Kang-min's hands trembled as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Thank you so much… Seung-hoo," he said shakily, his voice breaking in the middle of the sentence.
Seung-hoo paused and looked out over the edge of the rooftop. The city stretched endlessly beneath them—cars like tiny lights, people moving like dots, the wind brushing past his face.
"…The wind feels good up here, doesn't it?" Seung-hoo said quietly.
Kang-min blinked, confused by the sudden change of topic, then slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah… it does."
Seung-hoo pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. A message notification blinked at the top.
Ye Yeon:
Are you coming?
Just take your time.
He stared at the message for a second longer than necessary, then let out a small breath.
"I guess I should go now," Seung-hoo said, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"O-Okay, sir!" Kang-min replied quickly, bowing his head out of habit. His voice still carried fear, but there was something new mixed into it—relief.
Seung-hoo turned back to him. "Do you have your phone with you?"
Kang-min blinked. "Y-Yes… but why?"
Seung-hoo scratched the back of his head, searching for the right words. "It's for… when your thoughts start getting too heavy again. The kind you had earlier."
Kang-min froze. His fingers tightened around his phone. "…You mean when I start thinking like that?"
Seung-hoo nodded. "Yeah. When that happens, don't stay alone with it."
Slowly, Kang-min handed his phone over. His hands were still shaking.
"M-My name is… Kang-min," he said suddenly, as if afraid Seung-hoo would leave without knowing it.
Seung-hoo stopped typing and looked up. "Oh. Kang-min's a nice name."
Kang-min's eyes widened slightly. No one had said his name kindly in a long time.
Seung-hoo went back to the screen and typed in his number. Each tap felt deliberate, like he was planting something solid into Kang-min's life.
"There," Seung-hoo said, handing the phone back. "If things get bad again, call me. Or text me. Even if it's late."
Kang-min stared at the screen.
Saved contact: Seung-hoo.
"…You really mean it?" Kang-min asked quietly.
"Yeah," Seung-hoo said simply. "You don't have to go through it alone."
Kang-min's throat tightened. He bowed deeply this time, not out of fear, but out of gratitude. "I… I don't know how to thank you."
Seung-hoo waved his hand. "You already did. You stayed."
Kang-min looked up, confused. "…Stayed?"
"You didn't jump," Seung-hoo said softly. "That's enough for today."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The wind carried the distant sound of traffic and voices from the streets below.
Then Seung-hoo took a step back. "See you soon, Kang-min."
"W-Wait—!" Kang-min reached out instinctively. "Seung-hoo!"
Before his hand could touch him, Seung-hoo bent his knees and leapt backward off the edge.
"Seung-hoo—!"
Kang-min rushed to the edge, heart pounding, but there was nothing there.
No falling body.
No scream.
Just empty air.
In the blink of an eye, Seung-hoo had vanished.
Kang-min stood frozen, staring down at the streets below, his breath uneven.
"…He really is a hunter," he whispered.
He looked down at his phone again, at the saved contact name.
Seung-hoo.
For the first time in a long while, Kang-min felt something unfamiliar settle in his chest—not fear, not despair.
Something warm.
He slowly sat down against the rooftop wall, hugging his knees. The wind brushed past him again, just like Seung-hoo had said it would.
Far away, on another rooftop, Seung-hoo landed lightly and straightened his jacket. He pulled out his phone once more and looked at Ye Yeon's message.
"…Café Onion Anguk," he murmured.
Below him, the city buzzed with noise and life, completely unaware of what had just happened on a quiet rooftop.
Seung-hoo took a deep breath, then stepped to the edge, glancing back once more toward the building Kang-min was still standing on.
"…Hang in there," he muttered.
Then he leaned forward and vanished again in a blur of motion, leaving only the rush of wind behind him.
Seung-hoo leaped from one rooftop to another, his movements quick and light, barely making a sound when his feet touched concrete. He kept low, bending his knees and staying close to the edges of buildings, hoping the height and distance would hide him from view.
But it didn't work.
Down on the streets below, people began to notice the strange blur moving across the skyline.
"Wait… what was that?" "Did something just jump across that building?" "Is that a hunter?"
Phones were pulled out almost instantly. Someone pointed upward, and within seconds, tiny glowing screens were aimed at him from every angle.
Seung-hoo grimaced. "…Great."
He ducked behind a rooftop water tank and peeked over the edge. A group of pedestrians had already stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring up.
One teenager shouted, "Yo, record it! That's gotta be an S-rank or something!"
Another voice followed, "No way, he's too fast—look at that jump!"
Seung-hoo let out a quiet sigh and straightened up. If he kept moving, more people would just notice. He decided to stop on a taller, quieter building and pulled out his phone.
"I should've just taken a taxi…" he muttered.
He scrolled through his contacts and tapped Ye Yeon's name.
Ring…
Ring…
Across the city, Ye Yeon's phone vibrated on the small café table beside her cup. She blinked when she saw the caller ID.
"Seung-hoo?
She picked it up immediately. "Hello?"
"…Hey," Seung-hoo said, slightly out of breath. Wind rushed past the microphone. "I'm… uh… on my way."
There was a pause on the line. Then she laughed softly. "You sound like you're running from something."
"I kind of am," he admitted. "People keep pointing phones at me."
Ye Yeon glanced around the café window, then up at the sky as if she could somehow see him. "You're jumping across buildings again, aren't you?"
"…Maybe."
She chuckled. "You really don't know how to act normal, do you?"
"I was trying to keep a low profile," Seung-hoo said defensively. "But it's not working."
From below, a man shouted, "Hey! He's up there!"
Seung-hoo winced and turned his back to the edge of the building. "Yeah… definitely not working."
Ye Yeon heard the distant noise through the phone. "…Are people chasing you?"
"Not exactly chasing," he said. "More like… filming."
She smiled despite herself. "That's what happens when you become famous overnight."
He was quiet for a moment. "I didn't think it would be this loud."
Ye Yeon stirred her coffee with a small spoon. "Then slow down. You don't need to rush. I'm not going anywhere."
Seung-hoo looked across the rooftops, scanning for a calmer path. Sirens echoed faintly in the distance—not for him, but close enough to make him tense.
"…Where are you sitting exactly?" he asked.
"Near the window," she replied. "There's a big plant next to my table. You can't miss it."
"Got it."
Another group of people below started pointing again. Seung-hoo crouched lower, pressing his back against a wall.
"This is way harder than fighting monsters," he muttered.
Ye Yeon laughed on the other end. "You sound nervous."
"…A little."
"Nervous about the crowd?" she teased.
"…Not just that."
She went quiet for a second. "Then what?"
Seung-hoo hesitated, staring at the city stretching out in front of him. The wind brushed past his hair, carrying the noise of traffic and distant voices.
"I've fought Rift bosses," he said slowly, "but this feels different."
Ye Yeon smiled to herself, listening. "Different how?"
Before he could answer, another flash of a camera went off from a nearby rooftop.
"There he is again!" someone shouted.
Seung-hoo groaned. "I'll call you back if they get closer."
"You don't have to hang up," Ye Yeon said gently. "Just… don't disappear this time."
He glanced down at his phone. "…Okay."
He stepped closer to the edge of the building, peering down at the crowd gathering below, then back at the skyline ahead.
"I see your café sign from here," he said quietly. "I think I'm close."
Ye Yeon leaned forward in her chair, looking out the window. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Her heart skipped slightly. "Then I'll wait."
Seung-hoo took a breath and shifted his weight, preparing to jump again, still holding the phone to his ear while the city buzzed around him.
Seung-hoo leapt again.
And again.
His body moved almost on instinct now, boots barely touching concrete before launching off once more. Wind roared in his ears, tugging at his clothes, stinging his eyes. Neon signs blurred past him, and the city below shrank into a web of headlights and distant voices. He stayed low, using rooftops and shadows, avoiding open streets whenever he could.
Still, it didn't work.
Someone pointed up.
A phone camera flashed.
"Did you see that?!" "Is that… a Hunter?" "No way, he just jumped three buildings!"
Murmurs followed him like ripples in water. By the time he reached the final building, his hood had been blown back by the wind, hair messy, breath steady but heavy. He landed softly near the edge, paused for a second, and pulled his hood back over his head, hiding his face.
Then he walked.
Not like a hero. Not like an S-rank.
Just like a guy trying not to draw attention to himself.
The coffee shop was on the corner of a quiet street, its warm lights glowing against the gray evening.
Through the glass windows, he could see people chatting, cups steaming, soft music humming in the background.
When he pushed the door open, a small bell chimed.
DING!
The sound felt strangely loud.
The smell of coffee and sugar rushed over him, grounding him instantly. For a moment, it felt like he wasn't a Hunter at all—just another tired customer walking in after a long day.
He stepped inside and scanned the room.
Left.
Right.
Past the counter.
Past a group of students laughing too loudly.
Then he saw her.
Ye Yeon sat near the window, hands wrapped around a cup, her hair falling neatly over her shoulders. She was looking at her phone, unaware of the sudden shift in the café's atmosphere.
Because people had noticed him.
Whispers spread like fire.
"Isn't that him…?" "The 20th S-rank…" "What is he doing here?"
Some stared openly. Others pretended not to, sneaking glances over their cups. A few raised their phones, unsure if they should record or not.
Seung-hoo felt every pair of eyes on him.
Then—
A familiar mechanical chime rang out inside his head.
|[ A lot of people are talking about you! ]|
|[ This is the effect of being an S rank..hehe ]|
He froze mid-step.
"…What?"
His eyes flicked toward the translucent window floating in front of him.
"What the… The system has a mind of its own?"
|[ Yes..I, the System, has a mind of its own ]|
|[ I was created for you ]|
His heartbeat skipped.
He stood there for half a second too long, staring at the window like it might disappear if he blinked.
"…Wait. Wait, wait." His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Who created you for me?"
No answer came.
The window stayed still, silent, as if it had never spoken at all.
Seung-hoo exhaled slowly and forced his legs to move again. He walked toward Ye Yeon's table, trying to ignore the tension in the room, the way conversations had softened into cautious murmurs.
When he reached her, she looked up.
Her eyes widened for just a second—then she smiled.
"Hi!" she said brightly, like this was the most normal meeting in the world.
Seung-hoo scratched the back of his neck. "H-hey."
He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down, still feeling the weight of dozens of stares pressing against his back. The bell on the door rang again as someone else entered, but the café hadn't returned to normal yet.
Ye Yeon tilted her head slightly, studying him. "You're late but not late..hehe" She giggled
"Yeah… sorry," he muttered. "Got… caught up."
She laughed softly. "You always do."
The system window hovered quietly in front of him, unreadable now. Outside, the city continued moving, unaware of how close fate had just passed through its streets. Inside, the warmth of coffee and the sound of cups clinking mixed with the tension hanging in the air, as Seung-hoo tried to pretend this was just another ordinary meeting between two people and not the beginning of something far heavier.