Not a Real Break (2)
First, there was Min Hajun.
He had already prepared a special space for the children and was personally taking care of them.
And judging from the fact that the huge incident of an S-rank Hunter awakening hadn’t leaked to the media yet, it seemed he was controlling the situation well to prevent any premature exposure.
Given his meticulous control and sensitivity, he would probably make a good teacher for the kids.
‘Yi Yul will probably help too.’
He seemed to have grown unexpectedly close to the children. He wasn’t the cold-hearted type, so he’d likely cooperate.
Honestly, just having Min Hajun’s help was as good as having a major guild backing us.
“Kids, can you tell me again what you told the white-haired brother earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“What story?”
When I asked the children to understand the situation better, they responded with innocent confusion.
“Have you noticed any special powers?”
“Um… not really special, but it got super noisy.”
“Yeah! Our ears hurt and our heads ache.”
At my question, Sua and Seoa both frowned immediately.
“What do you mean by noisy?”
“It’s like people shouting everywhere.”
“Like monsters!”
They didn’t seem to have figured out their ability yet. But I could roughly tell how the children perceived mana.
‘So they sense it as noise.’
Once they learn the right skills and grow stronger, they could probably help a lot of people.
“But earlier, when we played that weird game, it got quiet for a bit.”
“What kind of game?”
“The game where Seoa and I play apart.”
“But we don’t like being apart. Right?”
“Yeah. It’s more fun when we play together.”
Just hearing that, I understood immediately—this was what Hajun had meant by their unique trait.
And I could probably get more detailed information about it from him.
After saying goodbye to the kids, I stepped outside.
“Unnie, come again!”
“Of course. I’ll bring you yummy snacks next time.”
As soon as I closed the door and waved goodbye, Min Hajun appeared beside me, as if he had been waiting.
“Those kids—are they connected?”
“There’s a good chance.”
When they were together, they were hypersensitive to mana, but when apart, that sensitivity dropped sharply.
Their skill activation seemed to depend on each other’s presence.
“Because they’re twins?”
“We’re not sure yet. We’ve been looking for other cases where twins awakened simultaneously, but… no luck so far.”
I waited for him to continue.
“Honestly, I think it’s not just the fact that they’re twins. Their environment might’ve played a part too.”
“It was… a pretty unprecedented environment.”
“Right. They were born in the mana field of that enormous monster we still couldn’t identify—or kill.”
There were too many things that fit.
But at the moment, there were no definite answers.
“For now, helping them adapt to life outside is the top priority. Could you teach them yourself, Hajun?”
“Ah… me?”
I expected him to agree right away, but his expression turned hesitant. He rubbed his neck and frowned slightly.
“I wouldn’t recommend my methods. It’d be better to ask another S-rank.”
His tone was sincere.
I was puzzled—after all, I’d always admired his skill in battle. It didn’t seem like false modesty; rather, he genuinely thought his way wasn’t suitable.
“Then should I contact Wind?”
If Min Hajun himself said so, then there must be a good reason.
I decided not to push him further and mentioned the only other S-rank I knew.
At the mention of Yi Yul, Hajun frowned slightly, then nodded after a moment’s thought.
“That might be best. Like you said before… you can’t deny his skill.”
It seemed Yi Yul had regained his credibility after the last battle. No need for secrecy—he already knew the situation, making him the perfect fit.
“When he puts his mind to it, he gets things done. Plus, the kids will probably prefer a familiar face.”
I immediately called Yi Yul. After a few rings, a low, sleepy voice answered.
—“…What?”
He must’ve been asleep.
I got straight to the point.
“Sua and Seoa awakened as S-rank Hunters. Come to the Transcendence Building.”
—“…What?”
I couldn’t blame him for being shocked; I’d thought Hajun’s message was nonsense too at first.
“I’ll explain when you get here. The kids were asking about you, by the way. Hurry up.”
That should’ve been enough.
When he muttered an “okay,” I hung up.
I’d have to explain everything again anyway. It wasn’t something that could be covered over the phone.
“He’s on his way,” I said.
Turning toward the window, I saw the twins’ parents holding hands anxiously as they looked in from outside.
It must’ve been an agonizing few days for them—no time to even adjust to this new world.
Yi Yul, surprisingly, was a good teacher.
Or maybe it was that his level just happened to match the kids’.
“You like eating that all by yourselves?”
“Yeah! So much!”
The twins grinned, their mouths smeared with ice cream. In just a few days, they had grown enough to spend long periods outside their glass room.
They still couldn’t leave the building yet, but with a bit more practice, they’d be able to live normal lives.
“How do you feel now?”
“Um… okay.”
“Block your senses. Imagine pressing everything flat.”
As soon as he heard their vague answer, Yi Yul reacted instantly.
I’d never experienced having an overflow of power myself, so I couldn’t relate, but from what he’d explained, it was like calming waves in your mind.
Honestly, I still didn’t get it.
‘Probably because I never had that much mana to begin with.’
Still, it seemed to work for the twins. After a few seconds of concentration, their expressions eased noticeably.
“Tell me if you sense anything weird. I won’t suddenly come in, don’t worry.”
Yi Yul said it casually.
“Hehe, okay.”
They probably thought he was worried about them having to go back into the glass room. Even though it was made comfortable, being stuck there must’ve felt suffocating.
After spending enough time with the kids, we finally had a moment alone.
“At this rate, they could start school tomorrow.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. Guess they’re good students—must be the teacher.”
He smirked, shrugging proudly.
It wasn’t wrong, so I just laughed it off.
“True. You’re actually better at this than I expected. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Well, I had to figure it all out on my own once. Guess that’s paying off now.”
Yi Yul looked toward the door where the kids had gone.
“Getting thrown into it suddenly—it’s not exactly pleasant.”
“I thought S-ranks could just control their power easily.”
Every S-rank I knew could, after all.
Their unmatched strength came from wielding overwhelming power at will.
‘Never mind the destruction they cause.’
I’d assumed the twins struggled because they were young, but it seemed Yi Yul had gone through the same—and maybe Hajun too.
“Of course not. Imagine suddenly being able to summon hurricanes—think that’s easy to control?”
He chuckled, adding that he’d blown up a few buildings in the process.
“There are still S-ranks who can’t control theirs, you know.”
“Who?”
What he said next was something I’d never heard before. Even with my lack of interest in the Hunter world, this was news to me.
“You don’t know? Well, people don’t talk about it much.”
“I didn’t hear anything about that before, either.”
He seemed to catch on to what I meant by “before.”
“Then he must’ve died early.”
The way he said it was almost cold, though not malicious—just matter-of-fact.
“The vice guildmaster here. Last I heard, he’s drowning in booze these days. Haven’t seen him around lately.”
“Ah.”
I vaguely remembered hearing something before our last Gate mission.
‘His name was… So-young, I think.’
“Ugh, avoid him if you can. His temper’s nasty.”
“You’ve met him?”
“Yeah. We almost killed each other the one time we did.”
So, someone with a temper to match Yi Yul’s. That was rare.
Almost impressive that he’d stayed under the radar this long.
Still, I’d never heard his name—neither before nor after my regression.
“If he can’t control his power, how’s he the vice guildmaster of Transcendence?”
“No idea.”
Fair point—Yi Yul wasn’t in that guild, so he wouldn’t know. And Transcendence was practically defined by Min Hajun’s presence; I’d never given much thought to anyone else in it.
“Anyway, what’s your plan?”
When I didn’t answer right away, Yi Yul leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“The immediate problem’s solved. Time to move again, isn’t it?”
I understood why he whispered. Over the past few days, teaching the twins hadn’t been our only priority.
“The sooner, the better.”
We both agreed that my mana reserves—once completely drained—were now fully replenished. I could fight again without worry.
After that, we spent hours, even days, thinking through our next move. What could we do next?
The only thing that came to mind was finding other Hunters with purification skills like mine.
‘Not that we knew anyone who fit that description…’
The only one we could possibly ask for help was Min Hajun.
In the midst of that stalemate, Yi Yul came up with one idea.
—Let’s go to where it all started.
And he had a point.
