* * *
“…You’re the one who dried me off. Of course I am.”
“So soft. And you smell nice.”
Just a minute ago he was all annoyed, but now he was smiling ear to ear, seemingly pleased with the freshly washed, clean me.
He squished my cheeks with both hands and even sniffed my head.
…We use the same shampoo, so of course we smell the same.
What’s the point?
Seriously, my friend’s emotions are all over the place today.
So unlike him.
The most likely reason for this emotional rollercoaster was probably just one thing.
“Are you still worried about me? I can do this, you know. I did great today too, didn’t I?”
“……”
“You don’t have to worry that much.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Taehwan pulled my head into his arms.
As always, he rested his chin on top of it and murmured softly.
His voice drifted like a sigh, quiet as a spring breeze—gentle, and so faint it sounded like it might disappear.
“Yeah… as long as you’re happy. That’s what we promised, after all… I’ll just have to figure out another way…”
What’s up with him today?
So many good things happened—but for Taehwan, it seems like all of them just made him anxious.
Am I really that unreliable in his eyes?
It stings a little, but what can I do?
Trust takes time.
And when my friend looks that worried, there’s no way I can just sit back and do nothing.
Usually, the most effective medicine for someone like Taehwan is this:
“Wanna sleep together again tonight?”
As expected, Taehwan flinched immediately.
But his voice when he replied came out grumpily.
“Why do you always talk to me like I’m a kid?”
“Because you act like one.”
“When have I ever—”
“So, are you not gonna sleep with me?”
“…”
I watched his expression carefully.
He looked pouty.
Did I hurt his pride?
Every now and then, if I poked at his pride too hard, he’d blow up in anger—could that be happening now?
I tensed up, watching for a reaction, and then Taehwan avoided my gaze.
“…Fine. Let’s sleep together.”
And as soon as he said it, he climbed into my arms.
Even though he’s so much bigger than me, and he’s the one who always says not to treat him like a kid.
I couldn’t help but let out a clear laugh.
That day of my “glorious debut” must have been a turning point buried deep in my subconscious.
Ever since then, I’ve gained a decent amount of control over my abilities.
I still can’t see the red or gold lines, but I can will the blue ones into existence.
With them, I can open doors to familiar, nearby locations I know.
Unlike the red lines, which are assumed to be highly lethal, the blue ones have no physical force.
They won’t swallow someone whole or tear them apart, so the authorities approved me to use the blue lines freely.
Because of the potential applications, my ability was still rated as S-class.
But since I hadn’t fully mastered it yet, and it was mostly potential, I wasn’t considered an official S-class.
My status was “pending.”
They said they’d monitor me a bit longer before issuing a full license.
Basically, I was kind of a “benchwarmer.”
I didn’t really mind.
I had no immediate desire to be thrown into active duty.
Just getting permission to start rehab and practice walking again was enough for me.
“Hoo…”
Rehab usually takes a while because it involves rebuilding unused muscles, but in my case, my body became stronger than an average awakened person’s the moment I awakened, so I didn’t need that long recovery process.
So for me, the whole rehabilitation period was expected to take about a week, maybe up to a month at most.
It’s still hard—I often lose my balance or forget to use strength in my legs and fall.
And even after I finish rehab, there’s still the basic education required to become a Hunter.
But just the fact that I can walk now makes every day feel joyful.
Except… a problem came up.
A huge one.
Taehwan is acting weird.
Well, okay, Taehwan’s always been a little weird—but recently, it’s gotten seriously strange.
To explain, I have to go back to the day after that Gate incident.
It was my third visit to the Bureau for an evaluation.
This time, I finally succeeded in demonstrating my ability properly and completed all the tests.
After that, Han Jihye suddenly said:
“Jung Jehee, were you aware of this?”
“Sorry? Aware of what?”
“The group that tried to kidnap you. We investigated them and found that all of them were combat-type ability users, ranked B or higher.”
“…What?”
“It makes sense in a way. You were an untested S-class, so it’s not surprising they’d send an elite team.”
“W-Wait… what do you mean B-Class or higher? Taehwan’s not a combat type! That doesn’t make any sense.”
“…Exactly. It doesn’t. That’s why I’m telling you this. Please pass a message to Im Taehwan to visit the Bureau soon.”
After hearing that, I was completely out of it for the rest of the day.
I remembered it vividly—Taehwan beating up the kidnappers like he was tenderizing raw meat.
I assumed he’d just used some kind of physical enhancement artifact.
He’s rich, and he’s a maker, so I figured he used something he created.
But if those people were all ranked Hunters?
That changes everything.
Artifacts are legally limited to supporting roles.
They can only enhance someone’s strength within reasonable bounds—say, boosting from 100 to 130.
They’re not allowed to push someone to 300.
That kind of enhancement would destroy the user’s body, so there are safety limits.
In other words, no matter how many artifacts Taehwan had, there’s no way he could have taken down that many high-level combat awakeners.
So what the hell happened?
“No way… don’t tell me… did my friend commit a crime…? Did he use illegal artifacts…?”
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, my head went dizzy.
If Taehwan broke the law to protect me… because of me…
What’s the punishment for illegal artifact possession and use?
I could visit him in prison, sure—but prison visits are way more restricted than hospital ones.
What would I do if I missed him too much?
Worse, all awakened people go to the same facility, and non-combat types reportedly have a really rough time in there.
With Taehwan’s personality, he wouldn’t keep his head down… If he got into a fight inside—something terrible could happen.
I was so consumed by worry that the moment I saw Taehwan’s face when he came to pick me up, I nearly burst into tears.
“Oh, that.”
But Taehwan, after hearing my panicked words, just looked completely unbothered.
“I went through a reawakening. Got a little stronger, that’s all.”
“Re…awakening…?”
“Yeah. I only found out recently myself. I was gonna go get reevaluated, but I prioritized you instead. My dad knows, too.”
A reawakening.
As far as I knew, that was extremely rare.
Even among existing S-classes, there were only a handful, and cases of reawakening were so rare you had to dig through Hunter history to find one.
Even then, over half of those were likely errors due to prototype grading machines.
The actual verified cases were even fewer.
And even then—someone reawakening from a maker-type to a full-on combat-type?
That had never happened before.
And my friend was that unicorn?
It was unbelievable—and honestly, kind of awesome.
“So… what’s your new rank?”
“Hmm… S-class?”
“Seriously?! Are you for real?”
“Not officially. Just an estimate.”
At first, I thought he was joking—trying to one-up me or something.
But nope.
A few days later, at his re-evaluation, Taehwan passed all the S-class requirements with flying colors.
Unlike me, who fumbled my first test and embarrassed myself in front of all those VIPs, he got a standing ovation.
Just like that, the “First Ever S-Class” title I had… was already overshadowed.
In just a few days, the “Second S-Class” was born.
[Breaking news!
According to a statement from the Hunter Management Bureau, an Awakened being presumed to be S-class has emerged in the country.
In fact, not just one, but two individuals awakened around the same time.
Among them, one is reportedly a relative of a high-ranking official within the Bureau—naturally drawing even more attention…]
The second-ever S-class in Korea.
The dazzling background of being the son of Im Jaewoo, the famous A-Rank hunter and current Director of the Hunter Management Bureau.
Possessing a physique and appearance that could easily make anyone stop and stare in awe.
And to top it off—he’s the boy who survived the “Gate of Miracles.”
…And so, perhaps as expected, I was completely buried.
By the media.
By the public’s attention.
Perfectly overlooked.
* * *
