Chapter 210: Abnormal Phenomenon (4)
Three chairs were placed side by side in front of a dungeon gate that had not yet been cleared—meaning it had not been fully conquered. Since Yerim was sure to come out today, I had gone ahead to wait for her, and two others had followed me.
The person seated to my right was Yuhyun, while to my left was Seong Hyunjae. It made sense for Yuhyun to be here, but for the Sesung Guild Leader to have so much free time…
“You just got out of a dungeon yesterday, and you’re not busy? …Though you don’t look busy at all.”
A hot pink ball of yarn rolled once inside the basket placed near Seong Hyunjae’s feet. His hands moved as he pulled the thread, weaving an intricate knitting pattern. The scarf he had shown me on his last birthday must have been completed by now, and what he was currently knitting was something wide—maybe a sweater.
“If the young lady’s dungeon has changed significantly, there’s a high chance she’ll bring back more information.”
Seong Hyunjae spoke in his slightly slow tone. The yarn wrapped around the knitting needles, and somehow, the sight of him knitting with hot pink yarn looked needlessly elegant. No matter how good-looking he was, I had to be imagining things.
“So, you need to hear it directly, immediately, is that it?”
Was he that curious? I swiped through the screen of my phone. The Hunter Association had sent me materials regarding the trip to Japan. This morning, Japan had confirmed the match, and once Yerim came out safely, we planned to make a big announcement along with an interview.
“One more thing.”
Seong Hyunjae’s hands stopped. He turned to look at me.
“Han Yujin, your behavior yesterday was disqualifying in many ways.”
Oh, come on. I had already gotten an earful from Seok Gimyeong. It was bad enough that I recklessly went to Seong Hyunjae, but I had also been scolded a lot for the things I said after coming out. If I exposed that side of myself, it would only reinforce the image of being easily manipulated by guild leaders.
I had been reminded countless times to walk on my own two feet with confidence, at least in front of the public. But what was I supposed to do if I lacked the strength? Honestly, it felt like Seong Hyunjae had set me up on purpose—like a warning that if I wasn’t qualified, he could take me down with that image anytime he wanted.
“You already gave me advice and did as you pleased. I thought you’d gotten over it, so what’s still bothering you?”
“It was somewhat entertaining, but the moment it involved the children, you cracked. Han Yujin, you need to be more composed.”
So I should just sit still and meditate while the kid might be in danger? Did he think I was some kind of monk?
“Fine, I admit I was impatient. Forcing my way in because I couldn’t wait even an hour or two was… not a composed response. But I still held out for two whole days.”
“You held out, did you? While making the young master anxious.”
At his words, I reflexively turned to Yuhyun. When our eyes met, Yuhyun hesitated before speaking.
“…You were restless, Hyung. So… I thought you might do something reckless again. It’s not that I don’t trust you. But if you made a hasty decision, that would be dangerous.”
Yuhyun had stayed by my side for the entire two days. I knew he was worried about me. But I was worried about Yerim too… Damn it.
Once again, I had made my younger brother anxious.
“I’m sorry. For making you worry.”
“It’s okay, Hyung. But this time, I have to agree with the Sesung Guild Leader. Every hunter goes into a dungeon prepared for the worst. I know how much you care about Hunter Park Yerim, but I wish you’d stay more level-headed. Both I and Hunter Park Yerim will continue entering dungeons in the future—we can’t have this happen every time.”
…I knew that. I knew it well. I had gone into dungeons countless times. I knew things could be lost. I had lost things.
“But this time… it was different.”
Even to my own ears, my voice lacked strength. I needed to be calmer, more composed. I understood that in my head, but my heart still wavered. If it weren’t for my fear resistance skill, it would have been even worse.
Memories of leaving a dungeon alone kept resurfacing. There were also memories of receiving news too late and being in shock. Though those people were alive now, ever since I decided I would meet them again, the memories I had buried deep kept trying to surface.
“…It’s okay, Hyung.”
Yuhyun took my hand.
“I’m fine, so you don’t have to push yourself. Just do what you want. I’ll help you however I can.”
The moment I heard Yuhyun’s words, a chill ran down my spine. What was he planning to do—again? He was trying to protect me, again.
“Don’t do that, Yuhyun. I’m the older brother.”
I was the older brother. My fingertips trembled slightly. Yuhyun tightened his grip on my hand. I wanted to close my eyes, but at the same time, I was afraid to. I turned my head away and looked at the dungeon gate. My fear resistance skill was definitely active, but…
“It was three years, wasn’t it?”
Seong Hyunjae spoke. The knitted fabric had disappeared at some point.
“Not a short time, and the young master was just a child, so it’s understandable that he was anxious. But Han Yujin, your reaction is excessive. Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim are far from weak, yet you’re still desperately trying to protect them.”
His gaze fell on me. It was calm, yet sharp enough to pierce through.
“Like a parent who has reclaimed a child they nearly lost forever. Based on Han Yujin’s records that I know of, your attitude is still difficult to understand.”
“…You have an awful lot of unnecessary curiosity. We’re just business partners.”
Don’t dig into it. Just leave it alone.
“At this rate, even that partnership will become meaningless.”
Seong Hyunjae remarked. Had I really wavered that much? But so what?
“I’ve already told you that I’m unstable.”
“Hyung.”
“You’re really impatient.”
So much for waiting. I glared at Seong Hyunjae, my emotions flaring. How much time had even passed? How much change did he expect from me?
He tilted his head slightly. His golden-hued eyes looked down at me. His lips parted, and surprisingly, his voice was soft.
“If you don’t resolve the root of the problem, changing will be difficult. No matter how much fresh paint you slap on the surface, if the inside is rotting, cracks will only appear again.”
“…The root cause?”
My voice had somehow turned rough and hoarse. Yuhyun pulled me toward him, half-embracing my upper body.
“That’s enough.”
My younger brother’s sharp voice fell in my ear. But Seong Hyunjae’s gaze remained fixed on me. It felt unpleasant. The root cause? Easy for him to say.
“It’s okay, Hyung. Don’t think about it.”
I let out a long breath. Yeah, don’t think about it. So what if I’m rotting inside? If you dig, there won’t be anything left. And yet, I’m barely holding on—grasping onto the arms that are embracing me.
Damn it, it’s not like I want to be like this…
No, it’s fine. I’m fine. I gripped my younger brother’s hand even tighter. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I have to be fine.
“…Yerim should be coming out soon.”
Feigning composure, I mumbled as I swallowed dryly. My throat felt hot and stung as if it were burning. I was probably just exhausted. What should we eat for dinner? It should be something Yerim likes. It’s been a while since all three of us would be home together. Did I clean Yerim’s room before leaving? She’ll probably want to rest right away.
Wooong—
Just then, the gate began to change. With a low hum, its color shifted, activating. The dungeon had been cleared. I immediately jumped to my feet. No injuries, right? She’s fine, right?
Before long, a figure emerged from the gate. One of Yerim’s teammates. Probably a defense-type. Even after defeating the boss monster, there was still a chance of remaining regular monsters, so there was an order to exiting the gate. Since they couldn’t be sure of the situation outside, defense-types came out first, followed by attack-types, supporters, healers, and then combat hunters again.
“Guild Leader…?”
The hunter who stepped out looked at us in surprise. After greeting us, they stepped aside, allowing the others to emerge in turn. They all seemed just as startled. Now I felt a bit bad. It made sense for Yuhyun to be here since he was the Haeyeon Guild Leader, but why had the Sesung Guild Leader come all the way here?
— Kyahwoo!
Then, Blue energetically bounded out, followed by—
“Mister!”
Yerim appeared. Her face was beaming with a bright smile. Not only was she completely fine, but she looked almost pristine. Now that I looked at them, her other teammates were also relatively clean.
“Yerim! You’re not hurt anywhere? You look as if you just stepped out after a single day.”
“I’m fine! I can raise the temperature of water now, you know? So I washed up every now and then. At the end, since we had mana potions left, I even practiced by heating up the entire lake.”
Since it was the opposite of freezing, she said she had tried it. She couldn’t make it hot, but she managed to get it to lukewarm. While Blue was playing with the final boss monster, she took the chance to wash up. My Yerim really is talented.
“I’m so glad you’re safe. I was really worried.”
“Come on, why would you worry? There was no need for that! We took care of everything easily!”
As Yerim confidently reassured me of her safety, Yuhyun checked on the other team members and sent them outside first. Since they had bathed in warm water and rested before coming out, they all looked so composed that it was hard to believe they had just finished clearing a dungeon.
Blue, too, rubbed her head against me once before following them out—probably because the gate room was a bit cramped.
“But the sudden change in the dungeon must have been surprising.”
“A little. But we adjusted quickly. It was frustrating that an extra floor appeared, making it take longer. And Han Yuhyun got out first!”
Yerim suddenly glared at Yuhyun. If she found out he had gotten out three days earlier, she would definitely throw a fit.
“Yuhyun was really worried about you too. Right?”
“Not really.”
…Hey. At least pretend you did. Yuhyun strode forward and added,
“If a slight dungeon change was enough to trap you inside, I would’ve been disappointed.”
Yerim burst into laughter at his words.
“If you had been worried about me, I would have been the one disappointed, Guild Leader. So, now that you see me in perfect shape, how do you feel?”
“Even with Blue, you were really slow.”
“Hey! That’s because there were so many new monsters, so we had to take our time and be cautious!”
Yuhyun throwing out sharp remarks and Yerim firing back—their expressions were both relaxed.
Yerim excitedly described the unfamiliar monsters she had encountered, while Yuhyun casually answered as if it was no big deal.
Watching them, I felt… strange. It was a pleasant scene, the kind that would normally make me smile without thinking.
Why can’t I trust them like that? Is it because I’m weak? The old memories keep surfacing, making it worse, but still. If only I had been stronger. Even before the regression.
Back then, too.
‘…Hyung, are you okay?’
A voice echoed. Not real—just a memory… No. Not yet.
Not yet.
Not yet.
Thud. Something bumped into my back. It seemed I had taken a step back without realizing it. I turned my head. Looked up. It was Seong Hyunjae. He was staring down at me. Our eyes met. His expression showed surprise. It was unlike him—he even looked a little flustered.
Hands gripped my shoulders and turned me around.
“Hyung?”
“Mister?”
Seong Hyunjae pulled me into an embrace. My vision, my entire face, was completely covered.
“What the hell! Give Mister back!”
“What are you doing?!”
“I just felt lonely because the two of you looked so close.”
Seong Hyunjae said playfully.
“Sesung Guild Leader, have you lost your mind? Here, take Han Yuhyun instead!”
“Let’s trade for Hunter Park Yerim.”
“But I like Han Yujin, so I’ll have to decline.”
Their voices buzzed in my ears. This is different. A lot has changed. The things that happened before the regression haven’t happened yet, and they won’t happen.
“Ah! He even took out his chains! So this is how it is, huh?”
“If Haeyeon’s dungeon building gets destroyed too, then it’ll be fair.”
“Haeyeon too? You already wrecked Sesung’s? What fun things happened while I was gone?!”
Yerim exclaimed, sounding wronged. She was grumbling, but her voice was bright.
I swallowed hard and pushed Seong Hyunjae away. I’m fine. I have to be fine.
“Stop teasing them too much.”
Seong Hyunjae let me go without resistance. He took a step back and smiled. I wasn’t sure if I managed to smile back properly.
“Since you came all the way here, let’s get to the point. Yerim, did you ever feel something strange in the dungeon? Like someone watching you?”
“Oh, yeah. It wasn’t exactly a gaze, but I felt a distortion, and I also heard a voice.”
“A voice?”
“Yes. Someone muttered, ‘It’s not here either.’ And then, unfamiliar monsters appeared. Just like when that giant toad showed up.”
‘It’s not here either’? Was something searching for something?
“So far, only you, the young master, and the young lady have encountered these strange phenomena.”
Seong Hyunjae remarked. I had checked with other hunters who had cleared dungeons recently, just in case, but none of them had experienced anything like a gaze or distortion. Maybe they simply weren’t sensitive enough to notice it, since they weren’t S-rank hunters, but the dungeons hadn’t changed oddly for them either.
“…Then, it really is Hyung.”
“Isn’t it looking for Mister?”
But the jellyfish said it wasn’t. Besides, the only S-rank hunters who had recently cleared a dungeon in Korea were the three of us. So maybe this unknown presence was simply observing S-rank hunters in general.
I relayed what the Newbie had told me to Yerim as well.
“For now, everyone should stay cautious. Seong Hyunjae, you too.”
“Of course.”
After a short reply, a brief silence followed, and then he quietly turned away. I expected him to meddle a bit more, but he just left.
“Let’s head out too. Yerim, is there anything you want to eat?”
“At this point, anything sounds great! Can’t they make ration packs taste better? At first, they were okay, but after three days, I would’ve rather starved.”
This was the longest Yerim had ever spent in a dungeon. Taking both of their hands, I started walking.
Warmth spread from their palms.
Because you two are here, I’ll be okay.
–TL Notes–
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