A Line Drawn

Since I had drawn my sword, there were only two things Do Jiwan could do.

Fight back, or surrender.

Just as Do Jiwan, who had been silent, was about to open his mouth again—

“Jiho-ya……. Ah…….”

The hospital room door burst open and Jungho hyung walked in.

When he uttered the “Ji,” his face was bright and smiling, but as he reached the end, it gradually darkened.

By the time he said “Ah,” his complexion had turned pale and gloomy, so much so that it almost seemed like he had been struck by a curse that made him age rapidly the moment he stepped into the room.

Worried sick, I jumped to my feet.

If he had been cursed, I thought I would dispel it with my divine power as I approached him—but he wasn’t cursed at all.

Then why had he changed like that?

The reason had to be in this hospital room.

It couldn’t be me, and it shouldn’t have been Do Jiwan either.

After all, Do Jiwan wasn’t an especially difficult superior, and Jungho hyung himself had said that although he was intimidating, he was a good person.

“Hyung?”

When I called out to him, wondering what was wrong, Jungho hyung turned his head to look at me.

“The Guild Leader…… is here……?”

“Huh? Oh…… yeah.”

“I see……. This…… I bought it because it reminded me of you.”

He handed me the convenience store bag he was holding.

Inside were snacks and gum for nibbling, and also the thing I had wanted most.

“Wow……!”

“……But is that really enough? There’s a specialty shop nearby. You could’ve had theirs instead.”

“I like this one.”

What I pulled out of the bag was a retort chicken porridge sold at convenience stores.

The kind that comes in a bowl-shaped container that you just microwave and eat.

When I smiled and took it out, Jungho hyung smirked—then suddenly gasped.

Startled, I looked up to see what was wrong, and noticed his gaze fixed somewhere behind me.

“What’s wrong?”

But when I turned around, there was nothing unusual.

Do Jiwan was simply sitting at the office desk, looking over documents.

When I turned back, Jungho hyung’s already dark complexion had turned completely pale.

“I-I…… should get going.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Sorry!”

With that, he hurried out without even looking back.

I wondered if something urgent had come up.

I returned to my bed and pulled out the small table.

Since there was a microwave inside the room, I didn’t even need to step outside to prepare it.

I set the time written on the container, and soon a savory yet distinctly instant smell filled the hospital room.

As soon as the microwave beeped, I opened it and took out the steaming hot porridge, bringing it back to my bed.

I unfolded the small spoon attached to the lid and stirred the hot porridge, when I felt a gaze on me.

Naturally, it was Do Jiwan.

‘Ah.’

I had been so distracted by the chicken porridge that I forgot we were in the middle of a conversation.

Maybe that was why his expression looked extremely, extremely, extremely unpleasant.

Was it just my imagination, or did I detect betrayal in his face?

“Is that good?”

“Huh?”

“I asked if it’s good.”

The expression on Do Jiwan’s face as he asked that was truly ferocious.

It was almost as if he were facing his parents’ killer.

Of course, even if his parents were to die, Do Jiwan probably wouldn’t blink—but metaphorically speaking.

Looking at him, it almost seemed like he didn’t just dislike instant food, but hated it.

I rolled my eyes cautiously before answering honestly.

“Yes…….”

I’m eating it because it’s good, obviously.

It’s not like I’m training in asceticism. There’s no reason to deliberately eat something tasteless.

But perhaps my answer displeased him, because his expression grew even darker.

“……More than?”

“Pardon?”

“More than the hospital food…… is it better?”

He clenched his teeth as he spoke, almost grinding the words out.

I didn’t catch half of it, but with my keen sense, I could guess what he meant.

I answered boldly.

“Yes.”

If you compared the retort porridge to the hospital meals…… of course the hospital meals were objectively better.

The food in my VIP room was nothing like ordinary hospital food.

However, this chicken porridge was the first food I tasted after descending to the human world in Shin Jiho’s body.

The flavor that slid down my parched esophagus and stomach like sweet nectar was something I would never forget—even if I returned to the heavens.

It didn’t taste as heavenly as it did back then, but perhaps humans are creatures of nostalgia.

Sometimes, I simply missed this flavor.

The hospital convenience store only carried organic-style products and didn’t have retort food, so I had felt a bit disappointed.

It was perfect timing that Jungho hyung bought it for me.

‘……Ah. And this ambiguous, slightly unsatisfying portion size is nice too.’

Just as I was scooping it up regretfully with the small spoon, savoring every bite, I heard a strange cracking sound.

“Uh…….”

Looking around, I saw black liquid dripping from Do Jiwan’s hand.

No matter if he was a candidate for Demon King, his blood couldn’t possibly be black.

Then I noticed the fountain pen in his hand, twisted at a bizarre angle, and realized the black liquid was ink.

“Um, Guild Leader……?”

“Guild Leader?”

Once again, light seemed to flash in Do Jiwan’s eyes.

They weren’t actual death rays, but for some reason I hallucinated myself being torn limb from limb.

“Why am I a Guild Leader?”

“Pardon?”

“Mr. Shin Jiho, are you a member of the Domun Guild?”

Under his piercing glare, I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

It was petty, but I wasn’t a Domun Guild member—just an employee of a subcontractor.

The way he suddenly drew a line startled me and made me feel a little hurt.

I even forgot that he had switched to formal speech with me.

“I may not be a guild member, but…….”

“…….”

“Just because I’m not a guild member doesn’t mean you stop being the Guild Leader of Domun Guild.”

“Ha…….”

He looked at me as if I were audacious.

Yet strangely, he didn’t seem entirely displeased.

The flashing light in his eyes had calmed down.

“Right……. That’s true.”

“…….”

“So, does Shin Jiho want to be discharged because of that gu— person?”

I thought I heard a strange word in the middle, but his face was calm, so maybe I misheard.

I shook my head.

“No?”

I wanted to be discharged because of my mission, not because of Jungho hyung.

But Do Jiwan’s reaction was odd.

He merely lifted one eyebrow as if he didn’t believe me.

After a moment of silence, he asked,

“What’s your relationship with that person?”

“Jungho hyung?”

“Yes. ……Family? Jungho, Jiho. The names are similar. Shared generational syllable or something…….”

“No? His surname is Lee.”

Mine was Shin.

So we couldn’t be family.

I answered honestly, thinking that was what he was curious about, but his expression darkened again.

With my limited knowledge of the human world, I couldn’t understand why he was angry.

“Right. Not family……. But you call him hyung?”

“Yes.”

Isn’t it common sense to call an older man “hyung”?

I had no idea what he wanted.

He let out short, sharp laughs.

There was no reason for him to be upset that Jungho hyung wasn’t my family, so that laughter must have been from amusement.

But what was amusing?

“Hyung, you say.”

“……Yes.”

“I’m a Guild Leader, but that person is hyung?”

Only then did I realize his laughter wasn’t amusement—it was irritation.

The human world was truly difficult.

Why speak in such roundabout ways?

If this were heaven, we would’ve exchanged our grievances directly and gone home by now.

As I stared blankly, Do Jiwan spoke again.

“I’m the Guild Leader, but Mr. Lee Jungho is hyung…….”

His eyes seemed to say, ‘Are you discriminating between us?’

But common sense says you don’t call your workplace superior “hyung,” right?

Even if I was subcontracted, I was still his subordinate.

Was it appropriate to call him hyung? I was confused.

“Well…… you’re my superior, Guild Leader.”

I thought that would be enough explanation.

But he gave no reaction.

As if urging me to continue, he stared silently, so I stammered on.

“You can’t call your boss hyung…….”

Or does it depend on the company?

I’d heard of companies that call themselves family-like.

Do they call each other hyung, noona, mom, dad?

Having lived in the human world for less than half a year, I truly didn’t know.

Shin Jiho had only worked part-time jobs and had never been properly employed, so I lacked that kind of common sense.

If Jungho hyung were here, I could have asked him—but he had already left.

Not knowing how to answer properly, I simply said whatever came to mind.

“B-But…….”

“…….”

“You’re a higher position than Jungho hyung.”

Since he was my superior over Jungho hyung, it felt difficult to call him hyung.

Even to me, that logic made sense.

If I called Do Jiwan hyung, wouldn’t that make him equal to Jungho hyung?

I said it seriously, but Do Jiwan let out a hollow laugh, as if he found it absurd.