After that, the world turned upside down. People began to view Seo Chaeyoon as fragile, delicate, and precarious, something that looked unstable and vulnerable… like a newborn fawn or kitten… the last leaf on a tree in the wind, about to fall… a hero in a novel who sacrifices their life to save the world and dies… a delicate dewdrop hanging precariously from the edge of a roof…
Admiration and envy were still present, but now, they were mixed with feelings of tenderness and sorrow, as if they were watching something weak and frail.
Soo Jaehee described this situation like this:
He said that we had entered the SO era, after BC and AD.
When Hong Euiyoon asked what SO stood for, he answered solemnly.
"Seochaeyoon Overprotection…"
Thus, the true era of Seo Chaeyoon's overprotection had dawned.
Yoon Seo let out a sigh from deep within.
"I shouldn't have revealed my healing resistance. Of course, I had to explain what the Black Dungeon was, but I didn't need to reveal my personal condition."
"I disagree. This situation is much better for you, Hyung."
"Better? Are you serious?"
"If you hadn't revealed your condition, the world would have demanded more responsibilities and duties from Seo Chaeyoon. I couldn't allow that."
Though Kwon Jihan's tone was the same as usual, his voice had a cold edge to it. He was absolutely right. Even during Seo Chaeyoon's ten-year disappearance, there had been consistent voices of criticism.
"But I didn't expect the overprotection to get this extreme. I forgot that most of the world is, if not 'crazy Seo Chaeyoon fans,' at least 'crazy for Seo Chaeyoon.' My Hyung's popularity is just too much."
"…Kwon Jihan, you're pretty popular yourself."
"Do I even need to say it? Of course, I'm incredibly popular. It's just nothing compared to you."
"It's not fair that I'm the only one treated this way when we all risk our lives equally."
Kwon Jihan chuckled.
"I can guarantee you, no other hunter wants to be treated the same way as you."
Though Kwon Jihan meant that to other hunters, Seo Chaeyoon was a hero of the heavens, Yoon Seo understood it differently.
"Yeah, who would want to be pitied by civilians like I am…"
Though they had been out for less than an hour, Yoon Seo already felt exhausted and petted Riceball to comfort himself.
Just as Kwon Jihan was about to say something else, the elevator arrived.
Yoon Seo let Kwon Jihan go ahead and followed him out.
Seokyoung's headquarters also had medical facilities for non-awakened employees. As expected, as the small savior, the living legend, the messiah of Earth, Seo Chaeyoon, entered the waiting room of the medical center for non-awakened civilians, all eyes were on him. Gasps of "Huh!", "Ahh!", and "Seo Chae…!" could be heard from all around.
Kwon Jihan, an S-class hunter in a public relationship with the living legend, gently wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder.
"Why are you frozen? Aren't you going in?"
"…There are a lot of people."
"Didn't Hyung say not to block them? You hate inconveniencing non-awakened people because of you."
Kwon Jihan patted the small back of the living legend. Yoon Seo felt discouraged waiting among these civilians. He was considering coming back later when Kwon Jihan spoke.
"There are quite a lot of people. Is there any patient here willing to give up their turn for my Hyung, who's saved the world twice? Oh, you might break your neck with all that nodding. You can stop now. Also, no cameras."
Yoon Seo truly couldn't lift his head.
Peep!
Riceball flapped its wings at the outpatient who had been about to pull out their phone.
Riceball was known to the public as belonging to Kwon Jihan. It also had a reputation for being quite the attention seeker.
"You can take pictures of Riceball. Go ahead, snap as many as you want."
Once permission was granted, everyone whipped out their phones. Riceball danced energetically on the waiting room table, surrounded by the sounds of clicking cameras.
Though the patients offered to give up their turns, Kwon Jihan turned them down, saying it was just a joke. Neither of the two awakeners had any intention of actually taking a non-awakened person's turn. Yoon Seo sat upright, sweating under the admiring and affectionate gazes of the non-awakened. Thankfully, he was wearing a mask, or else his discomfort would have been plainly visible on his face. Kwon Jihan smirked as if he could see through Yoon Seo's expression anyway.
Since they had arrived on time for their appointment, Yoon Seo's name was called after just a few minutes.
"Riceball, come on."
Peep!
The little bird, full of pride, was still dancing on the table. When Yoon Seo called it to the consultation room, Riceball, satisfied and with feathers gleaming, fluttered down to his shoulder.
"Welcome, Hunter Seo Chaeyoon. Please, have a seat."
The attending physician greeted Seo Chaeyoon almost as if he were about to bow. Yoon Seo removed his mask and sat down.
The doctor and nurse who had treated him back when he was still hiding his identity had since become his personal medical team. He had chosen them to avoid increasing the number of people who knew his identity, but seeing how his former fans had turned into fanatics made him deeply regret the decision.
"I'll check the injured area now."
As Yoon Seo lifted his shirt, the nurse approached to help with his clothes. However, Kwon Jihan, moving faster, grabbed the shirt. Bandages wrapped tightly around Yoon Seo's abdomen were revealed.
The doctor began unwrapping the bandages to examine the wound, which was already healing. Riceball curiously peeked over.
"As expected of an S-class, your recovery is fast. For a non-awakened person, this injury would take six months to heal, but for you, it's been only three days…"
Kwon Jihan clicked his tongue.
"This isn't something to be impressed about. It'd be better if your recovery was slower. It's because you heal so fast that you keep going back into dungeons."
"…That's true. I spoke carelessly."
"Now that you understand, the next time my Hyung gets injured, treat him like a quack doctor. Make sure it heals as slowly as possible."
"Yes, of course! If Hunter Seo Chaeyoon gets injured again, I'll treat him like a quack doctor, even if I lose my medical license…!"
The doctor solemnly made a promise that no doctor should ever make, and the nurse nodded gravely in agreement. Yoon Seo began to wonder if he should start looking for a new hospital, but for now, the doctor's disinfecting and re-dressing of the wound were thorough and professional.
"Next, let's take a look at your left wrist. If your abdomen is this healed, your wrist should be almost fully recovered too."
"There's no need. It's already healed."
"Hyung, show the doctor."
"There's no point."
"Whether it's necessary or not is up to the doctor to decide."
Kwon Jihan grabbed Yoon Seo's left arm firmly. Yoon Seo, knowing better than to get into a strength contest with him, obediently rolled up his sleeve. Twelve stitches had been placed, but now only a faint bruise remained.
"No way… In just three days…"
The doctor sighed. Kwon Jihan inspected Yoon Seo's arm closely.
"Hyung, what about the stitches? Were they dissolvable?"
"I removed them myself."
"You should've asked me to do it."
"It's not a big deal. It didn't even take a minute."
"That's it, we need to live together. Either you move into my place, or I move into yours. Or we can find another place. But we're living together."
"Why are you jumping to that conclusion?"
"I feel pathetic for playing games non-stop while you were removing stitches by yourself. If we live together, you won't even need to come to the hospital. I'll learn how to clean and dress wounds properly. You know I've been studying medicine lately, right? If I treat you at home, you won't have to deal with the awkward stares from civilian patients. Doesn't that sound perfect?"
The offer was certainly tempting, and Yoon Seo hesitated, but then the doctor suddenly stood up.
"I oppose the two of you living together…! Hunter Seo Chaeyoon must continue visiting this facility equipped with professional medical care!"
At the same time, the nurse also exclaimed.
"I also oppose it! I can find Hunter Seo Chaeyoon's vein and inject him in just 0.03 seconds. I practiced with 394 volunteers!"
Riceball, not knowing what was going on, chirped along with the humans.
Peep, peep!
Yoon Seo quickly covered Riceball in his hands and spoke.
"Alright, calm down. I'll continue visiting here."
"Don't worry. Seokyoung's building is perfectly soundproof."
"But what's with the 394 volunteers?"
"Yes, once it was revealed that I'm part of Hunter Seo Chaeyoon's medical team, 394 people volunteered their bodies for me to practice finding veins."
"…"
Kwon Jihan, pulling Yoon Seo's sleeve back down, muttered.
"Damn it. The whole world's like my in-laws. Sixty billion in-laws… This is driving me crazy. Publicly dating a hero is one hell of a ride…"
Yoon Seo wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
***
The news that Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo had come to headquarters coincided with Soo Jaehee's visit to try on the new uniforms. Seeing three of the most popular hunters in the non-Awakened medical center, where even seeing an Awakened was rare, caused an uproar. If Yoo Juncheol hadn't personally broadcasted to Perfect that they should immediately return to their floor, the entire 200-floor building might have flocked to the non-Awakened medical center.
The three of them gathered on the central sofa in the Perfect waiting room. Despite "all together" being mentioned, it was just the three of them. Lawrence Mille and Rio Deli were on a one-year vacation, and Team 2 along with Yelena were in the middle of a dungeon raid, so only Alec Switch, Soo Jaehee, and Hwashim were present.
Hwashim, whose S-rank had been revealed, had moved from Team 2 to Team 1. He didn't like it, but he didn't leave Seokyoung either. No one knew what terms Yoo Juncheol had used to keep him there.
"You should have just told us to come up. You caused a commotion in the medical center."
Yoon Seo sighed as he spoke.
"If I had called you to come up, you wouldn't have come. I know how you two feel about seeing coworkers on a day off. You both think it's unnecessary. Riceball, your dads are too cold."
Soo Jaehee whined, creating a small cave with his hands on the table.
Peep. Peep.
Riceball fit perfectly into the little hole he loved. Yoon Seo was left speechless by the casual use of the term "dads" and said nothing.