Janus’s Two Faces
From early morning, the living room of 1104 was filled with the sound of soybean paste stew bubbling on the stove.
“Oppa, the stew turned out really good today.”
Slurp—
After taking a bite, Woojin looked at Jihyun with wide eyes.
“Wow… that’s insane….”
A pleased smile curved at the corners of Yu Jihyun’s mouth.
“Right? The ingredients were good.”
“No, this is all your cooking.”
Woojin said it while shoving a handful of rice into his mouth.
“I’ve got plans today.”
Eileen raised her eyes.
“What plans are you making now?”
“I have to go meet some guy named Kang Seunghyuk today. It’s Director Jung’s request.”
Last night, after clinking wine glasses and sketching out a shady guild-founding scheme, Eileen and Yu Jihyun were unusually generous for once.
Stretching in her sleepwear, Eileen spoke lazily.
“Oh? Then go have a nice, long man-to-man talk. Kang Seunghyuk, wasn’t he the number one in Korea?”
“Yeah. But… can’t you put some clothes on?”
Eileen leaned suddenly toward Woojin, her eyes gleaming.
“Heh. Good thing I checked the reviews before buying it. What do you think—does it catch your eye? Especially this line falling from the cleavage….”
That sudden assault of skin made Woojin turn his head away.
“Seriously! First thing in the morning!!”
“Heh, what’s the big deal? I’m your girlfriend. This much is basic.”
Yu Jihyun, who was wearing only an apron and showing nearly half her hips, nodded in agreement as well.
From Woojin’s point of view, that was no different from wearing nothing but an apron.
“Exactly. It’s only natural to be comfortable when you’re with your boyfriend, isn’t it?”
“Jihyun, why are you getting infected by her too…? If the chairman saw you like that….”
“You keep sneaking looks at Eileen, so what am I supposed to do? You’re shameless….”
“C-cough!”
Even as she said that, Jihyun didn’t look the least bit unhappy.
If anything, she kept wandering past Woojin over and over, deliberately trying to draw his attention.
“You’re distracting. Stop wagging your dirty ass around and sit down already. Let’s eat.”
“M-my ass is dirty?! Anyway, be careful. We’ve got some things to prepare today too.”
The reason they were sending him off so obediently was simple.
It was all because of the perfect masculinity carried by the name “Kang Seunghyuk.”
For them, there was no safer schedule than Woojin spending time alone with another man.
***
After breakfast, Woojin went over to his own place, 1103.
There, he found Jo Ayoung, who had come by since morning.
Since her bodyguard duty included morning check-ins, she had made a point of coming early.
She’s wearing basically the same kind of outfit too….
Ayoung, sporting a bralette and hot pants and radiating healthy energy, said worriedly, “Oppa, are you seriously going alone? Shouldn’t I at least come with you? I’m your guard in name, at least.”
Woojin shook his head.
“Nah. You should take a break too. Have a gate strategy meeting with Eileen and Jihyun. Besides, Director Jung’s going with me—what could happen? I’ll be back before long.”
“Hmm… but still….”
“I said it’s fine.”
This isn’t working. I need some time alone for once.
Without even looking back, Woojin left the apartment.
Down below, a black sedan with Director Jung inside was waiting.
“Good morning, Director Jung.”
“You look pretty worn out for someone so early in the day. Something on your mind?”
“Nope, nothing at all. Let’s go.”
With that, Woojin climbed into the car with a clear, almost relieved heart.
***
The car stopped in front of a strangely shaped mansion at the foot of a mountain on the outskirts of Seoul.
At a glance, it looked like the vacation home of some ordinary rich family, but the density of the magical barrier flowing along the walls was higher than anything Woojin had ever seen.
Oh… not bad….
“This is National Priority Subject Number One, Hunter Kang Seunghyuk’s private training ground. In truth, the government is more focused on keeping him happy than controlling him.”
“Looks that way.”
Following Director Jung’s lead, Woojin opened the door.
Whooosh—
Beyond the massive iron gate lay a huge indoor training hall.
Every surface was covered in reinforced magical stone, and the place was so taut with pressure it felt like the mere presence of one person could choke the air.
In the middle of the training hall, a figure wearing what were clearly some fairly good items was swinging a sharp dagger.
Oh? The dagger’s one I enhanced… and the helmet, armor… looks like all of it’s from Unilworld. She’s wearing a lot of accessories too.
Whooom—!
Kaang—!
Each time the blade sliced through the air, vacuum waves formed and scraped against the magical stone walls.
Woojin stopped walking on instinct.
Pretty good. She’s on par with a top-tier player, isn’t she?
He had seen plenty of strong people in Unilworld, but the energy radiating from the figure before him was substantial.
But… something’s weird. Why does it feel like there’s mixed energy in there?
Woojin’s Advanced Mana Control was effectively a skill with advanced sensing capabilities as well.
He already knew that the mana of an awakener and that of a player felt subtly different.
With his sharp mana perception, Woojin realized something was off about Kang Seunghyuk.
He asked Director Jung, “Wait—Hunter Kang Seunghyuk… is he a player?”
Director Jung smiled faintly.
“He is. Though he survived for only one year.”
One year in Unilworld? Then Woojin might simply never have seen him.
But to be that strong?
It didn’t make sense.
That was when Director Jung cleared up his confusion.
“Hunter Kang Seunghyuk is a dual awakener. He’s both a player and an awakener.”
“!!!”
Dual awakening.
A power that might not exist anywhere else in the world.
A mutation that had achieved both the player system and real-world awakening at the same time.
Huh? Now that’s genuinely unexpected. So simultaneous awakening was possible?
Just then, Kang Seunghyuk finished training, drove her dagger into the floor, and drew a ragged breath.
Then she slowly turned her head toward Woojin.
“……You’ve arrived.”
Her voice was low.
But it was strange. It sounded like a pretty boy in the middle of puberty, or like a cool, airy voice that had inhaled a little helium.
A moment later, Kang Seunghyuk ripped off the helmet she had been wearing.
Clink—
At that instant, Woojin’s entire thought process stopped.
Spilling out from inside the headgear was glossy brown hair that fell to her shoulders.
Through the damp strands clinging to her face, revealed by sweat, was the sharp yet bewitching face of a woman.
“……Huh? What?”
An idiot sound slipped from Woojin’s mouth.
The person standing in front of him was not the strongest hunter in Korea, Kang Seunghyuk, that he knew.
“You said Hunter Kang Seunghyuk?”
Director Jung just laughed and shrugged.
After wiping her face with a towel, she answered casually, “That’s how I’m known publicly. Nice to meet you, Enhancement Master Kim Woojin. I’m Korea’s Hunter Kang Seunghyuk—my real name is Kang Seunghee.”
***
Seunghee approached without the slightest concern for Woojin’s stunned expression.
Beyond the tight full-body suit she wore under her removed armor, her figure was nothing short of astonishing.
Her body, honed by long training, was all firm, functional muscle with no wasted flesh anywhere, and the curve of her hips in particular radiated a raw, wild kind of healthiness entirely different from Eileen or Yu Jihyun.
“Is it really that shocking? That I’m a woman?”
Woojin asked in disbelief, “No, isn’t that obvious? Everyone in Korea knows Hunter Kang Seunghyuk as a man. If you suddenly say she’s a woman….”
Seunghee ran a hand quickly through her hair.
“Ha… I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either. I just hid it a little because I thought people would underestimate me if they knew I was a woman….”
No, what the hell were these people thinking a gender was?
What, did they think something like that could stay hidden just because they tried?
Woojin looked at Director Jung, demanding an explanation with his eyes.
“Well, if she wears a helmet and full armor, you can’t see anything. We’re simply respecting her wishes.”
Woojin was flabbergasted.
“Huh? Then why did you ask to see me?”
That was when Seunghee began rummaging around and pulling something out.
Then she held it out in front of Woojin.
He recognized it immediately.
“T-this is?!”
“As expected, you recognized it right away.”
“That’s Janus’s Earring, isn’t it?! This exists in reality?”
Janus’s Earring.
For an earring named after a god, it was famous for having an absurd effect.
Basically, it was an “entertainment item.”
But for an entertainment item, it was also famous for having an effect people very much wanted.
It came in a pair, marked with the sun and the moon, and the one Seunghee held out now bore the sun motif.
Woojin examined the item information in detail.
Skill details
Form Shift (Male) Lv. 1: Fixes the wearer’s outward appearance as male for a certain period of time. (Current duration: 1 hour)
Voice Shift (Male) [Locked]: Converts all voiced sounds, including the voice, coughing, and breathing, into the male vocal range. (Unlocked at +3 enhancement)
Physiology Shift (Male) [Locked]: Converts the internal organs, hormones, and reproductive structure into those of a male. (Unlocked at +6 enhancement)
Gender Shift (Male) [Locked]: Integrates every element and permanently fixes the body into a fully male form. (Unlocked at +9 enhancement)
It was a forced TS item, of all things.
The moment he saw it, Woojin could guess why Seunghee had wanted to see him.
“So… you want me to enhance this?”
Seunghee clasped both hands together and began to plead.
“Please, I’m begging you, Enhancement Master Kim Woojin. Without this….”
“No, wouldn’t it be better to just reveal it?”
Then Director Jung cut in.
“…It feels a little ridiculous to say this, but the Kang Seunghyuk fan club has 28 million members. That includes both domestic and overseas fans.”
Woojin stared blankly.
“???”
“If the symbol known as Kang Seunghyuk disappeared, the ripple effect on Korea’s cultural industry would be enormous. And not in a good way.”
Woojin was dumbfounded.
“No, he was that popular??”
Seunghee’s face reddened.
“I never expected it to turn out like this, so… I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s nothing for you to apologize to me about….”
It was the moment the true face of Korea’s number-one hunter was peeled back.
***
At that same time, in 1104, Eileen suddenly set down her teacup after feeling a nasty chill settle in some corner of her chest.
“…Yu Jihyun.”
At Eileen’s call, Jihyun narrowed her eyes and asked back, “…You felt it too?”
“Yeah.”
“Call Woojin oppa. Right now.”