I Got Picked Up by a Spirit
"Hyunwoo. Do you know what they call a spirit user without a spirit?"
The professor asked during our meeting. I answered calmly.
"A red bean bun without the filling."
"Right. Ssambap ssamjang without pork belly, kimchi without instant ramen."
It wasn't backwards. Spirits were the main event for spirit users, after all.
The professor continued. "And you're an F-grade spirit user to boot. Kimchi without ramen—and it's not even fermented. Not fresh kimchi either. You're just plain cabbage. Not even salted for pickling."
The words were harsh, but there was no malice in the professor's voice. He was just showing an F-grade spirit user like me—with no contracted spirit—the reality and helping me come to terms with it.
I took a sip of my cold coffee and let out a small chuckle. Chatting like this with professors was routine by now.
"At least I'm domestically grown cabbage. That's some comfort."
The professor gave me a look of disbelief for a moment, then snorted with laughter. "Yeah. The premium stuff, grown in the high fields of Daegwallyeong."
He spun his monitor around. My transcript filled the screen.
- In-Depth Understanding of Spirits: A+
- Spirits and Taoist Philosophy: A+
- Understanding the Spirit Realm: A+
- Spirits and Child Psychology: A+
- Spirits in Modern Society: A+
- Introduction to Awakener Crimes and Prevention: A+
- Gate Structure Studies: A+
- Guild Management and Operations: A+
- …
A perfect transcript. No other letters allowed.
Gazing at it, the professor said with regret, "Top-tier talent. Smart, great potential, good with people. But no spirit for this F-grade spirit user. A perfect cabbage that can never become kimchi."
I stared at my transcript in silence. The utterly meaningless perfection stared back.
Hunter Academy—formally Awakener Education University. I'd attended for three and a half years without ever losing the top spot in my class.
'But in hunter society, grades don't mean much.'
Hunters got jobs based on their 'skills' and 'ranks,' not grades. No matter how much you studied at the academy, a low rank made it pointless.
Well, almost pointless. There was one use.
"Scholarships pay well, at least."
"Scholarships. Yeah, those are nice."
The professor shook his head with a chuckle, then grew serious again. "Hyunwoo, I like you. Your humor, your laid-back vibe. But you need to think about life after graduation."
"I've still got two and a half years until sixth-year graduation."
"Minus internships, it's one and a half. And you know that's when everything gets decided."
I stared down at my cold coffee cup. Time for the professor to get to the point.
"Hyunwoo. Go to grad school. If you can't be kimchi, at least be ssam veggies. In this brutal awakener world where power rules all, that's the only path for cabbages like us."
Just as I'd expected. Had the professors talked among themselves? Even in the week after finals, this was the seventh grad school offer.
I gave my well-rehearsed reply. "I'll think about it. I'm heading home for break anyway."
"Sure. Finals are done, semester's over—no need to rush. Take your time. You'll take my class next semester, right?"
"Of course. See you at the start of term."
I smiled and left the office.
As I walked the dim hallway back to the dorm—unchanged by the lightless corridor—
Whoosh! Something streaked past the window.
Rattle-rattle! The impact shook the glass.
I wasn't startled. This was daily life at Hunter Academy.
I glanced outside—and stopped in my tracks.
Under the bright summer sky pouring with sunlight, countless students soared through the air.
'Academy students' flying commute home.' Some TV show had named it that. The sight was spectacular enough to warrant it.
A student with angel wings glided gracefully overhead. Another jetted past the window on blasts of air from their feet. A spirit user floated midair on spirit power, already tangled in branches and plummeting toward another tree—clearly out of control.
Not everyone could fly, of course.
"Here we go—gather up!"
A teleporter pulled friends toward them. With a flash, a dozen students vanished.
Next to them, physical enhancers raced by at motorcycle speeds.
All the students freely using their powers in the bright sunshine looked thrilled.
I watched the scene for a moment, then trudged onward.
* * *
After my meeting, I packed and made it home before sunset.
"Mom! Dad!"
My parents ran a small guesthouse at Samcheok Beach.
"Son!"
"Hyunwoo, you're here?"
They greeted me with beaming smiles.
"Come in. Made your favorite mackerel stew."
I dropped my bags and sat at the table without a second thought.
A few bites in, they asked expectantly, "Son, how'd the exams go?"
I smiled. "Grades aren't official yet, but professors say I took top spot."
Huge grins spread across their faces.
"Good boy! Top of the class for seven straight semesters!"
"Heh heh. Sometimes I wonder if you're really my son. Top of that great university!"
Having lived their whole lives in Samcheok, my parents were simple folks. A kid acing exams and getting scholarships was enough to make them happy.
"All thanks to you raising me right."
"Who'd you get that silver tongue from?"
"Hyunwoo, you're the pride of our family!"
I smiled and finished my rice. It tasted a bit bitter.
* * *
It was deep into the night. Unable to sleep, I grabbed a beer and stepped outside.
Whoosh... Waves crashed as I passed through the gate.
Three minutes' walk to the sea. We ran the guesthouse thanks to that easy access—a retirement plan my parents had scraped together after decades raising me.
I wandered toward the ocean like a sleepwalker.
Whoosh... A pitch-black night, no moon or stars. Sea and sky blurred into one endless void.
I plopped down on the sand, feeling it squish under me.
Whoosh... Faint waves greeted me, waving white hands.
I stared blankly at the sea.
My hometown ocean. Mom's ocean. An old friend always waiting in the same spot to welcome me. Its rhythm slowly soaked into my heart.
I listened for a long while, then grabbed my beer—now lukewarm.
"...Grad student, huh."
The thought slipped out like a sigh.
I'd basically rejected all the professors' offers, but I knew it was my only path.
An awakener's future hinged on their skills and traits. All I had was F-grade Spirit Affinity. Too low to even contract a spirit. My options were limited.
But it wasn't the path I wanted.
'Smart kid?' No. High school, I was mid-tier.
'Good at keeping up in class?' No. I was fighting for my life.
Theory was the only battlefield where I could compete equally. Grades were my one weapon.
[Ahahaha!]
Laughter from a nearby spirit echoed. I turned. An undine—water spirit—and her contractor strolled the beach. The undine, hugged tight in her spirit user's arms, looked blissful. So did the spirit user.
I watched quietly.
Even F-grade spirit users could see spirits. That was my one connection to them.
"I want to contract a spirit too."
I voiced my long-held wish aloud.
For six years since awakening, that had been my dream. Meeting my spirit.
I'd always envisioned a future with spirits by my side. No special reason. I was a spirit user. That was enough.
"Even E-grade can contract... but."
Yet I'd stayed F-grade for six years. Maybe forever.
Crunch. My empty can crumpled in my fist.
I was a doer. If it seemed like empty talk, fine—but I'd achieved every goal I'd truly chased.
'Elementary taekwondo tournament win. Middle school student council president. Getting into Awakener Education University. Three and a half years of top grades at the academy. All done.'
Nothing I'd earnestly pursued had eluded me.
Except contracting a spirit. That first failure stung deep.
'Time to face reality,' the professors said.
'How long will you chase dreams?' Fellow F-grade seniors advised.
'How much longer will you burden your parents?' My mid-twenties self asked.
I knew. All of it. Pathetic. Stubborn. Unfilial.
But I couldn't give up. On my dream. On spirits.
I set the crushed can by my feet.
'Just until the end of this break.'
Breaks were for growth, right? Maybe this time, something would change.
A hollow laugh escaped. Self-loathing and guilt toward my parents mingled with faint hope and happiness that drowned the pain.
"I just really like spirits."
My honest heart slipped out unbidden. Only the sea heard.
But it felt like comforting words from someone. My mood lifted.
That's why I came to the sea with worries. It was so vast, my problems felt insignificant.
The sea never answered. Yet it had heard more from me than anyone.
Then.
[Is that how it is?]
The sea answered.
A pair of stars lit up in the dark sea. I stared, entranced.
The stars approached slowly.
"...A spirit?"
The stars were spirit eyes.
I gaped at the sky-blue water spirit drawing near.
It stopped where the waves ended and looked up at me intently.
We stared at each other for a moment.
[Mm!]
The water spirit nodded, pleased, and planted its hands on its hips.
Then it declared.
[Then raise me, human!]
"...Huh?"
[I said raise me!]
And just like that, I got picked up by a spirit.