The S-Classes That I Raised

I wiped my wet face roughly with my sleeve. The sight of myself across from me was ridiculous. Damn, this was really funny. Perhaps because I'd been hit once, my insides felt mushy. It felt like what had been piled up and hardened had softened a bit. The me being held by Yuhyun glared at me.

"What did you do right to be crying!"

That bastard, really.

"What, you punk—then you!"

"Shit, I'm doing this because I'm so frustrated!"

"Hey! Do you think I'm fine? It's not like I can just split myself open and show you!"

"Split it open! Split it open!"

"If your frustration bursts, I'll split you open with a bang!"

"H-hyung."

"You said you wanted to go out, right? Sure, I'll go out, I'll go out! I'll kill you—bastard, no, me, bastard—and go out!"

"Oh, really? Do you think I'm a sandbag with no hands or feet? Hey! I have more experience than you, you know! How far have you gone in dungeons?"

"What's piled up in the body is also experience! You blew it all away, and now you're talking about experience—what a load of crap!"

"You don't know about item power? You can cover it with equipment!"

"You disgustingly cheap bastard!"

Yuhyun looked back and forth between the me he was holding and the me who was a little farther away, not knowing what to do. I felt sorry for my little brother, but if Yuhyun hadn't come, I would have grabbed his hair and pulled it out. Just look at that temper. Isn't it basic human decency to comfort someone who's crying after losing a precious little brother? Of course, if I had been in that guy's position, I would have cursed too.

"Did you regress and also blow your conscience back to the Paleolithic era? Even an Australopithecus who doesn't know how to cover his own ass would be more decent than you!"

"Do you think I'm enjoying this?"

It wasn't like I'd asked for much. But they kept taking my little brother away from me. If there really was a God, I wanted to ask: Is it fun to separate me and my little brother? Huh? Me and Yuhyun both just want to be together, so why are you doing this? Is it fun to forcibly separate us? Or do you hate us that much?

We were separated for not one or two years, but eight years, and then it ended up like that, and some kidnapper popped out and took the kid, and even after that, it was a mountain of troubles. So isn't it okay to want to be prepared? Do you think I don't know that this is by no means a good method?

"I'm having a hard time too, you bastard!"

"Hyung..."

Yuhyun looked on the verge of tears. That's not it—

"No, Yuhyun, I'm talking to that guy. I want to live peacefully with my little brother by my side for the rest of my life, you know? And he knows how I feel!"

"Then do it!"

"Easier said than done!"

"That's my wish too, but—hey, hyung."

"Yuhyun, just let him go for a second. I'll talk to him—with words."

"Right, I won't use a knife, so just let go for a second and go outside."

Yuhyun pulled the pre-regression me closer and held him tight. Look at him—he was squawking at me but being held so obediently, that lump of pretense. Anyone would think he was a righteous victim. The knife and spear marks on the floor were still clear, you know?

"Don't hide behind your little brother—come out right now!"

"It's not behind, it's in front!"

"That's something to be proud of?"

"Han Yujin?"

"I'm not using items because you're disgusting! I'll just match the stats, so whether my experience is watery or not—ah, let go of me!"

Seong Hyunjae grabbed me and pulled me back.

"Oh my life, really!"

"Your life is my life!"

"Your lip is split."

"Shit, if you've regressed, you should live a little better! What on earth are you doing, Han Yujin!"

"I am your future, you bastard!"

"Hyung, shall we go prepare dinner? Huh? Let's not fight."

Both versions of me instantly shut our mouths. We had to feed our little brother. The other kids and Chief Song would be here soon too.

"Let's go, hyung. The kitchen here is nice."

Yuhyun coaxed me and left the lounge first. Look at him following so obediently, that damn bastard. No, that already-damned bastard.

"You'll swell up at this rate. And you can't even use a potion."

"It's not like I'm going to sell my face, so it doesn't matter."

Considering that he became me, it was unfair that I was the only one getting hit. I should have hit him once too. I wanted to chase after him right now, but Seong Hyunjae wouldn't let me go. Then he carried me, struggling, toward the hotel front desk.

"There should be first-aid supplies."

"I told you I'm fine, really."

Seong Hyunjae sat me down on the desk and found a first-aid kit. Click—the box opened, and disinfectant was taken out.

"First, I'll say that I'm sorry."

"What, that my little brother died? How kind of you. The Seong Hyunjae in the ruins didn't even care if Yuhyun died or not."

"I was heartless."

"Come on, the current Mr. Seong Hyunjae's inner thoughts are probably similar, right?"

The only difference was that he was being a little considerate of me now. The disinfectant touched my lips. It stung.

"To be honest, it's because Han Yujin will get angry."

"What if I say I want to know your honest impression? My current state, and, well, this and that."

Seong Hyunjae silently finished treating my wound.

"Yuhyun died because of me. That's why I regressed. I reconciled with my little brother, but in the end, the dead little brother—there was no way to bring him back."

"Han Yujin."

"If you're going to say it's not my fault, then just don't say it. I know it couldn't be helped. The situation was too difficult and hard for me to be considered lacking. I was just ordinary. But still, he's my little brother."

Even if I coldly said it wasn't my fault, that I was just caught up in it.

"S-Rank, F-Rank—without those grades, without things like transcendent beings and destruction—just my little brother. So I couldn't protect him, couldn't take care of him, couldn't shield him."

I deserve to be cursed at, right? A laugh escaped for no reason.

"He asked why that bastard was alive, but he would do the same. He knows all about this situation, but he won't be able to let go—that bastard too. I really should have hit him once."

"There was a time when I tried to get rid of Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim."

Seong Hyunjae said softly as he tidied up the first-aid kit. I said I wanted to know his honest impression, but he was being too honest.

"It would have made it easier to get my hands on Han Yujin, and I was also curious about the Han Yujin of that time. Both the one who completely breaks down and the one who somehow endures and stands. And in either case, I would have been able to pull him in."

"If it had been someone else, I would have already stabbed them in the neck, really."

"Am I an exception?"

"Because you won't do it. Not anymore."

Even as I said that, my heart lurched a little. The corners of Seong Hyunjae's lips lifted slightly.

"To be honest, I still don't like the way you're so excessively tied to Han Yuhyun. And now that a dead person has been added to the mix."

"If I lose Yuhyun again, I'll really die. I've already been taken from so much that I'm in tatters. You didn't see that kid lose it and come at me with a knife, did you? He didn't even think that he was me. That's exactly how I feel. As a human being, you can't take my little brother away from me."

Seong Hyunjae took out a wet wipe from somewhere and handed it to me. I took one and wiped away the tear stains.

"I promise."

Seong Hyunjae said, looking up at me.

"In any way, I will never take Han Yuhyun away from Han Yujin."

"Can I rest assured about Mr. Seong Hyunjae?"

"For what it's worth, I tend to keep my promises, so please believe me."

Seong Hyunjae hopped up and sat on the desk next to me, crossing his legs. The tip of his shoe tapped playfully.

"So I will not promise not to take the young master from his brother."

"What are you talking about? What if Yuhyun comes at you then? Are you not going to fight back? In case my little brother gets hurt?"

"I'll quickly hide behind Han Yujin."

I unconsciously imagined it and burst out laughing. No matter how much he crouched, he wouldn't be able to hide completely.

"After it's all over. After everything is really settled. It would be fun to play then."

"After it's all over."

"I want to live a little peacefully. A day where the biggest incident is Chirp raiding the kitchen or Yuhyun and Yerim getting into a fight. It's a shame that time is passing, but it's not scary either."

And—

"My little brother is by my side."

Both of them.

"It's a simple wish, if you want to call it that."

"But it's still difficult. What about you, Mr. Seong Hyunjae?"

I looked back at him.

"If everything ends well, that is. If you become free, without being dragged away again. Is there anything you wish for?"

Seong Hyunjae tilted his head.

"Well..."

Surprisingly, the answer didn't come quickly. He had a rare expression of not knowing.

"This is difficult."

"Difficult?"

"There aren't many things that are difficult for me to achieve just because I wish for them."

You're so great, really. Well, once the Crescent Moon issue was resolved, what couldn't Seong Hyunjae do? He was already living his life doing whatever he wanted.

"How about making Chief Song genuinely happy to receive free SS-Rank equipment?"

"Are you telling me to challenge the impossible? But it's kind of fun—"

"Cancel, cancel! Chief Song, I'm sorry!"

This mouth—this mouth was the problem.

"Wouldn't it be okay for Mr. Seong Hyunjae to just live peacefully too? You've been through so much that you're unconsciously tired of it. If you think of this world as the last one you'll wander, even a trivial day might become special."

Just the fact that this place was the last.

"A normal day-to-day... ah."

Come to think of it, unlike other people, there was something Seong Hyunjae hadn't done. Making friends and dating. As for friends, there were me and Chief Song, but what about dating? Even if he was released from Crescent Moon, what was piled up would still be there, so it had to be a transcendent being.

"Do you perhaps like older women?"

"Older women?"

"I'm talking about dating."

"If I had to choose, I'd prefer someone of a similar age."

"Thirty-somethings, forty-somethings?"

You'd have to add at least a thousand to that. Seong Hyunjae had his own things piled up, but, um.

"Is someone much older really not your type?" Publication courtesy of M|V|LE-MPYR.

"I have no intention of dating anyone, but to answer, I think that would be better than someone too young. Children are not usually good conversation partners. If we can't communicate, the meeting won't be enjoyable."

So as long as they were a good conversationalist, age didn't matter. Crescent Moon didn't seem like that. I'd never met her, though. Anyway, that was a surprisingly healthy view on dating.

"What about appearance? I suppose a humanoid form is good, right? Internal tentacles might be okay. You don't have to take them out."

Tentacles seemed to be in fashion. Myungwoo, you can't fall for Rookie's words. I was worried.

"Up to what point of humanoid is okay? Animal ears, horns, wings are okay, right? It would be better to have two arms and legs each, normally. You don't seem to have any discrimination against skin color. Blue or red—ouch!"

Seong Hyunjae, who had been staring at me, grabbed my ear and twisted it hard. Since it wasn't enough to cause an injury, Grace didn't activate either.

"I'm not interested in blue or red."

Um, maybe I'd gone too far there. I rubbed my twisted ear and almost fell when I jumped off the desk. Seong Hyunjae quickly caught me. I had left my umbrella, so he tried to hold it for me, but I refused and just took his support and headed to the restaurant. I could see Yuhyun and the other me in the open-plan kitchen.

"The seaweed."

"Over there."

I pointed to the bowl of water. It was soaking.

"Mr. Seong Hyunjae, could you cover the entrance with a cloth?"

"There's still time, so I'll stay here. I have to separate you if you grab each other by the collar again."

"We won't fight."

I wasn't a child. After washing my hands, I picked up a kitchen knife to slice the meat, and Yuhyun watched me nervously. Seong Hyunjae, who had taken a seat at a table outside the kitchen, also watched me as if observing. I wasn't going to stab him.

"Yuhyun, you go sit down too."

"No. It's uncomfortable for you to move, hyung. I'll at least assist you. The kitchen is big too."

How nice of him. I removed the blood from the meat that had been cut into appropriate sizes. Meanwhile, the other me was washing the rice.

"Since the electricity is on, does the rice cooker work too? How many people is this for, anyway?"

"Well, it's a restaurant. There are some mixed grains here—should I add some?"

"You ask even though you know."

What I thought was what I thought. Where was the sesame oil?

"Why did you buy snacks? That's why you're in that state."

"I bought them for the kids, you know?"

"He said you're always getting snacks."

Y-Yuhyun, you. My little brother slyly averted my gaze.

"He said you also go around eating sweet things with Hunter Park Yerim, Hunter Kang Soyeong, and even the Breaker Guild Leader. You have it good, Han Yujin."

"No, that's—I didn't suggest going! And Mr. Noah was there too. To be honest..."

I couldn't say that it was better than drinking, seeing my little brother's expression. Damn it! That bastard had also rolled his body around a lot! The me who had noticed my feelings curled his lips and threw a smirk at me.

"You unlucky bastard!"

"Your bad luck is my bad luck."

"That's true."

We'd had it so bad. Both versions of me laughed at the same time.

"Life was really rough."

"But it was good before the dungeons appeared, right?"

"It was tough, but it was still good."

We both looked back at Yuhyun at the same time. Yuhyun reflexively smiled brightly.

"I really shouldn't have ended it with just one punch."

"That's why you swung a knife. You came at me like you were going to kill me."

"If a guy who even regressed can't dodge that, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) he deserves to die. Watery experience, acknowledged?"

"What do you mean—you knew to dodge it now? If it were me, I would have just stabbed you to death."

"Are you asking me to stab you now?"

"Can't you see Yuhyun is getting anxious? Let's fight with our bare hands. Hey, add more rice. It's not enough. How many people are there?"

"I was living alone."

That's right. As I went to get more rice, I stepped on my own foot hard and passed by. I chased after him and kicked him in the shin. Ugh, the other me, who had made a sound, grabbed a kitchen knife.

"Hyung! No weapons!"

Seong Hyunjae also got up from his seat. I put down the kitchen knife and picked up the lobster that was in the sink and threw it at the other me. It flew with murderous momentum for someone with a slightly higher grade, but Yuhyun quickly snatched it midair and placed it on the counter.

"Don't throw food! You bastard!"

"Seeing you buy something like this, you must be well-fed!"

"It's free!"

"So, you've never eaten it?"

"That's not it. Just wash more rice."

Still, since we were the same person, we worked well together. We worked too well, so there were incidents where we grabbed each other by the collar at the same time, but there was no knife fight. I thought I shouldn't keep doing this in front of my little brother, but honestly, I felt at ease. Yuhyun also seemed to relax after a while, as if he'd noticed that I was quite comfortable with myself.

The rice was cooked, the seaweed soup was boiling, and when sunset was not far off, a presence was felt in the hotel lobby.