Don't expect this to be updated regularly. I'm only writing this and that as a canon rewrite. And anyways, here's the deal; I didn't read S-Classes That I Raised through.
Everything beyond that which I foreshadow or imply; it's my rough knowledge about untranslated chapters that I was able to scramble together from fanart or friendly ppl who were kind enough to explain. Tbh, I don't think I'll even reach the untranslated parts, but who knows?
1.
Han Yoojin blinked.
A strange room, filled with no one except him, entered his sight. There was a bed under him. His cell phone contained the number of the Awakening Broker from five years ago. The date showed him that he was five years in the past. It seemed like he was in a room of the Haeyeon Guild building.
'I'm really back,' he thought dully.
And then, the door burst open and his living younger brother entered the room with a scowling face. Han Yoohyun, with his now younger face, his non-bloodied face and his not dead face with the awful calm smile, twisted into a fierce glare. "Hyung," his brother began, and the voice was the same as five years into the future, "Dungeon Brokers are—"
"I'm sorry," Han Yoojin interrupted hastily. A stuffy feeling entered his lungs at the surprised face his brother was making. "I won't do it again."
There won't be an 'again' ever again. There won't be any helping his useless older brother out, inferiority complex or self-sacrificing ever again. There won't be a chance to.
"By any chance–"
"No," he cut in yet again. Han Yoojin didn't know what expression he was making right now, but it couldn't be a very approachable one by the unsure gaze his brother leveled at him. As if looking at him for the first time. A look for a stranger. "I was in the wrong. But I know better now, thanks to you."
Right, he had understood their relationship completely wrong. His younger brother didn't need a brother who was a weak point enough that he would sacrifice himself for them. So, it was simple.
"You don't have to worry about me anymore, Yoohyun-ah."
There had to be no reason to sacrifice himself. There had to be no reason at all for Han Yoohyun to associate with him. That way, he wouldn't do something as foolish as throw his life away.
"I won't be in your way."
He had to disappear from the limelight. It was obvious. There won't be any reason if the reason didn't exist. If he wasn't there, if he didn't get in his brother's way like in the future, won't that lighten the burden of his brother? Won't he have no reason to sacrifice himself? The cold sensation of Han Yoohyun's body felt like it was branded into his brain.
"My younger brother, Han Yoohyun."
A smile grazed his lips as he gazed at the extremely confused form of his younger brother. He looked cute, frowning in bewilderment in front of the bed and with shaking pupils. Han Yoojin wondered if he acted too unusual. In the end, it didn't matter. He was filled with pure relief and thus, the next words that left his mouth were as much a whisper to Han Yoohyun as for him.
"I'd die for you."
[The Awakening of 'Han Yoojin' has been registered.]
2.
They parted on awkward terms.
It was to be expected. Han Yoojin knew that his behavior was more than suspicious, seeing as he had openly declared his willingness to die for his brother, but the Guild Leader of Haeyeon had no time to investigate his mental state in a short amount of time. The matter was thrown away for the time being. It was the most ideal situation for him.
His cell phone had been confiscated by his brother, but it was a small matter. He won't need the cell phone again. After he confirmed his status window, new titles and old-new skills, there wasn't a reason to stay anymore. Han Yoohyun was registered by his skill My Little One's The Best. Even though the keywords 'I'd die for you' were quite unsubtle compared to 'Do your best', he had no intention of telling them someone else anyway, so it wasn't a problem.
Han Yoojin only had to stay out of his younger brother's way and silently support him from the sidelines with his Perfect Caregiver title. Help out in the shadows. Not getting caught by his younger brother. It will be hard, probably harder than getting ostracized by the public and becoming unpopular.
'But it'll be possible,' he mused quietly, opening the door of the room he was staying in and passing a tall man leaning against the wall of the hallway. 'I'll make it possible.'
"Stop," a deep voice called out.
Han Yoojin didn't stop. He had to get away from his brother as soon as possible. To do that, he had to leave the Haeyeon Guild's building. The conversation that would follow, would he stay here and wait for Han Yoohyun, would be catastrophic because he would have to tell a lot of lies to make up for his behavior. The chance of his lies unraveling was high with the other being suspicious of him.
Alas, a firm hand on his shoulder stopped his march to freedom. A familiar face greeted him on the end of the arm—Kim Sunghan, A-Class Awakening. Han Yoojin suppressed a flinch. This person hadn't liked him in the future and surely, this hadn't changed just because he admitted to his wrongdoings. And see, the expression the other formed was of strong disapproval.
"Go to your room, please," Kim Sunghan ordered firmly, pulling his shoulder back to indicate to 'his room'.
Why was this happening.
It hadn't happened in the future, at least. Were this what people called Butterfly Effect? This wasn't good at all. He definitely had to disappear today, or else Han Yoohyun would hire the best Hunters that specialized in the Mental stat if he acted too particular.
"..Why're you stopping me? I'm just going out for a few minutes," he tried to appease.
"Guild Leader ordered me to stop you."
Han Yoojin wondered why his younger brother had to be such a clever man to be able to prepare a watchdog over him not even five minutes after they parted. Outwardly, he cursed softly under his breath and marched back into the room, "Ah, damn it."
But only because Plan A failed didn't mean that he wouldn't fall back onto more desperate measures. If he had known why his younger brother acted this way, to protect him from outside dangers and to ensure that he wouldn't be targeted because of their relation, he wouldn't have resorted to such methods. However, in this timeline, Han Yoojin didn't know why his brother always got in his way and only knew that he was willing to sacrifice himself even though Han Yoohyun had given up on them. This knowledge and having seen the proof in Han Yoohyun's cooling corpse, he concluded that to prevent anything like that happening ever again, he would have to disappear out of his younger brother's sight—on his own terms.
Thus, his next actions were of the insane variant.
3.
Han Yoojin looked down. The stone sidewalk looked up.
Han Yoojin stared forward. The road full of passerby, looking tiny from his high position, stared back.
Han Yoojin gazed up. The various balconies over his head gazed down.
His eyes locked onto the blanket on the bed. His orbs noted the balconies under his balcony. There was no wind and there were no people on the ground of the Haeyeon Guild's property.
Han Yoojin chose to climb down.
4.
The climb to freedom was an atrocious journey, but it was also a stealthy one.
There were no people that would coincidently look up and notice that the crazy brother of the Haeyeon's Guild Leader was using a blanket as a sole rope to get himself down. Fortunately, the blanket was fairly expensive and thus of relatively good quality. Han Yoojin didn't want to calculate how many and which bones he could have broken otherwise.
Still, he hadn't thought the whole process of tricking his watchdog was this easy. Kim Sunghan will surely get a lecture from his younger brother. He almost pitied the deeply loyal but stern man who hadn't approved of his existence even once in the future.
Calling a taxi over and telling the driver his address, Han Yoojin noticed that he maybe should have left a note for Han Yoohyun in the room. He hoped his younger brother would correctly deduce, with the blanket missing and the window open, that he had only fled the building and not been abducted by the Awakening Brokers who could track the IP from his cell phone.
Luckily, his cell phone genuinely wasn't with him, so even if Han Yoohyun wished to track him down like some Awakening Brokers had done to people in the future, he wouldn't be able to find him. Han Yoojin bet that his younger brother hadn't thought that his impulsive decision to take his cell phone would bite him back later. It was truly unfortunate for his brother, but he vowed to himself to pay Han Yoohyun back with all the help he will give his brother's guild later.
Looking through the taxi window, he laid eyes on his old house.
5.
The house was emptier now.
Of course, everything that was property of Han Yoojin came with him. He didn't mind that furniture and some fragile belongings had to be left back. It was better this way and Han Yoohyun would find him not even a quarter of a day later if he stayed in his lonely house.
It was best to find a new apartment instead of a house. It was cheaper and was more inconspicuous than a house where only one person lived. He also had an idea already who to contact to acquire an apartment as fast as possible before his brother ultimately let the bloodhounds out.
With a small smile, he took his new cell phone and his new Hunter license out. There was a call to be made, stocks to buy and some people to not so subtly threaten.
6.
The apartment resided in a low-risk dungeon neighborhood where a lot of middle-class families lived. Han Yoojin didn't care a lot about the dungeon risk, but his 'acquaintances' did recommend the neighborhood because of its lack of active guilds nearby and its peaceful atmosphere. The grocery store was also nearby. As for his financial situation, his bank account was packed with money he was sure should have gone to Han Yoohyun's college funding. Though Han Yoojin was sure he will be able to fend for himself for the next two months.
Sighing, he plopped down onto the couch. Escape successful, hideout secured, money invested, fake ID made and little brother not on the verge of death. What a nice day this was turning into.
"..."
The apartment was quiet.
Han Yoojin needed to lay low and such, couldn't do the numerous things on his to-do list. However, current TV series were a bore and the books he wanted to read weren't published yet. What a dilemma.
In the end, he visited a bar he frequented years into the future before his drinking habits spiraled out of control. Thinking back, didn't he get weirdly professional help from councilors? Perhaps Han Yoohyun heard about his useless older brother and wanted to nip the bud before it sprouted into a scandal again. There was no guessing what that cold exterior and strange sacrificial tendency hid.
There were a lot of incidents that were obviously resolved by his brother and then others that just.. kind of ended on their own. Mostly because Han Yoojin silenced them, or the perpetrators disappeared without a concrete reason. At that time, he thought it was coincidence and a grain of karma, but looking back; wasn't it too convenient? Han Yoojin hadn't been able to get a read on his younger brother for years on end, with Han Yoohyun cutting all contact between them, but the fact that he had known, somehow, that he had been in that D-Class dungeon pre-regression..
It was damning.
And then that idiot died for his sake.
'Did Yoohyun-ah hate me?' Han Yoojin wondered by his sixth drink, somehow not drunk out of his mind. The answer was obvious, though. That smile. That relieved smile that he was sure he wouldn't forget for the rest of his lifetime. 'Then why?'
He couldn't imagine the answer.
'Why did he abandon me?'
And there was no use speculating, too. The Han Yoohyun now wouldn't know, and he wasn't dead either. That was enough.
It should be enough.
Apropos enough, why wasn't he drunk yet. Han Yoojin fixed a contemplative look onto the glass in his hand. Thinking about the future that wouldn't be, he should be drunk already by having weak tolerance with this body. The drink in his hand wasn't even considered especially hard, but by his eleventh glass, he was still too sober. Not even his face felt warm.
"What an alcohol tolerance," the barmaid commented idly. Her amazed gaze swept through the cups that were piled up in front of him. She didn't seem to mind his get-up or his moody silence, because she kept talking, "Got experience, huh?" Han Yoojin made a so-so gesture. Hey, it was kind of the truth. Only that it wasn't completely, of course. The barmaid threw a glance to another stool where a strangely handsome man with black coat sat[1]. "I think this guy here got more than you, huh?"
The man shot the barmaid a dismissive look and didn't deign the obvious provocation with a reply. He seemed like the bouncer of this bar with that no-nonsense face. Han Yoojin had never met this person, though. A couple of years sure did a difference.
"Ah, it's Yoo Myeongwoo again," the barmaid sighed with wistful eyes, looking somewhere into the back of the bar. The man and Han Yoojin stayed silent, not even pretending to be interested or looking where she was gazing at. She sighed again as if shouldering a great burden, and told them needlessly, "He's a timid guy, that one. Skittish." The barmaid sent the bouncer a leer. "Sound familiar?"
The glare that the man flung at her was decidedly unimpressed and frigid. "Shut up," he growled and some people who sat nearby recoiled from the deep bass of his voice.
"Who's the fool now?" the barmaid sassed.
Han Yoojin chose at that moment to stop listening. There appeared to be some issues between them that he had no interest knowing nor interfering with. Not even stumbling, he stood up and sat himself a few stools further into the corner. It was relatively empty here, except for this one person who was staring at the wall of bottles with a blank gaze.
Platinum blond hair, gold colored eyes and a handsome face fitting for an S-Class Hunter. The only other things that were different were the bangs that hung over light eyes and dark glasses that reflected the lights off. Han Yoojin questioned why the esteemed Guild Leader of the Seseong Guild sat in a small bar like this. Especially alone, too. That incredible person should be swarmed by fans, but instead it appeared like the other people actively avoided the corner where they sat. It could be the pressure Sung Hyunjae as an S-Class had, but weirdly enough Han Yoojin didn't feel any different except mildly annoyed because of his persistent soberness and slightly melancholic. The situation felt familiar, with a faint hint of déjà vu[-].
The déjà vu feeling didn't vanish even after looking away from the lonely figure of Sung Hyunjae. And try as he might, he didn't remember ever meeting the Seseong Guild Leader pre-regression except in TV. It wasn't a secret that Haeyeon and Seseong weren't on good terms with each other, so naturally, Han Yoojin who was hated by both guilds because of his relation to Han Yoohyun, had given a wide berth to Seseong. Even after Seseong left Korea, he never had any contact with a big guild like that.
'It's weird,' he commented in his mind, just to keep a hold of his strangely aching heart and confused brain. 'It feels like this happened before with him.'
A hunch. Han Yoojin could approach the Seseong Guild Leader in like a bad drama and ask if they have ever met before. Or he could slide next to Sung Hyunjae and ask why he was alone in a bar like the KDJC Bar[2] which was notorious for its easy atmosphere and shady businesses.
Curiosity buzzed inside him, but something held him back. If. If there really had been a meeting between them before. Then why didn't Han Yoojin remember? It was suspicious. The situation felt quite familiar, as if it happened before once upon a time, but the only things he could recall about the Guild Leader were his disappearance and the suspicion that he murdered S-Class Hunter Song Taewon. Who made him forget a meeting between them? Was it Sung Hyunjae himself or an outsider?
Han Yoojin felt a headache incoming. He should lay low even though the possibility of meeting Sung Hyunjae wouldn't ever happen again. If that person wanted to unravel his fake identity, it wouldn't be hard to do so with being the number one Hunter in Korea. Though the guy wouldn't probably reveal his identity to Han Yoohyun if it came to that. They weren't on good terms at all.
"Um. I– Did we meet before?" he asked lowly towards the person in question, biting the bullet and hoping that he won't regret it later on. His gaze stayed unrepentantly on his eleventh glass. Avoiding eye contact sure made it feel less awkward. "It. It feels like this happened before."
Maybe feeling pity, amusement or noticing the seriousness in his question, the S-Class Hunter actually replied with an obvious fake coyness, "My, is this a pickup line? I feel like I am falling already."
"What nonsense." Han Yoojin unwillingly blurted out his true thoughts. The fake coyness in that voice was more irritating than he expected and his reply was also colder than he wanted it to be, but when he gathered the courage to look at the other in guilt, the sight of a smirking Sung Hyunjae instantly vaporized any lingering feelings and left annoyance. "I see that this was a pointless endeavor," he added scathingly and stood up. "Thank you for indulging me, Sung Hyunjae-ssi."
With that, he stomped out.
7.
Out of spite, he visited the KDJC Bar the next day again. Of course, the Guild Leader of Seseong wasn't there, but the barmaid and an unknown man were there.
"Hey, you're back," the barmaid greeted with a sly smile. The mischievous tilt of her lips made the beauty mark on her face[3] stand out more in the low lighting.
With a nod as a greeting, he sat down and slammed a bill down. The barmaid accepted it wordlessly and a couple of minutes later, a quite heavy beverage sat before him. Han Yoojin drank it out in one go.
The barmaid whistled, impressed. "Not in a good mood, hm." A so-so gesture again. He almost fell unconscious because of his overuse of the Seed Leaf skill today. Not having mana potions sucked a lot and then most people were F-Class anyway, too. In a nutshell, it was a waste of time. "My other regular here." She gestured to the man who was drunkenly gazing into his glass as if finding the answer to the universe. "He also had a bad day. Got Awakened and tested today."
"Hm?" he asked and reflexively activated his Seed Leaf skill. The Status Window reliably popped up.
[Awakened - Yoo Myeongwoo..]
It was a jackpot.
8.
Han Yoojin didn't plan to gather people to protect himself. It would be nice, of course, but more than anything else, he wished to help his younger brother out.
However, the super SS-Class skill had to be obtained first before this person could become useful. Before that, the Haeyeon Guild would never realize what kind of goldmine they had and would remove him. So, even if he was laying low right now, he definitely had to help Yoo Myeongwoo obtain Gold Forge's Owner skill.
Pretending to be Yoo Myeongwoo's old friend, securing his number and setting up the keyword with a lot of alcohol by getting the biggest hangover ever—it went more smoothly than he thought it would. Though the barmaid did shoot him a perplexed look the next day, asking him what the hell happened to his ungodly alcohol tolerance. It went off, literally. At least he now knew that he could deactivate the passive skills.
9.
And there was a future S-Class sitting on a hill which was overgrown with trees. In front of his apartment complex. Who would have thought that Myeongdong Station would be the place where future Ice Witch Bak Yerim resided?
Sighing, Han Yoojin chose to speed up his plan.
10.
Pretending to be someone's friend—acquaintances, really—should become his standard lie. Selling the story shouldn't be so easy, but it was. Perhaps because it was the truth that he raised his brother by himself? Nevertheless, it wasn't hard at all to persuade Bak Yerim. But it was hard to get her out of the building without destroying anything.
Han Yoojin didn't have anything like a contract to bind her, but he did needle a promise out of her to stay silent and to go to Haeyeon Guild. A promise easily broken that had no insurance at all. It would be a loss if she broke the promise, but Han Yoohyun would surely handle her. Han Yoojin only had to help handle her to be soon ex-guardian. She would become independent from now on with being S-Class, and looking at her beaten up shoes, it was good timing to get her free from her questionable uncle.
He could have lived without the 'ahjussi' title, though. He was still thirty. No, wait. He was still in his mid-twenties!
11.
He rented some Strength stats gloves out. It helped greatly in intimidating and blackmailing Bak Sungtae.
Bak Yerim's gaze on him felt weird when she drove away towards the Haeyeon Guild building.
12.
The gloves unexpectedly helped out in rescuing Yoo Myeongwoo, too. It was a quite messy affair. Reporting to the police, waiting till they stormed the place, sneaking in and ripping Yoo Myeongwoo's contract.
And then running like a fugitive from the police. A classic hit-and-run.
13.
Han Yoojin called Yoo Myeongwoo an hour later with a new number and a new cell phone. The man answered the call in near tears, relief and awe making a messy mix of emotions through the phone.
"–and then this guy came out of nowhere and ripped the contract like it was nothing!" Yoo Myeongwoo wailed helplessly. "I didn't get a good look, but, but it felt like somebody was watching over me!"
Accurate. Luckily, he had changed into another get-up so to not get recognized. The clothes were burned already. Han Yoojin almost wanted to pat his past him on the back for a job well done.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
The grown man sniffled pitifully. And then he said, "Thanks to you."
Han Yoojin felt like he was slapped awake from a relaxing daydream.
"..Me?" Somehow, he managed to insert an appropriate amount of surprise into that one word instead of shock. How did he know? Or was he misunderstanding something?
"Han Yohan[×]," Yoo Myeongwoo began with the name of his fake identity, "I know it was you. These gloves the guy was wearing—it was definitely you."
Forget patting his past self on the back, Han Yoojin wanted to strangle himself! And he couldn't even dispose of the gloves because they weren't his' anyway! He lightly massaged his throbbing temples. "It wasn't—me," he said uselessly and both knew the show was over. A deep sigh of lamentation left his lips. He guessed it was a good thing that Yoo Myeongwoo was such an honest guy to confront him so brazenly. Still his loss for being so negligent in his clothes, though. "I have something to do." Like changing his cell phone again, his number and ID, too. What a pain. "Let's talk later about it."
Which translated to never. Perhaps Yoo Myeongwoo felt that the atmosphere shifted in a way out of his favor, because frantic "Wait, wait, wait–!" were the last things he heard before he disconnected the call and turned off the phone.
14.
Leaving the matter with Yoo Myeongwoo aside where he screwed up badly enough, he would never look at gloves the same again, the next days were fairly productive.
Han Yoojin managed to contact an old 'acquaintance' again to get the Dokkaebi's number. And then involving Do Hamin's skill resulted in a disgruntled Dokkaebi who couldn't understand why their impromptu hide-and-seek always ended with the hider failing to hide. The B-Class contract that he managed to wheedle out of the Dokkaebi sat securely in his Inventory.
He gave the Dokkaebi the coordinates, which he also got from Do Hamin, they had to teleport to and retrieve the object. The good thing; the Dokkaebi[*] didn't manage to activate any of the security measures Han Yoohyun definitely installed. Now the bad thing; there was a red cat with a fox tail and horn on his couch.
"Kyang," the C-Class Magic Beast, a Horned Flame Lion, said and adorably tilted its head to the side.
"Dokkaebi," Han Yoojin sighed into his retrieved, old cell phone with an owner's token in his other hand, "why is there a C-Class Magic Beast on my couch?"
"It was adorable!" they squealed in a high-pitched voice. "And it was just about to break out of the place on its own anyway!" It was about to what. "The Guild Leader of Haeyeon left the owner's token behind! It just asked to be taken!"
He felt a deep worry permeate his entire being like a dark cloud. The Dokkaebi became a kidnapper. A monster-napper? And since when did his brother own a familiar? Why was he so stupid as to leave an owner's token behind where potential robbers could take it? His brother was too young. Han Yoojin sighed again. "I refuse to be an accomplice," he stated flatly. How about giving Han Yoohyun the monster back, was heavily implied.
"I'll pay for the food and all!"
"It's illegal to have tamed Magic Beasts inside buildings with Unawakened people." That would change in five years, though.
The Dokkaebi sobbed pitifully. "I'll take care of it! Please, Boss-nim!"
As if trying to strengthen the Dokkaebi's plea, a sudden Message Window popped up.
[Title 'Perfect Caregiver' has increased the effect of item 'Owner's token'.
The tamed target shows goodwill towards the Caregiver.]
So, the keywords could be applied to Magic Beasts, huh.
The Horned Flame Lion nudged his heel, a quiet 'keang' leaving its mouth. And then it flopped down to show its belly. Han Yoojin felt his will melt at the angelic display of pure cuteness and kneeled down to pet its soft fur. "Deal."
He could still give Han Yoohyun the Magic Beast back when it grew into an adult.
15.
Tuesday, he met Yoo Myeongwoo again. It was a coincidence that they had to clear the same dungeon for the novice Hunter training. At least they hadn't had the same course yesterday with monster training?
Han Yoojin tilted the cap further down that was used as his disguise. The mouth mask would normally be enough, but the unexpected arrival of Yoo Myeongwoo made him jittery. He didn't want to count the times he checked his bare hands for gloves. Sometimes, he even caught himself staring at himself in a mirror for any incriminating clothes that would reveal his identity.
'This is driving me crazy,[4]' he murmured in his mind, longing for the soft fur of Peace.
Think positive thoughts. The My Brat is the Best skill functioned successfully on Bak Yerim a day ago. She bragged afterwards that she acquired Pale Rain. Today, she should be in a dungeon too, with his brother probably, to get experience. Using it on Yoo Myeongwoo to get the SS-Class skill should be fine, right?
[Target Yoo Myeongwoo's Gold Forge's Owner (SS) Achievement Conditions.
Attain Level 10 (Progress 01/10)
Sharpening the blade of 10,000 bladed tools (Progress 17/10,000)]
..The end of the tunnel sure was far away.
16.
The F-Class dungeon went fine until it wasn't.
Hunters of various classes were strewn across the rocky terrain, instantly annihilated by the 2nd Class bird-type Gold Beak Maiya that suddenly ambushed them. In addition, a new annoyance was making itself known by abusing Message Windows.
[Sorry! I'm so sorry!]
"How about killing that thing," Han Yoojin suggested reasonably, hiding behind a boulder to evade the bird's sight.
[I.. I..] the presumed system operator stuttered. He would feel bad bullying the system if he hadn't had to worry about his life being taken. [I'll—do something! Hang on! _]
Emoji's weren't cute at all. And what did they mean, hang on? One hit by that bird and he was good as dead. The spear he had, kindly given through the corrupt Hunter Association, wouldn't even endure one thrust. It was basically hopeless. The worst thing was the guy next to him, though. Han Yoojin wasn't that suicidal that he wouldn't take the rented gloves out again, seeing as this was an emergency, so Yoo Myeongwoo instantly recognized him again.
"Um, Han Yohan?"
He suppressed his desire to sigh. Barely. Why was this happening. "Who?" he asked, playing dumb and feigned keeping lookout for the bird in favor of meeting Yoo Myeongwoo's eyes.
His current identity was named Lee Yoohyun[×]—as long as he reacted to the name, he even stole his brother's name. He sincerely hoped Yoo Myeongwoo hadn't noticed but the chance was so low it wasn't even funny. As he had mused ten minutes ago when the bird started killing left and right, he should probably retire and live a slacker life[5]. A Hunter life was a pain.
Then, something happened as if jinxed because of his thoughts.
The system exclaimed, [I got it!] the same moment Yoo Myeongwoo said, "I'm sorry for my rude behavior!" and Han Yoojin locked eyes with the Gold Beak Maiya.
"Uh oh," he went and pushed the apologizing idiot down.
The Gold Beak Maiya screeched powerfully in triumph and dive bombed down. Or something because his F-Class eyes couldn't track the blur that was presumably approaching their position. A notification of the Fear Resistance popped up. Han Yoojin could taste the blood of more than fifty dead people in the air. It was as nauseating as the blood of his younger brother.
He wondered if this would be the moment his life flashed before his eyes. Weak and useless. Not enough to for his brother to stay but enough to sacrifice himself. Hopefully, Peace will be found by the Dokkaebi before they break out of their pen. Bak Yerim will be fine. They didn't know each other that long, so even if she would be sad that he abruptly vanished, she wouldn't be devastated. Yoo Myeongwoo will be fine after he obtained his SS-Class skill. He won't be fine now, but later, surely. And Han Yoohyun..
Han Yoojin hoped his corpse will be unrecognizable enough. His younger brother shouldn't know. Ever.
Weirdly enough, he didn't fear his approaching demise. It probably was the fault of Fear Resistance. Maybe he should turn it off occasionally. Ah, if he survived this. Which he won't.
There was someone screaming. It sounded like Yoo Myeongwoo. And then fire covered his entire sight. Han Yoojin only had enough time to feel the blazing heat skimming over his skin before he was dragged further back. He noticed someone taking him roughly by the shoulder and dumping him behind another boulder where Yoo Myeongwoo was shortly disposed to too. Then, he got a grown adult clinging to him.
Yoo Myeongwoo was full on sobbing, hiccupping and clinging to him as if he would vanish if he didn't embrace him. The sobbing man said something, but it only sounded like gibberish to him. Because of Yoo Myeongwoo, he couldn't see what was happening and the man didn't budge an inch.
[You're all right!] the system shouted joyfully, the Message Window directly popping up in front of his eyes. [I'm so relieved! I thought that I would be too late!]
"..What did you do?" he whispered under Yoo Myeongwoo's sobs. His voice sounded rough even to his ears.
[I opened the gate!]
Something which should be impossible. Who was the system operator to leisurely open a closed gate that could only be left with a rare Gate Stone? Han Yoojin didn't say that, though. Instead, he said, "Thanks. For saving me."
The system fell silent for a minute and then sent a thumbs up.
'I almost died,' he mused still in Yoo Myeongwoo's embrace and a calm heart. He felt a little detached from the situation but overlooking that, he felt fine. His heart wasn't beating fast, he didn't feel out of breath and his body wasn't trembling. It was scary how little he feared his death. 'I'm alive.'
There was no need for Han Yoohyun to never identify his corpse yet.
"Yoo Myeongwoo."
After a few tries, the other managed a garbled and hiccup filled, "Yeah?"
"What–" What happened. He gulped hastily, swallowing back his words. "Who.. saved us?"
There was only one Hunter. Who specialized in fire attribute and could create a sea of fire so easily to obstruct someone's sight. There was only one and it should be–
"Haeyeon Guild Leader and a dark-haired girl saved us," Yoo Myeongwoo mumbled, his voice barely audible under loud explosions. The arms around him tightened uncomfortably. "Other Hunters are supporting them and protecting us right now."
Han Yoojin felt the floor under him shatter.
[1] its yjh. orv easter egg
[2] kim dokja company bar bruh
[3] its hsy, orv again
[4] tcf reference
[5] tcf reference again
[-] idk. i rly dont know how or why or when they met. except that st, hyj and shj knew each other and hyj forgot cuz of shj. thats all i know. i wanna know how too ughhh
[×] who knows if the name would work in kr hangul or hanja
[*] chapter 36; hyh said it should be possible for the dokkaebi to teleport into his house, so no plothole! yay!