Chapter 348

I gave the phone in my hand a light spin and answered.

"My younger brother."

"You had a younger brother?"

"You saw him in the Dungeon."

"I know that, but you actually keep in touch?"

"Yeah, well. It just kind of happened."

Since it seemed like the explanation would get long, I brushed it off vaguely, and Im Haekyung stayed standing right there, staring at me.

'What, does that mean they want me to explain more?'

I hooked an arm over the sofa, turned my body, and looked straight at them as I added to the explanation.

"He happened to get caught up in a Dungeon and almost got fucked, so I saved him and got his number."

"Why? Because you still have affection left for your younger brother?"

"Because I figured there might be somewhere I could use him."

"There shouldn't be any Hunters among the Seongmu Group CEO's immediate family...."

"That's not the kind of use I was looking for. I just made a few contingency plans, just in case."

And while I was at it, I could also secure some funds that weren't under my name.

Im Haekyung nodded as though they understood, then asked another question.

"Are you close?"

"As of now? Or in the past?"

"Both."

"We aren't close now, and in the past we were fucking nowhere near close. I like him, though. Shame it turned out that way."

"Why?"

"No particular reason? Aren't you supposed to treat family well?"

I meant it sincerely. Choi Yujun fucking hated me and went around screaming at me to get out, but after I knocked him around a reasonable amount, he soon stopped throwing fits right in front of me.

Well, even that only lasted for a short time.

Im Haekyung frowned and stared at me for a moment before drinking some water. I stared at the glass in their hand and briefly recalled something from the past.

"When I was in my second year of middle school, I somehow ended up going to a swimming pool with him."

"Why would you go to a swimming pool together if you weren't close?"

"One-on-one survival swimming as part of the family's education. At the time, he and I were the only ones old enough to go to the pool."

"......."

"But the problem was that he was kind of afraid of water. And while he was at it, he was afraid of me too."

What a strange bastard. Being afraid of water was one thing, but what reason did he have to be afraid of me? It wasn't like I was going to drown him in the swimming pool.

'Was that seriously what he was scared of?'

Looking back on it now, it seemed like that might have been it. The more I thought about it, the more fucking offensive that bastard was.

"The pool was pretty deep. Then at some point, I guess he got scared or suddenly went into shock, because he started gasping and completely losing it. I went over to save him, but he fought me like a fucking lunatic, and when I finally pulled him out, he was already unconscious. Must've swallowed a fucking ton of water too, because he wasn't even breathing."

"So what did you do?"

"Called a lifeguard. It took a little while for one to get there, so I gave him CPR in the meantime. I'd learned how."

"CPR?"

Well.... You learn things like that when you go to school. Though I hadn't known whether I'd actually be able to use it in a real situation.

"I think they gathered all the kids together at school and taught us."

"Ah...."

"I didn't expect to get practical experience right away."

"I keep forgetting that you're young, Jehyun. You're kind of either eleven years old or thirty-five years old."

"......?"

"Ah, of course I mean that in a bad way. Just in case you took it positively."

Starting shit first thing in the morning. Refreshing.

Im Haekyung narrowed their eyes and urged me on.

"So what happened?"

"He lived."

"Without any problems?"

"I shattered his ribs while doing CPR, so he ended up spending twice as much time in the hospital. After that, I lived separately."

"You did?"

"They straight-up got me my own place."

When I answered calmly, Im Haekyung was silent for a moment, then nodded and finished drinking their water.

"But doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"

"It does."

"Because you slept somewhere damp. We'll probably have to deal with the sheets too."

"......."

At my words, Im Haekyung lowered the glass slightly and stared down at me with an odd expression. It was the morning after spending several days in a Dungeon and then having messy sex on top of that. Naturally, there were no visible injuries, but they definitely looked considerably more disheveled than usual.

I looked in turn at their loosely tousled hair, their somewhat tired-looking complexion, and the loungewear that clearly looked like they'd just picked it up and thrown it on. When I raised my gaze again and met their eyes, Im Haekyung stared at me before asking as though hesitating over something.

"At the end yesterday...."

"Yeah."

"Does that count as ejaculating too? Or is it closer to urinating?"

"Have you seriously never even watched porn? At this point, I'm genuinely curious."

What the hell, this was worse than Do Yehyun. By now, I was honestly amazed.

"Porn isn't reality."

"That's an unexpectedly sensible thing to say."

"I've always been sensible."

"You don't have any common sense, so what exactly is sensible about you?"

What a fucking bizarre way of thinking.

Before Im Haekyung could respond coldly, I answered.

"If we're talking about its composition, it's probably closer to urine than semen. Though semen and urine are both mostly water anyway."

"We're talking about its composition?"

"If the pleasure gets intense enough, that can happen. Squirting."

"Men too?"

"Sometimes? Your bladder gets pressed while you're doing it and all that."

It seemed like it mostly happened to people who were particularly sensitive, but I didn't bother adding that explanation.

Im Haekyung thought about something carefully, then accepted it obediently without raising any particular objections.

"I did think it seemed physically possible. It kept...."

"Hm?"

"The inside keeps getting pressed. And I wasn't in my right mind at the time."

"......."

"I thought from the beginning that it wasn't my fault."

"Oh...."

So they were saying it was my fault? What an absurd idea. Until a little while ago, they had been half asleep and barely conscious, and the fact that they'd been thinking about something like this during the short time between waking up and coming out after hearing me on the phone was ridiculous too.

Im Haekyung suddenly placed a hand on my forehead, then lowered it and pressed the back of their hand against my neck. I'd been feeling pretty shitty since earlier, and their body temperature felt slightly cool against me.

"How does your body feel, Jehyun? You're a little hot right now."

"It's tolerable."

"From what I can tell... it doesn't look like there's any particular problem with your mana. Or maybe it takes a little time? Hmm, should I give you a potion or something? I have one that stabilizes mana."

After saying that, without even waiting for my answer, they went over to the cabinet where they stored items, rummaged around, then took out a potion and brought it back.

"Drink it. Do you need painkillers too?"

"I think this should be enough."

I took the potion from them and emptied the bottle. I did immediately feel lighter. It wasn't like my condition had completely recovered, though.

Im Haekyung examined me carefully before speaking.

"What are we going to do if your mana keeps becoming unstable? If taking off the mana suppressor for just a little while does this to you... that's a problem. You have too many problems, Jehyun."

"That's true. My condition gets fucked just because someone messes with my mind a little."

"Seriously consider getting advice about the beast-related issue. I can find someone for you. If you're worried about information leaking, I'll erase their memory too."

Such admirable cooperation?

I set the empty potion bottle down on the coffee table and answered.

"I'll consider it. Right now, I'm starting to feel fairly confident that I can control it."

"Confidence isn't something you decide based on a feeling. You need evidence."

"You've had quite a lot of confidence without evidence too, Guild Master."

"I have evidence."

Im Haekyung looked at me as though they were stating something obvious. Well, I had done a pretty good job of proving the certainty they needed from their side.

'Hmm....'

I stared at Im Haekyung for a moment, then got to my feet. As I walked toward them, their gaze gradually followed me.

'Hasn't something changed a little?'

I took the glass out of the hand of the person still standing there blankly, drank the remaining water, then set it on the dining table. Im Haekyung simply let me do whatever I wanted.

"Shouldn't we go to work today? We've missed quite a lot."

"I told them I was going on a business trip, so I'm fine. You, on the other hand, probably deserve disciplinary action."

"I took paid leave."

"After that, you were absent without permission."

"Even though we were together?"

"Have you ever cared about unauthorized absences or being late, Jehyun? You don't even do your job properly."

Im Haekyung asked as though they were genuinely surprised.

Honestly, I didn't give a shit about unauthorized absences or being late. It wasn't like they were going to fire me over it.

When I didn't react, Im Haekyung nodded as though they'd expected as much.

"I do my job properly."

"You haven't been entering Dungeons much lately."

"I do. I'm planning to enter another one soon, actually."

When I answered lightly, Im Haekyung frowned slightly and spoke firmly.

"Don't go for a while. You're restricted in how much you can use your Skills."

"I still can't just stop going entirely. If I keep using them, I might find a breakthrough."

"And what are you going to do if you lose control?"

"Well.... Are you going to come with me every single time, then?"

When I threw out an obviously ridiculous condition, Im Haekyung readily agreed.

"All right."

"......."

"We can just enter together. I can register you as a support Hunter."

Then the rumors would get very entertaining.

Well, even aside from that, dragging Im Haekyung around with me every single time I entered a Dungeon was pretty close to complete bullshit. There were also things I needed to enter Dungeons privately to take care of.

I gave a vague nod, then changed the subject.

"Go wash up. We can eat together."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, very."

"Order whatever you want."

"Want me to wash you?"

I'd asked half as a joke, but once again Im Haekyung didn't answer. They looked like they were seriously considering it, so I lowered a hand to their back and asked.

"It's kind of ridiculous to ask an S-rank this, but you're feeling okay, right?"

"No."

"You seem fine to me."

"I feel a little strange."

"Well, I guess how you feel counts as your condition too?"

"......."

At that, Im Haekyung stared quietly at me before speaking.

"I'll wash by myself."

"Go ahead."

"Do you want to go to work after we eat?"

Hm? If we both showed up together in the afternoon after I'd been absent without permission for several days, it seemed like we'd only be giving Seok Jiwon something to get excited about.

"I'll take today off too. I'm already absent without permission anyway, so I might as well blow off the whole day."

"You're really saying that right in front of me...."

"Who else would I say it in front of?"

"Jehyun, you really...."

Im Haekyung started quietly, lowered their gaze for a moment, then raised it again and continued.

"You really are the type of person who makes people angry in all sorts of ways."

"No way."

"Try developing some self-awareness."

Hearing that from Im Haekyung was pretty fucking funny. I casually ignored what they said and opened my mouth.

"Anyway, I'm planning to go pick up Yehyun today. I've been away from home for days. Though he's probably inside a Dungeon by now."

"......."

At my words, Im Haekyung slowly swept their hair back and muttered.

"Yehyun...."

"Yeah."

"Hmm, all right."

Im Haekyung nodded, walked past me, and headed back toward the room. They were probably going to wash up.

I picked up the phone I'd tossed onto the sofa, intending to order food like they'd said, when the door slid open again and Im Haekyung's voice came from inside.

"Jehyun, I'm just asking."

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to assign you another healer besides Yehyun?"

Why bother? I already had one I'd put this much effort into training.

When I didn't answer, Im Haekyung added an explanation.

"Yehyun can't stay by your side all the time."

"By that logic, who could possibly stay by my side all the time? Yehyun is about as close to staying by my side as anyone gets."

"......."

I answered calmly and sat down on the sofa.

"I was just telling you to consider it."

"I'm fine."

I raised my gaze from the phone I'd been looking at and saw Im Haekyung leaning against the doorway, gazing lazily at me. They had their arms crossed and were lightly tapping their fingers before asking.

"Why?"

Why? Was "why" really the question to ask here?

I briefly went back over our conversation, then tilted one corner of my mouth upward.

"I've already put a lot of work into him."

And I didn't keep Do Yehyun around because he was a healer. Of course, that was one of the reasons, but by now it had fallen pretty far down the list.

Im Haekyung stayed there for a moment as though thinking about my answer, then replied briefly.

"All right."

With that, Im Haekyung went back into the room. I glanced at the half-closed bedroom door, then turned my head away again.