Short

Jung Bin, having finished his long story, cleared his throat with a loud sound. His gentle gaze flicked to Cha Eui-jae's feet for a moment before quickly dropping away. The flickering streetlight above caused their shadows to pause in their movement. With a worried expression, Jung Bin asked,

"By the way, J, you didn't say much about it, but… are you really okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm aware, so don't worry about it."

Cha Eui-jae, shrugging indifferently, suddenly asked playfully,

"But, do you happen to know what happened to my assets? Were they confiscated by the government?"

In the past, when he lived as J, most financial matters were handled by his aunt. It was necessary to avoid revealing his identity. He had never felt lacking in anything and hadn't paid much attention, as he didn't have much use for money.

Even now, he didn't particularly need money. But he was curious. It had been eight years, after all.

However, Jung Bin's answer was something he hadn't even considered.

"Ah, no. The Director has been keeping it safe. It's unprecedented, but… yes, it seems the Director managed to handle it somehow."

Jung Bin hesitated before carefully adding one more thing.

"The house where Hunter Park Hye-kyung lived was also purchased by the Director."

"…"

It had been so long since he heard his aunt's name from someone else's lips. The name that had once been so familiar and dear to him now felt strangely foreign, a sensation that wasn't particularly pleasant. Cha Eui-jae abruptly changed the subject.

"Let's continue talking about Lee Sa-young."

"…Yes, understood."

After a moment's hesitation, Jung Bin rubbed his fingertips together and began to speak.

"It's a difficult story to believe, reopening a closed rift. But when you consider what Lee Sa-young did afterward, he was probably serious."

"Did?"

"Um, how should I put it…"

Jung Bin, choosing his words carefully, sighed deeply before speaking.

"Yes, 'bulldozer' would be an accurate description."

A bulldozer. It was a word that didn't suit Lee Sa-young at all, someone who always maintained a laid-back, languid demeanor. Cha Eui-jae tilted his head slightly.

"Was it really that much?"

"Well, after Lee Sa-young appeared, the whole landscape of this world changed. If J, you, quelled the chaos… Lee Sa-young advanced what was stabilized. The Hunter system became more organized, and the power once concentrated in the Awakened Management Bureau started to shift towards the guilds, beginning with Lee Sa-young's arrival."

"…"

"After finishing his ability control training in the ruins, Lee Sa-young returned to the headquarters for his rank assessment. Naturally, he was rated as an unquestionable S-grade."

He was the third S-grade to appear during the chaotic era following J's disappearance. Though it was kept secret that he had been in a research facility, it was inevitable that his striking appearance and dangerous abilities would attract attention.

And he didn't seem burdened by that attention; instead, he accepted it as a matter of course. In fact, he wielded it skillfully.

"He revealed his name and face openly."

Lee Sa-young.

People were captivated by the new S-grade Hunter who revealed his name and face. He was as capricious as he was powerful, but no one dared to criticize him because he filled the void left by J so effectively.

"As you may know, Hunter Song Jo-heon had left the Awakened Management Bureau by then and established Korea's first official guild, Samra Guild. Both he and the understaffed Bureau extended offers to Lee Sa-young, but, well."

Jung Bin chuckled awkwardly.

"He ignored them all."

It felt like the word "completely" was omitted but implied. Jung Bin and Cha Eui-jae both chose to overlook it. Cha Eui-jae recalled Lee Sa-young's impudent yet handsome face. Frankly, he was someone who would do such a thing. Even from what he'd heard about Lee Sa-young's past, he wasn't exactly well-mannered to begin with.

'…No.'

The boy wrapped in bandages quietly took his place beside Lee Sa-young, who was smiling with the corners of his lips raised.

Even when he could barely move, Lee Sa-young would say whatever he wanted, using just his fingers to gesture. He was headstrong, not necessarily rude… he was just doing his best, in his own way…

'Oh no.'

At that moment, a realization struck Cha Eui-jae. From the moment they first met until now, the defiant, impudent, and exasperating Lee Sa-young had always conflicted with the obedient but strong-willed boy in his mind!

'Damn it.'

His face behind the mask turned pale. It was as shocking as finding a tree branch sprouting where he had planted bean seeds.

Could it be that he had grown up to be this way because he wasn't around during his formative years? As Cha Eui-jae shuddered at the sudden realization of the importance of parental guidance, Jung Bin continued to earnestly share more information.

"…Afterward, Lee Sa-young single-handedly dealt with countless dungeons and rifts, and when he had gathered enough funds, he founded the Pado Guild. He even scouted Hunter Bae Won-woo. I was also offered a position at the time, but…"

Jung Bin trailed off. Cha Eui-jae, who had barely regained his composure, responded.

"You must have refused, seeing as you're still in the Bureau."

"Yes. Um, not to overestimate myself, but… I felt there needed to be someone strong in the Awakened Management Bureau to maintain balance."

Jung Bin rubbed his lips.

"In any case… Pado Guild quickly expanded its influence. Although they had few Hunters, they ran an extensive research team and invested heavily in it."

"When you say 'heavily,' how much are we talking about?"

"There's a joke that they spent all the money they earned from clearing dungeons and rifts on research, so they ended up with nothing left. And as you know, before that, survival was the priority, so there hadn't been much room for serious research."

"That's true."

They were days when even surviving was a struggle. Rifts and dungeons appeared unpredictably, spewing out monsters no one had ever seen before. The world was one where everyone was simply struggling to survive.

Jung Bin cautiously continued.

"But after the West Sea rift was closed, everything… strangely quieted down. All of it. The frequency of rifts appearing decreased dramatically compared to before. That must have made the research easier as well."

"…"

"The research from that time became the driving force that led to Pado Guild being recognized as one of Korea's top three guilds. And as a reward for that…"

Cha Eui-jae looked up, sensing Jung Bin's gaze. Jung Bin was looking at him with a thoughtful expression. His lips moved slightly.

"Lee Sa-young received the ownership of the West Sea rift from the government."

"…Is that even possible?"

Cha Eui-jae's eyes widened in disbelief. A firm expression settled on Jung Bin's gentle face as he spoke decisively.

"Yes, the Pado Guild has been managing the West Sea rift and the surrounding area ever since. Even now."

The streetlight flickered erratically. With his hands thrust into his jacket pockets, Cha Eui-jae silently pondered.

The boy, Lee Sa-young, was taken to the Prometheus research facility after J's death and awakened there.

Who, how, and why? What had happened to Lee Sa-young during that one year? The research facility where he had been was melted down, and even Jung Bin, who knew the most, was unaware of what happened during that one-year gap.

Only Lee Sa-young would know.

'I need to have a proper conversation with him…'

In the end, the key to the story lay with Lee Sa-young.

He wanted to know everything. He needed to know everything. All that had happened while he was gone. All the things he had to make amends for. Everything Lee Sa-young had endured alone. He knew he couldn't possibly make up for that time or dare to console him.

And…

Cha Eui-jae bit his lip. No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, the turmoil in his chest that had been simmering throughout the long story refused to settle.

Was it anger, sorrow, or perhaps…

A pale face came to mind. A place where white ashes were falling, the ground trembling precariously, and Lee Sa-young stood with his back to the crumbling ruins. His eyes shone brightly as he spat out a single sentence.

"What if I said I've been waiting for you?"

Lee Sa-young, who had received the ownership of the West Sea rift from the government. Lee Sa-young, who had sought to reopen the West Sea rift that had closed without a trace.

Why on earth?

"I'm going to make a map for someone who's lost."

Cha Eui-jae steadied his trembling arm. He thought everyone had forgotten him. After all, he was supposed to be a dead man.

From the moment he woke up in a pile of trash and realized he was already dead in this world, to the moment he rescued people from the rift and resolved to move forward. An anxiety, like that of someone who had arrived uninvited, had taken root in a corner of his heart. But…

"I'll be back."

Except for one person.

"Will you wait for me?"

Who didn't believe in his death and had kept waiting for him.

"…"

If he had kept that selfish promise.

At that moment, slow footsteps echoed across the green floor of the playground. A lazy voice, tinged with laughter, said,

"You two seem pretty close."

Jung Bin rubbed his forehead with a troubled expression. The footsteps stopped right behind Cha Eui-jae. An arm reached out without hesitation, coiling around Cha Eui-jae's shoulder like a snake. Soft hair brushed against his ear and cheek. A firm chin rested on the other shoulder, and a low voice rumbled.

"Are you two having a secret meeting or something?"

Gloved fingers playfully brushed Cha Eui-jae's cheek before withdrawing. Standing upright, Lee Sa-young tilted his head.

"But… for a secret meeting spot, this place is pretty childish."