A large pink rabbit plush with soft, curly fur was nestled in Han Yujin’s arms. Beside him, Han Yuhyun had a sky-blue pony plush with a long mane leaning against him. Between the two of them sat a big spotted puppy plush.
Park Yerim pointed her phone at the brothers who were half-buried in stuffed animals. She carefully adjusted the angle and tried out various filters while taking pictures. The cara shutter kept going off, but neither of them showed any sign of waking up.
“Chirp, go climb on top of Han Yuhyun’s head.”
-Chirp.
Chirp, who had been sitting on top of Han Yujin’s head, floated up gently and landed on the remote control. He skillfully pressed the power button with his tiny toes. As he began flipping through channels, Park Yerim quickly snatched the remote and turned off the TV. Chirp turned back to Park Yerim and let out a chirp.
“No. Mister said to cut back on watching TV.”
-Chirp!
“Go play with Belare and the toys.”
-Chirp chirp!
The baby bird protested for a mont, then gave up and flew off. Peace was curled up quietly at Han Yujin’s feet. Silence settled over the room, and Park Yerim, who had been gazing at the brothers sitting side by side, headed for her private bathroom. On the vanity next to the bathroom, a few costics were strewn about, still only freshly unboxed. They were gifts she had received, chosen for their pretty packaging in hopes of promotional effect.
Park Yerim picked up two lipsticks and also took out a few hairpins and hair ties for dolls.
“I’ve always wanted to try this at least once~”
Since the dungeons appeared, school trips had disappeared. The main reason was the difficulty of safely managing children in case a dungeon break occurred in another region. Things had eased up quite a bit by now, but beyond tight surveillance during school commutes, so even hesitated to send their kids to school at all. Many academies shut down due to the lack of students. Though so places beca even more successful than before by promoting themselves as safer alternatives—offering shelter facilities and even hiring low-grade Hunters instead of leaving children ho alone.
Park Yerim floated lightly back to the living room. The brothers were still fast asleep, oblivious to the world. Their expressions looked quite similar. At first, people had said they didn’t resemble each other much. While their features bore undeniable familial resemblance, their vibes had been too different.
A cold, strong S-Rank Hunter who stood above everyone despite his young age, and a weak, unstable, withdrawn non-Awakened. When the two occasionally appeared together in news articles or broadcasts, most would say, “Even if they’re family, an S-Rank really is sothing else.”
But now, more people said they looked alike. Han Yujin had grown more at ease, and Han Yuhyun had softened. The faces with similar smiles really did look like siblings.
Then what about ? Park Yerim pressed her cheek with her palm absentmindedly. They say even completely unrelated people start to resemble each other’s expressions when living together. She recalled the Chuseok broadcast. Did they seem similar? There had been a lot of comnts saying they looked like a real family. People had said it looked nice and that they blended well together.
Park Yerim shrugged her shoulders and ford a tiny water droplet at her fingertip. With a flick of her index finger, the droplet flew and splashed right onto Han Yuhyun’s cheek. Normally, even if he were asleep, he would’ve woken up and evaporated it before it touched his skin—but there was no reaction now.
“Alright, this ti you won’t even twitch.”
Grinning brightly, Park Yerim brought a layered frilly ribbon hairpin with a red cubic center to his curly black hair. She clipped it slightly to the right and gazed at it in satisfaction.
She’d just put a pin in soone’s sleeping hair. But it was Han Yuhyun. Other than herself and Mister, no one else could pin a ribbon in that hair. That made her feel imnsely proud.
“Will he freak out when he wakes up?”
Should she prepare a bucket of water in advance? He would definitely hate it. But that would be all. The ribbon might burn, but Park Yerim would remain. Even if she pulled a prank like this, their relationship wouldn’t crack or fall apart. No need to walk on eggshells. They’d just sit on the couch like nothing happened, watch TV, and eat dinner.
Park Yerim now opened the cap of a lipstick and looked at Han Yujin. Her affection for him was obviously far greater than for Han Yuhyun. It wasn’t even a comparison. She had received a lot of affection and gave it back naturally.
But her relationship with Han Yujin always carried a certain unease. It was a love that had suddenly dropped out of the sky one day. Just being an S-Rank Awakened wasn’t enough of a reason. On top of that, Han Yujin was surrounded by amazing people. Though he clearly cherished Park Yerim, it was hard for her to believe she was soone truly special to him.
Sothing gained so suddenly might disappear just as suddenly.
It was Han Yuhyun, of all people, who had quelled that anxiety she had tried so hard to ignore.
Han Yuhyun used to dislike Park Yerim. Because his brother liked her. Han Yuhyun accepted Park Yerim. Because she liked his brother. Han Yuhyun acknowledged Park Yerim. Because she had the ability to protect his brother.
All of Park Yerim’s relationships were based on Han Yujin, but that actually made her feel more reassured and comfortable. Han Yujin was everything to her, and Han Yuhyun, when it ca to anything involving his brother, was second to none in being picky and difficult. Yet that prickly guy had accepted Park Yerim standing beside his brother.
“Would this color suit him better?”
Park Yerim carefully compared the lipstick shades. Even if it was just a prank, she still wanted to use the nicer one.
Han Yuhyun would care more about the lipstick on his brother’s lips than the pin in his own hair. He’d grumble, but he wouldn’t push her away. He trusted her enough to entrust not only Han Yujin’s safety but his own as well.
And Park Yerim, too, could say without hesitation: if it’s Han Yuhyun. They were each other’s most trusted allies. Including Peace, the three of them moved with the sa goal and the sa heart.
To protect Han Yujin, to preserve the life they had now. If Han Yujin were in danger, all three of them would not hesitate to leave the other two behind to protect him. It was that kind of trust and camaraderie.
Perhaps more than even a family, this solid sense of belonging gave Park Yerim peace of mind. She knew well that the brothers prioritized each other above all. There were tis when she wondered if she really had the right to wedge herself between them.
But Park Yerim’s place, her position, was secure, and her ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) world was expanding quickly. Because she had a reliable ho she could always return to, she was able to move forward without hesitation. Accepting the trip to Japan without much hesitation had also been thanks to that sense of stability.
“It ca out nice! Right, Peace?”
Peace tilted his head as if to say, what are you doing? Park Yerim hesitated for a mont, then ca back with nail polish this ti. She opened Han Yujin’s right hand and carefully applied a soft pastel pink color with a hint of pearl.
She then painted one of Han Yuhyun’s hands as well, placed them side by side, and painted one of her own hands to match.
“Peace, want to paint yours too? Co on, give your paw.”
Peace hesitated before holding out one front paw. She dabbed the brush on the tip of his claw. She briefly wondered whether it was okay to paint an animal’s nails, but figured it would be fine since he was an S-Rank monster, much sturdier than any human.
“It’s the sa color as Mister’s.”
-Grrmph.
“Now, the most important part.”
Marker. Fighting to keep her naturally lifting lips from smiling, Park Yerim solemnly uncapped a thick marker pen.
“What should I write? Let’s start with ‘Brother Fool’ on the forehead. No, he might actually like that.”
He might shalessly walk around with it without even wiping it off. If it were Han Yuhyun, that was entirely possible. Then what should she write? What kind of phrase would annoy Han Yuhyun? She was deep in thought when—
-Beep! Bad lizard!
Suddenly, the bluebird jumped out, chirping furiously. Then Iryn climbed onto Han Yujin’s shoulder and shouted.
-Get lost!
-Beep! Beep!
Grace flapped her wings and darted forward, biting hard on the red lizard’s tail. Iryn spun around and lunged at Grace, trying to bite her in return. The two got tangled up and tumbled down onto Han Yujin’s lap.
“...What are you guys doing?”
-She started it!
-Beep! Lizard bad!
“Don’t fight, don’t fight. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Not knowing what was going on, Park Yerim tried to break them up. After so huffing and puffing, Grace and Iryn each returned to their respective owners. And not long after—
“Hyung!”
Han Yuhyun’s eyes snapped open, and then Han Yujin also ca to his senses. But unlike Han Yuhyun, who quickly sat up, Han Yujin lost consciousness again. Park Yerim called out in alarm.
“Mister? Mister! What’s wrong!”
-Nnggh!
“Bring the first aid kit. ...His lips, is that lipstick?”
Han Yuhyun said as he swiftly checked Han Yujin’s condition. Peace was pacing nervously, and Chirp and Belare also ca over. Despite her panic, Park Yerim hurriedly brought the first aid kit and asked,
“What’s going on? What happened!”
“He overdid it.”
“What?”
“Soone stronger than us—not —broke in... Hyung, hyung! Hold on a bit longer. I need to disable the poison resistance.”
Opening the kit, Han Yuhyun pulled out a syringe-shaped antipyretic as he continued.
“He said he’d be sick for about a day.”
“A day? Is Mister going to be okay?”
“For now. He said not to use potions or healers, and to admit him to a regular hospital.”
Han Yuhyun administered the shot to Han Yujin. It was a special antipyretic made with ingredients that bypassed poison resistance, but as a result, it wasn’t very strong. Park Yerim, who had been blankly watching, snapped back to her senses and pulled out her phone.
“A regular hospital... Still, wouldn’t a Hunter-specialized one be better? I’ll contact the Sesung Guild Leader.”
“The Sesung Guild Leader?”
Still trying to rouse Han Yujin, Han Yuhyun asked in confusion.
“Park Yerim, you have his contact info?”
“It’s for ergencies. He said to contact him if anything urgent happened to Mister. Anyway, the Sesung General Hospital is the safest.”
“I’m calling,” she said, dialing the number. It didn’t take long for the other side to answer.
“Guild Leader of Sesung!”
[What’s the matter, little lady?]
“What do you an what’s the matter! Mister needs to go to the hospital! But we can’t use healers or potions!”
After a short silence, a quiet sigh leaked through the phone.
[I’ll send a helicopter. Be waiting at the rooftop garden. You’ll get the details at the hospital.]
“Yes, thank you. Han Yuhyun, let’s go quickly!”
Han Yuhyun lifted his brother in his arms. Perhaps the antipyretic was working—Han Yujin opened his eyes with effort.
“Yuhyun, ah. Yerim...”
“Mister! I’m right here!”
“Hyung, poison resistance!”
“It’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”
“It’s hard not to worry, but I’ll try not to overdo it. You don’t worry either, Mister.”
Han Yujin gave a small nod, disabled his poison resistance, and fell asleep again. Peace, Chirp, and Belare followed the two as they left the house. Park Yerim picked up Chirp and Belare in her arms.
“He’s not seriously sick... right?”
“...I don’t know.”
“What do you an, you don’t know?!”
“There was a transcendent I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if we can trust him.”
Han Yuhyun frowned slightly. Young Chaos. Han Yujin already seed to trust him quite a lot, but to Han Yuhyun, it was unsettling. He would accept help if needed, but he didn’t extend trust. In fact, he felt even more guarded.
That being was soone who could take his brother away at any ti. On top of that, the guilt of having given up on Han Yujin’s safety made Han Yuhyun even more wary of Young Chaos.
“...Did Mister get caught up with sothing strange again?”
“...Yeah.”
No more words were needed. Both of them sighed at the sa ti. While waiting for the helicopter on the rooftop garden, Han Yuhyun looked at Park Yerim with a slightly uneasy gaze.
“Being in personal contact with the Sesung Guild Leader...”
“I told you, it’s for ergencies. Mister causes trouble all the ti, but you, Han Yuhyun, don’t answer calls from strangers or contact anyone yourself. It always goes through the secretariat. I have Chief Song’s number too. And of course, Hyunah unnie’s.”
Park Yerim raised her phone as if to say, don’t lump in with you.
“Want to show you the contact list?”
“No need.”
“Sigh, if not , who else is going to deal with our uptight Guild Leader? Park Yerim really is an angel.”
“I just need hyung.”
“Yeah, yeah. I should carve that into your ears. Want to write it on your forehead? Or tattoo it? What do you think, Mister?”
“His fever’s gone down a bit.”
Just then, the helicopter appeared. The people who disembarked onto the rooftop garden montarily froze when they saw Han Yuhyun. Noticing where their eyes were fixed, Park Yerim gasped and quickly reached out, yanking the ribbon hairpin from Han Yuhyun’s head. Crack—the ribbon was crushed beyond recognition in her hand.
“...What was that.”
“No, nothing. There was sothing stuck in your hair, and I didn’t realize.”
Han Yuhyun gave her a look that said he knew but didn’t care, then moved forward. Soon, the helicopter lifted off again into the sky.
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