After the hug, Uichan stood up, feeling thirsty.He went to the kitchen and gulped down cold water straight from the cup, trying to wake himself up. Hyde chuckled.“Been tired lately? You were out cold—someone could’ve carried you off and you wouldn’t have noticed. Can’t even remember the last time I saw you sleep like that.”“It’s the change of seasons, maybe. These days I fall asleep the moment I close my eyes. I just took a short nap after cleaning, and when I opened my eyes it was already night.”Uichan brushed it off vaguely and got ready for the meeting.He fixed his hair sticking up in every direction and put on his horn-rimmed glasses.As he threw on a coat and turned around, his stomach felt hollow. Right—he hadn’t had dinner.“Hyde, one moment. I’m going to eat something before we go.”“Hmm? What are you eating? Rice?”“No, yogurt.”Hyde watched him rummage through the fridge as if he were seeing something extraordinary.It was the first time he’d ever seen Uichan like this. With a curious expression, he rose from the sofa and sat at the dining table, resting his chin on his hand.Like a squirrel gathering nuts, Uichan came out of the fridge holding plums, soy milk, and yogurt in his arms.Since there wasn’t much time, he took out a small spoon, quickly ate the yogurt, and bit into a plum.The soy milk was made from black beans—he’d heard it was good for the baby.“Didn’t know you ate stuff like that. You always had a slice of bread hanging from your mouth.”“Trying to live healthy, you know. Better than starving.”“You’re that young and already thinking about your health?”As if health had an age limit. But to the others—his older “brothers”—it was just funny hearing the youngest talk like that.Uichan bit into another plum, clearly done with the conversation.Hyde laughed softly, opened another yogurt, and handed it to him.Uichan glanced at it, then silently kept eating.As he did, he noticed the Big Dipper gleaming faintly in Hyde’s eyes.“Now that I see it again—you once said that Big Dipper can’t be erased.”“I did.”“Really can’t?”“Curious?”“Yes.”“Then come here and sit. I’ll tell you specially, just for you.”“Ah, I’ll pass.”Uichan frowned as Hyde patted his knee invitingly. Whenever Hyde said things like that, the truth never followed. Which meant—he wasn’t going to answer.Uichan finished eating quickly, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) brushed his teeth, and checked the time.If he left now, he’d be right on schedule.When he looked back, Hyde was still resting his chin on his hand, smiling faintly. Then he said something out of nowhere.“I can’t erase it, but there is a workaround. It bothered me, you know—people recognizing me as Hyde no matter what skin I wore. So I experimented.”“…And?”“There was just one skin no one could recognize. So I made that my real face. Seeing that no one’s figured it out yet, I’d say it worked.”“So that face isn’t known?”“Not exactly. Quite a few people know it—friends, acquaintances, colleagues, others. It’s fun, so sometimes I go out like that.”Uichan wanted to ask more, but In the Hell’s rules forbade prying into a member’s personal life.He simply nodded as if to say “I see,” put on his shoes, and turned back.“Let’s go now, Hyde.”“Sure. The others are waiting—let’s head out.”The clock struck seven.Hyde snapped his fingers, and a pitch-black door rose before the entryway.Uichan stepped through first, with Hyde following behind.But since Uichan walked ahead, he didn’t see Hyde turn his head back—his gaze lingering for a long time on the ivory table behind them.***The meeting place for In the Hell was a cabin perched on a cliff.Its exterior was rough and shabby, but inside it was clean and cozy.They sat around a round stone table, on chairs covered with bear pelts.But one seat remained empty.Just as Uichan was about to speak, the door creaked open behind them.Through the drizzle stepped Phantom Thief Kill, dressed sharply in a tuxedo.—Ah, I’m late! I’m late! Didn’t I tell you to hurry? They’re all glaring like they’ll slice your head off! The thief’s neck is on the line tonight!On Kill’s shoulder sat a doll, Komi, shaking its head and fussing noisily.Kill always liked to strike first to soften the blow, but everyone just sat there in silence, faces blank with disapproval.“Ha ha, Komi’s right as always. No excuses—it’s entirely my fault. I should reflect on my tardiness. My joints creak something awful whenever it rains, you see.”With a snap of his fingers, the table bloomed over with red roses.Already in a foul mood, Jekyll Jack swept the flowers away with his arm.“You always pull that crap excuse. Think flowers are gonna save you?”Kill smoothly pulled a bottle of liquor from his coat and offered it.Jack’s expression changed instantly; he grinned and hugged the bottle like a lover.Kill brushed the drizzle off his hat, took it off, and sat down in the empty chair.Mother Ship had looked annoyed since the moment she arrived.“Why is it so damp here? Smells like fish rot.”“The owner of this place—at the end of every month, he goes down the cliff, kills women, and rubs their blood on himself to cure his rotting flesh. Unlucky for him, I ran into him just before his next hunt. So now the house is free. Atmospheric, isn’t it?”“How is it you always end up killing guys like that? I told you to at least save the livers when you do. Podo’s almost at breeding age.”Mother Ship smacked her lips regretfully, and Hyde chuckled, saying he’d make sure to keep one next time.Now that the seat was filled, the brothers began catching up on recent events.“I heard from Jack and Mother. Goblins appeared at Seonghwa Hero University, didn’t they?”At Hyde’s words, Mother, who was fussing over Podo, shot a glare at Jekyll Jack.“Yeah. And our youngest happened to be there, of all places. So I told Jack to stop the goblins—but he couldn’t hold out even a minute before losing the fight. Honestly, I’m embarrassed to be seen with him.”“Shit, then you should’ve gone yourself, you old hag! You’ve got more demands than sense!”“It was Noatis who confiscated the item, wasn’t it?”Noatis had seized some sort of object, and to retrieve it, the goblins had attacked the university where Noa was. Coincidentally, their youngest, Uichan, had also been there.Thanks to Mother Ship’s dolls scattered throughout the city, finding Uichan’s location had been easy.“Well, fine. I get the situation. The goblins were after the item, right? So the question is—what is it?”Suddenly, a child’s cry rang out from Mother’s arms.She sighed, loosening the swaddling cloth.A three-year-old tumbled out and began running around before leaping into Uichan’s arms.Chirp chirp—Hyde’s eyes cooled instantly.The child blinked on Uichan’s lap, tilted its head, stared at Uichan’s belly, and made a silly face—sticking out its tongue and wagging its head.Everyone raised an eyebrow.Why was the kid doing that at the youngest’s stomach?“What’s gotten into him again? Never mind, youngest. Send Podo back here.”At her words, Podo pouted and shook his head vigorously.He clung to Uichan’s chest like a cicada to a tree trunk and waved his little hands toward his mother.“Seems he doesn’t want to. I’ll just hold him for now.”Chirp! Chirp!The child pressed an ear to Uichan’s stomach, eyes closed tight, then giggled and patted it.Before the startled Uichan could stop him, Hyde—watching with his chin resting on one hand—reached out.“Uichan just ate. You’ll make him sick if you do that, little one.”Hyde was usually gentle with Podo, but Podo feared him like a natural enemy.He yanked his hand away and curled up against Uichan’s shoulder.Uichan patted his back softly, but then a large hand tousled Uichan’s hair in passing.When Uichan looked up, Hyde was already addressing the others.“Now, where were we? Right—what’s the item? Mother Ship, any clue?”“Well… rumor’s too absurd to trust. But they say it’s a body part. Some say it’s a piece of Aengak, others call it a component for ‘Dongti’.”A component for Dongti.At those words, Uichan clenched his fist.Dongti could form naturally, but certain compatible materials could also give birth to one.In that case, it almost always brought calamity.“The lost item was transferred to the Government Office. It’s heavily guarded there. I thought about sneaking in, but it would’ve gotten messy, so I backed off. I did well, right?”Phantom Thief Kill stroked his chin and added,“If it’s that dangerous, it’s better she didn’t go alone. Government Office, huh… I’ve heard something, too. They say ‘Aengak’ promised to grant any wish to whoever brings the item. That shows just how important it is, doesn’t it?”

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