Chapter 1
There is a certain webtoon.
Serialized under the tags “shonen” and “hunter” on a Korean platform, this webtoon became a literal record-breaking hit, rewriting the history of Korean webtoons.
Its name? Underworld!
It was insanely popular. The characters were so charming that I re-read Underworld more than five times just to see my favorite one again.
But that was it.
It’s been twenty years since I died in an accident and reincarnated into the world of Underworld.
When I first realized I’d been reincarnated into a comic, I lived with the delusion of a middle schooler who might have a black flame dragon sealed in his right hand. But my middle school, high school, and college life passed by without a single notable incident.
I was shocked to learn that my younger brother, born not long after I reincarnated, was named Kwon Seo-woo, the exact name of the main character. But even that stopped bothering me after a while.
The original protagonist was an only child raised in a loving household, whereas my brother Kwon Seo-woo became an orphan at sixteen.
It clearly couldn’t be the same person.
Besides, in these kinds of ability-based battle stories, things always happen before they even graduate high school. I was already in college, so surely it had nothing to do with me anymore.
So I thought the genre of my life was a slice-of-life.
“AAAHHH!”
“Help! Somebody help us!”
“Don’t push!!”
Up until the moment I looked at my bank account with my newly deposited part-time wages, I swore my life was slice-of-life.
…
The chandelier in the department store, which looked like it cost an obscene amount of money, shattered with a sharp sound.
How much must that thing have cost?
I stared up blankly at the crumbling columns and walls before me.
All around were monsters letting out grotesque sounds, and beyond the gaping hole in the wall, I could see the cityscape.
People below were screaming, looking up at the collapsing building, and a giant screen flickered in the chaos.
It showed Baek Gyeon, Korea’s undisputed number-one-ranked hunter, but no one cared about that right now.
“Isn’t there a hunter here?! A gate just opened inside the department store…!”
The sounds of people screaming and rushing out of the building felt distant.
“…Whoa. This is insane…”
In this surreal, dream-like situation, I muttered blankly.
My brain knew I should be running too. But there was a problem.
“Noona!”
“…Huh?”
“Noona, are you okay?! Stay there! I’m coming to—!”
I tried moving my leg, stuck under the rubble, several times, but could only break into a cold sweat as I looked up.
Just moments ago, my annoying little brother had been begging me to buy him this or that game console. Now, he lay sprawled in the distance, reaching out to me.
And then, with a thunderous crash, the ceiling collapsed right in front of me.
“Kwon Asol!!”
With a twisted face, my brother Kwon Seo-woo shouted my name—and then disappeared behind the debris.
My bloodied lips parted in despair.
A gate had opened in the department store, monsters were pouring out, the building was collapsing in real-time—and I was trapped in the middle of it all.
At this point, even I couldn’t deny it anymore.
“I’m… really going to die, aren’t I…”
Born a powerless civilian in a world ruled by awakened beings, I had worked incredibly hard just to keep up with all the prodigies around me.
No, not “pretty hard”—I lived fiercely.
“One hot Americano is ready!”
“Excuse me?! What kind of service is that? Who taught you to talk like that?! Get your manager!”
“I’m so sorry. Your hot Americano is now ready~”
“Hi there. I’ve been watching you from afar for a week now and—”
“Yes, sir. The restroom is to your right, just outside the door. Thank you~”
Maybe it’s because I’m about to die, but all those awful customers I smiled at while forcing my way through countless part-time jobs are flashing before my eyes.
I could cry from the sheer unfairness.
For the past few years, I was every local convenience store owner’s favorite worker, a 3-year veteran at the coffee shop near my house, and the go-to substitute when any friend needed help with a shift.
I reincarnated into a hunter-world story, but lived a life more “normal civilian” than anyone else.
And now, just because I stopped by to buy my brother some clothes, a gate opened and I’m going to die?
How unlucky can one person be?
“…Damn it. Who the hell dies like this?”
Faced with the sudden fear of death, tears welled up in my eyes.
I raised my trembling arms and desperately pushed at the rubble pinning me down, even though it wouldn’t budge.
I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live.
I wanted to survive and get out of here…
And then—
CRASH!
“Ah!”
With a sharp sound, a window shattered and a black figure flew in.
“…I told you we should’ve brought Sindorim.”
「She’s busy with family stuff. Can’t you figure that out yourself?」
A man landed with a crash, muttering into the comms device in his ear.
And when I finally got a good look at his face, I had to turn my head in disbelief.
I’d seen this scene somewhere before.
A collapsing department store. The wounded protagonist, Kwon Seo-woo. And that grey-haired man with a trash personality visible from 100 meters away.
“This area’s cleared. Once we hear from Jusemin, track down Najin. That bastard couldn’t have gone far.”
Baek Gyeon.
Successor candidate of the Baek clan—one of the five families supporting the Underworld universe.
Ranked #1 in the country, insanely skilled, and canonically gorgeous according to the author. But due to his trash personality, he had only hardcore fans or intense haters.
‘…Wait a sec, no way.’
The plot of Underworld’s very first chapter flashed in my head.
The Second Gate Terror Incident.
The incident that kickstarts the story—where villain Najin forcibly opens a gate, causing an entire department store to collapse.
And it’s during this unprecedented gate disaster that the protagonist, Kwon Seo-woo, awakens as a late-blooming ability user.
His natural constitution happened to align perfectly with the energy released from the artificially opened gate.
Hold on, what was Kwon Seo-woo wearing in Chapter 1 again? A black tracksuit?
…Didn’t my brother wear the same thing today?
Right then, Baek Gyeon’s comm buzzed again. His face twisted as he angrily tapped the receive button.
“What nonsense? A late bloomer awakened… in this mess?”
I couldn’t hear the conversation clearly, but from Baek Gyeon’s expression, I knew I was right.
Kwon Seo-woo.
Protagonist of Underworld. The kind-hearted, righteous boy who awakens to his powers after getting caught in Najin’s terror attack.
‘…So my Kwon Seo-woo is that Kwon Seo-woo?’
“Send me the location. I’m heading there now.”
The man casually kicked away an approaching monster.
THWACK—with a sickening sound, the beast’s body split clean in two.
Only then did I register the reality around me again.
Blood. Everywhere. The sharp metallic scent hit me all at once.
I had to get out of here. Now.
Just before Baek Gyeon fully turned away, I called out in desperation.
“Excuse me! Over here!”
“…There’s someone else?”
His gaze, which held zero urgency despite the chaos, finally landed on me. His eyes widened slightly.
Just that look made my blood freeze.
Before I knew it, the tall man was standing right in front of me.
“Y-you’re Hunter Baek Gyeon, right? My leg’s trapped under this column. Could you help me, please?”
Even with his trash personality, a hunter’s a hunter.
He wouldn’t ignore a civilian asking for help… right?
Thankfully, Baek Gyeon complied.
“AH!”
…Though his method wasn’t exactly gentle.
He kicked the debris off my leg like he did the monster, sending it crashing into the wall.
The pressure around my shin disappeared. The debris had wedged in just right, so I wasn’t really hurt—just a bit numb.
Tears of relief welled up.
“Th-thank you so much! I’m not hurt. I’ll be on my way now.”
I jumped to my feet, ready to disappear before that temper of his decided I’d “offended” him.
“I think I’ve found something.”
「What?」
“No, not the one you picked up. Someone else.”
Then I blinked—
—and suddenly I was dangling in the air, held by the back of my neck.
Suspended midair in Baek Gyeon’s grip, I thought: What the hell is happening?
Why is Korea’s #1-ranked hunter holding me like a puppy?
“I’m bringing her. Send the location. No time to ask—just look and you’ll get it.”
“W-what? What?!”
“Excuse me a moment.”
“Eh?”
“Hold still.”
“W-wait! I’m a civilian—!”
His massive hand caught my neck as I instinctively thrashed. Then, like a sack of rice, he slung me over his shoulder.
“…B-rank? No, maybe A?”
“Hey! L-let me go—!”
I squirmed and kicked, dangling helplessly from Baek Gyeon’s shoulder, but he ignored me.
In the corner of my vision, a screen flashed brightly:
HTV proudly presents live coverage of the 204th Official Hunter Exam! Sponsored by Korea’s #1 guild, Baekyeom!
And that was how I, who believed for 20 years that my life was a slice-of-life…
…was carried off like a sack by the top hunter in the country.
‘…I really lived so damn hard.’
Turns out, my little brother is the protagonist of that hunter story—where main and side characters alike die left and right.
