70.
‘Something feels familiar.’
The impression was stronger on the woman’s side, but Hyeon-woo’s gaze turned to a man next to her. He had never seen such a face, but somehow it was not unfamiliar. The thought continued until he broke away from them and stood in front of a hot dog truck.
“What do you want to eat?”
Still, Ga-jun pretended to be friendly and hung around. Hyeon-woo pointed to the menu board and looked at him, following his words, then stepped on his foot.
“Ack!”
It would be difficult to break a bone here, so he didn’t step on it hard.
“You’re noisy.”
At Ga-jun’s scream, Do-jin said with a cold voice. Originally, they didn’t get along well, but looking at it another way, they looked pretty serious.
“Can’t I scream with my mouth?”
“It’s a problem because it’s useless.”
“How do you know if it’s useless or not?”
“How many times do you have to talk down to me?”
“I’m the older one. If you feel this is unfair, talk down to me too!”
“I’ll gladly.”
Why did this relationship get so bad? As he was thinking about the reason, Seon-woo stood next to him before he knew it. Excluding Hyeon-woo, he was the only person who could stop the two of them, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that. After all, Seon-woo must be tired too.
“What does Hyung want to eat?”
“I’ll have the basics.”
“This one for this.”
Between them, Two-eyed intervened and pointed to the picture of the thickest-looking hot dog.
“Then I’ll order.”
Even while Seon-woo was ordering hot dogs, Ga-jun and Do-jin were fighting. And right before it boiled over, Hyeon-woo called them.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“You can eat it!”
“I’m going.”
Ga-jun, who had been walking this way first, suddenly stumbled. After taking the gap, Do-jin walked quickly and took a seat next to Hyeon-woo.
“Despicable!”
Hyeon-woo saw everything although it seemed like he did it secretly. It meant that Do-jin crossed Ga-jun’s foot with his shadow. He took out his handkerchief from his bosom and wiped Hyeon-woo’s cheeks that were stained with sauce and said.
“Don’t hang out with such a dangerous person.”
“Who’s in danger!”
“You.”
“You also held hands with him at first!”
Ga-jun, who felt unfair, shouted, but Do-jin calmly turned his head. At this rate, they seemed like they were going to fight endlessly.
“If you want to fight, do it without me.”
“We are not fighting.” (Ga-jun)
“We are not fighting.” (Do-jin)
The two quickly denied and belatedly ordered a hot dog and started eating it. The days went by just like that.
Do-jin and Ga-jun often fought, and sometimes Seon-woo also participated. When Hyeon-woo stopped it, he thought it would be quiet again, but whenever there was a chance, they would go back to normal. He thought he was more comfortable when he was in Korea.
***
Around the time Hyeon-woo was bubbling up, the Awakened people who had entered the United States also began to move. At first, those who only watched from afar gradually approached him.
“Hello? Hyeon-woo-ssi.”
The first to approach was a Russian. She approached Hyeon-woo, who was drinking tea absentmindedly in the hotel lobby, and greeted him with a smile.
“My name is Misha from the Russian Awakened Authority.”
For an Awakened, the woman with a small body and a delicate impression was quite a beauty.
“Hello?”
She looked at him with an expression asking what’s-going-on-here, and Misha smiled and said.
“Have you enjoyed all of New York?”
“Yes.”
Ga-jun acted like a determined traveler. Thanks to that, Hyeon-woo was dragged around and unintentionally looked around most of the famous places.
“There are many places to see in the US, but there are also many in Russia. Everyone thinks of Russia as a cold country, but there are actually so many things to see.”
Misha said casually and sat down next to Hyeon-woo.
“And the treatment of Awakened people is also great.”
“Yes?”
“Hyeon-woo, are you satisfied with the current Republic of Korea?”
He hoped not, but it was a scout.
“I have no intention of going to another country.”
“Even if the conditions are much better?”
“Yes.”
Now that there was his younger brother, Seon-woo, Hyeon-woo had no intention of abandoning Seon-woo and going to another country. Misha seemed to have noticed that too.
“Then, how about coming with your younger brother? We’ll help you grow beyond the current Seon-Hyeon Guild. In fact, it is because of the Korean government those Korean guilds, which can grow further, have stopped at this level. They want to wield the Awakened people to their liking. But look at Russia. We don’t do that here.”
Misha said in a soft voice.
“There will be no political pressure or disadvantage.”
Then, they presented what they could give.
“We will reduce the tax you have to pay when clearing a dungeon by 10%. Monster by-products are purchased first by the government and will be purchased at a price higher than the list price. Apart from that, we can give you territories and buildings worth tens of billions in Korean money.”
If it wasn’t Hyeon-woo, it was a condition that would attract him quite a bit. In the meantime, the other party who had been away for a while returned. Ga-jun grumbled and was shaking his collar, while Do-jin confidently walked in with a calm expression. Behind him, Seon-woo was making a disapproving expression. When he told them to stop fighting, it seemed like they had sorted out their ranks somewhere.
“What is this?”
Ga-jun, who found Misha, said with a stern expression.
“Hello. My name is Misha from the Russian Awakened Authority.”
In comparison, Misha was still relaxed. However, in the action that followed, the facial expression was bound to become subtle. Do-jin lifted Hyeon-woo and put him in another seat, and Seon-woo sat in between them.
Seon-woo’s persona as a Brocom [1] was famous, but why were others saying that? Misha watched him lightly. She thought that, and soon she realized one thing.
‘A person doesn’t discriminate between genders.”
The work that came out of duty was fun.
“I’m here because of scouting. There are no other bad purposes.”
As she raised her hands and spoke, the momentum softened a little.
“I’ll leave for today. But think about it. That’s a good deal, right?”
Misha winked at her and got up on the spot.
“Next time, I hope Seon-woo can talk with us.”
After that, she left without hesitation.
“What did you talk about?”
In response to Seon-woo’s question, Hyeon-woo told everything he had heard.
“Phew. Aren’t the conditions good?”
Hearing everything, Ga-jun exclaimed in exclamation.
“I’m not saying you’re going to make a decision and push them away. Ha, I would do it if I were you... You aren’t a tamer to begin with.”
He tamed a dragon. The dragon even had a history of dealing with several S-class Awakeners. This was enough for him to be likable.
And Russia was not the only country that had such thoughts. Starting with Russia, several countries tried to attract Hyeon-woo by presenting conditions.
Do-jin, who had been watching without saying anything, suddenly asked Hyeon-woo one day.
“Are you going to another country?”
“No.”
Why were they both talking like this today? Hyeon-woo gave a steady answer even though he had a troubled expression on his face.
“I’m fine if you did.”
To Hyeon-woo, Do-jin gave an unexpected answer.
“What are you talking about?”
“Because I’ll follow you wherever you go. Do whatever you want.”
“What?”
Why did he want to follow him? Hyeon-woo blinked his eyes with a surprised expression.
“How is Hyung’s guild doing? Weren’t you trying to grow the size these days?”
“That’s true. But I value you more.”
His heart ticked at Do-jin’s words.
“So, wherever you go, don’t leave me alone.”
He didn’t know what to answer. Hyeon-woo scratched his chest with his fingers and looked down. Still, the tickling sensation did not go away. Do-jin looked at Hyeon-woo and reached out to stroke his head.
The large hand gently stroking his hair felt good. It was at that moment he realized. This person also opened the door and came inside his territory. Until now, Seon-woo was the only person he treasured the most. But now, Do-jin also falls into that category.
“I will definitely tell you when I go somewhere.”
“Okay.”
Do-jin, who smiled softly, came closer. It seemed that he could hear the sound of his heart growing louder and louder.
The moment he closed his eyes involuntarily at the beating of his heart, he heard another voice.
“What are you doing here?”
It was Ga-jun.
“We were supposed to go to the art gallery in the afternoon.”
That guy was a travel fanatic. Unknowingly, his fists gathered with strength. Somehow he felt like he had missed a good opportunity.
“Ji Seon-woo?”
“He’s inside.”
“Okay? Hurry up and bring him. If you leave him behind, he’ll get angry.”
In the first place, couldn’t he just go to art galleries by himself? But he definitely wanted to go with everyone. Hyeon-woo grumbled and went inside to call Seon-woo.
“You don’t notice.”
Do-jin said to Ga-jun in a voice full of annoyance.
“What did I do?”
Ga-jun replied with a smirk.
“You didn’t notice. If you noticed, you wouldn’t do that.”
It was said that he knew and ruined it.
“I guess you haven’t been hit yet.”
“How to elevate yourself by winning.”
Ga-jun raised his head and faced Do-jin. A shadow began to sway under Do-jin’s feet, and Ga-jun put his hand in his pocket.
“You’ll know to fight again.”
“The results won’t change.”
“You can only know when you try.”
Ga-jun listened to the end to not lose.
“I wish they would both go off on their own.”
Seon-woo, who came out of the room before he knew it, intervened between them. It seemed that Hyeon-woo hadn’t come out yet because he was taking care of the monsters. A strange atmosphere formed between the three.
Notes:
[1] Brocom: Bromance Complex
Support on Kofi:
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Davine, YaagRabRag
HM: Ga-jun being a travel fanatic…. 0w0
Davine: I’ve changed my mind. Ga-jun can also be cute…
YRR:....
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