Salt Sprinkled on a Bleeding Wound
The salt had been sprinkled on my bleeding wound.
“Uuuuum…”
I boarded the bus and headed for the address Noa-ang had sent.
The moment I arrived, hesitation gripped me. Awkward and anxious, I kept glancing in the mirror, running my fingers through my hair and smoothing down my clothes. My hair was so long now that the discomfort was a real pain.
“Hah… ha. Hah… ha.”
It was my first time actually meeting the person I’d only ever talked to online. So I took a few deep breaths. What if I walked in and found a terrifying monster waiting? She’d given me a pizza gift card and all that grooming stuff, but if it was just part of the deal, was I in trouble?
“Ugh, what am I even thinking?”
I shook my head, trying to shake off the doubt.
Noa-ang was famous in the Hunter community. She managed the hunters’ forum. If I doubted her here, I was only hurting my own admiration and faith in the awakened.
Tap, tap. Two firm knocks, then I turned the knob.
“Excuse me…”
No one was visible in the entrance. I slipped off my shoes and crept forward slowly. At the corner where the wall turned, I peeked around and looked inside. There was definitely someone there.
A girl who looked a little more mature than me peeked out and stared straight at me.
Her gaze made me feel a little uneasy, but she didn’t seem dangerous. I stepped out from behind the corner.
She spoke first.
“Don’t be so nervous. You must think I’m a bad person.”
“Ah, n-no… yeah. You’re Noa-ang, right?”
She nodded. Even though my nerves were still tight, I walked over to the chair she offered and sat down. There was a girl who ran the Hunter Gallery. Hehe.
“In a bit, someone from the Association will come. They’ll bring a bunch of inspection equipment, so it’ll take a while.”
“Uh, uh-huh.”
I couldn’t even look her in the eyes, so I kept running my fingers through my hair. Talking to a guy… no, a woman… was never easy for me. Noa-ang noticed my discomfort and handed me a can of drink from the fridge.
“…I didn’t expect a kid like you to show up, so I’m a bit awkward too.”
“Ah, that’s because of the awakening…”
“Ah, I get the feeling. You’re actually an adult, right? That’s why it’s hard to reveal your identity.”
I nodded several times. I’d almost slipped up, but she hadn’t caught on to the gender swap. It was a relief she was going along with it. The excuse about hiding my identity made sense too.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It’s weird not talking at all.”
“Ah, yeah… um…”
There were so many questions. How high of a rank was Noa-ang? How had the Hunter Gallery even started? When had the counseling begun…
‘I can’t ask any of them!’
Talking face-to-face was way harder than online. My mouth wouldn’t move. On top of that, the new voice I had still felt strange. And… anyway, there were way too many complicated reasons! It wasn’t that I had no social skills at all!
I murmured quietly, “Wait a sec…” and pulled out my phone. I opened my private chat with Noa-ang.
HunterJo: My voice won’t come out, so I’ll just use this
“…If it’s easier for you, go ahead. I’ll speak normally?”
Fortunately, she agreed. I lifted my head a little. The corner of Noa-ang’s mouth was slightly upturned. Was she laughing? Because it was cute? Because she thought it was cute? It felt kinda weird, though. Uuuu…
‘…All right, let’s ask a few things.’
“Yeah, ask whatever you want.”
‘How high is your rank? The Hunter Gallery armband looks low, but I’ve never seen your face on the news.’
Noa-ang rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before speaking. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, as if there was something she shouldn’t say.
“…Roughly A-grade or higher. I’m not registered, so I don’t know exactly.”
Eek, so it’s okay? It’s illegal, after all.
‘Then the Association isn’t going to come arrest you? Thanks to your connections, right?’
“I have that, and I know ways to avoid it. But those are only for me. You can’t use them.”
Avoidance techniques? Did she have that kind of ability? Besides, Pa-ttak Noa-ang’s ability was supposed to be about boosting the persuasiveness of words. There didn’t seem to be any connection between the two.
Hmm… She was hiding something. But digging deeper felt wrong. Just like she was hiding that I had changed gender, Noa-ang probably had her own troubles and secrets.
‘Let me ask just one more thing.’
“Yeah. We’re going to be seeing each other a lot, so it’s better if we know more about each other.”
‘How did the Hunter Gallery even get started?’
“Um, I wanted a place where hunters could talk freely without holding back. That was the main reason. If anyone felt uncomfortable, I’d help them, and if the regulars got closer and started chatting, that would be good too.”
‘What kind of help?’
“Yeah. I know awakened people tend to act like saints. But because they’re so selfless, they end up neglecting themselves. I thought even a little help with these structural issues would be worthwhile.”
Saint… That word doesn’t fit me at all. Why did I even awaken in the first place? Did I answer the call to become a new person? No, Noa-ang knew I would awaken and approached me. She’s really shameless, but I have to ask one more time.
‘You knew I was going to awaken, right?’
“…Yeah, I did. When you said awakening was scary, I was shocked.”
I wondered how she knew, but instead of asking how, I went for the root of the matter.
‘Awakening itself… You said it’s not only for good people, right?’
Noa-ang stayed silent. I lifted my head. Hic. Our eyes met and I flinched.
“Normally, awakening happens to everyone when they reach a certain age. Serial killers can awaken one day, and a girl abandoned by her parents and forced to live off garbage can awaken too.”
“Eh, what?”
I was stunned. I scooted my chair back a little. My heart raced at the shocking truth, so I took a sip of my drink.
So… the system that supposedly gives power to the righteous isn’t actually the case. Awakening itself isn’t fair after all.
Just when I thought the world was finally turning right, giving power only to the good and letting evil slowly disappear… That’s the movie I’d wanted to believe in. And now I was facing the same despair as everyone else.
“…Hey, wait a second. Look at me and listen.”
Noa-ang’s words snapped me back to reality. The thoughts swirling in my head scattered like smoke. Was it possible to use that persuasive power like this too?
“Ah, yeah… It’s because a bad memory just flashed through my mind.”
I wiped the tears gathering in my eyes with my thumb and dragged the chair back to the desk.
“…Bringing this up was a mistake. Sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault… It’s just that bad memories come rushing in like waves sometimes. Everything’s confusing, and then it hits me again. Yeah.”
Noa-ang was watching me with worry in her eyes. I kept sipping my drink, then set the can down and let out a long sigh.
“Haah, anyway… So awakening is open to everyone, right?”
“Yeah. I compare it to a seed. One day, when sunlight hits it, it will bloom.”
“But not all seeds get sunlight. Why do you say good people get it first? I’ve never heard that serial killers awakened and slaughtered everyone.”
“…That could happen too.”
Eh, what? So fundamentally it’s the same. Good people establish the system, gain power first, and bad people get controlled last. Uh-huh. So it’s fine then.
‘Well… it doesn’t matter. It’s okay.’
“Hey, while we wait for the inspection, how about taking a little break? I think it might help clear your mind.”
“…Ah, yeah.”
Thinking back, I only started speaking face-to-face after Noa-ang told me to look up. It wasn’t my courage but her ability that made it possible. I was a little sad about it, but what could I do?
Noa-ang led me to the room with the bed and helped me lie down. It was even fluffier than my mattress. If I were in a good mood, I would’ve been bouncing on it right now.
“Take a nap if you want. I get suddenly depressed too, so just sleep. You’ll feel better after.”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to show such an embarrassing side…”
I pulled the blanket over my face. I was daydreaming alone after pressing the emergency button right after talking to someone.
“…No. It’s my own fault for answering so straightforwardly. Whatever.”
“Uuuu. Since I asked, it’s not Noa-ang’s fault…”
“Hey, you can call me Noa instead of Gal Nick. That’s my activity name.”
Ah, now that I thought about it, Pa-ttak had called me Noa too. It was almost the same as the Gal Nick, so she probably didn’t intend to hide it. Since she wasn’t registered, she had no external activities to worry about.
“Yeah. Noa. What does it mean? Like a commander or something?”
“Yeah, like a commander.”
“Eek. I was joking!”
“Activity names usually aren’t meaningless. Wait, the phone just rang. Can I answer it?”
“Uh, uh-huh. I’ll rest a bit.”
I heard Noa-ang leave. I hugged the blanket tightly and lay on my side. I’d been waiting for her to come back, but my eyes grew heavy. Zzz…