Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character

I was a little offended by Kwon Taehyuk’s reaction, how he didn’t believe me that easily. —How many incidents have I helped him with? This is seriously too much.— This time was no different. Even if it involved a few lies, the fact remains—I was the one who resolved the dungeon break. —What an unlucky bastard.— I glared at Kwon Taehyuk from behind the mask. Whether he noticed or not, Kwon Taehyuk began to openly voice his suspicion.
"You expect me to believe that someone who passed out from a mind-type skill at the start managed to take care of that powerful monster and the dungeon break? Do I look like an idiot?"

"And what if you don’t believe me?"
"Hah… Cut the crap and tell me what really happened. That monster that was found—since it’s a new species, it needs to be reported ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) and go through the registration process."
"Well, I’m not sure? It disintegrated into particles at the end, so I don’t really know how I’m supposed to report or register that."

"Do you think this is the time for jokes?"
"I’m serious! It disappeared, what do you expect me to do about it?"
As I continued to play dumb and Kwon Taehyuk’s eyes spun with suspicion, Ryu Sunghyun, unable to bear watching anymore, stepped in with an awkward smile.

"Both of you, calm down. Since the monster disappeared, the support team will probably come back soon. How about we talk things through then? And get some treatment, too."
Oh, right. I suddenly looked up. Come to think of it, solving the dungeon break didn’t mean everything was over. Just like Ryu Sunghyun said, since the giant monster that had terrified everyone vanished without a trace, the support team that had been watching from a distance would return, and reporters would probably swarm in. More importantly, it was going to be dawn soon. If I got caught and held up, I’d end up welcoming morning right here.
Just as I remembered that, my eyes met Eun Woojeong’s.

“……”
“……”
Even with the mask on, our thoughts were plain to see. Let’s run.

“Ahem, hmm!” I faked a cough and sprang up from my seat. Approaching Cha Sahyeon, who was quietly glaring at Kwon Taehyuk beside me, I linked arms with him and exclaimed, "I don’t really need any treatment. It’s going to get hectic once the support team arrives, so I’ll be stepping out."
"What?"
"I’ll leave the cleanup to you, then."

"Wait, where are you going… Cover Hunter!"
I dodged Kwon Taehyuk’s desperate grab and bolted.
"See you next time!"

"You son of a bitch!"
Behind us, Kwon Taehyuk’s enraged shout echoed as we ran off.
"Goddamn it, get back here right now! Cover Hunter!"
Whoa, scary. I should probably cut back on Cover activities for a while. If I run into Kwon Taehyuk again while wearing the mask, I’ll be dead meat.

"Hyung, should I send the shadow ahead to the hotel?"
"Yeah."
Without slowing down to avoid being caught by Kwon Taehyuk, Cha Sahyeon sent out a shadow bird. The bird, smaller than usual, flew off in the direction of the hotel. We’d hide somewhere appropriate and return once the shadow arrived. Eun Woojeong probably slipped away on his own during the chaos, too.

Still, thanks to Cha Sahyeon, everything from resolving the incident to the escape went smoothly. As I slipped into the forest to hide and debated whether I should throw him a small compliment, Cha Sahyeon’s eyes sparkled as he spoke up.
"Did I do well? Will you kiss me now?"
"...As if."

Of course. With a sigh, I tried to push off the ever-clinging Cha Sahyeon, when—
Ding!
With a familiar alert sound, the status window finally popped up.

《All threats have been neutralized. Quest ends early.》
《Main Quest: Protect the Protagonist — Cleared!》
《Main Quest Completion Rewards will be issued.》
《Trait rank-up!》
《Drenched Cat (C-rank) → Drenched Cat (B-rank)》
《Can’t Fool My Eyes (F-rank) → Can’t Fool My Eyes (D-rank)》
《Cash Box has arrived! Please check your item shop gift box.》
I scowled at the flood of pop-up windows. —They only ever upgrade my traits. Do they even activate properly?— It felt like it had been ages since the system last told me a trait had activated. Was this bastard of a system scamming me?
And why the hell is that useless "Drenched Cat" trait the only one bumping up to B-rank? The rank-up of "Can’t Fool My Eyes," which I could actually activate at will, was at least decently useful. Still, I wasn’t satisfied. Even now, I sent a silent warning to the system I knew was watching me.

—While I’m asking nicely, make sure the next reward is something good.—
Heartless piece of shit. Trying to use me for garbage-tier rewards like this.
While I grumbled internally, Cha Sahyeon gently reached out and held my hand.

"Brother, let’s go."
The shadow he had sent must’ve already arrived at the hotel. That was quicker than expected. As I stepped closer to Cha Sahyeon, a shadow rose from the ground. Through the shadows that enveloped us, I could see the sky beginning to brighten.
***

[Domestic Hunters / Free Board] Did you see the article???
They said a dungeon break happened at Cheonmasan — in the middle of the night;;
Apparently all the S-ranks gathered, the guilds sent support, it was a whole mess 😰😰

Even Cover showed up
(https://saver.me/2MKWwmKZ3)
Comments▼

–Cover showed up??
–Who else was there besides Cover?
└From what’s confirmed, Yesung’s guildmaster and Circle’s vice-guildmaster

└Who’s Circle’s vice-guildmaster?
└It’s RSH, an S-rank
└Ryu Sunghyun

–A dungeon break in the middle of the night is scary as hell
–Wasn’t that the area where civilians all evacuated when the dungeon first appeared?
└Yeah, I live nearby and the whole area is empty—apartments and everything. At night it feels like a horror movie set.

└No wonder everyone ran away fuck; a dungeon break zone in the middle of the night
–At least the damage was minimal…
–They say a new unregistered species was detected—should we be worried??

–Which guild was in charge of that dungeon? This is what happens when they fail at management. Fine them all.
└It wasn’t negligence; supposedly a different cause?
└Just read the damn article before running your mouth. The link is in the post.

└You ignorant bastard
[Domestic Hunters / Free Board] What the hell is Cover even supposed to be lol
Seems like even the government still doesn’t know who Cover really is

But he’s ranked #1 and always shows up when shit hits the fan
Honestly, I can’t help thinking, "how crazy must this guy be" lol total psycho vibes
Comments▼

–If he’s S-rank and likes showing off that much, why not just register and get paid like a normal Hunter?
–The higher the rank, the more unhinged they are, lol
–Nah, the government definitely knows but pretends not to. He’s cleaning up for free—why ruin a good thing?

└True lol
└That’s its own kind of crazy
[Domestic Hunters / Free Board] The behind-the-scenes story is fucking hilarious right now lololol

Kwon Taehyuk tried to stage a big showdown using Yesung’s name, hyped it up with PR, even rented out an arena
Some people actually went to watch the match yesterday (entry was free, first come first served)
Participants were Kwon Taehyuk and Cover, of course. Ryu Sunghyun also showed up to spectate since he’s close with both

Then suddenly, a dungeon break at nearby Cheonmasan lol
In the end, the match was called off right before it started, everyone was evacuated, and they all ran off to stop the dungeon break lololol
+Some say Cover went to stop the dungeon break from the beginning

Apparently, Kwon Taehyuk challenged him for the #1 spot, and Cover just ignored him and went straight to the dungeon.
If that’s true, Cover really is out of his fucking mind lol
Comments▼
–No way that’s true lol

–LOLLLLL Kwon Guildmaster must be crying
–At this point, isn’t it just unrequited love? Cover doesn’t seem to give a damn about Kwon Taehyuk
└Lmao, Cover was the one who carried him bridal-style first, then ghosted him so coldly

└Bridal carryyyyy lolololol
└(Image attachment.gif)
└What’s that gif omg lolol

└First time seeing that bridal carry gif lol
└Princess Kwon...
–If the backstory’s like that, then I guess it makes sense why all the S-ranks rushed to a dawn dungeon break

[Domestic Hunters / Free Board] Apparently there were more than 3 S-ranks on site?
People are talking about it on other forums
Besides the 3 confirmed S-ranks from the media, there were supposedly 2 more

KTH, RSH, and Cover make 3 — then 2 unidentified individuals on top of that, yeah
That would make 5 S-ranks total fighting the new species and stopping the dungeon break… is this for real?
Comments▼

–No way
–No way 22 lolol
–Why the hell would 5 S-ranks gather out of nowhere for a random dawn dungeon break?

–C’mon, this is Korea… we’re not that advanced
└ fuck lolololol
–Why are there always so many unidentifiable Hunters lol

–There you go again, spreading wild rumors
–There really are all kinds of flavors of blind nationalism
[Domestic Hunters / Free Board] The unedited video from the Cheonmasan dungeon break is out

(https://neotu.be/VqeozAIk3y8)
Super short, around 10 seconds?
There’s no blood or gore so it probably won’t get taken down

From the camera angle it looks like someone secretly filmed it
Comments▼
–????? There’s five people???

–What the hell, it is five people wtf
–So the earlier post about five S-ranks was actually real… 😰
└Holy shit

└We don’t know for sure those two are S-rank though you idiots… ugh so frustrating
└Exactly lol just because they’re in frame doesn’t mean they’re S-rank, calm down
–Cover’s wearing the mask even here, he’s seriously nuts lolololol

–Thank you thank you
–How many people were wearing masks? Are they a crime syndicate or something?
–Cover has poisoned the Hunter world… what even is this

–Does he have some terminal illness where his face being seen kills him? lol
–The government: Please, just register and collect your damn danger pay! 😭
***

THUD THUD!
As Hyun Dowoon sat with his laptop open, catching up on last night’s news, the sudden pounding on the door made him frown. He didn’t need to look to know who it was. Dragging his slippers across the floor, he opened the door and was immediately met with complaints.
"Why’d you take so long to open up?"

"Why the hell would I rush to greet you like you’re someone I’m happy to see?"
Arms crossed, he replied flatly. Kwon Seoyul stuck out his lip and said,
"Let’s go see Seohu-hyung."

"Now?"
Hyun Dowoon checked the time. 8:30 a.m.
"He’s probably still asleep."

"No, he should be up. He’s been resting since yesterday."
From head to toe, Kwon Seoyul was practically sparkling. Anyone would think he was going on a date.
—When did he even pack clothes like that?—

Seeing how eagerly and thoroughly dressed up Seoyul was made Dowoon curious, though he didn’t care enough to ask.
"Still, barging into his room first thing in the morning? He’ll hate that. If you want to go, go alone. I’m staying here."
At Hyun Dowoon’s indifference, Kwon Seoyul looked genuinely disappointed.

"Aren’t you worried about Seohu-hyung at all? He didn’t come out all day yesterday. It was totally quiet."
"You think that guy locking himself in his room to rest is something new?"
Even as he said that, Dowoon seemed just a little bit concerned. He spoke again.

"Why? Did you hear something weird from his room?"
"Not exactly…"
"Then let him rest more. Don’t go stirring shit up and getting cursed at for nothing."

"You’re way too cold to Seohu-hyung!"
"That’s why he likes me better than you."
Clicking his tongue, Hyun Dowoon slammed the door in Seoyul’s sulking face.

At that very moment, Cha Sahyeon slowly opened his eyes, focused on the faint sounds around him. In the hazy darkness, his green eyes glowed vividly. "Hyung." He moved his body, ignoring the shadows that filled the room. Climbing fully onto the bed, he wrapped his arms around Cha Seohu’s sleeping waist. As Seohu tilted his head to the side, his golden hair fell messily. The white robe he wore revealed his bare body underneath. Cha Sahyeon gazed down at it for a moment before reaching out. As he cupped Seohu’s chest, firm yet smooth skin pressed against his palm.
"Hyung, wake up."
He called softly, fingers moving slowly across Seohu’s chest and down his abdomen, gently brushing the defined muscles etched there. "Nngh…" Seohu’s tightly shut eyelids twitched at the ticklish sensation, and his steady breathing wavered. Feeling Seohu stir awake, Sahyeon slid his hand along his side—right where the monster’s weapon had slashed him. Thankfully, with his S-rank body, the wound had healed rapidly. But judging by the heat in his skin, he definitely had a fever.

Cha Sahyeon mentally checked if he still had fever reducers left, then pressed a kiss to Seohu’s cheek. He didn’t dare touch Seohu’s lips without permission, so instead, he planted soft kisses along his cheek, ear, and neck. In response, Seohu grumbled and turned his face sharply away.
"Cut it out…"