A high-rank Gate had occurred in a civilian area. Ryu Taeha, receiving the report, didn’t send another guild but went out himself.
Since it was an area where Gates had occurred before, he deliberately came alone to uproot them completely. When he properly activated his ability with focus, even high-rank Espers were nothing but annoying obstacles.
An hour had passed since Ryu Taeha arrived at the reported area. The Gates that had been flashing had all lost their light, and the monster shrieks that had poured out with the light had disappeared.
Only a chilling silence remained in the street lined with shabby buildings whose business had stopped. Ryu Taeha, standing at the center, lightly swept back his hair.
Unlike his appearance without a speck of dust on him, hundreds of monster corpses were piled around Ryu Taeha. Today too, he’d completely wiped out the seeds.
Even though there were no more living monsters, Ryu Taeha surveyed his surroundings with one hand raised to his ear. He was extremely amplifying his hearing, detecting monster wavelengths through sound alone.
He didn’t sense any monster energy, but the Gate’s faint vibration was still detected. It was a sign that a Gate would occur again soon.
Even though he’d drawn out and killed enough monsters, a Gate was trying to form again. It seemed he’d have to demolish the buildings and designate this entire area as a danger zone.
Tsk, Ryu Taeha clicked his tongue lightly and looked around the quiet street. All shabby and worn-out signs. It seemed like a space that had been neglected even before the Gate occurrence.
“The site’s not good. The site.”
Ryu Taeha’s steps, which had been scanning the gloomy street, gradually came to a halt. He stopped in front of a shop that was relatively clean and seemed carefully decorated among the desolate street.
Although the glass window was broken and severed monster corpses were sprawled on the floor, compared to other shops, it was less damaged.
Ryu Taeha entered the shop through the broken window instead of the pale pink painted door. His footsteps with clear purpose headed toward the display stand.
The shop was a small accessory store selling cute stuffed dolls. Among numerous dolls, Ryu Taeha fixed his gaze only on one doll displayed in the center of the stand. He’d been drawn to that doll from the start and entered the shop.
“Why are you here, Dawoon?”
Ryu Taeha, who grinned playfully, poked the fist-sized stuffed doll. It was a human-shaped doll with soft brown hair and white skin.
Large eyes and even a timid expression—it looked exactly like him.
Dawoon had a very big temperature difference between when he smiled and when he was expressionless. Even when smiling brightly enough to gather all the people in the world, once the smile faded, his face became cold as ice. Unfitting for the name Jeong Dawoon.
The light stuffed doll fit snugly into Ryu Taeha’s large hand. He brought the small doll right up to his nose and examined it closely from every angle.
Although it was made especially pretty compared to other dolls, it couldn’t compare to the real thing.
“If only the eyelashes were longer, it’d be exactly you.”
Ryu Taeha, who had been pressing the doll’s round cheeks repeatedly with his thumb, took out his wallet from his pocket. He placed bills in the empty spot on the display and took the doll.
As he was about to leave the shop, he heard someone calling him from the street.
“Hyung, where are you?”
It was Ryu Jin’s voice. Ryu Taeha, who went straight out to the street, approached Ryu Jin standing with the Sau Guild’s exclusive Teleport Esper.
“Jin-ah, why did you come here?”
It was the first time he’d come to his work site. Ryu Jin was also smiling with a pale face, perhaps shocked by the street scenery full of monster corpses.
“I came to guide you, hyung.”
Ryu Taeha immediately pushed the surrounding corpses to the corner while cupping Ryu Jin’s cheeks.
“Why come yourself? If you call, hyung will come right away.”
“Hyung, you’re busy. I’m trying to gradually come out to the field too.”
Excellent Guides didn’t stay in guiding rooms but accompanied Espers. Among high-rank Guides, those with combat training directly eliminated monsters and even followed them inside Gates.
Ryu Jin wanted to become exactly that kind of Guide. He wanted to become someone worthy of being the dedicated Guide of the Sau Guild representing South Korea.
“There’s no rush. You just started working. You can take it slow.”
Ryu Taeha, who smiled gently, lightly pinched his younger brother’s prominent nose tip. Ryu Jin scrunched his nose and smiled prettily.
“Did hyung kill all of those?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, hyung’s really amazing as expected.”
He clapped while admiring his hyung’s skills anew. Ryu Taeha, who had been quietly watching his younger brother’s smile as if drawn from clear spring water, wrapped his slender shoulders.
“Let’s go back now. Hyung will take you.”
Ryu Jin shook his head and pulled the hand of his hyung wrapped around his shoulder, gripping it tightly with both hands.
“I want to do field guiding too. I can do it well.”
“It’s still dangerous. And this is a place where high-rank Gates open.”
“You just have to protect me, hyung.”
Gentle eyes stared intently at Ryu Taeha. In the golden eyes embedded between long eyelashes, Ryu Taeha smiling like a picture was reflected.
“You said you’d protect me for life. Isn’t that right?”
Ryu Jin’s angelic smile was about to gradually fade. Ryu Taeha opened his mouth before his smile could diminish.
“Of course I’ll protect you. Who else would I protect if not you?”
At his answer along with the affectionate touch of his hyung stroking his head, Ryu Jin’s face brightened again. Ryu Taeha, who had been watching his expression tinged with relief, led him.
“Let’s go into that shop and do it.”
“Okay.”
Ryu Taeha took Ryu Jin’s hand and headed to the relatively intact doll shop. Ryu Jin walked with his cheek leaning against his hyung’s solid arm.
“Jin-ah.”
“Yeah?”
Ryu Jin, who had been pressing his hyung’s arm muscles repeatedly, raised his head. Ryu Taeha looked down at his younger brother with an added gentle eye-smile.
“Go straight back to the lodging after guiding is over.”
“No. I’ll wait on standby in the guiding room.”
Ryu Jin said he couldn’t rest alone when everyone was working late. Then Ryu Taeha patted his head as if he was admirable and added words.
“It’s because Dawoon is sick. Go take care of him.”
As Dawoon’s name came from his hyung’s mouth, Ryu Jin, who had paused for a moment, soon made a serious face.
“Is he very sick? Why? Where is he hurt?”
“His heat suddenly broke out.”
“Ah…”
Ryu Jin’s face hardened. The corners of his mouth, which revealed his emotions plainly, subtly drooped downward. Seeing this, Ryu Taeha lightly shook their clasped hands.
“He took medicine and is resting now, so he’s probably still sleeping. Jin, you go and nurse him.”
“He took medicine?”
“Yeah.”
“Then with hyung…”
Ryu Jin, who trailed off, bit his lips with an embarrassed face. Ryu Taeha smiled readily and asked one more favor.
“Make sure Yeoul can’t even get close. If anything happens, call hyung right away.”
Ryu Jin hesitated with his lips for a moment, then soon nodded and smiled showing his even teeth. It was a bright smile like a child as if his expression had never hardened.
“Got it. Just trust me.”
Ryu Jin entered the shop full of stuffed dolls and immediately sent out guiding.
“But receive lots of guiding before you go. Hyung has to go work again now.”
Ryu Taeha obediently absorbed the warm energy seeping into his body.
“Yeah, that’s good for me.”
And so he took everything Ryu Jin gave, without leaving even a bit behind.
Ryu Jin hurried to the lodging as soon as the guiding ended.
His cheeks were flushed since he’d just finished guiding and had a slight fever. The moment he opened the front door while pressing his heated face repeatedly, his round eyes widened greatly.
“Uh…?”
He naturally thought only Dawoon Esper-nim would be there. But Yeoul Esper-nim’s shoes were also placed at the entrance.
Ryu Jin, recalling his Alpha trait, took off his shoes even faster. It was dangerous for Dawoon Esper-nim during his heat period and him to be alone together. No matter how much medicine he took…!
“Hey, you bastard, stop it!”
Ryu Jin’s eyes, who had entered the long entrance hallway, widened like a rabbit’s. He even flinched with his shoulders jumping up, startled by the loud voice coming from the living room.
For the quiet Dawoon Esper-nim to be shouting. Ryu Jin thought something terrible had happened and ran to the living room in a hurry with both fists clenched.
“Wh-what’s, happening…?”
A question mark appeared on the face of the very tense Ryu Jin. He stealthily relaxed his fists, dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before his eyes.
What on earth was this situation?
Dawoon was standing blocking the window in a completely soaked state, and Yeoul was turned toward the wall with a sullen expression. His mouth snapped shut in shock at the scene where he couldn’t gauge the situation.
“Oh, Jin came?”
Dawoon, who wiped the water dripping down his face, waved his hand nonchalantly toward Ryu Jin. Behind him, a flock of black birds could be seen flying away, flapping their wet wings.
Seeing this, the bewilderment on Ryu Jin’s face deepened. He couldn’t grasp at all what on earth this situation was.
