So I'm a Hunter?

I couldn't help being stunned that I'd slept for a full two weeks.

Far too much time had slipped past. By the time I noticed, calls, texts, and messages had piled up in a heap. I went through them one by one. The calls were from my parents and the landlord — those I could simply check and return — and the texts, thankfully, were all ads. There was also a notice that money had been deposited. When I opened it, it was wages for the work I'd done, plus my severance. I confirmed it first. The amount had come in exactly right.

"Nothing that matters, thank god... no. Wait."

There was plenty I ought to be doing, and still my hands wouldn't move. First, a slow breath. Stay calm.

I went back to Leafwiki and read deeper into the hunter articles. Posts about hunter Awakenings were endless, but they all came down to one point: I had become a hunter. This was real.

"But with this body, this face... will Pia even recognize me?"

I wasn't sure. Still, if it was Pia — if it was who she truly was — she would know me without a doubt. More than that, she'd said we could meet. When, though? All I could think was that I already wanted to see her.

"......"

There was no time to fall apart. Reading on, I found that the clearest proof of Awakening as a hunter was opening your Status Window. It sounded like some kind of prank, but the moment I muttered Status Window under my breath—

"Whoa!?"

Something like a hologram had suddenly floated up in front of me. Startled as I was, I reached out, trying to stay calm — and my hand passed straight through the Status Window.

Reading further, I learned it was visible only to the hunter. If you wanted someone else to see it, you had to be touching the Status Stone at the Hunter Association when you opened the window.

"...Me. An actual hunter...? Doesn't feel real."

It didn't feel real at all. I scrolled the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠browser up without thinking, and in the table of contents there was an entry: The Hunter Military. I opened it in a hurry. In short, hunters were credited with such great contributions to the world's development that they could transfer into hunter supplementary service.

"!!"

I called the Military Manpower Administration at once and explained, and it seemed I really could transfer. In exchange, I would need a hunter license issued by the Hunter Association. I looked into the license just as quickly. Once you were qualified as a hunter, you could have one issued.

"Now it finally feels real — I Awakened!"

I had a reason to rush up to Seoul. For the moment, though, I sat back down.

"Before that, I need to buy clothes."

I did have something I could wear, but stepping outside in it felt like too much.

After ordering the clothes, I told my parents I was coming up. They'd been worried because I hadn't called in two weeks. I managed to hang up after assuring them, somehow, that I was safe.

I called the landlord as well. While I'd been asleep, he'd gone overseas on business. We settled the house check by me photographing the place and sending the pictures, and the key by leaving it with the unit across the hall.

The clothes arrived the day after I finished the calls. Honestly, I think most clothes bought online are a miss. But when I tried on what had arrived—

"Whoa..."

I couldn't help the gasp. All I'd done was put on a plain white dress shirt and black trousers, and the result was a look that could put a model to shame.

"So the finishing touch of fashion really is the face..."

This was a look I could carry only because of a face like this. Put plainly, if the old me had worn it, I'd have looked miserably shabby.

"...Ha."

My mood had lifted, and then for no good reason it sank. I could no longer tell whether the old face had been the true me, or whether this one was. What was certain was that I could never go back to how I'd looked before. I would live the rest of my life exactly like this.

"...Even so, it's too much."

Walking outside with this face in this outfit — what was that if not announcing that I wanted attention? I was someone who'd found even a school presentation hard to bear. I had no desire to draw that kind of stare out in the world. This outfit was only something I'd wanted to try, so I stripped it off in a hurry and changed into clothes for the trip home.

"...This damn face."

All I'd done was take off the dress shirt and switch to an oversized black T-shirt, and thanks to the face it was still a model-level look. I'd only ordered a larger size of the clothes I usually wore.

"How does a changed face make this much of a difference..."

The self-loathing ran deep. I pulled myself together, stuffed the dress shirt into my bag, and threw out the clothes I'd been wearing. They didn't fit anymore. I gathered what didn't fit, along with whatever else was left in the house, hauled it all out, and dumped it.

Now it really was time to leave. I checked one last time that every window was locked, put on my shoes, and stepped into the hall.

"It was definitely the place across the hall, right?"

I'd lived here for over a year and still didn't know who lived across from me, or next door. I pressed the doorbell. At this hour—

"...Yes?"

Someone was home.

"Uh, I'm from across the hall. I wanted to leave a key with you. I heard the landlord called..."

"Ah, yes, yes. One moment."

Only then did the door open. A woman lived across the hall. I was learning that for the first time today.

"Here."

"Ah, yes."

"Thank you. I'll be going, then."

"...Yes."

I said goodbye and headed for the stairs, but behind me she kept the door open and watched me go. Only after I'd made it down did I understand why.

This damn face... or is that just me imagining things?

I left the house, caught a bus at the stop, and rode. The terminal was a fair distance off, so I took out my phone.

Not long after I sent the first message, the replies came in. If he was asking whether it had mattered more than friends, then yes — it had. Telling them I'd become a hunter would be fun enough, but hiding it and dropping the news when we met seemed like more fun.

The two replies landed almost at the same time.

I scrolled up the chat to check, and there it was: a record of them meeting for drinks when I never answered. They'd even sent a photo of a table buried in bottles, proof of just how much they'd put away.

Quick bastards. I started to type You're gonna shake down a guy who's about to enlist? and deleted it. Once I had a hunter license I'd be shifted into supplementary service, so there was no point sending it.

I wanted that too. But the moment I remembered what Pia had told me, I knew I couldn't see her yet. I didn't know the reason. I was certain, all the same, that we would meet.

A sharp read, maybe because we'd been friends since middle school. But she wasn't a girlfriend. She was my wife. I wanted to say I'd gotten married, but Pia wasn't here.

Sungjun uploaded photos of himself with his arm around a woman — the same one he'd once bragged was his girlfriend.

Normally I'd have called him a traitor too, but I was married, so I couldn't very well complain.

Curtalk filters swear words automatically. Just then the bus announcement came on.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I put the phone in my bag and got ready to get off, and that was when I realized the bus was fairly full — and about half the passengers were sneaking glances at me. Embarrassing, and absurd. When the bus reached the terminal, I hurried off.

I'd figured the terminal would be better than the bus. Then I heard a schoolgirl passing by.

"There goes my boyfriend."

She was pointing at me. The friend beside her snapped back at once.

"Cut the crap. Since when is that your boyfriend? He's mine."

Back then, what I'd heard was There goes your boyfriend, followed by Cut the crap. You mean yours.

...So me being handsome wasn't just in my head.

My feelings got complicated for no good reason. I bought a ticket in a rush and found a spot with no one around. I waited there until the bus came, and boarded.

For the record, the ticket was premium. If not a moment like this, when was I ever going to spend money? I took a photo and showed it off to my friends.

I hadn't meant to keep chatting. Sungjun's messages, meanwhile, never came. While I was still texting, the bus pulled out.

I turned my head and looked out the window. The bus left the terminal and came out into the city.

I was here a long time, too...

I'd come looking for work and ended up at a factory. Thinking back, my days off were spent at home and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the rest of my time at the plant, so I barely knew the shape of this city, or what was in it. More than missing it, what I felt was a bright, restless excitement. I was finally going home.