The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 279: Stepping Outside (1)

“I don’t hate it, Yuhyun.”

Even though it was an A-Rank dungeon, I sat with my back turned just in case of an ambush, so I couldn’t see Yuhyun’s expression. When I lightly tapped his back, he turned the leg that had been stretched out toward Peace’s tail to the side and let it dangle as he looked back at me.

“You already know I’m different from other people, hyung.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I tried to match your standards. Don’t make that face. I chose this too. Just like you did.”

It’s only natural to make compromises and adjust if you want to live together with someone. Still, I didn’t like that my younger brother had to do it because of me. Maybe that’s just my selfishness.

“I’m satisfied with who I am now. I get to be with you like this. But sometimes… it feels suffocating.”

Yuhyun’s eyes sank heavily. I recalled what Seong Hyunjae and the Water Spirit had said about Yuhyun’s true nature.

“Well, you don’t have to keep holding it in all the time, right? A dungeon should be safe enough.”

“What if I lose control and can’t come back? I’m well trained now, hyung, like a beast that’s been tamed after tasting blood. Of course, I’m not a dog. I’m not obedient, but I can follow society’s rules to some extent.”

“…Liette also does whatever she wants, but she follows basic laws.”

Couldn’t Yuhyun be like that too? I could take care of him and clean up the mess if needed. If the people at Haeyeon truly cared for Yuhyun, they’d accept him being a bit freer. But Yuhyun shook his head briefly at my words.

“I don’t even know what state I’m really in. I’ve been suppressing it since I was a kid. But, hyung.”

Iryn suddenly popped out and looked back and forth between me and Yuhyun. She tapped her tail nervously. Yuhyun continued.

“You definitely wouldn’t be okay, hyung.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah, I would.”

-Yuhyun isn’t a bad person!

Iryn shouted as she leapt into my arms. How was she talking?

“You can talk now, Iryn?”

-As long as I’m inside you. I can feel a power similar to a mana hole from you.

“Oh, is it because Grace formed a Mana Spring?”

-Anyway, Yuhyun isn’t bad!

“Yeah, yeah. He’s not bad. Why would Yuhyun be bad?”

The events from Hong Kong came to mind. Yuhyun had asked what Iryn had said back then. Was he worried I’d find out about this conversation now?

“You mean you’d hurt me? Since I’m the reason you’ve had to keep holding back?”

If what had been repressed got released, he might want to remove the root cause.

“I’ve got Grace, so even if you wanted to, hurting me wouldn’t be easy.”

I said playfully on purpose, and Yuhyun reached out his hand.

“Wait a second, hyung.”

“Huh? Mmph!”

My mouth and nose were covered. Naturally, I couldn’t breathe.

-Grrr

Peace halted in his tracks and growled in alarm. Grace popped out with a beep. Iryn smacked Yuhyun’s hand with her front paw.

-He doesn’t mean any harm! Yuhyun, stop!

“As expected, you can’t block something like this.”

His hand dropped away from my face. I took a deep breath and patted Peace’s back to reassure him.

“Even taking Grace from you wouldn’t be hard. You’re way too defenseless with me. If I approached you pretending to have no ill intent, you’d probably take Grace off and hand her to me yourself.”

I had no counterargument. If Yuhyun said, ‘Hyung, let me borrow Grace for a bit,’ I’d probably go, ‘Oh, okay,’ and give her over. Realistically, I had no way to stop my younger brother if he ever tried to harm me. The only option might be hiding quietly under the protection of other S-Rank Hunters.

“It’s best not to do anything dangerous… but still, it’s you, Yuhyun. And you’d still have your memories. Would you really try to hurt me? You?”

When I said I believed in him, Yuhyun’s eyes softened.

“That’s why it’s dangerous, hyung. You’re all that matters to me. Only you. So how could I just leave you be? I’ll probably—”

A smile formed on his lips. It wasn’t quite the smile I usually saw. It was more like the one he wore just before drawing a weapon and entering battle. No, even deeper and darker than that.

“I’ll consume you. Leave nothing but ash. Cleanly, with utmost care. That way, I won’t have to worry about anything happening to you. No one will be able to take you from me.”

I stared at Yuhyun, forgetting to even blink.

“And I probably wouldn’t survive either. I’d burn everything. It sounds insane, but that’s probably what I want. The me who’s no longer suppressed.”

That’s why I hate it. Yuhyun muttered softly.

-Hyung! Yuhyun doesn’t hate you at all! It’s because he loves you too much! Humans might find it hard to understand, but this is really common among Fire Spirits!

Uh… Iryn. I think I get why the Water Spirit was so appalled, saying Fire Spirits were dangerous. Is it really common? You’re not just making stuff up to defend Yuhyun, are you? Or maybe it turns out differently when it’s between Fire Spirits?

“So this is… what do you call it. Kind of self-destructive, maybe…?”

Honestly, I didn’t know how to put it into words. If it weren’t for what I’d heard from Seong Hyunjae and the Water Spirit, I probably would’ve been really thrown off.

-That’s just how fire is, hyung!

Iryn grabbed my hand with her front paws and passionately defended him, rattling off explanations and excuses.

-Once it burns everything, it fizzles out on its own. Yuhyun is closer to us than he is to humans. He was born that way! It’s just instinct. It’s not a bad thing. You’re not scared of Yuhyun, right, hyung?

“Why would I be scared? Wait, were you worried about that too?”

“Not anymore.”

“So you were before.”

“Even though you accepted me, hyung, I never wanted to deliberately test the limits. It was something I could just hold back.”

Suddenly, I recalled the incidents Yuhyun had caused up to now. As for what he did to me—well, I let that go—but in Hong Kong, he went at it with Yerim hard, blew up the Special Detention Facility, hunted down and killed the inmates, even went to find Choi Seokwon to kill him. Actually, now that I think about it, most of those things were related to me, so maybe he is good at holding back… then again, hmm.

“Chief Song once said you had to be ready to lose an arm to deal with you.”

“He’s an S-Rank Hunter, so that much is fine. And hyung, you don’t really feel that uncomfortable anymore, do you?”

Yuhyun lowered his gaze slightly as he added, “You used to hate it.” Well, back then, I didn’t know much about Hunters. After rolling around in the field, I’d come to deeply understand firsthand how aggressive high-ranking combat-type—especially offense-type—Hunters could be.

Even beyond high-rank offense types, there were just humans who were nasty by nature. Compared to those guys, Yuhyun was clean. He didn’t pick on the weak for no reason, just burned with fighting spirit against the strong.

“I love my brother no matter what kind of person he is. Everything’s fine.”

“Yeah. But I don’t like myself. I’m afraid what I’ve been suppressing might explode out, so I’d rather just erase it—”

-No, Yuhyun! Once you grow more, you’ll be okay!

Iryn shouted, tapping her tail.

-You’re still young and have only been suppressing it, so you can’t control it yet. But later, you’ll be okay!

“Will he really be okay?”

I asked, and Iryn quickly nodded.

-Yeah, hyung! And he’ll become even stronger. Yuhyun’s been suppressing everything too much. That’s not how fire should be. If he keeps it up, it’ll get distorted. It’s a relief things have gotten a little brighter now!

At Iryn’s words, the image of my brother before the regression flashed through my mind. A fire imbued with pitch-black venom, and another with a clear blue hue. The black was still stronger, but if it fully turned into blue flame, would he become even more powerful?

“I’m satisfied with how things are right now.”

-Yuhyun, hyuuung! He can be safe too! So hyung, Yuhyun—!

Yuhyun snatched the red lizard out of my hands. Iryn’s voice cut off, and her mouth just moved soundlessly.

“I just wanted to be honest with you, hyung, so I brought it up. Don’t worry about it.”

“…How am I supposed to not worry?”

“There’s no other way anyway. And I like how things are now. I don’t want to leave behind a risk like possibly hurting you.”

His last words struck me hard. That so-called ‘risk’ was his true self, and yet he didn’t want to leave that behind.

“Then promise me one thing. That you won’t suppress and bind yourself more than you already do.”

“I told you. I like things the way they are now. But if I can eliminate it…”

Fwoosh, a small flame rose up. Iryn wriggled wildly in Yuhyun’s hand. She could seep through people and objects alike, but once caught by her contractor, she couldn’t seem to escape.

“Iryn’s against it too. And so am I. Let’s wait a bit longer, like she said. Maybe things will get better once you grow more.”

At my words, Yuhyun reluctantly nodded. Wasn’t there any way I could help? Should I, even if it’s uncomfortable, go consult those Unfilial Children bastards? They’d probably know more about this than anyone.

Just then, something suddenly burst out from between the trees. A figure leapt a great distance and landed in front of Peace—it was none other than Moon Hyunah. She was faster than expected. The four of us had split up to clear out monsters in different directions. Could she have finished the hunt faster than Yerim, who had flight and teleportation skills, and Noah, who could use partial transformation? I was surprised—but then I noticed her sleeve was slashed long across the arm.

“Are you hurt?”

It was an A-Rank dungeon. Could a monster above the rank have popped out? Is that why she came back early? At my question, Moon Hyunah grinned and pointed at Yuhyun.

“The young master here went on a rampage earlier.”

“Ah…”

“He drew his sword right away. That temper of his never changes. His eyes were gone, but he calmly got into an attack stance. Haven’t had chills like that in a while.”

“…I’m sorry.”

I was so out of it, I hadn’t even noticed. Or maybe Seong Hyunjae used a sound-blocking item in the middle of it. I think I did hear Yuhyun shouting at someone to move. Maybe it was then.

“You probably didn’t notice, hyung, but it was quite a mess. Everyone really cares about you.”

“I was out of it at the time… Thank you for acting so fast.”

“No need to thank me. Of course you wouldn’t want to show weakness in front of the kids. And if everyone panicked, things would’ve only gotten worse. Plus, I’ve seen plenty of faces like yours, Han Yujin, especially in the beginning. That’s why I reacted quickly—I’ve gotten used to it.”

By “beginning,” she must mean right after the dungeons started appearing. When lots of people died, got hurt, and went missing. I could almost see Hyunah back then, trying to calm people down.

“But you came back earlier than expected.”

“I handled it moderately and came back. We don’t have to catch every last one, right? The others will take care of it. Or would the young master like to go instead?”

“I have no intention of leaving my hyung behind.”

“Don’t be like that. Make a little room, will you? I’ve got something to say to Chief Han. You got my help earlier, too. Looks like the advice worked well.”

Advice? As I looked at her curiously, Moon Hyunah explained.

“All I did was draw out a long version of ‘calm down.’ When your condition gets worse, the young master gets agitated really quickly. That only makes things worse. Chief Han looked like someone who needed a calm, close person to stay with him and soothe him.”

No wonder I thought Yuhyun seemed oddly composed, considering the state I was in. If I were him, I’d have panicked and demanded to know what was going on—but he hadn’t asked anything. I felt truly relieved that Hyunah had been there to take care of things.

Without her, honestly, it probably would’ve been much harder.

“Go on, Yuhyun. Peace and Ms. Hyunah are here, so it’s fine.”

My brother looked at Moon Hyunah with clear dissatisfaction. But without saying much, he obediently dismounted from Peace’s back.

“Yuhyun also says thank you for helping.”

“Yeah? Don’t mention it, young master~”

Pretending not to notice her little wave, Yuhyun told me to be careful and stepped away. I figured what she wanted to talk about had to do with Sigma. She seemed to have grown quite attached to him.

“Did Seong Hyunjae not say anything?”

I asked as I signaled Peace to get moving again. Moon Hyunah walked right alongside me.

“Say what?”

“About Sigma.”

“Ah, that guy. Hm. I wasn’t planning to bring him up.”

She scratched at her red hair as if to muss it up.

“It’s obvious he didn’t come back. I just wanted to leave some room for hope.”

“He asked me to pass on a message—so you weren’t going to say anything about that either?”

At my words, her brow furrowed. Her expression was a strange mix of pleased and bothered.

“Ugh, well. First of all… is he alive?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“Then tell me.”

“He said he’d be late.”

She looked at me for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

“Okay. So that’s how it is.”

“He crossed safely into another world. I don’t know where, but he said we’d meet again.”

“Then I guess he’ll come back. No need to worry.”

Stretching with a satisfied sigh, she asked,

“So, what I wanted to talk about—remember Seok Hayan’s team? I need you to help me connect with them. Quietly, behind the scenes, so it doesn’t look like you’re involved. I tried to reach out once before, but got turned down. Said security was important or whatever.”

“You could’ve just told me directly.”

“It wasn’t urgent at the time. And I didn’t want you to be openly tied to it.”

I was a little confused at her insistence on keeping it secret.

“I can help in all sorts of ways. I told you before, I want Breaker to be independent.”

“I know, but… hmm.”

Moon Hyunah hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“It might be hard for Chief Han to understand, but I’m not just myself.”

“Sorry?”

“I’m a female Hunter.”

Well, yeah, that’s obvious. I already knew that.

“When Seong Hyunjae screws up, people say ‘that’s the Sesung Guild Leader for you~’. When Han Yuhyun messes up, it’s ‘that’s the Haeyeon Guild Leader~’. But if I mess up, it becomes, ‘this is why female Hunters are no good.’”

“Uh… right…?”

“Whether I want it or not, I’m seen as a representative. If I fall short, it reflects on all female Hunters. That’s why Moon Hyunah has to be an S-Rank Hunter who doesn’t fall behind anyone. I can’t afford to be lacking or inexperienced.”

“It’s kind of annoying,” she added.

“Uh, but you seem to live the way you want? Your hair and all.”

“Come on, stuff like that doesn’t count. I’m an S-Rank Hunter. If you look weak, they’ll tear you apart, but if you look strong, they won’t touch you easily. That’s why I’ve acted out a fair bit too.”

So that’s why she was placed between naturally born S-Ranks like Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae.

“Of course, that kind of thing suits me too. Crushing things underfoot. But no one’s perfect, even if I think I’m hot shit. Still, if I don’t at least pretend to be perfect, people around me get hurt. It’s the same for others too. They’re all desperate not to show any cracks. Even if the world’s changed, it’s still harder for us.”

“So that’s why…”

“Simply put, if I, a woman, get one-sided help from a man like Chief Han, it becomes a flaw—not just for me, but for all female Hunters. That’s why I turned down Seong Hyunjae’s offer too. We have to stand on our own feet. No matter what.”

Moon Hyunah smiled, saying that at the very least, Breaker’s independence had to be kept clean.

“So anything guild-related—completely in secret, OK? It’s kind of a shame to turn down help entirely.”

“Yes, I’ll sneak it in perfectly under the radar.”

I nodded, though I couldn’t say I fully understood. Still, generalizing people like that does happen everywhere…

“I just hope Yerim doesn’t have to bear this kind of burden. But it won’t be easy. She’s more mature than her age. Still, things will get better.”

Saying we’d be busy once we got out, she smiled.

Not long after, Yuhyun and the other three returned as well. It wasn’t difficult to find the ingredients for the stamina potion. The boss monster was dealt with in an instant, and a gate to the outside appeared.