The First Member (7)
Four years. It was an incredibly long time. Especially in the hunter world, where life and death were constant companions and you had to rely on each other completely. The four years I'd spent with Yoo Seo-ah should have been more than enough to become close friends who could bare our souls to one another.
But even so, we weren't that close. Our relationship wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite friendship either. More like comfortable coworkers, I guess. And it wasn't because of Yoo Seo-ah that the distance never closed, despite rubbing shoulders in dungeons for four years. It was because I drew the line.
You might not understand why I'd do something like that. Looking back now, it seems like I threw away my chance to get close to someone called a supernova. But it wasn't a good choice for me either. Deep down, I wanted to drop the formalities with her and just hang out comfortably. The problem was, her talent was just too dazzling.
Unlike me, whose limit was D-rank, Yoo Seo-ah showed no ceiling to her potential. Experts even said hitting S-rank was just a matter of time. That's why they called her a supernova, and why Cheongmyeong Guild had scooped her up with unprecedented treatment.
Yeah, Yoo Seo-ah was a star. One that generated its own blinding light, scorching the sky. She was too hot for a moth like me—one whose ceiling was fixed no matter how hard I tried—to stick around. Approach the light, and you'd burn up entirely. To stay by her side, you needed at least enough power not to get incinerated.
And I didn't have that power or talent.
Of course, I had my own drive and ambition. There was pride in being part of the founding team that first met her and formed up together. That's why, even after getting dropped from combat, I stuck it out as a porter...
But in the end, my mana circuit shattered.
Moths have to munch on pine needles with other moths. Stars have to shine in the sky with other stars. Everyone has their place suited to their vessel. Realizing that, I drew the line with Yoo Seo-ah. So that when she eventually drifted away to mingle with other stars, it wouldn't hurt as much.
That's what I thought, anyway.
"U-um... I want to go back to being on the same team as you, Jinseong-ssi..."
That shining star was crying, saying she needed me.
"Hwehheeng... Being on the same team as you was so much better..."
Even after mingling with other stars worthy of her, she said being with me was better.
Yoo Seo-ah—the one and only—was saying she needed me. Just that fact alone filled my chest to bursting, and I couldn't stop my lips from curling up.
My efforts weren't in vain. My stubborn drive and greed weren't foolish. I was necessary to Yoo Seo-ah.
The hunter's dream I'd crashed into because of my half-baked talent's limits. It was still impossible, but whatever. It was fine. The dazzling star I'd dreamed of as my ideal was saying she needed me.
I wanted to help this woman in front of me. I wanted to be necessary to that star from here on out.
So I grinned and said to her,
"If you're done crying, get up. We gotta go before it's too late."
Safe House Member Protection System
It was time to properly show off my ability using the Safe House system window that had just popped up in front of me.
※ Near Gangnam Station, temporary press conference venue.
Even without a single chair in sight, the temporary venue was packed with reporters and hunter industry insiders forming a dense crowd. All because of the bombshell news: Supernova Geom-hwa Yoo Seo-ah had sacrificed herself to save her entire team.
Park Bong-su, vice captain of Cheongmyeong Guild's 1st Unit, looked out at the masses in front of the podium and inwardly cheered. He could feel his precarious position—shaky ever since Yoo Seo-ah joined—solidifying once more.
Yoo Seo-ah, you had no backing, no nothing, just your petty talent to rely on. That's what you get for strutting around. This hunter world is still run by people, after all. Rampage like that, and of course you'll end up with enemies.
Park Bong-su recalled the sight of Yoo Seo-ah crumbling after he stabbed her in the back with his sword, forcing down the grin tugging at his lips by gritting his teeth. This was Cheongmyeong Guild's official statement on her sacrifice, after all.
"Cheongmyeong Guild's 1st Unit was able to safely rescue all remaining members thanks to Hunter Yoo Seo-ah's sacrifice."
His voice—low and heavy, the complete opposite of his ecstatic inner thoughts—boomed through the mic and speakers. The heavy pressure emanating from an A-rank hunter silenced everyone present. In this moment, only one person could speak: Cheongmyeong Guild 1st Unit Vice Captain Park Bong-su.
He was thrilled with the situation and continued his statement.
"Hunter Yoo Seo-ah's death is truly heartbreaking. Not just for Cheongmyeong Guild, but for the entire Korean hunter world—this supernova that could have lit it up has faded far too soon. I myself am filled with regret and devastation."
His mournful expression was so convincing, no one would guess he was the one who'd stabbed her. And since he was the only one here who knew the truth, everyone bought his act. Though the silence was half-forced by his aura, their facial expressions were free to shift.
Perfect, the stage is set. Time to grab a spoon and dig in.
Seeing people start to mirror his sadness, Park Bong-su knew the moment had arrived. He smirked inwardly, clenching his right fist and preparing to thrust it toward the sky.
"But drowning in grief over a fallen comrade isn't the Cheongmyeong way."
Whirr—
At the same time, a massive screen behind him began descending from the ceiling of the press room.
Once it was down, he'd launch into his prepared presentation on reconquering Gangnam Station Gate. The PPT glorified Yoo Seo-ah as a heroic martyr. After that, reconquering the gate would become a sacred crusade in her memory, and he'd rise as the commander leading it.
Sure, there'd be criticism for losing her, but Park Bong-su didn't care. He was already plenty satisfied with having eliminated her.
Once we perfectly clear Gangnam Station Gate, that criticism will just go viral and boost my name even more. No matter what, it's a win for me.
Gangnam Station Gate was tough for an A-rank, but not impossible. He'd intentionally failed the last one to take her out, so success was guaranteed this time. Nothing stood in his way anymore, he thought.
Ding—
The screen behind him fully descended. All that was left was to start the presentation. He thrust his prepared fist high and opened his mouth.
"When we lose a comrade! We don't wallow in sorrow—we pay proper tribute and exact vengeance! That's the Cheongmyeong way!"
Click!
"Right here, Cheongmyeong Guild's 1st Unit declares! We will exhaust every means to conquer Gangnam Station Gate—the thief of Hunter Yoo Seo-ah's noble life—and honor her spirit!"
As Park Bong-su shouted, the screen behind him lit up. Bathed in its glow like a halo, he opened his mouth to begin.
"And now, we commence Vice Captain Park Bong-su's Gangnam Station Gate reconquest presentation..."
Hm?
But something was off with the crowd's expressions below the podium. Just moments ago, they'd been empathetic with grief or solemn in mourning her death. Now, they all looked like they'd seen something unbelievable.
What the hell? What are they looking at...?
Their gazes weren't on him, but behind him—toward the screen. Realizing this, Park Bong-su whipped his head around to check it.
"...Huh?"
And there it was.
Inside Gangnam Station Gate, mid-battle with the gate boss—himself stabbing Yoo Seo-ah in the back with his sword.
"Th-this... how is this...?"
The massive screen was filled with the image of him stabbing her. Park Bong-su's face twisted into the same incredulous expression as the crowd below—eyes wide, mouth agape.
But he quickly schooled his features. Showing real shock here would make things irreversible, and he knew it.
Cheongmyeong Guild—one of Korea's three great guilds, the most merit-based of them all. And he'd climbed to vice captain through politics over pure skill. He knew exactly what to do in a situation like this.
"Th-this is manipulated footage! Who the hell would do someth—!"
Park Bong-su shouted toward the crowd below. But no one paid him any mind.
Clack-clack-clack—
A woman was ascending the stairs beside the podium, her light footsteps drawing every eye.
"It's not manipulated. Why lie? That flimsy lie was obviously going to get exposed."
At that voice—one he'd never hear again, he'd thought—Park Bong-su felt the blood in his veins turn ice-cold. He turned his head toward it with a rusty creak, like a tin doll.
And came face-to-face with her.
The hunter he'd stabbed in the back just hours ago, whom he'd watched get beaten to a pulp by beastmen hordes.
"Y-Yoo Seo-ah..."
Geom-hwa Yoo Seo-ah.
"You said proper tribute and vengeance is the Cheongmyeong way, right? Eh, skip the tribute."
Shing—
"I'll just go with revenge. Just like you said—the Cheongmyeong way."
Yoo Seo-ah's blade gleamed coldly.