I had no idea what he was so sorry about that he kept on repeating the word, but I could clearly see the pig’s face, utterly flustered by First Life Ki-Young’s reaction. Of course, he was utterly shocked.

From Park Deok-Gu’s perspective, his hyung-nim, who had been doing just fine, suddenly appeared before him looking like a wreck. He was even apologizing and was crying, so how could he not be shocked?

On top of that, First Life Ki-Young looked like he had half slipped into a state of panic. I’d bet everything I had that he did not even know what he was saying or doing right now.

The only thing he could do was cry and keep apologizing over and over again as if he were a broken machine. To exaggerate a little, it almost looked like he was no different from those dolls he had made himself.

“Hngh... hnghh... ughhh...” First Life Ki-Young groaned.

“Wait... wait... w-what is this... Did something happen? I mean, did something happen here? Don’t just cry and say you’re sorry, you’ve got to tell me what happened so I know what I’m supposed... to do...” Park Deok-Gu muttered.

“Hng... ughhh... hnghhh...” First Life Ki-Young groaned again.

“Hey... I got it. So... just stop crying...” Park Deok-Gu begged.

“Hnghh... hnghhh... S-sorry... I’m... sorry...” First Life Ki-Young said.

“I said I got it. I don’t know what you’re so sorry about, but you don’t owe me anything, and you’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Hnghhh... hnghh...” First Life Ki-Young cried.

“Hey, Yuno noonim, did our hyung-nim drink too much wine or something? I don’t smell alcohol though... Alright, I get it, I get it. Come here,” Park Deok-Gu said.

‘You clueless bastard. At least, pay some attention to Kasugano Yuno, too.’

Now that I thought about it, wasn't she the only one who could still remember him in the second life? She even brought the pig over here. Despite that, it was clear that First Life Ki-Young couldn't even see Kasugano Yuno.

When I looked at her face, I realized that she wasn't really upset about being ignored. Rather than feeling hurt, she seemed to understand him. After all, she knew better than anyone that this was the moment he had been waiting for.

She was even standing a few steps behind, quietly wiping away her tears. On her face, there was relief that her choice wasn't wrong, and there was even a sense of gratitude toward him. She had to have also realized instinctively that there was nothing First Life Ki-Young could do here except wait for the second life.

In a way, arranging this meeting with Park Deok-Gu was her final gift to him.

Right now, that bastard First Life Ki-Young was making full use of that gift. Like a baby koala clinging to its mother, he latched onto Park Deok-Gu and wouldn't let go of him. It looked as if he was thinking that if he were to let go, even for a moment, the pig would run away somewhere.

Park Deok-Gu couldn't help but say, “Our hyung-nim must’ve been very lonely.”

First Life Ki-Young was crying and clinging to him, making him feel flustered, but it was clear that he wanted to comfort him. It was really like him to react that way. The problem was...

“Hnghh... ughhh... Sorry...” First Life Ki-Young said.

“I said it’s fine,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Hnghh... ugh... ughhh...” First Life Ki-Young cried.

“You can relax now. I’m here,” Park Deok-Gu told him.

The problem was that it was going on for far too long.

‘Isn’t he crying a bit too long? Come on, just skip already.’

I had no idea how many minutes had passed since he started bawling out there. Sure, considering how long he had been waiting for this moment, his reaction was understandable, but damn, he was just crying nonstop.

At this point, his tear ducts ought to have dried up, yet his tears were still streaming down his cheeks. Honestly, it almost felt like his real goal was to be comforted by that pig bastard.

“Hngh...”

‘Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now cut it out already.’

No matter what anyone was going to say, it probably wouldn't reach him. It seemed like the only way for him to calm down was to sort himself out on his own.

‘Yeah, he’s probably embarrassed himself, too.’

After quite a long time, he finally came to his senses.

“...”

“...”

‘See? He’s totally embarrassed.’

When he snapped back to his senses, he looked ashamed and looked around nervously before muttering, “You stink...”

‘Now I feel like running away. Damn it.’

“W-what did you say, hyung-nim?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I said you stink, you pig! I told you to wash yourself!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

I saw him shoving Park Deok-Gu away. Did he believe that acting like that would erase his disgraceful actions not too long ago? Judging by how flustered Park Deok-Gu looked, it worked to some extent, but even if he could fool that pig, he couldn't fool himself.

‘The pig definitely knows what’s going on.’

He had been maintaining excellent personal hygiene through all his training, and he was almost like a machine when it came to that. He had to have rushed all the way here without having any time to rest, so there was no way First Life Ki-Young wouldn’t know that.

All of this was just a cheap trick to hide the fact that his face had turned red, but Park Deok-Gu, who had no idea about any of that, was desperately trying to come up with an excuse.

“N-no, that’s not it... I mean, I was definitely in the middle of an expedition, and then Yuno noonim suddenly told me to follow her... I got dragged here without even knowing what was going on... I didn’t have time to wash... do I really smell?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Ah! Yuno,” First Life Ki-Young said, greeted her.

‘Looks like he finally noticed her.’

However, he didn't really pay her much attention. Of course, seeing her again had to have made him happy, too, but it seemed that not separating the first life from the second life only applied to that pig.

Of course, Kasugano Yuno had partially inherited memories from her first life. I saw Kasugano Yuno slightly nodding as First Life Ki-Young stared at her. Their brief exchange of gazes seemed to carry a lot of emotion, but it lasted only an instant.

He turns his gaze back to the pig once again.

“Did you eat?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“Ah! Now that you mention it...” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Then come up. Let’s eat,” First Life Ki-Young said.

‘He’s definitely Korean.’

“W-well, I mean, I’d like that, of course. But is it really right to be eating at a time like this? Hyung-nim... I’m not sure if you know or not, but things are absolute chaos outside! No, forget that, let me just ask. What on earth were you doing here? And what was that just now? It’s a bit awkward to ask, but is this...” Park Deok-Gu paused.

“More importantly, aren’t you hungry?” First Life Ki-Young asked again.

“I mean, I am hungry, but I’m telling you, food isn’t the issue right now! Yuno noonim, say something too. Is this really a situation where we should be eating?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“You’re not going to eat?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“If you give me food... I-I’ll eat, but...” Park Deok-Gu muttered.

“Then let’s go up,” First Life Ki-Young said.

“...”

“...”

‘Wow, this bastard’s really going all out, now he’s even trying to cook.’

I had no idea whether it was because he wanted to personally feed this guy a proper meal, but anyway, he immediately headed to the kitchen.

The startled pig blurted out, asking, “Huh? Are you really going to cook yourself, hyung-nim?”

It had been a long time since he made anything himself, so it was a bewildering development from Park Deok-Gu’s perspective. As expected, the pig helped him out, too. First Life Ki-Young did not really stop him, and it was probably because...

“I-I don’t know if I’m doing this right,” Park Deok-Gu mumbled.

‘He keeps saying that he doesn’t know if it’s okay, but his hands are moving naturally, anyway.’

“Did you wash your hands?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“Huh?”

“You pig. Wash your hands before you cook!” First Life Ki-Young yelled at him.

“Ah! I did! Earlier, I definitely did!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“You don’t even remember washing your hands?” First Life Ki-Young questioned.

“No, it’s just that everything’s so chaotic! You suddenly started crying, and then you dragged me into the kitchen for some food—W-well, anyway, what are you trying to make?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Throw in some meat, add vegetables, stir-fry it, and that’s it,” First Life Ki-Young answered.

“Oh! There’s bread here too!” Park Deok-Gu pointed.

“Take it out. No need to cut the bread, right?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“Of course! Holding it in one hand and tearing into it is how you’re supposed to eat it! Is there anything I can do? Ah, I should at least make some meat stew!” Park Deok-Gu offered.

“...”

“Let me use the stove next to you.”

Park Deok-Gu had always blended well with his surroundings, so he looked natural here, but First Life Ki-Young also looked fairly used to it as well. He probably borrowed the inn’s kitchen often during off-hours to save on food expenses. Even though it was a pretty cramped kitchen for such a cheap inn, the way he used its space was on a whole new level.

He also looked completely at ease while cooking.

Compared to how he was back on Earth, he had improved a lot. Knowing full well that the pig was the type to eat a lot, he was making several dishes at once. He even hesitated for a moment before taking out some vegetables, too. Park Deok-Gu probably wouldn't touch them much, but he believed that he had to make him eat them for the sake of his health.

Of course, his real goal wasn't just to feed Park Deok-Gu. It was to spend time with him, to see how he had been living, what he had been doing, and to hear his story. Naturally, his first question was about what he had been most curious about.

“When did you say you’re getting married?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“Probably sometime this year, I think. Jung-Yeon seems like she wants to hurry things along, but things keep getting messy... Well, honestly, I was planning to do it after you and Ha-Yan noonim got married, hyung-nim. How could I go first when you haven’t married yet?” Park Deok-Gu answered.

“Me? Marry Jung Ha-Yan?” First Life Ki-Young questioned.

“Of course. Were you not planning to?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“...”

“...”

“Ha-Yan noonim has been living with her eyes only on you for years now... You can’t do that to her!” Park Deok-Gu scolded him.

“Huh?”

“Tell me! You really weren’t planning to get married to her?!” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“No, it’s not like that...” First Life Ki-Young mumbled.

“I’ll be seriously disappointed!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“No, I will get married... it’s just...” First Life Ki-Young mumbled.

‘Why are you the one answering that? Damn it.’

“And... Miss Jung-Yeon is... Hwang Jung-Yeon... Wait... Hwang Jung-Yeon?! The magic scholar Hwang Jung-Yeon!?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“Is there a problem?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“No... it’s not that there’s a problem... Hwang Jung-Yeon from the Blue... Guild... right... She was a bit... strange... No, not strange, more like eccentric... Right... is she okay? Or maybe they actually suit each other. Wait... has she always been his type?” First Life Ki-Young mumbled.

‘Stop muttering to yourself, you bastard. The pig’s looking at you weird.’

He actually looked shocked.

“What was she like again... I mean...” First Life Ki-Young mumbled.

“Hyung-nim! It’s burning! It’s all burning!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“Hwang Jung-Yeon... there aren't any particular issues with her, are there? Yeah... she did seem decent... Hwang Jung-Yeon... Hmm... Hwang Jung-Yeon... I thought she was just some bookish nerd, but yeah... she’s published quite a few high-quality papers here too... Hmm... I can’t remember the titles...” First Life Ki-Young added.

“What the hell are you even doing?! Seriously!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“She hasn’t been making you take any weird drugs or anything, has she?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“She does give me a lot of supplements or something. But why do you ask?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I mean, it’s probably nothing... but still... Hwang Jung-Yeon... Haa...” First Life Ki-Young sighed.

‘I care about the pig, too, but this is on a whole different level.’

He had completely lost any sense of objectivity. Perhaps it was because they had finally met each other again after so long, or perhaps he had gone crazy from how much he had been missing him, but absurdly enough, it looked like he believed Hwang Jung-Yeon wasn't good enough for Park Deok-Gu.

Was it just my imagination? How come he sounded so dissatisfied with her?

‘Damn, this guy’s lost it... That’s one thing, and this is another. Honestly, if anything, if Hwang Jung-Yeon wants to take that pig, we should bow in gratitude and send him off.’

The fact that she managed to publish several papers even in that trash-like first life said a lot about her. Sure, she was eccentric, but in the second life, she had contributed massively to the development of magic across the continent with her published papers.

Her contributions weren't just limited to combat, either, as she had also written countless works that had improved the lives and technology of the people on the continent.

Honestly, I cared about that pig, too, but the fact that someone like Hwang Jung-Yeon had approached a guy who was always running around causing trouble with Park-Ki-Ri whenever he got the chance to do so was nothing short of a miracle.

‘Damn it, he absolutely has to marry Hwang Jung-Yeon, you idiot. Don’t say anything stupid.’

He started tapping his thigh with his finger. It was ridiculous, but it felt like a pretty important turning point was here. Who could say for sure whether that lunatic would end up deciding that he disliked Hwang Jung-Yeon and refuse to protect the second life?

Of course, the chances were slim, but the expression on his face did not look normal right now.

“...”

“...”

“Hwang Jung-Yeon... Haa...” First Life Ki-Young sighed.

‘This guy’s seriously insane.’