Inside the tent, Jung Heewon and Na Bori were both sitting on the bed. Someone had pulled a chair for Cale who sat down with his arms and legs crossed. He was observing them closely, a blank look on his face.

The two women glanced at each other, silently wondering which one of them should speak.

"Um, thank you for healing us, Cale Henituse-ssi," Heewon decided to talk first, a grateful yet sheepish smile on her face.

Cale waved his hand dismissively. "Just call me Cale, and the ones who healed you are the others, not me."

"I know, but still, they said you were the one who prepared the right cure and medicine in case something like this happened. So thank you."

Both of them bowed their head.

He frowned, but didn't say anything. It's better to just accept the words of thanks rather than argue about it.

Cale relented with a sigh.

"Alright, and if you don't mind me asking... How did you end up in that state?"

He questioned, though he doesn't seem to be much interested. It felt more of a polite gesture than anything, but the two appreciate it nonetheless. However, he really is curious about what got them into this predicament.

Na Bori chuckled awkwardly while rubbing her neck before answering, "That... we were running from monsters and we didn't know the area was poisoned, so..."

"Were you two together from the start?"

"Ah, no. Heewon-unnie found me on the streets. I was alone and..." The teen paused, taking a deep shaky breath and Cale didn't miss the sorrow in her gaze.

Jung Heewon reached out to grab her hand and squeezed it gently to provide comfort. "Excuse me, Cale-ssi. I'm sorry, but I don't think she would like to recall about that for now..."

"I understand." He nodded. "Then, both of you get some rest. You can ask anyone here if you need anything."

Cale was about to stand up and walk out before he could hear a reply.

He's definitely not trying to run away and avoid them like a plague, nope.

He simply doesn't want to get involved with the main characters and get involved into all sorts of troubles.

However...

"Hyung!"

A cheerful boisterous voice called out to him from outside the tent.

"I'm here."

Kim Namwoon entered with a grin. He completely ignored the others and approached the black haired man.

"Hyung, I got a lot of coins from my hunt today! Here, I'll give them to you."

Cale sighed. "Namwoon-ah, didn't I tell you to keep them? You can't just give your coins to others. It's the only relevant currency right now. You'll be needing a lot of them in the future so you can live peacefully."

He's not that shameless to take coins from a child, especially when Namwoon worked so hard for it.

Besides, at this moment, Cale has enough coins to last for a life time. He's probably the richest incarnation, courtesy to the constellations.

"Aish, it's fine! Plus, ya never go out to hunt. You can't gain coins if you do that, so just let me give them to you!"

Kim Namwoon seemed persistent about it, so Cale could only give in and accept. It doesn't make him feel less iffy about it though.

The teen easily transfered the coins before finally noticing the other people present.

"Eh? Who're they?"

Cale gestured to the two women, and they waved towards the white haired boy. "They're the survivors that arrived recently."

"Hey, kiddo. I'm Jung Heewon, this is Na Bori. Nice to meet you," Heewon introduced herself with a friendly smile.

"Who the hell are you calling a ki—"

Cale sent him a pointed look.

"Ahem. I mean, whatever. The name's Kim Namwoon," the teen introduced himself, avoiding the man's frightening gaze.

"...Is he your ward?" Jung Heewon asked Cale curiously, and the latter had a flabbergasted expression on his face.

Instead of him being the one in denial, it was the other.

"W-what the- no! Hey! I'm old enough to live on my own! I'm 18!" Namwoon interjected defensively.

Na Bori covered her lips with her hand, but it wasn't enough to hide the small snort that came from her throat.

The teenage boy snapped his head towards her and glared. "What are you laughing at, huh?"

Under the heated intimidation, Bori wasn't fazed and revealed a teasing smile. "Who knows? Probably at your going-through-puberty behavior."

"You—" His face reddened and twisted into something of anger. "Wipe that damn smirk off your face! I can kill you right here and now!"

"Namwoon-ah, you can't kill a patient," Cale commented nonchalantly.

"But hyung—!" (He most definitely did not whine.)

"Mhm, what Cale Ahjussi said, you can't fight an injured person," Bori added, her satisfied tone irking the boy further.

The two teenagers were trapped in a staring contest, one with annoyance and contempt in his eyes, while the other with mischief and playfulness that pushed the former's buttons.

'Aigoo, now there are two of them.'

Cale resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Jung Heewon-ssi, Na Bori-ssi, get some rest. Come on, Namwoon-ah," He bid his farewell, dragging the troublesome boy by the collar.

"Ack— You! Don't laugh, this isn't over!" Namwoon shouted, pointing at Bori who couldn't stop snickering.

The next day...

"What are you two doing?"

Upon hearing the stoic voice, Na Bori turned around to meet a frowning Cale, in her arms were heavy boxes of supplies.

"Oh! Morning, Cale Ahjussi! Did you rest well?" The girl greeted him cheerfully.

Meanwhile, not too far ahead, Jung Heewon could be seen helping the elderly and children by delivering breakfast.

Truthfully, Cale didn't have a good sleep. If he did, then he wouldn't wake up so early in the morning.

"I rested enough," he said vaguely, glancing down at the boxes. "You didn't have to help move them. The adults can do it. Besides, you're still recovering."

"Oh, this?" Bori motioned to the pile of items with a glance. "Psh, don't worry. This much is nothing. Thanks to you, Heewon-unnie and I pretty much recovered already!"

Cale paused before nodding his head slightly. "Alright. Don't push yourself. Let's have a meal together once you're done."

'She seems healthy and happy. Good. Kids should be this way.'

Na Bori beamed at him as an answer, and he subconsciously ruffled her shoulder-length hair before walking away, completely missing the way she froze in her spot with wide eyes.

• • •

After everyone finished with their daily tasks, four people sat down in front of a tent. As expected, Kim Namwoon was sending disgruntled looks at Na Bori who's humming as she chew on her food. Jung Heewon could only shake her head with a fond smile at their behavior.

"Cale-ssi, can I ask you something?" The woman asked, causing Cale to look up from his own share of food.

It was bread with many flavors, but this kind of stuff is already a luxury in the apocalypse.

"What is it?"

"How... did you manage to gather so many people? And everyone's conditions are really good..." Heewon spoke, admiration could be sensed in her voice as she looked around the station.

People were talking and laughing as if death is not looming over their heads.

"Seems like you're quite an amazing leader, eh?" She continued, her smile widening and her arm nudging his shoulder.

Cale scowled, about to deny whatever nonsense she was spilling, but it seems that Kim Namwoon had beat them to it.

"I know, right? Hyung is really cool! Sure, he's lazy and doesn't move a lot, but hyung got some sick abilities!"

The black haired man showed indifference, but internally, he wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended.

Namwoon turned to him with a fiery gaze.

"Hyung, let's fight."

"No."

"Why not?!"

"I'll die."

"Oh." Namwoon seemed to think about something, face scrunching up into an odd expression. "Right. You're really weak."

He still remembered the way Cale coughed up blood from the recoil of using his skills. As eager as he is to fight, he doesn't want to take any chances and accidentally kill the man.

"Ahjumma, do you want to fight?" This time, Namwoon asked Jung Heewon.

The woman seemed surprised, glancing back at forth towards the boy and Cale.

"Ah... Next time?"

He clicked his tongue. "Tsk, fine. You."

The teenage boy snapped his head towards Na Bori.

"Let's fight."

It wasn't even an offer, it was a command.

Na Bori was in the middle of enjoying her noodles before she paused, scanning everyone's faces with a dumbfounded look and slurping the rest of the dangling noodle. "Me?"

"Yes, I'm talking to you, brat."

Bori gently placed her bowl down to the floor before answering, "But I'm weak."

"Liar."

"Excuse me? How am I lying?!"

"Tch, I just know."

Cale raised an eyebrow, giving Kim Namwoon a confused side look.

'What is this bastard doing?'

Well, it shouldn't be surprising. Kim Namwoon would also often challenge Yoo Joonghyuk in Ways of Survival, so it's not an unusual sight for him to ask for fights with people.

Jung Heewon is understandable. She's the incarnation of Archangel Uriel, Demon-like Judge of Fire.

But what made him think Na Bori is strong enough to the point he would do this?

Wait...

He cautiously glanced at the girl.

[The exclusive skill, Attribute Reader is activated.]

+

[Target Information]

Name: Na Bori.

Age: 17 years old.

Constellation Sponsor: Prisoner of the Golden Headband

Exclusive Attribute: Camouflaged Warrior (Rare).

Exclusive Skills: Undercover Lv. 1, Monstrous Strength Lv.1, Lightning Speed Lv.2

Stigmata: Fiery Golden Eyes Lv.1

Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 6, Strength Lv. 10, Agility Lv. 8, Magic Power Lv. 4.

Overall Evaluation: A cheerful and mischievous teenager. There seems to be a hidden sadness and burning determination in her eyes.

+

Wait.

'Excuse me?'

Cale blinked his eyes. He thought he saw something wrong, but it was still there.

Prisoner of the Golden Headband???

The book doesn't say anything about anyone having Sun Wukong as their sponsor. There was a character named Jang Hayoung, but the sponsorship contract was only temporary.

... Doesn't this mean Na Bori is the only incarnation of that monkey bastard?

Cale almost fainted out of shock.

'Just what have I gotten myself into?'

Unfortunately, the argument between the teenagers hasn't stopped.

"So, let's fight!"

"Yah! Can't you see my noodle arms?! I have no muscles, you bastard!"

"Are you fucking stupid?! Coins exist for a reason, dumbass!"

"Who are you calling— Okay, that's it!"

Na Bori lunged at Namwoon, about to strangle him before being held back by Jung Heewon with ease. The same applied to Namwoon who was also being restrained by Cale with no effort (only because the boy doesn't really want to hurt the man).

"Unnie, let me at him!"

"Hyung, let me go! I'll hit her real quick! Come on!"

Cale heaved out a deep sigh.

This is going to be a long day.

———

a/n: this is it, y'all. cale's second child has arrived. time for another adoption.

alsooo, what do you think happened to lee jihye, hmm? 👀