Chapter 73
After that day, Baek Eunseong and Baek Hamin started visiting Dohyeon's house every day, using the flowerpot as an excuse.
"…You're here again."
When they knocked, Dohyeon opened the door with sleep still clinging to his face, and on the fourth day, he simply gave them the passcode.
After entering the house so confidently, Eunseong stared blankly at the flowerpot with its sprouting seedling, then shook his head and flicked his fingertips. When that grows fully... will I not be allowed into Dohyeon's house anymore? At that thought, his tongue went dry in his mouth.
If he hadn't known, it would be one thing, but having experienced the comfort after Dohyeon suppressed the curse, he couldn't go back to how things were before. That was also the reason he kept visiting Dohyeon's house. Because coming here brought him peace...
Should I just dry it out and kill it?
Then they'd have to grow it from the beginning again, and Dohyeon would continue to welcome him until the seed grew once more.
"Uncle! Are you looking at the flowerpot?"
"Yeah."
Eunseong, who answered reflexively, cupped the flowerpot and infused his power into it. He changed it from the previously fertile soil to slightly crackly earth where the water had dried up. Then he hid it so Hamin couldn't see.
"Are you done?"
The moment he set the flowerpot down, Dohyeon came shuffling toward them. He must have been sleeping until now, as he gave a small yawn and rubbed his sleepy eyes before gesturing to the two.
"You haven't eaten yet, right? Since you're here, eat before you go."
This morning's breakfast was fried rice topped with a fried egg. Dohyeon served a moderate portion into his own bowl, then heaped rice into a soup bowl and placed it in front of Eunseong. And to Hamin, he handed the entire palace-style pan.
"Uncle, you know, Hamin's break is coming up soon. Are we going somewhere to play?"
Eunseong, who had emptied the rice in his soup bowl in an instant, unconsciously glanced at Dohyeon. Hamin deftly caught Eunseong's gaze and turned his head to tug at Dohyeon's sleeve.
"Hm? Uncle, where are we going?"
"Ask your uncle."
"Nooo, Uncle has to come toooo."
Watching Hamin snuggle up to Dohyeon without hesitation, Eunseong smiled awkwardly and swallowed dryly. Beneath his feet, golems that had answered his call were already swarming and moving about.
"What is it."
Dohyeon raised an eyebrow as if he had noticed something. Then he closed his eyes and spread his senses wide to perceive the surroundings.
"Hey."
A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at Eunseong as if he'd seen the strangest fellow.
"Nothing's even happening, so why."
Actually, Eunseong wanted to ask himself that very question. Hamin was a nephew he wouldn't hesitate to give his own flesh for. So why did he feel this way just because Hamin was clinging to Dohyeon...?
"Hey."
Eunseong, who had been feeling around his chest area with his hand, looked up at Dohyeon's call. His face was still full of displeasure.
"Why..."
"You two haven't been taking your medicine properly, have you."
"Huh?"
Hamin tilted his head and naturally avoided Dohyeon's glare, then looked at Eunseong with trembling eyes. Eunseong also inhaled sharply and avoided Dohyeon's gaze. Hamin, who had been fidgeting with both hands while observing the mood, wrapped his arms around Dohyeon's neck and spoke in a voice mixed with whining.
"Uncle, I want one more fried egg."
"Don't change the subject."
"Umm..."
When the whining didn't work, Hamin tried to make some excuse but ultimately clamped his mouth shut under Dohyeon's glare. Eunseong was the same. He had only just realized that he hadn't taken his medicine even once since moving.
Yet his heart was still beating this fine...
"What are you staring at?"
It must be because of that person.
"I'll let it slide for Baek Hamin since he's a kid, but how old are you that you're not taking your medicine?"
Clicking his tongue, Dohyeon pushed Eunseong out, telling him to go get the medicine right away. Eunseong, who ended up heading to the guild in a fluster, looked up at the building with a slightly tense face.
'Is hyung still angry?'
Eunseong reflexively placed a hand over his chest and greeted the guild member who recognized him before heading to Jihwan's lab.
The staff member who had been dozing off at the entrance startled and blocked Eunseong's path.
"I'm sorry, Vice Guild Master. Hunter Yang Jihwan is currently in an extremely sensitive state, so all staff access is prohibited."
"All staff?"
"Yes... Due to the leak incident..."
The whispering staff member's face seemed somewhat dissatisfied.
Given Jihwan's personality, he must have turned the lab upside down to root out the culprit after 'that incident.' It wasn't that Jiyul was outstanding; he probably thought someone had sold his recipe.
With a small sigh, Eunseong called Jihwan and told him he had come to get medicine.
"Here."
A moment later, Jihwan appeared with a haggard face, showing extreme vigilance as he constantly looked around.
"Tell me if you need more. Then I'll go back in first since I'm in the middle of research."
Without even waiting for a response, he slipped inside like he was being sucked in, opening only the minimum gap. Eunseong watched Jihwan's retreating figure before heading straight home.
Not to his own home, but to Dohyeon's home.
When Eunseong opened the front door familiarly and lightly shook the medicine bottle, Hamin immediately made a crying face.
"Nooo, it's okay even if I don't take it."
"Who said it's okay."
He had long since emptied his own share of the medicine bottle, and he watched Hamin—who was running away to avoid him—with an affectionate gaze, before suddenly turning his head to stare at Dohyeon, seized by a surge of anxiety.
Why did Hunter Sung Dohyeon suddenly ask for the medicine?
Dohyeon, who had been snorting at the sight of Hamin hugging the Pani doll and hiding his face, suddenly reached out his hand. Eunseong obediently placed the medicine bottle on that hand. The tip of his pinky slightly touched Dohyeon's palm.
At that moment, Dohyeon recoiled in shock and pulled his body back, and the bottle fell to the floor. Before it hit the ground, Eunseong's golem caught it so it didn't break, but Eunseong's face darkened infinitely.
"Since you grabbed it, you feed it to him."
"I don't want to take medicinnnne!"
Dohyeon turned away as he had retreated and hastily disappeared into the room, and Eunseong just stared at the closed door without a word.
'Does he have plans to leave far away or something?'
This wasn't the first time Dohyeon had avoided him like this. He wanted to know the reason why he was acting like this. If it were the usual him, he would have pointed out his mistakes with a sarcastic voice...
Eunseong watched Hamin's back as he scampered over to Dohyeon saying he had finished his medicine, then slowly furrowed his brow as he felt a sense of incongruity in the flow of his consciousness.
'The usual Sung Dohyeon?'
The Sung Dohyeon he originally remembered was always a being who interfered with him.
As if that wasn't enough, he had even tried to kill him while pretending it was an accident, and because of that, the Baekwoo guild members would grind their teeth at the mere sight of Dohyeon's black head. He too would clench his fists until his palms bled whenever he saw the fluttering golden threads.
A hunter who would raise his golden eyes and glare at him menacingly. That was the 'usual Sung Dohyeon.'
But how did... Dohyeon become this familiar? No, rather than familiar... it was a somewhat different emotion.
However, without being able to define the emotion he felt toward Dohyeon, Eunseong could only stare blankly down at his own palm that Dohyeon had shaken off.
* * *
"Today's the day of the wedding, right? Hamin and I are going too—do you want to come with us?"
At Baek Eunseong's question, I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. The Association people were going to pick me up anyway, so I didn't want to squeeze into a cramped space.
After shaking my head to express my refusal, I barely peeled off the whining Baek Hamin who kept saying we should go together, and got into the Association vehicle.
"What's on the schedule today?"
"Same old, same old. With the ranking match coming up, people will be itching to fight, so keep an eye out to make sure no brawls break out. Oh, and the Inyeon Guild recently did a large-scale dungeon conquest, so artifacts and relics must have poured out—pay special attention to Inyeon's movements."
"Yes."
After answering, I looked out the window and began dragging up all sorts of random thoughts to push away Baek Eunseong's face that kept coming to mind. The first thing that came to mind was relics.
"Association President."
"What?"
"Can relics be incomplete?"
At my question, a hunter who had been inspecting equipment suddenly interjected.
"Aren't most of them incomplete? There are probably some repaired relics too, but..."
"Come on, how many materials would you need to repair one? If it were me, I'd buy 100 artifacts with that money."
"There are repaired relics, but there's a high probability they're lying. They brag about having both the wealth and ability to repair them, but when you look closely, that's often not the case."
...Is that so? I tried to recall whether Do Yoodam had ever repaired a relic in the original work, and I struggled not to show my fluster as I thought back to the original story.
Among Do Yoodam's comrades... was there an Artisan Hunter? Well, all sorts of hunters worked with Do Yoodam, so it wouldn't be strange if there was at least one Artisan Hunter among them.
The relic being incomplete must be a blessing for Baek Eunseong and Baek Hamin. If it had been a proper A-rank shield, the two wouldn't have just stopped at their hearts and legs stiffening—they'd already be dead by now.
Whether the air conditioning was too cold or not, I brushed away the goosebumps rising on my skin, opened the skill window, and used a viewing ticket.
[M's Belt Repair Progress ? / ? ]
Could the reason I need to repair M's Belt be... because it's an incomplete relic?