“Han Yuhyun!”
Han Yujin looked at his brother standing before him with desperate eyes. Yuhyun’s expression was cold—so cold that my body froze too. Though unfamiliar now, that chilling gaze had once felt all too familiar.
Han Yujin swallowed hard. He’d called his brother here but couldn’t speak. At last, he managed to force out a few words.
“J-just once... I—never... asked you to owe like this....”
A bitter laugh drifted in the air. Soone murmured about all the harm he’d caused so far. Han Yujin ground his teeth. I felt anger flare inside for no reason.
“Just... let a healer from Guild Haeyeon... treat once....”
“Why would I do that?”
A low voice answered, and Yujin’s shoulders slumped.
“Healer support?”
Yuhyun took a step toward him. His eyes—dull, emotionless—fixed on Yujin.
“You think I’d do that?”
“T-that’s....”
It felt cold—even though we were indoors.
“Good riddance.”
My heart dropped. It still did. Back then, it might have been easier to break entirely.
“You won’t be strutting into dungeons anymore.”
“Y-Yuhyun....”
Yujin’s gaze fell helplessly. His lips pressed together, his pupils trembled wildly. I stared blankly until I snapped out,
“Add subtitles! Make it clear it was unavoidable under the circumstances and not Hunter Yuhyun’s true intention! Quickly!”
“Why? It’s—”
“Now! Right now!”
As I urged him, Yuhyun’s face, which had looked down on Yujin, darkened. A clear sadness gathered on his shadowed features. His lowered eyes trembled in anguish—so visible that anyone could see how much he suffered.
He wouldn’t show that helplessness now. Before I could even ask what was happening, Luga Peya spoke.
“That wasn’t what Yujin actually saw. He couldn’t have seen it.”
True enough, Yujin hung his head. Back then, all he could see was his brother’s feet.
“mory always shifts a little. And you saw parts of your brother’s mories, too. That’s why he appeared like that. mories that were supposed to be yours alone—painful, sad, and angry.”
“...Y-Yuhyun too.”
He’d felt sorrow with him. Certainly he had. Yuhyun turned away—his back, which once felt so cold, looked full of grief.
“Just live in peace. Stop holding your brother back.”
It had been a firm, cold command. But now Yuhyun’s voice wavered. My mories and the fragnts of his own rged to reveal his true feelings.
Yujin was dragged outside. The door closed, and Yuhyun—whom I couldn’t see—stood frozen. A thin breath escaped his lips. He looked lost in a dark forest, unsure which way to turn.
“...I’m sorry, hyung.”
He managed only those words. Though he must have carried years of more to say, he’d pressed them down until he couldn’t even speak. My brother, who hadn’t shed a single tear until the end.
“Are you sad?”
“...I don’t know. My chest hurts, but it’s not just sadness.”
I saw Yujin stagger off. Normally I might have felt pity, but I didn’t. It had only been bad luck, bad circumstances. He and his brother had never changed in their feelings for each other—from beginning to end.
“I was so lonely then I thought I’d die.”
Still, he’d harbored a faint hope. He’d beco a lower-rank Hunter, doing his share. So maybe—just maybe—he could hear “Are you okay?”
Screeeek—the front door opened. The house, already stripped of life by his hospitalization, seed even more desolate.
“...Couldn’t it work?”
Yujin whispered.
“Like before... it just can’t....”
He kicked off his shoes, sat down without even turning on a light. Was it ti to give up? Watching him, a small laugh escaped . Luga Peya tapped my head.
“Not exactly a funny scene by human standards, huh?”
“No, it’s... thinking back, that was the point I felt most hopeless. I thought everything was over. I didn’t even have the strength to struggle.”
Even if the world ended, I’d at least curse it with one last word. But then, I had no strength. I had no thod or power—just despair.
“I thought it ended, but it hadn’t. It was the opposite, actually. And you know what else?”
That Yujin—who didn’t even know—moved again. Though nearly smothered by sorrow and loneliness, he still tried to live. Even under those conditions, he remained a Hunter. He didn’t give up.
“You’ll live a long ti. Folks like you have the longest lifespans.”
Dohamin glared at him and grumbled.
“So is there no contraband to fix a leg?”
“That kind of back-alley deal is pricier. And these days upper-rank potions are so rare even with money. As dungeons proliferate and get tougher, upper-rank Hunters sweep them clean—especially upper-rank Healers. They’re always screaming how they’re starving, day after day.”
“...But legally it’s impossible.”
By then the priority was upper-rank Hunters and imdiate life-threatening situations. If a lower-rank Hunter with a noncritical injury asked for treatnt, they’d be urged to retire instead.
“There’s no choice but a lucky drop in a dungeon. You can keep what you loot. They do show up in mid-rank dungeons now and then. Want dostic dungeon drop records?”
“Yeah. Give that.”
“With that leg, you won’t join a formal squad. Maybe porter, at best.”
“I’ve got to try. Ever dropped in a low-rank dungeon?”
“None dostically. Overseas rumors exist, but they say it’s hearsay.”
If not hearsay, soone must’ve succeeded specially. I’d gotten an upper-rank potion in an E-rank dungeon after regression. Dohamin eyed and lowered his voice.
“If it’s Haeyeon—”
“Shut up.”
Dohamin shrugged. Han Yujin lived on. And then—
“Huh?”
The scene before suddenly shook violently, like a broken TV. Luga Peya cocked her head and said,
“Looks like it’s eaten after all.”
“What?”
I clutched my head with both hands as she continued,
“The Eclipse power is patchy, so fragnts remain.”
“...My mories?”
“Yeah. Most Eclipse-related bits are gone.”
I’d heard they were erased in the Chinese Nightmare Dungeon. I didn’t rember, but was curious.
“Just let it—ugh!”
Sssss, Luga Peya’s tentacles crept across my face and nape. Goosebumps ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) rose in floods.
“What now?”
I’d never liked tentacles, but thanks to the jellyfish I hated them thrice as much.
“See? Not painful at all~”
“Hey, hey! Wait!”
“You’re curious too. Just stay still. Feels like your skin’s softer. How far has it changed? Did you grow tentacles too?”
“I don’t know!”
Don’t ask that—I’m trying not to think about it. Tentacles I’d tried before, so fine. Beyond that... let’s pretend I don’t notice. Seems nothing else changed, so let’s pretend for now I’m okay.
“O-okay.”
Han Yujin muttered. Fragnts of erased mories splintered and reappeared.
“This won’t happen again. Really. I only ca because they said I’d just carry potions. Who knew foreign upper-rank Hunters would get involved?”
I don’t recall it, but that was a hundred percent a lie. He probably joined a smuggling ring to steal top-grade potions. If these are erased mories, then the person on the other end was—
“So please don’t tell Guild Haeyeon, okay?”
“No reason to.”
Song Taewon’s voice ca. Han Yujin’s eyes widened.
“Eh?”
“It’s Hunter Han Yujin’s affair. It has nothing to do with Guild Haeyeon.”
Of course. But to it never felt obvious. Whenever Yujin screwed up, people blad Guild Leader Haeyeon’s brother, then asked why the guild didn’t bear responsibility. Yujin nodded uncertainly.
“...R-right.”
“Smuggling upper-rank items is a major cri. But if lower-rank Hunters or unawakened folks are caught up in a cri led by upper-rank Hunters, punishnt depends on role and contribution—”
Song Taewon’s voice blurred and then vanished. In such cases, lower-rank Hunters often weren’t punished—they had to obey or risk death. Often they beca targets to eliminate evidence and so received protection from the Association or the Bureau.
“...Upper-rank smuggling.”
I vaguely rembered. Smuggling was common, but I think there was one big case involving overseas S-rank Hunters. But as I recall, it had nothing to do with . Had I known Director Song since then? What about Seong Hyunjae? And Yerim?
“I like Director Song Taewon.”
Her voice ca in fragnts.
“You see? Right?”
“To him, you’re just Han Yujin.”
“He isn’t close to , yet from the start he watched over after Guild Haeyeon.”
“He’s a good person. Really.”
Yes, he’s a good person. Anyone eting Director Song would like him—apart from criminals, perhaps. Actually, even so fans among criminals arrested by him, maybe.
“Ugh, still stuck~ Even if I gather the remaining fragnts, they won’t join up.”
While Luga Peya grumbled, mory shards floated past.
“Hamin uncle said he’d introduce .”
“I’m the sa age as Hunter Han Yujin.”
Wait—sa age? Who—? The voice was unfamiliar, but surely not—conscience, at least.
“I don’t care, damn it! He’s my brother!”
“I think Guild Leader Haeyeon is the most handso, to be honest. Just his face.”
“That shop’s braised tofu is delicious.”
“Was it my fault?”
“We don’t go anywhere at Christmas.”
Short voices appeared and vanished. Mostly trivial chat, but I was glad. And again Han Yujin stood alone.
“I hate being cold. My leg aches.”
He sighed and tapped his knee with his fist. His limp remained, and hope was scarce. Dungeon levels rose and Hunter society grew harsher. Dohamin even advised to avoid crowded Hunter spots—they’d pick a scapegoat easily.
Han Yujin kept walking. Both rembered faces and unknown ones brushed past him. Alone once more, he still endured.
“Th-thank you.”
A paper cup of warm coffee was offered to Han Yujin. He bowed with a smile. Though wounded, there were still reasons to smile.
That’s how Han Yujin lived. As ordinary people do.
“...Hyung.”
Then—
“You okay?”
Han Yuhyun wrapped his arms around Han Yujin.
—Grrrrrr.
Between the dragon’s throat rumble, crimson flas and the scent of blood intertwined. Yuhyun was smiling. My face was a wreck. I think I answered calmly—no, I was at a loss. Could that really have been ? Did I at least show Yuhyun how much I worried? Loving my brother just as when we were kids.
Han Yujin caught Yuhyun as he collapsed, his face on the brink of tears.
“...I’m okay, hyung.”
I murmured instead. It’s my mory—please say you’re okay. Say thank you, say you love . Even if not genuine—I needed it. But Han Yujin couldn’t speak. Like he couldn’t accept self-satisfaction, he didn’t utter a single word.
Darkness closed in. As if a curtain fell, my vision turned pitch-black. My throat ached as if I’d swallowed fire. I couldn’t speak. If I weren’t bound, I’d have leapt forward in desperation.
And then:
[And so, through so stroke of luck, Han Yujin returned to five years ago~☆]
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