But his hair still grew slowly.
Just like in his ordinary life before encountering the dungeon, there were no noticeable changes.
“Could my body be unaffected by the dungeon’s time?”
To test his hypothesis, Sang-woong cautiously brought it up during a family meal.
“Mom, don’t I seem a bit different lately?”
He expected his parents, who never missed a change in their child, to notice something.
“What’s different?” Lee Sun-im asked, pausing with a piece of pickled radish in her chopsticks.
Her sharp gaze scanned Sang-woong’s face.
“You look the same. That high nose like your mom’s, those refined eyebrows, those big, clear eyes…”
“What high nose? Your nose looks like it was squashed as a kid. Refined eyebrows? You don’t have any, and you’re talking about refined?” Park Man-cheol, who had been eating quietly, interrupted, unable to stand his wife’s claims.
“Are you done talking? Who else would our son take after if not me?”
“He takes after me, obviously. If he took after you, would he look like this? Have some conscience, woman!”
Sang-woong quietly slipped away from the table.
Experience taught him that when his parents bickered, it was best to leave.
Taking a side would only earn him resentment from both later.
The conclusion was clear.
Even his parents noticed no change in his appearance.
This meant his body wasn’t affected by the dungeon’s time.
But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
There was a cat unusually friendly with Sang-woong.
With glossy orange fur that seemed to capture sunlight and soft cream-colored patches, it had a charm like a cheesecake.
He met this stray shortly after opening the restaurant.
Most strays were fiercely guarded, but this one, for some reason, ran to Sang-woong like an arrow, purring and rubbing against his legs.
It sniffed him constantly, as if drawn to some pleasant scent.
“Look at this guy! So friendly. Knows how to pick people.”
From that first encounter, they became inseparable.
Sang-woong grew so fond of the cat that he named it Minky and even bought its favorite treat, Churu, for the first time in his life.
As soon as he opened the restaurant door, the orange furball darted over, rubbing against his legs.
Its purring sounded like a warm greeting from a long-lost friend.
“Wait right there! I’ll get you the tastiest anchovy special!”
Worried Minky might wander off while he grabbed a large anchovy, Sang-woong was relieved to see the cat waiting obediently, as if understanding him.
He gave Minky the anchovy and moved the ingredient boxes to the warehouse with the dungeon gate.
Just then, having finished the anchovy, Minky slipped through the open restaurant door.
Focused on moving vegetable boxes, Sang-woong didn’t notice Minky until the cat was already in the warehouse with the dungeon gate.
“Hey, you can’t come into the restaurant. Customers don’t like it.”
As Sang-woong reached for Minky, the cat leaped swiftly into the dungeon gate and vanished.
“Oh no!”
He tried to grab it, but it was too late.
“You little troublemaker!”
As he prepared to chase Minky into the dungeon, he heard a meow from behind.
Minky was still in the warehouse.
“What’s going on?”
Confusion hit him.
He was certain he saw Minky jump into the gate.
“Could it be… only I can enter this dungeon?”
Testing his theory, he carried Minky and stepped into the gate, but only he entered the dungeon.
“I knew this dungeon was unusual, but…”
This was beyond his imagination.
“Maybe only I can see it?”
The sudden thought made him want to confirm.
He was already worried about the gate being discovered.
The idea of other hunters entering was unthinkable.
His land was right by the gate.
If someone entered, they’d find the land’s core and likely destroy it.
That would be the end of Sang-woong.
To test if the dungeon was visible only to him, he needed someone he could trust with the secret.
Family was the safest bet.
During a meal with his father at the restaurant, Sang-woong casually led him to the kitchen.
He left the warehouse door open, hoping his father would notice the gate.
But Park Man-cheol showed no reaction.
Maybe he didn’t see it? Sang-woong tried a leading question.
“Dad, we got some delicious cherry tomatoes. Want to take some home?”
Despite watching Sang-woong enter the warehouse, his father remained unfazed.
“I was right. The dungeon gate is only visible to me and only I can enter.”
Sang-woong sighed in relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Outside the bus window, unfamiliar, blurry scenery passed by.
Sigh.
A heavy sigh escaped through pursed lips.
A teenage girl stepped off the bus, her shoulders slumped as if weighed down by an invisible burden.
Her name was Lee Ji-an.
She was the daughter of Kim Seo-ah, the first tenant in Sang-woong’s building.
Her father’s job transfer to a dungeon disease hospital brought her to this unfamiliar rural town.
On the surface, the move was for her father’s job, but it was really for Ji-an.
She suffered from severe atopic dermatitis.
At night, unbearable itching kept her from sleeping.
To hide red patches, she wore long sleeves even in summer, buttoning up tightly despite the stuffiness.
“What’s going to change by coming to the countryside…”
A high school freshman, Ji-an struggled not only with her condition but also with adjusting to a new school.
Once outgoing, her confidence waned and her personality grew timid due to her condition.
As she walked home, her steps were heavy.
The area had only their building, freeing her from others’ gazes, which was a small comfort.
Out of habit, she scratched the inside of her wrist.
But the red skin only flaked, offering no relief no matter how much she scratched.
Irritation surged. Studying, eating, even breathing felt frustrating.
“They say fresh air helps illnesses? What a load of nonsense!”
In frustration, she kicked a pebble.
It grazed past a cat eating Churu.
“Meow!”
The startled cat jumped, turning to glare at her, fur bristling, tail stiff.
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to.”
Ji-an apologized hastily, but the cat coldly turned away.
“Ji-an, back from school?”
Sang-woong, feeding Minky, called out to her.
“Hello, sir,” Ji-an replied, bowing awkwardly.
Her mother had told her to eat at the restaurant if hungry, but she hadn’t gone yet.
Eating alone felt embarrassing, and her condition had dulled her appetite.
She used to love food, but learning it could worsen her condition made her avoid it.
She lost weight, her clothes grew loose, and her parents worried, but her appetite didn’t return.
“Not hungry? My food’s pretty good. Your mom likes it too.”
Kim Seo-ah, a regular, had grown close to Sang-woong, now calling her “sister.”
He knew Ji-an struggled with atopic dermatitis.
Worried she might skip meals due to her parents’ busy schedules, Kim Seo-ah asked him to look after her.
“Meow!”
Minky rubbed against Sang-woong’s leg, seeking attention after its Churu was interrupted.
When Sang-woong offered another, Minky eagerly ate.
“So cute,” Ji-an said, charmed by Minky’s playful antics and glossy fur under the sunlight.
She’d always wanted a pet but couldn’t due to her condition.
“What’s the cat’s name?”
“Minky. It’s a smart one, hence the name.”
“Can I touch it?”
Sang-woong hesitated.
“That’s not up to me.”
“It’s not your cat?”
“Nope, it’s a stray. Too free-spirited to live with me—freaked out when I suggested it.”
“Cool cat, living freely without constraints.”
Sang-woong smiled at her seventeen-year-old sentimentality.
“Minky, can she touch you?”
Ji-an cautiously extended her hand, but Minky turned away, clearly refusing.
Sang-woong laughed, feeling a twinge of embarrassment.
“Such a sassy cat.”
But Ji-an found Minky’s aloofness even more charming.
Finished with its Churu, Minky dashed toward the forest.
Ji-an couldn’t take her eyes off the freely sprinting cat.
“It’s so cool. I want to see it again.”
“It’ll probably come back after playing. Want to wait in the restaurant?”
Ji-an hesitated, shy about sitting alone.
But her desire to see Minky again was stronger.
“You sure it’ll come back?”
“It’ll get hungry running around like that, so probably,” Sang-woong replied with a grin.
Reassured, Ji-an stepped into the restaurant.
Looking around, her eyes widened in awe.
“Wow…”