VSP 95

They only growled once or twice when they faced each other. Because of that, some people praised Dogyeong and called him generous, but now it was no longer an important matter.

Of course, there were still people who judged Seo Sejun. There were quite a few who said, ‘If only his mana increased, he would rank among the upper S-class,’ and they were being cold but objective.

The idea of ‘his mana increasing’ was absurd, but that only showed how strong Hoya was.

That tiger was strange. It possessed strength beyond any standard. Because of that, Seo Sejun could not handle the power of his summoned beast and was always struggling.

Originally, a summoned beast’s power adjusted to the summoner’s own level. If Hoya was that strong, then Seo Sejun should have been strong as well.

Dogyeong sometimes thought about it. He thought that the reason Seo Sejun’s ability ended up in such a miserable state was because someone had a reason to weaken only Seo Sejun’s stats while leaving Hoya alone.

It was as if making him unable to handle Hoya properly served as a kind of balance adjustment.

Of course, this world was not a game, so that could not be true.

If seen alone, that tiger would be one of the few beings capable of fighting Dogyeong with brute force.

Hoya often appeared in a transparent state when he manifested in reality, but Dogyeong quickly realized that was not Hoya’s full form. He also understood why Hoya kept that state.

It was to lessen Seo Sejun’s burden as much as possible. It was to stay longer by Seo Sejun’s side when summoned, so he deliberately lowered his own defense to the minimum and appeared in reality that way. That proud being did so himself.

But it seemed he could not control his offensive power at all. Just by being summoned once or twice and attacking, he could make Seo Sejun vomit blood.

If Hoya had not suppressed his own presence, Seo Sejun probably would not have been able to summon him at all.

How could such a distorted relationship even exist?

“Why do you like Seo Sejun so much?”

It was sometime in the past, inside a dungeon, when Dogyeong once happened to be alone with Hoya. That tiger almost never left Sejun’s side, so it happened only once in a long five years.

The tiger was licking his forepaw and did not care whether Dogyeong was beside him or not, but at those words, he stopped and looked back at Dogyeong.

His gaze did not hold warmth. Dogyeong did not expect such a thing from that beast anyway.

「Grr.」

Hoya growled once, as if the question was not worth answering, and he stepped back from Dogyeong.

It was as if he found Dogyeong pitiful for asking something so obvious and useless.

To Dogyeong, Hoya’s affection toward Seo Sejun was real.

Some people pitied Hoya, saying he was unlucky to have his soul tied to a hunter like Seo Sejun, but that was nonsense from people who understood nothing.

That tiger would have been happy to be bound to Seo Sejun even if Sejun had been an F-rank hunter.

He would have loved him no matter what.

In a way, even Seo Sejun himself did not know about Hoya’s affection and was too busy watching Hoya’s mood. In that sense, it was more accurate to say that Hoya simply did not show such feelings outwardly.

The reason Dogyeong noticed Hoya’s affection for Seo Sejun was simple.

Hoya could have freed himself from Seo Sejun if he wanted. He had enough power for that.

Yet that tiger chose to stay beside Seo Sejun, even if it meant remaining in a weakened state. What clearer proof of affection could there be than that?

However, Dogyeong had neither the duty and they were not close enough to tell Seo Sejun that Hoya actually liked him.

Until then, Dogyeong had never imagined that a day would come when he would become close to Seo Sejun.

But at some point, from the moment he gained complete freedom in this world, Dogyeong became entangled with Sejun as if it were natural.

It felt like a magnet that had been forced apart finding its place again and snapping together.

As if it had always been meant that way. As if Seo Sejun’s side had always been his rightful place.

It was strangely unpleasant yet irresistible. Not because being tied to Seo Sejun that way felt unpleasant or uncomfortable, but because it felt as though something unknown was manipulating his will.

So at first, Dogyeong acted more irritable toward Seo Sejun.

But in the end, it became like this. All that defiance were meaningless, Dogyeong ended up by Sejun’s side after all.

Like this, in such a state.

“Ha.”

When Dogyeong exhaled, the car window, already fogged with steam, turned white and then faded into a pale blur again.

The air inside the car was hot. It was the middle of summer, and although it was an underground parking lot, the air inside was even hotter than outside. They had closed the doors and rubbed their bodies together several times, so the air becoming hot was only natural.

But if they tried to ventilate it, how much cooler could the air inside a parking lot be? And if they opened the door carelessly and someone happened to see them…

Tsk. Dogyeong clicked his tongue. Being recognizable really was an inconvenient and irritating thing.

While Dogyeong climaxed twice, Sejun climaxed about five times and then, exhausted, fell asleep almost, but even after that, he was tossing and turning.

Since he showed no sign of waking, it seemed better to take him back quickly than to wait for him to open his eyes.

They had been in such a rush that they ended up doing everything inside the car. There was nowhere to wash, and the space was cramped, and both of them knew the risk of being overheard.

Even if time were turned back to the past, Dogyeong probably would not have been able to hold back. Sejun likely felt the same.

Dogyeong leaned toward the passenger seat, thinking there might be tissues inside the glove compartment, but he stopped when he saw the doll sitting there, buckled in with a seatbelt.

“……”

The doll wore a wicked grin, but despite its face, it sat properly and politely with its seatbelt fastened.

Who had Sejun meant to show this to?

Me. …Only me.

Dogyeong frowned as he felt something clutch his heart and release it again.

Recently, Sejun had always been like this. He would keep brushing against Dogyeong so casually. As if to say, I’m here, in front of you, I’m touching you like this right now, you have no choice but to pay attention to me.

And Dogyeong helplessly got caught up in him. The feeling of being swayed like this was unfamiliar since it had never happened in his life, but it was not exactly unpleasant.

Dogyeong found wet wipes in the glove compartment, wiped Sejun’s messy body, covered him with his clothes, and took out a ring from his pants pocket.

There was no ring case, only a single ring, a thing he had almost snatched away from Hunter Jang Eunho, the owner of the repair shop, a few days ago.

The ring’s simple design had no special decorative appeal, but it did not matter since it had not been made for show in the first place.

‘You bastard, do you know how much this would sell for?’

Jang Eunho had originally started making it at Dogyeong’s request, but when it came time to hand it over, he looked reluctant, it pained him to part with it.

‘You can’t buy this with money. I don’t know who you’re giving it to, but tell them to take care of their finger. Once word gets out, people will line up to take it along with the finger!’

Even while gilding his own name with words like that, Jang Eunho was shameless. But Dogyeong, for once, did not curse at him.

It was an item worth boasting about.

Dogyeong had somewhat expected it when he made the request, but even so, this was one of the best things Jang Eunho had ever crafted.

Dogyeong slipped the ring onto Sejun’s finger while Sejun slept. He wondered which finger to use, then thought there would probably be another ring for the left ring finger later, so he placed it on the right one instead.

As expected of a master craftsman’s work, the ring that had seemed a bit large adjusted perfectly to Sejun’s finger size.

Dogyeong looked at the ring that had settled there as if it had always belonged to Sejun. Then he lifted Sejun’s limp hand and softly kissed it.

If Seo Sejun had been awake, he would have recoiled and asked what disgusting thing he was doing, but he must have been really exhausted, for his closed eyelids did not open.

Originally, Dogyeong had planned to hand it to him quietly before they parted today, but it seemed they would have to go home together now, so seeing Sejun’s reaction to the ring could wait until he woke up.

“I hope you like it, hyung.”

Of course, he already knew Sejun would like it. Dogyeong smiled with confidence.

After roughly cleaning himself and putting his clothes back on, Dogyeong moved toward the driver’s seat. He thought he would have to call a driver service for his own car, then checked his phone, clicked his tongue when he saw the time had already passed well into the evening.

The parade must be over.

It would have ended long ago. When he thought of Sejun pretending not to expect anything while his face had been full of anticipation, Dogyeong felt that he would have to bring him there again someday.