VSP 9

•••

“Ah.”

“Ah, fuck.”

Guided by different staff members, Sejun and Dohun arrived almost at the same time at the spot where the dungeon was about to activate, and both frowned.

Today was finally the first raid of Team 3, Cha Dogyeong, Lee Dohun, and Seo Sejun.

Their target was the A-rank dungeon predicted at Anyang Sports Complex. Sejun and Dohun, who had arrived first, had run into each other too early.

It was not that they had not known they would meet here today, but actually seeing each other face-to-face made it feel dirtier.

That was why the first words out of their mouths were those. “Ah” was Sejun’s. “Ah, fuck” was Dohun’s. Sejun glared at him for being cursed just from meeting eyes.

“Fuck? Fuuck? Do you really have no words you can’t throw at your hyung?”

Lee Dohun, 25 years old. Younger than Sejun, older than Dogyeong. Of course, Dohun just scoffed at Sejun’s words.

“A hyung has to act like a hyung to be called one. And sure, Korea is obsessed with one-year age gaps, but are you and I in a relationship where that matters? Respect is given when there’s something worth respecting.”

After saying that much, Dohun looked at Sejun with his trademark contemptuous eyes and muttered.

“Such a moron.”

Before Sejun could even refute, Dohun quickly continued.

“Of all things, I get unlucky from the first raid team. If it wasn’t because Sehyun-hyung ordered it, I would never work with someone like you.”

“……Hey, that’s what I should be saying?”

Sejun’s rebuttal came half a beat late. He always thought Dohun treated him unusually harshly.

The two Association staff who had guided them looked back and forth nervously, then backed away a little so they would not get dragged into the hunters’ fight, but not too far, they clearly wanted to watch.

For them, the quarrels between these two were practically a regular Association event. Like workplace entertainment to make the job less boring.

[Sejun-nim, cheer up! Don’t lose! Defeat Lee Dohun!]

Sejun frowned, realizing he had become a spectacle, and the system’s half-hearted cheering only made him more irritated.

Maybe because of that so-called cheer, his anger gauge rose, and Sejun suddenly grew furious. Dohun looked down at him with eyes full of annoyance.

“Why are you unlucky? You’ll just ride our coattails. With Dogyeong and me it’s more than enough.”

This Team 3 was unusually unbalanced in power, Cha Dogyeong and Dohun, who both fought aggressively, on the same team from the start.

[Well, that isn’t completely wrong.]

It was not entirely false that Sejun was like a useless tagalong here.

In reality, just two S-rank hunters could handle an A-rank dungeon easily. With three, it felt like too many.

And if one of them was Cha Dogyeong? Then even if the third was an F-rank hunter, as long as they could keep themselves alive, it truly would not matter.

Dohun sighed openly.

“Hey, take only ten percent of the dungeon byproducts. Even that will be too much compared to what you actually do.”

“What bullshit is that? We split by percentage!”

“You don’t do anything, but you still take a huge cut just because you’re S-rank. Don’t you think that’s shameless?”

“I don’t do anything? Do you know how strong my summons are!”

At Sejun’s claim, Dohun said, “Ah,” and smirked knowingly. Anyone could see it was a taunt.

Sejun felt like he already knew what Dohun would say next. The same old tiring routine.

“Their duration is shorter than your erection time?”

Sure enough, it was the same line. Even though Sejun had expected it, he clamped his mouth shut.

Whenever his ability as an S-rank hunter came up, Sejun always lost his words. This time was no different. When the topic turned to the short duration of his summons and spirits, Sejun’s face just flushed red and he could not say anything back.

It was insulting, but it was also true. Even if he denied it, his abilities had already been analyzed down to the last detail, and anyone could confirm it with a quick search online.

And of course, Dohun, another S-rank who was desperate to tear him down, would not be unaware of that.

[Hey, it isn’t really as short as erection time though…….]

The system tried to defend him timidly, but it was a fact it could not deny, because it knew better than anyone how short it actually was. That was why people said Sejun was an S-rank hunter who can’t even pull his own weight.

Dohun, grinning smugly as he enjoyed watching Sejun just redden and say nothing, let out a dramatic sigh.

“Forget it. Why am I even talking to a piece of trash like you?”

The sigh, full of disdain and dismissal, made it seem like everything was Sejun’s fault.

Sejun felt his anger boiling inside him. Every damn time, every time! What did I do so wrong for this bastard to treat me like this!?

“Lee Dohun, you……!”

Sejun stepped forward in anger, and his face collided with Dohun’s hand that was waving him away like telling him to get lost. That was how the incident happened.

Slap!

Even though it looked like just a wave of the hand, Dohun shook him off with force, like he was brushing away something dirty. On top of that, Dohun was a physically powerful S-rank hunter, so Sejun’s head turned sideways when his cheek was hit.

Someone watching let out a gasp. It was a real gasp, a “heavens above” kind of sound.

Sejun’s eyes widened, he had never imagined he would get slapped. And because his head had been turned around by the hit, his eyes directly met Cha Dogyeong’s, who had been looking his way.

Ah.

The moment his eyes met Dogyeong’s indifferent gaze, with only his eyebrow slightly raised, Sejun felt dirtier than when Dohun cursed at him.

Ah, fuck… so damn annoying.

It made him want to cry from frustration.

•••

Dohun looked uncharacteristically flustered.

It had been over five years that he had hated Seo Sejun, but in all that time he had never actually hit him. In dangerous dungeons, he had left him behind to fend for himself, but that was different.

Fuck, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Remembering how he had nearly died back then made him clench his teeth. And even now, after smacking someone else’s face and calling it a mistake, Dohun did not apologize. Instead, he belatedly noticed Dogyeong.

“Uh, Dogyeong-ah. You’re here?”

Dohun quickly regained his composure like he had never been shocked. He glanced at Sejun for a second, but in the end he never apologized.

If Dogyeong had said anything, Sejun would have died of humiliation, but whether it was luck or misfortune, Dogyeong only said one short word.

“Wait.”

As always, Dogyeong spoke naturally in the role of field leader and gave an order.

Then he moved to a spot a little distance away, closed his eyes, and waited for the dungeon entrance to open. It was his routine before entering.

After hesitating briefly, Dohun snorted, glanced once at Sejun, and then moved to stand by Dogyeong.

Soon Sejun heard Dohun chatting casually, and Dogyeong answering here and there.

“……”

Sejun just stood there blankly, holding his cheek. Association staff nearby only glanced around awkwardly and whispered to each other so he could not hear, but Sejun already knew what they were saying.

Seo Sejun was acting up again and this time he even got slapped.

By the end of the day, rumors would be all over the Association.

It was true that in past expeditions, Sejun had gone out alone saying he would try by himself and got badly beaten down. It was true that he had caused trouble several times, leaving the other hunters sweating to clean up after him. Because of that, he was used to being criticized and did not mind much.

But this time it was not his fault.

He felt a wave of resentment.

[Sejun-nim.]

Along with the system’s voice, something dropped onto his head. He reflexively caught it, and for some reason it was a cold pack.

The system had pulled it out from the subspace where it stored things. Since time stopped in the subspace, the cold pack was still frozen solid.

“……You bought this before when you were shopping at the Hunter Market? With my money?”

[It was needed anyway, right?]

The Hunter Market was a famous shopping platform run by hunters with specialized sales skills.

The system often bought things Sejun might need from the Market, using his linked bank account and card, and stored them in subspace. This seemed to be one of those things, since Sejun had no memory of buying it.

[Lee Dohun is just stupidly strong, it will swell soon. Hold it to your face.]

“……Yeah, thanks.”

Hunters had good recovery, so for an injury like this it was not really necessary, but there was no reason to reject the system’s care. Sejun held the pack to his face.

The pack cooled his burning cheek instantly and he felt the swelling calm down.