"I'm heading to work now. I hope you both have a good day."
Sensing the tension in the air, Secretary Kim fled without even looking back.
Once the onlooker vanished, the stiff atmosphere pressed down on the skin even more. Frozen in place, unable to do anything, Kwon Taehyuk mumbled,
"Um, about what happened between us yesterday... I thought we were going to talk—"
Cha Seohu, who had been watching him and waiting for an answer, gave a faint smile.
"It's alright. The Vice-Guildmaster already knows about it."
"...What?"
"May I call him?"
It ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) felt like if he said no, Seohu would storm out of the guild immediately.
'Oh, really? Then I'll just join the Circle Guild instead.' He'd probably say that and leave without looking back.
Biting his lip, Kwon Taehyuk reluctantly nodded.
"Of course... you can call him. My only concern is security for your own safety. As long as it's not someone problematic... call whoever you want..."
But his expression looked anything but alright.
Cha Seohu noticed that Kwon Taehyuk wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation but quietly ignored it. He had a hunch that acknowledging it would just make things more annoying.
Ryu Sunghyun arrived at the Yesung Guild in just under an hour. He must've left the moment he finished his call with Cha Seohu.
"Oh."
Letting out a short exclamation, Ryu Sunghyun entered the living room.
"As expected from Yesung Guild, even the guest rooms are amazing."
Kwon Taehyuk, who had been planning to spend time with Seohu but ended up waiting for Ryu instead, replied with hidden pride.
"The other rooms aren't this nice. We made this one especially comfortable for Hunter Cha Seohu."
"I see."
Ryu Sunghyun and Kwon Taehyuk sat down on opposite couches.
No further words were exchanged. Ryu smiled gently while Kwon maintained a stiff expression as they silently looked at each other.
"......"
"......"
An icy silence settled between them.
Normally, they'd break the awkwardness with small talk, but today they sat in silence, saying nothing.
Meanwhile, Seohu returned from the kitchen with some drinks. He blinked at the wordless living room scene.
'What's up with them?'
Maybe in the past life he wouldn't have questioned it, but now, after all they'd been through, he thought the two had gotten pretty close.
'Even Sunghyun-hyung looks uncomfortable.'
Having known Ryu Sunghyun from the previous timeline, Seohu recognized that the smile on his lips was fake.
'Better just get to the point and send him off quickly.'
As Seohu walked toward the living room, he hesitated once more. On the left sat Kwon Taehyuk. On the right sat Ryu Sunghyun.
Where should he sit?
It would've been nice if there were a middle spot on the sofa, but unfortunately, the only options were left or right.
Before regression, he would've sat beside Ryu Sunghyun without hesitation...
To be honest, Seohu wasn't sure if it was okay to sit next to him now. The memories of being close in the previous life made it hard to gauge the right distance.
After standing awkwardly in place, Seohu finally chose to sit next to Kwon Taehyuk.
"......!"
"......!"
Both Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun stiffened at once, their attention fixed on Seohu.
Kwon had assumed Seohu would sit next to Ryu. Ryu had assumed he'd come to him. Instead, Seohu sat beside Kwon, and both were caught off guard.
"Ahem."
Kwon Taehyuk finally cleared his throat awkwardly. Ryu Sunghyun clenched his hands together.
Whether he was aware of the strange tension or not, Seohu handed a glass of orange juice to the younger brother clinging to his side, then spoke.
"Vice-Guildmaster, how did you know about what happened at the hotel? Has word gotten out?"
There had been too many witnesses to hide it completely. Even with Yesung blocking the media and doing cleanup, there were limits.
So he needed to check what exactly had leaked. Especially since the ones involved were the Yesung Guildmaster and members of the district 'siblings.'
Ryu Sunghyun, fully grasping the intent behind Seohu's question, responded calmly.
"Not in detail. Just that some S-rank Hunters fought at a hotel. I already knew which hotel you were staying at, so—"
"Ah."
"I heard the lobby got completely trashed from the fight."
Ryu's gaze shifted toward Kwon Taehyuk.
"Was it your people? The ones affiliated with the district?"
There had indeed been two staying at the same hotel as Seohu. One of them was an S-rank dealer. Was it that guy who caused the scene?
Kwon Taehyuk shook his head.
"No. This time, it was..."
He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence easily.
He'd realized that the man who suddenly appeared—Kang Haeil—was one of the brothers from the district, like Kwon Seoyul and Hyun Dowoon. But he wasn't in a position to explain that to Ryu.
So Cha Seohu answered in his place.
"No, it was someone else. Still from the district though. He came because he heard I was entering the Great Dungeon. Probably worried. I mean, I did suddenly declare I'd go in. He was a bit... rough, though."
Seohu didn't want to go into too much detail about the district with Taehyuk, Sunghyun, or Sahyeon, so he glossed over it.
Even if he told them the truth, they wouldn't fully understand. Seohu knew better than anyone how twisted and irrational the relationships between the "brothers" were.
He was about to laugh it off and change the subject when a firm voice cut in.
"No matter how worried he was, that's not acceptable."
Kwon Taehyuk furrowed his brow.
"That kind of possess—"
He stopped mid-sentence and bit his lip with a troubled look.
It was obvious what he had meant to say. Possession. He'd been about to call it that.
Seohu wasn't offended. If anything, he felt it more than anyone—Kang Haeil didn't treat him as an equal human being.
It wasn't a new experience. He was numb to it by now. Still, it was surprising to see such a reaction from Kwon Taehyuk.
"That man's behavior and attitude were far from normal. So Hunter Cha Seohu, you don't need to force yourself to understand or excuse it. It's not your fault."
Sweeping a hand down his face, Kwon Taehyuk looked deeply troubled.
Seohu, watching him take his side so emotionally, tilted his head slightly.
Beneath the tousled black hair, the tips of his ears slowly turned red.
It was such a tiny change that most people wouldn't notice, but the three people who were focused on him all caught it immediately.
'Is he... embarrassed?'
'That one comment from the Guildmaster was enough to move him?'
'Hyung...?'
While the three fell into silent confusion, Seohu, ears flushed red, casually changed the subject.
"Um, Guildmaster. About what happened yesterday."
It was a terribly awkward topic shift, but no one dared to point it out.
"As I'm sure you've guessed, that was my younger brother's skill. You already knew he was an Awakener, right?"
Even though they were talking about him, Cha Sahyeon didn't seem interested and just kept sipping the juice his brother handed him.
Realizing Seohu didn't want to say more about the district, Kwon Taehyuk readily agreed.
"Yes. It didn't seem like just a simple warp-type skill."
"More accurately, it's a shadow skill. Right before we escaped the hotel, the black smoke on your sword—that was also my brother's doing."
Hearing that, Kwon remembered the moment he'd lunged at Kang Haeil one last time to retrieve Seohu.
'No wonder it was easier to land a hit—his brother had intervened.'
That kind of power... maybe B-rank? No, A-rank?
As Kwon tried to gauge Sahyeon's strength, Seohu quickly added more details.
"He's a dealer, but he's not that strong. Usually, he shapes shadows into birds or snakes to assist or for warp use. He can't go too far with it, though."
That level of explanation would make it seem like an A-rank skill at best. Seohu swallowed dryly and glanced at Ryu Sunghyun across from him.
The truth was, Ryu knew more about Sahyeon than Kwon Taehyuk did.
He had been there when Sahyeon, in his true form, overwhelmed King Seohwa at the snowy mountain. He also knew Sahyeon was pretending to be a child using an item.
Seohu had tried to omit key details, but he was sure Ryu had noticed—and their eyes met.
Ryu Sunghyun smiled gently.
He understood why Seohu was checking his reaction. But he didn't interrupt or ask questions.
Come to think of it, even on the mountain, Ryu hadn't questioned him about Sahyeon. Even though it must have seemed incredibly suspicious.
Seohu realized that Ryu was showing him consideration. That made him all the more grateful—and guilty.
He wanted to tell Ryu everything. But ironically, to protect him, he had to stay silent.
'Maybe it's better this way. We're not as close as we used to be, so telling him would just make things awkward.'
Shaking off the lingering emotion like a habit, Seohu turned back to Kwon Taehyuk.
"There's more I want to explain about the skill... but I'll do that next time. It'll be better to show you directly."
He'd have to bring Sahyeon to the Great Dungeon anyway.
Kwon had already seen Sahyeon's skill this time and his true form during the last dungeon break, so it wouldn't be hard to accept.
Above all, Seohu felt Kwon was trustworthy enough to know this much. After Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon, Kwon was the next person he could count on.
Still, he didn't want to show Sahyeon's real form until after he'd consumed the pearl Chronos gave him.
"Understood."
Kwon Taehyuk, meeting Seohu's eyes, answered calmly. He liked how Seohu treated him kindly while still drawing firm boundaries.
Bit by bit, the walls he'd built around Kwon were starting to crumble.
Originally, this was something Seohu had planned to ask only of Ryu Sunghyun. But now, he opened his mouth.
"Also, about the Great Dungeon."
He paused to figure out how to phrase it, then said,
"As you know, I hide my rank. So I try to use my buffs only on people I trust. I'd like to ask both of you for your cooperation on this. My buff skill requires physical contact, and it's awkward to use it on strangers..."
"Of course! I'll take care of that, so don't worry about it."
"It would be uncomfortable. Stay close to me at all times."
Their reactions were far more intense than expected.
Seohu glanced between Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun with a look of mild disbelief before continuing.
"I'm not just asking for favors. I want to be helpful, too. That's why I'm asking... during the raid, would it be alright if I increased the amount of physical contact?"
"...What?"
"...What?"

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