He needs time’, it was the answer to Lily’s impatience whenever she asked.

To her, though, it just sounded like an excuse.

It became clear with each passing day that the servants were enjoying Cale’s unnatural quietness and didn’t care about finding the root of the issue.

Lily felt a little bit of a hypocrite. After all, she always avoided her orabeoni because she was unsure of how to deal with him. He never seemed in a mood to talk, so she was cautious around him.

(Cale had been right, they were basically strangers to each other.)

But it’s not as if she hated him, either.

Cale was mean, to say the opposite would be a lie. However, he had never been mean to her, and Lily didn’t think that her orabeoni was the type to keep around people he had taken a dislike to. No with how quick he made sure that any kind of displeasure he experienced became everyone’s problem.

So, at laest, it was safe to assume that Cale didn’t hate her.

And as long as this was true, Lily could hope.

Her Orabeoni was right, they didn’t know each other— but if she was brave enough, that could change, couldn’t it? She wanted to do better.

Cale told them neither Basen and Lily were to blame for their parents’ mistakes, but that didn’t mean she could shield herself behind these words and do nothing.

If she chose to do so, then she truly would be just like them; she’d be a coward.

That wouldn’t do.

Lily wanted to become a knight, so bravery was a must. How could she fight for others when she couldn’t even face her own brother?

So, Lily had snuck a few times inside of Cale’s room, hoping to catch a glimpse of her brother.

… the only sight that greeted her was that of the growing layer of dust.

They weren’t even cleaning his chambers. She confirmed this as traces of her past visits became apparent with the passing of days; the lack of signs from her brother became painfully obvious, as well.

For days on end, Lily Henituse was the sole visitor of this room. It took her two days to accept the truth, but she kept quiet, waiting.

In order to know for certain— in order to understand the brother she never got to know, Lily couldn’t be the one to bring this up to her parents’ attention.

How long would it take? She needed to confirm this. 

As far as everyone believed, Cale was still with them. Lily would use this opportunity to unveil the truth. She needed to know what kind of treatment her brother got when no one was looking, especially now that Mr. Ron was gone.

How long would they deny it? How long would it take for the lie to shatter?

Lily waited, and waited, but aside from the occasional staff in charge of delivering Cale’s meals, no one came directly looking for him.

The staff knocked twice, stated their business and quickly excused themselves, leaving the trolley with food by the door.

It was jarring.

Had it been Lily, her nanny and a bunch of servants would kick up a fuss the moment she refused to open her door. And, if she behaved particularly bratty, then Mother herself would show up to rip her a new one.

… no one did this for her brother. There was no worry, no concern, no attempts of reaching out.

Lily wasn’t even the target of this collective indifference, yet it hurt worse than a wound during practice.

‘I cry, too. I hurt, too’, she couldn’t help but cry of frustration when she realized, Cale’s words echoing in her mind.

No one really thought of her Orabeoni’s feelings— they didn’t think of him as a human being who could hurt, feel sadness or loneliness. No one cared enough.

Unfortunately, she only understood it when he was no longer around.

Beacrox’s dreams had two extremes: nightmares or cooking-related shenanigans, there was not in-between. Therefore, watching himself make dinner preparations by a campsite wasn’t out of the ordinary.

No matter how lucid, a dream was a dream, after all. No logic would apply, a lot of things would make no sense.

The reason Beacrox emphasized this was due to the unfamiliar awkwardness he felt as his hands worked.

The reason? A pair of reddish-brown eyes fixed on his every movement.

“... what is it?”

“Oh? Don’t mind me, I’m just doing some self-study here.” Young master Cale said, hand waving with a dramatic flair to it as he spoke. “Gotta get around cooking, or else I’ll perish thanks to Choi Han once our party splits.”

“My food isn’t that bad.” Choi Han complained.

Beacrox could only scoff, but was surprised when the sound didn’t come from his dream-self, but from young master Cale’s own mouth.

“Your food is god awful.” That was the kindest way to put it, in the chef’s humble opinion.

Choi Han could outdo the Empire’s Alchemy Tower when it came down to creating the most horrid things known to mankind, that’s how bad his cooking skills were.

His father, as expected, didn’t disguise his contempt as he glared at the swordsman.

“Inedible.”

“It’s not worth even as poison, nya.”

The kittens’ commentary hit Choi Han the hardest, though.

It was no secret that these children once survived by diving on dumpsters; they would eat anything as long as it kept them alive, so they were not picky.

Therefore, Choi Han’s cooking was truly hopeless for them to say that.

“It’s okay to suck, you know.” Cale continued. “We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I mean, look at me! I haven’t lifted a finger for most of my life, so I suck at many things, but I’m a pro at–”

“Scamming?” 

“... I was going to say acting, but I’ll take that.”

Because Hong was cute and looked at him with his big doe eyes, the redhead just chuckled, petted him and moved on.

“Of course, I’m weak, but as long as you’re a good performer you can trick stronger beings. Look at Ron there, for example.” He said when both kittens and one swordmaster looked up at him with curious eyes. “He’s an assassin, you know; yet he got tricked by an eight-years old brat.”

“What.” Something in that statement seemed to reboot Beacrox’s brain.

He wasn’t the only one, though.

“Ho.”

Ron, of course, hadn’t forgotten how this puppy young master of his threw away his mask and admitted to knowing there was something off about the Molan duo.

Cale, however, never told Ron to his face that he knew about his specialty.

“You were not subtle, old man.” The cheeky brat shrugged, enjoying father and son’s briefly shocked expressions. “Besides, the Henituse territory is home to all kinds of people, so you can tell after a while if you keep an eye out. A chef can be a skilled knight, an artist can be an assassin—”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Frowned Choi han.

“Do you realize that whether it is Ron, Beacrox or yourself, you’re all dangerous motherfuckers?” Cale asked back, deadpan.

Having nothing he could possibly retort to that, the Korean wisely shut up.

“We don’t care about pasts. As long as you don’t bring harm to the county’s citizens, anyone is welcome to stay.”

“If there are so many hidden experts.” On, in her wisdom, squinted her eyes. “Then why was everyone so scared of you?”

“Scared?” Choi Han’s head tilted in confusion.

“Oh, yeah. I was our territory’s infamous trash.” Cale said, rather offhandedly. “They weren’t scared of me, but my status. After all, whether they liked it or not, I’m the Count’s eldest son; no matter the level of disrespect I subjected them to, they couldn’t beat me up or they risked expulsion from our lands— in the most lenient of sentences, that is.”

“... would they beat you up just for trash-talking them?”

“How innocent of you.” Cale cooed at the swordmaster’s naivety. “That’s child’s play, my esteemed. I chose to play the trash role, and commit I did.”

Choi Han seemed to be under the impression that Cale behaved the same way he did when they were alone— asshole, but a friendly type of asshole. So it was time to shatter his reality.

Amusedly, Cale put a finger down for every charge associated with himself:

“Bar fights, property damage, attempted assault–”

“Wha–?” Choi Hand had a hard time picturing all of this, if the way he squinted his eyes was any indicator of it.

Cale was chaotic, sure, but he was a decent person. The scolding he had gotten from the redhead back at Harris Village, still replayed itself in his mind from time to time.

“Thugs.” The redhead shrugged. “If they’re gonna go around causing trouble for other people in the territory, then I’m not gonna feel bad for throwing something their way.”

“The Count would replace any items broken by the young master, so it wasn’t a loss for the business owners.” Ron chimed in. “Now that proper context has been provided, this Ron wonders if all that damaged property were good deeds in disguise? Hm?”

Cale just shrugged, noncommittally.

Truth is, the assassin had caught him red-handed, but he didn’t have any plans to curry favor from Ron —nor did he want to advertise his own whims as something they were not—, so he let the old man think whatever he wanted.

Unfortunately for Cale, Ron did take his silence as a confirmation.

“This Ron also heard the young master’s food tantrums were a ruse, as well.” He said with a benign smile.

The servants couldn’t help but comment on the fight the young master Cale and Count Deruth had. So, naturally, Ron caught wind of what was said that day as well.

“... some of our staff really need to learn how to shut their mou— wait, no, it’s not my problem anymore.” The redhead heaved a sigh, hand swatting at the air as if to dissipate his annoyance. “Yes, it was indeed a ruse.”

The only reason Cale said this was, of course, Beacrox. His hands had stopped working for a while now, so it was obvious that the chef had been pretty invested in their conversation.

Clearing his throat, the (former?) noble got the man to focus on him.

“Now that I say that…”

“What?”

“I owe you an apology.” Cale pointedly ignored the sharp intakes of breath all around. “It was hard to pretend to hate your steak, but I couldn’t break character– ah, that’s just my reasoning, not an excuse. Still, I apologize for disrespecting your skills as a chef and turning away your hard work; you don’t have to accept it, of course, but you deserve one. I’m sorry.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Cale simply nodded when Beacrox said nothing and thought: as expected, just saying sorry doesn’t solve everything. But he was still proud of himself for owning up to his mistakes in some way.

Contrary to his beliefs, though, Beacrox’s mind was in such a disarray that he simply couldn’t utter an answer.

A noble apologizing to someone of lower status was unheard of, let alone sincerely, but it just happened.

“You threw away food?” On’s tone sounded accusatory, but that was to be expected.

For the pair of siblings from the Cat Tribe who struggled to keep themselves alive in the slums, Cale’s actions were outrageous.

“I refused to eat it.” He didn’t want to be a disappointment for these kids as well. Because of this, Cale chose to be truthful in his answer. “However, it’s unlikely that they actually threw it away. My father is a generous lord, he wouldn’t mind if the servants took the leftovers for themselves, and they all know this. So even if I didn’t touch it, the food wasn’t wasted.”

Everyone looked back at Beacrox, who nodded, still speechless, confirming that Cale’s words were true.

“Why did you do all that?” It was Choi Han who dared to ask.

Why did this young master act like trash? Choi Han couldn’t help but wonder, and so did the children.

The more Cale spoke, the more Choi Han understood that there had to be a reason— all of Cale’s behavior until this point had a good reason behind it.

Choi Han hadn’t forgotten that this man had changed Harris Village’s fate.

“... flawed eight-year-old’s logic.” The answer, however, was nothing they expected. “It’s not really an excuse, but the extended family was really opposed to my father’s second marriage— Lady Violan and Basen had a hard time, so I gave them something else to complain about. Our relatives used my position as the heir as a shield, so I weaponized that against them; if the heir turned out rotten, then they would have no choice but to bite their tongues and accept my father's new family.”

Cale didn’t look at them, but he could feel the stares. Ron’s gaze was particularly intense, but he ignored it. 

“That’s…”

“Stupid? Yeah, someone already nagged me about that. We don’t do that anymore.” He snorted at On’s tired sigh.

Cale felt her front paw pat him, as if fondly telling him: ‘you’re an idiot.’ He preferred that type of reaction over pity.

“I don’t even know why I kept it up for so long. No matter how many times I did that, my father didn’t kick me out— stupidest choice ever, if I say so myself.”

“... isn’t that proof of his love for you?” The swordmaster asked, with a tilt of his head.

“That’s just romanticizing his neglect.” Cale answered, tersely.

There was a time in which he thought just like Choi Han. Cale was aware of his father’s love, of course, but he also experienced his father’s cowardice and indifference.

“Father is a great lord, but when it comes to parenting… there is no parenting, period. He considers that his fatherly duties don’t go beyond providing money, food and a roof over your head. He is emotionally unavailable.”

Before Cale began pushing everyone away, it was Deruth who pushed Cale away first by avoiding him.

“I’m pretty sure that Lady Violan and her no-nonsense attitude were the ones who made him change in that aspect, at least when it comes to Basen and Lily.”

He really came back with a new family and thought they could just pick up where they left, as if nothing had ever been wrong. 

“...”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know my father loves me, but is that enough reason to forget and forgive? I love him, but that makes all the offenses endured over the years hurt even more.”

It was Cale who needed to be strong for the two of them, it was Cale who had to understand, it was Cale who had to put his needs aside. 

“...”

It was Cale who came to his father, not once it was the other way around.

“I just can’t deal with it anymore. Why do I always have to pick up after his messes?”

Deruth always took Cale for granted.

“Mother died, but I had to plan the funeral with Ron’s help because he was too grief stricken, someone had to be the level-headed one. Who dealt with the extended family’s crap? Me. Who had to take over some of the lord’s duties temporarily because he spent too much time outside? Me!”

Cale couldn’t help the frustration seeping into his voice. He had never spoken about these things out loud before, not in such detail, at least. Not even Raon had been privy to all this information.

Naturally, it was not because Cale didn’t trust him— Cale trusted Raon more than anyone else in this rotten world.

After all, Raon was the only person that hadn’t turned on Cale. The only person who stuck by him.

The only person to care about him.

However, the little blorbo would probably have blown up the Henituse if he knew how pained Cale actually was. That’s why he pretended to be strong when he finally spoke to them.

“He avoided me, because I look like her. He started spending a lot of time outside, as he couldn’t bear to be home— to see me. He didn’t have the decency to tell me he was going to remarry, until I met Lady Violan myself; the date had already been fixed and it was nearing by then.”

“Meoow.”

“Meoww.”

The kittens began purring, perhaps trying to ease his inner turmoil.

“He moved on, yet I didn’t get to grieve for my mother. And then everyone started pretending she didn’t fucking exist.” Cale said through gritted teeth, to avoid shedding tears. There would be no crying today. “He couldn’t even protect his new family, so I had to do it for him.”

“Cale-ssi…”

“I’m tired, Choi Han. I’m so, so, tired. I don’t really care about money or luxury, I just wanted someone to rely on… but that might as well translate into asking for a God’s relic, at least by my life’s standards.”

Cale covered his eyes with his right hand upon realizing that, for once, he couldn’t keep his expression together.

No one called him out on it.

“So! I decided I would stop doing the unpaid work and do my own shit, and here we are. That’s your answer.”

Choi Han’s own expression said how much he regretted asking.

The more you messed with time and space, the easier it got. At least in Raon’s mighty opinion.

Then again, he’s not only a dragon, but the last Dragon Lord’s son. His perception of “easy” was screwed up.

“Who are you?” Bright blue eyes stared back at him amidst the dense darkness.

“I’m the mighty Raon Miru, I’m a great total of six years old!”

“Raon… Miru…?” The voice asked in confusion.

“It means us.” Raon didn’t have time to spare, so he took a page from his dumb Cale and said what he needed to say. “Other me, I will allow you to use this great being’s name; I will also allow you to inherit some of this mighty dragon’s memories.”

“Huh?”

Raon paid no mind to his dumbfounded parallel-self and turned away, before remembering something important:

“Oh! And if anything bad happens to Sparkly before I snatch him away, I’ll destroy your world, okay? Bye!”

“Wait, wha–?!”

Taylor wonders if he was poisoned (again) or if he and Cage actually had too much alcohol last night, because he couldn’t make heads or tails of this dream.

In this dream, his days were peaceful— or as peaceful as a noble heir’s days could be. Why? Because, apparently, his brother Venion was dead and it had been a while since he kicked the bucket. Long enough that Taylor had never been crippled in the first place.

Officially, Venion was declared missing, as his body had yet to be found.

Unofficially, everyone in the Stan Estate collectively believed that the young patriarch Taylor was to blame.

There is no such thing as ‘going missing’ when you’re a Stan, especially not for ten years. It was more reasonable and believable for them to think Taylor had committed the perfect crime.

Well, technically, Taylor was an accomplice. He was indeed involved in the cleanup, so he neither confirmed nor denied these rumors.

Rather, he used them to make his siblings yield to his will. Of course, with a little help from a Vow of Death for failsafe’s sake.

Like this, Taylor secured the succession at a very young age.

And because of it, he also managed to squash down a lot of the corruption the Stan Household had partaken in during recent years.

Taylor was disappointed, yet not surprised, to find out his father colluded with a strange organization.

What did surprise him was the black egg that somehow came into his father’s possession.

Taylor was a mere mortal, so he didn’t know a lot about dragons beyond what was written down in books. But he was sure there couldn’t exist two black dragons at the same time.

And Taylor did know a black dragon.

So Taylor didn’t hesitate to smack down his own father, just as he didn’t hesitate to help Raon-nim get rid of Venion years prior.

Even if this egg and the dragon he knew were different beings, he felt a sense of debt towards its predecessor.

“Salutations, Nice Taylor!” Of course, life decided to prove Taylor wrong when the egg hatches and a newborn version of Raon-nim greets him.

“... I will not ask.”

“Wise.”

Raon-nim said he would stay with him for a while, muttering something about time paradoxes and that it would be best not to test his parallel twin’s levels of madness— whatever that meant.

Taylor happily welcomes him into his home. Either way, who is he to deny a dragon’s wish?

And thus Raon-nim eats, plays and sleeps for a total of four years. Until one fateful day.

“My ride’s here.” Raon-nim abruptly says, and not long after a group of people breaks into Taylor’s office.

Which, rude, but Taylor chooses to be grateful over the fact they didn’t break his windows.

“Sparkly!” Ignoring the shocked gazes all around, Raon-nim literally zooms into a familiar face. “Nice to finally meet you, I’m the great and mighty Raon Miru! Or, well, one of them.”

“... yes. It’s nice to finally meet you, too, Raon.” The man says, his voice so soft that Taylor barely registers it.

There is reverence and a sense of familiarity in the way he speaks, as if he’s speaking to someone dear instead of a higher being.

What’s more surprising is the fact Taylor is acquainted with this man.

Cale Henituse, heir to the richest family in the northeast, was among the men (and pair of kittens) who had trespassed his property.

“Young master Cale?”

“Just Cale is fine.” Reddish-brown eyes meet green eyes. “I hope that the young patriarch finds in his heart enough kindness to overlook this situation.”

Said young patriarch’s lips twitched upwards. That was one creative way of asking someone to keep their mouth shut.

“... I’ve suddenly lost my sight.” Just as he did ten years ago, Taylor closes his eyes and pretends not to see what’s in front of him.

“Good child.” Raon-nim pats him on the head and offers him an apple pie.

How nostalgic.

Taylor accepts it carefreely and waves the group goodbye, before he takes a bite.

Rosalyn knows that dreams are a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon. That doesn’t mean she won’t try.

She is a magician, after all, curiosity is part of her nature.

(And it could be said that, in that sense, Rosalyn is what is commonly known as a sore loser.)

“My name is Choi Han.”

Rosalyn, of course, knows that the man before her it’s not Choi Han, but young master Cale who is committing identity theft. His black-dyed hair could hardly fool her.

Her dream-self, however, seems totally clueless of this fact.

The scenario plays the same way she remembers, yet too differently at the same time.

Instead of Choi Han, it’s young master Cale whom Rosalyn meets after the Archduke’s failed assassination attempt on her. It’s young master Cale who helps her gather the information she needs.

It’s young master Cale who melts her cold personality.

Dream-Rosalyn is even friendlier than she is with the real Choi Han, but that’s also because the young master Cale in her dream is more outgoing than the one she knows in real life.

This young master’s smiles were not only reserved for his scams, and they were not so small as to go almost unnoticed— of course, there were some bits of the person that she remembered in the way he talked to the kittens, but the difference was striking.

This young master Cale was more open and affectionate and, dare she say, more charming?

Of course, Rosalyn wouldn’t change her young master Cale for anything, but there was nothing wrong with admitting that his counterpart was certainly fun to be around.

“So.” Rosalyn says, rather lightheartedly. “Is Choi Han even your real name?”

“No.” Young master Cale easily admits, without panic or fear.

It’s as if he had realized that Rosalyn had been suspicious of his identity for a long time, but instead of concern, the thought seemed to amuse him.

“But he is a real person, I’m just borrowing his name. I can’t exactly go gallivanting around there with mine.”

“Did you run away from home?” Rosalyn saw the corner of ‘Choi Han’s’ mouth lift, and she immediately understood. “You did!”

It was embarrassing, but that fact filled her with childish excitement.

“There is nothing wrong with seeking your own happiness.”

“... right!”

It made Rosalyn feel so validated— regardless of this man’s own reasons to do what he did, it assured her that she wasn’t alone.

In a way, they walked a similar path.

Lock wasn’t sure how things ended up like this. In his defense, too much happened recently.

For a moment, Lock had seen hell.

His home had been attacked, with more casualties on their side than he thought would be possible— thanks to Choi Han-hyung, who arrived in a timely manner, most of his younger siblings were able to live.

Unfortunately, most of the remaining adults succumbed to their injuries or died from blood loss.

Choi Han helped them give their relatives a proper burial and told them to follow him. Apparently, his arrival was under the command of another person.

Said person introduced himself as Cale.

Cale explained that the organization that attacked Lock’s home planned to start a war, and that unfortunately the annihilation of his tribe was a mere step among their preparations.

Apparently, it was not the first time that said organization did this, as two of the members of Cale’s group confessed to having their home destroyed because of said bastards.

Currently, Lock was following Cale, along with Choi Han, Rosalyn and the pair of kittens.

His brothers were left in Beacrox’s care. In the meantime, Mr. Ron had left to gather more intel on their enemy’s movements.

The atmosphere should have been heavy, yet—

“Hong will grow lazy if you keep carrying him around.”

“On won’t let me cuddle her!”

“Hug Choi Han instead.” Rosalyn-noona suggested, snickering for a reason only she and the kittens seemed privy to.

Cale seems to consider it, but then takes a look at Choi Han-hyung’s expression, guffaws and goes for Lock instead.

“Uncle Cale, where are we headed?” He can’t help but ask.

On had insisted from minute one that Lock could refer to Cale as ahjussi, and Cale himself offered no resistance whatsoever when she said this.

But since Lock was a bit of a pushover, and owed too much to the man that wasn’t much older than himself, he ended up calling him ‘uncle’ instead.

“To rob a grave.”

“...” Lock turned to Choi Han-hyung with chaotic eyes, as if asking if it was really okay to follow this person.

“To be precise, we’re robbing my late mother’s grave.” Cale continued, as if he hadn’t noticed the very obvious exchange. “There’s… something I have to pick up.”

The group looks at him in confusion, except for Choi Han-hyung.

“Is it time to pick the other half?”

“Indeed.”

It had been quite a while since Choi Han dreamt, as he couldn’t afford such a level of vulnerability.

Dreaming meant his guard was lowered, thus his body was left defenseless; he couldn’t afford that when he inhabited the Forest of Darkness, or the old Harris Village due to its proximity to the former place, let alone during the war.

Therefore, Choi Han had almost forgotten what a normal dream was like— he definitely wouldn’t count that time he got Choi Jung Soo’s memories, for obvious reasons.

The first dream the swordmaster gets in a while is rather… particular. As was anything related to Cale’s group, really.

The dream is also rather vivid, one could question whether it was reality if not for its ludicrous content.

In which world would Raon chase him across the forest and yeet his ass back to a village of people that no longer existed?

‘I didn’t think I possessed such a level of imagination’, he chuckled to himself.

There was a slight bitterness to it, as moving on didn’t mean Choi Han had really forgotten the people he left behind.

On the contrary, there was no day he didn’t think about them; it was just one of the many reasons he had accumulated to keep going.

(And now he could finally settle without feeling an ounce of guilt; he got revenge, he served justice.)

Briefly, Choi Han considers if Cale-nim has traumatized him to the point of dreaming of any other-worldly shenanigans the man could possibly ever get into— and he realizes that, yes, it is indeed the case.

And boy, do they all need therapy.

“Cale-ssi.” An unimpressed-looking Choi Han says.

The air among them isn’t heavy, rather… there’s a ridiculous nuance to it. 

“Don’t.”

“There’s a tree now.” Choi Han sounds so done as he stares at the big tree who sprouted out of nowhere.

“I know. I have eyes!”

To Cale-nim— or rather, to the original Cale Henituse’s credit, he has the decency to look flustered.

“Why.” 

“Ohmygod Han Ajae, just shut up!”

“A-Ajae?!” A surprised Choi Han looked at the redhead in disbelief. After all, it was the first time he had been called that way.

“What? I can see how old you are with this ancient power, you know.” Cale shrugged. “You are an old man.”

The sad part is, Choi Han couldn’t refute it. He wasn’t even aware of how much time he had spent in the Forest of Darkness.

“And… there’s something wrong with your time.”

“Huh?”

“Yours and mine, really.”

“Huh?”

Cale’s gaze fell on his late mother’s diary.

“I will explain later. You’re too damn sober for this.”

Choi Han— the one who already knew what the original Cale Henituse wanted to tell his counterpart, couldn’t help but agree.

Obviously, they have to stop the Terror Plaza Incident.

Raon makes it easier for them to find most of the bombs, thanks to his memories transferred from an alternative timeline.

The problem is that, according to his knowledge, there will be suicide bombers.

The young dragon doesn’t know where the other Cale got the indestructible shield from, so they can only count on Rosalyn and Raon himself to protect the people when Redika makes an appearance.

Since Taylor is in the area and he already knows of Raon’s existence, Cale decides to put him on babysitting duty.

“Forgive me for this, young master Basen.”

“Ekk?!”

“Apologies, but young master Basen’s hyung-nim would cripple me if something were to happen to you.” Taylor chuckles, as if the statement was cute. “So I’d rather not fail this task.”

So Basen is held like a helpless kitten from the neck by Taylor, as a black-haired man—  Cale and some others dealt with the pandemonium in the square.

Basen is shaken by the image of his brother throwing himself in front of everyone, to protect them from an explosion with a mysterious shield (he does not know that the power is someone else’s and that a dragon helped him).

He’s also surprised when he sees his brother and the Crown Prince hugging in the square.

But nothing beat finding out that his brother had been missing for a month, and his parents had only found out after the Crown Prince proclaimed Cale a national hero.

Lately, Alberu's mood tethered between gratefulness and regret.

The cause being none other than one Cale Henituse, the Hero from the Plaza Terror Incident.

Alberu was justifiably skeptical during their first meeting. Particularly since Cale invaded his chambers in the middle of the night, proclaiming that there would be a terrorist attack soon; if Alberu is totally honest, the only thing that prevented a potential disaster right then was the childish voice that greeted him unexpectedly.

It was the same voice that asked him to become king years ago, on the iconic day when the queen’s dress caught fire.

A dragon’s voice.

Immediately understanding he must not pick a fight with the redhead, Alberu decided to trust this warning and also cooperated in his own way to minimize the number of victims.

Avoiding it one hundred percent turned out to be impossible, so they decided to build a narrative that would benefit the crown.

Alberu covered his back and Cale got a golden plaque. That should have been all.

Unfortunately, Arm was still doing its thing all over the continent, so they had no choice but to continue using each other. Which led to the downfall of Alberu’s wallet and started an era of calls at inconvenient times.

“What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Your highness is the— wait, what are you doing?”

Alberu never thought there would come a day in which he wouldn't give a damn about looking presentable when talking to a noble, but since nothing related to Cale Henituse was going his way, he decided to hell with it and continued whipping up his cookie dough.

“Can’t a man have hobbies?”

“In this economy?” Cale mock-gasped. “Why baking, tho? Hey, no judging! It’s just something… unexpected. Wonder if there’s a term to describe this feeling. Whatchu think, Han Ajae?”

“I believe this is what you call ‘gap moe.’” Choi Han provided, unhelpfully.

Damn Cale Henituse and his entourage of super-powered brats.

“Baking is science, in a way. It's easy to mess up but it's satisfying when you get the desired result.” Alberu regretted answering when he saw Cale’s eyebrow rise curiously.

A curious Cale meant that this conversation would end up giving him a headache.

“So this is how your childhood trauma manifests? You can’t control every aspect of your life, so you channel your need for control through baking?”

“... it’s too damn early for this.”

“It’s three in the morning.”

Alberu simply hung up.

The third time is on purpose.

The next time Raon and Cale properly see each other —fuck Venion Stan, fuck the Sealed God’s test—, Cale is twenty eight.

Given the lack of information in some parts, the war lasted five years, but it was long over. Five years of peace followed after.

“Sparkly!”

Then, suddenly, there are two Raons in their home, which makes everyone lose their minds a little.

Only Cale remained calm, despite being tackled at an inadvisable speed. 

Eventually, Choi Han also understood what had just happened and calmed down as well. This was the Raon he originally met in the Forest of Darkness.

“Illiterate Choi Han, hi!” Yep, it was definitely the same child.

“Hey, if isn’t it Mighty Miru?” Cale smiles as he pets the dragon, who is busy happily nuzzling him. It’s honestly adorable. “How have you been?”

“I have maaany things to tell you!”

“Really? I cannot wait.”

Chapter Text

Cale’s life apparently revolved around receiving the most mind-blowing news at the most inconvenient times.

“I met the original Cale Henituse.” So forgive him for choking on his wine when Choi Han threw him a curveball out of nowhere.

“... pardon?” Fortunately, they were alone, so no one had seen Cale embarrass himself, except for the swordsman who was quick to offer him a napkin.

But Cale raised his hand, dignity be damned.

Choi Han already knew his secret, so the mention of his body's former owner in itself was not strange; the contents of the second part was what mattered.

The only time Cale and Kim Rok Soo interacted in their lives was, ironically, when Cale had been dying because his plate was falling apart like cookie crumbs. Which begged the question: how the hell did Choi Han accomplish such a thing?

If it was the damn God of Death’s fault again...

Choi Han peered at his liege for a moment, seemingly hesitant, but given the sharp gaze fixed on him he couldn’t help but hurry to speak.

“I believed it to be a dream at first, but then it happened again. And again. There was somewhat continuity, and that’s how it clicked; it felt more like peeking to another world rather than a dream.”

“Oh.” Just like that, Cale’s shoulders relaxed and he sagged back on his seat.

It wasn’t once or twice that his friend had traveled to another world, or observed other realities through someone else’s eyes, so Choi Han’s testimony was reliable.

“Does it bother you?”

Choi Han cocked his head to the side.

“... not particularly?” He said. “I was confused in the beginning– I barely dream as is, but it wasn’t bad once I got used to it.”

It’s nothing to worry about, then. Cale decided.

He began to lazily clean himself, before stopping his motions. The redhead hesitated before asking: “... how was he?”

There was no need to clarify who he meant.

Choi Han hummed, proof that he understood the question, before stating:

“Depressed as fuck, that guy.”

“Cough.”

Whatever Cale expected to hear, that answer was certainly not in the cards. The problem was not the content, though, but the messenger himself.

Cale had never heard Choi Han express himself so… crudely, before.

In front of Cale, at least, his Korean compatriot always used formal language, so it was the first time hearing him talk like that.

“I believe Rosalyn knows, too.” Without realizing it, or maybe just not giving a damn, Choi Han continued dropping bomb after bomb. He glanced at Cale nervously before checking the surroundings; leaning in, he conspiratorially whispered: “not about the, uh, switch the both of you did. But I believe she knows about the other world I saw.”

Thanks to Past Cale for acquiring the Vitality of the Heart, because Current Cale’s heart had already malfunctioned three times so far in the duration of this conversation. His face just didn’t show it.

“Elaborate.” 

“... she’s been cracking too many jokes about the Choi Han saga lately.” Choi Han offered, as if it explained everything. It didn’t.

Cale started nursing his cup of wine, as if it were his ongoing headache. Deep down, he knew he would regret asking, but he had to know.

“The what now.”

Choi Han seemed to die inside, just a little. He then answered with the most dimmed-looking eyes Cale had ever seen in him ever since literally picking the guy off the streets.

“It’s like our Secret Organization saga, except it consists of everyone borrowing my name for our exploits.”

Cale’s eyebrow rose.

“Choi Han, that’s identity theft.”

“You tell them that!” The old man with a deceptively young-looking face gestured around wildly. “Even my student joined in on it!”

“Hyung did?” Now that did pique Cale’s interest. For all the wrong reasons, of course.

See, Alberu was not someone easily influenced. God knows it had taken Cale some time for the man to completely stop giving a damn around the redhead’s people, so forgive him for being curious.

Just what the hell did Kim Rok Soo do to get His Highness join the (apparent) collective effort of messing with Choi Han?

“His Highness sure excels at everything he sets his mind to.” The swordmaster said, dark eyes squinting. He was totally sulking. “Apparently, that includes being an asshole.”

Cale stared, dumbfoundedly, before barking out a laugh once his brain caught up with what he did just hear.

Perhaps this new side of Choi Han wasn’t a bad thing.

Kim Rok Soo led a simple life… once one looked past technicalities, that is. He had a new body that he liked, a niece he adored, a house he got used to calling his home.

And his job was a drag, but whose job wasn’t?

His hobbies included drinking and terrorizing corporate evil old men; perfectly entertaining past-times for his age, if you asked him.

He also had nosy, but well-intentioned colleagues.

Oh. And he died, went back in time and crossed over to another world, but we don’t talk about that.

But alas, the last part was a bit difficult to ignore, especially when the world kept reminding him of it every now and then. Whether it be through Choi Jung Soo, the God of Death himself, when his mother’s reincarnation spouted comments a little too meta for his liking, and the most recent addition to his list: when Rok Soo held impromptu pseudo-executive meetings in his dreams.

Cale had been the first but, apparently, not the last.

“Goddamnit.”

Admittedly, Rok Soo should’ve been worried about facing a younger version of his current body, but he couldn’t help but find hilarious the fact the youngling automatically swore as soon as they made eye contact.

It told him everything he needed to know.

“It seems that Cale has paid you a visit, as well.”

The young Cale— no, this one still went by Kim Rok Soo, correct? The young Kim Rok Soo stopped massaging his temples in order to peer up curiously at him.

“... Cale also snatched your body?” Aha, so that was the tea.

Rok Soo couldn’t help but revel in the chaos his next statement was bound to unleash:

“Rather, I snatched his?”

… it’s all it took for the young one to look utterly done with everything.

Their time together was definitely longer than anticipated, so (against the young man’s wishes) they had time to get acquainted with each other.

This is how Rok Soo discovered that the person he was talking to was Kim Rok Soo from Earth 2; basically, a younger version of his soul-swapping partner whose world Cale’s shenanigans fucked up a bit.

For the better, of course.

They bonded over shitting on Cale’s poor self-preservation instincts, secretly fueling Rok Soo’s belief that they all were pretty alike— whether they liked it or not.

After the young Rok Soo, it was the original Lee Soo Hyuk’s turn. After him, came his version of Earth 2. Then it was Earth 2's Choi Jung Soo.

He even had the opportunity to meet Ahn Roh Man, an alternative version of his majesty Alberu Crossman. That last meeting was both unexpected as it was interesting, he never thought that his majesty was such a... relatable person.

Of course, Rok Soo brought this up the next time he met with Cale, who proceeded to explain that: indeed, a korean sprite-obsessed version of Alberu did exist out there.

“What about Earth 2, then?”

For some reason, Cale’s shoulders trembled uncontrollably upon hearing that question, so forgive him for pestering the other until the Black Tiger Alberu’s lore was spilled.

“Wait so our Alberu has a fursona?”

Cale choked. He had tears in his eyes though, so it probably wasn’t that serious.

“Wait, oh my God Cale. Cale. He’s Aslan!”

“Huh?”

“Giant feline monarch with a very obvious  religious allegory as a character plot point?”

“Fuck.”

They laughed their asses off for a while after that. And Kim Rok Soo had to admit, Cale was one hell of a funny guy when he wasn’t too busy dying.

So. Given the wide scope of his encounters, Kim Rok Soo wasn’t all that surprised when he eventually encountered an alternative version of Princess Rosalyn.

“Oh my god? Cale?!” What surprised him was the way her eyes lit up and she seemed to recognize him immediately.

The fact that he was swept into a long-crushing hug also helped, of course.

“You’re our Cale!” She exclaimed, hands cupping his face as she meticulously examined every corner of his face with her gaze. “We did it! No, who am I kidding? Of course we did it!”

Only after muttering like crazy under her breath, did the mage let go. Then, she flipped her middle finger around as if possessed.

“Take THAT, Death!”

It was, for a lack of a better term, trippy.

“Um, princess…?”

“It’s Rosa.” She clarified.

“Miss–”

“Rosa.” Came out a bit too forcefully.

“Rosa.” He amended. “To what do I owe the pleasure? This visit looks rather… intended, compared to other encounters I’ve had in the past.”

Rosalyn gave him a sharp look.

“We’re circling back to that, later, but Cale—!”

“Actually, I go by Kim Rok Soo now.” 

“Rok Soo!” She adapted naturally, before gushing excitedly: “it’s been crazy for a while, we’ve been searching for you literally everywhere!”

“... I think you have got the wrong person.”

The princess gave him a puzzled look.

“No way! You were previously Cale Henituse, correct? You made a deal with the God of Death, turned back time and crossed over to another world so we could screw the White Star over, yeah?”

Oh, would you look at that? Apparently, now they did, in fact, talk about it.

“Raon-nim told us everything— well, more like he told us what we needed to know, but I might have been a teeny bit pushy and he had to spill the beans to me in private.” Rok Soo barely could process that part before she moved on. “Everyone lost their remaining sanity when you suddenly passed away like that and the world started crumbling apart… literally speaking.”

“Huh?”

“Raon-nim– that is, the other… no, young master Cale’s kid. You were the reason our world existed at all.” She explained without missing a beat. “Ever since he knew you existed, Raon-nim never forgot about you. He made our world just for you. A world in which you could do as you pleased, live how you wanted; it was meant to be a world in which the original Cale Henituse could be happy.”

“...”

“Ah, of course, it must be quite shocking hearing of all this so suddenly. But that’s just how it is.”

Of course Kim Rok Soo was surprised, but due to the way Rosalyn expressed so casually about the destruction of her world. Wasn’t it her home?

“... Aren’t you mad?” So he had to ask.

“Hmm? You mean, if I am angry because my world disappeared simply because of you?” He nodded. “Well, of course I am!”

“... I see.”

Well, it was to be expec–

“I’m mad that you don’t remember our time together, that is!”

Huh?

“My, why are you looking so surprised?” Rosa giggled at his (undoubtedly) dumb expression. Her eyes softened as she spoke: “Rok Soo, it wasn’t only you who was happy there, but that happiness is something that only could exist because of you in the first place.”

Kim Rok Soo couldn’t wrap his head around it. 

“I’m the way I am only because I met you, not young master Cale.” She stated. “Rosa exists because of Kim Rok So, so it’s only natural that my world can’t be complete without you in it. I’m not the only one who thinks this way.”

No, why go to such lengths for someone you don’t even know?

Rosalyn gave an exasperated sigh. Soon, his cheeks were being stretched; it was a bit painful but otherwise didn’t hurt him.

“I just told you that the others feel the same way. ‘My world wouldn’t be complete without you’, do you think Raon doesn’t feel the same? Rok Soo, you are also the reason Raon’s world even exists, and Raon knows this more than anyone. None of the things Cale has done would have been possible without you.” She pointed out. “You are the reason Raon now has a family he loves and a place to call home.”

“Those are the consequences of Cale’s own actions.”

“Something, something, egg, chicken.” Rosa rolled her eyes. “One thing cannot be without the other, and Raon knows this better than anyone. And thanks to the world he created for you, we understand it too.”

Rok Soo understood what Rosa intended to tell him.

Of course, it was touching to listen to and all, but reality remained unchanged: Kim Rok Soo didn’t remember anything about this world that Rosa mentioned, and he still didn’t personally know any of Cale’s children.

So, although he could understand the attachment these people had to him, it was not something he could just accept for the sake of it.

It’s not as if Kim Rok Soo didn’t understand their feelings. After all, the situation with his mother was similar. She didn’t remember him at all, and yet, he was happy simply to be by her side and ensure her happiness in this life.

Incidentally, there could not be a world in which Cale and Kim Rok Soo coexisted, unless it was designed that way from the begin— 

“Ah, it seems you’ve caught on.” Oh god, she just smiled like Cale when he was having a kick at other people’s misfortune. “Took you a bit longer than usual.”

“... you people are a bunch of crazy bastards.”

“We learned from the best!” She beamed proudly.

“... ha!”

It seemed he got caught by a group of stubborn rascals.

If Raon had learnt something from Cale down to a tee it was, without a doubt, that if you plan to run a shitshow, you have to make it big.

And big he did.

You see, memories, dreams and emotions were vague things that existed but could not be explained. And since Raon could bend the present to his whims, transferring abstract concepts to another universe was not so difficult for him.

As long as they continued to exist, these belonged to the ‘present.’

All Raon did was direct them towards the correct vessel. As expected, the Strong Choi Han and the Smart Rosalyn had quickly understood what was happening— the former was terrible at acting, as it was already common knowledge, and the latter was too cunning.

Rosalyn wasted no time checking whether the phenomenon she was experiencing was a personal or collective experience, shamelessly alluding to the content of her dreams here and there.

Choi Han simply had the most obvious reaction to her words, but he wasn’t the only one.

Any doubt ended with the appearance of Duchess Violan and her two children in tow, all with enough luggage to spend a season with them in the villa.

If Cale was confused about the development, he didn’t show it.

The kittens, the Molans and Rosalyn? All they needed was a tired-sounding sigh from Choi Han, before sharing a conspiratorial look among themselves.

The Plaza Incident from their dreams didn’t end only with Cale becoming a nation-wide known Hero, but with Madame Violan almost pulling the divorce card on the (back then) Count Deruth.

Young master Basen was already in the capital, and he hadn’t left Cale’s room ever since he managed to break into it.

Then the Henituse called to the (pretending to be) bed-bound Cale, and it was a huge mess from beginning to end.

Lady Lily opened by yelling her older brother’s name and saying he was right all along, crying sorry for being so dumb and the rest was unintelligible due to the amount of distress lacing her tone.

Madame Violan had tried to calm her down, but that only fueled Lily’s distress tenfold, claiming that everyone in their house sucked and should be apologizing to Cale. Sentiment which Basen promptly echoed.

To their surprise, Madame Violan agreed with them.

— Cale, we owe you too many apologies— you were right, I was ashamed of myself when I found out the truth. I didn’t know how to face you, so I chose not to. I’m just as cowardly as my husband.

She offered no excuses.

— This behavior from an adult it’s nothing but shameful. I may not be your birth mother, I would never dare to compare… but you’re still my child. As a parent, I failed you twice.

She then dragged Count Deruth by the ear and made her husband ‘apologize first, before you can earn the right to beg for forgiveness.’ Her words.

— I lost my child!

That was the reason offered for his sulky behavior, clearly still hung up on the fact Cale fled home... neglecting the fact Cale was still in one piece before him.

That was the issue with Deruth, he always focused on the wrong thing.

This had prompted Madame Violan to yank his ear, applying even more force than before.

— And you will lose the remaining two, plus your wife, if you keep up this behavior!

Choi Han actually had to disconnect the call on Cale’s behalf due to how dumbstruck the latter was.

Then, he and the children witnessed the loathsome sight of the young master breaking down, again, forgetting entirely about Rosalyn and young master Basen’s presence.

Being smart as she was, Rosalyn quickly understood the whole picture.

‘There is nothing wrong with seeking your own happiness.’ Suddenly, the words she and the young master shared in that dream took a whole new meaning.

To say that incident made everyone lower their opinion on Duke Deruth as a father (even further, in Ron and Choi Han’s case) was an understatement.

They were disappointed in Madame Violan as well, but she made an active and exemplary repentance ever since that moment; though, no one missed the irony that the parent who put the most effort into improving their relationship, was precisely the one with whom Cale shared no drop of blood.

It was because of that incident that everyone in the known slowly started to gather, putting the pieces together.

It was safe to assume that those dreams were not just that, given the number of people involved.

Choi Han seemed to know more about it than the rest, but no matter how many threats, curses, and knives were thrown in his direction, the swordsman never opened his mouth.

At least, not until young master Cale himself crashed one of their not-so secret meetings in Beacrox’s kitchen.

Because, really, was it even a secret at this point? The only people missing in the room were the allies from foreign countries, the saint twins, Mary, Eruhaben, Lord Sherritt, Duke Deruth, Hillsman and the wolf children.

Even Taylor Stan was there.

Sure, it was through a communication orb in Cage’s hand, but the same was true for Alberu motherfucking Crossman. They wouldn’t get picky on attendance when the busiest man of the Kingdom made time for this.

Cale gave them an unimpressed look, before plopping down next to his kids.

“Seems everyone is here, so I won't need to repeat myself then. Can we stop skirting around the subject and talking in code now? It’s one headache less.”

“Wait, so young master Cale also knows about the other world?”

Cale scoffed.

Of course Cale knew. To begin with, it was kinda his fault that this interdimensional clusterfuck even started.

“You’re not the only ones who had contact with Kim Rok Soo.” He said instead. “If anything, I was the first.”

The name seemed to confuse those (physically) present, except for Choi Han and Rosalyn.

The first was to be expected, so Cale carefully observed the lack of reaction from the second. That is, until the mage seemed to have a moment of revelation, lips curling upward.

“...so he really is on Earth 1.”

Choi Han turned his head around so fast, that it was a miracle he didn’t break his neck in the process. His pupils shook violently.

Which, honestly, Cale could understand. After all, Rosalyn shouldn’t know about Earth 1 in particular.

“What's that look for? As Young master Cale said: 'you're not the only ones who had contact with Kim Rok Soo.' I also have had one-on-one meetings with our friend quite recently, I’m afraid.” Look at that, she even sounded smug for giving them a heart attack.

“You don’t seem sorry at all, miss Rosalyn.”

“Ah!” She covered her smile with her hand. “I was caught.”

“... Ha. I can see that guy’s presence makes everyone around downright shameless.” Cale grumbled, seeing what was no doubt Kim Rok Soo’s influence at work.

“But it’s kinda fun like that, isn’t it?” Rosalyn asked back, eyes crinkling mirthfully.

“… yes.” Cale looked around. “You’re right.”

His people looked a tad closer, energetic and happier.

... they also got a lot cheekier, but these kids had always been a bunch of troublemakers.

“Hoho. However, this Ron is a bit curious about something. Perhaps young master Cale could enlighten us? Just when did our young masters establish contact with each other?”

Cale looked at Ron. Ron looked back.

Raon was suspiciously quiet.

… Cale had a feeling he had been snitched on.

“Don’t look at me, weak human! This mighty dragon didn’t tell Lemon Gramps telepathically that it was when you broke your plate!”

By his own kid, no less.

Chapter Text

Cale and Rosalyn seemed to find a way to hijack his dreams, as their visits became more and more frequent. Once they even showed up together, but they never did after that one time.

Rosalyn seemed to enjoy it, but Cale apparently decided that being stuck alone in a room with the two of them was a new ring of hell made just for him, or something like that. 

“Wifey!”

“... I regret coming here.”

Cale had no problems bringing Alberu with him, though. Probably because he enjoyed Kim Rok Soo and the Crown Prince’s back and forth a little too much.

“Don’t be like that, wife; this husband of yours just came back from war!” Rok Soo patted his maje— wait, no, this Alberu had yet to be crowned. He patted the Crown Prince’s back.

“This wife of yours appreciates the sacrifices you’ve made for your country.” Alberu answered, all smiles. They waited for it: “please, guarantee me an amicable divorce.”

Cale couldn’t even laugh out loud anymore, it was just a cacophony of wheezing noises and tears at this point.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Back off, both of you!” He swatted their hands away, regaining his composure soon after. “... I never knew hyung was into roleplaying.”

Alberu looked at Rok Soo. Rok Soo looked back. A 5G level of understanding passed between them.

‘Can you believe this bastard?’

‘I know, right?’

Cale and Alberu did feudal roleplaying all the damn time.

Priding himself in his adaptability, Kim Rok Soo simply got used to… all of this. 

Other people still came by his dreams, some faces he saw more than others; however, there was a person that hadn’t shown up in Rok Soo’s dreamscape even once.

“I’m surprised Han Ajae hasn’t dropped by…” He commented to Rosa during her next visit. 

“You still don’t remember, do you?” It seemed he had unintentionally told a joke, as the corners of her mouth twitched wildly.

“I’m afraid so.”

“‘Wrong person’, my ass.” Rosalyn snickered to herself, still not explaining anything.

Rok Soo took a guess: “did I... did I refer to him like that in the past?” 

“His face every time was priceless.” She answered, a little too thrilled about the matter. Then added: “Choi Han will deny it, but he liked it when you made fun of him. People usually treat him with caution, either because he’s an outlander with uncommon looks, or because he’s too strong. But Choi Han is just a guy. A very lonely one, at that.”

Rosa looked at him intently as she said the next part:

“There was always a sort of wall between him and the young master Cale, but it has been crumbling down as of late, and it’s due to your past influence.”

“Me?” He pointed at himself in mild disbelief.

“Rok Soo, you never gave a shit about Choi Han.” The mage stated, rather bluntly. “You nagged, scolded and made fun of him for years. Despite knowing he’s a swordmaster, that he could take his anger out on you, you never treated him as something more than ‘just a guy’— you’re currently doing it, even though he beat you up in your previous life.”

“... to be fair, that attack was provoked. I totally asked for that. I knew it was wrong to say it, but I still did; can’t blame him when all he did was just react.”

“May I ask something?” Rosa’s voice softened. “Why do you hate Harris Village so much?”

Rok Soo drew in a sharp breath.

His distaste for Harris Village was no secret, he had no problems voicing his hatred for the place. Still, it was a touchy subject for him.

But it was Rosa— whom he didn’t remember, but had been nothing but warm towards him. 

Rosa, who was upfront, even when he didn’t want to hear the truth.

Rosa who was pushy, but never more than necessary.

Rosa, someone who used to know the unstable version of himself, but still took the time to meet the current him… without making him feel he was just a replacement of the other Cale she knew in that other world.

If it was her, Rok Soo felt he could tell her.

“… my mother broke her plate in half, that was what caused her death. The ancient power we needed to stop White Star from reincarnating, that power… was hers.” She gasped quietly as he spoke. “She split it in two; she buried one half in Harris Village, which he took, and the other half was in her tomb. You probably know this, because Cale currently owns it, but that power—”

“—is of the wood attribute.” Rosa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and informed him: “the White Star was tracking down the owners of ancient powers through the mercenary guild.”

Oh.

So that’s what happened.

Rok Soo’s mind started to race. Perhaps she noticed his trembling fingers, as she gently placed her hand atop his, but otherwise didn’t comment on it.

The God of Death had not given him all the details— as per usual, and thus Rok Soo always had questions in the back of his mind that he thought would never be answered.

Rosalyn inadvertently gave him these answers.

“Somehow, mother knew of this. Perhaps our Thames relatives warned her and she prepared in advance.” He mused out loud.

“So she had to break her plate and leave part of it behind to fool the White Star, when he finally came after her.”

Rok Soo nodded, then swallowed.

“If mother didn’t do that… he wouldn’t have stopped only with Harris Village. He would have razed the whole county to the ground, then killed her himself; this fucker would have spared no one in his wake either.” He pressed his eyes shut, and finally admitted: “mother died… to keep us safe, and I hate it.”

He hated that her sacrifice was something ‘necessary’ to achieve a ‘happy ending.’ He hated that his mother’s life was just a chip in the grand scheme of things, a small cog in the wheels of history.

She had been his world.

“I know my distaste for Harris Village is irrational. They didn’t do anything to deserve it, and I do regret what my immature self said back then to a grieving Choi Han. But all I knew at the time was that the trip was the cause of her death, and I wanted something to hate, something to blame for taking my loving mother away from me.” Rok Soo recalled how he thought at the time: “‘If only she didn’t go to that damn village…’ I thought like that for years. Now I know the truth, but I can’t stop feeling the way I feel after decades.”

Rosa didn’t tell him that it was okay, that he had to leave the past behind and move forward.

She didn’t tell him any goodie-two-shoes bullshit about letting go of resentment.

She simply squeezed his hand and let him calm down on his own.

It was unbelievably comforting.

Cale and Rok Soo were quite secretive people, although for totally different reasons.

Cale genuinely thought that there was nothing remarkable to share about himself; the people who often lamented were not liked by anyone, and unfortunately there was nothing happy to share about his past, so there was no point in his eyes.

Rok Soo simply grew to distrust even his own shadow. Unfortunately, that was part of the Thames legacy: finding trustworthy people was often harder for them than for everyone else.

But–

“Have you met your favorite character?”

“Huh?”

Cale was trustworthy, so Rok Soo wanted to know about trivial things, even if they seemed insignificant to Cale.

“You know how my world was just a book and stuff.” He explained, hand waving in the air. “While you were reading, who was your favorite character?”

Cale squinted.

“… are you fishing for compliments?”

It took Rok Soo a moment translating that question as the admission that it was.

“Wait, me? For real?!”

Cale gave him a nasty side eye, as if his soul-swapping partner had asked something utterly ridiculous.

“Rok Soo, I literally knew everything there’s to know about you.”

“You also have an ability that lets you engrave anything in your memory!” He countered.

“I made theories; dots were connected. I took time off my day sometimes, just to wonder about the inconsistencies in your character after transmigrating. I was invested.” Cale seemed a little too vehement as he spoke, like a nerd deadset in dragging a normie to his favorite fandom. “If I were twenty years younger, no apocalypse, I would’ve spent my college days making essays about you in some geek forum.”

“That’s… flattering, actually.” And it was, really. Rok Soo knew that Choi Jung Gun’s writing didn’t portray him exactly as fan favorite material. “But also, Cale, you sound like a guy who’s about to go down the rabbit hole of writing fanfiction because you hyper-fixated too much.”

“I see where Rosalyn gets the sass from.” His soul-swapping partner huffed. “I’m not writing fanfiction about you.”

“No, but you’re in cahoots with everyone to drag me to your world, aren’t you? That’s a new level of fan, man.”

Cale stilled.

Of course, of course Rok Soo had it all figured out. This bastard was way too sly.

“… when did you realize?” It’s not that Cale hadn’t accounted for this, truthfully; it just happened earlier than expected.

“Well, Rosa didn’t bother in hiding the goal.” He snorted. “And your Choi Han—”

“Our Choi Han.”

“—hasn’t dropped by all this time. He’s a god-awful actor, I’m a sly bitch.” Rok Soo tapped his index on his chair armrest, almost absentmindedly. “You guys know I would dig out information from him, whether he realizes it or not, so you’re preventing him from meeting me.”

“…”

“You’re also trying to weasel your way into my life through our meetings. Curating my experience with all of you, so to speak. Why else would the people I’m meeting as of late, be only the ones I have high compatibility with?”

Cale didn’t correct nor rebuke him. Didn’t deflect. He simply leaned back, head resting on his hand; looking at Rok Soo straight in the eyes, he asked:

“Is it working?”

Rok Soo snorted.

“Now who’s the shameless bastard?”

Chapter Text

Being found out by the Smart Rosalyn was both a blessing and a curse at the same time.

On the one hand, Raon’s research advanced by leaps and bounds now that he had an active ally and that could contribute to the cause.

On the other hand, he felt guilty for indirectly revealing his human’s secret.

Even if the princess simply put all the pieces together on her own, Raon didn’t like that there was room to assume he had betrayed his human’s trust.

Cale’s trust was a frail thing, something he didn’t give out easily. It was something he and Sparkly had in common.

They could live, hang around and work with others, but they didn’t necessarily trust them.

It didn’t help that the situation slowly started getting out of hand, the more memories his family regained.

So, Raon told Cale himself.

“Hmm. Makes sense.”

Raon, who had closed his eyes and expected a reprimand of some kind, abruptly opened his eyes at Cale’s lukewarm response.

“... aren’t you mad?”

Cale looked as if he heard something ridiculous.

“Why would I? Rosalyn put the pieces together herself, and it was bound to happen eventually.” He said, almost dismissively. “Mr. Charming and I are alike, but also very different. It would be pretty obvious if you have met us both.”

Truth be told, Cale had expected it.

“The thing is, the switch only worked because no one truly knew the old Cale Henituse; that guy didn’t have any openings.” If Cale was good at acting, then Kim Rok Soo was a true-born actor. He explained to a confused Raon. “But that changed. The lot of you got to know him— heck, a few even picked habits from the guy. You can tell the difference now.”

There were now people who knew the original and the current Cale Henituse. Not the trash, but the actual person.

“Then… will the others also discover it?!” Raon panicked.

“Well, that depends on the subject.”

For someone who could have his secret exposed to everyone, Cale was rather calm.

“It’s not that the others can’t figure it out, but— let’s use Lock as an example. Lock is the type that won’t question why the Cale in his dreams is so different from me. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it just means he doesn’t want to doubt me; that’s why he unconsciously turns his eyes away from the truth.”

It was because Cale understood his friends quite well, after spending so much time by their side.

And among them, Rosalyn was among those who understood Cale the best and vice-versa.

“Rosalyn is different from Lock. She won’t turn her eyes away from the truth; she will seek answers to her questions, even if what awaits at the end is ugly.”

Cale wouldn’t spell out the truth for them, but there was no need to do so. 

Most of his friends were capable of figuring out the truth on their own, if given enough information.

“Are you gonna talk to her?”

“... no?” Was Cale’s baffled response.

He was sure of it: others, such as Ron, would put two and two together soon.

However–

“She hasn’t said anything to me. If Rosalyn had a problem with me, she would have brought it up already; her silence means that she accepts the situation as is.”

Just as Rosalyn hadn’t approached Cale, a lot of his friends would follow suit and deal with their own thoughts in private. Those who had complaints would come find him, but those who were content would simply acknowledge it and move on.

Even those who would chose to turn their eyes away from the truth.

... weren’t they people who simply didn’t want to doubt Cale at all?

“On is the same as Rosalyn. Do you think your noona can’t figure it out?” He said to a shocked Raon.

Cale knew that his children were smart.

And among them, On was the brightest. She was someone who could read in-between lines.

“She’s probably just waiting for me to talk to them. I’ve meaning to have that talk with On and Hong, anyways, but I don’t want Sheritt-nim, Eruhaben or the Dragon Half-blood to crash in the middle of it– they are growing antsy due to everyone’s antics.”

‘That is to be expected’, Raon thought.

Raon was the only dragon who had memories from the other world.

It’s not that Raon didn’t transfer their memories, rather–

There were no memories to transfer. Period.

Unfortunately, Raon had been the only one left there; they missed meeting Goldie Gramps due to poor timing, and the White Star got to all the other dragons.

The Black Castle still existed because Raon himself was alive, so they at least got Dragon Lord Sheritt on their side.

But because his mo– because she was already dead, transferring her memories hadn’t been possible. Lord Sheritt was a being that wasn’t counted as part of the ‘present.’

“Hmm. I’ll see what I can do to help before noona gets cranky!”

“Thank you.”

The fact they somehow won without all of them was nothing short of miraculous.

In that sense, his weak human was kinda awesome!

Chapter Text

The process to fulfill Raon’s promise was no joke.

It was a bit annoying, given all the cumbersome technicalities involved, but such was the nature of Raon’s attribute. The present was such a vague and abstract thing in the first place, so the young dragon had been at a loss as to where to start.

Fortunately, Raon was as stubborn as Cale himself, so this small setback did not stop him. The more he fuck– err, experimented , the easier it got.

He managed to travel at will; then, he managed to transfer part of him to his parallel self.

Raon went through such milestones with his family being none the wiser, because he made sure to keep everything under wraps.

Then, well— Rosalyn happened.

No, Raon would like to amend that statement: first, Raon mightily moved memories across time and space and his family, slowly but surely, started to catch on.

Then, Rosalyn happened.

The before and after everyone rallied together was quite noticeable: Raon didn’t have to tiptoe around his research anymore; more importantly, Sparkly’s existence was no longer a secret around the villa.

Raon soon realized he wasn’t the only one yearning for Sparkly.

Duchess Violan, the stubborn Basen and the kind Lily listened of all those willing to share anecdotes about him. And there was no shortage of stories.

Laughter and fond exasperation spread throughout the villa. A few still couldn’t understand it, though, because there were no memories that Raon could transfer over.

“You two need to slow down.” Such was the case of Eruhaben, who couldn’t simply watch Rosalyn and Raon cooped up all day. “It’s not like the guy is going anywhere.”

“Don’t jinx it, goldie gramps!” Honestly, when it came to Sparkly, that guy was equally, if not more slippery than his human.

Of course, that was not meant as a compliment.

Eruhaben sighed as he met two pairs of stubborn eyes. He could understand this behavior from Raon, who was a child, but this behavior was pretty uncharacteristic of his student.

“Are you desperate to the point of working yourselves to the bone?”

“Well, of course! I need him back!” Rosalyn was so offended by the question, that she accidentally spoke informally. Embarrassed after realizing the fact, she amended somewhat: “if I had to put it in words, Kim Rok Soo is to me what Choi Han and His Highness are for young master Cale. Not anyone has that.”

Not anyone, indeed.

“Rok Soo and I are people who had to leave their home, not because we hated our families, but because it was necessary to find our own happiness.” And that was easier said than done.

“... are you not happy?”

“I thought I was.” She answered honestly. “But... it was because I didn’t know what I lost.”

And what Rosalyn lost was a friend that understood her motivations and hardships. Not merely understanding, but it was someone who also went through a similar journey himself.

Of course, young master Cale and Choi Han were dear friends to her, and they did understand her.

But they didn’t fully get it.

And that was fine, really. Because there were things that Rosalyn couldn’t fully get when it came to young master Cale, Choi Han or his highness Alberu, either.

“There is nothing wrong with seeking your own happiness.” She looked Eruhaben straight in the eyes. “So, no matter what it takes— I’m going to get mine back.”

The fourth time Raon traveled to meet Sparkly, it was a mistake.

Sparkly’s sudden death hadn’t been accounted for, and Raon’s subsequent rage tantrum upon learning that his parallel self couldn’t do the one job he was asked to do, had ended an entire world. Literally.

Ironically enough, that world’s destruction ended up being the final key.

It was a world made just for Sparkly, so it had no purpose without him. It was a world that lost its will to live.

“Raon.”

“Yes, human?”

Cale had a troubled expression on his face as he informed:

“You have… correspondence.”

Raon tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh? Couldn’t they just call?” At this point, their family and friends should know better than sending letters.

“A world sent you a message through the God of Death’s divine item.” Cale clarified.

The reaction was immediate.

“Rejected! We already helped a lot of other worlds!” The young dragon vehemently protested.

Honestly? The redhead agreed with the sentiment. However, as always, Cale weighed the pros and cons of the situation before voicing out his thoughts.

The reason for this was—

“It says it’s not mad for being terminated, and that it wants to help you…?” He read aloud.

“Gasp!” As expected, Raon’s demeanor immediately changed. “Human, quickly! Show it to me!”

Wordlessly, Cale turned the screen towards Raon.

Sender: A World for the Forgotten.

«This world has lost its will. The person it was born for no longer inhabits it; therefore, it has no purpose.

This ruined world offers its karma to bear the cost for the sake of your goal.»

That world said it would bear the cost for Raon, so Raon could take Sparkly— that is, the one who turned back time, home. 

This…

This…!

“THIS IS IT!” Raon exclaimed, wings and tail wildly flapping around in excitement. “Human, human!” He hurriedly flew in circles all the way up to Cale’s shoulder. “We can bring Sparkly home! We can–!”

In his happiness, his tail ended up hitting the touch screen and the ‘accept’ button, which led to Raon being teleported all the way to Earth #1.

Leaving him very, very much stranded.

“Well, shit.” He could already imagine the scolding that Goldie Gramps, the human, and his mother were going to give him for this one.

“‘Well, shit’, indeed.” A baritone voice echoed. Raon slowly turned around, encountering the definition of dark, tall and handsome in the flesh. “You must be Cale’s kid.”

Raon had never seen Kim Rok Soo. At least, not the thirty-something Kim Rok Soo.

This person looked completely different: black hair, a marked physique and a body full of scars. But one could immediately tell who the person inside was, thanks to the facial expressions.

The way those eyes curved up.

The smile.

Raon vibrated so fast that hummingbirds wished they would go extinct in shame.

“Sp–!”

Kim Rok Soo quietly put a finger on his own lips, signaling Raon to be quiet.

“We’re not alone.”

Say no more! After all, Raon was mighty, smart and resourceful.

— Spaaarkly!

The dragon flew so fast in his direction that practically tackled the man.

Kim Rok Soo didn’t move an inch, which was kind of cool.

— You’re so big! Like a young bear!

Raon wasn’t gushing, okay? He also was not purring. That engine-like sound must be some rare machine from this world at work in the background, totally not a sound that could come out of his powerful diaphragm!

“Why, thank you. I work out.” Sparkly carefully held him in his arms; his embrace was firm and full of care, the same way he always held him.

And, okay, maybe Raon leaned closer and let Rok Soo pet him.

Maybe a few water droplets ran down his mighty cheeks, too.

— ... I missed you.

It was somewhat difficult to explain how his connection with this human had become so strong. Originally, Raon just wanted to thank him; that was all.

But the more he discovered about this man, the harder it was not to love him.

And the more Raon loved him, the more unfair Sparkly’s fate was in his eyes.

Sparkly was a man that gave everything to and anything for those he loved. He was also a man that held himself to very harsh standards, someone who genuinely thought he was never enough even when it broke him.

It was always his fault, his mistakes, his shortcomings.

Sparkly was the one always shouldering the blame, and the only side taking accountability.

“...” Rok Soo quietly listened to the young dragon, comforting the child with his touches.

— I know you don’t remember me, and that’s okay.

Because Raon wanted it to be this way, even if it hurt him.

— I promise I will cry just this once.

“... nonsense, kid. Cry until you are satisfied.”

A wet chuckle came out of Raon’s throat.

“Oh?” Sparkly asked, eyebrow raised. “Did I say something funny?”

— … yes, it was a bit funny.

Years ago, in another world, it was Sparkly who cried while clinging to him. Now, the roles had seemingly reversed.

Ah, so this is how Sparkly felt that night? This grief, this yearning and overwhelming relief—

— only to wake up alone the next day.

— … I’m sorry, Sparkly. I did something cruel.

“What are you apologizing for?”

This time, it was Raon’s turn to stay quiet.

He just cried. Cried until his eyes were horribly red and his head throbbed, cried until his body was so exhausted that it couldn’t longer shed tears.

Raon cried until all he could do was rest against Sparkly’s chest.

— Sparkly, don’t you have other places to be?

“Not until dawn.” Sighed Kim Rok Soo. “Welcome to the night shift, Mighty Miru. Population: myself and all the other poor unfortunate souls on call.”

Oh? Raon perked up slightly. This was a chance to learn about his humans’ job!

— And what do you do on the night shift?

“If I’m lucky? Paperwork. If not, fighting monsters.” Sparkly responded. His grip did not loosen despite the hours they had remained in that position, only changing the arm holding Raon from time to time, if Rok Soo had to write down something. 

It must have been annoying to have a brat you didn’t know at all, clinging to you and getting snot and tears all over your clothes, but Sparkly never complained.

He spoke to Raon patiently, warmly. A shocking contrast to the way he answered the communication device in his pocket. ‘Is someone dying? Endangered? No? Then don’t fucking bother me.’

“We call it a night shift, but it’s really a night guard.” The man continued, unaware of the amount of affection towards him growing per second. “We basically have to stay here all night and, if our services are needed, go out and fight.”

— Wait, and when do you sleep?!

“That’s the funny thing,” and then proceeded to say something very unfunny: “I don’t. At least not the day before I get the night guard, since I’m Team 1’s team leader— I get the day after off, though.”

Raon frowned. Then how did this run when Sparkly was unavailable?

— Who does your work when you’re not here?

“Kim Min Ah. She is my second in command, so when I am on the night shift, she is on the morning shift taking care of things. Except when we gotta work overtime and both shifts just… blend in together.”

— That sounds exhausting.

Sparkly chuckled at his words.

“Oh, it is exhausting.” He agreed. “And I’m just describing a regular agent’s day of work.”

Kim Rok Soo wasn’t even listing his own duties, or the things he got up to behind the scenes to ensure things ran smoothly for his team.

Raon’s pupils began to shake. This evil thing called the night shift had to be destroyed!

As he thought so—

“Hey, hyung!” The door opened and a young man entered, shaking a deck of cards in his hand. “Fancy playing cards against…?”

His words stopped, his aura sharpening like the blade of a knife in an instant.

— Did that human notice the mighty me?! B-but I turned invisible!

“At ease, Yuha-yah.” Rok Soo didn’t even look up from his documents.

“...”

— Sparkly, he’s definitely looking at me!

Raon did not squirm the longer this ‘Yuha-yah’ looked in his direction. He was totally not nervous, because he was mighty and powerful!

A soft hum brought the young dragon out of his thoughts. Sparkly’s hand gently stroked Raon’s back.

“Our Yuha is a little… hmm, special.” And even if that wasn’t the case, Kim Rok Soo’s shirt was suspiciously wet and his arm was held up in a strange position. Yuha’s eyes were pretty functional. “Anyways. Raon, meet Cha Yuha. Yuha-yah, this child is Raon. Get along.”

“Hyung?” Cha Yuha called out, his smile looking a tad strained. “What did you get yourself into this time?”

— Sparkly, do you also get into trouble a lot here?

Raon had spoken directly to Kim Rok Soo’s mind. It had definitely been the case.

And yet, a third-party answered his question:

— You bet he fucking does.

— …!!

Raon’s pupils shook even more than before.

He looked at Sparkly in utter shock, who had an impassive expression that told Raon this wasn’t a rare occurrence. Then he turned towards Cha Yuha, who had an expression akin to Eruhaben and Alberu whenever they were done with Cale’s shit.

“I told you, didn’t I?” This time, Sparkly’s smile was full of mischief. “Our Yuha is a bit special.” 

“… I thought you only had a niece?” Raon spoke out loud this time, but he put up a sound barrier just in case.

Cha Yuha snorted.

“Ever heard the saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’?” He pointed an accusatory thumb in Kim Rok Soo’s direction. “Well, hyung here raised the village.”

Sparkly grumbled under his breath.

“... he’s embellishing the facts.”

But Yuha wouldn’t let him have his way:

“No, fuck that. I have an excel sheet that proves my point, I made it for the office’s powerpoint night!” And then he began to clumsily browse through his smartphone.

Raon was confused.

“... what’s a powerpoint night?”

“I will gladly introduce you to our gang– I mean team’s hobbies, but later!” Yuha assured him, before rushing over to their side. “Now! Check this out, hoobae!”

Rok Soo sighed as he watched these two interact.

It was going to be a long night guard.

It was indeed a long night.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Raon and Yuha were two halves of an entire gremlin and got along like a house on fire.

Well, it was a positive change, in Rok Soo’s opinion. Raon did not cry again for the rest of the night and both children looked quite happy.

If only they hadn’t bonded over exposing Kim Rok Soo.

“Freedom!” Yuha practically ran to the parking lot when it was time to clock off.

— Freedom!

Raon executed a backflip in the air, perhaps in sheer solidarity. Or maybe he just found Yuha’s shenanigans funny.

“Where to, boys?” Rok Soo was too tired to cook. And he hadn’t left enough food prepared to feed one more mouth at home, anyway.

“I have apple pies!” Raon offered from the backseat, fascination for the car long over, and seatbelt securely buckled up after being taught how to do it.

“You should try the apple pies of this world.” Suggested Cha Yuha.

“That’s a great idea, sunbae!” He then frowned. “But is there a place that sells apple pie at this hour?”

“McDonals has apple pies and is open twenty-four hours.” Yuha informed.

McDonalds also had a breakfast menu.

“McDonals it is.” Agreed Kim Rok Soo. Before departing though, he met Raon’s eyes through the rearview mirror. “Please don’t tell your dad that I gave you fast food.”

He didn’t think Cale would mind, but wasn’t this the type of promises made between uncles and niblings?

“D-dad?!” Ah, so the kid was shy.

“Easy there, Mighty Miru.” Rok Soo should calm down the kid and say something wise, like the single father he was. “And isn’t Cale your dad?” 

But he was a bastard, so he couldn’t help but tease the young dragon a little.

“T-that, um, well—” If Raon could change colors, he’d be a red dragon now.

“Sorry for the hard third-wheeling,” Yuha came in and ruined the fun, “but, hyung, who is this Cale you’ve been name dropping for a while now?”

Ah, right. They hadn’t gone over that, did they?

“Remember these two elusive oppas I told Choon-Hee that she has?”

Cha Yuha was smart, so it didn’t take more than that for him to connect the dots. He knew who his hyung was talking about.

“The first oppa who stands for your younger brother, and the other one that is an euphemism for Ex-Team Leader Kim—”

“Henituse.” Rok Soo provided.

“—who are only elusive because they live in a different world altogether?” He glanced back at Raon. “Huh, I see. Of course Ex-Team Leader Cale would be a dragon’s dad. That’s so him.”

“My human is human!” Raon clarified.

Cha Yuha gave him a contemplative look, but Kim Rok Soo knew this rascal. He waited for it:

“You didn’t deny the dad part, tho.”

Raon was mad at them for the rest of the car ride.

Chapter Text

For someone with now perfect memory, Kim Rok Soo’s last moments awake were a blank slate.

He remembered coming home, luring out his niece with the promise of sweet, sweet McDonalds for breakfast and then...

Then...?

“...what the hell happened?” His headache didn’t do him any favors.

Screw the night shift, seriously.

“Oh, look. The dead man left the coffin.” Was Cha Yuha’s greeting. “Coffee?”

“As black as the soul of the higher-ups, please.” He nodded. “Where is—?”

As if summoned, Raon suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Well, that answered the question, at least.

“Our hoobae caught us up with your— well, another of your secret lives, I guess.”

Big blue eyes looked straight at him.

“Just how many secret lives do you have, Sparkly? It’s getting annoying to follow up!”

In Kim Rok Soo’s mind, Cha Yuha provided live commentary:

— Your niece asked the same thing when I gave her a rundown of the situation.

Out loud, Yuha replied:

“Well, there’s the regression. We all know about that one, right?”

Raon nodded, even though his knowledge of the original timeline summed up to ‘everything went to shit.’

Cale wasn’t known for providing details, after all.

“There are hyung’s after-work shenanigans. Then there are his supernatural misadventures. And lastly, there are his adventures in that timeline slash destroyed world you created.”

“Add my meetings in the dreamscape.” Rok Soo interjected.

Cha Yuha actually did a double take.

“Wait, what.”

“I’ve been chatting with people from other worlds in my dreams for a while.” The regressor absent-mindedly explained, focusing on the smell of fresh coffee wafting through the apartment.

To his credit, Yuha didn’t lit anything on fire.

“... you need to tone down the multiversal networking.” Cha Yuha grumbled and went to fetch a cup.

“Jealous?” The teasing remark earned him a side eye.

“I’m just concerned, hyung. You love poking the hornet’s nest wherever you go.”

“My sunbaenim is right, Sparkly!” Raon chimed in, making himself comfortable on Kim Rok Soo’s lap. “You have gotten into a lot of trouble just in a couple of years! We couldn’t even finish going through all the incidents before the Wise Choon-Hee had to leave for school!”

Rok Soo gave Yuha a look.

— You wound me, hyung! I haven’t ratted you out yet. Hoobae here is only talking about the things your niece knows about.

Well, that explained the crime board in the making across his living room. It was certainly something only Choon-Hee would come up with.

“... please tell me he hasn’t met Yerim-noonim yet.”

Maybe Cha Yuha would keep his secrets until watching Kim Rok Soo struggle silently stopped being funny, but Yeo Yerim would throw him under the bus in a heartbeat just to see him get scolded by a kid.

— Nope, but he’s about to.

At that moment, the doorbell of his apartment rang, fulfilling the prophecy.

The fourth member of this Anti-Rok Soo force had arrived.

“Come in, you know the password anyways.” Kim Rok Soo sighed in defeat.

Raon didn’t bother to hide himself, which was most likely Yuha’s doing, instead peering curiously at the door as it opened.

“It is only polite to knock—”

As expected, Yerim spotted the anomaly in the room immediately. She took a deep breath, looked him straight in the eyes with something akin to swirling madness, and calmly asked:

“Why.”

Knowing her, it wasn’t a ‘why is there a dragon in your house’, but a ‘why do you get into trouble every time I take my eyes off you, you little punk?’

Which, rude. He wasn’t the one with the habit of casually coming up with biological weapons on the spot.

“... I can explain.” Kim Rok Soo knew he was about to face sweet, sweet judgment, so he took a little time to enjoy his coffee with a long sip first. “Basically, Raon fucked up a whole timeline, which did funny multiversal things and then it became a parallel world or something. And I was there, and then I wasn’t, and now he’s here.”

By the way Cha Yuha rolled his eyes, Kim Rok Soo knew his explanation came off as lacking. But if anyone was qualified to give a masterclass in multiversal shitshows, Yeo Yerim had the higher credentials among his people.

“Two deaths and you dare scold Park Yoojin about recklessness? You hypocrite.” See? She understood the situation just fine. “What’s with you and charming OP people left and right?”

Rok Soo sputtered a little.

“I don’t—”

“Excel sheet. ~” Yuha sing-sang, the traitor. “Anyways, why don’t you introduce yourself, hoobae?”

Raon immediately perked up. He flew up to Yerim and proudly proclaimed, chest stuck out:

“I’m the great and mighty Raon Miru! I’m a grand total of seven years old!”

“Oh no, he’s cute.” She cooed. “Nice to meet you, Raon. I’m Yeo Yerim.”

“I’m not cute! I’m great and mighty!”

Kim Rok Soo hummed, finishing his cup of coffee.

“It’s great to be cute, though. Lots of cuddles.” 

“... I’m the mightiest being, so I guess that also makes me the cutest!” No one pointed out how fast the dragon backtracked.

“Yes, you are.” Rok Soo easily agreed.

“Sparkly, is she like Choi Han?” Raon immediately changed the subject, eyeing Yerim with a squinted gaze. “She feels strong! … Hm? It’s weird, our Choi Han is a swordmaster… but I can’t tell if he would win? Hey, blondie, you’re not a swordmaster right? I’m pretty sure you aren’t one! Then why are you so strong?”

Yerim watched amusedly as the little dragon circled around her.

“As expected, it doesn’t get past a dragon.”

“Hmph! Of course!” Raon harrumphed, crossing his front paws. “I couldn’t tell with sunbaenim because his species does not exist in my world, but I’ve met a few people like you! Now answer me!”

“That’s correct, Raon. Our Yerim is a single-lifer too.” It was Kim Rok Soo who answered. “By the way, Yuha-yah, don’t think we don’t know you’re stalling your checkup. Get going already, brat.”

Cha Yuha threw both hands up in surrender.

“I got caught. ~” Five seconds later, his wrist was actually trapped by a smiling Yeo Yerim. “... I won’t actually run away, you know?”

“That’s what you reckless punks always say.” The dig at Kim Rok Soo didn’t go unnoticed. In a softer tone, she added: “please understand the feelings of this noona who is surrounded by reckless fools.”

“... sorry.”

“Yerim-noonim, as always, I leave him to you.” Rok Soo nodded in her direction.

Yerim waved her hand, as if to say to cut off the dramatics.

“We will be back before you know it!”

“... what was that about?” Raon waited until they were both gone to address the subject. Smart kid. “Is sunbaenim sick?”

The regressor heaved a tired sigh.

“He’s not sick, but he’s in the middle of a long-term form of treatment.” He made a gesture and Raon immediately went back to his side.

“Then I can help, Sparkly! I’m great and mighty, after all!” Being a dragon and having learned from his Goldie Gramps, Raon knew many types of magic. “If the problems are his hands, we can heal them!”

As expected, the little one had noticed.

“With Mary’s help, we were even able to give Lemon Gramps a new arm!”

“...that’s great, kid. But,” the regressor grimaced, there was no easy way to say this, “I don’t think you can.”

The reason why they had not been able to fully heal Yuha was not because of lack of resources, it was because—

“Creatures like Yuha, hmm, they exist under certain parameters here.” He explained. “In the case of certain species, there are wounds that will never heal. Or, depending on how and who made the wound, healing is only possible to a certain degree. Yuha’s wounds will heal, fortunately, but it will take a long time given the circumstances.”

Raon frowned.

“How long?”

“Mn. For the hands, about two months more, as for the other…”

Make no mistake, Kim Rok Soo knew exactly how long it would take. It was one of the first things he asked about.

He just hated saying it out loud.

“... about one-hundred years.”

“What?!” Raon’s paws and tail angrily smacked against his table. “That’s so unfair!”

“It is.” Rok Soo agreed, grabbing the kid reflexively in case physics knocked him over. “The only thing we can really do for Yuha, is to make sure he doesn’t have complications while his body heals itself. And boost his defenses and regeneration ratio.”

“I’ll help! Sunbaenim will be so healthy when I’m done, that he’ll stink of herbs all the damn time!”

The regressor stifled a chuckle.

“Thank you, little one.” 

They stayed like that for a while, until the regressor broke the silence:

“By the way, may I ask something?”

“Sure thing!”

There was something Kim Rok Soo had been wondering ever since his first encounter with Rosa in the dreamscape.

“Why didn’t you give me my memories?”

Raon had given everyone but Kim Rok Soo the memories of the time they had spent together. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the reasoning behind it.

The little dragon froze for a moment, before looking up at him.

“... do you want them?” Raon asked, almost hesitantly. “If you do, I can give them to you!”

“What if I don’t?”

“... then I won’t!” The kid answered, easily. “Originally, the others weren’t supposed to remember either, but you suddenly kneeled over—”

“It’s a talent.” Rok Soo’s mouth moved before he could think better.

Raon wasn’t having it, tail smacking the human’s thigh almost as fast as the outrageous sentence dropped.

“Don’t fucking joke about that again!”

To say the kid was upset would be an understatement. Not because of the death itself, that was a separate matter. But the casual way Sparkly talked about his own death made Raon pretty angry.

“... sorry.”

“Hmph!” But nothing the man said would quell his irritation. Looking the other way, the little dragon started: “the plan was to bring the pre-regression you with us, and then let everything flow in whichever direction it should— our family is nosy, so I knew they would come around one way or another! But I couldn’t figure out how to execute it before that happened.”

He eyed Kim Rok Soo, as if daring him to crack another distasteful joke.

The regressor wisely remained silent.

‘So, transferring everyone’s memories over was a last minute back-up plan.’ But his mind still came to the logical conclusion.

Raon’s tail smacked him yet again.

“... that was uncalled for?”

“You were thinking of something useless, weren’t you!” The child tsk-ed. “I knew it’d be like this! You really don’t value yourself at all!”

“That’s not—”

“Just now, you were thinking that you were a second option, weren’t you?” Kim Rok Soo had nothing he could say back.

“Haaah.” Seeing this, Raon got angrier.

Why!

Just why none of his humans could be happy?!

It’s not like he didn’t understand, of course. Raon hadn’t been there to witness Cale’s worst times, because the man himself didn’t want him to, but he had been there for Sparkly’s.

His other self’s memories were his own now, so Raon knew.

He knew better than anyone.

“Whenever you’re finally starting to heal, something awful happens! And I hate it. Why can’t fate leave you the fuck alone?”

When Sparkly finally left home, he had to take care of the white shit. Then, when the bastard finally had been taken care of, Sparkly suddenly died without being able to enjoy the peace he fought hard to attain.

That was upsetting enough, but not as much as the realization that—

“Why is your sacrifice necessary to get a happy ending? How is that supposed to be a happy ending?!”

— everyone’s happy ending always came at this man’s expense.

“I promised you. I promised that I would take you away.”

Raon cried again like the night before.

And, again, this stupid, kind fool known as Kim Rok Soo held him and comforted him.

“I wanted our family to know you.” Raon let him know. “Not just know about you, but to meet you, to cherish you– because it’s not fair.” 

Gone, forgotten, never acknowledged.

Until now, there was not a single story in which Sparkly was happy until the end.

“It’s not only my happiness. My siblings, Smart Rosalyn, Strong Choi Han— even my human’s happiness is built on the things you gave up for us.” Raon angrily crumpled Rok Soo’s shirt, but he wasn’t reprimanded. Instead, a gentle hand caressed his back, which only made his next sentence come out with a lot of venom: “yet no one knows, no one appreciates it; it’s one thankless job after another, you’re always taken for granted! I can’t fucking stand it!”

It was not fair that history always swept Sparkly under the rug, as if it was some kind of higher-being trying to have him erased from existence.

“Sparkly always gives and gives; the world just keeps taking things from him, never giving back! If uncle has to be miserable to keep everyone happy, they all can go to hell!”

Especially that motherfucker God of Balance. What part of Sparkly’s situation screamed balance, huh?!

“... you didn’t answer my question, little one.” Luckily for said god, Kim Rok Soo’s gentle voice brought Raon back to reality.

Right. The reason, the actual reason why Raon never gave Kim Rok Soo his other self’s memories.

It was rather simple, to be honest:

“If they want you, they can work for it!”

To say Rok Soo was surprised would be an understatement.

“... that’s your family you’re talking about, kid.”

Raon frowned.

“They can grovel a little, it won’t kill them.” 

Sparkly trusted so little, yet loved so easily. If Raon had transferred his memories over along with everyone else’s, Sparkly would have accepted them without hesitation.

… but that’d be downright unfair to him.

“You’re still my Sparkly.” Raon sniffled a little. “You’re just older and have been through so much more pain— I don’t like that, but that pain makes you who you are now. And that pain cannot be dismissed, shouldn’t be dismissed.”

People change, and Rok Soo definitely changed. But change was just that: change. Underneath it, the foundation remained intact. Sparkly was the same bright, kind and painfully lonely person.

Thus, Raon knew what Sparkly needed the most.

Be it the older one, be it the young one. They didn’t need cheap bonds that came easily undone. He needed undeniable proof that he was no one’s replacement. He needed to know there was someone who wouldn’t let go.

Raon wanted to show Sparkly that there’s people that know his worth; people willing to earn his trust, people willing to work for it. People who were willing to reach out for as long as it took.

And for that, Sparkly shouldn’t love them first.

That’s why, ultimately, Raon didn’t give Kim Rok Soo his memories back.

“... do you understand now?”

Big, bright blue eyes stared up at him.

“... I do.” The regressor closed his eyes, unable to face that pure gaze for too long.

It was something he still considered hard to come to terms with— the fact that the people he used to know could come to love him, that is. And not even the best version of himself, but the worse, immature and self-destructive one.

… it was pretty bittersweet.

Kim Rok Soo was no longer alone, but the remnants of his former life gnawed at the back of his mind every now and then. After all, he’d spent so much time alone that he still hadn’t quite adjusted to the idea of being wanted.

But Raon had spoken his feelings quite clearly.

… no.

It wasn’t only Raon who spoke quite clearly, wasn’t it?

Rosa had been pretty straightforward since day one. And Cale, a person infamous for his deflection skills and who openly referred to a lot of things (including moving around) as bothersome, shamelessly admitted to having Kim Rok Soo as his favorite and actively participated in this whole scheme.

Even his highness Alberu, whom he often exchanged verbal jabs with, wasn’t someone who would put time and effort into something that would bring zero profits to him.

“Raon.”

Kim Rok Soo could no longer pretend not to see it.

“... I want them back.”

Incidentally, Yeo Yerim and Cha Yuha took a few hours to return.  Kim Rok Soo knew for a fact that Yuha’s checkup didn’t require more than twenty minutes, so it goes without saying that their absence had been pretty intentional.

‘... what a pair of clever bastards.’

Chapter Text

Choi Han waited.

He had no choice. Given his limited (non-existent) acting skills, it was unanimously decided that he would not be able to meet with Kim Rok Soo— previously known as Cale Henituse.

Choi Han knew well that he would be easy prey against him. The single-lifer had witnessed the way Kim Rok Soo could collect information from others in the world that Raon created, it was a terrifying skill which even their most politically-savvy allies had trouble dealing with.

Rok Soo could get information out of you in a subtle way, or he could provoke you into reacting viscerally to remove any filters on your thoughts. Even tease you into blurting out your feelings out of shame.

Sometimes, you didn't even need to say anything as the man would draw his own conclusions through your body language alone.

It was a skill that did not discriminate between enemies and allies, and one that Choi Han had equal parts respect and fear for… for obvious reasons.

So he had to stay put, for the sake of their plan.

“Behave, punk.”

“Shut up.”

Ron looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Control your jealousy.”

Jealousy?

… yes, Choi Han was indeed jealous.

It was frustrating. Especially when someone like Ron did have the opportunity to talk to his friend, but chose not to.

“Why.”

‘Why do you avoid it?’ he meant.

Even though they spent most of their time arguing and mocking each other, Choi Han had never mistaken the assassin for an idiot.

Even if no one had said it out loud, Ron obviously knew the truth, just as Rosalyn did; they both merely didn’t comment on it. It was their way of proving to Cale-nim that they accepted his existence and wouldn’t pry on the circumstances.

But unlike the mage, who took every possible opportunity to meet with Kim Rok Soo, the butler kept a clear distance.

“... there are things that can only be said face to face.”

“Heh.”

The swordsman understood it at that moment.

“Are you scared, old man?”

“Don’t say ridiculous things.”

Ron wasn’t scared.

He was ashamed of himself.

As an adult and, more importantly, as the one responsible for raising that young man, Ron knew that he had failed his charge as much as everyone else.

Although he was fooled too, it would be a lie to say that there were things that Ron, an assassin, hadn’t noticed.

The way the previous Cale Henituse accepted his new family for the sake of his father.

The way he never disrespected the countess and urged the second young master to lie about his blood.

The way that, at the end of the day, the only meals the young master finished were the ones made by Beacrox.

Ron had noticed, but due to his own personal goals— his revenge against Arm, he pretended not to see it. Opening his heart and getting attached was not allowed; the plan was always to leave once they were sure that his enemy gave them for dead, sentimentalism would be detrimental for everyone involved.

… well, his plans and how they had ended in both worlds was a separate topic. Things just developed in unexpected ways in the end.

Ron wasn’t going to sweep the truth under the rug, though.

Maybe that kind of tacit understanding was fine by the (first? second? ... who was the eldest?) young master because there was nothing to fix between them, but that would be unacceptable when it came to the child he actually raised.

Disappointment, anger, resentment— Ron was going to face the consequences directly and atone for his failures.

He was not interested in forgiveness, rather—

“The pup I raised is too forgiving, it would be better if he resented me until the end of his life.”

“... you know, I always wondered why the hell you compared him with a puppy.” Choi Han couldn’t help but click his tongue. If anyone told him that he would be able to understand what went through the head of Cale-nim’s bastard of a butler a couple of years ago, he would have laughed at them.

Unfortunately, now the swordsman knew better.

Dogs are pure creatures. They would love unconditionally, they would remain loyal regardless of the mistreatment endured under their master, they would die out of sadness yearning for their owner.

The friend in his memories— the guy who broke down crying after, yet again, being let down by Count Deruth, embodied all that.

Cale Henituse and Kim Rok Soo were different yet similar in many ways. One of their similarities was that they would sacrifice for their loved ones without hesitation, the difference lay in the fact that Cale would at least make plans for his own survival— even if most of the time it certainly didn’t look that way.

But Kim Rok Soo?

That crazy bastard would totally abandon himself for someone else’s sake.

This is a fact that Choi Han’s family understood perfectly. That’s why Rosalyn and Raon lashed out at anyone who dared to tell them to take it slow. That’s why Ron wanted to convey his words to the real deal.

That’s why Choi Han waited, even if it was driving him insane.

“What did you do?”

Rok Soo didn’t even look away from his paperwork. He already knew Choi Han was looking at him with the rudest, most skeptical gaze known to mankind.

“Good evening, Han Ajae. How are you?”

“The fuck did you do?” Amended the korean.

Although his tone was very disrespectful, his pupils were shaking.

Choi Han hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. He had gone to bed and next thing he knew, he found himself within a terribly familiar office.

It was Kim Rok Soo’s office.

To be more precise, it was the office that he saw in the memories he received from Choi Jung Soo.

Although there were small changes here and there, there was no mistaking it.

Kim Rok Soo, the bastard, finally looked away from his paperwork. Smiling charmingly, the man rested his chin on his intertwined fingers and said:

“Why, everyone but my living corkscrew kept barging in here as they pleased, so I decided to drag you here myself.”

‘Same old shameless bastard’, the single-lifer thought out of habit, before his breath stuttered after the regressor’s words dawned on him.

“... you remember.” It wasn’t a question.

Choi Han knew from the words of others that Kim Rok Soo had no memories from the other world.

Rosalyn once mentioned (sounding very, very delighted) that Rok Soo had unconsciously used the same disrespectful nickname he gave Choi Han to refer to him during one of their conversations, so that ‘Han Ajae’ from the beginning didn’t come off as a surprise.

But there was no way that this guy was calling him a living corkscrew without any context.

Choi Han closed his eyes.

“... are you crying?!” His old friend sounded a bit surprised.

Trust this idiot to not realize the impact he has on people, really.

“No.” His voice wavered with sheer emotion, so he hurriedly shut up. 

“Crybaby Han.” The regressor teased.

“I hate you.” That was the biggest lie the swordmaster had ever told and they both knew it.

“You love me.”

“Moron. Dumbass. Bastard.” Ah, shit. There went the water droplets that Choi Han had tried to suppress. “Who the fuck told you to go and kneel over?”

The swordsman stood there, ugly sobbing before a shocked Kim Rok Soo. He hadn’t expected Choi Han to become so… emotional.

It was strange in many ways. To begin with, Kim Rok Soo’s personal experience with Choi Han was a complicated topic in itself. Although Rok Soo accepted the memories he had obtained recently, it was strange to see yourself getting along with the person who once assaulted you (deservedly so).

Perhaps it was because Kim Rok Soo had such contradictory experiences, that he had seemingly underestimated Choi Han’s appreciation of him.

There’s a fact Rok Soo knew by heart, though: Choi Han did not cry.

This bastard was the type to either harden his expression or shut down entirely, but he never shed a single tear in the face of  hardship. At least not in front of others.

“...” The swordmaster accepted the handkerchief offered by the regressor with a gritted ‘thank you.’

‘He probably thought that he wasn’t that relevant to me.’ Choi Han almost scoffed at Kim Rok Soo’s awkward expression, accurately guessing what the other man was thinking.

‘What a fool.’

Choi Han kept his guard up at all times. After being trapped for decades in the Forest of Darkness and losing his new family so traumatically, the single-lifer had closed his heart to others and didn’t go out of his way to socialize.

Although he had deep faith in Cale-nim, Choi Han would be lying by saying that he had fully opened his heart before the whole transmigration business was out of the bag.

It was because the swordsman thought so highly of Cale-nim that he did his best to hide the ugliest part of himself. Cale-nim was his benefactor, someone who snapped Choi Han back to his senses after losing his sanity, and the one who kept helping his sorry ass over and over again.

That’s why Choi Han couldn’t help but be polite and try to present himself as a goody-two-shoes.

Despite being shown over and over again that Cale-nim didn’t really give a flying fuck about the concerning behavior of the people around him, the korean still made a point to curate his image because he was scared. Choi Han feared rejection after finally finding a new family.

‘But this punk here is the reason I got rid of that fear.’

Choi Han was not used to being treated so flippantly. Even Lock and Rosalyn held back to some extent when speaking their minds to him in the past.

But this punk, now known as Kim Rok Soo, never had that problem.

The regressor was someone who, simply put, treated Choi Han like someone he had seen around the block since forever. They skipped greetings, shared unsolicited opinions, relentlessly made fun of each other and didn’t hold back when bickering.

It was nice. Choi Han felt free.

He didn’t have to be careful with his words around the other; if Choi Han was being an idiot, Kim Rok Soo would be the first person to call him out on it. If there was something Choi Han didn’t know, Rok Soo would either teach him or cover up for him. If Choi Han acted a little bit unhinged, Kim Rok Soo would either match his energy or merely indulge his antics.

After experiencing it Choi Han couldn’t help craving for more, which is why he had been slowly letting go of his self-imposed restraints these days.

(Un)surprisingly, it was Cale-nim who had been the most receptive to said change. And, just like that, communication between the two of them became easier.

None of this would be possible if this idiot hadn't shown Choi Han that the unpleasant parts of himself could be loved by someone.

... but how could Choi Han hammer all of this into his friend’s skull?

“Haa. You–”

“Be a darling and open this for me, would you?” However, any chance of a heart-to-heart happening died when the regressor materialized a bottle of wine out of thin air.

Which... okay. Right. Dreamscape.

Choi Han supposed that logic, physics and common sense meant nothing in here.

“... what a shitty thing to say to someone who’s crying.” He grumbled out, but thought otherwise.

Rather, it was just like Kim Rok Soo to aggro bait others into making them forget about their own troubles.

“So you do admit you’re crying.” Rok Soo flashed a smile that would make anyone want to punch him. Fondly, of course.

“Fine.”

Sighing, the single-lifer materialized a spoon and, with a dexterity that he should not have for that kind of thing, opened the bottle in a single swing.

As the contents rained without spilling a single drop outside the cup in Kim Rok Soo’s hand, Choi Han oozed smug satisfaction as he saw the other’s expression freeze for a split of a second.

“... thanks.” The regressor didn’t address it directly, but Choi Han knew the truth. And Kim Rok Soo knew that the other was aware.

“How was it?” Choi Han wouldn’t let it go easily.

Hesitantly, Rok Soo admitted:

“... you did well.”

“Right? I practiced every day.” The swordsman added, meaningfully. Almost preening.

“...”

“Unfortunately, memories don’t come with muscle memory, so there were things I had to relearn from scratch.”

Choi Han was a hopeless actor, he knew that.

Heck, probably the whole western continent knew it at this point.

But that was his only major flaw. If there’s something Choi Han could take pride on, that would be his quality as a helper.

Although it had been strange at first— the concept of looting and engaging in a pissing-off contest with his enemies, that is; getting used to Cale’s shenanigans and adapting to them didn’t take him that long. The same was true when it came down to Kim Rok Soo’s.

Although both men required different things from him as a helper, Choi Han was able to adapt to their needs and learn what he needed to fulfill said role.

In Kim Rok Soo’s case, Choi Han had to learn a lot of showmanship. Mainly party tricks. Most of which were taught by the regressor himself.

‘... this punk even taught me how to drink.’

Normally, one would learn these things from a family member or a close friend, but Choi Han had neither back then. Kim Rok Soo had been affronted after hearing this and suddenly self-appointed for the task.

It was a somewhat embarrassing experience, yet Choi Han remembered it with fondness.

Kim Rok Soo taught him all kinds of things. From how to pace himself to avoid getting wasted, to how one can coax someone else into drinking their own weight worth in alcohol; how to know if someone has tampered with your drink, and so on.

He filled Choi Han’s head with all kinds of street smarts so he would never be taken advantage of.

‘Han Ajae, watch carefully. This trick will make you pretty popular among drunken people.’

‘... I don’t want to be popular with that kind of crowd.’

‘Tut-tut! Don’t underestimate the power of setting the mood. A lot of powerful people are, in fact, drunkards. If you mingle well enough, their lips will loosen around you; you will end up catching wind of many interesting things.’

And the first party trick Choi Han was taught by this punk…

‘This is my number one trick, 100% guaranteed to break the ice. Pull this whenever you’re in an awkward spot and everyone will clap like mindless seals.’

The trick in question was the same one Choi Han used moments ago.

“How was it? Aren’t you moved?”

Kim Rok Soo scoffed at the shamelessness.

“My tears are expensive, Choi Hangover.”

The single-lifer groaned.

“That was just one time!” He argued.

Rok Soo materialized a new glass and handed it over to him.

“One time is too many. And, as your friend, I will never let you live it down.” He finished with an impish grin.

True to the claim, the ice had been broken. Next thing Choi Han knew they were catching up in a very non-linear fashion, courtesy of their particular brand of bickering.

“No, but seriously! How did you pull me in here?” The swordmaster finally got around asking, this time sincerely.

The regressor hummed, fiddling with the stem of his cup for a bit before answering:

“Ever heard of reverse engineering?” Kim Rok Soo didn’t wait for an answer, before enlightening him: “I have a friend who’s pretty good at this type of thing. After running the situation by her, she helped me figure out something.”

“Huh.” Was the coherent resolution that Choi Han’s half-intoxicated brain could come up with.

“By the way, she was a colleague? a friend? of your nephew— or whatever Choi Jung Soo is to you.” He offhandedly added.

Rok Soo didn’t know how their family tree was connected, but it was evident that both men were related. Their genetics were too strong.

“What.” Choi Han sobered up in an instant, not knowing what to focus on first. “Wait, you know Choi Jung Soo?”

Kim Rok Soo gave him an unimpressed look.

One way or another, it was impossible for the regressor not to find information about Choi Jung Soo in the long run. At a minimum there would be something buried in the company's database.

“You know what I mean!”

But that wasn’t what the swordsman was asking. Call him paranoid but, to him, it sounded as if Rok Soo had personally met his nephew.

“Why, yes. He helped me briefly during my adjusting period.”

“Huh.” Sweet, sweet incoming aneurysm. He didn’t miss this part of their friendship. Massaging his temple, Choi Han commented: “seems you have been up to your usual antics.”

“If it helps, at least I’m not labeled as a terrorist on this Earth.”

It didn’t help, but that made him ponder.

“... did it count as terrorism if we were just screwing bad guys over?”

The rest of their meeting went on in the same fashion.

Chapter Text

It was just a matter of time before Cale found his way to Earth #1 to retrieve Raon. He was extra that way.

“Where’s my kid?” Therefore, when the door of Rok Soo’s office was kicked open by the red-haired punk in question, the regressor didn't even flinch.

“Greetings, Cale. Me? I have been well, thank you; what about you?” Without waiting for a response, he unveiled the mystery: “Raon is taking a nap in the nap room.”

Cale did a double take.

“... there’s a nap room?” He asked. Which was such a him-thing to do, in Kim Rok Soo’s  opinion.

However, contrary to belief, there was a different reason behind Cale’s bafflement.

The reason why the transmigrator reacted strangely was due to knowledge of an already existing, very much functional, barracks occupied by those agents working night shift. It was an implicit fact that anyone, even those working the day shift, could crash in there for a bit— as long as they had no other duties to attend to, of course.

Therefore, why would a team leader have a private nap room?

… no, just what kind of shit did Kim Rok Soo pull off that everyone agreed to make a new space just for him?

Unaware of Cale’s very disrespectful train of thought, Rok Soo shrugged and answered the question:

“Yeah. Been there for about two years. Apparently, I’m branded a workaholic. Can you believe it?”

“I can.” Thanks Choi Han for voicing out the answer for both of them, because his liege was a little speechless at the moment.

“Well, fuck you too, Choi Handful.” The regressor glared at the innocent-like smiling bastard. “By the way, could you guys stop barging into my office out of nowhere? It’s getting old.”

“No.” Cale said, with the defiance of a cat about to push a glass off the table.

Choi Han smiled gently, which made Kim Rok Soo’s blood boil in anticipation of his infuriating remark.

“I serve Cale-nim, therefore I follow his will.” Translation: tough luck.

Smacking the swordmaster’s smugness out of him was asking to get humbled down, so Rok Soo had no choice but to sweep back his hair and let the old man have this one.

It was not worth it getting worked up over this, especially when Cale thrived off pissing off his targets.

More importantly—

“... is it only the two of you?” He tried to mask his disappointment behind his annoyed tone.

“Can’t you ask about Rosalyn normally?” But the opponent was Cale, who was far too versed in fandom culture to clock tsundere behavior on sight.

“...”

“I think he’s embarrassed, Cale-nim.” Choi Han faux whispered.

“It seems you’re right, Choi Han.” Cale, the traitor, played along with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

These brats—

“... you’re both terrible.”

“Thank you.” They even took pride in that.

Just as Kim Rok Soo was about to curse at them, the door slammed open yet again; this time not by the kick of a little rascal, but by a burst of mana.

“I missed you too!” Rosalyn announced in lieu of a greeting.

Ah, no wonder that the little scoundrels he considered his friends were teasing him non-stop. Even now, Cale and Choi Han were snickering at his expense, no doubt finding Rok Soo’s poker face funny.

“... I manifested that, my bad.”

“Wow, look at that cold greeting! I’m freezing, freezing!” The mage joked, leaning against the back of the chair where his soul-swapping partner just made himself comfortable. “Where is the guy who whined because little On didn’t want to cuddle with him?”

“Grew up, went to therapy and learnt how to handle his emotions.” The regressor said, picking back his pen. “Speaking of my adorable and petty niece, how is that going, Cale? There’s no way you didn’t get chewed out.”

It was On, after all. There’s no way she didn’t realize that the father who raised her and the ahjussi in her dreams were different people.

“... somehow, I survived. I got cursed a little for taking my sweet time in addressing the situation, but I toughed it out.”

“He sulked in his room for three days straight.” The swordsman sold him out.

“... that’s it! Petition to change Choi Han’s name to Choi Judas!”

“Whatever you mean by that, Cale-nim?”

“Look at him, pretending to be innocent when he can’t act!”

They had a laugh at the expense of Choi Han’s sour expression, then talked about this and that for a bit.

Cale secretly took back the skepticism he felt in their first meeting, because his soul-swapping partner managed to keep up with them and his paperwork at the same time.

“By the way, what did you do to my secretary? You didn’t cause too much trouble, did you?” Rok Soo asked them after a while.

“The guy at the front desk?” The single-lifer wondered, head tilted. “He just told us you were free and pointed us towards your office.”

“It was quite easy, actually; you should tighten the security around.” 

A soft hum followed the piece of advice.

Naturally, there was a logical explanation for that, but the regressor didn’t feel like going over it himself. He merely pressed the intercom button and gave out a command.

“Explain yourself.”

Ho Chan-Yeol, who was quick-witted and advanced in Kim Rok Soo language, soon laid out all the facts for them:

「Yerim-ssi left a memo in case an unusual group showed up looking for you. Told me not to get in their way, so I did just that.」

Rok Soo’s lips twitched. “Of course she did.”

As expected, things had been taken care of without his input. That’s why working with Yerim was so easy.

His secretary was also a force to reckon with:

「Then in waltzes Choi Han, a highschooler who mysteriously disappeared nearly a fifty years ago, not looking a day past seventeen.」

“... I see you did your homework.” Cale spoke, somewhat coldly. It was understandable since it was a sensitive topic about a member of his family.

Chan-Yeol answered sincerely:

「Quite literally, sir. One of my essays in journalism school had to do with the Choi Family’s missing cases.」

Cale sent a silent message with his eyes: ‘... is this guy aware of Choi Han’s connection with Choi Jung Soo?’

Rok Soo half-shrugged with one shoulder. 

‘He’d suck at his job if he wasn’t, don’t you think?’

‘No, in the first place, why is your secretary clearly an undercover reporter?’

The regressor’s eyes sparkled with mischievousness.

‘... nevermind. I don’t want to know.’

Unaware of their exchange, Ho Chan-Yeol kept talking:

「Regardless, their group stands out. A woman who is no priest nor exorcist, yet immediately sensed all the protection spells here upon entering? 」

Rosalyn’s eyes widened a little. The mage thought she had hid it well, but it seems the other noticed her curiosity towards the talismans and other items pulsing with energy that wasn’t mana located around the place.

「That guy, too.」

Cale’s eyebrow rose. What about him?

「… had not I been warned, I would have thought that he was your doppelganger or a shapeshifter. 」

Kim Rok Soo smiled in a way that tempted you to land a punch on him.

“I have been caught in abnormal statuses before, so why couldn’t it be me?”

A loud scoff came through the intercom.

「A Kim Rok Soo who doesn’t smirk infuriatingly and calls me his minion or a pushover, does such a thing even exist? 」

「If that ever happens, it has to be a fake! A fake!」

Ho Chan-Yeol passionately added:

「My boss is a shameless punk who relieves his anger by creating incidents, draws aggro for fun and is only soft towards children!」

Choi Han had trouble holding in his laughter. This had to be the most accurate description of his friend ever.

「That guy? He was polite. Polite. It gave me goosebumps!」

“... I just greeted him.” Cale grumbled out, but it seemed that his words were loud enough to get picked on by the device, because soon an answer came back.

「Kim Rok Soo only speaks politely when shit is about to go down. A guy who resembles him speaking well is a scary sight, scary!」

“... hah!” All eyes went to the regressor, who laughed incredulously; they couldn’t help but notice he seemed thoroughly amused rather than offended.

Somehow, that felt more ominous.

As if agreeing with this assessment, the secretary hastily spewed a few words and cut off the connection on his end. 

「Anyways, it’s lunch time! Go grab something or I will rat you out in the group chat, boss.」

“... your employee seems to have good instincts.” Choi Han observed, lips curved up in amusement.

“Mn. He’s very sensitive to his surroundings. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lived this long.”

In the silence that followed, an irritated voice cut through.

“Hey—”

It was Cale.

Rubbing his temple to ease his slight annoyance, the transmigrator couldn’t help but wonder:

“What kind of life have you been living in that body?”

Rok Soo looked back, unimpressed.

“If we’re going to express dissatisfaction over each other’s lifestyles, I also have words for you.” He spoke coldly, making the transmigrator frown.

“What do you—”

“You are too skinny.” The regressor cut him off. “I left you a young and healthy body that is even immune to poison, and yet I was told that you end up coughing blood all the damn time.”

“Huh?”

“You broke your plate . ”

“Ahem, ahem.” The redhead had the decency to look embarrassed.

“You stabbed yourself.”

“...”

“Then you went and broke your plate, again.”

Kim Rok Soo spoke while tapping the surface of his desk. He had a bright smile plastered on his face, yet each word out of his mouth was colder than the anterior.

“Don’t try to hide it, you punk. My little nephew already told me everything.”

Neither Choi Han nor Rosalyn interfered on his behalf. Instead, they let Cale have it for about ten minutes until Ho Chan-Yeol kicked them all out.

Raon was not in the nap room.

“Huh.” Was Rok Soo’s unbothered reaction. “He must be following Yuha around, they have gotten surprisingly close in a short time.”

“... Cha Yuha knows about Raon?”

“He walked in on our reunion.”

Cale didn’t know how to feel about that.

Ho Chan-Yeol was a face he had seen for the first time today, not to mention that Kim Rok Soo seemed to trust him, therefore Cale had decided to let it go as it was none of his business.

Cha Yuha, however, he was both familiar and unfamiliar with.

A pat on the back brought him out of his musings, his soul-swapping partner’s face coming into view as he looked up.

“Most of your former colleagues are built differently, Cale.”

“... if you say so.”

At that moment—

“Ugh.”

Kim Rok Soo’s phone began to buzz like crazy.

“Fuck, Chan-Yeol really snitched on me.” The regressor cursed without even checking, as if it were a normal occurrence. “Kim Min Ah is going to give me dirty looks the whole week. Come on, let’s get going!”

With a vice grip on his shoulder, he dragged Cale towards the elevator, followed by their friends.

“Do you often forget to eat?” Rosalyn icily asked; you know, like a hypocrite.

The transmigrator shared a look of incredulity with Choi Han.

‘Who locked herself inside of her lab until she got nagged by two ancient dragons?’

‘I know right?’ The swordmaster rolled his eyes.

“What kind of example would I give to my niece? No.” Rok Soo refuted her concerns easily. “Also, Yerim would kill me if I took her meds on an empty stomach.”

Although he spoke in an annoyed tone, there was a rare soft smile on his face.

“Once, Jung So Hoon gave me ten boxes of red ginseng—”

Rosalyn was happy. It seemed that her friend was loved and taken care of by those around him.

Of course, it would be too much to ask for a day without any trouble, wouldn’t it?

As they made their way down, the elevator doors opened on a certain floor. Director Ma took note of the occupants, seemed to curse inwardly, and boarded it with a disgruntled expression.

Cale watched both men with rapt attention.

Normally, it would be expected that the one of lower rank would greet his superior, yet Kim Rok Soo kept looking ahead unbothered. He clearly ignored the director.

“Kim Rok Soo.” Apparently, the man couldn’t stand it so he spoke first. “It looks like you enjoyed your day off, good thing it wasn’t enough to use up all your PTO this time.”

Cale glanced at the troublemaker in question and— ah.

Wow.

When Rok Soo turned around, he had a smile oozing with charm.

Somehow, it was scarier than Ron’s benign smile.

“The director sure pays close attention to my private matters. As a subordinate, that makes me happy.”

Suddenly, Ho Chan-Yeol’s words flowed through Cale’s mind: ‘Kim Rok Soo only speaks politely when shit is about to go down.’ 

‘... Chan-Yeol-ssi, it seems that you know your boss like the back of your own hand. I apologize for startling you.’

“Tsk. You speak beautifully today, is it because of your companions? Is there someone who hasn’t heard of how much of a bastard you are?”

“Oh no, they know.” Rok Soo easily brushed off the comment meant to attack him.

Director Ma clicked his tongue.

“There must be something wrong with them, then. To like a guy with such a rotten personality.”

Wow, his former superior surely spouted cliché lines. Cale couldn’t help but pity him.

“Alas, the world is all about balance isn’t it? The heavens made me too perfect so this awful personality was necessary to make up for their faults.” … after all, there was no worse opponent to pick a fight with than a guy who was thoroughly shameless.

At that moment—

“What a beautiful wrist watch.” Rok Soo then observed. At first glance, it was obvious that the item in question was from a luxury brand.  “I don’t believe I have seen you wearing it before, is it new?”

“Yes? Huh? What?” Director Ma, who couldn’t do anything but gape like a fish in his speechlessness, floundered about until he found enough words to make out a proper sentence: “... it was a gift.”

Even if there was nothing wrong with it, the protectiveness with which he answered was a bit suspicious.

Seeing the other’s flustered appearance—

“Pfft.”

Kim Rok Soo laughed.

“Director, you need to control your facial expressions if you wish to lead a good social life.” He said softly, patting the man’s arm who stilled under his touch.

A little after, the elevator came to a halt. Director Ma stormed out as soon as the double doors opened.

Cale held his nose bridge and, against his best judgment, asked out loud:

“... how do you get away with talking to your superiors like that?”

The regressor merely shrugged.

“If they get cocky, I just threaten to quit. Works like a charm every time.”

‘... I didn’t hear it, I didn’t hear anything.’

As Rosalyn had a good laugh about it, Choi Han raised a question:

“What was so important about that wrist watch?” No matter how you looked at it, there had been something off with that interaction.

“Ah.” Their friend said, as if the fact hadn’t been important enough to remember in the first place. “Recently, some executives were exposed for embezzlement. The investigation is still ongoing, so everyone is a tad nervous because accusations are flying around.”

Three pairs of eyes zeroed on the same person.

“... did you do it?” Cale pointblank asked.

“No way. ~”

No one believed him.

For the record, Rosalyn had dyed both her and Cale’s hair with magic, but their group still attracted an awful lot of attention on their way to the restaurant. Mainly because: 1) Kim Rok Soo already stood out like a sore thumb on a daily basis, and 2) a group of hot strangers tended to draw gazes anywhere.

Rok Soo guided them to a good place nearby, swearing by their food. Cale shrugged when his friends looked up at him for confirmation. He used to be a guy who would live off ramyeon often than not, after all.

At some point, Rosalyn and Choi Han had started talking nonsense after the latter offered to help her with translation.

‘Um–’ Cale’s eyes said.

‘Don’t.’ Is what Rok Soo stubbornly looking down at his own menu  conveyed.

In the background, they could hear all kinds of things—

“But we were going to marry for tax benefits!”

“What if I want to marry him for tax benefits?”

As evidenced, their antics had gotten out of hand pretty fast. It was fortunate that Rok Soo had requested a private room for their group.

“Whoah, whoah! Hold on right there. Choi Han, you can’t flirt with my fiancé like that, that’s off-limits.”

Choi Han made an offended noise.

“Ex-fucking-cuse me? If anything, he’s my husband. I’ve been put through the grief of an underappreciated, devoted wife, trapped with a manchild in a ten-years long marriage.”

“... I widowed him!”

“We all widowed him; you’re not that special, Rosalyn.”

Cale held back the impulse of informing them that Alberu still had to ‘divorce’ the man they were fighting over. As funny as it would be, then he would have to explain the never-ending madness that was Alberu and Kim Rok Soo’s roleplaying sessions, and he would rather not get involved in this k-drama script.

“Hyung.”

The answer came almost a beat late.

“... whose hyung am I? That’s not my job.”

“You just got promoted. Congrats.” Cale said, devoid of any joy.

“Rejected.”

“I reject your rejection.” The redhead brushed off. “Listen: if you’re gonna reap the benefits, you’re also dealing with the downsides. Besides, this–” He motioned towards the still arguing Rosalyn and Choi Han not so far from them, “is your fault.”

“How come?” Rok Soo asked, incredulous.

“Hyung, my gremlins are squabbling. My gremlins do not squabble.” Cale spoke seriously. “They loot, extort, torture bad guys and annihilate households overnight, but they do not squabble.”

“Except for Ron and Choi Han!” Rosalyn sing-sang.

“... right.”

“And Rosalyn and Glenn!” Choi Han fired back.

“Point is.” Cale actually had to make an effort to ignore them. “This wasn’t a thing before you came around, so you must take responsibility.”

Ultimately, a new round of teasing began thanks to his poorly-chosen words.

Cale had enough human interaction for the next century, thank you, but somehow his social battery wasn’t in red numbers yet. So he revisited a topic that bothered him earlier as they waited for their food:

“... what was that about poison earlier?”

“Ever wondered why you never get drunk or tipsy?” Rok Soo asked back. “Or how I never passed away, despite the outrageous amount of alcohol I drank?”

Truth be told, no. The transmigrator thought it was curious but never looked deep into it.

“There’s no way around alcohol poisoning, punk.” The regressor huffed after briefly flickering the other’s forehead. “Your body is built to detox harmful substances to begin with.”

“... this is news to me.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not as if the family knows. It’s likely a Thames thing.” Rok Soo shrugged. “I myself only noticed after a few incidents.”

“The–” Choi Han was quick to think the worst, eyes widening at the thought of someone poisoning his friend under his own roof.

“No, no way. That kind of thing wouldn’t fly in the Henituse Estate with Beacrox around.” Kim Rok Soo quickly shattered this assumption, waving his hand as if to tell the swordmaster not to speak nonsense. “If someone had the balls to try, Ron surely disposed of the garbage and we just never heard of it.”

It was true that the staff had feared, badmouthed and to some degree neglected their duties towards the former Cale Henituse. But he had never been openly mistreated, let alone targeted in his own house; neither Ron nor Countess Violan would have stood by it.

Shrugging, he went on to explain:

“The citizens hated the old Cale, didn’t they? In some taverns, well— sometimes they put poison on your food at someone else's request.”

Cale’s blood ran cold.

“... what.”

“If you think about it logically, it is weird that no one tried to pull this stunt before.” The regressor pointed out. “Except, they did. But there was no reaction from me, so they thought their attempts had failed.”

The room’s temperature kept dropping as he spoke, but Kim Rok Soo paid no mind to it.

“Took me a while to realize what was going on because, at the very least, they used colorless, odorless and tasteless poison. Until someone did not.”

Rosalyn did not look surprised, so she likely knew all of this beforehand. Her eyes were like staring into a blizzard, though.

Choi Han was smiling, too, but his smile looked rather cold.

“Are you certain I can’t have their names?” The latter asked. His eyes were fierce.

“Give up.”

“Tsk.” That was not the sound of someone who would give up, though.

“I– no.” Cale ran a hand down his face and tried to process what he just heard. “Hyung, you were a teenager. They tried to murder a minor for what? Being a brat?”

He had heard and witnessed a lot of outrageous things throughout his life, but this was no less despicable. The way the other spoke nonchalantly about it also irked him a little.

“Well, it’s not that different from now, is it?” Even now, Rok Soo faced assassination attempts now and then; his job didn’t come without risks after all. “By the way, when did you arrive? Did you come here straight away?”

The attempt to move on was obvious, but they also knew he was this shameless about it because they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“We tried your old address first.” Cale took the bait, but he was definitely not sweeping this under the rug. Anyone who was crazy enough to harm a child deserves whatever came their way.

“Ah.” Unaware of the redhead’s thoughts, Kim Rok Soo had the decency to look sheepish for once. “Sorry, your old neighborhood was dangerous to raise a kid in, so I moved out.”

And yet, this guy hadn’t sold off the property.

Cale’s old house had been spotless and the lawn was in top shape when their group dropped by looking for him, which meant that Rok Soo took care of it regularly.

“... you didn’t have to keep the property.” Recalling the thoughtful gesture, the transmigrator felt strange yet again.

Watching this troublemaker mumble and acting so unlike him, the regressor couldn’t help but snicker.

“Just say thank you and move on, punk.”

Although Rok Soo had never entertained the idea of Cale making a comeback to this world, he didn’t dare sell away someone else’s home. He was not conscienceless.

The least he could do to honor Cale, who got entangled in a mess he shouldn’t have had to deal with, was to keep his belongings and any memories attached to them. As well as taking care of anything that seemed important to him.

Naturally, the house Cale planned to retire to and farm in was important, so why wouldn’t he keep it in top shape?

“Since you’re here, I will give you back the keys.” Mused Kim Rok Soo.

“... what am I supposed to do with a house in another world?” The redhead slowly asked, eyes narrowed.

“You’re a chaebol, Cale. Act like one.” The other snorted. “Surely, you have at least one vacation house back in Nameless 1?”

Cale vaguely thought of his manor in the jungle.

“... yeah.”

“See?! Now you just got another one!” The regressor settled. “And this one has history, too; the kids will love it.”

Cale was lost thereon.

“Why would—”

“Children are naturally curious about their parents. Even if you think it’s nothing important, they do want to hear about that type of thing.” Rok Soo interjected.

The word ‘parent’ caught Cale off guard.

“Shockingly, I doubt that you will die anytime soon, but I'll tell you this: there’s nothing sadder than a child who has nothing to remember their parents by.” Kim Rok Soo went on to explain: “Anything can become a memento. A portrait. An anecdote. A dream. A place to go when you want to feel closer to them— that kind of thing is important for the children left behind, so don't deny them a piece of you that can serve to remember you by.”

Cale remained silent, having nothing he could say to Rok Soo, a guy whose only memento of his later mother had been his no-longer-red hair.

Chapter Text

Raon saved them from an awkward lunch.

“Human!” The young dragon went looking for Kim Rok Soo and ended up finding them, his eyes lighting up in delight. “Choi Han-ah, Smart Rosalyn! You’re all here!”

“Of course.” Cale said, as if crossing worlds was an everyday thing. Although, knowing him, it probably was for him. “We got delayed because the stupid device had a cooldown period.”

“Oh, it’s okay! I had fun with Sparkly, the kind Yuha and the others!”

… that name yet again. 

“Hmn. That’s good.”

Cha Yuha. Every time his former coworker got mentioned, Cale couldn’t help but feel anxious for some reason.

‘How much does Cha Yuha know?’

Cale hadn’t worried about this type of thing before. The transmigrator believed that he had nothing important left on Earth #1, and that it was okay to discard his previous life. And he stood by it.

It didn’t make sense to start worrying about that now. However, this variable could negatively impact Kim Rok Soo’s new life depending on how the other side took things.

The original owner of your body is living well too. He said he is happy.

Lee Soo Hyuk’s words still lingered in his mind.

Although the person in question said it was fine since the first time they had properly met, Kim Rok Soo had an outstanding record as a liar; it belatedly occurred to Cale that the guy could have been lying.

Just as he lied to the whole world, until it was no more.

Today, however, Cale confirmed with his own eyes that those words had been true.

‘He really is happy here.’

… that changed things a little.

Unlike Raon, Cale had been a little more realistic about the situation.

He was on board with the cause, of course, yet he came prepared to talk and make compromises with this side from the beginning.

Uprooting Kim Rok Soo from his new life for selfish reasons was something they wouldn’t do.

Honestly, it would be hard to tell who among their group would snap first if the slightest bit of coercion was picked up on in the air.

They didn’t come here to drag Kim Rok Soo with them.

To give, to repay.

Raon was right. Kim Rok Soo gave up a lot of things for them, not only for his family, but for thousands of people he didn’t even know.

… it didn’t really matter if the guy didn’t perceive his actions as such. After all, his soul-swapping partner wasn’t known for treating himself fairly, or kindly.

Every story had a villain, but that guy would gladly be the villain of every story.

‘The first time we met, I got swept up in his momentum. Didn’t he tell me to get rid of my name to make me angry? To see if I was attached to my past?’

Funny punk. 

‘You wanted me to blame you, so you gave me reasons to. You told me you didn’t care…’

But he asked about the family. He shared stories that Cale didn’t know about. He told Cale about the ancient power, about their mother’s grave.

It was because he was like that, that Cale could never hate him.

So, as long as Kim Rok Soo wanted to see them, they would somehow travel here to see him instead. They would come up with something.

“Okay, let’s not beat around the bush.” The regressor addressed, food long gone from everyone’s plates at that point. “I more or less understand your intentions, and I commend your creativity, however—”

A level gaze swept the room, Rok Soo’s hands clasped over his lap.

“I cannot accept that plan.”

Nobody rushed to speak.

It came as no surprise from Rosalyn, a trained diplomat. It was, however, a bit surprising coming from the duo that often than not ended up breaking things in the heat of the moment.

“It’s one thing if I’m the only party affected, but world merging would affect everyone.”

A playful finger pointed towards Raon.

“So that’s a no go.” Kim Rok Soo said sternly, yet not unkindly. “You’re smart, so think of something else.”

The kid pouted, but nodded to show he accepted the condition.

“Second of all,”

… it still weirded him out to think this way about his previous body, but the smile before Cale could only be described as ‘beautiful.’ It wasn’t huge or blinding, but the exact opposite: subtle and relaxed, easy on the eyes.

“I’m no longer lonely.” The statement hung heavily in the air.

Everyone in the private room understood what it represented.

Kim Rok Soo was a man that didn’t show vulnerability easily, after all. It was like pulling teeth. Something that didn’t happen until the man reached the limit of pain he could take, which wasn’t small by any means.

But there he was, admitting it so easily; no pain in his semblance. Only peace.

“I have a family now. I come in a package deal, and I plan to respect my niece and everyone else’s opinion on this matter.”

This world was cruel, after all; it wasn’t one or two people who would give anything for an opportunity like this. Although he could foresee his niece’s answer already, Rok Soo wouldn’t take away her right to choose.

“These are my conditions.”

Cale looked towards his family, and he found their eyes already on him.

The intention behind their gazes was clear.

“We accept.”

“Great!” Just like that, Kim Rok Soo diffused all the tension with a single clap. “Now it’s up to you guys to figure out this thing and handle the logistics. I will just take the backseat now.”

If Cale had a nickel for every time he had to kneel in front of a thirteen-years-old girl and bargain as if his life depended on it, he would have two.

Which isn’t much, but it’s curious that it happened twice.

“You can’t take him away, but we can work out shared custody, retreats and holidays.” Kim Choon-Hee, Rok Soo’s niece, finally declared. “Isn’t it the easiest solution?”

Which was pretty reasonable and sensible, however—

“... what was the one-hour-long begging for, then?”

“I wanted to gauge how desperate you were.” The kid said something that didn’t match her cute smile. And, yep, that was definitely late Countess Jour’s reincarnation. He could see it. “You pass!”

“... she’s your child through and through.”

He glanced towards the guardian, who sat elegantly on the couch just a few meters behind the child, having overseen the whole process with mirthful eyes and a chubby dragon comfortably nestling on his lap.

“Haha, thank you.” Anyone could tell Kim Rok Soo was proud of that fact.

Permission obtained, Rosalyn and Choi Han (who had begged alongside Cale, because of course they did) began to stretch.

“Well, I’m glad we got that sorted out.”

Little Choon-Hee looked at them mystified for about three seconds, before something clicked. She then turned towards her uncle, her thumb stuck out pointing at the trio that looked straight out from a LARPing session.

“... don’t they know?”

Cale’s group looked around like idiots, essentially questioning each other wordlessly if anyone had any clue on what kind of hidden quest they had just unlocked.

Kim Choon-Hee, bless her mischievous little heart, seemed to take pity on them and sweetly took them out of their ignorance:

“Now you have to fight oppa.” And for some reason that statement gave Cale strong Ramona Flowers flashbacks.

“Tsk, sunbaenim isn’t going to be an easy opponent.” Just like that, Raon innocently made his poor guardian’s heart stop for five seconds straight.

… just a friendly reminder, but this child was a dragon.

A dragon lord’s son.

A future lord himself, even.

Such a child was saying pretty ominous things about one of Cale’s former coworkers. The redhead himself was torn between asking what the fuck did that mean, or walking the ol’ and reliable path of denial.

Rok Soo, ever the little shit, also didn’t clarify anything.

Instead, he glanced over the couch backrest, where an beyond conventionally attractive woman had stood silently until now.

Brushing some of her silky-looking blonde hair in an elegant gesture, she answered the unspoken question the regressor seemed to make.

“I have yet to hear things like ‘I refuse!’, ‘I won’t allow it!’, ‘I will burn down the world!’ from his mouth.”

The people from Earth #1 shared a thought: Cha Yuha is the most dangerous when he is quiet. Isn’t it about time he throws a tantrum?

As if on cue—

“It is I! Team 1’s peerless genius, Cha Yuha!”

Kim Rok Soo didn’t even blink as the front door burst open, as if he had expected this development all along.

Yuha strutted in, in all his chaotic glory. Likely revelling in Choi Han and Rosalyn’s puzzled expressions, as he had successfully hidden his presence. Which didn’t surprise Rok Soo in the slightest, but probably came off as a shock to the swordmaster and archmage.

The mischievous punk then turned towards Cale.

“Ex-Team Leader Henituse– hmn, no, commander? Yeah, let’s go with that one! Well, either way, glad to see you’re living well; it was about damn time.” In the same breath, Cha Yuha said: “you can’t take hyung away.”

Cale’s pupils began to shake.

Ex-Team Leader Henituse, that alone confirmed how much this guy knew about the situation.

The transmigrator… didn’t know how to feel about this scenario. Cale never thought he’d be facing his old coworkers again, let alone that they would recognize him in his new body.

This was a situation which he couldn’t get out of by playing dumb.

As the redhead thought this, another familiar voice rang out:

“Cha Yuha, you bastard! We agreed to barge in here together!” The person complained, walking in with rushed steps.

It was Jang Sejong, the once newbie.

“There, there. Don’t fight. We can’t blame our little firecracker for being antsy, can we? We already lost our tired old man, I refuse to lose the cunty one too.”

The next show up made Cale feel just a little bit faint.

“... Jung So Hoon?”

The man turned at the sound of his name, spotted him, and beamed.

“... Team Leader! It’s nice to see you so shocked, for once! Haha. But let’s catch up later, okay?”

He knew.

They all knew.

A firm hand rested against his back. Kim Rok Soo’s face came into view when he looked up, his level gaze helping Cale to sober up.

‘... that’s right, this guy isn’t shaken at all. Then why would I?’

He felt the familiar presence of Choi Han behind him, the weight of the invisible Raon perched on his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Rosalyn’s fiery hair standing next to him.

… yeah, right. So what if they knew? What would that change?

Worrying about things that already happened wasn’t Cale’s style.

That said, if Ron— the man who essentially raised the original Cale Henituse, was able to come to terms with the situation and still treat the current Cale the same as always, then he should have more faith in his former team.

Cha Yuha clicked his tongue, arms crossed and a look of disdain as he looked back at his coworkers.

“You guys are too slow! If you get the timing wrong, the deal falls through!” 

“Hmph, the rude kid is correct.” A new figure appeared. This time, it was someone Cale had no connection whatsoever with; not that the mask covering half of her face made it easier to identify her. “Timing is very important when doing business.”

Rok Soo heaved out a sigh.

“... Kang Hyejin, you tagged along as well?”

Cale almost choked upon hearing that name.

Kang Hyejin.

As in, the lead researcher, developer and manufacturer of Korea’s anti-monster weaponry Kang Hyejin?

The genius Kang Hyejin that made it possible for humanity, even those without abilities, to fight back and reclaim their land back?

That Kang Hyejin?

… what kind of networking did Kim Rok Soo do in just a couple of years? Seriously.

“Of course, I don’t want to lose my super handsome business partner.” The woman, Hyejin, affirmed with unmistakable seriousness. “Hubby also will miss you lots, even if he’s not honest about it.”

The confusion must have been evident in his face, for Rok Soo whispered close to him:

“She’s Ho Chan-Yeol’s wife.”

‘... ex-fucking-cuse you?’

“I took the liberty of renting the coffee shop at the end of this block, all the people besides the staff have already been dismissed.” Hyejin informed everyone.

“Isn’t that a business obstruction?”

“The loss of their time has been properly compensated for, of course.” She assured Kim Rok Soo, flashing a sign with her hand. Her thumb and index met to make a gesture whose meaning was universal: money.

— Human, human! This lady is kinda cool!

Nod. Cale silently agreed with that judgement.

This is what a true chaebol looked like.

— … huh? 

However, that lighthearted train of thought stopped as the kid dropped some shocking news:

— Human…! I don’t think the cool lady is human?!

What?

— Yuha sunbaenim just confirmed it!

His eyes yet again moved towards the proverbial Schrodinger’s cat that was his former coworker.

Cale flinched slightly, noticing that Yuha’s eyes had been on him the whole time.

He barely registered what Raon said next:

— He says… the cool lady is only dangerous to disgusting people? And that she doesn’t like ruining handsome men’s faces!

… that punk’s lips only moved to flash him a grin.

For the record: Cha Yuha had no mental-related abilities before the transmigration happened. So, he either acquired one in the time Cale was gone, or—

Or.

The possibilities seemed endless, and it seems that the transmigrator didn’t know his own world as well as he thought.

… Cale knew he was being fucked with.

The surprising part is that, for once, it was actually working.

“Yuha-yah.” Rok Soo’s tone was stern, yet not unkind; it had an equal amount of fondness and tiredness laced to it. “Stop it.”

The punk in question lifted both hands in faux-innocence, playfully showing his tongue.

“Sorry, commander ~ your stupefied expression was as funny as I thought, though!”

“Oppa has a cute dumb face, doesn’t he?” He heard little Choon-Hee’s appraisal.

“Right!”

… Cale felt wronged. However, he was a (somewhat) respectable adult, so he wasn’t going to fight a child over this.

“Come, we have many things to discuss.” Kang Hyejin saved what was left of the redhead’s dignity by addressing the group of world-travelers. “The others are waiting.”

Yeah, she was right. That’s what they should focus on.

As the noble was about to step forward—

“Cale-nim.” Choi Han spoke, and Cale instinctively turned in his direction. “Please leave this to us.”

— That’s right, human! The Smart Rosalyn, Strong Choi Han and I will handle Sparkly’s people!

Raon sounded pretty giddy for someone whose plans seemingly got crashed over and over, but he had no time to dwell on it as Rosalyn added her two cents to the conversation:

“We will come back with good news!” She assured, smiling warmly at him.

“... okay.”

He trusted his family.

Rosalyn was among the people who understood Cale the best. Choi Han and Raon were no pushovers, either. They’d be okay without him.

The door clicked shut, and it felt as if a hurricane just passed by.

Cale let himself slump unceremoniously on the couch, hand running down his face tiredly. The sight drew a giggle from Kim Choon-Hee.

He peeked at her through his fingers, but she only waved cutely and ran towards her room.

‘... that kid, too, is too sharp.’

The redhead drew out a deep sigh.

“... they know?”

A familiar weight sank right next to him, a low chuckle following not long after.

“How did it go? Ah, I remember now: if you’re gonna reap the benefits, you’re also dealing with the downsides.” Kim Rok Soo threw Cale’s previous words right back at him. “Don’t be mad because I beat you in your own game.”

Cale and company weren’t the only ones who had been busy since the transmigration. Many things happened on Earth #1, and the regressor couldn’t properly sum everything up even if he wanted to.

Nameless 1’s side was full of surprises, but so was theirs.

“And not everyone in Team 1 knows, just a few of them— almost everyone showed up, actually, which is impressive.” Rok Soo paused, head tilting slightly.

Then he turned toward the blonde woman, who hadn’t moved from her spot even as the chaos went down. Cale had almost forgotten she was there.

“What did our Yuha say to them?” His soul-swapping partner asked her.

Her cold-looking face transformed entirely, warm eyes and a mirthful smile now tugging at her tinted lips.

“That you were likely to get stolen if we didn’t get a move on.”

“... and they prepared this ambush in less than one day?” Kim Rok Soo sounded slightly impressed, for some reason.

“Why, of course. A lot more people would have shown up, but the timeframe didn’t allow it.” The woman emphasized, meaningfully.

“Huh.”

‘Hey, bastard, you got people moving dimensions to pay you a visit. Why are you so shocked that your friends intercepted us to fight for you?’ It was as if the other man couldn’t fathom being liked to this extent, and that thought made Cale feel mildly irritated.

If Eruhaben or Alberu saw the redhead at that moment, they would shake their heads in fond exasperation.

“Ah, right.” Rok Soo slowly blinked, realization hitting him. He motioned towards the woman. “Cale, this is Yeo Yerim.”

His finger then pointed at Yeo Yerim, as he playfully instructed:

“Noonim, tone down the unhingedness by, like, 80%. He’s baby.”

She snickered.

“I’ve heard some of the shit this guy has been up to. He’s definitely no baby.” Yerim leaned against the couch backrest in a relaxed manner. “I’m a fan of what you did to the Hunters, by the way.”

“... where did you hear that, ma’am?” Kim Rok Soo acted very familiar with this woman, which he already knew was no small thing, so Cale asked politely.

“A grim reaper told me.” She replied easily. Then added, like an afterthought: “ah. That’s not a metaphor, a literal grim reaper told me.”

… Cale had a hunch he knew exactly what this woman was.

“Anyways. Hmm, Cale.”

Yeo Yerim tapped twice on the couch backrest, she seemed to weigh the pros and cons of finishing her words.

“... yes, ma’am?”

The transmigrator’s suspicions were quickly confirmed by her query:

“Is that brat Choi Jung Soo in your world right now?”

Ha.

“A wanderer? Really, hyung?”

The man in question looked, unsurprisingly, unapologetic.

“Technically, I’m no longer a wanderer.” Yerim clarified. “I gave up that life when I became our Rok Soo’s glorified babysitter.”

“What am I? A child that needs supervision?”

‘A kid wouldn’t be so creative as to pull reverse-engineering in the dreamscape.’ Cale thought, dryly.

“I took my eyes off you for a couple of hours and you came back with a dragon.” Yerim pointed out.

“... fair.”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t done:

“You were scratched by a werewolf the last time I went to therapy.”

Rok Soo flinched slightly, having the decency to look embarrassed.

“... that was an accident.”

Yeo Yerim hummed.

“You befriended a flying spaghetti monster, too.”

“What.” That was Cale, lowkey wondering if he had finally gone mental.

“God. I befriended a god.” Kim Rok Soo hurriedly amended, only that didn’t make it any better. “This one just happens to be a flying spaghetti monster.”

Cale had met gods before. Unwillingly so, he may add. He had even met one in the form of a dog.

“... what kind of god is that?” 

Therefore, a flying spaghetti monster shouldn’t be surprising, but it sounded so ridiculous that even he couldn’t help but be mystified about the concept.

“Ever heard of pastafarianism?” The regressor shrugged. “Kinda the most popular religion among the supernatural here, it’s their way of giving the middle finger to the other gods.”

Silence enveloped them as the redhead digested that piece of information.

Did that mean they had moved on? Haha, as if.

“You put the world behind a paywall.”

Yerim was clearly on a roll, and very much enjoying him actually breaking a sweat over this.

“... it ended up like that, didn’t it?”

“Hyung,”

A slender hand fell on his shoulder.

“I’m very intrigued about that story.” Cale smiled, in a way that was oddly reminiscent of Kim Min Ah when she was about to go on a nagging tirade. “Please go on, ma’am.”

Chapter Text

The arrival of the Henituse in Superock's villa had caused quite a stir.

Cale, however, was unfazed.

‘... Cale. Do you mind if Basen, Lily and I stay with you for a while?’

‘There's plenty of room for everyone.’

This was all because the red-haired man had allowed it.

He had been asked for permission and informed beforehand, so it was not a problem.

“Cale, I...” Violan looked elegant as always, but her tightly clasped hands as she watched Cale hinted at her complicated emotions.

“Mother.” He interrupted the duchess. “Rest first.”

Unlike him, who had dragons as personal Kakao Taxis, his mother and siblings traveled the old-fashioned way. The journey to his villa was neither easy nor short.

“We can talk about the rest later.”

Violan accepted the offer, but only for her children. She was a stubborn woman.

Cale silently accepted her will and escorted her to a quieter place.

“I came here not only for your father, but because I think you need to hear this in person.” She started but stopped, a frown taking over her face. As if she was unhappy with her own words. “No, I want you to hear this.”

Two hands wrapped around his. The transmigrator did not resist the touch, though it took him by surprise.

“Cale,” Violan’s blue eyes met his, “who are you if not a Henituse?”

She didn't say it directly, but...

“Neither you nor your brother came from my womb, but you are both my children.”

Cale felt strange for some reason after being hit by her serious words. His chest felt a bit tight.

“I wasn't a good stepmother to your brother. And I must atone for that, of course.” Violan didn’t seem to realize his plight.

Ever the neat woman, she brushed away a few strands of hair that fell too close to his eyes with one hand. The other clasped her son's.

“I just don't want to repeat my past mistakes. So I promise to be a better mother to you.”

Cale found it strangely difficult to swallow at that moment.

“... you always have been.”

They talked a lot after that.

“I'm angry with your father, but couples go through such rough patches.”

His mother sighed and put down her cup of tea— real tea, mind you, not Ron’s signature lemon abomination.

Cale nodded. He didn't want to get involved in their marital quarrel, so he didn't ask for details.

Violan, however, did share her point of view on the matter with him:

“People depend on me as well, so of course I will continue my own duties as usual. Just from a distance.”

“I will be happy to help with transportation if needed, mother.”

He had too many teleportation scrolls lying around anyway.

“Thank you, Cale. I do not wish to take advantage of your hospitality or involve you in any troublesome matters.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

How many times during the war had the woman before him stepped in to arrange something he needed? Cale had lost count.

It was the same when he had to deal with the hunter bastards. The Duchess always took the initiative and made arrangements to ensure his travels were safe and comfortable, even if it was on short notice.

“... it may be petty of me. It is also not my place to be angry, considering I was partly responsible.”

The transmigrator saw her look through the window, probably thinking about the past. He waited for her to finish, knowing there was more to say.

“But shouldn't the father get a taste of his own medicine when my eight-year-old son was left alone without a word and even took care of the territory back then? If words aren't enough, this should make your brother's perspective clearer.”

Cale began to smile unconsciously.

Petty? Sure.

However,

“Sometimes, first-hand experience is the best teacher.”

He was no better.

Truth be told, Duke Deruth had been trying to make contact even before Duchess Violan, Basen, and Lily showed up at Cale's mansion.

Cale refused every call.

‘Let him sweat a little.’ The petty side of him thought.

He held no grudge against Deruth. After all, he had been a good father to him.

To him, that is.

Deruth Henituse was a good father to his adult son, as good as a noble could be, that is, but he lacked the courage to push harder to connect with the original.

‘When your son pushes, you push back harder. You don't back down just because they give you attitude.’

Cale had forgotten something, something that in retrospect was foolish on his part: the reason he was able to understand the people around him in the first place was because of the novel.

The novel described Deruth Henituse as a father who adored his son, spoiled him, gave him freedom, and trusted him implicitly.

Cale knew these things because he had read it. But how could the original Cale Henituse know other people's innermost thoughts? This guy pushed everyone away, including his own father.

Just like they didn't know him, he didn't allow himself to know others.

“Choi Han.”

“Yes, Cale-nim?”

“How did brother describe Duke Deruth in your memories?”

Choi Han's intense look could almost pierce a hole in his skull.

“What? That guy put me on his family register first.” The redhead said flippantly. “He has to take responsibility.”

Kim Rok Soo didn’t ask for ‘his family’, he asked for ‘the family’, and he didn’t send Cale to ‘his mother’s tomb’ but to ‘mother’s tomb.’

The only time Kim Rok Soo used possessive pronouns during their first meeting was when the subject was painful for him. Countess Jour's death. Convincing Basen to lie about his background.

Now that he had a clearer understanding of the man's personality, the redhead could say with certainty that this way of speaking had been deliberate.

‘That bastard paves the way for others by throwing himself under the bus. He willingly becomes a scapegoat so that others can achieve happiness. He doesn't live his life as a person, but as a means to an end.’

Cale was able to better understand Raon and Rosalyn's desperation and sense of urgency.

“... emotionally unavailable.” Choi Han finally replied.

“I see.”

Cale thought that Choi Jung Gun might have added a few lies here and there. He definitely took creative liberties and did not know everything about this world and its inhabitants.

It seemed that he messed up when it came to the son, but the wanderer's description of the father was spot on.

“What a mess.”

“Right?”

Both sides failed to communicate properly and what could have been a healthy and happy father-son relationship was twisted like this, but there was a specific reason why the redhead quietly gave the Duke the side-eye.

Cale transmigrated when his current body was eighteen.

He didn't know what the age of majority was in the Roan Kingdom, but in Korea it was nineteen.

In other words, this body still needed parental guidance and support when he took over.

He received financial support, and Duke Deruth personally asked what his son needed.

... but the man threw in the towel as soon as he hit a wall.

Cale didn't even have an attitude, he just answered the way he always answered. Short and to the point.

He was a better listener than a talker, and yet when he was spoken to, he answered.

Deruth just didn't try again, so of course the conversation died after that.

And that was a problem. Because you can't expect to get anywhere with that kind of attitude; if the father is soft tofu and the child is a wildfire, who's going to control the latter?

No wonder his soul-swapping partner described Duke Deruth as ‘emotionally unavailable.’

Cale heard the telltale click of a scabbard and sword hilt.

Even number. Odd number.

“Do you know what one of the descriptions Choi Jung Gun used to describe that guy was?” He asked. The sound continued.

Even.

Odd.

It stopped. Even.  

“Too cruel to himself?”

That was… true, but not what Cale wanted to say.

“Only listens to his father.” The transmigrator mirrored the sardonic smile on Choi Han’s face.

Eruhaben entered the room at that moment.

“... am I interrupting something?” He asked cautiously.

The expression on Cale's face was worrying. For Choi Han to copy it...

(He didn't know it was the other way around.)

“Murder is off the table.” The single-lifer replied. “Obviously.”

The redhead was gracious enough to pretend not to notice the reluctance with which the last word was added.

“Obviously.” He echoed.

A hum followed.

“Can I smack–?”

“It's the same as killing him.” For once, Cale didn't keep those words to himself.

The swordmaster didn’t disagree.

“... is sass allowed?”

“Yeah.”

Sass was harmless.

Besides, if Choi Han wanted to be disrespectful to the person he felt had wronged his friend, who would be able to stop him?

“You've all become even stranger.” Their eyes fell on the ancient dragon. “Why are you both looking at me like that? I don’t like that look.”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing, sir.”

They both shared the same thought:

‘Sir, you will understand Rosalyn and Raon very soon. You will be wrapped around that guy’s fingers in no time.’

Kim Rok Soo got along with the E-STEM type people like a house or a fire.

His creativity alone was enough to cause headaches for others, but luckily he had no talent with mana.

“I'll pretend to believe you. Anyway, Cale, shall I start now?”

“Yes, sir. Please make the call.”

Cale had to borrow Eruhaben to make the call. Raon would probably curse at Duke Deruth until he ran out of words.

The other side answered immediately. Almost as if the lord had stationed a mage in his office just for this moment.

“Cale—”

Deruth was a mess. His appearance still held some semblance of dignity befitting his position, but his tired eyes and dark circles betrayed any pretense.

Cale didn’t greet him or comment on his appearance.

He said only two words:

“Not yet.”

The one who Duke Deruth needed to talk to, the only one who could forgive him, wasn't Cale.

“I'll let you know when the time is right for a conversation.” He added.

“...”

“...”

Silence fell between them, both men staring at each other without saying a word.

Lips parted, opening and closing, but ultimately no sound came out.

Cale had no intention of breaking the silence.

The Deruth of now and the Deruth of then were different people, so he would eventually find his voice.

“... am I a better father now?” The duke finally asked, his voice weak but carrying the weight of regret.

The redhead didn't hesitate to answer.

“To me? Yes, you are.”

Deruth had been a doting father, giving him money and resources at a moment's notice and fending off pesky nobles on his behalf.

The nobleman was flawed, yes, but to call him the worst father ever was a stretch.

Zed Crossman or the former Marquis Stan deserved that title ten thousand times more. No, they shouldn't be called fathers at all.

“So you have nothing to apologize to me.”

He didn't miss the way Eruhaben's eyes narrowed when he emphasized ‘to me’ again, but Cale didn't acknowledge it.

“When the son you hurt most is here… if he's ready, I'll contact you.”

He had no intention of forcing Kim Rok Soo to talk to his father if he didn't want to.

‘Just because one side is willing to apologize doesn't mean you have to listen or accept it.’ Cale wouldn't force his soul-swapping partner to face his family if it came to that.

Rok Soo owed the Henituse nothing. No one was entitled to forgiveness.

Nod. Deruth nodded slowly.

“... I understand.” He accepted the terms without a fight. “Are your mother and your siblings doing well?”

“Of course.”

Basen and Lily had been busy, collecting stories about their brother left and right. Choi Han was one of their favorite targets, so Cale knew quite well what they were up to these days.

“They’re doing really well.”

The duke's shoulders relaxed slightly.

“That’s great.”

They could sense that the conversation was coming to an end.

“Father.”

Cale called out suddenly.

“Are you lonely?” He asked.  Knowing that his son would not bring such a thing up arbitrarily, Deruth narrowed his eyes. “Your wife and children left you suddenly without a word.”

“... yes.”

“Do you miss them?”

Deruth answered without hesitation:

“I do.”

Cale tilted his head in feigned innocence.

“Are you wondering what you did wrong?”

“No. I already know.” Deruth sighed.

“That's good.” Cale nodded. “You finally know how it feels. Although you're an adult, so you can handle it better, right?”

The last thing the redhead saw before hanging up was the realization dawning on the Duke's face.

No one spoke for a while, though he could feel the satisfaction radiating from Choi Han right behind him.

“... are you angry?” Eruhaben finally broke the silence, eyeing Cale as if he were a ticking bomb.

“I'm not angry.” The transmigrator said.

He meant it.

“Adults should be held accountable for their mistakes.” Cale commented. “Some people unwittingly rewrite history because they see things differently. Father is one of those people.”

Thirteen years ago, Deruth had moved on after tragedy struck his family.

“I just gave him a hint on how to read the past correctly.”

Now he had to see it through the eyes of the son he left behind.