I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 127: is it time?

"Huh?"

Si Hon crouched down immediately, concern etched on his face."Woah— who made you cry?!"

Han didn’t answer right away. Instead, he lowered his hands, eyes slightly red as he grabbed the book beside him and shoved it toward Si Hon’s face.

"My Shadow Slave."

"D-dad!" Han’s voice cracked as he pointed at it, emotion spilling over again. "This book is so amazing! The ending is— wahhhh!" He broke again, overwhelmed.

Si Hon froze for half a second.

Then exhaled.

Relief.

"Oh..." he muttered, sitting down beside him and leaning back against the shelf. "That kind of crying..."

Han nodded quickly, climbing closer before settling onto Si Hon’s lap like it was the most natural thing in the world, arms wrapping around him again. "Moonless... at the end... he finally reached peak... then opened a coffee shop... because he liked it..."

"Okay," Si Hon said slowly, clearly not fully following— but his hand moved anyway, resting on Han’s head, patting gently in an awkward but steady rhythm.

He didn’t get it.

Not completely.

But he stayed.

And that was enough.

After a while, Han calmed down, his grip loosening slightly as the moment settled into something quieter. Si Hon let out a small breath, then reached into his pajama top, pulling out the books we made along the way.

His gaze dropped.

Two choices.

On his left, the purple one rested quietly.

[PULSE STEP — ✧✧✧✧]

A clean, simple movement skill. Fast. Reliable. No nonsense.

Then—

The other one.

The strange one.

The one that didn’t sit right the moment he picked it up. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The cover shimmered faintly with layered colors— green, blue, dark violet, like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be.

The system responded.

「........... STRATEGY GUIDE

[Axiom Rewrite — ✧✧✧✧✧]

A forbidden, powerful conceptual spell that allows the user to "bend" simple rules within a limited area.

More:

• Slight reality manipulation

• Can alter direction, force, or behavior of attacks

Extremely dangerous, mentally taxing, borderline unstable.」

Si Hon stared at it.

"The (fuck) am I going to take..."

A minute or more passed.

Si Hon didn’t answer right away.

He just stared at the two books resting in his hands, his gaze lingering— longer than it should— on the one that felt... off. Beside him, Han had already leaned back in, resting his head against Si Hon’s shoulder again, a faint sniff escaping now and then as the last traces of emotion slowly settled.

"So," Si Hon muttered under his breath, tilting the books slightly as if that alone might shake an answer loose, "what am I even supposed to read..."

One was simple.

Straightforward.

Safe.

The other—

His eyes narrowed just a fraction as he looked down again.

The sage of guide flickered, obedient as always.

「...... STRATEGY GUIDE

[Axiom Rewrite — ✧✧✧✧✧]

A conceptual spell that lets the user "bend" simple rules within a limited area, and if the user is talented enough— it can grow with him.

More:

• Slight reality manipulation

• Can alter direction, force, or behavior of attacks

Extremely not dangerous, isn’t mentally taxing, and isn’t anything more than borderline unstable 」

Si Hon blinked once.

Then again.

"Huh."

That wasn’t right.

Not even close.

A faint crease formed between his brows as he stared at the text, something about it scraping against his memory in the most uncomfortable way possible— like a word that suddenly boom! gone.

"I swear this had downsides," he muttered, almost to himself, his voice low and uncertain in a way it rarely was. "There were cons. Clear ones."

His grip on the book tightened slightly.

"But now it’s just... all pros?"

A second passed.

Then he let out a short, dry breath, the sound caught somewhere between disbelief and reluctant amusement.

"...Yeah. That’s definitely not suspicious at all."

Still—

He didn’t put it down.

Didn’t even throw it away even though it’s suspicious.

Because despite everything—

It called.

Him... avery... what’s that in your inventory?

A quiet pull sitting right behind his thoughts, like something waiting patiently for him to stop questioning and just... accept it.

Si Hon clicked his tongue softly, breaking his own focus before it could sink any deeper. His gaze shifted, just slightly, falling to the weight against his shoulder.

Han.

Still there.

Still close.

Still hugging him.

"Hey."

Si Hon lifted a hand, patting Han’s head once before lightly tapping his shoulder, just enough to get his attention without pushing him away.

Han stirred, lifting his head slowly, blinking as he looked up at him. "Dad?"

Si Hon didn’t answer immediately.

For a second, he just looked at him— properly this time— like he was measuring something he couldn’t quite put into words.

Then, quietly—

"You didn’t pick anything yet, right?" His tone was casual, but his eyes stayed steady. "And you’re not planning to go anywhere... just staying here in the comic section?"

Han followed his gaze instinctively, glancing around before nodding without hesitation. "Mm. I likes it here."

A small pause settled between them.

Then Si Hon exhaled softly, like a decision had already been made long before this moment. "Yeah. Thought so."

That was enough.

Si Hon uhumed softly, like that confirmed something important, then shifted slightly and brought one of the books forward— not the safe one.

The other one.

The strange one.

He held it out between them.

"Then take this."

Han blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"Huh?"

Si Hon didn’t pull back. "Go on," he said, nudging it a little closer. "You like reading, right? Try this one."

For a second, Han just stared at the cover, the shifting colors catching faint light like something alive beneath the surface. Then slowly— carefully— he reached out and took it, fingers wrapping around it like he wasn’t sure if it was real.

"For me?" he asked, voice quieter this time.

Si Hon nodded once. "Yeah."

No explanation.

No warning.

Just that.

And somehow—

That made it heavier.

Han looked down at the book again, then back at Si Hon, something lighting up behind his eyes— not loud, not explosive, but steady. Real.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Then he opened it.

Just like that.

The moment the pages flipped, his focus shifted completely, the world around him dimming as his eyes moved quickly across the text, absorbing it with that same intensity he had with the comic earlier— but deeper now. Quieter.

Drawn in.

Si Hon watched him for a second.

Then leaned back against the shelf again, exhaling slowly as he let his head rest against the wood.

"Well," he muttered to himself, glancing at the remaining book in his hand— the simple one now. "Guess that settles it."

But still—

Something lingered.

A faint, persistent itch at the back of his mind, the kind that didn’t fade no matter how much you ignored it. Because that book— that thing— didn’t feel like it was finished just because it had left his hands. If anything, it felt like it had simply... moved.

Beside him, Han had already sunk into it completely, small frame relaxed against the sand as his eyes moved across the pages with that quiet focus. The pages turned one after another, soft, steady—

And just a little too... quiet.

Si Hon watched for a second longer than necessary, his gaze lingering before he let out a quiet breath and reached over, gently guiding Han down to sit properly on the sand.

The movement was absentminded, careful in a way he didn’t consciously think about, before he leaned back against the shelf behind him, letting his head rest lightly as his eyes drifted upward.

"HaaaaaAAaaaAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa..."

The exhale came heavier this time, of course, carrying more thought than exhaustion as his attention shifted away from the immediate and into the mess of everything else.

"Now that I think about it..." he muttered, voice low, almost blending into the stillness around him.

His gaze climbed higher, past the shelves, past the dim structure of the place— landing on that strange ceiling again. The faint smoke. The distortion. That quiet, endless void stretching above like something pretending to be nothing.

For a moment, he just stared at it.

Then—

Something clicked.

"Right."

His expression shifted slightly, a small realization settling in as he straightened just a bit against the shelf.

"Don’t I still have that... three questions, three answers reward?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else, the memory surfacing clearly now. "Yeah... that thing."

A short pause followed, his fingers tapping lightly against his arm as his thoughts rearranged themselves.

"I should probably wait for Seorin for that," he added after a second, tone more grounded now. "No point wasting it blind."

His eyes drifted again, this time unfocused— not looking at anything specific as his mind started pulling up everything else he’d been ignoring.

"Actually..."

A quiet breath.

"Now that I really think about it..."

His posture shifted slightly, more alert now, less relaxed.

"What even are all my current quests right now?" he muttered, brows drawing together faintly. "And my stats too... I haven’t checked them properly in a while."

The thought settled in fully this time.

Not urgent.

But important.

Around him, nothing changed. The shelves stood silent. The air stayed still. Han continued reading beside him, completely absorbed, pages turning at that same slow, steady rhythm.

And yet—

Something about the moment felt like a pause before movement.

Like the calm inventory screen before a storm.

Si Hon exhaled quietly, eyes lowering just a fraction as focus sharpened behind them.

"Yeah," he murmured to himself.

"Probably time to check everything."

And somewhere beside him—

Another page turned.