Fences and Boundaries

The faint rays of morning light filter through the cracks in the wooden shed, illuminating the dust swirling in the air. My eyes flutter open, and for a moment, I forget where I am. Then the cold seeps into my skin, and the stiff ache in my muscles reminds me.

I sit up slowly, suppressing a squirm as my ribs protest. The bruises from yesterday's beating still throb beneath my skin, a dull and ever-present pain. I glance around my cramped space, littered with discarded wrappers, old textbooks, and the worn-out computer I built with years of scavenged parts. It's a mess, and it stinks of unwashed clothes and faint traces of burnt food from last night's attempt at cooking.

With a deep sigh, I push myself up and begin to clean. Not because I want to, but because the routine keeps me grounded. I fold my thin blanket and shove it onto the small shelf near my bed. I gather the scattered papers and stack them neatly. The trash goes into a plastic bag that I'll have to dump later when no one's watching.

As I sweep the dirt-streaked floor with an old broom, a sudden knock echoes through the silence.

I freeze.

A knock?

I stare at the door, confused. No one ever knocks on my door. My parents sure as hell don't.

Seyeon stands there.

My sister, dressed in her school uniform, hair neatly tied back, looking like she just stepped out of one of those fancy brochures for elite academies. She glances behind her nervously before meeting my eyes.

I frown. Even after all this time, it's still weird seeing someone who looks like me. The same black hair, the same brown eyes—but that's where the similarities end. She's shorter than me now. When we were kids, she used to be taller, always looking down at me with that smug older sister attitude. Atleast before my parents decided I was a failure. But I kept growing, and she didn't. Now, I have to look down at her.

"…What are you doing here?" My voice comes out rougher than I intended.

She hesitates. "Can I come in?"

I narrow my eyes but step aside. She walks in carefully, looking around my tiny shed like she's stepping into some foreign wasteland. The place is cramped, musty, and barely livable. My computer hums in the background, the only real thing I own.

I cross my arms. "Why are you in your school uniform? It's vacation."

She exhales, adjusting the strap of her bag. "For you, maybe. I still have to go to vacation school."

I let out a short, bitter laugh. "Of course you do."

Of course, even during break, she's still stuck in our parents' endless grind to make her the best. The perfect daughter. Straight A's, extracurriculars, competitions—if there's a ranking, they make sure she's at the top of it.

She shrugs. "You know how they are."

I watch her for a moment. "And how the hell did you even get here? They never let you near me."

Seyeon shifts uncomfortably. "They're not home. And… I climbed over the fence."

I blink. She climbed the fence? My perfect, obedient sister? The one who never breaks a rule?

That's… new.

I lean against the wall, folding my arms tighter. "Why now?"

She bites her lip, looking away. "I just… I wanted to talk to you."

I don't answer. I just watch her.

Because for the first time in a long time, I have no idea what she's going to say next.

Seyeon shifts from foot to foot, looking unsure of how to start. I don't rush her. If she went through the trouble of climbing a fence just to see me, then whatever she has to say must be important.

Finally, she exhales and looks up at me. "I… heard you last night."

My body tenses. "Heard me?"

She nods. "Talking. On your computer. About going on a hike with your friends."

My jaw clenches. How much did she hear?

Seyeon crosses her arms. "You're seriously going through with it?"

I stay silent.

"Neph, that's—" She stops herself, sighing. "You barely leave this shed. And now you're planning some trip into the woods with a bunch of people you've never even met in person?"

I scoff. "So what if I am?"

She hesitates, then mutters, "You don't even have a way to get there, do you?"

I smirk. "Already booked everything."

Her eyes widen slightly. "Wait, seriously?"

"Bus tickets, train tickets, everything. They're all coming to Korea."

Seyeon stares at me, like she doesn't quite believe what she's hearing. "And our parents? What are you gonna tell them?"

I let out a cold chuckle. "Why would they care? They don't even remember I exist half the time."

She flinches at that. I don't regret saying it.

For a moment, she looks down, pressing her lips together. Then she lifts her gaze, more serious than before. "Still… hiking in the middle of Odaesan's forests? Why there?"

I shrug. "It's quiet. Peaceful. Away from everything."

She gives me a long look, like she's trying to see past my words. "Away from them, you mean."

I don't answer.

She sighs. "You're really going, huh?"

I nod.

Seyeon is quiet for a moment before she mutters, "Then I hope you know what you're doing."

I don't. But I sure as hell won't tell her that.

I watch Seyeon shift on her feet again, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her blazer. She's hesitating. That's not like her.

"What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

She looks up at me, biting her lip. "I… I want to come with you."

My mind blanks for a second. "…What?"

She straightens her back, her expression serious. "To the hike. I want to come."

I blink, then let out a sharp laugh. "You? In the middle of the forest? You'd last two minutes before complaining about bugs."

She glares. "I'm not that bad."

I scoff. "Why do you even care?"

She hesitates. "I don't know. I just…" She exhales. "I don't trust it."

I cross my arms. "You don't trust what?"

She shifts again, looking uncomfortable. "You barely talk about these people. You say they're your friends, but how do you know they're safe?"

I feel irritation rising in my chest. "They're more of a family to me than anyone here."

Seyeon flinches but doesn't back down. "That's not the point. You're planning to go deep into a forest with people you've never met in real life. You barely go outside, and now you suddenly want to go hiking?"

I grit my teeth. "I'm not a kid, Seyeon."

She exhales through her nose. "I know. But I'm still your sister."

I stare at her, my emotions a mess. A part of me wants to tell her off. To remind her that she never cared before. That she's always been their perfect child, while I was the family failure.

But another part of me…

Wants to believe she actually cares.

I sigh, rubbing my temples. "It's not your problem, Seyeon."

She looks at me, her brown eyes unreadable. "Maybe not. But I want to go."

I shake my head. "It's not happening."

She frowns. "Why not?"

"Because you don't belong there." The words come out sharper than I intended. "This isn't your thing, Seyeon. This is mine."

For a moment, she looks hurt. Then she schools her expression into something neutral. "…Fine. But at least think about it."

I don't answer.

She sighs, then turns toward the fence. "I need to go before they realize I'm gone."

I watch as she starts climbing, her movements quick and practiced. Right before she disappears over the other side, she looks back at me.

"Just… don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I say nothing.

Then she's gone.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. My mind is a mess. Seyeon coming with me? That's the last thing I expected.

But there's no way.

I close the shed door behind me, locking out the world.

With a sigh, I boot up my PC. The glow of the monitor casts a pale light over the darkened shed, and I open a video streaming site out of habit.

I need a distraction.

The recommended page is flooded with the usual—music, game clips, random viral trends. But I scroll past all of that and click on what I really want to see.

[LIVE] S-Rank Raid: Abyssal Colossus Emerges in New Tokyo Dungeon!

The screen shifts, and immediately, the roar of battle fills my ears.

The camera shakes as a massive humanoid figure, easily thirty meters tall, emerges from the dungeon gate. Its flesh is obsidian black, with cracks glowing a molten red. Each step it takes sends shockwaves through the ruined cityscape. Surrounding it, elite hunters—S-Rankers—move in formation, their auras blazing like celestial flames.

A woman in golden armor, wielding a massive greatsword, charges first. Isolde the Radiant Valkyrie. She leaps high into the air, her blade carving through the air like a comet, before slamming into the colossus's shoulder. Lava-like blood spills, and the creature lets out a deafening roar.

From the side, a hooded figure raises his hand—Hades, the Phantom Reaper. Shadows writhe around him as he gestures, and suddenly, chains made of pure darkness erupt from the ground, coiling around the colossus's limbs, restraining it.

And then, the strongest of them all appears.

A blur of black and red.

A man clad in a long, tattered coat, dual swords gleaming under the dungeon's eerie light. Cain, the Blood Monarch. His rank is beyond S. Some even whisper he's the strongest hunter alive.

He moves faster than the eye can follow, his blades carving through the monster's hide like it's paper. The colossus roars, swinging an arm toward him, but Cain vanishes and reappears above its head—his swords plunging straight into its skull.

A flash of crimson energy.

And then—

Silence.

The colossus's massive body shudders, then collapses. The ground trembles.

A system alert appears in the corner of the screen.

[Raid Boss Defeated]

The audience chat explodes with messages.

"Holy shit Cain is insane!"

"S-Rank hunters are built different."

"If I could even get to A-Rank, I'd be happy."

I lean back in my chair, staring at the screen, my chest tight.

This is the world of the strong.

The world I'll never belong to.

I open my status screen out of habit. The digital text stares back at me, cold and unchanging.

[Name: Baek Nephrios]

[Rank: F (Abyssal)]

Nothing's changed. It never will.

I close the window and rub my face, frustration boiling inside me.

How is it fair? How do people like them get to soar while people like me are forced to crawl in the dirt?

I tab over to Dascord and pull up my chat list. Most of my friends are offline—it's late in their time zones—but one name catches my eye.

Suto Ryuu (Online)

I hesitate for a moment, then type.

Nephrios: Yo, you see the livestream?

A few seconds pass before the typing indicator appears.

Suto Ryuu: Yeah. Cain's a freak. Makes me feel like an ant.

I smirk bitterly.

Nephrios: More like less than an ant. We're Abyssal, remember?

Suto Ryuu: Yeah, yeah, rub it in. You think I don't already know?

I lean back, my fingers tapping absently against my desk. Suto Ryuu is one of the few people who understands. Another F-Rank Abyssal, just like me. But unlike me, he lives in Tokyo, right in the heart of the hunter world.

Nephrios: Must be rough seeing S-Rankers in your backyard.

Suto Ryuu: You have no idea. I saw Cain once, y'know. In person.

I sit up straight.

Nephrios: Bullshit.

Suto Ryuu: Not lying. He passed by me when I was out getting food. The pressure alone almost knocked me out. His aura's insane.

I swallow hard. I can't even imagine what it must be like to stand near someone like that.

Nephrios: If you had the chance, would you take power? No matter what?

A longer pause this time. Then—

Suto Ryuu: You sound like you're planning something.

I don't answer.

I check the group chat.

Nephrios: How's everything going with the trip? Everyone still on schedule?

Evelyn: Yup! My flight leaves in like eight hours. Can't believe I'm actually doing this.

Sylas: Same. Packing my stuff right now. Gonna be a long-ass flight, though.

Alden: I land tomorrow morning in Incheon. Gonna crash at a hotel first before we meet up.

Suto Ryuu: Tokyo to Seoul is easy. I'll be there before you wake up, loser.

Nephrios: Good. Tomorrow's the day. Make sure you all have your gear. It's gonna be a long hike.

Nephrios: Where's Leon? Haven't heard from him in a while.

Evelyn: I thought he was already packed. He hasn't replied to me either.

Alden: He was last active a few hours ago. Maybe he's busy. He's kinda unpredictable sometimes.

Sylas: Leon's probably doing some last-minute thing, or sleeping. He's weird like that.

I frown, tapping the screen a few times. Leon's messages were usually brief but frequent. It wasn't like him to just vanish like this.

Nephrios: If anyone gets ahold of him, let me know. We need to be sure everyone's ready.

The chat fills with confirmations. It still feels surreal. After years of only knowing these people through a screen, we were finally going to meet.

I exhale, leaning back in my chair.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, they would all be here.

And for the first time in years, I wouldn't be alone.