Chapter 211: [IT STARTED THE DAY-]

Eli found himself sitting on a swing.

Next to him—on the neighboring swing—sat Caelen.

A B-Class freelancer with a cursed system and a glow-worm serpent hidden under his sleeve.

And an S-Class hunter, heir to one of the wealthiest men in Korenea—and the son of the founder of the Hunter Association himself.

Both of them.

In a random park.

In a quiet, ordinary neighborhood.

Perched on old swings like it was the most natural thing in the world instead of the strangest scenario Eli could imagine.

He tilted his head back and stared at the sky. Stars dotted the deep blue in sharp clusters, clear and distant. The air was cold; even wrapped in his sweater, he felt the chill settle into his bones.

Or—

Maybe that cold was all nerves.

The silence between them sat heavy and awkward.

’I’m just glad he brought me to a public place. He said he wasn’t going to kill me… but I can’t exactly take that on faith.’

Eli risked another glance toward Caelen.

Caelen was already looking at him.

Eli flinched instantly and snapped his gaze away.

“U-Um.” He pushed lightly off the ground so his swing began to sway, anything to give his nervous energy somewhere to go. “So… about you and Kairo. I really didn’t mean to find out. Miss Kairie just… spoke to me and, not that I blame her or anything, maybe she thought she could trust me with the secret and—”

“What do you want to know?” Caelen interjected suddenly.

Eli blinked, the motion of his swing slowing.

“…You’re… asking me?” he said, turning toward him in disbelief.

Caelen smirked. “Surprised? I figured you’d have questions. You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t.”

Eli hesitated.

Ah.

That did make sense.

That made a lot of sense.

Caelen leaned back slightly, the chains of the swing creaking faintly beneath his weight.

“Besides,” he added casually, “I’ve got things I want to ask you too. So I think it’s fair I answer your questions first.”

Eli’s stomach tightened.

’He has questions for me…?’

The mission, the tension, and the sheer unknown crashed together all at once.

Under the open sky, on two worn swings in a quiet park—

What kind of questions could Caelen possibly have?

Was it about the meeting?

The lab?

Eli didn’t know.

But whatever Caelen was planning to ask, Eli knew this might be his only real chance to get answers of his own.

And the system wasn’t about to hand him another perfect setup like this.

So—

’I’ll do this first.’

As Caelen himself had said, it was only fair.

’I’ll get what I came for… and deal with his questions after.’

Eli drew in a steady breath and nodded once.

“Alright,” he said quietly.

He kept his swing moving—just a gentle back-and-forth that made the chains creak with every shift of weight.

“Okay… I could live with that.”

Caelen let out a low chuckle.

“What?” Eli asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“You were acting like I was taking you somewhere to dump your body earlier,” Caelen said, smirk tugging at his lips, “and now you look like a pop quiz is the hardest thing you’ve ever faced.”

He shook his head slightly.

“It’s both entertaining… and kind of offensive.”

“Well,” Eli countered weakly, “you did throw a knife at me when we first met.”

Caelen shrugged easily. “I knew you’d survive it. Let’s be real.”

’That is not reassuring at all…’

Then Caelen leaned forward on his swing, golden eyes locking onto Eli with something sharp and intent beneath the playfulness.

“Now,” he said, voice smoothing out, “tell me your questions… before I change my mind and start being unfair.”

Eli swallowed.

’Okay… this is it.’

“Uh… first off,” Eli began, fingers curling tightly around the cold chain of the swing, grounding himself in the faint creak of metal, “why do you and Kairo hide the fact that you’re brothers?”

For a moment, Caelen simply hummed, eyes lifting toward the night sky. Surprisingly, there was no tension in his posture at the mention of Kairo this time—no sharp edge, no immediate deflection.

“The same reason we hid being Ryus in the first place,” Caelen replied calmly. “We didn’t want our names as hunters tied to our family. Everyone knows nepotism can be… damaging.”

Eli nodded slowly.

’I wouldn’t really know—I’m not truly Elione… but I guess that makes sense.’

He kept his expression neutral, understanding the logic even if it felt distant to him.

“And,” Caelen continued lightly, “we both hate the idea of being known as brothers.”

The words came out so casual it almost made Eli’s chest hurt.

Hate.

To speak that way about your sibling so easily—

It felt wrong.

Lucien loved his little brother, Lucas, more than life itself. He’d sacrificed everything—his safety, his future, even his own happiness—just to give Lucas a better life than he could ever have dreamed of.

And now, living as Eli, that love hadn’t lessened.

If anything, it burned stronger.

Everything he did now—every risk, every deal with the damned system—was to someday reclaim his life as Lucien… and return to Lucas.

’How can you hate someone like that…?’

The contrast tugged painfully at his heart.

Which led naturally to the next question.

“Why?” Eli asked quietly, tilting his head toward Caelen.

Caelen blinked, glancing at him. “Why?”

“You just asked a big question,” he added mildly. “So you’ll have to be a little more specific than that.”

“Why do you both hate each other?” Eli asked again—this time slower, heavier.

Not just because of the mission.

But because he genuinely needed to understand.

He was already starting to wonder on his own—what kind of wound could turn something as deep as brotherhood into something that cold?

“What happened,” Eli pressed softly, “to make things end up like this…between the two of you?”

Caelen didn’t answer right away.

The silence stretched between them.

Instead of speaking, he pushed off the ground with the toe of his boot, setting his swing into motion—matching Eli’s slow rhythm.

Side by side.

Swaying gently under the open sky.

It was strange to watch.

A man who stood at the pinnacle of strength in Korenea—an S-Class hunter feared by monsters and peers alike—swinging like a restless kid, feet lifting and dropping with absent-minded ease.

It shouldn’t have looked natural.

But somehow… it did.

And that small sight humanized him more than any teasing grin or cocky remark ever had.

’He looks… normal.’

Eli stayed quiet, letting the chains creak softly as he waited. He didn’t rush Caelen. He didn’t fill the silence with nervous chatter.

This wasn’t something meant to be dragged out of someone.

Almost a full minute passed.

Maybe two.

Then—

“Can’t speak for the asshole,” Caelen muttered finally, gaze fixed ahead instead of on Eli.

Eli stilled slightly.

“But my hatred for him?” Caelen continued, voice far quieter than usual, stripped of humor.

“It started the day we got our abilities.”

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