Under Creature – Chapter 3.4

Author: nicotine

“A member of the vigilantes.”

Bae Sangwoo. He was the leader and the real power of the vigilantes when A was absent. Seo Dohyun knew him well, as he had been there since Dohyun’s time with the vigilantes.

Whenever there was an operation, he would always say, “It’s A’s order.” He was also the one who constantly mentioned A, who hadn’t appeared for decades.

“Dohyun, can you tell me more about him? Who is he?”

There was no need to bring up the past. He smiled prettily and changed the subject.

“Well. It’s been a while since I left, so I don’t know.”

“I see. Then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Yeah. I’ll let you know if I remember anything.”

“Thanks!”

Sanha also understood the refusal, smiled back brightly, and didn’t pry any further.

The vigilante glanced at Seo Dohyun through the rearview mirror.

‘He’s…’

He had just joined the vigilantes after Seo Dohyun left. Nevertheless, he often heard Seo Dohyun’s name.

It was because of the stories Uncle Bae Sangwoo always brought up as a drinking snack.

‘If only he hadn’t left the vigilantes, he would have been my successor by now! No! If only his personality wasn’t a liiiittle, a tiiiiny bit more prickly!’

Bae Sangwoo’s role within the vigilantes was special. He assisted A and acted as a liaison between A and the vigilantes.

They were still unfamiliar with A, who had suddenly appeared as their leader, but they readily followed the words of Bae Sangwoo, who was like a father figure to the vigilantes.

He had even heard that long-time, skilled members of the vigilantes had met A in advance through Bae Sangwoo.

“Haven’t you met A before?”

The vigilante asked cautiously. A didn’t normally participate in these simple call-outs. He was surprised that A had suddenly decided to join them on their way out, and he wondered if A had come knowing Seo Dohyun would be there.

The other vigilantes in the car also seemed curious. After all, Seo Dohyun’s skill was undoubtedly among the top when he was in the vigilantes. Their guess was that he must have had some connection to A.

Dohyun fell into thought for a moment.

‘Dohyun, do you want to meet A?’

Uncle Sangwoo had suggested it, but he had clearly refused. He wasn’t particularly curious, and he was planning to leave the vigilantes soon as he was about to turn twenty and legally able to form a guild.

“Why do you want to know?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s none of your business.”

Dohyun, seemingly tired, checked on Yigeom, who had fallen asleep, and said quietly.

“It’s noisy. Let’s be quiet.”

“……”

Unfair. The vigilante who had asked the question made a sad face. It was Namgoong Sanha who had been making all the noise, and he had just been answering questions and had only finally asked one himself.

‘If only his personality wasn’t a liiiittle, a tiiiiny bit more prickly!’

Uncle Sangwoo. A liiiittle? It’s not just a liiiittle.

🦅࿐

Doa and Jewoo grumbled, sulking.

“That’s too much.”

“That’s right. Everyone is really too much.”

Sanha awkwardly soothed them.

“No. We were really struggling. It might have been dangerous if you had come along. Dohyun and Yigeom were hurt like that. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”

Following Yigeom’s wishes not to spread the bad news, they kept the matters concerning Jooseungtae a secret from Doa and Jewoo.

They simply told them that they had been suddenly attacked by a creature while passing by. They gave suspicious looks, asking what kind of creature attack could happen outside a CA Area, and if it was related to Blood Hunters, but fortunately, they didn’t dig deeper and just seemed upset.

“Whenever something like this happens, we’re always absent. We want to be helpful too.”

“What help can kids be?”

Yigeom muttered with tired eyes. Having finally arrived back at the Latter office, he had washed up, and was now drying his hair with a towel and disinfecting and bandaging his injured hand.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like any glass shards were embedded. Still, he would have to go to the hospital for a proper check-up.

Dohyun was also treating the wound on his side.

“I’ll call a visiting Healer tomorrow. You both should get treated.”

Doa grumbled while looking at her phone.

There were several ways to get treatment for injuries sustained in the field: going to a hospital, visiting the Hunter Association for healing, or, for large guilds, receiving free treatment from their in-house Healers.

Hospitals were the cheapest, but it was more profitable to be healed by a Healer and return to creature hunting immediately than to wait for wounds to heal naturally.

Another option was to call a visiting Healer, which was the most expensive, but also the most skilled. Walking, talking small businesses. They were all skilled enough to heal most injuries within a day, unless it was an amputation.

Yigeom said with a haggard face,

“Okay. I’ll pay….”

“What are you talking about! You were hurt fighting a Blood Hunter, so of course it’s a Latter expense. Latter is also paying for Sanha oppa’s car, so don’t worry about the money.”

“…Thanks.”

Yigeom crawled into bed. Perhaps because he had just come back from a fight, it felt like he had come home to a cozy house.

“Uh, Doa. I’m fine. I’ll take care of my car myself…”

“It’s okay, hyung. Just accept it.”

“Uh… Okay. Thanks.”

When Dohyun insisted, Sanha awkwardly nodded. Sanha’s car wasn’t the only thing unusable.

Dohyun’s motorcycle had also been left behind. He could probably fix it and use it again, but he didn’t feel like it.

Since the vigilantes were taking care of the aftermath, they would probably deal with the overturned car and the fallen motorcycle.

‘I should tell them to scrap it.’

Having finished his thoughts, Dohyun sat on the edge of the bed where Yigeom was lying.

He gently reached out and stroked Yigeom’s hair. His eyes were closed, but he didn’t seem to be asleep yet, as there was no reaction.

Getting a little bolder, he twirled Yigeom’s hair around his finger.

Still, Yigeom was quiet. He didn’t brush Dohyun’s hand away.

A feline-like small animal.

He purred and meowed prettily, letting Dohyun pet him, but if his hand brushed a sensitive spot, he would bare his teeth and claws and hiss, then calmly allow petting again.

“Did you guys make up?”

At Jewoo’s question, Dohyun looked down at Yigeom. His eyes were now open. But his lips didn’t seem to want to open.

Dohyun answered for him.

“Yeah. We made up.”

He could see the excited students and Namgoong Sanha sighing in relief, and there was no rebuttal from Yigeom.

It was a silent affirmation.

The reason Yigeom said he had made up with Seo Dohyun was simple.

Because when his friend was in danger and asked for help, Dohyun came running. Moreover, his motorcycle was wrecked, he was stabbed in the side, and everything felt like it was his fault.

Thus, their fight ended vaguely.

He didn’t receive a sincere apology, but sometimes, a single action speaks louder than a hundred words. Wouldn’t that be sincerity?

‘I don’t know.’

Yigeom flopped down on his bed in his studio apartment.

He knew that Seo Dohyun would do things for him. He just didn’t understand how.

And if a single action speaks louder than a hundred words….

What about Jooseungtae?

The vigilantes took Jooseungtae away, but they didn’t give Yigeom any detailed explanation as to why.

There was one hypothesis that came to mind that he desperately wanted to ignore. A hypothesis that absolutely couldn’t be true. A speculation he wouldn’t unravel until he was certain.

Because of stress, my head was burning up. As I was tossing and turning on the bed groaning, I got a call from Seo Dohyun.

“…Hello.”

— Come down.

“Okay.”

I sluggishly got up and put on my outerwear.

Two days have passed since that day. Today is the day of the witness interview regarding that incident.

When I was ready and went downstairs, Namgoong Sanha was also in the passenger seat.

“Hi, Yigeom! Did you eat?”

I heard that your vacation ends in a few days, but I felt sorry that you have to return without getting a proper rest.

“Not yet.”

I answered briefly and got into the back seat. A blast of hot air from the heater washed over me. The seat was already heated, almost to the point of being too hot.

‘Annoying.’

I wanted to dislike them, but they kept being kind, which was annoying. It’s not like I’m some idiot who can’t process a single emotion properly.

“What time is it, and you still haven’t eaten!?”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

My head was so full of other worries that I couldn’t bring myself to eat.

Dohyun turned the steering wheel.

“Let’s stop by somewhere nearby and eat.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine with that, of course, but they asked us to be there by 2 o’clock. Wouldn’t we be a little late?”

“So what if we’re late?”

Sanha shut his mouth.

“No, I’m okay. I don’t really have an appetite. If we’re going to be late, we should just go straight….”

“Korean? Western? Japanese? What do you like?”

“Nothing in particular.”

Yigeom tried to refuse, but Dohyun kept mentioning various menus.

“Dohyun, there’s a delicious kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant near here. Want to go there? What do you think, Yigeom?”

“…Anything’s fine.”

Yigeom figured if they were going to eat anyway, they might as well go somewhere close, and Dohyun didn’t seem to have any objections.

“Then let’s go there. I’ll navigate. Dohyun, turn right here!”

After ordering three bowls of kalguksu, Sanha set the table and tried to comfort the gloomy Yigeom.

“Yigeom, don’t worry too much about your friend. He’s probably just undergoing a witness interview like us.”

“They do that on the same day? Shouldn’t they take him to the hospital first to see if he’s injured or has any aftereffects?”

“…That’s…”

Sanha was at a loss for words. Yigeom sighed and drank some cold water.

“Sorry for questioning you. It’s not your fault, but I suddenly got angry.”

“It’s okay. That can happen. It would be strange if you weren’t angry after your friend went through something like that.”

“…Thank you.”

As they ate the kalguksu that came out, Dohyun didn’t say a word until they finished their meal.

🦅࿐

They were late for the witness interview after all.

“Before the three of you go in, we’ll do a blood test first.”

“Why a blood test?”

Yigeom asked in response to the staff member’s words. Namgoong Sanha, in place of the busy staff member, kindly explained.

“It’s to check if creature blood is detected in the blood.”

“…Detected?”

“Yeah. It is detected in Blood Hunters.”

The amount of creature blood in the bloodstream is measured on a scale from 1 to 100.

Most regular hunters have a value of 0, and vigilantes, who constantly confront and fight Blood Hunters, have varying levels from as low as 10 to just below 100.

If the value exceeds 100, the kit shows a red reaction. This value of 100 was scientifically determined. The association determined that if the value exceeds 100, creature transformation is possible, and such people are classified as Blood Hunters.

“Can’t regular hunters build up a resistance too?”

Yigeom asked. That way, they would have a higher chance of survival if they happened to encounter a Blood Hunter. Those illusions were annoying….

Frowning, he recalled the past incident.

“Creature blood is highly addictive. Once you crave it, you might crave it endlessly, so it’s not a bad idea to be careful from the start.”

In short, it’s a matter of willpower. For example, some people are fine even with a value of 99, but others suffer from addiction symptoms even at a value of 10, eventually craving more blood and becoming Blood Hunters.

If they crave blood once, they crave it again, and again…. Just as it’s difficult to quit smoking or drugs without considerable willpower, regular hunters can become Blood Hunters with even minimal exposure to creature blood, while very few Blood Hunters reform and return to being regular hunters.

With that in mind, the association prevented hunters from recklessly building up resistance. Of course, those who were former vigilantes or Blood Hunters who repented of their sins, received appropriate punishment, and worked as regular hunters were exceptions.

After hearing the explanation and having his blood drawn, Yigeom’s test result came back with a value of 1. It was the price of the blood that had grazed him while fighting a Blood Hunter.

The staff member, worried just in case, reassured Yigeom, who was frowning.

“This level is no different from an ordinary person.”

“Is that so?”

Relieved, Yigeom returned to the waiting room and waited for Dohyun and Sanha, who had gone in for their tests.

Dohyun came out of the examination room.

“What’s your number?”

“87.”

Seo Dohyun was a vigilante, so it made sense that his number could go up to 87. 87 was a pretty high number even among vigilantes, but Yigeom didn’t know that.

Following him, Namgoong Sanha, who recorded a value of 0, also came out, and Yigeom was the first to leave for the witness interview.

The first question started lightly.

“We were supposed to meet at 2 o’clock, but you arrived at 3. Was there a reason for that?”

“We had a meal. I apologize for being late.”

“…Ahem! I understand.”

The vigilante asked them to be mindful from now on and asked a few more questions. They were mostly about the situation that day.

Since the questions weren’t difficult, he answered diligently and finished the somewhat tedious witness interview.

‘Am I first?’

Whether he had finished first because he went in first, Dohyun and Sanha were nowhere to be seen.

After waiting for a while, Sanha came out, and finally, Seo Dohyun, with a refreshed face, emerged alongside a haggard-looking vigilante.

It was highly likely that the vigilante had been subjected to Seo Dohyun’s rudeness.

“It looks like we’re done. Shall we go?”

“Wait a minute.”

Yigeom approached the vigilante.

“Excuse me, do you know where my friend, Jooseungtae, is? He was taken by someone named A the day before yesterday.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know where he went?”

“No.”

“Then why was he taken?”

“I don’t know.”

Whether he was pretending not to know or genuinely didn’t know, only the answer “I don’t know” came back to every question, leaving Yigeom frustrated.

“Look who it is!”

At that moment, a man in a suit approached with a welcoming gesture. Yigeom had never seen him before.

“Isn’t that Seo Dohyun?”

“Hello, Uncle Sangwoo.”

“Yes! How have you been? You haven’t contacted me once since you left!”

“I’ve been busy.”

He seemed to know Seo Dohyun, as they conversed amicably.

“Uncle Sangwoo?”

Namgoong Sanha’s eyes widened. Since that day, he had diligently researched vigilante Uncle Sangwoo, but the only information he could find was that Sangwoo was the acting leader of the vigilantes when A was absent.

Yigeom, having fallen asleep in the car, listened to their conversation, unaware of anything.

Perhaps he was someone Seo Dohyun was close to when he worked as a vigilante.

“Is the guild you created doing well?”

“So-so.”

“Have you eaten? I’m going to get something to eat, want to come along? Are the two behind you guild members? Let’s all go!”

“I’ve already eaten, and I have something to do, so I think I should get going. See you next time.”

At Dohyun’s refusal, Bae Sangwoo couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Hey you, you’re ignoring my calls, when will next time be!? No! I won’t let you go!”

Sangwoo roughly grabbed Dohyun’s shoulder and wouldn’t let him go.

“If you’ve eaten, then let’s at least get coffee!”

Although he could easily shake him off, Dohyun didn’t particularly resist, only finding it troublesome that things had become complicated.

“Your friends there can come too, I’ll buy.”

In a fatherly tone, as if thanking his son’s friends for playing well with his son, he kindly called Yigeom and Sanha. Sanha, gauging the situation, nodded, and Yigeom followed behind him.

Whenever they passed, the vigilantes bowed their heads, making him seem quite high-ranking. If so, wouldn’t he know something related to Jooseungtae?

Yigeom resolved to ask him discreetly later.

Bae Sangwoo finished ordering with a hearty laugh.

To put it nicely, he’s generous and kind. However, he likes to meddle in everything, trusts people easily, and often gets scammed.

And it would be a lie to say that Bae Sangwoo had no influence on the ideology of Latter, the guild Seo Dohyun created.

In fact, that’s what being a vigilante is like. They catch Blood Hunters, but they are the ones most likely to become Blood Hunters.

To fight them, they have no choice but to build up a resistance to the blood, but steadily building resistance is like poison. And that poison constantly whispers to the brain.

To worship the inner creature.

Therefore, vigilantes must fight their inner selves as well as Blood Hunters.

And in reality, many vigilantes crossed over to become Blood Hunters.

When brainwashed by accepting creature blood like a Blood Hunter, it seemed that hunters looked evil.

But no matter how evil, hateful, or unsatisfactory someone is, what if they’re family? The story changes. You can’t sever ties, nor can you take the life of someone precious.

So Bae Sangwoo came up with an idea.

If most guilds have a vertical structure, vigilantes would maintain what needed to be maintained, but prefer a horizontal structure as much as possible.

As if they were all family to each other.

In conclusion, Bae Sangwoo’s strategy was successful.

The number of vigilantes turning into Blood Hunters was reduced by more than half, and as they became closer, they showed excellent teamwork even in enemy territory, increasing their victories.

However, this seemingly perfect plan had one drawback.

When encountering a former colleague who had become a Blood Hunter, the number of those who couldn’t even bring themselves to fight and simply accepted death increased.

The Blood Hunters also noticed this and sometimes deliberately sent former vigilantes to the front lines.

Because of this, the trend now is to return to a more business-like atmosphere, but Seo Dohyun, who was a vigilante during that time, asserted that Bae Sangwoo’s strategy was futile.

His strategy was undeniably good. However, the team’s circumstances were the problem. If any of the members could become a Blood Hunter at any time, what was the point of it all?

What was the point of a superficial family fence?

That’s why he devised Latter.

A strong fence built with the word “family” so that no one could treat Latter carelessly, and Latter members would cherish each other.

It was an ideal guild where they helped each other not only with official matters but also with personal matters.

He made it that way, and it’s running smoothly.

The buzzer rang, signaling that the drinks were ready, and Sanha went to get them. Meanwhile, Dohyun asked,

“Uncle, do you know Jooseungtae?”

Bae Sangwoo glanced at Yigeom and answered casually.

“Ah, I know him well. The recently captured Blood Hunter?”

“…Yes?”

Yigeom’s head snapped up. His pupils trembled.

The moment suspicion turns into certainty is always accompanied by a chilling, unpleasant feeling.

“Jooseungtae…is a Blood Hunter?”

Yigeom asked again, in disbelief. Bae Sangwoo scratched his head.

“Did I blab too much in front of an outsider? Ah, you’re an outsider now too, Dohyun.”

“Could you tell me more?”

When Yigeom suddenly questioned him, Bae Sangwoo asked Dohyun with a troubled look.

“…Who is this?”

“Just tell him. He won’t cause any trouble.”

Dohyun, sitting next to Yigeom, answered calmly.

They had expected it from the beginning. Perhaps Namgoong Sanha as well, and Yigeom might have also subconsciously expected something like this.

He wanted to deny and ignore it, but it was a fact that would eventually come to light.

“He’s a Blood Hunter belonging to Adrell. Honestly, Adrell isn’t much, but these days, they’ve been seen interacting with Adam, which is a headache.”

Bae Sangwoo confessed, as if he had nothing to hide. Adam was a famous group even among Blood Hunters.

If they were handled carelessly, it would result in a significant loss of power within the vigilantes, so they were one of the groups they had been keeping an eye on, waiting for the right time to strike.

“What about Jooseungtae?”

Yigeom urged him to tell him about Jooseungtae quickly, saying he didn’t care about the rest.

“Jooseungtae? He’s a grunt in Adrell. A grunt among grunts. A guy who hasn’t even received a proper rank, just doing chores.”

Yigeom’s complexion noticeably worsened. As if realizing something, Bae Sangwoo’s eyes widened, and he pointed at Yigeom.

“Ah, are you the victim of this incident by any chance? That’s right! Come to think of it, you’re the same age!”

“Victim?”

Dohyun’s eyes narrowed.

‘What is he up to?’

Unfazed by their reactions, Bae Sangwoo continued speaking calmly.

“I heard he pretended to be kidnapped and lured a civilian. So it was you.”

“Pretended to be kidnapped? Why would he bother…”

Sanha asked cautiously, mindful of Yigeom’s feelings.

“I don’t know that yet. But one thing’s for sure, grunts don’t usually participate in operations.”

However, judging from the fact that Jooseungtae, a grunt, had participated in the operation, it seemed he had played a fairly important role.

Hearing Bae Sangwoo’s words, Yigeom bit his lip.

He couldn’t even begin to guess how things were unfolding.

After checking on Yigeom, Bae Sangwoo changed the subject to something more cheerful.

Yigeom scraped his chair back and stood up. He hadn’t touched his drink.

“Sorry, I’ll be going now.”

“……”

“Thank you for today.”

As Yigeom prepared to leave, Sanha also stood up.

“Then I’ll be going too! Thank you. See you next time, Dohyun.”

“You both don’t have a car. I’ll give you a ride.”

As Dohyun tried to follow them out, Bae Sangwoo couldn’t hide his disappointed expression.

After sending Yigeom and Sanha to the car first, Dohyun stayed behind with Bae Sangwoo to finish their conversation.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“You brought it up pretending not to know, even though you knew everything.”

He hadn’t even told him Yigeom’s age, yet he mentioned them being the same age. From the beginning, he had approached them knowing that Yigeom was involved in the incident.

He waited until their witness interviews were over and pretended to run into them by chance.

“It would be pitiful for him not to know, considering his friend turned out to be like that.”

His friend didn’t even consider him a friend, and on top of that, he had lured him out under the pretense of being kidnapped, putting him in danger.

Seeing Yoon Yigeom still worried about such a person as a friend, he wanted to tell him something. That that guy isn’t the kind of person you think he is. To not worry about such a person and just take care of himself.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. It was just me meddling,” Bae Sangwoo muttered as he lit a cigarette.

“Poor guy.”

Most of the vigilantes were like that. The majority volunteered out of a desire for revenge, having had close acquaintances or family members victimized by Blood Hunters.

Because of this, Sangwoo couldn’t stand idly by and watch people like Yigeom. Even if it was unnecessary meddling, he felt like he had to do something.

“Help him sort out his feelings now that you’re by his side.”

There are no secrets anyway. If he continues to be in the creature world, it’s something he’ll find out eventually. It’s better to face the music sooner rather than later; it would be better for him to realize it now, shake it off, and move on.

“I’m not sure if me being by his side will help.”

It would be fortunate if he didn’t just get chewed out and told to get lost.

Dohyun chuckled to himself.

“In difficult times, even just having warmth beside you can be comforting. Buy him a drink later or something.”

Sangwoo nudged him and advised.

“He doesn’t like alcohol.”

“Really? Then take a walk or exercise to change his mood!”

“He hates going outside when it’s cold.”

“He’s quite a picky fellow.”

As Sangwoo grumbled with one eye squinted, Dohyun responded softly,

“He is picky.”

🦅࿐

After dropping Sanha off first, since his house was closer, they headed towards Yigeom’s house.

“Seo Dohyun.”

“What?”

“Can you take me somewhere other than my house?”

“Where?”

Yigeom entered Kang Taeha’s address into the navigation system.

“An apartment. Meeting someone?”

“Yeah, a friend.”

“Why? Need some comforting?”

At Dohyun’s question, Yigeom looked at him.

The first thought that came to mind after hearing that Jooseungtae was a Blood Hunter was guilt that he had been deceived and dragged Sanha and Dohyun into it.

But neither of them expressed any dissatisfaction with him. Namgoong Sanha was busy comforting him, and Seo Dohyun was no different than usual.

He was even indifferent when he heard about Jooseungtae’s true nature from Bae Sangwoo.

Was it because he had experienced many instances while working as a vigilante where close acquaintances, like Jooseungtae, turned out to be Blood Hunters? Yigeom still couldn’t understand Jooseungtae’s true intentions.

Dohyun, facing Yigeom, asked,

“Want me to comfort you?”

“…How?”

It was Dohyun who was taken aback by the reply. He had expected a refusal, but “How?” was an unexpected response.

Unsure of what to say, he awkwardly recalled Bae Sangwoo’s words.

“Want to go for a drink?”

Yigeom thought for a moment and agreed. He could see Kang Taeha anytime.

“Let’s do that.”

“Hmm, where should we go?”

Dohyun’s heart started to beat with an unfamiliar rhythm.

He thought he was taming a stray cat like Yoon Yigeom, but was he the one being tamed?

He started to feel secretly pleased at receiving consent after being constantly rejected.

“Anywhere you want to go?”

“Anywhere is fine.”

Dohyun fell into the deepest contemplation he’d had recently.

Where should they go?

He wasn’t particularly picky. When he went out with Latter, Jewoo and Doa always had a lot of cravings, so they always chose the restaurant.

When he occasionally dined alone with Yigeom, they would just pop into any nearby place or revisit a restaurant they had enjoyed with the others.

Since the others were minors, they had never been to a bar….

Then, wondering why this was such a big deal, he found a suitable place nearby and parked.

Arriving at the restaurant, he casually ordered food and drinks.

As Dohyun poured alcohol into the glass, Yigeom gulped it down. Since he didn’t usually drink, his mouth was bitter.

Setting down his glass, Yigeom began,

“Do you…”

“Yeah.”

“Do you experience that a lot?”

“What?”

Yigeom couldn’t bring himself to speak and just moved his lips.

He still couldn’t believe that Jooseungtae had deceived him. If he was a Blood Hunter, since when? How long had he been hiding it? He was his friend. He still remembered it vividly.

He remembered the feeling of Jooseungtae stepping in front of him and getting stabbed, the sensation of his blood dripping.

“It was a hallucination after all.”

“What was?”

Dohyun asked again.

“Back then, Jooseungtae…”

“You mean when he died in your place?”

“You always have to… Ha, never mind.”

Dohyun was also frustrated. Yigeom wouldn’t finish his sentences and only mumbled to himself.

“That wasn’t a hallucination. It’s true.”

“Right?”

Yigeom’s eyes filled with hope.

“Someone like him couldn’t possibly be on the same side as those bad guys.”

They had been close friends since high school. He would have noticed any changes immediately.

“There must have been a misunderstanding on the vigilantes’ side, right?”

As Dohyun poured alcohol into the empty glass, he said firmly,

“They would have done a blood test, and it would have clearly shown him as a Blood Hunter.”

“……”

“You seem to want to deny it, but it won’t change anything. Just accept it.”

Yigeom’s hand holding the glass trembled. It was his fault for expecting comfort from him. He thought that since Dohyun had some experience, he might offer some advice or comfort, but…. What was he expecting from Seo Dohyun?

Still, since Dohyun had come out to comfort him in his own way, he couldn’t get too angry. He swallowed down the curses rising in his throat and spoke as calmly as possible,

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“Jooseungtae? Most of them will turn out like him, so what’s the point of making them? It’s better to not have any.”

“…Is that something you should be saying in front of me right now?”

“That’s what I mean, logically.”

“It’s so fucking enviable that you’re logical even at a time like this, for fuck’s sake.”

Seo Dohyun frowned.

“Why are you being sarcastic?”

“Do I look like I’m not being sarcastic? You can’t read the room, but you’re damn quick to notice sarcasm.”

Yigeom downed his drink and chewed on the food.

“It was a mistake to ask you for comfort.”

“I’m not good at comforting people. But I’m trying.”

“Congratulations. You tried your best.”