Chapter 4
Sae-byeok landed safely on the rooftop of a nearby building and stared at the metal pipe that had pierced through the boss monsterâs head and into the ground.
“I need to get a proper spear first,” she muttered, clenching and unclenching her fists.
After her regression, all the equipment and items she once had disappeared. The spear she used before had been custom-made to fit her perfectly. Making another one wouldnât be easy, but she at least remembered the crafting method and materials.
“Anyway, I guess thatâs enough cleaning up,” she said, glancing down at the battlefield where dozens of lizards had been wiped out in an instant.
Some lucky ones had escaped, but other hunters would handle them without much trouble.
What mattered most was that she had saved Kang Suhoâs younger brother.
“This should earn me some points, right?”
In her previous life, his brotherâs death had pushed Suho further into darkness. This time, she hoped he would be less violent, less broken.
“Now, letâs go recruit him⌔
But before she could finish her thought, a shadow fell over her.
Sae-byeok looked up to see a massive black dragon soaring through the sky. Not a Western dragon with wings, but an Eastern one, long and serpentine with horns.
âSo, it was the Black Dragon Guild that ended this disaster in my past life, huh?â
Standing on the dragonâs back was a man dressed in black from head to toe. His large frame looked even more imposing from below.
âHwang TaesanâŚâ
He was South Korea’s fourth S-rank hunter and the guild master of the Black Dragon Guild, one of the nationâs four major guilds.
Sae-byeok didnât dislike him. In her past life, he was one of the few who fought to protect the country even when the government had given up.
The dragonâs appearance also meant one thingâthis Seoul Station Break was under their jurisdiction.
Still, they had arrived late. In the past, casualties had reached 150 people. But that was time long gone.
Sae-byeok gave Hwang Taesan a short nod before turning away. They would have to work together eventually to stop Destruction, but now was not the time.
Unbeknownst to her, Hwang Taesan frowned slightly at being so casually dismissed.
A Missing Person
When she finally reached Seoul Stationâs safe zone, Sae-byeok grabbed her hair in frustration.
“Where did he go?!”
While she was busy killing lizards, Kang Suho had vanished.
“Excuse me! The man who was getting treatment hereâwhere did he go?” she asked someone nearby.
“Who are you talking about?”
“A tall, handsome man. Worn-out clothes, hair covering his forehead⌠He also had a little brother, around six years old. Did you see him?”
The stranger gave her a weird look, like she was crazy.
“Damn it! His body wasnât even fully healed. Where did he run off to?”
Suho wasnât awakened yet. Even with treatment, his recovery wouldnât be like a hunterâs.
Sae-byeok searched the entire safe zone, but it was pointless.
âI was careless⌠I forgot he didnât trust the Association at all before he awakenedâŚ!â
Her memories of him were mostly from after they had fought Destruction together. She had forgotten his hatred toward her back when they first metâwhen he had nearly tried to kill her simply because she was from the Association.
His past explained why.
Kang Suhoâs father had been⌠an obsessed monster. A man who called his abuse âlove.â
Kidnapping, imprisonment, assaultâŚ
Suho had been born from that twisted obsession.
His mother broke down under the strain and took it out on Suhoâbecause he looked so much like his father. His small body was constantly bruised.
Reporting it to the police was useless. His father was an A-rank hunter. The police would only say they needed the Associationâs approval to intervene, but the Association back then was corrupt to the coreâturning a blind eye to crimes for bribes and exploiting civilians for profit.
Suho had been abandoned by everyone.
After his mother died and his father disappeared, he had to raise his younger brother alone. Even when things got so bad that he once hid his brother in a public restroom while he went to work at a labor office, he never asked for help.
And now, she had lost him.
âNo⌠I can still wait at his awakening site. But his awakeningâŚâ
Her thoughts spun wildlyâuntil a clear, bright voice called out to her.
“Han Sae-byeok?”
Her body froze. It had been so long, but she knew that voice instantly.
Turning slowly, she saw a group of hunters approaching.
And leading them was a man whose smile seemed to light up everything around him. Brown hair like a Labradorâs coat. A cheerful face that didnât know hardship. A voice so full of life it didnât fit his large, sturdy build.
“Han Sae-byeok? Really? What are you doing here?” he asked, waving a big hand at her.
Sae-byeokâs lips trembled as she spoke his name.
“âŚPark Woo-jun.”
His eyes widened. “Waitâdonât tell me you got caught in the Break?!”
Before she could answer, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, checking her body for injuries like a worried older brother.
“No wounds⌠thank god.”
Sae-byeok couldnât take her eyes off him. His face, his presenceâshe had missed them so much.
“Come on, everyone! Say hi to my best friend!” Woo-jun called out.
“Captain⌠Calling a woman your best buddy like thatâŚ,” one of the team members muttered.
Another laughed. “Poor girl. Being friends with our Captain must be tough.”
“Hey! Donât listen to them, Sae-byeok! Theyâre talking nonsense!” Woo-jun protested.
But then someone gasped. “Captain! Sheâs crying!”
Sae-byeokâs tears had begun to fall.
Woo-jun panicked. “Waitâwhy are you crying? Are you hurt?!”
“Park Woo-jun.”
“Donât worry, I have a healing potion! Or better yet, Iâll get a healerâ”
She grabbed his arm, feeling its strengthâfeeling relief. In her past life, this arm had been lost because of her.
âBut not this time. I saved them, didnât I? A missing arm is nothing compared to thatâŚâ
Yet seeing him now, alive and whole, overwhelmed her.
“âŚYou idiot,” she whispered, tears still falling.
