A Promise No One Must Know

“Hmm….”

Jiwan slowly looked over the loan shark’s face as the man gazed up at him with an expression that said he would obey any command.

“Continue collecting payments as usual, but I would prefer that you never lay a hand on Shin Jiho.”

“Pardon?”

Confusion surfaced on the loan shark’s face.

He couldn’t understand what Jiwan truly wanted.

‘So hiring me… wasn’t to keep tormenting Shin Jiho?’

Then why?

Though the question arose, the loan shark quickly suppressed it.

He wasn’t someone paid to think.

Jiwan hadn’t chosen him for his brains, so there was no need to voice doubts.

‘Just do as I’m told.’

As the loan shark bowed his head in agreement, Jiwan added,

“When I say ‘lay a hand on him,’ that includes violence—and anything else.”

The “anything else” he mentioned was vague, but easy enough to grasp.

The loan shark swore inwardly that he wouldn’t so much as direct a single drop of piss in Jiho’s direction.

Still, hearing the order left him unsure how exactly he was supposed to treat Jiho.

‘If I’m not to touch him, it sounds like he wants to protect Shin Jiho….’

Yet hiring him made it seem like he intended to keep pressuring him.

Though he believed he shouldn’t question orders, the loan shark hesitated before speaking.

“How… would you like me to treat Shin Jiho?”

When you don’t know, you have no choice but to ask.

If he tried to think for himself and ended up doing the opposite of what was intended, the golden rope he’d just grabbed might rot away in an instant.

Bracing himself for possible anger, he looked up at Jiwan.

Contrary to his fears, Jiwan didn’t get angry.

He merely looked down at him as if weighing him, then spoke.

“Act as you normally would. Make sure he doesn’t realize that I’m behind you.”

He emphasized once more that under no circumstances was he to touch Jiho.

Since it wasn’t an incomprehensible order, the loan shark nodded respectfully.

“I understand.”

“Oh, and.”

It seemed the conversation was over, but Jiwan appeared to recall something.

“If Shin Jiho says he wants to hit you, take one punch.”

“O-one punch?”

Jiwan nodded.

Originally, he had considered crushing this man’s face himself.

But even if he smashed it like a hamburger patty here and now, Jiho would never know of his effort.

‘Then the one who deserves revenge isn’t me.’

Shin Jiho had to do it himself.

Satisfied at the thought of granting him that chance, Jiwan smiled faintly.

After taking care of several matters for Jiho, Jiwan finally resumed dungeon raids after a long break.

Though he packed the schedule tightly because he wanted to see Jiho again as soon as possible, both the raid members and the assist company readily agreed, as if they had been waiting for him.

Looking forward to their reunion, Jiwan headed to the dungeon.

Normally, he would arrive leisurely just before entry, but today he came earlier than anyone else.

So early that even the assist team, who usually arrived first, hadn’t shown up yet.

Since Jiho hadn’t arrived, a slight displeasure settled in his chest.

As he looked around, he noticed guild members arriving earlier than usual.

“Hmm.”

Jiwan hid himself to avoid them.

It wasn’t that he disliked them, but dealing with them felt troublesome.

Shortly after he concealed himself, the guild members noticed his car and approached.

“Huh? That’s the guild leader’s car.”

“But… he’s not inside?”

They looked around as if searching for him.

Strangely, despite Jiwan treating them strictly in a businesslike manner, they genuinely liked him.

“Man, each day felt like a year.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. A year?”

“But raiding with the guild leader is the most fun. Don’t you think?”

“Well… yeah.”

“That’s why I rushed over as soon as I heard we were raiding again. I’m the winner for not going on a trip during our long vacation.”

Watching them chat as they walked off, Jiwan let out a quiet sigh and remained hidden.

After some time, he saw the assist team’s car pulling in from afar.

His mood lifted at the thought of seeing Jiho again.

But unlike the others, Jiho didn’t search for him and instead chatted casually with his coworkers.

That stung more than he expected.

Of course, from Jiho’s perspective, it was natural—Jiwan usually arrived late.

When Jiho drifted away from the group toward a corner, Jiwan secretly followed him.

Perhaps because he was D-rank, Jiho didn’t notice at all that Jiwan was behind him.

Jiwan waited for the moment he would be discovered, but eventually his expression turned sulky.

Jiho was too busy flipping through what looked like a report to notice him.

So Jiwan acted on a small impulse.

He stepped closer and leaned his face over Jiho’s shoulder.

It was the kind of prank the 28-year-old Do Jiwan—before the trap—would never have played.

But after being caught in the trap and living alongside Jiho as if they were childhood friends, a certain familiarity had formed between them.

It was the sort of mischief reserved for close friends.

And in that moment, something soft and warm brushed against Jiwan’s cheek.

‘Huh…?’

Startled, Jiho had turned his head—and accidentally pressed his lips against Jiwan’s cheek.

It wasn’t even a kiss, just an accidental peck.

Yet strangely, Jiwan’s chest fluttered.

Holding his cheek, he stared blankly as Jiho’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

For some reason, that looked unbearably cute.

“You’re acting cute.”

“Excuse me?”

Jiwan smiled without realizing it.

But the smile soon faded, and the buoyant feeling in his chest sank into mud.

“Ah… yes. I’ve been well.”

During the time after his discharge, Jiho said he had been well without seeing him even once.

The fact that it didn’t sound like a lie made Jiwan angrier.

In the trap, Jiho had always tried to stay by his side.

It had been Jiwan’s mistake to assume reality would be similar.

Though anger flickered, embarrassment was stronger, and Jiwan quickly left.

He felt ashamed for having assumed Jiho had felt the same way.

‘Why is this…?’

Not much time had passed since escaping the trap.

The only thing that had changed was the setting—from dream to reality.

They themselves hadn’t changed.

Then why had the way they treated each other changed?

Jiwan closed his eyes.

Jiho’s image surfaced.

At first annoying and troublesome, but once he learned of Jiwan’s circumstances, Jiho had begun to look at him with pity.

He had hated that sympathetic gaze at first.

But he liked that those eyes looked only at him.

And as Jiho gently tended to his wounds, the knot inside Jiwan’s heart had begun to loosen.

Yet the moment they left that place, Jiho’s attitude changed.

It felt almost like betrayal.

“……Ha.”

Jiwan let out a dry laugh.

This was why he never wanted to have expectations of others.

‘Since when did I ever trust anyone?’

There was no one worth trusting.

He had seen that truth countless times growing up.

Yet he had let his guard down just because someone treated him well for a short while.

As the weakness he had carefully hidden surfaced, Jiwan felt an emotion difficult to name.

It felt like anger.

And perhaps also sorrow.

Do Jiwan was strange.

Well, to be fair, this wasn’t the first time.

‘What on earth is wrong with him?’

Just before entering the dungeon, it had felt like the distance between them had narrowed.

But once inside, a cold wind seemed to blow between them.

Unsure what to do, I hesitated through the first phase of the raid.

When we exited the dungeon, I considered speaking to him.

But the moment he stepped out, he got into his car and sped away.

“What the heck… seriously.”

Even someone as easygoing as me felt hurt by how cold he was.

What had offended him now?

With him already gone, there was nothing I could do but return in the company car.

After receiving a day’s rest and arriving home, I rolled around in boredom.

Then a notification chimed.

When I checked the message, I frowned.

[Let’s meet today.]

It was the loan shark.

I had completely forgotten, but with my hospitalization, a month had passed—it was time to repay the debt.

“Damn it….”

He was the last person I wanted to see, but as someone in debt, I couldn’t ignore him.

After replying, he told me what time he’d come near my place.

As time passed, I headed down to the meeting spot.

He was already there, waiting.

Even though I had arrived on time, being later than him was still being late.

I braced myself for criticism and instinctively frowned.

As I cautiously approached, wondering if I’d get slapped again like last time, the loan shark noticed me and turned his head.

“Oh, you’re here?”

‘Huh?’

Strangely, he sounded almost friendly.

And he didn’t look angry at all.