Byeol POV:

I sat down on the wooden floor of a dirty shack. It was hidden within a dense forest that covered the entire Floor. Scouts didn’t have the luxury of being as picky as most thought we did, but that was okay too!

“Memo.”

A window resembling a notepad popped into my vision. I shifted through the handwritten notes made on this dungeon before switching to a more personal tab.

‘Master Chef Gerard has prepared Experienced Scout Byeol a nutritious meal!’

I failed to hold in my laughter at how adorable he was. Really... Gerard was cute. Whenever we had time, we would go to a Beginner Dungeon together. The lack of restrictions meant that I could not only party with him, but Gerard could also write a personal message in my Memo. Whatever he wrote, we both agreed I could only read it when scouting Arcane Dungeons.

This was the last Memo he had written.

Gerard lived in Hibe: a larger city than Chunhae Village, located in the west of Sharir. I knew Phoebe had encouraged him, but it still came as a shock when he invited me to his house.

‘I can’t even remember how many dresses I tried on in front of Minji!’

In the end, I went with a yellow one that had layers of frills toward the bottom. A crossbody bag and a pair of flat shoes completed the attire. It wasn’t a date, but I still curled my hair for him.

Once I arrived, Gerard blurted out that I was beautiful. We both stood there, embarrassed and silent, until a whisper of thanks drifted toward him.

He opened the door and directed me to the large dining room. Dozens of vegetable dishes lined the table, but my heart ached. Gerard’s severe concern over his weight extended to what he served his guests.

‘Gerard...’

That was the day I found out how talented of a chef he was.

***

“And that’s why I don’t use my ability. The Architect helped form the base, but I somehow built the house upside down!”

A light chuckle swirled around the room. Empty plates were pushed to the side, and the only distance between us was a single chair.

“So when I do use it, I get fatter instead of skinnier. I can’t take shortcuts with my worst enemy after all!”

The chuckle was replaced by soft laughter. My lips remained shut, and my eyes watered. I wanted to comfort the pain behind those kind brown eyes, but I didn’t know what to say—I was wary of the setting.

“!!”

My arms wrapped around him.

“B-B-Byeol...?!”

“Cuddly bear...”

I ignored the heat warming the air around me. I paid little attention to the slight tremble of my body, yet the arms I was waiting for never came.

“Do you... really think so?”

“Yes!”

I didn’t need to look up to know he was looking away. Our bodies squashed tight together until Gerard fell backwards. His head hit the floor, and my two palms did the same—separated only by the face in the middle.

“U-um...!”

‘This is dangerous!’

I wanted to move, but Gerard’s loving eyes wouldn’t let me! Blood rushed to his entire face, making him go darker with time. I wasn’t any different.

“Did y-you enjoy... dinner?”

“O-of course...!’

The tension in his shoulders eased before freezing. Two large hands stayed motionless in the air from the interlocking of our lips. Even while kissing, we both couldn’t stop looking at each other.

‘O-oh... I k-kissed him?!!’

I snapped back to reality and moved away.

‘How c-could our first kiss happen this way?!... But maybe this isn’t s-so bad?’

I gripped my trembling arm before my head fell down. It was bad. I didn’t want to kiss him here—not in a place like this.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“...Is it me? Because you kissed someone like me? I’m sorry, Byeol.”

Gerard’s hand blocked his face from view. Droplets merged into a thin stream that crashed against his palm.

I was inconsiderate.

The currents had no sound, but that wasn’t needed to transmit the feelings they carried to the target. Every second that passed by shortened the distance. Every second that passed by increased the intensity.

I shouldn’t have reacted that way in front of him.

A forehead hit a trembling palm and took the silence as a parting gift. Sobs bounced off the walls. Light wails matched the rise and fall of shoulders.

I don’t know how much time passed, but I do know my cheek rested against Gerard’s. Neither of us moved; we just held each other in our arms.

Phoebe and Aiden knew. Now I was ready for Gerard to know.

Because I truly loved him.

***

I couldn’t stop the heat shooting out of my cheeks. That feeling of warmth wrapped around me, protecting me, loving me—it was magical!

‘W-w-wait for me, Gerard!’

I slipped my hand into the yellow backpack and took out a lunchbox he prepared for me in advance. Delicious flavours popped; their textures intertwined to create a unified blast that ended with a—

‘!’

Burp.

Quite a loud one too.

I covered my mouth before looking around. Um.. I promise I wasn’t always this careless!

‘...I wish he made me another one.’

Inside a gold pendant was a picture of us grinning. After that experience with Gerard, I wanted him to have a better idea of how much he meant to me. This picture didn’t represent our present, but our future.

It took years for us to reach this point. He didn’t have to be so patient with me. Gerard could have found someone else, yet he stuck by my side for so long. That was why when Minji asked me if I was sure about this, I could give her a confident ‘yes.’

‘Sorry, Gerard... I was just... afraid.’

I bit my quivering lip at the memories of the past. The last boyfriend I had was abusive. Whenever I came home from work, no matter how cheerful I was for him, it was never enough.

Useless. Pathetic. Horrible. Why can’t you make me happy like you do for everyone else? Why do you smile more for them than me?

I endured it. I smiled more for him because I thought he was the one. I didn’t want him to be my ‘boyfriend,’ but Minji told me not to rush into a marriage I’ll regret. She always gave me good advice, like an older sister would, so I took a step back and listened.

Things got worse.

Verbal abuse wasn’t effective in getting his point across. He started to get physical. The first punch dyed our duvet red and left me bewildered; it was the first time anyone had hit me.

I became embarrassed.

Should I tell Jijul? Should I tell Minji? What should I do?

I became scared.

The situation trapped me in a box. The circumstances cut off my attempts to reach out to someone. Byeol was bright. Byeol was happy.

Byeol was always smiling.

But I was human, just like you. The last straw came when I opened the door to our bedroom and saw him in bed... our bed with another woman half-naked.

We slept together but never slept that way. I explained that marriage came first, and he agreed. He agreed!! But this is what he did when I went into dungeons! This is what he did when I organised Adventurer’s loot!! HE CHEATED ON ME MORE TIMES THAN I COULD COUNT!!!

I didn’t say a word.

I packed my things, ignoring his desperate attempts to explain. He talked his way out of everything else, but he couldn’t do that with this. I threw him the keys and left.

I ran towards Minji’s house. She was all I had since my parents passed away a decade ago.

“Byeol?”

It was Uri, Minji’s boyfriend. He was kind, attractive, and cool, but Minji took her own advice. The two of them had been together for a few years now, yet a simple look was all it took for Uri to take her breath away.

It was what I wanted.

It was what I needed.

I broke down on their doorstep. The warmth of Uri’s hug eased the pain, crushing my heart until I had the strength to head inside. Uri only gave me some space once Minji returned home from her late night shift at the guild.

“Byeol... Talk to me.”

She crouched down and held my hands, but all I could do was cry again. After some hours passed, I explained everything to them before asking if I could stay.

“You’re family, so make yourself at home.”

Uri’s lips spread into a soft smile that made Minji close her open mouth. He had said what she was going to say. The guild accepted my request to go on leave, so I stayed holed up in their home for two years.

Uri spent time with me during the day and Minji at night. They both worked on recovering the confidence, the self-esteem—everything that I had lost.

I closed the pendant along with that memory from the past. I pressed it into my chest and prayed that Gerard would make it back to me safely.

‘That’s long enough for a break.’

I slipped the lunchbox back into the bag. If any adjustments needed to be made to the notes I had taken so far, this was when I did them.

‘Map Tracker.’

Another system window popped into view, showing the route taken to reach this point: the 44th Floor. It was standard procedure for Experienced Scouts to triple-check the information gathered every 20 Floors.

20 minutes came and went until I was satisfied with everything so far.

“...”

A strange sensation wrapped around the shack. It made my hairs stand on edge from its unknown origin. Thick droplets of sweat splashed against frozen hands that refused to move.

When death approached, you remained still.

That saying applied to these exact kinds of scenarios, so I followed the instructions the Senior Scouts gave without questioning them. It took one hour for the ominous feeling to pass, but I was alive.

“Scout Exit.”

[Scout Byeol is unable to exit the dungeon due to being seen.]

‘I knew it.’

‘Scout Exit’ was a Scout Command that had to be spoken. The Senior Scouts concluded it maintained balance—fairness between human and monster. Why should only you be allowed to observe them without any repercussions?

I didn’t agree with it. The main purpose of these Dungeons was to inflict harm to humanity like some form of twisted game. As for monsters, several groups in Sharir advocated for the protection of their rights. If not for Chloe Ravendawn, their voices would have been silenced. She was the one that outlawed the unnecessary killing of monsters: she understood that some monsters were kept as harmless pets like Kinnixes.

The law was a shock to Monster Hunters. Wouldn’t their livelihood be at stake now? Not quite. Monster communities were abundant in the world of Ayadell, but like animals, many knew to keep to their own habitats.

And there were just as many that viewed humans as another source of food. Those tended to be the kind that proliferated at a rapid rate.

‘Exit Timer.’

[Time Remaining: 0:20:10...]

I leaned back against the wall, unable to grasp any other presence around me. I didn’t like doing things halfway but getting out of this dungeon as soon as possible was for the best.

‘M-m-my Gerard needs me...’

I ignored a faint heat, growing in my cheeks.

[Time Remaining: 0:01:06...]

An inaudible sigh of relief left my mouth once the Exit Timer hit zer—

“HELP ME!! PLEASE HELP ME!!”