# Chapter 32
Lee Hwan once again changed clothes in the bathroom and put on a white mask before climbing out the window. Unfortunately, he encountered someone in that deserted place, but when Lee Hwan showed the attack team’s watch, the person nodded with relief and continued smoking their cigarette.
‘What’s wrong with these Naru people, seriously…’
A suspicious man had just dropped from a building, and that was their only reaction. The attack team’s influence might be strong in this area, but shouldn’t they at least think something was strange?
Lee Hwan quickly adjusted his clothes and ran along the corner path to the research building. As much as his face was covered, he didn’t want to be seen by many people looking like this.
The security door of the research building opened as soon as it saw Lee Hwan’s white mask. He slowly walked inside and took his phone out of his pocket to call Kang Dongha again.
“I’m outside.”
―Just hang around the café for 20 minutes, then come up.
“I’ve reached my coffee quota for today.”
―What are you… Then drink a smoothie or something.
Lee Hwan obediently followed orders and sipped a double berry yogurt smoothie while creating an unsettling atmosphere in the company café. He watched as people glanced at him and then disappeared one by one.
Occasionally, when someone looked at him, Lee Hwan would stare right back at them with wide eyes. Their heads would quickly turn away and never look back.
Finally, when no one was watching him and the café was reasonably empty, Lee Hwan pretended to go to the bathroom, leaving his drink on the table, and wandered down the hallway before slipping into the stairwell.
He’d been feeling uneasy about this building anyway. And now Kang Dongha had called him, suggesting he kill time before heading up. Why not take care of some business while he was at it?
Thud!
The heavy door opened slowly and closed with a peculiar sound. Lee Hwan examined the floor numbers and height while stretching his legs, then launched himself as if being fired.
‘Two minutes… I’ll go down to the basement and back in two minutes.’
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Lee Hwan moved his legs quickly, descending the stairs. He could jump from landing to landing if he wanted, but he didn’t want to make too much noise in this enclosed space.
‘This long place has no windows, but there’s a ventilation system… and it smells like disinfectant.’
The outside weather, the temperature inside, the air flow, the smell, the ceiling height, even the color of the walls—everything became a subject of consideration.
‘What is this connected to? It’s too central in the building to be outdoors.’
If the ventilation duct was connected to a specific internal space, it would be convenient to subdue or kill whatever was on the stairs. In that case, this staircase becomes another prison for beings who can’t easily break or open doors.
Lee Hwan’s mind was working as quickly as his legs. Until now, it had been frozen like a cramped muscle, but apparently his brain worked better when his body was moving.
Tap-tap, thud!
Basement level 1 in an instant. Lee Hwan looked around at the dead-end wall. The last step ended at basement level 1. Just as far as the elevator operated.
Is this really all? They built such a tall building above ground but dug only a small basement, wasting space? The back of his neck occasionally tingled like a radar, and it was sending signals now. There’s something more here.
That’s when it happened.
Click- Thud!
The sound of an emergency exit door opening and closing came from the upper floor.
“…it’s such a pain.”
“It’s about time to close it down. We’re officially increasing the number of experiments.”
“I have to go between the second and third floors five or six times a day, and every time I have to scan my card, check my retina—what’s the point, it only decreases efficiency…”
Someone had entered the stairwell instead of taking the elevator. Moreover, they were coming down to the basement.
As soon as he heard voices, Lee Hwan hid in a corner next to the end of the staircase, pressing himself against the landing. He remained completely still, not making even the slightest sound.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that after Lee Hwan hid, not even the sound of dust falling could be heard. He was quite skilled at this.
In the past, hunters had asked him about it. How he managed to suppress sound while breathing when ambushing in gates, avoiding monsters with sensitive hearing.
The solution was simple. Just brutally hold your breath. If you don’t breathe, there’s no breathing sound.
And an Awakened person could easily hold their breath for 2-3 minutes without much training.
“We have to do what we’re told.”
“True… it’s intimidating when you think about it.”
‘If you’re not going to say anything more, go away, hurry up and leave…’
“Shall we check it later?”
“Ah… just looking at that really ruins my appetite…”
Clank!
A door opened and closed nearby, and Lee Hwan remained in the empty stairwell, holding his breath a little longer, waiting until the voices completely disappeared.
‘…There’s a second and third basement floor. ID card and retinal scan required.’
After gathering some information,
“Haaa!”
Lee Hwan exploded with breath and immediately bounded up the stairs. Leaping four or five steps at a time, he almost looked like he was flying.
‘As expected.’
There was something there. This staircase was the only passage connecting to the hidden basement. In other words, it was also the only exit from that basement to the ground level.
Research Building D. Standing before the door of secrets that concealed ominous activities, Lee Hwan quickly fled upward, ever upward.
The café was still empty. He hadn’t been gone long enough for his double berry yogurt smoothie to melt; it was still intact. Only the cup was surrounded by condensation.
Lee Hwan took a big sip, threw it in the trash, and stood in front of the elevator.
His destination was the upper floor. Now it was time to meet Kang Dongha as if nothing had happened.
* * *
In that moment while waiting for the elevator, memories of the past flickered in his mind.
Taesung would often look at Lee Hwan with pride. What always rippled in his eyes when witnessing Lee Hwan’s accomplishments was that kind of fluctuating emotion. A feeling of wanting to boast about someone but not wanting to show them to the world.
Taesung didn’t like being exposed in the media. He’d had some headaches because of it since he was a minor.
Lee Hwan had heard several of these stories and had joined him in cursing about them.
Like the day Taesung first confirmed his awakening, when some crazy reporters mentioned his dead mother, or shortly after, when some bastards tried to provoke him, causing injuries to the security personnel protecting him.
As a result, Taesung’s residence moved from some corner of Seoul to near the Naru headquarters, and anyone who needed to know became aware of his official entanglement with Naru.
Whenever Taesung shared these past stories, Lee Hwan felt grateful and quite sad. That was partly why they mostly hung out just the two of them at Taesung’s house.
With the TV on at Taesung’s house, Lee Hwan would lie on the sofa, and Taesung would bring snacks and quietly sit on the floor leaning against the couch.
It became routine for Lee Hwan to tap Taesung’s shoulder generously and invite him to sit on the sofa.
Such peaceful moments that now often came to mind when falling asleep.
Unlike Taesung, however, Lee Hwan didn’t really mind the attention. For him, attention meant money and good treatment. His evening meals changed from plain rice with seasoned seaweed to shrimp fried rice, from ramen to jjajangmyeon served on a tray.
Moreover, having a long history of being alone after losing his family, Lee Hwan generally brightened up at positive attention, checking it out a few times before carefully accepting it.
He didn’t crave attention, but having no aversion to being in the spotlight made life quite good.
Thanks to his gentle responses, Lee Hwan’s popularity often came with such comments.
That he was just the type of person who couldn’t help but attract attention.
A sharp jawline as if drawn with a brush, slightly exotic brown hair, light eyes. The smile on his lips, confident gestures, and bright voice.
The body proportions that stood out when wearing a combat suit and his unique ability “Spatial Control,” though only B-class. Moreover, the tremendous combat efficiency he extracted by utilizing it 120 percent.
The government and Hunter Association would often use certain hunters for promotion during the season, and Lee Hwan was always among them. Even more enthusiastically because bringing him along would sometimes get Taesung, who usually avoided exposure, to show his face.
Each time, Lee Hwan would skillfully soothe Taesung, who, although never saying it, seemed dissatisfied. It was actually funny that Taesung would come of his own accord despite being told not to, and then act sulky.
‘Come to think of it…’
Reflecting on it, being a hunter was, in reality, just a nice way of saying “ability user who fights monsters,” but in fact, they were perfectly suited to become objects of fear or envy.
Their physical durability and abilities were different from the vast majority of ordinary people to the point of being heterogeneous. Sometimes, to the point of being terrifying.
Awakened ones didn’t get tired even after considerable movement, and conventional drugs or weapons often had no effect. Depending on their abilities, they could easily pass through or break walls, infiltrate anywhere, and in some cases, even nullify modern firearms. Depending on their level, one could easily be worth a hundred fighters.
So if they couldn’t put a leash on the Awakened, it would be like releasing a mad dog in a kindergarten. Moreover, the Hunter Association occasionally stretched its legs on policies trying to loosen that leash. In many ways, the Awakened were perceived as a huge threat to civilians and the existing privileged class.
If there had been many other methods to deal with gates, the state would have stepped in long ago to stigmatize and manage them like prisoners.
But only the Awakened could fight in gates. Furthermore, mana response and ability research were still touching the realm of “creation,” much like embryonic research.
So ironically, the Awakened’s status was elevated thanks to the monsters they risked their lives fighting.
The plan to create star hunters and instill familiarity in the public came from this reasoning.
If they couldn’t get rid of them, then partially make them public figures to eliminate discord among people and manage overly strong hunters… that was roughly the idea.
Lee Hwan knew all too well that he was a beneficiary of this. That he was a carefree hero panel in front of the military recruitment booth.
He hardly felt any inconvenience from it since Taesung and Naru took care of everything, but he did occasionally receive disconcertingly favorable treatment.
‘I’ve never been such an object of avoidance back then.’
Lee Hwan muttered to himself as he waited for the elevator, reflecting on the past. He had already let three researchers pass by.
From earlier, everyone who came to take the elevator flinched at the sight of Lee Hwan’s mask and crossed the hallway to go back. Some even shook their heads as if they had seen something they shouldn’t have.
Lee Hwan was liking this fucking mask less and less.
