Hyeon Sa.

His perfectly arranged black hair on his forehead appears to suck in the darkness around him. His pale face and sharp black eyes give off a cold impression. His pink lips curve into a smile.

Had this been someone else, they would certainly be fawning over that beautiful face. But Yiseon feels a strange cold sensation just by looking at him. He is glued to those black eyes.

"I believe Mr. Taesik Won had told you."

Slowly, step by step, Hyeon Sa draws closer to Yiseon. Taesik Won is the name of the man who talked to Yiseon on the phone earlier. For a moment, Yiseon wonders if he is the one who leaked his whereabouts to Hyeon. But Taesik Won is not that kind of person.

Then, if it wasn't Taesik Won who did it...

Yiseon is suddenly short of breath. Did he find out on his own? Well, this is Hyeon Sa. Someone like him can get whatever he wants without much effort. But this is absolutely terrifying. Did he discover Yiseon's house already? Did he go in and check the inside?

But on second thought, Hyeon Sa is now meeting Yiseon in front of a subway station. Not anywhere close to his house. The light here isn't dark enough to perfectly cover Yiseon's face.

Hyeon walks up to Yiseon.

"Shall I say hello first, Mr. Yiseon Jeong?"

Hyeon's voice is warm and gentle. Yiseon stares at the man's extended hand in front of him. The way his fingers are stretched out looks cool and gives off a stern impression.

Yiseon raises his head, then looks straight into Hyeon's smiling eyes.

"No. I don't have anything to talk to you about. I don't think we need to shake hands."

"Well―"

"Goodbye."

Yiseon moves to Hyeon's side. But after only a few steps, his path is blocked. Hyeon elegantly shifts one step to the side and stands in front of Yiseon. Despite the smiling face, he must have been very offended that Yiseon rejected his hand just now.

"I'll listen to your conditions and leave."

"I'm not interested. Neither the guild nor Chord HN. Money, housing, employee benefits... I'm not interested in them, so please leave me alone."

"Then, could you tell me what interests you? I can fulfill whatever you want."

"I want you to step aside now. And don't ever come to me again."

Again, Hyeon just put on a smiling face. He obviously doesn't intend to step aside, so Yiseon finally opens his mouth back with a slight frown.

"Why do you need me in Chord?"

"Are you curious? If so, you should sign a contract with me and I'll tell you."

"I'm going."

"I mean no joke, I'm serious here. Deadly serious. But there's no guarantee you'll keep your mouth shut if I tell you the reason here."

Hyeon tilts his upper body to follow Yiseon who is about to take a step to the side. His gesture looks like he is asking for agreement, but Yiseon holds himself back from reacting the way this man wants him to. He thinks there must be something wrong for a Hyeon Sa scouting him directly.

Yiseon takes a step back, Hyeon imitates persistently. He wants to run, but it will be useless considering the ability Hyeon has.

Hyeon Sa's ability is shadow.

He can equip his shadow with physical powers and control its movement. In a sense, it can be called shadow possession, the power of the shadow object can be passed on to Hyeon. And depending on the degree, the shadow object may weaken or even disappear completely.

The darker the shadow, the more power Hyeon can absorb. He can even turn a dark shadow into a dense sword. So it is obvious Yiseon will be caught in just a few steps if he tries to run away. Ah, no. He won't even be able to take one step ahead.

Now, as the sun continues to set, the shadows of the buildings around Yiseon and Hyeon grow longer. So does Hyeon's power that is getting stronger.

"You've come all the way here, but I apologize, I don't do guild activities," says Yiseon finally after letting out a short sigh.

"Chord activities are usually separate from HN Guild."

"I mean, I don't want to do any high-profile jobs. I'm sure I'll get attention if I'm next to you. I don't like that. But I may consider it if you want me to do something in a quiet place―where no one can see me..."

Yiseon stares at Hyeon's indescribable face.

"Looking at your face, it seems like you can't offer me a job like that. Then, I'm going now."

This time, Hyeon doesn't follow Yiseon. But just as Yiseon takes two steps forward, Hyeon says something that nearly gives him a heart attack.

"You're carrying a cake box. Are you rushing to some birthday party?"

Yiseon stops. Slowly turning his head while Hyeon also turns his body completely around to look at him. The man creases his eyes and smiles gracefully. The smile created by those creased eyes looks beautiful, and Yiseon thinks he is being suffocated by those black eyes.

"I know today is not your birthday, Mr. Jeong."

"Should I eat cake only on my birthday?"

"No, I don't mean that. I was just wondering what special day it is for you. Do you have something to celebrate? Maybe celebrating today's restoration of 16th street?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Well, I want you to sign a contract with me, Mr. Jeong. The more I know about you, the better, right?"

"I don't have anything to say because I have no intention of signing a contract with you."

Hyeon's mouth draws a strange line. No matter how stern and sarcastically Yiseon responded, the man doesn't look distressed. Instead, he looks at Yiseon and asks another question.

"Why are you staying here by yourself? This town has been destroyed since the First Great Dungeon and everyone has left."

The First Great Dungeon. This refers to the first S-class dungeon that appeared in Korea. Guild Daehan, who eight years ago was ranked number one mistakenly set the level of difficulty of the dungeon as B.

The mistake caused an entire B-class team member who was handling it to die. The dungeon then expanded bigger. The A and S classes that were hurriedly summoned afterward were also wiped out because they missed the golden opportunity before the dungeon expanded. It was such a horrifying disaster, and people heavily criticized the Korean Guild afterward.

It was at this time that Hyeon Sa debuted his career as a Hunter. He was the one who cleared the S-class dungeon that continued expanding. It made him and his guild, HN, famous and rose to the top one in Korea.

While people on the internet were busy talking about guild positions being swapped, Yongin was blocked from access for nearly 15 days due to the aftermath of the S-class dungeon. Any Restorer company could not even do anything about it. Half of Yongin City was completely devastated. It is very difficult to find buildings that are still in good condition, as they were destroyed by a typhoon or earthquake. The death toll exceeded two thousand.

People mourned the disaster, then chose to leave the city due to unpleasant memories. Some of them even filed lawsuits against Daehan Guild, but that only bankrupted the guild and did not really help rebuild the city.

Indeed, some buildings in the city were rebuilt, but those who had left did not return. Today, most of the residents here are poor newcomers who moved in for cheap housing. The police here even treat Yongin as a slum.

"You've been living in Yongin since you were a child, is that right Mr. Jeong? But eight years ago your parents were swept away by the First Great Dungeon and died. Since then, you've been living with your friends who also lost their parents. But a year ago, they also died in the Second Great Dungeon that occurred near Yongin."

Yiseon's face hardens. Hyeon may know about him from the internet, but to hear it in person is very offensive.

"After the Second Great Dungeon, you suddenly disappeared and made many people wonder about your whereabouts. I didn't expect you to still be living here, you know. Why? Why are you still living here by yourself? Your current house is also still the same one that you and your friends used to live in together."

"......"

"A Restorer's pay is known to be very high. Why didn't you move?"

Hyeon Sa asks the question as if he is truly curious. Yiseon bites his lip and finally lets out a long breath. A breath that should be shaking off his frustration, but instead it makes him even more suffocating. It feels like his emotional core filling is clogging up his throat even more.

In the end, Yiseon says in a tired voice.

"I'm leaving."

His voice lowers, as though he has no more energy left to give Hyeon a sarcastic comeback. Hyeon himself is silent, making Yiseon think that maybe this time the man will use his ability to threaten and hold him back.

However, surprisingly, Hyeon silently retreats.

"My apologies, Mr. Jeong. I shouldn't have pried. Maybe you don't want to talk about those things. I just thought that since I finally met you, I kept running my mouth off."

He even bows his head slightly to Yiseon.

"You must be very upset by my sudden appearance. I really do hope this isn't the last time we see each other. Just let me know a time and a place. We can talk more about this later."

Without further ado, Hyeon takes out a business card from his suit pocket and hands it to Yiseon. Well, Yiseon has no intention to contact Hyeon. He still accepts the card just so this matter will be over quickly.

Chord324 Leader. Hyeon Sa.

The fancy gold letters are embossed on an elegant black paper. Reading the business card to respect the owner, Yiseon is about to leave with only a greeting of eyes. But his gaze catches Hyeon's outstretched hand. The man invites him to shake hands again.

Yiseon doesn't want to shake hands, but Hyeon's eyes are waiting. Seeing the beautiful smile on his lips, Yiseon says in a shaky voice.

"My hands are full," says him refusing gently. One hand holding a cake box, the other a business card.

Hyeon, with an indifferent face, reaches out and takes the cake box.

"Then I'll hold it for you."

Yiseon is bewildered. Though eventually, he shakes the man's hand reluctantly. Despite the cold impression, his hand surprisingly isn't cold at all. It feels so unfamiliar that Yiseon pauses for a moment. And after shaking it a couple of times, he tries to pull out his hand thinking it is enough. But Hyeon doesn't let go.

"...You like shaking hands this much, huh?"

"I like shaking hands with you, Mr. Jeong."

Hyeon smiles. A very odd one. His beautiful face is indeed smiling, but somehow, he gives off an unusual atmosphere. It isn't a seductive look, but the kind of look that makes people don't want to take their eyes off of him.

In the end, the handshake lasts for five minutes.

"See you later, Mr. Yiseon Jeong," says Hyeon.


*   *   *


When Yiseon finally makes it back home, the day is already in total darkness. He intended to return at sunset but was ruined by that Hyeon Sa's sudden appearance.

Once, Yiseon thought of going to see Hyeon. He was the Hunter who cleared the First Great Dungeon where his parents were trapped in. There was a sense of wanting to thank him. But the Hyeon Sa he just met was far different than he imagined. He was annoying as hell. He made Yiseon tired. Would it have been different if they met a year ago?

Yiseon opens the cake box, shaking off the thoughts.

"Sorry everyone, I'm late."

He set the table in a hurry. Apart from the cake, he also prepares other types of food. Some are just instant food heated in the microwave, but the rest he prepares by cooking them himself.

"It's your birthday today. Imma treats you with a lot of meals. They're super good, I promise!"

Yiseon says in a rather playful tone while putting the dishes one by one on the table. So thoughtful and sincere. After that, the creatures in Yiseon's family sit down one by one on the chairs. The kitchen is indeed not very spacious, but the dining table is large enough to seat a total of seven people.

"I got you an expensive cake. To make up for forgetting your birthday last year. It's from that bakery you like. Man, never thought it will look this good."

"......"

"We'll skip the Happy Birthday song since you hate it so much. You always said it was more respectful to the cake to hurry up and eat it," says Yiseon approaching the person sitting in the center of the table and giving him a knife.

"And since this is your birthday, you gotta cut the cake by yourself! Here's the knife..."

Clank.

Yiseon stands still for a moment, his eyes blankly staring at the floor before finally bending down and picking up the knife.

"Very funny. You're making fun of me, aren't you? Seriously, dude. This is too much."

But instead, Yiseon slumps down on the floor and is unable to stand up back. He just crouches there clutching the knife and staring at the floor. He stays in that position for a moment until the corner of his eye catches a pale hand dangling over the side of the chair. It hurts. It hurt him too much.

Again, Yiseon grabs that hand and tries to make it hold the knife. Over and over again until finally he put pressure and force. It almost looks like the creature is holding it by itself.

"Uh...ugrghhh..."

Feeling the pressure, the owner of the hand makes a terrible sound. Like a sound echoing in the void. Yiseon imagines that perhaps this creature is trying to tell him that he shouldn't do this. Its eyes are unfocused, hazy as if shrouded in fog.

Yiseon hurriedly averts its stare. But, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it, reality will still find him. Because there are five other pairs of eyes in this room that share the same stare.

In the end, Yiseon still makes the creature's hand holding the knife to cut the cake but with his eyes lowered to the floor. The cake is accidentally cut at an odd angle, but no one laughs.

The hand Yiseon is holding feels cold. So cold like it doesn't belong to a human.

In a sob, he whispers, "...Happy birthday, Yeongjoon..."

Suddenly Yiseon resents the warmth of the person who touched him an hour ago.




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