* * *
There was something I absolutely had to do if I ever saw the Gray Coat again—and I’d totally forgotten. Idiot!
I hurriedly searched my bag, which I’d left inside the tent.
Thank goodness—it didn’t take long to find what I was looking for.
“This! I wanted to give it to you.”
What I pulled out of my bag… was a letter.
I’d found it yesterday, while checking a box of hospital stuff after Eunyul asked me to look it over.
It was the “thing I mustn’t forget.”
A fan letter I’d wanted to give him since before I could see.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect.
I’d just finished writing it the day before yesterday and had been debating whether to pass it along through Taehwan or just hold onto it until we met again.
And now—here he was.
It felt like fate, in the most dramatic way possible.
Well, maybe just to me.
The Gray Coat clearly hadn’t expected me to hand him a letter.
He looked genuinely startled.
“You’re… giving this to me?”
“Yes! I, um, actually… I’ve been, quietly, um, not liking, but respecting you for a long time! So I wanted to… to give you a f-fan letter. But, uh, my handwriting’s kind of bad. It might be hard to read! I hadn’t written much until recently because I couldn’t see. I’ve been practicing, but it was all while I was still blind…”
Ahh, this stupid mouth.
Rambling again, saying way too much.
I bet it sounds ridiculous.
“Back when I couldn’t see,” really?
Does this man know about the “Child of Miracles” too?
Starting from there would be excessive… way too much.
I was inwardly anxious, but thankfully, he didn’t ask anything about the moment I’d carelessly mentioned — about when I couldn’t see.
He just nodded and said, “I see.”
“So, it might be hard to read, but… p-please take it!”
“Thank you.”
When I offered it with both hands, he accepted it with both hands, too.
Even though it was just a small letter — smaller than the palm of his hand — he took it as if it were precious.
That gave me the courage.
The courage to lift my head and look at him.
My idol, whom I looked up to carefully, was… smiling.
“I’ll treasure it.”
Ah.
Thank goodness.
He looked happy.
Thank goodness I could at least see his mouth.
If I couldn’t see any part of his expression, I probably would’ve obsessed over it endlessly —
whether he liked it, hated it, found it bothersome.
But the curve of that smiling mouth alone… made me happy.
This whole trip — honestly — has been filled with nothing but happiness.
He opened his coat and tucked the letter into an inner pocket.
The way he handled it with such care moved me all over again.
“…Do I make you uncomfortable?”
But the question that followed didn’t quite match the joy I was feeling.
“Uncomfortable? What do you mean?”
“I did something terrible to you.”
“Ter…!”
Something terrible?
I hadn’t imagined that Gray Coat thought of it that way.
Sure, I was startled when he first tried to kiss me, but it wasn’t even a real kiss because of the mask.
‘Ah… could that be why he came to find me?’
I had wondered why he’d come all the way to such a remote campsite to see me —but if this was the reason, it made sense.
If he believed that kiss from that day was something unforgivable and came to apologize, then the puzzle finally felt complete.
This place was too secluded to just be a stop along the way, after all.
Of course, it seemed a little too much to go this far over something like that…
But maybe it was just who he was — gentle and deeply responsible.
So I waved both hands in a rush, trying to show there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
“No, no! Not at all! I was… I wasn’t exactly in my right mind that day, s-so I kind of pushed for it…”
Ah, crap.
Saying I wasn’t in my right mind and begged him could easily sound like I was blaming him.
Especially to someone who came here specifically to apologize.
My face flushed hot, but to avoid any misunderstanding, I decided to be honest.
I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him, but I poured all my sincerity into my words.
“I liked it…”
I still feel the warmth from that kiss on my lips.
A deep, burning red sensation.
It was my first kiss — and it’s become an unforgettable, beautiful memory.
The feeling of his lips and tongue, his gentle hands brushing against me, his breathing and soft laughter just inches away — everything about it was sweet.
“It was so nice that I’ve been thinking about it these past few days.”
“…Me too.”
Gray Coat’s voice usually had the tone of an emotionless machine, but this time, it was different.
The words spilled out with a sudden, heated emotion — as if even the artifact’s calibration couldn’t suppress it.
Startled, I looked up at him.
Perhaps realizing he had lost control, he briefly pressed his lips together, as if to rein it in.
But even so, he took a step closer to me.
“I kept thinking about it.”
“Y-you did, too?”
“Yes. It was a first.”
“What… was?”
“Kissing. And wanting to touch someone.”
“Oh…”
“All of it was my first.”
At that moment, it felt like time stopped.
The rain tapping on the tent and the world outside, the wind, the thunder — the world, so full of noise — all of it went silent.
I could only focus on him.
‘His first…’
When did I first learn of this person?
Life in the hospital was monotonous.
I had no vision, no feeling in my lower body.
There wasn’t much I could do alone, and I couldn’t even go outside in case the toxins in my body acted up.
So time passed in a blur.
I wasn’t sensitive to it.
But if I had to guess… maybe it’s been three years?
What I do remember clearly is the exact moment I first learned of Gray Coat.
It’s burned into my mind because I had been so deeply depressed back then.
“Taehwan, can you turn the radio off?”
As always, I was listening to the daily Hunter broadcast.
But that day, I suddenly lost interest — no, not just that. I felt discomfort.
As a kid, I thought Hunters were like heroes.
They had special powers and used them to help others.
My uncle and dad had always told me stories of the good things Hunters did —maybe that’s why.
So I naturally believed that all Hunters were good people, like the ones in movies.
That’s why I used to enjoy listening to their stories.
But even with little real-world experience, as I grew older, I started understanding the broadcasts.
And I realized…
There were fewer heartwarming stories than I’d expected.
Most of it was about expensive mana stones, dungeon auctions, guild rivalries, and pointless power struggles between Hunters.
The stories were so far from my ideals that I felt let down.
I was so disappointed that listening became painful.
So when Taehwan came to visit, I immediately asked him to turn the radio off.
“Huh? What’s up, Jaehee? You always listen to this.”
“I don’t know… I’m just not interested anymore. They always talk about fighting or money. I guess it’s hard for Hunters to do good things when they’re so busy making money. I guess they’re different from heroes.”
“‘Hunter’ means hunter. ‘Hero’ means hero. Of course they’re different.”
“I know, but still…”
Even I knew it sounded childish.
I hadn’t been to school since elementary, had spent most of my life in a hospital VIP room.
So sure, I was sheltered.
But at the time, I had nothing to look forward to.
The world felt gray and boring, and if I didn’t complain like this sometimes, I wouldn’t have lasted.
“Hunters are way stronger than regular people. They can do a lot. I just wish — even just once in a while, maybe around the holidays — we could hear about something kind or heartwarming.”
“Jaehee…”
If my late father had heard me, he’d have scolded me, telling me not to say such immature things — that everyone’s just trying to live.
But Taehwan, who was always kinder to me than I deserved, just held my hand and patted my head.
His voice was warm when he spoke.
“They need to keep the radio exciting so people listen. There are lots of Hunters who do good things — they just don’t make the news. I’ll find stories for you.”
And he really did.
Whenever I was feeling down — maybe not every day, but whenever I needed it — he came with stories of good things Hunters had done.
Still, even with all his effort, there were limits.
He couldn’t create stories out of nothing.
Within a month, most of the stories became very minor.
Even including international ones.
Eventually, not wanting to burden him with my stubbornness, I told him it was enough — that I was grateful.
And it was around then… that I first heard of a Hunter in a gray coat.
* * *
