“Hang in there… just a little longer!”
A lump rose in Morae’s throat. Warmness traveled up her esophagus. The metallic, coppery taste of blood flooded her mouth. Tears slipped from her tightly shut eyes.
“…What…?”
Then, a hoarse voice cracked—the voice of Kyeon Su-ho.
Morae opened her eyes wide and first checked his device. The screen, which had been flashing its warning light, had returned to its normal color.
Only then did she examine his face.
The veins webbing his skin were fading, and his demon-red eyes had returned to normal.
Morae, tears glistening in her eyes, managed a bright smile.
“Oh… thank goodness.”
“Y-You…”
Kyeon Su-ho seemed about to speak, then abruptly went limp and slumped toward Morae. She staggered under his weight as she held him up.
“W-Wait… H-Hunter Kyeon Su-ho… ugh!”
She didn’t have the strength to hold up a man more than twice her size and collapsed to the ground, clutching him.
Kyeon Su-ho, unconscious, was incredibly heavy. As Morae struggled beneath him, she heard the distant roar of engines.
She barely peeked out from beneath him when two black SUVs screeched to a halt nearby. Both bore “[On official duty]” stickers on the windshields.
They were agents from the Ability Control Bureau.
Relief welled up nearly to tears. She waved frantically at the agents.
“Over here! Over here!”
The agents exchanged glances and loaded blue ampoules—special hunter-grade sedatives—into syringe-like devices.
“Kyeon Su-ho Hunter has just fainted, and he appears to be out of rampage risk. Can you please check on my friend over here? She passed out trying to stop him.”
They injected Kyeon Su-ho and carried him into one vehicle. Another ampoule was loaded, this time for Morae.
“What are you—? I said check my friend, not me!”
A sharp sting spread across her neck, unseen as she instinctively rubbed the area.
“…Why…?”
Words scattered in her skull as her vision filled with white light.
**—
Where am I?** My body aches all over. My throat hurts.
“Wat…”
A raspy, pained voice came from her dry mouth.
Did she catch a fever? A cold, in midsummer—Songiya would laugh at her. Morae rubbed her throat and opened her eyes.
“Huh?”
She was in a stark white room with only a folding cot and chair. It wasn’t her home. She didn’t remember how she got here.
Was it a dream? As confusion dawned, memories rushed back—
The Yongin dungeon, the crash, Kyeon Su-ho at Code Red, the life-and-death taming duel, the arrival of the Bureau agents…
She clearly recalled the contact with the syringe. She got up and approached the door.
Click.
The door was locked. She stepped back and scanned the room again.
The minimal room was featureless except for a large mirror on the wall. This wasn’t a hospital—but why was she imprisoned?
Suddenly, heavy mechanical sounds accompanied the door’s opening. Two men entered.
“…Who are you?”
“I’m Shin Ji-yul, Team Leader of Research Team 1 at the Ability Bureau. This is Hunter Go-san. As you may already be aware.”
She didn’t recognize Shin Ji-yul but immediately knew who Go-san was—
S-rank awakened in the psychic class—one of only five percent in the world.
GO-SAN’s fame wasn’t just his rare psychic ability—it was his dazzling, charming appearance.
Ads featuring Go-san were everywhere. And as a public figure, S-rank hunters were stars—Go-san was one of Morae’s personal favorites.
Normally, she’d blushed from excitement—but this situation was different.
Human cotton-candy appearance or not, she had to know Songiya was safe first. She remained fixedly alert.
“What about my friend? How is she?”
“Your friend is fine.”
“Let me see her now.”
“You will, shortly.”
“Why are you holding me here? Is it legal for a state agency to detain me like this?”
“We apologize for bringing you in without consent. This was an urgent, state-security issue, and we didn’t have time to seek your cooperation. Please understand.”
“……”
“Answer a few quick questions and then you can go. Please calm down and sit.”
Shin Ji-yul’s tone was dry and businesslike—utterly factual. It gave an odd sort of reassurance.
Morae took a seat, though her eyes still watched him carefully.
He looked to be in his thirties, wearing stylish silver-rimmed glasses—quite handsome in a cool, bureaucratic way.
(Songiya would love this.)
She looked to Go-san. He caught her gaze and offered a playful wink, but she didn’t smile.
She turned her attention back to Shin Ji-yul.
“What would you like to confirm?”
“Your name is Kang Morae, awakened as a Tamer at age 11, now 23. You are a freelance awakened with no guild affiliation. Is that correct?”
He had done thorough research while she was unconscious. Morae nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You were in Giheung for a job, right?”
“Yes. I had a request to remove a beehive.”
“Remove a beehive? How?”
“I persuaded the queen bee to relocate to the mountain behind the house.”
“That’s true.”
Go-san interjected with a smile—truth detection was one of his powers.
Shin Ji-yul continued.
“So your encounter with Kyeon Su-ho was coincidental?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened next?”
“After the job, I was returning home with my friend when we encountered Kyeon Su-ho at Code Red. So I…”
Morae trailed off.
Would they believe she had calmed an awakened SS-rank human with Taming?
Awakeners weren’t supposed to use their powers on people, especially psychics like Go-san, who faced heavier regulations.
If she lied, Go-san would know. But she had only helped someone in a desperate state—she believed it would be okay.
She glanced at Go-san before replying:
“His condition was critical, so I helped… a little.”
“Please explain exactly how you helped.”
“Well, his energy was completely tangled, so I used taming to loosen it… but it probably didn’t help much. I think Hunter Kyeon Su-ho overcame it with his willpower.”
“…”
Once someone reaches Code Red, only sedatives—no awakening power—can restore them, especially at SS-rank.
Morae’s explanation left Shin Ji-yul staring at her in stunned silence. Go-san scratched his cheek thoughtfully.
“It seems truthful.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Psychic powers don’t lie.”
Shin Ji-yul’s cold eyes softened slightly with a hint of a smile.
“So you’re E-rank?”
“…Yes.”
“Thank you for your answers.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yes. You may return home shortly.”
That wasn’t too bad.
As Morae stood, Shin Ji-yul spoke again:
“Before you leave, there is one formality I’d like to request.”
Thank u ❤️