Chapter Text
Deruth dropped his spoon.
“The God of Balance, is bringing Kim Rok Soo here for the week.” Cale repeated.
He was currently having lunch at the Henituse Manor, as per the agreement he had with his father, twice a week; Cale and the children should have lunch with the Henituse Family. But before he left for the Manor. The God of Death contacted him through his divine item (the notebook), that the God of Balance was letting Kim Rok Soo, the original Cale Henituse, spend the week with everyone.
“He is!?” Basen was shocked as well. Everyone involved with Cale had known about the switch, everyone who has no personal connection with the original Cale Henituse accepted it easily, but those with personal and long connection with the original Cale Henituse took a few days to accept that fact.
But the Henituse Family just accepted that they have another child, although Deruth would brag about his eldest sons(Kim Rok Soo and Cale) to anyone who would listen.
“…When?” Violan asked calmly, placing her napkin down with a grace that belied the slight tension in her voice.
Cale leaned back in his chair, brushing a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Tomorrow morning. The God of Balance is sending him directly to the garden behind the manor. He’ll stay for seven days.”
“…A week,” Lily muttered under her breath, eyes wide as she exchanged a glance with Basen.
“Is he staying here in the manor or with you in the villa?” Deruth asked Cale.
“Probably in the villa,” Cale nodded. “It would be safer for him.”
“I wonder what the other big brother looks like!” Lily was excited. Ever since they all knew about the deal between the God of Death and her original orabeoni. She had been wondering what he looks like now, Choi Han and his nephew said that her orabeoni was very tall now.
Basen smiled softly at Lily’s excitement, though his eyes lingered on Cale for a moment longer.
“Rok Soo-hyung must be different now.” He commented.
Cale snorted, “He looked like a tired old man according to Jung Soo.”
“Eh?” Basen blinked.
“He was overworking in night shifts again.” Cale took a sip of his tea, “That’s one of the reasons they were bringing him from Earth 1 to our dimension.”
“That doesn’t sound like a very healthy routine,” Violan said dryly, raising an eyebrow. “I hope this visit gives him a chance to relax.”
“Don’t count on it,” Cale muttered. “If anything, he’ll be more tense surrounded by people he hadn’t seen in more than two decades, and people trying to hug him out of nowhere.”
“You mean me ?” Lily grinned.
“I didn’t name names,” Cale said flatly, though a corner of his mouth twitched.
Deruth, who had been strangely silent for a few seconds, suddenly stood. “I’ll go check on the garden. We should prepare refreshments! Something light—he still liked fruit tarts, didn’t he? Basen, come with me.”
“Yes, Father.”
Violan was already reaching for her communication mirror, likely summoning servants and checking arrangements for Rok Soo’s arrival. Her expression was composed, but her fingers moved faster than usual.
Cale leaned back again, staring at the ceiling. “…Why do I feel like this is going to be more exhausting than a dimensional traveling?”
Lily tilted her head. “Because you have to deal with emotions instead of explosions?”
“Exactly,” Cale muttered.
***
The morning sun filtered softly through the trees as the Henituse garden bloomed in spring colors. The space behind the manor was quiet, a low hum of divine energy resonating near the center, where the summoning circle was drawn into the grass like an elegant scar.
Cale stood near it, arms crossed, cloak fluttering in the wind. Raon hovered behind him, invisible but very much present.
“Human, will he have delicious food preferences?” Raon asked quietly. “I prepared ten pies just in case.”
“He doesn’t like sweets that much anymore,” Cale replied. “He always said sugar made his headaches worse.”
“...So sad,” Raon whispered. “He must have suffered greatly.”
Before Cale could respond, the wind shifted, and the circle began to glow.
The air shimmered, and with a ripple, a figure slowly stepped out from the divine light. The glow faded, leaving behind a tall man in simple black slacks, a plain shirt, and a faintly rumpled coat. His black hair was slightly tousled, and his eyes—though unmistakably calm—carried the weariness of someone who had seen too much for far too long. He was a 42-year-old man with a stoic but handsome face. He was very muscular and tall, about 190cm, which was a stark contrast to the 182cm when Cale was still him.
Kim Rok Soo.
His gaze landed on Cale, and his tired expression broke into something faintly resembling a smile.
“Been a while, hasn’t it?” Kim Rok Soo said with a grin. “Last I saw you, you were getting healed from using Instant in that body.”
Cale scrunched his face. “It still looks weird for that body to smile like that. You’re forty already.”
“I still looked good.”
The two stood in silence for a moment before Cale stepped forward, motioning toward the path. “Come on. The family’s waiting.”
“They knew? How did they take it?”
“They’re Henituses.”
“…So, that well, huh.”
As they walked toward the manor, Kim Rok Soo slowed for a moment. His gaze swept over the familiar stone walls, the hedges he once ran through as a child, and the ivy trailing up the archways.
“…It really hasn’t changed.”
“No,” Cale said. “It just got louder.”
Just as they rounded the corner—
“ORABEONI!!”
A streak of light brown hair bolted forward. Kim Rok Soo barely had time to brace himself before Lily flung her arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
He stumbled. “L-Lily?”
“You’re really here!” she sniffled, eyes wet. “You’re so tall ! You’re—your voice is deeper too!”
“I—uh—yeah, I’m in a different body.” He awkwardly patted her head. “You did too, apparently.”
Basen arrived a beat later, much more composed. “Hyung-nim,” he said, bowing slightly, before holding out his hand.
Kim Rok Soo blinked at the gesture before reaching forward and shaking it firmly. “Basen. You’ve gotten taller, too.”
Basen smiled. “And you’ve lost your noble accent.”
“I have been a Korean for a couple of years now.”
From the doorway, Deruth and Violan stood silently. Deruth’s eyes were wide, glassy. Violan’s lips were pressed together, her expression unreadable.
Kim Rok Soo stepped forward, letting Lily slip from his arms, and came to stand before them.
“…Father. Mother.”
That was all it took. Deruth reached forward, drawing him in like he was afraid he’d disappear again. Kim Rok Soo froze for a second—then slowly, hesitantly, returned the embrace.
Violan didn’t move, but her voice was steady. “You came back.”
“Only for a week,” he replied softly.
She nodded. “Then we’ll make the most of it.”
***
Everyone had their jaws dropped when Cale introduced the original Cale—now Kim Rok Soo to them.
“So, holy shit.” Rosalyn couldn’t help but comment. “No offense to young master Cale, but HOW!?”
She was gesturing wildly at Kim Rok Soo. And somehow, everyone could understand her bewilderment.
Cale tilted his head, “How what?”
Rok Soo laughed, “What she meant is that why are you so skinny when this body is so well-kept and muscular. I mean you really did let go of yourself when you entered my body.”
“Slackers don’t need muscles.” Cale grumbled. “And I refused to regain all those muscles all over again.”
Rosalyn’s eyes were practically bulging. “Wait—wait, this is the original young master Cale Henituse!?”
Choi Han blinked, looking between the muscular man standing before them and the pale, eternally slouched Cale they all knew. “…That’s really… the same soul?”
Kim Rok Soo—formerly the original Cale Henituse—offered a polite smile. “Well, technically we’re not the same soul, we switched, remember?”
Rosalyn took a step forward, examining him closely. “You’re taller than Choi Han. No offense, but this is not what I pictured the original you looking like.”
“Same,” Ron said blandly from the side, his expression unreadable but his eyes calculating. “We were expecting someone a bit more... fragile.”
“Bet you didn’t expect that huh.” Rok Soo laughed.
“No.” Eruhaben dryly said. “Even laughing is new? Our Cale rarely laughs.”
Then Rok Soo looked at Beacrox, the two had a stare off before the Korean grinned, “Been a while, hyung.”
Alberu looked back and forth at the two. “Wait, so Beacrox was the original Cale’s hyung?”
“And Eric Wheelsman, Your Majesty.” Ron answered the quarter dark elf. Alberu looked at Cale.
“I’m still your hyung, right?” Cale looked at him in deadpan.
“One of them.”
Alberu gasped in fake shock.
“That’s weird.” Rok Soo blinked. “The Alberu Crossman I knew was filled with angst? Probably because he was leading the kingdom when the king died.”
“Angst?” Alberu raised an eyebrow, smirking. “How dramatic.”
“Very,” Rok Soo said with a straight face. “He wore too much black. Spoke in riddles. Grew his hair out and dramatically looked over balconies a lot.”
There was a beat of silence.
“…That sounds like the Crown Prince,” Choi Han admitted reluctantly.
Cale gave him a look. “Don’t encourage him.”
Alberu, however, looked intrigued. “I wonder if I would’ve looked good with longer hair…”
“No,” multiple voices said in unison.
Kim Rok Soo laughed, and this time it wasn’t polite—it was genuine, deep, and a little nostalgic. The sound was so foreign coming from someone who technically had Cale’s old face that everyone paused again.
Even Raon blinked. “Human! He laughed like a cool uncle!”
“…I’m not even that old,” Rok Soo muttered, but his mouth was still curled in a smile.
“You’re forty-two.”
“Don’t remind me.”
Then someone else arrived, standing at the edge of the group. A white-haired figure with sharp eyes and an unreadable expression. And the said figure is in his fucking wheelchair.
Clopeh Sekka.
He walked up slowly, eyes glued to Kim Rok Soo. “…So this is the original, the root, the first Cale Henituse.”
Cale groaned. “Clopeh—”
“Magnificent,” Clopeh whispered, ignoring him. “To think the foundation of your legend once looked like this . A god in mortal flesh. The broad shoulders, the physical authority…! A true hero’s frame! ”
Rok Soo’s eye twitched. “…He always like this? I don’t remember this bastard being like this in my timeline as Cale.”
“Yes,” Cale muttered darkly. “Worse, even.”
“He doesn’t seem to worship me,” Rok Soo noted casually.
“He will by tomorrow,” Cale sighed.
Clopeh’s eyes sparkled.
“Don’t even think about it,” Rok Soo said, pointing at him.
“Too late,” Cale added.
As chaos descended—Raon asking if Rok Soo could fly, On and Hong sniffing suspiciously around his coat, Ron muttering something about feeding Rok Soo his favorite foods when he was Cale while the older man is still here—Rok Soo simply stood, amused and vaguely horrified.
“You weren’t kidding,” he said to Cale. “This really is more exhausting than dimensional travel.”
“Told you.”
Rok Soo looked toward the setting sun casting golden light across the garden, his gaze softening just a little.
“…Still,” he murmured, “it’s good to be home.”
Cale looked at him, then away.
“…Yeah. Welcome back, I guess.”