RAAGOAT 06

Chapter 6

A living room bathed in warm morning sunlight.
An entirely ordinary, unremarkable family home.
Sitting in the very center like a stone statue, a small life form that had been staring fixedly at the TV turned its head upward.

“…? Samchuun?”
“It’s Uncle Wonseok.”

My brother, helping me take off my shoes, laughs.
That’s right, that little one is my niece.
She just turned four, so I’ve rarely seen her face.

But still.
Not just because she’s my niece, but she’s really adorable.

““The original stone is so delicious

Dododo. With a run that looks like she might topple any second, she dashes over and tightly hugs my leg. Something wells up fiercely inside me.

“Naeun, look, look. Uncle brought Lego.”

Even when my brother holds out the Lego box he hid behind his back.

“Samchuuuuun

My niece, who just started speaking, rubs her face against my shin.

“A kid who can’t resist Lego. Does she like Uncle more than Lego?”
“Yes!”
“More than Dad?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Uncle is smarter than Dad!”

My brother winces as if pained, then quickly pulls up the corners of his mouth until dimples form deeply.
He gestures at me as if to say, ‘See?’

“Well, if your head isn’t good, your body has to suffer.”
“In today’s world, it’s the opposite. No, wait, if your body isn’t good, no matter how much your head suffers, it’s useless.”
“You want to make pessimistic remarks in front of the child?”

I smiled.
And looked at my niece clinging to my leg.

“……”

I almost unconsciously patted her head.

Clench.

I clenched my fist until it lost color.
Did I have the right to do that? No.

Niece, Naeun.

‘…In my past life.’

After Hunter Seo Bo-Seok’s death, I intentionally avoided meeting her.

‘When I secretly went to her school entrance ceremony, she was in a uniform, but now she’s just a baby…’

A throb.

The reason for avoiding it was simple and petty.

‘I was too ashamed to face her.’

While I wasn’t responsible for my brother’s death, a leaden sense of debt weighed down my chest. Because Hunter Seo Bo-Seok’s dogged dedication to work was due to me.

‘One day, someone claiming to be a half-brother suddenly appeared at the orphanage and said he would cover all my college tuition.’

At that time, my brother wasn’t an Awakened. It wasn’t long since Hunter Seo Bo-Seok made his presence known in society.

That’s why my brother is a monster. In just over three years, he became Korea’s top hunter.

In short, my brother went out of his way to pull his practically unrelated half-brother out of an orphanage and sent him to college. All while working in a factory.

‘If your head isn’t good, your body has to suffer?’

Far from it.
My brother was a top student about to graduate from veterinary school.
Right at that moment, he learned of his half-brother’s existence.
Then, without telling me, he dropped out of school and started earning money.

‘For me, essentially a stranger.’
I learned the truth later.
Only years later did I lose my temper and ask why.

-Just because we’re half-brothers doesn’t mean…? That excuse won’t work, will it? Fine, fine. I’ll tell you when there’s a chance, when there’s a chance.

The chance never came.
Why.

‘Even as a half-brother, why would he do this much for me?’
The guilt of not being able to repay that devotion in the slightest. Because of that, in my past life, I couldn’t bring myself to see my niece.

“Samchuuuuun
“Give her a pat. She likes it so much.”
My brother nudges me with his shoulder.
I stretched out my hesitant hand.

“lol.”

Patting her makes her love the world.
It’s really strange. Despite our extremely thin blood ties, both the child and her father care for me deeply.
This is all thanks to them. My deep-seated mistrust from before the regression, which seemed like it would never melt like permafrost, finally thawed.

I don’t see a red thread connecting Naeun and me.
It seems the threads only form between Awakened individuals.
Yes, this is better.
Between my niece and me, I should be the Subordinate and Naeun the Superior. I want to repay my debt of gratitude.

‘Now it’s my turn to give back.’
More than twice what I received.
And more than ten times what was taken.
I vowed. I will use this regression more  than just settling debts and grudges.

Same time.
A building in the heart of Gwanghwamun.
Tap, tap.

The sound of dress shoes echoed through the impeccably maintained corridor.
On both sides of the corridor, portraits of renowned hunters were lined up like a series.
It was the R&Y Guild, said to be Korea’s best.

“Senior.”
Han Bi-Yeol, who had been walking absentmindedly, flinched his shoulder.
The hunter with the angular jawline guiding him curled his lip sourly.

“Aren’t you too nervous about meeting the Guild Master?”
“…Is this because of seeing the Guild Master?”
“I thought so. After you pushed through the Gate Break yesterday, it seemed like your growth rate was negligible, so I thought you’d run away.”
Gnash.

Han Bi-Yeol gritted his molars.
What’s the use of meticulously using ‘Senior’ and honorifics? This squint-eyed bastard subtly looked down on Han Bi-Yeol, leveraging his own achievements.

“…You should be thankful this is the guild office.”
“Oh my, I’ll be careful. Sorry, Senior!”

Already heated up.
Hearing this sarcasm made steam boil in my forehead.

“By the way, did you hear about that? The standby team that was supposed to join you at Hanjgu Bridge yesterday. Wondering why they didn’t join? Turns out, they ran into Hunter Seo on the way! They tried to run but got caught and interrogated, getting a proper beating.”
“I expected as much.”
“Anyway, Hunter Seo… I wonder if he knows. That his own upright personality made him a target.”
“Hey, Junior.”

Han Bi-yeol stopped.
squint-eyes slowly looked back.

“Do you have something to say?”
“We’re going to talk about canceling the Hunter Seo matter. We’re going to beg to call it off because the matter is getting too complicated.”
“Right.”
“Is it still funny?”
squint-eyes opened slightly.

“Hunter Seo this and that, you think you can be the blade wielder? That man became Korea’s top hunter in just three years. Tomorrow he’ll be incomparably stronger than today.”
“I know.”
“If you know, then stop acting up.”

The corners of squint-eyes’ eyes twitched.
But soon stretched into a straight line.

“Haha. Thanks for the guidance!”
“…Slippery bastard…”

Despite being brazen-faced, thanks to his excellent social skills, squint-eyes had many people around him. Even knowing he was rotten inside, everyone just went along. There were countless junior hunters who didn’t even act that well.

Just as they were about to start walking again.

“Hey.”

Han Bi-Yeol suddenly asked squint-eyes.

“Do you still meet with association officials these days?”
“From time to time. We’re one family, after all.”
“Then you must have heard about second awakenings too.”

squint-eyes tilted his head.

“Heard indirectly. It’s almost non-existent in Korea. But I’m confident I’m among the more knowledgeable in the country.”
“Then among overseas second awakening cases, have you heard of abilities…”

Han Bi-yeol’s voice caught for a moment.
Because even as he said it, he wondered if it made sense.

He barely continued.

“…Abilities that are, like, instant death skills?”

It had been bothering him since last night.
His name was Seo Won-Seok, right?
From what he could tell, he seemed certain to be related by blood to Hunter Seo Bo-Seok.
That alone was shocking enough.
He had been holding the weakness of Seo Bo-Seok’s close family.
But what grated on his nerves even more was… the unprecedented ability.

-Death Sentence.

With that single word, the goblin horde was annihilated.
Exploded to death.
Witnesses and gate experts dismissed it as a natural sequence after the Break concluded.

But Han Bi-yeol thought.
That’s convenient talk coming from a third party.

‘That was…’
That guy’s ability.
He spent the night tortured by thoughts of what ability it could be.
The conclusion he squeezed out was—

“Instant death skill?”
This.

squint-eyes blinked.

“Senior.”
“Don’t tell me, really…”
“Did you hit your head yesterday or something?”
“……”

Han Bi-yeol gripped the hilt of his curved sword.

My brother, having passed the niece-baton to the Lego, closed the bedroom door. In this gap, quietly, without a sound.

Thud.

Even after closing it, my brother carefully held the door handle for a moment.

“Phew.”

A sigh of relief came out as things quieted down.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I wonder how people would react knowing Korea’s top hunter can’t even move a muscle against a four-year-old.”
“Do you know the weight of being a head of household? Anyway.”

My brother plopped down on the floor.
A Lego piece rolling on the floor shifted.

“So.”

His gaze turned serious.
The opening of the conversation was about yesterday’s incident…

“How’s your body?”
No, it wasn’t.

“What did the doctor say?”

Checking my physical condition was the top priority.
Anyway, he’s an infuriatingly altruistic fellow.

Pushing aside my fluster, I answered.

“He said anemia.”
I still hadn’t sorted out the situation myself.
When your head is a mess, your words tend to get tangled. If I spoke as is, my brother’s perception might change.

‘Recently, crimes by committed Awakened are rampant.’

There’s a diagnosis, so for now, I just stated the disease name written on paper.

“Anemia? Did you have anemia?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“…Then, it could be a side effect of a second awakening…”

My brother naturally interpreted it as a second awakening.
It’s the most plausible inference currently.

Feeling pangs of conscience, I slowly nodded.

“So you knew.”
“How could I not know?”

He doesn’t probe further about the second awakening.
‘He must have been surprised.’

There are unwritten rules among Awakened, and the most cautious act is not asking about each other’s Awakening abilities.
The society built by super humans is like a ragged sock. Every time an incident occurs, it’s patched up with stopgap measures.
Yes, from the very first button, it was wrong. Hunter society was an organization riddled with distrust.

‘…He even keeps the unwritten rules with me.’

It might be disappointing, but I decided to accept it as consideration. Or it could be a professional habit.
Especially for something as rare as a second awakening, keeping it secret is correct. Because the nature of the first and second are different.

‘Is this a good thing?’

Actually, I don’t have much to tell him anyway.

I shook off my thoughts with a small shrug.
My brother continued.

“The eyewitnesses to yesterday’s Gate Break aren’t just one or two. Seeing a few articles makes it clear.”
“article…?”
“You were hospitalized. Look, now.”

He took out his phone. Just typing ‘Hangju Bridge’ in the search bar flooded the screen with articles. The titles were varied, but the context and content were similar.

Among them, some titles naturally catch the eye. In hunter terms, they’re good at drawing aggro.

[Exclusive Hunter Report] Hangju Bridge, The “Meeting” of Two A-Rank Hunters
……(Omitted)……
Reporter Kija Ryeong

A title far from the main point. That’s why it had competitive power.

‘Even back then, this person wrote titles like this.’

Starting with a sigh, I began reading the article, but it was well-written nonetheless.
Contrary to the sensational title, the focus of the content wasn’t on the A-rank hunters, my brother and Han Bi-yeol.

It was me.