“Bibim-guksu……”

“……Bibim-guksu.”

As Seo-jun placed the bowl on the table, Kang Min-hee and Lee Chang-hyun muttered quietly.

Both looked surprised.

Even Geon-woo.

Nostalgia was written all over Kang Min-hee’s face. She stared blankly at the bibim-guksu.

Lee Chang-hyun was the same. A faint smile played at his lips as if lost in memories.

How much time had passed?

Kang Min-hee spoke with a soft smile.

“It’s unusual to have cabbage leaves on bibim-guksu.”

“Is it?”

“You don’t normally put cabbage leaves as a garnish on bibim-guksu. Usually… you add julienned cucumbers or onions.”

“It’s my grandmother’s recipe.”

“Adding finely chopped cabbage leaves as a garnish?”

“Yes. So I never thought it was unusual. I’ve been eating it this way since I was little.”

“That’s strange. My mom always put cabbage leaves on bibim-guksu whenever she made it for me, too……”

Seo-jun feigned ignorance and asked back.

“Did she?”

“Yeah. And she never used medium noodles, only thin noodles. She said the seasoning wouldn’t stick to medium noodles. But… this is also thin noodles?”

“My grandmother also never used medium noodles, saying the seasoning wouldn’t coat them well. But we should eat before it gets soggy.”

“Ah! Thanks for the food.”

“Thanks for the food, Seo-jun.”

“I’ll eat well.”

The three of them mixed their bibim-guksu together.

With the sticky, rich sound unique to bibim-guksu made with thin noodles, Kang Min-hee picked up some noodles with her chopsticks.

Slurp!

As soon as she put the bibim-guksu in her mouth, Kang Min-hee flinched. Lee Chang-hyun was the same. The two exchanged glances.

“……It’s the same.”

“Yeah. It tastes just like the bibim-guksu that mother-in-law used to make.”

“It’s been so long since I last tasted this. Right?”

“Yeah. Ever since mother-in-law developed dementia, we haven’t had it… I really missed this taste. But when you made it, it never tasted the same.”

“That’s right. I could never get it to taste like this. Even when I asked Mom, she never told me.”

“I remember. She only ever said, ‘The answer is close by.’”

“Yeah. But I still don’t know what the secret was……”

Tears welled up in Kang Min-hee’s eyes. Seo-jun carefully handed her a napkin and spoke.

“It’s probably because of the vinegar and gochujang.”

“Gochujang?”

“The seasoning feels heavy, right? You can’t get that kind of rich taste just from red pepper powder.”

Kang Min-hee looked down at her bibim-guksu again.

“Ah… You’re right. Why didn’t I think of gochujang?”

“The answer really was close by. Mother-in-law always made her own gochujang and sent it to us.”

Kang Min-hee smiled brightly.

The three of them quietly finished their bibim-guksu.

Seo-jun watched them with satisfaction.

In truth, the thing about his grandmother’s recipe was a lie.

Seo-jun had looked into Lee Jin-soon’s memories just before she passed away.

That was how he found the traditional Korean house she had lived in and the old photo albums filled with memories.

Kang Min-hee had always loved bibim-guksu. For her daughter, who loved bibim-guksu, Lee Jin-soon had always made it with joy.

Back when Kang Min-hee was in elementary school… even after she entered middle school… even in high school… and even after she got married.

The last memory of Lee Jin-soon that Seo-jun had seen was regret. Regret that she had not been able to make bibim-guksu for her daughter one last time.

‘I hope this at least helped you find peace.’

Cho Hyunggu glanced at the fire truck parked in the lot. Then he looked up at the sky.

Fluffy clouds floated like a full moon.

“Joon-sik, I have a good feeling today.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“That there won’t be any incidents.”

Park Joon-sik chuckled.

“Hasn’t that feeling always been wrong?”

“No. Today is different. I’m sure of it. We won’t get a call today.”

“Well… So far, you’re right.”

“See? What time is it? It’s past 3 PM. Have we ever gone this long without a call? No, we haven’t.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you today.”

“If I’m wrong today, I’m your son.”

“I don’t need a son older than me.”

As they exchanged pointless banter—

Woof!

“Oh, Yeoksam is here?”

Woof! Woof!

“Looks like he’s asking for something again.”

“Do we have anything to give him?”

“Hmm… I have some leftover snacks from earlier.”

“Snacks? You ate alone again? No loyalty.”

“You were sleeping.”

“Ahem. You should’ve woken me up.”

“If I did, you would’ve scolded me for waking you.”

“By the way, can dogs eat snacks?”

“The guys said he’s eaten spam and chocolate before.”

“Chocolate? Isn’t chocolate bad for dogs?”

“Yeah. But since he’s fine after eating it, I’m sure snacks are no big deal.”

“He’s impressive. He understands human speech, eats anything, and is even cute……”

“Yeah. The boss says it’s because he’s a mutt, but the mutts at my grandmother’s house aren’t like this.”

“Is he a special breed?”

“A special breed?”

“Dog by dog. Sounds modern, right?”

“Sounds old-fashioned.”

Woof! Woof!

“That was offensive. He’s telling us to quit joking around and give him food.”

“Fair enough. I’ll go get it.”

Park Joon-sik soon returned with a bag of snacks. As he poured them out, Yeoksam devoured them hungrily.

Crunch— crunch—.

After finishing in an instant, Yeoksam stared at Joon-sik.

Woof!

“You want more?”

Woof! Woof!

“There’s none left. Come back later, and I’ll give you more.”

As if he understood, Yeoksam smacked his lips and walked away without hesitation, his short legs waddling off somewhere.

“That dog is ridiculously cool.”

“Where do you think he’s going?”

“Who knows? Off to get food from someone else?”

Just then—

WEEEOOOEEEEOOO!

Park Joon-sik gave a thumbs-up.

“Once again, the chief’s feeling was wrong. Or rather, my son.”

“……Let’s just go.”

They put on their firefighting gear and boarded the truck.

Their destination: a public dungeon on the outskirts of District 12.

A sudden, unexplained fire had broken out inside, trapping soldiers and bureau employees.

“Looks like the alarm didn’t work properly.”

Upon arrival, Joon-sik checked the fire alarm in the office at the dungeon entrance.

Dungeons were always exposed to danger. Therefore, various alarms were mandatory installations to prevent accidents.

Fire alarms were one of them.

Fires didn't break out often in dungeons, but they did occur from time to time. The cause of these fires was unknown.

Scientists speculated that gases or dust and oils released by microorganisms residing in the dungeon accumulated over time and, upon contact with oxygen, exploded and caused fires.

Because of this, fire alarms were a mandatory installation in dungeons.

The manager of the public dungeon, looking as if he were guilty of some crime, bowed his head and spoke.

“Can the people inside be saved?”

“How many people went in?”

“Six. Soldiers and staff members…”

“But what were the soldiers and staff members doing inside the dungeon?”

The soldiers assigned to public dungeons were not Awakened. Therefore, they had little reason to enter the dungeon.

The same applied to the staff. They only handled miscellaneous office work outside the dungeon and had no reason to enter.

“The ether levels suddenly spiked abnormally.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes, all of a sudden. Usually, in such cases, it's mostly a sensor malfunction, so they went in to check.”

“And they brought soldiers along just in case?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have a dungeon map?”

“Yes, yes.”

The manager hurriedly retrieved a map from a locked cabinet. After studying it, Park Joon-sik spoke.

“Rather than fire suppression, it looks like entering first would be better.”

“It does, doesn't it?”

“Yes. Since the dungeon is cave-type, if we're late, there’s a risk of suffocation.”

“Then, Joon-sik, you take the rescue team inside. I’ll go in with the suppression team to fight the fire. If anything happens, radio me.”

“Understood.”

As Park Joon-sik dashed off somewhere, the manager looked flustered.

“W-Wait, you're going in without putting out the fire first?”

“Yes.”

“Even with magical fire-resistant suits, that kind of fire won't be easy to withstand…”

“Don’t worry. My team has abilities too.”

“Are they Awakened?”

“Something like that.”

Chi-chik!

-Captain, the rescue team is entering.

“Got it.”

Whoooosh—!

The passage leading into the dungeon was nothing short of an inferno.

The wildly flickering flames resembled the fires of hell. Into those hellish flames, Park Joon-sik and the rescue team charged.

Chiiiiik—!

The magical fire-resistant suits couldn’t withstand the intense heat and began to melt.

Joon-sik clicked his tongue.

‘I told them to send proper fire-resistant suits.’

For once, it seemed like they had allocated the budget properly, but of course, that wasn’t the case.

Annoyed by the heat-warped, cumbersome suits, Joon-sik discarded his. The other team members did the same.

“We’ll have to request new ones.”

At Gu Jung-seok’s comment, Park Joon-sik chuckled.

“No kidding.”

Carrying oxygen tanks made of special materials, they pushed forward through the raging flames.

Cough— Cough!

In the distance, the sound of coughing echoed.

Hearing it, Park Joon-sik and his team quickened their pace.

The survivors were clearly exposed to carbon monoxide. If they didn’t hurry, there might be fatalities.

Joon-sik turned on his flashlight.

Ever since gaining his mysterious ability, he could see without needing one, but the survivors couldn’t.

To them, this flashlight would appear as a beacon of hope.

Sure enough, a faint light appeared in the distance.

Human silhouettes emerged—survivors.

Cough—! Cough!

Shortly after, they found five survivors in what looked like a dungeon waiting room.

Joon-sik and his team hurriedly handed the survivors oxygen masks.

After taking deep breaths a few times, the survivors gradually stabilized.

“Six people went in. Where’s the last one?”

Joon-sik shouted, but the survivor with the mask shook his head.

What did that mean?

Had the person already died?

Or was rescue impossible?

Joon-sik wrote on the ground to ask. The survivor pointed to the words indicating that rescue was impossible.

“Do you know where they are?”

The survivor nodded.

They pointed deeper into the dungeon but repeatedly indicated that rescue was impossible.

This dungeon was a public one inhabited by goblins.

Goblins, depending on their numbers, weren’t usually a great threat to ordinary people.

Even if a horde gathered, their stamina was lower than humans, and their running speed was slower, so an adult male could outrun them.

Yet, if they kept insisting that rescue was impossible…

“Did another monster besides goblins get summoned?”

The survivor nodded vigorously.

“Did you see what kind?”

The survivor struggled to write.

[Lizardman]

Joon-sik pursed his lips.

Like goblins, Lizardmen were pack monsters. However, unlike goblins, Lizardmen were impossible for ordinary humans to handle.

According to the manual, in such cases, rescue should be abandoned. The likelihood of survival was slim.

‘But…’

For some reason, Joon-sik felt the missing survivor was still alive. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but he had a strong feeling.

“You guys take the others out first.”

“Huh? What about you, hyung?”

“I’ll search a bit more before coming back.”

“But it’s a Lizardman. You can’t just outrun them like goblins. You know that. Besides, by now…”

Gu Jung-seok trailed off.

Lizardmen were carnivorous monsters. Among all creatures, they preferred human flesh the most.

They could sniff out humans like bloodhounds.

The chance of survival wasn’t just slim—it was practically zero.

Yet, Joon-sik still wanted to go in. It was almost reckless.

“If you must go, let’s report to the captain first and organize another rescue—”

“That’ll take too long.”

“But—”

“Just go. Get outside and report to the administration that a Lizardman has been summoned.”

“……”

“Damn it, move!”

After hesitating, Gu Jung-seok and the team reluctantly led the survivors out of the dungeon.

Now alone, Joon-sik ventured deeper inside.

The dungeon was quite deep. He had no idea how far he had come.

Then—

“…Over here. Please help…”

His hunch was right. A faint voice.

Thank goodness. Still alive.

He rushed forward and found a soldier, presumably the missing survivor. He didn’t seem affected by carbon monoxide.

However…

“How did you get hurt?”

Joon-sik had applied a tourniquet for now, but the soldier had sustained a severe thigh wound.

“Lizard… man. We have to… run…”

Joon-sik hoisted the survivor onto his back.

All he had to do now was get out. That is—

If the Lizardman didn’t show up.

Kaaargh—!