CH 56

People exclaimed in admiration at the sight of Ji Seon-woo, who appeared at the same time as the firecrackers that exploded outside. One could feel the confidence as he walked out of the balcony.

The illuminating hero.

As in the broadcast, they were different from normal people. Somewhat surprising how Hyeon-woo's sense of presence was second to none.

“He said he was Ji Seon-woo’s Hyung. Neither of them is lacking.”

“I know.”

People who had looked down on Hyeon-woo after seeing him on TV changed their minds.

“Ji Seon-woo is like a lion. There’s no way the Hyung of the lion, who’s the king of beasts, could merely be a cat.”

"I'll have to take a more cautious approach."

Seon-woo passed through the murmurs and went back to his original place with Hyeon-woo. After confirming with him, Chan-young let out a sigh of relief and exclaimed.

"We welcome the distinguished guests who have come to the party hosted by the Seon-hyeon Guild today. Please enjoy it to your heart's content.”

With those words, soft music played in the hall, and the birthday party began. There were no grandiose greetings or welcome ceremony, but it was enough to enjoy it the way one wanted because each person was meticulously cared for.

However, simply having fun could not fulfill the purpose of coming here. So some people began to move slowly.

First, Seon-woo was surrounded by people, and then Hyeon-woo also began to gather a crowd.

'I'm sure it'll be a nuisance.'

He tried to escape, but even if they were weaker than him, they were all Awakened. It seemed unreasonable to escape openly in such a wide and open space. As he was tickling Kero, whom he had hugged for no reason, someone bumped into his back.

It was Do-jin. With Do-jin supporting him, he felt at ease. Hyeon-woo felt that he could overcome the somewhat troublesome task.

“Ji Hyeon-woo ssi.”

The first person to speak was a red-haired foreigner.

“I am called Ivan of Russia. It is an honor to be able to meet in person someone whom I have only heard about through rumors.”

At the same time, he gently curled his lips, which was unpleasant.

Because his eyes weren't smiling.

He didn't want to get close to the Russian, but it was Seon-woo's birthday party. He couldn't make him look bad here.

Hyeon-woo smiled because he wanted the party to continue smoothly until at least they cut the birthday cake he had prepared.

"Hello, nice to meet you. You must have come from afar."

“I’m from America.”

Then he looked at Leon from the other side, who was driving people around just like Seon-woo. Maybe it was because it was a famous American guild. They were very popular even though they were not the hosts. But wasn't that the same here?

Right now, Ivan was attached to Hyeon-woo, but he was in a situation that wasn't much different from Leon's until just now. This man was the son of the head of the best guild in Russia. It was a once-in-a-moon case in which a son became an Awakened after his father, and his power was said to surpass his father, who was called the Russian Brown Bear.

“Ah, the music has changed. I know this too.”

Ivan still held out his hand to Hyeon-woo with a smirk.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

For a moment, his expression almost contorted. Ivan was also a man, he himself was a man too. But he wanted to dance together? They were two people who stood out, but if they did something like that, it seemed like all eyes would be on them.

So the moment he was about to refuse, a hand reached out from behind.

The big, tough hand grabbed hold of Hyeon-woo's hand from where it was and gently pulled it toward him. He was dragged away and ended up leaning against Do-jin's chest.

“I have a previous engagement with him first.”

Do-jin spoke in a quiet but determined manner.

“Then I’ll wait for the next dance.”

“I’ve reserved that one as well.”

“Then the next.”

“I think you know what the answer will be.”

Ivan’s smile hardened.

'You’re angry.'

Hyeon-woo looked at Ivan while holding Do-jin in his arms. Seeing this, it seems a bit amusing.

“You are an interesting person.”

“That one is also funny enough.”

It was the first time he had ever seen Do-jin refuse to lose even a single word like this. He wondered if something might happen, but Ivan unexpectedly quietly withdrew.

“There’s no need to get so hot on a good day like this. I’ll look forward to next time."

After Ivan got farther away, Do-jin naturally turned Hyeon-woo around and held his hand again.

“Then shall we dance?”

"Ok?"

What did this person just say? Wasn't that what he said to stop Ivan? When he stood there blankly because he didn’t understand, Do-jin let go of his hand and stood right in front of him, bending his waist. Then he bowed politely and held out his hand again.

“Would you like to dance with me?”

“Ugh.”

It didn't seem like it was this hard even when fighting against the demons who were ranked top in the Demon World. There was a lot of curiosity in the gaze looking at this side.

“Are you really like this?”

Hyeon-woo clenched his teeth and said, but Do-jin just laughed and didn't back down. What was in it was a bit of grumpiness, mischief, and sincerity. He had nowhere else to go.

'Let's see!'

Hyeon-woo grabbed Do-jin's hand, which he reached out to him.

"Gladly."

The two made their way to the center of the hall. Some happy people were dancing there, and they went in between them.

“Just so you know, I can’t dance. I've never danced before."

Hyeon-woo whispered in Do-jin's ear he belatedly remembered.

“Well, come to think of it, I’ve never really danced before.”

"What?"

Then what were they doing! Embarrassed, his body naturally became tense. There must have been music playing, but he couldn't hear it properly.

“What were you thinking!”

As he hit Dojin's arm with his fist, his body was pushed back little by little.

“You are stronger than you look.”

"That's not what's important right now!"

“Well, shouldn’t we try to roughly match the music?”

Then, Do-jin put his other hand on Hyeon-woo's waist. Then he began to move his feet, leading his stiff body.

“Just follow my lead.”

He said he didn't know how to dance, but Do-jin skillfully led Hyeon-woo by moving his body in a very comfortable manner. Despite stepping on his feet several times along the way, Do-jin’s content smile never faded.

As he kept looking at him like that, it seemed that the tension gradually eased. His steps started to feel more natural.

“You said you didn’t know how to dance.”

No matter how he examined it, this wasn't a person who didn't know how to dance. It seemed like he was just trying to make fun of Hyeon-woo. Had it not been for this situation, he would have been more flexible.

'I was nervous too.'

After he disappeared, it seemed that there was pressure to do well because it was his brother's first birthday party. As soon as the tension was released, the music filling the hall was clearly heard. He didn't know the name of the song, but it sounded really nice.

Now he knows how to match the rhythm quite a bit. After playing around with his feet a few times, he started to feel excited when he turned around in a big circle as Do-jin led. It was quite enjoyable while the music was short if it was short and long if it was long.

By the time the song ended and the next started playing, Do-jin and Hyeon-woo's dance was over.

'It's more fun than I thought.'

Hyeon-woo smiled with a different expression from when he started. Should they dance one more time? He didn't know the next song, but with Do-jin, he would be able to dance just fine.

Thinking so, he was about to extend his hand again, but someone pulled Hyeon-woo from behind.

“Seon-woo-ya?”

“Next with me.”

Why was his cute little brother so grumpy again? Seon-woo naturally took Hyeon-woo's hand and moved toward the center of the hall.

Do-jin, who was left alone, looked back at something, standing there and looking down at his hand. But for a moment, Do-jin raised his head and waved his hand at Hyeon-woo. Beside him were Spotty and Kero.

Seon-woo was a bit more skilled than Do-jin. He was good at both dancing and leading, so he was much more comfortable than when he was dancing with Do-jin. But strangely, what he kept thinking about was Do-jin's face.

“Hyung, what are you thinking?”

“Our Seon-woo. You’re such a good dancer, don’t you think? Did you learn it?"

"A little."

“How is this level just a little?”

After pouring out compliments, Seon-woo's sullen face returned to normal.

“Hyung is good too?”

"I'm just following you."

Hyeon-woo shrugged. Even after one song was over, Seon-woo didn't know how to be satisfied. The childish little brother let go of his Hyung only after dancing three songs.

The time to cut the cake was approaching.

The music faded again, and the lights in the hall went out. But no one was surprised here. Most of them were Awakened so they knew the order. This could not have been more agitated.

“Next there will be a cake cutting ceremony!”

Then, lights fell on the two of them standing in the center of the hall.

"Let's go, Hyung."

Hyeon-woo stepped forward to congratulate his younger brother on his birthday.