Robert sat backward on the chair and rested his chin on the backrest, staring at Jin reading an old book in front of him.

Jin’s house was relaxing to stay in as there were no antiques other than books.

Every object he came across in the other guardians’ houses was an artifact with immense historical and cultural value. The guardians cherished all their antiques, ensuring their precious treasures didn’t get damaged by anything or anyone.

However, there were very few antiques in Jin’s house, who was said to be the oldest living guardian. In fact, it was full of expensive, modern items produced in recent years.

Thus, Robert once again had to be careful of his every action not to damage anything.

{Do you not have any antiques in this house other than books?} he asked Jin.

{Why, will you sell them if you find some?}

{Why do you have to be so overbearing every time you open your mouth?}

{I’m an antique myself, so any other items don’t hold any value to me.}

Robert frowned deeply at Jin’s blunt response.

{Speaking of which, why don’t guardians have family names? Everyone just uses their first names. Did people not have family names back in the day?} Robert asked.

Jin put down the book he was reading. He raised his glasses with his middle finger and stood up from his seat.

He slowly walked to the desk and leaned against it. His gaze, full of kindness and sorrow, met Robert’s, then Jin answered his question.

{Do you know what is the very first thing you forget when you become a guardian?}

{Your family?}

{No, your birthday. And from a certain point onwards, you forget your age.}

There was no reason for someone to cut ties with their family when they became a guardian. However, in most cases, the guardian willingly decided to leave their family as time went by because of their unaging appearance. But even so, they could always return and secretly watch over their family whenever they wanted to.

As someone who loved his family, Robert was somewhat relieved by Jin’s explanation.

{But as the years pass, your family leaves you behind, and their descendants become strangers who have nothing to do with you anymore. As a result, guardians gradually start forgetting their family names as well. From that moment onwards, our only remaining value is that of being guardians.}

Upon hearing Jin’s next words, Robert’s eyes widened in shock.

He felt sullen as he recalled the guardians who became obsessed with antiques and relics after forgetting everything about themselves.

{How did you endure those times, Jin?}

{There’s no need to endure. You just have to enjoy it like this!}

Jin grabbed the book he was reading and shook it. Robert was disgusted by the idea of reading books and shook his head with a frown.

{That looks so boring. Just look at the cover! How is it fun to read something like that?}

{Spirits of Solomon. It’s a story about the 72 demons Solomon imprisoned.}

{Demons? So is it a horror story? Those are nice. What’s it about?} Dustin asked curiously.

{Nothing much. Solomon imprisons the 72 demons in a brass jar and throws it into a deep lake. However, the Babylonians think there’s some kind of treasure inside and break it open, releasing the demons back into the world.}

The book Jin was holding looked like an ancient book even at first glance. Robert was fascinated by how the people of ancient times also enjoyed reading horror stories and asked more questions.

{So where do the demons run off to? Seeing how thick the book is, it must be a story about a hero showing up, defeating them all, and saving the day, right?}

At Robert’s innocent curiosity, Jin’s lips hooked up on one side, and he raised his glasses again with his middle finger.

Robert always grumbled whenever Jin did that because it felt like Jin was flipping him off.

{They are described as demons, but no one truly knows whether they are actually demons. There have always been people behaving arrogantly and impudently just because they were somewhat unique and stronger than others since ancient times. Humans may see them as demons, but for us guardians, they would’ve probably been slightly unusual humans. But there is a high probability that we would have treated them as dangerous variables that needed to be quarantined and separated from the others.}

Robert did not quite understand what he meant despite Jin's lengthy explanation. Nevertheless, Jin did not give up and further explained the details to his young disciple.

{But even if they were insignificant beings to us guardians, what if they studied their enemies and trained for a long time? What would happen if they passed on their knowledge and skills to their children and descendants to this day?}

{They would’ve become extremely strong.}

{That’s right, they’d be really strong. Just like these people.}

Jin answered and turned his head towards the window.

Simultaneously, the window shattered, and small shards of glass scattered in the air.

As the person closest to the window, Jin moved his position with teleportation. He then swept away all the shards spinning and flying through the air with a single hand gesture.

However, the house suddenly started shaking, and the books on the shelves were launched forward by some supernatural force and began getting ripped to shreds in the air.

White pieces of paper scattered like snow, and mysterious assailants clad in black rushed in through the window.

{Ackk! I thought you said this house was safe!}

Robert[1] was surprised by the attack and hid behind Jin’s back, complaining to the latter. Back when they had been attacked on the street, Jin had assured Robert that his house was the safest place in the world as it had a barrier protecting it.

{Seems like it wasn’t.}

{How can you say something so irresponsible?!} Robert exclaimed.

{I’ve never been attacked here, so I thought it was safe.}

Jin was as composed as ever despite the situation taking an unexpected turn. Robert then urged him to do something about the assailants.

Back when they were attacked the first time, Robert could deal with these enemies one-on-one, but not an entire group at the same time.

{How long do you plan on getting protected by an old man like me? Go on and fight them, youngster.}

Jin kicked Robert’s butt forward and looked at their surroundings.

His house was small, and his study was even smaller. It would be difficult to fight a great number of enemies in such a narrow space. Jin had to figure out a different way to face them as he had nearly killed Robert the other day.

As Robert fought on the frontlines, Jin put his hands together.

The blue energy that flowed out from his fingers grew bigger and bigger. The energy then flew towards the wall, enveloping it in a thin layer. Finally, the energy began to sway, pushing the wall further and further back. The narrow room was greatly enlarged instantly, making the fight much easier.

{How long are you just going to watch us from behind?}

Robert could simply place his trust in his current strength and fight his foes barehanded. But unlike him, the mysterious enemies were all wielding long, black bō staves with strange patterns drawn in red lines.

And strangely enough, each time they attacked using those weapons, a red light seeped out of the pattern.

It wasn’t a bright and beautiful red, but a cloudy dark red. The color reminded Robert of blood, and every time a staff touched his body, he shuddered in disgust.

It didn’t just feel unpleasant. If you looked closely, you could see golden energy leaving Robert’s body and getting absorbed by the dark red patterns each time the staves hit him.

{Ooh~! So that’s the logic behind those.}

Jin was quietly watching from behind before he smiled mischievously as though he had realized something. He then shook his right hand in the air once.

Instantly, a sword of flickering blue light appeared in Jin’s hand.

It was finally time for him to run wild.

{Now, it’s time for you to pay the price for ruining those books.}

Jin stepped forward as he gently treaded on the torn paper.

***

{Cut!}

Once the director signaled the end of the scene, Dustin clenched and opened his fists as he complained.

{Why am I the only one fighting barehanded?! Give me a weapon too!}

Dustin ran up to Hugh and begged him to revise the script.

{That’s why we give you a gun later on!} the screenwriter exclaimed.

{I only get it when the movie’s almost over. If you’re gonna give it to me anyway, do it now.}

Dustin was envious of Woo-Jin’s beautiful and awe-inspiring appearance with the sword and wanted something similar for himself.

{Last time, you saw Genie doing martial arts and said it was super cool, so I listened to your request and modified the script to add a scene where Robert learns how to fight from Jin.}

{But I don’t look as cool as him when I do it.}

As Dustin mentioned, there were many differences in Woo-Jin’s and Dustin’s movements, even though they were both practicing taekkyeon[2].

It was partly because Woo-Jin had learned from a master practitioner for several months, while Dustin had hastily learned it recently. But whatever the reason, the way their bodies moved was truly different.

Woo-Jin’s taekkyeon was flexible and fluid, like flowing water, while being lightning-fast and flashy. On the other hand, Dustin was like a stiff sportsman.

Woo-Jin looked incredibly cool practicing barehanded martial arts, and the way he fought with a sword was also extremely charming.

In The Red, Woo-Jin’s swordsmanship style was a showy yet subtle sword dance. But the way he handled the sword with integrity and discipline in Guardian Angel was like a true swordsman, which sparked admiration as well as jealousy in Dustin’s heart.

{But only a little. A teensy-weensy bit.}

Dustin suddenly said an excuse out loud to the oblivious Woo-Jin as though he felt guilty for feeling jealous in his mind.

{I think I finally understand the feelings of the actors who worked with me before.}

{What do you mean by that?}

Woo-Jin nonchalantly asked Dustin while they watched the staff members clean up the set for the next shoot.

Currently, the set of Jin’s study had actually gotten enlarged by using wheels under the wall. However, the set was still somewhat narrow to film an action scene, so they pushed back the wall a bit further to widen the study compared to the scene they had just finished. Needless to say, they repositioned the props accordingly to match the proportions so that nothing would seem off on-screen.

{Many actors complain that the spotlight is solely focused on me when we appear together, so it’s not easy to get along with them.}

No matter how good Dustin’s personality was, it was difficult for him to reach out to those who saw him as a competitor and bared their fangs. At that time, Dustin couldn’t understand why they were overreacting so much, but having worked with Woo-Jin, he was somewhat convinced now.

{How sickening of them.}

Woo-Jin answered indifferently as he continued looking around the set.

{Are you saying I’m sickening too?}

Even though it was to a different degree, Dustin also felt jealous of Woo-Jin, so the Korean actor’s words became a dagger that pierced him in the heart.

Only then did Woo-Jin turn away from the set towards Dustin.

{The really sickening people never admit their feelings with their own mouths. They just pathetically express themselves through their behavior.}

{That sounds like you’ve also experienced similar situations a lot.}

Woo-Jin looked back at his past for a moment at Dustin’s statement.

Woo-Jin had always been lucky with the people he met and befriended. In fact, he was still close to Kang Min-Ho[3] and they contacted each other frequently. The only unpleasant relationships he had in the entertainment industry were those with Blue Fit and Park Min.

He had come this far in the industry with a joyful heart, thanks to the people who cared and trusted Woo-Jin to the point of being excessive.

{No, I’ve met such good people throughout my life that it almost feels like a dream.}

{What?! Now that’s what I’m most jealous of you.}

{And the best coworker I met recently is you,} Woo-Jin said.

Dustin’s nose turned red for a moment. Apparently, he was moved by Woo-Jin’s words. No one had ever told him something quite like that.

As one would expect, Dustin had often heard people call him a good guy or praise his personality.

But that was something Dustin only heard from them when he did them a favor or when they got popular or richer thanks to him.

No matter how stupid he was, he could notice that those praises weren’t sincere and were filled with empty words.

Thus, he couldn’t help but get emotional at Woo-Jin’s words since he hadn’t done anything for the Korean actor. In fact, he was the one receiving help from Woo-Jin these days.

{Genie, you really are….}

Unfortunately, Dustin couldn’t finish his sentence. A male voice interrupted the deeply-moved man and the shy, young man looking somewhere else out of embarrassment.

{Sorry for interrupting your sentimental discussion, but it’s time for us to rehearse.}

The next scene was an action scene, so there were a lot of preparations the actors had to do before filming to match their movements and timings. Woo-Jin and Dustin were shaken awake by director Rayford’s words and quickly rushed toward the set.

{Isn’t their friendship beautiful like us?}

Rayford patted Hugh on the shoulder and spoke as they watched the backs of the two young men running to the set.

{My answer will change depending on what you’re referring to.}

Hugh needed clarification on whether Rayford meant ‘beautiful like you and I’ or ‘beautiful like our friendship.’

{Of course, I mean beautiful like our looks!} Rayford exclaimed.

{Well…. You’re not wrong.}

Hugh stroked and nodded with a proud look at his friend’s reply.

Friendship could only be maintained when the people involved had something in common. One’s friendship would last forever as long as they had something in common that didn't change, even with different personalities, races, and nationalities — just like a certain duo of filmmaking friends and their narcissism.[4]

1. The raws say ‘Dustin’, but considering how this is a movie scene with the characters, the author probably mixed up the names. ☜

2. A traditional Korean martial art characterized by fluid, dynamic foot movements and using hand & feet techniques to trip and throw your opponents. Also uses kicks, hands, knee and elbow strikes, pressure point attacks, joint locks, headbutts, and grapples ☜

3. The main actor in City of Shadows. ☜

4. The last bit was added to reflect the comical nature of the nature as well as matching how 181 ended with their narcissism ☜

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