“What the hell? Who is it?”
Hyun Dowoon asked at Kwon Seoyul’s blunt reaction. Instead of answering, Seoyul turned his phone around to show the screen.
“Kang Haeil? Why the fuck is this guy suddenly calling you?”
Everyone from the district—including Kwon Seoyul and Hyun Dowoon—used modified phones that couldn’t be tracked. Since location detection via phone was impossible, there had to be some other reason Kang Haeil was calling.
After a moment’s thought, Hyun Dowoon motioned with his eyes.
“Pick it up.”
“Ugh, no. He’s just going to spew bullshit again.”
“Pick it up anyway. We need to know why he’s calling.”
“I said no~ I don’t wanna.”
“Just answer it!”
When Hyun Dowoon barked at him, Kwon Seoyul pouted and moved his hand reluctantly.
It was infuriating how Seoyul listened to Cha Seohu after one word but needed to be told three times by anyone else.
“Hello.”
He answered with a sullen voice, and the person on the other end chuckled.
—Why’d you take so long to answer?
“I didn’t want to. Just spit it out.”
—Acting so proud for someone who ran away.
“Fuck off. I’m old enough, it wasn’t running away—it’s called moving out.”
—Moving out is for adults who contribute to society. You ran away. Is Dowoon next to you?
“...No.”
—Put me on speaker. I bet Dowoon wants to hear this too.
As always, his words flowed smoothly. Kwon Seoyul clicked his tongue. Creepy bastard.
He tapped the speaker button like Kang Haeil wanted and set the phone on the table. Kang Haeil’s voice came through clearly.
—I figured Seoyul would bolt eventually, but I didn’t expect you to help him, Dowoon.
As soon as the phone hit the table and switched to speaker, Hyun Dowoon realized what had happened and responded with a stiff tone.
“...You figured that out pretty fast, didn’t you?”
He swallowed a sigh and replied calmly.
When it came to younger brothers or Cha Seohu, Dowoon spoke casually. But to Kang Haeil and Mook Jeongho—and especially to “Father”—he always used honorifics.
He never called them “hyung.”
He addressed them as if they were strangers he wanted nothing to do with, never using their names at all unless necessary.
Everyone except his friend Cha Seohu was treated the same. Seoyul, though, was a chaotic idiot who ran wild, so Dowoon had no choice but to tolerate him.
“What do you want?”
—Haha, so stiff. Don’t be so scared. I didn’t call to threaten you or anything.
Kang Haeil kept his tone light.
Just like always, he treated everything in life like a joke. The guy was unhinged and rarely took anything seriously.
—You’re not planning to convince Seohu to come back to the district, are you?
—Come on, that’s a weak excuse. Dowoon, with your personality, if you were going to bring him back, you’d have already had a plan in motion the moment you left.
“......”
—I’m not so out of touch that I wouldn’t pick up on something like that. I’m not Jeongho-hyung, you know.
“Ugh, fuckin’ hell. Gross.”
Kwon Seoyul shuddered, rubbing his arms as if disgusted by the overly sweet tone.
Kang Haeil clearly heard that, but kept going like he didn’t care.
—Judging by your reactions, you’ve got no intention of dragging Seohu back. Honestly, it looks more like you’re trying to cling to him instead.
“...So what?”
Dowoon’s face grew cold. The short reply was full of restrained tension.
Kang Haeil, who knew exactly why Dowoon was so on edge, chuckled again.
—Relax. I said I’m not interfering in your business. I came here to monitor Cha Seohu, not to babysit my little brothers. As long as I’ve got eyes on him, I don’t care what he does or who he’s with.
He was exactly what Seoyul and Dowoon had feared. Sent by Father with the directive to “watch Cha Seohu,” and doing only that.
Just like Dowoon had warned Seohu—Kang Haeil wasn’t going to lift a finger if anything happened. Unless maybe it came down to saving a corpse at the last second.
Kang Haeil was problematic in a completely different way than Kwon Seoyul. And Dowoon, knowing that all too well, rubbed his forehead with fatigue.
—Anyway, him throwing around his skill so casually is a bit annoying. But you two can handle that, right?
“......”
—Good luck.
With that casual farewell, the call abruptly ended.
“...Haa.”
Hyun Dowoon finally let out the sigh he’d been holding in.
As he lowered his head and pushed up his glasses, a sharp curse cut through the air.
“Ah, fuck.”
Face twisted in irritation, Kwon Seoyul snatched up his phone.
Seeing that, Hyun Dowoon—rarely as it happened—actually felt a sense of kinship with him.
Even Kwon Seoyul had to be pissed off by the way Kang Haeil talked. Calling just to poke at them—anyone would be annoyed.
Still, given the place they were in, Dowoon had to stop him from losing it.
“Hey, calm down firs—”
“Oh, shit, that’s right! Seohu-hyung got a new skill! A fucking ridiculous one, too! I was so excited to see him, I forgot the most important thing! Goddamn it, am I a fucking moron?!”
“......”
“What if—what if he already used it on someone else while I wasn’t around?! I’m gonna lose my damn mind!”
Pale and twitchy, Kwon Seoyul suddenly shot to his feet like he was about to burst out of the parlor. Hyun Dowoon flinched and grabbed him in alarm.
“Hey, hey! Why are you jumping up like that?!”
“Hyung’s been gone forever with no word! Didn’t you say he went to the Guildmaster’s office?! Shit, I’m going.”
I can’t believe this idiot even knows a word like “no word.” That alone was surprising in this panic.
“What do you mean, you’re going?! It’s only been 30 minutes!”
“Yeah, well it only takes 10! 30 minutes is bull! Let go—unless you want me to throw you off by force!”
“Can’t you, for once, not cause a scene? We’re in someone else’s goddamn guild!”
“Like I care! Actually—why the fuck are they even summoning Seohu-hyung in the first place?! Are they draining his skill or something?!”
Are they you?
The sarcasm burned on the tip of Dowoon’s tongue, but he barely swallowed it.
One wrong word and something was going to break—either a person or a wall. And it’d probably be him if he tried to stop this rampaging maniac.
Wherever Seoyul’s buttons had been pushed, he was now flailing like a madman. Only Cha Seohu could stop him.
Still clinging to Seoyul’s arm, Dowoon mentally screamed for his friend.
Get back here, Cha Seohu, you bastard...!
“I’ll be heading out now.”
With the situation with Song Jiwoon resolved and his talk with Kwon Taehyuk about the ranking match done, it was time to leave. Besides, he was starting to worry about Kwon Seoyul and Hyun Dowoon, whom he’d left in the parlor.
“See you again. You’re always welcome to visit.”
The imposter said cheerfully, mimicking pre-regression Song Jiwoon’s tone, as I stood up without hesitation.
It was so irritating that I narrowed my eyes—when suddenly, a voice echoed in my head.
—You seem busy, so let’s talk again when you’ve got free time.
“...What?”
I’d just heard him speak, but his lips hadn’t moved at all. Confused, I blinked, and the voice came again in my head.
—Ah, is this your first time communicating this way? Just act natural. This message is only for you.
“....”
I coughed lightly and turned away from the imposter.
I knew he was some kind of transcendent being, but this was something else. It was like a fantasy novel ability—too surreal to even feel real as I listened.
—Let’s say... sometime next week. I’ll be here, so come at night. And don’t come alone—bring that little brat you’re always overprotective of.
My eyes reflexively dropped downward. Cha Sahyeon had just risen from the sofa and met my gaze with a soft expression.
The brat? He meant Cha Sahyeon? We’d always met alone—why suddenly call for him?
“Hyung?”
“...It’s nothing.”
I wanted to grab that bastard by the collar and demand why he was calling for my sibling, but there were too many people around.
—I’m telling you now, it’s not to mess with you. Just bring him. Please.
If he’s asking that seriously, there must be a reason.
I gave a small nod to show I understood and left the Guildmaster’s office.
Predictably, Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon all followed me out one after another.
“....”
I stopped in my tracks, dumbfounded, and all three of them halted right behind me like ducklings. What is this, a comedy routine?
“...What are you doing?”
None of them answered—just stared at me. Frustrated, I asked again.
“Why are you following me?”
This time, they answered in order.
“I followed Hunter Cha Seohu here to begin with...”
“I wanted to see you off...”
“I was heading out to see my grandma, so I thought I’d go with you...”
It all sounded like excuses. Their sidelong glances and nervous fidgeting didn’t help either.
Cha Sahyeon, stuck close to me, stared at the three of them like they were pathetic. Honestly, I felt the same way.
Seeing it would take too long to ditch them and go back to the parlor, I had no choice but to walk with the three ducklings trailing behind me.
My instincts, honed by years around Kwon Seoyul, told me that if I didn’t check on him soon, he was about to cause a serious incident.
I quickened my pace down the stairs and, upon reaching the parlor, flung open the door without hesitation.
“Kwon Se—”
“Hyuuuung!”
I didn’t even finish his name before a large body launched ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) at me. My face was buried in a stiff shoulder before I could say a word.
Wrapped tightly around me, Kwon Seoyul sniffled, his face twisted in distress.
“Hyung, why did you take so long? Huh? What took you so long?”
“Let go.”
“You didn’t use your skill again, right? You just talked, right? Then why were you gone so long?! I was about to lose my mind...!”
“....”
And I’m about to lose mine right now.
Over Seoyul’s shoulder, I could see Hyun Dowoon standing with his hands on his hips, exhaling in exhaustion.
I had a pretty good idea what had happened.
Thank god I got here just before all hell broke loose.

Comments

Loading...