The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 474: Owner of the Letter (1)

It was exactly the spot where I’d used the drawer. Which meant it was a point a little above the floor. Not very high, and I’d been ready, so I landed lightly. I also made sure to switch off Curse Resistance. Petals clung to my socks, still soaked through. White, pink, yellow, pale violet—petals everywhere.

Petals, not blossoms.

I swallowed the words, It took a while; did you wait long. The hall was as dusky as before I entered the drawer. Only the atmosphere felt oddly different. I blinked slowly. Seong Hyunjae was sitting slouched in a chair. Petals were strewn across him, and under his long dangling legs a heap of freshly torn, blue–green stems had piled up.

Like a bone grave, flashed through my mind. Cheerful, soft petals flung in all directions, with only the long stems stacked and crisscrossed. He must’ve brought over all the floral decor around us; there was enough to bury the chair legs and more.

“You must have been very, very bored.”

If he’d burned the flowers or smashed the table, I wouldn’t have been surprised. If the hotel had blown open so I could see blue sky, I might’ve just touched my forehead. If someone vanishes and there’s no word for a while, anger’s expected. You might break things around you. But this felt… calmly deranged.

I swallowed, unthinking. After a brief silence, Seong Hyunjae spoke.

“It’s been 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 51 seconds since you vanished, Mr. Han. And now, exactly one and a half hours.”

Click. The lid of the pocket watch in his hand snapped shut. He sat just past the edge of the light, so I couldn’t see his face well. Shadow lay thick across it.

“Out of ennui, I even tried a bit of flower fortune–telling. Luckily, there were plenty of flowers.”

Sitting right there, flicking off petals one by one. Chains must have quietly wrapped the piles and stacked them at his feet. It would’ve been better if he’d just smashed everything. If I didn’t have Fear Resistance, I’d have goosebumps.

“I didn’t mean to be late. An hour and a half isn’t that long. We were playing tag—you must’ve guessed I hid on purpose.”

I didn’t think he’d worried. When I first disappeared, he’d have been flustered but amused. Then as it got too long, maybe a little irritated.

“Of course.”

He crossed his dangling leg over the other and continued.

“I assumed you’d gotten your hands on some new thing I didn’t know about. But humans—this brain.”

His fingertips tapped his temple lightly.

“Has imagination. ‘What if,’ ‘maybe,’ ‘surely not,’ ‘suppose’—and so on. I was human, too, so it was not a pleasant hour.”

“I… apologize.”

“I’ve told you before. I’m neither used to nor fond of being robbed.”

“It’s not yours, though.”

“Not only objects—people can be taken, and relationships. Didn’t you, too, think your place as your brother’s guardian had been taken.”

“…It was taken. Not a misunderstanding.”

“Well. I’d say it was never taken, not even once.”

His pale–tinted eyes remained the same, but the corners of his mouth tipped up slightly.

“And waiting, as expected, doesn’t suit my temperament.”

Especially waiting while knowing nothing and being able to do nothing. His voice was relatively light, but I had the gut feeling he was more displeased than I’d ever seen.

“I did that for years. Doesn’t get easier—you just get mad every time.”

That thought made me feel worse. I’d figured it was just that he disliked long waits. Anyway, we’d called ourselves partners now—if I suddenly went missing, it’d be… inconvenient—though he’d kept his own secrets, too. Anyway, I did win, right? The mood wasn’t right to demand the letter on the spot.

“Mm, I at least had a drink. We finished Ms. Hyunah’s wine. Do you want a cigarette?”

Even though the hotel’s non–smoking. He tilted his head slightly and crooked a finger. Disgustingly arrogant posture, but for now I’d be the one to bend. I took out a cigarette case from Inventory and stepped up to him.

“You’re wet.”

“I fell in water.”

“My, and the weather’s chilly.”

“It was warm there.”

I flipped the case open. I pulled one, then another.

“It’s not good for your he–”

“Secondhand smoke’s worse.”

Quit nagging— I put one to his lips. I hardly get to touch them around the kids, and lately Gyeol tries to follow me no matter what.

I had no lighter—how to light it? He plucked a blossom that hadn’t been torn yet. Around the full, pale–pink bloom—

Pzzzt–

A spark leapt. Fire curled deftly around the petals. They looked moist enough that a normal flame wouldn’t catch like that.

Holding the blossom between us, he lit both cigarettes. This is the last time. Really the last.

“It’s from the King of Harmless. Limited uses.”

I watched the smoke drift as I spoke. He looked like he barely listened. Him holding a cigarette between his fingers—definitely not for the kids to see. He’d chop it out of their hands, saying they’d copy. Even adults would be tempted—cigarette sales would spike. It looks like an ad. An obscenely expensive one.

Ash fell from the fingers of his other hand. The fire that had burned down the stem fizzled out. He still didn’t look pleased.

“…Wanna go to the aquarium? I’ll buy you ice cream.”

Why was I soothing him— but I had been very late.

“What should I do with Han Yujin.”

He murmured like to himself. Do what.

“Leave me. I’ll live fine on my own. Not everyone goes the way you want. Look at Chief Song, for one.”

“You remind me of someone who wracked his brain trying to gift a lamb no matter what.”

“…That— that was to help him, even a little. And Chief Song, well, you know. What happened before regression.”

I wasn’t trying to remake a person from scratch. I do wish he’d take better care of himself, but even if he won’t, at least he has to live.

“It’s not easy to make someone the way you want while respecting them.”

“Excuse me, ‘the way you want’ and ‘respect’ don’t coexist. First drop the notion that you’re the one who leads.”

He’s a natural S–rank, and even without his memories he’s lived long, near Transcendent level. Of course most people won’t feel like equals to him. Honestly, calling me ‘partner’ was likely something he decided to accept, not an acknowledgment.

‘Someone who’s lived like that for at least a few hundred years won’t change overnight.’

It hasn’t been half a year.

“To respect someone by ignoring risks is putting the cart before the horse.”

“That’s… true.”

“If Park Yerim, a non–Awakener, said she’d enter a dungeon.”

“I’d stop her, obviously.”

And I tried to stop even S–rank Yuhyun from entering dungeons. It’s not that I don’t respect them… but doing what they want… Then again, stopping them is itself making them match my wish… It’s hard.

If it were a total stranger, maybe—but letting someone close, someone you care about, just be, is nearly impossible. Even if it’s for them, well… in the end it’s your own desire, too.

He took just one shallow drag and then only held the cigarette. Mine, on the other hand, had burned down a lot. I glanced around, unsure what to do, and he held out his palm.

“…Hey, now.”

Surely he didn’t mean to stub it out with his hand. He’s S–rank, so a cigarette ember won’t matter, but still—I grimaced, and he pinched my cigarette tip with his fingers and snuffed it. A dusting of ash marked his white fingertips. Then he crushed his own in his fist. When he opened his hand, only a trace of ash remained; it was empty.

Right, Inventory. I put my butt into Inventory too.

“Unpleasant, but let’s say it was a fruitful hour.”

He said lightly. Fruitful—how. What did he think about. He rose, and the bone–like stems ticked against his shoes.

“Uh, the flower fortune—what did you read?”

I was curious and worried what conclusion he’d reached alone for an hour and a half. Looking down at me, he smiled with his eyes.

“The little lady called.”

“Huh? Yerim?”

“She couldn’t reach Mister and asked if I’d broken my phone again. She told me to let you know the desserts here are famous, so eat before you go.”

And then—his eye–smile deepened a little.

“I told her Mr. Han wasn’t here.”

“Th–that’s not okay! And then, what did Yerim say?”

“She asked what I meant, so I said again, not here— and then she shouted for Han Yuhyun.”

Gasp—he told Yuhyun? Wait—then the kids right now! He continued, unruffled.

“When he asked where his brother was, I frankly told him I didn’t know and that Mr. Han had left this place about twenty minutes earlier.”

Twenty minutes earlier—over an hour ago. They must’ve gone ballistic. Seong Hyunjae!

“You were pointlessly honest!”

“I spoke only the truth.”

I snatched out my phone. Thankfully it was wet, but alive. Bless waterproofing.

“You wanted your collar grabbed that badly?”

“They didn’t come here; they must have gone straight to look for you.”

“Because Chloe— Yuhyun!”

[Hyung!]

He picked up before the ring even finished. There was a tremor at the end of his voice.

[Where are you, are you okay?]

“I’m fine. At the hotel.”

[…What?]

“I did vanish briefly, but no one took me. You know Myungwoo’s forge— it was like that. The drawer the King of Harmless gave me.”

I quickly added, Seong Hyunjae didn’t know either, over the sound of his teeth grinding. Can’t have the hotel going up in flames.

[I… I thought you were walking back to the room alone and…]

“You must’ve worried. Hard to get kidnapped with a swarm of Hunters around. Besides, if Seong Hyunjae hadn’t taken me, I would’ve called you.”

I wouldn’t wander alone without Gyeol.

“What’s the situation? You didn’t announce I was kidnapped, right?”

[Of course not. We first contacted the MOHA office and the Association to check airports and are tracking Chloe Alger’s movements. Only Chief Song Taewon at MOHA and a tiny few at the Association know.]

“Good. Head back for now. Only ask Chief Song to come to the hotel—leave the Association out.”

Even if they meant to keep it quiet, once you’re checking airports, leaks are likely. Since it’s come to this, we should use what we can.

[You’re not alone, right?]

“Yeah. I’m right in front of the Sesung Guildmaster.”

“Don’t fret, Young Master. I’ll attend to your brother properly. Take your time,” he said.

[…I’ll ask that, for now. Don’t move an inch, Hyung.]

The call ended. I immediately rang Yerim.

[Misterrr!!]

[Daaad!!]

Yerim half–scolded me that Gyeol was teary and super worried. Ah, kids. It really was nothing. Oh—then… surely.

[…Yujin, you.]

As expected, Myungwoo was angry. His voice was heavy, scary.

[What on earth—!]

“No, really— nothing happened this time!”

[We were very worried, Mr. Yujin. Brother, calm down.]

They were together. It felt unfair this time, but since I’ve worried them so much, I bowed my head. My fault, unconditionally. Last, I called Chief Song. The first thing I heard was a weighty sigh.

“It’s… a misunderstanding. Truly.”

[For now, I’m relieved. Is Hunter Seong Hyunjae beside you.]

“This is a little unfortunate for Chief Song Taewon,” Seong Hyunjae said, in a tone that wasn’t the least bit sorry.

[…You must not file false crime reports.]

“False? I spoke only facts. A slight misunderstanding must’ve arisen in the relay.”

Not exactly wrong, which annoyed me. Still, maybe needling others had lifted his mood a bit. After the last call, I looked up at him.

“Anyway, I won.”

“I concede.”

He nodded slightly, took out the letter, and set it in my palm. Now let’s not have it be something trivial.