Archive of Our Own ^beta

One of the first things Yoojin did when he regressed was use his phone. He had to find out the date, after all, and verify that the [Wish Stone] truly turned back time. Yoojin exhaled in relief and then checked his calendar to see what he had coming up. It had been 3 years so he was iffy about specific details.

His calendar was empty for that week except for one appointment the next day. Yoojin grimaced since he recognized the name. It was before he had a huge fight with Yoohyun since he tried to go to an Awakener Broker. It was before the Awakening Center’s grand opening that the Association hosted.

Yoojin was so desperate to awaken back then. He had visited many different Awakening Brokers in an attempt for someone to take him. No one would, and if they tried, then Yoohyun would magically step in to save his naive hyung from doing something he would regret. Yoojin gritted his teeth as he looked at his appointment for the next day.

He couldn’t go. But he also didn’t want to use the Awakening Center later in the year. All options were horrible. There was no winning here. It’s not like Yoojin’s awakened skills were all that powerful in the first place. He would be a burden to Yoohyun no matter what, huh?

The Awakener Broker was the final straw between him and Yoohyun. At least, it felt like it was. Yoojin had already blocked Yoohyun’s number the year before. He was so upset at the time because Yoohyun was being protective for reasons that Yoojin didn’t understand at the time. If they had only talked about Yoohyun’s reasons, maybe then they could have repaired their relationship.

But Yoojin was a coward in the end. Even as his thumb hovered over the blocked contact on his phone screen, he wanted to click his phone off. What was he supposed to do? Call Yoohyun despite being so irrational and childish? Yoojin was supposed to be protective over his dongsaeng to shield him from the world. Yoohyun shouldn’t have been forced to protect his hyung.

Yoojin forced himself to unblock the number. He needed to be rational. He didn’t want to fight anymore. So what if guilt clawed at his insides and fear clung to him like hands around his throat? He had to believe that if he worked past any of his negative emotions and attachments, then he’d be able to repair his relationship with Yoohyun.

However, just as Yoojin was about to find a way home and call Yoohyun in private, there was a series of notifications from his phone. Yoojin frowned in confusion as his phone vibrated with message after message. Yoojin gasped as he realized that they were from Yoohyun.

Why would Yoohyun message Yoojin when he knew that he blocked the messages? Yoojin’s body shook, somewhere between rage and despair. It was a strong mixture of both. There were dozens, no, hundreds of texts from Yoohyun. This entire time… Yoohyun had been reaching out to him.

[Hyung, can we talk?]

[Stop ignoring me. I’m sorry.]

[Hyung? I just want to talk to you. We can’t meet in-person but we could talk on a secure line.]

[I’ve been informed that you blocked my number. It makes sense now why you came to the guild yesterday but didn’t say anything about me reaching out to you.]

[You know I’m sorry, right?]

[This is for your own good. The current world we live in is too dangerous. If you try to go into a dungeon, I don’t know what could happen. Can’t you just stop trying to talk to me? It’d be so much easier to let you go if you hated me.]

A sob made itself known as Yoojin read the messages. He choked on his tears, trying to save face. He was in public. He couldn’t… He couldn’t break down. The paparazzi and news journalists would have a riot. They’d publish his emotional grief and somehow find a way to make him a terrible hyung in the process.

[Three hunters that I’ve known for a year died during a dungeon raid. I think dungeons are too dangerous even for those who are awakened.]

[If you died, I think I would burn the world to ashes.]

Yoojin cleared his throat, put his hoodie up, and tried to huddle into a ball as he walked. His feet were already taking him towards Haeyeon. He couldn’t go home now that he knew that Yoohyun had been texting him. The messages started so long ago… but the most recent one was from this morning.

How could there be so many? Was Yoohyun using this as a destresser? Yoojin didn’t understand. If Yoohyun wanted to talk, didn’t he know that Yoojin would have done anything in order to do so?

[I used to be so scared to be home alone without you. I don’t think our parents were like others. I’ve helped too many parents find their missing children to now know that ours weren’t normal. They didn’t care what we did. I can’t find it in myself to be upset or jealous, though. I had you instead.]

The next day was a list of groceries. Really, brat? Yoojin wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. He settled for quickening his pace and arriving at the guild sooner.

Yoojin’s hands trembled as he walked into the Haeyeon Guild. He expected to have a framed photo behind the receptionist's desk along with the title [Banned from the Building]. There was no mugshot-like photo nor was there a regular receptionist. Instead, Suk Simyung exited the nearest elevator and marched toward Yoojin with a stern look on his face.

“Han Yoojin,” greeted Suk Simyung, not at all happy to see him.

Yoojin’s stomach was coiled in uncertainty and anxiety. He looked up at Simyung, trying not to feel like he was being stared down at with discontent. He could do this. He would have to. He rewound time in order to tell Yoohyun that he loved him. Yoojin couldn’t do that unless he was able to meet him in-person.

“Suk Simyung-ssi,” responded Yoojin, “I’m here to see my dongsaeng.”

Simyung sighed loudly. “The guild leader does not wish to speak with or see you. I will get someone to escort you out if I must.”

Yoojin gritted his teeth. He looked over Simyung’s shoulder to see Kim Sunghan, the Shield of Haeyeon, waiting to be called upon. Yoojin hated this. He hated that he let this scare him away so many times before. Yoohyun-ie died in his arms, yet he was still being blocked. Yoojin couldn’t let this stop him, not anyone, not even fear itself.

Yoojin unlocked his phone and practically threw it at Simyung. He spat out, “My dongsaeng asked for me, so shut the fuck up. Where is he?”

Simyung looked down at the phone screen in sheer shock and slight betrayal. He quickly fixed his askew glasses and said, “I’m sure this is a misunderstanding.”

Yoojin knew that tone. It was the same tone that he had faced dozens of times before. Yoojin was always seen as young, even when he gained custody of Yoohyun after their parents died. Yoojin got used to that grating tone, the one that tried to calm him down wherever a situation involving his dongsaeng didn’t quite check all the right boxes.

Yoojin used a trump card. The Association was shit, but there was one person on their payroll that made even the Sesung Guild listen. There was a figure at the Association that made even the top guilds fear his wrath because he may not be able to arrest them, but he would investigate and cause bumps in the road.

Yoojin stated, “I will call Chief Song down here to do a wellness check.”

Simyung clicked his jaw shut. He looked vexed but Yoojin didn’t care about that. He brushed past Simyung, snatched his phone out of his hand, and walked toward the elevator where Sunghan was waiting. The A-Class hunter froze, looking to Simyung for guidance. Simeyong grimaced, but he nodded all the same.

Sunghan opened the elevator and let Yoojin inside. They didn’t speak. They both knew what he was here for, or rather who he was here to visit.

As the elevator came to a stop, Sunghan said, “The guild leader will have to let you into his floor. No one else has access.”

Yoojin nodded. The elevator stopped, he stepped out, and was greeted with a stunned look from Yoohyun. Yoojin put on a smile, which looked sad at best and misery-filled at worst. Yoohyun had keys in his hand, as if he was just leaving. Yoojin lifted up a hand and gave a pitifully awkward wave.

“I got your texts, Yoohyun-ah.”

Yoohyun blinked, his eyes filling with emotion, and said one word, “Hyung.” He then stepped forward and continued in a cracked voice, “You saw them.”

“Yeah.” Yoojin’s smile may have been watery as he confirmed it. “I saw them.”

Yoohyun’s eyes widened at Yoojin’s reply. There was both guilt and surprise within them. “Why did you suddenly unblock my number, hyung? You weren’t supposed to…”

Yoojin couldn’t tell the truth. What could he say? You died in my arms, my skill showed me your memories, and I realized that I put you in a horrible position. Yoojin’s voice clamped down as he tried to form words. He took in a slow breath, then exhaled to calm himself down.

“I wanted to tell you something,” Han Yoojin revealed.

Yoohyun awkwardly shifted in place. This was a bizarre meeting. Neither of them were expecting this. Trust had been broken on both sides. It would take days, weeks, months, and possibly years before they could ever go back to a semblance of what they once were.

“My dongsaeng, I love you.” There, he finally said it. The Yoohyun before him wasn’t the same man who died in his arms, but this was the best Yoojin could do. He ignored the screen that appeared and focused on Yoohyun’s blown-away look.