The S-Classes That I Raised

"Let's just go."

If he doesn't answer the phone, I'll barge in myself. One way or another, I have to tell him. I'll just let Seong Hyunjae know that I've regressed and about the relationship with Crescent Moon. There's no need for a long explanation. As I took a step, Yuhyun spoke up.

"By the way, your leg... can I ask about it?"

"...Huh? Oh, that..."

Maybe my expression stiffened without me realizing, because Yuhyun looked concerned.

"No, I was just curious. If you're still limping even after treatment..."

His voice trailed off. Of course Yuhyun would assume I'd been treated. Was he thinking I was injured so badly that not even a top-class healer could fully fix it? He probably had many other questions too. But he didn't press any further. Instead, he observed me carefully.

"Sorry. You must've had a hard time, but I've been too caught up in being happy. But I'm really okay. If you're worried I might be bothered, don't be."

"Yeah. Okay."

I smiled again. Just like he said, Yuhyun really was okay. And he would continue to be. The anxiety he used to feel about leaving me had faded a lot. His attitude—saying it was okay even if I didn't tell him everything—didn't feel forced or overly repressed. He still cared about me, of course, but he had gained a sense of composure.

And that would continue to grow and change.

So in the end, my younger brother... my brothers have changed.

They're the same person. They were the same person. But the Yuhyun standing before me at twenty-five would end up being completely different. A lot had already changed. Even his skills were different. The people around him had changed as well. Not only that—his appearance was likely to change, too. He'd probably grow a bit taller, sometimes his eye color might shift, and even his expression would change.

I'd been pretending not to notice that truth, even though I felt it constantly. But I couldn't ignore it anymore.

They're the same people, but changed—and still changing—my brothers, whom I love dearly.

"I did hurt my leg, but Yuhyun, you spent five whole years trying to protect me."

Even the Yuhyun in front of me now would have done the same if I hadn't changed. He would have walked down that thorny road, burning himself up from the inside, just the same.

"Back then, I was way weaker than I am now. My stats were still stuck at F, and my skills were pathetic. That's why I struggled way more than you do now. It was hard. Really hard."

Yuhyun had just remained faithfully by my side, as always. I—so many things—our surroundings, our circumstances, had changed. Just like with so many people and events.

I slowly began walking toward the distant gate. The parched wasteland was gradually absorbing moisture again. Perhaps because the underground spring hadn't dried up, the ground was slowly growing damp. Some pits were already filling with water. Whether it was because all the impurities had burned away, or the ash acted as a kind of natural filter, the water puddles were surprisingly clear. The murky swamp was completely gone.

"...Was the leg from a curse or something? Like the trap too—if those bastards were really targeting you seriously... Still, I was satisfied. I would've been, hyung. You cared enough about me, loved me enough to come back like this. Really. I'm sure of it."

Yuhyun said, sticking close by my side, as if he knew me best. Matching my pace, he did his best to offer excuses, so I wouldn't feel guilty. As I listened to that voice, I was certain—now was still not the time to say more.

The one who spent those five years. The one I should cling to and cry for. The one I should demand, "Why did you do that?" The one I should hold tightly and say, "You went through so much. Thank you. I'm sorry."—that was the brother I left behind.

I couldn't push that burden onto this one. I mustn't. I had to see this Yuhyun as just who he was.

"I'm okay with that. So think of yourself first, hyung."

And more than anything, I could already picture far too clearly how this Yuhyun would react if he found out the truth—and that's why I couldn't say it yet.

I couldn't give up on my little brother. I couldn't let go of even the smallest piece. Even if my brother, even if Yuhyun desperately wanted me to... no matter what else I could give up, that was the one thing I absolutely could not. Not to anyone in this world.

And then he would repress it again. He'd worry, and be anxious... and he was still unstable. His color was an in-between shade, neither black nor blue. At the very least, until that stabilized, I didn't want to add more weight to him.

'If only he took better care of himself.'

Right now, there was no doubt Yuhyun would tell me to let go of him. To give up on him. I wasn't really in any position to scold him for that part, though.

"Think about yourself a little too, Yuhyun."

"The one who had it hardest must've been you, hyung. So why? You're still here now, still alive. Back then... yeah, I'm sure I hated leaving you alone."

That's not it.

I swallowed the words with a smile and lightly tapped Yuhyun's arm. Still, it was so much better than keeping it all bottled up—I'd managed to let out at least a little. I picked up Peace, who had been wandering around my feet, watching me cautiously. And as soon as I did, Yuhyun immediately made a face of displeasure.

"Even if it's psychological, you said your leg's bothering you. Put him down."

"This much is fine. Don't be so hard on the kid just because you're his uncle now. Right, Peace? Uncle Yuhyun's being mean, huh?"

I grabbed [N O V E L I G H T] Peace's front paws and playfully bopped Yuhyun with them. Peace let out a low growl.

"He's been fully grown for a while now. And why am I his uncle?"

"Alright, fine, I'll give up the dad title. Dear Guardian of Peace, your Peace is so good and adorable~ Peace, should we go to Daddy? No? You shouldn't bare your teeth at Daddy, okay."

"...You're reminding me of when you used to work at the animal hospital."

"Back then, I was popular with both the animals and their guardians, wasn't I? Feels like ages ago. Over ten years now."

"It hasn't been that long... Oh."

"My age, as I feel it, is thirty. Ah, it feels so good to finally say it out loud! Yuhyun, you're now a whole ten years younger than me. You're totally a kid, a baby. Yerim? She's practically my daughter. Myungwoo is my little brother. I'm even older than Hyuna. Though honestly, she feels more mature than me. And get this—there's a smaller age gap between me and the Sesung Guild Leader than between you and me. I'm about the same age as Chief Song too, right?"

I laughed out loud as I watched Yuhyun's bewildered face.

"If... if you're thirty, then... you're still my hyung, right?"

"Of course I'm your big brother, little Yuhyun! Whether I'm five or ten years older, I'll always be your hyung."

No matter how much things change from here on out, that much won't. Even if I somehow ended up younger than him—I'd still be his hyung.

"Oh, right. I'm going to tell the Sesung Guild Leader about the regression too."

"What? Why? Not even Park Yerim?"

Yuhyun looked clearly displeased at my words. At least he still looked out for Yerim.

"I'll probably tell Yerim too, if I can. But this is something the Sesung Guild Leader needs to know first. There's some information I absolutely have to give him."

Since I couldn't mention Crescent Moon without permission, I just glossed over it. Yuhyun's brow furrowed deeper.

"...Were you two close?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, were you close with the Sesung Guild Leader? How close are we talking? Don't tell me you were even closer than you are now—"

"Hey, not even close. Before the regression, I had no ability whatsoever. I was just a typical F-rank Hunter. The Sesung Guild Leader had absolutely zero interest in me."

"There's no way."

Yuhyun frowned like he thought I was trying to deceive him.

"He knew about us, about our relationship, and still had no interest in you? The whole reason the Sesung Guild Leader got curious about me was because of you. Once he learned about you, his attention naturally shifted. It's the same now. He's lost interest in me and is overly focused on you."

"Probably more than half of that interest is because of my skills."

"Even without the skills, you're unique. There's no way he wasn't at least curious."

He had a point. Nurturers were incredibly rare, so if Seong Hyunjae had known about me, he likely would have found it intriguing. But unlike now, he probably didn't see it as something worth getting personally involved with. Maybe he just confirmed who I was, believed Yuhyun would continue protecting Korea, and left it at that.

"Still, we really had no relationship. The Sesung Guild Leader left Korea early on and even went missing. How could I have gotten close with someone whose whereabouts I didn't even know?"

"Really?"

Yuhyun nodded, visibly relieved. He clearly liked the idea of Seong Hyunjae being out of the country.

"He always seemed more interested in overseas affairs than Korea anyway. Most of the core guild members are foreigners, too. When's he supposed to leave?"

"No idea. Things are really different now. Aren't you at all worried about him, considering he went missing?"

"Why would I be? Dead or alive, it doesn't have anything to do with me. I'd be curious about the reason if he died, sure. Oh, wait—did I kill him?" Catch the formatted version at M|V|LEM_PYR.

"...He's probably alive."

He must've been, if he remembered the pre-regression timeline.

"Aren't you curious about anyone else? If it were me, I'd be asking all sorts of stuff."

"You said you were with me. That I was at the top of Haeyeon, so the guild was doing fine too. Other than that... What about Park Yerim?"

"Yerim was safe too. Her awakening environment wasn't ideal, so she was A-rank, but she was still a well-known Hunter."

Of course, compared to now, things were different in a lot of ways—mostly for the worse. I didn't go into detail. Yerim should hear about that first.

Yuhyun's gaze briefly shifted to Peace. But he didn't ask anything. Since I'd said I didn't have any special skills, he must've guessed what happened to Peace. Maybe he thought I sold him as a rare pet. With his high upkeep costs, if someone like Shishio had taken him in, he might've actually been well cared for.

"A lot changed in those five years. The World Hunter Rankings started, and the number of domestic S-rank Hunters increased. But even right before I regressed, most of them were still safe. I'd love to bring more of them in early, but I don't know their identities."

There were more S-rank awakenings, but once the Awakening Center was established, the identities of high-ranking Hunters were protected. As dungeon difficulty increased, top Hunters were increasingly targeted by foreign countries or guilds, so some began operating under aliases with altered appearances. Yerim, for example, didn't have parents and was estranged from her uncle's family, so her identity became known.

"If it's 'most'... then that means there were some S-rank Hunters who died, besides me?"

"Yeah, right. Even now, two people have already crossed the River Styx. Of course, not everyone made it through those five years unscathed."

"Chief Song?"

"...How'd you know?"

"It's more surprising he lived as long as he did, considering how much he constantly holds himself back."

I was at a loss for words. Part of me wanted to smack Yuhyun's back—You really think you can say that?

"He'll be okay this time."

"I hope so."

For a moment, I thought I misheard. My little brother, worrying about Chief Song? Sure, Yuhyun was kind, but when it came to others... he was pretty uninterested.

"He's irreplaceable. If Korea is stable, you'll be more comfortable too."

"That's the reason? Still, I guess you did have some respect for Chief Song."

"I think most S-rank Hunters feel the same. There's a reason the Sesung Guild Leader keeps an eye on him. Even if there are tens or hundreds of thousands of S-rank Awakened, there's no one else like Chief Song Taewon. Who else would pull off such crazy—no, such strange things?"

That was true. The Awakening Center incident hadn't happened yet, so the rift between the Association and the guilds wasn't too deep, but still, I didn't think Seong Hyunjae was the one who killed Song Taewon. It had happened inside a dungeon, and Hyunjae would've been nearby... maybe it was related to Crescent Moon or another Transcendent.

We stepped out of the gate and gathered our belongings from the storage locker. I took out my phone and, without overthinking it, called Seong Hyunjae. But once again, it rang and rang before cutting to voicemail. This won't get resolved unless we talk! Going off the grid won't solve anything!

"Yuhyun, can I borrow your phone?"

Maybe he'd pick up if it was from a different number. If he did, I'd probably be even more pissed. Yuhyun handed me his phone.

"...Is your contact list always this empty?"

Guess he hadn't backed it up yet. My name, Park Yerim, Team Leader Seok, Team Leader Kim, the Deputy Guild Leader, and the Secretary's Office. That was it. The Deputy Guild Leader must've been Kim Seonghan. He already switched it over, huh.

"For external calls, go through the Secretary's Office. Just call them and press the speed dial. If it's not saved, you can just say it out loud. There's a separate number for outside communications."

Right, if you connect directly, your number would be exposed. Going through the Secretary's Office was safer. I called Haeyeon Guild's secretary and asked to be connected to Seong Hyunjae's number. This time, the call went through. So he really was ignoring just my calls—!

[This is the Sesung Guild Leader's secretary's office.]

"...Huh? Isn't this Seong Hyunjae's phone number?"

Why was I talking to the secretary's office all of a sudden? The person answered politely, explaining that except for a few contacts, the Guild Leader's phone was handled by the office.

"Then... is there any way to reach the Guild Leader now?"

[We're sorry. He is currently unavailable for external calls.]

So internal calls work, huh. Like if I called from inside the Sesung Guild, he'd pick up? Either way, they said there was no way for the office to connect me directly. How annoyingly strict. I sighed and handed the phone back to my brother.

"Seong Hyunjae, seriously..."

"He doesn't want to talk to you. Leave him alone."

"I swear, I feel like using my points to exchange for five bombs and just chuck them at his house. That'd make him come out."

"That's a waste of points. I'll set the fire for you."

"That'd be too disrespectful to Chief Song."

A stat-F like me planting bombs was still less extreme than S-ranks going at it. I tried calling again on my own phone, just in case—but it was the same. I clenched my jaw and typed out a text with force. These touchscreen phones never feel satisfying.

[If I don't hear from you by 3 p.m. tomorrow, I'll be paying a visit in person.]

I really will bring a bomb.

"Think Yerim's done with work? Let's go out to eat for once!"

Technically, we'd been eating out nonstop, but it was different when it was a proper family dinner in Korea. Just thinking about it—it made me happy. A peaceful dinner where Yuhyun and Yerim would be smiling, and Peace would be comfortably sprawled across my lap.