"... Him dead?" she completes, gently. "I don't either, really, but. He needs to stop."

"I, I, I—" He stops, clears his throat, and tries again. "I, I thought he'd stopped. I thought he'd—moved on—" So that Tae-gun could at least pretend to have, too, himself. It was so, so much easier to do this when he didn't have to think about—him—when he didn't have to wonder, when he could believe that it was all a lie, or that, that it was over. That if there were any more threats they'd be from other people, not, not, not him. It was so much easier.

He's not going to cry. He is not going to cry. He is not going to cry in front of Hye-jin. He is not. He is not.

"I - yeah. I'm sorry. Do... you want a hug or, um, something...?"

He does not want to touch Hye-jin.

He does not want a hug.

His voice is steady.

"I'm fine."

He just doesn't want to think about the last thing Woo-young said. He doesn't want to, to connect any dots. To make inferences about what it means that, that J- that he hasn't moved on. The literal next step of the inference. If Ja- if he hasn't moved on, that means that—don't think about it.

"That was all I wanted to know."

"Okay." Her voice sounds sad.

"Um. Then. ... Do you want to do a tactics talk for our next dungeon? If you're up for still doing it?"

"...yeah. Let's do that." He didn't cry. He didn't. He may not have been able to hold a normal conversation like a functional human being but at least he did not make a complete fool of himself, and conversations about dungeons are something even a broken thing like him can hold.

"Okay," she agrees, a bit more enthusiastically.

Talking about taking down a dungeon is less scary than talking about taking down a human being, anyway.

(And... well, maybe she wants to not feel so incredibly out of her depth.)

"Hey, mom. It's me. How's dad doing? Ha. Of course he is. Send him my love when he comes out of his pile of papers to breathe. What? Oh, no reason, just, um. ... I miss you.

"No, no, I'm fine - okay, I am a little lonely, and there's kind of a lot of stress involved in being a homeowner, but I'm okay. Really! Oh come on I call more often than that, and you needed a break from the deluge of furniture photos anyway. Gotta mix it up a little. No, mom, he's fine, it's just. All of it together is lot. I know. .... I know. Um, not right now, my house is a bit of a mess and I would be mortified to show it off like it is now. I'll come visit in a couple months when things are a bit more stable, okay? ..... Pfffhahaha, no. They are a poor substitute for you and dad, and Soo-ah thinks there is no such thing as too much information when it comes to - uh, subjects I don't want to talk about in front of my mother. No, don't pointedly ask her questions, it was like a month ago. But you see why I got my own place so quick.

"Friends? Uh, I'm kind of friends with one of my coworkers, Min Woo-young. I don't know if he's famous enough to - yeah! The teleporter. No, not a bit, he's just a pretty stand up guy. Outside of work, ehhhn... you know how it is. I am scary and famous, blarrh. Plus there are like, weird fangirls that are - yeah. Yeah. Exactly like that. I'm used to it. It's not as bad as the people that were after me after Hideyoshi, really, the venom and entitlement is easier to handle than, you know. Yeah. That. A PR person? Mmm... I might, I'm still trying to find a good guild alternative. Eh, Quasar has grown on me a little, actually? Like a fungus. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's still an organizational shitshow and I'm not doing their family bullshit ever, I've got you, just. Eh. There are worse places. But I still - yeah! Exactly. What about the next girl. Or guy, though I don't think the guys tend to have the weird pressure to - yeah. That. Oh, trust me, I don't want you to be a grandmother yet either! .... Hm. I... don't think I've been here long enough to say for sure? I dunno. Maybe it's better or maybe I'm just better at nipping it in the bud.

"Or that, yeah. But let me think the best of Korea! I'll have you know I'm a homeowner here...!"

The call does brighten her mood a little, and it's reassuring that her parents are far away from any potential dangers their daughter might be associated with.

But knowing that anyone she meets outside at any time could be a ploy used against her is not going to help with her loneliness problem at all.

Sigh. Well, she'll pick up a few more solo dungeons, the easy ones always pop up like weeds...