Seeds of Change
Whoa. She's a pretty one.
That was Baek Seo-jin's first impression of Han Se-hee.
She couldn't compare to Seomun Ye-jin, who at fifteen already carried a woman's allure — but even at the same age as him, Han Se-hee's looks were cute and lovely. To a boy his own age in particular, that combination of pink hair and crimson eyes made her look almost like a living doll.
"Ah! You've already met our young master. Good to see you, Se-hee!"
Pi Woo-jae had come over to greet her. He was an SS-class hunter who had joined Baekho Guild three years ago — relatively new blood, but his SS-class abilities had already carried him all the way up to an executive seat. He'd been friendly with Seo-jin too; over those three years, he'd become something of a familiar uncle.
"Uncle Woo-jae! You know Se-hee?"
Watching how warmly Pi Woo-jae welcomed her, Seo-jin couldn't help wondering whether the two already knew each other. Come to think of it, Pi Woo-jae had been with a different guild until three years ago. He might have known her from back then.
"Haha! Of course! Young master, before I came to Baekho Guild, I was with the Yeon-woo Raid Team. The daughter of the couple who led that team is this girl right here — Se-hee."
"Ah! I see!"
Hearing that, Seo-jin looked at Han Se-hee. He'd been told that the raid team Pi Woo-jae had belonged to had been wiped out by a dungeon anomaly, and that Pi Woo-jae had been the sole survivor. He'd lost every last one of his comrades that day. That would have been when she'd lost her parents.
She's an orphan.
Three years ago she would have been eight, just like him. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much it would hurt to lose your parents at that age. Even as pity for her situation welled up in him, Seo-jin noticed that Han Se-hee's expression had gone dark.
What's wrong with her? Is it because people found out she's an orphan?
He wasn't the kind of person who would look down on someone for being an orphan. Telling himself that, he tried to comfort her.
"Hey... that must have been really hard."
Han Se-hee gave a small nod at his attempt to console her.
"Yeah."
Her hands were trembling. She had her fists clenched tight, her head bowed, her whole body shaking — and Seo-jin found it strange that she was trembling this badly.
"Did something bad happen?"
"N-no."
"Uncle Woo-jae. Could you give the two of us a moment?"
"Of course, young master. Se-hee, I'll see you later."
After Pi Woo-jae said his goodbye and stepped away, Seo-jin turned back to her.
"If you're having a hard time, want to rest for a bit? There's plenty of space in my room. You can stay there as long as you want. Nobody's going to say a word."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
Hearing her answer, Seo-jin smiled. He had just made the first friend of his life.
His parents loved him so much that they'd been extremely picky about who he was allowed to befriend, terrified their son might fall in with the wrong crowd. It was probably because of his older brother — because of Baek Seo-jun, that bad person. They didn't want him associating with anyone like that. Han Se-hee had passed that standard, and Seo-jin was already looking forward to having fun with her.
She said she was a healer, right?
Young as she was, Han Se-hee was a mana awakener too. He had all sorts of things he wanted to ask her, but she looked exhausted, so he decided to wait until she'd calmed down.
Before long, however, trouble struck Baekho Guild once again.
"We've come from Kangin Guild."
Pyo Jin-seong, vice guild leader of Kangin Guild, had come calling once more. Seo-jin felt it in his gut — something bad had happened again.
Pi Woo-jae.
The man who had murdered her parents. A hypocrite who had the gall to walk up and greet her as if nothing were wrong. The moment Han Se-hee saw his face, she nearly couldn't contain her rage.
But if she let it show, he might turn on her. People would be coming to arrest him soon — and if he realized his crime had been exposed, he might run. So she forced the anger down and endured it.
This kid, Baek Seo-jin... he looks like Seo-jun Oppa.
In so many ways, Baek Seo-jin called Baek Seo-jun to mind. The eye color and the atmosphere were different, but the overall features — even the hair color — were so similar it was uncanny.
It wasn't the latest model, but she still had the personal phone her parents had bought her three years ago. She pulled it out and searched for Baek Seo-jun at once. Information on him was easy to find.
Five years ago he was taken by villains and is treated as effectively dead?
The story of Baekho Guild's eldest son being abducted by villains, and the photograph of him from five years ago — looking at them, Han Se-hee was certain. This was the same person who had told her about her parents' killer.
Seo-jun Oppa's family was alive. But why on earth did he ask me to keep it a secret?
She had no intention of breaking that promise. Even if they were Baek Seo-jun's own family, if he hadn't gone to them — if he had asked her to keep it secret — there had to be a reason.
I'll keep my promise.
She would keep it, no matter what.
Han Se-hee had a dream of her own. To become an even greater healer than her mother, Jin So-yeon. To treat more people, to help more people — to become an outstanding hunter. She might not be able to fight on the front lines herself, but she wanted to support those who did, to keep as many people as possible from dying or being injured under the threat of monsters. Because she didn't want anyone else to be sacrificed the way her parents had been.
But that wasn't it.
Her parents — her father and her mother — hadn't been killed by monsters. They had been murdered by Pi Woo-jae. The man standing in Baekho Guild right now.
Seo-jun Oppa talked it over with Choi Kang-in. They'll make him pay.
Pi Woo-jae's punishment would come from Baek Seo-jun. Believing that, Han Se-hee embraced a new dream. As a healer, she would grow strong enough to protect people from villains as well.
She kept looking at the photographs of Baek Seo-jun at age ten on her phone. It was a picture from five years ago, and seeing that tall oppa as a little kid — even younger than she was now — felt strangely fascinating.
I shouldn't mention Seo-jun Oppa... but asking this Baek Seo-jin kid what he thinks of him should be fine, right?
She'd only ask in a way that wouldn't reveal she knew Seo-jun was alive.
Just as she was thinking that, a commotion broke out outside.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"U-Uncle Woo-jae?"
As she ran toward the noise, Kim Yu-jeong's panicked voice reached her, and Baek Seo-jin's startled one right after it.
"W-wait! I'm being framed!"
What Han Se-hee saw when she arrived was Pi Woo-jae — an SS-class hunter in name only — already subdued and sprawled on the ground, and Pyo Jin-seong clamping restraints onto him. Before an SSS-class hunter, SS-class Pi Woo-jae had been arrested without a shred of resistance. Watching it, Han Se-hee felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
The bad man who had killed her father and mother and deceived everyone was being arrested. He would be punished. Her heart felt lighter.
"Se-Se-hee! Say something! These people have it all wrong! Me, killing your parents? You know that can't be true, don't you?"
Pi Woo-jae's next words darkened her mood all over again. She hadn't followed him that closely, but she'd still thought of him as something like her father's friend. And he had betrayed her father and mother in a dungeon and killed them.
"Don't you dare run your mouth in front of the victim."
A younger boy's voice rang out, and someone stomped down hard on Pi Woo-jae's back.
"Ghk?!"
As Pi Woo-jae cried out in pain, the black-haired boy standing on his back spoke with ice in his voice.
"Kim Ho-jun!"
"How did that kid—?!"
Everyone called out the name Kim Ho-jun, stunned by his appearance — but Kim Ho-jun spoke as if it were nothing at all.
"I've been temporarily hired by Kangin Guild. Just for this arrest."
Watching him say it so casually — watching Kim Ho-jun, no, Baek Seo-jun — Han Se-hee smiled.
Seo-jun Oppa came to catch him himself.
She would never forget the grace of having her parents' killer brought to justice. But if she acknowledged him here, it might cause him trouble. He was hiding his identity even in front of his own blood relatives, and thinking of her promise to him, she understood. For now, she simply bowed her head slightly in greeting, conveying her gratitude that way.
When she grew up — when she became a more outstanding mana awakener — she would thank him properly, and repay this debt.
As she made that vow, Baek Seo-jin muttered beside her.
"Uncle Woo-jae... he really did something like that...?"
He was murmuring in shock at Pi Woo-jae's true nature. Han Se-hee said nothing. She simply kept her head bowed.
"Don't worry. The one who murdered your parents will receive the punishment he deserves."
Kim Ho-jun came over to tell her that, then left with Pyo Jin-seong, dragging Pi Woo-jae away.
"Heh. An SS-class hunter's combat power, gone..."
Baek Hyeong-won, arriving late to the scene, could only laugh hollowly at the loss of fighting strength. Hearing those words, a quiet resentment took root in Han Se-hee's heart. She was a child who had lost her parents. She couldn't understand a man who mourned a social loss instead.
Why would he say that? That man hurt my father and mother... and instead of addressing that, all he cares about is the fighting power he lost.
When she looked at Baek Seo-jin next, there was no goodwill in her eyes either. Between Baek Seo-jin and her, a line had been drawn — a line he didn't even know existed.
"Hey... Se-hee..."
Even so, Baek Seo-jin approached her and spoke.