Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: He’s always doing this fr]

“POV: Your brother’s an E-rank and he’s finally home from the hospital again after a dungeon raid gone wrong,” a girl says into the camera and flips to rear-view, revealing a sleepy young man in sweats that cut off above his ankles and a white tee with a decent case of bedhead. “Say hi, Oppa.”

“Hi,” the man replies automatically with a wave, his voice cutting off in a yawn. And then, as he scratches his stomach: “What’re you doing, Jinah?”

Subtitle: Always fxcking acting so casual after worrying the shit out of me smh

“What’re you doing?” the girl—Jinah, clarified by both the man and her username—counters. “You’re up early.”

“Been up for a while.” The man yawns again. “Did you eat breakfast already?”

“Yeah, but we’re running low on like. Everything. And there’s no more rice.”

The man’s expression turns pensive, the fatigue easing slightly. “Alright.”

Subtitle: Wait a minute…

Jinah looks him up and down with the camera. “Oppa.”

“Hm?”

“Did you grow taller?”

“...huh?” A pause, followed by a shrug. “I dunno. Now go on, you’ll be late. Don’t forget your umbrella.”

“Promise me you won’t die if you go dungeon raiding today?” Jinah says after another pause, not budging.

“I promise I won’t die,” the man vows, a little exasperatedly.

“Better not.”

“I won’t, Jinah. You’re gonna be late.”

He nudges her, and the camera blurs as she squawks indignantly before the video loops.

8 likes | 2 comments | 0 favorites

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Comments:

xoxoMINSUNGS_WIFE07xoxo
E-ranks really do be a different breed of brave tho

     creator reply
     Right lol if I could I’d ask him to stop hunting but I doubt he’d listen to me even if I did

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: When ur used to eating college kid meals for the past 4 years but ur brother comes home with fried chicken & ice cream🥰🤤]

The camera zooms in on a bucket of fried chicken. Next, it pans to a pint of vanilla ice cream.

Subtitle: ヽ(˘⌣˘)ノ

“Jinah.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t think I can get drunk anym—what are you doing?” a male voice asks, and the camera finally moves in his direction. The man wears a quizzical expression, brows furrowed, lips tilted down. A silver can with a blurred-out label sits in his hand. A piece of chicken dangles from his mouth and he slurps it up in one bite, bone and all. “Why are you filming? Aren’t you hungry?”

“I have to immortalize this moment,” Jinah says and directs her camera back to the food. “It looks so good, I don’t even know if I want to eat it. ’Cause then it’ll be gone and I’ll be in a state of mourning.”

“Hush and eat your chicken before I do.”

“What?” The camera blurs as she rushes to grab the bucket. “You will not, you have your own—”

The video cuts off and loops.

10 likes | 5 comments | 0 favorites

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Comments:

hansongyeet
good hunting day??

    creator reply:
    Good hunting day :3c

xoxoMINSUNGS_WIFE07xoxo
Why can’t he get drunk anymore? xD

    creator reply:
    Beats me xD lol maybe his tolerance went up?  he wouldn’t let me have it >:(

Painfxxl
Lol the way he ate the whole ass bone!?!??!

Bestie ~(‘◡’~)

GUESS WHAT

GURL WHAT

OPPA GOT ME A NEW PHONE TODAY???? ヾ(*‘ᴗ‘*)ゞ

no way!!!!

YES WAY

FOR REAL THAT’S SO AWESOME

IKR I’VE HAD THE SAME CHEAPASS SMARTPHONE FOR THE PAST 4 YRS
Usually he’s so stingy
Ok stingy is not a fair word cos he’s the one paying the bills
and money is usually tight so I felt bad asking for a new one bUT STILL

congrats on ur new phone bestie ( ノ ^◞^)ノ

Thank u bestie へ(^◇^へ)

maybe i’ll quit school and become a hunter full-time lol

Tmrw he said we could go pick out a case unl
NO

since I’m an e-rank now n all that

Omg don’t u dare 

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[POV: When ur a high school student struggling with early mornings but ur brother’s a hunter]

Audio: death bed (coffee for your head) by Powfu

Video of Jinah struggling to get out of bed in the morning for school, showing multiple timestamps. When she finally pulls herself out of the covers, the video cuts to her in the kitchen to make coffee, rubbing an eye. She frowns as she realizes they’re out of coffee grounds. She shakes the canister as if that will help but it does not. Another cut, this time to her munching sleepily on a piece of toast.

Audio change: Last Resort by Papa Roach

Cut to a shirtless man presumed to be Jinah’s brother doing sit-ups in a dimly lit room, the video shot through the slight crack of his bedroom door. Timestamp: 5:03am. 

Cut to Jinah’s brother on the ground many floors below, dressed in a tracksuit, kicking off into a run. The video is shot many floors above him, through an apartment window. Timestamp: 5:10am. 

Cut to Jinah’s brother in the living room of their apartment, with two daggers on the counter. He seems to be comparing them, his finger curled under his chin in deep contemplation. Timestamp: 6:20am.

The video loops.

13 likes | 2 comments | 1 favorite 

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Comments:

hansongyeet
is this the standard for even low-rank hunters?? oh no i’m in trouble

     creator reply
     Idek ;_; he didn’t used to exercise this way??? 

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Came home from school today to this???]

The camera zooms in on a sleeping figure on a sofa, lingering on the figure’s peaceful, slack expression for only a moment before drifting to his chest, where a black cat sits in a loaf position, eyes closed.

Subtitle: WE DON’T OWN A CAT?????

Slowly, the camera pans around the meticulously clean apartment and stops when it reaches an open window. 

Subtitle: DID IT CLIMB IN THRU THERE?? 

Jinah carefully approaches the napping figure. The cat cranes its head toward her and blinks open big green eyes. She nudges the man slowly and says, “Oppa. Oppa, hey, wake up…”

“Mm?” the figure hums, eyes half-lidded as he looks at Jinah, and then blinks once. Twice. His gaze lands on the cat resting on his chest, now looking extremely puzzled as he registers its presence. “Wh…what the fuck?”

“You didn’t adopt a cat while I was at school, did you?”

The man sits up rapidly, and the black cat rushes off of him, darting off-screen. The video blurs as Jinah follows it with the camera before coming back into focus to reveal the black cat now sitting on the window seal, appearing a little startled.

“What the fuck?” the man repeats and the camera pans back to him, capturing his equally startled expression. “Where did that thing come from?”

Subtitle: LOL HE NEEDS TO STOP LEAVING THE WINDOW OPEN DURING NAPS

The camera pans back to the cat just in time to see it flee from the apartment.

The video loops.

44 likes | 2 comments | 2 favorites

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Comments:

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
He has been chosen.

hansongyeet
agreed

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: OMG SHE CAME BACK, SHOULD WE KEEP HER???]

The camera is aimed at an apartment window, showing a black cat getting comfortable in a loaf position on the window seal. Jinah steps back to give the cat space, cooing over how cute it is.

“Oppa,” Jinah stage-whispers over her shoulder. And then, a little louder: “Oppa! Get in here!”

“What?” a male voice calls off-screen.

“Shh! Just get in here!”

“You were yelling f—” 

“Shh!”

The camera pans over to the man, who freezes in the doorway of another room and raises an eyebrow. Jinah quickly aims back at the cat, who leaps down from the window seal to saunter into the apartment. Jinah follows its every step.

“Great,” the man quips. “She’s inside. Did you open the window to let her in?”

“Of course I did! She was sitting outside the window, waiting,” Jinah says. “Besides, you let her in first.”

“That was an accident.”

“Did you think I was gonna turn that cute little face away? No! I’m not rude, Oppa.”

“You’re plenty rude.”

Jinah squeals in muffled delight as the cat presses up against her leg and chirrups at her. “Look! She doesn’t think so!”

The man looks at Jinah, then at the cat, and then back at Jinah. Jinah, in turn, pans the camera at him, then at the cat, and back at him.

“I know what you’re gonna ask,” the man says with a long-suffering sigh, “and the answer is no.”

Jinah squawks and taps her phone to switch cameras, revealing her pouting face. “Please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Pleaaaaa—”

“No, Jinah.”

Jinah’s pout deepens, and the video cuts off and loops.

59 likes | 2 favorites

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Update!! Vet visit!!]

“—so that means there's no evidence of a collar.” The voice belongs to a young woman, maybe in her late twenties. Jinah steadies the camera to feature the black cat from her previous video, sitting on an L-shaped countertop with various equipment lining its adjacent side. “And she’s unspayed, from the looks of it.”

“No microchip?” Jinah asks, hope wedged into her voice.

“Nope,” the young woman says as she distractedly scratches under the cat’s chin. “Must be a stray. A very friendly one, too! She sure likes attention.”

A man, standing on the opposite side of the countertop, viewed from the neck down just like the young woman, heaves a resigned sigh. “Okay.”

“That means we’re keeping her, right, Oppa?” Jinah says.

A pause. “...is there a way to put her up for adoption from—”

“What?” Jinah cuts in, sounding offended. “Noooo, Oppa, let’s keep her!” 

“Jinah.” The man’s voice is tight with brittle patience. “You’re gone most of the day because of school. And I’m a hunter—”

The video cuts abruptly to Jinah sitting on the sofa with her legs sprawled out, the black cat on her lap, purring loudly. In the distance, a man mutters something inaudible to himself, and Jinah points the camera at him, but he’s not facing her. Instead, he’s crouched over a small cardboard box, pouring cat litter into it.

“Eomma is going to kill us,” the man says suddenly and sends a dirty look in her direction when Jinah giggles. Then, when he spots the camera: “Sorry in advance, Eomma.”

“Or she’ll adore her,” Jinah counters, scratching behind the cat’s ears. “What do you think we should name her?”

“Why can’t we just call her ‘Cat’?”

“Okay, so all of your naming rights have been revoked. Dunno why I asked. I’ll think of something.”

The camera catches the man’s pout. “You’re coming with me to the pet store tomorrow then. Since you’re the menace responsible for this.”

“Excuse you. I’m an angel.”

The man snorts, and the video cuts into a loop.

67 likes | 6 comments | 2 favorites

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Comments:

hansongyeet:
as if he ever had a say in the matter

     creator reply:
     He absolutely did not lol

neoxxiii5487:
The kitty sure looks happy tho!!

     creator reply:
     Yes she does!

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
Omg congratulations on your new cat, girlie <33

     creator reply:
     Thx girlie <33

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: SORRY EOMMA I THINK I CREATED A MONSTER LOL]

The camera sits inside the front basket of a shopping cart, angled somewhat awkwardly. The surrounding aisles move leisurely along with Jinah as she pushes the cart.

“Pet store run,” she stage-whispers into the camera with an impish grin. “You know, since I promised Oppa and all. But—”

“What about this one?” a voice says off-camera. A second later, a man steps into view, holding a packaged cat toy: a plastic fishing-rod style one with faux feathers dangling at its tip.

“Oppa. I think we got enough toys for her.” 

Jinah takes the phone to flip the camera, showcasing a cart with at least a dozen toys in it. When she flips the camera again, she’s smiling and giggling, and the man’s expression is pinched into a pout before he notices the camera and wipes it clean of emotion.

“It’s still her fault, Eomma,” he deadpans and tosses the fishing rod toy in the cart.

“Says the one who picked out all of the—”

Jinah squawks as the man flicks her ear, and the video cuts to Jinah in another aisle, aiming the camera strategically at a man in the distance, nodding along pensively as a female associate talks animatedly about something the phone’s mic can’t catch. Both the man and the associate are standing by a selection of cat treats.

“There you have it, Oppa can actually listen to someone when they talk,” she whispers into the camera. “For a twenty-two-year-old guy who’s never even had a girlfriend, I’m a bit surprised.”

The man turns to her abruptly and narrows his eyes a little, and Jinah’s breath catches audibly.

“Oh shit, do you think he heard me—?”

The video cuts again to Jinah leaning over a container of cat food, pulling at its corner without effort.

Subtitle: How to get ur older brother to do things for u when u don’t want to 

“Oh no, it’s too heavy,” she said, faking a sigh. “If only there was a hunter who could carry it for me—”

“You didn’t even try,” the man’s voice says flatly off-camera. A hand reaches into the frame and hoists it up with ease. And then, slowly: “Wait, is this enough?”

“I think so,” Jinah says. When the hand reaches back into the frame, she adds, “Wait, wait, Oppa—that one’s over twenty-two kilos—”

“And who knows if we’ll have money to buy in bulk next time. I’m getting the bigger one.”

The camera swerves in time to show the man hoisting the bag onto one shoulder with one hand. He moves the toys in the cart to one side with his free hand and then deposits the heavy bag on the other side, and Jinah flips the camera into selfie mode, looking stunned, mouth agape, eyes wide.

Subtitle: He forgot to even struggle wtf

“What?” the man asks and she looks directly into the camera like she’s on The Office.

Subtitle: Hunters…

The video loops.

61 likes | 4 comments | 1 favorite

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Comments

Super_freak21
Mans never had a gf when hes that fine??? yooooo

     creator reply
     Ew gross i think u mean looks like a rat

hansongyeet
BRO I CAN’T EVEN DO THAT i wish i was a brawler type ugh

     creator reply
     HE DIDN’T EVEN GRUNT OR NOTHIN 

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: I thought he was possessed for a minute wtf????]

The camera steadies hastily and blurs into focus to reveal a tall young man in his early twenties, pouring milk into his coffee mug at the kitchen counter. Jinah’s voice says, “Oppa? Say that again.”

S̴̱̥̣͌ā̷̯̠̙̋͗y̵̹̪͍͐̃̌ͅ ̷̗̩̰̹͐w̶͓̞̍̊̌h̵̹̥̳̋̍͒̀a̷͕͈̍̎t̷̠̮̦̚ͅ ̴̺̳̈̓̍a̸͔̓̃͊͝g̵͓̉̍̿̒ắ̷͖̜͝ḯ̸̬̬̔͊̕n̵̤͇͊͊̌?̷͍͓̿̌͘

“What the fuck,” Jinah says in a horrified whisper. The man looks at her and blinks, appearing confused.

He jumps, startled, when the cat along the edge of the frame arches her back and hisses at him.

Subtitle: Eomma wake up I’m scared 

Ȃ̷͕͘l̶͍̮̹̇͂̂̔l̸͉̇̽ ̶̬͇́̑̅̈́Ỉ̴͍̙̤̭̇͠ ̸̧̄̏s̴̘̲͋͜a̷̜͈͘í̷͇̟͒̓͘d̸̡̙̝͍̈̀̒͐ ̴̯͕̐w̵̡̳̌a̴̛̪̦̩̽̏͋s̴̼͙̚͜ ̵̯̎̐̾g̵͉̈ó̵͕͙̻̠o̶̘͑̈͂̀d̴͔̗͛̑ ̴͎̟̘͍̎̄͘m̵̦͚̼̮̈́͐̒͛o̵̝̟͍̓͝r̴̪͈̘̪̐̋n̷̟͙̞̥͛͊i̶̝͗͠ň̵̝́̏g̶͓̜̟̗͛̓͆̈́?

Jinah just stands there in silence and stares as the collection of croaky, sinister syllables fall from her brother’s lips. The cat growls and hisses again. The now-shaky camera betrays the trembling in Jinah’s hands. The young man’s puzzled expression steadily grows into something more concerned. He sets down his mug, quiet for several moments as he faces her fully, and gazes around as if surveying the room for something out of place.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, finally, in Korean, appearing confused again.

Jinah audibly deflates. She reaches over the table and chucks a chopstick at him, and he catches it with graceful ease. “That wasn’t fucking funny, you ass!”

The man gives her a startled look like he’s completely lost about the crime of which she’s accusing him. “What?” 

Jinah huffs and throws another chopstick at him. He catches it as easily as the first, and the video loops.

59 likes | 5 comments | 2 favorite

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Comments:

hansongyeet
bestie i love u but why was ur first response when ur brother started speaking like a MONSTER to RECORD it?!!?!?

     creator reply
     Would u have believed me otherwise?!?!?!

          hansongyeet
          ok fair

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
Girl you know that linguists and speech pathologists have been studying magic beast tongue for the past 10 years and nobody has been able to replicate it, right???
Human vocal cords aren’t made to produce those kinds of sounds??? 

     creator reply
     Oh Thanks I Hate It

Jinah’s poking at her dosirak she’d picked up from 7-Eleven this morning when her phone vibrates on her desk. She picks up the device to idly check the notification, chopsticks still in her dominant hand.

She blinks when she sees that it’s a text from Songyi—who probably wouldn’t be texting her right now if she’d just come to school, that jerk—and frowns. 

unBestie (ˋ ﹏ˊ )

BITCH UR TIKTOK FROM THIS MORNING IS KINDA BLOWING UP

Ugh why that one
Choon-hee already asked how I edited it so good
Cos oppa “shouldnt have been able to speak that way”

no but gURL
ITS NOT ONLY THAT

Jinah scrunches her nose, switching apps without giving Songyi a reply. Upon opening TikTok, she taps the lower righthand corner and then taps her latest video, torn between being a little pleased that her content is being noticed and distraught because if even her classmate thinks it's some kind of hoax, what are other people saying?

She sees the first comment and slowly sets down her chopsticks.

Peachycotton
UM???? HIS SHADOW?????

Jinah blinks again, brows furrowing. She taps the reply button and types out, “What about his shadow???”

She doesn’t expect an immediate reply, of course. She’s only got fifteen minutes left to finish her lunch, but she’s curious enough that scrolling through the comments—wow, there’s gotta be at least twenty of them—becomes her primary focus.

hazbat
What the shit is goingn on with his shadow

Aecha96
this is either some wicked editing or this dude is like. eldritch

     Aecha96
     like is that some kind of hunter’s magic skill he’s got.

grandmastaajayyy3620
When ur homie talks to u first thing in hte mornin and ur still tryna wake up and aint nothin he says makes sense

kimbap_obsessed
Fake

     Peachycotton
     No cuz she sounds genuinely upset?? Explain the hissing cat?? And the guy’s expressions also seem so real.
     Even if it’s fake I’m subbing. This is too compelling to ignore I need an update

coffeeandkpop
WHY DON’T EITHER OF THEM TALK ABOUT HIS FUCKING SHADOW LIKE HELLO WHEN DID KOREA GET ITSELF A FUCKIN CRYPTID

Jinah stops scrolling without bothering to read the rest, then, and taps play on her video with rapidly growing concern. Mutes her volume and focuses her attention on her brother’s shadow, keen on finding out what her comment section is so freaked out about.

(Aside from, you know, Jinwoo greeting her first thing in the morning like a fucking demon.)  

(She’s been through a lot—has seen a lot, given how often her brother came home bloody or broken or bruised in the past four years—but that had chilled her down to the bone.)

It’s on the second loop that she actually catches it: As Jinwoo looks around to examine the open floor plan of their apartment, a tiny black mass briefly rises out of his shadow and then dips back into it like a child ducking its head underwater, as if to not be seen. Like Jinwoo’s shadow spilling over the wall itself is a pool of water. It’s extremely brief—only for half a second, a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of brief—but the sight steals Jinah’s breath nonetheless.

She lets the video loop for a third, and then a fourth time just to make sure she hadn’t imagined it.

“What the hell, Oppa?” she murmurs aloud to herself, half in alarm, half in a morbid sense of awe.

Her phone vibrates again. Songyi’s contact appears at the top of her screen.

girl r u there???

Dude.

ikr??? does ur bro have some kind of shadow magic

Oppa’s not a mage???
He’s always said he’s a brawler type
He’s also E-rank

what kind of e-rank brawler can speak magic beast language
and what kind of e-rank brawler’s shadow pops out of the wall to play fuckin peakaboo

Wtf u want me to do, ask him??

BITCH YEAH OFC THATS WAHT I WANT U TO DO
ASK HIM

Ugh fine but I doubt he’ll actually answer me
U know how secretive he is abt hunter shit

A glance at her phone’s digital clock tells her she’s got only a few minutes left to finish her lunch. She expels an embarrassing yelp before her brain can catch up with her mouth, hastily pocketing her phone, and scrambles to pick up her chopsticks from their resting place to scarf down the remaining contents of her dosirak.

Her phone vibrates again, probably Songyi sending a reply message, but Jinah’s wasted enough time already. She shoves rice into her mouth and makes a mental note to read the rest of the comments later.

And get some answers from her older brother.

Chapter Text

Jinah places her phone on her desk and adjusts it so the camera faces her. Waits for it to focus. Takes a deep breath and hits ‘record’.

“Hiiii,” she greets, giving a fleeting wave. “I’m making this video because my last one was kinda… well.” Jinah pauses briefly to scrunch her nose in thought. “Scratch that. It was totally wonky. But anyway…”

She sits down at her desk, crosses her arms over its surface, and then gives the camera a serious look.

“First off, Oppa’s an E-rank. A brawler E-rank. Not a mage. Or at least… he is as far as I know? I’m not really sure anymore. It’s not like I’m an expert on hunter job classes. He had those two daggers! He’s also super secretive about anything regarding hunting, and I’m not a hunter, so I don’t know too much about that kind of thing. But one thing’s for sure…”

She doesn’t know why she pauses again. Maybe for dramatic effect. Yeah, she’ll go with that.

(Because Jinah really doesn’t want to acknowledge the pool of dread gradually constructing itself a home in her stomach. Doesn’t want to admit feeling uneasy at all around her brother. Not when the timeline of her brother’s rapid changes—physical and personality-wise—began when he returned from that terrifying S-rank-hidden-in-a-D-rank dungeon.)

(Not when the only thing she made him promise that morning was that he would return—not in a body bag but alive and breathing—and that's what he did.)

(Even if he had scared the shit out of her by sleeping for three days straight without the promise of waking up.)

“...something’s definitely off,” she finally concedes, with a slow breath. “The comments were asking if I’d edited my video and I’m going to say it right now: I didn’t. I took the video and then had to get ready for school so I didn’t really spend much time on it at all. Believe me or don’t. I kinda don’t care, because it’s true. I’m only fifteen; I don’t know how to even make a video like that. And I’m a pre-med student! I don’t have that kind of time! I only usually post stuff for shits and giggles. Well, sort of.”

Jinah sighs again, pursing her lips. She’s not sure what to do with her hands but craves movement, just to rid herself of this nervous energy that’s steadily been building in her body. Her fingers drum against the edge of her desk.

“I’m on his case now, though,” she continues, now giving the camera an impish smile. “I’ll keep an eye on that shadow of his. But hopefully, he doesn’t do the demon talk again cos that was fucking spooky. And like I said, he’s an E-rank—I’ve seen him come home bloody. Anyway, I’ll talk to him when he gets home. I dunno if I can get away with recording it, but I’ll keep you guys posted.”

Jinah salutes the camera, flashes a two-fingered peace sign, and stops recording. She isn’t sure what this new adventure will entail, or if she’ll even be successful, but Jinwoo has been hiding so much from her—especially about the world of hunting—for as long as she can remember. She’s never tried to pry, has always wanted to, but she knows he doesn’t keep secrets to hurt her intentionally. For all his snarky remarks about her, he’s done his best to provide for and protect her for the past four years. So she’s left it alone. 

She’s afraid that if she doesn’t pry now, however, she won’t get her answers. 

Maybe pry isn’t the right word. This leans more toward ‘investigate.’ She’ll have to play detective to unravel the mysteries her older brother has inadvertently created in his silence. Mysteries like whatever the hell came out of his shadow this morning to say hello.

“I hope I don’t regret this,” Jinah mutters and posts the video.

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Video #2 in Playlist: Shadownanigans.]

[Caption: Um. :(( okay. Time for plan B]

Subtitle: Waiting for Oppa to get home

A camera is set up in the corner of the room, strategically hidden and inconspicuously recording, showing multiple timestamps at the edge of the frame. When a man enters the apartment, Jinah is sitting on the sofa, cradling instant-cup spicy noodles. A black cat walks by leisurely and disappears out of frame.

“Hey, Oppa,” she quips before shoveling more noodles into her mouth with an audible slurp. “Welc’me ho’e.”

The man’s expression is cryptic. He doesn’t respond right away, but when he does, it’s with a long, slow breath. “Hey.”

Jinah looks at him then, chewing slower as she studies his appearance. Her eyes flick down to his shirt, which very obviously has blood on it and the sleeve of his jacket, and she schools her expression, too.

Subtitle: Uh-oh

The cat, who had walked out of frame moments before, trots toward the weary man with a mewl. The man blinks, staying still as she sniffs him and mewls again, and he kneels to pet her briefly. “Sorry, girl. I’ll go clean up.”

He walks in front of the sofa, pauses, and then rests a hand atop Jinah’s head. Pats it once and ruffles her hair.

Jinah pouts visibly, probably because he’s messed up her ponytail, but stays quiet.

“Wanna watch a movie tonight?” the man asks.

Subtitle: Translation- bad hunting day.

“Only if I get to pick,” Jinah replies. “You have the movie taste of an old man.”

“Pick one, then. I’m gonna grab some clothes and shower.”

“Want me to make some noodles for you?”

“Nah,” the man says as he walks out of frame. “I’m… not hungry.”

Subtitle: Translation- REALLY bad hunting day

“’Kay,” Jinah says, with an obnoxious slurp. And then: “...hey, Oppa?”

“Mm?”

“You’re E-rank, right?”

“...last they checked, yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“They retested me last month,” the man says. “Measured E-rank.”

“Ah.” Another audible slurp. “’Kay.”

A door closes off-screen and then opens again, with a timestamp marking the cut. Jinah sits eating her noodles nonchalantly, but the camera catches the way Jinah’s gaze follows the man as he walks by again, presumably toward the bathroom to wash up.

Another cut shows Jinah in front of the camera with a sad expression, cup noodles now abandoned. The sound of a shower running plays in the background.

“Time for plan B,” Jinah whispers to the camera, and the video loops.

174 likes | 8 comments | 5 favorites

—

Comments:

Peachycotton
That’s… is that his blood?

     creator reply
     No

hazbat
I bet someone died..

     xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
     Yeah no shit…

1WhoDoesSimply [edited]
hunting is such a hard profession for real, ppl dont realise that hunters die everyday, especially the low rankers

snowzardmusic0
Oh to be Jinah, greeted by a man that goodlooking after a day of work (.づ◡へ◡)づ.

     hansongyeet
     AFDFJSLK;JSLKDJFA BRO READ THE MOOD

        creator reply
        !!!!!! EW IM GONNA PUKE THAT’S MY BROTHER NOT MY BOYFRIEND

unBestie (ˋ ﹏ˊ )

everything ok

I think so
He’s just really quiet I don’t think it’s good to push rn

thats ok gurl take ur time

Gotta take matters into my own hands now ヾ(๑*_*๑)ゞ

ヾ(*‘ᴗ‘*)ゞ
u got this

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Video #3 in Playlist: Shadownanigans.]

[Caption: Trying to steal my older brother’s phone prank]

“Oppa’s out grocery shopping,” Jinah says to the camera with a mischievous smile. “But he’s on his way home now. Gonna see if we can steal his phone today.”

She sets up the camera to record from the kitchen, and then the video cuts to Jinah moseying through several plastic bags as a man puts the contents of said plastic bags in their respective places.

“Thank you oh so much for your help,” the man deadpans, plucking a bag from her grip.

“I’m making sure you bought real food.”

“Coming from the girl who loves eating snacks for meals.”

“Who do you think I got it from?”

The man pauses, and his expression grows slightly sheepish. “Point taken.”

Jinah, smugly, takes the bag back from his hands with a triumphant smirk. “Do you even know how to cook?”

“Yes,” the man says, seemingly reflexively. And then, hesitantly: “...the basics.”

“I’m teasing. You’re better than me, at least.”

“I do know how to keep the apartment clean. And look for groceries on discount.”

“Congrats. You’re halfway to being a stereotypical housewife, Oppa.”

Cut to the pair of siblings at the table, with a plate of store-bought chapssaltteok between them. Multiple timestamps mark several cuts as the small pile of chapssaltteok steadily disappears until there’s only one left.

A phone pings, and the man picks up the device from where it sits by the plate to presumably check the notification before putting it back on the table.

Subtitle: MY CHANCE

Jinah rushes to grab it, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t even get the chance to move before the man across from her has the Korean-style red bean mochi stuffed in his mouth.

The man freezes as Jinah starts laughing. “W—wait, Oppa, th-that wasn’t even…!”

Her sentence cuts off with a wheeze. The man starts chewing slowly as he seems to realize that the food had not been Jinah’s intended target.

He continues to chew in silence nonetheless, crushing the disposable baking cup in his hand.

Cut to Jinah leaning over the table to tap the phone that's resting on it to wake it up. She seems to grow suspicious as he makes no attempts to stop her. “Who’s Juhee?”

“A friend.”

“Lies. You don’t have friends.”

“...”

Jinah grins. “Did Oppa finally get himself a girlfriend?”

“You’re insufferable,” the man deadpans. “She’s a healer who’s been on a lot of raids with me. But she’s retiring and moving so she gave me her number yesterday. Wanted to keep in touch.”

Subtitle: Wait…

Subtitle: JUHEE = THE B-RANK HEALER????? HE’S NEVER GIVEN ME HER NAME BEFORE

Subtitle: AKA THE REASON OPPA DOESN’T COME HOME INJURED AS OFTEN?????

Subtitle: JUHEE I KNOW UR NAME NOW. I WILL FIND U

“Oooo, and who’s Jinho?”

“Insufferable—”

The man grabs his phone from the table with a huff, and the video cuts off and loops.

168 likes | 11 comments | 4 favorites

—

Comments:

creator (pinned comment)
Tiktok do ur thing!!!! Help me find her!!!! 

1WhoDoesSimply
lol he has his priorities straight

aperson8392
Peak sibling energy fr

hazbat
Kept thinkin i blinked, he grabbed the chapssaltteok so fast!

     Aecha96
     honestly was wonderin abt that myself… maybe she edited it? Also in the last vid he mentioned being retested but i wonder why they would do that hmm

          1WhoDoesSimply
          hunters retest with false hopes every day its prbly no big deal

snowzardmusic0
Excuse me if he is acceptign gf applications where can I apply

     creator reply
     ur chances r very slim my dude oppa has the flirting ability of a stick of deodorant 

Peachycotton
PLEASE T HE WAY HE WAS MORE CONCERNED ABT YOU STEALING THE LAST RICE CAKE THAN HIS PHONE HAHAHAHA (also--sharing with my friends so you can find Juhee!! ◝⁽ˆ◡ˆ⁾ノ )

      creator reply
      l;kasjdflkasjdfaksldj THANK U

hansongyeet
nobody will roast someone more than their own sibling and this tiktok is proof of that ,,, glad i’m an only child lol

Chapter Text

“Chief? You might wanna see this.”

Jinchul sighs upon hearing the words from his subordinate, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Great. It’s not the first time he’s heard that this week. Hell, he heard it yesterday.

“What is it now?”

“Uhh. Well.” His subordinate walks toward him, holding a touch-screen tablet. “An article was posted an hour ago and normally I’d just read it, decide if it needs to be blacklisted, and write a report, but there’s a video and—”

I swear to any god if you say that it involves Hunter Sung Jinwoo—

“—it involves Hunter Sung, so…”

He trails off, and Jinchul refrains from sighing again, but it’s a close call. He holds his hand out. “Lemme see.”

Headline: REAL OR HOAX??? HUNTER REPLICATES MAGIC BEAST TONGUE IN TIKTOK SHORT

Based on the article’s title alone, Jinchul would’ve chosen to blacklist it. He skims its contents, surprised that the video in question was posted several days before the actual article itself. It seems it took a little while for a journalist to catch wind of it.

Even with the headline to warn him, however, the video still makes Jinchul’s stomach curl.

“How the hell…?” 

Maybe if it had been someone else, Jinchul would’ve had an easier time dubbing it a hoax. It’s not the first time a video like this has surfaced online. Even if it had been a well-done hoax, seeing Hunter Sung in the thumbnail clears any doubt.

There are just too many things in which Hunter Sung was involved. The double dungeon was an anomaly, and surviving the raid involving Hwang Dongsuk’s party may have been a coincidence. But then, barely even two days ago, he survived Kang Taeshik’s murder spree, and now he’s speaking in a language not even experts have been able to imitate successfully?

Why does this feel like something he would do? Jinchul thinks in a strange mix of awe, frustration, and confusion. He doesn’t know him very well as a person, so he isn’t certain why the thought crosses his mind, but it feels true nonetheless. Moreso… why doesn’t it frighten me?

Maybe he’s more exhausted than he thought. Something like this would—and should—cause panic.

“Chief?” his subordinate prompts when Jinchul has stared at the tablet in silence for at least two minutes.

“Blacklist the article as usual,” he decides, handing the device back to his subordinate.

“And the video?”

It wasn’t even Hunter Sung who took the video. In fact, Hunter Sung appears genuinely shocked at the original poster’s—his younger sister, a girl whose name and face he’s only seen in the troublesome hunter’s file—reaction. He doesn’t even look like he realizes what he’s done.

Rather, he looks around the apartment like he isn’t the culprit.

“I’ll… think on it,” Jinchul concludes. He’ll have to talk to the chairman about this, most likely. If one journalist has discovered the video, then there will definitely be others. It’s a very temporary solution, blacklisting the article but not the video that inspired it. He knows the better idea is to take down the material at its source.

Still… something seems a little off. 

“I wonder if Hunter Sung realizes he’s been recorded. Or at least—that his sister has posted it on social media.”

“I’ve looked into the account already,” his subordinate says. “The girl has featured him in almost all of her videos, but she didn’t start posting until recently. Her content is… interesting.”

“Interesting.”

“Yes, chief.”

And I told him to take his family and run, Jinchul thinks irritably, predicting he’ll be sharing his lunch with a headache. He leans back in his chair, reaching into his pocket for his phone. “What’s the app called again?”

“TikTok.”

Right. Jinchul has heard of it on multiple occasions—it’s hard not to hear about trending social media apps when he’s the chief of the Hunters Association Monitoring Division—but he’s more familiar with something like YouTube. When he pulls it up on his app store, though, he decides, fuck it. 

He’s going to have to keep tabs on this anyway. If it’s like YouTube or any other social media platform, he’ll get notifications for subscribing, right?

“Thank you,” Jinchul adds, as the app begins downloading on his phone. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“Of course.”

He leaves shortly after with a brief bow, and when he is gone, Jinchul turns his full attention to his phone. The time it takes to install isn’t long, but it makes him anxious all the same. He doesn't even have a TikTok account, but that'll change soon, he supposes.

I didn’t think to look further into her when I pulled up Hunter Sung’s file before, he thinks as he recalls said file. She’s just a normal high school girl.

She can’t cause more trouble than her brother, surely. Social media is a storm itself, but Jinchul has dealt with S-ranks. What harm can one teenager do?

You are now following sung_jinah!

Would you like to receive notifications for each post?

[ YES / NO ]

NOTIFICATION TIMESTAMP: 6:59 P.M.

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Lmao and he said taking in the kitty was a bad idea (*˘︶˘*).｡*♡]

Jinah peers into the front room from her bedroom doorway, camera aimed at a man teasing a fluffy black cat with a fishing-rod-style cat toy. The cat eagerly swats at his advantages, pupils dilated as she leaps into the air to catch the dangling feather, only to miss when the man jerks it away at the last second.

It’s only on the third or fourth try that he allows her to outspeed him. Her tail swishes behind her as she leaps high into the air, higher than her previous jumps, paws extended to capture the feather.

Subtitle: He’s been playing with her for like 20 mins now istg he’s having as much fun as her lmao

The video cuts to a man holding a cat bowl, mixing canned wet food with dry kibble.

“...whatcha doing, Oppa?” Jinah asks.

“Feeding the cat,” the man says, but freezes at the playful tone in Jinah’s voice. He looks at the cat, who watches his every move with attentive eyes; and then at Jinah, who giggles. “...don’t tell me you already fed her?”

The man stands immediately, a second before the cat stands up on her hind legs with a mewl.

“I already fed her,” Jinah says, almost smugly. “You got tricked again.”

The man looks down at the cat, now appearing scandalized. “You tricked me.”

“Again.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re whipped.”

“Shut up, Jinah.”

“She’s got you wrapped around her wittle—”

The man is by her side in a second, and Jinah squawks when he wipes the slimy gravy residue on his hand from the wet food on her shirt sleeve. “Thanks for the towel.”

“Bitch—”

The video loops.

159 likes | 11 comments | 16 favorites

—

Comments:

purpleesc
LMAO

hansongyeet
GURL ONE DAY U GONNA TEASE HIM TOO MUCH AND HE’S GONNA DO WORSE LOL

     creator reply
     I’d like to see him try ╮(︶︿︶)╭

jackrabbit.
What’s the kitty’s name?? 🥺

     creator reply
     (ーー;)

          hansongyeet
          don’t tell me u haven’t thought of one yet

               creator reply
               ITS HARD OK

snowzardmusic0
Forget the cat’s name tell me that mans name

     creator reply
     Wouldn’t it be funny if i didn’t do that

          snowzardmusic0
          No :((

              xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
              yes

Jinchul stares. Her newest TikTok is just a cat video that also includes some sibling banter, but it's not that that has him reeling. It’s all the little details he’s seen in her past videos—and a little detail he’s found in this one.

“Did you grow taller?”

“He didn’t use to exercise this way???”

“Oh shit, do you think he heard me?”

“He forgot to even struggle wtf.”

“He had those two daggers!”

“I’ll keep an eye on that shadow of his.”

The speed at which Hunter Sung moves. He’d heard her from a distance that E-ranks shouldn’t have been able to. He grew taller and brawnier in such a short amount of time. He is no longer the scrawny little boy Jinchul had met in the hospital three days following the double dungeon incident.

And the way his shadow had moved. Why didn’t the journalist mention that in their article? In his exhaustion, Jinchul hadn’t noticed the first time. The comment section, however, certainly noticed—and that drew Jinah’s attention.

“You’re E-rank, right?” Jinah had asked in the video she’d posted only two days ago.

“Last they checked,” Hunter Sung had replied.

“They retested me last month,” he had replied. “Measured E-rank.”

Not a definitive yes, but last time they checked.

Some things can be explained by the magic of editing, but Hunter Sung’s recent raid history has already put some spotlight on him, and with that context, he doesn’t doubt the validity of Jinah’s TikToks. 

(He wonders if she’s noticed that her brother’s speed is another thing that isn’t normal.)

(He wonders if she’ll find out soon.)

Jinchul isn’t stupid. He knows that, as someone who works for the Hunters Association, people would much rather avoid him. It’s obvious to him that Hunter Sung would much rather remain invisible, and even with an impressive raid history as an E-rank—surviving hundreds of raids in the past four years with the least amount of mana points ever recorded, seriously, how was someone overlooked before with survival instincts like that?—he’s done an amazing job so far.

Sung Jinah, however, is his little sister. They live in the same house. Of course she would have an advantage. Of course he would let his guard down around her.

He’s learned from Jinah’s videos (and from Hunter Sung’s response following the raid with Kang Taeshik, as suspicious as Jinchul was of his words) that Hunter Sung is the type to keep secrets, even from his younger sibling. Jinah hasn’t pushed for information in the past for whatever reason—perhaps because of their family’s situation, Jinchul can only guess at this point—but that’s changed, now. Hunter Sung may be hellbent on keeping secrets regardless, but…

“I stand corrected, Sung Jinah,” he murmurs, feeling ready for a glass of wine and a ten-hour nap. “You’re definitely a force to be reckoned with.”

Chapter Text

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: This is the 4th time I’ve woken up to this?????]

The camera reveals Jinah standing in the bathroom in her pajamas with bedhead. She flips to rear view and shows that the mirror that she explains is supposed to be hanging on the wall above the bathroom sink has been moved to the floor with its reflective side facing the wall.

Subtitle: This is not the first time he has done this????

“Oppa, what the fuck?” she whispers, puzzled. “I can’t get it to rest evenly by myself… he went on his morning jog. Guess I’ll wait until he gets back?”

Subtitle: I wonder…

The video cuts to Jinah peering through a bedroom door. She zooms in on the mirror hanging adjacent to a made-up bed. The mirror has also been turned around so as to not be used.

Subtitle: Yep. Knew it

Another cut to Jinah in the kitchen, now in a school uniform, securing the camera in a similar position and place as a previous video.

Another cut. Jinah sits at the table, drinking coffee, and a black cat sits curled up in the chair opposite of her, sleeping peacefully. A man in a tracksuit walks into frame, hands in his pockets.

“Oppa?”

“Hm?”

“Why’d you turn the mirrors around?” 

The man freezes mid-stroll, but it only lasts a moment. Then: “...sorry. I’ll fix them.”

“It’s… fine,” Jinah says, but her tone borders suspicion. “I was just wondering why.”

The man does not answer. His expression darkens briefly but then goes blank, and he shrugs, hands still in his pockets. Despite his relaxed posture, he shifts his weight uncomfortably. 

Subtitle: Why’s he being so sus abt it?? 

“You don’t like the results of your workouts?” Jinah presses casually as she sips her coffee. 

Slowly, the man takes his hands out of his pockets, shrugs again, and walks toward the coffee pot sitting on the counter. He extracts a ceramic mug from one of the many cabinets lining the upper wall. He’s no longer facing her, but the camera reveals his expression has once again gone dark.

“You have that quiz today, right?” the man says, rather than answering her. His tone mimics her nonchalance.

Subtitle: Translation- drop it

“Unfortunately,” Jinah says and sighs dramatically. “Wanna trade for the day? I’ll go hunting and you take my math quiz.”

“Gross. I’ll take the dungeon, thanks.”

“Do you even have a raid today?”

“...I’m still not taking the quiz.”

A giggle from Jinah. The video loops.

201 likes | 12 comments | 3 favorites

—

Comments:

hansongyeet
i’d take the dungeon too tbh 

     creator reply
     Stfu I hate u

Painfxxl
Plot twist- he’s a vampire

     creator reply
     LMAO OK I’LL ACCEPT THIS ANSWER

Peachycotton
I was a college student before I awakened as a hunter and I just wanna say I relate, Jinah :(((

    creator reply
    U gotta tell me which is worse ;_; 

        Peachycotton
        Haven’t decided yet (|||❛︵❛) GOOD LUCK ON UR MATH TEST THO 

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
I’m so not ready for the math test fr

onefunkyboi
I’m straight but her brother’s hot???

    hansongyeet
    …r u sure ur rly straight then buddy

naudalyke
Not sure about the working out thing but when I awakened as a Tank and I grew more muscle I didn’t wanna look in the mirror that much either… it was weird seeing a body that didn’t feel like mine…

    creator reply
    :((((

Chapter Text

Oppa (🄌 _🄌)？

Maybe u should get a haircut

??
wheres that coming from

Dunno
Just thought it would help へ‿(´•｡•`)‿ㄏ
Maybe some new clothes too!

uh
alright???

Idk just thought it’d help u feel like u???

oh

If it’s not like. Unaffordable
Like arent ur clothes all getting too small anyway

Like the only thing that fits properly is that tracksuit right
Always walkin around like ur preparin for a flood lmao
Ur t-shirts aren’t even baggy anymore

And u always liked baggy clothes!!

Oppa
Opppaaaaaa

sorry been cleaning
arent you in class

…
:P

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: ALL FOR A MATH QUIZ ヾ( ^‸^ゞ)]

“Oppa, I’m home!”

Jinah slides off her shoes and backpack and adjusts the camera, having started recording as soon as she entered the apartment. She pauses and sniffs the air.

“Oppa,” she calls out again. “Is… something burning?”

“No,” a man's voice replies instantly, followed by a sheepish: “...Maybe… but I took care of it already. It’s fine.”

Jinah flips the camera into selfie mode to give it a suspicious look and then flips it again as she ventures into the apartment. She walks slowly and deliberately, like she’s expecting to see a half-burnt-down kitchen at any moment.

Subtitle: Holy shit

“Oppa, did you cook?”

The man isn’t facing her. He’s standing at the sink, rinsing off a dish. The tips of his ears are dusted pink, however, which betrays his silence.

“Oppa—”

“You like hotteok, right?” he interrupts in a light tone.

“...yes? We haven’t had them in…” 

She trails off as she reaches their little dining room table, which is set with two plates containing Korean-style pancakes with a sweet filling inside. Contrary to the aforementioned burning smell, the pancakes do not appear burned at all. 

Subtitle: └(^o^ )^o^)┘ Haven’t had these in years????

“What’s the occasion?” Jinah asks, zooming in on the delicious-looking pancakes. 

“You had that math quiz, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but—” She pauses and then flips the camera again into selfie mode to give it another look. “Oppa. It was just a math quiz.”

“Right. And math is disgusting, so.”

Jinah giggles. “It was pretty awful, yeah. But I kicked its ass.”

She flips the camera again to rear view. The man is now in the middle of drying off his hands. “I’ll be… busy next week with raids, but I had free time today, so. I made—uh. Well.”

Jinah pans the camera to the hotteok and then back to her brother. “You… made these?”

“Well…” The man scratches his cheek abashedly. “...no,” he admits finally, modestly. “I… burned the ones I tried to make. So I… went out and bought some.”

Jinah sets the camera down on the dining room table, turning her phone on its side to prop it up slightly on her case’s kickstand, still recording. Her eyes sparkle with amusement, but even more obvious is how touched she looks.

Subtitle: Don’t laugh don’t laugh don’t laugh

“Aww, Oppa,” she croones teasingly. “You were gonna cook for me? I knew you still had a heart in there somewhere.”

The man’s face goes blank, but his eyes turn downcast, cheeks dusted faint pink. He shrugs nonchalantly, nonetheless. “Shut up and come wash your hands before the hotteok gets cold.”

“I’m not gonna turn down pancakes,” Jinah says, rushing to the sink without a second thought. And then, as she turns on the water: “You already went grocery shopping, though. This… wasn’t too expensive, right?”

The man sits down at the table, eyeing the camera with raised brows, but quickly dismisses it. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry about it,” the man repeats. “It’s all figured out.”

Subtitle: Wow vague much

Subtitle: Ok u win this time Oppa╰( •̀ᴗ•́ )وΨ

Jinah’s quick to dry her hands and settle down at the table, immediately grabbing a pancake with her bare fingers. “If you say so. Thank you, Oppa~”

The video loops.

199 likes | 8 comments | 1 favorite

—

Comments:

Peachycotton
HOTTEOK

    creator reply
    HOTTEOK

ComusCat
Awww how sweet. I want one

     creator reply
     Not sure if u mean the pancakes or Oppa but I’m not sharing <3

beatlboat
Financial struggle as a lower-rank hunter is so real (||_　_|||)

     creator reply
     Yeah…

hansongyeet
lmao i want to laugh cuz he burnt the hotteok but he seems so earnest as;dlfjas

     creator reply
     Right?? 😭

unBestie (ˋ ﹏ˊ )

GIRL
signed up for my first raid today <3

!!!!
ISTG BE CAREFUL

why ofc

If u die who will deal with the thirst comments

wow thx

Chapter Text

Nerd (〇-〇ヽ)

jinah
dude
girl
bitch

What I’m in class

i think i joined includes ur bro
the raid i mean

WHAT
TELL ME EVERYTHING?????

girl u know i w
oh fuck
wait
i said nothing

WHAT ??? 

nvm

BITCH U CAN’T NVM ME

HAN SONGYI

SRY I REALLY CAN’T
I SIGNED A CONTRACT

DUDE
THE BETRAYAL
WHATS MORE IMPORTANT
MY SHADOW INVESTIGATION OR UR CONTRACT

HOW ABT NOT LIVING MY LIFE IN A CRIPPLING AMOUNT OF DEBT THX

I hate u

i’ll buy u fried chicken w/ what i have to spare

…
…fine but I still hate u

Nerd (〇-〇ヽ)

Can I get an update

do u wanna pay the fee if i break the contract

…

Girl where tf is my fried chicken

Songyi

BITCH
WHERE IS IT

Jinho isn’t really all that afraid of Sung Jinwoo.

Even if this guy can now disappear and hide his presence entirely in the span of a heartbeat. Even if he can knock someone out before they even know that they’re in trouble. Even if he seems to be stronger than he was on the raid they went on yesterday.

Okay, so maybe he’s a little afraid of Sung Jinwoo. But it’s fine. He’s comfortable enough to say that he trusts this guy with his life. Sung Jinwoo saving his life twice—twice!—and then indulging him in this nineteen-more-raids request is enough proof for him.

He’s still a bit surprised when Jinwoo decapitates the boss in their second C-ranked gate for the day, and then asks, as soon as its head falls to the ground with a wet thump: “Do you know anything about owning a cat?”

Jinho blinks. “A… a cat?”

“Yes. A cat.”

“Never had one myself,” Jinho admits with a shrug. “My cousin has two, though! Why?”

“My s…” Jinwoo hesitates. “...I acquired one, recently. Keeps finding her way onto the fridge.”

Ah. This must be about the cat in Jinah’s TikToks.

…okay. Wait. Jinho isn’t a stalker, he’s not. But when you go through a traumatic experience with a guy in which only the two of you end up surviving, and that same guy has mysterious strength that seemed to increase between the dungeon boss battle and then the… traumatic experience, the smart thing to do is Google him, right? 

Except, of course, nothing showed up when Jinho did that. So he did a little digging, which may or may not have involved abusing his wealth, and when he did finally find the Sung Jinwoo for whom he was searching, he also happened to find out that he, much like Jinho, has a sibling.

And, after another few searches, he found said sister’s social media account. And when he realized that it was a TikTok account, well, he couldn’t help it. He wanted to see if Jinwoo was in her videos.

And he was! So… so of course he, uh, watched them all. And followed Jinah, with the TikTok account that his father doesn’t know he has. As long as he doesn’t leave comments or draw attention to himself, it’s fine. 

Or at least, it has been fine. For now. Jinho wisely decides to keep his knowledge about the TikToks a secret, though. You know. Just in case.

(His father will probably find it stupid, anyway. And unprofessional. And any other insult he can come up with.)

“Cats do like to climb,” is what he says out loud.

“And… and scratch on sofas, it seems.”

“Ah, yeah, my cousin’s mentioned that a few times.” He hands Jinwoo a water bottle as he says the words, and Jinwoo accepts it. “She had to get one of those cat trees! And several other, uh, cat scratchy things.”

Jinwoo pauses, like he’s mulling the words over. He takes an impressive drink from his water bottle. Swallows. “A cat tree, huh.”

“Yeah! Ever heard of one?”

“I’ve… seen a few at a pet store. Guess I should’ve asked about them.”

“How old’s the cat?”

“She’s around four or five months,” Jinwoo says, as Jinho gets to work extracting essence stones. “That’s what the vet said, anyway.”

“Ah. She in heat yet?”

“Huh?”

“The kitty. She’ll probably need, like, spayed or something at some point unless you want little kittens running around.”

“...oh.” A pause. “Hm.”

Jinho tries to hide his wince when magic beast blood splashes onto his hands, but he’s not sure if he’s successful. He’s getting better at it, though. Oddly, the conversation helps—Jinwoo’s not usually one for talking, which Jinho doesn’t usually mind, but the change is nice.

“I can talk to my cousin,” he offers, to keep the conversation going. To distract himself from the squelchy sound of his tools digging through the innards of a magic beast. “She may have some advice! I’ll shoot her a message before we go into the next gate. Can let you know what she says.”

“Mm. Alright.” And then, after another pause: “I mean, thanks. I’d—appreciate it.”

“No problem, boss!”

The grin Jinho throws him over his shoulder is genuine. Anything to help the guy who acts more like an older brother to him than his actual older brother.

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: When ur brother’s been busy on raids all week and u got studying to do…]

Audio: NEWJEANS - HYPEBOY (K-pop Lo-fi)

The camera sits on Jinah’s desk, where Jinah herself sits with a textbook and notebook open, and a pencil in her hand. She twirls the pencil absentmindedly, eyes locked on the textbook page as she skims its contents.

About five seconds pass before the video cuts to Jinah resting her forehead on the open textbook, pencil still in her hand but ready to slip free from her grip at any moment. She turns slightly until her cheek is pressed against the page and sighs visibly.

Subtitle: Always lonely without him here…

Another cut shows Jinah absent from her desk chair, only to walk into the frame a moment later with a bag of chips in hand. She plops into her chair and then jumps, obviously startled when a black cat leaps onto the desk.

The cat meows. Jinah laughs and says something that’s been muted. She coaxes the cat off her desk, and laughs again when the cat immediately jumps onto her desk again.

Cut to Jinah covering a smile with her hand. The cat is now sprawled out over her textbook.

A final cut shows Jinah picking up the kitty, who gives a muted mewl as Jinah stands and walks off-screen. A few seconds later, Jinah walks into the frame again and sits back down, picking up her pencil to begin studying anew.

The video loops.

187 likes | 7 comments | 2 favorites

—

Comments:

KWH16:
The Void is only trying to help!!! 

    creator reply:
    xD acing this assignment cuz of her help, for real

Peachycotton:
Awww raids do unfortunately take up so much time in the day ︶︵︶ as does studying, good job girl!

    creator reply:
    THANK U. AM DYING

       Peachycotton:
       Studying = student / dying

          xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
          FACTS

            creator reply:
            Yes. Can confirm ︶︵︶

Chapter Text

In the dusty, eerie darkness of the instant dungeon produced by the System for his job change quest, as Jinwoo celebrates his victory against Igris, something glimmers.

He pauses. Turns back toward Igris’s fallen corpse to examine it once more. He bends aching knees, squinting tired eyes. A crimson thread gleams like a spider’s web caught in the sunlight.

Except there is no sun here. Jinwoo blinks and frowns thoughtfully, reaching for the red ornament that decorates Igris’s helm, and is surprised when part of it comes loose under his outstretched fingers. 

It’s less of a thread and more of an actual ribbon, not unlike something Jinah would use to tie her hair back.

[ ITEM: Ribbon of the Blood-Red Commander ]
ACQUISITION DIFFICULTY: S
CATEGORY: Protective gear
Vitality + 20

ITEM BUFF: Reduces the potency of a foe’s mana by 80%.

Jinwoo’s eyes widen a fraction as the alert flashes into existence. Another S-rank item from Igris? He studies the crimson ribbon: the way it sparkles in his hand, the way it pulses with mana. He’s immediately reminded of his unawakened sister; of his slumbering, hospitalized mother…

Another alert replaces the previous one in moments, and his heart sinks as he realizes the job change quest has only just begun.

He’ll have to think about it later.

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Video #4 in Playlist: Shadownanigans.]

[no caption]

The camera’s mic tracks sluggish footsteps, and when the hallway light flips on, Jinah’s tired face is revealed. She yawns, hair down and askew.

She flips into rearview and pans the camera toward the analog clock in the front room. She doesn’t turn on any other lights besides the one in the hallway but zooms in on the clock anyway.

Timestamp: 2:57 A.M.

“He’s usually not out this late unless…” She trails off, switches the camera back into selfie mode, and shakes her head. “I don’t have any missed calls…”

She sets the phone down on the entertainment center, propping it up tiredly against the tv. It’s still recording.

Subtitle: (Checking the house phone)

“I swear if he’s hurt again or in the hospital I’m quitting school,” the mic catches her saying as she walks out of frame.

Subtitle: No calls??? I’m worried

When Jinah walks back into the frame, she’s holding the house phone up to her ear. She sits on the sofa, her expression tired but fretful.

Subtitle: (calling Oppa’s number- no answer)

Timestamp: 3:01 A.M.

Subtitle: (Calling a second time)

Jinah startles when something leaps onto the sofa with a mewl. She heaves out a relieved sigh when she sees it’s only the cat and brings her hand to scratch behind the cat’s ears when it butts its head against her arm, asking for affection.

Another timestamp marks when she puts the house phone back where it belongs. She sits eying the clock anxiously for several minutes but seems comforted by the cat’s presence at her side.

The clock in the corner of the frame counts continuously, but the footage is sped up as Jinah falls asleep on the sofa with her knees pulled up to her chest, her hand going limp against the cat’s fur.

Timestamp: 4:46 A.M.

The footage returns to normal speed when a door lock unlatches. A man enters the apartment quietly, and Jinah and the cat remain undisturbed as he closes the door behind him, swaying visibly on his feet. The camera’s mic doesn’t even catch the sound of his footsteps as he removes his shoes and treks inside.

It does, however, catch the way the man pauses when he sees Jinah and the cat slumbering on the sofa. The light from the hallway illuminates the blood on his face and chest. Even with only one light on, it’s easy to see that his clothes are tattered beyond repair.

“Did… she wait up for me?” the man mutters, voice sluggish, before groaning in pain. “Nnnggh… no, no don’t pass out, don’t pass out, don’t p—”

He stumbles violently into the entertainment center, trying to catch himself and failing. There’s a jarring thud as he sinks to the floor, and Jinah’s phone tumbles down with him. The noise startles both Jinah and the cat into wakefulness.

The phone is still recording, facing the ceiling. The camera catches Jinah’s sharp inhale of breath. “O…Oppa? Oh my god, Oppa! ”

“M’fine,” the man mumbles. “M’just… tired…”

“Did you just get home?” Unlike her brother, Jinah sounds wide awake, urged into alertness by the man’s lethargic state. “Oppa… Oppa, hey...”

“Sorry,” the man persists. “Didn’t… didn’t mean to… keep you up…”

“It’s—it’s okay, just—fuck, uh, lemme get you some water, alright? Just a sec.”

A disoriented hum. The hallway light flickers. Jinah’s footsteps are frantic but swift as she darts across the apartment. The sound of running water reaches the camera’s mic, but it’s soon replaced by chittering, disembodied whispers, and the faint, low growl of a cat.

The camera is still pointed up toward the ceiling. A fleeting shadow curls at the edge of the frame and is gone in a moment.

Jinah’s footsteps confirm that she’s returned to the room, only to freeze. “Wh…what the…?”

Subtitle: HE’S FXCKING GONE????

“Oppa?” Jinah’s voice whispers fretfully, wedged with hysteria. “Oppa?!”

She darts anxiously across the room again. A few moments later, she’s dashing toward the camera, picking it up to reveal her frightened, confused expression.

“What the fuck, what the fuck,” she says, over and over again as she walks toward another room. She switches cameras, panning to a half-open bedroom door. “What the fuck, there’s no way…”

Subtitle: HOW DID HE MOVE BY HIMSELF

Subtitle: I SWEAR HE COULD BARELY STAND A SECOND AGO

Jinah steps into the bedroom, but the room is too dark to pick up anything more than faint outlines. “Op—”

The video cuts off abruptly, having reached max recording capacity; and loops.

263 likes | 6 comments | 16 favorites 

—

Comments:

grandmastaajayyy3620
WOW MANS HAS BEEN THRU IT 

hansongyeet
um??? jinah??????

Peachycotton
Ok first, is he okay???? Second, I definitely saw shadows???? The lights????What’s happening this is concerning

coffeeandkpop
BEEN FOLLOWING THIS ACCOUNT SINCE THE MONSTER TALK AND NOW WE HAVE THIS???? HOLY SHIT?????SCREAMING

 statusquo2003
Why are u recording and not calling an ambulance

1WhoDoesSimply
This looks terrifying to experience. Updates please?

unBestie (ˋ ﹏ˊ )

jinah???
girl i know ur mad at me but i just saw ur tiktok

jinah? r u awake still??

r u going to school??
r u there already??

jinah listen u may be used to ur bro coming home hurt but i’m still worried

Incoming call . . .

unBestie (ˋ ﹏ˊ )

[ swipe to accept || swipe to decline ]

Chapter Text

“Are you okay?” is the first thing Songyi asks, breathless when Jinah picks up.

For an achingly long, terrifying moment, all Songyi hears is the unsteady pattern of Jinah’s breathing and her own panting. Then, slowly: “...I don’t know what’s happening anymore, Songyi.”

“Is… is your brother okay?” Songyi hedges, trying to pull more info out of her.

“He’s—sleeping. I think,” Jinah says, and sniffles. “I can’t—I can’t go check on him, Songyi, there’s something in there with him, but I don’t—I’m late for school but I can’t leave him—”

“Okay, okay—wait, girl, s…slow down,” Songyi interrupts, panting still. “Take—take a breath, okay? You sound like you’re crying.”

“I am,” Jinah says and sobs. “He’s always g-getting hurt! I’m used to it, I used to see it all the time but this—there’s something—”

“Should I come over?” Songyi doesn’t wait for the answer before she adds, “I don’t know why I asked. You can’t say no—I’m halfway to your place already.”

And she is. She started making her way to the Sung apartment when she saw Jinah’s TikTok, even when Jinah wasn’t replying to her messages. Worry pushed her out the door and had her bolting down stairs and running across streets.

“Hurry,” Jinah whispers, and Songyi starts sprinting.

It takes less than five minutes to reach Jinah’s place after that. It’s a twenty-minute walk normally, but Songyi nearly cuts that time in half as she races to the Sung apartment door.

Jinah’s been anxiously awaiting her arrival—she knows by the way Jinah answers immediately and drags her inside.

Songyi can count on one hand how many times she has seen Jinah cry. The last time was just a few months ago, when the same older brother who is apparently sleeping now slept for three days straight, and Songyi stood awkwardly outside his hospital room while Jinah chewed him out for making her worry—and promptly burst into tears because how could he do that to her when their mom is—

“I’m late for school,” is what Jinah blurts out now, with a sniffle. 

(The same thing she’d said that day, but she’d smiled then, as if her eyes weren’t pink. As if Songyi didn’t overhear her sobbing her heart out while her older brother held and comforted her.)

“School?” Songyi echoes ludicrously. “After all that happened this morning, you’re worried about being late for school? ”

“Yes.” And then Jinah wipes at her face, drawing in a shuddering breath. “What else can I do? He works so hard for me to get an education and I—”

 “Okay, okay. I get it—but you’re well within your rights to be a little late! And your brother’s pretty chill, isn’t he? It’s not like he’ll get onto you.”

“No,” Jinah says, softer this time. “He… he won’t. But still. I—I only haven’t left yet because—”

And very rapidly Songyi’s blood runs cold as she remembers what Jinah had said on the phone. “...you said something is in there?”

“I think so.”

Jinah walks a few yards away to where her phone has been resting on the floor, and for the first time, Songyi realizes that she’s dressed for school already. She really does intend to go. 

“I… can show you,” Jinah says finally, sniffling. “He was just sleeping on his bed, earlier. I’ve been… just been waiting in case he wakes up, cos usually when he comes home hurt, he at least tells me if he’s… okay. But I was… I was just waiting, so I kind of edited the video a bit and posted it, and his shadow was being weird again! And people were commenting about it, so I wanted to go check on him—”

“You—” Songyi pauses to lower her voice into a hiss, grabbing Jinah by the wrist and pulling her back by the apartment entrance. “You saw the comments about your bro’s freaky shadow and you thought it’d be a good idea to go into his room alone to look for yourself? Girl, do you have any survival instincts?!”

“Says the girl who stopped going to school to pursue being a hunter as an E-rank.”

“That’s—” Songyi stiffens. “...that’s different.”

You know what my parents are like, don’t you? Songyi doesn’t say, because how can she complain to her best friend about her parents when said best friend is this close to becoming an orphan?

“Is it?” Jinah gives her a clearly unimpressed look. “I’m not stupid—I have an idea of what the hunter industry is like. People gossip, Songyi. I know what they say about low-rankers. Usually when people find out Oppa’s E-rank, they…” She stops, quickly lowering her gaze as she fidgets with her phone case. “I—you know why I started making TikToks, right?”

Songyi swallows. She doesn’t really know the entire story, no. That doesn’t stop her from supporting Jinah, but still.

Jinah takes her silence as her answer. “I have… more videos, in my drafts. And—and Oppa’s hurt, in all of them! I never posted them before, because I… they’re cruel to low-rankers. You’ve been on a few raids, now, haven’t you? Aren’t they… mean to you, too? I didn’t want to make it worse. But—but then he survived that double dungeon, Songyi, it was an S-rank dungeon! And—and I just thought, Oppa has survived so many raids… I just. I wanted to show people the tenacity of low-rankers. I wanted—I wanted to show people Oppa’s tenacity. I know that I poke fun at him all the time, but… he’s—”

She pauses again when her voice breaks. Takes another deep breath. Songyi can only stare as she absorbs this information, just barely stopping herself from blurting out everything she’s seen so far.

Because really, she knows almost as little as Jinah does. Sung Jinwoo is E-rank on paper, but… 

Him and the captain cleared those C-rank gates by themselves. 

From what she’s heard about hunters—especially from the strike squad—going into a gate alone, even just an E-rank gate, is a death sentence, but she’s seen him walk out with hardly even a scratch. She doesn’t have any experience as a hunter herself, sure, but something… something isn’t right.

Something doesn’t add up. And just like Jinah, she doesn’t have answers.

“He’s never broken his promise to me, before,” Jinah concludes in a whisper. “And—and I know he came home late but he came home. Besides, haven't you been encouraging me to look at his shadow anyway? Of course I’m fucking terrified that something’s in there! But… but it's Oppa, I can’t just leave, he’s all I—”

“Okay,” Songyi interrupts softly, if only so she doesn’t have to hear the gut-wrenching sound of Jinah’s voice breaking again. “Okay. I’m sorry. Sh…show me the video, then.”

She does. It’s barely even thirty seconds long, and yet it still manages to chill Songyi all the way to her bone marrow—more than once.

“Holy shit,” is all she can say.

“And the thing is, I don’t even think he’s hurt," Jinah rambles on, when the video ends. “He just, like, went back to bed after that happened! And I’ve seen Oppa come home hurt a lot—he’s never healed this fast. I saw the blood on his clothes but I didn’t see any injuries, but also, how do I even get close to him? Was there even a healer on the raid he went on? I don’t even know, he said that B-rank retired, but he didn’t seem hurt, but he passed out earlier, and it’s only been like—shit, what time is it?”

“Hey.” Songyi puts her hands on Jinah’s shoulders as she speaks. “Let’s take some breaths. Okay? Just. Let’s just breathe for a sec.”

Jinah shakes her head. “I was looking through the old TikTok drafts, they’re not that old! Maybe from like. Six months ago? But Songyi, he’s—he’s definitely different from before, taller, more closed off, something’s happened that made him change, I tried not to really think about it much before cos—”

“Jinah. Breathe.”

She does, finally. Inhales shakily, and then exhales, and inhales again. Songyi breathes with her, squeezing her shoulders with each breath gently as she slowly calms.

“So he’s a little taller than he was before,” Songyi says eventually. “I dunno, didn’t people say that was normal? I’m an assassin type. I didn’t put on a shit ton of muscle or anything. My senses have sharpened a little? I don't need contacts anymore. I’ve also been told it’s different with minors, because we’re still growing anyway, as teens. Puberty and all that shit.”

Jinah looks at her, eyes wet as she listens, and blinks back the tears. “But he’s been hunting for years, what made him change now? Maybe… maybe I’ll look more into it, later.”

“Want me to march in there and ask him? I’ll do it.”

“No!” Jinah promptly lowers her voice, repeating softly: “No, it’s… it’s fine. He’s—I know he’s tired, and… I’ll see him later, anyway. For the parent-teacher-conference. He promised the other day that he’d come. And besides…” She takes another deep breath, this one steadier than the previous ones. “He’s—I mean, you’ve seen the other videos. He… I think he knows already, you know? He knows he’s changed. And reminding him… it just, it seems to hurt him, and I don’t wanna hurt him.”

“But there’s something going on,” Songyi says. “And he’s not telling you, and it’s hurting you.”

“It’s not—that’s not even it! It’s just…” Jinah fidgets again with her phone, clicking the button on the side to check the time, but her eyes aren’t even on the screen to read it. “I’m just… what if I started something I don’t know how to finish? I’m—I’m just realizing that it’s bigger than I originally thought, you know?”

Waaaaay bigger, Songyi thinks, as an image of the other day’s “raid” flashes through her mind.

(And how is she any better than the brother Jinah so fondly admires, keeping the raids a secret? She feels like this warrants a conversation with the captain of her strike squad, at this point.)

“Well, let’s start with this,” Songyi decides. “Post the other video! Maybe the comments will have some—I don’t know, introspection? People post videos all the time asking for thoughts and advice.”

“I haven’t even responded to the comments on the first video.”

“Well, of course you haven’t. You’re a high school student, hello, you’re busy. Also, I don’t think they’re really expecting a fast response from you—not when you’re brother fucking fainted at ass-o’clock in the morning.”

“This isn’t the first time that’s happened.”

“And why does that make it any better?”

“I don’t know—you fucking tell me: aren’t you desperate to be a hunter, too? When this is the reality of low-ranking hunters?”

Songyi opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn’t know what, because how does she even respond to that?

“Wait, I’m sorry,” Jinah continues abruptly. “I—I didn’t mean that.”

“No,” Songyi says, soft. “You’re right.”

“S—”

“Let’s… let’s go to school.”

Jinah’s eyes blow wide. “Both of us?”

“Yeah,” Songyi says, with a sigh, and reaches for her hand. “I’m—not saying I’ll come back for good, but I’ll—I can go today. Even if we’re late.”

“They’re—usually kind of lenient. With me, at least,” Jinah says. “I can’t say the same for you, though.”

“Ugh, yeah, I’m probably in for it. But I’ll deal with that when we get there—c’mon, I’ll get us like, a taxi or something. I gotta get my uniform.”

“Okay,” Jinah agrees and wipes her eyes with a big breath. “Yeah, okay. I’m, um, gonna go say goodbye to the kitty—she’s been hiding in my room for a while.”

Songyi nods as she reaches into her pocket for her phone. Wonders, idly, if the strike squad captain would answer her questions.

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Reply to @Peachycotton: Ok first, is he okay???? Second, I definitely saw shadows???? What’s happening this is concerning ]

[Video #5 in Playlist: Shadownanigans.]

Subtitle: He was just??? Sleeping??? when I went in earlier. . .

Timestamp: 7:02AM

The camera shows Jinah leaning against a closed bedroom door, appearing tired and concerned. She’s dressed in sleepwear.

Subtitle: I’m gonna check on him again but I need to get ready for school. . .

Jinah takes a breath and pushes herself up to knock on the door. She switches cameras to rear view. “Oppa? I’m coming in—”

She cuts off with a sharp gasp. The camera catches a pair of foxfire blue eyes—a fleeting shadow of what appears to be a knight kneeling by the man’s bedside. A head decorated with a crimson helm ornament, turning with mechanical slowness to look in Jinah’s direction. It warps and Jinah takes off with a yelp, her footsteps thundering across the apartment.

The camera’s mic picks up her shaky breathing. As she slows to a stop, Jinah switches cameras into selfie mode, revealing her wide, frantic eyes and terrified expression.

And a shirtless man standing right behind her, rubbing an eye. “Wh…z goin’ on?”

Jinah screams. The video loops.

401 likes | 8 comments | 24 favorites

—

Comments:

Peachycotton
Oh my god…

Painfxxl
I wish i would’ve gotten a warning for the jumpscare (っ ఠ్ఠᗣఠ్ఠ c)

     Peachycotton
     Judging by her reaction I’m sure she wishes she did too????

1WhoDoesSimply
This scared the shit out of me

hazbat
Woke up this morning on the spooky side of tiktok

coffeeandkpop
NO CUZ THE WAY I WOULDVE PEED MY DAMN PANTS–

Serenity1453
wow how rude u didnt even say hi

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
JINAH WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK CALL ME

This is… not good.

Jinchul has barely one cup of tea and the Sung siblings are already causing trouble. But it’s not just that—he’s worried, now, for these people. Jinah’s latest videos have been extremely concerning.

And the comments…

isellcuddlesessions89
Wtf??? is your house haunted???

projoe3Mrx11
I can’t tell if this is hunter-related or something else,,,

Aecha96
i thought she said he wasnt a mage?!?!?! is that a summon or a ghost

      isellcuddlesessions89
      For real, like just because hunters and shit exist doesn’t mean ghosts and the supernatural stopped existing

professor_rpg
hi so quick question is your brother the devil

cru2006
A REAL SHADOW PERSON OMG

As the chief of the Korean Hunters Association, Jinchul is used to digging for information that may or may not involve breaching an individual’s privacy, and something tells him he’ll be doing that in the near future. The Association won’t just let this sit for too long.

But he doesn’t know what to do, in all honesty. He doesn’t know Jinah personally—nor does he know Hunter Sung Jinwoo all that well—but there’s a certain… charm to them. It’s important for him to stay professional, of course, but the Sung siblings are still so young, and he… he doesn’t want to see them hurt. 

Hunter Sung Jinwoo very obviously is not just a hunter. He is a brother. A son. The sole provider for himself and a fifteen-year-old girl. 

And Hunter Sung… had he been hurt? There was blood on him in Jinah’s previous TikTok, but he didn’t appear to be wounded in the one she’d just posted. 

Twenty minutes later and he’s confirmed that Hunter Sung Jinwoo had not signed up to participate in any raids yesterday. So just what had he done to have him returning home in such a state? Jinchul doesn’t know if he truly wants to know the answer.

He skims the comment section again. Aside from her small following, her latest videos don’t seem to have attracted too much attention, but Jinchul doesn’t know how long that will last. It’s the internet, after all—it can be almost as dangerous and unpredictable as high-ranked hunters themselves.

Take the account down, his instincts say. Purge the videos.

He can’t. Not… not yet. Not while he’s still suspicious of Hunter Sung. Not when Jinah is providing him with more information than he can seek out himself. If… if he could just keep the comments off the ‘hunter’ side of things…

Wait a minute.

Biting his lip, Jinchul looks down at his phone.

ADD COMMENT...

Should he? He’s so used to lurking in the background, but this is his personal cell. His private account.

Is the house haunted or is your brother haunted?

He taps the little arrow button to submit his comment and expels a sigh. It probably won’t even work, but maybe it’ll buy him some time. People have already brought up the idea of ghosts anyway, so is it so wrong to keep steering them in that direction?

Even… even if something inside him screams that Hunter Sung is definitely not an E-rank brawler. At least, not anymore. That shadow—those eyes. They’d been bright with mana.

On top of the Sung sibling… situation, he’ll be picking up and monitoring S-rank Hwang Dongsu tonight. He wasn’t looking forward to that to begin with, but now he’s got something else to tell the chairman about…

He’ll need to rewatch the TikToks and study them further, but there’s just too much to do right now. Too many things to do. Too many unanswered questions. Too many hunters who won't stay in their lanes.

(Hwang Dongsu. It's Hwang Dongsu who won't stay in his lane.)

(He sincerely hopes that Sung Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho are not around when Hwang Dongsu arrives.)

“Why is something always going wrong?” he mutters to himself, as he exits TikTok, powers off his personal cell, and grabs his work cell to call the chairman.

He really doesn’t get paid enough for this. 

Chapter Text

Jinwoo awakes to a persistent buzzing sound.

He blinks open sluggish eyes, a hand grappling blindly at the bedsheets for his phone before his brain can catch up with the movement. Answers the call before he even realizes what he’s doing.

“...hello?” is the impolite greeting he gives, still half-asleep. Exhausted.

“Oppa?”

His brain buffers like a computer with shitty wi-fi connection. Belatedly: Bedsheets?

He doesn’t remember reaching his bedroom, much less his bed. The last place he remembers his phone being is in his inventory so it wouldn’t get damaged during the job change quest. He blinks again, and again, and—

“Oppa?” Jinah repeats, worried and frustrated in equal measure. “Oppa, thank god, I’ve only been trying to reach you all fricken day! Are you okay?”

“Mm. Yeah,” Jinwoo answers, jaw cracking in a yawn as he sits up. “M’fine, was just… sleeping. Sorry. I was pretty beat.”

“I could tell, you—” She breaks off, unexpectedly hesitant. “...do you remember what today is?”

Buffering. Buffering. Buffering.

A sigh. “I can’t blame you for forgetting, after this morning. Guess last night’s raid was pretty bad, huh?”

Jinwoo pulls his phone away from his ear to put it on speaker and checks today’s date, only to see a notification pinned at the top of his screen.

REMINDER: JINAH’S PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE
TODAY, 5PM

   [ snooze || dismiss ]

Jinwoo curses under his breath, and a glance at the time shows him he still has about four hours before he has to be there. “Your conference.”

“Oppa, it’s—”

Okay, he knows she will say, even though it isn’t. “No. I’ll be there. At five, right? Don’t worry. I’ll see you there.”

“...are you sure?”

Something in her tone pulls at his chest unpleasantly. “Yes. I’m sure. I’ll see you at five, ’kay?”

“’Kay,” she echoes, soft. “...you’re the best, Oppa.”

He isn’t. He is so far from the best that the praise feels entirely undeserving. The unpleasant pull in his chest grows stronger, stronger, stronger as vague memories of seeing her passed out on the sofa, waiting for him, resurface in his mind.

Protect this one, something in him murmurs, not for the first time. It’s instinctive. Intrinsic. Keep her safe. 

“Dork,” is what he says out loud.

“Pssh. Text me when you’re on your way?”

“Will do.”

“’Kay. See you then, loser.”

Mm. Much better. Jinah ends the call before he can respond (typical Jinah move), and Jinwoo dismisses the conference reminder. He stretches until his shoulders crack satisfyingly, and only then does he see a wisp of shadow out of the corner of his eye.

He turns his head and meets the mana-bright gaze of his newly acquired summon, Igris. He blinks.

Igris blinks back at him.

Another memory surfaces in his mind, although this one is very much not his own. He sees, through Igris’s eyes, how he stumbled through his apartment door a few hours before dawn, only to pass out almost immediately.

“You… carried me to bed?” he asks, still uncertain as he sifts through more memories that do not belong to him.  “Did… shit. Did Jinah see you?”

Rewinding again. Jinah’s clumsy but quick footsteps—

“Lemme get you some water, alright?”

—and two hours passing through the blink of an eye—

“Oppa? I’m coming in—”

—and Igris standing guard at his bedside, only to dip back into Jinwoo’s shadow the moment Jinah stepped inside. A few more blinks and the memories fade from his mind’s eye.

Well… huh. Is memory sharing a thing, between a hunter and their summons? Is it because of the System? He hasn’t decided if he wants to know, just yet. He vaguely remembers stirring in his sleep—did he get up? He doesn’t know. It feels like a dream, at this point. 

He looks down at his chest and is surprised to find it bare. He’s not a fan of sleeping shirtless, but he supposes it’s better than getting his bedsheets dirty. He doesn’t want to ask how he ended up out of his tattered, bloodied clothes. He’ll save himself the embarrassment.

“Thank you,” he tells his new shadow soldier anyway and pushes himself out of bed. He’s overdue for a shower. And he has errands to run before Jinah’s conference, and… and he owes her, now. For making her worry. 

He really isn’t the best.

Should I take pictures?

The thought crosses his mind as he’s trying on the second pair of black jeans an employee helped him pick out. The sales associate was right: black pairs well with anything. He decides very quickly that he likes it.

(It reminds him of the army hiding in his shadow.)

(It reminds him of the little cat waiting for him and Jinah back home.)

He picks at the sleeves of the light blue dress shirt he’d selected earlier and inhales silently through his nose before meeting his own eyes in the dressing room’s mirror. The hairstylist at the previous shop had said this was a popular cut, and that should help him avoid attention, right? Picking the same hairstyle so many others did? Jinwoo isn’t sure. Certainly taking pictures won’t help, but…

But Jinah’s been making that… video diary—thing, or something, and thinking about it makes him pause. He can’t remember the last time he could afford new clothes, much less buying them brand new after being measured to find an accurate size, but the idea of taking more from his parents’ closet—old and untouched as it is—leaves him feeling hollow. More hollow than usual.

No. No, borrowing the tracksuit from his father is enough.

Anyway. He’s sure that if… if their mother was awake, then she’d want to accompany him, or at least see his purchases, wouldn’t she? But she can’t. Not… not right now. But pictures will—what was it Jinah said before? Immortalize the moment.

Jinwoo sighs again and fishes his phone out of his pocket. Okay. Just a few pictures, for… for Eomma. 

Except when he takes the pictures, they feel… odd. Maybe that’s because he still doesn’t feel like Jinwoo, not when his reflection looks more like his father than himself, but… the haircut helps.

(He idly debates the consequences of telling his little sister that her suggestion was a good idea.)

(Ultimately decides against it, lest he receive an innumerable amount of ‘I Told You So’s.) 

Whatever. He promptly decides that this falls under the Do Not Touch with a 100 Meter Pole category of his double-dungeon-fried emotions, and shoves it down, down, down into the bottomless abyss where his new army awaits his call.

He pulls up Juhee’s contact instead.

Juhee

You sent an attachment:
[Jinwoo, dressed in a light-blue button-down shirt and black jeans, stands in front of a long mirror, shown from the neck down. One hand is in his jeans pocket while the other holds the phone at shoulder height, as reflected in the mirror. The picture is slightly blurred.]

is this OK attire for a meeting?

Depends on what kind of meeting? 

Jinwoo pauses here. Considers the pros and cons of dancing around the truth. Lying has hurt his relationship with Juhee more than help it, though, and… he doesn’t like hurting her. She’s a good person. He likes her. They’ve… they’ve been through a lot together.

They’re… friends, aren’t they? Friends share things about each other’s lives. He thinks.

my..sisters parent-teacher conference meeting 

This time, there’s a pause on Juhee’s end.

Ah, I see
Then I’d think so!
You look nice, Jinwoo :) 

thanks 

But uh
Nvm

what?

Lol, so.
Have you ever taken a selfie before? 

not many tbh
why

Juhee sent an attachment:
[Juhee stands in front of a mirror in a bathroom wearing a modest white top paired with olive green leggings. She’s smiling. The lighting compliments her well.]

You don’t have to show your face if you don’t want ofc but
See how mine is less blurry?
You take the picture when the camera focuses, lol

You sent an attachment:
[Jinwoo stands in the same position, same posture. His outfit still appears dark but the camera is significantly more focused.]

like this?

Yeah! :) 

Uh. Wait a min
Jinwoo?

what is it

????

Juhee sent an attachment:
[screenshot of Jinwoo’s previous photo, zoomed in on his shadow. Two pairs of foxfire eyes look up at him.]

What the hell is that??

oh
sorry
i didnt notice they were watching

???

i’ll take new ones

Jinwoo who are ‘they’ ??

Jinwoo????

Where did you go???

sorry gotta run
talk to you later?

Okay??? When is later?

thanks for the help :)

Jinwoo wait
SUNG JINWOO

“Holy shit,” Jinah breathes out when she meets him at her school’s entrance. “You actually got a haircut.”

Jinwoo frowns and shoves the fanciest mocha-something coffee drink he’s ever purchased into her hands. “Hush. You were the one who told me to.”

“I didn’t expect you to actually do it!”

“Shut up and drink your coffee.”

She does, with renewed focus. She falls into step with Jinwoo and promptly makes a face. “...is this decaf?”

“Of course it is. It’s too late in the day for caffeine.”

“...lemme try yours.”

Immediately, Jinwoo lifts his own sugary concoction higher than she can reach. It’ll be in his inventory before he even reaches her classroom, but she doesn’t know that. “Absolutely not.”

“Oppa! Yours totally has caffeine in it, doesn’t it?!” 

“...”

“Op—”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Jinwoo slinks a hand into his pocket as he speaks, but it’s only for show. A single thought and he’s summoned Igris’s ribbon from his inventory. “I… got you a present.”

That makes Jinah pause to look at him, and Jinwoo has to tug her out of another student’s path. She ignores this, instead narrowing her eyes at him. “Sus.”

“Sus?”

“Are you buttering me up for something?”

I’m sorry for making you worry. Again, he wants to say.

I want to keep you safe, he wants to say.

I want to be stronger for you, he wants to say.

What comes out: “I can give it to someone else, if you’d prefer.”

“What?! No, Oppa, no, wait, I want it, I want it! Gimme!”

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Serious hunter behavior (⏒‸⏒) ]

Jinah walks down the sidewalk, hair tied up in a ponytail with a red ribbon, angling the camera to include a man with an undercut, wearing black jeans and a light-blue button-down shirt. “Say hi, Oppa.”

“Hi,” replies the man flatly, and takes a long sip of his caramel macchiato.

Subtitle: POV- ur brother scares the shxt out of u and ur followers AGAIN by collapsing at like 5am and jump-scaring u only to show up to ur parent-teacher meeting with like an entirely different person

Subtitle: Does he even remember passing out on me???? 

Subtitle: I’m scared to ask at this point help

Out loud, Jinah says, “You still have your coffee?”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna drink it in front of your teacher at the parent-teacher conference.”

“Then where the hell did you put it?”

“That’s a secret.”

Jinah gives the man a very obviously unimpressed look, but he does not elaborate. She continues to stare at him, and he continues to pleasantly ignore her stare, which only seems to further frustrate Jinah.

Subtitle: Fine well here goes nothing

“Oppa, do you believe in ghosts?”

The man pauses abruptly. Raises his brows. “That was random.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Mm. Not sure. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Probably,” the man echoes, and then: “You’re studying here late, aren’t you?”

“You’re changing the subject,” Jinah says, with a pout. “...but yes. Why?”

“I… have another raid. I’ll—”

“This late?”

“It’s—kind of a special case, so, yeah.”

Jinah doesn’t appear very happy with this new development, if the frown on her face is any indication. She eyes him with equal parts suspicion and concern. “Is it a risky raid?”

“Nah, I think it’ll be fine.”

“Like last night’s raid was fine?”

A pause. The man stops slurping his coffee. “It… it was fine.”

“Oppa,” Jinah hedges, her frown deepening, “you blacked out the moment you got home.”

“Mm. Not my finest moment.”

“...”

“I was just tired, Jinah. I’m fine.”

“...you swear?”

“Yes.”

“Oppa. Swear.”

The man looks at her, and his expression noticeably softens when their eyes meet. He retracts a hand from his jeans pocket, pinky extended. 

Jinah accepts.

“I gotta stop by the house to change,” the man says and takes another drink of his coffee with an audible slurp. “And feed Cat. Don’t stay up too late, ’kay?”

Jinah gives him another look. “You did not name the kitty Cat.”

“What else should we name her?”

“Literally anything but Cat.” And then, as Jinah stops at the steps of a building: “Don’t die.”

“I’ve got laundry to fold and a gremlin to feed. Can’t die anytime soon.”

“Our kitty isn’t a gremlin.”

“I wasn’t talking about her.”

Jinah squawks. “Rude—”

The video loops.

698 likes | 13 comments | 19 favorites

—

Comments:

1WhoDoesSimply
I’m glad he’s ok… still doesnt explain anything tho?

Super_freak21
Theory: he died and got replaced by a Mimic,,,, a hot Mimic 👀

    Aecha96
    I’d fuck the mimic

      hoxle
      Subbing for the hot mimic

          snowzardmusic0
          If he’s not a hot mimic who makes pinky promises to his little sister then i don’t want him

hazbat
No offense but ur bro feels a little shady to me :/

naudalyke
Hunters really be going into raids like they didn’t almost lose limbs in the one the the day before

coffeeandkpop
Look i’m still very confused and concerned but the coffee is such a typical sibling apology lol- ALSO??? THE HAIRCUT

silverteak
he looks good in black (ꈍ д ꈍ)

snowzardmusic0
Omg give me his number please

oversyncing
Is this rly the same guy with the bedhead from ur last video
Tell him to take off his shirt I need to compare (♡ε♡ )

amecia_de
Jinah ur content is so unpredictable like did he think the new haircut & fit would distract us from what he pulled this morning

    amecia_de
    Bc if so he was right

✨ jinah ✨ sent you a Snap!

[image: Jinah gives the camera a two-fingered peace sign and a grin. The ribbon in her hair sparkles ominously, probably the work of her Snapchat filter. Behind her, her brother stands with a deadpan expression, slurping away at his Starbucks coffee. Jinah has sloppily drawn glowing pink cat ears on both of them.]

Caption: Girl help he got a haircut and the thirst comments doubled  ՞(ᗒ︵ᗕ)՞

Delivered, 2h.

Chapter Text

“Small world,” Songyi says with narrowed eyes as she comes face to face with the same hunter that made her best friend cry this morning.

“Yeah,” agrees Sung Jinwoo. “I suppose it is.”

Well, Songyi can’t say this new development entirely puts her off. She silently thanks her homeroom teacher as she descends the steps to walk with him, still a little irritated when Jinwoo starts talking about the hardships of the world of hunting as an E-rank. As if he’s actually an E-rank.

At least she can gauge his power for herself, now. And maybe prove that she’s not some naive kid.

Wait for us, Jinah, she pleads internally as they approach their ride.

ADD COMMENT…

“You’re seriously on your phone right now? We’re about to go into a gate.”

Park Heejin refrains from frowning. Kim Chul is strong—stronger than her—but he seems to think that gives him a pass to be a douchebag, and it’s annoying.

“We’re waiting anyway, aren’t we?” she decides to say. “For someone?”

Kim Chul sighs. It’s definitely not the reminder he needed, she supposes, but oh well. He turns away to grumble to himself, and that means she’s left alone: a win for her.

Not that she really knows what she was going to comment. She taps the back of her phone in thought and ultimately decides to save the video to comment later. She’ll surrender her phone when they enter the gate anyway to save it from getting damaged during the raid.

For now, she decides to scroll a bit, but it doesn’t take long for their ‘extras’ to arrive. Heejin glances up briefly as Ahn Sangmin steps out of the car with two people in tow.

She does a double take.

The girl, she doesn’t recognize at all. But the guy?

Heejin hastily taps her way back to her page and into her favorites.

“Say hi, Oppa.”

“Hi.”

Holy shit, flits through her mind. Is this—holy shit, it’s him?!

She pauses Sung Jinah’s latest TikTok right as the man looks at the camera, and she looks up at the man casually approaching their raid team. And back at the TikTok, and back at the man, and—

“Alright, so they’re here,” Kim Chul calls, with an amount of grumpiness that feels uncalled for. “Phones away. This isn’t a fucking field trip.”

Heejin complies wordlessly, but her mind is still reeling, because really, what the fuck? She tries to catch Manager Ahn’s eye, to find out why he’d bring two outsiders to their training raid, but he’s too busy whispering with the man and his companion to notice Heejin.

Kim Chul starts some spiel she doesn’t really listen to, and maybe she should have, but she’s more focused on trying to overhear Manager Ahn’s conversation. She’s so focused on it that she doesn’t even realize she’s been pushed into the gate until she’s halfway inside.

And the gate goes red.

She looks back at Kim Chul, whose expression has gone grim as the strike squad begins to panic; and then back at the mysterious outsiders—

Just in time to see the man catch an ice-coated arrow aimed between his companion’s eyes.

Not E-rank, her mind screams immediately. He’s definitely not E-rank.

“Can I see your license?” she asks him, after they’ve separated into two groups because Kim Chul deemed half of them unnecessary baggage.

The man blinks and stops walking to give her a confused look, but fishes it out from underneath his hoodie anyway. “Sure.”

NAME: SUNG JINWOO
RANK: E

Sung. Sung like Sung Jinah from TikTok. The picture’s definitely outdated—must’ve been taken years ago. He’s wearing different clothes now, but his new haircut matches the man’s new haircut in Jinah’s video. Jinah has skillfully avoided mentioning his given name, but Heejin has enough background information to safely confirm his identity.

“And yours?” she asks the other outsider, because the girl is lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders proudly like she’s waiting to be checked too.

She has it tucked out of her clothes already. “Here.”

NAME: HAN SONGYI
RANK: E

Two E-ranks in a C-rank gate is a death sentence, let alone a red gate. Except…

“Chul-nim didn’t see those arrows coming,” Heejin observes with an air of suspicion as she locks gazes with Jinwoo. “And you didn’t have one aimed at you. You’re not E-rank, are you?”

Sung Jinwoo blinks again, and Han Songyi suddenly looks flustered, although Heejin has no idea why. Heejin’s not judging her rank, if that’s what she thinks.

She says as much out loud, which seems to put Songyi at ease a little. Jinwoo, however, just shivers and very obviously does not answer her question.

Instead, he says, “It’s fucking freezing—” And then he’s counting the five of them, including himself; and the air ripples. More than one fluffy coat materializes in Jinwoo’s hands immediately. 

“What,” says C-rank Myunghwan, “the fuck.”

Heejin's thoughts, exactly.

Jinwoo wastes no time handing them off so he can climb inside his own new coat. He also pulls multiple pairs of snow boots and gloves from nowhere like a video game character.

“That’s… convenient,” says Songyi, stunned but still suspicious. “Th…thank you.”

“How did you do that?” Munghwan blurts out with wide eyes.

“Hey I’m not complaining,” says C-rank Kijoong.

“Neither am I! But—is it, is it spatial magic?”

Jinwoo shrugs. “Close enough.”

He continues to dodge and dance around their questions, much to Heejin’s dismay. And just because she’s following Jinah’s TikTok doesn’t mean she really knows him. Not personally. He’s more aloof with them than he is with his little sister, but that makes sense. They’re basically strangers. Heejin’s instincts tell her that her best bet at survival is with this man, but what right does she have to push for information?

Songyi, though…

“What are you, Ahjussi?” she exclaims when Jinwoo sits on the corpse of an ice bear like it's a throne.

“Wha—Ahjussi?!” Jinwoo blinks, mildly offended. He tenses. “What the hell? I’m twenty-two.”

“You keep so many secrets like older people do,” Songyi continues, glaring stubbornly at him. “Just like the way teachers whisper when they think we’re not listening. Just like how older generations don’t really talk about what’s happening in the world when we’re around. What? You think that we’re too young to understand? Too stupid?”

Heejin almost whistles. Wow, okay, so they definitely know each other somehow, outside the gate. 

Jinwoo’s face goes blank. Closed-off. Not that Heejin had any luck reading him so far. “I… I don’t think that.”

“Right. And that’s exactly why you made Jinah cry this morning.”

At that, his expression cracks open like a glacier. Something like guilt, like vulnerability, flashes through his eyes, and as the snowflakes flutter and sway around them in the icy breeze, Heejin feels so far away from the two of them, like she’s watching the events unfold on the other side of a screen, the way she does with Jinah’s TikToks.

“She cried?” he asks, voice softer now. Regretful.

Songyi looks momentarily surprised, like she hadn’t expected him to respond in such a way. But it’s gone soon. “Yeah. And who picked up the pieces? Me. And it wasn’t good enough. She obviously wanted her brother.”

Silence. It’s as thick and as suffocating as the cold, reaching out like a freezing set of teeth to snap shut around their very fragile, very human throats.

“We missed something,” Myunghawn whispers to Heejin, who immediately elbows him because seriously can’t he read the room?

It snaps Jinwoo out of whatever shock he’d been in, though. He steps down from the magic beast he’d killed in one blow, and for the first time since they arrived, Heejin realizes that she can’t hear his footsteps. Not even the crunch of snow.

He rests a hand on Songyi’s head and pats it once. “Thank you.”

Songyi raises her chin again to meet his gaze defiantly. “Don’t. You’re still the shitty older brother who made my best friend cry.”

“...you’re right,” Jinwoo says, with a soft sigh. “And… and then I took her best friend into a dungeon.”

At this, Songyi lowers her gaze, and it’s then that she starts to look conflicted with her side of the argument. She shifts her weight, now picking at the sleeves of her new coat.

Heejin doesn’t have the full story. Lacks the pieces to assemble the full puzzle. Still, she does know one thing: arguing isn’t going to get them out of here any faster.

Gently, slowly, she rests a hand on Songyi’s shoulder. “Well, regardless of why we’re here, we’re still here. And our objective is to survive.”

Jinwoo nods. His gaze shifts from her back to Songyi. “I brought you here, so I promise to protect you. Okay?”

“The A-rank guy said we’d be dead weight,” Songyi mumbles, and it’s a little heartbreaking, watching the fight leave her.  “That he couldn’t promise us his protection.”

“Because he’s a dick and a coward.”

Something cold enters Jinwoo’s expression, or perhaps, never left it. He pats Songyi’s head again, and then steps back to look at all of them, one by one, eyes glowing icy blue as he's circled back to the youngest hunter in the group.

Not E-rank, Heejin’s mind screams again. Strong. Stronger than her. Stronger than all of them.

“What I said before still stands. Dungeons are dangerous and unpredictable. This, however, is… far from the norm.” He pauses, that cold part of his expression growing even colder, even darker. “What he said about lower ranks was cruel. People will say that to you again. They’ll do it to you again—leave you to die. The power system in this world is so fucked up.”

“...but what about you?” Songyi asks.

“It’s… complicated.” Jinwoo expels another low sigh. “I won’t leave you, though. Somebody’s rank means nothing to me. I’ll make sure you get back safe, and I don’t break my promises.”

The last part is said with conviction, and somehow it feels like there’s a threat wedged underneath. Like he’s daring anything and everything out there that could possibly interfere to stop him.

Heejin fights the urge to shiver, and it’s not because of the cold.

“Okay?” Jinwoo says finally, softer now. Warmer.

“Okay,” Songyi echoes. “O…okay.”

“Um… captain?” Kijoong hedges, with an equal mix of gratitude, guilt, and anxiety. “Will… will we really be okay?”

Jinwoo blinks, and all of the emotion he’d displayed earlier gets sucked up as if from a vacuum, and sealed up tight. “Our next priority is food.” His hands eventually return to his pockets, and slowly, he glances back at the dead ice bear. “Anybody know how to butcher this thing?”

Sung Jinwoo is kinda cool, in all honestly. Maybe even cooler than the guild master. The amount of stuff he has in that interdimensional pocket of his sure is mindblowing, for one thing. Enough for Han Songyi, Park Heejin, and Go Munghwan to set up a decent-looking campsite while he and Sung work on their food.

Kijoong talks while he butchers the ice bear, talks and talks and talks, because that’s what he does when he’s nervous, but Sung doesn’t seem to mind all that much despite obviously not being a talker himself. Instead, he listens, and listens, and observes carefully during the entire procedure, from the bleeding process to the trimming of excess fat.

Sung looks like the type of guy who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He doesn’t hesitate where most learning people would, doesn’t flinch or grimace when things get bloody and nitty and gritty, but Kijoong supposes that’s the life of a hunter. Gotta stick your hand right in a monster’s guts to extract the essence stone. Or at least—that’s what he’s heard.

He doesn’t have all that much experience in hunting the way Sung seems to; likewise, Sung’s never butchered a bear before. He’s a quick learner, though. In fact, he seems… highly intrigued.

“You know a lot about this,” Sung says, now that they’ve finished. 

“My… partner is the one who taught me,” Kijoong answers haltingly but tries to cover his hesitance with a shrug. “H—they run a meat market, actually. They know a lot more than me about prepping food in general.”

“That’s really impressive.”

“Yeah! But it’s also impressive how you took out this beast with one punch. Like, holy shit, captain. Not that I’m complaining, but you sure took me by surprise.”

Kijoong’s not sure if he’s imagining it, but for a fraction of a second, Sung’s expression seems to… soften, somehow. It’s gone almost immediately, though, and Kijoong doesn’t linger on it.

“I wonder how it’ll taste,” he says instead. “I’ve never eaten a beast from a dungeon before.”

Abruptly, Sung eyes the fresh meat cuts. He’s unreadable for a moment, until a morbid sort of curiosity tugs at his features, that high sense of intrigue from before; and if Kijoong had looked down at Sung’s shadow, he would’ve seen the way it doesn’t quite line up with his figure, would’ve seen the way it stretches and flutters. He looks after it’s already returned to normal, and his eyes blow wide as Sung bends down to saw a darkened piece of meat from one of the cuts.

And pops it into his mouth like a piece of candy.

“Wh—captain, I didn’t mean raw,” Kijoong exclaims in sheer horror. “You—spit it out! Captain! Captain, holy f—did you just swallow it? Why did you do that?! That's not normal meat! Even if you eat meat raw, it's gotta be prepared a ce—ugh, just think of the parasites!”

“It’s a bit gamey,” Sung says thoughtfully and proceeds to lick his fingers. “Sweeter than I expected, though.”

“Ahjussi,” Songyi hedges from behind, sounding like she doesn’t know whether to be amazed or grossed out, “we're in a dungeon. Are you some kind of vampire?"

“No. And stop calling me that.” And then, to Heejin:  “Can we use your elemental magic to wash our hands again?”

“Uh,” Park Heejin stammers, gobsmacked. “Uh, s…sure?”

Kijoong just stares. 

Sung Jinwoo sure is a weird one.

Jinah walks in the door to find the apartment empty and dark, but she hadn’t expected Jinwoo to be home before her. The raid had only started earlier this evening, after all.

She’s greeted by their kitty as she removes her shoes, and that dulls her worry just a little. Are cats normally this friendly? Do they usually meow endlessly the moment one of them opens the door? As she bends down to pet her, a soft smile touches her lips.

“Hi, baby,” she murmurs. “Sorry I’m late. But my friends helped me pick a name out for you.”

A mewl. Jinah can’t stop herself from scooping up the kitty in her arms, and that’s when the guilt starts to hit her. As much as she adores this cute little thing, it doesn’t feel like Jinah deserves her affection.

Poor girl. Here all alone, all afternoon and well into the evening. Her brother had warned her, but it's only really hitting her now.

“Someday we’ll be home more often, and you won’t be all by yourself,” she tells little Void: a promise she doesn’t intend to break. “I hope you weren’t lonely.”

She ventures deeper into the apartment to grab a bite to eat and maybe something to drink. She’s exhausted. Over her shoulder, Void stares intensely at a shadow that lengthens abnormally over the expanse of the floor, reaching out to touch more corners of the room than it should.

A pair of foxfire eyes watch curiously.

Chapter Text

One thing’s for sure, Songyi realizes when she watches Jinwoo fight: those ‘shadow people’ aren’t ghosts. They’re summons. At least thirty of them, if not more.

Before Jinwoo even returned from his little workout, and before that A-rank Tank came out of the woods to blame them for his own failings, and Kijoong-nim asked her more about Jinwoo, Heejin-unnie had replied, “He’s that mysterious hunter from TikTok.”

And Songyi proceeded to choke on her soup.

“W…wait,” Songyi sputtered, looking at Heejin with wide, cough-teary eyes. “You know about Jinah’s TikTok?!”

“Uh,” Heejin said, scratching her cheek sheepishly, “yes? I’m following her.”

“No way. For real?”

“Mm-hm. For real.”

“Wow,” Songyi said. “It really is a small world out here, huh?”

Heejin had laughed at that. “I suppose it is.”

“...you’re not one of the thirsty ones, are you?”

“God no,” Heejin replied with a grimace. Songyi sagged with relief. “I just thought the fact that he could speak the magic beast language was super compelling. I… had no idea we would end up on a raid together.”

“He can speak magic beast tongue?” Munghwan asked incredulously.

Songyi hadn’t been able to respond, then, not with the way Kim Chul showed up frostbitten and deranged, demanding answers. That brings her to now: Jinwoo’s fight with an S-rank beast. From afar, she watches the knight that she’d seen in Jinah’s video—the one that was in the Sung apartment this morning—impale Kim Chul straight through the heart.

And she watches that man immediately rise from the dead as some kind of shadow beast.

And she can’t see Jinwoo’s face, but she can see that he’s more composed of shadow than anything, barely even human-shaped, continuing a conversation with the S-rank beast in that same supposedly irreplicable language Heejin mentioned before.

“Jinah, girl,” she whispers to herself, eyes wide and horrified, wondering how the hell she’s going to tell her best friend that her beloved brother is borderline inhuman. “We’re totally in for it.”

“You didn’t have to glare at that guy like that,” Songyi tells Jinwoo later, voice a little subdued.

“Yeah, well,” Jinwoo says, and yeah, he’s definitely irritated. “He stepped on my toes first.”

She’s never seen such a look from him, not even when Kim Chul split their raid team into two groups. For the entire raid, he didn’t even raise his voice at her, and she’s never seen him raise his voice at Jinah. Not the way Songyi's father does when he’s on one of his power trips.

Maybe it shows on her face, because he takes one look at her and sighs. Wraps up all that irritation and grumpiness until his face goes blank. “I’m calling a cab so we can get you home.”

Her heart plummets. She swallows. 

Jinwoo stops walking as she tugs on his ripped hoodie sleeve.

“Ahjussi,” she mumbles slowly, staring stubbornly at the ground so she doesn’t have to look into his eyes again. “...I don’t want to go home.”

Silence follows for a few suffocating, achingly long moments. Jinwoo doesn’t ask why, and she may be E-rank but she can still feel the weight of his gaze on her, studying her.

“Jinah… may want to see you later,” he tells her eventually, softly. “She’s probably asleep now, but she… still wouldn’t mind the company. If you wanted to stay.”

We owe her an apology, neither of them say.

She nods, swift and withdrawn. And Jinwoo calls the cab.

Jinah falls asleep on the sofa again.

Maybe it’s a little childish. But she doesn’t have school in the morning this time, and she’s hoping a little living room campout will ease her worry.

It doesn’t. But she ties her ribbon around her wrist after taking her hair down for the night, and Void falls asleep with her, and that helps a little.

It’s still dark out when she’s gently jostled awake, blinking bleary, sleep-swollen eyes. She mumbles something—not sure what, really, but she’s too sleepy to care.

She swears she hears her brother’s voice. Maybe… maybe Songyi, too. She must be dreaming.

Something cold wraps around her. Arms lift her. It smells like snowflakes, like ice, like winter. Jinah shivers, but some instinctive, young part of her leans into the safety of those arms, cold as they are. She hums again when she’s set down.

“I’m sorry,” says her brother’s voice, and it’s so remorseful. Almost raw.

“Mm.” She blinks again, unseeing. “O…Oppa?”

“Yes. I’m home.”

“Nn. Good.” Jinah vaguely remembers smacking her lips, swiping away drool. “That’s… good.”

Jinwoo says something else, but Jinah’s already swept away by sleep.

She next awakes in her bed, with Void nestled against her stomach. As she’s rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she notices a futon—wow, have they always had that futon?—has been set up on the floor. And resting on it is Songyi.

It takes her a few minutes to fully wake up, to realize that maybe hearing Songyi in the middle of the night hadn’t truly been a dream after all.

“Songyi,” she whisper-shouts, startling poor Void into leaving her side. “Songyi!”

“Nnnnggh… I’m awake,” Songyi mumbles, rolling over. “Just… didn’t wanna get up yet.” And then she’s stretching her arms out to the right of herself, and Jinah swears she hears her neck pop or something. “This…must be what jetlag feels like.”

“Huh?”

“Wait,” Songyi continues as she sits up slowly, and—is that Jinah’s shirt? “Do we have another raid today…?” 

“Huh?”

“...I think we do. Shit.”

“Songyi, dude, are you gonna explain or—”

The sound of a door shutting reaches her room, and it’s then that Jinah realizes her own bedroom door isn’t all the way closed. Songyi looks at her, then, and blinks; and so does Jinah.

“You have your brother’s bedhead,” Songyi points out.

And oh yeah, that’s definitely Jinah’s shirt—

Said brother calls out: “I brought food!”

“Food!” Jinah and Songyi exclaim in unison, up and out of bed in seconds.

Only to stop in her doorway to stare at Jinwoo with wide eyes.

He didn’t just bring food. He brought a feast. Fruit, veggies, gimbap, salmon, Jumeok bap, plastic cups with ice to be mixed with tea and coffee (is that hazelnut? Jinah loves hazelnut), milk, rice, cheese sticks, noodle cups—there’s so much. 

“What the hell, Oppa?” Jinah blurts in shock, because there’s so much food that Jinwoo runs out of room on the table and starts taking up counter space.

How had he carried all of it alone? Jinah stares, gobsmacked. She has so many questions.

Jinwoo turns to look at her with an innocent expression. “Too much?”

“Yeah,” Jinah answers, because there’s no way they’ll be able to eat it all, even with Songyi here.

“Where did you get all of this?” Songyi asks.

Jinwoo shrugs, turning back toward the cabinet to grab a bowl, the bag of rice in hand.  “Did you forget we live in a city with a 24-hour convenience store? Also, the market around the block opened like, thirty minutes ago.”

“How much did you spend?” Jinah continues, her eyes still wide as she walks toward the table.

“That’s for me to worry about.” And then: “Besides, I had coupons at the supermarket.”

“Of course you did. You have coupons for everything.”

“Coupons are life.”

Jinah still feels a little conflicted, because she’s not stupid—she knows that just a few months ago, Jinwoo was constantly stressed about making ends meet. It doesn’t help that Songyi looks so openly guilty right now.

At her silence, Jinwoo turns from pouring rice into a bowl for washing to facing her again. His eyes flick from Songyi back to her, and his innocent expression completely dissolves. “We don’t have to worry about money anymore. I got us.”

“...”

“Besides,” Jinwoo repeats with another shrug, “a little birdie told me I made my sister cry. I gotta make that up to her, don’t I?”

Jinah immediately turns to Songyi, who turns her head away, but her body language betrays her. Jinah narrows her eyes a little, but… any anger she would’ve had deflates instantly. She can’t fault Songyi for telling him, not when yesterday morning had been so stressful.

“This is so much,” Jinah says instead.

“Well, I’m feeding two teenagers. And I’m a hunter, so.”

Jinwoo steps back suddenly right before a paw swipes at him, and Jinah looks down in sync with him to see Void staring at him intensely. Her tail swishes slightly, almost playful, ears tilted forward attentively.

“Lemme get this rice started and then I’ll—” Jinwoo starts, but cuts off when Void abruptly hisses, ears going flat against her head.

Jinah blinks in confusion as Void suddenly darts off into Jinah’s room. For some reason, seeing that sends a chill down her spine. 

Songyi narrows her eyes but says nothing.

“I feel like you’re still trying to butter me up for something,” Jinah says, narrowing her eyes as well.

And Jinwoo pauses again, rice bowl mid-tilt to drain the water. His expression pinches slightly into something nearly unreadable, but Jinah’s been studying her brother’s behavior since she was a kid. She sees the blink-and-you-miss-it flash of guilt.

“What is it?” she insists when Jinwoo is silent.

“So,” Jinwoo says finally, sighing again, “we do have another raid.”

“Two more,” Songyi says.

“Two more,” Jinwoo echoes, nodding. “And… well, tomorrow—”

“Okay, I didn’t know about tomorrow—”

“—I have a… trip, of sorts.”

Songyi stares suspiciously at Jinwoo, while Jinah’s heart plummets. Her throat feels strangely dry. “A… trip?”

“Yes,” Jinwoo answers. “Seven days.”

Seven days. A whole week. It’s not that Jinah isn’t used to her brother not being home—especially with how often he used to get hurt, how often he used to land himself in the hospital—but it never fails to make her uneasy.

Their little apartment feels too big, without Jinwoo. Especially with their mother in the hospital, with their father gone.

“After that, I’ll explain everything,” Jinwoo says, quickly this time.

Some of the tension bleeds out of her upon hearing that, but not all of it. “Oh?”

Her voice comes out tight, and she’s not sure how to remedy it. Songyi’s suspicious stare has evolved into a full-blown glower. “Ahjussi.”

Hearing the honorific from her best friend should be hilarious—and it would be any other time, because Jinwoo is only in his early twenties—but right now all Jinah can feel is confusion. Even something that’s meant to be funny feels like an inside joke she’s not a part of.

“I’ll be back before eleven,” Jinwoo continues. “From today’s raid. Could be sooner, honestly.”

Jinah’s frown eases slightly. “...swear?”

“I swear.”

“But you said you need to go on some kind of… trip soon,” Jinah says slowly. Suspiciously.

“Yes,” Jinwoo answers with another nod. “But… after that, I’ll explain things.”

“Why can’t you explain before the trip?”

“Because…” Jinwoo pauses, and for a moment, Jinah catches the confliction crawling across his perpetually cryptic expression. “...just, please. I’m… not quite there yet. Wait a bit longer?”

Not quite where yet? What does that even mean? Jinah purses her lips and glances at Songyi, who is obviously unimpressed by Jinwoo’s answer. And Jinah doesn’t blame her—it’s such a shady answer.

But… he’s begging. When has Jinwoo ever begged her for anything? Something… something’s weird. It’s been weird for the past few months, but Jinwoo pleading for her to give him more time is weirder.

“It’s… big, isn’t it?” she asks, soft.

Jinwoo expels a long, slow breath. “Yeah. It is.”

“Like, everything’s-gonna-change big?”

“...yeah.”

“But you’re gonna come back home, right?”

“Of course I will,” Jinwoo says without hesitation. “I promise.”

Jinah nods. “Okay. I… I trust you, Oppa.”

The weirdest part: Jinwoo sags with relief. Looks grateful, even, like he hadn’t expected her to say that she trusts him.

(Like she wouldn’t trust her brother when he’s been raising her since she was in grade school. Like he isn’t the one who has been there for her for as long as she can remember.) 

“Ahjussi,” Songyi hedges, still looking unimpressed. But soon it melts away, although Jinah isn’t sure why. She doesn’t ask. “I trust you, too.”

“...thank you,” Jinwoo says, nodding again. And then, in a much firmer voice: “Now let me get this rice started. The sooner it’s done, the sooner we can eat.”

Jinah nods, too. She is starving, after all.

She also doesn’t ask why her best friend’s faith in Jinwoo suddenly changed, especially when she was ready to confront him for his secrecy yesterday. Something… something must’ve happened during a raid. Something that made Songyi see Jinwoo differently.

But she forces her thoughts to stop there. If she digs too deeply, she may unearth something she doesn’t want to find. Something better off hidden. Something dangerous.

Instead, she focuses on the food. While they wait for the rice to cook, Jinah and Songyi snack on various fruits, drink their coffee, and Songyi explains how they got home super late last night, and asks how Jinwoo isn't tired.

("I am. I hate myself," Jinwoo answers.)

Jinah teases her about wearing her shirt. ("Don't ruin it on your raid," she says.)

Jinwoo preps the salmon somewhat clumsily, and Void returns and loves up on him only to sneak a bite. ("Looks like she still likes you," Songyi says.

"Or she takes bribes," Jinah says.

Jinwoo pouts.)

When the rice is done, they stuff their faces, and her brother seems to be starving, too, because he finishes off whatever Jinah and Songyi don’t eat without hesitation, on top of what he’s already eaten. They have food already, have groceries for at least the next week or so, but he eats like he’s not sure when his next meal will be.

Jinah wonders if maybe that’s the case, even though he promised to be back today. What kind of trip is he going on? Is it in a dungeon? She worries. She worries, but she doesn’t ask.

Jinwoo’s phone pings as he’s washing plates. He dries his hands instantly, and without even fishing his phone out of his pocket, he says, “Jinho’s here.”

Songyi, who just returned from freshening up in the bathroom and putting her bra on, nods. “Alright.”

“Don’t die,” Jinah calls from the table, as they’re almost out the door. The dishes aren't done, but she doesn't move. It'll make what Jinwoo said before real, will make the apartment feel too big, if she cleans them. If the sink is empty.

“Deal,” says Jinwoo.

Songyi looks back at her, and she rushes toward Jinah again to crush her in a hug that nearly steals her breath. Her voice drops down to a whisper. “Who else would deal with the thirst comments?”

Jinah can’t help herself. She giggles. 

Jinwoo, on the other hand, just blinks in confusion. “What’s a thirst comment?”

Bestie (ɵ̥‸ɵ̥)

hey could u do me a favor?

No
Jk what is it

dont mention last night’s raid in tiktok?
just..for now

i met some ppl on the raid… really good ppl
and they r not allowed to talk abt it anywhere but esp online
one of them is following u tho…

OH FR
WHATS THEIR USERNAME

ur… not gonna ask abt it?

Nah
I trust u… I know u woulda told me abt it already if u could

yeah…

Dw <3

<3
i’ll link u her tiktok btw

BET

You are now following Peachycotton!

Would you like to receive notifications for each post?

[ YES / NO ]

Stupid fricken press.

Some vague part of Baek Yoonho understands that they have a job to do just like he does, but he despises them all the same. They’ve been surrounding him all day, trying to get any news about the Red Gate incident. There’s a reason people call them vultures.

The survivors have been barred from speaking to the media, but…

“If I may, Guildmaster Baek…” Heejin said earlier while she cradled her mug of tea, after Sung Jinwoo left with his companion in tow. “...he doesn’t have any socials that I know of. But his sister does, so you… could still find him online.”

Ahn Sangmin looked at her in surprise. Even the other survivors looked perked up at the mention of finding Sung Jinwoo online. “Oh?”

“Yes,” she continued, and then paused, unexpectedly hesitant. “Uh, actually, it’s a bit of a coincidence, but I’ve been following her on TikTok for a bit…? Her name is Sung Jinah.” 

“Sung Jinah,” Yoonho echoed, with a firm nod. 

“I’ll look more into her,” Sangmin said. “I didn’t before, considering—”

Yoonho had shook his head, at the time. That cold look on Sung Jinwoo’s face spoke for itself.

Now, Yoonho stares down at his phone with his brows raised. He’d been able to find her quite easily, especially after seeing Sung Jinwoo’s face in the thumbnail.

His phone starts ringing just as he’s about to tap on her latest TikTok, with Byung-gyu’s contact lighting up his screen. 

Well. For Byung-gyu, he’ll allow his hunt for information on Sung Jinwoo and his sister to wait.

You are now following sung_jinah!

Would you like to receive notifications for each post?

[ YES / NO ]

NOTIFICATION TIMESTAMP: 3:48 PM

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: I’m suspecting Oppa has some kind of sugar daddy. . .]

“Oppa,” Jinah says, switching from selfie mode to rearview mode. She sets the camera down on top of the entertainment center and stands next to a package that’s almost as tall as she is. “That’s a big box.”

“It was… a gift,” the man replies slowly, eyes on the note in his hands as he walks into the frame, wearing sweatpants and an oversized jumper.

“A gift?” Jinah leans her head in to see. “Jinho?! That’s the guy that picked you and Songyi up this morning, right?”

“...yes.” A pause, followed by a sigh. “Jinho...”

“What about him?”

“He’s just… strange sometimes.”

“Oh please. You’re one to talk.”

“We talked about it, but…” The man trails off, shaking his head.

“Well…?” Jinah presses, giving the man an expectant look. “What’d he give you?”

“Oh. It’s not for me.”

The man folds up and pockets the note, and when his hand reappears above the box, he’s holding a dagger. Jinah blinks in obvious surprise, but it’s soon replaced by excitement as her brother begins to open the package. He pulls out a cylinder-shaped scratching post: just one part of many.

“Oppa,” Jinah says slowly, her eyes widening bit by bit, “this Jinho dude bought Void a whole-ass cat tree.”

Another blink. “Void?”

“Yes! That’s her name now. Void.”

The man turns his attention back to the opened box and the scratching post in his hand. “Huh. Okay then.”

“If you don’t like her name, I’m going to hit you. My friends and I—”

“It’s fine,” the man says, although there’s a brief spark of amusement in his eyes.

Subtitle: Istg he’s making fun of me I can just FEEL it-

The video cuts to the siblings working together to assemble the cat tower, piece by piece, with a cut marking each part successfully attached. At one point, Jinah just stands, smothering a giggle as the man glares at what appears to be the instructions.

Subtitle: Hello guys I would like to introduce my brother- Jared, 19

Subtitle: Oh just kidding it’s cuz he lost a screw

When it’s completely built, the video cuts yet again to Jinah grabbing the camera so she can show where the cat tower has been moved.

“I should’ve just stood there and timed him, cos now they won’t believe me,” Jinah mutters, but her impressed expression betrays her tone. “Deadass put the tree together in like two minutes.”

“Two whole minutes?” the man says and shakes his head. Contrary to his sister, he looks disappointed. “Bet I could’ve been faster.”

“Oppa. You were already fast. Every time I turned around you had a different part in your hand.”

“Nn.”

“Well, still,” Jinah insists. “We gotta tell Jinho—uh, I mean, Jinho-nim thank you!” 

“Mm. Right.” The man reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone. “I’m seeing him later tonight, but I’ll text him now.”

Subtitle: Wait I meant in the TikTok-

Subtitle: JINHO-NIM FR IF U SEE THIS BIG THANK U FROM THE SUNG HOUSEHOLD

Subtitle: I’M ON THE HUNT FOR U I KNOW WHAT UR CAR LOOKS LIKE

Subtitle: Oh and juhee dont think i forgot abt u

“Wait, you’re seeing him later tonight? Don’t tell me you’re going on another raid.”

“No, I told you we finished the raids. It’s something else.”

Subtitle: (･ิ_･ิ)

Subtitle: Is this guy rich or smth

Subtitle: wAIT U KNOW WHAT IT’S BEEN SUSPICIOUS THAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD A LOT OF THINGS LATELY-

“Where’s Void, anyway?” the man asks, right as the video reaches max recording capacity and loops.

741 likes |  21 comments | 21 favorites

—

Comments:

creator (pinned comment)
Thank u again, jinho-nim! Stay tuned for Void’s reaction! She was sleepin

    Peachycotton
    Awww

Peachycotton
THE KITTY HAS BEEN NAMED ♪♬◝( ° . ° )◜

    creator reply
    ヾ( ^‸^ゞ)

hoxle
He don’t give off gold digger vibes but it would make sense for someone to be financially helping him (˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ㆀ)

    hazbat
    Then why he go on so many raids if he’s being helped financially 

        1WhoDoesSimply
        Maybe it’s like… a contract thing? Strike squad or something

            hazbat
            But didnt Jinah say he was E-rank?

                  1WhoDoesSimply
                  He could be a Porter or maybe is being paid for his raid experience

                     naudalyke
                     This. How many E-ranks can survive the way this man has if hes going on raids so often? He’s pretty impressive

snowzardmusic0
I MEAN IF I KNEW THIS MAN IN PERSON I’D GIVE HIM ALL MY MONEY TOO

Kijooooooong_needs_better_username
What a spoiled kitty!

KWH16
THE VOID BEING NAMED VOID IS GREAT 

Super_freak21
Hot take- your bro’s never had a gf bc he’s secretly gay

    creator reply
    .
    No wait I…,,, i think ur onto something there

hansongyeet
LOL,, captain u & ahjussi can clean this mess up by ur selves 

      Peachycotton
      Lol

amecia_de
Such a shame he hides that gorgeous figure with baggy clothes

    snowzardmusic0
    FOR REAL 

        hansongyeet
        omg let a man be comfy what the fuck

kpopandcoffee
AYO WHYS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT WHERE THE DAGGER CAME FROM???? MANS PULLED IT RIGHT FROM HIS POCKET WTF

Juhee

Can I ask you a question?

sure

Saw the news
The White Tiger guild Red gate…
Was it you?

:)

I’m taking that as a yes.

:)

You’re literally a trouble magnet lol.

:)

What a mess, Yoonho thinks that evening as he reads Sung Jinah’s comment section. Just looking at it exhausts him, even without losing so many guild members to a Red Gate.

Guilty, guilty, they were all so young—

He already knows who Yoo Jinho is, after hearing what the chief of the monitoring division had told Hwang Dongsu last night. He doesn’t know Yoo Jinho’s relationship with Sung Jinwoo, but he does know—just from their brief exchange following the Red Gate—that that man cannot be bribed. Even if Yoo Jinho threw all his father’s money at Sung Jinwoo, it wouldn’t buy his favor.

There’s something else to it. Additionally, as Sung Jinwoo had said, the gift wasn’t even for him, but for…

“So he likes cats?” Yoonho murmurs to himself, tapping his knee in thought. “Ironic, considering.”

Considering the namesake of Yoonho’s guild is a tiger and Sung Jinwoo had glared so coldly at him that any person below A-rank (maybe even S-rank) would’ve folded. 

Yoonho shakes his head. An S-rank with a white tiger transformation is undeniably different than a domestic housecat.

And speaking of A-ranks… There’s no way the KHA doesn’t already have tabs on this girl. There's so much information to unpack just from this video alone. Let alone the comment section.

Woo Jinchul has his sympathy.

Chapter Text

DAY 1

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: This is an unexpected development??]

The camera focuses on a man pointing a laser toy around, and Void follows attentively with eyes all pupil. She darts after it, reflexive and energetic, and the man indulges her, expression amused. 

The video cuts to the man sitting on the sofa, giving Void a generous amount of affection. He says, “Jinho told me it’s obvious I had a cat because I have fur all over me… I wonder who the culprit is, hmm?”

Void looks up at him, all innocence, and mewls.

The man sighs, but his expression is nothing short of fond. “I know, right? Couldn’t be you. I’ll blame the bears.”

“What bears?” Jinah asks, and the man looks up, his face going blank when he notices the camera pointed at him. 

“Dungeon,” the man says, in place of an explanation. 

Jinah flips the camera to selfie mode to give the camera a smug, uh-huh look as she turns around to run off with a wheeze.

“After I get back,” whispers the man, not to Jinah but to Void, “I’ll give you some treats, okay?”

The video cuts again to the man folding clothes and carefully putting them in a duffle bag. Jinah’s voice says, “So… you’re going now.”

“I am,” says the man with a nod. He looks at Jinah and blinks when he sees the camera but swiftly recovers. “I have something to give you, though.”

“Oh?”

The man digs into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of scrap paper. “Since I’ll be gone, if you need anything… here’s a few numbers you can call. Just in case.”

Jinah accepts the paper, but the phone numbers have been blurred out for privacy. As the man walks off-screen, Jinah zooms in on the names written on the paper.

For emergencies

[NUMBER REDACTED] - JINHO

[NUMBER REDACTED] - JUHEE

Subtitle: No fucking way!!!!

When the man walks back into frame, he gives her a look. “What?”

“Nothing!”

Subtitle: ヾ(*‘ᴗ‘*)ゞ

“I’ll… be back as soon as I can,” the man says, pulling the now zipped-up duffle bag over his shoulder.

“Where are you going, anyway? Is it… a dungeon?”

“...kind of.”

“Kind of?”

The man sighs. “Okay, yeah. It’s a dungeon.”

Subtitle: Sus

Subtitle: What kind of dungeon takes 7 days to clear?? (´-∧-`)

“Can Songyi come over?” 

“As long as you two don’t destroy the apartment.”

“Psshh. We would never. We’re angels.”

A snort. “Uh-huh. Well, I did stock up the fridge, but if you need extra, you know where the money is—”

“Yeah, I know,” Jinah says, with an exasperated undertone. “Now go. I’m sure your raid team is waiting.”

The man’s expression goes carefully blank. Unreadable. But he nods, re-adjusting his duffle bag. “Nn. I’ll see you next Sunday, Jinah.”

“Yeah, you better. If I get a call that something happened to you—”

“You won’t,” the man interrupts, with haunted conviction. “Don’t worry.”

“...alright,” says Jinah. “See you Sunday, then. Be careful.”

“Of course.”

He leaves, then, and there’s a pause as Jinah aims the camera at the apartment door as it closes. A few moments of silence pass.

Subtitle: 7 days, huh…

And then Jinah pans the camera to the little piece of scrap paper she’s still holding, lingering on the written names, and when she switches to selfie mode, she’s sporting a devious, feral grin.

The video loops.

729 likes | 10 comments | 26 favorites

—

Comments:

hansongyeet
girl i’m already omw

Peachycotton
Oh no Jinah I’m already nervous for what you are planning xD

Painfxxl
THE KITTY TALK <33333

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
Lmaoooo you caught him baby-talking  void in 4k

hazbat
A dungeon breaks after 7 days, he’s gotta be lying

   naudalyke
   Maybe it’s a big dungeon? So he’s saying 7 days as a precaution? Could come back sooner if his team clears it before that day

      1WhoDoesSimply
      It’s against the rules to book a gate for that long

snowzardmusic0
SEVEN DAYS WITHOUT SEEING HIS HOT FACE ˚‧º·(˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥)‧º·˚

MiSSKBG99
Jealous of the way he’s treating the kitty 

hoxle
What kind of dungeon is he going in

Jinwoo blinks in surprise as he enters the Demon Castle and hears the undeniable wailing of a soul.

It’s not hard to discern the source, but he’s stunned by it all the same. He assumed that the flames would’ve destroyed its carcass by now, would’ve sped up the process of decay. How long has it been since he slayed this beast? 

NOTIFICATION:

Shadow Extraction is possible. 

He can smell it, the foul stench that accompanies the rotting of a corpse. Jinwoo has smelled worse, though, so he pushes forward. He’s curious, after all. Has it been frozen in time like this? If so, why does he still smell the decay? Curious, curious, curious.

(Curious, and oh so greedy. This beast was almost as strong as Igris, when he fought it. He wants it.)

The wailing gets louder the closer he gets, reminiscent of a whining dog. Jinwoo doesn’t touch the corpse as he stands before it; instead, he studies the wisps of shadow surrounding it.

“Waiting for me, huh?” he asks the soul, eyes glowing foxfire blue as he grins, insatiable. Feral. “Or were you trying to guard the gate, even after death?”

It doesn’t matter. This one will be his, he can feel it. It will be part of his army, will join the rest of his soldiers in the endless abyss that is his shadow.

“Arise.”

Sung Jinwoo is not in a dungeon.

Not according to any records. Jinchul has checked three times just to be sure, and there’s no mistaking it: Sung Jinwoo is not in a dungeon.

He could’ve lied to Jinah, but… something about that feels unlikely. Hunter Sung tends to dance around the truth, sure, but he doesn’t seem the type to outright lie. Not to his younger sister, anyway.

Then again, Jinchul has been questioning his ability to read people since he met Hunter Sung. He survived the Red Gate—was probably the one to close the Red Gate, since the strongest hunters from the White Tiger guild had been killed. Who else could it have been, if not Hunter Sung?

He’s reawakened, contrary to what the measurement tool told him months ago. He’s reawakened and missing, if the lack of a paper trail tells Jinchul anything.

“What are you thinking, sir?” he asks the S-rank at the desk before him.

Chairman Go Gunhee doesn’t look angry. Not even the slightest bit nervous at the chaos the Sung siblings have been steadily creating over the past month and a half. Instead, his eyes gleam with excitement, and he throws his head back and laughs.

“I think,” says the chairman, smiling wide, “I want to meet them both.”

“Songyi?”

Songyi peeks sleepy eyes open, but there’s no point. The room’s too dark to see more than faint outlines. She indulges Jinah with a drowsy hum of acknowledgment nonetheless.

“I think… I’m gonna visit Eommeo-ni tomorrow,” says Jinah. “After school.”

“Mm… want me t’go with you?”

“It’s alright. I’m just gonna talk to her, tell her what she’s been missing lately.”

“About Ahjussi?”

“That, and just. You know. The TikTok thing in general. People have been asking about her. I miss her, and I haven’t visited her in a while cos I’ve been so caught up with social media and school.”

“Ugh, school,” says Songyi with a sleepy groan. “Tomorrow’s gonna be hell.”

A giggle. It’s really not funny, but Songyi supposes she did this to herself.

Hurry up and come home, Ahjussi, she thinks, as she begins to doze off. You left before I could ask you my question.

DAY 2

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Shout out to the nurses for taking such good care of her hands]

Jinah sets the camera on a nearby counter, propping it up to its case’s kickstand to record openly. The sound of a heart monitor plays in the background, but Jinah is blocking the view of the room. She steps back and takes a deep breath.

“Oppa’s on… some trip,” she says and takes another step back, and another, until she turns around to pull up a chair. 

This reveals a person in a hospital bed, with their face blurred out as if to keep their identity a secret. They lay peacefully, sleeping, but Jinah begins talking again like the person is wide awake.

“Hi, Eomma,” she chirps in greeting. “You have some people who want to meet you, isn’t that cool?”

No response comes, except the steady beeping of a heart monitor and the rhythmic thrum of a mana stone off-screen.

“I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit lately,” Jinah continues nonetheless. “I’ve been… indulging in a side hobby, kind of? That’s kind of no excuse, but it’s gotten a little hectic. I’m here to tell you about it.”

She shrugs off her little tote bag and reaches inside to retrieve something. After a few moments, she seems to find what she’s looking for and pulls it, along with a small pack of tissues, out with a triumphant hum.

“I brought your favorite color.” Jinah opens the package of tissues and gingerly lifts the patient’s hand to place one underneath. “Or at least—Oppa told me it’s your favorite color. I couldn’t… actually remember what it was, at first.” She laughs sheepishly as she says the words. “It’s violet, though, right?”

Again, there’s no response. However, Jinah doesn’t seem deterred as she twists the cap off her bottle of nail polish.

“I think I’ll get in trouble for telling you, but Oppa’s still hunting,” she says, delicately taking the person’s thumb to start painting. “I know you didn’t want him anywhere near dungeons, but Oppa’s stubborn. I learned the healer’s name, though—it’s Juhee.

“I think I’ll call her tomorrow. Maybe tonight?” Jinah inspects her handiwork on her company’s thumb before moving to the next finger. “I’m a little nervous, but I think it’ll be okay. Oppa wouldn’t have given me her number if they weren’t at least a little close, right?

“Maybe I’ll see if she likes TikTok.” A giggle. “That’s it—my side hobby. When you wake up, I can show you all that I’ve been filming…”

She continues her story, telling the slumbering hospital patient about her adventures on social media, including all of the shenanigans regarding her brother’s mysterious shadow. How he’s changed, not just in looks but also in personality. How he’s not coming home with bruises like he used to. She talks about her best friend, Songyi, another E-ranker; and she talks about the elusive Jinho. She talks excitedly about how a well-known Korean S-rank has noticed her account and is now following her, although she doesn’t divulge which one. She talks about the new addition to their family: little Void.

“She’s still in her destruction phase, since she’s young,” Jinah goes on, “but she’s so friendly and adores attention. You’d love her—oh, I think it’s time for your second coat!”

The video loops.

803 likes | 19 favorites

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DAY 3

“Jinah,” Jinwoo blurted without warning over the phone, days ago.

Puzzled, Juhee tilted her head slightly. Not like it mattered—he wouldn’t be able to see it. “Huh?”

“Jinah,” he repeated, slower this time. “That’s… my little sister’s name. You’d—you’d like her, I think.”

“Oh my god, you’re gorgeous.”

That’s the first thing Jinwoo’s little sister says to her, as she stands before her now. Juhee blinks and promptly flushes, but before she can properly respond, Sung Jinah ushers her inside a worn, very lived-in apartment.

Juhee tries not to allow her gaze to linger, but she has been wondering what kind of place Jinwoo’s been living in. It's not anything fancy, but it's not exactly run-down, either. Something about it feels homey, though. Comfortable.

“Oppa usually keeps it cleaner than I do,” Jinah says, and the smile she gives as she kicks aside some empty soda cans is unashamed. “He’s a bit of a neat freak.”

“Is he?” Juhee says, unable to stop herself from smiling back. She’s still learning more about Jinwoo’s personal life, after all—not that she wasn’t curious before, but she could tell when not to push for information, and unfortunately, when Jinwoo had been E-rank… that was all the time.

It hurt, yes, especially because she knew Jinwoo still trusted her in a way he trusted no one else, trusted her to heal him again and again and again. But she understood. Even… even as he changed post-double dungeon, even when she couldn’t—

Juhee forces herself to stop there. To keep her hands from trembling, she lifts the paper bag she’d brought with her. “I brought some pastries.”

“For real?” Jinah says and immediately makes grabby hands. “Oh my goodness. You spoil me already.”

“Well, I did want to meet you at a coffee shop or something,” Juhee says, and it’s true. She hadn’t really wanted to intrude on Jinwoo’s privacy, especially since he wasn’t here. 

Then again, Jinwoo did give Jinah her number, with permission, and that opened up the possibility for this meeting: this piece of Jinwoo’s life that he’d kept secret for so long, this girl he’d been raising all on his own for the past four years.

It wasn’t that their relationship had been entirely professional, but… she’d always known that he’d lied about why he was hunting. It was so obvious. She knew he’d eventually stop lying about it, and understood that he had his reasons.

She hadn’t expected to learn the truth because of the dungeon that still haunted her dreams at night.

(She looks into this girl’s eyes and wonders if Jinwoo went into the double dungeon for her.)

(She looks into this girl’s eyes and wonders if she knows the violence that catalyzed Jinwoo’s reawakening.)

“The thing is,” Jinah says abruptly, pulling Juhee from her reverie, “I… wanted to talk to you in private?” 

Juhee blinks as Jinah’s fingers crinkle the paper bag in her hands. She smiles, hoping that will put Jinah at ease. “Well, I’m here. It’s nice to officially meet y—”

She doesn’t get the chance to finish her sentence before Jinah bows low at the waist. “Thank you for looking after my brother!” 

Juhee flushes again at the unexpected display, and her cheeks only grow hotter the longer Jinah stays bowed. She opens her mouth to say a variety of things—that it was no problem, that she was honored to be useful, that really, he’d looked after her as well—but when she hears Jinah sniffle, all she can say is, “Please… please stand up…”

And finally, Jinah does, and hastily wipes her eyes. Maybe it’s a little weird, because they just met, but Juhee can’t help herself—she’s drawn toward her, and she hugs her, and for a scrawny little fifteen-year-old (scrawny like Jinwoo used to be), Jinah squeezes back with surprising strength.

“Ugh, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry,” Jinah says, her voice slightly shaky. “Gross.”

“Don’t worry,” Juhee says, blinking back tears herself. “I don’t mind.”

“He doesn’t—” Jinah stops. Takes a shuddering breath. Squeezes Juhee again. The paper bag with the pastries crunches slightly. “He never… talked about what it was like, but I know that he used to come home hurt all the time. But not as often, when he raided with you.”

If Jinah knew the truth—if she knew how much of a coward Juhee truly is, that she doesn't have the kind of grit that Jinwoo does—would she still hug her back like this? Juhee doesn’t know. A selfish part of her doesn’t want to know.

“He kept things… interesting,” she says anyway, with a soft sniffle. “A smart boy, but reckless for sure.”

Jinah laughs wetly. “That much hasn’t changed.”

“Oh, I totally believe you.”

Jinah pulls back, then, and wipes at her eyes again. “When’s your train leave? I can show you what we’ve been up to.”

“Not for another three hours,” says Juhee.

A grin. Jinah fishes her phone out of her pocket, gesturing for her to sit on the sofa with her while she peaks inside the paper bag Juhee had brought. From the hallway, a furry little head peaks out to look at the two of them curiously.

“Do you have a TikTok?”

You are now following sung_jinah! 

Would you like notifications for each post?

[ YES / NO ]

✨ jinah ✨ sent you a Snap!

[image: In the Sung apartment living room, Jinah stands beside a redheaded woman with blue eyes and a beautiful smile. The redhead wears her hair down, dressed in a knee-length light blue dress patterned with daisies and a cream-colored cardigan. They make identical two-fingered peace signs. Jinah’s hair is in her usual ponytail, crimson ribbon sparkling.]

Caption: Met Juhee today!! She had to leave to catch her train to Busan tho （◞‸◟）

Opened, 1m.

Holy fucking shit, Songyi thinks in shock and promptly flushes bright red. She’s hot.

“Miss?” the male 7-Eleven clerk says, blinking at her. “Your change.”

“Oh!” Songyi remembers, belatedly, that she is very much in public. She’s having gay panic in public. “Right! Sorry! Thanks, bye!”

She grabs her purchase, her change, and rushes out of the convenience store, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Why didn’t you warn me she was hot before you sent me a picture?!?!

DAY 4

Sprawled out on the floor on her stomach, Songyi blows out a long sigh. She rests her cheek on the textbook in front of her, her head spinning. She hasn’t even processed the last two pages she’s read, but she doesn’t have time to procrastinate. At least Jinah—

She squawks indignantly when she sees said girl at her desk, scrolling through Pinterest on her phone instead of working on her history homework.

“Hey,” she gripes, sitting up with renewed energy. “You said you’d study with me!”

“I was!” The unapologetic, cheeky grin on Jinah’s face as she spins in her chair toward Songyi says otherwise. “...I’m just taking a brain break.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It’s true! Besides, I’m not behind like you—”

“Ugh, please stop reminding me—”

“Hey, it’s barely even May,” Jinah continues, unabashed. “You’ve still got time to find a tutor or something.”

“Or drop out,” Songyi says. But then Jinah’s expression crumbles slightly, and she rushes on, “I’m just kidding!”

(She doesn’t know if she’s actually kidding.)

“Hold on a sec,” Jinah says and stands up to stretch.  “I’ll get us some snacks. We can let Void back in here—she’s good at cheering people up! And then I’ll hunt down my notes from last month. You can use them.”

A small but genuine smile tugs at Songyi’s mouth. “You’re a lifesaver.”

DAY 5

“What if I called Oppa’s sugar daddy today?”

Songyi nearly chokes on her tea. “First of all, the captain is not his sugar daddy—”

“I’m going to call him that until Oppa says otherwise.”

“Second of all,” Songyi continues, “you probably shouldn’t unless like. You absolutely have to? He’s kind of a busy guy. Rich family and all that.”

“So he’s rich but he’s not Oppa’s suga—”

“Oh my god, Jinah, stop.”

DAY 6

captain sunshine

jinah’s onto u buddy

?? Yeah I know …

run while u still c
WAIT
u already know????

oh did ahjussi tell u

No I saw her Tiktok before hyung-nim left
I’m so glad Void liked the cat tree (๑´∀`๑)

omg first heejin-unnie and then u?!?!
actually why am i surprised
ur close to ahjussi

I… don’t think hyung-nim actually knows he’s being put on Tiktok

????
what does he THINK she’d filming him for??

Idk tbh
Anyway I’m super honored hyung-nim gave her my number for emergencies! (◕︹◕)
But I do want to honor the ‘for emergencies’ thing, soooo

gotcha
still i’m tired of hearing abt it
u guys better clean up this mess when ahjussi gets back (◣ _◢)

(-｡-;)b

Teens are so scary…

“Hi Eomma,” Jinah greets her mother warmly that Saturday, setting down her bag by the hospital bed. “So I met with Juhee…”

DAY 7

Jinwoo gazes skyward, at smoky, billowing clouds and a red moon. “I’ll die if I keep this up…”

Next to him, his newest soldier whines and noses one of its three heads into his hand. Jinwoo hadn’t made it fight in the dungeon it previously guarded, but here it sits now, checking on him.

“Yeah,” he says, giving one of its three snouts a gentle pat. “Time for you to see your new home.”

Time to return to Seoul, to his little sister.

Time to visit his mother.

Time to get re-evaluated.

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Had this in my drafts from like December… Oppa really looks different doesn’t he? (/._.)/ ]

“Oppa,” says Jinah into her phone camera’s mic, “whatcha doin’?”

The camera quality is similar to what it was in her first TikTok video, but her voice and appearance are relatively the same. She flips cameras to rear view, revealing a boy who doesn’t look much older than her sitting on the sofa, sewing something by hand, with a mottled bruise under his eye and his left ankle propped up. A homemade bag of ice wrapped in a thin, well-worn towel rests on said ankle.

Subtitle: Hurt again smh. . .

“Fixing this tear,” says the boy as he pulls his sewing needle through another loop. Despite looking younger, his voice matches that of the taller man so often featured in her TikToks. “I managed to get the blood out.”

“...your blood?” Jinah’s voice is tinged with worry. “What happened to that one healer?”

“She wasn’t on my raid team this time. I’m fine, though.”

He doesn’t answer her about whose blood it is, however.

The camera zooms in on the boy’s face, which is pinched slightly in concentration as he works. His cheek is slightly swollen. The bruise is obviously fresh, less than a day old.

“Shouldn’t you be icing your face, too?” Jinah asks.

“I will,” the boy assures her. “I’m almost done with this.”

When he turns to face her, he’s smiling, but it soon falters. He blinks in confusion upon seeing the camera.

“Are you taking a picture or something?”

Jinah fumbles, then, and rushes to turn off the camera. “No. I’ll get you some more ice—”

The video loops.

701 likes | 23 favorites

—

Comments:

Peachycotton
Wait you took this in December… like 5-6 months ago december?? How old is he here??

    creator reply
    Yes :)) he’s 21 here

        Peachycotton
        Ah

hazbat
No way this is him, r u pranking us???

1WhoDoesSimply
That looks painful 

snowzardmusic0
WOW TALK ABT A GLOW-UP

    1WhoDoesSimply
    Very suspicious. Such a drastic change in such a short amount of time only happens with high ranks

boaXXdumpling
He looks familiar..?

    Sam_bb5xx
    Hey i remember that kid being on my raid team years ago and being weak asf lol

         boaXXdumpling
         Oh your right 

              dndfan2659
              Actually yeah I think I’ve seen him too

                dndfan2659
                Never learned him by name but he did have a nickname

                    Sam_bb5xx
                    Ya my raid buddies used to call him the weakest hunter ahahaha

Jinah stares at her most recent comment, brows pinched together in confusion. “‘Weakest hunter’…?”

She frowns. Refreshes the page once, then twice, just to see if any new comments have been added to the thread.

Only to find—

ERROR - Comments have been disabled

Jinah blinks and refreshes the page again. When the same message appears, she closes the app and reopens it, but that does nothing to help. She knows for certain it wasn't her.

“What the fuck?”

Chapter Text

Jinwoo returns to earth with a plan and a headache.

Okay, saying he has a plan is putting it loosely. But the headache part is for certain. First thing’s first: he needs to talk to his mother.

“Wait for me,” he tells her as he cradles her limp hand in his, and he can tell Jinah’s been by because her nails have been painted. “Please.”

She doesn’t respond, because, of course, she can’t, and even though he knows that, it still hurts. He leaves pretending it doesn’t.

His headache steadily builds as he decides to knock out the re-evaluation before returning to his sister. He fears if he goes home first, he won’t want to go out again, with the fatigue that’s settling deep in his bones.

So he makes a pit stop by the nearest convenience store to freshen up—having an inventory is incredibly useful at times like this—and grab a snack, and seals his fate.

Getting re-evaluated isn’t that big of a deal, really. Telling his sister that he’s S-rank is the hard part. It’s been a while since he’s actually gotten nervous, but the nerves gnaw at him now like some kind of parasite completely undetected by the System.

Okay, so the S-rank part isn’t what he’s afraid of. It’s everything else. But… he’d promised to explain all of it, hadn’t he? He doesn’t break his promises. Especially not to his little sister. She deserves the truth, after all he’s put her through.

Three days, the employee tells him. Three days and everything will irrevocably change.

(Even more than it already has.)

An S-rank approaches him as he’s leaving, a hand extended for greeting, and Jinwoo’s first thought is warm. His mana signature is warm. The exact opposite of Jinwoo’s—his nickname the exact opposite of Jinwoo’s—and after spending a week in the fiery throes of the Demon Castle, Jinwoo’s ready to get the hell away from warm.

So he does. Walks right past him without a word and circles back to the hospital to tell his mother the news. She won’t really hear it, but that’s okay. He wants to make a promise to her anyway.

“I will save you,” he vows, aching, haunted in his desperation to do so. He holds her hand like it’s made of glass, and the shadow underneath him warps and chitters, but he forces down the instinctive wave of mana that tries sweeping through him. Wraps it up tight, tighter, tighter, because mana is what landed Park Kyung-hye here in this hospital bed, in this coma. “Just a little bit longer, okay?”

Just a little bit longer, and he’ll have his mother back. And he’ll protect her and keep her safe, just like he does Jinah. Just like he feels he must do for Juhee, even Songyi and Jinho.

“Nothing will ever happen to you,” Jinwoo concludes, his voice hardly a whisper, echoed by the disembodied chittering of his faithful shadows, “because you are under my protection.”

Something deep within him, something instinctive, growing day by day, level by level, borders possessive in his urgency to protect. It’s less human and more animal, low and threatening, but he isn’t scared of it. He loves his family, truly cherishes the people in his little circle. He has this strength now, this limitless potential, and he will use it. He will protect them.

(The way nobody protected him.)

His head throbs. Someone is approaching: a mana signature he vaguely recognizes. It waits down the hall for him, an incredibly powerful but controlled signature, very diplomatic. Polite. Yes, he knows this signature.

Jinwoo releases his mother’s hand, gently, and decides it’s time to leave.

He doesn’t get very far. The hunter he sensed in his mother’s hospital room stands down the hallway.

“I need to get back home,” Jinwoo says. “My sister is waiting for me.”

“Ah,” says Chief Inspector Woo Jinchul, “yes. That is part of what we need to discuss with you.”

The dread that follows is immediate. He thinks about the sole infantry in Jinah’s shadow—a placeholder, really, until he had the chance to talk to Jinah about its purpose; until he had multiple soldiers strong enough to act as her guard—and wonders what could have happened to her. She had a soldier attached to her to alert him if anything went wrong, and two emergency numbers—

“Hunter Sung.” Chief Woo’s voice is firm. Grounding. Jinwoo looks at him, eyes mana-bright, and the world snaps back into focus. “I assure you that she is fine.”

“...then what’s this about?” he asks, careful to keep his voice low. 

“My earlier phrasing was misleading,” says the chief, with a bow. “I apologize. Please, if we could have a moment of your time?”

That’s the second time he’s said it like that. Jinwoo raises a brow, suspicious. “‘We’?”

“Yes. The chairman of the Korean Hunters Association would like to meet you.”

“Me,” Jinwoo says slowly, “and Jinah?”

“Yes.”

“...”

“...because of the TikToks, Hunter Sung,” Chief Woo explains, equally slowly.

Jinwoo pauses, then, blinking in confusion. It’s hard to read the expression of someone so trained in the ways of diplomacy. In the end, the only option he has is to ask.

“What’s TikTok?”

The videos. Whenever Jinah had her phone out, whenever she’d recorded him, all of it, it was—

“They’re online?” he says finally, eyes wide. “I thought…”

He trails off, realizing with a rapid-spreading sense of embarrassment that he’d vastly misunderstood Jinah’s entire motive for filming herself, for filming him. His cheeks burn at the thought.

“I’m such an idiot,” he mutters, one hand rising to cover his flushed face. “God, I’m such an idiot.”

What is he going to do? There’s still so much to learn about his powers, himself. It’d been easier to keep everything a secret—or at least, that was what he thought he was doing. 

A video diary for their mother is one thing. He knows that her finding out he’s a hunter is inevitable, and it may be messy, but up until recently, he figured there’s time. There still is time—he’s got to conquer the rest of the demon castle to get the rest of the recipe for the cure-all elixir.

(If it even works.)

But posting the videos on some… some social media platform? It’s not some hunter’s thread that will eventually be buried. People—still people he doesn’t know, like in the hunter's forum, anonymous faces hidden behind the screen, but they're connected to Jinah, her little following or whatever—have seen his face, his home. They’ve heard him talk about the people close to him. Hell, they’ve met his cat.

He doesn’t watch all the videos—only one or two is enough to get the idea—but he knows he’ll have to some point soon. Maybe later tonight. Jinwoo considers himself a deeply private person, and this…

This changes everything.

“Hunter Sung?” the chief presses. “Are you alright?”

“Is… is she in trouble?” Jinwoo asks, without looking at him.

He’s an idiot, sure, but he’s not stupid; and neither is the Korean Hunters Association. Re-evaluation or not, they know he’s been hiding something. They knew about the videos before he did, so… so they’ve been watching him through Jinah’s eyes. She may not know it, but isn’t that how the Monitoring Division works? If shit happens, even under the radar, they’re usually the first to find out.

“Heavens no,” says the chairman before Jinwoo can repeat himself, and that does garner his attention. The chairman’s smile pricks at something inside Jinwoo, something he didn’t realize existed until that moment, and he isn’t sure what to think of it. “Given the situation and your new rank… I believe the best option is to have you both here to discuss our next move before you’re officially announced as Korea’s newest S-rank.”

“So,” Jinwoo hedges slowly, “you want to meet her, too?”

“Only if that’s okay with you, Hunter Sung,” the chairman says.

He could say no. He’s her older brother. Her guardian. It’s his decision; that’s why they’re here. He could—he could find some way to keep her out of this mess, could… could… could…

…except, where does he start? 

He says yes.

Jinah’s already in the (unsurprisingly messy) living room when he walks in the door. He instantly recognizes the hoodie she’s wearing as one of his own, which pulls at his chest uncomfortably.

She’s missed him. He can tell. No matter how often he leaves to go on raids, it doesn’t get any easier.

“Oppa?” 

“Hey,” he greets, and it’s immediately followed by a loud mrrrp? from across the apartment. Void trots in without delay, mewling, and sniffs him.

He smells like ash and smoke. His head throbs and he ignores it, ignores the way his body craves to lie down and sleep, and stands still as Void rubs her face on his pant leg.

“Welcome back to Earth,” Jinah drones, although she does click her phone to sleep, setting it aside. “As you can see, the apartment is still standing. Do I get a reward?”

Jinwoo leans down to scratch the back of Void’s ears. “Maybe. Is… Songyi here, too?” 

He doesn’t sense another person in the apartment, but he’d like to know Jinah’s answer regardless. For whatever reason, Songyi’s avoiding her own home, but she’s Jinah’s best friend, and someone he’s already sworn to look after.

“No,” says Jinah, shrugging. “She’s with Heejin-nim. I think she’ll be staying there a night or two—had to discuss something, I guess.”

“Ah. Alright, then.”

“Well?” Jinah prompts, raising an eyebrow. “Are you just gonna stand there?”

He wants to sit. To rest. Seven days has never felt so long before. There’s no time for resting right now, though, so he shakes his head. “...there’s something I need to take care of first.”

“Again?”

Jinwoo sees it: the way her face almost drops, caught at the last second like she wants to pretend it doesn’t bother her. Jinwoo refrains from sighing. Ignores the tight pull on his chest. He doesn’t want to drag this on for too long. He’s a man of his word, and if anyone deserves to hear the truth, it’s his little sister.

“Yeah. Except… you’re coming with me this time.”

And just like that, Jinah perks up. “I am? Wait, seriously? I am?”

“Why do you seem so surprised? I made you a promise, didn’t I?”

“Well—shit, you really don’t waste any time, do you? You just walked in the door!” Jinah scrambles to her feet, dusts herself off, and rushes to another room. “Ok, just a sec! Lemme wash up and change!”

He waits, crouching down again to give Void not nearly as much affection as she deserves, promising quietly to give her more after they deal with this clusterfuck of a mess. She rubs her face against his leg again, and a third time, and his head throbs again. Aches for him to sit down.

He can’t. The last time he crashed after a System-borne quest, he slept so hard that he didn’t even wake up when Jinah cried in the next room. He… he can’t do that again. Not to her, not when he promised he’d explain. He can’t crash when he’s promised her answers, not when he left her alone for a week, even if her shadow harbors one of his immortal soldiers. 

Chief Woo waits in the car down below. Just a little bit longer—a few hours, maybe. Then he’ll rest.

Jinah returns in fresh clothes, with her ponytail fixed. She reaches for her phone and stops when she realizes it’s not where she put it.

Because it’s already in Jinwoo’s pocket. “Ready?”

“Uh, yeah, just…” She picks up one of the sofa’s throw pillows. “...where’s my phone?”

“You won’t need it for this.”

“Did…” Jinah turns to give him a scandalized look. “Did you take my phone?”

“Gotta make sure you won’t record this.”

A blink. “You could’ve just asked.”

“Would you have listened?”

“...that’s beside the point.”

“Jinah,” he says, in warning. “I’m serious. Leave it here.”

She looks up at him, schooling her expression as she nods. “Okay,” she says, finally. “I will. I promise.”

“Good,” Jinwoo says, nodding as well. He reaches into his pocket to hand it back to her, and even though she accepts without hesitation, she makes a show of putting it on the entertainment center. “Grab your shoes. Our ride is waiting.”

“Our ride?” Jinah obeys but her voice bleeds confusion. “Damn. Okay. This is happening then, isn’t it?”

“...yeah.”

She quiets, but out of anticipation or because of Jinwoo’s tone, Jinwoo isn’t sure. He guides her silently down to where Chief Woo is parked, and when she sees his car, she whistles.

“Oh, that looks official,” she mutters. “Did you get in trouble?” After a pause: “Did I get in trouble? Are we in trouble? What’s going on?”

“Shush and get in the car.”

 “Okay, okay, jeez.”

“Thank you for waiting,” Jinwoo says to the chief.

“...are you from the government?” Jinah asks in a whisper, before Chief Woo can respond.

“Jinah.”

“It’s alright,” says the chief, with a nod. And then, as he looks at Jinah through the rear-view mirror: “I suppose you could say that.”

Jinah quiets once again, buckling her seatbelt without another word. She does, however, give Jinwoo another wide-eyed look.

“I’m Chief Inspector Woo from the Monitoring Division of the Korean Hunters Association,” the chief continues, formal as he’d been when he spoke to Jinwoo before. “Pleasure to officially meet you, Miss Jinah.”

She’s gobsmacked for a few seconds, and Jinwoo elbows her gently. She bows her head. “Likewise.”

Chief Woo switches gears into reverse. The ride back to KHA is silent.

“Holy crap,” Jinah blurts in awe when Chief Woo takes them to the chairman’s office. “You’re the chairman.”

Chairman Go Gunhee laughs, gesturing toward the sofa across from his desk. “I am. Please, take a seat.”

“What did you do?” she hisses to Jinwoo.

There are a million different answers to that question. Jinwoo sits down beside her, drawing a silent breath. Steeling himself to give her the most recent one: “I… got re-evaluated. Again.”

“...oh,” Jinah replies, voice soft. “Oh. Oh sh—Oppa, you—”

“Hunter Sung’s result was determined to be immeasurable,” the chairman tells her, hands folded beneath his chin. “Your brother is South Korea’s tenth S-rank.”

Jinah stares, seemingly stunned into silence as she absorbs this information. She looks at the chief, then the chairman, and back at Jinwoo, and cycles back through the three of them again with her gaze. “Oh.”

“It’s… not going to be announced yet,” Jinwoo adds, fighting the urge to fidget. He’s nervous, and he doesn’t want to be. Doesn’t want it to show. Not in front of his little sister, of all people. If she sees he’s nervous, then she’ll become nervous as well. “Not for three days.”

“...so this is why you said not to record,” Jinah says, and then goes very still. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god, wait, the v—”

“Uh-huh.”

“I…” Jinah pauses again, and his ears track the sound of her picking at her nails. “Did… did you see them?”

“A few, yeah.”

“...which ones did you see?”

“That’s not really—”

“Oppa, which ones did you see?” Jinah sounds a little frantic now. Scared. “I—I know posted one impulsively this morning, but I deleted it—”

“The one… with Eomma,” Jinwoo answers slowly, although her reaction only furthers his unease. “From a few days ago. You were, um… telling her about me. Painting her nails. And the one where you told everyone I was going on a trip.”

“Oh,” Jinah repeats, soft again: the only thing she can think of to say in this situation, he guesses. She sags back against the sofa, audibly relieved. “Okay. That’s… okay. Good.”

“Good?” Jinwoo finally looks at her, brows raised, and then at the chief. “What was posted this morning? Did—”

“I mean it wasn’t anything bad,” Jinah rambles on, throwing her hands up. “It was just—an old draft I had, from… months ago. When, um, you were—well, before… that S-rank dungeon.”

Before his reawakening. Jinwoo takes a few moments to absorb this information, schooling his expression. “Ah.”

“I didn’t expect you to see it,” Jinah continues. “Or any of them! I mean I could tell you were pretty aware I was recording sometimes but—actually, wait. Hold on, wait a sec—”

“I didn’t think you were posting them online—”

“What did you think I was recording us for?”

Jinwoo quiets, his ears burning once again. He continues to study the floor in embarrassment. “I thought you were… making some kind of video diary. For, um. Eomma.”

The silence is earsplitting. The clock across the room ticks, ticks, ticks. He can hear each person’s pattern of breath, can hear the thrum of the fluorescent lights above them. He’s leveled up gradually enough that his heightened senses don’t bother too much, not unless it’s quiet like this.

Jinah starts giggling.

“Oh my f—Jinah, it’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” Jinah says, trying and failing to smother more giggles behind her hand. “It’s… awww, Oppa, you know what? It’s actually really cute—”

“I hate you.”

“You hate me so much that you got me a new phone so I could make a video diary—” She laughs, fully and loudly as Jinwoo hides his face with one hand. “Like. No, totally, I can see—I can see why you thought that, it makes—so much sense, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it—”

“Then why are you laughing at me?”

“Bec—because—” 

She cuts off with a wheeze.

“You sound like a tea kettle,” Jinwoo points out, which only makes Jinah laugh harder. 

Jinwoo frowns, ears still burning. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the chairman smiling fondly, and his embarrassment begins anew. 

That is, until Jinah’s expression begins to crumble, and her laughter turns into sobs. “You… you idiot…”

Comfort, his instincts tell him immediately, as his eyes widen in shock. Comfort, comfort, comfort.

But, he wonders as Jinah ignores his hovering hand, how does he comfort his little sister when he’s the reason she’s upset? Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should’ve talked to her in private, before meeting with the chairman. Jinwoo just returned from the Demon Castle—he’s been gone for a whole week, and he’s back now but things are about to change. 

Everything they knew—everything that used to be their “normal” will soon change irrevocably. He won’t say Jinah is too young to understand, because she’s not. She’s a brilliant girl. And he can’t keep avoiding her questions—she needs to be a part of this. But… it’s such a big weight to drop in her lap. She’s only fifteen.

(Jinwoo is only twenty-two. Looking at the chairman and the chief, he feels much younger. Inexperienced. He knows what he’s doing… doesn’t he? He does. Right. Right.)

He reaches for her nonetheless, because even if she’s upset with him, every fiber in him screams to comfort her. She swats his hand away, but all that does is make him want to try again, regardless of their audience.

“I can’t even be mad at you now,” Jinah blurts out through her tears. She leans into him anyway. “Not after you go and—and say something like that.”

“I’m s—”

“Oh my god, no, don’t.” And when the chairman offers a box of tissues, passed from the chief to Jinwoo, she wipes her eyes with her sleeve. “Sorry, sorry, I—I’m just, all… all this time, you thought… but… but I was…”

“It’s alright,” Jinwoo says. A knee-jerk response.

“How long have you been S-rank? You’ve been making more money than you ever did before for a while now…”

Jinwoo quiets again, hesitant. He knows better than to look toward the chairman or the chief, because he knows they’re interested in hearing the answer. 

“It’s—complicated,” he says finally, with another sigh. 

Telling the truth is inevitable, but where does he even start? 

“Did I… screw everything up?” Jinah whispers, not looking at him. “With the videos?”

Jinwoo opens his mouth, but once again, he isn’t sure how to respond. The videos Jinah posted online definitely don’t make this easy. 

In the end, it’s the chief who answers. “As the chief inspector of the Monitoring Division, I have a team that’s been keeping an eye on your account, Miss Jinah. As such, we have been monitoring your audience’s response to your videos.”

Jinah narrows her eyes. “So you’re the one who disabled my comment section.”

A pause on Chief Woo’s part. “...that is correct. We determined the potential discussions in it to be… suspicious.”

“Suspicious,” Jinah parrots, pouting. She wipes her eyes, this time with a tissue, and pulls back from Jinwoo, drawing in a shaky breath. “What does that even mean?”

“We’ve been curious about Hunter Sung’s case for a few weeks, now,” the chief answers, and the look he gives Jinwoo has him clenching his jaw. “Until we received some answers from Hunter Sung himself, we thought focusing on his pre-reawakening identity would be unwise. It isn’t uncommon for hunters to undergo… drastic bodily changes post-awakening, depending on their rank and class. We were worried about the outcome of people starting to recognize his E-rank self, compared to his reawakened self. They could see the difference and start asking questions. If you hadn’t taken the video down yourself, we probably would have done it for you. To avoid… unwanted attention.”

Jinwoo remembers Chief Woo’s warning about Hwang Dongsu, and the original photo on his hunter’s liscence, and stifles a shudder. He's well aware he doesn't look the way he did months ago.

“...so what do we do?” Jinah asks carefully. “Do I have to… to take down the account?”

“You could,” the chairman replies, “if that’s what you and Hunter Sung decide that’s what you want to do. We do have some other options, once we declare Hunter Sung’s S-rank status.”

“...which are?”

“You could come forward and announce your… investigation as a simple publicity stunt,” says Chief Woo. “Even then, it’s… not as popular as you may think. Your account has received some attention, yes, but upon further research, my team has informed me that TikTok is not actually among the top trending social media platforms in Korea. Perhaps if you were using Kakao Talk or Instagram, which are both skyrocketing in popularity in Korea, we would have more of a mess on our hands. As it stands…”

He presents a touch-screen tablet, revealing statistics for Jinah’s profile: her video and profile view count, number of followers, comments, and shares. 

“Compared to hunters and even idols who use platforms like Instagram, your account doesn’t garner as much attention as we originally thought. We can use this to our advantage. While the Monitoring Division will continue to observe your account statistics and the content you post, we’ve determined for the time being that it doesn’t pose as big of a threat as expected. You could act as you always have for the next three days, and later admit your videos to be the start of a marketing campaign.”

“...what do you think, Oppa?”

“Publicity is… the opposite of what I wanted,” Jinwoo mutters with a frown.

Jinah makes a face. “Yeah… I don’t like it, either. Just feels… weird. I never intended to like… promote anything. I just wanted to know what was going on.”

The words stab at Jinwoo’s chest. He swallows guiltily, averting his gaze again.

“You’ve also refrained from using Hunter Sung’s given name in your Shorts, so that does provide him some protection for the next few days. Sung is a pretty common surname after all,” the chief continues. “Despite this, we do expect to see a rise in your view count once Hunter Sung’s S-rank status is revealed to the public. Even if people don't make the connection immediately, it will happen eventually. If you submit your videos to the Monitoring Division for review before posting, we could provide feedback on whether or not it is appropriate to post.”

“Getting the government involved in what I post?” Jinah scrunches her nose in dismay. “More than it already is? I mean… I think I get it. It just seems like such a big fuss...”

Chief Woo looks at Jinwoo again, his expression diplomatic, but even with those sunglasses on, Jinwoo sees the way his eyes sharpen. He knows there’s something up with the way Jinwoo has reawakened, and he knows being careless on the Internet about it can end poorly. Of course they’d want to approve what’s posted and what’s not.

“Why go through all that trouble?” Jinwoo inquires anyway, suspicious. “Instead of simply taking down the account?”

Chief Woo glances briefly toward the chairman, who grins mischievously. “It’s good PR, you know. Showing our newest S-rank off to the media in a way that’s not been done before. Yes, your account hasn’t exactly gone viral yet, but we expect it to after the announcement. Your audience does find your sibling dynamic charming, and the mystery of Hunter Sung to be quite compelling.”

Jinwoo’s ears burn again, and he slides his hands back into his pockets in an attempt to seem unbothered. People seeing him in his daily life feels… intrusive. People he doesn’t know, seeing him doing something as domestic as household chores is just weird.  

“...I could, if that’s what you want, Oppa,” Jinah says abruptly, picking at the hem of her T-shirt. “Take it down, I mean. The account, the videos…”

Jinwoo pauses as he studies her, knowing that’s exactly the opposite of what she wants to do. And despite everything Jinwoo wants—privacy, anonymity, to protect his family under the radar—he also saw how happy she was in that video with their slumbering mother, explaining her ‘side hobby’. She seemed to glow as she talked about it, and… Jinwoo can’t take that from her. Not when there are so many reasons for her to be unhappy in this world, where monsters could take everything they held dear in seconds. Yes, the videos have caused a bit of a mess, but Jinah’s obviously been having fun.

“You… don’t have to do that,” he decides, after a time. “Sending the videos to KHA for approval sounds like the better option.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“You like doing this kind of thing, don’t you?”

“Oppa, that’s not what I asked.”

A sigh. He should’ve expected this—they’re both stubborn, after all. “Why didn’t you just tell me what you were doing with the videos?”

“Would you have stopped me if you knew they were going on TikTok?”

“...”

“Yeah, see?” Jinah crosses her arms, gaining confidence again as she leans back against the sofa with a brow raised. “Why didn’t you just tell me what you were doing in dungeons?”

“That’s—” Jinwoo hesitates, thankful his hands are back in his pockets. She wouldn’t have been able to see the blood on them, long washed off; but having them covered comforts him nonetheless. “It’s… different.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.”

I needed to become stronger, he doesn’t say. So I can protect you.

I still don’t know what’s going on myself, he doesn’t say. How do I explain it to someone else?

“It’s not, though,” Jinah insists with a frown. “Don’t you see that? We wouldn’t be in this situation if you just told me what was going on! But you didn’t! You don’t tell me anything! You never do! You’re always keeping secrets and always dodging my questions! You said you were E-rank!”

“I was—”

“Uh-huh. And I’m supposed to believe you’ve jumped right up to S-rank—”

“I didn’t jump,” Jinwoo cuts in, sharp enough to silence her. “I… I climbed.”

That’s enough to stun Jinah speechless. She stares, gaping, eyes widening bit by bit as she processes the information. Jinwoo doesn’t look toward the chairman or the chief but hears a collective breath intake. 

“Hunter Sung…” the chairman begins but trails off.

“I… was E-rank when Chief Woo measured me at the hospital,” Jinwoo continues, as an answer. “Officially… for a few more days, at least… I’m still E-rank. But I’d reawakened, months ago. Just… not the way others have, before me.”

“What are you saying, Oppa?” Jinah asks.

“Hunter Sung,” Chief Woo hedges carefully, “what have you been doing the past seven days?”

Level grinding. Clearing the System’s newest quest. Searching for ingredients for the cure for his mother. He cannot say any of these out loud, but when he sees Jinah’s perplexed, worried expression, he realizes he doesn’t have much of a choice. He has to pick at least one.

“I was in a dungeon,” he decides to say, eventually.

“A dungeon that didn’t break even on the seventh day?”

Jinwoo’s throat feels too dry. He opens his mouth, but it takes a while for him to find the right words. “A dungeon that… doesn’t have a time limit.”

“What about your raid team?” Jinah says. “You… you had a team, didn’t you?”

Jinwoo’s gaze flicks momentarily down to his shadow. “Yeah. I did.”

“With… with all due respect,” Chief Woo says, “I… checked the roster for gates. Multiple times. You weren’t among any of them.”

Messy. This is getting so unbelievably messy, and Jinwoo feels increasingly like he’s backed himself into a corner. If he’s honest about the System and its entirety, would that mean telling Jinah how he acquired it?

No. No. He is not telling Jinah what happened in the double dungeon. He isn’t… he can’t tell anyone. Not when he still remembers choking on his own blood, still remembers the pain in the leg that’d been severed, still remembers the cracks and snaps in his body as his back slammed against the altar—

“Hunter Sung?” 

Jinwoo blinks. The chairman, the chief, and his sister all gaze at him, questions in their eyes, and the image in his brain of the double dungeon fades. Jinwoo’s hand fists into his shirt—and then pauses. When had he removed either of his hands from his pockets? His heart thrums quickly and uncomfortably.

Slowly, cautiously, Jinwoo uncurls his hand, and the Demon Castle key appears in it. Jinah gasps audibly as he presents this key to them. He draws a quiet breath, and exhales just as quietly. 

“It opened the dungeon for me,” he says, when the chief gapes at him. “But… but only for me.”

“But… you said…” Jinah looks hopelessly confused. “You said you had… a raid team.”

“I… do,” Jinwoo tells her, and it is true. “Um. Sort of? I…”

He glances back down at his shadow, putting the key back in his inventory. As it vanishes, he steels himself.

“Does it have something to do with that shadow of yours, Hunter Sung?” the chairman asks, sounding a little amused. Possibly even gleeful. Like he already knows the answer. 

“Oh my god,” Jinah gushes suddenly, “it does, doesn’t it? It totally does, it has to—”

Jinwoo’s very aware, now, that she’s been keeping tabs on it. He watched the video where she so fondly disclosed her TikTok journey to their mother, including the part where he collapsed in their living room. He supposes that because of this, there’s no going back now.

“They’re summons, yeah,” Jinwoo says, and with a subtle tap of his finger, sends a command for an infantry knight to come out.

It appears in a flash, startling his company. The chairman’s eyes bulge; Chief Woo stiffens; and Jinah jumps back into the corner of the sofa with a startled shriek. 

“Don’t worry. He won’t bite.”

“dOn’t wOrRy hE WoN’T BiTe,” Jinah mocks, proceeding to glare at him. And then, after a few moments: “Hold on. It’s not the same one.”

“...huh?”

“The one I saw had red on it!”

Jinwoo blinks, slightly surprised. “...you mean Igris?”

His shadow extends beneath his feet, stretching longer than it should, and more than a dozen pairs of ghostlight blue eyes stare up at his company. Igris’s head emerges from the abyss, with the crimson ornament on his helmet half submerged in darkness. 

Jinah stares. The chief stares. The chairman stares.

Igris climbs out of Jinwoo’s shadow, effortless and graceful like he’s emerging from water. He kneels before Jinwoo, head bowed, and Jinah continues to gape.

Jinwoo crosses his legs, because he’s itching for movement, for a way to rid himself of this unwanted nervous energy; they’re going to have more questions, no doubt. Questions he’s not sure he knows how to answer completely. At least he moves smoothly enough.

“Just… how many of these can you summon?” Chief Woo asks.

“A little over one hundred.”

“...sorry? One-hundred?”

“Yeah. That number… it’ll increase as I… grow stronger.”

“Stronger,” Jinah echoes slowly, as she takes this in. “Wait, so… last week, when you said you weren’t there yet…”

Another nod. “I wasn’t… S-rank yet. But I am now.”

“And you’ll continue to grow stronger?” asks the chairman, eyes wide.

“As long as I can keep going into dungeons and fighting.”

The implication hangs heavily in the air, and it’s obvious all three of them know what Jinwoo means: he’s finally opening up about the System, yes, but he’s not going to stop hunting. There’s still so much he has to learn. And…

And Chief Woo said S-rank Hwang Dongsu will be after me, he thinks, schooling his expression. I need to become stronger. I need to be able to protect my family. I need to save Eomma.

“This… this whole time,” Jinah finally murmurs, in a tone that pricks Jinwoo’s chest, “it really was shadow magic.”

“No,” Jinwoo answers, shaking his head. “No, I mean, it… this is a skill I acquired a little over a week ago.” He averts his gaze guiltily because she looks so betrayed that any reason he had for hiding it from her feels too insignificant. And what was the point of hiding, when the chairman and the chief saw what Jinah’s videos had captured anyway? “After I kind of… passed out on you. It was that day. I’d meant to be home sooner but it… took longer than expected.”

“I mean, I don’t know why I’m so surprised. I was—I was looking for clues about your shadow. I guess I just… I thought it was like. Paranormal, or something. I dunno.”

Jinwoo blinks, eyes flicking down to Igris for a few moments. Well, he thinks, I guess she’s not wrong.

And then Jinah perks up without warning, eyes bulging again as she looks back and forth between Jinwoo’s active summons.

“What?”

“I saw them before that—the shadows. Well, sort of! At least once! Here, lem—oh, right, I don’t have my phone!”

Jinwoo glances at Igris confusedly, raising a brow, silently asking for an explanation. Igris simply shrugs, but before Jinwoo can question anybody, the chief speaks up.

“If you’ll allow me…”

Jinwoo nods, internally dismissing his soldiers. Both obey, dipping back into Jinwoo’s shadow; although their haste to do so startles his sister once again. 

(Maybe if they weren’t where they were, he’d have found it amusing. Right now, all he feels is guilt.)

Soon, the chief hands him the touch-screen tablet from earlier, where one of Jinah’s videos is already pulled up. 

He’s surprised, yet again, when he’s shown footage of himself greeting Jinah in the morning, in what is very obviously not Korean. He wouldn’t have recognized it now, if it wasn’t for the Red Gate incident with the White Tiger’s Guild. 

“There, the shadow!”

He sees it even before Jinah points. He’s not sure why, but his eyes are drawn to its general area before it even appears.

Which only confuses him even more.

System? he thinks, trying to summon it into existence. That’s usually how it works. System? What is the meaning of this?

Abruptly, Kang Taeshik’s words echo in his brain: “You’ll grow as strong as your shadow is deep…”

Taeshik was able to sense something with my shadow before the job change quest… Was it a warning? A fluke of the System? 

“Well?” Jinah prompts.

“I… don’t have an explanation for that,” is all Jinwoo can say, because it’s the truth.

“Oppa.”

“I’m serious. I can’t…” He shrugs, helpless. “I really don’t know. There’s—there’s so much I’m still trying to understand, too. So much I don’t get. I didn’t tell you because…”

You don’t need to know how many people I’ve killed.

You don’t need to know that I’ve been left to die by people who were supposed to be teammates.

You don’t need to know what the world of hunting is like.

You don’t need to know how cruel it is.

“...because I didn’t reawaken the way others have, and I still don’t know why,” he finishes, and it’s such a vulnerable thing to admit, especially in front of an audience. Especially when he told himself he’d keep his reawakening a secret.

But he promised his sister he would tell her. And maybe… maybe getting the chairman involved is the better choice. Maybe getting the Association involved can open new paths for him, paths he didn’t know existed before. 

Jinah stares at him hard, and she folds only when Jinwoo looks directly back at her. He’s not sure what she sees, but something in his gaze seems to convince her that he’s telling the truth, because she drops her suspicion, shoulders drooping.

“You don’t seem too surprised about the monster talk, though,” she says, finally. Grumpily.

Jinwoo grimaces. “I… don’t have an explanation for that, either. But I’ve done it before… I guess.”

“Oh?” Chairman Go leans forward with intrigue, hands under his chin.

“Not… uh, not on command. Just kind of…”  

He thinks back to the Red Gate incident, and how he communicated with Baruka without hesitation. At first, the conversation felt like regular Korean, but once Park Heejin pointed it out, it was like a switch flipped in his head—and he could recognize it for what it actually was. Still, magic beast tongue came to him as naturally as it would have if it were his first language, and he still has no idea why.

“...just kind of happens, I guess?” he finishes lamely. “Haven’t figured that out yet, either.”

“...I see,” the chairman says, nodding briefly.

“Can’t blame you for wanting to, then,” says Jinah. “Figure it out, I mean. A reawakening not like others…” She taps her chin with a contemplative expression. “You said you... climbed…” She turns to him, eyes lighting up with curiosity. “How does it work? Do you just… feel it, when you get stronger?”

“Yeah, I can feel it. There’s also a computer in my head that tells me what level I am.”

“Holy shit—I mean, uh, sorry,” Jinah quickly adds. “Levels? Like a video game?”

“Pretty much.”

“I wonder…” She trails off, but it’s obvious the gears are shifting in her head. She has questions—lots of them—and like Jinwoo, she wants answers. “...a computer in your head? For real? Wait, don’t answer that. You don’t make jokes.”

Jinwoo scrunches his nose at her, but Jinah’s too busy vibrating with excitement to pay him any notice. 

Before she gets too carried away, he has to make one thing clear: “I don’t want you telling the Internet about it. This… this is…”

“It’s huge,” the chairman says for him, in a tone that draws both of their attention. “Hunter Sung is right—that information cannot be put out on social media. The response would be…” His expression turns grim, briefly, and then: “It’s up to you and Hunter Sung who you’d like to tell regarding his powers, but I think for the time being, keeping the ‘leveling up’ part out of your videos is in your best interest. Especially when there’s still a lot you, yourself, Hunter Sung, don’t know.”

Jinah nods swiftly, over and over in a show of enthusiasm. “Yes! Yes, I understand. No mention of Oppa getting stronger on TikTok.”

“And no mention of his S-rank status, either,” Chief Woo adds. “Not until we reveal it to the public. Please allow us the three-day period, Miss Jinah.”

“Got it!” Jinah nods again, still vibrating, and then rambles on, “There’s still so much to learn, isn’t there? Where did that key come from? Will there be more like it? You can’t just say this thing opens only for me and then expect us not to ask questions. Do you gain more skills as you get stronger, like characters in video games? What about your shadow people? Do they grow stronger, too? You know I love games, Oppa—”

“Perhaps you get your thirst for an explanation from your older brother?” the chairman interrupts, as Jinwoo endures his sister’s rapid-fire questions. “Both trying to figure these mysteries out. Why not put your heads together, and see what you can come up with then?”

“You’ve absolutely got to tell me more,” Jinah agrees, and Jinwoo’s overwhelm must’ve shown on his face, because when Jinah meets his gaze again, she pauses. “I won’t ask you to tell me everything that happens, ok? I know… I know it’s not easy. But I’ve been watching you work as a hunter for four years, Oppa, and you’ve always kept stuff from me. I know you do it because you’re trying to protect me, but…

“I don’t like it when you shut me out,” she continues. “It’s… it hurts. Because I can tell you’re stressed, and just because you’re not getting hurt as often doesn’t mean I don’t worry. And if you weren’t telling me now, I would’ve just…” 

She looks at the touch-screen tablet Chief Woo set aside earlier, and gestures.

“I would’ve just kept going trying to find out answers myself! And probably in a way that made things messier than they are now. Who knows what would’ve happened if I chose, like, KakaoStory or something, instead of TikTok. We’d probably have no choice but to cover our butts with the whole ‘publicity stunt’ thing.”

Jinwoo sits, being lectured by his own kid sister, while the chairman of KHA—a man who is quite possibly even more powerful than himself—watches in amusement. And all he can do is agree, because… Jinah is right.

He learned with Juhee that keeping secrets is painful. There’s a difference between a boundary and struggling to trust. He’d kept secrets from Juhee despite their companionship because he’d been embarrassed, but it hurt her regardless. And now he’s hurting his sister. He’s not… he doesn’t not trust Jinah, it’s just…

He trusted his raid team, and half of the survivors left him to die, bleeding and one-legged and alone, on the altar of a false god who still haunts his dreams at night.

His skin prickles. His head throbs. Jinwoo ignores it.

“You’re right,” he murmurs finally. “I’m sorry.”

“I… I get it. Like I said, I don’t blame you for going off trying to find answers to… this whole reawakening thing. I kind of did the same thing, in my own way! But you’re turning into a workaholic,” Jinah accuses. “You, and you,” she adds, pointing at the chairman and then the chief in quick succession, “already look like workaholics. Why else would a guy wear sunglasses inside if he’s not hiding some major eye bags? No offense.”

“No, you’re right,” the chairman says with a chuckle, right when Jinwoo opens his mouth to scold her. “It is well past office hours. I suppose it’s time we wrap this meeting up.”

Chief Woo stands there, still professional in posture but looking a little red in the face. Jinwoo can’t fault him when he’s in a similar state.

Teenagers sure know how to put someone in their place. He thinks back to Songyi, and the lecture he’d received from her while in the Red Gate.

(He ignores the part of him that thinks of his mother, looking at Jinah’s determined expression and sassy body language. He ignores the part that wants to blurt out, I can save her because he knows if it doesn’t work, they’ll both be crushed.) 

“I’ll keep you more in the loop,” Jinwoo vows to Jinah, and he means it.

Jinah relaxes, grinning. “Good. Let’s go home then, yeah?”

“I can drive you,” Chief Woo says, but Jinwoo shakes his head.

“No. I can call a cab,” Jinwoo tells him.

“Allow the Association to pay for it, at least,” the chairman offers. “Please. We've kept you quite a bit.”

Really, they could walk, because it’s less than a mile from their apartment, but Jinwoo’s exhausted, and it’s getting late. There are still so many things he should tell Jinah, but first: rest. And if the Association is volunteering…

He accepts.

“Before you go,” Chief Woo adds, picking up the tablet again, “we do require some signatures from both of you. Just some NDAs.”

Jinwoo nods, having been through the NDA thing before. Jinah blinks and tilts her head. “And what about submitting the videos to the Monitoring Division or whatever? That’s what we’re doing, right?” 

“Ah, yes. I’ll have someone reaching out to you soon.”

Jinah nods, too, this time, and stands to provide a sloppy signature on the touch-screen tablet. Jinwoo follows suit before pausing again.

There is one more thing he wants to get off his chest…

“Jinah,” Jinwoo says, “would you mind… waiting outside? I want to discuss… something with the chairman.”

Jinah opens her mouth, probably to decline, but Jinwoo gives her a Look. “Ah… politics?”

“Politics.”

“Yep, alright. I’ll be out there. Where I’m pretty sure I saw a vending machine. And I seem to remember someone said I get a rew—”

“I said maybe.”

Jinah stands, making grabby hands, and Jinwoo knows when he’s lost. He sighs, and his wallet appears in his hand immediately. As he gives it to her, the chief escorts Jinah out, nodding to the chairman and Jinwoo as he leaves with her.

Jinwoo watches them leave, waiting as their footsteps grow quieter, not fading, never fading, but quiet enough for Jinwoo to determine their location.

He turns back to the chairman, straightening his spine. Silently tells his aching head to wait just a few more minutes. And begins to talk.

“Chairman, sir,” says Jinchul, “I thought you were going to try to recruit him into the Association?”

“I was,” Gunhee says, fingers laced beneath his chin. “But I knew as soon as he walked in that I wouldn’t have been successful.”

Jinchul pauses, momentarily stunned. “How so?”

Gunhee thinks of Sung Jinwoo’s expression, and how even though he looked absolutely drained, he stood unbowed, immovable. Still so young, but already with the weight of something unseen on his shoulders. Yet he carried it so easily.

Or he was great at pretending.

Regardless, Sung Jinwoo does not seem the type to work under anyone, and even if he was, he so adamantly puts his younger sister—his family—first.

This job is a demanding one. Gunhee himself has prioritized work over his family for ages (Maybe it’s time to change that, part of him thinks), and he doesn’t want that for Sung Jinwoo, not when he already has so much on his plate. Meeting fifteen-year-old Sung Jinah only cemented his decision.

He wants more research done on Eternal Sleep, does he? Gunhee thinks, recalling the determined gleam in Sung Jinwoo’s eyes when he requested to speak with him alone. Even though he won’t be my apprentice, does this mean he will work with the Association in the future? If he’s coming to me about it?

Granted, so many things had to go through him for approval. Still though…

A hunter who can level up…

A thrilling thought, indeed.

“Just… a feeling,” Gunhee answers finally. 

His gaze finds Jinchul’s, and thinks, idly, belatedly, if his future apprentice has been working for him all along. He wonders how things will change from this moment forward, and if that means the title of chairman will be easier for the man in front of him to carry, than it has been for Gunhee.

These old bones are tired. He didn’t realize just how exhausted he was until he met with the Sung siblings, until Jinah pointed it out.

“Why don’t we call it a night?” he suggests.

Maybe some other time, they could go for drinks. Celebrate the occasion, having another S-rank in the country. Maybe he could invite Sung Jinwoo…

Jinchul appears hesitant but quickly seems to realize he has no choice.  “If… if you insist, sir. I’ll drive you home?”

Gunhee’s gaze softens. “I’d like that.”

Juhee, Jinho

made it back
tired tho. talk tmrw. gonna sleep.

Juhee reacted: ♥️🫂
Jinho reacted: 👍🫡

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Set up a movie while he was in the shower only for him to konk out immediately . . .]

A slideshow. 

First image: A man rests on the sofa, eyes closed, head bent awkwardly, legs pulled up to his chest. A dark ball of fur sits curled up by his hip. 

Subtitle: Well Oppa is home now but he’s dead to the world again へ‿(´•｡•`)‿ㄏ 

Second image: A selfie. Jinah grins, appearing to be stifling laughter as she points at the man, who is now sprawled out on the sofa, face down, with one leg dangling off the side. Their cat sits on the small of his back in a loaf position.

Subtitle: Time for bed I guess. . . 

 

(ref)

Swipe to view again.

 604 likes | 8 comments | 14 favorites 

—

Comments

snowzardmusic0
HES BACKKKKK (♡ε♡ )

hansongyeet
lmaooo welcome home ahjussi

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
LOL THE CAT

Peachycotton
Bet he’s exhausted… must feel good to be home! 

Aecha96
well at least he made it back alive!

1WhoDoesSimply
What happened to your prev video?

MiSSKBG99
What i’d give to have a man like him passed out on my couch

hazbat
R u gonna tell us what he was actually doing for the 7 days now or..?

Chapter Text

DAYS UNTIL RE-EVALUATION: 3

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: He refuses to relax I swear. . . ]

“Oppa?”

The camera focuses on a man in a pale green T-shirt sitting on a sofa, with two baskets before him, folding laundry. Void watches him curiously, looking ready to jump into one of the half-full baskets.

Subtitle: I just woke up for school and he’s already doing shit

“How long have you been up?” Jinah asks around an audible yawn.

“Oh my god don’t s—fuck, look what you—” The man breaks off to yawn, and then glares at the camera with now-teary eyes. “Look what you started.”

“You’re welcome. Nice eyebags, by the way.”

“Thanks. Been working on them since four.”

“Damn. You did fall asleep at like seven last night, though. Not surprising you’d wake up early.”

“Nn.” The man’s face goes blank as he goes back to folding, occasionally swatting away a curious cat paw. “I’m going grocery shopping later. Anything you need?”

“Hmm… depends on how much you love me.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Rude,” says Jinah. “I’ll text you if I think of anything before I get to school, I guess.”

The man hums in acknowledgment. Jinah giggles as Void jumps into the basket on the left, only to be removed by the man a second later.

“Recording, aren’t you?”

“...noooooo—”

The video cuts off and loops.

699 likes | 9 comments | 1 favorites

—

Comments:

snowzardmusic0
yes give us a man who does his own laundry (♡˘³˘)

Peachycotton
He has a little helper!! 

hazbat
He gotta be tired 

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
The curse of accidentally going to bed too early

hansongyeet
now im yawning i hate u 

    creator reply
    (ღˇ◡ˇ)♡

anafsikder1268
How does he have the energy to do that shit 

      RqbbitRqse
      judging by how pale he is i think he’s forcing himself

          anafsikder1268
          No way he’s actually that pale… gotta be the lighting or something

Jinwoo

hey

Hey! Glad you’re back ʕっ•‿•ʔっ

thanks

Not hurt or anything, are you?

nah im good
sorry to worry you

That’s what friends are for goofball

up for phonecall?
just wanna
check in w you

Sure! I don’t mind :)

Incoming call . . .

Jinwoo

[ swipe to accept || swipe to decline ]

“Weren’t you going to stay with Heejin-nim?” Jinah says at the end of the school day, when Songyi asks to be her tag along yet again.

“I am,” Songyi answers, and then, shyly, upon seeing Jinah’s raised-brow look: “...I want to talk to Ahjussi about something.”

“Is it about hunting?”

“Maybe.”

Jinah narrows her eyes, and Songyi grins innocently. But she lets it go, because she knows Songyi would tell her if she planned on going in another gate. “Alrighty. Let’s go, then.”

“Please train me!”

Songyi bows at the waist, but the answer is swift. Like Jinwoo doesn’t even have to think about it. “I can’t do that.”

Still, Songyi refuses to give up. She remains bowed in the Sung apartment living room, thankful Jinah made an excuse to leave (“Oppa owes me fried chicken,” she had said. “Right, Oppa?”) and provided them privacy. “Please.”

“You’re still going to be a hunter?” Jinwoo inquires suspiciously. “You’re only, what, fifteen?”

“Sixteen.”

“Sixteen?”

“Please, ahjussi,” Songyi repeats, determined not to take ‘no’ for an answer. “Please train me. I’ll make it worth your time.”

“I’m not taking you into another gate,” Jinwoo says. “Not after last time—”

“Please!”

“You’re desperate for money, aren’t you?”

Songyi stiffens, clenching her jaw. Carefully: “I… need to get out of the house I’m in. I need to be able to support myself.”

“As a former E-rank to another E-rank,” Jinwoo says, equally slowly, “it’s not a great profession. I only stayed as long as I did for the health insurance.”

“I just need… something. It’s hard to find a job at my age that’ll cover living expenses. And I also need to learn how to survive in a gate,” Songyi adds. “I refuse to leave my best friend behind because something happened to me. You understand, don’t you?”

That makes Jinwoo pause. “Stand up.”

She does, after a little hesitation. Draws herself up to her full height—much shorter than him, but still—and lifts her chin, looking him in the eye, showing her resolve.

“Give me a second.”

Jinwoo is across the room before Songyi can even blink. He slips into a room she’s learned by now to be his own, and she jumps when he appears in front of her again. 

She’s an assassin-type, but he’s definitely on another level. So damn fast.

“Look,” Jinwoo begins, with a sigh. “I’m… not gonna take you into a gate again. I already said that. You’re not changing my mind.”

“But—”

“I do know someone who can train you, though,” he interrupts, and only then does he present to her what he’d retrieved from his bedroom: a business card. “He gave me this card not too long ago. Been a hunter longer than me. He’s a master swordsman—owns that dojo.”

Songyi’s heart drops. “I can’t afford kumdo lessons, ahjussi—”

“I didn’t say you’d be paying for them.”

She blinks, mouth falling open. She doesn’t get it. “Huh?”

“Okay, listen… I got re-evaluated,” Jinwoo explains. “I’m S-rank. Jinah found out yesterday, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she told you already anyway. It’s a secret for the next three days while the Association does some shit, but it’ll be public knowledge soon. I’ll probably be making S-rank money.”

She can’t help it. Songyi looks up from the business card to glare at him. “If you’re saying I should take your charity money—”

“Songyi. Listen.” Jinwoo waits like he’s expecting her to interrupt again, and he continues only when she finally nods. “I’ll… I’ll make you a deal, alright?”

Another silent nod.

“You’re still in school, so how about… until you’ve graduated, study with that dojo master. I’ll pay for the lessons if you stay in school. Ok?”

“...I need to leave my parents’ house.” Songyi swallows, eyes stinging with the traitorous onset of tears. “I need to earn money to escape, ahjussi.”

“Then you could join my guild when it’s established,” says Jinwoo, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “You could work part-time if you wanted—office work or something, though. No gates, not while you’re still a minor. But with the work you do, you’d be able to cover your living expenses, so… it wouldn’t be charity money.”

“You’d… you’d really do that?”

She can hear her own voice break, and she hates how her face crumbles. Tears slip free no matter how hard she tries to keep them at bay.

And Jinah—bless her heart—chooses that moment to walk in the door. “I’m back—”

Two things happen: 1) Jinwoo, eyes having gone wide in panic the moment Songyi started crying, turns to look at Jinah in a panic; and 2) Jinah sees Songyi crying and looks at Jinwoo in rage.

“Oppa I know you did not just make my bestie cry,” Jinah says, immediately one-hundred-fifty-two centimeters of fury.

“I didn’t—”

“Fuck you both, these are happy tears,” Songyi says, burying her face into her hands.

The business card with Song Chi-yul’s name printed on it falls to the ground.

“You signed up for another raid?”

Jinah crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes. Jinwoo at least has the decency to look a little guilty. “It’s… different this time. I applied as a miner.”

“Don’t they only have mining teams in higher-ranking dungeons?” Songyi says. “They need strong people. Not that you don’t qualify, but your license still says E-rank, doesn’t it?”

“They accepted my application,” Jinwoo says with a shrug. “They just needed a temp. Maybe they were desperate?”

“Maybe. Still sounds sus.”

“You’re not off the hook either,” Jinah says, turning to her best friend. “Why didn’t you tell me your parents were assholes?”

It’s Songyi’s to look guilty, this time. “It… hasn’t come up.”

“Girl, you’ve been staying with us for over a week. It definitely came up.”

“Can you go back to grilling ahjussi please?”

Jinah doesn’t want to drop the subject, but she knows when that’s the best option. Void sits in Songyi’s lap, which seems to provide some comfort—Jinah knows from experience that kitty cuddles are the best after a crying spell—but Songyi’s eyes and nose are still red, which doesn’t sit well with her. So she faces her older brother again, frowning when she sees that his expression has gone blank again. 

(He’s getting way too good at that.)

“Why do you want to mine?”

“It’s less about the mining and more about seeing what an A-rank dungeon is like,” Jinwoo says, shrugging again. “I’ve never been in one and I’m curious.”

Silence.

“...I can’t believe I asked you to teach me about survival in gates,” Songyi deadpans. 

“The S in his S-rank status stands for stupid,” says Jinah, matching her tone.

“Did the red gate give you that much confidence, ahjussi?”

“Are you kidding me? It was a red gate? ”

“Yep. Where he lectured me about dungeons being dangerous and unpredictable.”

“The same red gate that was on the news? White Tiger’s guild’s red gate?” Something cold and heavy curls in Jinah’s stomach, sinking hard and fast. “Oppa, what the fuck?”

“I’m being tag-teamed,” Jinwoo says flatly with a frown. “I’ll be alright. I’m not going near the magic beasts.”

“Ahjussi,” says Songyi, a little subdued, “the raid you took me on was just supposed to be observing, and people still died.”

The coldness in Jinah’s stomach grows even colder, especially when Jinwoo’s expression pinches into something much darker before rapidly going cryptic.

She doesn’t miss the way Jinwoo’s eyes flick down at his shadow. She knows, now, what it harbors, but… does she really know?

No. Jinah is not afraid of her own brother. This is the same guy who raised her for most of her life, held her when she cried over their comatose mother, and went into countless gates to keep both a roof over her head and their mother alive. He was there for her first period. He was there for her primary and middle school graduation, and he’s been there for her first year of high school.

This is the same guy she’s seen walk into the wall post-dungeon raid and apologize to it.

So no, she isn’t afraid of him. Not Oppa. Never… never Oppa.

“...circumstances were different, then,” Jinwoo murmurs finally, and Jinah swears she detects some remorse there, wedged into his tone, into those words. “It… it won’t happen again.”

“...is that really a promise you can make, ahjussi?”

“I can’t promise that there won’t be more red gates in the future,” says Jinwoo, slowly, with his arms crossed, like there’s something Jinah will see in his chest if he doesn’t cover it up. Something Jinwoo doesn’t want her to see. “But… I’ll do what I can to keep others safe, if something goes wrong. There will be other S-ranks there, though, so… it won’t just be me. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Other S-ranks?” Jinah blinks, relaxing slightly before she can stop herself. That’s good news, right? “What…”

“The gate is booked by the Hunters Guild. The contract I signed said the ‘A-team’ was going in.”

Songyi hesitates, like hunters that powerful won’t be able to protect people, but nods eventually. Jinah herself feels significantly more at ease knowing that he’s not the only S-rank going in.

“...I guess that’s good to hear,” Jinah concedes with a sigh. “Just because you’re S-rank now doesn’t mean you should shoulder the responsibility of protecting people in an emergency alone.”

Songyi looks away guiltily, and Jinah wants to unearth why her expression has gone so dark, but something tells her it’s not a thing to bring up now. Especially not when Songyi had been crying not even twenty minutes prior.

Jinwoo surprises her by looking shocked she’d say such a thing, which makes her frown. “What?”

“...nothing.”

She eyes him with suspicion and then sighs. “Well. I’m ready to hear more about this leveling-up business.”

“Huh?” Songyi gapes, looking at Jinwoo in shock. “You can…? Actually, no I shouldn’t be surprised. Makes sense.”

Jinwoo’s silent for several long moments, biting his lip. Finally, he sighs, too, and Jinah blinks, baffled, when a notebook appears in his hand.

“I’m gonna have to write this shit down,” he says. “Come here.”

Jinah complies wordlessly, too curious to make a snarky comeback. And she listens.

DAYS UNTIL RE-EVALUATION: 2

Cha Hae-in already knew the day was weird when she thought she sensed the chairman outside today’s gate. If Hae-in gained a single won for every time her senses ended up being wrong, she’d have two won, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

She knows she just saw a dagger in that man’s hand.

“Are you from the excavation team?” she asks anyway through her handkerchief. “This is where the boss is. Please step back.”

She tries to be polite, but it irks her a little when the stranger doesn’t budge. Just blinks as she turns to face her. 

“Please,” she repeats. “If you trigger its aggro, everyone in the dungeon will be killed.”

“Oh,” the suspicious man says, although he doesn’t sound all that bothered. “Sorry.”

Is it ignorance that has him unfazed? Arrogance? Surely even a member of the excavation team has some kind of survival instinct to not poke a sleeping bear. Or, in this case, a sleeping magic beast. 

At least he does what she says, albeit reluctantly. She still waits for him to walk past her to—

Thrice, she thinks, eyes widening. What the hell is wrong with her today?

“Are you seriously a hunter?” she asks as she eyes his ID.

NAME: SUNG JINWOO
RANK: E

“...is it the cat hair?” the man—Sung Jinwoo—asks, suddenly dusting himself off. “Sorry. It’s a white shirt, and my cat’s fur is black, and—”

“No,” she squeaks out, quietly, but in a rush to reassure. “No, uh, sorry. Ahem. Please be safe on your way back. It’s a big dungeon.”

“Mm-hm. Got it.”

Hae-in stares at his retreating form, baffled. Belatedly: …did he think I could smell the cat, or did he compare me to a cat? 

She realizes, then, that she’d straight up sniffed a stranger, much like a cat would do to a new person. Not the first time she’s done it—not when it’s such a big part of her life, now—and definitely not the most embarrassing thing she’s done in her hunting career, but it makes her cheeks burn nonetheless.

Just who is Sung Jinwoo, anyway? 

She’ll probably talk to her guild master, after this. Well, uh, not… not about the sniffing thing. Jongin would never let her hear the end of it, if he finds out. 

But she doesn’t buy that he was simply lost, so… she’ll look into it. To—to make sure there’s not some kind of spy in their guild. To make sure someone isn’t trying to sabotage their raids.

Even if that someone… happened to smell kind of nice.

The heat in her cheeks grows, and she turns to finish her rounds.

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: When u plan to record a fun study video and this happens—]

“Hey all,” says Jinah to the camera. It’s set up on the table near the kitchen, along with her textbook, notebook, and a variety of writing utensils. “Was going to do a sort of ‘study with me’ live stream, but apparently Oppa’s almost home from his dungeon shit, and—”

Just then, a man walks in the door, kicking off his shoes. Despite her previous words, Jinah jumps at his abrupt arrival, turning her attention to him.

“That’s why,” she says, turning back to the camera.

“Jinah,” says the man as he approaches her. “Do I smell weird?”

Jinah snorts. “I don’t fucking know.”

“Smell me.”

“Ew. No.”

“Just do it.”

“You just came back from a dungeon, Oppa,” says Jinah, meeting his gaze. “I’m not smelling you.”

The man blinks at her, frowning. Slowly, he pinches the collar of his dusty sleeveless white shirt, bringing it up to give it an experimental sniff.

He makes a face, and Jinah wheezes with laughter. The video loops.

684 likes | 11 comments | 19 favorites

—

Comments:

hoxle
I mean I wouldn’t want to smell my brother either if he just got back from a dungeon  

Nemuishōta
LOL

Aecha96
i’d smell him

xoxoMINSOOKS_WIFE07xoxo
if my sister randomly goes “smell me” i’ll do it but we’re not hunters so (*ꅔ‿ꅔ*)

     creator reply
     It’s different when it’s ur brother tho

hansongyeet
u made the right choice bestie

LostinTyme
HIS FACE AT THE END—

snowzardmusic0
FORGET THE SMELL LOOK AT THOSE BICEPS

allmyhope89
with siblings you either trust them and smell them as they ask cos maybe they’re actually concerned or theyre setting you up to be pranked

MiSSKBG99
Call me a dog cos i’d sniff any part of that man

     creator reply
     Every day we stray a little further from the light of the gods

Across Seoul, Cha Hae-in sneezes.

DAYS UNTIL RE-EVALUATION: 1

Han Semi falls in step with their temporary porter. An E-rank, isn’t he? Sung Jinwoo, his license says. His expression is neutral, but Semi finds herself reassuring him nonetheless.

“...there’s a saying, you know,” she concludes with a warm smile, careful to keep her voice quiet and lay low for the raid. “If the mage gets attacked, it’s the Tank’s fault. If the Healer gets attacked, it’s the strike squad’s fault. If the porter gets attacked, it’s the guild’s fault. The porter is always safe, provided the raid is a success.”

His eyes widen in shock—her first reaction from him thus far. She’s a little surprised to see him look so surprised, but she doesn’t get the chance to dwell on it. Magic beasts demand their attention: jackals, specifically.

Which go down fairly easily. She’s not sure what they’re doing in an A-rank dungeon, and says as much out loud, with rapidly growing apprehension.

“These aren’t ordinary jackals,” says their temp as he kneels to inspect them. “Some bastard is controlling them.”

Her eyes blow wide upon hearing that, not because she finds it surprising, but because she doesn’t understand how an E-rank would be able to tell something like that, just from a single glance. “Have… have you ever encountered jackals before?”

They’re a C-rank beast. This would mean that he’s seen them in a dungeon before. Is it not the first time he’s been a temp in a dungeon leveled higher than his own rank?

Once again, she can’t spend more than another moment thinking about it. Her skin crawls as a strong wave of mana washes over her, causing the little hairs on her arms and the back of her neck to stand up.

Regardless, her team hops into action, and she follows suit. The realization that they’re facing high orcs—wasn’t this supposed to be a lower-level A-rank dungeon?—only doubles her apprehension.

“We’re definitely outnumbered,” Kihoon calls, after the orcs break down some of their equipment with just one blow. “We’re in trouble if they surround us! Divide—three to a group! Spread out and fight!”

They work fast on their feet, but even spread out, it’s easy for them to become overwhelmed, and she rushes around restoring limbs and closing bloody slashes as quickly as she can. 

“Shhh, stay with me,” she tells her teammate, trying to sound soothing. She’s able to regenerate his dismembered arm in seconds, and when the dim cave grows even darker, her racing heart drops.

“No,” calls Lee Bora in anguish. “That thing’s still alive!”

Oh, no.

A powerful high orc looms over them both, weapon raised and ready to strike. She doesn’t have time to move, but even if she could, she’s not strong enough to drag her still-recovering teammate with her. Dread settles deep in her bones.

Semi is going to die.

Semi is going to die, and she’s not ready, she doesn’t want to, there’s still so much of her life left to live, but she’s going to die and all she can do is close her eyes tight and wait for whatever comes after—

She waits. Waits. A squelchy snapping sound reaches her ears, followed by a long tearing sound. That has her opening her eyes, both in morbid curiosity and just in case someone may need her healing abilities in the last few seconds of her life, and…

And the orc that’d been ready to kill her cries out in agony, cut off abruptly as it’s messily and gruesomely torn apart from the waist up.

What…?

It’s a high orc—a humanoid magic beast that only spawns in the highest level of A-rank gates—but she stares up in shock and horror at the corpse that’d been ripped apart as easily as a piece of fried chicken.

What just happened?!

She stares dumbly, not sure she can really register what she’s seeing. The guild master is strong enough to incinerate one of these beasts, but tear one in half? She hasn’t even seen their brawler-type vice master do something like that.

Professionalism snaps her out of it, barely. But the team rarely needs her after that—they’re able to take out the orcs much more easily than they could at the start. It doesn’t make sense.

It doesn’t make sense, especially when her comrades seem just as confused as she does. Even after they claim victory over the twenty-or-so high orcs, she’s relieved when Kihoon decides the better choice is to retreat and regroup. 

But then they’re unable to leave the dungeon, and from its depths spawn more high orcs. Even more than before. They’ve no choice but to follow these magic beasts, and as they start walking into toward the heart of the dungeon, with several meters of distance between themselves and the high orcs, Semi tries to ignore the frantic racing of her heart.

This is her job. She’s trained for this. She’s paid to support her team in defeating bosses and closing gates. 

It’s just… this is Kihoon’s first raid as captain. She knows how excited he was for this, how nervous he was about how it would go, and… and not even twenty minutes into the raid, they’re being herded up like cattle on their way to slaughter.

Her heart drills a tattoo in her chest, and she swallows. Gathers her nerves. Takes a deep breath in through her nose as she walks. Exhales like she’s not marching to her death. 

Reaches into one of the pockets Kihoon sewed into her cloak.

She presents a little pocketbook to Sung Jinwoo, her expression solemn. “It’s short, but here’s my will. Please give it to my family if you get the chance. Please survive.”

He looks at her, but… he doesn’t appear afraid. His expression is contemplative and then grows neutral again. “...it was me.”

A blink. “Huh?” 

“The one who tore the orc in half,” Sung admits, with a sigh. “It was me.”

“Wondered why you were keeping it a secret,” says Lee Bora, her voice still hoarse from when she’d attempted to disassemble the barrier blocking the exit. Semi's healing could only do so much, even if she's A-rank. “Mages of our caliber can tell when Stealth is used. I saw you weaken quite a few.”

“...is that so?” Sung sighs again and has the decency to wince guiltily when Semi looks at him in shock. “Chief Woo isn’t going to like this…”

“Stealth? You…” Kihoon blinks at him, his grim expression turning to one of disbelief and confusion. “...so you must’ve been the reason they were so easy to take out the high orcs who first ambushed us…”

Sung nods simply. “Captain.”

“Yes?”

“This gate was purchased by the Hunters guild. It’s property of your guild.” Slowly, he pushes away Semi’s presented pocketbook, voice quiet, meeting Kihoon’s gaze with that same neutral expression. “I’m… not meant to interfere. But given the highly likely chance your strike squad cannot handle the high orcs on your own… with your permission, may I kill them?”

Kihoon still appears confused, and Semi can’t fault him for that. Not when this is so unexpected and sudden—more unexpected and sudden than running into high orcs in a gate that was supposed to be a low-level A-rank gate—and the fact that they’d just told him they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of buying time until the A-team could get here. “...are you admitting that is within your ability, Hunter Sung? We… haven’t even met this leader of theirs.”

“I… don’t expect you to believe me. I’m simply asking—with your permission, may I intervene?”

Kihoon glances around at his team briefly, not long enough for a one-by-one, but he catches Semi’s eye at the end. She remembers the meaty crunch, remembers how tendons and muscle and bone had been snapped apart as easily as a bird’s, and nods. 

This man saved her life—saved all of their lives, already—and for that reason, she trusts him.

“Please,” Kihoon concedes, nodding as well. “Please do what you think is best. We will support you as best we can.”

The strike squad takes only a moment to prepare itself, and as Semi tucks her will into her pocket, she follows not-an-E-rank Hunter Sung and the rest of her team into the heart of the dungeon.

For entertainment? echoes through Son Kihoon’s mind incredulously. Our desperate resistance is only for their entertainment. That beast doesn’t even consider us enemies… 

He trembles with rage, gritting his teeth. Emotions such as anger are so slippery while raiding, and that makes it dangerous. Kihoon knows that, he does, but—

To this bastard, our lives are…

“Hunter Sung,” he whispers, not looking at the hunter now by his side than at the back of the crew, “I’m a Tank. Allow me to hold him off while you surprise-attack him. It’s my job.”

…playthings for his amusement?!

“Ca—”

Kihoon rushes forward, leaping into the air with a battle cry. His sword is poised to strike as he descends toward the dungeon’s boss, shield in his other hand—

            S̨̨͉̙̯̖̘̋̏͐̀ͥ̅͆̔͡͞_̵̴̡̳̮̠̭̲͚̇ͣ̾͑̀ͦ͘on̨̛̠̗͚̮͕̜̘̑ͩ́̽̊̄̔ͤͦ̄͐ͦ̓͋̓͗̚̚͟͜͠ͅģ̶̷̪̭̝̲̻̱̼͍̣͕̠̣̹͓̣̉ͭ͋̋ͪ͂̽ͭ̂́͗̈́̒ͪͪ́͋͘͘͟͞ͅ o̤̪̳̟̤̘̫̤̯̐ͧ̔̒͒̐ͥ͑ͩͣ͊ͣ̀̈̍ͫ̎͒̆̕͟͢͢͟͝f̟͓͓̺ t̫̟͕̬͖̩̹̠͑̅ͫ̂ͤͭͫ̆ͮ̾͛́̋͢͜hͨ_̡̨̣͕̫̩̭͍̺̲̗̼̗͚ͮ̾̂̋̄͂̅ͨ̾̀̑ͭ̒ͯͨ̄ͬ̀͟͡e̬̲̊̉͌ G̵̷͇͉͖̯̹͇̮̑ͨ͆ͦ͐̄ͨ̉ͫ̿̀͐́͋̀͟͜͠u̘͜ạ̵̡͖͔͚̤͈̀ͥ̑̏̃͊̇̇̀ͅr̴̯͇̖̖͕͕͍̍̿͆ͯ̈̄̎͋͒͗̉̆ͪͭ̇̕͘̕͢͡͞ḓ̡̧͈̎ͤǐ͢_̨̲̝͚̱̥̣̻͕̽ͩ̊̐̃̀̂̔ͤ͒͜a̸̮̙̙ͣ̇̀̌̋̃̿̆̕̕͡ñ̡̙̜͖̱͉̜͈̬̏͋̂͌͌́ͦ̍̍͜͢͜.̷̲̙͉ͫͧ̇̀ͨ̽̾͢͢_̖͍̣ͨͬ͗͒̐̕

Claaaanggggg!

—and feels the tremor deep in his bones when his sword collides with an impenetrable barrier. He’s thwarted as easily as one would smack a fly, and his breath leaves him rapidly and brutally as he slams into the dungeon floor.

             A_̶̩͕̻̝̱̬̭͍͉͈̰͓̗͌̐ͥͧ͐ͤ͋̀ͨ͂̐̄ͩ́̏̔̿n̶̡͇̺̘̣̻̜ͦt̵̮̥̼͇̬̥̍̚_̶̷̨̣ͫ̾͑͋̔̐̎̒͆̏̎̚į̛̥̜̗̹̠̯̩̬̝ͮ͛̏̌̇̀ͧ́͊ͨ̓̚͜͠g͎͕̳̮̭̘̖̪̝͖ͮ̑͋ͯ̿̈͆̔̂́r͉͎̟͌͌ͮ͞á̴̡̧̬̻̰͓͍͕͕̱̥͙̩͚̲̖́͛͛̈̂ͮͤ͛̉ͥ̒͒̚͢͝͝_̵̢̼̪̖̀̓͂̏v̶̵̵̢͎͎̘̲͉̱̘͙̤͇͉̠̠͇̟͍̤̐ͩ͆ͦ͒ͧ͛̀̇̓̆̀ͥ͐ͪ͋̔ͥ́ͪ̾͂͘͝͡ͅí̸̴̧̛̝̘̣͉̗̬̤̬͇̭̼̜̿̿̑̍́ͧ̆̒ͨ̏͆̾͋̕͢t̷̠̲͔ͧ̇̎͠ỵ̶̢̜̦̹̲͙͇͚̼̜͖ͩ́̐̎͗͂̋̕_̛̠̱̼̍͡.̡̢̗̬̞̜̳͈͖̑ͣ͒̅̕͟͝͞

He vaguely recognizes the language as magic beast tongue but can’t translate the spell. The world spins too much—his once-again airborne body still rocked with pain from his initial fall, even with all this armor—to even care.

           G̟̦͂̎_͎ͯ́̑̚r̸̷̷̨̨̡̝̪̬̗̟̣̣̗̦̲̲͌̑͊͌̏ͮͨ̓̉́̒̒ͫ̊͌̈̍̎ͦ̾ͩ̾̕͘͟͞a̙͙̼̠͕͇̹̱̙͔͖͛ͨ̑͐͌́̏̆̕͝v̈́̉i̷̸̯̹̯̘ͭ͐ͦ̀ͣ͒͊͟͡͠ṯ̣̙̣͓̺̼̮̹ͤ̃͋̍͑́̓ͥ́̐̒̍͊̉͗̕͘͟͝͠͝͞͝y_̢̨͖͎̥͇ͨ̽̎̓̓͋̄͘͜͢͡ a̴̴̵̶̢̨̨̛̛̹̖̼̭̲͍̱̙̣͉̠̦̾ͬ́͊ͭ̓ͦͮ̃̓̂̽͗̈͊̕͢͢͝͠͝͠c̫̠̪͉̺̖͐ͯͧ͆͟c̗e̸̡̛̖̠̳͍̥͙̻̼̩ͫ̏͂ͯ͆́̃̇ͨ́͢͟͞l̸̡͚̳̭̟̳͐ͪͫ́̔e͇̦̬̤̎̑́͡r̢̡̙̲̟̞͕̱͚̱͔̱ͩ̀͌ͨ̆ͯ̾͐ͨͮ̽͘͢͞ạ̢̛̛̦͈̼̟͇̜͖͒ͦ͠͡_̝̇̍͋͜t̨͎͔̺͖̲͕̝̺̻̖̜̗ͤ̌̇͐̓̍͊̐̋̑̚̚ī̸̢̢̧̛͕͙̙̠̳͙̞̘̹̥̱̹͕͓̰̥̃̅ͥ̊͗ͬ̒̅̊͒ͫͯ̇̏̿ͫ̉̏̏͡͡͠ͅǫ̴̡̡͙̳͍͔̳̟̺̫̮̲̭͐ͮ̀̊̅̏ͩ͗͆̒ͧ̆ͬ̈́͘̚̕͜͡͞͠͞_͇n̯̭ͣ̍ͭ.̛͉̙̬̗̗̤̞̪̩̠͑ͬ̈́ͮͭ̑͐̒̋ͯ

He tastes copper. Sees stars. Hears multiple versions of his name echo around him. Feels something in him break upon impact. Doesn’t even realize he’s moving upward again until he’s falling back to the ground with accelerated force.

And stops.

“Hey now,” comes Hunter Sung’s voice loudly, as Kihoon is slowly, slowly lowered to the ground, “that’s not playing fair. We did as you asked and followed your lackeys here.”

The warmth of Semi’s healing magic swamps him before he even touches the dungeon floor.

“Captain, you can’t keep your team safe in the raid if you’re dead,” Sung says, in a softer, quieter tone. “Protect your mages and your support. You’re the leader here, but you permitted me to fight. Remember?”

Kihoon blinks several times to still his vision, flinching as he hears more than sees a high orc thundering toward them, weapon raised with a war cry: it’s a sickening monster-made replay of his own feeble attempt. Like the dungeon’s boss wants to mock him.

Abruptly, the orc halts. Blood still permeates his tastebuds, but Semi’s already healed him enough—reconstructed bones snapping back into place, capillaries magically knitted together again—that he’s able to sit up, eyes wide when he sees the orc ascending through the air until it smashes into the ceiling, lower half dangling like a half-broken tree limb.

What in the world…?

Sung’s eyes glow foxfire blue as he meets Kihoon’s gaze. “....remember, captain?”

Sung… did Sung just telekinetically throw the orc into the ceiling just as the dungeon’s boss had done to Kihoon? With a simple flick of his wrist?

“Yes,” Kihoon answers, nodding. “Go ahead.”

And then Sung grins, excited. Feral. Giddy. He grins like Kihoon just—

“Interesting skills you have there, for a mere human,” the boss of the dungeon booms, nearly shaking the dungeon with the volume and power in his voice. It’s startlingly fluent Korean, just like when the high orcs threatened the strike squad into following them. “But I don’t take lightly to you killing one of my guards.”

“Doesn’t feel good to have one of your crew smashed into the ceiling, does it?” Sung says, stepping forward. He talks like he’s scolding a child. “These people have been good to me… and, well, you’ve threatened them. And unfortunately for you, I’m a petty bitch.”

His shadow stretches out and swirls underneath him, and Kihoon senses it instantly: the harsh, overwhelming chill of Sung’s mana, unleashing rapidly like a billowing storm. And all his team can do is sit and endure it.

This man very well may save all of their lives again, but it feels like they just made some sort of deal with someone much more dangerous than the foe before them. 

Kihoon looks at this man, at that abyss of a shadow, and is execrably reminded of his place in this raid. He’s A-rank—supposed to be the captain of this mission—yes, but right now he’s little more than a rabbit in the face of a predator. 

“I’ve never sensed such mana before,” continues Sung, in a voice foreign to the soft one he’d used with Kihoon and his team.

“Of course you haven’t,” says the boss, smirking back.

“Wasn’t a compliment. Even with all your mana, we’re utterly incompatible.”

Sung’s shadow pulses and continues to swirl, increasing in size as tendrils of inky darkness eat away at the surface of the dungeon’s floor, at the air, flooding over everything it can reach. Kihoon shivers, only able to watch in shock and morbid fascination as Sung does something completely unexpected.

He speaks in the very irreplicable tongue the boss of the dungeon used while casting spells:

             C̷̴̶̢̛̙̫̦͖̝̯͍͙͍̼͍͐͌͐́́̇̇̂̈̂́͢͝o̸̢̝̬̮̯̜̗̊̓̌ͮ͑͐̇͆͠m̷̢̡̛͚̺̰̣̮͍̟͉͉̱̈́̎ͥ̍ͣͨ͋̔͗͛͋̚͜_e̢̠͎͔̞̮͉͛ͨ̀̆͛͒̄ͧ̉̾ͫͯ͂͗́̚͜_̘ͬͫ͛̔͞ on̹̥͔͒ͩ̈́̓̏_̨̰͌̔ͦ̏͠ͅ o_̠̣̘ͯͯ̑͟u̶͖̯̼̘̲̻̥ͬ͗̃́̀t,̴̸̛̛̛̝̪̖̙͙̟̤̠͓̪͓̫̘ͪ͌ͯ͌ͧ̄̎͆͑̆ͮ̓͑ͭ́̂͘̚̚͞ m̡̬͇̖͎̣̭͛̐̆̏́̕͘ý̨̧̠̮̩̳̪̟͖̘̯͗̀̀ͪ̎̋͘͟ s̶̲̳͚̼̝̟̟̩̪̝̖̮̳̜͓̆͆͂̓ͮ̊ͮ̑̋̑͂͂̍̆͂ͦ͊ͣ̐̑̂̏͘͠h̷̵̗̱̪͙̯̳̹͔̗̙͈͇ͩ͑ͤ̀̒ͮ̽̃͐̀̓̏ͮ̆̋̊̃͂̍͢͜͠͞͠͠͠a̴̧̱̦̰͚̱̙̠͚̹͖̞̦̠͚̻͓̋ͨ͒ͩ̀͂̓ͣ̔͛̇͂̆͑̀̾̌ͧ̈ͪ̅ͤ͟͡͠d̙̥͍̼̼̳̘͓͓̮̝̰̔̎̔͑̽̌͑̋ͪͫ̊ͯ̓͛ͭͭ̀͒ͦ͌̈́ͯ̉̈́ͫͩͤͫ͊͟͜͝ŏ̷̷̧̭̖͍̟̮̗̫͇̖̰̪͉̓ͦͨ́̊̌ͫͦ̎̆̒͛̕̚w̴̢̻̜̺͉̩̝͛ͬͧ̿̑ͣͯ̾͗̒̽͗̕ṩ̴̢̥̭̲̩̝͔̹̦̪̟͇̪̹͙̪̩̩̭̳̫ͤ̃̋̇ͪ̈̍ͭͥ͆̚͢͢͞͝ͅ.̡̧̱̻̰̩͕̤̗̬̠͔̲̳̻͂̎ͭ̎̍ͬ̒ͪ͊̀͐́ͩ

Tens—no, at least a hundred—summons spawn: shuddering black and foxfire blue. They stand motionless like a horde of ghosts.

Like a swarm of soldiers, awaiting orders from their general.

“YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE MY ARMY WITH SUCH PITIFUL SOLDIERS?!”

“Don’t look down on my guys,” Sung says, cheekily, as though they’re having a playful sparring match instead of a life-or-death battle in a dungeon. “It upsets me.”

Foxfire blue becomes foxfire violet.

His shadow pulses again, and floods the dungeon.

Jinchul dashes into the boss’s lair, just in time to see Hunter Sung Jinwoo, completely unequipped with any kind of raid gear, leap into the air and punch a colossal magic beast square in the face.

It bellows in agony, going down like a bridge collapsing, crashing hard against the dungeon floor. The lair shimmers with shadow and red and foxfire blue, all the summons ceasing battle as the boss is defeated by their master.

Jinchul stares. Jinchul stares at the scene behind the tint of his sunglasses, gaping, as Hunter Sung punches, and punches, and punches at a beast that died the moment it hit the ground. Each strike makes the dungeon quake.

“What the hell?” he murmurs, in awe.

The ground shakes with another hit.

The summons stand still, watching. Waiting. He stares as one of the summons—the one he’d introduced as Igris a few days ago in the chairman’s office—finally approaches Sung, resting a gauntlet on his shoulder, slowly. Carefully.

Even from this distance, with his heightened senses, Jinchul sees Hunter Sung’s expression, and nothing could prepare him for just how unexpectedly haunted he looked at that moment. 

Jinchul’s been awakened—has worked at the Association—for long enough that he recognizes it: the face of a traumatized hunter. That look of primal, feral fear, like a cornered animal. The instinct to kill it before it kills you. 

It’s gone in a blink, as though Igris’s touch snaps him out of it. Like it’d been enough to flip that switch, to remind him of where he is and what he’s doing.

“Sorry,” murmurs Hunter Sung, flatly, not to them—he hasn’t even noticed them yet—but to Igris. The glow in his gaze doesn’t dissipate. “Don’t have good memories with giants. Guess he touched my sore spots.”

He straightens to his full height, shakes the orc blood from his hand, and takes a breath. The change is so jarring that it takes Jinchul a moment to catch up.

“Don’t worry about the loot,” Sung tells his soldiers. “The gate’s not mine. I just want his shadow.”

He places a hand on the beast’s corpse, then, and—

Ar͎͔̯̔̀̋ͨ̌̀̕͟͠͠ͅi̶̧̛̱̦͆̐͑ͦ̌ͯ̋͘s̷̷̷̵̴͈͎͇͎̤̪̤̗͕̬͇͛ͫ͆͌_ḛ̵̡̠̦̪̱̱͎̤̹̺̤͛̎͂ͩͤ͗̑̈́

Jinchul’s eyes blow wide. A large wave of mana sweeps over them, and a shadow version of the same beast Hunter Sung Jinwoo just killed kneels before him without delay. Hunter Sung talks to it briefly, but this time in a language only he’s been capable of speaking.

“Oh my god,” says one of the raid members—a mage, perhaps—in equal parts admiration and alarm. “It really is a form of dark magic.”

“I’ve never met a necromancer before,” says another mage.

Then. Then everything swirls back into Hunter Sung’s shadow, so suddenly that it even makes Jinchul jump in consternation.

No more time to delay. It’s time for damage control. 

“Hunter Sung?” Jinchul calls out, cautiously. “Hunter Sung Jinwoo.”

Hunter Sung turns finally, blinking in surprise as he finally registers their presence. His gaze flicks over the rest of the Monitoring Division and stops at one equally unarmed S-rank Cha Hae-in.

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah,” says Jinchul. 

“This… this isn’t what it looks like—”

Jinchul crosses his arms pointedly, raising a brow. “Oh I’m sure it’s exactly what it looks like.”  

“Porter-nim,” says one of the Hunters guild members, interrupting the exchange before it can progress, “what the hell was that? ”

Right. Right, damage control. 

What happens next is what he’s been doing for years. The spiel of managing Hunter Sung’s case comes naturally, all autopilot discretion and trained professionalism, and it isn’t until one of the guild members calls out to them as they’re walking away that he pauses.

“Hunter Sung,” the man—a Tank, judging by the sword and shield—continues, “we understand you have reasons for hiding your power. It’s none of our business why you volunteered to be our luggage carrier, but we’re alive because of you. On behalf of the entire strike squad, thank you.”

They bow at the waist, and Jinchul’s eyes flick toward Hunter Sung to gauge his reaction. He seems baffled, for only the slightest moment, before his gaze softens.

“You treated me well, despite what my hunter’s license said.” Hunter Sung slides his hands into his pockets, expression going neutral. “Consider us even.”

He turns, and Jinchul takes that as his cue to escort him out of the dungeon.

“Shall I drive you home?” Jinchul asks, after the customary NDAs have been dealt with. “Perhaps Jinah is waiting for you.”

“I’m sure she is,” says Hunter Sung, as his phone appears in his hand, quicker than the blink of an eye. “...I’ve got someone else waiting on me, elsewhere. Looks like I’m late.”

“Allow me to drive you there?”

“Sure." And then, awkwardly: "I’m… sorry for any trouble this causes the Association. I really didn’t know it would end like this, when I told them I could be their temp.”

“You saved the lives of everyone on that raid today. No need to apologize.”

“...”

The walk to Jinchul’s car is silent, but when they reach his parking spot, he finally looks at Hunter Sung. His expression has gone dark in a way that’s become somewhat familiar—bad thing to say, Jinchul realizes.

He’s not sure how to correct it. Their relationship has been professional thus far. Despite their sassy little exchange in the dungeon whence they came—and just where had that come from? perhaps Jinah’s videos are getting to him—he doesn’t see why that would change now. Would it be out of line to offer a listening ear? Would it be out of line to apologize as well?

Would it be out of line to ask what happened before, what triggered him to keep attacking a boss that had clearly been slain?

“Guess he touched my sore spots.”

It’s not his place to pry, Jinchul decides. They’re colleagues, at best. Not friends.

The realization makes his chest ache, and he’s unsure of the cause. He ignores it. He’s a professional, after all.

“You’re a necromancer,” is what he says, finally, as they head toward Hunter Sung’s desired destination. A statement, not a question.

“Ah.” Hunter Sung winces here, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “You caught me.”

“Your summons are undead, then.”

“They are.”

The mage had been right back there. A necromancer, it’s—

(the darkest kind of magic, entirely unknown, unnatural, dangerous, the public will panic, will Sung continue to fight on their side—?)

—it’s one-of-a-kind. 

“...I see.”

Jinwoo’s sigh is near-soundless. “You’ll have to report that, huh?”

He should. Perhaps. “The chairman is the only one to whom I’m required to report.”

“I see,” Hunter Sung echoes. “I suppose… I couldn’t keep that part from everyone forever.”

It’s not your place to ask. It’s not your place to pry—

“...it’s not something you’ve told your sister, then?”

“...no.” Hunter Sung averts his gaze. “Not… not yet. I talked to her more about the Sy—the, uh, computer in my head, though. And I told Juh—uh, kind of told a friend of mine, what’s going on. About the computer, too. She… she already knew, though. That I’d reawakened.”

“Ah,” says Jinchul. “The B-rank healer from the prisoner raid?”

“...yes. Her.”

“Mm. Understood.”

Hunter Sung gazes out the window, and Jinchul focuses on the menial task of driving. Then: “...you’re not going to ask me?”

“Ask you what, Hunter Sung?”

“A…about the raid. With those prisoners.” A pause. “Now that you’re aware of… of the leveling up.”

Jinchul breathes in slowly. This—it’s almost worded like a confession, but he’s not going to push. There are other things to worry about. To prepare for.

“That case is closed,” he says, formal as he’s trained.

“...right.”

The rest of the drive is silent.

“It’s entirely your call, Hyung-nim!”

Jinwoo sits, quiet. Jinho’s heart pounds anxiously as he struggles to read him. He doesn't make a sound for a while—so long that Jinho knows that he’s going to be denied, maybe Jinwoo’s just too nice to tell him, so he’s hesitating, he’s—

“Be the guild master in my guild.”

“Okay, that’s fine, I understand, thank you for h—huh?”

“I’m making one. A guild. But… I don’t know a lot about how guilds work, all the behind-the-scenes stuff. You do. So… join me.”

“H...Hyung-nim,” Jinho hedges, swallowing nervously. “I… I can’t do that.”

Jinwoo’s neutral expression doesn’t waver, but Jinho’s been working on reading people better. Especially after the fateful raid where he met Jinwoo. He sees the barely-there sink of his shoulders.

“...I see.”

“If you—if you make a guild, you should be the guild master,” Jinho blurts out, standing with such force it knocks his chair back. “You should take that spot! Not me!”

“Jinho—”

“I could be your vice!”

This gives Jinwoo pause. He leans back, relaxing slightly. “Oh?”

“I mean, I could still help with all the other stuff,” Jinho rambles on, nodding. “We could hire people for the office work. And I could—I could teach you whatever you’d like to learn, we can do it together! I think—I think, uh, four guild members, we’d need a few more guild members to meet the minimum requirement, but—but I could be your vice! Your right-hand man!”

A few blinks. Slowly, slowly, Jinwoo’s features soften, lips tilting up the slightest bit. “Alright.”

Jinho grins back. He grins, wide and excited and genuine. His heart continues to thunder in his chest but for a different reason this time. “Alright,” he echoes. “Alright, let’s make a guild, hyung-nim!” 

“Let’s make a guild,” says Jinwoo. 

Jinho beams.

Chapter Text

DAYS UNTIL RE-EVALUATION: 0

Byung-gyu senses him in the hospital wing before he sees him—and it’s enough to make him freeze in place.

This… this is not a familiar mana signature. It is not a familiar mana signature, and it is powerful. 

It’s so startling that he nearly trips over his own feet. He almost does trip, only able to catch himself at the last second because he’s close to a wall that he’s able to use for support. Byung-gyu stands there for several moments in gobsmacked silence, trying to figure out what being could hold such a foreign and powerful signature—perhaps even more powerful than the two strongest S-ranks in Korea—before a nurse walking down the corridor notices him.

“Are… are you alright, sir?” 

“O-oh…!” Byung-gyu rightens himself, straightening his shoulders. “Yes! I’m good. Just, uh, ate something funny for breakfast. Don’t mind me…!”

She nods, although she doesn’t look entirely convinced, but continues her rounds as Byung-gyu resumes his journey. Byung-gyu is grateful for the fact that this hospital doesn’t recognize him quite yet as a visitor—not since Hyung was transferred here recently, in the previous weeks. 

Then again, he’s not all that recognizable, even as an S-rank. A… a retired S-rank, that is.

Being retired as a high-rank hunter is like political suicide in Korea, but… well. Whatever. That’s—that’s not the point. The point is—ah, the mana signature, it’s grown… a little closer now. Almost like—

Almost like the source is also walking down the hall with him.

Byung-gyu’s gaze is drawn to it immediately, so of course their eyes meet.

He feels like he should be more afraid, especially given the sheer amount of mana the stranger possesses, and how he felt barely a minute ago. The moment their gazes lock, however, the unease dissolves. 

This young man, he looks… sad. His face is guarded, hard to read; body language casual, hands in his hoodie pockets. Yet there’s… something else to it, something… heavy wedged within. Something almost lonely. Lonely in a way only S-ranks are.

“Good morning,” he chirps, before the silence can drag on. It comes out almost on instinct. “On your way out?”

The stranger nods. He lingers, nevertheless: studying Byung-gyu. Even with his mana all wrapped up, though, Byung-gyu knows someone with that kind of signature would, in turn, be able to sense his own power.

The stranger doesn’t appear to be bothered—or really all that interested—in him or his mana. But it does give him pause.

Byung-gyu blinks, a little curious. He doesn’t know if it shows on his face that he can sense the stranger’s mana as well, but the guy looks sharp enough. He probably figured it out.

The stranger does little more than quirk a brow, so in the end, Byung-gyu remains unsure. They pass by each other without another word, not even close enough to brush shoulders, but something about it… stays. Lingers. Byung-gyu doesn’t look back, or even pause in his steps, but he knows he’ll remember that face. That heaviness in his eyes, masked behind the veil of indifference.

He’s retired now, but he’s been awakened for nearly a decade. He knows a hunter in pain when he sees one.

When he reaches his destination, he physically slaps his cheeks. Right. His company doesn’t need to see him dwelling—he’s got important news to share.

Byung-gyu steels himself, draws in a deep breath, and enters the hospital room.

“Hey,” he greets the person he came to visit, pulling up a chair and settling down without delay. “Missed you. And I have some news about the Jeju ants…”

As expected, comatose S-ranker Lee Eunseok does not respond. Byung-gyu fills him in anyway, just as he had to Yoonho a week prior.

Down the hallway, one reawakened Sung Jinwoo leisurely heads to his re-evaluation appointment.

Before he tries to leave, Sung Jinwoo pauses and looks at Jongin with the sourest expression he’s ever seen.

“The other day,” Sung hedges, very clearly not meeting Jongin’s gaze, “when you tried to greet me, I… I shouldn’t have done that.”

Jongin blinks, surprised. After Sung turns around, walking out the door despite Baek Yoonho’s warning, it occurs to him that that was likely his attempt at an apology.

The press’s cameras flash bright. Hidden from their view, Jongin chuckles to himself in amusement. Just registered as S-rank and he's already playing Superman.

A peculiar young man, indeed.

sung_jinah has posted a TikTok.

[Caption: OPPA WHAT HAVE U DONE?!?!?!]

Audio: Oh No (TikTok Remix) by Capone

A screenshot of a man’s startled face appears, along with the headline: HUNTER’S ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES KOREA’S 10TH S-RANK. It zooms in time with the music.

Subtitle: WHAT KIND OF FACE IS THAT OPPA

Next, a three-second clip shows a man pulling his hood over his head before vanishing in front of a large crowd of reporters.

Subtitle: WHAT?? THE FXCK??? WHAT ARE U DOING TO THE SUNG NAME

The video cuts to Jinah wincing at the camera. She taps her screen to switch to her phone's rear-facing camera, catching a fleeting glimpse of the paparazzi surrounding the Sung apartment. A reporter outside points at her from ground level with a muffled shout. Jinah ducks away from the window with a yelp of surprise.

“Do you want me to—” a man starts, and the camera swerves to reveal the man’s face. It’s the same man from the screenshot and video clip: newly announced S-rank hunter, Sung Jinwoo.

“Don’t,” Jinah interrupts grouchily. “I think you’ve done enough already. You’ll only make it worse!”

“Says the one recording me.”

“To show my followers the damage you’ve caused from the inside perspective.”

“To you’re—ah. This is one of your… what’s that thing called?”

A knock sounds off-screen before Jinah can answer. Jinah jumps, startled, and the video cuts off abruptly and loops.

874.5k likes | 1.4k comments | 3.2k favorites

—

Top Comments:

creator (pinned comment)
    Please don’t roast Oppa too bad he’s not horrible,,,, just extremely stupid (||_　_|||)

           SKRkittybxtch
          u mean extremely hot

              Akshaya_luv
                  His attitude is still trash.

                   [ 209 more replies]

Baek Yoonho
    Whoops. 

HamadryadAmmo
    Wait who was at the door???

       SugarpuffBird
          paparazzi prbly

UnluckyHunter
    HAHAHA SO HE HAS A TIKTOK????

       creator reply
          Are u kidding Oppa doesn’t even know how to work this app lol

bhoirabi
clearing my afternoon I’m abtta binge all these videos 

Akshaya_luv
Even his sister thinks his attitude is trash.

hansongyeet
    GURL I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HE DID THAT

        creator reply
            I KNOW HOW DO I FIX THIS?!?!!?

                  hansongyeet
                       i’m sorry to say some things r unfixable my dude

                         [ 1.2k more ]

Jinho stands at Jinwoo’s doorstep, blinking back tears as he waits for an answer. Except when Jinwoo does open the door, he slams it shut immediately.

“Hyung-nim,” Jinho calls, barely able to keep his voice from breaking. “Please—”

Jinwoo cracks the door this time, lowering his voice to a whisper. But he doesn’t look like he’s truly focusing on Jinho when he looks at him. “You don’t understand, I’m doing this for your protection. You’ve no idea what the beast in this house is capable of.”

And he shuts it again. Jinho swallows, nose burning, fingers curled into fists. Hesitantly, he knocks again.

“Jinho, she’ll record you—”

“At least hear me out?” Jinho requests, and this time his voice does break. “I… I’ve nowhere else to go…”

A pause. Some murmuring on the other side of the door. He waits again, eyes still watery, lip quivering when the Sung apartment door opens a third time. 

Maybe he’s overstepping. He’s seen the TikToks, and he’s talked to Sung Jinah all of one (1) time, back when he first met Jinwoo and had called his house phone. This is their home. Maybe he shouldn’t have come. He… he could always call Soohyun-noona for advice. She would know what to do.

Jinho’s bothered her a lot these past few days, though…

He’s already dreading what his brother will say when he finds out. His mother whispered to him that his father probably just needs to calm down, that he doesn’t mean it, and that he’ll get over it soon, but the word disowned echoes over and over in his brain.

His mother’s right. Right? His father couldn’t have meant it, surely. He’ll come around. For the time being, however… Jinho needs a place to stay, and with his access to his father’s funds cut off, he can’t book a hotel room.

And… well. He only has one friend. He really doesn’t know where else to go but here.

“She put her phone away,” says Jinwoo as he gestures for Jinho to enter. Jinho complies with a nod of thanks, and as he slips off his shoes, Jinwoo continues, “Jinho, Jinah. Jinah, Jinho.”

“Oh,” says Jinah, soft. “Cat tree guy. Hey.”

“Hello,” he murmurs, a little subdued. His ears burn with shame as he swallows past the knot in his throat. He removes his shoes mechanically, bowing his head. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

Awkward. This is so unbelievably awkward.

“What happened?” Jinwoo presses, a brow raised in suspicion.

“Ah.” Jinho winces here. “I was… kicked out. My father—he uh, wasn’t happy when I told him we were going to make a guild. Cut off all my cards, told me… if I wasn’t going to manage his guild, I needed to… to leave…”

He’s not going to cry. It’s… it’s not even about getting cut off. Okay, it is, a little bit, but it’s more about fighting with his father, and getting everything taken away without warning.

“For real?” Jinah says, still in a whisper. “I’ve only heard about that happening in movies—”

“Jinah, will you give us some space?” Jinwoo interrupts, giving her a look. 

“It’s alright,” Jinho says. “This is her home too. I’m the intruder.”

“Okay, first of all: none of that,” Jinah tells him instantly, putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t know you, sure, but I know of you. Do you know how many friends my brother has? Like, two—”

Jinwoo looks offended. “Hey—”

“—and any friend of his is welcome here. He’d tell me the same thing—has told me the same thing—when my bestie showed up at our doorstep needing a place to stay. And… and so would Eomma, I’m sure.”

Her voice softens at the end, and Jinho’s lower lip quivers. He looks at Jinwoo, eyes watery, and he can’t help it when a few tears slip free.

It’s probably because this is the first time he’s rebelled against his father’s ideas, and because they fought, and his emotions are all messed up, but he’s touched that Jinah would say such a thing to someone who’s practically a stranger. 

Mrrrrrp?

Jinho gazes in the direction of the noise to see little Void hop down from her cat tree, level by level, eyes big as she approaches. She sniffs his sock curiously.

When she rubs his face on his pant leg, Jinah says, “Void approves! That means you’re staying.”

Jinho can’t help it. He bursts into tears. “Void, you’re the best kitty ever!”

It’s decided that Jinho will stay for the night, maybe two. But because the apartment is small, and Jinho doesn’t want to overstep, they decide together that the best option is to put him in a nearby motel.

“You’ll be ok there, right?” Jinwoo says, although his expression is unreadable.

“Yes! Yes, of course,” Jinho assures. “Thank you for… for paying for it.”

“Nn. Don’t worry about it.”

He nods, grateful. He may have grown up in luxury, but that doesn’t mean he goes along spending what he has recklessly. He knows the value of money. After all, it’s been drilled into his head for his entire life. However…

“...we still are making a guild together, right?” he has to ask. “I mean, father took away the funds I was planning to use to invest in—”

“Jinho,” Jinwoo interrupts, meeting his gaze. “It’ll be fine. As long as I can fight, the plan’s still on.”

“He got kicked out cos he wanted to join you,” says Jinah without looking up from her phone. Void rests contently in her lap, eyes closed. “Can’t you come up with anything better to say than that, Oppa?”

“Wha—wait, it’s not Hyung-nim’s fault!”

“It kind of is,” says Jinwoo.

“I make my own decisions, Hyung-nim. I’m responsible for them.”

Jinwoo pauses, and Jinho thinks, belatedly, that it’s rich for him to say such a thing when he just showed up at Jinwoo’s doorstep asking for a place to stay. He opens his mouth to say so, but Jinah speaks first.

“Wow, I’ve never seen one of my videos blow up this fast.”

Jinwoo’s eye twitches. “Can you not?”

“It’s my duty as a Sung to see your scandals through to the end, Oppa.”

“Pssh. Duty, my ass.”

“I don’t blame you for ditching the cameras,” Jinho says with a shrug. “You’ll probably see them a lot more in public these days. No wonder you wanted to keep your powers a secret for so long.”

Both siblings fall quiet, and Jinho instantly realizes he shouldn’t have opened his mouth. Again. God, he just keeps screwing up, doesn’t he?

“Hyung-nim—”

“At least Jinho’s on my side,” says Jinwoo. “Unlike another person who decided to record me the moment I got home.”

“You did this to yourself. Even the government favors me. Gotta give ’em that good PR, since you’re already fucking shit up.”

“I hate you.”

“You’d be lonely without me.” 

Jinwoo rolls his eyes. He doesn’t confirm nor deny the statement, but Jinho has seen the TikToks. For all his aloofness, he knows Jinwoo cares deeply for his sister—perhaps, arguably, more than anyone else. 

And the thought makes Jinho’s chest ache. Selfish, really, to look at Jinwoo with his younger sister and be jealous, especially when they went as far as to let him into their home to stay for the night. He can’t help but think of his own biological brother, and how much that biological brother of his doesn’t like him. He and his sister get along okay, sure, but it’s… it’s different.

Never has he felt close enough to one of his siblings to bicker with them. To tease them. Much less curse with them. 

“Why are you making that face?” Jinwoo asks abruptly. He sits casually, legs crossed at the knee, with a single brow arched in suspicion.

“I was making a face?” He blinks, trying his best to school his expression the way Jinwoo so often does. “Sorry.”

Except he’s not as good at doing that. Jinah tosses a throw pillow at Jinwoo, who catches it without looking. 

“You like movies?” Jinah asks, after pointedly sticking her tongue out at Jinwoo. “We can turn something on while the world burns outside.”

“You say that like you didn’t add fuel to the fire earlier,” Jinwoo deadpans.

“You shouldn’t have started the fire in the first place.”

It’s kinda funny, actually. Jinho has seen this man clear multiple gates by himself. He’s seen this man end the lives of eight other men because it was kill or be killed.

Yet here is now, bickering with a teenage girl. Maybe it’s because he’s kept up with Jinah’s TikToks, but Jinho’s not surprised. 

“What movie were you thinking about watching?”

“Oh, no idea. I’ll just scroll until I find something appealing. Oppa’s taste in movies sucks, so he has no opinion.”

Jinwoo’s eye twitches. He does, however, pull out his phone. “We should eat first.”

“Ooooo are you getting delivery?”

“Huh? No way. That costs extra.”

Jinah stares at him. “Oppa, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s paparazzi out there still. Don’t tell me you’re gonna go get it?”

“Well I’m not having it delivered. It’s cheaper to go pick it up. Plus I have a carry-out coupon.”

“My bad, Oh Great One, Holder of Endless Coupons.” 

“I could go pick it up,” says Jinho.

Jinwoo looks up from his phone and blinks. “How are you gonna carry it all back?” 

“Ah, beans. That’s a good question.”

Jinwoo thinks for a moment in silence before he grins savagely, eyes going foxfire blue. “I have an idea.”

“...and here’s everything.” The cashier looks at Jinho and frowns. “That’s a lot. Feeding hunters?”

“Mhm!”

“Did they, uh, not come with you? Are you gonna need help with this or…?”

“Nope,” Jinho says cheerfully, right as an invisible Jinwoo starts depositing the massive order into his inventory. It disappears from their eyes in moments, and once it’s all gone, Jinho grins at the girl behind the counter and waves. “Thanks!”

The cashier gapes, flabbergasted. Jinho feels rather than sees Jinwoo lift him, and they’re on their way back to the Sung family apartment without another word.

Byung-gyu returns to his and Eunseok’s apartment after getting the notification on his phone for the nationwide announcement of Korea’s tenth S-rank. He’d been curious, sure, but decided to at least get home first before checking out the news.

He remembers the young man he encountered this morning, and it isn’t much of a surprise when he sees that same young man’s face plastered on his tv screen. After all, hunters with a mana signature like that don’t fall under any category below S-rank.

“Ah,” he says to himself, glad to have figured out the mystery. “E-rank to S-rank, huh…”

A massive jump, for sure. This Sung Jinwoo person certainly knows how to make headlines. 

He thinks back to a comrade-turned-brother lying comatose in a hospital bed resulting from Jeju’s third failed raid, and the headlines that followed that, and shudders. Maybe… maybe since that one ant corpse washed up on shore, Korea will have to deal with Jeju soon. They’ve already started evacuating the island in Japan because of that one corpse, but Byung-gyu doesn’t know if that will be enough. The ants in Jeju are not to be underestimated, they’re horrific, they—

Byung-gyu focuses on the tv screen, fists clenched. He watches, intrigued, as Sung Jinwoo pulls his hood over his head and vanishes before everyone’s eyes.

Byung-gyu catches a brief glimpse of Yoonho’s pensive expression, snorts, and promptly decides he likes Sung Jinwoo. He’s entertaining, to say the least.

Eunseok would like him, Byung-gyu thinks with a twinge of melancholy. Eunseok is always one for mischief.

Or. Was. Is… is the coma going to change that? The aftermath of the third Jeju Island raid certainly sobered Byung-gyu.

“Eunseokie-hyung,” he murmurs aloud, “see what you’re missing? Hurry up and come back.” 

The silence that answers him has never felt louder.

“I saw the news,” Juhee informs him.

Jinwoo quiets on the other end. “You too, huh?”

“You looked so flustered—”

“I know, Jinah’s already threatening to tape my face to the fridge,” Jinwoo says with a groan. “I fucked up. She’s never gonna let me live it down.”

Juhee smiles warmly into her phone as she leans against the railing of her balcony. That fond undertone—it’s nice to hear him talk about his family. She… she likes this. This openness, this trust, this intimacy. This is what friends do, right?

“I… was thinking,” says Jinwoo abruptly, “about going to Busan sometime this week.”

She blinks in surprise. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Jinwoo continues. “Is… is that okay? I’d… like to see you before I return to the tower.”

“I’d like to see you too,” she tells him, and she means it. Her smile widens slightly as she thinks about it. “We could go for sashimi.”

“Sounds good. You free tomorrow?”

“I am! Ah, there’s also this coffee shop I want to try, if you’re interested…”

HEADLINE:
KOREAN HUNTER’S ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES FORMER E-RANK SUNG JINWOO AS KOREA’S OFFICIAL 10TH S-RANK HUNTER

HEADLINE:
PITIFULLY LOW E-RANK JUMPS TO S-RANK—LARGEST JUMP IN HISTORY?!

HEADLINE: 

NEWLY ANNOUNCED S-RANKER SUNG JINWOO HAS YOUNGER SISTER ON SOCIAL MEDIA

HEADLINE:
E-RANK TO S-RANK, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

HEADLINE:
WAS SUNG JINWOO S-RANK UNDER THE RADAR?

HEADLINE:
ALL WE KNOW ABOUT KOREA’S 10TH S-RANK SO FAR

HEADLINE:
S-RANK SUNG JINWOO CLASSIFIED AS MAGE BUT MOVES AS FAST AS ASSASSIN LIVE ON CAMERA

HEADLINE:
FOR HOW LONG HAS SUNG JINWOO BEEN S-RANK?

HEADLINE :
E-RANK TO S-RANK HUNTER SUNG JINWOO SURVIVES BEING ON DUTY FOR FOUR YEARS BEFORE RE-AWAKENING? (RAID HISTORY NOT CONFIRMED)

HEADLINE:
SUNG JINWOO’S RAID HISTORY (AS SPECULATED FROM SISTER SUNG JINAH’S SOCIAL MEDIA)  

HEADLINE:
S-RANKER ABLE TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF MAGIC BEAST: REAL OR HOAXE? 

HEADLINE:
NEW S-RANK CONFIRMED AS MAGE—ALLEGED ‘SUMMONS’ CAPTURED ON SISTER’S TIKTOK?

HEADLINE:
MOTHER OF NEW S-RANK TRAPPED IN ETERNAL SLUMBER? (THEORY)

HEADLINE:
NEW WORLD RECORD: E-RANK TO S-RANK!

HEADLINE:
YOUNGER SIBLING OF SUNG JINWOO SPECULATES S-RANK ABILITIES BEFORE REVEAL?

#sungsiblings #sungjinwoo #sungjinah is trending

FBI Agent

Hey what am I supposed to say to the comments
They keep asking abt how long Oppa’s been strong (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

Just let them keep guessing.
You don’t owe an explanation to the public, Miss Jinah.

Isnt it a bit shady tho?

I’ve… seen other countries do and dodge shadier things.

Oh??
Like what👀

Hopefully you’ll never have to find out.

Wow dude sus

“Hyung-nim?”

“Hmm?”

“The, uh, walls are… watching us.”

“Ah,” says Jinwoo. “Guys, knock it off, you’re being weird. You know Jinho.”

Dozens of pairs of foxfire eyes blink out of existence. Jinho settles, even though he knows the soldiers in Jinwoo’s shadows still aren’t gone. There’s something pleasing—warm, almost—about Jinwoo’s words, about their implication. Sure, everyone in the world knows Jinwoo’s S-rank now, but only Jinho’s like a little brother to him.

The Sung siblings welcomed him so easily into their home. They watched movies with him, ate a meal with him—on the sofa! Not at a table!—and trusted him enough to allow him to spend the night.

“There is… one,” Jinwoo admits slowly, interrupting his thoughts, “who… sits out at night. He always insists.” And then, after a beat of silence: “I’ll tell him not to if that bothers you.”

Jinho blinks in the darkness. Underneath his words… no, it’s probably nothing, right? Still…

“It’s alright,” he answers anyway. “I don’t mind.”

Immediately, a knight appears, shimmering black and ghostlight blue. Jinho recognizes this one immediately because of the scar on his eye and the crimson ribbon adorning his helm, eerily similar to the one that glimmers in Jinah’s hair.

(Yeah, no, that’s not a coincidence, knowing his Hyung-nim.)

Igris nods at Jinho in acknowledgment and sits in the chair at Jinwoo’s desk, on standby. And it—it should freak him out, really. Especially because of the way he crawled up from the floor mere moments ago like fricken Sadako from The Ring.

Jinho’s gotta be insane, because instead, he feels… safe, here in Jinwoo’s room, knowing that even as Jinwoo sleeps, his army of shadows will be there, ready for battle. They can rest easy knowing they’re protected. Always protected…

not hunted by the people who are supposed to save others, not threatened and left to die because of human greed—

Jinho closes his eyes and allows himself to drift.

Their vessel kneels silently, awaiting command. This vessel, this puppet, stripped of feelings, stripped of a name, of any human attachment, of its memories…

It is strong. Strong enough for this mission. Strong enough for this war. Strong enough, perhaps, to eliminate Ashborne’s chosen.

For now.

G̸̽͛o͗̓_̵̛̫̭̘͓͉̬͎̦̭͈̣̭͖͍ͯ͆́̀̈̆̆̉͐̌ͯ̓̔̋͢.̴̷̴̢̡̡̛̬͈͇̪̙̦͖̜̜̠͕̺͉ͯ͒̈̀̋ͪͪ̀ͭ̄̕ O̲̿_͔̘̟͉ͤͪͬ́ͦͯ̑̽̑͠b̶̶̵̵̷̵̷̡͇͉̜͚̭͍̫̼̲͔̽̑̀͐̆͐̐ͥͤ̂ͥ̌̃̓̋ͬ́̒ͯ͑ͧ̇̀̋ͫ͜ş̵̵̩̫̙̰̲͖͙͆̊̏̈ͮ̑ͭͫͤ͒͛̈͝ȩ̵̵̴̢̢̙͇̰̗͎̪̦̱͇̤͕̰̙̬͛̓ͨ͌͌ͦ́̆ͨ̉̌ͧ̂͊̊ͬͮ̆̀̇̆̊̃͟͠͠r̵͚̹̩̩̱͉̍̀ͨͫ̄̍ͥ̎ͨͭ̎̀͢͞͠_̡̬̩̥ͦ̈̔̇̀̓̄̄̔͌͋̐ͭͮ̇ͫ͠͞͞v̞̳̖̟͖̗́̿̚e̴͚̼͎ͫ̌̄ͯ̂͞.̷̧̛̪̻̻̱̜̠̘̤̥̠͉̘̜̤̟̻̰ͪ͐̒͊̊̂͛̍̿ͫ̈̂ͬ̋̇̐͐͘͘ͅ P̵̸̷̷̖̭̦͎̯͉̞̙͈̣̋̏ͣͫͭ̂̓͑̋͐̍̊̅͢l̨̖ͥ̋ͪͦͬ_̵̝̠ͯ̚̚a̵̡̡̧̝̤̱̦̜̦̫̰̬̗̭̠̱̩̺̲͓̘̽ͪͩ̑́̔̈͌̑ͫ̎ͮ̓̾̀ͮͪ͘͘̚͢͟͜ͅͅn͙̭̺̥ͪ́ͬͮ͒ͥ̇͋ͅ_̵̧̨͓̩̻͍̗̺͎̮̣̀ͩ́̆ͤͮ̀ͧ̊ͥ͜.̨̛̠̋͊̉̊ͣ͜͝ À̱͉̖̱̻̬̭̺̳̳̫̍̋͊ͬ̔̀̑̍͘̚̚̚͢͠ͅt̵̞͆ͫͫţ̵̴̳͇̳͍̘̜̺͓͇̠͓̦̝̈́͐̀͐̈́ͯ̂̑͑͒͛̏̍ͤ̍͠͡ͅͅä̛̛͈̘̘̩͎̥̂ͬ̋̿ͫ̃̕͢ͅ_c̴̵̨̛̳͔͇͔͚͇̣̣͖̳̤̯̞̜̟̅ͧͫ̈ͣ̓̃̾͆ͤ̿͘ͅk̶̴̷̨̛̫͇̬͔̮͕̯̤͉͎̭͕͎̠̘̤̀̈̍͋ͩ͐̈́͑̋̀͋̓̃̀̆͆̍͗́ͅ.͇͔͖ͪ͒ͥ́̓͡

Their vessel nods, rises from its knees, and armed with twin daggers and the mighty strength of the Rulers, it disappears into one of the many interdimensional cracks surrounding them.

In silence, the Rulers wait for the next step in this war to commence.

Chapter Text

“Baek, your eyes…!”

Yoonho blinks away the Eyes of the Beast and, without warning, is plunged into a cold sea of darkness. It sends chills down his spine, and the oceanic mana feels like a physical weight on his shoulders, pushing him down, down, down. The deeper he descends, the heavier it becomes.

A shuddering image: a red gate turning blue, crackling with energy as five hunters exit. A young man—shorter than himself, but tall nonetheless—shoving right past him with a threatening glare. 

This young man is strong. Not as strong as Yoonho, but strong enough to take down the boss of a gate gone red. Strong enough to come back alive.

Descending deeper. Deeper. Firefighter days, a fleeting glimpse of a sunbae not forgotten, but buried underneath a decade’s worth of memories. Burning along the edges. Ashes scattering in the wind. 

He runs into the fire station doors and is met with the inside of a dungeon. Tunnels dark and big, a long winding path. 

“It’s supposed to close in less than twelve hours, please hurry.”

Yet the boss’s lair was empty. Empty, save the bloodied corpse body of a boy, spread-eagled on an equally bloodied altar. Clothes stained and ripped, fabric missing along his chest, shoulder, and one of his legs. Despite everything, the boy is not dead. Does all that blood belong to this boy? He is bathed in it yet remains unscathed. 

That same boy is carried away on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. The sound of sc r e  am i ng sirens follows.

“Baek, your eyes—”

Choi Jongin’s voice again, echoing. Back to the altar. A minuscule amount of mana, little more than your average civilian: hardly enough to even call a proper hunter. The blood. Too-still limbs. Shallow, barely-there breath—

“D o n’t     yo u     re me m be r     m e? ”

The boy on the altar sits up abruptly, stilted and unnatural, as if he’d been pulled by strings. He grins, face stained with dried blood, eyes soulless like a doll’s. 

Can you even call that a grin? Sharp and uncanny, like it's carved onto his face with a knife. This boy is confirmed to be alive yet has death written all over him: in the blood stains on his skin and clothes, in the dark circles under his eyes, in the very signature of his mana.

This boy is the last remaining survivor of the double dungeon… the healer who inspected him confirmed he had a pulse. Yet… yet— 

DEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATHDEATH—

How can someone whose heart still beat and whose lungs still breathe be so tightly wrapped in death’s embrace? 

"Wake up," says the boy, now suspended above him, limbs bent at bizzare angles, puppet-still. "You're going to drown."

Yoonho’s heart thunders in his chest when he realizes he’s awake. The heaviness of Sung’s mana is gone, but something unwanted and familiar lingers in his tingling palms: fear. Fear, and a single thought.

Is it truly possible for a hunter to continuously level up?

He spends the next few minutes breathing, as slow and calm as he can manage. Nightmares are also hauntingly familiar to him, but he refuses to let one control him. Not anymore. Not after all these years.

Yet it takes an embarrassing amount of time for his heart to slow. He stands from his bed, ignoring the cold sweat on his skin as he begins to pace.

But not for long. Yoonho makes three rounds before he approaches his PC and boots it on. He searches for that exact thought and spends a hopeless hour combing through the internet archives trying to find the answer.

He’s jumped so far down into a rabbit hole, scrolling through messages upon messages in some obscure hunter-exclusive forum, that he almost gives up, until he comes across something that sends another shiver down his spine:

Something strange happened.
I started seeing my stats on a floating screen like in a video game, and I can even upgrade them. Has anyone else experienced this? 

An anonymous post. No name, no profile, just a random thread on the fifth page of results in this forum.

Posted barely a week after they recovered that boy from the double dungeon incident, sent away by ambulance. That boy, who… who happens to be Sung Jinwoo.

How could he not realize that it was Sung Jinwoo? Ahn Sangmin even told him how he dug Sung Jinwoo up, after Yoonho asked why he participated in the red gate, and that he was a survivor of the double dungeon incident. But… there had been six survivors total then, and Sung Jinwoo looks drastically different from the boy they discovered on the altar that day.

Perhaps his body went through drastic changes because he reawakened. That’s the only explanation Yoonho can think of that makes sense.

There’s… something else Yoonho can’t get off his mind, and it’s that Sung Jinwoo looks strikingly familiar, even though his body changed so much only in recent months. It’s not because Yoonho’s met him before, but…

A fleeting image from his nightmare flashes again through his mind: the burning, blurred face of an old coworker over ten years his senior. Someone he worked with long before Yoonho awakened, before the gates even began to appear in their world.

Can’t be… Yoonho thinks harder about that sunbae, trying to remember that face with more detail. Trying to recall his given name. …can it?

Sung. That’s… that’s a popular surname. Seoul alone probably has at least a thousand Sungs. Right…? 

Yoonho briefly considers calling Ahn, but then catches a glimpse of the time. After four in the morning… he won’t bother Ahn so early. Perhaps it’s hypocritical of him, but Yoonho values the well-being of the people in his guild, and Ahn is off the clock. He’ll… he’ll copy the link for this forum post, at least. Draft an email.

Subject: Please look into this for me

Yoonho pastes the website link into the draft’s message bar, followed by See what Sung Jinwoo was up to on the day this post went up, please.

He hesitates, then, his mouse cursor hovering over the ‘send’ icon. Bites his lip, contemplating. After a pause long enough to deem unnecessary, he adds one final request.

Please include any information you can on Sung Jinwoo’s relatives in your findings. Other than Sung Jinah. Thank you.

He leans back into his chair after dispatching the email, breathing out long and slow. It’s been over an hour now, and the tingling in his fingers has yet to cease. His mind continues racing, thoughts bulleting, ricocheting, too wild to tame efficiently, too fast to process accurately.

He doesn’t go back to sleep.

“Another trip?” 

Jinah stands with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at her brother. Jinwoo at least has the decency to look guilty.

“There’s… something I’m looking for, in the tower,” he tells her, quietly, almost hesitantly. “It…  it may not take as long as I think? I’m not sure.” 

“What’s so important that you have to go back?” Jinah argues, peeved. “It’s not going to close, you said so yourself!” 

Jinwoo’s silent. He’s not meeting her gaze, which is already suspicious on its own, and when his hands slide into his hoodie pockets—weird that he’s got one on, really, it’s nice out enough that they’ve got the window open—she raises a brow quizzically. 

“Jinah,” he murmurs, still not looking at her. “Please… just. Trust me. It’s really important.”

She softens a little at his tone, more out of confusion than anything, but it’s also deeply unsettling to hear him so subdued. Again. The line is frail, and she’s dancing right on top of it.

She sighs, frowning still, but relents. “When are you going?”

“I’d like to go soon. I told Juhee that it would probably be this weekend. She said to call if you needed anything. And you’ve got Jinho’s number, too.”

“...and how long are you going to be gone?” 

Jinwoo pauses, contemplating. “Probably… another week?”

She tries to ignore the pang of disappointment in her chest upon hearing those words. A week in this apartment without her brother is a long time. She should know—she’s spent a lot of time alone during his post-dungeon hospital stays when he was E-rank.

No, she wants to scream.

Don’t leave me alone again, she wants to scream.

I don’t want you to go, she wants to scream.

Because yeah, she has Songyi, and she’s met Jinho and Juhee. She has Void. She even has the KHA chief inspector and chairman on her side. She’ll be gone most of the day, five days a week, because of school anyway.

But they’re not her brother. She adores Songyi—of course she does—and her brother’s friends are always welcome in the Sung apartment. But they’re not the same person who raised her. They’re not Oppa. 

She swallows all of this back, crams it deep where it can’t be seen. Instead, she crosses her arms, raising a brow. “I bet you can’t clear it in less.”

Jinwoo blinks, seemingly taken aback, but recovers swiftly. He raises a brow. “Oh?”

“Four days—no, three. Clear the rest of the tower in three days.”

“There’s—Jinah, there’s twenty-five floors left.”

She smirks. “Just say it. You can’t do it.”

“That’s not what I—”

“It’s alright,” Jinah assures, but her smirk remains. “You’re just not fast enough to pull it off.”

“...I didn’t say that,” Jinwoo argues, predictably.

“You didn’t have to. It’s obvious. You just can’t do it.”

“Oh yeah? Fucking watch me.”

“If you can’t, you owe me Starbucks for a week.”

“And if I can…?”

Jinah pauses as she contemplates, tapping her chin. “I won’t make fun of you for a week.”

“...that’s not a fair deal,” Jinwoo says.

“I won’t make fun of you for two weeks…?” 

A pause. Jinwoo’s eye twitches. “Fine.”

Jinah grins. Two weeks is a small price to pay for having her brother home sooner.

(Even Void mewls in agreement.)

“Oh, there’s… one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” says Jinwoo, abruptly. “Would… would you be okay with having some soldiers in your shadow?”

“...some what in my what?”

“Just… for protection. They… they wouldn’t bother you too much, or at all, really, just… in case something happens, and I’m… not there.”

“I—” Jinah stops, suddenly mortified. “Oppa, that’s creepy. What if I’m in the shower or something?”

“That’s—” Jinwoo flushes bright pink, which is kinda funny to see. “First: Ew, gross. Second: That’s why I’m asking about boundaries, jeez. I wouldn’t look unless—unless you asked for me, or if you’re in danger or something! Just. In—in case you need me, or… I dunno.” 

That gives Jinah pause. Her shoulders relax slightly as she ponders his words, glancing down at his shadow, and then at hers. “So… so if something happens to you,” she hedges hesitantly, “I’ll… I’ll know?”

“Nothing’s gonna happen to me. I’ll be back in three days.”

“You better,” Jinah says, glaring. “Or you owe me a week of Starbucks.”

“I’m not gonna owe you shit.”

“Yeah, well, whoever you put in my shadow will be the judge of that.”

Her shadow darkens and flickers, sort of like when a passing car’s headlights shine through the windows at night. She watches suspiciously as it settles back to normal.

“Huh. Doesn’t feel any different.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

She watches. And watches. Jinwoo snorts when she kicks at her shadow experimentally. 

“A little kick isn’t gonna do shit to an S-rank beast.”

Jinah’s gaze snaps up to meet his, eyes wide. “S-rank?”

“Yeah. Some B-rank orc guards, too, for backup.”

“Isn’t that a little overkill?”

“Maybe,” says Jinwoo with a shrug. “Better safe than sorry, I guess.”

Jinah nods. Better to… to be prepared in a world with gates that took away both of their parents. That threatened to take Jinwoo, too, as well as Jinah’s best friend. Still… “Won’t you need them?”

“Nah. Feels kind of weird to make him fight against demons in a castle he used to guard.”

“Yeah, okay. That ma—wait, huh? ”

“Anyway, I was thinking that, for supper tonight…”

“No, wait, back up—Oppa! Oppa!”

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Video #1 in Playlist: Cooking.]

[Caption: Obligatory apology to Eomma in advance- I’m blaming Oppa]

Jinah sets the camera in its usual spot to record and steps momentarily out of frame. When she returns, it’s with another teen slightly taller than her, with shoulder-length hair and green eyes.

“Oppa said we’re going to cook today,” Jinah tells the camera. “I brought moral support. Say hi, Songyi.”

The green-eyed girl—Songyi—gives the camera a two-fingered peace sign. “I was promised take-out.”

“If the food isn’t edible. Who knows. Jinho’s also going to be here, so. Maybe there’s hope?”

“Does he know how to cook?”

“...you know,” says Jinah after a pause, “I’m not actually sure.”

Songyi gives the camera a deadpan look, and the video cuts to them hovering by the little table nearby, which is now covered in grocery bags. Jinwoo also stands in the kitchen with a short, redheaded woman and a brown-haired man, who all take turns washing their hands.

“Stop snooping,” Jinwoo says flatly when Jinah peers inside a nearby grocery bag.

“You brought Juhee-unnie,” Jinah says, delighted. “You’re ok with being on camera, right? We can blur your face out.” 

Jinwoo pauses to glance at Jinah with narrowed eyes. “How come you didn’t give me that option?”

“Maybe if you actually talked to me instead of keeping secrets all the time, I would’ve considered it, Mister S-rank.”

“Don’t lie. You just didn’t think about it sooner,” Songyi cuts in.

“...shush. I kept his name out, at least.”

“I like these two,” says Juhee. “Anyway, I don’t mind. I was in the area for a surprise errand for my parents, and Jinwoo told me you’d probably record.”

“Did you have fun hanging out yesterday?” 

“Yeah! It got a bit chaotic at times, but I guess that’s what happens when your best friend basically becomes a celebrity overnight.”

“Y… awwww, Oppa!” Jinah turns to Jinwoo, her hand over her heart. “I didn’t know you two were besties!”

Jinwoo pointedly does not look at her, but the camera catches the faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. “...hush.”

“You never even brought home friends once when you were in high school—”

“Hush—”

“And now he has two,” Juhee says, elbowing the man—presumably Jinho—next to her. “Imagine my surprise when I found out he made another work friend. I’m so proud.”

Jinho preens, and the flush on Jinwoo’s cheeks grows darker. “Nn.” And then, after he clears his throat: “Anyway… we’re uh, making tteokbokki. So let’s—you know. Do that.”

“Boo,” says Jinah, pulling out a package of frozen rice cakes from one of the grocery bags they've yet to put away. She waves it around with a grin. “Part of the cooking process is teasing you, Oppa.”

He snatches the rice cakes with a silent but unamused look. 

The video cuts to Juhee standing in front of a pot while Jinwoo delicately finishes braiding her hair. It’s unsaid how much time has passed, but it’s enough to have brought the stock to a boil.

“I think it’s ready for the rice cakes,” says Juhee. “Taste?”

She lifts a spoonful of broth out of the pot, gesturing. Without hesitation, and without even taking the spoon—a smaller one from the spoon she’d used to stir—from her, Jinwoo leans over her shoulder to sample the broth.

Subtitle: (⊙ _ ⊙ )

Jinwoo swallows, seemingly oblivious, while Jinah and Songyi stare in stunned silence. 

Subtitle: Oppa wait get ur bestie PDA out of my Tiktok—

“Nice,” Jinwoo says with a nod of approval. “Jinho, come try—”

Jinho looks at them, and then at Jinah and Songyi, mouth agape. “Uh… okay?”

Unlike Jinwoo, however, he does hesitate. Juhee seems to notice and adds, “You want a different spoon, or you don’t mind eating after him?”

Jinwoo blinks. “Didn’t think of that. Oops. Sibling brain.”

“O-oh, I mean… if… you and uh, Jinah do it…” Jinho looks one more time at Jinah, who shrugs, and with her approval, he awkwardly takes the spoon from Juhee’s hand to try it. His expression lights up. “Oh yeah, that’s good.”

Juhee laughs. “It hasn’t even thickened yet!”

“Still!”

“Hang on, wait, now I gotta try,” says Jinah as she bounds forward.

“Wait,” Juhee echoes, “wait, wait, Void’s on the table, someone grab the rice cakesssss…!”

Jinwoo blurs out of frame, and the video loops.

762k likes | 1k comments | 997 favorites

—

Top comments:

mimsredjelly
WHOAAAAAAA THIS JUHEE GIRL IS SO PRETTYYYYYYYY????

pandariri2946
SO THESE PEOPLE ARE JUHEE AND JINHO WHO WAS MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS VIDS

BerryTrekkin
omg to be that girl spoonfeeding sung jinwoo

    mimsredjelly
    To be the GUY being spoonfed by juhee !!

kittyocala
He looks so cute when hes flustered 100/10

sherreefelsted7892
the girl is his bestie, huh? (͠≖~≖  ͡ )

A.Girl.Who.Has.No.Name
IS NOBODY GONNA TALK ABOUT THE WAY HE BRAIDED HER HAIR SO GENTLY???

    chreeroni
    Getchu a hot man who will braid your hair with that level of precision and care

      yanniesays
      I’ve already got a crush on him just seeing this video

[ 308 more replies ]

thirtywordsorless
LOL THE ENDDD

Fire_Karma
New Sung Jinwoo lore discovered

ArcherGbby1
breaking news: s-ranker sung jinwoo is sexy, adorable, a good brother, and needs more friends

Abdulghoni321
The way the Jinho guy is so awkward about eating after himmm that was so wholesome (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) had to look at Jinah for the okay!!! Cute!!!!!

[ 600+ more ]

Sung Jinah added Sung Jinwoo, Han Songyi, Lee Juhee, and Yoo Jinho to the chat.

Sung Jinah changed the chat name to The squad.

Han Songyi is online. 

Han Songyi changed their name to hansongay.

hansongay: oh hey can i add unnie

Sung Jinah: Ofc!
Sung Jinah: Ah damn I need a fun name too huh

Sung Jinwoo is online.

Lee Juhee is online.

hansongay added Park Heejin to the chat. 

Sung Jinwoo: what is this

Sung Jinah: It’s called a group chat, grandpa 

Lee Juhee: Grampwoo

Sung Jinah: LOLLL

Park Heejin is online.

Sung Jinah changed Sung Jinwoo’s name to Grampwoo.

Grampwoo: hilarious

hansongay: suits u, ahjussi

Park Heejin: Lol

Grampwoo: you only made this chat to make fun of me didn’t you

Sung Jinah: (๑>؂•̀๑)

Grandpwoo is offline.

Sung Jinah: OPPA WAIT I WAS KIDDING
Sung Jinah: COME BACK 

Grandpwoo is online.

Grampwoo: what do you want

Sung Jinah: I MADE THE GROUP CHAT SO U CAN KEEP ME AND UR FRIENDS IN THE LOOP WHEN U GO BACK TO THE DEMON PLACE
Sung Jinah: Castle. Tower
Sung Jinah: Whatever it’s called

Grampwoo: i dont even fucking know anymore
Grampwoo: hell ig. cerberus was there

Lee Juhee: You

hansongay: oop

Sung Jinah: Cerberus… from Greek mythology????

Grampwoo: is that where the name is from
Grampwoo: idk i only remembered cuz he was a bitch and a half to fight

Lee Juhee: You went to Hell?????

Grampwoo: not the worst dungeon ive been in
Grampwoo: just time-consuming

hansongay: u know what
hansongay: i believe it

Lee Juhee: Are you leaving soon??

Grampwoo: yeah, in a bit

Lee Juhee: Okay. Be safe 

Sung Jinah: Don’t die

Grampwoo: 👍

If our S-ranks participate in the raid… that’ll put us at seventeen.

Seventeen is no small number, given that all of these hunters have unique skills that will be useful in reclaiming Jeju Island. It simultaneously feels like too many and not enough, but… Gunhee has yet to confirm Hunter Sung’s participation.

He knows Sung is strong, and can grow stronger still. Is he strong enough to take on Jeju? That’s what Gunhee doesn’t know. And at the base of it, Sung is so young. Just a kid. That’s not discounting his accomplishments—surviving for four years as an E-ranker with just twelve mana points, the double dungeon, the raid with Taeshik, the red gate, clearing that A-rank gate by himself—but… hoping Sung can clear Jeju is too much. Too much pressure on the shoulders of a kid who only kept hunting to provide for his family and keep his mother alive. Too much pressure to place on Korea’s S-ranks alone.

This alliance with Japan… this has to be enough. Korea’s S-ranks are not weak by any means, but they’ll need back-up. Gunhee would rather overestimate the ants than underestimate them. 

There’s a reason they’ve failed to reclaim this island three times already.

Gunhee shakes Goto Ryuji’s hand after they’ve made a detailed plan, and their alliance is finalized. 

They’re going to take back Jeju Island. Korea—no, all of Asia—depends on it.

Ryuji leaves the Korean Hunters Association with a plan. Not… exactly an honorable one, or an ideal one, but a plan nonetheless.

National Hunter-level status. It’s not something quite within his reach just yet, maybe not even after this raid, but if what he has in mind works, then Korea may have no choice but to heavily lean on Japan for political support.

Hunter Cha Hae-in and their newest S-rank, Hunter Sung Jinwoo. Being able to poach the latter may be easier than the former, given Hunter Sung’s new high-rank status, but the goal is to leave Korea with both of them contracted under the Draw Swords Guild. There’s the risk that it’ll do more harm than good for their political standing with Korea, but Goto Ryuji isn’t the strongest hunter in Japan—isn’t leading the strongest guild in Japan, complete with eleven S-rankers—for no reason. It’s a cutthroat world, and Ryuji’s not above getting his hands dirty to get what he wants.

This is, of course, assuming both hunters survive the raid. If they don’t survive, however unfortunate… then perhaps they weren’t worth recruiting after all.

(He thinks, briefly, about whether or not this means that any of his current guild members may not survive, but he knows their skills, their limits. Their strengths and their weaknesses. They’re a capable team. Sugimoto will be keeping an eye on them from afar, as is his specialty. If the raid proves too dangerous for even Draw Swords Guild’s most powerful and competent hunters, then they’ll have no choice but to pull a tactical retreat. Simple as that.)

(Unfortunate for the Koreans. Ryuji won’t necessarily go out of his way to put them in danger, but he can’t sacrifice the majority of his S-ranks, including himself, for another country’s S-ranks. Cutthroat world.)

The raid is scheduled in one week’s time. One week to prepare. One week until they see whether or not Hunter Cha Hae-in and Hunter Sung Jinwoo are capable enough to defend their own country.

One week until he takes them as his own.

“You’re back.”

Jinwoo doesn’t recognize the voice, nor his face, but he does remember this mana signature. And because he remembers the signature, he turns his head just a little.

A man about five centimeters shorter than him looks at him from down the hallway. Jinwoo nods wordlessly in place of an actual greeting, intending to keep walking and pass by silently so he can meet Jinho outside the hospital and resume his quest to cure his mother conquer the Demon Tower. Jinho’s been waiting out there long enough.

“Wait,” the man says, and Jinwoo doesn’t know why, because it’s gotta be obvious he’s not interested in small talk. “I… I saw the news.”

A twinge of irritation sparks in Jinwoo’s chest. “I’m sure you did.”

“The expression you left on Yoonho-hyung’s face,” the man continues, laughing, “it was hilarious, not gonna lie.”

But that does make Jinwoo pause. He’s not making fun of the look those cameras captured the other day of Jinwoo’s face, but instead... Yoonho-hyung? Does he mean—?

Ah. The strong mana presence—no less than S-rank, for sure. So… this must be…

Younger than White Tiger’s guildmaster… how old is Reaper’s guildmaster? No, that one… he’s taller than this guy.

“Sorry,” Jinwoo mutters, kind of halfheartedly, “and you’re…?”

“Min Byung-gyu,” he answers, flashing a grin. “And you’re Sung Jinwoo, right?”

Jinwoo nods once. When he does that but says nothing, Min Byung-gyu’s grin falters a little.

“Well, I… I suppose I won’t keep you. I’ve been here too long anyway, so, uh…” He rubs the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. “Uh, good luck settling into S-rank life, I guess. It can get hectic.”

“Nn.” Jinwoo nods again and once again, intends to leave, to keep walking. Yet his feet feel oddly grounded in place. “I’ve… never seen you in this hospital before.” 

It’s not quite an accusation, but he’s a little suspicious. Jinwoo and his sister have been visiting Eomma pretty consistently for the past four years, and Min Byung-gyu himself doesn’t look injured.

It could be anything. A family member recently injured, or even a friend. Who knows. He doesn’t keep up with anything regarding S-ranks, much less Min Byung-gyu.

But if he’s friends with the White Tiger’s guildmaster… he’s not snooping around, is he? Isn’t it arrogant to assume Min Byung-gyu is spying on him, on behalf of someone else? He doesn’t look like the type, anyway. Min Byung-gyu seems pretty good at keeping out of the media despite being an S-rank, retired or not. Probably. 

(He should check. He doesn't really know.)

“Ah, my brother… he got transferred here recently,” Min Byung-gyu says, his smile going sad. “It was cheaper than the previous hospital he was in, so…”

Jinwoo hums in agreement, and… promptly feels like an asshole. Especially since he doesn’t like being asked a bunch of questions, himself. “Sorry. Wasn’t my place to ask.”

“No, it’s fine. Humans are naturally curious creatures!”

Am I? Jinwoo thinks, the word curious on the edge of his brain, but latches onto something closer instead: Am I human?

He’s mostly facing away from Min Byung-gyu, just enough to see the slightest changes in his expression, before he averts his gaze, turning fully. 

“We are,” Min Byung-gyu insists, to Jinwoo’s back. Like he's read Jinwoo's mind. “Uh, don’t know if… if you needed to hear it or not. Just—regardless of what the media says. S-ranks are strong, sure, but we’re still human like everyone else.”

“...yeah.”

It comes out tighter than he intends—tighter, and softer, and quieter. And this S-rank, this… he’s the healer, isn’t he? A… A retired healer. After a dungeon raid—an S-rank dungeon raid—gone wrong. Just like—

“I’ve… got someone waiting on me,” he says, before he can finish that thought.

Min Byung-gyu hums. “Sure. See you around, I guess.”

“Nn.”

He moves faster than necessary, if only because he hopes putting distance between himself and Min Byung-gyu will keep those words from echoing again and again in his mind. He doesn’t need to linger here anyway, lest someone else recognize him. Or… or ask him things. Or dig up memories he’d rather keep buried.

He’s always been good at running.

She fell asleep again, Shimizu Akari thinks sadly to herself. She wasn’t awake for very long this time.

The thought swarms her with grief as she gazes upon her slumbering sister’s hospital bed, cradling Himari’s hand in her own. Himari looks so peaceful like this, bathed in moonlight shining through the hospital window, but oh-so pale. Pale enough that Akari has to periodically check if Himari’s still breathing, just to soothe her worries. 

She keeps thinking that if she looks away, if she leaves her side, Himari’s breath will cease. Which is ironic (again), because Akari’s presence—her mana—is what caused all of this.

She’s the best Healer in all of Japan, but she can’t heal Himari from this. She can’t take this burden from her sister. No amount of magic could lift this curse from her. She gets paid enough to give Himari anything she ever wanted, yet Himari can’t enjoy it. 

Life is so unforgivably cruel. This world is so dreadfully, abysmally cruel.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, leaning forward in her chair until she’s half-lying on the hospital bed, giving Himari’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m so, so sorry…”

The sting of tears in her eyes is familiar. What is the point of all this money and power if she can’t take care of the person who means the most to her? What is the point of all this power if she can’t protect that person?

Akari cries silently, because she doesn’t want to disturb Himari. Which is ironic, because she could cry as loud as she wanted, and it still wouldn’t wake Himari. Not from this incurable, mana-induced coma. 

(She knows because she’s done it before.)

She sobs. Sobs out her grief and regret, her anger and frustration. She sobs herself into a fitful to sleep.

In her bag, tucked away in the corner of the room, her phone lights up with an email notification about Draw Swords Guild’s next confirmed raid.

“What kind of guest brings an entire army to their host’s home? ”

Esil sputters in disbelief, unsure of what to say as her father’s expression darkens with rage. She twists to face Sir Jinwoo again, perhaps indignantly, but Jinwoo simply shrugs.

“Oh, these guys,” he quips, making a face that’s reminiscent of a child feigning innocence, “don’t mind them. It’s my emotional support shadow army.”

Esil gapes. Her father huffs in deeper agitation, narrowing his eyes at Sir Jinwoo’s obviously suspicious response.

This… this is gonna be a long negotiation meeting.

Jinwoo looks at the System’s most recent notification in surprise. 

NOTIFICATION:

GROUP MEMBER would like to join your party.

It’s enough to stop him in his tracks, mouth hanging open. He has a party? To which he can add other members? 

Well. He… he doesn’t need anyone to fight with him. This demon girl is nice to him now, sure, but… if he wasn’t stronger than her, wouldn’t she have killed him? Just thinking about it makes his head ache even more than it already does.

So yeah. He doesn’t trust her. 

Even… even if she reminds him of the little sister waiting for him back home. Just a little.

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Video #6 in Playlist: Shadownanigans.] [Video #2 in Playlist: Cooking.]

[Caption: Was NOT prepared for this jumpscare. Ft. @PeachyCotton @hansongyeet]

“Part two of learning to cook properly,” Jinah says to the camera with a grin. “Brought friends again. Say hi, guys.”

The camera pans to two other girls: one of them being Han Songyi, introduced in her last video, and the other a long-haired, green-eyed woman with a mole.

“Hiii,” says the green-eyed woman. “Park Heejin.”

“I dragged Heejin-unnie here,” Songyi admits, without an ounce of shame.

Heejin laughs. “I happen to know a few things about cooking, and I’m sure your brother would… appreciate having an adult to supervise what you do in the kitchen?”

She sounds unsure of that last statement, but Songyi nods in agreement. “She’s an even worse cook than her brother.”

“Hey…!”

“An adult, it is.”

“An adultier adult than Oppa,” says Jinah, although she pouts as she speaks. “At least Juhee-unnie saved us last time.”

Songyi tilts her head. “Is she younger or older than ahjussi?” 

“I… don’t know,” Jinah answers after a moment of contemplation. “We should ask sometime.”

“He’s been hunting since he was eighteen, right?” Heejin asks.

“Mm-hm. He awakened a bit before he turned eighteen, but he didn’t start hunting until then. And he said Juhee-unnie’s been hunting for about a year and a half…”

“Doesn’t that count as his military service?”

“Guess so.” Jinah shrugs in nonchalance, setting a container of leftover rice that she’d retrieved from the fridge on the counter. “I never really thought about it. Anyw—”

She cuts herself off, facing away from her companions to bury her face into her elbow and sneeze twice in quick succession. 

Zzzzt. Zzzzt.

The room grows noticeably dimmer as Jinah’s shadow stirs. She stays like that for just a moment more to recover, not seeming to notice, but her two companions freeze.

“Nnughhh, s’cuse me,” Jinah says, and then pauses. “What?”

Off-screen, Void growls and hisses. Jinah turns in the direction of the sound, only to jump with a loud, terrified shriek.

Her shadow has stretched abnormally along the wall, with what vaguely looks like an animal’s snout sticking out. Six large, ghostlight blue eyes stare at her intensely, unblinking, and she stares back in horrified silence, before the snout retreats. The eyes disappear, and her shadow shifts again, swirling as it returns to normal.

Jinah stares at her shadow for several long, wordless moments. When she finally looks away from it, she looks not at the camera but at Songyi and Heejin, eyes wide.

“Well, now that I’ve almost peed myself…” Jinah says finally, with a visible shiver, “we were… gonna cook?”

“I…” Heejin blinks several times, also stunned. She clears her throat as she recovers and says, “I was thinking kimchi fried rice? Since you’re wanting to use up the rice anyway. Very easy on beginner cooks.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The video begins fast-forwarding as the three girls fry the kimchi and stir in the rice. Heejin fries a few eggs using part of the wok, one at a time, as she explains (although muted) to Jinah and Songyi, gesturing. 

The footage returns to normal speed when they’re plating their food, and the video's audio returns. Jinah grabs the camera to zoom in with a proud grin on her face. 

As she tears the yolk of the egg over her rice, holding her chopsticks in one hand and her phone in the other, the video cuts off and loops.

903k likes | 1.9k comments | 3.1k favorites

—

Top comments:

Einsteinium2000
Um what the fuck was THAT

davidditch99
Uhhhh Jinah-nim the eldritch boogieman in your shadow says bless u

26bevb
she rly aint gonna acknowledge the jumpscare except for one caption????

daekeun47
Damn she released a demon with that sneeze

     bilabila
     This why ppl say bless you huh

XImpurrator
Hunter Sung Jinwoo is a mage right?????? What kind of shadow magic spell did he do hes not even there

Solitude_1
Dunno what freaky shits going on but that Park Heejin girl is hot

2shy33
Can a mage cast a spell without being there (Runs to Google)

rsmeiri
Do u think they set it up like her bro was there hiding off-screen pretending he wasnt there so he could do this for views 

    rabbitmisu
    No. Whatever thing that was had 6 eyes and a dog nose

       EV-er28
       if he can manipulate shadow or some shit he oculd’ve made the shape of whatever he wants couldn’t he

              Certified_Punkrocker
              If it’s a summon can it even appear without him being there?????? The association didn’t even confirm was his abilities WERE  

                    uniquerebel41
                    They looked genuinely terrified…. or they’re good actors

                           [165 more replies]

Hexpresso
The yummy meal wouldnt have been enough to calm me down after that

rosewtf13
Did he curse his sister or did he curse the apartment

KWH16
The cat’s a paid actor

perpetuallyexhaustedpigeon
@sung_jinah @Peachycotton @hansongyeet pLEASE EXPLAIN??????

[1.7k more]

NOTIFICATION:

Crafting complete.

Elixir of Life (x8)

Jinwoo’s heart thunders in his chest as he looks at the notification. This… this is the elixir that may cure his mother. The reason he even wanted to conquer the demon tower at all. All of the desperate grinding, trading sleep for levels as he ascended the floors of the Demon Tower, the ‘alliance’ (if one could even call it that) with Esil’s clan… all of it, for this…

A piece of his broken family could be mended with the potion in this bottle. His mother could… could…

His head pounds from exertion and lack of sleep, but he doesn’t care. He needs to get back as soon as possible. He doesn’t want to wait another minute.

It’s a good thing he’s earned a new teleportation skill, then. He can—

“Jinwoo, sir!”

He turns back to Esil, who wears a delighted expression that reminds him achingly of the fifteen-year-old waiting for him in Seoul. “Yes?”

“We must celebrate,” she gushes, nodding enthusiastically. “We will have a banquet in your honor, with the most exquisite of wines! And—”

“Ah, about that,” Jinwoo says with a wince. “I can’t stay.”

“...what?”

Her face falls, and he doesn’t like the guilty pang in his chest. This demon girl isn’t Jinah. This demon girl is not his friend, or like his little sister. This demon girl was going to kill him if he wasn’t stronger than her.

(Forced to, his mind corrects; forced to try to kill him because of some unknown entity controlling her, the way dungeon beasts seem brainwashed into needing to kill humans like some kind of prisoners of war—)

“You deserve the most extravagant of meals to commemorate your victory!”

“You already gave me fancy wine to take home, didn’t you?”

Esil blinks, looking hopelessly confused. “But th-that was… in exchange for my safe return…”

“Your Radish clan,” Jinwoo says eventually with a shrug, “is the new number one now, right? Celebrate that instead.”

“It’s… it’s Radiru Clan, Jinwoo, sir…”

“Ah, yeah. Right. Anyway, I gotta go—”

“But the Demon King’s remaining spoils,” Esil argues, pointing off in the distance. “There must be more, the children’s stories have mentioned treasure and nectar and ambrosia and—”

“Save some for me, then.” He doesn’t know why he says the words, because he’s got absolutely no fucking idea if he’ll come back to this place. Still, if he does… “For if we meet again.”

“Jinwoo, sir—”

Exchange.

Shadow crawls up his legs, his torso, and his arms. Consumes him rapidly and naturally, as cool and as comforting as water in a stream. Esil’s shocked face is the last thing he sees of this dungeon before he’s standing in a very familiar neighborhood.

Fuck yeah, it actually worked, he thinks, unable to stop the grin from growing on his face. What a badass new skill. I’m coming, Eomma.

He takes a few steps back in preparation, then leaps into the air to scale the nearest building. It isn’t long before he’s calling for Kaisel, who appears without hesitation, spreading her wings and ascending higher into the sky so she can take him to his destination.

(In his shadow, unbeknownst to him, an entire realm shifts and morphs. The long-dead Radiru Clan, finally free from the Architect’s spell and the destructive tyranny of the Monarch of White Flames, begins a different afterlife: one with a new home, under the reign of a new Monarch.)

Chapter Text

Jinwoo’s grown to hate hospitals since his early E-rank days. He hates them, yet he can’t escape them—not when he was E-rank, and not now, because as long as his mother is Asleep, he’ll keep returning.

Hopefully, after tonight, he doesn’t see the inside of a hospital for a long time.

Something he had ignored the last time he visited Eomma is… much louder than before. It’s something that started after the job change: quiet at first, but the stronger he gets, the louder it becomes. Last time, he tuned it out, but… it’s harder to do that now. Not when he’s this exhausted. Not when his head hurts this much. Not when he’s this powerful.

The call of the dead.

It echoes in so many places—in the walls, the floors below him, the floors above him. So many people here, alive; and so many people here in that transition period of dying to death is imminent to dead. So many threads stretching closer and closer to that final snap.

Spirits, the screaming. Just because something is dead doesn’t mean that it stops screaming.

Ironic, to hear death so loudly in a place he spent nearly as much time in as he did at his own home. It truly has surrounded him all these years.

It quiets as he nears his mother’s bedside. Whatever Eternal Slumber has done to her, it’s… it’s not killing her. Death doesn’t linger in this room the way it does in others. And—and that’s a relief, truly, but it’s also so confusing. There’s such a thin line between sleep and death.

So thin that it feels near-invisible.

Even if this elixir works on her, he wants more research done on this disease. To… to find a way to make sure his mother can stay cured, to make sure this will never be a risk to his family ever again. 

Jinah already played the role of his guinea pig once, but that was with a regular potion. Just an experiment to see if it would help with her headache, and how or if it would work on an unawakened person. But this… this is no ordinary potion. Jinwoo swallows nervously, contemplating the best way to administer it.

Making her drink something while she’s in a coma is undeniably dangerous, but what other choice does he have? It… it should dissolve on her tongue. She shouldn’t have to swallow it. Calling a nurse or doctor to the room would alert them to his presence, long past visitor hours, and how would he explain how he obtained such a cure? Or that it is a cure at all? 

They’d ask so many questions. He… he doesn’t have enough of this to cure the whole fucking planet, nor is he interested in doing such a thing.

Jinwoo just wants his mom back. That’s what he cares about. He’s earned that, hasn’t he? If anything?

No more hesitating. She deserves for him to give it a chance. He’s made it this far—has fought through one hundred floors of Demon Tower to get here, to hold this cure. He won’t know if he doesn’t try.

He cradles the back of her head, painfully aware of the scar visible on her neck, bottle open and tilted just so. It… it should dissolve, but it should work. Jinah—Jinah tested a normal one, so this should… at the very least, this shouldn’t hurt her. 

“Please,” he murmurs, pleads, when the last drop of the potion is absorbed, and reaches delicately for her hand. Please…

Jinwoo thought he knew what an eternity felt like. He thought it was those final moments on the altar, as he raised a sword that did not belong to him in a final act of defiance, waiting for his end to come. He thought it was then, as his life gushed out of him in pools of crimson. He thought it was then, with half a leg severed, spine fractured from his rapid descent from spear to altar. He thought it was then, as a leviathan-sized, statuesque false god stared down at him, stone soldiers poising their spears for a final strike, before the System’s first notification blinked into existence.

This, he thinks, rivals even that moment. This is the true experience of an eternity, where each moment stretches out so painfully thin that he thinks the potion has failed. He begins to resign himself to the idea that this disease is truly incurable, that he’ll have to start back at square one, that—

His mother’s hand twitches. She inhales deeply, and it’s then that Jinwoo realizes that he’s been holding his breath.

“Who—?” Her voice is a little hoarse, but still clear. “Jinwoo… is that you?”

He opens his mouth, and then closes it, lifting his gaze from his mother’s hand to her face. How is that he’s been waiting desperately for this moment, but now that it’s here, he has no clue what to say? 

Still, he doesn’t fault her for not recognizing him immediately, given the passage of so much time and the profound influence his reawakening had on his appearance. He nods mutely regardless, still holding her hand delicately as she sits up and gazes around like she’s simply woken from a nap. 

“You’ve grown,” his mother continues, with an air of somber realization. “How long have I been here?”

His throat constricts, voice catching. “...four years.”

Her eyes grow darker with melancholy—a haunting kind of sadness. Still, they are just as Jinwoo remembers. Her hair is dull and limp, but has been maintained as well as possible with the help of her children and the hospital staff. Even comatose for four years, she carries such elegance, so ethereal in the light of the moon.

“...how is Jinah?”

Jinwoo would laugh if he weren’t so desperately choking back tears. He supposes he is just like his mother in this way—constantly putting family first, putting Jinah first. 

“She’s—” He sucks in a breath. “She’s fine, Eomma. Doing well.”

Her gaze softens. Slowly, and with an ease that shouldn’t be possible after the amount of time that she has spent Asleep, she reaches for him, cupping his chin oh-so gently.

“And how are you, my darling?” She studies his face: the scuffs on his cheeks, the dried blood smeared somewhere along his hairline, and the mistiness of his eyes. “You’re hurt…”

He does laugh, then, and with it comes all the emotion he didn’t know he was capable of feeling anymore. Tears stream down his cheeks, and he reaches to cradle her hand. To feel this moment in its entirety, hoping somehow that time could freeze so it would keep on existing. “I…it’s nothing.”

She’s warm.

She’s warm, and she’s finally awake. She’s finally okay. His mother is finally—she’s finally—

Jinwoo breaks.

No. No, Jinwoo was already broken, already irrevocably shattered all the way down to his core, with an unsalvagable sense of self, of identity; but this is the first time he’s truly able to pay that brokenness any attention. This is the first time he doesn’t care about showing it.

He sobs, and he sobs, and his mother, beautiful and alive and conscious, sobs with him.

In his shadow, a thousand devoted soldiers ache for their master.

Jinah knows Jinwoo returns within three days because he calls her.

She picks up on the second ring, raising a brow even though he can’t see it. “Oppa?”

A shuddering, wet expulsion of breath. “Jinah,” Jinwoo breathes out, with more emotion than she’s heard from him in months. “Jinah, it—it worked, it actually worked, the elixir, it cured her, it’s—”

Jinah leans back in her desk chair, a pit opening up in her stomach. “Wha—? Huh?”

“It worked, the Demon Tower’s elixir—”

“Oppa, slow down! What are you talking about?”

“The elixir I made,” Jinwoo tells her, sniffling audibly. His voice is tearful but so very relieved. “It—well, the System crafted it with Demon Tower materials, the materials I’ve been searching for, it worked, it—it cured Eomma, Jinah, she’s awake.”

Her hands go numb.

Her throat closes up, arms tingling, so swamped with disbelief from such sudden, weighty news—good news, great even! Life-altering in the best way, but still so unexpected that she nearly drowns from it.

“Eomma’s…” Tears pool in her eyes, and she doesn’t even bother wiping them away. “...really?”

There’s no point in truly asking. Her oppa would never joke about something like this.

“Really,” he assures anyway, his voice as brittle as an eggshell. “She’s… awake. Talking, walking, healthy—”

“I’m coming right now,” she says, already on her feet. “I’m on my way—”

“Should I come get you?” 

“Are you with Eomma?”

“I’m outside her hospital room.”

“No, you should… you should stay with her,” Jinah says, sniffling. “I’ll—I’ll call a cab or something—”

“Okay,” says Jinwoo, exhaling long and slow. Then, in a lower voice: “She… she doesn’t know I’m a hunter.”

“I know. We’ll… we’ll deal with that later, just—just wait for me, okay? I’m on my way.”

She does a hasty check to make sure she’s got her key, grabs some of the spare money Jinwoo left her three days ago, and bolts out of the apartment.

Jinah can’t help it. The moment she sees with her own eyes the truth of her brother’s words—that their mother is actually awake—she bursts into tears.

It’s not the pretty kind. It’s snot-nosed, ugly, red-in-the-face crying, as she clutches her mom as tightly as she can. Her mother hugs her just as tightly, murmuring heartfelt apologies into her hair for her absence.

“I don’t c-care,” she wails. “You’re—you’re awake now… that’s what matters—”

Jinwoo shuffles awkwardly a few feet away, and Jinah only notices by chance. He’s looking down at the floor, suspiciously glassy-eyed, with his hands shoved in his pockets. She sniffles loudly, halfheartedly motioning for him to join them. “Get over here, doofus.”

Their mother extends an arm: an invitation. Jinwoo does as he’s told—for once—and Jinah holds the two most important people in her life like she’ll never let them go.

So she doesn’t.

Jinwoo returns to the hospital within an hour that morning with his hands in his pockets so nobody sees him fidget. 

This is it. His mother is awake, and she’s finally coming home. Just—just some discharge paperwork, tedious things, test results (done fairly quickly thanks to that shiny S-rank status of his), loose ends to tie up…

He enters the hospital room silently, as usual. He’s grown so used to being soundless that it’s second nature to him now, but when his mother startles, he begins to wonder why silence became instinct after all.

Because it doesn’t matter how loud you are in your final moments, some strange part of him thinks. How loudly you bleed… how loudly you scream. It doesn’t matter if you’re meant to die in the end.

“Oh, I… didn’t hear you come in, sorry,” his mother whispers, hastily wiping at her eyes. She sniffles quietly, her free hand cradling Jinah’s. “She’s fallen asleep.”

 “That’s… not surprising,” Jinwoo murmurs. “I think she’s been up all night.”

“As have you,” is her reply. “Are you alright?”

“I was just about to ask you that, Eomma.”

“I’m fine… more than fine, I get to see my babies again.” Despite her words, however, her smile is brittle. “You’ve both… grown so much.”

It’s an undeniably true statement. Jinwoo isn’t sure what to say to it, because he’s never been great at comforting people. But this is his mother, so he has to try.

“We’ve… lost time,” is what comes out, instead. “But that’s not your fault. We’ll… we’ll make up for it.”

Even if I have to search for more of this cure, he doesn’t add. Even if I have to fight another god. 

“I’m still coming to terms with that,” his mother whispers. “That we’ve definitely lost time. But I’ve also just gained back the rest of my life.”

Hearing her say that fills his chest with a warmth he’d long forgotten. A warmth that reaches the shattered parts of him, billowing, cradling the shards, unable to put them back together but soothing the ache of brokenness all the same. “Yeah.”

Jinah stirs, and both of them fall quiet. Her eyes blink open just a little, glossed over with sleep, but she does little more than lift her head to check on their mother’s state of being before squeezing their mother’s hand and settling. Eomma smiles, squeezing her hand in return. 

“She must be exhausted,” Eomma says quietly. “Aren’t you tired too, Jinwoo-ya?”

It’s been a long, long time since someone’s called him that. When was the last time he heard it? Not since he was a teenager, no doubt. He swallows, unsure of what to do with this wave of emotion—something that grew less and less familiar by the day—that sweeps through him.

“Are you hungry?” he deflects, because that is something he knows how to do. “I can go grab something. Anything you want.”

“You don’t have to do that, dear. We can call the nurse if—”

“I can bring you something better than hospital food.”

In truth, he’d love to make her something. It would feel better that way, somehow—to bring his mother a home-cooked meal, something made from his own two hands—but he doesn’t know what he has at home to work with, and even with some practice, even with having the basics down, he knows he’s got a lot to learn. 

“Stubborn, aren’t you?” She says it so fondly, with a tiny but genuine smile. “If that’s what you’d like to do, then sure. I’ll let your sister know, if she wakes up before you return.”

“Alright,” says Jinwoo, nodding. “Anything you’re craving?”

She quiets, thinking for a bit, before softly admitting she’d love to have something celebratory. Jinwoo looks fleetingly at his snoozing sister and knows instantly what this occasion calls for.

The following trip to his and Jinah’s favorite chicken place doesn’t take long, as promised. He walks with his hood up, only speaks when necessary, and it isn’t until he’s done paying that he’s publicly recognized—oops—which would be a problem, but Jinwoo’s a fast runner. So he solves this the way he solves most of his problems.

By noping the fuck out of there.

He’s circled back to the hospital, on the same floor as his mother’s room, when he notices something peculiar. 

Not screaming, no. Not calling for him the way the dead usually do, but… something draws his attention. He doesn’t even know what it is, but it’s still noticeable, and he’s curious nonetheless. 

With the food for his family tucked safely in his inventory, he slows his pace. Alongside this anomaly is a mana signature he vaguely recognizes: the S-rank healer he ran into last week.

Jinwoo pauses, gazing down the hallway to the source. The healer isn’t in the hall with him, but the signature is close enough that he must be in one of the rooms. 

He weighs the options of briefly checking it out or leaving it alone. Is it another mana signature? If so, what kind of hunter could possess such a warped signature? Did something happen to shape it this way? He’s never felt one like this before, so… muted. Restrained, almost. 

So faint, yet Jinwoo’s inexplicably drawn to it.

Without another thought, he activates stealth, pulled to the could-be mana signature by his desire to know the answer. He stops by the slightly ajar hospital room door, not rude enough to peek inside, but close enough, listening. Studying the usual signature in silent interest. Trying to determine what to make of it, and why he's so compelled to do so.

Several moments pass. Rustling. Footsteps. Jinwoo himself takes several soundless steps back, startled despite clearly hearing someone approach, when a voice abruptly speaks.

He’s less shocked by the footsteps and more by the head that pops out of the doorway to look directly into his eyes.

“Why are you hiding?” says S-rank Min Byung-gyu. “I don’t bite, and Eunseok won’t mind.”

Well, fuck.

It’s not surprising that Byung-gyu can sense him even with Stealth activated, but it is embarrassing that Jinwoo thought he could get away with it. He’s been caught now, so what’s the point in fleeing?

The fuck is Stealth for if high-ranks can still sense it? he thinks irritably. He isn’t even a mage.

This is what he gets for indulging his sense of curiosity. He sighs internally, annoyed at himself. “Sorry,” he says with his gaze averted, as his Stealth spell drops. “I’ll… be going.”

Byung-gyu, to his dismay, laughs. “Well, you’re already here. Why not sit for a few moments?”

He shouldn’t, for so many reasons. It’s awkward, for one, considering he hardly knows this man at all, let alone the person whom he is visiting; and his own family is waiting on him. Their food won’t grow cold in his inventory, but his mother doesn’t know about his inventory yet. He’s also… lost a lot of time with her already. Sticking in one place for too long will probably garner more attention than necessary. 

Yet he hesitates, again. He’s unsure where this interest in Byung-gyu stems from, but he also doesn’t care to think too deeply about it. 

Because if Jinwoo thinks about it, he will discover the answer. 

Byung-gyu widens the door for him, gesturing for him to enter the hospital room. “It’s small, but there’s still room for another person to sit.”

After several moments of hesitation, Jinwoo does enter slowly. Awkwardly. He isn’t sure what he’s expecting to see, but seeing a comatose man on a ventilator isn’t it.

Or maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. This man… he’s also a hunter. Jinwoo can tell by the strange, flickering mana signature, struggling to stay alight but fighting all the same. 

“You got another visitor, Eunseokie-hyung,” Byung-gyu says casually over his shoulder, as if the man in the hospital bed is awake and listening. “You’re popular this week.”

Jinwoo doesn’t comment, but understands one-sided conversations so intimately that it leaves him feeling uneasy. It’s achingly familiar, to the point where he debates leaving right away.

“You… visit him often,” he says instead, stiffly.

“Else we wouldn’t be seeing each other like this, huh?”

Byung-gyu says it with a smile, carefree in a way that reminds him of Jinho. Still, something… something sits beneath his words, although Jinwoo isn’t entirely certain of what it is. A genuine question? A further invitation to talk?

Jinwoo slides his hands into his pockets. “Nn.”

He turns his attention toward the comatose patient, the bearer of the mana signature that piqued Jinwoo’s curiosity. It… wasn’t like he hadn’t sensed it before, but with all the noise in the hospital—the machinery, the chatter of the nurses, the souls—it was difficult to focus on it, let alone pinpoint exactly where it stemmed. Jinwoo’s also had so much on his plate that he didn’t realize it’s been calling to him until now.

Or… well. Did it call to him? Is that what this is? It’s… such a strange signature. So tightly bound, struggling to break free. If it breaks free, however, it will inevitably fall, and death waits below: a large, yawning chasm, ready to swallow it whole.

“You’re visiting someone, too, right?” Byung-gyu asks as he walks over to one of two chairs by the patient’s bedside.

“...I suppose you could say that,” Jinwoo answers, careful to keep the news of his mother’s pending release to himself. “You said… this man is your family?”

It’s hypocritical to ask for more information when he’s so stingy with giving out his own, but Jinwoo’s always been a hypocrite. This patient… it’s hard to distinguish any recognisable facial features from where he stands because of the ventilator, but one thing is for certain: this coma is not related to the same disease that stole four years of his mother’s life.

“He’s like a brother to me,” says Byung-gyu, fondly. “I’ve had a lot going on the past few weeks, so I’ve been visiting him. Keeping him updated.”

A stab of guilt pricks at Jinwoo’s chest. It’s the opposite of what he’s done—when consumed by work, and now by his pursuit of strength, he has visited his mother less and less. He swallows, leaning against the wall in favor of the other chair, despite Byung-gyu’s invitation to sit.

“I can… understand that,” Jinwoo says, at length.

“Same boat, huh?”

Jinwoo studies the patient and the way his mana signature pulses in sync with the heart monitor. This guy is very obviously in a coma, but… 

“This isn’t an ESD coma.” It’s a statement, not a question. “Hunters are immune.”

Byung-gyu blinks. “I didn’t mention that he’s awakened… although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you can tell. S-ranks are pretty sensitive to other mana signatures, after all.”

Jinwoo hums, and falls silent again. It’s a weak signature, but not weak in the sense that Jinwoo used to be weak. It’s more… tired. Drained. 

Like he’s running on borrowed time.

“...you’re familiar with the Jeju raids, aren’t you?” Byung-gyu asks abruptly.

Who in Korea isn’t familiar with the Jeju raids? Even if someone doesn’t know much about the specifics of the raids, it’s a pretty hot topic in conversations despite the number of years that have passed since the initial dungeon break.

Which means…

“Ah,” Jinwoo murmurs. “The lightning mage.” 

“Yeah,” Byung-gyu confirms, and sighs. “It’s been a while since he was… injured, but… I’m still hopeful he’ll wake up soon, you know?”

Jinwoo understands. Jinwoo understands this so deeply, so painfully, that he cannot bring himself to respond at all. What is there to say to that? He can’t tell this man he gets it, or just how intimately he gets it, because… well. How can he, given recent events? He’s also not good at conversation, and they’re basically strangers. There’s no reason to disclose his mother’s medical history, or the news of her waking up.

So he says nothing. This, however, seems to give Byung-gyu the wrong impression. “Maybe other people would find it… cruel. But Eunseokie-hyung wouldn’t give up on me if our roles were reversed, so…” He smiles, although it doesn’t feel entirely genuine. “Here we are.”

Jinwoo opens his mouth and closes it, hesitant to correct him. He looks at the comatose patient, sees the faint leylines of mana, even with their bearer in such a state.

Anyone less than S-rank probably would’ve succumbed by now. Anyone below S-rank’s signature would’ve fizzled out already. Anyone below S-rank would’ve already plummeted to their death. 

Death, whose hands are disguised as a safety net.

“On a lighter note,” Byung-gyu continues abruptly, scratching his cheek with a sheepish expression, “you used to be E-rank, right?”

Jinwoo doesn’t see how this would be considered a lighter subject, but he keeps that to himself. Instead, he shrugs. “That’s right.”

“Pretty impressive, honestly.”

“Not really. People have… glorified the gap, I guess.”

He’s seriously not a guy for conversations, let alone small talk. He’s not one for breaking the ice—he’d rather just stay as far away from the ice as possible.

Here he stands, though, awkwardly, stiltedly, drawn to this man and his slumbering companion for reasons he can’t quite figure out. 

“I meant being an active hunter as an E-rank,” Byung-gyu clarifies, leaning back in his chair. “A lot of people talk about how great higher ranks are, but… I mean, I saw the news articles. The gates are fricken ruthless. Four years? Going into dungeons for that long, as a low rank? But you’re still here, and you look pretty healthy, all things considered. That’s no small feat. Hats off to you, seriously.”

It’s such unexpected praise that Jinwoo’s startled into silence, unsure of how to respond. 

“I mean, I’ve always been S-rank,” Byung-gyu rambles on, “and I don’t even like going into dungeons. I don’t think I’ll step foot in one again, if I’m honest. I can’t imagine going in as a lower rank. It’s so risky. So dangerous! Terrifying, really. You’ve survived for several years on active duty? Like, damn, that’s so impressive.”

Jinwoo remains quiet, hands twitching in his pockets. He shifts his weight uncomfortably, from one foot to the other, and rapidly gazes at the floor, giving a non-committal shrug. 

It’s strange to receive such compliments—and for his E-rank accomplishments, even. Strange and foreign and unsettling. 

He’s used to being teased. Bullied. Berated. He’s used to being resented for being so weak. All this time, he’s harbored resentment toward higher ranks—and toward himself—for how he’s been treated as an E-rank. 

This is the second time—third, if he counts Juhee—he’s been surprised by sincere kindness, and he’s not sure what to do about it. The other instance was by the Hunters Guild’s second top strike squad. 

“Um,” Jinwoo starts fumblingly, as the silence that follows drags on and on. He doesn’t know how to fill it. “Thanks, I… I guess.”

Maybe it’s time to go. This—it’s undeniably awkward, even just the way he’s standing in the corner of the room, still leaning against the wall by the door. He shouldn’t be here, invading their privacy.

“Ah, sorry,” says Byung-gyu, looking sheepish now, “I talk a lot. A chatter box, really. Sorry if I overstepped.”

“It’s—” Jinwoo looks at the floor, hands still in his pockets. Isn't he the one who has overstepped, as the stranger who lurked outside this room, under the guise of Stealth? “It’s… fine.”

Byung-gyu opens his mouth—to say something else, probably, but then Jinwoo’s phone buzzes in his pocket, startling both of them.

Jinwoo checks it, knowing it can’t possibly be his mother because she doesn’t have a phone—and he’s right. It isn’t her. It’s Jinho. He doesn’t even read the preview of the message, but is thankful for the excuse nonetheless.

“I should go now,” he says, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “Got people waiting on me.”

It’s not a lie, but something about the way Byung-gyu’s expression falls pricks at his chest. He’s not sure why—they’re not close. Not even friends.

It’s better that way, keeping people at arm’s length. There have been a few exceptions, but Jinwoo’s truly the kind of person who sticks to himself.

“I won’t keep you, then,” Byung-gyu tells him, quick to put on a smile. He gives a little wave. “Sorry for rambling on! Thanks for popping in, regardless. Hyung… doesn’t get a lot of visitors. I’m sure he appreciates it.” 

Jinwoo hums, with a nod of acknowledgment. He leaves as silently as he came in, hood pulled up over his head, and he’s careful to pull the food out from his inventory before he gets back to his mother’s assigned room.

The way her gaze softens when he re-enters her room helps diminish his thoughts of the strange, awkward encounter. He’s silent in his movements, but Jinah stirs anyway the moment he approaches, mumbling sluggishly about smelling fried chicken.

“Oh, you wanted fried chicken too?” he drones. “That sucks. There’s only enough for two people—”

Jinah squawks awake at that, which is hilarious enough on its own. “You got fried chicken without me?”

“Yep,” he tells her, and deposits her own little box in front of her—plenty enough for a growing teenage girl.

His mother laughs, and Jinah lights up in delight upon realizing he’s only kidding. The warmth in his chest returns, being all together like this, and the brokenness inside him ebbs, just a little.

Several hallways down, Min Byung-gyu rests a hand on his roommate’s arm, and his loneliness deepens, just a little.

When they enter the apartment, it’s nearly two in the afternoon. Void mewls loudly, and both Jinah and Jinwoo freeze. They look at each other with a muted but obvious oh shit.

“Oh hello,” says their mother, as Void trots toward the trio without hesitation. “Who’s this little one?”

“Uhhh,” says Jinah, struggling to think of an answer. “We… forgot to tell you, didn’t we? Heh heh…”

“It was Jinah’s idea,” Jinwoo says without an ounce of shame.

Jinah gapes at Jinwoo in betrayal. “Wha—?! Oppa!”

“Don’t look at me like that. It was your idea.” Jinwoo crouches, extending a hand for Void to sniff, and scoops her up carefully. “Eomma, Void… Void, Eomma.”

“The cat distribution system chose Oppa,” Jinah argues with a pout, and then wrings her fingers nervously. “...the landlord said it was fine as long as we kept up with the cat fur and the litter and other stuff, but… she’s okay, right, Eomma?”

Jinwoo stiffens the littlest bit, like it never occurred to him that their mother would actually reject having a cat even though he told Jinah multiple times before that she might. He looks at Jinah, and then their mom, his expression going carefully blank the way it always does whenever he wants to hide his true feelings.

“It’s your choice if you’d rather not keep her,” says Jinwoo. “She’s… really great, though. Still uh, in her destructive kitten phase, cos she’s about six months old, but she’s really friendly, and—”

“Oh,” Eomma says, eyes going soft. Soulful. “If you’re attached to her, I’m sure she’s lovely. I’m not going to rehome a cat who chose my son.” She reaches out to scratch behind Void’s ears. “You look like a good kitty. I’ve always wanted a pet, you know… we never had the time to devote to one, though, with work and… the disease.”

“You don’t have to work now,” Jinwoo blurts out. “I make enough to support us.”

“Oh?” She looks at him, and so does Jinah, because, wait, this isn’t the plan, is it? “What do you do?”

Eomma asks it innocently enough. Jinah still hesitates, and she watches nervously as Jinwoo’s expression rapidly shifts into one of panic. It would’ve been funny, seeing her perpetually unexpressive brother make such a face, but the situation is so… well. Chaotic. 

They’ve been waiting for years for this day, and yet, now that it’s finally happened, they’re both scrambling. Who can blame them? 

You’ve never been able to lie to Eomma before, you idiot mama’s boy. 

“Can we not talk about work stuff?” Jinah rushes to say, before Jinwoo can get a word out. “Come. Sit. Are you hungry yet? Oppa, we should order something. Another celebratory meal!”

Eomma blinks, and for a fleeting, panicked moment, Jinah thinks she’s already figured it out. If she has, she doesn’t say anything, doesn’t show any hint of knowing. 

Jinah smiles, mentally sweeping that thought out of sight. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Eomma is finally home, and they should do something to celebrate.

“We can order a meal after this mess is cleaned up,” Jinwoo says, shooting a look in Jinah’s direction. “Your mess.”

Jinah pouts, her smile gone as she guiltily looks away. So… she’s a bit messy. Who could blame her? She’s a hard-working high school student! “At least I got my homework done!” 

Eomma’s face softens. “It’s been a while since I’ve done chores… let’s work on cleaning up together.”

Jinwoo brightens noticeably at that, because of course he does. He’s just like their mom, enjoying the simple and tedious task of house chores. “Yeah.”

Jinah doesn’t get it, because chores are such a pain to her, but she’ll indulge them nonetheless. Just for today.

Hunter Sung Jinwoo

How does a person go about requesting a cover story

Depends on the reason for the request.

I think
Well not sure yet
Everythings happening really fast
You’ll probably find out soon if you havent already

That’s… not helpful, Hunter Sung.

Right. Sorry
I think i cured my mother

Jinchul stares down at his work cell, eyes blown wide at Hunter Sung’s most recent confession. Of all the things he could’ve possibly expected—which is a lot, considering how much he’s seen during his time in the association—it definitely isn’t that.

“Sir?” his subordinate says from the driver’s side of the vehicle they’re in. They’re at a stoplight. “Is… everything okay?”

“This is… going to need the chairman’s input,” he murmurs, unsure of what to do. And then, to his subordinate: “Uh, apologies, but there’s been a slight change of plans. I need to get back to headquarters.”

“What about the new gate, sir?”

“Measure it without me. If there’s any trouble or cause for concern, make sure you include it in the report.”

“Um… okay, chief.” His colleague eases off the brakes. “I’ll switch into a turn lane at the next light so I can turn around.”

“Great. Thank you.”

He doesn’t call the chairman just yet, because he isn’t sure who all should be aware of the situation. Or maybe it won’t matter. Something like this is bound to make headlines once the public becomes aware of it.

His cell vibrates again.

Chief inspector?

I’ll talk to Chairman Go.
You sure know how to make waves, don’t you?

suppose so
Sorry in advance… what can we do?

Tell your sister not to post anything featuring your mother, for starters.

Shes not going to

Okay.
The first thing I think of when dealing with a wave this big is… make an even bigger one.
I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Jinwoo stares down at his phone. A bigger wave, huh?

He thinks, fleetingly, of the S-rank healer he keeps running into, and the comatose S-rank mage that healer had been visiting. Would… would the elixir…?

I’ve only got so many, he thinks, selfishly. What if Eomma falls Asleep again?

Maybe it isn’t selfish. He’s owed this much, isn’t he? This world… it takes and takes and takes, takes all Jinwoo has ever given, and no matter how much he gives, it’s still not enough.

It took his father. Years and years of his mother’s health. His childhood. His innocence. Jinah’s childhood and innocence. And—and the small circle of people he cares about—it’s taken from them, too.

He’s sacrificed his pride. Hell, he sacrificed his life. He owes this world nothing.

sung_jinah posted a TikTok.

[Caption: Fxck I lost the bet]

“—not what you said before. You made a promise and I’m holding you to it.”

Jinah starts recording mid-convo, but the speaker is not in the frame. Instead, the camera is focused on Jinah, who stands in the doorway of a bedroom, struggling not to laugh. “You’re, uh… very passionate about this, aren’t you, Oppa.”

A pause. “I am not. But a deal’s a deal.”

Jinah makes no effort to hide her smile. “I didn’t think you’d return so fast just because I said I wouldn’t make fun of you if you did.”

“That’s not—” The camera flips to reveal Jinwoo, who sits on the sofa, making a face at her. Void rests contentedly in his lap, licking one of her front paws. He glances fleetingly at the camera before his frown deepens. “That’s not why.”

“I’m kidding, Oppa. It’s just funny seeing you get all defensive.”

“I’m not getting defensive.”

“That’s what a defensive person would say.”

He gives Jinah a look without glancing back at the camera. “Is recording me necessary?”

“Just an update,” says Jinah casually.  “Last time I posted a video, you were still on your trip.”

“Oh. Well, I’m back. You can stop now.”

“Boo,” says Jinah, pouting. “Guess I’ll have to fund my boba and Starbucks this week by selling strands of your hair on Gmarket—” 

Jinwoo grimaces in pure disgust. The camera switches to face Jinah again as she wheezes, and the video loops.

894k likes | 1.1k comments | 501 favorites

—

Top comments:

coffingeist
Ayyyyyy hes back

MashedTatter
Lol he really don’t want you to pick on him

Cwute22
This wasn’t even that long of a video but I clicked so fast when I got the notif

kunjuuu9
Awww even void is welcoming him back

venus_gg00
he’s just as handsome and dreamy as I remember ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

victoriae8
Is it just me or are they like, glowing??? Like they look super tired but excited in this one for some reason

phazzy
when was the last time that guy slept i swear he looks paler and more exhausted with each video 

aeong_bread
who tf would buy someone’s hair damn ppl are insane

    ArcherGbby1
    hi it’s me i’m people (᨟ ͜● ᨟)

       aeong_bread
       Yall nasty

[1100+ more]

“I believe congratulations are in order,” the chairman says to Jinwoo when he answers the phone. 

Jinwoo leans against the balcony railing outside his apartment, doing his best to tune out the city around him. Instead, he focuses more on the soldiers in his shadow—on the overall background noise of their chatter—and looks back at his sister and mother through the closed screen door. They’re chatting idly about what type of hair masks could help Eomma’s hair recover from the time she spent Asleep. “Thank you, Chairman.” 

“I won’t bombard you with questions,” he continues, much to Jinwoo’s surprise. “We have already put in your donation to the Eternal Sleep research, though.”

“It’ll stay anonymous, right?”

“Correct. All the institute knows is that someone has donated toward their cause through the Association—the only way they’ll figure out the source is if you tell them yourself.”

Jinwoo quiets. He prefers it this way: to operate incognito. “Good.”

“It was quite a generous donation.”

‘Generous’ is putting it loosely. Jinwoo’s motive, after all, is entirely selfish: if this cure is only temporary, he wants to know all he can about the disease, lest it take their mother from them again. 

It matters little to him what happens to the rest of the world. He’s not interested in curing everyone. But he knows he can’t hide the truth of her waking up forever—especially with Jinah’s social media thing going strong.

It’s only a matter of time before people start connecting the dots. 

“You’re still wanting to create a guild, yes?” Chairman Go asks when he remains silent.

“That’s the plan,” Jinwoo answers, gazing back out toward his neighborhood. “It’s going to… take a bit. To earn some money again, and to learn how everything works.”

And, of course, break the news to Eomma that I’m a hunter…

“I’m sure your fellow S-ranks would have some useful advice on running a functional guild. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to one of them?”

Jinwoo makes a face. Right. His fellow S-ranks… some of whom he met under, uh. Not great circumstances. He’s not close with any of them, and sure, he was a porter for Choi’s B-Team strike squad, but Jinwoo would prefer… not to get mixed up with anyone more than he already has to.

“In terms of finances,” the chairman says abruptly, “and as a distraction from your current circumstances, I do have an offer for you.”

“...oh?”

“We’ve scheduled a raid next week for Jeju Island. Surely the public will be highly invested in that.”

Jinwoo’s eyes widen. A bigger wave… did Chief Woo mean this? 

“If you’d like,” the chairman continues, “we can discuss this in further detail sometime soon? Tomorrow afternoon or evening, perhaps? I have an opening after six.” 

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, if he decides that he’ll participate in this raid, he’ll have to tell her about what he’s been doing for the past four years.

He knows he can’t hide it forever, especially now that he’s making S-rank money. His face as Korea’s newest S-rank is all over the media. She doesn’t have a phone, but could find out just by turning on the TV or the computer in Jinwoo’s bedroom.

He… he could move it out of his bedroom, now that she’s awake. It was originally in his mother’s bedroom, but they moved it years ago as her symptoms became more and more severe. It’s kind of out of date, but it works for what they use it for—Jinwoo for hunting; and Jinah, sometimes, for school.

Will she be angry with me?

“Hunter Sung?”

Jinwoo blinks, realizing belatedly that the chairman was awaiting a response. “Ah. Sure, that works. Six.”

“Sounds good.” And then, after a moment: “Well, I’m sure you’ve got a family waiting on you, so I’ll let you go. See you tomorrow, Hunter Sung.”

“Okay. See you then.”

The line disconnects, and Jinwoo draws in a silent breath. He… he can tell his mother tomorrow, surely? Tomorrow. Tonight, he can just… enjoy having her home, awake and healthy. They can pretend just for today, can’t they? No chaotic hunter stuff. No raids. No coma. No confusing System.

Just this evening, just for now, they can be normal. 

(The world around him has never felt so loud.)