"Hunter, may I have your business card?"
"...Yes."
Yoon Seo hesitated for a moment before taking out his business card and handing it over.
Fallen Leaf
Yoon Seo Civilian Support Team
Awakened Dispatch Hunter
Dungeon Raid 5th Floor, Fallen Leaf, 342 Yeouido, Seoul
Shield Trap 010-0000-0000
Monster By-products
Always by your side... Fallen Leaf
The Fallen Leaf Guild's business cards weren't particularly neat. Yoon Seo had suggested improving the cards several times, but the pompous guild master paid no attention.
"This is the first time I've received a hunter's business card."
The building owner examined the card with reverence. If he had seen a business card from any other guild or hunter even once, he would have realized how shabby this one was.
"Do you have a separate hunter name too?"
"I don't use a hunter name since I'm not in combat."
"Ah, I see."
"If there's any problem, please contact that number."
"Are you leaving? How about having a cup of tea before you go?"
"I have work piling up. It's hot, you should go inside."
"Oh, you're busy. Well, can't be helped then..."
Parting from the rather disappointed building owner, Yoon Seo got into his car parked in the building's parking lot.
"Driver Yoon Seo, recognition complete. Please specify your destination."
The automatic biometric recognition completed, and the AI started the car. Just as Yoon Seo was checking his U-pad to input the next address:
Old Man Gi
The name of Guild Master Gi Sang-hyuk appeared on the screen. Yoon Seo moved his finger to answer the call.
"What is it?"
- Is that how you answer your guild master? 'What is it?'
"Why did you call?"
- Hey, Yoon Seo. Your words are short? If I had married young, I'd have a son about your age.
"If you have nothing to say, I'm hanging up."
- Wait, don't hang up!
The finger that was about to end the call stopped.
- If you're done with the trap installation, go to Daejeong Securities in Yeouinaru right now. We've received an urgent maintenance request.
"Is it subcontracted work?"
- It's subcontracted from Rainbow Guild. Two from your team are already there, but it looks like it'll take all day with just them, so you should go help out.
Yoon Seo smirked. The guild master was talking as if they had many team members, but Fallen Leaf Guild was a small guild of only twelve people: one guild master, five in the dungeon raid team, three in the management team, and three in the civilian support team. In other words, the civilian support team consisted only of team leader Park Young-beom and team members Go Hee-won and Yoon Seo.
"I'll go right now. It'll take 10 minutes."
- Okay. And make sure you come to the company dinner today. You know it's a full guild dinner, right? There's an important announcement.
"It's troublesome."
- This guy, speaking shortly again...
"Just text the announcement or tell me now. I have a rabbit-like drama waiting for me at home."
- You mean that weird drama about making kimchi stew?
Yoon Seo's eyebrow twitched.
"'Love in Han River' isn't weird. It's a profound work that shows us we're not the only ones in this vast universe making kimchi stew."
- Ah, right. The weird one is you. Watching a drama that's all about making kimchi stew so much that you've memorized all the content and lines.
"Well then."
- Ah! Hey! Hey. Don't hang up. I'll end the dinner early, so you can listen to the announcement and then go home to watch it.
"Will you really end it early?"
- Of course. I'll end it early, if only because I'm scared of you. Damn, this guild is full of people who treat the guild master like a pushover...
The voice cut off. Yoon Seo, who had ended the call without hesitation, added the subsequent schedule to his free time tomorrow.
"Chapssal, take me to Daejeong Securities headquarters."
- Yes, master. Departing for Daejeong Securities headquarters in Yeouinaru.
The car moved smoothly. The guild master was probably cursing a lot right now, but he didn't call back. He knew from experience that Yoon Seo wouldn't answer.
[Mustache] (photo) Look at our daughter's drawing skills lol
[Management Team Kim] Yoon Seo, are you coming to the company dinner today?
[Park Annoying] It's almost the anniversary, are you not coming this time either?
Since he had already taken out his phone, Yoon Seo checked his pending messages. There were no important messages, and although the guild group chat was noisy, he ignored it as usual. However, the message from Park Ju-hwang was hard to ignore.
[Me] Yeah, I'm busy with work.. Sorry│
[Me] I've got a business trip that day│
[Me] Sorry, I can't make it│
Yoon Seo tried to phrase his refusal in various ways but eventually gave up and exited the chat window. They would probably assume he wasn't attending this time either, as he hadn't for 10 years.
His mood, already not great from working on the rooftop in the sweltering weather, sank even further at the word 'anniversary'.
'Is it that time of year already.'
As always, time flies...
Yoon Seo went online. The main screen of the portal site had a large banner reading "10th Anniversary of the Grand Dungeon Clearance". The actual anniversary date was two weeks away, but the whole world had been in an uproar about it for nearly three months. Although it was always chaotic around this time every year, this year seemed particularly intense, perhaps because it was the 10th anniversary.
When he entered the Awakened-only news, it was also full of Grand Dungeon news. Yoon Seo projected one of the videos into the air. It was a panel discussion featuring Awakened experts he was familiar with.
"The Grand Dungeon from 10 years ago was truly a terrible nightmare. The three months from the day the Grand Dungeon appeared to the day it was cleared was the period with the highest human death toll on Earth since the first day of the Great Change. Most Awakened had entered the Grand Dungeon, but dungeons kept appearing, monsters poured out here, explosions occurred there... I only remember spending that time in a bunker."
"That's right. It was also the period with the highest suicide rate in Earth's history. Many people made extreme choices, anticipating the failure to clear the Grand Dungeon. Even now, remembering that time is painful and difficult, but I can't believe it's already been 10 years."
"I thought this was how the Earth would perish. It was truly a terrible three months."
'A terrible three months, huh...'
Listening to the discussion with dry eyes, Yoon Seo inwardly laughed bitterly.
They know nothing. What it truly means to be terrible.
"There were noble sacrifices not only outside the dungeon but also inside the Grand Dungeon. Out of 1,203 Revengers, only four survived. We must not forget that our country suffered the most casualties."
"That's right. Even then, as now, our country was the strongest on Earth and had a duty to protect the planet, so many hunters participated. Seo Chae-yoon, Lee Do-min, Kim Mi-ji, Lee Kang-jin, Bae Su-yeon... Korean Awakened made up more than half, with 691 people. However, the only Korean Awakened who came out alive was Hunter Seo Chae-yoon, who was the youngest Revenger and the ace of the Revengers."
"I remember watching the live news. Although we couldn't see their face, they came out unconscious and completely disappeared after that day. I heard that neither our government, the Hunter Association, nor even the World Hunter Federation knows the identity of Hunter Seo Chae-yoon. Is that true?"
"Only Gaia would know the true identity of Hunter Seo Chae-yoon. Even the name 'Seo Chae-yoon' was an alias, and they always wore a mask when appearing in public. La Visina, the European hunter who entered the Grand Dungeon with them, knows their bare face but is not mentally sound enough for proper conversation, and apparently must keep silent about their identity due to some skill we don't know about. In the end, it's as if no one in this world knows their identity."
"They truly live up to their nickname 'Little Savior', such a mysterious hunter."
"Haha, there's a rumor that Hunter Seo Chae-yoon disliked that nickname. Saying they weren't little."
"Is that so? Well, they would be a proper adult by now. If you're listening, we apologize. We'll make amends if you come forward."
The people in the video laughed amicably. Yoon Seo's expression grew darker.
"Well, let's go over what we know: Seo Chae-yoon is male, estimated to be in his late 20s to early 30s now, and was one of the first hunters active from the beginning, 12 years ago..."
Yoon Seo turned off the video. Suddenly feeling exhausted, he pressed his fingers to his forehead. While everyone always talked about Seo Chae-yoon around the anniversary, this year was particularly intense. In fact, it was ridiculous that they held the clearance commemoration on July 17th. They entered the Grand Dungeon on July 17th ten years ago, but cleared it on October 2nd.
"Chapssal. Turn off the lights, please."
"Yes, master."
As the car's interior lights dimmed, Yoon Seo reclined the car seat and closed his eyes, leaning back deeply. He had no intention of sleeping. He would surely have nightmares. He just closed his eyes and thought about various things in the silence.
Three days until payday. Last month's phone bill was 60,000 won. Should I switch to unlimited data for an extra 10,000 won per month? They say they'll give a discount on the communication fee if I subscribe to the unlimited drama app. When I get home, I should eat kimchi stew with a fried egg. Eat quickly, exercise a bit, then watch some drama.
Damn it...
Yoon Seo opened his eyes. He had remembered someone who used to eat fried eggs with a ton of pepper. It was a scruffy-bearded uncle who put pepper on all his food. Just before dying, the uncle left a last wish to eat a bowl of rice soup with pepper, and everyone who heard the wish couldn't laugh or cry.
'All the last wishes were a complete mess. To think I'm still unable to die because of those damn last wishes.'
Yoon Seo sighed. He rummaged through his pocket, realized it was empty, sighed again, and then mentally called out 'Inventory'.
A translucent window appeared before his eyes. Yoon Seo took out a bottle containing various tranquilizers including antidepressants and panic disorder medication, opened the lid, and poured them directly into his mouth. After swallowing several pills at once without water, Yoon Seo put the bottle not back in the inventory but into his shirt pocket.
'Ah, I want to die. Really...'
Even after taking the medicine, his head throbbed.
No matter where, when, or what he thought about, it always led back to them.
Even after 10 years, the past of being Seo Chae-yoon still followed Yoon Seo.