CH 17

Do-jin, who was called into the room by Seon-woo, did not change much from the last time he saw him. Long, messy bangs that covered the eyes, and old clothes that looked clean but had been worn for too long. He had his back hunched, so it felt like he was very approachable.

“Hello.”

When he got up and they greeted each other in an awkward manner, Do-jin bowed with his head down.

“Hello.”

Then he stood still and looked at Hyeon-woo. It was strange to have a calm composure compared to his strength and size.

“Then shall we sit down?”

“Yeah.”

Hyeon-woo hesitated for a moment as he sat on the sofa.

Do-jin sat down on the floor, on his knees. 'No, are you being punished now?' He gestured to the sofa, swallowing the words as they were about to pop out of his throat.

“Please sit here.”

“Yeah.”

Do-jin slowly got up from his seat and moved to the sofa and sat down. Seon-woo, who looked at him, took a mug from the kitchen next to the living room and put it down in front of Hyeon-woo. Inside was hot chocolate that looked sweet.

‘Where did you get this from?’

After hesitating for a while, he took a sip and found it to be delicious. He drank some more without realizing it, and only later realized that he was the only one holding a mug.

“Why didn’t you drink too?”

When he asked Seon-woo, he answered right away.

“I’m okay. I don’t like sweets.”

Actually, Hyeon-woo didn’t really like it either. Still, it was a quality beverage, so he pushed the mug to Seon-woo.

“You should drink it too. It’s worth drinking.”

“Okay.”

Seon-woo smiled bashfully and took the mug. Only after watching his brother drinking hot chocolate, Hyeon-woo realized one thing too late. There was nothing laid in front of the guest, Do-jin. Then, as Hyeon-woo glanced at Do-jin at the door, Seon-woo said in a whisper.

“It’s okay.”

“But he’s a guest.”

“What do you mean by guest? I’m not the one who wanted him here.”

Seon-woo spoke in a soft but firm tone and sipped the hot chocolate again. Apparently, he still had in mind the fact that Do-jin had attacked first. But what could he do now? Hyeon-woo got up from his seat.

“Hyung?”

“Wait a minute.”

Hyeon-woo wanted to give some hot chocolate to Do-jin so he too could drink it. Upon seeing that Hyeon-woo had made his way to the kitchen, Seon-woo quickly followed.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I still need to give him something.”

“Then I will.”

“Can I help you too then?”

‘I’m a few years older than him and I don’t even seem to know how to make this.’ Hyeon-woo asked Seon-woo, who took out a tin of hot chocolate powder, and read the description on it. No, ‘tried’ to read was a keyword here since the contents of the manual were all in English.

“I want to help you too.”

Seon-woo next to him told him that it was a little different from what Hyeon-woo himself ate. So, he poured a little into another bowl and tasted it, but it tasted something subtly different. There was not enough powder.

Hyeon-woo added more powder.

‘The colors are similar.’

‘That would be enough.’ Hyeon-woo confidently put the mug down in front of Do-jin.

“Please drink.”

Do-jin hesitated for a while and picked up the mug. There was silence between the three for a moment. Do-jin, who finished all the hot chocolate, quietly put down the mug and finally opened his mouth to speak, “I would like to hear more about Ye-won’s story.”

He would have done that much anyway.

“I will pay the full price. Whatever it is.”

‘There’s no need to pay. It’s merely telling a story of the past, so there’s no need for any prices.’

However, Seon-woo had a different idea, “What can you offer?”

Hyeon-woo carefully stabbed Seon-woo with his finger. However, Seon-woo did not withdraw his words. To such a Seon-woo, Do-jin answered carefully.

“I will give you anything.”

“Then how about something like this? Please protect my brother.”

Hyeon-woo, who was about to stab Seon-woo again, stopped. What was this about?

“Of course, I will protect your Hyung, but I think you’re well aware how the world works.”

The value of the First-Generation missing person. Seon-woo only needed his Hyung, but the others didn’t know that he was his Hyung. They were curious about everything that the First-Generation missing person with a particularly prolonged period of disappearance knew. They would not give up thinking that there might be a helpful clue to make them stronger.

So, the stronger the people who could help him protect his Hyung, the better.

‘Besides, he seemed to be stronger than Ga-jun.’

Seon-woo felt it while they were fighting. Do-jin was never under him. He didn’t know how such a person had been hiding his skills until now, but since Seon-woo found out about it, he couldn’t just let such a useful person go.

“I will do that.”

Do-jin’s reply was quick. He didn’t seem to have thought about it deeply.

“Great. Then let’s make a contract for you.”

After hearing his response, Seon-woo brought out a document that he had prepared. Although it was a contract with all the terms and conditions attached, Do-jin did not hesitate to sign it. Do-jin seemed to be older than Hyeon-woo on Earth, but to sign a contract right away without even verifying the content... He was a person who was likely to be deceived wherever he went. Hyeon-woo spitted out those thoughts.

“Now, what would you do if you get scammed?”

“Are you going to scam me?”

“Not that but still.”

Hyeon-woo had no intention of scamming, and Seon-woo was not childish enough to do that.

“Then that’s finally done and over with.”

Hyeon-woo, who said he was okay with it, decided to change the topic.

“I’ll tell you the story of Ye-won Noona.”

This story was not only about Ye-won, but also about Hyeon-woo. In the beginning, they used to go together often.

Hyeon-woo picked out the good memories from here and there. The first time they worked together while hunting monsters and were hungry and wandering in search of something to eat. They found some fruit in the demon realm and when they ate it, they got colic.

He did not speak about horrible memories, because Do-jin wasn’t the only person here.

Hyeon-woo also had something he didn’t want to say to Seon-woo. Day by day, the number of people who were becoming increasingly sensitive and committing crazy things had also increased. Hyeon-woo and Ye-won, who were young and weak, were in an environment where they could not easily let go of their hearts and rest easily.

He had realized that people couldn’t all come together even in difficult circumstances. There were those who wanted to survive by pushing someone into pain. There were situations where people couldn’t trust others.

As he tried to remain calm in that situation, he realized how easily he could forget. He forgot who he was and began to abandon his humanity. Hyeon-woo, who was barely at the age of a high school student, was poisoned and destroyed in an instant.

For decades from that moment on and until the last person died, Hyeon-woo survived alone and stayed in the Demon Realm. So, he could say that he really didn’t get out unscathed.

‘Still, I thought it would be okay to talk about this.’

It changed him. Hyeon-woo, who was once weak, was no longer there. Still, the more the story went on, the more detachment he felt.

“Hyung, let’s stop.”

At some point, Seon-woo came and grabbed Hyeon-woo’s hand.

“What?”

“That’s it for today.”

Do-jin also added to Seon-woo’s words, “Looks like I put too much pressure on you. Sorry.”

‘Why are you saying that?’

He didn’t know why, but the two seemed to be worried about Hyeon-woo.

“Kiiing.”

Suddenly, Kero, who was on the sofa, whined. Hyeon-woo nodded his head as he thought about it and agreed, “Well, it’s a long story to tell all at once.”

“That’s right. So, just rest.”

“Yeah, Hyung. Let’s lie down first.”

Seon-woo lifted Hyeon-woo again and took him to the bedroom. Then he laid him on the bed and covered him with a blanket. Beside him, he put Kero, who was trembling.

“Wait a minute, I’ll go and bring you a healer.”

Healer? What was going on?

“No, it’s okay. Call what healer? I look fine, don’t I?”

At that, Seon-woo took Hyeon-woo’s hand with a bitter expression.

“Okay. I will call the healer for you later, so let’s rest for a while.”

Then he patted his chest, turned his back, and left the room. Hyeon-woo laid down, but sleep did not come. So, he opened his eyes, grabbed Kero and hugged him. It felt surprisingly good to rub Kero’s belly fat, which had become chubby recently.

Well, he should pretend that he’s sleeping since he would worry his brother. Hyeon-woo simply closed his eyes.

Seon-woo, who came out after closing the door, beckoned at Do-jin. Do-jin understood the meaning and immediately got up and went outside. Seon-woo followed him. He opened his mouth only after the thick door was closed.

“Are you satisfied now?”

It was a sharp voice.

“Sorry.”

It was something he hadn’t even thought of. If Do-jin had been in the Demon Realm for 10 years, there would have been many painful memories, but he simply wouldn’t care. He felt a sense of guilt that he had made it difficult for someone who was still vulnerable all because he wanted to hear about his sister.

It was the same with Seon-woo. He’d taken a deep breath, desperately suppressing the rising questions that time. He must have wondered about how his older brother had lived all this time.

‘How did you survive in the Demon Realm, and why can't I gauge the strength of your power?’ There were many things he wanted to ask. Still, he didn’t ask. Because he wanted to protect his Hyung. It meant that he had to approach him more slowly.

‘I did.’

But then Do-jin ruined it all. No, no. It was also Seon-woo’s fault. Seon-woo could only simply clench his fists.