CH 15

10-13 minutes 22.07.2022

15.

A piece of chicken was lifted. From a look, he saw the crunchy skin surrounding the chicken. Underneath it was a soft, tender meat with a moderately salty taste. He took a large bite and chewed it. ‘Oh, the taste is still truly heavenly.’

Hyeon-woo ate the rest of the chicken without hesitation. ‘I missed chicken so much in the Demon Realm that I caught a similar-looking beast and fried it, but the taste was terrible.’

‘How can that taste even compare to this?!’ Hyeon-woo grinned as he continued eating with gusto.

“It’s delicious, right?”

Seeing Hyeon-woo eating hard, Seon-woo asked in a friendly voice. It was surprising to those who knew him.

“It’s delicious!”

Kero, who sat down and looked up at the two of them eating chicken, flinched at Hyeon-woo’s words. ‘I want to eat. But I have to be patient.’ Kero, who knew Hyeon-woo’s personality, was developing his patience and endured him if needed.

“Eat as much as you want. I can buy more if you want.”

Hyeon-woo nodded his head and started to indulge in chicken again. After he frantically ate a few pieces, he felt a bit full.

“This time, the seasoned one.”

As soon as the words came out, Seon-woo placed the seasoned chicken on the plate. The seasoned chicken was just as delicious as the fried chicken. The slightly soggy exterior of the seasoned chicken and the savory flesh inside was enough to stimulate the tongue.

The soy sauce chicken wasn’t too bad either. He added a little bit of Cheong yang[1] red pepper, and the flavor of the sweet and spicy soy sauce was so delicious that he thought he could eat it all the time.

As his eating speed started to slow down, Seon-woo opened his mouth, looking at Hyeon-woo with a friendly expression the whole time, “Remember what happened back then? The day I was sick with a cold?”

At those words, Hyeon-woo slowly nodded his head.

“I remember.”

He couldn’t help but remember. At that time, Hyeon-woo was young. He was panicking as he left his younger brother, who was having a severe fever. Still, he went to the pharmacy to buy medicine, but the fever did not go away easily. He went to the hospital, but he had no money.

He was afraid that his brother would die. So, he wiped his brother’s sweaty forehead with a towel by his side the whole time while suppressing his tears.

He tried to feed him a little bit of boiled porridge with his clumsy skills. However, he couldn’t get it through his mouth because his mouth was drooping. Seon-woo then said that he wanted to eat something.

It was chicken.

“I told you I wanted to eat chicken.”

Yes, you did. That was what his sick brother wanted to eat, so he ran outside with only 5,000 won. And he scoured every chicken house nearby and managed to find an old-fashioned chicken that cost 5,000 per whole piece. He picked it up, placed it on his arms, and ran, giving it all to Seon-woo without putting a single piece of meat in his own mouth.

“Yes I do remember.”

“It tastes similar to the chicken I ate back then.”

By chance, the taste was so similar that Seon-woo became a regular at the restaurant. He wouldn’t miss anything that reminded him of his older brother, so he visited it occasionally, even though he was busy.

Hyeon-woo put down the chicken he was eating after hearing Seon-woo’s words. He was smiling as he spoke, but Hyeon-woo could grasp the emotions he would have had at the time.

‘I also missed you.’

Hyeon-woo bit his lip.

“Hyung.”

“Seon-woo.”

The two exchanged mournful glances with the chicken in between. After a long time, they finally met again. Now, Hyeon-woo would never leave again.

Hyeon-woo pushed the remaining chicken to Seon-woo.

“Chicken. Eat more.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Just eat.”

Hyeon-woo pressed the chicken forward to make it easier to eat and put a piece in Seon-woo’s mouth. Seon-woo ate it and smiled softly. Hyeon-woo was happy to see his younger brother eating well, so he fed him again.

After both of them ate, they spent time together on the sofa.

***

A sleek black car drove down the road and stopped at one end. Two men exited it.

One was Moo-hyuk, and the other was a rather skinny man with glasses.

“It’s already been cleaned up and dealt with.”

Moo-hyuk’s expression hardened at Young-jin, the man with glasses’ words.

“The news came too late.”

“The budget unit is different from the guilds. Our intelligence department is also working hard, but it is not easy to catch up on actual-time information.”

The result was this– Arriving at an organized place after a fight had already taken place.

“That’s exactly why this is difficult.”

“I know.”

Young-jin answered, sliding his glasses up with his fingers.

“If it goes on like this, the Hunter Administration will never be ahead of the guilds forever.”

A look of displeasure appeared on Moo-hyuk’s face.

“Be sure to prevent this from happening.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Young-jin bowed his head.

“By the way, how was the First-Generation missing person? Before you went over to the Information Department, you should have known that we’ve lost him to the Seon-Hyeon Guild.”

How was it? Moo-hyuk traced the still vivid memories. He was a small and delicate-looking man. In fact, he wasn’t that small or fragile by normal standards, but he seemed that way to him as an S-class Awakened.

“He was a weak-looking man.”

“I had high expectations because it was the First-Generation, but I’m sorry to hear that he looked weak.”

In general, an Awakener was stronger with precedence. It was said that the 2nd generation was stronger than the 3rd generation. So, he guessed that the 1st generation would be stronger than the 2nd generation. It seems like it doesn’t look like that at all.

“Well, there’s only one First-Generation that returned, so he’s still probably useful.”

The whereabouts of the other First-Generation people, the degree of power they had, and the information they know. Everything was important. Not a single thing could be missed.

“I would like to know more about the Demon Realm.”

Another world from Earth. Knowing more about places with unusual vegetation will change a lot. Perhaps due to the emergence of the First-Generation, it could make their country get ahead of others.

“So, we just have to get him back.”

But would it be easy? He had the same bloodline as Seon-woo from the Seon-Hyeon Guild. Moreover, when he heard the story from the scene that time, Moo-hyuk said that Seon-woo seemed to care about him very much.

“The story is complicated in many ways.”

Young-jin shut his mouth and headed back to the car. However, Moo-hyuk just stood there and looked at the empty lot next to the road.

How long had it been? Just as Young-jin was starting to get tired of waiting, Moo-hyuk went back to the car.

***

‘I had a dream.’

A small child with chubby cheeks was smiling while looking at Hyeon-woo.

“Hyung!”

He was running, a bag with a bun in one hand, and his body tilted as if he was about to fall. Confused, Hyeon-woo ran and grabbed him. Fortunately, the child did not fall.

“You have to be careful, Seon-woo.”

“Yes! Hyung, look at this, I got a bun at school.”

Then he showed Hyeon-woo the red bean bun.

“Let’s eat half and half.”

‘It’s okay to eat it all alone.’ It was lovely to see the younger brother who uttered strange words like ‘ share it half and half.’ If it wasn’t for his younger brother, several years after losing his parents, Hyeon-woo wouldn’t be where he was today.

His beloved brother, Hyeon-woo, raised the corners of his mouth, and slowly opened his eyes. He saw a familiar ceiling, having been accustomed to the ceiling of Seon-woo’s house. Hyeon-woo blinked and turned his head.

Right next to him, Kero was sleeping with his belly exposed. Originally, he was known for being sensitive, but seeing him laying down with his stomach out in the open, this guy had changed a lot too. Hyeon-woo raised his upper body while fiddling with Kero’s belly.

‘I am glad to have such a peaceful time sleeping in. When was the last time I ever had this feeling? I can’t even remember right now.’

‘Should I lie down a little longer?’

As he was about to lay down again, the door opened with a knock.

“Hyung.”

Seon-woo was standing with a small bag.

“I have something to give you.”

Again? When he came back, Hyeon-woo received a lot from Seon-woo. After some time, he even started to feel burdened just to receive something from his younger brother, who he once thought as purely someone to be protected.

“You don’t have to give anything more to me.”

He stood up and tried to sneak a peek at him but pretended that he didn’t want to hear anymore. There was no way he would listen to his words of explanation. Seon-woo came to the bed and spilled the contents of the bag on the duvet. More came out of the little bag than he expected.

“It’s a space bag.”

So, that was why it had so much.

“But what is this?”

At Hyeon-woo’s question, Seon-woo picked up an accessory that was scattered on the bed.

“This is a ring.”

“I don’t think it’s just a ring?”

“That’s right. It’s an artifact. It’s called the ring of protection”

Then he talked about its abilities.

[Ring of Protection (Unique)]

Unleashes a strong barrier when the owner is in danger. Cool down time: 48 hours

Then, Seon-woo, who took Hyeon-woo’s hand, put the ring on him. The ring, which seemed rather large, constricted on his finger as soon as it entered.

“Once you put this on.”

‘It is a ring that I don’t need at all. But if I hold onto it, my brother would be relieved.’ Hyeon-woo accepted the ring with an open mind. However, Seon-woo’s wants from his heart did not end with the ring.

[Movement Earrings (Unique)]

Short distance movement is possible when worn. Can move to another random location, Cool down time: 24 hours

“These earrings also.”

[Bracelet of Sacrifice (Unique)]

Damage received by the owner will be dealt on the opponent. Broken after 10 uses.

“Bracelet too.”

[Necklace of Regeneration (Unique)]

Slowly heals the owner’s wounds. Can be used after replenishing mana.

“This is a necklace.”

The earrings had already begun to burden him.

“Do I even need to have all of these?”

“You have to.”

“But isn’t it a bit odd for a grown man to wear all this?”

Hyeon-woo smiled awkwardly and tried to convince Seon-woo, “I avoided designs that were too flashy though.”

That’s right. All of them looked pretty elegant, but there were a lot of things to be worn, and the wearer was himself.

—

[1]Cheon yang- A predominantly rural area, it is known throughout Korea for the spicy Cheong yang chili peppers which are grown there.