‘Can he really not disobey Cha Sahyeon’s orders?’
Seeing J walk toward him with a face that screamed utter disgust, a pure curiosity rose in Seohu.
‘If that guy’s deeply entangled with the cult bastards, I’ll keep running into him anyway.’
He had been an annoying presence ever since the office raid and Sahyeon’s kidnapping. But if he listened to Sahyeon that well, he was worth using.
He could somewhat understand why Cha Sahyeon had allowed J to follow them into the Great Dungeon. Of course, the fact that Sahyeon had kept that from him still pissed him off.
“Roll up your sleeve so we can get this over with.”
Cha Seohu decided to take full advantage of this opportunity and work J to the bone.
J, unaware of Seohu’s thoughts, reluctantly rolled up his sleeve.
His tightly scrunched eyes came into view. Even if he were facing imminent death, he probably wouldn’t look this miserable.
There had been plenty of times others were uncomfortable with the physical contact required for his buffs. Even Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun had been awkward about it right after regression.
But no one had ever shown outright revulsion like this. Even Park Minhyuk hadn’t hated it this much.
He hated it so much it was kind of funny.
Maybe it was because he looked so young and small, that sharp attitude weirdly matched his teen-like appearance—even though he’d lived as long as Sahyeon.
When Cha Seohu quietly opened his arms, J, hesitating, looked once more at Cha Sahyeon and then finally gave in, stepping into his arms.
Seohu bent his arms and held him properly. Since J was at least a head shorter, it was more comfortable than hugging the larger-framed Park Minhyuk.
《Skill: Bond of the Guardian (S-rank) activated!》
《Main skill damage increased. (Target: J) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
《Base speed increased. (Target: J) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
《Stabilizing effect applied. (Target: J) (Duration: 1 hour 59 minutes)》
“Ah, hhic...”
“......”
As soon as the skill activated, J squirmed in Seohu’s arms with a faint moan. Maybe it was just his imagination, but his body temperature felt slightly hotter.
Seohu started feeling a bit queasy.
‘Ugh. This feels... morally wrong.’
It felt like he was some scumbag doing unspeakable things to a high schooler.
He knew this was someone much older... but still, that face...
“Th-that’s enough, right?! Let go!”
The moment the buff hit, J trembled and scrambled out of Seohu’s arms. It was a far more rational reaction than the dazed ones from Park Minhyuk and the other S-ranks.
‘Maybe it’s because he’s not a normal person?’
The way he shoved his cap down to hide his flushed face, and hastily pulled down his sleeve like he was shielding himself—it was still kind of hilarious, but all things considered, he handled it better than most. Park Minhyuk had even left handprints on Seohu’s waist.
After receiving the buff, J glared warily at Seohu and backed away.
Ignoring him, Seohu went on to buff Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon one after the other.
The three, already familiar with the process, accepted the buff without issue and stepped back. With Park Minhyuk having already caused a scene, there was no room left to hesitate.
Last was Cha Sahyeon.
Even though Sahyeon was already suppressing a tremendous power, Seohu couldn’t risk giving him a real buff. Still, with everyone watching, he had to pretend.
Seohu gave a light pat on Sahyeon’s back as he hugged him and whispered,
“You’ll be fine while I’m over there, right?”
“Mhm.”
Sahyeon’s eyes, which had been growing sharper as he watched the others being buffed, instantly softened.
Seohu used the hug to sneak in a little scolding, then quickly let Sahyeon go.
The S-ranks who had been watching the two were stunned by Sahyeon’s unbothered state.
‘He got buffed and looks that fine?’
‘What the hell?’
‘No way that’s possible... right?’
‘Is it because they’re siblings?’
‘Wait... did he not give him a buff at all? Then why hug him?’
There wasn’t a trace of side effects on Sahyeon’s cheerful face.
The ones who trusted Seohu—Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon—were thrown into confusion. And even those who didn’t trust him much—Park Minhyuk and J—were equally bewildered.
“You all know the plan, right? Even if the others are too afraid to fight, everyone’s buffed, so you should be able to take care of the monsters just fine. Let’s go.”
Even though he was about to be used as a hostage in an exchange, Seohu smiled without the slightest hesitation. He even stepped forward, approaching the fairies first.
There was no fear or dread in his expression.
Following him, Park Minhyuk grudgingly acknowledged it—Cha Seohu was truly throwing himself in to save others.
Cha Sahyeon and J came last. As J trailed behind Sahyeon with a deeply uncomfortable expression, he hesitated and finally opened his mouth.
“W-was that why you were keeping such a close eye on him?”
Sahyeon turned back, expression blank, clearly confused.
“I mean... that skill of his. Aren’t you shadowing him to monitor that?”
Sahyeon didn’t deny it. It was partially true.
He couldn’t forcibly restrain Cha Seohu, nor stop him from buffing others, so the least he could do was make sure it happened in front of his eyes.
He’d never thought of it as ‘monitoring’, but he didn’t feel the need to correct it either.
When Sahyeon didn’t object, J suddenly turned red and blurted out,
“He’s a seriously weird guy. The skill’s weird, his attitude’s weird. You really shouldn’t get close to someone like that.”
“......”
“Are you listening? He’s completely shameless! H-how could someone with those kinds of side effects volunteer to give buffs...! And not just to one person, but to multiple...!”
“What?”
Sahyeon, who had been ignoring J’s complaints, raised an eyebrow. His green eyes instantly turned cold.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Wha—?”
Startled, J recoiled. Then it hit him.
‘Wait. Could that crazy bastard Cha Seohu be...?!’
Come to think of it, when he’d hugged Sahyeon earlier, Sahyeon had been completely calm.
As suspicion turned into certainty, J stammered in shock.
“Don’t tell me... he’s never given you a buff before?”
Sahyeon frowned.
In truth, even he had been feeling uneasy about it. The strange reactions from those who received the buff, and Seohu’s own mention of “side effects.”
He had let it slide because there was no time to dig into it.
Sahyeon knew he was in a uniquely privileged position—as Seohu’s “little sibling.” If he wanted to stay by his side, he had to avoid upsetting him.
He hadn’t forgotten the vow he made when he handed Seohu the choker item.
But—
If there’s something about my brother I don0t know...
That was not something he could overlook.
He was supposed to be the one who knew everything about Cha Seohu. That was why he never interfered, no matter what Seohu did.
But if that assumption had been wrong...
“......”
The good mood Sahyeon had gained from the hug crashed rapidly. And the first to feel the impact of that shift—was J.
“Hhhhk!”
A sharp pain pierced his heart. It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing it tight.
Clutching his chest, J gasped, face pale as a sheet. The shadows beneath the two of them began to waver and twist uncontrollably.
Then—
—Human’s here!
—Pretty human! Time for the exchange?
—You gonna trade?
The high-pitched voices rang out. Standing before the fairies, who greeted him with joy, Seohu answered.
“Yeah.”
He pulled a cloak out of his inventory—prepared for emergencies—and wrapped it around himself.
“You took one human. I’ll trade myself in return.”
—Okay!
—Now?
—We trade now?
Before answering, Seohu turned back to look at Sahyeon.
Their eyes met—and Sahyeon gritted his teeth. The force crushing J’s heart vanished in an instant.
Suppressing his fury, Sahyeon sent the highest-ranked shadow at his command to Seohu. It slithered along the ground like a snake and merged into Seohu’s shadow.
Once confirmed, Seohu nodded.
“We’ll do it now.”
—Got it!
—Close your eyes. Exchange starting!
“Wait. Before that, I want to pick who I’m exchanged for.”
Before the fairies could act on their own, Seohu hastily spoke.
“Dan Yeoun. Trade me for the human named Dan Yeoun.”
—Dan Yeoun?
—Dan Yeoun? What’s that?
—Don’t know!
‘Shit.’
Of course monsters wouldn’t know human names. Cursing his own stupidity, Seohu quickly added,
“He has bright brown hair. He’s shorter than me—”
—Don’t know!
—We don’t know that stuff!
—We’re trading! Close your eyes!
“No, wait...!”
Before he could finish the sentence, his vision twisted violently, and a wave of dizziness crashed over him. His eyes shut involuntarily, and the frantic voices of the S-ranks quickly faded into a blur.

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