A faint, genuine smile touched Maru’s lips. "T-thank you, O-oneul," he whispered, his voice rough with sleep. He carefully lifted the gray cat, holding him close for a snuggle before setting him aside. The room was still pitch black. A glance at the clock made him sigh. 3:17 AM. A-ah... t-too early," he mumbled to the cat. 

With a resigned groan, he lay back. There would be no more sleep tonight, not with the memory of dying so fresh in his mind. Instead, he spent the quiet, pre-dawn hours in a state of half-aware rest, Oneul curled beside him, a warm, living anchor in the silence.

When the first gray light of morning finally filtered through the window, the routine began. He shared a simple meal with Oneul, then took a quick, hot shower, letting the steam clear the last remnants of the night's clinging dread.

Standing before the small mirror, he tapped his Hunter Brace. With a soft flash of light, his clean, official-issue Elemental Tula Silk suit appeared in his hands. As he dressed, his fingers paused while buttoning the crisp white dress shirt. His reflection showed smooth, unmarked skin over his sternum. But his glitched Status Window told the true story: the heart beating beneath was not his own. He finished buttoning, tucked the shirt into his dress pants, and knotted the tie with practiced, if slightly trembling, movements. The suit jacket completed the uniform. Like Bo-gum, he wore his full suit at all times, ready for an alert. It was just easier.

He knelt down, giving Oneul a final, gentle pat. "T-take care of our p-place, k-kay, O-oneul?"

The cat responded with a loud, contented purr. Straightening up, Han Maru took a deep breath and stepped out.

His path didn't lead directly to the guild. It led to the hospital.

The sterile, quiet halls were a different kind of dungeon. He entered a familiar room, and his heart clenched, a pain that had nothing to do with the foreign organ in his chest.

His eomma lay in the bed, still and silent, locked in a coma since the Daybreak End. While he had been saved at the high school by Suho, she hadn't been so lucky. She had survived the monster's attack, but at a terrible cost—her left arm ended in a neatly bandaged stump below the elbow. He had already lost his appa years ago, his ship lost in a storm he now wondered about. He couldn't lose her too.

He gently took her remaining hand in his. "I-I'm h-here, E-eomma," he whispered, his voice fracturing. He would keep working. He would keep paying for her care. He would keep surviving. For her."J-just... w-worked y-yesterday. N-not a b-big pay... b-but enough." He fell silent, just holding her hand. 

His eyes drifted to the bedside table, to a fresh vase of flowers. His breath hitched.

...Had Suho and Seol sent them again?

The realization was a physical blow. What a wretched friend he was. Even now, after all his silence and avoidance, they were still here. They were still caring for his mother, upholding a promise he had broken. They had never abandoned him, even when he had abandoned them.

He stood there, holding his mother's hand, surrounded by the quiet evidence of a loyalty he felt he no longer deserved, the weight of it almost crushing.

He didn't know how long he stayed before the gentle beep of the heart monitor urged him to leave. The sterile air had become suffocating. Needing to clear his head before facing the guild, he found himself walking to a nearby park, the morning sun doing little to warm the chill inside him.

It was there, amidst the ordinary sounds of the city waking up, that he saw them.

Bae Onjo was sitting on a bench, dressed in soft, casual clothes—a rare sight when she wasn't in her formal, protective suit. A short distance away, Bae Si-eun was engaged in a playful, one-sided shoving match with Jung. True to form, the Metalizard was winning effortlessly. Si-eun wore his dress shirt and pants, but the jacket and tie were gone, stored in his inventory. This was his compromise. He disliked the formal outfit, but a single, happy nudge from Jung in normal clothes had once cracked his ribs. The enchanted Elemental Tula Silk was the only thing that could withstand the affection of a 250-centimeter-tall Metalizard whose playful shoves carried the weight of a small car. So, on off-hours, he wore the minimum required for protection. Joo-in, still in school, kept his entire suit in his Brace until a job called, living in his casual clothes until duty demanded formality.

Onjo noticed him first. Her eyes widened slightly in recognition, and she offered a small, shy wave. Si-eun followed her gaze, his face breaking into a wide grin as he shouted, "Maru! Over here!"

Trapped, and yet a small part of him undeniably relieved to see them, Han Maru adjusted his path and walked toward his team.