* * *
That bastard Im Taehwan—I knew he was ridiculously tall since I always had to crane my neck to look at him, but… nearly 2 meters?
That’s beyond my expectations.
From what I last remember, he was a little taller than me, but the difference wasn’t this extreme.
When did he grow this much?
“The world is so unfair…”
Good family, smart, handsome, a great physique—and now, he’s freakishly tall too.
There’s a limit to being overpowered.
At this point, isn’t it just cheating?
I always think this, but even if Taehwan hadn’t awakened, he would’ve lived a life everyone envied.
Maybe God had some sense of fairness and kept him at B-rank.
Then again, with a body like that, it almost feels like a waste that he’s not a combat-type ability user.
“Im Taehwan?”
But Taehwan’s exceptional physique wasn’t always a good thing.
Even with a cap and a mask on, someone still recognized him.
We had barely arrived on the second floor, where the cafeteria was, before it happened.
“No way, it’s really Im Taehwan?”
While I was busy looking at the menu after we found a secluded spot, Taehwan had gone to get some water.
A man approached him, his loud voice cutting through the air.
It wasn’t that he was shouting on purpose—his voice was just naturally booming, the type you’d expect from an easygoing, boisterous guy.
Was he an acquaintance of Taehwan’s?
Taehwan had spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals, but he never really brought anyone along, so I knew nothing about anyone he might have met after elementary school.
Then again, this was a workplace.
Even if Taehwan wasn’t a hunter, he was still an awakened individual, so I guess it made sense that someone would recognize him.
Peeking over the menu, I anxiously watched the scene unfold.
“…? You’ve got the wrong person.”
“Huh? Aren’t you Im Taehwan? …Oh, I must’ve been mistaken. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.”
Taehwan walked back over, completely unbothered, and handed me my water.
The way he handled it was so natural that I was the one left flustered.
The man, now looking awkward, scratched his head and walked away.
I lowered my voice and asked Taehwan,
“You don’t know him?”
“He’s annoying.”
His answer was indifferent.
I was stunned.
Did he really just lie that smoothly?
His voice even sounded different from usual.
For something done on impulse, it was unbelievably seamless and calculated.
Now that I thought about it, Taehwan had always been like this, even when we were in school together.
He only paid attention to people he cared about, completely ignoring the ones he didn’t.
But… that was back when he was a kid who thought the world revolved around him.
He’s an adult now.
Even with a cap and a mask on, someone had recognized him.
Should he really have ignored them like that?
It left a weird feeling in my chest.
“Who was he?”
“A classmate from the Hunter training academy.”
My eyes widened.
Not just a coworker, but someone from school?
“You had friends in school?”
“…Not all classmates are friends, you know. Also, what kind of question is that, Jehee?”
“Hah… That’s…”
Before I could finish, he pinched both of my cheeks and stretched them out.
Okay, maybe what I said was a bit blunt… but I genuinely hadn’t expected Taehwan to have other friends.
He had spent most of his free time with me for years.
It was just an honest question.
But since he apparently wasn’t friends with the guy, I started to feel guilty.
Not only for possibly keeping him from making other friends, but also for saying it so bluntly.
I gave him a pleading look.
“Sowwy…”
Seeing my ridiculous expression, he must have softened up.
His lips trembled before he finally let out a laugh.
“It’s fine. What do you want to eat? Have you picked yet?”
“Um…! No, not yet. There are too many options, and I don’t recognize any of them…”
I had been blind for 13 years.
Of course, I didn’t recognize most of these new dishes.
And this was the cafeteria for the Hunter Management Bureau—most of the food had special ingredients sourced from dungeons, making them even more unfamiliar.
The sheer variety made it hard to choose, and on top of that, it had been 13 years since I last read anything, so I was still slow at it.
I groaned, flipping through the menu.
Luckily, there were pictures next to each item.
But before I could make a choice—
“Boss, who’s Im Taehwan?”
While I was drowning in the sea of menu choices, Taehwan’s name suddenly rang in my ears again.
It came from the direction that loud guy had gone.
Instinctively, I glanced over.
A group of people sat together at a table, probably part of the same guild.
They didn’t necessarily look alike, but they all had distinct features that made them stand out.
For some reason, their atmosphere felt oddly familiar… though I couldn’t quite place why.
‘Can’t they lower their voices…?’
Even if they were talking about Taehwan, eavesdropping didn’t feel right.
But their voices were just too loud to ignore.
Plus, since I had been blind for so long, my hearing was naturally more sensitive.
“You know, the guy who’s been coasting through life because his dad is the director of the Administration Bureau.”
“Huh? Im Jaewoo’s son is Im Taehwan? And he’s your friend, Boss?”
“Oh, fuc off. Do I look like an idiot? Why the hell would I be friends with that arrogant, self-centered prick who thinks he’s better than everyone else?”
My body stiffened.
Without realizing it, I gripped the menu so hard I nearly crumpled it.
I exhaled deeply, trying to calm down.
But it wasn’t easy.
What kind of nonsense was that?
Taehwan was the furthest thing from selfish.
He’d spent over ten years taking care of me, someone who needed constant help.
He was a good person.
“Forget it. It’s true we’re not friends.”
“…Yeah.”
“…Jehee, if this is going to bother you, let’s eat somewhere else. There are plenty of guild-run restaurants outside.”
“…”
I bit my lip and nodded.
I had wanted to eat at the cafeteria.
It was something I had looked forward to.
But after hearing that, there was no way I could enjoy my meal.
Taehwan might be pretending not to care, but I knew it was getting to him too.
More than anything, I couldn’t even lift my head.
Listening to those words made me feel… furious.
I hadn’t been this angry in a long time.
Ever since the corruption took over my body, stress had a direct impact on my health.
My head throbbed, a warning sign that my fever might spike soon.
That scared me.
Still… the corruption wouldn’t leak out of me anymore, right?
Even if it did, most people here were awakened, so they’d be fine…
“Then why did you act like you knew him?”
“Because it’s suspicious for him to be here. He’s not a Hunter, just a regular awakened.”
“So what? Regular awakened people can have business at the Administration Bureau too.”
“Yeah, but that guy’s especially shady. He reeked of something fishy back then too.”
“Oh… Are you saying Im Jaewoo and his son are involved in some kind of corruption?”
“My instincts tell me so. One day, their heads will come floating down. Just wait and see.”
“The captain’s instincts are usually right.”
Even as I tried to walk away, their voices kept digging into my chest, making my stomach churn.
Their conversation alone was enough to make me uneasy, and though they spoke more quietly this time, my ears—on edge—still caught every word.
A feverish heat spread through my entire body.
Was this the heat of anger?
Or was my body truly burning up from something else?
“It’d be quite a sight, wouldn’t it? Watching that arrogant father and son go down in one fell swoop.”
The voice that had been grating on my nerves finally pierced straight through my chest.
At that moment, the heat coursing through me vanished.
My head turned ice-cold, as if frozen solid.
As if something were pulling me forward, I rose from my wheelchair.
“Je…”
I think Taehwan called my name in shock.
I heard him, but my mind didn’t register the sound.
All of my senses had narrowed down to my vision.
‘I can see them.’
Since the moment I first opened my eyes, I hadn’t seen them—but now, they were there. Lines.
They stretched across my vision, filling the space.
And among them, one stood out the most—the red ones.
Deep, blood-red lines rose like veins, coiling around those who had provoked my fury.
As my gaze remained locked on those vivid colors, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
What would happen if I reached out and touched them?
Could I make them regret the words they spat at Taehwan and his uncle?
The lines shifted.
They moved.
They pulsed, as if tempting me—urging me to touch them.
I…
“Jung Jehee! Snap out of it!”
A voice, loud enough to tear through my eardrums, shook my head violently.
Pulled back from the whirlwind of rage by Taehwan’s hands and voice, I finally looked at his face.
* * *
