Chapter 182: It’s Mine (2)
When I said I was going to the Sesung Guild Leader, Noah’s expression became strange. He fidgeted nervously for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth.
“About the birthday party tonight… maybe I shouldn’t go either.”
“Why not? It’s a good opportunity to network. Besides, you said you’re going with Myungwoo, right?”
There might not be any dumb S-Classes who’d mess with Myungwoo, but safety always comes first. Since both of them would be attending the party anyway, Noah had decided to watch over Myungwoo. I, of course, would stay home, and Peace would be there too.
“I do worry about leaving hyung alone, but…”
“Hyung?”
“He told me to call him that for comfort.”
It seemed Myungwoo liked Noah more than I thought. Well, Noah is pretty adorable. Kind, too.
“You can call me comfortably as well.”
At my words, Noah’s eyes wavered greatly.
“I’d… like to, but… no, never mind.”
“It’s fine.”
“…No, I really can’t. I mean it.”
What’s this? Why is it okay with Myungwoo, but not with me? Am I that much harder to approach? Thinking about it, wanting to be pampered itself is a kind of attitude people tend to have toward someone older. And I have been giving him tasks left and right… maybe I do feel more like a boss. And yeah, if a boss told me to casually call them “Hyung,” I’d hate it too. That’s on me.
“Don’t worry about it, just do what’s comfortable for you, Noah.”
No need to turn into one of those godawful workplaces.
After preparing the gift, I contacted the recipient. Hunter Seong Hyunjae, your package is on its way and will arrive shortly. Please come to the Sky Garden to collect it. No proxies allowed—it had to be received in person. When I asked if he’d be home, I got a reply saying he’d be waiting.
‘It’s kind of annoying that he didn’t invite me but still wants the gift.’
Oh well. Just think of it as throwing away something that can’t be used elsewhere.
With Noah’s help, I headed to the Sesung Guild. It was still morning, but the sunlight was already strong, so I pulled on a hat, making me feel even more like a deliveryman. Thanks to flying straight without any traffic, we arrived quickly.
I spotted Seong Hyunjae standing in the lush rooftop garden. He seemed to have stepped out of his house, dressed lightly.
“Let’s go straight up.”
Noah descended until he was about two meters above Seong Hyunjae, then stopped. The breeze from his wings made Seong Hyunjae’s pale-colored hair ripple. I responded to his upward gaze with a smile before opening my inventory. The list unfurled, filled with identical entries.
[Sveil Sheep’s Yarn]
I pulled them all out and dumped them below. Bundles of soft hot pink yarn fell like rain. Both my inventory and Noah’s were packed to the brim with them. The fluffy yarn piled up around the birthday boy, rolling and scattering until the entire area was covered in pink.
As I was about to descend in front of Seong Hyunjae, I realized the wind from my wings might scatter the yarn everywhere, so I landed a little distance away. Wading through the fluttering hot pink bundles, I approached the yarn-covered Seong Hyunjae. His figure, wrapped in pink, looked down at me.
“It’s top-quality yarn, excellent for insulation and resistant to dirt—it doesn’t get dirty easily.”
The yarn itself was expensive, but the real cost was dyeing it hot pink. I practically rented out a factory, creating dungeon-item-compatible hot pink dye to get the job done. While I was at it, I also dyed Yerim’s shawl white.
“Hold out your hand.”
When he obediently extended his palm, I placed a pair of knitting needles in it. They were also custom-made.
“Happy birthday. Though I wasn’t invited, I’m still giving you a present. Keep your mind sharp and live a long, long life.”
“Oh my, the thirteenth fairy?”
Seong Hyunjae curved his eyes into a smile, spouting nonsense.
“Prick your finger on the needles and fall asleep, and Han Yujin will—”
“Oh, come on, I wondered what you were saying. Do you even have a conscience?”
As if he were some kind of Sleeping Beauty… Ugh, the thought alone disgusted me. And really, who pricks themselves on knitting needles?
“Anyway, this uninvited guest will be leaving now. If you fall into eternal sleep, let me know. I’ll send a wreath or something.”
“Uninvited guest? That’s a hurtful thing to say.”
As I turned to leave, Seong Hyunjae grabbed me and pulled me close. He yanked off my hat and tossed it away, then rested his chin on the top of my head. He’d done this before—why was he doing it again?
“I wasn’t invited, so I am an uninvited guest.”
“My items are a free pass anywhere.”
“Stop making up excuses and just tell me the real reason. Does it have anything to do with you feeling down?”
It wasn’t like he’d suddenly get hit with depression for no reason. Something must’ve happened. After a moment of silence, Seong Hyunjae finally opened his mouth.
“I’m getting bored.”
“…What?”
For a moment, my heart sank. If I didn’t have fear resistance, I might’ve been genuinely scared. Was he already tired of me? But no, I wasn’t the subject.
“It feels like I’m repeating the same thing over and over. The same place, the same decor, the same programs and menu, even the gifts—I feel like I’ve already received them all before.”
His voice was unusually subdued for Seong Hyunjae. A sense of repetition, huh? Had his memories of the pre-regression timeline become clearer? God, he’s annoyingly sensitive.
‘Up until now, everything had been a series of completely different events.’
As I got involved, many things changed. So much had been twisted that hardly anything remained the same as before the regression. Two S-Class Hunters and guilds had disappeared, the Association had been reshaped, there was the raising of monster mounts, a blacksmith, a new S-Class Hunter, and even dungeons that I had never experienced before the regression.
But birthday parties were different. They were unlikely to change, as they had been planned in advance. Apart from a slight increase in the number of invited guests, everything would have remained the same.
‘Maybe that’s why the feeling of repetition hit him so much harder.’
Unlike the other events that had been altered, the stark sameness of the party might have heightened the déjà vu he felt.
“A hot pink yarn gift feels familiar to you? That’s surprising.”
“Of course, you are an exception. Very novel indeed.”
That’s because I’m the person furthest removed from his original world. I was supposed to be just an extra, buried in the background, unable to have any impact.
Suddenly, I wondered if that was why Seong Hyunjae was more indulgent with me—not just because of my skills, but because I was inherently an intriguing anomaly to him.
If I hadn’t acted, there would’ve been nothing new for him. For someone who feels bored enough to get annoyed over the repetition of a birthday, enduring months or years of monotony would be unbearable.
And here I was, shaking everything up on my own. Perhaps he subconsciously welcomed it.
“That’s why I deliberately left you out.”
My heart skipped a beat again. Was he experimenting just because the strange déjà vu bothered him?
‘Now that I think about it, the invitations did come unusually late for Yerim and Myungwoo.’
Yuhyun’s had arrived early. As for Moon Hyunah, it was because she wasn’t in the country. I remember Liette receiving hers quite a while back too. Yerim’s was later, and Myungwoo’s even later. Could it be that the guests who gave him less of a sense of repetition were invited later on purpose? Yerim, even though she wasn’t an S-Class before the regression, was still a famously skilled A-Class Hunter. But Myungwoo—he probably hadn’t even heard of him.
And then there’s me, someone who caused the biggest disruptions and interventions, an F-Class Hunter who wouldn’t have been connected to Seong Hyunjae at all otherwise, aside from a few bad rumors.
‘What an unnecessarily sharp man.’
He could’ve just left it at “this feels familiar” and moved on, but no—he had to investigate.
“I’m honored that I seem so special to you. Well, I am pretty exceptional in many ways.”
“It’s I who should be grateful. Thanks to you, not just the young master but also Chief Song Taewon has become much more interesting.”
“Don’t talk about my younger brother like he’s some kind of entertainment. And haven’t you known Yuhyun longer than me? What’s so new about that?”
“‘New,’ you say? If he were simply Han Yuhyun, not your younger brother, I wouldn’t have found him interesting at all.”
“…What does that even mean?”
I thought he took an interest and helped Yuhyun because they were both born as S-Classes.
“If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have had any reason to get involved with Han Yuhyun at all. He’s not the kind to quietly blend into society. If anything, he would’ve wandered around recklessly, even more so than Liette. It was fascinating to see him willingly calm down and settle into a role.”
“…You’re talking as if you know him well. And don’t talk about my brother like that, as if he’s some kind of object. I never gave you permission to treat him like that.”
A low chuckle fell from above my head.
“Han Yuhyun may be rare, but he’s not unique. But Han Yujin’s younger brother is one of a kind. He caught my attention precisely because he’s so distinctive—and I was especially curious about what made him that way.”
So he doesn’t place much value on being a born S-Class, even though there are only a few like him, including himself. Then again, he had always been surprisingly indifferent when dealing with Liette.
‘…So, if I weren’t here…’
Images of Yuhyun and Liette flashed in my mind simultaneously. My stomach twisted. It wasn’t that I thought the present was bad. Lately, things had been going pretty well… but still…
If I hadn’t been there.
“Now that I’ve figured it out, I don’t plan to poke around unnecessarily anymore. I’ll behave, so you don’t have to worry.”
As my silence stretched on, Seong Hyunjae spoke soothingly, as if to reassure me. I was surprised—he was actually saying he’d hold back.
“It’s not just because it’s more effective to mess with me, is it?”
He didn’t respond. Knowing him, he was probably smiling that seemingly kind smile of his on the surface.
“Stop picking unnecessary fights with the kid. And leave Chief Song alone too. He’s already exhausted enough as it is.”
“Isn’t your protective range a bit too wide? Fine, I’ll leave the kids under your care alone. And as for Chief Song, I’m treating him well.”
If Song Taewon heard that, the wrinkles on his forehead would probably deepen by twice their usual amount.
“I even sent him a custom suit along with the invitation this time. Sadly, it was returned immediately.”
“You knew he wouldn’t accept it. Why bother?”
“Of course, I have one for you as well, so don’t feel left out.”
Oh, for crying out loud. Stop spouting nonsense already. I glanced over at Noah, who was sitting a short distance away. Since we were sitting so close together, I hadn’t raised my voice much, so it should’ve been hard for Noah to hear with his stats. Still, it made me uneasy. As our eyes met, Noah wagged his tail with a quick thump-thump, looking like a puppy trying to declare, Look, I’m being so good and patient!
“Do you prefer white, black, or—”
“Black.”
There was no point in refusing; it wouldn’t work anyway, so I might as well just take it.
“Ah, so modest of you, Han Yujin. Then I’ll give you all twenty suits.”
“Who needs twenty suits! I’ll pass, thank you!”
“Since you’re so humble, ten more suits.”
…While I’m not usually a fan of birthday punches, for today, I fully support the idea—provided it’s other S-Class Hunters doing the hitting instead of me.
“So, are you not going to give me my invitation? The gift I prepared for tonight is much better, you know.”
“I planned to personally escort you.”
Yeah, sure. More like he wanted to leave me out so he could compare the sense of alienation to the very end.
“No need to go that far for me, birthday boy. I’ll make my way there on my own.”
If you’re bored, just sit and knit for a while.
Stuffing all my discomfort into my metaphorical pockets, I headed to the Haeyeon Guild. Yerim was in class, and Yuhyun was busy with work. While the A-Rank competition was drawing public attention, MKC’s disbandment was proceeding swiftly. Haeyeon, Sesung, and even Breaker, who had jumped in late, had already settled most of the division of assets.
“Why’d you go to the Sesung Guild Leader?”
Yuhyun asked as he handed me a glass of juice while I sat on the office sofa. He still didn’t exactly like me wandering around, but unlike before, he no longer showed sharp disapproval. Even now, while his tone carried some dissatisfaction, it was closer to a simple question than a rebuke.
“I went to ask why he didn’t send me an invitation. He said he’d come pick me up himself, so I told him I’d go on my own.”
“There’s no real need for you to go. I wasn’t planning to attend either.”
“If you don’t go, what about Yerim? She’s still not at a point where we can send her to something like that alone.”
“I’ve already talked to the Breaker Guild Leader. If I don’t go, Hunter Kim Seonghan will attend in my place.”
Because of me, one of the three of them—Yuhyun, Yerim, or Seonghan—had to remain with Haeyeon. Even if Kim Minui had been revealed as an S-Class, there were multiple foreign S-Class Hunters entering the country, and relying on a fake S-Class alone wasn’t reassuring.
“Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“Because if I had, you would’ve pushed me to go. I planned to tell you later, saying we could eat dinner together beforehand.”
Was he psychic? Yuhyun made a call somewhere as he spoke.
“Then you’ll need to get ready too.”
“Uh, yeah.”
I stared blankly at my little brother as he ordered preparations for me to attend the birthday party over the phone. He was running the guild like a pro, but…
‘…Is he feeling stifled?’
Seong Hyunjae’s words kept echoing in my head.
When Yerim heard I was going with her, she was overjoyed. She confessed that she’d been worried about leaving me behind and insisted on picking out my clothes for the party. I barely managed to talk her out of it. Yerim had decent fashion sense, but her choices tended to lean too heavily toward the “adorable” side.
After Myungwoo and Noah, Moon Hyunah also made a point to join us before we all departed together for that blasted birthday party.
–TL Notes–
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