When Seol Jihu woke up, the sun had climbed up to the middle of the sky. Even though he was nominally awake, he didn't open his eyes. For one, he had a headache from his hangover painfully poking his forehead, and two, dreamy drowsiness was still lingering about him.

Several thoughts fleeted in and out of his mind. Back when he volunteered as a porter in the pub; the events of the Forest of Denial, and the vengeful spirit of the tomb; the deaths of Samuel, Alex, and their team; the fortress tucked within the Arden Valley, Princess Teresa Hussey, and Ian. And then…..

Feeling like he had just woken up from a long, long dream, Seol Jihu let a soft sigh escape from his lips. He opened his eyes to see the warm sunlight filling up this unfamiliar room. Everything was foreign, including the white walls with cracks here and there, as well as the bed he was lying on.

'Oh. Right.'

His confusion gradually settled down. Seol Jihu and the members of Carpe Diem were celebrating last night, and they made him chug down one tall glass after another – and that's where his memories ended. Someone must have carried him into this room.

The important thing was that he was now a member of Carpe Diem. They were the only team in Haramark marked by the 'Golden Commandment', so understandably, he was quite pleased with this result.

Seol Jihu jumped up from the bed and threw the windows open. He was thinking of catching some refreshing breeze while looking at the scenery provided by the city of Haramark, but he could only frown deeply at the steadily-permeating stench of acrid body odor.

His current state was nothing to laugh about. He was stuck in the wilderness for almost three weeks and hadn't had the chance to properly wash up, not even once.

Thankfully, he discovered a shower in the bathroom attached to this particular room, so he promptly stripped down.

*

After scrubbing every part of his body with cold water, Seol Jihu now felt quite refreshed. Putting on regular clothes, he emerged from the bedroom only to realize that there was no one else on the third floor.

He went down to the first floor, just in case, and finally spotted a familiar face there. Chohong, kitted out in a sleeveless T and a pair of hot pants just like the first time he saw her, was busy exercising as sweat poured down from her body.

When he cautiously entered the gym, Chohong turned her pony-tailed head slightly towards him while still hanging on the steel bar.

“Oh, you're up.”