Chapter 425: Midnight Guest (2)
"I don't know."
A curt voice came back.
"Do you not want to come in? You should clear up my suspicion."
"Suspicion or not, wouldn't that be for the Guildmaster of Seseong to know? You said you came to see me in someone else's appearance."
So Han Yoojin could not possibly know. Sung Hyunjae tilted his head slightly and rested it against the glass door, against the cloth. A cool chill seeped through from beyond the hanging fabric.
"Then what about Chief Song Taewon? He would have known that I was meeting Han Yoojin-gun, wouldn't he?"
"I don't know the first time either. More importantly, you cannot keep Hunter Han Yoojin outside."
"Couldn't you protect one F-rank, at least? When was it that you realized I was the Guildmaster of Seseong? Hmm? Han Yoojin-gun."
As if frustrated, a heavy thud rang out from the glass door.
"You directly asked if I wanted to come to Seseong!"
"Hunter Han Yoojin, lower your voice."
"Did I say something like that?"
"Damn it, looks like you don't even remember. I figured it was probably a joke, but still."
The lowered voice growled. Sung Hyunjae tapped lightly on the cloth with the back of his hand.
"There is no way. But you refused, didn't you, Han Yoojin-gun."
"Why would I go there just to hear even more crap? And it's Seseong, on top of that. They'd talk shit about my little brother and call me a traitor too."
"I could hide you perfectly."
Sung Hyunjae continued, as though soothing him.
"In a broad mansion, with a garden spacious enough not to feel stifling, safely cut off from the world. If you wished, I could even have a pond made. Keeping a puppy or a cat would be alright as well."
"…Are you insane? Is this some weird hobby of an illustrious rich man whose money is rotting away?"
"Let us say this applies only to Han Yoojin-gun. I have no such desire toward anyone else."
"…I'm going to report you. The Director of the Awakened Person Management Office is right beside me too."
"You said you wanted to come in, didn't you? Then you ought to make a good impression on the one holding the key."
A sound like a swallowed curse came through. Other than the fact that it was trying to enter the hotel, it barely felt fake at all. Even though he had no intention of opening the door, he felt the urge to at least pull aside the cloth, and so Sung Hyunjae turned toward Young Chaos.
"What happens if I let them inside?"
"The nightmares are servants of the King of Harmlessness. They'll try to devour your memories. Starting with the parts related to those things."
"If they stay at F-rank, it would be difficult for them to stop it."
"The act of opening the door after hearing them ask to be let in is a kind of agreement to a contract. That's why the people near the Sea of Mist used to close their doors and cover their windows once the sun went down."
After sunset, do not call names. Who is it that knocks upon the door? No matter how dearly the greeting is missed, no matter how tender the whisper. Your beloved ones are all asleep, so you too should go and rest along with them.
In the end, it had been a world swallowed by mist and vanished long ago.
Bang!
Just then, a huge crash rang out.
"Please open the door!"
Han Yoojin shouted urgently, and a metallic sound followed, as though he had drawn a weapon. Scrraaape—something scraped against the asphalt ground.
"Please, at least let Hunter Han Yoojin in!"
Song Taewon said desperately. The corners of Sung Hyunjae's lips lifted slightly. If it had been someone else, they really would have found it difficult to endure.
"What did we speak of again, and how did we spend our time together?"
"You son of a bitch!"
"I imagine I must have heard that many times."
A beastly rumble echoed from beyond the glass. Heavy footsteps pounded against the ground, as though Song Taewon were responding to it.
"You said you wanted me and Chief Song to both be safe!"
"Of course. The two of you are the ones I cherish most."
The fact that only the two of them had appeared showed that well enough. They were the only two who held meaning.
"Then open it! If you won't let us in, then come out at least!"
"Han Yoojin-gun's little brother is in here."
The shouting voice of Han Yoojin cut off abruptly. A muttered, What a real bastard…, came quietly afterward.
"If you're pretending to be Han Yoojin, then you cannot come in. Isn't that right?"
"Damn it, me, now of all times… thinking about Yoohyun…."
"You thought about him a lot, didn't you. You must have said as much to me too."
"…You know that and you're still doing this?"
"If you do not mind something happening to your little brother, I'll open the door."
Han Yoojin sucked in a short breath. Those words just now were not a lie but certain truth. If Han Yoojin wished to abandon Han Yoohyun and protect his own safety, Sung Hyunjae would gladly open the door. But even if it was fake, as long as it was Han Yoojin—
"What utter bullshit, really…."
"I mean it sincerely."
"You approached me in the first place because I raised Yoohyun! Not once or twice either, stop testing people like that!"
"Now, Han Yoojin-gun, Han Yoohyun no longer matters."
That sort of thing no longer mattered at all.
"If anything, what I would like to see now is Han Yoojin-gun putting himself first."
"Fuck, then just sit there and listen to me die."
Han Yoojin ground his teeth. Though it was a being that ought to tempt the other party into opening the door, it gave that up. It refused the offer to open it.
Boom! An explosive crash erupted. But there was only sound; no vibration, no movement of mana could be felt. In reality, it was likely nothing more than a calm street with thick mist drifting across it. After the sound of something colliding, a low, suppressed groan from Song Taewon slipped out.
"Chief Song! Then at least help Chief Song! Get out here! Sung Hyunjae!"
"It seems you knew Chief Song Taewon better than expected. Did the three of us ever meet together as well?"
"Yes, we did! Agh!"
Clatter, fragments scattered and rolled. As if struck by them, Han Yoojin's voice suddenly dropped lower. It seemed he had curled himself up.
"Are you close with Song Taewon?"
"…He's at least a hundred times better a person than the son of a bitch in front of me."
"I can't deny that. Though a hundred times is a bit much."
I could accept about twice.
At that idle response, Han Yoojin burst out with a string of curses. Thunk. The sound of a forehead leaning against the glass door followed.
"You made it so obvious that you didn't see people as much of anything."
"Everyone felt that way."
Sung Hyunjae bent down and set one knee upon the marble. Crack. Something broke, then was roughly flung aside. Ragged breathing disturbed his ears.
"H-Han Yoojin, Hunter...."
And immediately after Song Taewon's voice was heard—
Crunch!
Sung Hyunjae's ears caught it exactly for what it was: the sound of a human body being pierced through. Thud—the glass door shook weakly. It could have been no more than a gust of wind. A body leaning against the glass slid slowly downward even further.
Sung Hyunjae's eyes unconsciously fell toward the floor, toward the crack beneath the door. No blood was seeping in. Nor could he smell blood.
"Han Yoojin-gun."
"…Could you at least show me your face."
"I'm sorry."
"Either way, I want to see Yoohyun more."
My little brother.
"You said… you'd tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Why Yoohyun… left me. You said… you had some idea...."
"So I did."
"…I waited."
The harsh panting gradually grew thinner. Sung Hyunjae's hand clenched into a fist. It was a little harder than he had expected. He understood clearly that it was fake, and yet the displeasure was strong.
"Thanks… for buying me drinks. You said… a lot of annoying crap, but. Me too… talking about my little brother...."
Until the very end, instead of asking to be let in, Han Yoojin asked desperately,
"What was… the reason...? Yoohyun."
"To protect Han Yoojin-gun."
"…That's stupid."
A powerless laugh was heard.
"Han Yoohyun loved only Han Yoojin from beginning to end. Even now, still. And forever hereafter."
"Even if it's just empty words… thanks. You're not… the kind of person who says empty words, Mr. Sung Hyunjae... right?"
"Of course not."
"Right… yeah...."
After one more word of thanks, the voice cut off sharply. Scrape—someone dragged a body along.
"Han Yoojin, Hunter. Han… Yoojin, ssi...."
Song Taewon called Han Yoojin's name as though coughing up blood. So it killed Han Yoojin first. This nightmare knew far too well what kind of scene would be more painful.
"I, I...."
"Even then, did you still hate surviving?"
"Someone… I had to protect."
The edge of clothing brushed over the floor. Fingertips scraped at something. Sung Hyunjae pictured the motion of someone embracing a corpse.
"I said… I would protect him, didn't I."
"Did I have such a conversation with you?"
"That is why, I...."
"What happened?"
For a short while, only breathing could be heard loudly. Sung Hyunjae waited quietly. Song Taewon, being an S-rank Hunter, could not die that easily. If he had been reproduced exactly as he was, then even with a fatal injury he would be able to last dozens more minutes. Since he was still speaking and breathing, it might even be possible for him to go on for half a day or more.
Long enough to make one open the door, if only to put an end to his breathing.
"…The moon."
"Crescent Moon?"
"Tried… to interfere."
"Even outside the dungeon?"
"Because you, Sung Hyunjae… noticed the contract, and that."
The small moon, nearly filled by Song Taewon and Han Yoojin, was what Crescent Moon had tried to collect. But before that, Sung Hyunjae had realized the contract binding him.
"That… through Plunder...."
"You tried to swallow it with Song Taewon's skill?"
Not Sung Hyunjae himself, but the contract binding him. A contract could also be regarded as a kind of skill. So theoretically, it was not impossible.
"Into the dungeon… you tried to go in alone. …But Han Yoojin-ssi."
"So you were the one who followed me."
"Han Yoojin-ssi was not at fault...."
"Are you remembering your death?"
No answer came back. Sung Hyunjae had apparently tried to face his fate alone. It likely had not been because he had given up. It was simply that, to him, not only Han Yoojin but even Song Taewon had seemed too weak to drag in.
But Han Yoojin thought of a way, and Song Taewon accepted it.
"The moon… couldn't be fully removed. Han Yoojin-ssi must also have been affected…."
"It seemed he lost part of his memories."
More precisely, the very relationships Han Yoojin had held with Sung Hyunjae and Song Taewon had disappeared from within him. Along with those, some of the relationships with certain people connected to that period as well.
"Sung Hyunjae, ssi."
"I'm alive."
A small cough sounded.
"I'm alive… and living quite pleasantly. Though Song Taewon-ssi is still having a hard time."
"…Me as well."
Song Taewon, too, never asked for the door to be opened until the very end. Even if it were open, he was the sort of person who would not enter. He would have asked only for the weak to be let in and for the door to be shut again.
"…The truth is, I did not hate it that much."
"I did treat you well."
"…That…."
With one great breath, no further words followed. Only faint breathing continued to be heard. He would die slowly like this over the course of hours. Sung Hyunjae lightly tapped the glass door. He did not open it.
"Come sit down."
Young Chaos said curtly. Then, all of a sudden, he looked behind him.
"Why did those brats come down?"
Footsteps were heard from the direction leading to the guest room elevators. Lightly stepping down from atop the chair, Young Chaos spun in place and kicked the chair with the tip of his foot.
Shhhk—Han Yoohyun's foot stopped the armchair as it slid smoothly across the floor. On either side of him stood two Han Yoojins.
"Don't come any farther in. It'll become a mess."
The slightly smaller-framed Han Yoojin wore an apologetic expression.
"Did I come here?"
"You did."
"Mr. Sung Hyunjae."
Sung Hyunjae rose to his feet. Turning around as though nothing was wrong, he took a few steps toward the chair where he had been sitting.
"You woke too early."
"I remembered something."
"What memory?"
"A memory of Mr. Sung Hyunjae talking nonsense over drinks."
Han Yoojin shrugged.
"I wasn't sleeping well, so I was just lying there awake. Then it suddenly came to me. Ah, I mean me from before the regression."
Something about gloriously getting drunk beneath the full moon. He had muttered that it felt like he'd had a similar conversation once.
"Come to think of it, I wasn't sure where I'd heard it. Though there were old men who said stale old things like that. There was even an ahjussi who liked Li Bai. The type who'd say, once you drink, you should empty at least three hundred cups."
"Do not leave the golden wine cup empty before the moon, you mean."
"That's what I remembered. Chief Song was there too, back then."
To the question, Did he come with me, Sung Hyunjae nodded.
"He did."
He did not say that he was still there. Han Yoohyun might have noticed, but at this distance Han Yoojin would not be able to sense the dying presence beyond the glass door.
"It seems me and I were affected a little after all."
"Did anything else come back to you?"
"No. Just useless memories. What about you, Mr. Sung Hyunjae? Did you hear anything? Maybe if I hear it, something else will come to mind."
After a brief thought, Sung Hyunjae turned and pushed his chair. It slid a long distance, then stopped exactly in front of Han Yoojin.
"For now, sit. Both of you."
Wouldn't it be uncomfortable. At Sung Hyunjae's suggestion, Han Yoojin and Han Yoojin sat in the chairs.
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