* * *
We arrived in Moscow, Russia nine hours later.
Exhausted from handling Woo Jaehyun the entire time, I stepped off the plane behind Cha Rui, rubbing my ears with a worn-out expression.
On the vast tarmac, only a handful of Russian officials and escorts stood quietly, as if they were here just to greet us.
Considering how much time and effort went into this visit, I expected something more extravagant.
But the welcome was surprisingly low-key.
Maybe someone had requested it that way?
I instinctively looked over at Do Soohyuk, but he was busy conversing with one of the Russian delegates.
“Welcome to Russia. I hope the journey wasn’t too uncomfortable.”
“Thanks to you, it was a smooth ride. Thank you for inviting us.”
Even though it was an official diplomatic event, he managed to pull off a polite smile as he shook hands.
As Cha Rui and Woo Jaehyun followed suit and greeted the officials in turn, I awkwardly stood off to the side.
I had no idea what to do in situations like this.
And since I wasn’t exactly on the same level as the other three, I couldn’t help but feel out of place.
It’s easy to forget, but all three of them were Guild Leaders of Korea’s top three guilds.
No matter how reckless or eccentric they seemed, in formal settings, they fulfilled their roles as the face of their respective guilds.
Maybe I really don’t belong here…
As I scratched the back of my neck in discomfort, one of the Russian delegates suddenly stopped in front of me.
He smiled with bright blue eyes and extended a hand.
I hurriedly fixed my expression and took it, trying to act composed.
“Welcome, Hunter Seo Inho. Thank you for traveling all this way despite your busy schedule.”
“Oh, yes. Thank you for inviting me.”
“The Russian Hunter Federation has been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”
“Me?”
Caught off guard by the translation, I overreacted without meaning to.
Realizing how awkward I sounded, I quickly adjusted my expression, but the delegate simply tilted his head, genuinely puzzled by my reaction.
“Wouldn’t any awakened being feel the same? We’re truly thrilled to have the opportunity to build a connection with you.”
Oh…?
Well, I had to admit—Seo Inho’s abilities were impressive.
Still, I didn’t expect such a positive reception from Russia.
In the original story, Seo Inho died early on, and only the other three characters were spotlighted, so I’d clearly underestimated things.
I was still a bit overwhelmed, but I couldn’t say the warm welcome felt bad.
I followed the escort as he led the way, doing my best to hide the smile tugging at my lips.
Russia was leaving a surprisingly good first impression.
“You cold, hyung?”
As I pressed my cheeks to warm them, Woo Jaehyun suddenly popped up beside me, concern in his voice.
Judging by his face, he’d clearly misunderstood what I was doing.
I mean… it’s only about five degrees colder than Korea.
Of course I wasn’t cold.
I literally ran around a desert dungeon that hit -50°C wearing nothing but a leather jacket.
“I’m fine. This is nothing.”
“Really?”
Wait a sec… What the hell does he take me for?
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it felt, and my eyebrows shot up.
Even if I was considered a “low-tier” S-rank, I was still a proper high-ranking Hunter—and yet he was treating me like some fragile glass ornament.
Considering everything that had happened to me so far, it wasn’t entirely unjustified—but still, coming right after a rare compliment, it was just too much.
In short, I felt irrationally insulted.
“Hey! I’m S-rank too, you know!”
Raising my voice even slightly had drawn everyone’s attention in an instant.
Among them was Do Soohyuk.
It had been a while since I’d last met those pitch-black eyes and the calm, gray ones staring back at me.
And those hazel-green eyes, wide open in surprise.
I hadn’t thought at all about the consequences before blurting it out, and now a wave of embarrassment crashed over me, far too late.
‘…What the hell did I just do?’
It was way too late to take it back now.
Feeling my face flush with heat, I pushed past everyone and strode ahead.
I was practically clawing at my own scalp in my head, but if I let even a bit of that show on the outside, my image would be ruined beyond repair.
Since when did I feel inferior, anyway?
That kind of emotion is reserved for people who have the luxury of peace of mind.
In my experience, when you hit true rock bottom, you don’t even feel that.
You just draw a line and accept that they’re from a different world.
And yet here, I was letting things that normally wouldn’t faze me get under my skin.
I was even… unconsciously jealous.
Maybe this was still the leftover influence of “Seo Inho.”
But for a moment, I wondered—what if I was the one who had changed?
Could it mean I’d gained a little peace of mind too?
“……”
I listened carefully.
Fortunately, it seemed like the others were following behind without saying anything.
I didn’t have the courage to turn around, so I kept my gaze fixed ahead and quickened my pace.
Not long after, we arrived with our attendants at a sleek, luxurious high-limousine.
It looked like the vehicle we’d be taking, but curiously, only one car had been prepared instead of four.
“…Are we all riding together?”
In the movie, each character had stepped out of a separate limo, one after another.
The scene had been so stylish and memorable that I still remembered it clearly.
As I muttered my confusion, Cha Rui, who had come up beside me without notice, gestured for me to get in first.
“I made that request ahead of time.”
“Ah…”
So the plan had changed once I decided to attend the party.
I understood the reasoning—probably for safety or control—but I was a bit disappointed not to witness that scene for myself.
Swallowing that disappointment, I stepped into the limousine—and let out a soft gasp without thinking.
Something familiar had caught my eye as I glanced around the interior.
“Oh—this wine.”
There, nestled in a bucket of ice, was a bottle with a striking label.
The unforgettable Celeste wine.
I’d heard it was made in Russia, but I hadn’t expected to run into it here.
I went through hell because of that wine.
If I had just kept avoiding it, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad.
But after tasting it once at a hotel, Seo Inho’s body had completely lost its restraint.
And since Seo Inho was essentially me, I couldn’t avoid being affected.
One time, I told myself I’d just have a single glass… and somehow it turned into three bottles.
The next morning, my father had been horrified by the aftermath and hid every last bottle in the house.
Honestly, it was for the best.
Just seeing that wine made it impossible to resist, and I ended up regretting not asking him to hide it sooner.
To this day, I still didn’t know where it was stashed.
‘Been a while since I’ve seen you.’
I sat down, idly turning the wine bottle in my hands when I felt sharp stares prickling at me.
Looking up, I found Cha Rui, Woo Jaehyun—and even Do Soohyuk—staring at me as if trying to read my mind.
In that moment, I remembered the time I got drunk and started treating them like dolphins.
I had to squeeze my eyes shut in secondhand embarrassment.
Especially with Do Soohyuk—didn’t something happen with him at a hardware store, of all places?
“I-I wasn’t planning to drink it right now or anything…”
I fumbled out a weak excuse, quickly placing the wine back in the bucket and turning to stare out the window.
Soon, the car pulled away from the airport and began speeding down the road.
While the private runway had been quiet, the front of the airport was swarming with reporters and crowds.
They were so desperate to get a shot of the interior that some were even flashing their cameras right up against the window.
Even now, a news van was tailing us from behind.
In Korea, reporters would never go this far—they were too wary of backlash.
But Russian journalists were… bold, to say the least.
Maybe it was a cultural difference, or maybe it was because we weren’t their own country’s hunters that they felt more free to be aggressive.
Of course, the sheer fame of the three sitting with me was probably a big factor too.
“Already here?”
It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the party venue.
All other vehicles had been stopped, and our car alone turned off onto a side road, soon pulling up in front of a massive estate.
Elegant yet imposing, the mansion was so vast it was hard to take it all in at once.
I’d already seen it in the movie, but even so, the real thing was overwhelming enough to make my jaw drop.
“…It’s even bigger than I thought.”
This was the place where this episode would begin.
The party gathering all of Russia’s S-Class—and us—was being held not in some glitzy city venue, but in the private mansion of an oligarch.
In Russia, oligarch refers to wealthy elites who maintain close ties with the government.
One of them had generously offered their mansion for this event.
“Bigger than you thought?”
Cha Rui, standing beside me, tilted his head as if puzzled.
Apparently, he’d heard my small whisper. Great.
Now I couldn’t even talk to myself in peace.
“Ah, it was just a passing comment.”
I gave a sheepish laugh and quickly stepped into the mansion.
Somehow, I ended up going in first—and the moment I did, the sheer beauty of the interior left me speechless.
Every decoration felt like something you’d only see in a museum—true works of art.
* * *
