"Why are you vanishing?!" Lee Seung shouted. At the moment, the bluish screen opened before his eyes.
[When the energy of Subject's clone gets depleted, it vanishes and takes time to regenerate.]
"Oh-oh," Lee Seung mumbled with relief. He sat on the white sofa and stared at the clone till it vanished.
The screen switched icons:
[Countdown: five hours]
He sighed, reclining on the sofa. "A few hours ago, I thought I wouldn't be alone anymore, only to find out there's a limit. Poof, life is just unfair sometimes."
* * *
Three weeks later, Lee Seung got a message from an unknown sender that the apartment would be demolished in four day's time.
Upon checking his account, he realised he had spent more than he earned. During the three weeks, he earned three hundred dollars more, since he went to his 'workplace' three times. He got fed up in the end.
[Balance: four hundred thousand won.]
(About two ninety eight thousand dollars)
He would have been able to rent another apartment if he hadn't touched the money. But what could he do? He had to feed himself.
'Maybe I should resume my part-time job and my clone returns to Woosung industry,' Lee Seung thought, sitting in Mr. Song's shop.
"Why don't you move into my house?" Mr. Song asked, sitting beside him, offering help.
"No, ahjusi. I can find a house before the government agents' ultimatum."
"You? What can you do to make that much money? Resume your part-time job or what?" Mr. Song joked, though he was trying to help. "Just..."
Ding!
Lee Seung's phone vibrated with a call. He picked it without checking who the caller was.
"Hello, please who is this?" He asked.
A feminine voice replied, "I am calling from Hanyang hospital...."
....
"Oh, really?" Lee Seung asked, his expression turning a bit tense. "Okay, thanks for calling. I will be there to sign the forms. Yes, see you."
Poof....
He pressed hard on his knees, remembering what he was told on the phone and contemplatimg his next move.
He then told Mr. Song that he would be back soon and left, lieing that it was a call from school.
In no time, Seung arrived at the hospital. His corneas had turned red, face growing worked up.
He ventured into the hospital and headed to the reception immediately.
"Excuse me, miss. I'm here to see the doctor," he said to the receptionist. He was directed to a moderately sized room on the second floor, which was the doctor's office.
The two of them shared a sense of familiarity, as if they had known eachother for long.
This was because not long after Seung's parents' deaths about six years ago, his sister fell victim to food poisoning and was admitted to the hospital — she used the money they got from begging to give him good food, whereas she secretly ate rotten and spoilt ones.
"The government's promise to take care of her wellbeing is due as you've clocked sixteen," the doctor said as she took out some forms. "Can you take care of the medical expenses from now on?"
"Yes, doctor. Please....tell me where to sign," Lee Seung said. He signed as he was asked to and gave back the forms. Then he asked, "Is there any chance of curing my sister immediately?"
"Yes, but....."
"Just tell me doctor. How can I cure her illness completely?"
Beep....beep....
The beeping noise of the life support machine echoed.
A few moments later, Lee Seung appeared in the ward where his sister was contained. He walked to the side of her bed and said,
"Finally, I have got a chance to bring you back to life. I really miss your presence, so I am going to risk my life just as you did for me." He held her cold hand tightly, a hint of tears dropping from his eyes.
After getting into a taxi, Lee Seung opened his phone's browser and navigated to the Hunter wiki.
{Information}
A long time ago, mysterious spheres appeared all over the world, which were recognised as portals. Monsters unexpectedly flew out of these portals and began to scavenge the humans, who were helpless as the beings were resistant to all harms.
A large number of humans died, and the monsters couldn't be stopped until aliens came into the planet world to deliver a tech which gave rise to superhumans.
The tech was tested mainly on military officers, and jointly, they curbed the activities of monsters. However, very large number of them vanished into the portal.
Consequently, an association was formed by the officers that saved the world which was called the World Hunter Association till date. The Hunters existed because more monsters did as well.
-------
Lee Seung felt goosebumps all over his body as he read the article. He knew how dangerous his decision was, but it was the only option to save his sister.
'Monsters or not, I have a unique ability. That makes me a metahuman too! And a real metahuman doesn't run away when faced with real monsters! My ability isn't meant for just bodyguarding!'
'What can save my sister's life is in a monster's body, so I will become a Hunter!'
The taxi pulled over infront of a glass-built skyscraper. Lee Seung payed him off and got down from the vehicle.
"Here I am, the Hunter Centre."
The Hunter Centre is where awakened individuals register to become hunters.