S Chapter 75

Chapter 75

In the end, things blew up. Runner-up prepared it, U-dam ignited it, and Won Go-yu launched the incident. Aren’t all the involved kids this year’s highly anticipated prospects?

‘These reckless idiots.’

Shin Jukyeong sighed deeply. He had vaguely hoped that someone would refuse and smooth things over. But both U-dam and Runner-up had agreed to a spar in front of so many people.

‘Damn it…’

A bleak future was being drawn. He felt it was impossible for things to go smoothly.

Shin Jukyeong stopped reminiscing and looked at the clock. It was already past 1 AM. By this time, both Kang Seo-oh and his stepmother would have gone to bed. This meant there would be no problem summoning Eve. Shin Jukyeong immediately called Eve.

“Shin Jukyeong!”

In less than a minute, black smoke swirled and appeared before Shin Jukyeong.

‘Eve.’

“Everyone is safe! No problems!”

‘That’s a relief. You did well.’

At the light praise, Eve burst into giggles.

‘Eve. I’m sorry to ask as soon as you arrive, but I need you to do something else.’

“Something else?”

‘It’s been a while since you’ve taken that form, hasn’t it?’

“Ah~ What is it~ Is there something fun happening~?”

It was a question befitting a hedonist.

Shin Jukyeong nodded slowly.

‘Yes. It happened today. Something infuriating and fun.’

Eve responded to his answer.

“If Shin Jukyeong wishes it. Eve can do anything.”

With a final chuckle, black smoke enveloped Shin Jukyeong. Soon, Shin Jukyeong, whose entire body from head to toe had turned black, appeared.

“…”

Even his face, where the smoke had cleared, flickered, causing recognition interference. Shin Jukyeong slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, tensing his muscles. His chest and back muscles visibly swelled and relaxed.

‘My condition is good.’

Thus, a madman, no, a bold man, Shin Jukyeong, who roamed the Hunter Academy as if it were his own home while hiding his identity, was born.

He dodged the widely spread security guards and found his brother.

Following the remaining traces, he found himself at the annex building.

‘There he is.’

His brother was alone. He was so focused that he didn’t even notice Shin Jukyeong had arrived.

‘Leaving the dormitory after 10 PM would result in demerits, wouldn’t it?’

Shin Jukyeong hid his troubled thoughts and watched his brother training. He was practicing, dripping with sweat. Had he been acting tough in the cafeteria, but was actually nervous?

‘Even if he does that, it won’t be enough.’

Shin Jukyeong scratched his brow.

Effort is good, but the opponent is bad. Or rather, should I say there’s a significant difference in skill level?

‘If I were to compare, it’s like a fight between an elementary school student and a middle school student.’

This wasn’t to disparage U-dam. On the contrary, his brother was quite talented. For someone who had never properly learned to fight, his instincts and ferocity were excellent.

The only problem was that he hadn’t yet bloomed that talent.

‘Moreover, the opponent is an athlete who has trained with professionals for a long time.’

That’s right. Runner-up was a well-known youth judo national representative even before coming to the Hunter Academy. Plus, his ability control after manifestation was good, wasn’t it?

‘Hmm… quite a disadvantage.’

Shin Jukyeong, continuing his thoughts, frowned.

‘It’s more urgent than I thought.’

The spar was set for 4 days later. Could his brother grow explosively enough to defeat Runner-up by then?

The answer was no. The probability of his brother defeating Runner-up was extremely low. It would be almost a miracle.

…Yes, if he were alone, that would be true.

‘If I weren’t here, that is.’

Inside Shin Jukyeong, confidence ran wild.

‘At the very least, I’ll raise him enough to achieve a draw within 4 days.’

“Ahem.”

Shin Jukyeong leaned against the door, deliberately making a sound to announce his presence. It was then that U-dam’s head turned.

“You…!”

His eyes, having spotted Shin Jukyeong, widened beyond measure.

“Hello. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

‘Of course, I’ve been watching him every day.’

Shin Jukyeong hid his true thoughts and offered a cheerful greeting. But his brother’s welcome was more intense than expected. He was about to strike with the Wooden Sword he was holding.

Whoops. Shin Jukyeong easily dodged and raised both hands. It was a sign of surrender.

“There’s nothing you won’t do to your master.”

“Master? Fuck. Master, my ass! What kind of master disappears after that?”

…Hmm. Now that he thought about it, he had neglected him too much.

“Just you wait. You scammer bastard.”

“I came to report the results, and you’re going to hit me?”

Creak. His brother, who had raised the Wooden Sword high, froze. Shin Jukyeong subtly sized him up, then quickly spoke.

“It’s quite upsetting to be misunderstood. Who said I disappeared? I was just busy traveling the country. To find your parents.”

As he knew, it was all a lie. But since his brother had no way of knowing the truth, he confidently continued to spin his tale.

“I’d love to tell you I found them… but there are no plausible results yet. Ah, don’t misunderstand. It doesn’t mean I couldn’t find them, but rather that there are no traces at all.”

Shin Jukyeong shrugged his shoulders and added.

“Still, don’t worry. It’s difficult to say this, but…”

He drew out his words and slowly approached U-dam. Then, he brought his pitch-black face close and whispered.

“I’ll even bring back a corpse for you. I promise.”

A gruesome statement that matched his eerie voice. Yet, it wasn’t said sarcastically.

“…”

Perhaps the meaning was well conveyed, as U-dam didn’t get angry. He simply stared at Shin Jukyeong calmly. His gaze was serene, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

It was then. After a long silence, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Does that… mean they might be dead?”

The voice that emerged was unexpected.

‘His voice is trembling…?’

Shin Jukyeong blinked in bewilderment. He wondered if what he just heard was real. That Yang U-dam, of all people, was scared?

“Is that it? Answer me.”

His brother’s face, continuing to speak, grew clouded. His wrinkled eyes were red. There were no tears, but it seemed like he would burst into tears if lightly touched.

‘…No way.’

Shin Jukyeong swallowed dryly.

Because he had never imagined that U-dam, of all people, would make such a face. Perhaps that’s why the impact was significant. Seeing his distorted face, his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

‘…It hurts.’

Unconsciously, he pressed firmly on his chest.

It was just one tearful face. At that one face, Shin Jukyeong crumbled. His vow to protect his brothers felt meaningless, and a great sense of powerlessness washed over him.

‘Damn it… I feel stifled.’

Shin Jukyeong exhaled sigh after sigh, trying to alleviate his congested feelings. But the suffocating sensation remained.

‘I didn’t want him to make such a face.’

Suddenly, anger surged. He hated everything that made his brother sad. Of course, the most resentful target among them was his own incompetent self.

He wanted to alleviate his brother’s anxiety. However, he didn’t want to get swept away by the moment’s emotions and plant useless expectations.

Why? Because the higher expectations are built, the more it hurts when they fall. Favor that cannot be taken responsibility for is not favor. It’s merely cruel hope.

‘But…’

Shin Jukyeong hesitated, which was unlike him. It was because his gaze kept drifting to the reddened corners of U-dam’s eyes. How could he speak coldly when asked with such a face? His heart sank heavily.

‘If that child cries, my world will burn to ashes.’

Just imagining it made his heart ache. Such emotions were always unfamiliar and difficult.

‘Ha, damn it.’

His throat felt dry, as if he would have unhesitatingly chugged cold water if it were in front of him. Regardless, he couldn’t keep silent forever, so Shin Jukyeong licked his dry lips and opened his mouth, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

“Don’t think strange thoughts. It’s just a story of possibilities. It’s too early to conclude anything.”

“…”

“I’ll find them before you graduate. I have no intention of acting irresponsibly, so rest assured.”

He hastily finished, wondering if his brother would notice the deep-seated worry in his sigh-laced tone, and held out his pinky finger just as U-dam had done during their first meeting.

“…”

But U-dam merely stared at it without grasping it. There was no reaction, to an embarrassing degree. Just as Shin Jukyeong was about to add another word after waiting as long as he could, U-dam spoke first.

“You promised to find my parents on the condition that I enter the Hunter Academy. You remember, don’t you?”

“…”

“And I kept my promise.”

His brother’s voice gained strength. Indeed, from his perspective, he might feel he’d been scammed.

‘He’s leaving me speechless.’

“You haven’t forgotten that I also set a condition, have you?”

He wasn’t asking sincerely. It was a warning.

Knowing what he meant, Shin Jukyeong didn’t bother to answer, and U-dam’s gaze shifted. His eyes moved from the pinky finger to Shin Jukyeong’s face.

‘Somehow, it feels like our eyes are meeting.’

It was such a persistent gaze that he had that illusion, even knowing it couldn’t be true.

“The part about not lying to me.”

Shin Jukyeong nodded at his question. It was an affirmative gesture, indicating he remembered.

Confirming this, U-dam narrowed his eyes and stared at Shin Jukyeong. He scrutinized him as if gauging something, then with a short sigh, continued.

“Until graduation.”

If you break it next time, then our relationship won’t be master and student.

The chilling warning was a bonus… but still, it was a relief that he was being given a pass this one time.