Weekday, 3 PM. While others were doing something productive—this thing called labor—Lee Kanghyun was getting up late.
A studio apartment barely 9 pyeong. A simple room with a bed, desk, wardrobe, and TV. This was where he lived.
For a Hunter who’d been embroiled in controversy over paying 10 billion won in fines annually, it was an extremely shabby home.
It wasn’t that he lacked money. The entire process of moving to a new place, picking out furniture, filing some change of address report, decorating and cleaning—all of it seemed so annoyingly tedious that he felt it wasn’t worth doing.
Haaaam. A yawn escaped. Blinking his eyes, Kanghyun burrowed back under the covers. He still hadn’t fully recovered from fatigue. He planned to sleep again.
What disrupted his peace was the sound of knocking.
Knock knock knock.
He ignored it. Must be someone here to proselytize again. At times like this, if you ignored them, they’d leave on their own.
BANG BANG BANG. BANG BANG BANG! BANG! BANG BANG BANG!
Crazy. Who the fuck is it?
At the sound of someone pounding as if to break down the door, Kanghyun kicked off the covers and bolted upright.
Instead of opening the door, he checked the intercom. However, the worn-out intercom screen had been dead for a long time.
Oh, right. I was supposed to tell the landlord to fix this, but I’ve been putting it off for half a year because it was too annoying. The doorbell had also been broken for two years already. Nothing in this place worked properly.
He was looking at the dark intercom screen and letting out a small sigh when the voice he heard made him freeze involuntarily.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
—Hey! Lee Kanghyun! I know you’re in there! Open the door.
The voice was familiar. So familiar it gave him goosebumps.
Kang Yujun. The S-rank Hunter beloved by all citizens of South Korea.
Five consecutive years ranked #1 in gate clearing. A national hero who received infinite trust thanks to his handsome looks, impeccable proper attitude, and consistent good deeds.
80% of the reason Kanghyun could comfortably laze around in his room was thanks to Yujun’s dedication. If even Kang Yujun had been negligent, no matter how reckless Kanghyun was, he would’ve had to clear gates several times more than he did now.
But separate from that, Kanghyun hated Kang Yujun. No, he was horrified by him.
He constantly urged Kanghyun to join his guild. At first, he’d politely send formal proposals with proper etiquette, but as the rejections piled up, he gradually revealed his true colors.
Text message terrorism was the basics. When Kanghyun blocked him, he then committed the atrocity of stacking mail in front of the house like a barricade. Clearing away the scraps of paper blocking the front door had been so exhausting that Kanghyun truly wanted to die.
Was that all? He stalked him too. Hiding quietly in the alley of the studio apartment building, he’d ambush Kanghyun when he came out to receive delivery food or came out dangling a trash bag. Once caught, he’d have to listen to at least 30 minutes of lecturing.
So, that taciturn, serious, mannerly, and polite image of his was all fake. Image-making, in other words.
Of course, Kanghyun had tried threatening him.
‘You know I can leak this to the media, right? The real Kang Yujun.’
‘Do whatever you want. I won’t get criticized anyway, you know? People will just say, “What did Lee Kanghyun even do wrong to make the gentle Kang Yujun go that far?”‘
It was true, so he couldn’t argue back. That’s why Kanghyun couldn’t do anything and could only suffer under Kang Yujun’s torment.
Still, Yujun had never once barged into his house. He’d taken comfort in that, but…
Kanghyun held his breath. Let’s pretend I’m not here. Then he’ll leave.
But the uninvited guest outside the door was persistent.
—If you don’t open the door, I’ll break it down and come in, okay? One, two…
“Ah, fuck.”
The curse came out on its own. Kanghyun rushed to the front door. He could just pay for it, sure, but just imagining the hassle of arguing with the landlord over it was horrifying labor.
Click.
Kanghyun unlocked the door and opened it just slightly—only enough for a single finger to fit through.
“What are you doing banging on someone else’s door…”
Thud.
A hand slipped through the gap in the door. Tremendous grip strength forcibly pushed the door open. He thought about resisting, but to use strength, he’d have to move his muscles. Instantly annoyed, Kanghyun just let go of the doorknob and stepped back.
Through the wide-open door, Kang Yujun stood there.
“……”
“……”
A strange standoff between the two continued. Yujun looked at Kanghyun with sparkling eyes, while Kanghyun stared at him with dead fish eyes.
Yujun looked at Kanghyun’s face once, then scanned the room once.
“You… you actually live here?”
Kanghyun’s brow furrowed sharply.
“I told you not to speak casually to me, didn’t I?”
The media really couldn’t be trusted. Polite and taciturn Kang Yujun. Kanghyun couldn’t help but sneer every time he heard that.
Bullshit. Complete bullshit.
“Aw, why are we being so stiff when we’re both S-ranks? We’re the same age. That makes us friends. And you speak casually to me too.”
“I only do it because you did it first.”
“Wow, how childish. Kanghyun-ah. Are you in elementary school?”
He was at a loss for words. Kanghyun had never been good at talking anyway. But conversing with a crazy bastard left him completely clueless about how to react, his mind going blank.
“Leave. Before I call the cops.”
In the end, all he could say was to leave.
Yujun paid no mind. Rather, he shamelessly took off his shoes and tried to enter the room as if visiting an old friend’s house.
“It’s shabby, but. Excuse me for a moment.”
Is this bastard seriously insane? Not only is he coming in without permission, but he’s openly evaluating someone else’s home as shabby?
“If you have no business, fuck off. Don’t take off your shoes.”
Kanghyun responded with sunken eyes and crawled back into bed. It had been too long since he’d talked to a person. And trying to converse with a crazy bastard who wouldn’t listen had drained all his energy.
Despite the order to leave, Yujun neatly took off his shoes and stubbornly came in.
“Kanghyun-ah, you… did you run out of money?”
“What?”
“You were paying fines like crazy, so did you finally go bankrupt? Is that why you’re in this tiny room… hah…”
Yujun’s gaze became profound. It was a look filled with deep compassion, like looking at a puppy abandoned in a box on a rainy day.
Kanghyun genuinely felt the urge to poke those eyes with his finger.
Tiny room, my ass. 9 pyeong was actually on the larger side for a studio. But Kanghyun didn’t have the energy to retort and said weakly.
“I just live here because it’s comfortable.”
“Liar. Does it make sense for an S-rank to live in a studio because it’s comfortable? Are you even eating properly? And when is that pizza box from?”
Yujun made a fuss and tried to open the pizza box on the desk next to the bed. Still lying down, Kanghyun only stretched out his arm to grab his hand and irritably shoved it away.
“Don’t rummage through other people’s stuff and just leave.”
“What stuff? That’s trash.”
Kanghyun pulled the blanket all the way up over his head. It was a clear refusal to communicate further—an obvious sign he wouldn’t exchange another word with that noisy bastard.
Yujun didn’t care and continued talking to Kanghyun.
“Hey. Kanghyun-ah.”
“What.”
“Stop living like this and come to my guild.”
That again. He wasn’t even surprised anymore.
Kanghyun was curious what exactly Yujun saw in him that made him want him to join the guild. Aren’t I supposed to have a psychopath image? Does he want to recruit a psychopath into his guild?
“Don’t want to.”
“I expected it, but you’re too firm.”
Yujun pretended to be hurt and made crying sounds.
Crazy bastard.
“I’ll give you a salary—no, a signing bonus equal to the fines you’ve paid. I’ll provide lodging too. I’ll attach a cleaning helper, and a chef will make your meals.”
He was slightly tempted. Cleaning? Meals?
It was a bit appealing. Throwing away delivery food containers was work too. No, just turning on the app to order delivery itself was annoying.
But the thought that immediately followed pushed away that temptation. If he joined a guild, he’d have to commute. Wake up in the morning, wash up, get dressed, get in a car, travel, meet people and greet them…
“No thanks. Commuting is annoying.”
“You don’t have to commute. Just lend me your name. You only have to show up a few times occasionally, I’m telling you?”
“Even showing up those few times is hard.”
Haa. Yujun took a deep breath to calm his anger, then pulled out a document envelope from inside his jacket and tossed it onto Kanghyun’s stomach.
“Whatever. What’s the point of talking to you? I came today because of this.”
“What is it.”
Kanghyun didn’t even touch the envelope that fell on his stomach, only sticking his head out of the blanket to look at it.
“A summons.”
“What?”
“The Ministry of National Defense worked with the Association to issue it. You have to go to the military.”
What kind of bullshit is this?
Military? Why the hell do I have to go to that horrible place?
You have to wake up at 6 AM, do roll call, run drills. You even have to eat meals on time. Not when you’re hungry.
A regular lifestyle? Group life?
To Kanghyun, that was no different from a death sentence.
He desperately denied reality with a trembling voice.
“I’m exempt from military service because I’m S-rank.”
Yujun shrugged.
“That’s only if you were active normally. You’re on the verge of having your alternative service canceled due to insufficient performance. If you ignore this, you’ll really go to prison or have to emigrate.”
But you’re too lazy to even emigrate. Yujun didn’t bother adding this.
“That doesn’t make sense. I paid all my fines properly.”
“There’s a limit to what money can solve. Public opinion is too bad. Your name came up in the parliamentary audit too. ‘Management status of high-risk awakened individuals who only enjoy privileges without fulfilling their duties.'”
These crazy National Assembly bastards. Instead of dedicating yourselves to the country, why are you talking shit about me in parliamentary audits? Do you have nothing better to do?
Kanghyun chewed his lips.
“So choose. Do you want to go out with me right now and clear a gate, or do you want to shave your head and go to Nonsan?”
Kanghyun picked up the document envelope with trembling hands.
On the paper inside, a red stamp was clearly imprinted.
‘Ministry of National Defense Minister’s Seal.’
He squeezed his eyes shut.
“…Where.”
“Huh?”
“Where’s the gate located, fuck.”
Contrary to his aggressive words that seemed ready to explode at any moment, Kanghyun got up slowly. Making it obvious that he was annoyed to death, he stripped off both his t-shirt and pants at the same time to change into outdoor clothes.
It was a miraculous technique he’d mastered through five years of hikikomori life.
“……”
Yujun was at a loss for words. He’d expected him to throw off his top, but he hadn’t expected him to take off his pants all at once too. He frowned and covered Kanghyun’s body with his palm to block his view.
“Don’t you have any shame? You’re just stripping naked in front of someone.”
“What’s the big deal between guys?”
Tsk tsk. So dramatic. Kanghyun clicked his tongue. Whether Yujun clutched the back of his neck at his attitude or not, Kanghyun slowly put on a hoodie and then picked up black pants.
***
[Hunter Registration Information]
Name: Kang Yujun
Gender: Male
Birthday: January 27
Height: 188cm
Guild Affiliation: Yunseul (Guild Master)
Hunter Rank: S
Ability: Freely manipulates and changes the properties of moisture in the air or surrounding water.
- Raid Report
5-year cumulative clear count: 1,528 times (Ranked #1 in performance among all South Korean Hunters)
