Cheon Areum sure had his priorities straight. The fancy suit alone must have come at the cost of his whole closet. His hand unconsciously moved to pick out the eye-catching suit, but he slapped it in time to stop himself.
As an F-Class healer, he really had no need for attention. More so, he wanted to get over this part of the story and move ahead to the time of his second awakening—an S-Class enchanter. Such a drastic change in classes came with obvious wealth. If he could restore himself as a rich young master again and spoil his little brother to his heart's content, he would want nothing more than that.
Going back to his original world? Fuck that! Who needs such a boring life with a useless body when he could have this powerful awakener?
Be it a dream or a miracle, he was more than happy to be here.
Suddenly, he turned to look at Rian standing next to him, question marks all over his face. He knew the villain in the book had a younger brother, but it was never mentioned that they were close or living together. There was almost no other information given to the reader about their relationship or situation. It was to the point he had thought the villain was a pampered young lord harboring a deep hatred for the people who should be below him, licking his soles.
But if it had been like this... what happened to Cheon Rian when the villain died at the end? How had he handled that at such a young age, all alone?
"Is something wrong, hyung?"
"Nothing."
Cheon Areum patted his head while smiling bitterly. If the little brother of the villain truly had no one else by his side, he would have to be the one to protect him—not as a villain this time, but as an older brother. One he could be proud of openly.
"Jeans and shirt it is."
***
"That'll be 50,000 won, sir."
In an unperturbed tone, the cashier at the convenience store spoke with a smile, but the faint smile that had been lingering on Cheon Areum's lips dropped in an instant.
"Half of my savings...."
Holding the bag filled with all kinds of things he found to eat at the convenience store down the street, he ran back to the newly constructed building. The third floor was where they lived. Since they were the first tenants of the apartment, the rest of the building was pretty much empty—which he liked. The building didn't have an elevator, so he ran straight to the third floor without stopping.
Cheon Areum entered the passcode in the digital smart lock of their apartment door, which was previously his birthdate, so he couldn't forget it. But since the woman who had visited them knew the code, he changed it before leaving.
The door opened and Rian ran out almost simultaneously.
"Hyung, you're back already!"
"No, I just came to give you this."
He handed the bag full of food to Rian, who couldn't hold it, so he put it on the floor and stuck his head inside the bag, looking around at the stuff. Cheon Areum didn't have much time left, so he ran back out instantly, opening the map app. It would take him 20 minutes on foot to reach the destination if he ran at this speed. He didn't realize it would take him 20 minutes just to deliver the food to Rian, so he was late. He had 10 minutes left.
"Should I take a taxi?"
The remaining amount in his bank account flashed through his mind. No way. He couldn't afford a taxi. He didn't even know if they would be able to eat tomorrow or not. The wise option would be to keep running.
They better pay me good!
*
When he arrived at the location, he was completely covered in sweat. Breathing heavily, hunched over with his hands on his knees, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Tsk. Look at you, making everyone wait for you. You're such a mess, Cheon Areum. Consider yourself lucky I held back, or we would have entered the gate without you."
Cheon Areum lifted his head to look at the speaker—the person who had messaged him and the leader of the group gathered to clear the gate. For a C-Class gate, they needed at least one person higher than C-Class, meaning the leader had to be a B-Class awakener. As a B-Class, it would be surprising if he treated an F-Class like him any better.
"I'm sorry. I got held up in something today."
"Whatever. We are already behind schedule, so just carry the bags and let's get going, everyone!"
Cheon Areum looked in the direction the leader pointed—three huge backpacks were sitting on the ground. They were behind a large mall in a wide alley, but it was still an alley filled with trash and cigarette butts. The bags were thrown carelessly on the dirty ground, and he had to carry them in a white shirt, no less.
"Why do I have to carry the bags?"
It was a stupid question, even to himself. As the lowest class here, it was obviously his responsibility to do the extra labor. And as expected, he got an earful for it.
"You still have the nerve to refuse after being late? What do you think you're getting paid to do? For a wild F-Class, you should be grateful you got hired. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, yes, I get it."
Cheon Areum picked up the bags with difficulty. One or two wouldn't be too bad, but three bags full of bricks seemed a bit much, even for an awakened person. The leader hadn't even mentioned how much he would be getting for this gate yet. Knowing Cheon Areum was short on money, he knew he'd do whatever they said for any amount.
Barely managing to stand straight, he followed the others, entering the 10-foot yellow gate. Once a person enters a gate, it stays active for nearly five minutes before locking. After the gate locks, no other thing or person can enter until it is cleared. So when the leader entered, everyone quickly followed, and in less than a minute, the whole group had entered the gate.
"This is the last chance—if anyone here wants to leave, do so before the gate closes."
The leader shouted, glaring at everyone. Though some people looked uneasy, no one turned to leave. After five minutes passed, the leader noted the time, and they began advancing. The inside of the gate couldn't be predicted—it could be anything. This time, it was a cave. To his relief, caves were known to be easier than open-world dungeons. They had yet to encounter any monsters, but once they appeared, they would come out without a break.
Cheon Areum threw the heavy luggage bags on the ground nonchalantly. With a dull thud, every head turned to look at the source of the sound. They looked up and down at the bags, thrown carelessly on the dirty ground, and then at him. It took a moment for their faces to twist with anger and irritation.
"You—!"
"What do you think you're doing? Pick it up right now before I change my mind!"
The leader, the same one who had so gracefully made him carry all the bags in the first place, walked briskly toward him, yelling furiously. Cheon Areum was a healer. He was being paid to heal, not to carry their useless weight.
"You lot still need a healer, right? If not, I can just sit here and wait for the dungeon to be cleared. Obviously, I won't ask to be paid either."
Saying that much, he found a good spot—a clean, flat rock in the corner—and sat down, watching them with that same bored expression. The person who had stopped at the bags at his feet couldn't believe what he was seeing. The others at the back quieted down too.
That's right. They had already entered the dungeon, the gate was closed, and there was no other healer than him here. Even as an F-Class healer, he could still save someone from a fatal injury. Meaning he could still save a life—and heal other minor injuries too. Going into battle without him now would be too dangerous, even if it was just a mere C-Class dungeon. The boss attacks would be lethal for these low classes.
Now, will they choose to go alone and save a few petty coins—or pick up the bags and give him some pocket change to save a life in case of an accident?