* * *
By pulling a black hat low over his head and covering half his face with a black mask, Seohwa transformed himself into the picture of a suspicious person.
After some hesitation, he swapped the black hat for a yellow one.
It was an effort to appear even slightly less conspicuous.
Creak.
He pushed open the rusted metal gate and stepped outside.
Unlike the dim interior of his home, the weather outside was bright and sunny.
It felt like winter had finally ended.
Seohwa adjusted his mask to let in a bit of warm sunlight, but upon spotting people walking down the alley, he quickly pulled it back into place.
He walked down the alley with his head bowed.
None of the passersby paid him any attention; they were too busy snapping photos of the yellow forsythias blooming along the walls.
Seohwa felt satisfied with his decision to switch to a yellow hat.
At the supermarket, he loaded his cart with groceries.
Enough to last him months without stepping outside again.
He piled up essentials like body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.
Even in a world this advanced, deliveries rarely reached his secluded rural home, so trips like this were necessary.
Turning the corner to grab some toilet paper, he came face-to-face with a massive TV monitor.
It belonged to the electronics store next door, which was airing a documentary in real-time.
[April 10: 3rd Anniversary of the Grade 6 Dungeon
What the Hate Phenomenon Left Behind]
‘Have I been living without any sense of time?’
Seohwa didn’t even know today was April 10th—or that it was April at all.
He had only come out because he had run out of groceries and essentials, and it happened to be spring.
‘So winter really is over. No wonder the weather was so bright. No wonder the forsythias were blooming. No wonder I felt like wearing a yellow hat…’
He idly fingered his black-dyed hair sticking out from under the hat.
As an Awakened, even dyed hair would quickly fade back to white within days.
Meanwhile, the documentary’s opening sequence began playing.
‘The Beginning of the Hate Phenomenon’
‘The Official Announcement of the Grade 6 Dungeon’
‘Hate Appears on the Public Stage for the First Time’
Clips of the Epsilon Expedition Team’s journey through the Grade 6 Dungeon filled the screen, followed by the end of the Hate Phenomenon and Seohwa’s disappearance.
‘What Hate Left Behind’
The footage condensed the three years from six years ago to three years ago into a well-polished narrative.
It was clear they had invested heavily in its production, and the documentary was even a three-part series.
‘Maybe I should pick up some popcorn.’
It felt pointless to linger here.
Seohwa decided he’d go home, make some popcorn, and watch it in comfort.
For the first time in a long while, he had a small reason to look forward to something.
“Do you think Seohwa is really dead? He hasn’t appeared in all this time…”
He paused mid-step.
A group of people standing by the TV were deep in conversation.
They had no idea that the white-haired man they were discussing was right behind them.
“No way. He’s probably just hiding somewhere.”
“In today’s world? With cameras everywhere and everyone knowing his face? Plus, the entire Epsilon team is actively hunting for him. If they haven’t found even a strand of hair, maybe he really is…”
“Hey, stop. Do you think he’s the type to kill himself?”
“I don’t know. With the whole world hating him, I couldn’t take it. I’d have ended things.”
“You and I aren’t like him. He went back to the past fully prepared to be hated. He doesn’t see life the way we do, so it’s pointless to project our values onto him.”
“I guess… Then why hasn’t he shown up if everyone’s looking for him?”
“No idea. He must have his reasons. Maybe he’s worried about dying. Or… maybe he resents us?”
The two fell silent, glaring at each other.
“Why would he resent us?”
“Why wouldn’t he?”
Their argument grew heated, but it stopped as the documentary shifted to footage of a man with deep purple eyes and sharp, masculine features—someone embodying every possible definition of strength and beauty.
Kang Yigeon.
Seohwa stared at the screen, his chest tightening.
Memories of fiery hands, low gasps, and searing heat flooded back.
‘Why…? Why did he always…’
Seohwa had no desire to reveal himself to the world, not even a speck as small as a grain of dust.
But if he were to step outside just once, he would want to stand before Kang Yigeon.
He wanted to ask him.
“Why did you shield me from that stone back then?”
How would he respond?
With that characteristic blunt and composed expression.
“…Because I did.”
No matter how hard Seohwa tried to imagine, the only dialogue he could conjure was “…”.
It wasn’t that he didn’t know what kind of answer might come.
Rather, it was that Seohwa couldn’t begin to understand the emotion behind it.
“By the way, what about Kang Yigeon? He’s not going to stay like this and never wake up, is he?”
Just as Seohwa was about to leave, his steps were once again halted by a passerby’s remark.
Kang Yigeon?
Not wake up like this?
What is this about?
His ears perked up.
“It’s seriously scary. When I first heard he collapsed, I thought he’d recover quickly.”
“He’s been in a coma for a month now, hasn’t he?”
“Almost two months. I heard it’s the first time an S-rank has been unconscious this long. What do we do? Honestly, I still hate Seohwa, but aside from that, I wish he’d appear before Kang Yigeon at least once. I’m worried he’ll show up only after Kang Yigeon dies.”
“Exactly. Kang Yigeon was so desperate to find him… He has to meet him while he’s still alive.”
The people shared their words of pity and moved away from the TV.
But Seohwa remained frozen in place.
…What condition did they say he’s in?
Kang Yigeon… why?
* * *
