Chapter 39
"Congratulations, Eunseong."
Before I could even examine the dazed Baek Eunseong, Baek Jiseong slowly clapped his hands from beyond the Gate and approached this way.
There was no need to wonder how Baek Jiseong knew Baek Eunseong was here. For someone who was a Guild Master, finding out where his younger brother was and what he was doing would be a piece of cake.
As evidence, I could feel a pulsing vibration from the Baek Woo guild member standing behind Baek Jiseong. That person must have been the one who fell for Baek Eunseong's beauty trap and revealed the Gate's location, the very person who brought Baek Jiseong here.
"Is your body okay?"
Baek Jiseong reached out to Baek Eunseong with the face of a caring older brother. At that moment, the curse that had been quiet exploded outward, visible to the eye. It was a vicious curse that seemed like it would reek. Baek Eunseong staggered for a moment.
"I knew it. I knew you'd be like this."
Supporting him as he was about to fall, Baek Jiseong clicked his tongue with a regretful expression. Every time Baek Jiseong's hand touched Baek Eunseong, the concentration of the curse grew thicker. Watching the dark reddish-black vortex, I unconsciously backed away.
"Uh... Hunter Seong Dohyun."
Baek Jiseong, who had raised his head at the sound of stepping on stones, looked at me with a thoroughly stiffened face as if he had only just noticed me. Then, alternating his gaze between Baek Eunseong, who was clutching his chest and breathing roughly, and me, he let out a deep sigh as if wanting me to hear.
"Eunseong, you know how much your brother worries about you, so how could you go into a dungeon without saying a word? Look, you didn't listen to me and snuck around, and now you're hurting again."
"Ugh, heok..."
"You know how busy your brother is taking care of the guild, right? But if you keep making me spend time like this, I'll be in a really difficult position. Even now, I rushed out in the middle of a meeting."
"Ugh..."
"You're not Hamin, and you're old enough to know better, so why are you being like this? Are you doing this on purpose knowing it'll put your brother in a difficult spot? No, right?"
What kind of endless bullshit is this?
I frowned and glared at Baek Jiseong. Even at this moment, he was gripping Baek Eunseong's shoulder tightly and whispering incessantly in his ear, gaslighting him nonstop.
"I understand that as a Hunter, you'd be greedy for rankings. Still, I can't stand watching you run dungeons with Hunter Seong Dohyun of all people. From now on, let's go together with your brother."
Baek Jiseong sighed as if the ground was swallowing him up until the very end, then handed Baek Eunseong over to his secretary and looked back at me. In that brief moment, Baek Eunseong, who met my eyes, lightly shook his head. With his lips tightly bitten and his eyes persistently meeting mine, it seemed like he was telling me to please endure it.
"Hunter Seong Dohyun."
Before I could fully grasp Baek Eunseong's intentions, Baek Jiseong took one more step toward me. Then, as if to make a point, he let out another deep breath and held out a thick envelope.
"Until now, I've tolerated that pathetic stalking behavior because Eunseong didn't say much about it. But seeing that it's having a negative effect on Eunseong, I can't stand it anymore. Please don't approach Eunseong any further."
* * *
"...Did something happen?"
"No."
I answered curtly and placed a dumbbell in Do Yoodam's hand. What could have happened, my ass. Nothing happened at all. Except for being treated like Baek Eunseong's stalker because of what that bastard 'Seong Dohyun' did.
Crack, I ground my teeth without realizing it. I discovered the dumbbell crumbling in the child's hand and, placing another dumbbell in the hands of Do Yoodam, who was gloomily biting his lip, asked,
"You did lower the intensity, right?"
"...Yes."
Do Yoodam answered gloomily, then carefully... crushed the dumbbell again. Watching that, I almost let out a sigh.
Why can't he do it.
Like other Hunters, Do Yoodam possessed three basic skills, one S-rank hidden skill, a total of four skills.
The important thing was that the three basic skills—'Glory of God', 'Moving Objects Without Touching', 'I Am the Shield Itself'—were all passive skills.
This was precisely why Do Yoodam, who was also S-rank, didn't receive proper treatment unlike Baek Hamin. Unable to control his absurdly strong power, he would constantly break and destroy things, so he couldn't help but be treated like a burden. Having grown accustomed to such treatment, Do Yoodam didn't even realize that the teachers were bullying him.
People's perception of Do Yoodam changed right after Baek Hamin opened P's Box. The day he used his hidden skill to save people caught in a dungeon break, Do Yoodam was called a hero who would save the world.
To interpret that differently, it meant Do Yoodam would continue to be treated as a burden until Baek Hamin opened P's Box.
To shorten that period even a little, and to gain the kid's trust, I taught him how to control his skills just as it had appeared in the original work... But maybe because he was still young, Do Yoodam couldn't handle his skills properly at all.
"Haa."
The child, who let out a deep sigh, glared into the air with blue eyes full of determination. Then, realizing it wasn't working, he shook his head and asked me.
"But what is Baek Hamin doing over there?"
...That's a good question.
In fact, Do Yoodam and I weren't the only ones in this training ground. Without us realizing, at some point, there was something small and fierce burning fiercely like a small flame, keeping us company.
Baek Hamin had been hiding in the gap of the training ground door, watching... no, glaring at us since earlier.
Actually, he wasn't even hiding. The area where Baek Hamin was standing was overgrown with bushes. Just as Baek Jiseong had probably said something to Baek Eunseong, it seemed he had also said a word or two to Baek Hamin.
So childish anyway.
I shook my head and turned my back to Baek Hamin. I heard a whining sound, but I ignored it. I didn't want to get involved in the Baek family's internal feud anymore.
That was when.
"Can I water and play here?"
At the suddenly young yet unfamiliar voice, I urgently called Ashil and sent it to Baek Hamin. As I watched the child approaching Baek Hamin, something flickered in my mind, almost coming to the surface.
Hair that was blue only at the ends, pitch-black eyes. A combination I'd seen somewhere many times...
Rummaging through my memories, I checked the nametag on the child's clothes.
'Kwon Junghyuk'
Kwon Junghyuk? Frowning, I tilted my head back and opened the skill window.
[Viewing Right Used]
Today too, only unreadable letters floated up, but if I stared intently at the golden letters, the contents of the original work that had faded in my memory would come back little by little.
Kwon Junghyuk, Kwon Junghyuk...
Ah. I remembered. He was a Hunter who would become Do Yoodam's right-hand man and closest comrade in the distant future.
"Can I water them?"
Baek Hamin stared at the tulips he had sprouted, then nodded indifferently. As soon as he received permission, the child jumped up and swung his hand in the air. A blue jewel dropped from his small hand onto the tulips.
Before I knew it, Do Yoodam was squatting near me, watching Baek Hamin freely sprouting flowers and vines, and Kwon Junghyuk who had started playing with water jewels. Even though he pretended otherwise, his eyes were sparkling, apparently quite envious of the flashy skills.
Hmm. I think a scene like this appeared in the original work too.
With flower petals flying and electricity sparking, compared to other Hunters' magnificent skills, Do Yoodam's were 'stillness' itself, so he had always been envious of other people's skills.
But in the end, the one who becomes a hero in this world is Do Yoodam. Right now he might be envious of Baek Hamin... but as time passes, Baek Hamin would receive the world's criticism, while Do Yoodam would receive its admiration.
I was looking at the jewels dripping down from the melting tulips when I stopped using the Viewing Right as I saw Kwon Junghyuk approaching this way.
"You're in Class A, right? What's your name?"
"Do Yoodam."
"Hi. I'm Kwon Junghyuk. Hamin! You come over here too!"
Baek Hamin glanced around cautiously, then sprouted bushes around himself and ran toward me like lightning. Seeing the three children sitting by my side chattering away made me feel a bit strange.
According to the original work, Do Yoodam and Kwon Junghyuk should have met during the test. After sparring for hours without a clear winner, they would develop a rivalry, and through a certain incident, they would become close after fighting.
"Do you want to eat this?"
I stared blankly at Kwon Junghyuk taking out snacks from his bag and sharing them with Do Yoodam and Baek Hamin, then just flopped down on my back.
Thinking about it anew, perhaps because of my reckless actions, the content had changed a lot from the original novel.
I felt momentarily sorry for the author who had suffered to come up with the story, but who cares. Returning to my original world was more important.
Lying on my side, I watched Baek Hamin slapping his palm against the puddle created by the melting jewels, then snapped my fingers.
[Splash Splash]
The water that had risen due to the skill poked Baek Hamin's cheek and returned to the puddle.
"Uncle!"
Oh. I just did it for practice, but it listens better than I thought.
I couldn't control it as freely as Ashil, but it seemed I could predict how the water would flow and control it to my liking. I tried using 'Splash Splash' in the air and other places on a whim, but just like the skill's name, the medium it was most compatible with seemed to be water.
Baek Hamin grumbled as much as he could about the muddy water splashing, but later he urged me to do it more.
"Kwon Junghyuk!"
Later, when I and the kids were all soaked with water and shaking off the moisture with 'Splash Splash,' Kwon Junghyuk's guardian came running from afar as if flying.
"I'm sorry."
The guardian saw our completely soaked and messy state, then prostrated himself flat, saying he would compensate if there was any damage. I waved my hand saying it was fine several times, but he insisted on firmly pressing a business card into my hand before leaving.
Affiliated Guild: Kwon Soohyuk
So he was affiliated with a guild.
After carelessly shoving the business card into my pocket, I slowly made my way home. I was walking while thinking about what was in the fridge, when there was someone who had unexpectedly come to find me in the alley in front of my house.
'Baek Eunseong?'
Wondering what kind of situation this was, I blinked, and he waved his hand at me. Baek Eunseong, who was carrying a load of exhaustion, looked so tired that he appeared haggard.
For crying out loud, the only face that was bearable to look at was a mess.