VSP 39

When Sejun’s emotions grew intense, the system that often read his inner thoughts without him saying anything clicked its tongue.

[You already seem too far gone.]

“No!”

Sejun denied, the system almost replied with something like “a strong denial is an affirmation,” but held back. Sejun already looked confused enough.

“I can’t help it! We keep sticking together, entering dungeons, and the missions threaten me with my hair. Of course my thoughts keep going that way!”

[So you mean if you don’t stick around Hunter Cha Dogyeong, you won’t think of him?]

Sejun flinched. Was that right? Maybe. He had just cleared the sub-mission, so there would be no new one for a while. If they didn’t enter dungeons together, he wouldn’t have much reason to think of Cha Dogyeong.

Yeah, that must be it.

“Exactly! Why would I think about Cha Dogyeong every day if I’m not even in the same raid team?”

Of course not!

The moment he shouted that, his phone chimed with a message alert.

He reflexively checked it and saw a long message from Ryu Sehyun.

It was a group message sent to all S-rank hunters.

“Party rotation.”

Huh?

The unexpected word made Sejun’s eyes widen. He suddenly remembered what Sehyun had said before, about rotating raid teams now and then to avoid complaints.

And sure enough, his name wasn’t in the 2-man Team 1 or Team 2.

There were fewer than ten people total, so when Sejun checked the members of Team 1 and 2, his eye twitched.

Team 1: Cha Dogyeong, Na Yukyoong

Team 2: Lee Dohun, Jeong Siwoo

And then, finally, Sejun’s name appeared under Team 3.

Team 3: Choi Yerin, Choi Hangyeol, Seo Sejun.

Names that absolutely did not make a pleasant combination.

[Oh dear.]

The system also clicked its tongue after checking the roster.

[So now you won’t be thinking about Hunter Cha Dogyeong anymore.]

This wasn’t what he meant.

While the system teased him, Sejun stayed frozen, unable to refute. Of course, the message wasn’t going to magically change.

It was the start of an unpleasant partnership.

•••

Choi Yerin and Choi Hangyeol.

The two who were now teamed with Sejun were twins.

It was rare enough for someone to awaken as a hunter, but twins both being S-rank was once such a big deal that people wondered if bloodlines were linked to awakenings and ranks.

In the end, it was proven to have nothing to do with it, so people just called them a blessing for Korea.

Yerin was close to a mage who controlled elements, but was especially known for her powerful healing. Hangyeol was a psychic hunter of a different type from Jeong Siwoo. Even though they were twins, they weren’t often dispatched to the same dungeon.

Their direct attack ability was weaker than most other hunters, while their support abilities were very strong.

Especially Hangyeol. His unique ability allowed him to read the inner thoughts of others, whether monsters or humans, or even trace lingering thoughts left behind where someone had been. Because of this, he was often assigned to hunter-related criminal cases instead of dungeon raids, so Sejun rarely encountered him.

Of course, they weren’t close.

Always with a gloomy face, Hangyeol was avoided by people for a different reason than Sejun, but the result was the same. His ability to read the thoughts of weaker people made others uncomfortable.

And Yerin…

For Sejun, she was uncomfortable in another way.

In short, neither of the twins were pleasant teammates. Not that the other S-rank hunters were exactly pleasant either, but none of them were this extremely unpleasant. Yet of all people, he was stuck with them.

“Ha.”

Sejun headed to the Association for the first time in a while to return the borrowed items. Even as he walked, he let out yet another sigh from the heavy frustration weighing on him.

[You’ll cave the ground in at this rate.]

“Haaaa.”

The system commented, but Sejun’s sighs didn’t stop. It wasn’t on purpose. They just kept coming.

The team had changed from one uncomfortable team, to another uncomfortable team.

Being paired with Lee Dohun and Cha Dogyeong was hardly comfortable either. But compared to Yerin and Hangyeol, that team felt like paradise.

Was it just because being stuck between twins was uncomfortable? No, this was beyond that.

It was something else.

It was an unwanted date with two people who made him anxious in different ways. A date with no idea when it would end. A very uncomfortable date.

The staff at the item rental counter smiled at Sejun for the first time in a while when he returned the item without breaking it.

The ring he had used during training left his hand like that. Sejun stared at the ring with regret and lingering with attachment, then returned it and was about to leave the Association, thinking he would borrow it again next time.

If only he hadn’t run into Choi Yerin right in front of the main gate.

And she was even standing with Lee Dohun.

Wow, double the discomfort! This was insane.

“……”

“……”

Sejun froze on the spot the moment he faced Yerin, and Yerin, who had been talking with Dohun, immediately shut her mouth. Anyone could see how awkward it was.

As if sensing something in Yerin’s gaze, Dohun turned his head quickly. The moment he saw Sejun, he scowled.

“What the hell?”

For the first time, Sejun found that irritated tone strangely welcome. Better to have Dohun there than to be left alone with Yerin.

Not that he liked either of them.

“Seo Sejun, you always said you hate coming to the Association. What’s up today?”

As always, Dohun immediately picked a fight. If you looked at the words alone, you could almost mistake it for him greeting Sejun out of familiarity, but no, the tone was full of hostility.

“Lee Dohun, cut it out.”

Yerin stopped him. Everyone knew already, hunter or not, that Dohun was always itching to pick a fight with Sejun.

Sejun didn’t answer. He didn’t care if Dohun picked a fight, but he didn’t want to bicker in front of Yerin.

Hm? When Sejun didn’t respond like usual, Dohun glanced sideways at him and smirked knowingly.

“Oh, I get it. You’re keeping your mouth shut because Yerin’s here, huh?”

Dohun had nailed exactly why Sejun was keeping quiet. Sejun clenched his jaw.

This bastard, did he have to stir things up even when he knew? Well, it was just like Dohun to do so.

Fortunately, Yerin stopped him again.

“Lee Dohun, I said it’s fine. Why are you making a scene?”

“Hey, Choi Yerin!”

“Did you get hurt? I’m standing here just fine. Why are you throwing a fit? I’ll handle my own business. You stay out of it.”

When the word “throwing a fit” came out of Yerin’s mouth, Dohun finally backed off. He clicked his tongue but said nothing more, and silence fell.

Yerin usually looked gentle and kind, and her strong healing powers matched that impression more than attack skills did.

But once she got angry, she was notorious for blasting out all kinds of elemental magic like healing didn’t matter at all.

Her flaw was that she lacked the mana to sustain her magic for long. Even if she lost control, it never lasted.

She was similar to Sejun. The difference was, she still had enough mana to fight properly, while Sejun could barely manage his summon.

…But why was Yerin at the Association? And what about Dohun?

If there was a link, maybe it was just that the two of them, along with Hangyeol, formed a same-age trio at twenty-five, so they were somewhat close. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t good friends, and there wasn’t much reason to run into each other at the Association.

While Sejun kept quiet and wondered why they were there, someone suddenly put an arm onto his shoulder.

Startled, Sejun turned and saw a tall man with heavy eyes looking down at him.

Choi Hangyeol, Yerin’s twin brother.

“What’s this… why’s everyone gathering here?”

The man with long, dark bangs covering his eyes was tall. Sejun wasn’t short himself, but Hangyeol towered over him. Almost Cha Dogyeong’s height.

Wait, why was Cha Dogyeong even coming up in comparison here?

Tall is tall, that’s all. Why drag Cha Dogyeong in? Sejun shook his head.