The news outlets were in an uproar.
After all, one of the strongest Hunters in the world had announced his retirement, even though he had debuted less than five years ago.
"Song Hanhwi, the legendary SSS-Class Hunter, announces his retirement…"
"Solaris Guild Chairman, Davian Ellandre, was asked to make the official statement…"
"The reasons for this decision remain unknown, as Hanhwi refused to explain…"
"The man who saved the world during the Second Wave wishes to step down…"
"His whereabouts are currently unknown, and to our viewers, we have just one question—"
"Why do you think he retired?"
"Retired, my ass!"
Hanhwi watched as his manager, Max, switched the TV off and slammed the remote down on the couch beside him.
"You donut, tell me right now, right here, WHY?"
Hanhwi averted his eyes, guilt washing over him.
"..."
"Huh?! Don't give me the silent treatment!" Max snapped.
"..."
"Haa… say something before I burn the cookies I brought."
Max's eyes gleamed with mischief as he pointed at the bag of cookies on the table.
Hanhwi's eyes widened.
Burning... those delicious cookies?
He couldn't stay silent any longer.
With some hesitation, he repeated the same words he had told Davian.
"I… want to fall in love."
"..."
Silence.
A dead, painful silence.
Max's veins practically popped out in disbelief.
"You…" His eyes darkened. "What did you just say?"
"I want to fall in love," Hanhwi shrugged, like a clueless child. "I want to find someone to love, and have that person love me back. Maybe even start a family. Maybe have kids—"
"YOU DONUT!"
A dinosaur plushie flew at Hanhwi's face, which he could've easily dodged.
But he decided to take Max's wrath head-on.
He took the hit, letting the plushie bounce off his forehead and land on the floor.
Max was pacing now, running his hands through his hair.
"Romance? You retired from saving the world to… fall in love?"
Hanhwi blinked at him, expression neutral.
"Yup."
Max stared at him, incredulous.
"You donut… You can't just walk away from being a world-saving, monster-killing legend for—" He waved his hands in the air, searching for the right words. "For romance!"
"I can," Hanhwi said simply. He reached for a cookie from the bag on the table. "And I did."
Max looked like he was about to combust.
"Do you even realize how much I've covered for you in the past five years? Remember the Arachnid Nest incident? Who smoothed that over with the press? Me. The Vampire Covenant massacre? Oh yeah, me. And what about the time you destroyed Seoul's district fighting a Chimera?! Do you know who kept you out of the courtroom? Hint—it wasn't the cookies!"
Hanhwi gave a small, thoughtful nod.
"You did. Thanks, by the way."
Max groaned, sinking into the couch like the weight of the world was crashing down on him.
"But this? This, I can't explain! 'Oh yeah, he's leaving because he wants to play house.' That's not going to fly with the public, Hanhwi!"
Hanhwi chewed on his cookie, considering Max's words.
Then he shrugged.
"You could say I'm looking for a new kind of challenge."
"A new kind of… Challenge?!" Max threw his hands up. "You make it sound like it's another dungeon raid!"
Hanhwi raised an eyebrow, his voice calm.
"In a way, it is."
Max buried his face in his hands.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this… Of all the reasons… I'd even take you wanting to retire to open a cat café or something over this. At least that I could spin."
Hanhwi's lips quirked slightly at the mention of a cat café.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Max snapped his head up.
"No! No more ideas! We're sticking with one ridiculous retirement plan at a time, okay?"
Hanhwi leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head.
"I just think it's time I focus on the simpler things."
Max sighed heavily, throwing himself dramatically against the back of the couch.
"Oh, I get it. You're tired, you need a break. But you can't just retire because you want to date. It's… it's…"
He flailed for words, finally landing on, "It's irresponsible!"
Hanhwi's eyes softened just a little, his voice lowering.
"I've been responsible for long enough. Maybe it's time I learn to be irresponsible."
"But what does wanting to date… have to do with retirement?!"
"I thought about it, and…"
Hanhwi averted his gaze again, hoping to avoid Max's wrath.
"If I start dating, then I'll have to spend more time with the person, and… you know, Hunters get called all the time for raids, and I could be too busy and… I read online that miscommunication and not sparing enough time for your partner could actually lead to potential breakups…"
Hanhwi kept rambling for another five minutes, but Max had long since tuned him out, staring blankly at the wall as Hanhwi droned on about "relationship dynamics" and "scheduling conflicts."
Finally, Max let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples.
"Wait, wait, wait. So, you're telling me… that the reason you're quitting the most important job in the world is because you're worried about miscommunication? You saved the world from the Second Wave, Hanhwi. I think you can handle a date."
Hanhwi paused mid-sentence, blinking.
"I know. But romance is a different kind of beast."
Max threw his hands up in defeat.
"I give up. You've officially lost it. We're talking about dating, not fighting dragons!"
"Well," Hanhwi replied, his face completely serious. "Depends on the person. Some relationships are like dragons."
Max gave him an exasperated look, holding back a groan.
"You're impossible."
Max slumped deeper into the couch, deflated.
"I'm gonna need a vacation after this."
Hanhwi reached for another cookie, watching Max pout, his face clearly stressed.
He didn't blame Max, since his reaction was understandable.
He was making a choice that in one way or the other, is selfish from a lot of perspectives.
But, if he had to be honest, he really did have a reason to quit his job.
Hanhwi's happiest memories were of his parents.
Before their deaths, he always thought he was looking at a perfectly painted picture from a fairytale, every time he saw his parents.
Every warmth he received was a product of their love, in constant motion, embracing him.
It would be embarrassing to someone else, but to him, he wanted to experience that.
A love like a fairytale, just like his parents.
He was determined to find his 'soulmate' even as a child, but due to his quiet, calm and indifferent demeanor, and slight awkwardness that comes with it, the girls he had a crush on always stayed away.
It might have seemed childish to others, but to him, that was the kind of love he wanted to experience—something out of a fairytale, just like his parents had.
Even as a child, he was determined to find his 'soulmate.'
However, his quiet, calm demeanor and the awkwardness that came with it meant that the girls he had crushes on always kept their distance.
This pattern continued until the last year of middle school, where he hoped things would change.
But then, everything fell apart.
The world, Earth, merged with others existing on the same plane.
Right after this—called the 'Amalgamation Incident'—came the portals, dungeons, and tombs.
Monsters began pouring out, wreaking havoc.
Things that had once been confined to games and movies were now a reality.
The world was plunged into chaos.
To combat these threats, 'awakened' superhumans with abilities emerged.
They were called 'Hunters.'
With their help, society slowly rebuilt itself and found a fragile peace.
But then, a new conflict arose.
The worlds that had merged went to war, each side vying for dominance.
Humanity was dragged into what became known as the "First Wave."
Blood was shed. Countless sacrifices were made.
Finally, after enough bargains, the worlds decided to coexist peacefully.
Until the demons broke the pact and waged war again.
This time, they waged war solely against humanity.
The other races turned away when humanity asked for help.
Humanity was alone again.
It was called the Second Wave.
Hanhwi managed to survive until he turned twenty, under the guidance of other Hunters protecting the world.
But the Second Wave was something no one could have foreseen.
He ended up facing a high-tier demon, an Archdemon, and almost died.
On the verge of death, he finally awakened his ability.
An SSS Class ability that came with perks most Hunters could only dream of.
He single-handedly massacred the entire race, leaving everyone on alert.
No one knew what his ability was or how he did it.
But he soon became the 'Hero' of the world and the center of attention.
He was a lone wolf, without a guild affiliation, and had only a manager who was his best friend.
But people were more curious about his strength.
No one ever saw his skills, and every time they tried to record, the screen erased itself.
If he ever entered a dungeon, he cleared it completely.
So, people started rumors.
Five years after the war, people began speculating if Hanhwi had just been lucky that day or if the demons were truly weak.
With his strength unknown, other Hunters grew restless.
They created the Hunter World Rankings and kept Hanhwi in the top five for involvement.
But the top five spots never mentioned who was in each place.
Unlike the rest of the world, Hanhwi didn't care about this.
He did what he had to do to survive.
If those demons wiped out humanity, he was worried his soulmate would be caught up in it.
In a way, it's thanks to his sole motivation to fall in love that his career progressed over the past years.
"Haa…"
Hanhwi sighed, thinking about the past.
No one truly knew what "sourced" these dungeons, portals, and tombs.
They housed these strange, unnamed monsters of varying tiers as recognized by the World Hunter Association.
Dungeons never stopped existing, and they continued to open randomly.
But with the top Hunters in place, humanity has remained peaceful since the Second Wave.
Still, Hanhwi's been busy, with constant dungeon alerts everywhere.
His simple dream of having a family was constantly interfered with because of his "job."
For five years, he fought to keep humanity safe, hoping that one day, when the world was at peace, he could finally pursue the dream he had held onto all his life—finding someone to love.
He finally felt free, now that he's retired.
To anyone else, romance would be the worst reason to retire from a glorious life, almost cringeworthy.
But to him, it was everything he ever wanted.
"I'm sorry…" he mumbled out to Max.
If there was anyone he regretted disappointing, it was him.
Max and Hanhwi had known each other since the first time they coincidently saved each other during a dungeon break at school.
Since then, they've been close friends and leaned on each other, in times of comfort or predicament.
Max had awakened a class called
Initially, Max was taken aback by the amount of things he had to do, but he eventually had grown to like it, and to his best friend, Hanhwi, he's always wanted to support him.
Hanhwi's never revealed to Max about his dream before retirement.
He felt guilty.
After all, Max did come to know about this through the news, since Hanhwi didn't have the bone to tell him directly.
Max stared at his best friend for a good few seconds, before he sighed.
"If that's what you want to do, then I can't stop you."
Hanhwi simply nodded.
"I'm disappointed that you didn't tell this to me first."
"I'm sorry…"
"Stop apologizing, you donut."
"Yes, I'm so—I agree."
"Also," he pointed at Hanhwi's saddened face. "Turn that frown upside down, sunshine."
Hanhwi smiled, feeling silly.
"I knew I could count on you."
"So, what are your next plans?"
"..."
Hanhwi hadn't thought of this.
"Don't tell me—you don't have a plan?"
Hanhwi's plan was to retire and search for his soulmate. He hadn't thought of the hows' yet.
He averted his eyes again, and said, "Love isn't…meant to have a pla—"
Max widened his eyes, his arms out like 'what?'
"You need a proper plan. You can't just stumble into love like it's a random encounter in a dungeon. You need a strategy, a direction, something!"
"No, Max, you don't understand," Hanhwi raised a finger, as if he were explaining. "Statistically speaking, over sixty-percent individuals experience love at first sight. That's about six out of ten people experiencing it. Which means, chanced encounters are—"
"ARGH, I get it, so stop."
Max groaned louder this time.
"Why do I put up with you…"
Hanhwi stood up, stretching.
"Because you like cookies. And me, obviously."
Max glared at him.
"I'm starting to question both those things."
Hanhwi tossed the last cookie at him, a small smile finally breaking through his indifferent facade.
"Catch."
Max opened his mouth, ready to argue again, but instead caught the cookie and took a bite.
His expression softened slightly, though he'd never admit it.
Hanhwi's thoughts drifted as he stared out the window.
He might not have a plan yet, but he was willing to take things one step at a time.
After all, finding love was just another challenge, another quest.