[Something’s Wrong with My Brother (1)]
I found myself sitting on a bed, not on top of a dragon’s corpse. The stench of blood was completely gone, and even the clothes I was wearing had changed.
‘…Did I really return to the past?’
It looks like I can’t open the status window. No inventory either. If this is five years ago, then it’s before I awakened.
‘Yuhyun was already a well-established guild leader by this time.’
Guild Haeyeon. A small, elite-focused guild that quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the undisputed top guild in Korea within five years. (TL Note: There’s no real meaning for Haeyeon. Although, if we try to use Chinese, it means Deep Sea.)
Of course, I wasn’t able to join. …There were a lot of guild members who disliked me.
‘I must’ve heard, “Stop lurking around the Guild Leader and get lost” about a hundred times.’
Damn those jerks. Fine, this time, I’ll live quietly.
I rummaged through my pockets and found my phone. The date… Oh, it’s really five years ago. The most recent message…
‘Wait, this is from an awakening broker, isn’t it?’
The content of my conversation with an awakening broker from this morning was still there. Seeing that triggered a flood of memories from the past.
‘I’ve really gone back to that time.’
It was the third year since dungeons had appeared and awakened hunters started emerging. The world had undergone rapid changes but was slowly stabilizing.
It was also a time when I was consumed by inferiority, constantly looking up at my successful younger brother, an S-Rank awakened. I had foolishly believed that if I awakened, I could be like him, which led me to contact an awakening broker.
An awakening broker. Simply put, a scammer.
They claimed that even non-awakened people could awaken if they cleared a dungeon, taking a huge sum of money to illegally send people into dungeons. But most of them just took the money and disappeared, or if they did take people into dungeons, they offered no protection, making them some of the worst criminals around.
‘Not that clearing a dungeon would awaken you in the first place.’
While it was true that the dangerous environment of a dungeon increased the likelihood of awakening, clearing it had nothing to do with it. That fact wouldn’t become widely known until six months later when the Korean Hunter Association established safe awakening facilities, effectively wiping out the brokers.
Anyway, I had gone to meet that broker with a wad of cash.
‘And got caught and dragged back by one of Yuhyun’s subordinates.’
Yeah, I remember clearly now. This is one of the guest rooms in the Haeyeon Guild building.
In a moment, Yuhyun will probably show up with that disapproving look on his face to lecture me. Just as I thought that, the door burst open. Han Yuhyun stepped inside.
That bastard wasn’t very patient.
“Hyung.”
My living brother called out to me. His face looked so young. He wasn’t that old even five years later, but now, he seemed really young.
He was twenty years old, right?
Barely an adult, he would still be a student in a peaceful world. Or maybe he would have just enlisted. Of course, the military still existed back then.
‘But he got exempted as an S-Rank awakened.’
I wasn’t so lucky. A lot of people were getting early discharge after awakening in the military, but I didn’t awaken. Even if I had, it would’ve been as an F-Rank, and I would’ve had to complete my service. Only those at E-Rank or higher get exemptions.
Anyway, he was so outstanding that he didn’t even have to serve… Ugh, I’m starting to feel that inferiority complex bubbling up again.
Let go of your greed. Let go of your anguish. Namu Amida Butsu. (TL Note: Buddhist scripture)
I got up and walked over to Yuhyun, who had a grumpy expression. Seeing him up close made me realize just how deeply five years had settled into him.
At this time before my regression, I didn’t think much of it, but looking back now, I realize how tough it must have been for him. No matter how strong he was as an S-Rank, building and leading his own guild couldn’t have been easy.
And during all of that, his one and only brother was running around causing trouble.
…I really messed up.
“Dungeon brokers—”
“Sorry.”
I apologized before he could continue. Yuhyun shut his mouth, his words cut off.
He stared at me as if he was seeing a strange creature for the first time.
“I won’t do it again.”
Not any of it. I’ll just live quietly like I’m supposed to. Yuhyun looked confused, then cautiously spoke.
“Did you… do something really bad?”
“No, nothing like that.”
So he doesn’t trust me, huh. Can’t blame him.
I smiled and lightly tapped his arm.
“I just… sat down and did some thinking, and I realized I’ve been pretty immature.”
The dragon’s cold, hard shell was perfect for cooling my head.
My slightly awkward words seemed to make Yuhyun even more flustered.
“No, it’s not like you were… that immature.”
“What do you mean, not immature? Hey, can I hug you?”
“Uh, what?”
“For the first time in a while.”
It’s been a while for him, but not for me. The sensation of his body growing cold is still vivid in my hands.
“…Do what you want.”
Yuhyun hesitated but eventually nodded. Geez, what’s so embarrassing about hugging your older brother?
It’s making me a little uncomfortable too, though.
I reached out and hugged my younger brother, who had grown taller than me. He was smaller before he awakened.
“My little brother, Han Yuhyun.”
His body was warm in my arms. I could hear his slightly quickened heartbeat and breathing.
Overwhelmed by a deep sense of relief and something welling up inside me, I said something I normally never would have.
“I love you.”
Yuhyun’s body jolted. Hey, I’m embarrassed too, so don’t say anything. Just—
[Awakened ‘Han Yujin’ has been registered.]
…What?
[Legendary title ‘Perfect Nurturer’ has been granted!]
Wait, what?
[The effects of the title ‘Perfect Nurturer’ have been activated.
Supplementary Skill of Perfect Nurturer ? My Kid is the Best
The growth rate of the awakened ‘Han Yuhyun’ is doubled.
Duration ? 3 days]
Wh-What the hell is this overpowered skill?
The Nurturer title was pretty common. Anyone who raised and cared for an awakened person could get it easily. It didn’t even have to be a blood relative.
As long as the nurtured one’s awakening rank was C or higher and the relationship was decent, the title would show up most of the time. For a C to B rank, the title would be ‘Clumsy Nurturer.’ For A rank, it was ‘Average Nurturer.’ And finally, for S rank, it was just ‘Nurturer.’
Since there were no ranks higher than S, I thought ‘Nurturer’ was the highest grade title.
‘Perfect Nurturer? What the heck is that?’
And it comes with a growth rate buff of double.
My old ‘Nurturer’ title granted up to a 10% growth buff at best. The duration was just one day. But double? That means he’ll reach levels in half the time it would usually take.
‘No, it’s more about the skills. The higher the rank, the slower the skill growth!’
Wow, this is totally broken. If I apply this buff before entering a dungeon, he’ll come out insanely stronger.
“…Hyung?”
“Uh, yeah. No, it’s nothing.”
I was so shocked that I kept hugging him.
As I released him and quickly stepped back, Yuhyun cleared his throat, his face a bit red.
“Even though I’ve been strict with you a lot… thanks for saying that, Hyung.”
“N-No need to thank me.”
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence settled between us. Um. Hmm, hmm.
Just as I was about to break and throw myself out the window to escape the awkwardness, Yuhyun spoke first.
“Do you want to have dinner together later? It’s been a while.”
“Uh, sure, sounds good.”
“Okay. I’ve got some work to do for now.”
“Oh, alright, take care.”
Yuhyun left, closing the door behind him. I grabbed my head, tugging at my hair.
‘Wow, this is so awkward.’
What if it’s like this during dinner too? Maybe I should cancel while I still can—
Bam!
“I almost forgot.”
Yuhyun, who I thought had left, opened the door again. He startled me.
“Delete the awakening broker’s contact.”
He said, glancing at the phone on the bed.
“Not that it’ll matter. I’ll make sure they can’t take your calls anyway.”
“…What?”
Did I just imagine that he said he was going to hunt down the broker?
Even after he finished speaking, Yuhyun didn’t leave but just stared at me. …Is he waiting for me to delete it right now? I picked up the phone and showed him as I deleted the broker’s contact information, and only then did he leave, looking satisfied.
Although his attitude felt a bit unsettling, what concerned me more was…
‘My status window!’
I hurriedly opened the status window.
[Awakened Han Yujin
Title ? Dragon Slayer (L), Perfect Nurturer (L)]
Wait, hold on. Dragon Slayer?
‘Why is it there?’
–TL Notes–
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