"Hunters aren’t the only people who are cool. Don’t look up to them."

Yoon Seoyul, who had been quietly listening until now, finally spoke from Cheon Areum’s left. The comment made Areum tilt his head, casting him a sidelong glance. He had his suspicions, but now he was just being blunt. Yoon Seoyul didn’t want Rian to become a hunter, and it wasn’t related to his class. He didn’t even want him to register as an awakener.

"I only look up to hyung. He has only been a hunter for a short time, but he’s been my hyung for longer."

"You hear that? He’s even more well-spoken than me."

This was his moment to show off his younger brother, and he was going to take it every single time. After showing off, though, the words registered in his mind, and he paused. He glanced down at Rian, who continued eating his fill.

"Don’t look up to me either."

"....?"

A question mark appeared on Rian’s face as he suddenly turned to stare at Cheon Areum’s face innocently.

"As an alpha, you should become someone kind like Yoon Seoyul."

"It doesn’t matter. Hyung is kind to me too."

With an unshakeable resolve, Rian left no room for discussion. Conflicted, Cheon Areum dropped his chopsticks on the table, putting his hands under his chin. It’s too damn difficult to be a heroic figure. It wasn’t for him. In the end, he was still who he had been. Besides the people he loved, he didn’t have an ounce of mercy for others. Sure, he could put up an act, but this act was costing him now.

"Areum."

Disturbing his line of thought, Yoon Seoyul called out to him, staring hard at him.

"What?"

"Are you not going to eat more? Do you want me to feed you?"

"I’m not in the mood to eat now."

They conversed in low whispers until Rian finished eating last. He went out to wash his hands as the waiter came to take the leftovers and pack them. Finally, with only them in the private room of the restaurant, Cheon Areum climbed into Yoon Seoyul’s lap on the curved couch. Deprived of his pheromones already, he clung to his neck, taking whatever was left on his body, as releasing pheromones in a public place wasn’t legal—though Yoon Seoyul would still probably release them if Cheon Areum asked.

"When are you getting another watch? It bothers me seeing you don’t have one."

"They said it would take a few days."

Patting his back to soothe him, Yoon Seoyul replied and kissed his cheek softly.

"Yoon Seoyul, why don’t you wear my watch until then?"

"You already know my answer, Areum."

The time they spent apart from each other wasn’t much, so it didn’t matter who between them had the watch. It was just that he didn’t know when something could happen—the uncertainty of everything was making him anxious. It was as if Kihyun was waiting for something to make his move.

"If by the end of today there aren’t enough hunters for the S+ Class gate, you should go. If an S+ Class gate explodes, it would be more troublesome than just clearing the dungeon."

*

Cheon Areum slept the rest of the day, surrounded by Yoon Seoyul’s pheromones, only getting up to have dinner, which was fed to him. Rian also went to bed after completing his homework, but Yoon Seoyul stubbornly refused to sleep, although he hadn’t slept the previous night either.

Down to his last resort, Cheon Areum had to strap him to the bed and sing him lullabies. At the same time, his hand moved gently through Yoon Seoyul’s hair—starting from his forehead and gliding back slowly, over and over again. After half an hour of this, Yoon Seoyul fell asleep, but Cheon Areum was stuck—his hand continued the same soft, repetitive motion, carefully caressing his hair, afraid that stopping might wake him again.

He must’ve noticed my absence, and now he’s refusing to go to sleep...

The reason he had stepped out was because the coughing would have woken him up, but after taking the pills made by Hwan, his core had healed back to the point he didn’t cough up blood every time he used his energy. Besides, he didn’t need to use his energy. For now, he needed to figure out how Han Kakta’s core worked.

He had the copy of his own core, but something was amiss—the main component. He had everything ready; all the side dishes were there, but there was no rice to serve. The core he built was empty because the amount of energy he produced couldn’t be changed, but what he could do was get the energy from somewhere else and store it in this new compartment. He only needed the part that would absorb the energy.

He was certain Han Kakta’s core had it. He had all the parts necessary.

Should I just ask Yoon Seoyul? No, let’s brainstorm a bit more.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Cheon Areum fell asleep on top of Yoon Seoyul, but no solution came to his mind.

The next day, there were still not enough hunters for the new S+ Class gate, and Yoon Seoyul also had to clear a gate today to keep his hunter license. It would be killing two birds with one stone, but...

Standing before the S+ Class gate, he felt weird. Perhaps it was Yoon Seoyul going alone into an S+ Class gate that made him tense, but he just couldn’t shake off this feeling. If he had the new core, he would have gone inside too.

"Get in line."

Watching over the hunters who were tagging along with Yoon Seoyul into the gate, he ordered them to form a line in front of him. They exchanged glances with each other as if they weren’t sure if they were hearing right. They were all S-Class hunters—the best ones. They had never been ordered around.

"Except Yoon Seoyul."

He added coldly, his gaze sweeping across them, sharp and unwavering.

"I want everyone in a line. Or I’ll start blasting heads. I don’t care either way. If none of you are worthy of my trust, then I would rather send Yoon Seoyul with A-class hunters. All of you will be replaced."

Any other time, Yoon Seoyul would have stepped in by now—would have stopped him before things escalated this far. But today—he said nothing. Not once did he intervene. He simply stood there, watching, allowing Cheon Areum to do as he pleased. However, he did receive a suggestive look from Yoon Seoyul.