Bang Yuseong.
Blood of the Bang Family of Liaoning, the eldest son, and the man currently sitting in the seat of young patriarch.
In that train-wreck of a family, he was the only legitimate son, and people said he was the spitting image of the family head.
And if someone says he looks exactly like the Bang Family’s head, a man who gets through life on his face alone, then that means exactly what it sounds like.
It means he was impossibly handsome.
It also meant he’d inherited a whole list of things no one should ever inherit.
People say a tiger’s cub is a tiger.
He was the one who drove home that a dog’s son is a dog.
My older brother.
Bang Yuseong, the young patriarch of the Bang Family.
Older brother.
When I was little, before I’d recovered my memories of my previous life, there was a day I asked Bang Yuseong something.
“Oh? So our youngest has something he wants to ask his brother?”
“I’m curious about something.”
“Go ahead. Ask anything.”
Watching Bang Yuseong say that with ridiculous confidence, the child I’d been back then asked him:
“Why are you always drunk?”
I had honestly been curious.
I’d looked at the liquor bottles rolling across the floor and pinched my nose at the sharp stench of alcohol filling the room.
Back then, I’d never once seen this man sober.
“Ahahaha. So that’s what you were wondering!”
At my question, Bang Yuseong smiled brightly.
He reached out and kneaded my face with one hand. Ah, damn it. The stink of booze was making me want to throw up.
“You want to know why?”
Still squishing my cheeks around like rice cake, Bang Yuseong had said this:
“Because the world’s too bitter. A man has to drink if he wants to sweeten it enough to live.”
Bullshit.
That wasn’t an answer.
And he’d said it to a younger brother who wasn’t even ten.
On top of that, this man liked women too. Since he’d been as handsome as Father, most of the girls his age in Liaoning were...
Already in love with Bang Yuseong.
About to fall for him.
Or destined to.
One of the three.
And the biggest problem of all—
...He gambled too.
He loved gambling far too much. Father and this brother of mine were the two biggest reasons the Bang Family had gone to ruin, so what more was there to say?
One day I found out he’d stolen the emergency money I’d worked hard to squirrel away and used it for gambling.
That was the day I decided to run away from home.
What a complete fucking disaster.
I had to get out of that godforsaken house.
The reason I’d lived with nothing but that thought in my head—
“...Older brother.”
That man was standing right in front of me now.
Being held by Freak Demon.
“...What are you doing here?”
“Oh, come on. It’s our youngest!”
I flinched at the grin he threw my way.
Of course.
“You’ve been drinking again?”
I could smell the alcohol. Strongly.
I hadn’t expected much, but I’d still wondered if maybe, just maybe, he might actually be sober for once.
No chance.
“Ah, just a little. Just a tiny bit!”
“Nobody ends up looking like this from a little.”
“I really only drank a little. Less than usual.”
That told me everything I needed to know.
It meant he’d poured it down his throat like a champion.
Fine. Whatever. I didn’t care about that.
“What are you doing here?”
Why was this man here?
This was nowhere near Liaoning, where the Bang Family belonged.
A man like him ought to have been sprawled out at the Bang Family estate, or gambling somewhere in the county.
So why was he here?
When I asked, he said:
“Ah, there’s a friend of mine living nearby!”
“...A friend?”
“Yeah, yeah. I came to visit and had a few drinks.”
“...You have friends?”
That was a genuine shock.
This man had friends?
Impossible.
All the men hated him.
Whenever Bang Yuseong’s name came up in Liaoning, the men ground their teeth.
Men our age even more so.
How could they not?
Every woman they liked liked Bang Yuseong instead.
Or had liked him.
Or would.
That was exactly how it was.
I honestly couldn’t count how many relationships had been wrecked just by Bang Yuseong existing.
I remembered him coming home all bruised and blue-faced every other time.
When I asked what had happened, he’d say some man had beaten him.
The reasons were all basically the same every time.
I didn’t even want to explain it.
And female friends?
Those didn’t exist.
To Bang Yuseong, women were not creatures that could become friends.
Which meant friendship, as a concept, simply didn’t exist in that man’s life.
“You little brat! Of course your brother has friends too.”
“The fact that you’re saying nonsense like that means you’re really drunk. Where are these friends, then?”
“Where else? Near White Dragon Mountain.”
“...”
At that, I ran a hand through my hair.
“...White Dragon Mountain is on the other side of here.”
It was closer to Liaoning.
At the very least, it was nowhere near this place.
“Mm? Is it?”
“...Ah, my head.”
Letting out a sigh, I took Bang Yuseong from Freak Demon.
“Freak Demon.”
“Yes, my Sky.”
“...I’ll handle this man myself.”
“As you wish.”
Freak Demon quietly stepped back.
Watching him do that, I carried Bang Yuseong toward the rest of the group.
“Where are we going?”
“Just stay still.”
Later, this was where I’d come to regret one thing.
Not knocking Bang Yuseong out before bringing him over.
That turned out to be a massive mistake.
*****
“Oh, take good care of my little brother!”
The moment we got back to camp, Bang Yuseong shouted that at the others.
Everyone’s eyes turned at once toward the sudden lunatic who’d appeared out of nowhere.
“Ahaha. I’m Bang Yuseong. A pleasure. A pleasure.”
Watching him start making the rounds and introducing himself, I realized my mistake.
Ah. I really should’ve knocked him out.
“Older brother. Just stay still for a—”
“Wow. This guy’s got a different kind of aura about him. What’s his deal?”
Poison Dragon.
He’d been in the middle of preparing food, and now he was staring at Bang Yuseong in blank confusion.
Then Bang Yuseong spotted Yu Yeon sitting nearby.
“Oho...”
The atmosphere around him changed instantly.
“Miss.”
His voice dropped at once.
“I have to ask what a beauty like you is doing in a dark, shabby place like this.”
Forget the voice.
Should I just kick him in the shin?
I seriously considered it.
“...It’s cold here. Rough too. So instead of sitting around in a place like this, why not come with me somewhere warmer—”
“That’s Daecheon.”
“What?”
Bang Yuseong turned to look at me.
“That’s Hong Daecheon. The one who used to live at our house.”
“...Hong Daecheon? Who the hell is Hong Dae—”
He cut himself off, remembering.
“...Ah. That Daecheon?”
“Yes.”
“This miss is Daecheon?”
“Yes.”
“...”
Bang Yuseong looked back at Yu Yeon.
Yu Yeon gave him a small nod.
“...Ah. Really.”
His expression lost all interest in an instant.
Could a person’s mood really reverse that fast...?
“What, it’s Daecheon? Daecheon, long time no see!”
Then he reached out as if to throw an arm around Yu Yeon’s shoulders.
The moment he did, Yu Yeon stepped neatly out of range.
“Aagh.”
Bang Yuseong lost his balance and pitched forward.
It was a deeply embarrassing sight.
Embarrassing enough that I felt ashamed for him.
“Oops... Looks like Daecheon’s shy?”
Was that really all this was?
I was still impressed by how shameless this man could be.
“You haven’t even greeted the brother you haven’t seen in so long. Ah, wait, no. Does that make me big brother now? At least say hello to your big bro—”
“Come here.”
I decided I couldn’t let this continue.
“Gah!”
I yanked Bang Yuseong back.
At the same time, my arm locked around his neck.
“Urk...”
He started flailing as his breath caught.
“Older brother. Go to sleep for a bit.”
“Gh—!”
I tightened my grip and knocked him out.
All the strength ran out of Bang Yuseong at once.
I let go, and he dropped like a discarded sheet of paper.
“...”
“...”
A heavy silence drifted through the camp.
No one said anything.
They all just looked at me.
That silence was deeply uncomfortable.
“...It’s fine. Ask.”
The first one to speak was Yu Yul.
“So... that was your older brother?”
“If I said no, would you believe me?”
“...That’d be hard.”
This was Yu Yul.
One of the strangest people I knew.
And even he was looking at me like he didn’t know what to make of it.
That alone said everything about Bang Yuseong.
“Hang in there.”
“What am I supposed to do with that?”
I’d even gotten encouragement.
Unbelievable.
What exactly was I supposed to hang in there over?
The fact that my brother was my brother?
I hadn’t expected to get cheered on for that.
“...So then, how exactly did you run into him...?”
“...I’d like to know that too.”
“What?”
“Freak Demon just found him wandering around and brought him back.”
“...Huh?”
You don’t get it, do you?
Neither do I.
But that was the truth.
He’d just been out wandering around, and Freak Demon had dragged him back.
Ridiculous as it sounded, that was what had happened.
“For now, I’ll question him after he wakes up. We’ll probably end up with one more person traveling with us, so I’m telling you in advance.”
Honestly, I wanted to dump him and leave.
Or maybe—
Should I just throw him away?
That temptation had just crossed my mind when—
“Handle that however you want. You’re the one in charge.”
Yu Yul stepped a little closer and asked,
“What about the other part?”
“The other part?”
I was still wondering what he meant when he said:
“The smell of blood.”
“...”
“What happened?”
At Yu Yul’s words, my eyes narrowed.
He’d noticed something.
And it wasn’t just him.
Yu Yeon’s watching too.
Yu Yeon was staring at me as well.
Her face was blank, but I could tell she’d picked up the same thing Yu Yul had.
“I’ll explain later.”
“All right.”
Yu Yul answered like it didn’t matter.
Feeling relieved, I picked Bang Yuseong back up.
“I’m just going to toss this man into the supply wagon for now.”
He reeked of alcohol too badly to leave him lying here.
So I carried him off as he was.
I was going to throw him into the food wagon and talk to him after he woke up.
There it is.
I found the wagon tucked off in one corner of the row and headed over.
I flung Bang Yuseong inside.
He landed with a loud thud.
I didn’t care.
I turned to leave—
“Ghk.”
“...?”
A sound came from inside.
At first I thought it was Bang Yuseong, but it wasn’t.
The voice was much thinner. Higher.
Why was a voice like that coming from inside?
I hurried into the wagon and looked.
Then I saw the situation.
Bang Yuseong, dead drunk and unconscious, was sprawled face-down inside the wagon.
And underneath him—
something was pinned there.
“Ghk... ugh.”
“...”
I grabbed Bang Yuseong and shoved him aside.
His body lolled limply.
The figure beneath him was revealed.
“...No.”
I stared in disbelief.
The one who’d just been flattened under him, her face gone pale, was smaller than I’d expected.
She looked about fifteen.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of power coming from her.
The girl with pale blue eyes glared at me with her teeth clenched.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You startled me.”
At the shouted complaint, I answered:
“That’s what I should be asking...”
Then, staring at the girl—
no.
“At this point, what are you doing here?”
I asked Bow Ghost.
