Episode 9
“Why aren’t you answering? I asked who it was.”
“There was someone… an E-rank Tamer.”
“Was she a woman?”
“How did you know?”
“I thought I heard a woman’s voice.”
Kyeonsuho pressed his temple as he recalled that voice. His head, already aching after two hours of sleeplessness, felt like it was going to split.
“Bring that woman here.”
Shin Ji-yool and Choi Man-deok’s expressions darkened. They began to soothe Kyeonsuho with calm voices.
“Kang Morae’s rank is very low. Since it was an emergency, her success might’ve been just luck.”
“Y-yeah, Kyeonsuho… plus, if she fails again, we’d have to erase her memory. You know it’s not good to expose someone to mental-power tampering too often.”
“It’ll just cause a bit of a headache.”
There was no way it could hurt worse than me, Kyeonsuho sneered.
“But there’s always the chance it could,” Shin cautioned.
“That’s right, Kyeonsuho. People with weaker minds can be heavily affected.”
Kyeonsuho—quietly listening—tilted his head.
“This is weird. Why do I feel like you two are trying so hard to protect that woman from me?”
His smile turned dangerously sharp. The intense pressure in the room silenced Shin and Choi instantly.
“Stop playing games. Bring Kang Morae in front of me. If she fails again, I’ll handle it myself.”
Having said this, Kyeonsuho walked out.
Choi, staring at his broad back as though a dog chasing a chicken, lowered his head in defeat.
“Team Leader Shin…”
“Yes, Director?”
“I think it really has nothing to do with rank…”
“I agree.”
Both of them had already detected it during the earlier two failed tests: the power to tame Kyeonsuho didn’t depend on rank.
“In the end, only that girl can tame our Kyeonsuho.”
“That’s very likely.”
Even if they desperately wanted to protect Kang Morae, the safety of the world hung on Kyeonsuho. They had no choice.
“Summon Hunter Kang Morae.”
“Promise her a high salary. Top-tier.”
“S-rank Awakened level?”
Choi Man-deok clasped his hands behind his back and looked up. His eyes glistened.
“At least that way, I’ll feel less guilty.”
“…”
Both of them sighed in unison.
Meanwhile…
Morae was climbing the hill quickly. The sun, now a deep red, hung low in the sky.
The job took longer than expected. The client’s dog had wandered far off.
Huff.
Reaching the villa with her rooftop room, she straightened and sighed heavily.
A cold beer would be heavenly right now.
Her legs, worn from a full day of walking, throbbed painfully. She fanned herself with her sweat-dampened T-shirt, and then heard a voice from above.
“Aren’t you going up?”
“Huh?”
Morae looked up and saw Song-i standing on the roof.
“Song-i! When did you get here?”
“Ore while ago.”
Song-i waved a beer can as a cold breeze ruffled under it. Morae’s face lit up.
“Want one?”
“It just came out of the fridge. Hurry up.”
They rushed upstairs. After a quick wash and dabbing her damp hair with a towel, she joined Song-i who was already sipping a beer.
“Ahh… I feel better already.”
It was so cold it gave her brain freeze. Song-i grinned at her reaction.
“Did you find the dog?”
“Yeah. In Suyu-dong.”
“That’s far.”
“The dog’s owner lived in Gwanghwamun.”
“You really went all the way? That took some time.”
“Yeah. I tamed every animal in northern Seoul to find him. Took longer than expected.”
“The client must’ve been thrilled.”
“Of course. She hugged her dog and cried; it made me tear up too. Oh, and Deokgu is the dog’s name.”
Song-i paused mid-drink, tilting her head.
“Tiring?”
“My legs feel like they’ll fall off. I walked all the way to Suyu-dong, worried I’d miss him if I drove.”
“No, taming—how was that? Was it tough?”
“Huh?”
To locate Deokgu, she’d tamed every living thing she could find—never before had she tamed so many creatures all at once.
Yet it didn’t tire her at all. Out of curiosity, she checked her device—PV was still at 0.
Right, why didn’t it hurt?
Song-i patted Morae’s shoulder.
“If it’s not tiring, that’s good. Want to order dinner?”
Morae paused the thought. She shook her head.
“There’s leftover soy milk from last time. Let’s make kongguks
“Ah, that’s creamy and tasty. Now I’m hungry.”
“Just boil noodles—it’s quick. Wipe the porch, okay?”
“Got it.”
While they quickly prepared kongguks, night fell.
The sky turned navy, and small points of light—stars or satellites—appeared.
As Morae cleared the table, a firefly flitted around, sprinkling tiny lights.
Song-i was unfazed; she’d seen plenty of such enchanting moments with Morae before.
After clearing dishes, they lay down on the porch with beers in hand.
“Let’s check the攻略 (guide).”
“Song-i—headache bothering you again?”
Song-i pressed her temple, glancing at her tablet.
“This time it’s going fast. I barely used my ability.”
When Awakened accumulate PV, their bodies send signals—headaches or flu-like fatigue.
Strangely, Morae had never experienced such symptoms. Her power was so slight that no penalty accumulated.
“Want painkillers?”
“They don’t even do much. Let’s go to the bureau in a couple of days to get stabilizers. Won’t fix the headaches, but I’ll feel crappy for a few days.”
Song-i hated stabilizers—they said it felt like being a fly stuck in tar.
Morae couldn’t relate.
‘I can’t suffer for her,’ she thought, touching Song-i’s forehead gently with her cool hand. Song-i squinted in pleasure, like a contented cat.
The scene was adorable. Just as Morae tried to hold back a laugh, her vision suddenly wavered.
“Huh…?”
The next moment, she saw Song-i’s aura.
A light sky blue radiance, concentrated around Song-i’s head and extending outward from her heart—it was so vivid it felt almost tangible.
Seeing this aura was the beginning of taming, so it wasn’t shocking.
But… they were human. And she had no intention to tame her. Why could she see the aura?
“Song-i, you look weird.”
“No….”
The aura seemed controllable. Even though she’d never manipulated one before, she felt confident.
After thinking for a long moment, Morae gently took Song-i’s hand. Song-i, mid-sip, turned to her.
“Why?”
“Stay still, okay? Just a moment.”
“…?”
“Just a little, it’ll be fine.”
Morae’s green light aura seeped into Song-i’s fingertips. Without realizing, Song-i closed her eyes.
“Aaah….”
A warm, gentle energy—so Morae—flowed through her veins.
Normally, when you sense another’s energy, you’d feel uneasy. But this felt natural.
It was neither forceful nor overwhelming. In fact, there was no sense of intrusion. Despite being a subtle energy that could easily be dismissed if she wanted, Song-i didn’t want to push it away.
The aura drifted around, then homed in on her head, focusing and smoothing.
Immediately, the persistent headache vanished. Song-i let out a relieved sound.
“Oooh…”
“Hey? Does it hurt?”
“No, no… it’s not pain….”
Catching her breath, Song-i grabbed Morae’s shoulder.
“Morae, what did you just do to me?”
“I, um… I smoothed your twisted aura a bit…”
Song-i already knew Morae’s taming was aura-based. Her eyes widened in shock.
“You… tamed me?”
“Uh… sorry if it bothered you.”
“Are you kidding? It felt amazing!”
She exclaimed, then checked her device: 8 PV. Staring at the screen, she murmured in a daze:
“What… my penalty value decreased…?”
