Chapter 210 Anomaly (4)

Translated by: Ddomigan

The dungeon gate remained inactive as it had yet to be cleared, and in front of it, were three chairs lined up together. Since it was certain Yerim would return today, Yoojin went ahead to wait for her, and when he did so, two persons had followed along, hence, the number of chairs.

The person seated on Yoojin’s right was Yoohyun whereas on his left was Sung Hyunjae. Yoojin understands if Yoohyun was free, but even for the Sesung guild leader too?

“You just left the dungeon yesterday, so aren’t you supposed to be busy? ...You really don’t look like it at all.”

Beside Sung Hyunjae’s feet was a basket, and inside of it was a ball of yarn in hot pink that rolled around. Under Sung Hyunjae’s deft hands, the yarn was intricately woven and knitted into elaborate patterns. Yoojin wasn’t sure whether Sung Hyunjae had completed the scarf he showed him during his last birthday, but for now, the shape of the fabric he was currently knitting was wide and flat. Yoojin wondered if it could be a sweater.

“If the dungeon raided by the little lady changed significantly, then there’s a good chance she’ll come out with more information.”

Sung Hyunjae said in a slight languid tone as he coiled the threads around the knitting needle. He looked needlessly elegant while knitting with the hot pink yarn. No matter how different Sung Hyunjae looked right now, Yoojin felt something may have been wrong with his eyes when he made that observation, that had to be the case.

“So, you’re saying you want to hear about it right away. I see.”

Was he that curious? Yoojin scrolled through the contents of his cellphone. They were the documents related to the Japanese which the Hunter Association sent to him. He had gotten a call from the Japanese this morning to confirm the matchup. When Yerim makes her safe return, Haeyeon shall make a massive announcement on the matter along with an interview.

“And one more thing.”

Sung Hyunjae’s hand came to a halt, and he turned to look at Yoojin.

“Han Yoojin’s display yesterday was disqualifying in many ways.”

Ah, why is he on about that again? Yoojin had received a good nagging from Suk Simyeong on that matter. Not only was it a problem for him to have carelessly confronted Sung Hyunjae alone, Yoojin also received an earful of criticism when Suk Simyeong heard about the scene that transpired. If such a display were to be publicized, the image of the guild leaders having Yoojin wrapped around their fingers would be further solidified.

At least in front of the public, Yoojin tries to emphasize that he could confidently walk on his own two feet. However, he couldn’t help the fact that he was weak. 'Did Sung Hyunjae make it appear like that on purpose? Maybe he was warning me that if I wasn't qualified, he would drag my reputation down in front of the public.’ Yoojin thought.

“I told you not to do it, but you still did as you wished. I thought it appeased you, so how are you still dissatisfied?”

“It did make me feel better to some extent, but as soon as the kids got involved, it dampened the mood and made it unpleasant. Mr. Han Yoojin, you really need to maintain your composure.”

‘So, you expect me to carry on with mundane tasks when the kid could be in danger? Do you think I’m some kind of monk?’ Yoojin thought to himself.

“Being unable to wait for a mere hour or two and insisting on going inside... I admit that was impatience on my part. But, I've already been holding it in for 2 days prior to that.”

“You held it in, huh. You made the young master anxious, didn’t you?”

At Sung Hyunjae’s words, Yoojin turned to look back at Yoohyun. Their eyes met, and Yoohyun hesitated a little before speaking.

“...Since hyung was restless, so... And, because it seemed like you might do something dangerous again. It’s not like I don’t trust my brother, I just can’t allow you to make any hasty decisions.”

Yoohyun stuck close to Yoojin for two days straight. It wasn’t as if Yoojin was unaware of Yoohyun’s concern for him, it’s just that he couldn’t help being worried about Yerim too.

‘...I made Yoohyun anxious again, damn it.’ Yoojin cursed inwardly.

“I’m sorry that I made you worry.”

“It’s nothing, hyung. But this time, I agree with what the Sesung guild leader said. Every hunter is resolved to face any misfortune that might happen in the dungeon. I know that you adore Hunter Park Yerim, but it’d be nice if you could be more level-headed in these kinds of situations. Hunter Park Yerim and I will continue to enter dungeons in the future, and you can’t really keep being like this, can you?”

...Yoojin knew that. Of course, he knew. He’s been through so many dungeons, so he’s aware of what’s at stake, and he’s also suffered a loss in the past.

“But, wasn’t it a little different this time...?” Yoojin said.

There was not much strength in his words. In his mind, he knew he had to be more composed and level-headed, but his heart wavers whenever it was time to restrain himself. And since he had fear resistance, he couldn’t help it.

Yoojin couldn’t stop recalling memories of him being the sole survivor, then returning from dungeons alone. He also remembered shocking news he had heard belatedly that left him stunned. Those people may be alive now, but the moment he convinces himself to meet up with them, the memories he suppressed kept reemerging.

“...That's right, hyung. It’s alright.”

Yoohyun held onto Yoojin’s hands.

“I’ll be fine, so don’t be too concerned about me. Just do whatever you want to do, and I’ll support you in any way I can.”

The moment he heard those words, he felt a cold chill run through the back of his nape. ‘Again, you’re doing it again, you are once again the one indulging me.’ Yoojin thought.

“But, I’m the older brother here, Yoohyun.”

Even though he is the elder brother, he’s the one being accommodated... Yoojin’s fingertips trembled slightly and Yoohyun tightened his grip on his hands. He wanted to shut his eyes, but at the same time, he was afraid of the cold. He then turned his head and gazed into the dungeon gate. Evidently, his fear resistance skill activated.

“It’s been three years, so obviously.”

Sung Hyunjae said. The knitting materials ran out before Yoojin even realized it.

“It wasn’t a short period of time, and I think the young master was understandably anxious since he is still young. However, I do think Han Yoojin's reaction was excessive. For some reason, you desperately tried to protect them, even though Han Yoohyun and Park Yerim were by no means weak.”

Sung Hyunjae’s gaze turned towards Yoojin. While calm, the gaze was still sharp, as if it were digging into the depths of his soul.

“Almost as if you were a parent who recovered a child that was nearly lost forever. Even with everything I learned about you, I still find your disposition hard to grasp.”

“...You seem to have a lot of unnecessary interest. We're just business partners.”

Don’t look too deep into it. Just leave it alone.

“Then at this rate, the title ought to just be in name only.” Sung Hyunjae said.

When even a comment like that about the partnership was forced out of Sung Hyunjae, it made Yoojin question whether he had really been shaken up that badly. Even if he had, so what?

“I should have already mentioned that I’m quite erratic.”

“Hyung.”

“But, aren’t you impatient.” Yoojin remarked.

Even though Sung Hyunjae said he’d wait for him, he still got pissed about it and glared at Yoojin. Was it because he had hoped Yoojin would change in accordance with the passing of time?

Sung Hyunjae then spoke again, "Progress is difficult when the root cause of a problem is not solved. Painting over the surface of something that’s kept rotten in the inside will just cause it to tarnish again in due time."

“...The root cause?”

As Yoojin’s voice became hoarse, Yoohyun pulled him closer. It was almost as if his upper body was being hugged.

“That’s enough.” Yoohyun said.

While Yoohyun’s razor-sharp voice fell into Yoojin’s ears, Sung Hyunjae’s eyes were still affixed on him. It didn’t feel good. The root cause was not something that was easy to say.

“It’s okay, hyung. Don’t be bothered by it.”

Yoojin exhaled deeply. That's right, he shouldn’t be bothered by it. So, what if his insides were rotten? And, what if it was frustrating to try and understand him? What was he supposed to do about it? Yoojin could only seek comfort by holding onto the arms that were embracing him.

‘Damn it, I’m this way because I can’t help being who I am...’ Yoojin cursed inwardly.

‘No, it's okay. It's okay. It will be okay. I will be okay. I have to be okay.’ In between Yoojin’s thoughts, his younger brother put more strength into holding his hands.

“...Shouldn’t Yerim have come out by now?”

Yoojin swallowed dryly amidst his aloof mutterings. His throat tingled like he had a fever, but it might just be because he was very tired. A string of trivial thoughts entered his mind, ‘What should we eat for dinner? We should have something Yerim likes. It's been a long time since all three of us were home. I wonder if Yerim cleaned her room before leaving, she might want to rest right away.’

Woowoowoong-

At that moment, the gate underwent a change. With a deep echo and shift in its colors, the dungeon gate was activated. The raid was over. Yoojin promptly stood up from his seat. They’re unharmed and well, right?

Soon after, a figure appeared at the gate. It was one of Yerim's team members, she was probably a defense type. Even if they had defeated the boss monster, it’s possible that regular monsters were still in there, so there was an order to follow while exiting the gate. Since they had to be cautious of potential situations outside the gate, the defense type hunters would come out first, followed by the offense type, support type, healer type, and lastly, the offense types again.

“Guild leader...?”

The hunter that came out was startled upon seeing them. After greeting them, she stepped aside, and the other members appeared one after another. And as expected, they all seemed surprised to see the guild leaders. Yoojin felt bad for them. It made sense that Yoohyun was here as Haeyeon’s guild leader, but for Sesung’s guild leader to come all the way here as well...

- Kkyaaoo!

Blue emerged from the gate energetically, and later...

“Ahjussi!”

Yerim appeared with a bright smile plastered on her face. She was immaculately clean, as if she couldn't have been in better condition. Come to think of it, the other team members were relatively clean too.

“Yerim! Are you hurt? But you do look perfectly fine, it’s as though the raid only took a day.”

Yerim said she tried melting the lake since it was just the reverse of freezing it. Although getting the water hot proved to be difficult, they managed to get it lukewarm, after which Blue washed up in the lake while toying with the boss monster. Yerim sure is talented.

“I’m just glad you’re safe, I was really worried.”

“Ha, what got you so worried? There’s nothing to worry about. I slaughtered the monsters easily!”

While Yerim confidently boasted about being unscathed, Yoohyun observed the condition of her team members and sent them away first. They already seemed so composed after a warm bath and some rest that it was hard to believe they had just returned from a raid.

Blue rubbed his head against Yoojin and followed him out, Yoojin thought Blue acted like that since the gate room was a bit too narrow.

“Still, you must have been surprised that the dungeon changed all of the sudden.”

“Just a little, but I got used to it. The raid took longer since another floor appeared and the dungeon expanded, which was frustrating. But what's more frustrating was that Han Yoohyun finished his raid first!”

Yerim immediately fixed her glare at Yoohyun. If someone were to tell her that she came out three days later than Yoohyun, she would go wild.

“Yoohyun, weren’t you worried about Yerim too?”

“Not really.”

‘...Hey, even if you don’t mean it, can’t you say something nice.’ Yoojin thought inwardly. Yoohyun continued speaking as he strode forward.

“If you couldn’t get out from a dungeon that had only been modified a little, I would’ve been disappointed.”

At Yoohyun’s words, Yerim burst into laughter.

“I would have been more disappointed if you worried about me, oh, guild leader. Now that you've seen me return in perfect condition, what do you think?”

“The raid has taken a lot longer in spite of Blue's participation.”

“Hey! There are a ton of monsters I’ve never seen before, so I had to exercise caution.”

While Yoohyun threw jabs and Yerim countered them, both their expressions were still relaxed. Yerim later explained about the unfamiliar monsters, and Yoohyun responded by asking whether that made her concerned.

The sight of that interaction made Yoojin feel strange. It was a pleasant sight, it was the kind of sight that would’ve made him smile.

‘Why do I have such difficulty trusting them? Was it because I’m weak?’ Yoojin begin wondering. Memories of the past keep surfacing, and although there are things that exacerbate those memories, still... What if he were stronger, even before the regression?

Even then.

‘...Hyung, are you alright?’

Yoojin heard a voice from his memories, a recollection of his brother’s sacrifice... No, this hadn’t happen yet.

This hadn’t happen yet.

This, hadn’t yet.

TEOK, Yoojin bumped into something behind him. He had inadvertently taken a step back. As he turned his head and looked up, Sung Hyunjae entered his field of vision. He was looking back down at him, and their eyes met. Sung Hyunjae looked surprised. He also looked slightly, uncharacteristically flustered.

He grabbed onto Yoojin’s shoulders and turned him around.

“Hyung?”

“Ahjussi?”

Sung Hyunjae took Yoojin into his arms, obscuring the entirety of Yoojin’s face from the two.

“What the! Release Ahjussi!”

“What are you doing!”

“The two of you looked so good together that it made me lonely.”

Sung Hyunjae jested.

“Could the Sesung guild leader be blind?! Why don’t you get some rest, and I’ll trade Han Yoohyun for ahjussi instead.” Yerim said.

“How about I trade you away Hunter Park Yerim.” Yoohyun retorted.

“Since I like Han Yoojin, I’ll refuse.”

All their voices buzzed in Yoojin’s ears. Now that things are different, many things have changed. The events before the regression did not happen and will not happen.

“Wha, so, you’re bringing out the chains now, huh! You want a go?” Yerim said.

“It’s only fair that Haeyeon’s dungeon building gets destroyed too.”

“Haeyeon’s too? Was one of Sesung’s dungeon buildings destroyed? What kind of fun happened while I was gone?!”

Yerim shouted that it was unfair. Although she was grumbling, her voice was still bright. With bated breath, Yoojin pushed away Sung Hyunjae who had embraced him tightly. It’s okay. It should be okay.

“Stop teasing the kids that much.” Yoojin said.

Sung Hyunjae later released him from the embrace unhesitatingly. Yoojin took a step back and smiled. He wasn’t sure whether he could smile properly.

“Let's take care of whatever brought you here and then you can go.”

Yoojin said to Sung Hyunjae, and then continued.

“Yerim, did you feel a strange gaze in the dungeon?”

“Ah, yes, I did. I felt something like a gaze, and some kind of distortion, and I also heard a voice.”

“A voice?”

“Yes. Someone muttered, ‘It’s not here either.’ And suddenly, those monsters I hadn’t seen before popped out. It was similar to the time when that huge toad appeared before.”

If they said, ‘It’s not here either,’ then could they be searching for something?

“So far, only the young master, the little lady and I have encountered the anomaly.”

Sung Hyunjae said. He also mentioned that he checked with the other hunters who had cleared dungeons during that period, but no one felt any strange gazes. It’s possible that only S-class hunters had the capability to sense them, but even if that were the case, there hadn’t been any reports of abnormal changes in the dungeons.

“...Then, that means hyung...”

“Could it be that they’re looking for ahjussi?”

But, Sung Hyunjae said that the gaze didn’t belong to Jellyfish. Furthermore, Yoohyun, Sung Hyunjae and Yerim were the only three S-rank hunters in Korea to have cleared a dungeon recently. So, the unidentified gaze may have simply been observing the S-class hunters.

Anyhow, Yoojin firstly informed Yerim of the things Newbie had told him. And then, he cautioned the three.

“Everyone be careful for now. Sung Hyunjae, you too.”

“I will.”

After a short response, a brief silence followed, and Sung Hyunjae quietly turned around and left. Yoojin thought he would meddle some more, but he didn’t, and he just walked away.

“Let’s get out as well. Yerim, is there something you’d like to eat?”

“Anything is fine with me! Did they say it was impossible to make the dried rations taste any better? It was still edible at first, but after three days of that, I'd rather starve.”

It was the first time Yerim had stayed for an extended period in a dungeon. "Let's go eat something delicious quickly," Yerim said as she grabbed both of their hands and walked forward. At that moment, Yoojin felt a blanket of warmth spread over him. “As long as you guys are here, everything will be fine," he thought.