# Chapter 100
“Come with me.”
Iyeon stopped Sano as he was about to stand up.
“It’s not a mission, and it’s just the Superpower Management Office. Why come with me? Just stay here.”
While having an elevator boy would make his body comfortable, his mind certainly wouldn’t be. If it was just the two of them, Iyeon would only end up feeling tense. Showing a wooden puppet-like demeanor would only seem suspicious. Besides, the underground elevator was narrow, so narrow…
“I’ll be back quickly.”
Worried about being caught by someone if he lingered, Iyeon hurriedly left the office. Even the bell sound that rang as the door opened seemed urgent.
After rushing downstairs, Iyeon soon left the building and quickened his pace on the street. Walking hastily as if being chased by something, Iyeon eventually stopped and sighed, “Ha.”
Even though it wasn’t much different from his usual daily life, everything felt arduous. It was already stressful enough commuting together and being stuck in the office all day, let alone living together at home. They even shared one bed!
Would it be strange to suggest living separately for a while? Since he couldn’t kick out Je Sano, maybe he could just stay somewhere else for a few nights… It was a ridiculous plan, but Iyeon was serious.
Even this morning, he’d nearly choked when he got caught stealing glances at Je Sano throughout the breakfast that had been prepared for him. Even when he tried to consciously avoid looking, he found himself sneaking peeks out of habit whenever he regained his senses.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he’d stand shoulder to shoulder with Jongchan and Jonghee. Which, of course, was not at all welcome. Lately, he felt troubled every time he saw the black suit in his closet.
“Get a grip, Jung Iyeon.”
As he was muttering to himself and about to head toward the subway, someone called out to him from behind.
“Jung Iyeon-ssi?”
“Yes…”
As Iyeon reflexively answered and turned his head, his voice trailed off without him realizing it. His eyes blinked slowly. For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming.
There stood a statue-like figure.
The delicate features seemed as if God had spent days crafting them. The neatly arranged eyebrows and clearly defined eyelids drew perfect lines as if artificially created, and between the long, dense eyelashes were clear eyes without a single visible blood vessel. The strong nose bridge stood harmoniously, and the soft-looking lips were distinctively red. The auburn hair curled like it had been professionally styled, covering the neck.
A truly overwhelming beauty. Even Iyeon, who had grown accustomed to Sano and Hyegang, was surprised by this face.
People near the station were already glancing and whispering about the sudden appearance of this beauty. Gazes toward Iyeon and the beauty gradually increased. However, the reason for the attention wasn’t simply due to his good looks.
“…Lee Hyeseong-ssi?”
He was one of the most famous figures in Chohosi. A Mugunghwa tier-4 with strength enhancement ability. Not only was his ranking within the top 200, placing him in the upper echelons of tier-4, but his overwhelmingly attractive appearance, as evident, had also brought him fame.
People were crazy about this young, strong, and beautiful hunter. Not only did he have a fan club, but its scale was extraordinary for a hunter.
However, the man himself claimed to have no particular thoughts about the flood of attention and declined all media appearance offers. He said he just wanted to focus on his work as a hunter. The public, generous about beauty, accepted even this as one of his virtues.
The story of how he had quit his mutant specialist company to avoid the flood of love calls and became a freelance hunter, mainly taking long-term assignment requests, was a very famous anecdote repeatedly mentioned on hunter-related broadcasts whenever people started to forget about it. The rare social media posts that Hyeseong left always burst with likes. Even if he had no such intention, he was undeniably the leading representative of hunter influencers.
However, currently, Hyeseong’s latest news couldn’t be found anywhere.
He had disappeared after leaving for a long-term mission five years ago.
The long-term assignment missions that Hyeseong mainly took were, simply put, tasks carried out outside of Chohosi. These included tracking and eliminating mutants that had escaped beyond the range of Red Void and were roaming domestically, or missions where other countries requested personnel assistance for mutant elimination as part of superhuman exchange.
He was never a person who actively posted updates, but it was unusual for his social media to not be updated even once in five years. It was enough to make people whisper about how someone couldn’t just vanish into thin air or sink into the ground with such an abrupt cessation of contact.
Iyeon also remembered hearing about Hyeseong a few times while on missions. There were many fans of Hyeseong even among other hunters.
“Yes, that’s right.”
That’s who he was. Fortunately, it seemed he had returned to the country without any major issues. His neat appearance was almost identical to the photos other hunters had shown before.
“But why… how did you come to find me…”
As Iyeon responded blankly, Hyeseong’s smile deepened. The already beautiful person smiling brightly made him feel somewhat dazed. Is this a dream… As Iyeon was thinking blankly like that—
“You swindler!”
Suddenly, his collar was grabbed.
“Wha, what?”
Iyeon opened his eyes like a startled rabbit. As the rough hand, at odds with his appearance, shook him, Iyeon’s body swayed like a piece of paper.
The commotion in the middle of the street in broad daylight was enough to attract attention, and the subject was Lee Hyeseong, no less. He could see several people who had been murmuring quietly now subtly taking out their phones. Iyeon’s face turned deathly pale at the prospect of being publicly labeled a swindler.
“No, why, why are you doing this to me? Do you know me?”
And at the same time, he also realized that the face seemed somewhat familiar.
There weren’t many people around Iyeon with such exceptional beauty as Hyeseong. At most, the two at Chageum. Yet, if the impression was familiar, then naturally…
“It’s Hyegang’s older brother, you bastard!”
He was related to one of those two people.
“Hyegang’s older brother, you say? No, wait, please let go of this…”
Due to the merciless shaking, he was starting to feel dizzy. Iyeon tried his best to remove Hyeseong’s hand, but he couldn’t overcome a strength enhancement superhuman. Moreover, Hyeseong seemed to be getting increasingly excited as he spoke.
“You lured my innocent brother and got him to work at my pipsqueak company to exploit him. What kind of trick did you pull? Want to taste bitterness?”
He wasn’t sure whether to be more surprised that Hyeseong had this kind of personality or that Hyegang had an older brother. The situation was spinning out of control. Even while being shaken, Iyeon desperately tried to gather his thoughts.
It was widely known that Hyeseong had lost his parents at a young age, but he had never heard that he had a sibling. Well, there weren’t many places that would report on sibling relationships in detail…
‘My brother’s personality is a bit… troublesome. Hard to pin down, hot-tempered…’
Hyegang’s explanation belatedly came to mind. His expectations that a unique personality would still be within the bounds of common sense were shattered.
*
“Hyung Sano, did you fight with Hyung Iyeon?”
The office Iyeon had left was quiet. Hyegang glanced at Sano, who was sitting quietly on the sofa, seemingly deep in thought, and asked. Sano silently shook his head.
Sano too had been noticing Iyeon’s unusual behavior. There wasn’t much of an issue when three or more people were gathered, but when it was just Sano and Iyeon, situations where they had to be alone, it was particularly noticeable. Whether suddenly becoming busy in movement or his aimless gaze wandering here and there, it was hard not to notice.
Whatever the underlying intention was, it wasn’t a good sign. Despite Iyeon showing the consideration of bringing the unconscious Sano to his own home, he hadn’t said a single word to Sano that he needed to say. If Sano hadn’t spoken first, if that unexpected situation hadn’t arisen, there’s a high possibility that Iyeon would have kept his mouth shut until the end.
Ten years ago, Jeongyeon had told Sano everything in detail. Whether his personality had changed over the long years or…
“…”
Sano silently clenched and unclenched his fist. It was already too late. He had found Iyeon, and he had no intention of letting him go.
“Hyung Iyeon is simple. If you leave him alone, it’ll sort itself out.”
Hyegang, keenly noticing Sano’s face becoming slightly fierce, shrugged. At those words, Sano defiantly crossed his arms.
“Or else?”
“Ask him directly. Have a drink to lighten the mood…”
“Hyung Iyeon is weak to that kind of thing, you know. Talk while eating something, look at the same scenery, that kind of sentiment… Especially if you offer to buy him food, he goes crazy. Even though he’s not short on money, I don’t know why he acts like such a miser.” Hyegang’s rambling showed the years they had spent together. He seemed to know Iyeon better than Iyeon himself.
“Anyway, as Hyung Sano knows, Hyung Iyeon doesn’t easily dislike people. It’s not because he dislikes you.”
Hyegang, who spoke lightly, laughed as he made a joke.
“He’d probably quietly give in if he understands the circumstances, even if he were grabbed by the collar.”
Exactly five minutes later, Iyeon, with his top completely wrinkled, returned to the office with Hyegang’s brother in tow.
