I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 79: Si Hon is a dumb man.

***

(Meanwhile: Arven, Hana, Seorin.)

The three of them stood inside the cave in heavy silence.

Hana’s small hands were trembling slightly. Not because she doubted her father— but because she knew exactly where he had stayed behind.

Thousands of Munches.

Arven, meanwhile, was shaking for a completely different reason. Stress. Panic. Anger. She kept pacing in small circles like her thoughts were chasing each other.

And then there was Seorin.

Seorin wasn’t moving at all.

She just stood there, staring at the ground.

Frozen.

(Aunty Seorin is just standing there... isn’t she worried about Dad?) Hana wondered.

Slowly, Hana shuffled closer.

"Aunty drunky?"

No response.

Hana leaned a little more, trying to peek at her face—

And froze.

Seorin wasn’t blank.

She was glaring downward, eyes dark and burning with layered emotion— anger, frustration, fear, and something dangerously close to murderous intent. Even the air around her felt heavier.

(W-why is there a giant fiery aura behind her...) Hana thought.

Seorin muttered under her breath, voice low and dangerous.

"Si Heon... I swear I’m going to kill you... so you better not die."

Hana blinked: "ಠ_ಠ... huh?"

Seorin’s eyes shifted.

She noticed Hana staring up at her.

Instantly, her expression softened like someone flipped a switch. She crouched down and gently patted Hana’s head.

"Don’t worry," she said calmly. "You’re worried about your dad, right? But I swear... he’s strong."

Hana nodded seriously. "Yeah. I’m worried. But I know he’s strong, so he can survive there."

Seorin let out a quiet breath. "Yeah."

She stood back up.

"I’ll go get him."

Hana nodded firmly.

From behind them, Arven suddenly popped into the scene, still visibly stressed. "Please be careful, ma’am?"

Seorin paused mid-step and glanced back.

"Han Seorin."

Arven blinked, then nodded quickly. "Yes. Han Seorin."

Then—

"Aunty Drunkhead," Hana asked innocently, "how long is it gonna be?"

Seorin’s eye twitched.

"Just call me Noona."

Hana tilted her head, with her hand on her lips. "Noona?"

"It means older sister."

Hana’s eyes widened in realization. "Ooooh. Okay, Noona! So how long will it take you to fetch Dad?"

Seorin paused.

(Fetch...? Si Heon a doggy?)

She cleared her throat.

"...Probably four days. I don’t know the exact route back, but don’t worry. I’ll bring him back intact."

Hana blinked.

"ಠ_ಠ... four wha—"

"FOUR DAYS?!" Arven exploded. "He’ll be dead by then! That guy is—" She cut herself off abruptly, coughing into her fist as if she needed to reset her brain. "Scrawny!"

And then, unhelpfully, her mind betrayed her.

The memory resurfaced without permission— Si Hon standing in front of her with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, water still clinging to his shoulders, posture annoyingly relaxed.

Heat rushed to her face almost instantly. "I-I mean, he’s fit," she corrected in a hurry, waving her hands defensively as if arguing with her own thoughts. "But dumb! Very dumb!"

Seorin stared at her.

"ಠ_ಠ... Yeah. Alright."

She turned back toward Hana, her gaze intense enough to make Hana flinch slightly.

"Take care of Arven for now, okay? And..."

She glanced deeper into the cave. A circus-like tent stood in the distance, along with the small pond, and right beside is the scroll where they had first appeared.

"That’s where we teleported, right? Good. Take the green-haired woman to the tent and look after her."

Arven blinked. "It’s Arven."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Hana grabbed Arven’s sleeve with surprising determination and began dragging her toward the tent.

Meanwhile, Seorin walked toward the cave entrance.

The moment she stepped outside, the air shimmered behind her. The entrance twisted and sealed itself, turning into an ordinary stone wall.

She glanced back.

"Illusion... smart."

When she turned forward again, daylight greeted her.

Bright. Calm.

Peaceful.

She clicked her tongue.

"Fuck, Si Hon... you’re the dumbest human I’ve ever met."

She took a step forward.

And the ground beneath her cracked slightly.

"...But if you die before I get there, I’ll resurrect you just to kill you myself."

Then she walked off.

***

(Si Hon)

Si Hon lay flat on the cold, damp prison floor, staring up at the uneven stone ceiling with the expression of a man who had fully accepted his own incompetence.

"(⌐■-■) So... escape plan...?" he muttered lazily to himself.

A pause.

"You know what... never mind. I’ll wait for Seorin."

He rolled onto his side, yawned, and tucked one arm under his head like he was about to take a nap instead of being imprisoned by a thousands of monsters.

Two blue windows materialized above him almost instantly.

「(・_・;) ... 아빠... you already said that six times...」

「ಠ,_｣ಠ Exactly... you’re like—」

Mimi cut in dramatically.

「Let cute Mimi explain! 아빠 system bad at explaining me good. <(￣︶￣)>」

Systemy immediately responded.

「ಠ益ಠ I hate your ring, Si Hon.」

Before it could defend itself, Han-Gyeol Mimi projected something into the air like a floating monitor.

A chibi version of Si Hon appeared— wearing only boxers... leaning against a cartoon prison wall with exaggerated nonchalance.

The tiny version spoke in a dramatic, overacted voice.

「Should... I... plan an escape plan...? ... ... Never mind. I’ll wait for Seorin.」

Chibi Si Hon rolled sideways toward a conveniently placed skeleton.

「You think I should plan something?」

The skeleton, obviously dead, did not respond.

Chibi Si Hon rolled back to his original position and resumed leaning coolly against the wall.

「I... think... I... should... plan a scape plan...」

A dramatic pause.

「Yeah... never mind. I’ll wait for Seorin. Hehe... I’m getting good with my dramatic pauses.」

The projection prepared to roll again—

Si Hon waved his hand through the floating display.

"ಠ_ಠ Okay, okay! I get it."

The projection flickered out.

He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, finally looking mildly concerned.

"...So how many days will Seorin take to get here anyway?"

The two windows appeared instantly, practically shoving each other aside.

「It will take five days, Si Hon. (⌐■-■)」

「(｀へ´) 아빠 it’s six!」

「It’s four. (⌐■-■) Shut your mouth this time, you ring.」

Mimi puffed up indignantly.

「(ง’̀-’́)ง It’s SIX!!!」

The two began overlapping each other, arguing at full volume in glowing blue and black text while floating around his head like angry holographic pigeons.

Si Hon, meanwhile, had completely stopped breathing.

"...Fi— si— five or six days...?"

His eyes twitched.

The sound of distant Munches laughter echoed faintly from somewhere in the lair.

"Shit... I’m going to die