Chapter 24
Saebyeok’s eyes widened in shock.
Her steps faltered for a moment, then she grasped the situation and broke into a run.
“You’re home? Why?!”
She jabbed the elevator button, but couldn’t wait and dashed for the stairs instead.
Leaping up two, three steps at a time, she checked the clock on her phone. It was just past 3 a.m.
Damn, I knew something was off these past few days. Was it because of this?!
“No, I asked why you’re home! It’s still the middle of the day!”
Han Saejin always left early in the morning and only came back late at night.
She had planned to explain everything after he got home from work. Never in her wildest dreams did she think her younger brother would come home in broad daylight.
Is it important why I came back? There’s some strange man in the house! And not just any man—a man with a kid?
“You didn’t say anything to him, did you? You didn’t kick him out, right?!”
Forget about that and explain! Explain right now!
“I’m coming home this instant, so don’t you dare let him leave!”
And the kid? What’s with the kid?!
“If you scare him off, you’re dead to me!”
Saebyeok hung up and sprinted.
There was no time to wait for the bus.
Cutting across rooftops and vaulting walls to avoid the midday crowds, she reached home in no time.
Bang!
“Han Saejin!”
She was in such a rush that she practically smashed the door down, stumbling inside noisily.
Han Saejin sat on the living room sofa with his arms crossed, while Kang Suho sat on the floor before him.
Saejin’s back was rigid, chin tilted arrogantly, while Suho knelt on his knees like a man awaiting judgment.
“You crazy idiot!”
Saebyeok stormed over and smacked the back of her brother’s head.
“Ow! Why are you hitting me?! You’re the one who caused this mess!”
“Do you not know how to count? Even if the kid’s small, he’s clearly over five!”
In Suho’s arms, little Sihoo had been glancing nervously at Saejin. The moment Saebyeok appeared, his eyes welled up, as though salvation had arrived.
Saebyeok quickly scooped Sihoo into her arms, soothing him, and then helped Suho to his feet.
“If this kid were mine, that’d mean I gave birth while I was still a minor, right?”
“Holy crap! Then that bastard—he slept with my underaged sister?!”
“That’s not what happened, you moron!”
She smacked him again.
“Argh! Stop hitting me! I’m going to get dumb!”
“Could you even get any dumber? You can’t even grasp the situation right now!”
“Wow, harsh much! Hey, for the record, I had better grades than you back in school!”
“Oh? ‘Hey’?!”
“…Sis?”
When Saebyeok glared with clenched teeth, Saejin immediately backed down. His once-stiff posture slumped, shoulders curling in.
“Th-then who is that guy? And the kid?!”
He still protested, though less confidently, pointing accusingly at Suho and Sihoo like he had undeniable evidence. His voice was rough, laced with dissatisfaction and defiance, but also faintly sulky.
“He’s my…”
Saebyeok glanced at Suho.
He stood quietly where she had helped him up, neither offering excuses nor complaints, as if waiting for her judgment. That only made her chest tighten.
“…my business partner.”
Comrade, savior, hope.
There were so many ways she could call him, but now none seemed to apply. All she could use was this one label—and it tasted bitter on her tongue.
The truth she already knew stabbed at her heart anew, like a needle piercing deep.
“Business? Business?!”
Saejin grabbed his neck and tilted his head back.
“You’ve completely lost it, haven’t you? I knew you were off your rocker when you quit your part-time jobs to study for the civil service exam, but now? Business?!”
He shot to his feet, shouting,
“No way! Absolutely not!!”
“You’re not even going to ask what kind of business?”
“I don’t care what kind! It’s a no! Who starts a business in a recession?! Where’s the capital coming from, huh? Don’t tell me loans! You’ll end up mortgaging the house, slapping foreclosure stickers on everything, and the whole family will go down in flames!”
“You’re so dramatic…”
“Doesn’t matter! The answer’s no!”
Hands on his hips, Saejin huffed, scowling as if trying to look intimidating.
But to Saebyeok, he was still just her younger brother.
Sure, he’d grown taller than her, his shoulders broader from working out in between his grueling job shifts, but—
“When did my little brother grow up this much?”
Even so, he was still her little brother.
Sentiment swept over her, and she reached out, wanting to ruffle his hair.
But Saejin instinctively raised his arms in defense, flinching at her hand.
No matter how tough he pretended, he was still just a younger sibling.
“N-no! I said no, and I mean it! Even if it kills me, I won’t allow it!”
Flustered by his own reaction, Saejin strained his voice even harder, though it cracked slightly, betraying him.
“Good boy.”
Saebyeok chuckled, messing up his bleached, brittle hair.
“Hey! Don’t think you can brush this off so easily!”
He scrambled back, frantically smoothing his hair, glaring at her with a muddle of irritation, confusion, suspicion, and something not entirely unpleasant.
“Just… don’t freak out too much, okay?”
Saebyeok pulled a hairpin from her bun.
“Ignite.”
Her <Club of Gratitude> kept its hairpin form but sparked to life with fire at the tip.
Saejin’s eyes bulged.
“Not a lighter, not a magic trick—Glimmer.”
This time, soft white lights bloomed from the tip, scattering through the living room.
When they brushed against skin or furniture, they dissolved with a faint shimmer, leaving only afterimages.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Saejin clapped a hand over his gaping mouth, then reached out to poke one of the lights. It fizzled apart instantly. His jaw dropped wider.
“You awakened? When?”
“Not long ago.”
She slid the pin back into her hair.
“Holy crap, that’s why you’ve been acting weird lately? Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“I missed the timing.”
“Unbelievable. Han Saebyeok, the useless bum, awakened? A hunter?!”
“You little punk…”
Despite her glare, Saejin paced the room, still in disbelief.
“What rank?”
“Haven’t had it measured yet. Tomorrow.”
“Can’t you check your status window for potential?”
“It says… S-rank.”
“WHAT?!”
Saejin froze mid-step, yelling.
“Don’t lie!”
“It’s the truth.”
“There are only four in Korea, and even America only has sixteen! Why would an S-rank pop up in our family?!”
S-ranks were said to wield power on par with national governments.
Combat S-ranks could level a metropolis in a day. Even non-combat S-ranks held unimaginable influence.
Take Norway, for example—just one S-rank, a healer. She could cure any disease or curse, and any object she blessed really did repel misfortune. She’d even regrown severed limbs. Europe treated her like a living saint.
Her power outweighed even the Prime Minister’s.
And now, Saejin’s own sister claimed to be on that level? Of course he couldn’t accept it.
“Cut the crap and tell me the truth.”
“It is the truth. S-rank.”
“I told you, this kind of joke isn’t funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Three times is overkill, you know.”
“Believe it or not, it doesn’t change my potential.”
“…You’re serious?”
Saejin scanned her up and down, disbelief written all over his face. His eyes practically shouted: This? An S-rank?
Saebyeok ignored it and went on.
“Anyway, I’m registering as a hunter tomorrow and setting up a guild.”
“A guild?”
“Yeah. And the man you just had kneeling here…”
She tugged Suho closer by the wrist.
“…will be my co-representative.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Saejin darted his eyes between the two like they were scammers. He still didn’t believe the S-rank part.
Meanwhile, Suho stared down at the hand gripping his wrist.
“…Was that true?”
Startled, Saebyeok met his gaze.
“You promised to do this with me…! You even swore on Sihoo’s name! Don’t back out now. I even have a signed note, remember?”
“I meant the representative position.”
“Oh… that too, yeah. I meant it.”
She nodded firmly.
Suho had thought he was just joining, but being offered a co-leader role left him uneasy.
“Well, by the Association’s rules, they might only allow one Guild Master. I’ll try to persuade the Chairman, but if it doesn’t work, you’ll be Vice Master. Is that okay?”
Her cautious tone almost sounded like she feared he’d refuse.
He couldn’t make sense of it.
Why would she offer him such a position, when it clearly didn’t benefit her at all? Even if he awakened someday, she hadn’t checked his title or rank—so why promise something so big?
It didn’t add up.
But all Suho could do was nod. Asking further would only get him brushed off, and he didn’t want to risk being thrown out of this house.
For Sihoo’s sake, staying here was best. And maybe, if he stayed long enough, he’d uncover her true motives.
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Saejin wedged himself between them, physically pulling them apart.
There was something in Suho’s gaze that instinctively rubbed him the wrong way.
Eyeing the outsider sharply, Saejin turned back to his sister.
“Fine, let’s say you are S-rank. And let’s say this guy is helping you with the guild. But what about that kid?”
He jerked his chin at Sihoo, who was nestled in Saebyeok’s arms, playing with her hair.
“Don’t tell me that little brat’s awakened too? Is he also part of this whole guild thing?”
“No… he’s…”
Saebyeok shifted Sihoo in her arms, patting his head affectionately as he leaned against her, still sneaking wary glances at Saejin.
“…our mascot.”
