RG 164

At that blunt reaction, Hyeon Dowun asked, “What? Who is it?”

Instead of answering, Kwon Seoyul turned his phone around to show the screen.

Brother Hae-il
010-GANA-DARA

“Kang Hae-il? Why the hell is that bastard suddenly calling you?”

Everyone in the district, including Kwon Seoyul and Hyeon Dowun, used modified phones that couldn’t be tracked. Since their current location couldn’t be detected through the phone, Kang Hae-il must have had another reason for calling.

After a brief moment of thought, Hyeon Dowun gave a nod. “Pick up.”

“Ugh, no. He’s just going to talk nonsense again.”

“Still, pick up. We need to know why he’s calling.”

“I said no, I don’t want to~”

“Just answer it already!”

When Hyeon Dowun barked at him, Kwon Seoyul pouted and moved his hand.

Whenever Cha Seohu spoke, Kwon Seoyul would listen right away, but when Hyeon Dowun spoke, he always acted like he needed to be told several times before listening. It made Hyeon Dowun’s blood pressure spike without fail.

“Hello,” Kwon Seoyul greeted curtly, and the caller chuckled.

[Why’d you take so long to pick up?]

“I picked up because I was forced to. Just get to the point.”

[Running away from home and still acting so proud.]

“Tch, how old do you think I am to call it running away? It’s called moving out.”

[Moving out is something adults do when they can carry their own weight in society. For you, it’s running away. Is Dowun there?]

“…No.”

[Put me on speaker. Dowun probably wants to hear this too.]

The smooth way the words rolled out made Kwon Seoyul click his tongue. Creepy bastard. Doing as requested, he pressed the speaker button and set the phone on the table. Kang Hae-il’s voice rang out clearly.

[I figured Seoyul would storm out, but I didn’t think you’d be the one helping him, Dowun.]

The moment Kwon Seoyul put the phone on speaker, Hyeon Dowun instantly grasped the situation and replied stiffly, “…You caught on pretty quickly for that.”

With the exception of the younger brothers or Cha Seohu, Hyeon Dowun always used honorifics with Kang Hae-il and Muk Jeongho. The same went for their “father.” 

He never called Kang Hae-il “brother.” He treated him like a stranger—or like someone he had no intention of getting involved with—never even saying his name. The same went for everyone except his friend Cha Seohu. As for Kwon Seoyul, he was such a reckless busybody that there was no choice but to let him be.

“What’s the reason for your call?”

[Haha, that’s a pretty stiff reaction. Don’t be so scared. I’m not calling to do anything to you.]

Kang Hae-il maintained a light tone throughout. Like the lunatic he was, he treated everything in life like a joke and rarely got serious.

[You’re not thinking of persuading Seohu to come back to the district, are you?]

“I don’t know yet. I only met him recently.”

[Oh, please. That’s a pathetic excuse. If you were planning to drag Seohu back, you would’ve had a plan in place from the moment he ran away.]

“…”

[It’s not like I’m so uninterested in you guys that I couldn’t figure that much out. I’m not Brother Jeongho, you know.]

At that overly friendly tone, Kwon Seoyul shuddered and rubbed his arms as if chilled. “Ugh, gross. That makes me want to puke.”

Kang Hae-il surely heard him, but he went on without caring.

[From your reaction, it doesn’t look like you plan to bring Seohu back, or even want to. If anything, your goal seems to be to cling to him.]

“…And so?” Hyeon Dowun’s face turned cold. That short response, forced out with effort, carried an unmistakable wariness.

Knowing exactly why Hyeon Dowun was on guard, Kang Hae-il laughed again.

[I told you, don’t be scared. I’m not going to meddle in your business. I’m here to keep an eye on Cha Seohu, not clean up after my younger brothers. As long as he’s in my sights, I don’t care who he’s with or what he’s doing.]

Kang Hae-il was exactly as Kwon Seoyul and Hyeon Dowun feared—his orders from their father were to “watch Cha Seohu,” and that was all he intended to do.

Just as Hyeon Dowun had warned Cha Seohu, if something dangerous happened, Kang Hae-il wouldn’t step in. Unless, of course, their father had specifically told him to watch a corpse—then he might intervene at the last second.

Kang Hae-il was just as much trouble as Kwon Seoyul, albeit in a different way. Knowing this all too well, Hyeon Dowun rubbed his forehead wearily.

[Well, I do find it a bit annoying when you throw your skills around so carelessly. But you and Seoyul can manage that yourselves, alright?]

“…”

[Then, good luck.]

With that cheerful farewell, the call abruptly ended.

“Haa…”

Hyeon Dowun finally let out the sigh he had been holding back. As he lowered his head and pushed his glasses up, a sudden curse rang out, “Ah, fuck.” Scowling and spitting out the words like he was chewing them, Kwon Seoyul grabbed his phone.

Seeing that, Hyeon Dowun—rarely—felt a sense of kinship with Kwon Seoyul. Even for someone like Kwon Seoyul, Kang Hae-il’s way of talking would be irritating. It was annoying enough that he’d call just to prod at them. But given where they were, he had to make sure Kwon Seoyul didn’t get too worked up.

With a heavy heart, Hyeon Dowun opened his mouth. “Hey, calm down first…”

“Right, Brother Seohu got a new skill, didn’t he? And it’s a fucking annoying one at that! I was so nervous about meeting him again that I forgot the most important thing. Ah, fuck. Am I an idiot?”

“…”

“What if he used it on some other bastard while I was gone? Ah, I’m gonna lose my mind.”

Kwon Seoyul, pale as a sheet and restless, suddenly shot to his feet. He looked ready to bolt straight out of the lounge, so Hyeon Dowun panicked and grabbed him.

“Hey, hey. Why are you standing up all of a sudden?”

“It’s been ages since Brother Seohu left, and we haven’t heard a damn thing from him. This won’t do. He said he went to the representative’s office, right? Fuck it, let’s go find him.”

“Find him? Find him for what! It’s only been thirty minutes!”

“Ten minutes is enough, fuck thirty. Let go, before I shove you off.”

“Can’t you just sit quietly for once and not cause trouble? This is someone else’s guild!”

“As if I give a shit. No, wait, now that I think about it, it’s ridiculous. Who the hell do they think they are, ordering Brother Seohu around? What if those bastards called him to the office just to squeeze a skill out of him?”

‘Are you serious right now?’

The sarcasm was right at the tip of his tongue, but Hyeon Dowun barely swallowed it down. He had a strong hunch that if he provoked Kwon Seoyul now, something—or someone—was going to get wrecked. And it was a given that he would be the first casualty if he tried to stop him. Whatever button had been pushed, the only person who could rein in this rampaging mad dog was Cha Seohu.

Hanging onto Kwon Seoyul’s arm like his life depended on it, Hyeon Dowun silently screamed for his friend.

‘Hurry the hell up and get here, Cha Seohu, you bastard…’

***

“I’ll be going now.”

I’d more or less sorted out Song Ji-un’s issue, and I’d also talked with Kwon Taehyeok about the ranking match, so it was time to leave. I was also starting to worry about Kwon Seoyul and Hyeon Dowun, who I’d left in the lounge.

“Let’s meet again next time. You’re welcome to drop by anytime.”

As I got up without hesitation, the fake put on a kind expression, mimicking the pre-regression Song Ji-un. It was so damn irritating that I narrowed my eyes—and then another voice came right on its heels.

“You seem busy now, so let’s meet again when you have free time.”

“…What?”

I’d heard the fake speak, but his lips hadn’t moved at all. Blinking in confusion, I heard the voice ring out again inside my head.

“Oh, is this the first time I’ve spoken to you like this? Just act normal. This is a message for you alone.”

“…”

I forced a cough and turned away from the fake.

I already knew he was some kind of transcendent being, but I didn’t know he could do this. It was straight out of a fantasy novel, so even as I listened to him, it didn’t feel real.

“Hmm… next week should be fine. I’ll be waiting here, so come at night. Oh, and don’t come alone—bring that kid you’re so overprotective of.”

My gaze automatically dropped. Following me as I rose from the sofa, Cha Sahyeon met my eyes with his usual mild expression.

By “kid,” did he mean… Cha Sahyeon? We’d always met one-on-one before, so why was he suddenly asking for him?

“Brother?”

“…It’s nothing.” I wanted to grab the fake by the collar and demand why he was calling my little brother, but there were too many people here.

“I’ll say this now — I’m not calling him just to mess with you. Make sure you bring him.”

If he’s insisting this much, I guess there’s a reason.

I gave a small nod so he’d know I understood, then left the office. As soon as I did, Kwon Taehyeok, Ryu Seonghyeon, and Song Ji-un started following me like they’d been waiting for this moment.

I stopped in disbelief, and the three of them also froze in place. Was this some kind of comedy sketch?

“…What is it?” They just stared at me without saying a word. Irritated, I asked again, “Why are you following me?”

Only then did they answer, one after the other.

“I came here following Hunter Cha Seohu in the first place…”

“I just wanted to see you off…”

“I’m heading out to see my grandmother, so I thought I’d go with you…”

For some reason, all of it sounded like excuses. The way they kept glancing at me like they were checking my mood was suspicious too.

Sticking close at my side, Cha Sahyeon shot them a glare like what the hell are you doing? Honestly, this time I was on the same page as him.

It seemed like sending them off would take too long, so I had no choice but to drag this line of ducklings along. My gut told me that if I didn’t get to Kwon Seoyul soon, he was going to cause a major incident.

Hurrying down the stairs, I went straight to the lounge and opened the door without hesitation. “Kwon Seo—”

“Broooo!”

Before I could even finish saying his name, a large figure barreled into me. My face—my whole head—got buried in his hard shoulder. 

Hugging me tightly, Kwon Seoyul whined with a pitiful expression. “Bro, why’d you take so long? Huh? What were you doing?”

“Let go.”

“You didn’t use your skill again while I was gone, right? You just talked, right? Then why did it take so long? I almost lost my mind…”

“…”

I am about to lose my mind right now.

Over his shoulder, I saw Hyeon Dowun with his hands on his hips, sighing in exhaustion. I could more or less piece together what had happened. Luckily, it looked like my bad feeling had been stopped just in time before it could explode.