Chapter 34

At the moment when Seo-ho couldn’t stand the vulgar voice whispering seductively in his ear and was about to push her away.

“Wow, if you love me this passionately, it’s hard for me to go back to my seat.”

A voice came from behind Seo-ho.

Following the voice, Gwak Sa-yeon peeked her head out from beside Seo-ho.

Seeing a man walking towards them from behind Seo-ho, her face turned bright red and she stepped back from Seo-ho.

But she still tightly held onto his collar, not wanting to let go.

The owner of the voice was none other than Gwak Do-ryun.

With a handsome appearance fitting for a young master, he smiled at the two.

“Oppa, when did you get here! You should’ve told me sooner. How embarrassing.”

“Just got here. You two seemed to be getting along so well, I was a bit late to speak. Come on, let’s sit down.”

He familiarly patted Seo-ho’s shoulder and sat down at the reserved seat.

Today, the restaurant had only these three guests.

Having rented the entire restaurant for the day, they could dine without any concerns.

“So, what’s the matter? Seo-ho, you contacted me.”

As Gwak Do-ryun tilted his wine glass and asked, Seo-ho put down the fork he was twirling his pasta with.

“I wanted to talk about the Tower of Apocalypse.”

“Ah, it’s about time Seo-ho showed interest.”

He stroked his chin with an interested look.

At that moment, a clattering sound came from Gwak Sa-yeon’s side.

She was shaking her head vigorously while looking at Seo-ho, who also looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“What, no. I’m against it! Seo-ho, how many people die in the Tower of Apocalypse. Why would you go there!”

Seeing Gwak Sa-yeon vehemently opposing, Seo-ho frowned.

Originally, this topic was just bait to call out Gwak Do-ryun and Gwak Sa-yeon; Seo-ho wasn’t particularly interested in the Tower of Apocalypse at the moment.

But he couldn’t understand why Gwak Sa-yeon was so against it.

“Well, let’s talk about that later. I’m not declaring I’ll go right now. Right?”

“Yes.”

“So, Sa-yeon, calm down.”

As Gwak Do-ryun said that, Gwak Sa-yeon, still excited, grumbled but soon sat down.

Yet, her trembling eyes clearly showed her anxiety, hoping Seo-ho wouldn’t go to the Tower of Apocalypse.

“Recently, you took a short vacation, right? What did you do?”

Changing the subject, Gwak Do-ryun asked, and Seo-ho remained silent for a moment.

During that vacation, all he did was search for Si-ho and, after being contacted by the World Returner Association, joined the search.

But there was no reason to be entirely honest about that.

“I had some business with my younger sister. Took care of some things.”

“I see. By the way, isn’t your sister a Hunter too? Why not bring her to our company?”

“I’ll handle that. She doesn’t listen to me anyway.”

At the indirect refusal, Gwak Do-ryun shrugged his shoulders disappointedly but said nothing more.

“By the way, there’s been talk about an Artificial Dimensional Gate lately.”

He brought up another topic as if he just remembered.

Seo-ho was well aware of the Artificial Dimensional Gate.

Through Baek Seol-hyang, the chairman of the World Returner Association, he had heard about Si-ho being involved in some incident.

That’s why they offered to assign a Returner as Si-ho’s bodyguard.

“They say they’re creating a Dimensional Gate artificially. It might even involve Giraseong.”

“They’re Returners, right?”

Gwak Sa-yeon also seemed to know about it, showing a disdainful expression.

“Ugh, why do they keep coming here and causing problems? They should just live there. Such a nuisance. Really.”

Gwak Sa-yeon carelessly blurted out inconsiderate words about the Returners’ situation.

Gwak Do-ryun ignored her and looked at Seo-ho.

“The World Returner Association is also moving, I hear.”

“That’s serious.”

“Indeed. Many would be interested in an Artificial Dimensional Gate. That’s why we’re advising other companies not to get involved. There’s no benefit in antagonizing the World Returner Association.”

“Wise move.”

“Well, it’s our job to protect South Korea.”

Gwak Do-ryun smiled amiably.

“Oppa, Seo-ho, I’m going to pick some flowers.”

Meanwhile, uninterested in the conversation, Gwak Sa-yeon got up and went to the restroom.

After briefly watching her leave, Gwak Do-ryun turned his gaze back to Seo-ho.

“So, how is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“About Sa-yeon.”

Hearing that, Seo-ho immediately frowned.

But Gwak Do-ryun continued without concern.

“She’s my sister, but she’s quite foolish. Though she’s pretty. She wouldn’t be a bad addition to your collection.”

Treating his sister like an object.

There was no affection for Gwak Sa-yeon in his eyes.

“Of course, that’s not the main point. What I want is for you to become part of our family. I like you.”

Using his sister as bait to bring Seo-ho into the JMC family.

That was Gwak Do-ryun’s goal.

Seo-ho’s abilities as an S-class Hunter were a significant force, even capable of opposing Returners.

Thus, Gwak Do-ryun wanted to tie Seo-ho to the family by any means necessary.

“After marriage, you can discard Sa-yeon if you want.”

“…Is that something you should say about your sister?”

Having a younger sister himself, Seo-ho couldn’t understand Gwak Do-ryun’s words at all.

But Gwak Do-ryun’s smile didn’t waver at Seo-ho’s words.

“I’m being deliberately honest with you. It’s better to be upfront than to hide things like some villain, right? It makes it easier for you to trust me.”

“I’d rather you draw a line.”

“Unfortunately, I have too much affection for Seolsan Iri. Looking at it this way, maybe both of us siblings have fallen for you.”

Mentioning Seo-ho’s disliked nickname, he chuckled, and as soon as Gwak Sa-yeon returned, he welcomed her as if nothing had happened.

It was both chilling and revealing of how thoroughly he handled things.

After finishing the meal, Seo-ho left the restaurant feeling more nauseous than after fighting Dimensional Beings.

The lukewarm breeze, typical of summer, only worsened his mood.

“Seo-ho, Seo-ho!”

At that moment, Gwak Sa-yeon, who had followed him out, grabbed his arm.

“Hehe, leaving already? Play with me a bit longer.”

Absolutely not wanting to, Seo-ho remembered Ha-chan’s request and opened his mouth.

“Instead of playing, can I ask you something?”

Annoyed by her insistence on informal speech, Seo-ho spoke casually.

Delighted by his informal tone, Gwak Sa-yeon smiled brightly.

“What is it, what is it? I’ll tell Seo-ho everything he wants to know!”

“What do you usually do?”

Hearing Seo-ho’s question, her eyes widened, and she soon smiled.

“Seo-ho, you’re really interested in me. Is it because of Oppa’s story?”

At that moment, Seo-ho froze at her words.

Oppa’s story.

It referred to what Gwak Do-ryun had just been talking about.

“Don’t worry! I don’t care about Oppa at all. I only need Seo-ho. As long as I have Seo-ho, the one I love most in the world, everything’s fine.”

It was the first time.

Seo-ho felt that Gwak Sa-yeon wasn’t just a foolish Venus flytrap.

“Seo-ho, do you want JMC? If you promise not to go to dangerous places like the Tower of Apocalypse, I might give it to you.”

And seeing her sly smile, he felt a chill.

“You.”

“Ah, right! You wanted to know what I usually do! Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll teach you everything today!”

As she pushed her chest forward and pulled Seo-ho along, he silently watched her.

Then, turning his head, he locked eyes with Gwak Do-ryun, who was watching them from the restaurant entrance.

His smiling face showed how much the two siblings resembled each other.

—

“So, this is Gwak Sa-yeon’s work?”

[Yes, that’s correct.]

The next day, listening to Seo-ho’s voice over the phone, I noted down everything he told me.

After having him call me ‘hyung,’ Seo-ho asked me to speak comfortably, and I had no choice but to comply.

Seo-ho seemed quite worn out from being swayed by Gwak Sa-yeon, as even talking about it tired him.

[Hyung.]

At that moment, Seo-ho’s call made me stop writing.

[Do you have a grudge against Gwak Sa-yeon?]

From my tone, he seemed to have guessed something, and I smiled bitterly.

“Yes, quite a bit. That woman ruined my life quite a bit.”

[I see.]

He fell silent, as if thinking.

[Honestly, I think it would be better for your well-being not to get involved with Gwak Sa-yeon.]

After a moment, he advised thoughtfully.

[But if you must settle your grudge with Gwak Sa-yeon.]

Then, over the phone, I faintly heard Seo-ho clenching his fist.

[I will definitely help you.]

Damn, that’s so cool.

Now I understand why girls fall for Seo-ho.

Everything he says is like a protagonist from a novel.

“Thank you. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

[Yes, understood.]

Smiling at his polite words till the end, I hung up.

After hearing everything, it seemed Gwak Sa-yeon was still living as she pleased.

Her daily routine was either sweeping through department stores or throwing her weight around.

Consistent, indeed.

“Is she the one who cursed you?”

“Yes, or more accurately, a Hunter hired by Gwak Sa-yeon.”

Beside me, Baeksan, who had been listening, looked thoughtful.

Then, as if remembering something, he frowned.

“It’s more entangled with strange things than I thought.”

“What? Do you know something?”

Baeksan is from the future.

Being the daughter of the JMC chairman, it’s likely he knew something.

Seeing my puzzled expression, he habitually brushed his bangs aside and explained.

“If my memory serves me right, the chairman’s son died suddenly, and that woman became the next successor.”

“Died suddenly?”

Hearing that, my eyes widened.

Surely, the JMC chairman’s son would be someone like Gwak Do-ryun.

He awakened as a Hunter but was working at JMC.

‘Was he B-class? Quite high, I think.’

Hunters, with their superior physical abilities, are naturally resistant to diseases and accidents.

So, I couldn’t understand how he died suddenly.

“I don’t know all their circumstances, but I just accepted it after seeing the news. The problem is what happened next.”

Calmly continuing, Baeksan lowered his hand from his bangs.

“After that, she married Ha Seo-ho and, along with JMC Hunters, moved to Giraseong.”

“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Exactly, it’s nonsense.”

He also seemed not to know the details, looking troubled.

Seo-ho marrying that woman?

No way.

Our Seo-ho can’t be given to such a crazy woman.

Another layer of anger towards Gwak Sa-yeon built up inside me.

“Anyway, because of that, the Hunter situation in Korea becomes a mess. And then another problem arises. The news of Ha Seo-ho’s death.”

“Why would our Seo-ho die!?”

“? Since when did he become ‘our’ Seo-ho?”

Baeksan looked at me incredulously but continued.

“Anyway, the biggest problem from Ha Seo-ho’s death would be who?”

Hearing that, a certain girl came to mind.

“…Si-ho.”

“Right, that’s when the little one’s rampage begins. The crazed kid vows to annihilate Giraseong, tearing through everything and messing up Earth’s spatial coordinates. As a result, Dimensional Gate phenomena go haywire worldwide, causing a catastrophe.”

Hearing that, I realized the situation was much more serious.

There’s a saying about the butterfly effect.

A small change, like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, can lead to unforeseen, massive consequences.

That perfectly describes this situation.