S-Class Hunter Baek Sihyun Appears
Hunter Management Bureau, Deep Analysis Room.
Under the pure white lighting, Baek Sihyun closed the file folder. F-class Kang Minsu.
Magic power 12. No skills.
The numbers were rock bottom, yet the video of a C-class dungeon boss kneeling kept replaying on loop.
Her fingertips paused on the desk. Her eyes saw nothing wrong, but the back of her neck chilled and stiffened first.
The moment she drew a breath, her chest tightened thinly. Without even turning off the screen, she felt her body tremble first.
"The data doesn't add up."
The anomaly wasn't with Kang Minsu—it was her own body. Baek Sihyun closed the file and stood from her seat.
Even as she walked the bureau's corridors, her fingertips tingled faintly, and the unease of feeling this shaken after always trusting numbers irritated her more. She had to see him herself.
Only then could she voice her hypothesis.
Saebyeok 25 convenience store.
Outside the glass windows, reporters and suits swarmed. I huddled behind the counter, gripping the barcode scanner with both hands.
The blue window in my view showed current viewers: 102,114.
102,114
The instant I saw the number, my mouth went dry. My legs shook, cold sweat slicked my palms.
Please don't let anyone come in. Just let today pass. I prayed silently. My reflection in the glass was ghostly pale, throat stinging with every swallow.
Outside was chaotic, but inside felt even more suffocating.
Every murmur at the glass door made the air quiver faintly, the vibration crawling up my spine.
The vibe screamed they'd bolt if someone just called a name. I gripped the scanner harder, but my fingertips only numbed more.
Each camera flash outside jolted my heart.
I needlessly straightened the counter, pushed the wet wipes box even, repeating meaningless actions. What I needed was calm, but my body was primed to flee.
"No customers? Stock the shelves. Don't just stand there."
The store manager said indifferently. Even that voice boomed too loud for me now.
I nodded faintly and turned toward the storeroom. The cold floor seeped up through my soles, heightening the dread.
Ding-a-ling.
The automatic door chimed brightly as it opened.
The moment I looked up, a woman in a black suit jacket stepped inside. The air compressed before her heels even hit the floor.
My ears rang, goosebumps raced down my back.
Even the faint rustle of plastic on the shelves sliced like a blade.
Before the door closed, her body heat shifted the flow. Just one step in, and the store felt cooler.
I held my breath, staring at her shoe heels. No hesitation.
Seeing that, my shoulders locked tighter for no reason.
The fluorescent light carved her face in cold lines. Her eyes steady, but where her gaze touched, my skin prickled.
Chill crept from my toes to the nape of my neck.
Breathing might give me away, so I endured with lips barely parted.
She's different.
Instinct screamed first. I gripped the scanner harder.
My knuckles whitened. My parched throat made even a greeting tough.
"W-Welcome."
She stepped forward without reply. The whole store shrank.
My chest compressed before I could inhale. Knees buckling, I braced against the counter edge.
Baek Sihyun clocked my breathing before my face.
I hunched more, unsure what her gaze measured. I knew my breath was too quick, hated her catching it.
She glanced between her tablet screen and me. Not disbelief in the numbers—more like rejecting their mundane normalcy.
Baek Sihyun scanned Kang Minsu. F-class.
Vest, scanner, trembling shoulders. Data clear.
Yet as she took another step, her nape tingled, fingertips quivered faintly. Coffee can scent mixed with dusty floor, but her eyes dragged to his wrists, his breath.
What is this?
Her eyes flickered. Analysis matched, but her body screamed first.
This reaction was new. It annoyed her more.
The anomaly was the F-class before her, yet her body insisted she was wrong.
As chat heated up, the air thickened. My breaths shortened; Baek Sihyun's shoulders twitched faintly too.
Cold sweat beaded on her pale forehead—I got even more scared. Why was an S-class hunter tensing like that?
I feel like the guilty one here.
"Um, miss?"
I barely opened my mouth. My voice was near a whisper, cracking at the end—shocking even me.
"If you're checking out, please pick your items first."
Only then did Baek Sihyun hastily drop her gaze. She grabbed a canned coffee from the rack beside the counter and set it down.
Her fingertips quivered ever so faintly. Her gaze held tighter than her grip on the can.
"Ring it up."
Dry voice, but the end trembled minutely. I fumbled the scanner over the barcode. The beep echoed too loud—my heart sank.
"Th-That's 2,000 won."
As I reached for her card, the manager emerged from the storeroom with a box of cup ramen. His indifference amid this tension scared me more.
"Hey, if you're not done checking out, step aside. You're blocking the shelves."
The manager glanced at Baek Sihyun, face unchanging—like she was just a late fridge inspector, not a customer through the door.
His nonchalance sharpened the taut tension around us.
"Pick your stuff first if you're shopping. Checkout after."
I couldn't hide my trembling voice. His normal tone made me seem the weirdo.
His "business is business" attitude felt like a lifeline yet too casual—driving me mad.
The store's tense air cracked wide. My face drained blue.
She's an S-class hunter. She could shatter these glass doors with a flick.
Yet Baek Sihyun stepped back instead. Eyes on me, not the manager.
Her gaze sharpened. Jaw set to hide the shake, but fingertips hadn't fully relaxed.
"Can't analyze."
Low mutter, laced with bafflement.
"Pardon?"
I froze mid-handing the receipt, stupidly asking back.
"Data doesn't hold. Hypothesis needs update."
Her tone stayed cold, but her mental math crumbled bit by bit. Baek Sihyun didn't take the coffee.
Instead, she planted both hands on the counter, leaning in close. Her cool scent crashed over me—I reflexively leaned back.
Knees near buckling, I braced the counter edge again.
As her breath neared, my mind blanked whiter. One wrong word, and it was over.
Yet Baek Sihyun wouldn't let go. Not holding me from fleeing, but desperately clinging to not lose sight.
That realization terrified more.
Save me.
I screamed inwardly. Voicing it would worsen everything. My scanner hand dripped sweat, tremors unrelenting.
"Kang Minsu-ssi."
First time hearing my name in her voice. Outside noise vanished for a beat.
Baek Sihyun's eyes locked mine precisely. Counting my inhales, her stare obsessive.
Hearing my name then, cold sweat trickled down my spine. Names from strangers are common, but that precise, that certain—pure terror.
I reflexively shrunk my neck. Afraid even that sparked misunderstanding.
"After your shift, spare some time. Let's talk privately."
I crushed the receipt instead of replying. My normal part-time life crumbled toward the path I dreaded most.
The real danger in this store wasn't the reporters outside.
It was the S-class hunter before me.
And I couldn't admit that until the door clicked shut. Suffocating came free. My fingertips felt frozen solid.