The air around the broken bridge was still trembling from everything that had just happened.
Sirens wailed somewhere in the distance, their sounds mixing with the murmur of hundreds of shaken voices. Police officers tried to push the growing crowd back while Hunters from the Association moved quickly across the damaged structure, inspecting the massive crack that had nearly split the bridge in half.
Dust drifted through the cold air like slow snow.
People wrapped their arms around family members, some crying, some laughing in disbelief. Others sat on the ground, still too shaken to stand.
In the middle of all that chaos stood Seung-hoo.
His hood still hung low over his head, the dark fabric casting a heavy shadow over his face. Even under the daylight, it looked unnaturally dark beneath it, as if the shadow refused to let anyone see him clearly.
He stood still for a moment, breathing slowly.
His chest rose and fell.
The lightning that had surged through his body earlier had faded, but faint sparks still occasionally flickered along his fingers like dying embers.
No one around him paid attention.
Most of them were too busy talking about the mysterious man who had held the bridge together.
Seung-hoo quietly stepped off the side of the rescue area and blended into the mass of people standing behind the barricades.
From the outside, he looked like just another survivor.
But inside his mind, his thoughts were moving much faster.
Then—
He saw someone.
At first it was just a glimpse between shoulders.
A familiar silhouette.
Seung-hoo slowed his steps.
His eyes narrowed slightly under the shadow of his hood as he looked again, focusing past the moving crowd.
There.
Standing several meters away.
A young man in simple civilian clothes.
Black jacket.
Hands in his pockets.
Messy hair slightly blowing in the wind.
Joon-seok.
For a brief moment, the sounds of the crowd faded in Seung-hoo's ears.
Everything felt distant.
Memories rushed into his mind like a sudden flood.
Training together.
Fighting monsters side by side.
Laughing around campfires after surviving impossible battles.
Arguments.
Near deaths.
Victories.
And the final moment of the life they had lost.
Seung-hoo's chest tightened slightly.
He hadn't expected to find him so soon.
Not here.
Not like this.
Joon-seok was staring at the damaged bridge like everyone else, clearly still trying to understand what had just happened. His eyes scanned the structure where Hunters were now reinforcing the frozen crack with more abilities.
He looked confused.
Impressed.
And a little shaken.
He had no idea that the person he was looking for was already walking toward him.
Seung-hoo began moving again.
Slow steps.
Careful ones.
Each step felt strangely heavy despite his overwhelming strength.
The crowd shifted around him, people stepping aside without even noticing him pass.
Joon-seok finally noticed movement in front of him.
His eyes lifted.
And then he froze.
The hooded figure walking directly toward him had an unusual presence.
Not threatening.
But heavy.
Like the air itself became denser around him.
Joon-seok straightened slightly without realizing it.
Something about the figure felt… familiar.
But he couldn't explain why.
Seung-hoo stopped in front of him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The hood hid Seung-hoo's eyes completely.
Only the lower part of his face could be seen under the shadow.
Joon-seok blinked.
He opened his mouth slightly, unsure if he should say something.
"Uh…"
But before he could finish—
Seung-hoo lifted his hand.
The movement was calm and natural.
He placed his hand on Joon-seok's shoulder.
Just a simple pat.
Not heavy.
Not aggressive.
Just… there.
Joon-seok stiffened slightly at the contact.
It wasn't painful.
But it felt strange.
Like the gesture carried weight behind it.
For some reason, his chest tightened a little.
He didn't understand why.
His eyes tried to look deeper under the hood, trying to see the face of the man standing in front of him.
But the shadow refused to reveal anything.
Meanwhile, inside Seung-hoo's mind—
His emotions were exploding.
Joy.
Relief.
Grief.
Disbelief.
All of it mixed together violently.
He's alive.
He's really alive.
In his previous life, Joon-seok had died protecting the others during one of their final battles.
Seung-hoo still remembered the moment clearly.
The sound.
The blood.
The silence after.
But now—
Here he was.
Standing right in front of him.
Breathing.
Alive.
Completely unaware of the fate he had once suffered.
Seung-hoo's fingers tightened slightly on Joon-seok's shoulder before relaxing again.
He wanted to say something.
Anything.
To call his name.
To ask if he remembered.
To tell him everything.
But he didn't.
He couldn't.
Not yet.
His mission returned to the front of his mind like a quiet reminder.
Find them.
Protect them.
Keep them alive this time.
Seung-hoo slowly removed his hand from Joon-seok's shoulder.
Then he turned.
Without a single word.
Without any explanation.
He simply began walking away.
Behind him, Joon-seok remained standing there, completely confused.
His hand slowly lifted to the shoulder that had just been patted.
He rubbed it slightly.
Still staring at the hooded figure walking away through the crowd.
"…What was that?" he muttered quietly.
Something about the moment lingered in his chest.
Like a memory he couldn't quite remember.
Like a name sitting at the tip of his tongue.
But no matter how hard he tried—
He couldn't figure out why the stranger's touch had felt so strangely familiar.
And in the distance, Seung-hoo continued walking deeper into the crowd, his hood still hiding his face as his mind raced with thoughts about the teammates he still needed to find.
Seung-hoo didn't move until Joon-seok disappeared behind a wall of people.
From Joon-seok's perspective, the hooded stranger had already vanished into the crowd like he had never been there at all.
Only then did Seung-hoo turn sharply and begin moving.
At first he walked quickly, forcing himself to stay calm. But after a few steps, that restraint faded. His pace turned into a jog, and then into a run.
Still—not as fast as he could.
Not even close.
Because of the strength he had lost from the missed quest on Gongbaek Island, his body wasn't performing the way it once had. The difference was small to an ordinary person, but to him it felt obvious.
Like trying to sprint while dragging invisible weights.
His boots pounded against the pavement as he moved through the streets, weaving between pedestrians who barely had time to react.
A few people turned their heads as he passed.
"Hey—!"
"Watch it!"
But Seung-hoo didn't stop.
His mind was racing faster than his legs.
Joon-seok was still alive in the his new life.
The thought repeated over and over in his head.
He had seen him with his own eyes. Not a hallucination. Not a memory. Not a ghost from the past.
Alive.
Walking.
Breathing.
And completely unaware.
Seung-hoo's jaw tightened.
"I can't lose track of him again"
In their previous life, information about Hunters had been much easier to obtain. But things were different now. The timeline had shifted in small ways already.
Which meant relying on memory alone was dangerous.
The Hunters Association.
They would have records.
Addresses.
Registrations.
Everything.
Seung-hoo turned a corner sharply, the tall glass building of the Hunters Association rising ahead of him.
He slowed slightly as he approached the entrance.
The large glass doors reflected his hooded figure as he stepped closer.
Without thinking, he pushed the door forward with his hand—
Too hard.
The door lurched violently under the force.
Seung-hoo's eyes widened slightly.
He instantly tightened his muscles and stopped the push halfway, catching the door before the glass could shatter under the pressure.
The door trembled for a moment in his grip.
A nearby security guard looked over, confused.
Seung-hoo slowly eased the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside like nothing had happened.
The inside of the building was bright and organized. Hunters walked through the lobby in small groups, some discussing quests, others reviewing documents on tablets.
The faint smell of coffee drifted from a small waiting area.
But Seung-hoo ignored everything.
He walked straight to the front desk.
The clerk behind it—a young woman with glasses—was typing quietly on her computer when Seung-hoo suddenly leaned forward over the counter.
"Where does a hunter named Joon-seok live!?" he asked urgently.
His voice came out louder than he intended.
Several people in the lobby turned to look.
Seung-hoo was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as he tried to control his breathing after the run
The clerk blinked in surprise.
"Uh—"
She looked slightly startled by his intensity.
"Just a moment…"
Her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard as she searched through the system.
Seung-hoo tapped his fingers against the counter impatiently.
Every second felt too slow.
Finally, the clerk nodded when the information appeared.
"Hunter Joon-seok… registered C-rank."
She glanced at the screen again.
"He currently lives in apartment 302 in Unjeong."
Seung-hoo froze.
"Unjeong…?"
That wasn't right.
In the past—before everything ended—Joon-seok had told him many times where he lived. Seung-hoo could picture the place clearly.
A completely different apartment complex.
Different district.
Different building.
Seung-hoo's brows slowly furrowed beneath the shadow of his hood.
That's not the same place.
His mind started piecing things together.
Small differences.
Small changes.
Ripples caused by the reset of time.
"He must have moved…" Seung-hoo muttered quietly under his breath.
The clerk looked up again.
"Did you need anything else?"
But Seung-hoo was already turning away from the desk, his thoughts racing again.
If Joon-seok's address had changed… then other things might have changed too.
Which meant finding the rest of his teammates might not be as simple as following his memories.
Seung-hoo walked toward the exit of the building again, already planning his next move as the glass doors slid open in front of him.