HG Ch 36

<36>

The system, a trope that appears in game fantasy novels like a pinch of seasoning.

Eunho couldn’t help but suspect that Yoon Iseo’s true identity might be something of that kind. It didn’t make sense otherwise. For someone who was supposed to be an ordinary transmigrator, Yoon Iseo knew far too much. Eunho didn’t even bother to hide his suspicious gaze as he asked Yoon Iseo again.

“Please answer honestly. I promise I won’t be surprised.”

In fact, both Eunho and Yoon Iseo were probably meta characters here, but the fact that the information Yoon Iseo possessed was so vast that it was filtered for Eunho was abnormal. A normal person would naturally think only about reaching the game’s “ending” to escape, yet Yoon Iseo was poking around, looking for strange things instead. That alone was suspicious.

So could Yoon Iseo’s true identity be the system or something equivalent to it?

Yeah. When the system error occurred last time, the system said it would come to find me, didn’t it?

Everything pointed to Yoon Iseo being the system itself. Eunho, still sitting sulkily in the corner of the cramped room, glared steadily at Yoon Iseo.

Then, Yoon Iseo opened his mouth.

“Wow…”

Is he really the system?

As Eunho basked in the satisfaction of someone who’d just solved a mystery in a detective novel, Yoon Iseo continued speaking.

“I’m the system…? For a system to have NLP^[1] this natural is impressive.”

“……”

“What is NLP?” When Eunho gave that kind of look, Yoon Iseo paused to think for a moment before speaking.  

“When you start thinking that I’m some kind of hidden mastermind, that’s NLP.”

“What?”

It didn’t sound like a random answer; he genuinely seemed to be explaining something. But Eunho couldn’t understand a single word. He just stared blankly into space until Yoon Iseo frowned and spoke again after a moment’s thought.

“Do you at least know what AlphaGo^[2] is?”

Finally, something familiar. Eunho quickly nodded.

“Of course. It’s that computer that plays Go really well.”

“Ha, right.”

Yoon Iseo sighed briefly, then added, “If that Go program could talk, that would be NLP.”

Eunho fell into even deeper confusion. What did he mean, “the Go program could talk”? He found himself picturing black and white stones arguing with each other on the Go board. Yoon Iseo let out a weary breath, a sigh that seemed to ask whether it was really worth trying to explain further to someone like Eunho.

In that instant, Eunho felt a strong sense of déjà vu from Yoon Iseo. This was exactly like… that friend from high school who was insanely good at math but utterly hopeless with language.

Eunho cautiously asked, “So the conclusion is…?”

“Technically speaking, I’m not a system. I’m a person.”

That déjà vu deepened. Eunho couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked again, “Did you major in engineering, by any chance?”

“Yeah.”

“And now you work in IT?”

“That’s right. Why?”

How should one describe what Joo Eunho felt at that moment? Like groping a shape in the dark, thinking it was an elephant, and suddenly opening your eyes to see the whole animal before you? All of Yoon Iseo’s actions that had been frustrating and incomprehensible until now were neatly resolved with just one piece of information—“engineering major.” It felt like everything clicked into place, as if to say, ‘Ah, so that’s why.’

1. Why does he make decisions on his own without even telling me? → Yoon Iseo is an engineering major. → Aha!

2. Why does he talk like that? → Yoon Iseo is an engineering major. → Aha!

3. Why does he have such a personality? → Yoon Iseo is an engineering major. → Aha!

To someone like Eunho, a liberal arts student, people from engineering were mysterious beings—utterly incomprehensible. And trying to understand the incomprehensible only made your head hurt. So Eunho decided to give up on understanding Yoon Iseo altogether. And in that moment, enlightenment came to him.

Yoon Iseo was just that kind of person. Why? Because he was an engineering major.

For example, if Eunho said, ‘Are you going to the marketplace now? Then bring back a bowl of tarakjuk. Oh, right. If there’s cordyceps, buy six,’ then Yoon Iseo would go to the market, spot the cordyceps, and come back having bought six bowls of tarakjuk.

There was no malice in that action. He genuinely thought that was what he was supposed to do, so he did it. All the misunderstandings and conflicts up to now had simply come from interpreting that literal-mindedness as malice.

Yes, this is it!

Casting off all worldly worries, Eunho flopped down on the mandarin-duck bed a short distance away from Yoon Iseo. Turning his head, he gazed at Yoon Iseo with a deep, serene look and spoke, “I think I can finally ‘understand’ you now, Hyung-nim. From now on, I’ll try to be patient within reason.”

“What the hell? Why do I suddenly feel so pissed off…?”

Yoon Iseo muttered, but Eunho ignored it, thinking, As expected of an engineering major, he’s got quite the mouth on him.

Once both Eunho and Yoon Iseo were lying down on the mandarin-duck bed, a jade-colored mist rose from their bodies, quickly filling the entire room.

Ding!

[SYSTEM] Time of Prayer (10:54:23) [SYSTEM] As Cheongryong’s “Life Energy” dissipates, drowsiness begins to set in…

Then Eunho murmured, “Hyung-nim, please… don’t touch me…” before peacefully closing his eyes.

* * *

The next day.

Ding!

Ding!

[SYSTEM] Time of Prayer (00:00:00) [SYSTEM] All living things bless the birth of a new Cheongryong. [Main Quest: Guardian of Hallasan (Completed)] [SYSTEM] You have completed the prerequisite quest. The new main quest, “Guardian of Jirisan,” has begun.

Eunho was sleeping soundly, not even hearing the system alerts, when something small and squirmy kept tickling him. Letting out a low hum, he stirred and slowly opened his eyes. But even when he did, his vision was pitch-black.

Blinking rapidly to chase away the remnants of sleep, a thought crossed his mind. This black color felt familiar. The sheen, the texture, the warmth…

Just as he reached that realization, Joo Eunho’s eyes flew wide open, and he stopped breathing. He came to his senses lying right on top of Yoon Iseo’s chest.

“……”

They say people display superhuman strength when faced with adversity. Like a professionally trained assassin, Eunho silently rolled off and slipped back to his spot. His heart pounded wildly from shock. Pretending nothing had happened, he lay flat on his back again until he noticed something coiled tightly around his arm.

What the hell is this?

Eunho lifted his arm up close to his face.

[Beep.]

…A sky-blue snake?

“No way… Baby Cheongryong?”

[Beeeeep!]

“Whoa.”

Even though Eunho wasn’t particularly fond of reptiles, the tiny snake looked adorable even to him. Its round, sesame-seed eyes and glossy, sky-blue scales gleamed faintly.

So cute. Why is it so cute?

Was this what people meant by a child born from the heart?

As Eunho gently bounced the baby Cheongryong hanging onto his arm up and down, playing with it, Yoon Iseo stirred and sat up.

“Oh, Hyung-nim. You’re awake?”

Feeling a little guilty, Eunho greeted him cheerfully.

“Yeah.”

Yoon Iseo’s eyes were still hazy, like someone who’d had their first deep sleep in ages. With his expression softened by drowsiness, he looked much younger than usual.

No, what do I mean, younger? We’re twelve years apart in the same zodiac cycle. Am I out of my mind?

Startled by his own thought, Eunho frowned, just as his eyes met Yoon Iseo’s. Forcing a laugh, he quickly spoke again, “Did you sleep well?”

“Not really.”

Yoon Iseo’s voice came out soft and languid.

“Oh my, why?”

“Because you kept clinging to me.”

Eunho froze mid-movement, his attempt at friendly conversation cut short. But Yoon Iseo continued nonchalantly, ignoring his silence.

“You told me not to come onto you like that…”

“……”

“Were you saying that because you wanted to come onto me yourself?”

[Beep.]

An awkward atmosphere began to fill the small room. As Eunho’s eyes darted around in a fluster, his gaze fell upon the baby Cheongryong. It was an unfortunate coincidence, if anything.  

“Hyung-nim.”  

Eunho spoke resolutely.

“What?”

Wearing an uncertain expression, not even sure what he was about to say, he lifted the sky-blue snake high into the air. It was exactly like that scene from “The Lion King,” when the monkey chieftain raised the newborn lion cub to present it to the animal kingdom.

“This is… our child.”

“……”

“……”

“Now that the Hallasan raid’s over, let’s just leave.”

“…Yes, I’m sorry.”