An old military transport vehicle was driving down on an unpaved road without a single street light.
Gyeongju. After confirming the milestone seen outside the window. Yijun opened his mouth, his voice filled with anxiety.
"Eunha, have you ever been to Gyeongju?"
"No."
Eunha answered briefly. There was emergency food in her hand that had no taste or nutrition.
Yijun smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. Eunha was diligently bringing food to her mouth with her hand which had not healed from the wounds she had suffered yesterday. It didn't seem like he had any intention of looking at it.
Eunha and Yijun were classmates at the training camp.
However, there were still many things that Yijun did not know about Eunha. There were even more things that he couldn't understand.
For example, they might die today, but Eunha could chew food with such a carefree face, and she couldn't remember the name of a colleague who had been traveling with her for several months.
Cha Eunha.
She was definitely something different from ordinary people. Originally, she was a person that nobody could get close to, but Yijun was actually longing for Eunha.
If it wasn't for Eunha, Yijun would have probably died the last time he entered the Gate from Pyeongtaek.
'No matter how, she saved my life. I would've ended up being crippled.'
The three-headed wolf Yijun encountered back then gave him chills just thinking about it.
Yijun glanced at Eunha, who was sitting next to him.
After staring for a moment as she swallowed her food silently, Yijun decided to talk to her again. If it wasn't then, he didn't know when he would ever get a chance to.
"I've been wondering… Eunha, did you sign a contract with a divine beast?"
"No."
"Really? Why? You're so strong, I, of course, thought you had already signed a contract."
Eunha looked at Yijun for a moment, but then collected herself again. Eunha's personality wasn't cold, but she wasn't a good person either.
However, Yijun couldn't give up there. It was a rare opportunity to get to know Eunha, the best elite among his classmates.
Yijun persistently tried to keep the conversation going.
"Eunha, you would look good with the dragon of the twelve divine beasts because it's the strongest."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"…"
"…"
And again, the conversation was cut off.
It was ruined. There were still two hours until they reached Gyeongju, but unfortunately, the wall between the two seemed thicker than expected.
It was around the time when Yijun was almost on the verge of giving up.
"…You said you came from America?"
As she put the leftover food in a black bag, Eunha suddenly opened her mouth.
"Uh? Oh, yes. My father is American."
"Really?"
Eunha began to stare at Yijun.
"Now that I think about it, you're blonde."
"Yes."
'Are you noticing that now?' Yijun felt a little sad for some reason, but he decided to ignore it.
"Do you know Quinlish College in America?"
"No, this is the first time I've heard of it. Where is it?"
"San Francisco."
Eunha muttered.
"That's the University I was going to go to. It was my dream to become a dog groomer."
"But why—"
—didn't you go? Yijun was about to ask, but ended up stopping mid-sentence with a blank face.
Eunha was a year younger back then. In other words, it meant that the gate opened when she was nineteen.
"Looking at you reminds me of it."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Just…"
Yijun answered timidly and glanced at Eunha.
Eunha was unaware of Yijun's eyes on her as she looked away, but while gazing at the passing landscape indifferently, she clenched her jaw.
Her long hair flew in the breeze through the slightly open window. Her black, thick hair was so long that it tickled Yijun's nose while he sat next to her.
As Yijun gently moved his upper body backwards, Eunha looked at him.
"…"
Then, she said nothing while tying her hair up high with a rubber band from her wrist. Her hair, which Yijun definitely thought would smell bloody, smelled like the same supply soap he was using.
Cha Eunha's face was so calm that Yijun couldn't believe it was the same person who had been slicing monsters and was covered in blood.
"…Hey."
Yijun gathered all of his courage.
"Would you like to groom my dog later? He's a Bichon Frise, his name is William."
"…"
"H-He's very gentle."
Yijun blushed slightly while making the proposal.
Eunha, on the other hand, looked at him with wide eyes.
There was a brief silence. Raindrops were seen falling one by one on the window.
Pit, pat—
When the sound of rain hitting the bus window suddenly grew louder, a small laughter was heard.
"…Okay, fine."
It was a very small and faint laugh that was buried in the sound of raindrops, but Yijun probably felt like he would never forget it.
"My name is Baek Yijun."
***
Yijun recalled the past and glanced next to him. Three years have already passed since he was with her.
Those hard years led them to grow into fairly decent hunters. Yijun, who had always been holding everyone back, now had good enough skills to fill in his part.
"Do you still remember that promise?"
Yijun sneaked up on Eunha, who was walking a few steps in front of him.
"What promise?"
"We decided to give William a haircut."
"Oooh."
Eunha nodded slightly.
"I remember."
"After this mission is over, my father will bring William to Korea."
Eunha's black eyes looked at Yijun. As always, Yijun couldn't look straight into those eyes that seemed to suck him in, and so, he lowered his gaze.
"T-T-That's why, when you leave the gate, tomorrow… At… At my house… D-D-D-Do you want to come over?"
'Oh my God. Why am I stuttering so much?' Yijun had the urge to bite his tongue, which was moving as fast as his heart was beating.
"I will."
Suddenly, Yijun opened his eyes wide when he heard Eunha's approval which seemed to have come too easily.
"It won't bite me, right?"
"Huh?"
"I mean William."
"Oh, don't worry."
"Okay. I look forward to it."
Eunha smiled softly as her dark hair fluttered away.
Yijun stood with a blank expression for a while. He felt like Eunha was smiling more often compared to before. If he had any influence, there was nothing more pleasing.
When he came to his senses, Eunha was already standing in front of the gate entrance which was already far away.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and come here."
She beckoned.
Yijun couldn't stop the smile spreading from his lips. He didn't know how many years had passed since he looked forward to tomorrow like that.
"Did you bring your dog tags?"
"Of course, squad leader."
"Don't joke around and check."
The golden dog tag was a symbol of the hunters, and it had two roles: an expert's 'certificate' and a soldier's 'dog tag'.
After reconfirming that the dog tag was hung around each other's necks, the two entered the gate along with a group of hunters.
The color of the gate was white. It was called a C-Class gate, which was classified at the lowest level of difficulty.
At that time, there were eleven people, including Eunha and Yijun, who were put into the C-Class gate. There was no need to be nervous because they were a full squad of hunters.
But accidents have always happened unexpectedly.
***
"T-That… What the hell…!"
By the time someone let out a frightened yell, they were already surrounded.
One or two black tigers… They were already surrounded by the time they had realised.
Its body, teeth and even its claws were black, only the eyes of the tiger were shining red.
They were about twice the size of an adult male and smashed a person's head like a watermelon by hitting them with their front paws.
"Argh!"
The tiger, who persistently chased the runaways, tore their body apart with its sharp claws.
Out of the eleven hunters, only Baek Yijun and Cha Eunha survived.
Yijun looked at the monster with a frightened face, then he reached out his trembling hand and grabbed the hem of Eunha's clothes.
"E-Eunha. Let's run away."
"No, don't make any sudden movements."
Eunha gave Yijun a soft, but clear warning.
"Look. If we don't run or attack, it's quiet."
Only then did Yijun begin to read the behaviour patterns of the black tigers. As Eunha said, the tigers did not attack them if they stood still. But that didn't mean they could stay there forever.
"If you walk slowly without running off, we will surely get out of this place."
Eunha's words were credible. That was proved by Yijun who has been with her for three years. She had always been a role model for everyone since her training camp days. Both in terms of combat and strategy.
"But Eunha, if there's monsters left inside, the exit… Huh?"
It was strange.
Originally, the gate had a system where the exit closes the moment you enter. The closed exits were never opened until all of the monsters inside were annihilated. But for some reason, Yijun saw an open exit in the distance.
"Keep walking, don't provoke them."
"O-Okay."
The two took another step together in sync.
But then.
Growl!
The calm tiger took an attack stance. From there, it came as a warning that if they moved one more step, they would be bitten.
Yijun was frozen in place like a stone, and Eunha took another step without caring.
"Look, it's okay. Walk slowly."
Eunha beckoned Yijun, who was still frozen. When Yijun gained the courage to take another step…
Growl!
Again, the tiger poised to attack.
Eunha glanced back and checked the exit. The exit was still open. It seemed like they could get out anytime.
At that point, Eunha had no choice but to notice what was going on, even if she didn't like it.
"It seems that it wants one person to be its playmate."
"… What?"
For a moment, there was a horrifyingly heavy silence.
Neither the tigers nestled inside the gate, nor the two people surrounded by them, moved.
Yijun glanced at Eunha. For a brief moment, there was a mix of feelings. Maybe he saw his life flashing before his eyes.
He had been with her since their training camp days. Without her, Yijun would have not been able to get that far all by himself because his body and mind were weak, and his unique abilities were lacking.
"Eunha, I-"
"I'll have to see William next time."
Eunha cut off Yijun's train of thoughts with her calm tone.
"Huh?"
"I'll stay. You'd be better off living than me."
As if she had already made up her mind, she began to straighten out her messy clothes.
"Listen carefully. You'll walk alone towards the exit while I count to ten. If anything happens, run away and don't look back."
"What are you talking about, Eunha?"
Perhaps she sensed Yijun's voice shaking because Eunha stared back at him with her dark eyes.
"If you have water and emergency food left, give it to me before you go. I may be able to last a few days, but if possible, I'll have at least one of them as a companion."
"Eunha."
"I have nowhere to return to even if I go outside, but that's not the same for you."
Eunha stared at Yijun with unwavering eyes. She took a step closer to the silent Yijun.
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid you'll lose your friend?"
She laughed quietly.
"Or are you afraid that you will suffer from guilt for the rest of your life?"
There was nothing wrong with her words.
Eunha strongly pushed Yijun's back, which was as hard as a stone statue.
"Cha, Cha Eunha!"
Yijun hurriedly looked back.
Growl!
He heard a low, threatening growl.
Eunha was not even looking at Yijun. She was touching her left wrist, staring at it while her black and thick eyelashes covered her eyes.
Exactly, the worn-out wish bracelet on her left wrist.
"Eunha, I-"
I can't go. Was what Yijun was about to say.
"It will get hot for a while."
Eunha laughed.
Her white palms point towards Yijun. Then, a bright red flame began to bloom from the center of her small palm.
Boom!
A small explosion broke out from her palms. The side of the flame was insignificant, but it was enough to push out Yijun, who had a slender physique. In the aftermath of the explosion, Yijun's body was pushed towards the exit. As if he were floating in the water, he was helpless.
As he found himself out of the gate, Yijun hurriedly raised his head.
The gate door was closing at high speed. The air vibrated, and black cracks began to form on Eunha's face, arms and legs, which Yijun could see through the cracks in the gate.
"E-Eunha! Cha Eunha!"
He quickly stretched out his hand, but the black sparks were so strong that it bounced back.
"It won't leave a scar."
Eunha's tone was filled with a little playfulness, as if she was teasing him.
That was the last time Yijun heard Eunha's voice.