VSP 172

“Well, I guess… things are starting to settle down a bit. The reporters don’t seem to be coming around as much as they used to.”

Sejun, who had been fumbling for excuses, sighed.

You decided to be honest with Cha Dogyeong, Seo Sejun. And here you are lying again.

“I just don’t want to be apart from you for too long.”

In the end, Sejun spoke honestly.

Even though Seoul and Bucheon weren’t that far apart, wasn’t it a hassle to come visit like this every time he missed you?

Cha Dogyeong smiled, seeming pleased by his words.

“I told you earlier that I came to pick you up because I thought you might be digging yourself into a hole.”

“Yeah.”

“That was a lie. I did think that, but I came mostly because I missed you.”

“……Yeah.”

“I’d rather be able to see you right away whenever I want to. I don’t mind coming all the way to Bucheon to see Mom and Dad, though…”

Mom and Dad?

……Could he possibly be talking about my mom and dad?

He felt the way he addressed them was a bit odd, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

“Should we head back together?”

Together. With that straightforward option presented, there was only one right answer. Sejun nodded.

“……Yeah.”

The sea breeze no longer felt so salty. It was as if sugar, not salt, had been mixed into the sea.

And so, Sejun’s return to Seoul was decided.

***

His parents didn’t seem the least bit sad to hear that Sejun was going home; on the contrary, they urged him to go quickly.

His mother was sad about parting with Hoya than with Sejun.

Am I the only one feeling a little left out?

He put on a sulky face, but since Sejun hadn’t come down here to be a dutiful son in the first place, they were both in the same boat.

Since he hadn’t brought much with him to begin with, Sejun was able to return to Seoul with a light heart.

To his own home, close to Cha Dogyeong.

Once it became known that Sejun had no intention of giving interviews, and since the Association was proactive in protecting the hunter’s privacy, reporters no longer swarmed the apartment where Sejun lived.

Everything was pleasant. Sejun adapted to life back in Seoul almost instantly, without even needing to adjust, and he was satisfied.

[Shocking Comments from Sejun’s High School Days]

[The Truth the Association Hid! An Experimental Project Behind the EX-rank Awakening!]

[Exclusive Analysis of Sejun’s Combat Power! Can’t Be Defeated Even by 5 S-rank Hunters?]

[Top 5 of Sejun’s Controversial Quotes]

Of course, reality wasn’t that easy…

The second EX-rank hunter to appear, and this time, another Korean. This fact was bound to become a massive talking point, and Sejun had braced himself for it to some extent.

But he hadn’t expected it to happen this way. Sejun could barely contain a sigh as he looked at video titles that made it impossible to gauge just how far it would extend.

Not only the press, but video platforms like YouTube and Shorts were in an uproar over Sejun. The press was relatively restrained, but media outlets churning out mass-produced fake news, of course, knew no bounds.

Conspiracy theories claiming the Association had conducted secret experiments behind the scenes to make him EX-rank, and even the nonsense that all the accidents he’d caused and the moments of weakness he’d shown up until now were all just an act, false news like this spread several times a day.

They even dug up photos from Sejun’s school days (who knows where they got them) and presented them as “testimonies from friends who never existed,” with contradictory videos from “classmates” claiming he was a delinquent and a good kid to others.

For the record, Cha Dogyeong loved the latter type of news. A few times, he even went out of his way to send him the links.

[Isn’t it cute how high schooler Seo Sejun’s eyes look so rebellious?]

He left comments like this, finding Seo Sejun in the photos adorable. Sejun was speechless. Cha Dogyeong had forgotten that he was younger than him.

Not that Sejun wanted to remember those cringeworthy “dark history” days when he acted like a mean teenager with a “black flame dragon in his left hand.” And since he didn’t even have friends back then, those fake stories were the most humiliating of all. (it’s not literal. It means Sejun used to act like one of those edgy teens who say things like my sealed power is awakening)

In any case, the world was very interested in Sejun. Not just domestically, but overseas as well.

It was moving to realize that this wasn’t negative attention, but as they say, too much of anything is bad for you, Sejun began to grow tired of all that attention after just a few days.

If this were the villain Sejun, still trapped in his old persona, he would have naturally welcomed this attention, giving interviews and running wild. But the Sejun who now possessed free will had no intention of doing that.

If he’d wanted that in the first place, he wouldn’t have fled to Bucheon. He’d come to Seoul, deciding to face things head-on rather than run away, but Sejun’s chosen solution remained the same.

For now, he’d just stay quiet and take care of his own affairs until this overwhelming, even excessive, attention cooled down a bit.

So, no matter what, the fact that Sejun had to stay cooped up at home didn’t change. It was a bit stifling, but he was a homebody by nature, and since dating was more convenient when they drove back and forth between each other’s homes, even that wasn’t such a big inconvenience.

And so, day after day, time passed. Noisily yet quietly. Slowly yet quickly.

The world’s attention lingered on Sejun for quite a while, but perhaps because a non-responsive partner was boring, it gradually shifted elsewhere.

Now that Sejun had finally caught his breath, on a morning in a season that could easily be called the beginning of winter, he burst out laughing at a selfie sent by Cha Dogyeong.

He’d sent the selfie first thing in the morning, saying he’d be back safely, dressed in yet another suit for whatever event was on the agenda today.

He looks handsome.

It must have been just a quick snap, but it came out like a magazine spread. This guy is my boyfriend?

Feeling a tingling sensation in his chest, Sejun couldn’t help but smile, but the system clicked his tongue in disapproval.

[You like him that much, so why do you keep putting things off……]

Sejun pretended not to hear and ignored him.

Sejun’s daily routine, alone at home, wasn’t much different from before he received that mission long ago. When he got bored, he’d read a book or watch travel videos of countries he’d never been to.

Yet, whenever he suddenly found himself thinking about what he might do with Cha Dogyeong, it felt like nothing had changed, yet at the same time, he sensed that so much had changed.

And that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

That afternoon, as he was spending a leisurely day as usual, the previously quiet group chat lit up.

“Na Yookyung: Hey, everyone, announcement.”

“Na Yookyung: Let’s have a team dinner.”

“Huh?”

The sudden mention of a team dinner confused him.

“Lee Dohun: Huh?”

“Choi Hangyeol: ?”

The screen was flooded with question mark emojis as the other hunters seemed just as confused, but Na Yookyung paid no mind.

“Na Yookyung: I guess I didn’t explain myself well.”

“Na Yookyung: We’re having a team dinner.”

“Na Yookyung: I know you’ve all wrapped up your urgent schedules by now.”

“Na Yookyung: And I know there aren’t any of you who haven’t had your injuries treated, so if you try to use that as an excuse, you’re dead meat.”

Having turned her suggestion into a done deal, she quickly sent another message before anyone else could say a word.

“Na Yookyung: The place is my house. The date is two days from now.”

“Na Yookyung: It’s a weekday, but I know you’re all just a bunch of slackers when you’re not in a dungeon, so don’t even think about skipping it.”

“Na Yookyung: I chose my place because a restaurant would draw too much attention, so let me know in advance if there’s anything you want to eat.”

“Na Yookyung: We often get together with guild members at my place, so we have a big table and plenty of dishes.”

“Choi Yerin: Are you going to cook for us, noona?”

“Na Yookyung: I don’t mind cooking, but if the two of you eat yourselves to death, it’s not my problem.”

Na Yookyung was famous for her cooking, even her instant ramen was notoriously terrible.

“Lee Dohun: Why would you even bother cooking? You’d just kill us.”

“Lee Dohun: Just order delivery.”

“Na Yookyung: I was going to do that. But that’s rude. I’m going to cook something and shove it right into your mouth, Lee Dohun.”

“Lee Dohun: ;;;”

Having spoken out of turn and now facing a taste test from hell, Lee Dohun backed away.

“Jeong Siwoo: But why all of a sudden?”

“Na Yookyung: Just because.”

The reason was simple.

“Na Yookyung: We’ve been through so much together, and when I think about it, it’s actually surprising that we’ve never all gotten together for a team dinner or something like that.”

They’d only just created a group chat, after all.

Perhaps because it wasn’t described in the novel, or maybe due to a lack of detail in that area, no one had ever thought of it until now.

A team dinner. Although they’d all gotten together for a meal once or twice, Sejun had never participated, and with one or two people always missing, they’d never had a full-team gathering until now.

“Na Yookyung: Anyway, let’s get together!”

“Choi Yerin: Sure~~~”

The others, who had been busy working and checked the message late, didn’t seem to have any objections, so no one voiced any opposition, and just like that, a dinner plan was hastily set.

So I’m suddenly going to Noona’s house…

Sejun scratched his cheek.

As if it were only natural, Sejun was added to the group chat, and as if it were only natural, he was invited to the gathering.

Sejun had naturally become one of them.

Even though they must have had many questions, no one bothered to ask Sejun anything after the incident. They were probably being considerate.

In that case, even if I can’t tell them everything, it would be best to explain at least some of it to them.

……Maybe I should discuss this with Cha Dogyeong. Yeah, I’ll do that.

Having reached a simple conclusion, Sejun wasn’t particularly worried about the dinner. He knew full well that they wouldn’t be hostile toward him.