Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character

I leaned back into the sofa and smirked.

“So that’s what it was. You escaped the district because you were worried about me. You missed me. Mhm.”
“Did you forget how much of a pain in the ass you’ve been to me? I came because I knew you’d go completely unhinged if you got kidnapped again!”
“People always say friendship is what gets you through life. Out of everyone from the district, you’re probably the only one who actually worries about me.”

“My blood pressure’s rising…”
“Hyung, what about me? I was really worried about you too.”
“So. What now?”

Kwon Seoyul tried to chime in again, but I didn’t even glance at him and went on, addressing Hyun Dowoon.
“You saw I’m fine now, so you’ve achieved your goal. What are you going to do now?”
“Before that, let me ask you something. I’ve got a fuckton of questions, you know?”

Hyun Dowoon crossed his arms, glaring at me with his already sharp eyes narrowed even further.
‘Doesn’t look like I can brush this off as a joke.’
Well, I was the reason he came all this way, so I did owe him some answers.

“All right. Ask.”
“Why the hell couldn’t I reach you? What happened to your phone? When I tried tracking you from the district and got nothing, I figured you must’ve been outside Seoul. So where the hell did you go? Why’d you visit Circle Guild? And what’s with Yesung Guild staking out your office?”
“Wow…”

I was honestly impressed by the barrage of questions he fired off like a rap verse. And then, quietly sitting in the background, Kwon Taehyuk finally spoke up.
“It wasn’t surveillance. It was protection.”
“We weren’t talking to you.”

Hyun Dowoon snapped, then stared at Kwon Taehyuk with a conflicted expression before turning back to me.
“And… and…”
“What now? Just ask everything at once so I can answer all at once.”
“It’s just that…”

Hyun Dowoon struggled to get the words out. What could it be that made him hesitate like this?
He chewed his lip while I watched in confusion, then suddenly shut his eyes tight.
“You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to. But I think I need to hear it so I can…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
Kwon Seoyul, who’d been sitting there with a grumpy look after being cut off twice, suddenly yelled.
“What’s so hard to say? You’re trying to ask if Seohu-hyung is fuck buddies with that bastard, aren’t you?!”

“Shut the fuck up, you lunatic!”
“What?”
I followed the direction of Kwon Seoyul’s pointing finger and saw Kwon Taehyuk. I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“Still running your mouth? I told you last time it wasn’t like that.”
“Maybe it wasn’t then, but what if it is now? What if that bastard seduced you in the meantime?”
“What do you mean what if? You crazy fuck. I said no.”

“I asked that bastard earlier and he didn’t even deny it.”
Ever since Seoyul’s “fuck buddy” comment, Kwon Taehyuk had been rubbing his face like he had a migraine. He flinched and his expression twisted.
“I ignored it because it wasn’t worth responding to.”

“There you go, see?”
“Listen, hyung. From what I’ve seen, this bastard—”
“Watch your mouth and use proper titles.”

“…this guy seems really into you. Like he wants to be that kind of relationship with you.”
“Enough. Just shut your mouth.”
I barely swallowed back the curse that reached the tip of my tongue. I was still trying to maintain my image as the decent support-type Hunter in front of Kwon Taehyuk.

“You seriously believe Kwon Seoyul of all people?”
Hyun Dowoon fumbled, running a hand through his hair.
“It’s not that I believed him that easily…”

“But you still suspected it.”
“Well, yeah…”
“Disappointed in you, babe. Do I really come across as someone that reckless?”

I let out an exaggerated sigh, and Hyun Dowoon’s eyebrow twitched. He glanced at me, then started glaring again.
“Yeah, it’s messed up I almost believed that lunatic, but you’re not blameless either, are you?”
“Me? What did I do?”

“You’ve been living like a damn rag in that district for years, haven’t you?”
“A rag? That’s a bit harsh.”
I mean, he wasn’t wrong.

“But I’ve never rolled around with a guy, at least.”
“I figured maybe you gave in to looks. You’re weak to pretty faces. And that fancy-ass Yesung Guildmaster hovering around you? That alone is suspicious.”
Hyun Dowoon said all this without the slightest care that Kwon Taehyuk was sitting right there. He practically screamed, “If you’ve got a problem, leave.”

“Come on, you know my type. And besides, even if someone looked like my type, if it’s a guy then—huh?”
Crunch!
A strange sound cut me off.

I looked over and saw the edge of the table shattered, like it had been crushed. And the tiny hand that broke it like a cracker.
‘Oh hell…’
Cha Sahyeon was glaring up at me, his green eyes gleaming dangerously. There was a flash of killing intent in that eerily calm gaze.

Why now, out of nowhere?
I didn’t know the reason, but if he activated a skill or took off his choker in this mood, we’d have a serious problem.
“Ha-ha, all right, let’s stop with that talk. We’ve got more important things to discuss, right?”

With an awkward laugh, I hurriedly pulled Cha Sahyeon into my arms. I held him tightly and patted his back.
“So, uh, what were you asking again? Oh right, about the phone? And where I went?”
Hyun Dowoon, who had been staring at the shattered table and me holding a kid like I was comforting a tantruming toddler, reluctantly nodded.

“It’s all connected, so it’s easy to explain.”
I told Hyun Dowoon and Kwon Seoyul about the office raid, the help I got from Circle Guild, and how I went to Mount Taebaek to repay the favor.
I naturally left out the parts about Sahyeon getting kidnapped or me chasing down a church—I kept things vague.

Kwon Seoyul probably didn’t notice, but Hyun Dowoon had previously helped me investigate the lab, so he caught on fast.
“Fuck, those bastards are still coming after you?”
Hyun Dowoon adjusted his glasses, visibly shaken.

“Why? What’s so special about you that… ah.”
He muttered, then frowned like something clicked. After a moment of hesitation, he asked:
“That healer who appeared in Gwanghwamun… that was really you, wasn’t it?”

I shrugged.
“You already knew. I’m sure the others from the district know too.”
“…We’re not the only ones.”

“Yeah. That person too.”
I spoke calmly, and Hyun Dowoon looked like he wanted to say something but waved it off.
“Forget it. You must be the most pissed about it anyway. So those lab bastards are after /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ you because you awakened some new skill?”

“Maybe. I’m still not sure. I need to look into it.”
The truth was they were after Cha Sahyeon, not me. But if my divine skill served as a cover, then perfect.
“I think I answered most of your questions. Now it’s your turn—what are you going to do next?”

It was convenient that Hyun Dowoon misunderstood, but dragging this lab conversation on made me nervous. You never knew when someone would blurt out that Sahyeon and I weren’t real siblings.
I was about to wrap things up and shift focus to Hyun Dowoon when—
Knock knock

“Excuse me. Hunter Cha Seohu?”
With a polite knock, the door to the reception room opened and Kim Suho peeked inside.
“The Guildmaster is asking for you. Can you come up to the main office?”

The fake was calling me? It’d been about thirty minutes since he met Song Jiwoon and Ryu Sunghyun. Did something happen?
“I’ll head up now.”
Honestly, perfect timing. I didn’t want to keep these four in one room much longer.

“Guildmaster of Yesung, let’s go together. You three, wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
I stood up, still holding Cha Sahyeon’s hand. Hugging him seemed to have worked—he looked a little less sulky.
“Understood.”

Kwon Taehyuk stood up as well, like he’d been waiting for the chance. He must’ve been uncomfortable too.
“Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone.”
“What are we, kids?”

Hyun Dowoon leaned back on the sofa with a deflated look from the conversation being cut off. Kwon Seoyul was pouting too, but seemed willing to wait quietly for now.
Well, if something did go down, Hyun Dowoon could handle it.
I didn’t know why the fake had called me, but I needed to deal with it quickly and come back.

“You seem very close with that Hunter Hyun Dowoon.”
Once we were far enough from the reception room that the others couldn’t hear, Kwon Taehyuk spoke up.
I’d expected him to be curious about what he overheard. I answered calmly while strolling along.

“We’ve been like brothers since childhood. But as you know, Guildmaster, we’re not blood relatives.”
“…You mean the kind of ‘siblings’ assigned by the district.”
“Yes. But Hyun Dowoon is different from the others. He never treated me like a buff machine or personal property.”

“……”
“He’s the one and only friend I trust and rely on.”
Since Hyun Dowoon had been a bit rude to him, I figured it was worth explaining.

“Oh, and… about that misunderstanding earlier—I apologize.”
I checked that no one was within earshot, then turned to face Kwon Taehyuk.
“In case it’s been bothering you, I just want to clarify—I have no interest in men. Some dirty things were said, but it’s all in the past, and it was all with women. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

If things got awkward or distant between me and Kwon Taehyuk, it’d only hurt me.
So I made sure to clear things up firmly to avoid any lingering discomfort.
But then—

“…Understood.”
—Kwon Taehyuk’s expression actually got worse.