Hyunsoo stepped out of the bathroom, a towel draped over his shoulders and his damp, overgrown hair clinging to his forehead.
He was in comfortable pajama pants, shirtless, as he flopped onto his bed with a sigh of relief.
Despite having over 10 million won to his name, his room was surprisingly modest—a plain, cramped apartment with no signs of luxury. On the nightstand lay his phone, untouched since he'd entered the so-called "training realm."
"Ahhh… that hit the spot. A bath after a week? I reeked!" he groaned, stretching out.
Curious, he reached for his phone—and instantly regretted it.
The call log screamed at him:
---
Dad (46) — Missed Call
Mom (155) — Missed Call
Brat (29) — Missed Call
---
He stared at the screen in silence.
"…I'm dead."
The phone vibrated in his hand. Incoming Call: Mom.
"...Definitely dead."
Without thinking, he threw the phone across the room like it was cursed. It hit the wall with a soft thud and slid down to the floor, still buzzing.
He buried his face into a pillow.
"Should've just stayed in the training realm forever…"
A pause.
"…Do they have bathtubs in there?"
He got up and picked up the phone. It still vibrated like it wanted some blood to complete a ritual.
Hyunsoo gulped.
Tapped on the green button.
And put the phone to his ear.
"…Hello?"
His dad's voice exploded through the speaker like a military-grade alarm.
"What the heck are you doing?! You're an awakened?! And who the heck is Jinwoo? Why are you on the news, you b*stard?!"
Hyunsoo flinched, holding the phone at arm's length like it was physically hurting him.
"Uhh… surprise?" he said weakly.
"No! No surprise! Do you think this is some variety show reveal? Do you know how many people called us?! Your uncle fainted! Your aunt called a shaman!"
Hyunsoo winced. "I didn't ask to get famous overnight, okay? It just… happened."
"You disappeared for a whole week! No calls, no texts—your mom thought you joined a cult!"
Hyunsoo blinked. "…Technically, I was in another realm learning how to punch monsters in the face, so…"
"Don't get smart with me!"
Hyunsoo sighed. "Look, I'm fine. I didn't die. That's what matters, right?"
Silence.
Then came a calmer, more exhausted voice—his mom had taken the phone.
"Sweetie… are you hurt?"
Hyunsoo softened. "No, Mom. I'm really okay."
"Did you eat properly?"
"…Define 'properly.'"
Another voice in the background yelled, "TELL HIM HE'S GROUNDED UNTIL HE'S THIRTY!"
Mom continued, completely ignoring it. "Come home tomorrow. We're making seaweed soup."
"…It's not my birthday."
"It is now. You survived. That's worth celebrating."
Hyunsoo smiled faintly. "Okay. I'll come by."
Just as he was about to hang up, a new voice screeched into the phone.
"Where were you!? Mom and dad were so worried! I thought it was cool when you were on TV, but why did you disappear for a whole week?! We thought you died"
Her voice shaked, it as if she was holding back a cry. He was a brother, afterall.
Hyunsoo held the phone tighter, already bracing himself.
"I was worried sick! You didn't answer any messages or calls. What if something bad happened? What if—"
"Hey, hey, calm down," Hyunsoo interrupted gently. "I'm fine, seriously."
"But you could've at least told us something! Even a text! Just 'Hey, I'm alive'—anything!" Her voice trembled, half scolding, half relieved.
"I didn't have a signal… It was a whole different world," he explained.
"A different world? That sounds like an excuse for disappearing!" she snapped, then softened, "I just… I missed you, hyung."
Hyunsoo's heart clenched. "I missed you too."
Another pause. Then she spoke quietly, "Promise me you'll be more careful, okay? Please."
"I promise."
She sighed, finally settling down. "Good. Because Mom's already planning a welcome-home party. And Dad's got a list of rules longer than your training realm monsters."
Hyunsoo laughed despite himself. "Sounds terrifying."
"Yeah, well… we're family. You can't run off like this again."
"I won't."
A gentle silence settled, the tension easing from both sides.
"Okay, I gotta go. Mom's yelling about seaweed soup again."
"Alright. Thanks, sis."
"Anytime, hyung. Love you."
"Love you too."
He hung up, feeling the weight of home settle on his shoulders—but also the warmth he'd missed.
----
"We have his location. If a fight broke out, there'd be too much destruction," the man from the alley murmured into his phone, voice low and steady.
He stood beneath a flickering streetlamp, cigarette glowing faintly between his fingers. His tattered hoodie and relaxed posture made him look like a wandering thug—but the bloodlust in his aura told a different story.
The silence on the other end was brief.
A calm, authoritative voice replied, "Do not engage, Seokjin. We're still evaluating his risk level. Provoking him now could be catastrophic."
The alley man—Seokjin—exhaled smoke, eyes fixed on the apartment building across the street. His gaze was sharp. Predatory. "You're talking like he's a walking nuke."
"That's because he might be," said the voice—Director Jong, President of the Korean Hunter Association. "There's no way the accomplice of 'The hero hunter' would be weak. "
Seokjin scoffed, flicking ash off the end of his cigarette. "Hero Hunter, huh... You sure about that? The kid looked more like a shut-in than a mass murderer."
"He may not be him," Jong replied coldly, "but they appeared together on that gate footage. That can't be coincidence. We both know how that monster operates—he doesn't keep pets."
"…Unless they're useful," Seokjin muttered, narrowing his eyes. "What's the kid's name again?"
"Hyunsoo. No last name on record. Age unconfirmed. Status: Unranked… but based on the mana readings from that collapsed dungeon, we're expecting S-Rank minimum. Possibly higher."
Seokjin's eyes twitched. "Higher?"
"Yes. The sensors were fried. Not damaged—fried. Like they couldn't even process what they were detecting."
"Tch. Just what kind of monster are we dealing with…?"
A pause stretched between them.
"Doesn't matter. You aren't alone." Jong spoke first.
"He isn't either."
"Don't talk back"
"..."
"So, how far is the destroyed city form there?" Seokjin asked, already going impatient.
"It's 29.4 km."
"It's very far, this won't be easy to get him there. Isn't there a better way?" Seokjin asked
"What? You want to go and say "hey, lemme capture you". Are you dumb?"
Seokjin ground his teeth, voice low and clipped.
"You don't get it, President. Dragging him all the way to Pangyo? That's suicide. he should be smart enough to know what we are upto."
The line went quiet for a moment. Then Jong's tone grew firmer.
"The destroyed city is a controlled zone now—isolated, cordoned off. Perfect for a fight that could level half of Bundang without civilian casualties. It's a dangerous gamble, but it's better than risking mass casualties here."
Seokjin crushed his cigarette beneath his boot, eyes darkening.
"So we lure him there? How? He doesn't look like the type to take bait."
Jong's voice came steady, calculated.
"We don't bait him directly. We use someone he cares about."
Seokjin's eyes narrowed, flickering with suspicion.
"You mean… his family?"
"Exactly. We leak a tip—someone gets 'kidnapped' or 'in danger' near the edge of Pangyo. Hyunsoo will come. We prepare the traps, reinforcements, everything. When he shows up, we contain and neutralize."
Seokjin let out a slow breath, grinding his teeth.
"Risky. If he's as strong as you say, we could lose everything. Plus, what if he fights dirty? We don't know his full power."
Jong replied coldly,
"We don't have a choice. The Hunter Association can't afford to let an unranked, possibly S-rank or above, awakened run wild in the city. If he's connected to 'The hero hunter,' the threat level is off the charts."
Seokjin nodded reluctantly, already mentally preparing.
"Fine. I'll start planning the distraction and coordinate with field agents. But if this goes south—"
Jong cut him off.
"It won't. We'll make sure."
Seokjin hung up, eyes scanning the dimly lit street one last time before melting back into the shadows.
---
All to the hunter's got the same information. Harin, mira, minsik had a hard time accepting this. Using someone's family is going too low, in the end they had to join in because...the stakes were too high. Hyunsoo's power was a ticking time bomb nobody could ignore.
Mira clenched her fists, pacing the cramped room where the Hunter Association's elite gathered.
"We're crossing a line," she said, voice low but fierce. "Using his family as bait? That's… unethical. Even for us."
Harin shook her head. "It's not about what's right or wrong anymore. It's about survival. If Hyunsoo isn't stopped, more innocent lives will be lost. We nee-"
"F*ck you mean innocent lives? I don't see any civilian hurt in their Fights between other hunters. And the hunters that they have beaten were a**holes!" Minsoo yelled.
"Don't you think it will be much easier to just ask him to join hands? Just give him a better contract."
Suddenly, a screen lot behind director jong. A chat with jinwoo.
---
[Jong]: Mr. Jinwoo. I will get straight to the point. Join the association, we will give much better benefits than any S-Ranker.
[Jinwoo]: 6 billion.
[Jong]: Yeah, f*ck yourself.