“What the hell.”
I narrowed my eyes at the strange atmosphere radiating from Kwon Seoyul.
I already knew from Kwon Taehyuk that the bastard hadn’t left the hospital, but now he wasn’t just watching—he came here to meet me?
‘That asshole deliberately picked the moment when the room would be empty.’
It was suspicious no matter how I looked at it. Especially since things always went wrong every time Kwon Seoyul smiled like that—it made me even more uneasy.
Kwon Seoyul, ignoring my wary gaze, approached me at a relaxed pace and tilted his head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“...What about you? Where the hell have you been?”
“Why are you even asking that? You’re the one who threw me away first.”
Standing right by the bed, Kwon Seoyul crossed his arms and glanced around. Upon seeing the luxurious private room with an en suite bathroom, he twisted his lips.
“That Yesung Guildmaster guy must really like you, huh?”
“Cut the crap and just tell me why you’re here.”
I couldn’t drive Kwon Seoyul out by force anyway, so it would be better to just deal with him and get rid of him as quickly as possible.
I sighed and sat up from where I was leaning against the headboard—only for a large hand to press down hard on my shoulder.
“...Let go.”
“Just stay lying down. Why are you trying to get up?”
“Could you lie down comfortably in this kind of situation?”
I swatted his hand off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. As I stood up, Kwon Seoyul watched silently, then spoke with a note of irritation.
“This kind of situation? And what kind of situation is that?”
“Just say what you came for.”
“You can’t even lie down comfortably in front of me?”
“I said say what you came for.”
Since I was already up, I tried to walk past him to get some water, but a sharp force yanked my wrist and pulled me back hard.
“Ugh!”
“I don’t get how you’re acting so confident right now.”
He pulled my staggering body close and continued.
“Shouldn’t you be apologizing to me? At the very least, you should’ve had some sense. But looking at you now... ah, fuck.”
Kwon Seoyul, who had been speaking with a genuinely baffled expression, twisted his face and muttered a curse.
“You don’t even realize what the hell you did wrong... fuck, it pisses me off and it’s fucking absurd...”
“You crazy son of a bitch—ugh!”
In an instant, he grabbed my collar and shoved me backward. I fell onto the bed, and Kwon Seoyul climbed on top of me, pressing down on my shoulders.
As he loomed over me, silhouetted against the fluorescent light, his glowing crimson eyes sent a flood of buried memories crashing down over me like waves. A foreboding chill crawled up from the tips of my toes and began to eat into my body.
Thump, thump—my pounding heartbeat filled my ears, and my entire body froze. I tried to steady my breath and cling to consciousness, but I could barely breathe.
His hand, which had been clutching my collar, slid up to my neck, then grabbed my chin. He twisted my face side to side and lifted the corner of his lips.
“Don’t pretend. I laid you down to keep you from getting hurt.”
“...Why don’t you fuck off instead.”
“I saw a video on the news while you were unconscious.”
Kwon Seoyul ignored my words and leaned in close enough that I could feel his breath. Blinking his long lashes, he continued.
“There was some supporter with someone else’s clothes clearly thrown over their head using a skill. It was... entertaining.”
“......”
“The news was going crazy saying it was an AoE heal that even purified S-rank demon blood. Can you imagine how I felt watching that?”
His fingers, which had brushed along my jaw, pressed down on my tightly closed lips.
“When did it start?”
“......”
“When did you get a skill like that?”
Silence fell at that question. It was as if he was giving me a chance to answer. Even though my body was frozen, I let out a small, bitter laugh.
“Go fuck yourself.”
“......”
“I’m never telling you bastards in the district anything, so stop this bullshit and—hurk!”
“Why?”
Before I could even finish speaking, he clamped his hand around my throat. As I struggled to breathe, writhing under him, Kwon Seoyul muttered continuously.
“Why? Why? Why? I don’t fucking get it.”
It didn’t even seem like he was using that much strength, yet the pain in my neck was sharp and intense.
I frantically pushed at his body with my trembling hands, trying to get him off, but it was useless.
“If you had that kind of skill, of course you should’ve used it on us first. Not on some pieces of shit who could die and no one would care...”
“Ugh, ngh...!”
“Use it now. Hm? Hurry up and use it on me too.”
“G-get off!”
“Oh, right. It’s a heal skill, so I guess I have to get hurt first?”
Muttering to himself, Kwon Seoyul let go of my neck. Air rushed into my wide-open mouth, and my throat burned like it was on fire.
“Haah, cough! Huhhh...”
As I clutched my raw throat and gasped, Kwon Seoyul took something out of his inventory.
A dagger, about the length of a palm with a gleaming blade, dropped into the air and landed in his hand.
Without a second thought, he raised the blade high and drove it into his own forearm.
Splatter!
Bright red blood sprayed all the way onto me.
Expressionless, Kwon Seoyul stared at the wound where he’d stabbed his arm, then yanked the blade out. Then he stabbed himself again.
He repeated the deranged act.
Again and again, until his forearm was shredded and the blood soaked into the bed beneath us.
“Haah, stop it already...”
“Is this enough? Heal me. Come on.”
He shoved his blood-soaked arm toward me, demanding treatment. With red filling my vision, I couldn’t take it anymore and squeezed my eyes shut as if fleeing.
The thick, metallic stench and the way he acted like my skill belonged to him made my skin crawl. This was why I never wanted Kwon Seoyul to find out anything. Not about my buff skill becoming S-rank, not about my holy power.
“Heal me, bro. You gave it away so easily to those motherfuckers.”
“Let go.”
My stomach churned with nausea. His hands gripped my shoulders and shook me as if trying to snap me out of it, but I just wanted him to stop.
“Do it. You don’t want me to force it again, do you?”
“......”
“You’re mad at me because of that, right? Right? Fuck... and while we’re at it, some weirdo came by earlier, said your name and dumped a kid with me. Meanwhile, I sat there waiting like a dumbass, not knowing you were off using your skill on other people. Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to this? You said you’d talk to me. You seriously owe me an apology.”
After shamelessly adding that, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up. The burning pain at the back of my scalp forced my face upward.
“Use your skill, I said.”
“......”
“Why are your eyes closed? You should do what you’re told instead of trying to act cute.”
What the hell is this psycho talking about?
I forced my eyes open and glared up at him. Then I smiled.
“Whether you get your hopes up or not, that’s your problem. I don’t give a damn about your feelings.”
“Brother.”
“What? You thought I’d stay trapped in the district all my life and let you jerk me around?”
“......”
“You need to learn that [N O V E L I G H T] using my skill on you is ten times more disgusting than using it on some stranger I don’t even know the name of, you little shit.”
“...You’re really fucking insane.”
Kwon Seoyul frowned and let out a hollow laugh.
His eyes, fixed on me, grew colder, and the hand in my hair tightened—when suddenly:
Tap, tap. The sound of multiple footsteps rang out, and the hospital room door slammed open.
Bang!
A thunderous noise filled the room as Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun rushed in.
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
Ryu Sunghyun scanned the blood-soaked bed and saw Kwon Seoyul gripping my hair. He immediately activated his skill. A beam of light burst from his body and flew like a snake, wrapping around Kwon Seoyul.
Kwon Seoyul must’ve realized they were approaching, but he kept his gaze locked on me and didn’t resist as he was dragged off the bed.
As he passed him, Kwon Taehyuk gave him a death glare before turning to me and asking:
“Are you alright?”
“Y-yeah...”
I nodded as calmly as I could manage, but I was beyond relieved they had shown up.
With that bastard Kwon Seoyul, he could’ve done something insane anywhere, regardless of the place. Thanks to these two, he’d been interrupted. Or maybe—more precisely—Kwon Seoyul had let himself be caught, knowing it was time to stop.
“Brother.”
A low voice came from behind Kwon Taehyuk.
Kwon Seoyul was still looking only at me, his face void of emotion, as he spoke.
“What are you really gonna do about all this?”
“......”
“No matter how much you try to hide it, do you think we won’t know who you are? Father saw the news too. And the other brothers—of course they figured out you got a new skill. How are you going to hold out?”
“That’s my problem.”
“A new order came from Father.”
“......”
“He told me to return. You know what that means?”
“You think Father’s going to let it slide, seeing you using your skill on other people?”
Here he goes again.
Kwon Seoyul’s mood swings, using that man and the other brothers to threaten me—it wasn’t the first time. I was sick of it.
I exhaled tiredly, but Kwon Seoyul kept going.
“He’s definitely going to send Jeongho or Haeil to drag you back, and you, all alone, can’t possibly—”
“Kwon Seoyul.”
I was too bored to keep listening.
Maybe it was his first time saying it this way, but I’d already heard that kind of threat dozens of times before the regression.
Before and after regression, my answer was the same.
“I don’t care who they send. I’m not going back to the district. Even if those two bastards beat me to death, I’m not going back.”
“......”
“I already told you—I quit that fucked-up family.”
Kwon Seoyul flinched, his lashes trembling as if he were shocked. Then he lowered his gaze and clamped his mouth shut.

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