VSP 41

Hangyeol’s car naturally headed toward the building where the siblings lived. Because they were family they cared about each other in their own way and they were close in their own way too, but even if they lived in the same apartment building they did not live in the same unit.

Of course, they were neighbors.

They had their own reasons, so when the siblings went out together and came back, it was right for them to split up right after getting out of the car and head to their own homes. Just like they always did.

“Choi Hangyeol.”

But that day, rarely, Yerin called out to Hangyeol. His twin sister, who had been quiet the whole time in the car as if she was lost in thought, called him, and Hangyeol looked at Yerin with his usual sullen eyes.

“You are a bit strange.”

“What?”

“Acting like that toward Seo Sejun, that is not like you.”

“What about me? I was always like that.”

Yerin closed her mouth. Her lips moved as if she found it difficult to explain then she sighed.

“Do you think I am stupid? Do you think I only watched you for a day or two? Are you going to pretend you do not know even though you clearly know what I am pointing out?”

“Pretend I don’t know what? I really don’t know. Tell me properly what is not like me.”

It seemed Hangyeol had no intention of saying it himself. In the end Yerin sighed again and pointed it out in more detail.

“I knew that you strangely liked to mess with Sejun-oppa, but it was not this much. Why did you suddenly do that?”

They were twins born on the same day. Because they had different genders and different personalities, even if they were twins they did not stick together all the time, but they were not distant enough to miss subtle changes.

Hangyeol’s attitude toward Seo Sejun had changed. It was impossible not to notice.

She knew from before that Hangyeol enjoyed poking at Seo Sejun, like he was watching a small animal react, but from what she saw today, his attitude was much more active and it contained affection.

Before it had been strange, it was affection but mixed with teasing and a more negative feeling included in it.

Now it only felt like affection. It was just a subtle difference, but Yerin believed it was not her imagination.

Hangyeol was black-hearted just as he appeared. How could that kind of person suddenly changing his attitude without a reason?

Hangyeol did not deny those words, but he lifted the corner of his mouth slightly, as if he found Yerin’s words amusing.

“Hearing you say it like that sounds a bit funny. Even if it changed, what meaning does it have?”

“……”

Actually, even if Hangyeol’s attitude changed, there was no real problem.

Wouldn’t it be a good thing? That damned twin brother who pushed away almost everyone saying he disliked them, now showed more fondness to the person he usually teased.

“And it is strange for you to point it out too. Hm? Yerin-ah. What is the problem.”

But there was a problem. A very big one.

“You need to look back at your attitude too. You also changed.”

Hangyeol was right. The one who changed was not only Hangyeol. Just like Yerin felt Hangyeol’s change, Hangyeol also felt Yerin’s change.

Her attitude toward no one else but Seo Sejun.

Yerin had changed too. The problem was that it happened exactly at the same time.

The moment Yerin felt a strange change in her feelings toward Sejun, Hangyeol also felt the same thing at the same time. That was too strange.

Choi Yerin had already forgiven the mistake that Seo Sejun had made toward her in the past.

But that did not mean she accepted him comfortably. There was still an uncomfortable feeling stuck in her chest like residue.

She had forgiven him herself and she knew that what happened that day was not only Sejun’s fault, but she could not understand why she still felt that way. But until now, it had been like that.

Then at some point, it was like water had been poured into that feeling, the color started to fade little by little, and she felt like the leftover residue had disappeared completely as if it had never been there.

And Yerin really did not feel anything.

From the moment she saw Seo Sejun today, she did not feel any discomfort at all that she used to feel whenever she saw him.

The feeling that had always caught on her heart disappeared like melting snow.

Then was it the same for Hangyeol? Did he also feel that the subtle thing that had made him dislike Sejun suddenly disappeared from a certain day?

“Choi Hangyeol.”

“Yeah.”

“Is it the same for you?”

Even though the question had no subject or details, they were twins. Hangyeol did not need to use his ability on Yerin to understand something like that.

Hangyeol looked at Yerin.

The corners of his eyes bent strangely.

Like he was saying “what you are thinking is right.”

•••

“Why are you suddenly talking about a rotation?”

Dogyeong had quite a lot of work. Most external matters were usually handled by Ryu Sehyun, who represented Korea in a different way, but there were still a few things that could not be done without Dogyeong–the hunter representing Korea–himself stepping forward.

He started to take apart the suit that fit his body perfectly one piece at a time from the entrance, and when a call came in from Na Yookyung, he started to question her about the reason that had kept his mood low all day.

-That is useless if you question me. Go question Siwoo, he is the one who suggested the rotation.

Of course Na Yookyung had no reason to accept all that irritation, so she replied indifferently.

Dogyeong could not hold back and he let out a sigh mixed with irritation, and while he was doing that, Na Yookyung, who had been quietly listening, asked him.

-But that is unexpected?

“What is?”

-I thought you would be happy if you changed team.

Dogyeong stopped for a moment. But Na Yookyung did not care about that reaction and continued asking.

-Did you not find Sejun bothersome?

Dogyeong closed his mouth right away, like he had never spoken.

Did he not find Seo Sejun bothersome?

Of course he did. In the past, Seo Sejun really never seemed to get tired, every single day he picked fights with Cha Dogyeong, like he could not stand not to. Just like Lee Dohun did with Seo Sejun.

Of course the fights Seo Sejun started were not violent like Lee Dohun’s, but more like a kitten crying, ridiculous, but that did not mean they were not irritating at all.

So it was true that Cha Dogyeong had found Seo Sejun bothersome.

But…

“Well.”

-What do you mean ‘well,’ who among us does not know how much he bothered you, sly thing? Unbelievable.

But Dogyeong had something to say about that too. He knew what kind of reaction the other side might show if he said it, but after quite a while he finally spoke.

“He is better than I thought.”

-……Who? Seo Sejun? Hey, are you really Cha Dogyeong?

“Yes.”

Dogyeong was sincere. He switched his phone to speaker mode and threw off his shirt completely, and only then, when he felt the stifling feeling ease a little, he let out a heavy sigh.

-……Anyway do not question me, go question Siwoo or Sehyun. I have no authority.

Her voice was needlessly stern, and maybe because he thought it would be bothersome if he pushed more, Na Yookyung changed the subject.

Jeong Siwoo.

Dogyeong narrowed his eyes as he pictured in his head the always-smiling top hunter who was one year younger than him.

It was ridiculous to say that Na Yookyung had no authority. Honestly, if you had to pick the hunter with the strongest voice after Ryu Sehyun, the Association President, everyone would say it was Na Yookyung, not Cha Dogyeong.

“If you have no authority, then who does? Lee Dohun?”

-I have no power at all.

She said it like that, but if Ryu Sehyun had completely refused the position of Association President, the president of the Hunter Association would not have been Ryu Sehyun but Na Yookyung.

She is strong and has leadership that commanded people.

Even Cha Dogyeong, who almost never acknowledged other hunters, had no choice but to acknowledge Na Yookyung.

Right before going in to wash up, since the important talk had passed, it would have been fine to end the call, but Dogyeong felt something rough still catching at him, so he could not easily hang up.

After hesitating for a moment, Dogyeong finally asked Na Yookyung what she had been curious about.

“…The twins, right?”

Dogyeong was not close with Choi Yerin and Choi Hangyeol.

To be honest, Cha Dogyeong had no personal relationships with other hunters besides Na Yookyung.

Since he had known them for a long time he felt no rejection about being around them, but he never contacted them personally.

Also, even inside dungeons he preferred to take the hardest part himself and leave the rest to other hunters instead of cooperating with others, so his knowledge about other hunters’ abilities was shallow.

So about the twins, who were closer to support type, he only knew what was generally known, and he did not have an exact grasp of their abilities.

Na Yookyung gave her opinion about the twins without much thought.

-Yerin prefers to heal the injured more than to attack and wound the other side, but she does it when needed. And Hangyeol, even though he is mental type, he handles weapons well. He is my disciple, you know? Unlike Siwoo, who insists he is fragile because he is mental type and refuses to even hold a weapon.

Na Yookyung clicked her tongue, sounding dissatisfied.

It was not a very satisfying answer, but at least both of them had combat ability, so that was fortunate.