Chapter Text
The cool night air was a comfort. When Han Yoojin breathed out, he could see it. He huffed in amusement. He needed that. After mingling for a few minutes, he was already at the end of his social battery, or rather, his stupidity limit. He was not going to listen to another old man tell him that he was fairly young for starting a guild at 22-years-old.
He pulled out a cigarette pack. He didn’t need to worry if it was poisoned or not since it wouldn’t work on him. He looked around automatically, much too used to Han Yoohyun lighting the cig for him. Han Yoojin needed to stop smoking but it was the only thing that he did to relieve stress. He didn’t go on a dungeon raid to eliminate excess energy like Yoohyun-ie did.
Han Yoojin kept half an ear out. He was expecting Han Yoohyun to check on him soon. They promised to never leave the other alone for too long. It was a compromise while attending this event. However, when he heard the pull of doors and the steps of someone walking towards him, he was met with someone else.
Sung Hyunje had walked out onto the balcony with perfectly styled hair. His suit was pressed to only have creases where they should be. His shoes cost more than the old Han family’s yearly grocery bill. He was disgustingly handsome as he stood there, a knowing expression across his face.
Han Yoojin, who was co-leader of the Haeyeon Guild in Korea, was dressed in a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and jeans. His sneakers were worn out and the laces were poorly tied. He could afford more, could easily buy something better, but he wasn’t prepared to change that quite yet.
He raised an eyebrow at Sung Hyunje’s appearance on the balcony. People like them weren’t often left alone. S-Classes were usually volatile towards each other, although Han Yoojin appeared to be the outlier. He got along with Han Yoohyun and the other S-Class Hunters without having a huge personality clash with them.
Sung Hyunje merely hummed, reached into his chest pocket, and dragged out a lighter. Han Yoojin leaned forward. Sung Hyunje lit the cigarette on command. There was no need to exchange words.
Once Sung Hyunje retreated, Han Yoojin lifted the cig to his mouth. That was when Sung Hyunje began a conversation. He chose the very moment when Han Yoojin’s mouth was preoccupied.
“It isn’t healthy to have such a horrible habit.”
Han Yoojin exhaled off to the side. The smoke used to bother him. It hadn’t made his eyes itch for weeks now. Most of his clothes had a faint nicotine aroma. Han Yoohyun used to be upset with it but he had his own vice now too.
“Are you lecturing me?” asked Han Yoojin, with a little disbelief in his tone.
Sung Hyunje tutted. “I’m concerned for you. Why wouldn’t I be? There are only a handful of S-Class Hunters in Korea. We can’t have you dying on us.”
“You can save your sweet words for someone who cares.” Han Yoojin felt compelled to flick Sung Hyunje’s ear. He didn’t know why.
“You truly are young, aren’t you?”
Han Yoojin sighed heavily. He had heard that all night. The Hunter’s Association had this great idea of corralling all S-Classes in one place. Han Yoojin wanted to skip but Han Yoohyun wanted to go in order to scope out the competition.
So, there Han Yoojin was, trying to ignore the looks he received from older Hunters and Association members. Han Yoohyun, as the face of their guild, would mingle with the guests. That was their deal: Han Yoojin handled politics and recruiting behind the scenes and Han Yoohyun handled public appearances.
Han Yoohyun promised not to burn down the building while Han Yoojin promised not to use a skill to make people confused by messing with their perception. Both events would cause a rather large incident, and since they were the two youngest S-Classes on top of recently opening a guild together, they were looked down upon.
“Oh…” There was a smile in Sung Hyunje’s voice. “You don’t seem too happy to be referred to as young. I thought you would see it as a compliment.” That was such a lie. “Most people want to be seen as youthful.”
“Being referred to as young just means that you think I’m naive and easy to manipulate,” replied Han Yoojin. Ashes fell onto the floor when he tapped his cigarette.
Sung Hyunje kept quiet for a moment. His lips were pursed together and his brow furrowed for just a moment. Han Yoojin turned to him, looked at him expectantly, waited, and then sighed. Han Yoojin would have preferred staying up all night going over papers with Suk Simyung over attending this party.
Abruptly, after Han Yoojin had turned to look out over the city, Sung Hyunje said, “You’re the most dangerous one of us, aren’t you?”
Han Yoojin tilted his head, looked him straight in the eyes, and asked, “Why would you suggest that?”
Easily, Sung Hyunje responded, “You don’t feel like us. You’re able to hide your Aura and power completely. If I hadn’t known who you were, I would assume you were a regular civilian.”
“You sound like Chief Song.” Han Yoojin tapped his cigarette against the railing, putting it out. “He thinks I’m dangerous too.”
“I see that you’re not refuting it,” commented Sung Hyunje.
They were close, now. Sung Hyunje was a breath away from stepping into Han Yoojin’s bubble. It made Han Yoojin lean against the railing, his back arching into it. He wasn’t sure why Sung Hyunje was putting him on edge, but he assumed it had to do with the fact that he had golden eyes that saw through all of the fronts Han Yoojin put up.
“What is there to argue against?” Han Yoojin cocked his head toward the platinum blond. “I’m an S-Class, whether anyone wants me to be or not. I don’t specialize in combat but I have my uses.”
“Mn.” Sung Hyunje dipped his head down. When he looked back up, Han Yoojin’s heart skipped a beat. Sung Hyunje’s eyes were warm, almost glowing, all of a sudden. “You could kill us all without much effort. I’m impressed with your restraint.”
“You overestimate me,” replied Han Yoojin, trying to stop his hands from shaking. How was this person able to see him?
Sung Hyunje penetrated the barrier. His hands fixed up Han Yoojin’s lopsided jacket. Han Yoojin couldn’t move, his body frozen. With a hum of appreciation, Sung Hyunje stepped back to get the full scene. Han Yoojin felt like a wild animal that had been captured and then put on display. He wanted to hide for cover but all he could do instead was stand there.
“Call me,” Sung Hyunje said, pointing at Han Yoojin’s chest.
As the leader of the Sesung Guild walked away, Han Yoojin finally moved. He reached his hand up, patting his jacket. In its inner chest pocket, he pulled out a small card that had Sung Hyunje’s contact information on it.
As Han Yoojin stared at it, all he could say was, “What a smug bastard.” As if Han Yoojin needed someone to watch out for him. He had been taking care of himself and Han Yoohyun since he was a kid. They could get through this all on their own too.
Han Yoojin stuffed the card back into his jacket and walked inside. He purposely ignored any blonds in the crowd, aiming for finding his brother instead. He looked for a tall young man with curly dark hair, a great personality, and an overflowing meter of adorableness.
What he found instead was Song Taewon. Han Yoojin’s fingers twinged. He quickly searched for a waiter to grab a glass of alcohol but there was no one like that in sight. Han Yoojin internally dreaded this meeting, and he externally sighed as well.
As Song Taewon planted next to him forcefully, Han Yoojin said dryly, “It’s a lovely night, isn’t it?”
Song Taewon ignored his greeting. The civil servant said calmly with resolution, “You should join the Association.”
Han Yoojin would have spat out his drink if he had one. He blinked at Song Taewon repeatedly, feeling the need to rub his eyes. Was this a dream? Was his subconscious pushing him to do more with his life than watch over Yoohyun-ie? What the hell kind of situation was occurring right now?
“Excuse me?”
Song Taewon repeated more firmly, “You are a dangerous individual. I can monitor you better if I work with you.”
So this man was being completely serious? Han Yoojin had the urge to release his Aura. Maybe then the others would stop looking down at him. But it would also cause trouble because then Song Taewon would know that he was right— Han Yoojin was the strongest of everyone in the room and he was trying to keep that fact from slipping out.
“You want me to sign my life to the Association because you deem me as dangerous?”
“... Yes.” At least he was truthful.
“Wow… And I thought I had a skewed perception of the world.” Han Yoojin shook his head a bit dumbly. Every time he thought he was over Hunter politics, he ran into something new.
It was time to put on the charm. Han Yoojin smiled, showing off a grin that used to make grannies at the store give him candy and parents outside of the school gate pat Han Yoojin on the head. Then, he patted Song Taewon on the shoulder. He ignored the fact that he had to stand on his tippy toes in order to do so.
With his hand on Song Taewon’s shoulder, Han Yoojin stated, “The only time I’ll be a threat is when those corrupt bastards come after the people I care about. If any members of the Association, including you, try to keep me on some sort of leash, I’ll show you exactly why you all thought about doing it in the first place.”
Han Yoojin walked away while Song Taewon was too shocked by the display to do a thing. It served him right. Han Yoojin purposely did not show off his power or lose control of his emotions. Why couldn’t Song Taewon see that?
Han Yoojin found Han Yoohyun in the crowd. He was surrounded by a group of older men that were probably saying things that would make Han Yoohyun crave revenge later. Han Yoojin bypassed Moon Hyuna — the only Hunter in this room that Han Yoojin actually liked as a person (Yoohyun-ie not included) — and stepped next to his brother.
The others seemed surprised by his appearance, but Han Yoohyun simply leaned onto Han Yoojin’s shoulder. Despite his taller frame, Han Yoohyun always thought of himself as the dongsaeng. Han Yoojin felt a small smile grace his lips. He could always count on Han Yoohyun to bring him back down to earth.
“Hyung,” greeted Han Yoohyun. He had a tight smile on his face.
“Yoohyun-ah,” replied Han Yoojin, feeling protectiveness wash over him. His eyes fell to the men that his brother was talking to. “What’s going on?”
“Hmm?” Han Yoohyun glanced away from Han Yoojin, taking a look at the others. “Nothing you need to be concerned with.”
Han Yoojin knew that in truth Han Yoohyun had been angered by whatever the people said. Sadly, there were too many witnesses here. Perhaps if Han Yoojin was publicly beloved by all, then he wouldn’t have to worry about committing atrocious acts so blatantly, but that wasn’t the case. For now, he would have to investigate these men once they returned to the guild and plan their demise from there.
Han Yoohyun wrapped his arm around Han Yoojin’s shoulder, then led him away. “Let’s go, hyung.” Han Yoojin nodded faintly, already caught in his head about what he was going to do to the people who cornered his younger brother at this event.
The next day, Han Yoojin was woken by Suk Simyung. The news was turned on. The guild that was bothering Yoohyun-ie the previous night had been mysteriously exposed to a gas leak that exploded their entire facility. Han Yoojin blinked the sleepiness from his eyes and pulled out his phone.
Han Yoohyun answered after two rings. “Yes, hyung?”
“Next time,” said Han Yoojin, “let me in on the plan so that I can prepare our alibis.”
There was a pause, and then a soft reply of, “Will do.”
Han Yoojin flipped his phone shut. He looked down at his phone for a few moments, then rubbed at his face. He needed to wake up. He pushed away from the desk, asked Suk Simyung to have one of the assistants make a run to get breakfast, and walked out of the conference room. Scattered papers across the desk would have to wait for a few minutes as Han Yoojin dealt with something.
As Han Yoojin rode the elevator, he took out his phone and a card from his pocket. He input the contact information, then pressed the call button. Han Yoojin couldn’t figure out why he did so, but he just made a call to the one bastard that he hated most.
The oh-so-familiar snooty voice of Sung Hyunje picked up. “Yoojin-gun? I never imagined that you would call so soon. What can I do for you?”
Han Yoojin looked up to the ceiling of the elevator. He questioned himself. What was he doing? Before Han Yoojin could spiral deeper, however, the elevator stopped and opened onto his floor. Han Yoojin stepped out of the elevator and into his dorm room.
Then, with hesitance, he began to speak.