The king asked, "My brothers and I want to build a city, but it collapses every night. We can't complete it."
The fairy replied, "If a person is buried under the foundation stone, it will be completed safely."
"What kind of person are you talking about?"
"I will tell you who is worthy of the sacrifice. You may choose from them. The first is a twin, and the other is the wife of one of the king's brothers."
The king made his choice.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
The boy sitting in the corner of the yard looked up. He wondered what the child's name was before simply replying, "Did you just wake up?"
"Yes."
"The director will scold you if he finds you out here."
"I can't sleep."
The child walked closer, sighing as he looked at the pendant the boy was holding. A red liquid flickered inside the finely crafted glass decoration.
"It's beautiful. What is it?"
The boy looked down at the child's small, outstretched hand, a hand that seemed to be reaching for the pendant. He placed the pendant in the child's palm. The child happily held it up above his head.
Blood-stained moonlight poured out from beyond the transparent glass, illuminating a full moon.
Then the moonlight distorted.
The gate opened.
"Breaking your nose even if you fall backward," or Murphy's Law—these expressions fit In Yushin's day perfectly, he thought.
First, he sold a bookshelf he no longer needed on a second-hand trading site. The buyer pulled all sorts of tricks and haggled him down by five thousand won during the in-person transaction. He cursed to himself a few times and tried to forget about it, but then his bank account was suspended out of nowhere. It turned out the buyer was involved in a voice phishing scam and had used his account.
Even at the bank he visited to resolve the issue…
"Don't move! If you move even a little, we'll shoot!"
Bank robbers rushed in.
A-a robbery. This is ridiculous.
The guns held by the robbers glowed menacingly. In Yushin clasped his shaky hands and dropped to the ground. Although guns were common in society, it was a rare and terrifying experience to encounter criminals like this. His mind went blank with fear.
The customers and bank tellers who had fallen face down on the floor trembled. A security guard was lying on the ground, either fainted or dead. The vivid smell of blood only fueled the fear.
"Move quickly! We have to leave this bank in five minutes at the latest!"
The robbers frantically shoved bundles of bills into large bags. In Yushin held his breath, feeling the air thicken with terror.
"Mom…"
"Shhh. Chanwoo, you can't say a word."
When the child lying face down beside him started to whine in fear, the woman who appeared to be his mother covered his mouth and hugged him tightly.
In Yushin moved his eyes slightly. He was in a bad situation himself, but he couldn't ignore the scared child.
"It will be alright," he tried to whisper in a calm voice to the child huddled in his mother's arms. The child nodded, tears streaming down his face. Unless they're killers, these robbers won't hurt anyone here, In Yushin believed. As long as they take the money and leave, everyone will be safe.
But suddenly, a gunshot rang out with the robbers' curses and screams.
"You idiot! You didn't even move!"
"Ugh!"
A bank teller who was trying to press the emergency button under the desk while the robbers were busy with the money screamed in pain. Blood blossomed on the teller's shirt.
"Did you press it?"
"Hurry up!"
"Let's just get out of here!"
The robbers were in a panic. The man who seemed to be the boss gritted his teeth. "The cops will be here soon anyway! Kill one, kill two! Someone take a hostage!"
He then grabbed one of the customers lying on the floor by the hair and pulled him up roughly.
"Ahhh!"
"Mom!"
It was the mother of the child who was next to In Yushin. His heart pounded. If the mother was taken hostage, what would happen to the child?
"Get it all!" the man screamed, pointing a gun at the woman's head. The hands filling the bags worked faster.
The people lying prostrate on the floor bit their lips to hold back their screams. What are the chances a hostage will be unharmed? They felt sorry for the woman's fate, but they were relieved that they were not the ones being taken hostage.
The child cried and clung to his mother's leg as she stood frozen in fear.
"Mom! Mom!"
"What's this now?" The man raised his foot in annoyance.
In Yushin shouted urgently without thinking. "W-wait!"
Not only the man, but everyone's eyes turned to him instantly. In Yushin closed his eyes tightly. Today is truly the worst day. First, he was a victim of voice phishing, and now a bank robbery.
But the worst thing of all was the fact that a mother and child might die right in front of him. He didn't even know the child's name, but he couldn't let him become an orphan, like himself.
"I-I'll take the hostage's place."
His vision was blurred with fear. He couldn't see what the child's mother looked like. In Yushin tried to straighten his trembling body. It's okay. The report has probably been received. The police will arrive soon. It's okay. It's going to be okay.
A sneer appeared on the robber's face. It was at that moment.
The tightly closed door opened, and a tall man entered through a slant of sunlight. The blurred vision in the room instantly brightened. In Yushin blinked. This is the first time I've ever seen him. But he knew who the man was.
His features were so distinct and elegant that there were rumors he was of mixed race. A tall body that would look perfect on a runway. A black riding jacket.
Even amidst the chaos, the man's nonchalant way of looking around was strangely carefree. Only the space where he stood seemed unnaturally transparent. In the silence that arose from no one understanding this unexpected situation, the man swept his hair back. The light hand gesture seemed as effortless as a sigh, but when he narrowed his handsome eyes, it turned into a sarcastic mockery.
"Banking hours are definitely over, but it seems there are a few uninvited guests."
"H-Hyun Kyu-ha!"
"Oh, you know me?"
"Shoot!"
The robbers, horrified by the man's appearance, fired in a fit of rage. Swoosh! Zap! At the ear-splitting noise, In Yushin reflexively shrank his shoulders. But there were no screams or blood.
As if time had stopped, the bullet halted twenty centimeters in front of the man.
"If you know me, you should know that shooting a gun is useless."
He then flicked his fingers lightly.
"Agh!"
The robbers screamed as they were thrown backward and crashed into the ceiling. The man, who had cleared up the situation with a single hand gesture, yawned in boredom and detonated the bullets that were fixed in the air.
Bang!
The robber's gun, which he was about to shoot from the ceiling, exploded.
"Agh!"
The screams were short-lived. The robber's jaw was crushed as if he had been hit by an invisible iron ball. The shoulder blade of the robber next to him twisted.
"Who wants to live on porridge for the rest of their lives?"
"..."
The robbers fell silent. The man, who had taken all the guns, turned his gaze to the people who were crouched on the floor, staring blankly.
"Is anyone hurt?"
His calm, everyday voice brought the stunned people back to reality. Only then did people collapse in relief and burst into tears.
The woman who had been held hostage cried as she hugged her child.
"T-thank you! Hyun Kyu-ha Hunter. Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, yeah." The man's thank-you was dry. He then looked at the security guard on the floor and called his cell phone.
"Uh, Yu Bian. I came to the bank and met some robbers. Can I kill them? They shot first, so isn't it self-defense? I think the gunshots shocked me and I'm mentally disturbed… Oh, outside the dungeon, you can't even claim self-defense? It's tough living as a hunter. Anyway, I understand. I'll call the police for you."
Sighing sadly, he turned his gaze to In Yushin.
"You, over there."
"M-me?"
"I think he's still breathing, but are you pressing down on the wound here? There's a person who looks like a bank teller over there, so I should go over there."
It was an unrealistic fantasy that a man he had only seen on the internet would suddenly appear and save him. In Yushin, still in a daze, walked over and pressed his hand against the guard's side as he was instructed, trying to stop the bleeding.
Hot blood poured out. This vivid evidence of life gradually brought him back to reality. The nightmare of a day that was spiraling into the worst kind of mess was broken, all thanks to this man. No. 1 in the hunter rankings, the One-Man Army, Hyun Kyu-ha.
When he recognized this, he felt a hot sensation around his left chest, and soon his head began to spin. The boiling sensation flowed through his bloodstream, throughout his entire body.
At that moment, a system window that only he could see appeared in front of him.
The system window flickered erratically as if something was wrong.
Is there an error in the system window?
The window, which had been blinking frantically, restored itself. Then, a clear message appeared.