"Whew..."
Han Ruby just finished clearing another vortex near the city outskirts, good thing it was just a B-ranked vortex, otherwise, it'll probably take them a bit too long to clear it.
She pulls out a pulsating black flux energy stone she looted from the vortex boss, now that she thinks of it — these stones had been appearing on dungeons and even researchers from the headquarters don't seem to identify what it is.
Like it's some new unidentifiable species.
"Weird." she remarks on the pulsating stone in hand before she returns it back to her inventory where she got it.
She steps into the portal with the others, they get back to Seoul alive and in full pieces. It wasn't that difficult but the mana energy was too overbearing for others to handle.
Once they're out of the vortex, the portal behind them swirled and disappeared as if it had never been there to begin with. Good thing that the area isn't swarmed by reporters or people yet.
Han Ruby nods at her teammates to leave already before they're spotted by passersbys as she takes out her phone and dials Yang Semyon's number.
"Yo? What is it, Rub?" Yang Semyon's energetic voice can be heard at the end of the line as Han Ruby answers back.
"I found another energy stone at the vortex."
"Seriously? We also found some at the raid earlier, what kind of stones are these? Are they like… uh… edible?" Yang Semyon couldn't help but ask with a playful giggle and Han Ruby just shrugs and becomes serious again.
"I would've consumed them a long time ago if they were, but... these stones are seriously dangerous, keep Song Dohyun updated about this so we can verify more back at the headquarters."
Yang Semyon whines, "Me again?"
"Of course, Song Dohyun has taken a liking to you. In no time, you'll be the guild leader of
"F...Fine... Just stop flatterin' me, alright? I've had enough with... yeah," Yang Semyon coughs, directing the conversation somewhere and sounds flustered.
"I'll meet you back at the headquarters, let's talk more later." Then Han Ruby ends the call, the line cutting with a beep before she pockets her phone.
'I still can't believe Song Dohyun rarely goes on raids anymore, is he meeting up with that 'Mary' again?' Han Ruby's brows furrow as she lets out a slight frustrated groan, her hand unconsciously tracing the bracelet in her wrist. Her fingers lingered longer than she intended to before pulling away to leave the area.
And then she mutters, "Just who is 'Mary' to him?"
***
While Yeon Yujun slumbers in his unconsciousness, his memories flash one by one — the good, the bad, the gnawing rage… and the guilt as the survivor of the Great Vortex.
As much as he tries so hard to accept that everything's in the past, he can't seem to do so. He really just… couldn't. As if he's shackled by those terrifying screams, helpless pleas, and deaths that he could have prevented.
After recalling a particular memory in his sleep, the time everything started— his eyes slowly opened, his vision was blurred by the hospital lights before his hazy mind began to register the pain and their surroundings.
From head to toe, his entire body is throbbing in pain before a screen appears in front of him; [ Your mana is healing, 87% of mana is restored. ]
'I'm… still alive,' that thought was supposed to make him feel relieved but it didn't. Instead he thought about the people who were unconscious from the overwhelming mana.
So, Yeon Yujun abruptly sat up from the hospital bed, causing Pouch who's at the night desk to shriek and tremble in shock and surprise.
"PUBU…!!" Pouch whines before it crawls towards Yeon Yujun, pouncing onto him with a soft plop. Pouch begins to cry as it sniffles, saying 'pupu' and 'bubu' that Yeon Yujun's brain refused to try and understand but he knows what kind of message it's trying to convey.
"Hey now, I'm still alive…" He spoke softly, feeling his own voice hoarse perhaps from the battle back at the sudden S-ranked vortex they just raided.
Pouch clings onto him like a lifeline that Yeon Yujun can't bring himself to pull away from the fluffy creature's warm embrace so he decides to welcome it.
"I won't go anywhere."
"That's right."
Suddenly, a familiar voice that stopped Yeon Yujun from moving came in — he looked up and looked around, finding no one at all before moving his head towards his left side.
"Alright, come on out, Hwigeon."
Just as Yeon Yujun expected, Seo Hwigeon emerges from nowhere, toggling off his invisibility ability swiftly as he stands there with the same mask on his face.
"Clever and sharp as always, kitten." Seo Hwigeon chuckles, tilting his head and amused as ever.
Yeon Yujun simply stares at the man before him, not surprised but rather annoyed and seems to be fed up with his attitude.
Yeon Yujun scoffs while he pats Pouch's head, "Quit stalking around."
Just when one of them could say another word, someone knocks on the door before opening it.
"Mr. Seo? You're here early."
"Ah, Dr. Dahlia!" Seo Hwigeon greets with his classic smooth voice, stepping aside for her to take a good look at Yeon Yujun.
"Take a good look at our hunter," he gestures at Yeon Yujun who looks at him with an annoyed expression.
"...Dr. Dahlia," he greets, bowing his head slightly as Dr. Dahlia waves her hand dismissively.
"Drop the formalities please, I'm just here to check on your condition since the actual doctor is out."
Yeon Yujun nods as he lets Dr. Dahlia approach his side at the bed, she takes out her pen with a flashlight on the end of the tip before aiming it in his eye, checking his pupils to see if they respond.
"Does anything hurt?"
Yeon Yujun shakes his head and Dr. Dahlia moves aside, checking her clipboard.
"It is quite unusual that a low-ranking awakener like you is able to attack the monster so easily, we've seen the footage." Dr. Dahlia crosses her arms against her chest, tapping her finger at the clipboard.
Yeon Yujun flinches in surprise, "Sorry?"
So everything has been recorded?
'Damn it… I was supposed to be low-key but… I just can't let them die in the vortex.'
Yeon Yujun sighs, just nodding at Dr. Dahlia's words as if expecting that she knows the truth — "So… Everything's recorded…?"
"Of course, we aren't expecting that you activate your full awakening so soon! We'll assign you for a re-evaluation in the next three weeks."
'Huh?'
"Re… evaluation?"
Dr. Dahlia explains with a proud and excited smile on her face, "Yes, we assign awakeners who become stronger than their former assigned rank. Imagine a B-class hunter who became so strong they turned into S-class! But realistically speaking… A-class most of the time, there's still a few S-class in the country." she chuckles, tapping on her own chin.
"Ah… is that so?" Yeon Yujun just nods, still caressing Pouch's trembling body against his chest.
'She's so… unusually excited when it comes to talking about S-classes huh…?'
Dr. Dahlia gives him a bright thumbs up and a confident wink, "That's right! Well, I'll be scheduling your re-evaluation with Momo!"
"Who's Momo…?"
Seo Hwigeon lazily replies, who is now playing with his own shadowy dagger that seems to smell like acid. "Momo is the name of her robot,"
Yeon Yujun almost forgot that Seo Hwigeon is just there by the corner like some shadow.
"Right…"
'If he didn't speak up, I probably would've forgotten he's in this room…' Yeon Yujun huffs unimpressed and Pouch finally calms down then curls up in his lap to sleep while hiccuping like a sleeping baby who just finished crying.
"Now that we're done here, Ahjussi is free to go now right?~" Seo Hwigeon asks with a teasing voice that grates Yeon Yujun's nerves as usual as he just stared at him annoyingly.
Dr. Dahlia nods, letting Yeon Yujun go easily just after their conversation. "He seems to be fine now, his mana will recover him. That's one of the perks of being an S-class awakener, you recover fast."
"Great, I guess you'll be discharged today." Seo Hwigeon laughs behind his wolf mask that Yeon Yujun's already sick of seeing as he just stared at him —
Is he really coming with him?
After a while, Yeon Yujun finds himself by the nearby café of the Hunters Division Building, he hadn't been in any other café other than their own.
While Pouch is sleeping in his pocket, before him is a feast of baked goods and steaming coffee, the scent of the café makes him miss working already.
When everything was so simple before…
"Are you eating?" And of course, Seo Hwigeon is keeping him company as he just sits there casually.
Yeon Yujun looks up from his plate of chocolate panna cotta and a cup of hot coffee that seems to calm his nerves down.
"I will… It's just that…" he trails off, biting his bottom lip before lifting a fork and tapping it to the dessert.
'What should I even bring up first? The fact that he saved me back at the vortex or that everything's just… happening way too fast?' He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by what's happening.
"You look overwhelmed."
'Of course he'll see right through me.'
Yeon Yujun just forced a bitter smile at Seo Hwigeon, "I'm fine."
"Well, you don't sound fine to me." Seo Hwigeon leans back to his chair, watching Yeon Yujun poke at the dessert as if it's foreign to him that he couldn't help but think if Yeon Yujun ever buys food like those.
Seo Hwigeon then clears his throat, "Aren't you going to thank me for saving you back there?"
Yeon Yujun flinches as if he just got exposed, "Huh? R-right… Thanks for saving me there, I was just about to bring it up and I just got…" he stared at Seo Hwigeon's mask, now he couldn't help but feel curious what's behind it — the last time he'd seen it… there's no face at all.
"Distracted?" Seo Hwigeon finishes.
"Yeah."
As if amused, Seo Hwigeon taps on the table, "The Hunter's Banquet is coming in two weeks, I expect you to be present there."
"Hunter's Banquet…?" Yeon Yujun's brows furrow in confusion. What's the Hunter's Banquet truly? Something like the disaster event like the Hunter's Memorabilia Museum?
"Right, I figured you won't be that informed… Well, since you're an unknown awakener back then." Seo Hwigeon mutters.
'What does that anything have to do with…? Ugh… but he's right though.'
"It's a celebration for all awakeners, but of course, not everyone's invited as someone has to watch for the vortexes." Seo Hwigeon gestures around them.
"Don't you think it's time for you to build some connections? It won't be long till your re-evaluation, word spreads fast like wildfire when it comes to ranking up."
Yeon Yujun points at himself, "Do… I really need to go?"
"Well, we won't be long. After all, you deserve a break after the vortex raid." His tone instantly shifts into something that Yeon Yujun refuses to name, Yeon Yujun simply nods.
Of course Yeon Yujun needs a break after that — who expected that the vortex would turn into an S-rank?
"Of course, yeah."
"Eat your dessert."
'Geez, I've never heard anyone feeding people desserts for breakfast.' Yeon Yujun stares at the panna cotta, still poking it with the fork before his eyes shift upwards at Seo Hwigeon's mask.
"Now that I think about it… do you have… like any face?"
That question stopped Seo Hwigeon, he just stayed quiet like a silent cricket before he tapped his shoe against the floor.
"What? Interested in seeing my face already?"
"Well, sometimes I would catch a glimpse of your face but it almost looks like you don't even have any." Yeon Yujun mumbles, making Seo Hwigeon chuckle.
"Would my reveal motivate you to eat your dessert?"
"Maybe."
Then Seo Hwigeon considers his options for a few minutes as he takes out a stone item from his own inventory and snaps it into half to activate its effect.
( "[?] Illusional Stone" is now in effect! )
'He doesn't want anyone else to… see?'
"Maybe revealing it to you won't hurt but you gotta promise to accompany me at the mall,"
"Whatever."
Yeon Yujun's answer seems to satisfy Seo Hwigeon enough as he reaches up to touch and hold his mask — Yeon Yujun watches in anticipation and curiosity as he unconsciously holds his breath for what's to come.
What could he possibly look like behind that mask besides his scarred mouth and annoying personality?