The Uninvited Shield

"For now, Yu-ri."

Ever since I said those words, the air in the treatment room had been strangely quiet.

Cha Yu-ri didn't stop wrapping the bandages. However, she tied the knot a little slower than usual. Baek Ha-rin leaned against the wall with her scabbard slung over her shoulder, while Han Mi-rae was holding back a laugh.

Yun Seo-ah stood by the doorway, remaining silent.

The first one to speak was Cha Yu-ri.

"Saying things like that does have a therapeutic effect, but it also has side effects."

"What side effects?"

"People get the wrong idea."

Han Mi-rae immediately chimed in.

"Like who?"

Cha Yu-ri didn't answer.

Baek Ha-rin chuckled softly.

"The doctor looks like the first one to get the wrong idea, though."

"Swordsman, please just hold your scabbard quietly in the treatment room."

"The scabbard is quiet. It's the person holding it that's the problem."

I started to raise my hand between the two of them but stopped. My fingers wouldn't bend properly under the bandages. Cha Yu-ri noticed immediately.

"Tell me if it hurts."

"It hurts."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"What did you just say?"

"I said it hurts."

Han Mi-rae was about to clap softly, but after catching Cha Yu-ri's glare, she lowered her hands.

"You've grown, Oppa. Medically speaking."

"Don't put things like that in the contract either," Cha Yu-ri said.

Just then, Lee Na-gyeong's terminal beeped. It was a short warning tone.

The light atmosphere in the treatment room instantly sank.

B-3. The place where the residues of low-rank black gates and some records of workshop accidents were temporarily stored. The signal from the transmitter that had just been destroyed led straight there.

Lee Na-gyeong closed the screen.

"We need to verify the scene. The patient is forbidden from moving."

Baek Ha-rin immediately straightened up.

"I'm going."

"You are not on the invitation list."

"A sword isn't something you draw only when invited."

"Which is exactly why I must restrict you."

Their words clashed coldly.

I got down from the bed.

Cha Yu-ri's hand immediately grabbed my arm.

"You can't."

"My records are down there too."

Lee Na-gyeong fell silent for a moment.

"They are."

"Then I'm checking it."

"Hunter Kang Tae-san is not on the invitation list either."

I looked at Mungnoe.

The black hammer leaning against the wall was silent. However, I could feel a very low vibration deep within the handle. It felt as if the record line someone had left behind was pulling at me once again.

"I'm not going there to be invited."

I picked up Mungnoe.

Thud.

The floor of the treatment room vibrated slightly.

"If a discarded record is about to bite someone again, I'm going to stop it."

Cha Yu-ri closed her eyes, then opened them.

She retied the end of the bandage.

"I have a condition."

"Name it."

"Do not leave my sight. And this time, if it hurts, tell me first. Before I have to ask."

"Got it."

"You answered too quickly. I don't believe you."

Han Mi-rae spoke up from the side.

"I'll go with you. If it's the Association's basement, establishing liability is more important than entry rights. I won't spend any money. Probably."

Cha Yu-ri looked straight at her.

"Probably?"

"I'll try my best."

Yun Seo-ah quietly took a step away from the door.

"I'll keep the evacuation route open. If the lobby gets chaotic, I'll get the patients out first."

I nodded.

This time, I didn't just say, "Sure."

"Seo-ah. Focus on the people first."

She caught her breath for a moment, then nodded.

"I know."

The hallway leading down to B-3 was dead silent.

The security cameras were turned toward the walls, and a thin layer of black dust covered the floor. Baek Ha-rin held her scabbard low. She hadn't drawn her sword yet.

"Those aren't human footprints."

"What went by?"

"The kind that feeds on records."

Before she could even finish her sentence, the screen on the hallway wall flickered to life.

Below the captions, a real-time feed of the Association lobby was playing. Reporters were staring at the text, and some were already raising their cameras. Someone had opened the spectator seats before we even arrived.

Lee Na-gyeong held up her inspector badge.

"This is Inspector Lee Na-gyeong escorting on-site. Hunter Kang Tae-san is not an unauthorized intruder."

The screen didn't stop.

Han Mi-rae grit her teeth slightly as she watched the screen.

"They left the list blank beforehand. That way, if we add the name later, it'll look like tampering."

Cha Yu-ri tightened her grip on my arm.

"Don't be the first to step forward at a time like this."

"What's in front of us isn't just a screen."

I looked at the bottom of the storage room door. Black dust was seeping through the gap, crawling toward the record line inside the wall. It was the line where the original records were stored. If that got consumed, only the captions would remain.

"The record line."

Lee Na-gyeong's expression hardened.

"Original record corruption detected. Initiating ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠backup transmission."

The gap in the door widened.

A black residue poured out. It was neither wolf nor human. It was a shell that had failed halfway through mimicking a human form. Instead of a mouth, it had multiple strands of black thread that dug deep into the wall.

Baek Ha-rin stepped forward.

This time, her sword was drawn.

A white line slashed through the hallway. Several strands of black thread were severed. However, the cut threads scattered like dust, only to reform immediately.

"Even if I cut them, they just come back."

"You bought us time," Lee Na-gyeong said.

Blue binding lines wrapped around the residue's ankles. Han Mi-rae traced the connection line leading to the lobby, while Cha Yu-ri pushed an Association employee against the wall.

"Transfer the backup first. Turning off the screen comes later."

The employee gripped the terminal with trembling hands.

"It's transmitting. But the corruption is faster."

A single black thread shot toward the employee.

I moved.

This time, I didn't step in just to take the hit. I planted Mungnoe between the employee and the record line.

*Clang!*

The thread struck the head of Mungnoe. A sharp pain shot through my wrist. Before looking at Cha Yu-ri, I spoke first.

"Two."

Cha Yu-ri's eyes widened.

"Good. Keep talking."

"I'm a bit busy right now."

"I don't like that phrase."

I pressed Mungnoe against the floor. I didn't redirect the force. Instead, I dragged the black dust crawling toward the record line underneath Mungnoe. The residue began to peel away from the wall. Baek Ha-rin didn't miss the opening.

Her blade moved a second time.

This time, instead of cutting the threads, she sliced the wall anchors they were trying to cling to. The record line fell into the protective casing near the floor, and the black threads lost their direction in midair.

Lee Na-gyeong's binding lines pinned the core. I twisted the handle ever so slightly.

*Boom!*

There was no massive explosion.

The residue folded in on itself instead of bursting. The black dust swirled into a single point, condensing into a small transmission core. A tiny mark appeared on the surface of the core.

It was the subcontractor mark of Oh Min-hyeok's guild. It was tiny, but clear enough.

The lobby screen flickered once. The fake captions vanished. In their place, the original footage appeared.

In front of the storage room, Oh Min-hyeok was handing a black case to someone. It was only three seconds long, but those three seconds carried more weight than all the captions from earlier.

The murmurs of the reporters echoed down through the speakers.

Lee Na-gyeong sealed the transmission core.

"Attempted corruption of original records. Transmission of manipulated captions. Subcontractor mark confirmed. Evidence secured."

Baek Ha-rin flicked her sword.

"Even if we weren't on the invitation list, we were helpful, right?"

Lee Na-gyeong fell silent for a moment.

"You were helpful."

The corners of Baek Ha-rin's mouth curled up.

"I like the sound of that."

Cha Yu-ri was already looking at my wrist.

"Pain level."

"Three."

"You said two just a moment ago."

"It was two back then."

"You've improved ever so slightly. Only in your habit of reporting pain, that is."

Her fingertips pressed beneath the bandage. It hurt, but it was bearable. No, I stopped myself just as I was about to say it was bearable.

"It hurts. But I can move."

"I will only accept the first of those two sentences."

Han Mi-rae spoke up while looking at the lobby screen.

"Seo-ah moved."

Yun Seo-ah appeared on one side of the screen. She wasn't standing in front of the reporters. Instead, she was moving patients and support staff to the waiting area inside the wall. A camera was thrust toward her, throwing a question.

"As his former partner, how do you view Hunter Kang Tae-san?"

Yun Seo-ah paused. It was a question she would have avoided in the past. She was holding my torn jacket. Black dust clung to the edges of the blood-stained fabric.

"I will speak not as his former partner, but as someone who just witnessed him."

She looked straight into the camera.

"That man went to protect the records. We can talk about the terminated contract after that."

Her words were brief. Yet, the barrage of questions in the lobby ground to a halt.

It wasn't that she had forgiven me, nor had I forgiven her. Even so, Seo-ah didn't hide behind the termination papers this time. She moved the people first and bought time so the records wouldn't be consumed.

That alone was change enough.

Cha Yu-ri looked at the screen and muttered softly, "We need an appraisal on that jacket before it gets washed."

Han Mi-rae replied instantly.

"I'll send it to the workshop. The dry cleaning bill goes to Oh Min-hyeok."

"Mi-rae."

"Isn't it fine this time?"

Cha Yu-ri pondered for a moment before replying, "It is fine this time."

Baek Ha-rin sheathed her sword.

"Then let's head back, Mr. Uninvited Shield."

"I don't like that name."

"I called you that precisely because I don't like it either."

I lifted Mungnoe. Instead of the weight leaving my palm, a delayed heat flared up in my side. Cha Yu-ri immediately grabbed my arm. Baek Ha-rin reached out to place a hand on my other shoulder but hesitated.

"Can I hold you?"

Cha Yu-ri looked at her.

"Only if he falls."

"He hasn't fallen yet."

"Which is why you shouldn't hold him yet."

Baek Ha-rin lowered her hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a disgruntled expression.

Han Mi-rae chuckled softly beside her.

"Everyone is learning a little bit today."

I looked toward the end of the hallway. The lobby screen no longer displayed the caption about an unauthorized intrusion. Only the original footage, the sealed transmission core, and the severed wall anchors remained.

I was an uninvited shield. But on the way back, I wasn't alone.

Inside the elevator heading back to the treatment room, no one spoke first. Mungnoe was in my hand, and Cha Yu-ri's hand was on my arm. Baek Ha-rin stood by the door, holding her scabbard low. Han Mi-rae kept her terminal open. Yun Seo-ah remained in the lobby beyond the screen.

Though we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were all in different places, this time, we were looking in the same direction.

Leaning against the elevator wall, I spoke.

"Earlier."

Cha Yu-ri immediately looked up.

"Does it hurt?"

"That too."

"If it's 'that too,' tell me about the pain first."

"Three."

"Good. What next?"

I paused to catch my breath.

"Seo-ah got the people out first."

Han Mi-rae looked at me.

"Is that what you wanted to say?"

"Yeah."

Baek Ha-rin let out a dry laugh.

"You really look out for people at the weirdest times."

Cha Yu-ri supported my arm a bit more firmly.

"Still, it's not a bad time."

The elevator doors opened. The scent of disinfectant still lingered in the hallway of the treatment wing. A wheelchair, left behind in a hurry, stood against the wall, and the support staff member who had just been moved from the lobby sat wrapped in a blanket.

He tried to bow his head upon seeing me.

Cha Yu-ri raised her hand first.

"Don't bow. You'll get dizzy."

At her words, he froze awkwardly mid-motion.

I leaned Mungnoe against the wall.

This time, the floor didn't sink.

It was a small change.

But today, that small change ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt big enough.