tls123, Who Is He?
April to May. Family month. Spring in full bloom with cherry blossom viewing at its peak. Right at this time, a gate break erupts in Japan.
It wasn't a break caused by Japan's poor gate management. It was pure bad luck. An additional gate spawned on top of an existing one, and the two overlapped, causing it to burst. It was a catastrophe on an unprecedented scale, plunging the Japanese archipelago into shock.
They scrambled for help from the United States and mounted a response, but years of peace had dulled their edges, leading to clumsy efforts and a tremendous loss of life. Up until the Yeonam-gu incident, Korea hadn't seen a break in two years. Even so, if they hadn't maintained vigilance against breaks at just the right moment, chaos would have ensued.
Just two years was enough for that level of complacency. Japan had gone a full decade without one, growing so accustomed to peace that they let their guard down. "Japan's gate safety management is the best in the world!" That pride became poison, dooming their initial response. Countless people died or were injured, and the property damage was immense.
Breaks hinge on that first response, and Japan failed spectacularly. Upper management passed the buck, while field teams stuck rigidly to outdated manuals. With eleven S-rank hunters on hand, were they just sitting around cooking ramen? Deployment dragged on because decision-makers, loath to take responsibility, kept delaying.
An entire city reduced to rubble, a prosperous prefecture left in ruins. And the gate that broke was a bad one—its internal environment was a desert, blending with the city. It took eleven years to purify the sand-buried ruins and make it livable again.
It dominated international news nonstop, so a regressor like Lee Seoryul couldn't possibly forget. But it wasn't just the massive disaster that stuck in her mind. That gate led to the emergence of a hunter with a very unique skill in Japan.
Geas. That was the name of the skill she awakened. True to its name, it forced an unbreakable contract the moment it was established. Thanks to her, Japan turned crisis into opportunity. Talk about the lucky guy who picks up gold even when he trips.
After losing a city for eleven years amid massive casualties, Japan gained a truly special hunter in return. She could enforce contract terms without fail, allowing Japan to rehabilitate villains or serve as trusted notaries on the international stage.
Lee Seoryul was heading to Japan to claim that future "Human Contract"—the awakener herself—for Korea. To help the woman who, after losing loved ones in the break and hitting rock bottom, awakens in regret... and use that as leverage to scout her to Korea.
It was also to steal the credit for Japan's first successful "Punishment Squad." If someone asked if that wasn't unfair to Japan, she'd probably reply, "...Not really?"
Considering how the Japanese government clumsily exploited the naive awakener like a slave only to lose her pointlessly, Lee Seoryul figured taking her was better for humanity. She even saw it as helping the Human Contract, so no guilt toward Japan.
It wasn't nationalistic bias just because she was Korean. It was purely about efficiency and the greater good—or so she told herself.
Anyway, while preparing for her Japan trip amid the shifting Hunter Association landscape, Lee Seoryul couldn't help but be shocked by Lebalheonda.
Japan. Break. Geas. Too many overlaps.
The novel didn't match reality exactly, but the break erupting, the distinctive ability user emerging, even the location—Japan—all aligned.
"What the hell...?"
Of course, she'd casually used the novel as an excuse to Kang Sora before about going to Japan. But that was just a throwaway line. Who could've guessed the novel actually had that content?
I can't ignore this. She might think it's weird, but I'll have to borrow unnie Dami's hand.
Despite being swamped with Japan prep amid the turbulent association politics, Lee Seoryul decided to seek "help" to contact the author tls123. Just like last time with the association corruption exposé, she'd ask Seo Dami to check on tls123 while she was away.
Honestly, it didn't sit well. Seo Dami was a good person at heart, but she was called a witch. Handing over what amounted to her weakness felt risky.
It might turn into a hassle based on past experience, but Lee Seoryul gritted her teeth and decided to cash in her Seo Dami favor one more time.
And when Seo Dami heard the request, her wild delusions ballooned: The association's agent wants to secretly investigate a webnovel author? tls123... this guy's got something for real!
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"Phew..."
The Golden Week holiday had begun. Hunters might say they had no days off year-round, but even they needed rest sometimes.
Cha Yaeun had wrapped up a big job successfully, her points and requested gear were en route, and the holiday lined up perfectly—so she decided to kick back. But here she was, sighing heavily in the living room during this prime vacation time.
Her deflating sighs were draining her little sister's energy too, so Cha Yeryeong spoke up.
"Why keep sighing on a great holiday like this? Something wrong, unnie?"
Her sister looked deep in thought, like some problem had cropped up. She couldn't not ask.
After some internal debate, Cha Yaeun replied.
"Actually, in Lebalheonda—"
Aha, knew it. The moment "Lebalheonda" left her open-book sister's mouth, Cha Yeryeong made a face like she'd called it.
Cha Yaeun used to bottle everything up, suffering in silence no matter what. For her to show it this openly? Had to be the webnovel.
Is that novel really that amazing?
Honestly, Cha Yeryeong chalked it all up to coincidence. As a realist, she saw no way a novel could influence reality. One coincidence? Sure. But even repeats were just repeats.
It frustrated her seeing her sister treat the novel like divine revelation. Like those religious types who credit wins to God and losses to lack of effort. She succeeded because she's skilled, not because of the novel.
It feels realistic, so maybe it's helpful like vicarious experience... but it's still just a novel. Unnie's too much.
Even spotting the villain—she'd hyped it so much that Cha Yeryeong checked the novel too, but it was obvious. No sense it pinpointed the location. Just her sister scouring likely spots. Credit to unnie's hunter instincts, not the novel.
Yet Cha Yaeun insisted it was the novel's doing, and every time, Cha Yeryeong wanted to graduate, land a solid job, and ease unnie's burdens. That way, she wouldn't escape harsh reality into webnovels and delusions.
"So? What's the issue this time?"
Cha Yeryeong shook her head and asked.
"Did the novel say the world ends tomorrow or something?"
"Pretty much."
Cha Yaeun's deadpan reply hit as Cha Yeryeong sipped zero soda, choking her up.
"Cough?!"
Cha Yaeun handed her tissues and continued.
"I think a gate break's coming to Japan soon."
"What? A gate break in Japan?"
Cha Yeryeong wiped the sprayed soda, looking baffled.
"That make any sense?"
Japan? The nation boasting a decade of zero gate accidents, national pride and all. Earthquakes were inevitable, but they managed gates with ironclad rigor—no breaks in over ten years.
They drew envy worldwide; rich folk seriously eyed Japanese immigration. Even big American celebs owned villas there as bolt-holes.
A break in that Japan?
Come on, be real.
That's why novels stayed novels. This was absurd fantasy, possible only in fiction.
"Japan's the first country that comes to mind for gate safety... a break there?"
Sure, absolutes didn't exist in reality, so Japan could have issues. But with twice Korea's S-ranks, even while dispatching hunters abroad, they kept domestic gates airtight.
"They're just milking the Yeonam-gu break for clicks again with more break hype."
Cha Yeryeong shrugged like it was obvious, but Cha Yaeun shook her head vehemently.
"No!"
The Steel Guild break episode aired, then reality followed. Against everyone's "correlation isn't causation," she flailed her arms, passionately arguing the reverse.
"It was spot-on!"
"Pure luck."
She admitted the novel motivated unnie, boosting her growth like a placebo. But actual guidance from a webnovel? Absurd. If that worked, it'd be something else masquerading as fiction.
Cha Yaeun shot back, exasperated at her scoffing sister.
"In Do-eun's wuxia novels, hidden masters' insights hide in journals or scraps. Scribbles that turn out to be sword techniques. Lebalheonda's like that."
"Huh? So the author's some secret grandmaster spilling his secrets via novel?"
"Uh, probably?"
"Unnie..."
She's a total fanatic.
Cha Yaeun pouted at her sister's look.
"But the author foresaw the break, right?"
"Luck. Internet randos predict stuff all the time. Then fans do holy pilgrimages later. By that logic, every vague post foresees everything— even that reckless sword challenge guy's a prophet."
"Ugh..."
The sisters stared, words failing.
"If you're right, the author's a prophet or something."
Cha Yeryeong jabbed: cooperate with the government as a seer, not write novels on a platform.
"W-Well..."
Stumped momentarily, Cha Yaeun rallied.
"L-Like Cassandra! Cursed so her prophecies aren't believed, so she hides them in a novel hoping someone notices."
Ears are earrings, nose-rings are nose-rings—but unnie's delusion runs deep.
Cha Yeryeong never imagined her sister joining Do-eun's wuxia obsession with webnovels. It started as a hobby, but now? Worrying.
I won't end up like that.
Webnovels were for fun, stress relief—not life lessons. She blamed unnie's hunter hardships weakening her mind.