Then, without warning, Byung-hu bent his knees and jumped with full force.
The rooftop beneath him cracked like glass.
BOOM!
The sound echoed through the air as pieces of concrete shattered outward, dust exploding in a gray cloud. His body shot upward like a missile, leaving behind a spiderweb of fractures where he had been standing.
Down below, pedestrians froze mid-step.
Someone screamed.
Others pointed upward.
"What was that?!" "An explosion?!" "No—look! Someone jumped!"
A small child tugged on his mother's sleeve, eyes wide as he stared at the figure soaring through the sky.
"Mommy… is that a hunter?" he asked in a tiny voice.
The mother tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him closer. "Don't look up," she said quickly, pretending she hadn't seen anything. Her heart was racing.
Byung-hu landed moments later on another rooftop with barely a sound, his boots touching down as lightly as if he had stepped onto solid ground instead of falling from the sky.
One minute later…
He stood atop a tall building directly across from the evaluation center.
Below him, chaos reigned.
Camera flashes lit up the street like fireworks. Reporters crowded around Seung-hoo, shouting questions over one another. News vans blocked half the road. Drones hovered in the air, filming everything from above.
Byung-hu placed his hands in his pockets and looked down calmly.
"So that's him…" he murmured.
At that exact moment, Seung-hoo felt something strange.
His eyes felt a presence only he could see.
He slowly turned his head, eyes drifting upward, past the cameras, past the glowing billboards, until they landed on the rooftop across the street.
There.
A man stood against the night sky, coat fluttering in the wind, silver hair catching the city lights.
Their eyes met.
Byung-hu's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Well now," he said quietly, though no one could hear him from that distance. "You've got sharp eyes, kid."
Seung-hoo felt his heart skip.
"…Who is that?" he whispered to himself.
Seo-yeon noticed his sudden stillness.
"Seung-hoo?" she asked, confused. "What are you staring at?"
Before he could answer, the man on the rooftop straightened.
Byung-hu rolled his shoulders once and activated another skill.
"Jump Length"
The air seemed to compress beneath his feet.
In a single motion, he launched himself forward.
To the reporters, it looked as if the man had vanished from the rooftop and reappeared behind them in the blink of an eye.
CRACK!
The sound echoed as his boots struck the pavement, leaving faint fractures in the ground.
He stood there casually, hands still in his pockets.
"…Oops," he muttered. "Too much force again."
One reporter turned around and froze.
"…Is that—?"
Her camera slipped slightly in her hands before instinct took over.
Click!
The flash went off.
Then another.
And another.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"Wait—that's—!" "No way…" "It's him!"
A wave of murmurs spread like fire.
"The 18th S-rank hunter—Byung-hu!" "What is he doing here?!" "He came in person?!"
Cameras immediately shifted direction, abandoning Seung-hoo for a split second to focus on the newcomer.
"It's just in!" a reporter shouted into her microphone, voice trembling with excitement. "The 18th S-rank hunter, Byung-hu, has appeared at the evaluation center to meet Korea's newest S-rank hunter!"
Seo-yeon's eyes widened slightly.
"…Great," she muttered. "Now it's getting worse."
Seung-hoo stood frozen as the crowd slowly parted, creating a narrow path between him and Byung-hu.
The two S-ranks faced each other across a sea of microphones and flashing lights.
Byung-hu tilted his head, studying Seung-hoo like a curious scientist examining a rare specimen.
"So you're the one causing all this noise," he said lightly.
Seung-hoo swallowed. "Uh… I think so?"
Reporters leaned in closer.
"Mister Byung-hu! Why have you come here today?!" "Do you acknowledge Seung-hoo as an S-rank equal?!" "Is this a challenge?!"
Byung-hu raised one eyebrow. "A challenge? That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"
He took a step forward, ignoring the chaos around him, his gaze never leaving Seung-hoo.
"Relax," he added. "I was just… curious."
Seo-yeon shifted her stance subtly, placing herself half in front of Seung-hoo again.
"Curious about what?" she asked sharply.
Byung-hu's eyes flicked to her, then back to Seung-hoo.
"About what kind of person suddenly shakes the entire country overnight."
The cameras flashed harder now, the crowd buzzing louder, the night air thick with tension and excitement as two S-rank hunters stood only a few meters apart, surrounded by voices, lights, and whispers that something big was about to happen…
Byung-hu took a step forward.
Then another.
The crowd seemed to hold its breath.
Seung-hoo felt his muscles tense on instinct. His fingers twitched at his sides, mana quietly stirring inside him. Every part of his body screamed that something big was about to happen.
"Is he going to test me?"
"Is this how S-ranks greet each other?"
Byung-hu stopped right in front of him.
For a split second, they simply stared at each other.
Then—
Byung-hu suddenly spread his arms wide and lunged forward.
Seung-hoo barely had time to react before he was pulled into a crushing grapple.
"W–WHAT?!" Seung-hoo yelped.
Byung-hu's arm locked around his shoulders in a tight hold, his other hand patting Seung-hoo's back loudly.
"Hahaha! There you are!" Byung-hu laughed. "I wanted to see if you were real!"
Camera flashes exploded.
Click!
Click!
Click!
Reporters went wild.
"They're embracing?!" "Is this a show of respect between S-ranks?!" "Get this shot—this is history!"
Microphones nearly smacked into Seung-hoo's face as reporters pushed closer.
Seo-yeon's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is he doing?!"
Seung-hoo struggled slightly. "H-Hey—sir—personal space—! And don't embarrass yourself in front of the cameras!"
"Embarrass myself in front of the camera!?" Byung-hu laughed hysterically.
After that, he loosened his grip on Seung-hoo but kept one hand on Seung-hoo's shoulder as if they were old friends.
"Don't Sir me, where equal now kid" he said with a grin. "And you're stiff like a rookie soldier."
"Im not a rookie! And how would I be S rank then!" Seung-hoo snapped back, face red, but still questioning how we became an S rank
Byung-hu laughed again, deep and carefree, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
"Let's go inside."
Seung-hoo blinked. "Inside… where?"
"The building," Byung-hu replied casually, nodding toward the evaluation center behind them.
Seo-yeon immediately stepped forward. "Why?"
Byung-hu turned to her, eyes sharp but amused. "Because if we keep talking out here, this street is going to collapse from all the noise."
As if on cue, another wave of reporters surged forward.
"Mister Byung-hu! What is your relationship with Seung-hoo?!" "Is this a guild recruitment attempt?!" "Are you testing his strength right now?!"
Byung-hu raised one hand lazily. "Easy, easy. You're all louder than a Rift boss."
Seung-hoo glanced around nervously. "Uh… I can't even hear myself think…"
Seo-yeon crossed her arms. "You just grabbed him out of nowhere and now you want to drag him inside. Do you realize how suspicious that looks?"
Byung-hu tilted his head. "Suspicious? I hugged him. That means I like him."
"That makes it worse," she replied flatly.
Seung-hoo shifted uncomfortably. "Sir… people think you're about to fight me."
Byung-hu looked genuinely surprised. "Fight you? Right now? In front of cameras?" He clicked his tongue. "That would be bad manners."
He leaned closer to Seung-hoo again, voice quieter this time.
"I just want to talk."
Seung-hoo felt a strange pressure in the air. Not hostile… but heavy. Like standing too close to a powerful storm.
"What… about?" he asked.
Byung-hu's eyes flicked briefly to the black S-rank card in Seung-hoo's hand.
"About how someone jumps from F-rank to S-rank overnight," he said. "And about what kind of power does that."
The crowd erupted again.
"Did he say overnight?!" "Is this a mystery awakening?!" "This is huge!"
Seo-yeon stepped closer to Seung-hoo, lowering her voice. "Be careful. Other S-ranks don't come out in public like this without a reason."
Byung-hu smirked. "You make it sound like I'm a villain."
"You make it sound like you're hiding something," she shot back.
Byung-hu laughed softly. "Maybe I am."
He turned back to Seung-hoo and gently tapped his chest with two fingers.
"You look like you're about to faint from all this attention."
Seung-hoo swallowed. "…I kind of am."
"Then inside is safer," Byung-hu said. "Less cameras. Less screaming. More answers."
Around them, reporters kept shouting questions, drones buzzing overhead, lights flashing nonstop. The street felt too small for everything happening at once.
Seung-hoo looked at Seo-yeon.
She hesitated, then sighed. "This is turning into a circus…" Byung-hu gestured toward the building entrance. "Shall we?"
Seung-hoo took a slow breath, clutching his black card tightly.
His life had already flipped upside down today.
Going inside with the 18th S-rank hunter felt like stepping into something even bigger.
And the cameras kept flashing as the three of them stood there, surrounded by noise, whispers, and the heavy feeling that this meeting was only the beginning of something far more important…