One Last Mission
A moment ago, in the master bedroom.
"Uh... yeah. Got it. I'll handle that. Yeah... I'll head to the guild headquarters now. Alright, see you later."
The call ended, and the smartphone screen went dark. Silence settled over the room.
"Haa..."
Kim Jangmi let out a sigh, but the suffocating lump in her chest refused to budge.
"......"
Shinwoo is dead.
My longtime friend. My reliable comrade.
"......"
Closing her eyes brought it all rushing back.
The moment her peaceful daily life had crumbled.
The memory of hearing... the news of his death.
A few days earlier, at the Hongryeon Guild headquarters.
"......"
The glittering cityscape visible through the window.
An orphan like her had risen this far.
'And the reason I could achieve all this success...'
Jangmi's gaze naturally drifted to the man lounging crookedly on the sofa.
"This mission's the last one, right? You'll let me retire after?"
'It was all possible because of Shinwoo.'
An ordinary, lazy afternoon like any other.
True to form, he was nagging about retirement again today.
He'd been saying it for years, but today, he looked especially worn out.
'Yeah... it's about time to let him retire.'
She couldn't keep holding onto someone who'd worked so hard.
'But...'
Jangmi fiddled with the small box in her pocket.
Inside was a ring she'd carefully chosen after much deliberation.
'That doesn't mean I'll let him go completely.'
"Ugh, fine. Hurry up and get it done. I'll treat you to dinner for your retirement celebration."
"Ooh, something expensive? I can look forward to it?"
"Yeah, so wrap it up quick."
"This time for real? I'm retiring? Quitting for good?"
That was how he'd left the office, laughing.
That was...
His final appearance.
Vrrr— vrrr—
"......"
Jangmi paused her review of the documents and pulled her phone from her pocket.
For some reason, unease gnawed at her.
The raid should have been over long ago.
'Did something happen? The contact's late...'
She suppressed the anxiety and checked the screen.
"......"
It wasn't his name.
It was the guild member who'd gone with him.
"......Hello?"
"Guild leader..."
The unease swelled.
Please, let it be nothing.
But...
"Shinwoo hyung... he didn't come out of the gate..."
"......Huh?"
By the time she came to her senses, she was in the funeral hall.
"......"
The other hunters sobbing around her.
The association president awkwardly patting shoulders with a complicated expression.
Glancing down, she saw herself in mourning clothes, a chief mourner's armband on her left wrist.
Her eyes stung.
She didn't know how much she'd cried.
She couldn't tell what was happening... if this was even reality.
"Ah... ahhh..."
Shinwoo is dead.
Throughout the funeral, mourners never stopped coming.
Watching the hall packed to the brim, Jangmi realized once more.
How good a person Shinwoo had been.
He'd always devoted himself to others, sparing nothing for the guild and the people.
"......"
Just a B-rank dungeon.
For an S-rank like him, something he could clear with his eyes closed.
Yet...
'A double dungeon...?'
They'd succeeded in clearing it, but Shinwoo got buried in the debris and couldn't get out?
'Does that even make sense?'
He'd told everyone else to go first, even at the end? Shinwoo...?
Jangmi wiped her reddened eyes and bit her lip.
The words he'd always said.
Retirement...
"You said you were retiring... quitting... you idiot... you fool..."
'All of it...'
"Because of me..."
Jangmi's clenched fists trembled.
If only one year earlier. No, one month, or at least...
Just one day sooner.
"I'd let you retire..."
It was all her greed.
He'd been sacrificed to her selfishness.
She...
Had killed Shinwoo.
Once the funeral rites were complete, Jangmi found herself drawn to Shinwoo's house as if bewitched.
The door opened, releasing stale air laced with his familiar scent.
It felt like he might greet her from the living room any second.
But...
The house was silent.
"......"
And in that moment.
In his house, where no one should be...
"......?"
An unfamiliar presence occupied the space.
Jangmi stared blankly at the girl on the living room floor.
Her heart pounded fiercely.
She couldn't hold back.
The facial features so like his, and the scent of Shinwoo wafting from the girl.
In that instant, Jangmi's reason snapped.
Her eyes flashed red.
She closed the distance in a flash, fangs aimed at the girl's nape...
Crunch.
Sharp canines pierced tender skin.
"......!"
His taste.
It was his taste.
Her friend.
Kim Shinwoo's taste.
"Shinwoo's... daughter?"
The tiny girl, trembling with her nape gripped, nodded weakly in affirmation.
Shinwoo had...
A hidden daughter.
Jangmi stared intently at the girl across the dining table, deftly using chopsticks with her delicate hands.
Her name was Kim Shina.
Apparently, he'd raised her alone.
"......"
She resembled him.
So much.
Face, mannerisms, even the tiniest habits.
Glossy black bob hair falling to her shoulders, obsidian-black eyes.
Like a perfect copy of his childhood self. A corner of Jangmi's heart throbbed.
And this girl, who looked just like him...
Was pretty cute.
No, extremely so.
Even objectively, she exuded something extraordinary.
"......"
After a long silence, Jangmi spoke.
"Um... hey, Shina."
The girl's black eyes turned to Jangmi.
"W-Would you like to come live at auntie's place?"
She'd made up her mind.
For his death.
As atonement.
She would take responsibility for this lost girl.
It was the moment the girl accepted the offer and was packing to leave.
Jangmi's eyes lingered on the massively bulging backpack strapped to the girl's small back.
And the sharp, protruding objects—
"Um... Shina...? W-What's all this?"
"My favorite stuff."
The girl said it casually, but Jangmi recognized them.
How dangerous those items were.
And a sudden question arose.
"By any chance... Shina, are you an awakener...?"
"Yes."
A curt affirmation.
Yes.
The girl was an awakener.
Back to the present, in the master bedroom.
Jangmi sat on the bed, lost in deep thought about Shina.
Shina had inherited his abilities completely.
It was well-known that awakener powers could be passed to the second generation.
She figured Shina was one of those cases.
A heaven-sent talent.
But for some reason, Jangmi wasn't happy.
The image of the girl packing Shinwoo's gear with familiar movements before they left flashed in her mind.
'That child might want to become a hunter someday too.'
Jangmi bit her lip.
After sending him off so pointlessly, if his child walked the same path and got hurt or died, she wouldn't be able to bear it.
But she had no right to stop the girl either.
Even so...
'If Shina wants to become a hunter...'
She'd raise her stronger than anyone.
Protect her so she'd never get hurt by her side.
"......"
As she sorted her complicated feelings and opened the door to check on her.
"......?"
Crackle, zzzap...
Jangmi's expression turned to horror in an instant.
Because right before her eyes, the girl was electrocuting her own head.
"Sh-Shina!?"
Jangmi screamed and lunged toward the girl.
"......?"
Jangmi clutched her chest like someone who'd lost years off her life, breathing raggedly.
Why was she going this far...? She approached me cautiously, finally composing herself.
"Um... Shina. Auntie has to head out now, but I can't leave you alone. It doesn't sit right with me. Come with me, okay?"
"Huh? I can manage by myself..."
Before I could finish, Jangmi grabbed my shoulders.
Tears seemed ready to spill from her eyes any second.
"No... It's auntie who can't handle it. Please, okay?"
Her desperate, almost pitiful plea left me no choice but to nod.
"Yes..."
She must be worried because I look so young.
I could handle being alone just fine...
It was a bit regrettable that I couldn't show her a more reliable side, but for now, I'd go with her.
Well... someday, a chance to prove my worth would come.
If worst comes to worst...
I pictured a scenario she'd love most.
A massive gate looms, Jangmi wailing.
"No hunter to raid this gate! Our guild's done for, ruined! Waaah."
Then I step up, resolute, adjusting my bag.
"I'll go."
Jangmi's eyes light up as she grabs my hand.
"Shina, you're so dependable...!"
"Uhahaha."
...Something like that?
Just once... yeah, worth staging it once.
Hiding the silly smile creeping onto my lips, I climbed into the back seat of her luxury sedan.