Translator: Min999, Editor: Spade
Proofreader:Sapphire
The sun was setting.
Jung Yisun stared at the shadows lengthening in front of him, the darkness stretching past his feet was pitch black and devouring even the sunlight, when he felt a vibration in his pocket.
Seeing the name on the screen, he picked up the phone call with a short sigh; he should have called this person as soon as he was done, but his mind had been elsewhere all day.
“16th street has been restored.”
[Oh, Yisun-“ah”! You do such a great job every time. You’re so amazing, in fact, that people keep asking me about you. Do leave some cracks and flaws next time.]
“But then you won’t give me work.”
[Hey, this kid, it was a joke, a joke…]
As Yisun responded calmly to the other party’s playful remarks, he heard laughter coming from the other side. It wasn’t that funny of a conversation, but he still laughed quite heartily. After staring at the shadow in front of him for a while, Yisun glanced at the cake box in his hand. The box felt strangely heavy.
“I’ll get going now, call me if anything else comes up.”
[ Huh? We’ve barely been on call for one minute now, do you need to be so cold to me? Aren’t I the one assigning you jobs, I’m technically your boss, but you’re the one who constantly hangs up on me!! Not one of the other Restorers ever does that, they greet me so politely and even ask about how I’m doing…]
Yisun groaned inwardly at the endlessly emerging complaints. For this guy to hold on to the phone for so long meant that he must have some other motive, for sure.
“So, what is it you’re trying to say?”
[This guy… don’t you know what small talk is?]
“If you don’t have anything to say, I’ll hang up.”
[Ah, no wait-, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you!!]
He shouted urgently. There was a loud commotion over the receiver as if he had jumped up to his feet, and clutched the phone in both hands.
[So, we’ve got a big one on our hands this time. You know about the A-Class dungeon that opened in Songpa-gu a few days ago, right? It happened to be right in front of the annex of the district office, and the building collapsed. Damage was measured as “B-Class”, but the reward is actually A-Class. If we get the restoration rights first and you go…]
“Not going.”
[Wait, wait, wait! Yisun-ah, you listen to the amount first!]
“Goodbye.”
[I’m just really worried about you, okay?!]
Yisun’s hand, which was about to hang up the phone, stopped mid-air. He couldn’t help freezing up after hearing the word ‘worry’. While his eyes stared at the screen, he could still hear the other person’s desperate pleas. They sounded so far away, maybe it was because he wasn’t listening, or maybe because he rejected the offer.
[How can I not be worried about you, Yisun, when you’re still living in Yongin? I know you want to keep a low profile, but let’s make some money this time and move away. If you don’t like Seoul, there are many other places in Gyeonggi Province.]
“…….”
[I offered you my place to live in and you rejected, saying that you wanted your own place. It is great that you already have the dream of owning your own home, but you need to earn money to achieve that. And you have the ability to earn money, so why waste it? If I were you, I would have bought three or five buildings in Gangnam a long time ago!]
Frustration welled up in his chest, and Yisun took a deep breath and swallowed it. Emotions that could not be contained in a sigh rushed up his throat. He remained silent for a long time before finally muttering.
“…I like quieter places.”
[No, but no matter how much you like a quiet place, Yongin is…]
“I really appreciate the thought, but I’m not taking that job. I’m hanging up now.”
[Wait a minute, Yisun-ah, HN, how about the HN “Guild”?]
“Huh…?”
How come this completely unexpected name pops up here?
HN Guild. It was currently the number one guild in Korea and one of the top five in the world. Even if Jung Yisun was living in a corner outside the reach of News these days, and even if he was no longer an official Awakener, he still knew about HN. Especially since the Hunter who represented them was…
[Sa Hyeon called today asking if I knew your phone number or where you lived…]
“…What? Why would that person…?”
[No idea… At first, I thought it was a prank call, but when I heard his voice, I realized that it was Sa Hyeon. I thought it was a dream that the Sa Hyeon was calling me directly from HN.]
“So, did you sell me out?”
[I told him I didn’t know, but he asked me again if I was sure I didn’t, and that’s when I got goosebumps. The way he said it, like he already knew everything?]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“……”
[Then he asked me if you’d want to work with him. I told him I wasn’t sure, then he said “Tell him.” and hung up. I was speechless…]
He then proceeded to tell him about how he wasn’t really intimidated by those words. Also that HN was such a good guild that he just wanted to make sure to give him the opportunity, and that if Yisun had accepted his first restoration, he had planned to omit the news of HN’s contact.
But ever since that day, Jung Yisun had been lying low as an Awakener. He never traveled in crowds and avoided high-profile restoration jobs. Countless people and guilds were actively searching for him, but he never once showed his face to the outside world. He only earned money by taking the occasional job from the man calling him now, and even then it was only for minor repairs.
[I know you’re still in hiding right now but that’s the HN Guild, you know? and if Sa Hyeon himself was personally asking, then it’s probably a scouting offer for you to join Chord?]
“…What would Chord even need a Restorer for? To fix up buildings after their raids?”
[ …Still, we are talking about the number one guild, so give it some thought.]
Jung Yisun was silent. The old man mistook his silence as interest, and his voice became brighter.
“I heard that the HN Guild even offers houses to awakened players. They are well known for their top-notch welfare system, after all.
“… Not interested.”
[Huh? What? Yisun-ah, I’m not sure I heard you properly…]
“I am not going to join any guild, so if they call again, just keep saying that you don’t know. I’m hanging up.”
[Wait-]
The man’s shout was cut off.
Jung Yisun was about to put his phone in his pocket when he received a text. It was full of typos that showed how urgently the sender was rushing.
[Yisun-ah, if yo changr yur mind, cqll herz!!!]
At the bottom was Sa Hyeon’s contact number. He glanced at the number for a moment, then switched off the screen. Seriously, he keeps doing all these unnecessary things.
Sa Hyeon. An S-Class Hunter representing the HN Guild and the number one ranked Hunter among S-Classes. Even in the non-official S-class rankings created by the general public, he was always number one. The leader of the HN Guild’s special elite team, Chord324. Although Chord324 was part of the HN Guild, it worked independently, like a separate organization.
HN Guild’s rise to the top of the Korean rankings was all thanks to Chord, so it was a matter of course that every Hunter dreamed of joining their team, and the general public admired them.
But to hear that the leader of Chord, Sa Hyeon, was looking for him was unrealistic. Moreover, there was nothing Yisun, who was a Restorer, could offer to that special elite team.
Jung Yisun was an S-Class Restorer.
A few decades ago, dungeons began to appear in the world, and along with them came the Awakeners. When a dungeon occurs, the surrounding area is devastated and at least 10 meters of damage is left behind when the dungeon is cleared. The more difficult the dungeon, the greater the damage.
The Restorers were the people who cleaned up the damage, and their ability to restore things back to the way they were before the incident. However, it is difficult to completely restore a building to its original form, so the Restorer usually restores the basic framework, and then the construction contractor is brought in.
However, Jung Yisun, the only S-rank Restorer, was able to restore a building so completely that they didn’t even need a contractor. It could be said that his appearance changed the way people viewed Restorers.
However, Yisun’s abilities were most useful when it came to the ‘aftermath’ of a dungeon, so there was not a single reason why Sa Hyeon, a Hunter who specialized in dungeon raids, would look for him.
But he didn’t want to guess, and he wasn’t particularly curious, so he just stopped thinking about it, deciding to head back home. He glanced at the box of cakes in his hands and quickened his pace.
As he approached the neighborhood, his steps slowed down before coming to a halt. Yongin was once an inhabited city, but now it was almost deserted and abandoned, and on its main street, Yisun saw something very strange and alien.
“……”
There was a sleek, mid-sized sedan from a well-known brand that even Yisun, who couldn’t care less about cars, recognized, and leaning against it was a person.
“Hello, Jung Yisun-“ssi”, you made it quite a difficult job for me to find you.”
Sa Hyeon.
His jet-black hair fell neatly over his forehead as if it were a reflection of a fathomless darkness, presenting a sharp contrast to the face beneath that was so white it could be mistaken for an ice sculpture. His eyes were a chilling black and the corners of his eyes were sharp, only the curve of his eyes and the arc of his upturned lips indicated that he was currently smiling.
Yisun felt a chill as his gaze locked on Sa Hyeon’s black eyes for a moment, but if anyone else had seen them, they would have found them too beautiful to behold.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard the details from Won Taesik-ssi…”
Step by step, Sa Hyeon approached Yisun. Taesik was the name of the “uncle” with whom he had been on the phone earlier. For a moment, suspicions of whether he had given his information to Sa Hyeon creeped into his mind, but the man he had known so far would never do that.
Which brought him back to Sa Hyeon’s sudden visit…
Yisun’s breath felt like needles in his throat. The thought that Sa Hyeon could have gotten his information so easily made his stomach clench. Had he already found his house? Had he checked inside?
The subway station in front of which they were currently standing was still quite a distance away from the house. However, Yisun, who couldn’t erase the shadow of doubt, was still alert.
When they were close enough, Sa Hyeon held out his hand towards him.
“Let us start by greeting each other first, Jung Yisun-ssi?”
His voice was very soft and gentle, and his gesture was polite. Yisun glanced down at Sa Hyeon’s hand in front of him. The long and slender fingers looked both cool and reliable.
He slowly raised his gaze to meet Sa Hyeon’s smiling eyes.
“No, let’s not. I have no business with you, so there is no need to shake hands.”
“Hmm.”
“Goodbye.”
With a bow, Yisun moved to walk past Sa Hyeon.
But he barely took a couple of steps before he was stopped. Sa Hyeon naturally took a step to the side and stood in front of him. Surely, he should have been offended by Yisun’s flat refusal, but the smile on his face didn’t waver.
“How about you listen to my offer and terms, and then go?”
“Whether it’s HN Guild or Chord, I’m not interested. Down payment, salary, house, benefits, whatever you offer… I’m not interested in any of it. I’ll be on my way now.”
“Then why don’t you tell me what you are interested in, because I can give you anything you want.”
“I want you to get out of my way now, and never come back here.”
At those words, Sa Hyeon kept a straight face. When it seemed that he was still unwilling to move out of his way, Yisun frowned slightly and asked.
“Why on earth do you even need me in your Chord? Don’t you guys have Restorers from the HN Guild deal with the damage repair after clearing the dungeons?”
“If you’re curious, sign a contract with me, and you’ll hear all about it.”
“…I’ll be leaving then.”
“I’m not messing with you, it’s just that this is quite a serious and confidential matter. After I’ve told you, how can I be sure that you won’t spill the beans on why I’ve come all this way?”
Sa Hyeon asked with a smile as he leaned his upper body towards Yisun, who was once again taking a step back. He looked like he was asking for agreement, but Yisun kept his mouth shut, not wanting to give him the reaction he wanted. In the back of his mind, he thought that if ‘the’ Sa Hyeon himself came personally for this, then it must be something he really couldn’t talk about with just anyone… But if that’s the case, then that’s even more so a reason for him not to get tangled up with him.
Yisun took a step backwards, only to be followed relentlessly by Sa Hyeon. For a moment, he thought about running away, but considering Sa Hyeon’s ability, that would probably be futile.
Shadow Trace.
Sa Hyeon could move anywhere in the shadows as far as the eye could see, and he could also impart physical power to the shadows. The latter case is termed Shadow Possession, where a certain amount of the user’s power is transferred to the shadow, causing their body to weaken, or causing them to completely lose control over it. That is why Sa Hyeon had a tanker to protect him in case of emergency, like a personal assistant. Even now, they were probably inside that jet-black car.
Sa Hyeon was stronger the more shadows around and the more intense the darkness. The black sword he wielded at his disposal was like a condensation of darkness. Even though Yisun wouldn’t be pierced by his blade if he ran away now, he wouldn’t be able to take more than a few steps before being caught. No, actually, he wouldn’t be able to take a single step.
Besides, it was now dusk, the shadows of the buildings were lengthening, and Sa Hyeon’s power would only increase with time. Yisun swallowed a short sigh before speaking.
“I am sorry you came all the way here, but I don’t plan on joining a guild.”
“Chord is a separate organization from the HN Guild.”
“It’s just that I don’t want to do activities that would garner attention from the public eye… Just being around you would draw attention to me, and I don’t like that. However, if you want me to do the job in a quiet place, away from prying eyes, I’ll think about it…” Yisun said monotonously, making eye contact with Sa Hyeon. “I can tell from the look on your face, that is not a condition you can satisfy… so I’ll just go.”
This time, Sa Hyeon didn’t chase after him. But when Yisun took one, two diagonal steps forward…
“You’re carrying a cake. Are you rushing so much for a birthday party?”
Yisun froze at the words. At the same time as he slowly turned his head, Sa Hyeon turned his body completely to look at him, his eyes narrowed as he smiled sweetly. The way his eyes curved and smiled was beautiful, but once again, Jung Yisun felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked into those piercing black eyes.
“I thought today wasn’t your birthday, Yisun-ssi.”
“…Is there a rule that says you can only eat cake on your birthday?”
“Not really, but… I wonder what kind of special day this is for Yisun-ssi. Is there anything to celebrate? Maybe the fact that you restored 16th street today?”
“I’m not sure why I should tell you.”
“Well, it’s because I want to sign a contract with you, and the more I know about you, the better, right?”
“And I don’t want to sign with you, so there is no way I’m telling you.”
The corners of Sa Hyeon’s mouth drew a chilling arc. He didn’t raise an eyebrow at Jung Yisun’s increasingly stiffening reaction, or at his sarcastic reply. He simply stared at him and asked another question.
“Why are you living here by yourself? In this ruined city that everyone deserted after the First Great Dungeon.”
The First Great Dungeon. He was referring to the first S-Class dungeon in Korea. The Daehan Guild, ranked first nationally at the time, mistakenly rated the dungeon as a B-Class difficulty. This was partly due to the difficulty meter not recognizing it as an S-Class difficulty dungeon, but also due to the fact that they chose to brush off the strange and menacing aura at the time as an illusion.
Unsurprisingly, the team that entered the dungeon believing it was a B-Class difficulty dungeon was annihilated. As time passed, the dungeon expanded enormously as a result of the missed golden time. And the S and A-class teams that were belatedly summoned in a haste to enter again were also wiped out. It was a tragedy that occurred as the guild rushed to control the growing damage and deal with harsh public criticism of their mistake.
The one who cleared the quickly expanding S-class dungeon was no other than Sa Hyeon, and that same dungeon marked his debut as a Hunter. His performance in that first S-class dungeon quickly made him a household name, and his guild, HN, rose to become the number one guild in Korea.
However, while the guild’s status was upended and the public was in an uproar, It was all too far away for the ruined Yongin City. The Restorers could only restore damage done within a maximum of three days. But the city of Yongin had been enduring an S-level dungeon for nearly a month, so the Restorers couldn’t do anything about it. The current Yisun could restore up to a week’s worth of time, but he had yet to awaken at the time.
Half of Yongin was literally blown away. You’d be hard pressed to find a building that was still standing, it was completely destroyed as if a typhoon or earthquake had swept through. The death toll was well over two thousand.
People fled the city, half saddened by the catastrophe, half eager to leave behind the ominous area where the first S-Class dungeon was located. Some even filed lawsuits against the Daehan Guild, but that only served to push the crumbling guild into bankruptcy and did little to rebuild the city.
Later, Gyeonggi Province rebuilt some of the city’s buildings, but those who had already left never returned, so the city’s current residents were mostly poor people looking for cheap housing. The police don’t even patrol the area, making it a slum.
“It seems Yisun-ssi has always been living here, but eight years ago, your parents died during the First Great Dungeon. Since then, you have lived with your friends, who also lost their parents in the incident. But then they also met the same fate during the Second Great Dungeon in Yongin.”
Yisun’s face stiffened at Sa Hyeon’s words. Even if what Sa Hyeon had said was common knowledge that could be found by simply googling ‘Restorer Jung Yisun’, it was still quite different to hear it in person.
“After the Second Great Dungeon, you suddenly disappeared, and everyone was wondering where you went, to no avail. Who would have thought, of all places, you would be staying here… I still have so many questions. Why are you staying here alone? And in the same house where you and your friends used to live.”
“…….”
“I know you Restorers can make quite a lot of money, surely you would have been able to find a new, better place?” Sa Hyeon was asking out of pure curiosity.
Jung Yisun bit his lip tightly and eventually let out a long sigh. He exhaled to release his frustration, but it only served to make him more frustrated. The lump of emotions that clogged his throat grew more and more suffocating.
Finally, Yisun said in a tired voice.
“I’m… leaving.”
His voice came out no higher than a faint whisper, as if he didn’t even have the energy to give Sa Hyeon a sarcastic reply anymore. He didn’t answer any of his questions, ans simply sidestepped him. Yisun thought that maybe now would be the time where Sa Hyeon used his powers to grab and threaten him.
But to his surprise, Sa Hyeon backed off.
“I’m sorry, Yisun-ssi. I kept prying even though these seem to be things you’d rather not talk about, it’s just that I got too excited and had a lot to say now that we’ve finally met.”
He even bowed his head slightly to Yisun who was flustered by his apology.
“I know it must have been very unpleasant to receive a surprise visit. Then, until later, Yisun-ssi. Let me know when and where it would be convenient for you, and I’ll meet you then.”
With a casual gesture, Sa Hyeon pulled a business card from his arm and handed it to him. Yisun had no intention to contact Sa Hyeon, but he felt like he would never be able to escape if he refused his business card, so he took it.
‘Chord324 Leader. Sa Hyeon’
Words in fancy gold lettering on a jet-black card. Yisun read the business card perfunctorily and was about to walk past him with only a glance when his eyes caught an outstretched hand.
Sa Hyeon was holding out his hand, seemingly in another attempt for a handshake. As much as Yisun didn’t want to shake his hand, Sa Hyeon’s gaze was insistent. Seeing the picturesque smile on his face, Yisun shakily said:
“My hands are busy.”
With a cake box in one hand and a business card in the other, it was a euphemistic refusal, but Sa Hyeon didn’t seem to mind at all, reaching out and snatching the cake box away.
“Then I’ll hold this for you.”
Dumbfounded, Yisun gave him a look that said ‘What the hell are you doing?’, but Sa Hyeon was still holding out his hand. In the end, Yisun reluctantly shook his hand. Despite his cool appearance, his hand was surprisingly warm.
It was such a strange contrast that he paused for a moment, then shook it a couple of times, thinking it was enough, and tried to pull his hand away, but Sa Hyeon wouldn’t let go.
“… It seems you like shaking hands quite a lot.”
“Only because it’s Yisun-ssi’s hand.”
He smiled, but there was something really disconcerting about it. It was a smile painted on a beautiful face, but it had an air about it that was not to be taken lightly. It was more like a quagmire than the distance one feels from someone who is simply difficult to get close to. It wasn’t a seductive gaze, but it wasn’t the kind you could escape either.
In the end, Jung Yisun had to hold hands with Sa Hyeon for what felt like more than a few minutes. After he finally let go of his hand, Sa Hyeon said to a free but tired-looking Yisun.
“Then, I’ll see you next time, Jung Yisun-ssi.”
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Sa Hyeon. The Hunter he once admired and wished he could meet. He was the Hunter who had cleared the first Dungeon where Yisun’s parents died, so he might have held some gratitude towards him in his heart. But after meeting him, Sa Hyeon only made him feel tired. Maybe their meeting would have been a more pleasant one had it been a year ago?
Yisun opened the cake box with an apology on his mouth, “Sorry for being so late.”
Without wasting a single minute, he set up preparing the food. Although by preparing, it was nothing more than microwaving ready-made food or cooking some in a frying pan.
“It’s your birthday, so I made a lot of food today. It’s a great birthday present!” Yisun said in a playful tone, placing the food on the table one by one. He even took the time to move the food from plastic containers to bowls.
Then, one by one, he seated everyone in the house at the table. The kitchen wasn’t very spacious, but the dining table was large enough for all six of them to sit around.
“Since I forgot about your birthday last year, I brought you the most expensive cake I could find! You’ve always wanted to try the cake from this shop… Now that I personally saw it, it’s really pretty, huh?”
“…….”
“Let us skip the candles and singing, you said that was nothing but a waste of time when a cake is in front of you, that we should just dig in, that eating it quickly was the most important thing to do with a cake…” Yisun said as he walked over to the middle seat.
“Still, it is your birthday cake, so why don’t you cut it in half, here is a cake knife…”
With a clang, the loud sound reverberated in the space, followed by deafening silence. It was the sound of a cake knife falling to the floor as Yisun held it out to the being next to him. He stood still for a moment, looking down at the floor, before casually bending down to pick it up.
“Tsk, look at you, going as far as pretending you can’t hold a knife.”
But Yisun didn’t get back up from him stoop. He just squatted down and stared at the floor for a while, still holding the knife. At the pale hand that came into view, slumped over the side of the chair, he felt a vague, fleeting sensation. It was what he could only call sorrow, and it stabbed him in the heart.
A hand so pale that it could hardly be considered the hand of a living person. Yisun stared at it, and eventually grabbed the hand again, forcing it to hold the knife. But the knife slipped from its grasp, again and again, until he finally forced it to stay. It almost looked as if he were the one holding it.
“Uh, uh…”
The owner of the hand that felt the pressure made a sound. It was a hollow sound, as if it came straight from a deep void within it. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but look into the being’s eyes. Its pupils were unfocused, the color was murky and muddled, as if they were engulfed in a fog.
He couldn’t help it and quickly looked away, but even from the corner of his eyes, reality haunted him. The six beings around the table all had the same unfocused, murky eyes. They didn’t look alive, they looked like dead beings being bound by marionette strings and forced to move.
In the end, Yisun bowed his head and led the hand of the being that still held the knife in its hand to cut the cake. The jagged cuts were ugly, but no one was laughing.
The hand in his grasp was nothing like that of a human being. It was chillingly cold to the touch, a coldness that belied no warmth beneath it. And its unnatural skin texture was similar to that of a porcelain doll. In a weak whisper, bordering on a sob, Yisun quietly recited his congratulations:
“… Happy birthday, Youngjoon-ah.”
Suddenly, he remembered, with no little amount of resentment, the warmth of the person whose hands he was holding an hour ago.
Woah finally a dungeon category bl ^^
well-written/translated and interesting story and amazing world building as far as I can see ^^
I allowed myself to point out the mistakes I noticed ‘:)
“But to his surprise, Hyeon Sa backed off.
-‘I’m Sorry [Mr.] Yiseon. …’”
“Hyeon Sa. The hunter he once admired and wished he could […] meet.”
Man the part in his apartment is so sad TT
Thank you for the chapter :‘)
Aaaah~~ Thank youu I’m glad you enjoyed!!
Sigh Frrr Our Yiseon has been through enough trauma for five lifetimes smh
(Also sorry and thank you sm for pointing out the mistakes, i get dyslexia when i try to proofread lmaoo )
New world build! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️
Thank you for reading~~ 💞
I COULDNT RESIST I HAD TO START READING THIS 😭😭
THANK YOU TRANSLATOR FOR YOUR UPDATES… I LOVE YOUR WRITING ALREADY❤️😭
Thank youuu for reading aaa~💞
Yes definitely hooked!
chapter 1 and Im already crying
Oh no… hands you boxes of tissues You’re in for more ;-; Thank you for reading~ 🌸
Well damn that’s a strong start! Thanks for the translation!❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for reading~~💞🌸
Ahhh wow so creepy….in manhwa it’s more creepier 😣