Chapter 55
"Hey, I'm going out today."
"Huh?"
I wasn't sure why going out was such a shock, but Baek Eun-seong asked back with a startled expression. His long eyelashes fluttered above his wide, round eyes. Then he strode toward me, and I instinctively shrank back.
"Where... why on earth..."
As Baek Eun-seong hesitantly continued, I scowled deeply and gestured behind me with my eyes.
"Eun-seong, is this better, or is this better?"
Why? Because I don't want to see that face.
I crossed my arms and glared at Yang Ji-hwan. That shameless bastard. A guy who wouldn't even let grass grow where he sits. Despite Baek Eun-seong telling him not to come, Yang Ji-hwan had used Yang Ji-yul as a shield and forced his way into the house, claiming he "had no clothes to wear to the party" and was now rummaging through Baek Eun-seong's closet.
Seeing his behavior, it was easy to imagine how often he must have dropped by before. Unable to even pick out a tie by himself, the sight of him asking Baek Eun-seong for opinions was utterly pathetic.
Just as I shook my head and rose from the sofa, Baek Eun-seong blocked my path. I looked up at him askance, wondering what he was doing, then subtly sidestepped. He said something to Yang Ji-hwan behind me before hurriedly following.
"Why?"
"Um, where... are you going?"
"Uncle! Where are you going!?"
Baek Ha-min, who had been playing with Yang Ji-yul in the living room, heard the sound ghost-like and flew toward me like a rocket. As I lifted the body that had thumped into my arms, I pondered where to go, when Baek Eun-seong suddenly spoke up.
"If you don't have any fixed schedule, how about getting a suit fitted?"
"A suit?"
"Yes, Ha-min needs to get clothes fitted as well."
I set down Baek Ha-min, who was refusing to leave my arms, and gauged the child's height as I looked down at him. Now that I thought about it, he did seem to have grown a bit.
"Let's go out together."
"You and me together?"
"Yes, Hunter Seong Do-hyeon needs to get clothes fitted too."
"I already have a suit."
At my words, Baek Eun-seong drew a soft smile. It was such an harmless smile that for a moment, it made me wonder if I didn't own a suit.
"That's a winter suit."
"I can just wear it roughly, so what..."
Even as I grumbled to the end, Baek Eun-seong didn't answer further. His resolve to drag me along seemed firm.
Well, it didn't matter. As long as it was somewhere Yang Ji-hwan couldn't see, I'd go anywhere right now. When I nodded, Baek Ha-min jumped around excitedly, and Yang Ji-yul, glancing at me, quietly disappeared to find Yang Ji-hwan.
It was too uncomfortable. This was why I tried not to fight in front of the kids.
Sighing, I got into the car that Baek Eun-seong's secretary held open for me. The whole way there, I only thought about how to convey to Yang Ji-yul that "you and your brother are separate people, so you don't need to watch my expressions."
The car stopped somewhere before long, seemingly having reached its destination.
【ONLY HUNTER】
The store is not responsible for any injuries.
When we arrived, it was a store I'd been to before. Uncomfortable memories of Baek Ji-seong surfacing, I entered while reading the warning sign with a sour face, and a staff member guided us to a room.
While Baek Ha-min was getting measured, I sat on the sofa drinking tea with my eyes closed. My clothes would be more expensive anyway.
Do I really have to buy them?
"Hey, Baek Eun-seong."
"Yes?"
"Do I have to go to the party today too?"
"Of course. It's an event where all Baekwoo Guild staff participate, so how could you, a guild member, skip it?"
Saying that with a bright smile, Baek Eun-seong returned to choosing suits with a careful face. Can't I just wear whatever I have, whether it's a winter suit or whatever? I set down my teacup with a sigh and glared at him taking a suit off the hanger.
...That doesn't seem to match Baek Eun-seong's hair color.
'Don't tell me, is it for Yang Ji-hwan?'
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my mood instantly soured.
This crazy bastard, did he drag me here to pick out clothes for Yang Ji-hwan? Something surged up from inside me. It wasn't just a bad mood—it felt downright filthy. Just as I was about to rise, not wanting to stay even a moment longer, Baek Eun-seong called me.
"Hunter Seong Do-hyeon."
Before I could answer, Baek Eun-seong strode over and held up a suit next to my face. After alternately comparing two colored suits against me and pondering for a while, he muttered that this one would be better and handed the dark gray suit to the staff member.
"What are you doing?"
"I was choosing your suit."
"Mine?"
"Yes. We came to buy yours and Ha-min's, didn't we?"
"Ah?"
At his answer, I felt suddenly embarrassed about getting worked up on my own just moments ago. Trying to act nonchalant, I was about to sit back on the sofa when Baek Eun-seong gently traced his fingers along my shoulder blade and softly guided me deeper into the showroom.
"Since the clothes are dark-colored, staying in the same tone would be nice, but something bright would also..."
Muttering to himself, Baek Eun-seong handed me a tie to show me, but then his hand froze midway. The one he happened to pick was a gold-colored tie.
He was probably conscious of the fact that 'Seong Do-hyeon' had gotten angry on the Academy graduation day, but that was 'Seong Do-hyeon,' not me. Seeing him noticeably stiffen and glance at me nervously made me feel strange for some reason. I opened my mouth casually, as if it didn't matter.
"Just get it fitted in gray."
"...Should we?"
As if relieved by my words, Baek Eun-seong smiled and set the tie down, moving his hand to brooches instead. Meanwhile, I went to check on Baek Ha-min, who was probably getting impatient by now.
Baek Ha-min in a children's suit and the staff member standing beside him both brightened and started talking over each other.
"Uncle!"
"How is it? For a children's suit, we can make the pants slightly shorter for more freedom of—"
"Tell that kind of thing to Baek Eun-seong."
You should listen to the person paying. I sent the staff member who was trying to explain the clothes in detail over to Baek Eun-seong, then sat next to Baek Ha-min who was half-sprawled on the sofa. The way he sullenly sucked on his drink straw, apparently finding changing clothes bothersome, was pretty funny.
As we sat side by side each sipping our drinks, the voices of Baek Eun-seong and the staff member grew closer.
"For Ha-min's mantle, make it like a cape, not too long please."
"Yes. The color should be white, correct? Is there anything else you need aside from this?"
At those words, Baek Eun-seong looked back at me and bit his lip. At his expression full of regret, I lazily opened my mouth.
"What, if you have something to say, say it."
"I wanted to pick a tie for you."
"No, gray is fine."
"What kind of sheen would you prefer? What about patterns?"
I bit my lip as I looked at the box unfolding from the staff member's hands. Gray tie is a gray tie—why are there so many types?
Unlike me who indifferently picked whatever, Baek Eun-seong was carefully choosing a tie in conversation with the staff member.
"Wait a moment."
After placing two identical-looking ties beside my face and debating which to choose, Baek Eun-seong finally picked one, and then a tie pin was brought out.
Watching Baek Eun-seong try the tie and pin against me, I regretted not just staying home. This unproductive endeavor didn't seem much different from Yang Ji-hwan's bullshit show.
"Just pick roughly."
"I can't do that. The main character of today's party is you."
What? Surprised by the abrupt remark, I looked at Baek Eun-seong and grabbed his wrist as he calmly continued choosing a tie.
"What are you talking about?"
Sensing the serious atmosphere, the staff members rushed out of the room as soon as Baek Eun-seong finished picking the tie pin. Baek Ha-min also glanced at me before quietly slipping outside for some reason.
Baek Eun-seong, who had a golem follow Ha-min, turned his gaze back and calmly draped the tie around my neck.
"I feel sorry for Ji-hwan, but the person who will get the most attention at today's party is you."
"Me?"
Baek Eun-seong nodded and tied the knot. Having turned me into a crazy bastard wearing a tie over a white t-shirt, he smiled proudly and continued his explanation.
"I don't know exactly what kind of party it is either, so I can't tell you that, but it's probably being held in relation to Ji-hwan—"
"I'm not going."
As I tried to throw off the tie, Baek Eun-seong grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
Does this crazy bastard think I'm going to attend the party and celebrate Yang Ji-hwan? Forget celebrating—it'd be a miracle if I didn't cause a scene. If nothing else, I was confident I could blow up every single drop of water in that place with 'Plop Plop.'
"Calm down. Let's talk."
"Crazy. Let go?"
I struggled half-embraced by Baek Eun-seong who firmly gripped my wrist and refused to let go, then swung my free left hand to use 'Celestial Command.' As if he had expected that much, he switched hands and grabbed my left wrist too, and finally even covered my mouth.
We wrestled for a long time holding onto each other, and only after ending up tangled in a strange position could we finally have a conversation.
"...Are you going to keep sitting there?"
"You have to let go of my hands first for me to get up!"
Do you think I'm sitting on your thighs because I want to!
I shouted and kicked Baek Eun-seong's foot to find a slightly more comfortable position. Despite the odd posture, he still hadn't released my wrists. After his legs spread apart a bit and I settled in the space between them, I asked Baek Eun-seong behind me.
"So why am I the main character of the party?"
"Haha, you're not really asking because you don't know, right?"
Is this guy for real? Why would I ask if I already knew? As I kept my mouth shut with an annoyed expression, Baek Eun-seong let out an awkward laugh.
"Um... wherever you go these days, it's all talk about you. Why did Hunter Seong Do-hyeon join Baekwoo? Why did you suddenly rank up? Will you go higher, or will you drop... roughly that kind of thing?"
"So."
"So, how many people do you think will attend the party just to see the famous Hunter Seong Do-hyeon?"
"I don't know, roughly a lot will come."
"If they're unrelated to Ji-hwan, you can assume they're hunters who will definitely keep you in check."
Hunters who will keep me in check. I instinctively tried to cross my arms, then shook my wrists that were still held by Baek Eun-seong. My wrists only became free after I promised three times that I wouldn't run away. This bastard had gripped me so hard that red marks remained on my wrists.
"Tch."
Finger marks on the body of an S-rank Hunter who wouldn't get hurt even if cut by a blade. I clicked my tongue and let out a small sigh. To think I had to attend a place swarming with hunters trying to keep me in check. Just imagining it made me want to bolt the moment I walked in.
As I sighed, Baek Eun-seong grabbed my hand again. Where does he think he's touching, I glared, but he lowered the tips of his eyebrows and said,
"Come with me. You know I need you."