INHO 07

“No, I’m just an ordinary B-rank hunter. It’s too much to say I’m compatible with an S-rank like Hajun.”
“Hajun seems so distant. Just call me by my name.”
“In the Land of the Morning Calm we can’t do that.”
“Then shall I start by revealing my age, Korean style?”
“No — this level of distance between us is perfect.”

My goal was to keep Min Hajun alive, yes, but I had no desire to get tangled up deeply with his guild. It’s best if we stay at the level of checking whether the other’s alive — help when it’s dangerous, nothing more.
‘I don’t need to expose everything or ask for full cooperation.’

At first I’d considered doing that, but I couldn’t. The man in front of me drew attention for many reasons. If I suddenly blurted, “I actually traveled back from the future and humanity will soon be wiped out,” who knows how he’d react — even if he believed me, any action to help would draw attention from many people.
‘There are other reasons too.’

So asking for Hajun’s cooperation would only happen in very limited circumstances.
“Still, ‘-nim’ sounds too formal…”
“Hajun-ssi.”
“Hmm, that’ll do for today.”

I decided we shouldn’t see each other for a while. I set the spoon down in the empty bowl.

While the two of us were bickering at the jukshi (a small eatery), a news report that had been blaring since yesterday echoed through an isolated alley building where no one passed by.
— Yesterday’s ××dong gate, previously classified as B-rank, has been revealed as an unusual growth-type gate, causing major shock…

A soft, genteel voice that didn’t match the TV noise in that empty building flowed out.
“This information’s lower quality than I expected.”
“B-but it really wasn’t a normal gate. Even the news said so…”

A man on his knees answered in a trembling voice full of fear. Deep under the heavy air lay thick terror, making the space suffocatingly silent. From the dark corner of the room a man strolled out leisurely. His eyes were crescented as if smiling, but there wasn’t a trace of emotion in them.
“And you handled the job poorly.”
“I did everything you told me to!”
“That can’t be… this won’t be decrypted that easily.”

When the man raised his arm, a small winged round creature floated from the gloved tip of his hand. He gently cupped the strange being that had appeared and moved.
“See? This little thing’s cute, but it’s pretty deadly.”

The closer he came, the more the man on the floor trembled as if having a seizure, then foamed at the mouth and finally stopped breathing. He glanced at the motionless body for a moment, then murmured quietly:
“If it touched him, even if not this badly, certainly…”

His cold gaze fixed on the moving TV screen. The feed repeatedly showed Min Hajun exiting the gate. The footage was grainy, maybe shot from far away by a phone; Hajun looked hurried and was carrying someone. The person’s face was completely hidden in his arms.
‘If there’s a variable, I need to confirm it.’

The man curved his mouth in a mildly amused smile and vanished back into the shadows in an instant.

“Ugh, won’t come out even if I die.”

I muttered as I tilted my head back in a cool café. I’d been loitering in someone else’s neighborhood for two weeks straight. Enjoying some leisure was fine, but only for a day or two. To achieve the second objective I had to endure it. I rubbed my tired eyes and looked out the window again.
‘Doesn’t he even eat? He said this neighborhood’s his.’

Right — I was struggling like this to find someone. My last friend, the one who stayed with me until the end. If I could make a reliable comrade, it would be him. But there was a problem.
‘First I have to meet him to even try anything.’

My friend Lee Yul was a notorious homebody, a hikikomori. One of his skills was even “clone” — I always joked it was the manifestation of his unwillingness to leave the house. For gate raids and monster kills he hid his real name and face and worked only through clones, so I was probably the only one who’d ever seen his real face.
‘Of course he doesn’t remember me now.’

Still, I was confident I could explain things to him when we met. If words failed, I’d smack him on the back of the head until he listened. With that plan, I followed memories from my previous life to the neighborhood he supposedly lived in. I’d thought he’d at least step outside sometimes, even if only to buy groceries or go to a convenience store, but I’d underestimated him.

Vroom. My phone vibrated. I looked at the screen with cold eyes.
Min Hajun: How about today?

As always, he’d been messaging me constantly since that day. I sent the same reply as yesterday and opened the chat. Since then he’d been asking me out like he was checking in.

May 19 — Min Hajun: Are you free today?
No, I’m a little busy today.

May 20 — Min Hajun: Nice weather today. Free?
A bit busy.

May 23 — Min Hajun: Have you eaten dinner?
Yes.

May 24 — Min Hajun: Craving something tasty tonight.
…N.

‘Why is he so obsessed with food?’ My replies were getting lazier and lazier. But meeting again would likely lead to awkward topics, so I stalled. And I was actually busy. I couldn’t risk missing something important for a moment of distraction. Lee Yul had to be caught like a wary feral cat. I don’t mean to compare a man bigger than me to a cat, but no better metaphor came to mind.

— Gate reported nearby, gate reported nearby. Citizens, please follow evacuation instructions.
— Gate reported nearby, gate reported nearby…

A sudden evacuation announcement crackled through the building. ‘Gates don’t pick convenient times or places,’ I sighed and rose from my seat. The hunters’ association or a guild would probably handle it without my involvement. I wasn’t even registered as a hunter. I started toward the evacuation route with the crowd, then a familiar silhouette passed the window.
“Oh — that back of the head.”

I slipped out of the line like someone who found a rare item and celebrated inwardly. Stepping quickly onto the street, I saw a tall figure in the distance. He seemed to be heading to close the gate nearby. I couldn’t miss this chance — finally he’d come out.

Hunter Min Sik Choi had been on high alert since his last demotion. How shocked he’d been when the woman he’d lost sight of appeared carried in Hajun’s arms, unconscious, out of the gate. He’d combed through hunter lists and asked acquaintances and guilds; no one recognized her. The transcendent sect stayed silent.
‘She didn’t seem like a civilian.’

Still, he’d been punished because he’d failed to stop an unregistered person from entering the gate. He accepted the discipline, chastened.
“I won’t make that mistake again!”

With the resolve of a rookie, he braced himself. Suddenly something sped by his field of view — heading toward the gate! He turned and saw not the short-haired woman this time but a man wearing a black cat mask, hood pulled up. He breathed easier.
“Oh, Wind — haven’t seen you in a while.”

There’d been rumors he’d died, then revivals; but S-ranks don’t fall easily. Still muttering, Min Sik turned his head and froze. What he saw shouldn’t have been visible. That height, that hair, that face!
“That’s definitely the woman from before…!”

She was heading toward the gate again. This time he had to stop her. At the very least he had to ask if she was a hunter. Perhaps she was an unregistered hunter; if someone awakened and didn’t report, the state could fine or imprison them, and a tipster could receive a bounty. Min Sik wouldn’t be that heartless — he just wanted to warn her. But—
“Huh?”

She had been there a moment ago, then vanished from sight. Annoyed, he bit his lip and resolved to bury this incident in his heart. If he got caught this time the punishment might be suspension rather than a demotion. He told himself he mustn’t make another mistake… and then convinced himself he simply hadn’t seen her.

Unintentionally plunging someone into confusion and worry, the person himself was moving toward his target while avoiding the crowd.
‘Is he speeding up because there are a lot of people here? He hates crowded places.’

I pictured him wrinkling at crowds. As his speed increased, the distance between us wouldn’t close. I poured more mana into my legs.
“Damn…”

Either the mana I’d gained was higher quality than usual or I’d miscontrolled it, because in an instant I shot forward like a spring. ‘I’ve never had this much mana before!’ If this kept up I’d definitely collide with someone. In the split second that follows, Lee Yul flashed past beside me. They say emergencies look like slow motion — he seemed startled and hesitated briefly, and I, desperate, reached out and grabbed him.

Because of the acceleration, our bodies tilted together.
‘This is bad.’