Archive of Our Own

His little brother had...too many memories of him.

Normally, the memories from Final Requital flashed through Han Yoojin’s mind quickly, with what brief interactions he had with his targets and their own painful, messy deaths. Yoojin would spend the next few days drowning the memories in alcohol and pick himself up again. Find another party to raid with, another target to leech off until they died. He had no other way of living anymore.

Yoohyun’s memories were different, unfolding slowly for him throughout the almost hour it took to slay Lauchitas. Yoohyun’s fear, his anxiety, his desperate longing for their past and their ruined relationship—they were all sacrificial offerings in the name of Yoojin’s “safety”.

Yoojin was so angry, he had to laugh.

“Just who do you think you are, not saying a word about it to me, you dumbass,” Yoojin muttered as he drove his spear deeper into the dragon’s corpse. He grit his teeth and ignored his watering eyes, the hard lump in his throat. “Why did you do that? I didn’t know anything, and only got in your way…”

Just who had taught Yoohyun to be such a tight-lipped, self-sacrificial bastard?

Yoohyun’s body was cooling behind Yoojin. Final Requital probably had about five minutes left—not enough time to get out of the dungeon with his bad leg and his dead weight, even with his current stat boosts. As soon as his cursed skill ended, Yoojin would die from Lauchitas' poison gas.

…There was no reason to live anymore anyway. He’d just die like this—

Notification after notification kept popping up from the System as Yoojin stared numbly.

Chills went through Yoojin’s body as the brightest, most beautiful magic stone appeared floating in front of him. Suddenly, he could feel.

“It can grant any wish…?!” he recited breathlessly.

He lurched towards the wishing stone, grasping at this last chance.

“Really?! Then bring my brother back!” Yoojin blurted out without a second thought.

This fucking whiplash…! Yoojin dropped to his knees, dizzy from the audacity of this scamming System as he brought the wishing stone closer.

“DAMN IT! WHAT’S THE POINT?” His desperation was even more bitter than usual. “WHAT KIND OF WISH CAN YOU EVEN GRANT?!”

This was pathetic.

He couldn’t look behind him.

“I…I just want to…”

If this item could grant any wish, it was possible for Yoojin to be stronger than Yoohyun. He could be stronger than any S-class hunter, and become the new hero of Korea. He could repair and grow his reputation, be able to enjoy the honour and privileges of the position he’d envied Yoohyun having for so long. No, even greater than Yoohyun…!

Yoohyun.

His little brother, Yoohyun.

Shuddering out of his delusions, Yoojin still couldn’t fucking turn around and look at where he laid his brother’s body.

“…We.”

The word slipped out, and suddenly he knew his new wish.

“Please turn back time, to before my brother died,” Yoojin requested with as much politeness he could muster. “If we both remember what happened, I’ll live a quiet life without entering any more dungeons.” His hands were steady again, his voice firm. “So turn it back to before I came here—no, to before I became an Awakened!”

“Fucking damn it…”

This scamming System. Did it enjoy mocking him?

He had maybe a few minutes left before this shitty poison killed him, or nosy hunters from outside the dungeon came barging in. Yoojin staggered to his feet, bringing the floating wishing stone with him.

If it weren’t for the blood, Yoohyun could look like he was asleep.

Yoojin took a step. Then another. Another.

Yoohyun used to ruin his textbooks by drooling on them when he passed out studying. He used to like it when Yoojin woke him up by ruffling his hair, a sleepy smile stretching his face.

When Yoojin sat back down on the dungeon floor and pulled Yoohyun onto his lap, he slowly combed his shaking fingers through his brother’s hair, untangling a few knots.

Of course, the eternal pain in his neck didn’t wake up. Selfish asshole.

…Maybe it was better this way. Yoohyun wouldn’t remember all of his pain and suffering.

“Take me back,” Yoojin said, staring at Yoohyun. “Please.”

A blinding light burst from the wishing stone as his wish was received, and Yoojin finally closed his eyes. The last thing he felt before everything faded away was Yoohyun’s dead weight.

‘I’ll make sure something like this never happens again.’

An eternity and an instant later, Yoojin gasped, and his eyes snapped open.

He was awake. He wasn’t in the dungeon. Everything in his body still hurt like a motherfucker when he pushed himself up.

Yoohyun wasn’t here.

His grip tore through the cushions of the couch before he even realized he was sitting on one.

Right, Final Requital should still be…

Yoojin immediately discarded that train of thought in favour of his surroundings.

“Where am I…?”

As he looked around, he slowly began to notice it was familiar. It had been a while, but…

“Isn’t this Yoohyun’s guild building?” he mumbled to himself as he took in the huge sitting room with its monochrome, minimalist, mind-numbingly monotonous aesthetic. It was hard to forget after the many times he’d been kicked out on his ass from this place. “Did I really turn back time—?”

Yoojin glanced at his hands and froze.

His fingerless gloves were worn, and his calloused fingers had streaks of dried blood.

They shook as he looked down at his dirtied shoes, his bloodied jeans, and acutely felt every lingering ache in his body (from his injured leg, from the fight—)

“Fuck...” He pulled up his status window on reflex…and it appeared. “FUCK!”

“Did this scum System scam me again…?!”

He was supposed to go back in time to before he even Awakened. Did that stupid wishing stone just transport him out of the dungeon instead?

Did he…did he leave his—

Frantically, Yoojin reached for his phone, and he nearly screamed when he found it dead.

Shit, shit, he needed to get out of here, and figure what the fuck was going on before he went completely insane and maybe plan a way to break back into that fake D-class dungeon to get his idiot little brother back—

Just as he was standing up from the partially destroyed couch, the door to the waiting room slammed open.

“Hyung!”

Yoohyun ran in, a bit shorter and dressed more casually than the last time Yoojin saw him. His eyes were manic as they searched the room, and when they landed on Yoojin, his shoulders tensed even more. Hurried footsteps echoed down the hall, getting closer as Yoojin stared back at Yoohyun, blood pounding in his ears.

Yoohyun. Alive. In front of him.

He was back. He’d really gone back in time.

His brother looked so painfully young.

“Hyung,” Yoohyun growled as he moved forward. “Who attacked you? This much power—”

Yoojin captured Yoohyun in a hug before either of them realized what was happening.

“Hyung?!” Yoohyun choked out, and Yoojin trembled against him. When a bunch of Haeyeon members rushed into the room as well, Yoojin just held his brother closer. “Hyung, y-you’re—this energy, have you actually—?!”

“I’m sorry.”

Yoohyun went stiffer.

“It was my fault,” Yoojin continued, the words spilling out on their own. “I was too immature. I’m sorry about everything.” He closed his eyes and leaned against Yoohyun’s chest, felt the rise and fall of each stuttered breath. “Damn it, you’re only 25… no, you’re barely 20 now. You must have gone through a lot, trying to deal with the guilds and the dungeons alone. As your older brother, I should have known what you were going through.”

“Hyung, no, I was—”

Yoojin laughed wetly. “Don’t interrupt me, you reckless dumbass. I’m really sorry, okay? I won’t cause you anymore trouble. You won’t have to worry about me anymore, alright?”

Slow and hesitant, Yoohyun’s arms wrapped around him, returning the hug.

“…Got it. Thank you. For telling me…all that,” Yoohyun said haltingly, pressing his head to Yoojin's shoulder with a barely audible sigh.

Yoojin swallowed, lips thin as he remembered Yoohyun doing the same thing an hour and a lifetime ago.

Yoohyun was alive. Alive.

Whatever happened before was absolutely not happening again.

“Yoohyun,” he started to say, then stopped, forcibly gulping down the croakiness in his voice and squeezing his eyes against any lingering wateriness. “My little brother, Han Yoohyun…” Almost normal that time, despite his bone-deep exhaustion.

Yoojin swallowed again, head and chest aching. He lifted a hand to his brother’s hair, petting the curls above his nape, and felt steadier.

“I love you,” Yoojin stated clearly. “Don’t you dare forget or doubt that.”

It was a little embarrassing to say, but his brother’s oblivious ass wouldn’t get it otherwise—

Huh?

What?

Yoojin’s grip tightened on Yoohyun.

“Ow—?!”

Yoojin immediately let go of Yoohyun, then froze. They shared identical looks of shock.

“I-I hurt you?!” Yoojin screeched, and Yoohyun nodded faintly. “How the hell did I—”

No. It couldn’t be.

Yoojin quickly pulled up his status window again and forcefully jabbed a finger at his Perfect Caregiver title to show the related skills.

He was going to be sick.

“…Did you Awaken, hyung?” asked Yoohyun.

Yoojin was silent as he frantically tried to come up with a suitable answer. He had also forgotten about the guild members that had stormed in too until they started whispering.

“Wait—this monstrous energy…it’s from him?”

“Are you kidding me? Damn, it must run in the family…”

Ah. Of course they could sense how powerful Yoojin was at the moment.

He shouldn’t be surprised. As an F-Rank, every hunter felt like a threat – he usually realized when Final Requital was active when he felt a sudden lack of threat. For a high-ranking Guild like Haeyeon, suddenly sensing a powerful being in the middle of their guild building was not just notable, but alarming.

How troublesome. He now had to figure out how to make himself seem less threatening to other hunters.

Final Requital usually gave him instinctive control over the powers he received – Final Gratitude had better be as good, if not even more useful.

Letting the skill guide him, Yoojin focused on projecting a harmless and weak image, gathering all his stolen power and hiding it under a metaphorical carpet because everything was fine, nothing to see here, just the useless F-Rank brother of Haeyeon’s guild leader—

He saw Yoohyun and the guild members in the room slowly relax and knew that it was working.

Plastering on his best and most determined customer service smile, Yoojin announced, “I really need to take a shower, so let’s talk about this afterwards. Yoohyun, you don’t mind if I borrow your bathroom and a change of clothes, right?” Yoohyun opened his mouth, and Yoojin completely barrelled over whatever he was going to say next. “Great! Thanks a bunch, I’ll be right back!”

He hurried out of the sitting room, ignoring Yoohyun calling for him as he bolted for the upper floor. It was beyond rude, but necessary.

His hunch was correct – these rooms must be where Yoohyun lived or at least stayed in while crashing at his guild building. Yoojin quickly found what looked like Yoohyun's bedroom, complete with rumpled blankets. The first dresser drawer he opened was full of black sweatpants, black t-shirts, and a few sets of new black boxer briefs still in their packaging.

Yoohyun must have hired a stylist or publicist or someone to handle the rest of his wardrobe because he certainly dressed with more style in public than whatever the hell this was supposed to be.

For once, Yoojin wasn’t angry at yet another sign of his brother’s wild success and wealth. He just took what he needed, ducked into the ensuite bathroom, and locked the door.

Gritting his teeth, Yoojin balled his fists into his eyes. Then he collapsed onto the floor and tried to remember how to breathe.

His usual post-Final Requital routine went something like this: once Yoojin got back to his crappy, overpriced shoebox of an apartment, he'd dump his work clothes in the washer with not nearly enough bleach, wash himself until his skin was painfully raw, clean everything he'd touched with more bleach, scrub himself again until he noticed he was bleeding, patch up any open wounds, and then drink himself to sleep.

Final Gratitude hadn’t quite ended yet, but Yoojin’s routine was largely the same. There was one minor modification: instead of laundering his old outfit, he burned it to cinders, shoes and all, with one of Yoohyun’s skills. Then he flushed the ashes down the toilet with even more bleach.

He could afford to get rid of the outfit now, what with being in the past and everything, Yoojin reasoned to himself. He was unemployed at this point in time, but not up to his ears in debt like before, and he still had some savings not yet lost to scams. He could finally have the luxury of replacing his dungeon crawling outfit with something less washed out and frayed and continuously soaked in blood.

Splashing cool water onto his face didn’t help the redness rimming his eyes, so Yoojin gave up and finished patching up his various cuts and scrapes with the extensive first aid kit he found under the sink. He needed professional help to heal his leg, but his currently ridiculous stat boosts kept him relatively mobile. It would buy him enough time until he could find a real doctor or at least secure a new pair of crutches as his old ones were left behind in the future.

Unable to delay any longer, Yoojin slipped on a pair of seemingly untouched sandals from the closet and headed back down to the lower level to begin the last part of his routine.

There were two people in the sitting room. Yoojin ignored them both in favour of Yoohyun, who had apparently changed his outfit and put on an apron. He was in the attached kitchen and…cooking?

Wow. Look at him go.

Yoojin tried to sneak out when he was stopped by a sharp “Hyung.”

Heart beating wildly in his chest, Yoojin turned around and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Yoohyun was still in front of the stove, stirring a pot that wafted up steam with every twist of his wrist. His expression was blank when he asked, “You won’t stay for dinner?”

Yoojin blinked.

Was it dinner time already? His phone was still dead, and he hadn’t brought a charger into the dungeon. Annoyingly, the type of charger it needed wouldn’t be released for sale until next year, so he’d have to find a wireless charger and hope it was compatible.

He should say no. Yoojin opened his mouth to do so, and instead, he asked, “Do you have soju?”

The small, silent nod from Yoohyun was apparently all Yoojin needed.

“Sure, I’ll stay,” Yoojin agreed and automatically walked up to the fridge. He grabbed the nearest bottle of soju, twisted the cap open, and downed the grapefruit flavoured liquid in one go.

Licking his lips, he grabbed another two bottles and turned around to Yoohyun’s blatant stare. Yoojin automatically bristled. “What?”

Yoohyun’s eyes narrowed and then he huffed, looking back at the pot bubbling away on the stove. “It’s not good to drink on an empty stomach, hyung. Dinner is almost ready, and there’s some banchan on the table, so you can relax.”

“Right,” Yoojin said lamely. Augh, his skin was crawling with this awkward atmosphere.

He sat down at the kitchen table with his soju bottles, not bothering with a glass as he drank directly from his second bottle.

The yuzu flavour for this particular soju brand was a bit bland, but the scent wasn’t bad. It went well with kimchi already on the table.

Yoojin pointedly ignored the scraping of two other chairs as he decided to browse through his upgraded stats and new skills. He was barely able to pull up and read through his status window before Suk Simyeong forcefully cleared his throat.

How was he supposed to concentrate with something so irritating nearby?

Closing the status window, Yoojin continued ignoring him and Kim Sunghan by finishing his current soju bottle and starting on his third.

“Are you really going to be so rude as to not greet us?” Suk Simyeong asked.

Yoojin continued ignoring them both and kept drinking. He had a routine he was sticking to and like fucking hell was he dealing with any of this sober.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yoojin could see Suk Simyeong gearing up to say something. Luckily for him, Yoohyun had the good timing of interrupting them with food.

“That’s enough, let’s eat,” he said, already placing the pots of food on the table and doling out portions. He offered a bowl to Yoojin. “Is this enough rice for you?”

“…Yes, it’s enough,” said Yoojin, feeling a smile creep up his face. “Thank you for the meal.”

“I can do this—” Kim Sunghan started getting up, but Yoohyun waved him away.

“It’s fine. You’re all older than me, so it’s the polite thing to do, right? Just eat.”

Yoojin didn’t understand Kim Sunghan’s visible confusion or Suk Simyeong’s raised eyebrows. Yoohyun was always polite when he was home, what was surprising about that? Did they not have dinner together often?

…Not that Yoojin expected to have dinner with Yoohyun so soon, but he wasn’t going to say no to a free meal, no matter how awkward the atmosphere.

Taking a bite of the stew, Yoojin froze.

Of course, Yoohyun noticed immediately.

“Is it alright? I made it with whatever I had, so I wasn’t sure how it would taste,” he said quickly, watching Yoojin chew slowly.

Swallowing past yet another god damn lump in his throat, Yoojin croaked, “It’s good,” before coughing and slowly stirring the stew in his bowl. “You, uh, you need to…temper the spices. Before adding them to the stew. To get the full flavour.”

Yoohyun’s eyes lit up. “Oh! That’s what I was missing. Thank you, hyung.”

Yoojin nodded wordlessly. He took another bite of Yoohyun's stew because he was hungry despite his sudden queasiness.

It tasted almost exactly how Yoojin cooked his own stew at home.

Rather than obsessing over this fact, Yoojin quickly pivoted and said, “I didn’t know you were good at cooking.”

“My cooking skills improved while I was trying to survive,” said Yoohyun, finally sitting down.

Yoojin paused his eating, confused. “Eh? Why? Aren’t you loaded?”

Yoohyun started eating instead, not bothering to take off his apron first, the dummy.

“It’s safer to make your own food,” he said between bites. “Now they have detox and antidote items, but they didn’t have them before.”

Suddenly, Yoojin completely lost his appetite.

“…Were there people who would poison and curse your food?” he asked.

“Since I was a stupid kid who was running around on his own, I was being put in my place,” Yoohyun said. Every word of his explanation was another stone to sink Yoojin’s stomach. “Other guilds conspired with large corporations and grew in size. But I didn’t belong to any guild and told everyone I’d form my own guild. If I joined an average guild, I’m sure things would have been better…”

Unable to take it anymore, Yoojin reached over to slap his hands on his little brother’s cheeks, pull his face closer, and yell, “YOU BASTARD, WHY HAVEN’T YOU SAID ANY OF THIS TO ME?!”

Yoohyun stared back, stunned.

“HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS? WHO TAUGHT YOU TO KEEP EVERYTHING TO YOURSELF, YOU IDIOT?!” Yoojin ranted, heart in his throat.

No blood, there was no blood, Yoohyun was here. He was healthy. He was safe. He was here.

“....Don’t make that kind of face, hyung,” Yoohyun said quietly, eyes softening. “It’s a result of my own choices.”

Yoojin wasn’t making any kind of face except an angry one. “YOU—!”

“Ahem.”

The fake cough from Suk Simyeong was as obvious as it was unwelcome. Yoojin’s eyebrow twitched before he slowly removed his hands from Yoohyun’s squished face and leaned back in his chair with a huff.

“While I am…pleased you two were able to reconcile, there are still several matters that need to be addressed,” Suk Simyeong stated.

This lying villain in glasses really felt the need to ruin his dinner, huh?

“Like what,” Yoojin said flatly, biting ferociously into a piece of meat. He accidentally bit through his chopsticks and quickly spit out the two pieces of metal on the table before he choked on them.

Suk Simyeong gave him an unreadable look. “Your absurd strength, for one. How you even Awakened in the first place, as well as your…current state of health. Kim Sunghan has testified that you were perfectly fine when you were brought here earlier today.”

“More like kidnapped,” Yoojin muttered darkly, remembering exactly how Kim Sunghan had dragged him here against his will in the past. Throwing down his ruined chopsticks in disgust, Yoojin loudly said, “Maybe he’s misremembering.”

“You were also wearing different clothes from when you first arrived versus when the guild leader met you,” Kim Sunghan commented unnecessarily.

Yoojin glared at both lackeys before turning to his brother and complaining. “Do they really need to be here for this?!”

“They do,” Yoohyun stated levelly. “Hyung, please. You need to tell us what happened.”

Yoojin knew he could lie. He could say some hunters broke in, roughed him up, Awakened him. He could say he hurt himself in a sudden, insane rage. He could say he had an impromptu change of heart about everything that had happened, and the wounds were self-penance.

Unfortunately, none of these excuses were more believable than the truth.

Whatever vague plans Yoojin had for fixing the timeline have already been fucked up beyond all repair. All because he’d physically travelled back in time rather than regressing to his younger self with his memories of the future, like he had imagined.

He can’t hide this. He can’t hide his wounds, can’t hide his skill effects, can’t hide his aging, can’t hide from giving an explanation.

He can’t hide from the truth.

He can’t…he can’t breathe—

Yoojin stared blankly at the system notification, feeling himself calm down. Whatever new skill this was, it was useful.

“Hyung? Are you alright?”

Blinking, Yoojin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, I’m trying to figure out how to word this. It’s a bit unbelievable.”

He could still talk his way out of this. Time travel was the obvious explanation to him because he’d lived it, but it wouldn’t be to an outside observer. Almost anything would be more believable.

Anything would be better than admitting out loud what a terrible person he was.

So Yoojin lied.

“This…being came out nowhere and tried to kick my ass,” said Yoojin. “I somehow became strong enough to fight them off, and they disappeared right before the rest of you arrived. That’s pretty much the entire story.”

“Being? So it wasn’t human?” asked Yoohyun sharply.

“I don’t what it was, but it definitely wasn’t a hunter. It could have been a weird monster, but it’s not like there was a sudden dungeon break.”

“You said it came out of nowhere?” Kim Sunghan pressed.

Yoojin sighed silently in relief. They were starting to buy it.

“I admit I wasn’t paying that much attention ...but one minute, I was alone, and the next, they were there,” Yoojin explained.

“That doesn’t explain your clothes,” Suk Simyeong pointed out.

Yoojin lifted his hands, pretending exasperation. “Look, I don’t know what to tell you! It’s like every time that thing touched me, something about me changed! I even checked after my shower, and I think I have grey hairs and new scars now?”

Yoohyun stood up immediately and moved around the table to run his hands through Yoojin’s hair, inspecting the colour.

Yoojin let him, nerves flaring and soothing themselves in endless cycles.

“…You definitely didn’t have grey hairs before today, let alone so many,” Yoohyun said firmly.

Wait. How was his little brother so sure of that?

“You’ll need to give us a detailed description of the intruder,” Yoohyun continued, derailing Yoojin’s train of thought. He pulled his hand back, but didn’t move away, staring down at him with a complicated expression. “But first, hyung…is this attack why you’ve awakened? Just how strong are you?”

If anyone else had asked him that, Yoojin would have immediately denied everything and left just as quickly.

But it was his little brother who was now resting a hand on his shoulder and looking at him with quiet expectation.

A little brother who foolishly trusted him still, despite everything.

Yoojin screwed his eyes shut and sighed loudly before admitting, “I’m not strong. I’m an F-Rank.”

“That’s impossible,” Suk Simyeong instantly replied. Yoojin did his best not to bristle at the man’s denial. “You’re clearly stronger than even the guild leader!”

“It’s a one-time boost,” Yoojin explained through gritted teeth. “After a week, my stats will revert to what they normally should be.”

“What sort of skill does that, boosting an F-Rank to…are you even an S-Rank?!” Suk Simyeong demanded.

Yoojin grimaced. “I’m…probably the equivalent of SSS-Rank right now.”

Yoohyun had been the pinnacle of hunters in the future, his growth unstoppable and undeniable, even to Yoojin. He was likely very close to being declared an SS-Rank when…well.

When Yoohyun gave up everything for his worthless, powerless, good-for-nothing older brother.

“That-!”

“That makes sense,” Kim Sunghan said, interrupting what was undoubtedly the beginning of Suk Simyeong’s rant.

At Kim Sunghan’s mildly disapproving look, Suk Simyeong seemed to recognize he was losing his composure and coughed to himself, fixing his tie.

“He was able to hurt the guild leader earlier, wasn’t he?” Kim Sunghan continued, moving his gaze to Yoohyun.

“Hyung didn’t mean it,” Yoohyun immediately replied, before sliding his gaze to Yoojin. Silently questioning.

“No, I didn’t,” Yoojin confirmed.

Of course he wouldn’t.

If he thought about it, Yoojin could remember the shape of his emotions during the last eight years.

His incandescent anger. His all-consuming grief. The pain that re-surfaced whenever he thought of Yoohyun, which was constantly. The obsessive anxiety of meticulously going over and over and over and over every one of his actions and words towards Yoohyun, trying to find the pattern, the straw, the final nail that made Yoohyun think so terribly of him, to hate him and abandon him and criticize his every action.

Those feelings went up like smoke when Yoohyun died for him, scalding Yoojin as it left him in the ashes of his uncountable flaws and regrets over a misunderstanding.

A betrayal that never even happened.

He’d be an even worse older brother than he already was if he deliberately hurt Yoohyun after that.

He couldn’t do it. He wouldn’t do it.

“Han Yoojin-ssi, you need to start from the beginning,” Kim Sunghan said, snapping Yoojin out of his train of thought. “Explain to us in detail what occurred between when I left you here and when I returned with the other guild members.”

Yoojin scowled. His brother’s lackeys had been wary of him in the future, and even in the past, they were in butting in where they weren’t wanted.

“Hyung, please.” Yoohyun placed his hands on Yoojin’s shoulders, turning Yoojin slightly so they could face each other. “I need to know what happened so I can keep you safe.”

With those words, Yoojin felt whatever resistance he had crumbling.

“…Yoohyun-ah, you don’t need to worry so much about my safety. I’m stronger than you right now.”

The hands on his shoulders tightened. “Right now, yes. But your ability will run out eventually…hyung, it’s impossible for me not to worry about you.”

Yoojin closed his eyes at the sight of Yoohyun’s pleading eyes, guilt and love pricking at his conscience.

“Fine,” he conceded. “Just…give me a few minutes to figure out how to word this. It’s a bit wild.”

“Take all the time you need, hyung.”

Yoojin eventually spun his fantastic tale. The inhuman intruder that suddenly appeared to beat him up turned into the Swamp Monster but with dragon-like characteristics, Lauchitas still on his mind. Yoohyun’s face turned grimmer as he added more and more detail and, somehow, all three of them completely bought his fabricated story.

…Was it good for the leadership of a top guild to be this gullible?

Whatever the case, Yoojin could do nothing but take advantage of it. The truth was even more unbelievable and painful.

Yoojin finished the last of his soju, briefly wondering why he still felt stone cold sober, and got up from his seat.

“If you’re finished with your questions, I should start heading out,” he said.

Yoohyun grabbed his hands before Yoojin could pile up dishes to put in the dishwasher.

“Hyung, you need to get control of your strength first before you go outside.”

“Even if your strength is temporary, the damage you can cause will not be,” Kim Sunghan added.

Yoojin gently shook off his little brother’s hand. “I’m fine, you don’t need to worry.”

“Didn’t you destroy the guild leader’s couch? That could easily be a person.”

Suk Simyeong should not be allowed to say something logical.

Yoohyun noticed his hesitation. “Please stay, hyung. I know this is temporary, but you need to get used to your strength first before you go outside. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

That wasn’t quite true anymore, but Yoojin didn’t actually want to hurt a random person on the street. It wasn’t likely to happen, but it was possible - the highest power boost Final Requital had given him before this was A-Rank at best, nowhere near SSS-Rank.

Yoojin sighed loudly. Yoohyun took it for the victory it was and nodded at Kim Sunghan, who nodded back.

Kim Sunghan stood up and gestured to the door. “Please let me escort you to our training facilities.”

Rolling his eyes, Yoojin stuck his hands in his pockets and stepped towards the door.

“How long will this take?”

“Normally, it’s a few days. Given your level of strength, it may take longer.”

Yoojin turned back to Yoohyun, who was watching them go.

“Will you come visit?” Yoojin asked.

Yoohyun smiled, small and sweet and exactly like how it was when they were younger. It reminded Yoojin of when he would tuck Yoohyun in for bed, and Yoohyun would stare up with that smile when Yoojin kissed Yoohyun’s forehead and said good night.

(It was easier when Yoojin had been very young too.)

“Yes, of course,” said Yoohyun easily. “I’ll stop by after my meeting.”

Yoojin held in his sigh and waved goodbye as he followed Kim Sunghan out, feeling somewhat assured by Yoohyun waving back.

The things he did to protect his little brother’s smile…well, if he was honest, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for that child.

Han Yoohyun tidied up the kitchen until he received a text from Kim Sunghan, confirming he and Yoojin entered the soundproof training facilities.

His older brother didn’t need to hear this conversation.

Yoohyun didn’t turn around yet, taking off his rubber gloves instead and asking, “What’s the plan for keeping hyung here?”

“There is an S-Rank dungeon that is scheduled to be raided next week,” Suk Simyeong answered immediately. “If the training and other distractions aren’t enough, we could push up the raid and have Han Yoojin-ssi enter with you.”

“That’s dangerous.” There was no point of mentioning the illegality of bringing an unregistered and untested Awakened person into a high class dungeon.

“With that type of power, he’s safer than you right now.”

“Not forever.” Unfortunately.

“You and Kim Sunghan will be more than enough to protect him if his ability runs out while you are both still inside.”

Yoohyun closed his eyes and willed his heart to calm down. He knew he could do this much. “Fine. And the movers?”

“They’ve been hired and will begin packing Han Yoojin-ssi’s possessions once we advise them to.”

“Good.”

“…Guild leader, are you sure this is a good idea? Bringing in someone like—”

Han Yoohyun shot Suk Simyeong a glare that the man withered under.

“I don’t mean to offend you.”

“Then don’t,” Yoohyun snapped. “Have the lab results come back?”

Suk Simyeong let out a sigh that would be silent to anyone else and swiped at his tablet.

“The blood flakes and other organic material that Han Yoojin left on your clothes have been collected and processed. The results haven’t been fully analyzed yet, but the preliminary report identifies DNA that belongs to yourself and Han Yoojin.”

Yoohyun frowned. “Hyung’s blood and mine?”

“It’s unclear—the sample may have been contaminated, so further analysis is needed. There’s also…” Suk Simyeong cleared his throat. “There’s a third set of DNA that hasn’t been identified yet.”

“…Why?”

“It’s not human, and it’s not matching anything in the wildlife and monster databases we have access to.”

Yoohyun’s grip broke the edge of the counter. He took a breath, deep and slow to suffocate the flames wanting to rise out of him.

“What does the lab think it is?”

“…A monster. A reptilian-type, most likely.”

That damn lizard—he had to be involved in this mess. Yoojin’s description earlier was too similar.

Yoohyun dropped the chunks of counter in his hands. The powdered bits pooled by his feet, which he ignored.

“Cancel my meetings today, and inform the new B-Rank team that I’ll be clearing their assigned dungeon by myself. Inform me immediately if hyung leaves the training facilities.”

He needed to think. To quell the fear inside him and come up with a fool-proof and Yoojin-proof plan.

“…Yes, guild leader.”

Yoohyun had Yoojin back and no one, not even the gods themselves, were allowed to touch him again.

He turned around and left without another word, only one thought in his head:

There was nothing Yoohyun wouldn’t do to protect his brother.