After finishing his last words, I looked quietly at Ban Eun-hyeol, but an answer didn’t come easily.
‘He’s saying I should stay here……??’
I thought when he said it didn’t matter what my identity was, he meant it for my sake.
That’s how it was when Do Yi-hyun said it, and the same when Ban Eun-hyeol said it.
I had just taken it as him saying he wouldn’t distance himself from me no matter what I was and would treat me normally, but now he was asking if I couldn’t just stay here………
“You’re the reason the gate opened, though?”
“You didn’t open it because you wanted to.”
His eyes were full of certainty.
I hadn’t said a word yet, hadn’t told him how I got possessed or how the gate opened.
I thought I didn’t have tears in me, but suddenly my throat tightened.
After hearing the resentment of countless people blaming me all this time, I guess I unconsciously wanted to hear words like this.
Knowing that someone understood I hadn’t done it on purpose and believed in me was more reassuring than I could express.
“You’re just trusting me? Because I’m your friend?”
“Yeah.”
He looked like he wanted to say more, but that short answer was all he gave.
Even so, that one word warmed my entire body.
“Can I ask how the possession happened…?”
Trying to hide the flush in my eyes from being touched, I bowed my head deeply.
Then I heard Ban Eun-hyeol’s cautious voice.
He seemed to think I’d be reluctant to talk about it and was watching my reactions.
Until now, I couldn’t speak because I had to hide my identity, but now that it was exposed, what else was there to hide?
Besides, the story was easy to summarize. I told him I fell here one day while clearing an S-rank dungeon.
I just left out the part about this place being inside the world of —after experiencing this world, it felt like it was a mix of many internet novels, not just about Ban Eun-hyeol and Yeon Ha-yeon as protagonists.
I felt relieved. When Do Yi-hyun discovered my identity, I hadn’t planned to tell everything, but with Ban Eun-hyeol, I ended up spilling it all.
I’d never thought of telling anyone before, but apparently, a lot had built up inside me without me realizing it.
As I babbled on about everything that had happened, his expression changed constantly.
When I told him about when I was freshly possessed, he looked absurdly bewildered.
When I said I had pretended not to be caught, he chuckled.
“Don’t you want to go back? Your parents must be waiting.”
“My parents died in an accident when I was young. I stayed in an orphanage and then awakened early, succeeding on my own.”
Unlike others, Ban Eun-hyeol neither got flustered nor tried to give me awkward comfort; he just listened to my story.
When I said I’d successfully become independent after awakening and thriving, he smiled.
When I mentioned I’d been alone all this time, he looked at me quietly again.
“You’ve had a hard time.”
“Is it really something to call ‘hard’? I was lucky to awaken as Rank 1—no, the top-ranked—so I made money easily.”
“That’s still impressive. You worked hard.”
“I did close a lot of gates. I wanted to gather money quickly.”
“To buy a house?”
“The more money I have, the better when living alone.”
I spoke plainly, but I had really been through a lot.
Everyone desires their own home, but I was especially obsessed, so I stubbornly saved money.
The thrill and security I felt when I finally succeeded in getting my own place was something I’d never forget.
Outside, the stares I received were no joke.
Even though I worked hard closing gates for my home, at least I didn’t go to Dungeon Break, right?
But people kept gossiping about how my power wasn’t right, how spirits were scary, and other nonsense.
As I spoke, sadness welled up, and I ended up pouring out all the suppressed emotions to Ban Eun-hyeol without realizing it.
“They say spirits are scary and won’t even let me release them outside, but once a gate or dungeon break happens, they’re the first to be sent out. Spirits can tell the difference between goodwill and hostility—they get hurt and feel pain too. But when needed, they’re the bullet shields at the front lines, and the power I use is called dark power, a forbidden power they say I shouldn’t use. They avoid even touching me. Am I a disease? Contagious? Geez……”
“Are you saying people should shun someone like that? What crime is it to be diligently closing gates? Isn’t it because you closed so many gates that spirits appeared more often?”
That was true.
If I had stopped guild activities and stopped closing gates, people wouldn’t have seen spirits anymore.
But I had no intention of quitting closing gates, so I had to stubbornly endure the bad stares while doing guild work.
The more gates I closed, the more videos featuring me and spirits spread.
Almost every day, I was caught on camera or video, and it spread quickly on social media.
Thanks to that, every time I was active, new videos surfaced, and people labeled me as a terrifying, dangerous figure.
Well, now it all feels like ancient history.
Seeing Ban Eun-hyeol get angry for me made the corners of my mouth lift without me realizing it.
Ban Eun-hyeol, caught off guard by my smile, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Here…… well, even here, there’s bad public opinion, but it’s much less than there, right? Honestly, I thought your skill was cool.”
“It’s definitely less. That’s why it feels strange and nice.”
“The dragon’s real body hasn’t been revealed yet, right? When the timing’s right, make a grand entrance. There’ll be many fans here.”
“We’re making plans for that with Yeon Ha-yeon right now.”
I chuckled at the mention of many enthusiastic fans.
Yeon Ha-yeon had said similar things—it was strange how I only seemed to befriend friends who were alike.
We talked for a long time before checking the time and hurriedly going downstairs.
None of us had realized we’d been talking for hours.
We talked so long that time just slipped by.
“Now that someone knows your identity, feel free to talk to me whenever you have worries.”
Before going home, Ban Eun-hyeol said goodbye.
‘Should I tell him Do Yi-hyun knows too?’
Or else Ban Eun-hyeol might unnecessarily waste effort trying to hide my identity in front of Do Yi-hyun.
“Wait.”
I hurriedly called out to Ban Eun-hyeol, who was about to turn and leave.
“There’s one more person who knows my identity.”
“Who?”
“Do Yi-hyun.”
At my words, Ban Eun-hyeol’s expression rapidly cooled.
He seemed quite displeased that someone else had already noticed my identity and told me.
Irritated, he ran a hand through his hair and asked in an unwilling voice,
“Since when?”
When exactly had he known?
The first time he told me was on Gwanaksan Mountain, so he must have suspected it before that.
He said he had seen me enter the gate alone, saw my true form there, thought I was a possessed person, and naturally assumed I was the Rank 0.
Thinking back, while Ban Eun-hyeol carefully searched for solid evidence that I was an outsider from another dimension, Do Yi-hyun seemed to rely more on intuition and conviction.
‘Wow, thinking like this, it feels unfair. I should’ve denied it more when he said it with such confidence.’
When Do Yi-hyun said it with certainty, I tried to deny it a bit but eventually admitted it.
Meanwhile, Ban Eun-hyeol hadn’t shown even a hint of suspicion while trying to find stronger proof.
At that time, I couldn’t sleep well from the shock of being found out and worried a lot about Do Yi-hyun, but now, since many things have already been exposed, I was calm.
“He said he saw me at the gate. I didn’t even know.”
Do Yi-hyun saw me at the gate and knew my identity, and Ban Eun-hyeol also found me there and grew suspicious.
‘Why was I so careless……?’
Thinking about it now sent a chill down my spine.
When I was newly possessed, my rank was low.
What if, back then, someone other than these two had discovered me?
If that person had a higher rank and bad intentions, or hated outsiders, it could have been a disaster.
‘Should I call this luck……?’
I should have stayed alert, but I thought no one would come into the gate and acted rashly.
I no longer needed to promise myself to be more careful.
Now my identity was fully exposed, and all I had to do was cover my face with a mask.
“But did he immediately show it to you?”
Clicking his tongue with displeasure, Ban Eun-hyeol’s twitching eyebrows revealed his irritation.
“He said he’d help me hide it. He was flustered when he first found out, but now it’s fine. He’s helping me well.”
“If you need help in the future, call me. You’re not that close with him anyway.”
“I will. Thanks.”
I sincerely thanked him.
His ears looked red even in the darkness as he slightly turned his head.
“By the way, what’s with your tone when you send chats?”
Suddenly, Ban Eun-hyeol started nitpicking my tone.
It felt like he was just teasing me, but it was such a typical Ban Eun-hyeol move.
“What’s wrong with my tone?”
“If I were you, I’d send messages with a more solemn and cool tone like ‘I have something to ask.’”
“Really?”
He hesitated at my question, then closed and opened his eyes tightly.
“It’s just nonsense, forget it.”
“Yeah, probably.”
The atmosphere relaxed much more than before.
Ban Eun-hyeol didn’t seem to mean it seriously, but it felt like the times when we used to play and joke around at school without a care.
“How was my first chat? I really thought hard before sending it.”
“Huh? That’s not your first chat.”
“Hey.”
“Oh, the dot? That was just a reply to a question. This is the first time I sent a message.”
“Well, everyone seems to think well of you. I didn’t expect you’d ask about that in chat.”
“I didn’t know.”
Ban Eun-hyeol briefly told me how the other awakened people reacted when they saw the chat and what they thought of me.
“I left a lot of gates open after that. But recently, the number of appearances dropped, so I was less active. I didn’t know you were the one closing them.”
“I’m on vacation anyway, so nothing else to do.”
“What about studying? The business class?”
“I closed gates to relieve stress from things like that.”
“Ohh.”
I had just been closing gates day and night during the vacation.
Yet Ban Eun-hyeol was quietly attending business classes while secretly closing gates?
‘The protagonist really is different.’
He looked impressive all over again.
After talking enough, I sent Ban Eun-hyeol off, and when I returned home, my heart felt warm and fuzzy.
Someone else knew my secret and would help me.
Moreover, that person had been trying to hide that he knew and had been helping me secretly behind my back.
Not that I noticed at first, but looking closely, it was obvious.
Though my identity was out, somehow it was a fulfilling night.