Many days had passed since the hero_hunter last made the news.
No new beatdowns. No grainy CCTV footage. No panicked livestreams cutting to black. Just... silence.
Some believed he had finally been caught. Others were convinced he'd picked the wrong fight and died anonymously in a back alley. A few whispered stranger theories—that he was never real, just an illusion created to scare heroes straight.
But rumors are just that—rumors.
Online, however, the hero_hunter refused to be forgotten. His name still lingered like smoke, trending again and again on HeroNet, in clickbait articles, conspiracy forums, and unending comment threads.
"Did he go underground?"
"What if he's watching right now?"
"Nah, I bet a top-tier guild took him out. Silence means success."
"Or maybe he's planning something bigger."
Some users posted old clips with dramatic music. Others uploaded fake sightings just to farm likes. But deep down, even the seasoned awakeners felt it—unease.
The calm felt too deliberate.
Most of the guilds as well as the association was happy about this, but there was a lingering fear of what ifs.
The "hero_hunter" had made its name outside of korea. Through social media. Japan, china, somehow philippines, and even the USA. Winstagram, beddit, yu-tube, everything. Either top #1 or #2. Always the name "hero_hunter". People even started making edits of him.
What has the world come to...
At the association, further researchs had been going on. They had also found out hero_hunter's real identity, as well as his accomplice.
---
Seoul – National Hospital, Room 314
The TV mounted on the hospital wall played softly—background noise to the quiet beeping of machines and the occasional cough from the corridor. Jinwoo's mother lay asleep, pale and thin beneath the blanket. Her husband sat beside her, peeling an apple, eyes occasionally drifting toward the news channel.
He wasn't really paying attention—until he heard the name.
> "Breaking: Hero_Hunter identified as 25-year-old Jinwoo park, previously employed at a convenience store in Seoul. Sources say he awakened several weeks ago and has since been involved in numerous illegal altercations with registered heroes…"
The apple slipped from his hand.
The screen showed a grainy image of Jinwoo—his face mid-punch, eyes cold. Then another shot: hood up, hands in pockets, walking past a collapsed gate.
His father stared in silence. The news anchor kept talking.
> "Authorities are still confirming the details, but footage from multiple incidents has been matched using facial recognition and witness statements…"
A long silence filled the hospital room. Only the beeping of the IV machine remained.
Then, quietly, he muttered, "That little bastard…"
He looked at his wife, still sleeping, unaware.
"This is what he's been doing?"
His grip tightened on the armrest. "Running around like a thug. Making enemies. Showing up on TV."
---
Hyunsoo's Home – That Same Night
His little sister stood behind the couch, peeking over the cushions as their mother wept into her hands. The news played on loop, showing both faces now—Hyunsoo and Jinwoo.
> "—both now classified as rogue awakeners. Their current location is unknown, but the Association has issued a nationwide alert."
His father stormed into the hallway, phone in hand, dialing again and again.
"Pick up, Hyunsoo. What the hell are you doing…"
His sister stared at the screen. "He looks cool, though," she whispered.
Her mother glared at her.
"Not the time."
---
Seoul – Luxury Apartment Complex, Gangnam District
A kettle whistled in the background, steam curling into the air.
Jinwoo's sister, Harin Park, sat cross-legged on her couch in a tank top and sweatpants, her S-Rank license tossed carelessly on the coffee table beneath a half-eaten protein bar.
She wasn't expecting anything special when she turned on the news—just background noise while she sorted out her raid schedule.
Then she saw his face.
> "...confirmed to be Jinwoo Park, age twenty-five, previously unawakened. Currently classified as an unregistered high-level rogue and the individual behind the infamous 'hero_hunter' alias—"
Harin blinked. The remote slipped from her fingers.
She leaned forward slowly, narrowing her eyes at the screen as footage rolled: Jinwoo shoving someone through a car windshield, Jinwoo punching out a B-Rank midair, Jinwoo walking away as explosions lit up behind him like some cheap action movie.
She didn't breathe for a moment.
"…This idiot.," she muttered, rubbing her forehead.
Just as Harin stood to grab her phone again, it buzzed on the table.
She stared at the caller ID.
[ASSOCIATION HQ – URGENT]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
She picked it up with a sigh and swiped to answer.
"Park Harin speaking."
> "Miss Park," came the clipped, official voice of Director Baek from the Hunter Association. "You've likely seen the news."
"I did," she said flatly, already rubbing her temples.
> "Then I won't waste your time. We're organizing an S-Rank commission—capture-only, if possible. Subject: Jinwoo Park. Secondary target: Hyunsoo jang. Both confirmed high-tier threats, operating without registration."
"Capture only?" Harin scoffed. "You sure about that? That guy threw an A-Ranker through a van and we don't even know his accomplices strength."
> "We're aware. That's why we're sending you and others of your rank."
There was a pause.
> "We're also offering first choice of rewards. If you succeed."
Harin glanced at her gear locker.
"…I'll think about it."
> "You don't have time to think."
Click. The line went dead.
---
Hunter Association HQ – Briefing Room
Ten seats. Ten names. All S-Rank.
One by one, Korea's elite hunters filed into the cold, reinforced conference room, each with their own flavor of reputation. Some famous, some infamous. All powerful.
A massive digital display lit up at the front.
> OPERATION: SHADOW TRACE
Target: [Jinwoo Park] – Alias: Hero_Hunter
Target: [Hyunsoo Choi] – Confirmed Accomplice
Priority: Level S Threat
Status: Nationwide Bounty Active
Note: Capture preferred. Termination authorized if resistance exceeds threshold.
Director Jong stood at the head of the table, eyes scanning the gathered hunters.
"Let's make one thing clear. These two are not amateurs. Jinwoo Park is estimated to be an S-Rank combatant. Possibly higher. His recorded movements suggest extreme physical enhancement, adaptive combat skills, and an unknown awakening trait. Hyunsoo is... unpredictable. Our intel is still incomplete on him."
Murmurs broke out among the hunters.
Minsoo leaned back and scoffed. "Is this the punk who dropped half the Thunder Guild on livestream?" [Class:brawler]
Shin Minsik chuckled. "He sent Sumin flying. You know how heavy she is in armor?" [Special Class: Golden Archer]
Harin[Class: Spirit swordswoman] entered last, tying her hair up with a bored look.
"Harin!" Yelled out mira, Another S-Ranker as well as harin's best friend. [Class: Healer.]
Director jong glanced at her. "Glad you made it."
"I didn't say I accepted," she said, sliding into the empty chair.
"No, but you will," he said, tapping a button on the table.
A holo-image popped up—Jinwoo walking out of a burning alley, dragging a B-Rank behind him like a sack of trash.
Harin sighed. "...Dumbass."
Director jong folded his arms.
"You all have one week. Coordinate if needed. But know this—if either of them disappears again, you will be blamed. The world's watching now. We can't afford another scandal."
Minsoo raised his hand. "We allowed unregistered S-Ranks to roam. That's the real scandal."
Jong didn't disagree.
"But now we fix it."
---
Elsewhere — Hunter Association, Administrative Floor
The automatic doors hissed open with a sharp beep as Jiwoo stepped inside, heels clicking softly against the polished tiles.
She wore a sleek black blazer, hair tied in a high ponytail, a thin earpiece glinting under the fluorescent lights. Her ID card—Jiwoo Seo, Gate Manager, Administrative Division—swung lightly from her lanyard as she moved past desks and monitors displaying real-time gate data across Seoul.
Behind her calm expression, her thoughts were a storm.
She had seen the news.
Jinwoo Park.
Her ex.
The guy who used to share cheap convenience store ramen with her after late shifts. The one who once bought her a vending machine hair clip and called it "limited edition." The one she hadn't talked to in over a year—not since she ended things. Clean break. No calls. No messages.
Now he was the most wanted man in Korea.
> "—Jinwoo Park… Hero_Hunter…"
She kept walking as analysts whispered behind her back. She could feel the stares. No one said it out loud, but they all knew. Jiwoo Seo used to date that guy.
She entered her office and closed the door behind her. The glass went opaque immediately.
Then, she exhaled sharply and leaned on the desk.
"...You idiot," she muttered under her breath, staring at the paused video on her tablet. Jinwoo or how she used to knew him as-Hajin. Hood up. That signature lazy walk. Like nothing could touch him.
She stared longer.
There was a familiar look in his eyes—cold, detached, but under it... pain?
Her hand hovered over the tablet screen before pressing play again. She watched him throw a hero through a barricade like trash, then vanish into smoke.
> Knock knock.
She looked up.
One of the field agents peeked in. "Manager Seo. HQ wants you to liaise with the S-Rank task force. Since, uh..." he hesitated.
Jiwoo didn't wait for him to finish.
"Since I used to know him?"
The agent winced. "Sorry. They just said your insight could help with predicting his movements. You're being assigned as their point of contact."
She stared for a second. Then nodded.
"I'll do it."
As the door closed behind the agent, Jiwoo stood up and turned back to the screen, eyes narrowing.
"Let's see what you're really planning, Jinwoo."
Because despite everything—despite the headlines, the bounties, the chaos—she knew him.
And this wasn't random.
He was aiming at something.
Maybe wanting to meet him? But in such a way hurt her as well..