"
Um, may I use the phone?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Thank you."
Cha Eui-jae headed straight to the counter inside the store as soon as he finished speaking. He grabbed the old receiver and dialed the direct line to the Awakened Management Bureau Director, a number only he knew. His hand trembled constantly as he dialed. However,
—The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again…
He tried calling again just in case, but the result was the same. Cha Eui-jae slowly put down the receiver. His heart, which had been quiet as if doused in ice water, started to beat faster, and before he knew it, he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Did I really fall eight years into the future? Or, more importantly… am I really dead?
However, he couldn't be sure of anything. Maybe the director just changed their number. Cha Eui-jae didn't want to see the situation in a purely negative light. As he hurriedly turned to leave the store, he remembered an important fact.
He had no money. Before entering the rift, he had only packed consumables like potions. He had even used up all the potions, leaving nothing. He was completely broke. He didn't even have money to pay for the meal.
Sneaking a glance at the old woman, Cha Eui-jae cautiously spoke up.
"Um, Grandma."
"Mm?"
"Well, I…"
As he rubbed his sleeves awkwardly, unable to continue, the old woman looked at him silently. She then slowly walked over to him and took his injured hand in her wrinkled one.
"It's okay, kid."
"Pardon?"
"Just come back to eat again sometime."
Two crumpled 10,000 won bills were placed in Cha Eui-jae's hand. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, unable to speak, and just bowed his head. The old woman went into the kitchen and soon returned with an old navy jacket and a black hat.
"Wear this."
"No, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."
"If you wander around in that state in daylight, you'll get caught. Wear it."
The old woman's words were indisputable. Cha Eui-jae, while taking off his tattered jacket, noticed the silver watch on his left wrist. It was something he had since the moment he awakened. This is it! Cha Eui-jae hurriedly took off the watch and handed it to the old woman.
"Grandma, take this."
"What is it?"
"A watch. This is all I have right now."
"What for? I don't need it."
"No, please take it. Or think of it as a pawn. I'll come back for it later."
Cha Eui-jae forced the watch into the old woman's hand, pulled the hat over his head, and left the store, bowing repeatedly. The old woman called after him urgently as he ran away, but he ignored her and kept running.
Looking up at the sky after running for a while, he saw that it was already getting light. A long line at the bus stop, cars filling the road, people walking on the wet pavement with tired faces. Many were going about their own ways.
It was a peaceful scene, but to Cha Eui-jae, it felt unfamiliar. This South Korea, which he estimated to be eight years into the future, was vastly different from his memories. Cha Eui-jae watched the moments of everyday life with a sense of emptiness.
Then it happened.
Beeeep— An alarm started blaring loudly around him. People took out their phones to check something. Two boys in school uniforms were chatting.
"Damn, a rift is opening in 30 minutes."
"Do you think we'll see any hunters? If a ranker comes, let's film it and put it on YouTube."
"Yeah. Man, I should've brought my drone."
A rift is opening? Cha Eui-jae looked around in bewilderment. However, despite the rift alert, people seemed calm. It was as if rift alerts had become a normal part of life. Confused, Cha Eui-jae grabbed a passing woman and spoke to her.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry. Is a rift about to open?"
"Huh? Yes, we just got an emergency alert. Didn't you see it?"
"Oh, no. I left my phone behind."
"Ah, I see. Here, look."
The woman showed him her phone.
[Rift Management Bureau]
[A rift is expected to appear east of Wirae-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul at 7:42 AM on November 14. Residents should evacuate to designated shelters. If pre-evacuation is not possible, contact the Awakened Management Bureau.]
A rift is essentially a 'sudden dungeon entrance'. Unlike regular dungeons, which have fixed entry points, rifts appear randomly and open an entrance. If not quickly subdued, they pour out monsters. But to predict the location and time of a rift appearance?
As Cha Eui-jae stood frozen, lost in thought, the woman asked cautiously.
"Um, are you okay…?"
"Oh, yes… I'm fine. Thank you for showing me."
The woman nodded, still looking concerned, and walked away. After watching the people's backs in a daze for a moment, Cha Eui-jae also started moving.
As the sound of car exhausts roared, the hallucinations he had tried so hard to ignore began to trouble his ears again. The sound of bones breaking, flesh tearing, necks snapping, voices begging for mercy… The familiar screams and noises overlaid the peaceful city scene. This strange sensation made Cha Eui-jae stop in his tracks. And he thought.
Did all those sacrifices mean anything?
The world eight years after J's disappearance was so peaceful and perfect. In fact, this was the very scene he had longed for.
Broken asphalt roads, buses crushed under monster feet, collapsed buildings, burning and bent streetlights, people holding their breath in fear of monsters appearing at any moment. The past scenes were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.
Cha Eui-jae had sincerely wished for this. To have a daily life without fear. Even if he wasn't there to see it. But now that such moments were unfolding before his eyes, his feelings were complex.
Would anything change if J, presumed dead for eight years, returned? The moment J announced his return, the world's peace would be shattered. Everyone would flock to him, demanding to know what happened in the rift, how he survived alone, and why it took him eight years to return.
Cha Eui-jae wiped away his cold sweat. He felt like his insides were twisting.
He believed that he should inform the world of his comrades' sacrifices, of course. He remembered all their names, faces, and how they died.
But…
"Eui-jae, remember."
"The world has changed, and since you have power, everyone will rely on you. They will expect you to save them all."
"But Eui-jae, you're still young…"
"You don't have to save everyone."
"You can run away."
Cha Eui-jae recalled his aunt's words as she had held his shoulders and advised him.
His aunt, who had also awakened as a B-grade hunter after losing her two sons when Cha Eui-jae's family was swept away by a rift, was the only other survivor in that hellish rift. They weren't really related by blood, but they depended on each other like family. She had been the one to advise him to hide his identity.
'Now I understand, Aunt.'
Cha Eui-jae rubbed his eyes unnecessarily.
Hunter J was already dead, and no one knew Cha Eui-jae as a person. People wouldn't even know he existed. Even after eight years, twenty-year-old Cha Eui-jae was still twenty. He still vividly remembered his aunt congratulating him on becoming an adult. However, in this world, he was twenty-eight.
People passed him by indifferently. Cha Eui-jae stood alone for a long time in the crowd. Quietly, lonely.
And finally,
Cha Eui-jae decided to run away for the first time.
***
A few months later… back at the hangover soup restaurant.
Cha Eui-jae, who had been about to wash the piled-up dishes in the kitchen, had to come back out to the hall due to the constant orders and calls from customers.
"Check, please!"
"Yes, just a moment."
One important thing Cha Eui-jae realized while working at this restaurant was that even though he had switched from being a hunter to a hangover soup restaurant part-timer, this wasn't a place where he could live while completely hiding his power.
"More kimchi1 and radish2, please!"
"And some more cheongyang peppers3!"
"Alright, just a moment."
This place had too many customers, especially hunters who ate quickly and a lot. As a result, Cha Eui-jae was pretending to be an ordinary person who was just a bit stronger and more agile, using his awakened abilities only slightly.
"Excuse me, could we borrow some pepper…?"
"Oh, yes, sure."
"Thank you."
"Hurry up and clear the table! We need to eat quickly and head to the dungeon!"
"We'll wipe the table ourselves! Can we use the cloth over there?"
"If you give us the peppers, we'll slice them ourselves."
"This guy's a B-grade hunter. He's really good at slicing with his sword."
In the short time Cha Eui-jae had returned to the kitchen, the customers had started to divide roles as if they were raiding a dungeon. Finally escaping the bustling hall that resembled a newly opened rift, Cha Eui-jae took out containers of kimchi and radish from the fridge and took a moment to catch his breath. He moved mechanically, his eyes now empty.
'I should set up a self-serve bar for kimchi and cheongyang peppers as soon as possible.'
Gathering up two bags of rice and chili peppers, he quickly came out of the kitchen, rapidly assessing the hunters with his eyes. It seemed best to leave the task of chopping the peppers to the B-grade hunter.
"You there, please chop these chili peppers, and take the kimchi, radish kimchi, and rice. I'll handle the bill."
Following his instructions, the hunters seamlessly fell into their roles as if tackling a dungeon raid. The B-grade hunter, using a dagger that looked like at least a C-grade weapon, chopped the peppers. A C-grade hunter used tongs to serve kimchi and radish kimchi, while other hunters lined up with their bowls, waiting for their turn. Cha Eui-jae processed their payments at the card reader, watching the harmonious scene.
Is this the peace I've protected…?
Formerly the number one hunter in South Korea and the first S-grade hunter of the nation, known by the hunter name J. Eight years ago, he closed the first-grade rift in the West Sea and was declared a national hero after his death. His real name, unknown to anyone, was Cha Eui-jae. And now…
"Thank you, have a nice day. Welcome, how many in your party?"
…He is currently a part-time worker at a hangover soup restaurant.