[ Calm Down (1) ]
“I’ll go with you.”
[Understood. I’ll come pick you up.]
I hung up with Kim Seonghan and immediately began getting ready to head out. My mind was spinning the entire time I was leaving the house.
‘It hasn’t even been a week.’
Could it be that Yuhyun didn’t clear the dungeon properly but had to bail out early? If he had to use the Gate Stone to escape, it’s hard to believe he came out unscathed.
“That brat, seriously!”
He nags me about how dangerous things are for me, but he should take care of himself first!
I got into the waiting car outside. The S-class dungeon Yuhyun entered was over 30 minutes away, even without traffic.
“Any other updates?”
I asked, and Kim Seonghan lifted his gaze from his phone.
“The security cameras in the gate room cannot be accessed immediately due to safety protocols. Furthermore, if the strength of the raid team is deemed close to or below the minimum required for a dungeon of this rank, no one is allowed to approach the gate immediately after clearance. This is especially true with high-ranking Hunters, as they often can’t distinguish friend from foe after exiting a raid and may attack anyone who comes near. Approaching them recklessly is strictly prohibited.”
I already knew all of that. After intense life-or-death battles, it was common for Hunters—especially S-Class ones—to lash out at anyone who approached, even fellow Hunters, out of sheer survival instinct.
And this time, since Yuhyun had cleared the dungeon faster than expected, no one would dare approach too quickly.
“Still, shouldn’t we at least check their condition?”
Despite knowing the regulations, I couldn’t help but grumble. If Yun Yun were here, I’d have asked her to peek in for me.
“Whether it was a clear or an escape, the fact that the gate was activated suggests there isn’t any major issue. There are top-grade potions prepared in the gate room just in case. And personally, I believe the raid was successful. Though the team was small, that could’ve worked in their favor, and don’t forget, he had a mount with him.”
…True, having a mount can cut dungeon clear times in half. The initial estimate was more than ten days, so if they really did clear it in half that time, it’s certainly possible they completed the raid and came out.
That would be a relief. Or would it? If they took down the boss monster, the chances of serious injury would actually be higher than if they’d escaped mid-dungeon.
Damn it, that reckless brat. Whether it’s five years from now or right now, he’s the same. Never takes care of his own body.
Without any further updates, we soon arrived at the dungeon building. Since it was an S-class dungeon, the building was even larger than the one for the A-class dungeon from before. The surrounding area was desolate. There were almost no signs of life on the streets, and many of the nearby shops were closed.
Unlike lower-ranked dungeons, where incidents are rare and easily handled, high-ranking dungeons—especially S-class ones—drive property values down. Businesses shut their doors, and the few remaining residential buildings are only used as cheap places to sleep.
In contrast to the empty streets, the area in front of the gate building was bustling with people. Haeyeon’s Hunters, who had been rotating shifts to stand by, were there, along with Association staff.
As soon as I stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance, a few people moved to block my way.
“It’s dangerous!”
“Please wait until we receive contact from inside.”
Wait? For how long? Should I just sit here until morning? I already stayed up half the night.
But I understood why they were trying to stop me.
“Kim Seonghan, can you take the lead?”
“Yes. Please stay behind me at all times.”
Once they saw I had an S-class defensive Hunter with me, no one tried to stop us. Maybe they couldn’t.
The doors opened, and we stepped inside. The building was as large as expected, and the corridors were much longer. Other than the size, though, the interior wasn’t much different from lower-ranked dungeon facilities—just layer after layer of walls.
The enclosed space made the already heavy air feel even more stifling as we walked. My lips twitched, wanting to grumble about how overly cautious they were being.
Finally, the last door opened, and the smell of blood hit me like a wall. Standing in front of the glowing blue gate, which had already begun stabilizing, was Han Yuhyun. The lighting from behind him made it hard to see his face clearly, but at least he was standing on two feet, so it didn’t seem like he had any major injuries.
Next to him, I saw Peace. The Flame Horned Lion, now about the size of a teenager, wagged his tail slightly when our eyes met.
These idiots.
“Han Yuhyun, you…!”
“Hey, Hyung. You came to pick me up?”
“Pick you up, my ass! You weren’t coming out, so—!”
I was about to yell at him when I finally got a clear look at his face. A long gash stretched from his right eye down to his ear. It was so close to his eye that if it had been just a bit deeper, it could’ve done some serious damage.
Without thinking, my hand moved toward his wound.
“You’re going to get blood on your clothes.”
“Where’s your potion? Why are you still like this?”
“It’s not that bad, and I have Peace, so I saved the potions. You never know when you might need them, and I only had one inventory.”
“Then don’t do something so reckless in the first place! Hold on, I’ve got a potion—”
I hastily took out a potion and healed his wound, only remembering afterward that there was a healer waiting outside. Well, it’s not like I need to conserve potions at this point.
— Grrr…
At that moment, Peace let out a small whimper. I looked down to see that he had shrunk back to his juvenile size and was holding up one of his front paws. A long scratch ran across his little paw.
Damn it.
“Peace! I’m sorry you had to suffer because my brother is a lunatic. You poor thing.”
I quickly scooped Peace up and healed his paw. His fur was a mess, matted with dried blood in patches. He even buried his head in my chest, looking completely drained of energy.
“What’s wrong, Peace?”
— Grr…
“Are you tired?”
“He’s probably more sleepy than tired.”
“Of course, he couldn’t have slept properly, or at all. It was just the two of you.”
They wouldn’t have been able to take turns keeping watch since they couldn’t communicate with each other. I clicked my tongue, and Yuhyun spoke up in a slightly whiny tone.
“I’m sleepy, too.”
“Then why—never mind. Let’s just get out of here. You look awful, and it’d be best to wash up and sleep. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, I’m fine.”
As I comforted Peace and turned to leave, I noticed Kim Seonghan standing there with a somewhat awkward expression. He must’ve come in with us earlier but had slipped out at some point.
“Guild Leader, you’re safe!”
“Did you clear the dungeon, or…?”
The moment we stepped outside, people rushed toward us—not too close, though, staying at a cautious distance. It was like I was leading a wild animal out of a cage. My Peace doesn’t bite, people. After a while, once they seemed to think it was safe, a few started to approach.
Haeyeon’s guild members breathed sighs of relief and expressed their joy, but the Association staff were different. When Kim Seonghan confirmed that the dungeon had indeed been cleared, they swarmed, eyes wide with excitement. The fact that an S-class dungeon had been cleared in half the expected time was enough to make anyone lose their cool.
“Could you come to the Hunter Association right away? The higher-ups are hoping to gather and release a statement as quickly as possible.”
“If we inform the public that S-class dungeons can now be cleared faster and more safely, it’ll help ease people’s fears. You should also bring your mount.”
Sure, those are nice words, but the man just spent days in a dungeon with barely any sleep, and they want more from him? And they want to drag Peace, who’s half asleep, to the Association? Are they crazy? What, is the dungeon going to suddenly explode if they wait one more day?
“He can’t go right now. Contact us again tomorrow.”
My voice came out sharper than I intended. The Association official looked flustered.
“Pardon? I was addressing the Guild Leader. If you could answer—”
“Do you not realize how rude that request is? Can you not see the situation? Or are you a Hunter and a member of the Hunter Association who’s never actually been through a dungeon? Just sitting at a desk reading papers? Or maybe you did one run for rookie training. Unless you won that Hunter license in a poker game, you should know better.”
Seriously, do they have no brains? Clearing an S-class dungeon with just two people in record time—do they not understand what that means? The longer I thought about it, the angrier I got, and my voice rose. Peace, startled, opened his eyes.
— Grrr…
“It’s fine, Peace. Nothing to worry about.”
“We won’t take much of your time—”
— Grrr…
When the official took a step closer, Peace bared his teeth. The man jumped back in fright.
Poor thing must be really sleepy. I patted Peace and turned to Yuhyun, just in case.
“Do you want to go?”
“Nope, not at all.”
Of course, he didn’t want to go. When Yuhyun shook his head, the Association people finally backed off. Just in case they decided to start bothering us again, we quickly got into the car and left.
[-Therefore, the Haeyeon Guild’s shortened S-class dungeon clearance time is expected to have a positive impact on public perception and reduce the avoidance of areas surrounding high-level dungeons.]
The calm voice of the 9 o’clock news anchor filled the TV screen, accompanied by footage provided by the Hunter Association. It seemed they’d put together their own investigation and rushed out a report, even though the actual participants in the raid hadn’t cooperated.
Han Yuhyun half-listened to the news as he reclined in a single-seater sofa. None of it was new or important to him. After a moment, he took out one of the items he’d received as a dungeon reward from his inventory.
It was a long, oval-shaped red egg, about the size of three of his fingers. It glowed faintly in the dim light of the living room.
[Red Egg ? SSS-Class]
No description, just the name and the grade. Since it was ranked so high, it wasn’t just some ordinary item, but he had no idea how to use it or what it was for.
He stared at the egg for a while before putting it back into his inventory. Then, he turned his gaze to the long sofa nearby.
On it, his older brother was fast asleep. Nestled in Han Yujin’s arms was a Flame Horned Lion with sleek, shiny fur. After washing Peace, Yujin had sat on the couch, complaining about not being able to sleep properly because of the baby dragon. He had said he’d just take a short nap, but he had passed out completely.
Yujin had asked to be woken up by 8 PM so he could head back before Blue woke up, but it was already past 9. Yuhyun hadn’t forgotten—he just never intended to wake him.
‘You don’t have to go so far.’
He wasn’t even keeping the baby dragon permanently, yet he was going all out. And even after raising it, he was still holding it like this. The power difference was like a kitten licking a full-grown tiger, thinking it was cute. It was a sight that Yuhyun found both hard to understand and yet entirely familiar.
After all, that’s how his brother had always been.
“You’re strange, Hyung.”
The quiet words slipped out in a low murmur. He had been like that since they were young.
Their parents had quickly realized that their second child was different. It wasn’t something they could put their finger on, but it was a mix of unease, dread, and even fear. Although he was their child, it felt like he wasn’t. It was a feeling similar to a compulsion, like a kind of obsessive fear.
If he had been a complete stranger, they might have just found him hard to deal with, but because he was their own blood—someone they had to care for—the guilt they felt over their discomfort turned the situation into a nightmare for them.
If nothing had happened, they might have abandoned him. Even if they hadn’t, they might have just pretended he didn’t exist, turning a blind eye and ignoring him as much as possible.
But the eldest didn’t act like anything was wrong. Instead, Yujin took care of his younger brother, filling the role their confused parents couldn’t handle. Seeing this, their parents began to distance themselves from Yujin, too. They couldn’t bear the reality that their child was implying something was wrong with them. But if they just decided that both children were strange, everything would be easier.
And once they made that decision, they did feel better. Sharing the same guilt, the couple’s bond grew even stronger, and they lived happily, as if they were newlyweds again.
Han Yuhyun had noticed all of this. Meanwhile, Han Yujin had just thought their family was a bit unusual but didn’t really care. With kind, loving parents and a well-behaved younger brother, Yujin was content.
If Yujin had rejected his brother in a more typical manner, the family would have become a happy family of three, not just a happy couple. They might not have died in that accident. They wouldn’t have been taking so many trips while their precious only son was busy focusing on his studies.
Yujin would have grown up normally, gone to college, and safely weathered the dungeon shock. He wouldn’t have needed to chase down awakening brokers. He would have just remained a regular student, only mildly surprised by Yuhyun’s awakening.
Even knowing all of this, Yuhyun couldn’t let go.
He smiled bitterly, feeling a small twinge of guilt. No one could refuse pure affection and care. Especially if it was the only source of it.
“…So I’ll put up with it.”
He sighed and grumbled softly.
Of course, he didn’t like sharing what was his with others. It felt like when your parents suddenly tell you you’ve got a sibling and expect you to get along with a stranger. And these “siblings” just kept multiplying.
It was annoying. But as long as he knew that he was still the most important to Yujin, and as long as these “extras” helped keep Yujin safe, he could tolerate it.
It was better than having to stand by helplessly.
‘It seems like nothing major happened while I was gone.’
He had needed Peace to clear the dungeon quickly, but he had deliberately left Kim Seonghan behind.
He’d also kept Haeyeon’s other high-ranking Hunters on standby, and while Park Yerim was still inexperienced, she was there as well.
Not to mention Seong Hyunjae. With his nature, Seong Hyunjae wouldn’t leave Yujin unprotected once he deemed him valuable. Even if he had other schemes in mind, Yujin’s immediate safety was guaranteed.
At that moment, Yuhyun’s phone vibrated softly. He picked it up and checked the message. It contained three photos with no accompanying text. The first photo was of a hospital room.
“…This is…”
The walls were cracked, and the door was broken in a VIP room. His smooth brow furrowed immediately. The next photo was of Han Yujin. A clear handprint was visible on his neck. The final photo was also of his brother, his chest looking like it had been slashed, his shirt torn and stained with blood.
Crack!
The phone in Yuhyun’s hand crumpled instantly under the pressure.
–TL Notes–
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