The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 424

422. Little Duckling (2)

“Hyung.”

My brother smiled. The hand pressed against my neck felt hot.

-Swallowing it will make it better!

That rascal, Linyin! Thankfully, he wasn’t actually strangling me, but the heat I felt was steadily increasing. Eunhye-ro, hold on a minute. I haven’t gotten my grace [divine blessing or protection] back yet. But still, Irin was talking.

‘Is it because the me before the regression and I are connected?’

The reason Irin can speak is thanks to the Mana Spring, not the damage nullification effect. Mu also helped with the mana connection, so it’s possible between me and myself. But right now, damage nullification is more urgent than mana – can’t I get that?

“Yoohyun, calm down.”

“Okay, Hyung.”

I could feel Yoohyun’s magic flowing in, probing at my neck. It wasn’t through a skill, but direct magic trying to burrow in.

People and monsters have magic within their bodies. Directly interfering with another’s magic is incredibly difficult. That’s why Yerim couldn’t freeze or control the moisture in another’s body, and Sung Hyunjae couldn’t move another’s body with electrical signals.

Unless the grade difference was very large. Even if you’re S-class, you can’t directly touch B-class or C-class magic, but if it’s F-class, well.

And I was F-class, and Yoohyun was S-class.

“Wait, hey……!”

A familiar force began to rummage through my body. Perhaps because my magic stat was higher than F-class thanks to the earring, or because my mana was above S-class thanks to the Mana Spring, it couldn’t penetrate so easily. Still, it pushed in little by little, steadily.

“Ugh, Han Yoohyun!”

The back of my neck tingled, and my spine shivered. The mana imprint was reacting to the sudden intrusion. My brother hesitated at the F-class-like resistance, but still didn’t back down.

“Yoohyun, ah! Stop it!”

I thought he would burn things down if he caused trouble, but this was unexpected. If another’s magic completely occupied and dominated my body, what would happen? I had never heard of such a thing.

It was an unfamiliar situation, but an instinctive fear washed over me. The fear resistance skill window popped up. Yes, this is dangerous. I resisted my brother’s magic, which was trying to spread throughout my body, by borrowing the power of the mana imprint.

“Yoohyun! Ugh, Han Yoohyun!”

I tried to take his hand off my neck, but it didn’t budge. I lifted my leg and kicked my brother.

“Ugh.”

Of course, only my foot hurt.

“Be careful. You’ll get hurt.”

“Don’t, do it!”

Damn it, let’s talk, let’s talk!

“Yoohyun, I’m sorry. Huh? Please listen to me…….”

“Don’t apologize. Hyung didn’t do anything wrong.”

Unlike his actions, my brother’s voice was really sweet. …The kid is out of his mind. The crescent moon [likely referring to a magical or psychological influence] is a big reason, but it’s still my fault. It’s my fault, but I couldn’t just stand still and take it.

I gritted my teeth and took out a dagger from my inventory and stabbed Yoohyun’s arm. *Kaduk*, a sound that I couldn’t believe came from hitting human skin rang out. Only a very faint scratch remained, and my brother didn’t react at all.

He was just focused on digging into me. It was the same even when I stabbed his arm again.

“Don’t stab Hyung. But I still won’t stop.”

“At least let go of my neck! I’m suffocating!”

He was still pressing down, but the hand holding my neck loosened. At the same time, I secretly took out the gun I had in my other hand and aimed it at my brother’s chest. He was so focused on me that he didn’t even notice the mana being charged.

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger right away.

Bang!

The fired magic bullet hit Yoohyun’s chest. It wasn’t fully charged, but it was enough to push my brother away. His body, pushed into the air, spun around and landed lightly on the floor like a panther. The loosely worn ceremonial robe shook greatly. The Chinese-style clothes inside were completely torn, revealing his broad chest.

Reddish eyes stared at me from across the dim bed.

With this much noise, no one will come. I should have shot at the wall or ceiling instead.

“Calm down.”

Yoohyun’s lips parted slightly at my words. I felt like I was dealing with a beast that might pounce on me at any moment, not my brother. I even imagined sharp fangs popping out from between those lips.

Without rashly getting out of bed, I sat up, raising only my upper body. Holding the white gun in my hand, I slowly stroked the barrel.

“Tell me what you’re going to do, and the reason why.”

“I thought I was the most important thing to Hyung.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you say you were sorry? Why do you pity me?”

My brother said as if he couldn’t understand.

“If Hyung cherishes me the most by my side, I can’t be pitied.”

“Yoohyun.”

“I’m not sad, I’m not having a hard time, and I’m not lonely. In the first place, I can’t even feel all those emotions unless it’s because of Hyung. That’s how I was born.”

Yoohyun pointed to his chest as if indicating it.

“Hyung made me who I am now. No one else can make me feel anything. They’re all the same, just wooden blocks. I only distinguish them through Hyung. People who are helpful to Hyung, people who might harm Hyung, people Hyung cherishes. No, not people, but existence. Monsters and humans are no different to me.”

“…But you get along well with Yerim and Peace.”

“Yeah. Because those two are similar to me. Only when it comes to Hyung. But if Hyung disappears, everything disappears. Because the world we can stand together in will disappear.”

My brother’s voice was calm. But the gaze directed at me was so sharp it felt like it could cut my skin. Yoohyun’s hands slowly clenched and unclenched as if wanting to pounce on me again right away.

“So if Hyung abandons me, I will.”

“Abandon! No!”

The carpet was burning. But not even smoke or smell was coming out properly. It was literally a fire that swallowed everything. What floor was this? If I shot the floor and broke it to get out, would my body be safe?

“I would have endured it before.”

Yoohyun muttered softly. My brother’s actions right now were abnormal. …From my point of view. Of course, Yoohyun should have endured and stopped.

The moment my eyes inadvertently looked down, Yoohyun moved. In an instant, my arm was grabbed, twisted behind my back, and my face was slammed into the bed. I didn’t even have a chance to make a small sound, let alone resist.

“Ugh!”

A burning pain spread across the back of my neck where the mana imprint began. It felt like I had been bitten hard. Then, his hand pressed down on my back, and Yoohyun’s magic dug in as if trying to control the mana imprint from the start.

The moment my spine tingled,

“……!”

Yoohyun suddenly took his hand off. At the same time, I faintly felt a foreign magic on my back.

“My…….”

Yoohyun’s, and the Black Dragon’s magic.

“…This is only for you at twenty.”

Although it wasn’t a cake.

“And your birthday will be coming soon too.”

It became quiet. I got up and sat down. Suddenly, I wondered if being the perfect caregiver was the right thing to say. Of course, I took care of my brother to the best of my ability.

But that best was ultimately based on my standards. To be exact, I pushed my brother into the framework of the society I knew, based on what I had learned. As long as he had a human form, Han Yoohyun would have been cut off if he couldn’t fit into the framework of society. Still.

‘If raising them as they wish is called nurturing, I deserve to get the title.’

Is it right to unilaterally demand understanding and make them accept it?

“I’m sorry for making you feel uneasy. But I won’t leave you.”

“…Hyung.”

I heard a loud exhale from behind me. Irin ran to me and clung to the back of my hand.

-It’s not Yoohyun’s fault! It’s always like that!

“Yeah, I know.”

I turned around. I could see my brother. His face was stained with confusion.

“Yoohyun. I can’t fully understand you.”

My brother’s shoulders flinched.

“Like a hen that hatched a duck egg being horrified to see a duckling entering the pond, I have a hard time easily accepting what you want.”

“…….”

“Because the world I know and live in is digging through dirt and grass. Getting along with people, making friends, dating, having a family and children, and growing old. So I was worried and uneasy about you only looking at me. Even now, I still sometimes think, shouldn’t I change it somehow? He’s my brother.”

My thoughts have changed because of the many things that have happened. I’ve tried to understand my brother, and I’ve come to think that if Yoohyun likes it, it can’t be helped.

It was the same for Han Yoohyun. He had only been enduring within the framework I gave him, but he began to reveal his instincts and desires.

“I, as Hyung wants…….”

“Maybe you had a hard time understanding me too. Right?”

Yoohyun hesitated and nodded. I was reminded of my younger brother. Isn’t this society itself a strange world for Yoohyun, not just me? So he can only form relationships through me.

Irin also chimed in.

-Hyung has too much heart! You only need the person you like the most!

“People live together.”

-I know, but we don’t need to!

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re different.”

It’s different, not wrong.

“Maybe I, and you too, may never be able to fully understand each other in the future. It’s difficult even between ordinary people. But if, say, you go deep into the sea instead of the pond, I’ll be waiting for you on the beach.”

Even if you become a different being in a completely different world.

“It’s impossible to breathe underwater like you. But I can dip my feet in the waves. You can at least stick your head out of the water. No, you’ve already stuck it out. Thank you, my brother.”

I reached out and hugged my brother. I don’t know how happy I was when my young brother took my hand and smiled.

“You don’t have to come out completely. We live like that, compromising little by little. If you are perfectly free─”

“I don’t like it. That.”

Yoohyun shook his head.

“You said you liked the me that Hyung made.”

“Yeah. I like it too. And Yoohyun, I like you yourself too. You know that, right? I loved you from the moment you didn’t look at me.”

That’s why I raised the current Han Yoohyun.

“It’s also my greed that made you like this. I want you to be happier, I want you to be better. I say it’s for you, but it’s still greed. Thank you for liking my greed.”

Hyuna said before that there can’t be a kind and obedient child in a difficult environment. A child is a child. As she said, a child who is like an angel in front of their guardian is ultimately just holding back with all their might. Even adults can’t give up everything they want, so they are greedy, fight, and go wrong.

“So I’ll compromise too.”

“…Compromise?”

“I can’t let you swallow me. I’ll resist and run away like today.”

Yoohyun’s expression darkened.

“I’m sorry, Hyung.”

“No, I understand… well, it’s difficult, but it’s okay that you feel that impulse. I’ll think it can happen.”

It’s like an instinct, so what can I do? Like a beast that endures when it’s full but eventually bares its teeth when it’s hungry, that’s what it must be like. He usually endures it well too. Thinking about it that way, I was proud.

“But if, inevitably, I have to leave you first.”

I took a long breath. I still had a sense of rejection.

“Then you can follow me.”

“…Hyung?”

“I won’t ask you to live in a ruined world.”

It was something I could never say with my social values or ethics.

…How can I live longer? I’ve said this much, so I have to find some way to extend my lifespan. A few thousand years is impossible, as Irin said, but at least a hundred years.

Yoohyun blinked. He was surprised and embarrassed, but the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

“Hyung hates it, right? Even if you hate it, I can’t live anyway.”

“Is it only you who has to endure it? I have to endure it too. Both sides, I mean.”

After hesitating, my brother smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Hyung.”

“I’m the one who’s grateful. And I’m sorry. And again, there will inevitably be things I’m sorry for in the future. Because I’m not a perfect person.”

What perfect caregiver? I’ll make mistakes again, try to fix them, and then make the wrong choices again. If you ask me if this is the right thing to do now, I can’t nod.

I was just thinking hard and trying to get a little better.

“So Yoohyun, don’t try to fit me too much. We really haven’t fought, have we? You awakened and split like that, and we were separated all the time. At least after the regression, we fought. It’s natural to clash because we’re different people.”

“But I like everything about Hyung.”

“What? What was that about it can’t be helped even if you hate it? You smiled happily and then said that.”

Yoohyun rolled his eyes, looking embarrassed. He must have a hard time understanding his own feelings because he had only been enduring too much.

I gathered saliva in my slightly dry mouth and swallowed it.

‘About Yoohyun before the regression…….’

Should I tell him? I was still hesitant about this. If I bring it up, we’ll definitely fight a lot. The current brother would never accept the idea of taking back the brother that the White Bird took away. If I think rationally, it’s right to give up. More than a dead person, a living person… because.

…But how can I do that?

I can’t back down, and Yoohyun can’t back down either.

‘…My heart aches.’

“Hyung?”

“Huh? Ah. Yerim and Yoon Yoon went to get clothes. I wonder if they’re back.”

In the end, I couldn’t bring this up and got out of bed. I have to tell him someday, but it’s after a fight right now. If we continue like this and understand each other a little more, won’t it be easier to talk?

“I need to take a shower too. You too. I can burn it with fire, but still. It feels refreshing to take a proper shower. I need to wake up Noah too.”

After opening the door to the room, my brother followed me like a little duckling.