VSP 114

As she opened the door, a savory smell wafted through the air, as if someone was cooking. Holding a ladle dripping with white broth, she opened the door and, upon seeing her son, who had barely survived the throes of death, with his eyes wide open, she ran over.

“Sejun!”

“…Mom?”

Sejun was instantly snuggled into his mother’s arms, who was smaller than him. Perhaps because he hadn’t experienced such ticklish things since he was a grown man, Sejun remained motionless, blinking for a moment.

“What about your store, Mom?”

It was, from Sejun’s point of view, a reasonable question. But before he could say more, he got a smack on the back from his mother’s ladle.

“Ow! Why’d you hit me?”

“Are you seriously asking about the store right now? You almost died! You idiot, what were you thinking charging in there alone? You should’ve waited for the others!”

You stupid boy! You stupid boy! Sejun was repeatedly slapped on the back.

It wasn’t even her hand but the ladle, and Sejun didn’t know whether to apologize and bow his head or beg her to stop because it hurt. But even as she scolded him, he knew how worried she must have been. So he stayed still and took the barrage of ladle blows without protest.

When his mother finally seemed to calm down, Sejun groaned and rubbed his sore back before quietly asking,

“Mom, how did I end up here?”

She noticed he was trying to change the subject but couldn’t bring herself to scold her son who had almost died. With a heavy sigh, she said,

“Be sure to thank Hunter Cha!”

Hunter Cha? Sejun blinked, realizing she meant Cha Dogyeong.

“You don’t remember?”

While preparing to sell lunch at the store, his parents were shocked when they heard the news, so they left the store and went straight to Seoul. They watched the live broadcast of the leaked body cam, and saw that other hunters had arrived at the moment when Sejun was in danger.

“At the end, what was that thing on your body? A camera? A body cam? It flew away, and the image was captured on screen. I almost fainted when I saw it while your dad was driving.”

Sejun’s vague memories finally became clearer as he listened to the story. Things like the strong smell of blood and him complaining about Cha Dogyeong being late.

As expected, it was the smell of Cha Dogyeong’s blood. Even Sejun, who had become accustomed to the smell of blood after vomiting it, could sense it.

The color drained from Sejun’s face as the vivid sensation seemed to reawaken.

Sejun immediately grabbed his mother and urged her on.

“How is Cha Dogyeong? Was it serious?”

“The wounds were serious at first, but they said he’s fine now. Hunter Choi Yerin came and healed him completely.”

“…Ah.”

If it was Choi Yerin’s healing, then it was as good as divine power. So he could rest assured.

However, Sejun felt his heart pounding at the mention of “the wounds were serious.” Naturally, it wasn’t excitement; it was simply anxiety stemming from the knowledge that Cha Dogyeong had been “seriously injured.”

“You still need to thank him properly. Your dad and I were so out of it we didn’t even get to thank him ourselves.”

“What do you mean, didn’t thank him properly?”

“Well, before your dad and I even got to your place, Hunter Cha called to say he’d already taken you home.”

Her voice gradually grew distant as she muttered that she didn’t know how he knew the number.

He’d gotten hurt protecting Sejun, taken him home, and even called his worried parents to reassure them? Then left so he wouldn’t make them uncomfortable?

Before he knew it, Sejun’s hands, which had been holding the blanket, began to tighten.

“Anyway, forget about all that and just rest. You need complete bed rest, understand?”

Sejun nodded absentmindedly at the question, which seemed to be asking for a promise. His mother, who had repeatedly stroked his cheek, told him to wait, saying she would prepare dinner soon, and left the room..

Unfilial Sejun was more concerned about Cha Dogyeong, who had been injured unauthorized copyin his stead, than his mother, who seemed to be relieved to see him in good health.

Finally, Sejun, who was fidgeting, kicked the blanket and ran into the living room.

“Mom, let me borrow your phone!”

He couldn’t take it anymore. When his mother nodded, he grabbed the phone off the table, unlocked it with a familiar pattern, and the screen lit up. He was about to scroll past the news app she’d been reading when his thumb stopped.

The headlines at the top were not ones he could ignore.

[Overseas Scout Offers for Seo Sejun? Korean Hunter World in Turmoil]

[S-Rank Hunter Seo Sejun, Headed to America? Association Refuses to Comment]

[Seo Sejun’s EX-Rank Awakening Imminent! Professor xxx Says “Highly Possible”]

What the hell is this?

The headlines that always seemed desperate to drag Sejun through the mud had taken on a tone completely unlike their usual.

Overseas scout? EX-rank? America? What is this…

Sejun just stared at the screen, too dumbfounded to even click on the articles. After silently observing for a while, the system finally spoke up.

[Come to think of it, Sejun-nim, your body cam footage was leaked.]

“What?”

[It was even broadcast live.]

Body cam leak? Sejun’s eyes widened in horror.

[Fortunately, the audio wasn’t included, so don’t worry too much.]

The system continued to comfort him, but Sejun didn’t find it comforting.

“Haa…”

Body cam leaks happened once in a while like some cursed annual event, so it wasn’t all that surprising. But now he understood why the media was losing its mind.

Because even from Sejun’s own eyes, Hoya had been incredible that day.

If he’d been in a normal state of mind, it might have been too much to handle. From the outside, it probably did look like something beyond S-rank, something close to EX-rank, just as the media claimed.

He was more certain of that than anyone who had only seen it through a screen. That day, Hoya had been at least one, no, two levels above his usual self.

Sejun had barely managed to handle him, scraping together every last bit of mana he had. For that one brief moment, he’d kept up, and with a single chance, he’d brought the boss down.

Seo Sejun had become the first person to clear an S-rank dungeon alone. The problem was that he had collapsed afterward, coughing blood, and nearly died when the boss went berserk. ​stolen content​But he still had cleared an S-rank dungeon by himself.

And if Hoya’s unusual appearance had been broadcast exactly as it was through the body cam… this frenzy was, at least, understandable.

“…”

But Sejun didn’t feel even a shred of joy about it.

All he could think about was contacting Cha Dogyeong. It felt more urgent, and it was.

Rather than pride for clearing an S-rank dungeon alone, his thoughts were entirely on the man who had been hurt in his place right after.

Then Sejun suddenly realized a huge problem.

“Ah, fuck.”

He didn’t have Cha Dogyeong’s number.

Like everyone else these days, he’d saved the number once and never memorized it. And since his phone was smashed, there was no way to retrieve it now.

“Damn it!”

Sejun stomped his foot in frustration. Was this what it felt like to go crazy from frustration? Should he go get a new phone right now? No, even if activation was fast these days, he didn’t want to waste even that time.

Are you okay? I heard you got hurt saving me. Why’d you block with your body, are you insane?

Sejun, who had been spewing out all sorts of things to someone he couldn’t even contact, with an anxious face, finally couldn’t hold it in any longer and went back to his room to quickly grab his car keys.

“Mom! I’m going out for a bit!”

“What? You just got out of bed, and now you’re going out?”

“I’ll be right back! Just an hour or two!”

Sejun made a series of empty promises that he couldn’t keep, and then quickly ran outside, afraid of being caught.

[…..]

The system had memorized Cha Dogyeong’s number due to his nature, but instead of telling Sejun the number again, he chose to remain silent.

Sejun, who had been pale since he opened his eyes, finally came to life at that moment.

Because he knew what it meant when Sejun, who had longed to be recognized more than anyone else, was more worried about Cha Dogyeong than about being happy with the public’s recognition.

And besides, from the system’s perspective, between the two of them, meeting in person would probably be better than just exchanging messages.

But Sejun-nim, even without his number, wouldn’t he show up in your messenger contacts if you log in? And since he called your mother, his number should be there too. Or at least, you could contact the Association…

The system hesitated, debating whether to speak or not. But in the end, he decided not to.

It was a very reasonable and wise decision.