Opportunity
A daily life in which his girlfriend clung to him every single day, watching his every move.
And on weekends, sex so one-sided it bordered on rape — with no regard for what his body could take.
If they got married, things would only get worse. That much was certain.
Back in high school, Yurin had been a shy, timid girl with no confidence around him. From their daycare days onward, he had carefully reshaped her personality — steering her away from this world's standard aggressive female temperament and toward something closer to the women of his previous life.
But look at her now.
From the day they slept together at the start of the semester, that timid nature had all but vanished. Once she lost her virginity, confidence bloomed in her — and now she groped his body in front of other people, showing him off. She had changed almost a full hundred and eighty degrees.
The Yurin of high school would have been fine to marry the moment they became adults. Now, his thinking had shifted completely.
His top priority was to restore her to that high-school personality — and only then marry her.
The sudden talk of marriage was tied to military service.
Sometime next year or the year after, Yurin's draft notice would arrive. Once this second semester ended, she would be heading into the military.
Military service.
In this world's Korea, it was a summons from the Ministry of National Defense that no woman could escape.
Alternative service existed, of course — but in a world where Gates opened, getting into it was far harder than people imagined. Public-interest work at government offices or public facilities was completely out of the question.
Even now, if a Gate opened near city hall, maybe one in ten civil servants with any real sense of duty would stay to evacuate residents. The rest would flee for safe zones without looking back. When survival instinct kicked in, people put their own lives first — no matter what disciplinary action came later.
People who held onto responsibility to the bitter end when lives were on the line were rarer than expected. Because of that, the public-interest service system had simply disappeared.
So was active-duty service the only option left?
Not necessarily.
Awakened individuals could serve as Hunters instead — a two-year term — but participating directly in Gate-clearing operations reduced the service period based on the Gate's rank. As a bonus, every byproduct harvested from a Gate belonged to the Hunter.
The only duty of a Duty Hunter was to stop the monsters pouring out of Gates from attacking people, and to do everything possible to close the Gates themselves. Even so, Duty Hunters still had to live in barracks-style housing, so their freedom was restricted much like regular military service.
But while Yurin's mother and his own mother were both Hunters, neither he nor Yurin had Awakened.
The path to Awakening differed for everyone, but most people Awakened through life-threatening crises, intense longing, desperate wishes — moments of extreme urgency or need. Living through such a situation didn't guarantee Awakening, and those kinds of moments weren't something you simply stumbled into during an ordinary life.
As a non-Awakened, Yurin would end up enlisting for active duty.
She didn't have much time left before enlistment. Factoring in her discharge and return to school, she would probably ship out in six to eight months at most.
The surest way to ease Yurin's fear that he might cheat while she was locked away in a restricted space was obvious.
She'll shove a marriage registration form in my face before she enlists.
Marriage registration.
He had no real way to refuse marrying Yurin. She was the childhood friend he had known for fifteen years — some part of him still found it hard to let go. And a Yurin this desperate about enlistment would never simply let it slide.
Before that happened, he needed to pull Min-ji into the game and force a decisive confrontation.
He felt genuinely sorry for Min-ji — but if he wanted to survive, he had no choice.
With time already running short, he couldn't afford a leisurely plan. If it came down to it, he was prepared to close his eyes and just confess outright.
Since his body would eventually return to Yurin anyway, there was no chance of him actually sleeping with Min-ji. All he needed was to make Yurin feel a sense of crisis — give her a reason to reexamine how she treated him. Once her heart wavered, he would bare his true feelings and pull their relationship back to something like their high-school days.
With his thoughts sorted, he messaged Min-ji again that day, building intimacy through casual conversation.
We've gotten pretty close. Maybe I should make a move.
Ever since parting ways with Seon-a at the café, Min-ji had been getting the distinct sense that he was interested in her.
He had invited her out several times already. The first time, he approached her saying he needed advice about a gift for Yurin. The second time, he showed up at her department club room claiming he wanted to try the activities — then spent the entire day talking to her instead of actually joining anything.
At this point, it was hard to call it a misunderstanding. Seon-a genuinely seemed to have some interest in her. Given that he already had a girlfriend, it was hard to believe that interest was romantic — but it was still a little too much to chalk up to wanting to be friends.
Turning him down every time left a bad taste in her mouth. Lately Yurin barely seemed to hang out with him at all, and his personal messages complaining about being bored had become a daily occurrence.
She was thinking about all of this when a text arrived from Seon-a.
Taking her friend's boyfriend to a movie theater alone — even for a close friend, that wasn't something you did lightly.
I should turn him down again, right?
She was mid-type on her refusal when another message from Seon-a came through.
What on earth could have happened for Seon-a to suddenly say something like that?
Just this once.
This was the first time Seon-a had ever looked this urgent. Hearing him out first and then deciding wouldn't hurt. All she hoped was that whatever was happening to him wasn't something bad.
The night of their meeting arrived.
After relentless pursuit, Min-ji had finally agreed to go to the movies with him. All those days of texting and seeking her out between lectures when his schedule didn't overlap with Yurin's had paid off.
Min-ji's guard was firmer than expected. Even with his not-so-subtle appeals — more than a crush, less than a couple — she barely reacted. If he let this chance slip, she might refuse to meet him for a long time. It might even be his last opportunity.
I have to try everything I can.
He had dinner with Yurin at seven and then parted ways. Lately, every evening after they ate together, she would claim she had something urgent and disappear somewhere.
I hope nothing's wrong.
He was worried — but it was also a window of opportunity free from Yurin's eyes.
He had arranged to meet Min-ji in front of the theater, so with time to spare he made his way over at a leisurely pace. He was usually careful when he went out alone. Even so, things like this still happened from time to time.
A couple arguing nearby — the woman kept glancing his way until her boyfriend noticed, and the atmosphere turned ugly. On top of that, strangers kept approaching him.
"I'm really not that kind of person, but I like you — can I get your number?"
"If you're here alone, want to watch something together?"
He turned them all down, saying he had a girlfriend. One particularly persistent woman refused to give up, operating on the logic that a goalkeeper didn't mean you couldn't score. Without Yurin around, these situations were genuinely uncomfortable.
Then he spotted Min-ji ahead.
"Min-ji, been waiting long?"
He said it as he suddenly pulled her into a hug, then casually turned his head to look at the woman who had been trailing him. The moment she saw a girlfriend right there, she spun around and fled. Getting caught trying to poach someone else's man would rattle anyone.
Min-ji looked startled by the sudden embrace, but she didn't push him away.
"What was that about all of a sudden?"
"That woman heading the other way was hunting me. I told her I had a girlfriend, but she kept demanding my number and wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't have a choice."
"O-oh. I see."
He looked a little apologetic as he spoke.
"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable."
"No, why would I mind?"
He didn't miss the faint flush that colored her face as she said it.
No matter how many times she's turned me down, she does see me as a man.
"You got here earlier than I expected."
"I just got here myself."
There were still a full thirty minutes until their meeting time, and she claimed she had just arrived. She must have come early in case he showed up first. She was almost too kind.
"We've still got a lot of time before the movie. Want to grab some coffee?"
"Sure."
Strike first, before the film. That was the only thought in his head.
She had arrived a full hour early for their meeting in front of the theater. She had only meant to leave about thirty minutes ahead of time — but after yesterday, her head still felt foggy, and she was so worried about being late that she overcorrected and left even earlier.
Min-ji had been turning over Seon-a and Yurin's relationship in her mind. Lately, Yurin vanished every evening and left Seon-a alone. Seon-a, claiming boredom, had been coming on so strong that anyone could see it. And then, out of nowhere, he had told her he was struggling and asked for her help.
Those two facts were objective. Combined, they produced a single story in Min-ji's head.
Yurin had started cheating. Seon-a found out and decided to cheat back. She herself was the target — and when that didn't work, he was coming to her, Yurin's friend, for advice about the problem with Yurin.
It was pure speculation, of course. Until the person involved said something, she would never voice it out loud.
If I say it and I'm wrong, I'll look like an idiot.
Still, holding that hypothesis in mind and preparing ways she might be able to help felt necessary.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Seon-a spotted her and called out.
"Min-ji, been waiting long?"
As he said it, he suddenly stretched out both arms and pulled her into a hug.
So Yurin really is cheating? He was trying to cheat back with me after all.
Was he trying to use her for revenge?
She had every right to be angry. She almost shoved him away — but then she felt his body trembling faintly against hers. The hurt and fury of being cheated on must have been so raw that it was coming through as a tremor. Realizing that, she couldn't bring herself to push him off.
She held him for a moment. His scent reached her. Soft, warm body heat pressed against her skin, wrapping around her.
"What was that about all of a sudden?"
She wanted to hear it from his own mouth. They were close enough as friends, but not so close that hugging without reservation was normal — if anything, they were the kind of friends who shouldn't be hugging.
"That woman heading the other way was hunting me. I told her I had a girlfriend, but she kept demanding my number and wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't have a choice."
"O-oh. I see."
So she had been wrong.
I'm an idiot... I've been watching too many dramas and reading too many novels.
Seon-a looked a little apologetic as he spoke.
"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable."
"No, why would I mind?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized how much of her real feelings had slipped into the answer and mentally kicked herself.
"You got here earlier than I expected."
But Seon-a took it in stride and kept the conversation going as if it were nothing. He really was the type of friend who was used to being considerate of others.
"I just got here myself."
"We've still got a lot of time before the movie. Want to grab some coffee?"
"Sure."
On the way to get coffee, Seon-a kept glancing over at her, as if he had something he wanted to say. Afraid of misunderstanding again, she pretended not to notice.
If it's really important, he'll say it before we part ways...