Chapter Text
The Day of the Rift left every country in shambles, stealing countless lives with wave after wave of terrifying monsters appearing from rifts, destroying everything in their path. Traditional weapons were useless against these unknown monsters. The government was left scrambling, desperately trying to make sense of the situation and restore some form of stability to the world.
Nowhere was safe, and the blood curdling screams of people being brutally slaughtered could be heard from every street corner. The sounds of tearing flesh and muscles filled the streets, accompanied by the sound of bones turning to dust under the weight of the heavy monsters. Blood covered the ground as if it had been raining red, and human bodies could be seen littering the streets. The stench of death unbearable to those who were still left alive.
People were crying out in anguish, clutching each other desperately in fear, praying with all their might for this to end, for it to just have been a nightmare, for someone to please save them.
And then—as if their prayers had been answered—a dark figure clad in a white scarf around their head appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and started tearing through the monsters with their bare hands with incredible speed and strength.
It was as if a saviour had descended from above with the sole purpose to kill all the monsters, wildly throwing punches and tearing through any monster in their sight. The figure leaped into the air and went on to swiftly tear through the monsters in the area with terrifying efficiency.
This time, it wasn’t the sounds of human death that flowed through the air, no, it was the sound of the monsters roaring out in pain as they were torn apart brutally before drawing their last guttural breaths.
When the figure finally stilled, there wasn’t a single monster left breathing and a tense silence descended upon the area.
Standing between the dead bodies littered on the ground stood a single person, bloodstained and alone. The figure stayed rooted for a moment, gazing at the aftermath of their fight before leaping into the air, leaving as quickly as they arrived.
The figure would go on to appear in other areas following this incident in the coming days, saving more people from certain death. They would follow the same pattern every single time. Arriving at a scene, clearing the monsters, gazing around, and then leaving. Never once did the figure hurt a human, only ever hurting the monsters.
It was these moments that returned a sliver of hope to the world and birthed a hero.
~•~
Cha Eui-jae was 16 years old when the world ended for the first time.
Six months had passed since the day he awakened, and he had somewhat adjusted to his new life. Going from being a regular person to suddenly having superhuman abilities was a big change, but he was doing fine.
Losing his family was… something he tried not to think about too much, or he’d start getting shaky. The loss had left a gaping hole in the middle of his chest that he avoided probing as best as he could, afraid that his chest would collapse in on his heart and crush the fragile pieces that were left.
Everyday he was grateful for his aunt Park Hye-kyung for being his family—they both desperately needed someone to lean on after the losses they suffered. Her presence was like a balm to the everpresent pain he felt in his chest, temporarily alleviating the crushing pressure that would slowly build up. She made the never ending days seem a little shorter—a little more bearable.
Eui-jae was sitting in a helicopter, wearing stiff clothes heading towards another rift that needed to be closed.
He had barely managed to scrub his skin raw in an attempt to remove the lingering blood stains from his skin after dealing with a dungeon, when he got the call about the rift. He had been rushing to dress himself and grabbed the first appropriate outfit in sight, which happened to be the bloodstained ones he had been wearing before showering.
He had hesitated for a single moment before throwing on the bloodied clothes. He could survive the slightly uncomfortable feeling of dried blood for a few hours while he closed the rift—the people in danger couldn’t.
He absentmindedly wondered how many people had gotten hurt in his brief moment of hesitation before getting dressed, but quickly banished the thought—it would help no one. He didn’t have time to drown in self-pity, he would just have to be faster next time.
He clenched his fists and then unclenched them.
He had originally planned to sleep for a couple of hours, but it was fine, he could reschedule. If he could help people then it was his responsibility to do so.
It didn’t matter if he didn’t have as much time to eat or sleep as he used to before he awakened if it meant that he could save someone from dying. No one had time for anything anymore anyways, so it wasn’t like he was special for being a little hungry or tired. He actually had it better than most people! He had his aunt—even if they didn’t see each other as much as they wanted—and he could get access to meals (somewhat) regularly!
Besides, it wouldn’t be like this permanently. He just had to hold on and do his part until the country stabilised more, and then he could catch up on sleep and other stuff—like friends and social stuff.
The helicopter jostled, and Eui-jae found himself suppressing yet another flinch as a sharp pain made itself known in his stomach.
The hunger pains were actually quite easy to ignore once you got used to it, but it was slightly harder when you added on the aching muscles and the heavy eyelids from a few too many hours wrangling monsters in dungeons.
Eui-jae fleetingly thought about curling up on the cramped surface of his seat and just lying down for a while to get rid of the growing weight of his eyelids, but quickly discarded the thought again. I still have a job to do after all.
Besides, there were still people around him and an open rift to close. He was still working, so he couldn’t show any form of weakness or signs of fatigue.
Ham Seok-jeong had explained it to him already. The people needed someone strong and reliable to look towards so they wouldn’t get uneasy and do something hasty and dangerous—like wander into a dungeon or deal with a rift alone. Why go into a dungeon or rift when J can just deal with them all alone, right? If he could be the symbol that helped to stop people from dying, then he could make a few sacrifices for their survival.
Eui-jae let out a soft sigh as he slowly closed his eyes and untensed his shoulders, slightly sinking into the hard seat and shifting his body a bit, trying to get comfortable on the cold surface. I can sleep later when I get home…
When the helicopter eventually landed close to the rift thirty or so minutes later, Eui-jae opened his eyes and focused on his surroundings, taking a deep and steadying breath.
I need to protect people, or I’ll never be able to live with myself.
He might not know a lot about what was going on in the world, but that— that he at least knew for certain in his heart. It was with this conviction in mind that J rose from his cold and uncomfortable seat and stepped out of the helicopter with his back straightened and determination filling his body.
If he had learned anything these past six months, it was how to fight against monsters and win.
~•~
The Awakened Management Bureau was an organisation that had been formed to help establish stability in the country. For Hunter J, it meant having a place telling him where to go and what to do. It was a necessary development to establish peace in the future.
Eui-jae was currently on his way to their headquarters to meet with the director as Hunter J.
There was another S-grade awakened in the country now. His name was Jung Bin, and he was apparently in the police academy before awakening.
Eui-jae hadn’t met him yet, but he was secretly relieved that he wasn’t the only S-grade hunter in the country anymore. He had been feeling a little stressed lately. The thought of his burden potentially being lightened brought a smile to his lips. His body didn’t feel as heavy anymore, as he thought of an ally to help him with the endless dungeons and rifts.
It would be good with more strong people, Eui-jae thought to himself as he strode past buildings and people.
His bright mood contrasted the dark alleys and sidewalks he walked along to avoid attention. The Bureau didn’t have the resources to always send a car to pick up Hunter J, so he had to walk sometimes. It was fine, Eui-jae had enjoyed going on walks before awakening.
While he walked, he noted with a quiet contentment how the buildings, and the surrounding area hadn’t gained any new damage since his last visit. Although there weren’t any children on the playgrounds, there weren’t any dead bodies either.
The country was slowly returning to something that could be called normal, and he was helping. One day peace would arrive, and he could go to school again, meet new people, get a job, and live quietly.
Eui-jae would give his all to fulfil that dream, and Jung Bin was someone who could help him.
When he arrived at the newly repurposed building that now worked as the headquarters for the Awakened Management Bureau and pushed the doors open, a hush immediately fell in the building, creating a tense atmosphere as the workers inside tensed. Eui-jae felt the prickling stares of the people dig into his back, as they followed his every movement.
He heard some gasps from the new employees while others frantically shushed them, scared to offend or startle the S-grade hunter. Eui-jae didn’t acknowledge any of them and walked across the clean floors towards the stairs, ignoring the hushed whispers that always seemed to follow him.
He still wasn’t used to the stares that would follow his back whenever he had the mask on. The amount of attention focused solely on him made his skin prickle and made his muscles feel all jittery and tense.
His aunt had told him that they only stared out of admiration, like he was some kind of superhero from a comic book.
Eui-jae didn’t really believe it—he wasn’t a hero or anything special. He was just doing what anyone would’ve done in his situation. He had the power to help, and he had a responsibility to use that power to do it, and so he did. It was simple. Anything else would have been selfish. He couldn’t ignore his responsibilities just because he was feeling a little overwhelmed or anxious. Besides, a real hero never lost and always managed to save everyone, unlike him. So he really wasn’t much of anything. Especially not a hero.
But enough of that, Cha Eui-jae was here to hopefully meet a potential ally who could help him save people and achieve peace. He cast away his jumbled thoughts and cleared his mind, speeding up and walking resolutely until the director’s office was in sight.
Standing face to face with the door, Eui-jae hesitated. He took a steadying breath in, taking a moment to calm his nerves, and let it rush out of his mouth again.
The director had always scared him a bit. Even though he knew logically that he was stronger, he still felt uneasy every time he was in her presence. It was as if she could read his mind with her sharp eyes.
He fought back his nerves and raised his arm to gently knock on the wooden frame with his scarred knuckles, being extra mindful of his enhanced strength.
It was mostly just to be polite that he knocked. Knowing the director, she had probably already predicted his exact arrival, but Eui-jae was raised right, and he would rather be caught dead than acting impolite.
He may be strong now, but he would still respect his elders!
(At least when they deserved the respect. He had long since seen the ugly side to adults by now. One too many rogue and violent awakened adults had caused trouble already. He shuddered and cast the memories away in a little box, trying to relax his nerves while he waited patiently outside the door.)
Eui-jae stood patiently until he heard a voice from inside telling him to come in. He opened the door with slight anticipation and apprehension filling him.
The sight of the director’s office greeted him, and he saw Ham Seok-jeong with who he assumed was Jung Bin based on the presence the man held. Ham Seok-jeong was seated behind her desk with Jung Bin sitting on the other side of the table in a chair.
He had blond hair and kind features that shone as he smiled with bright determined eyes. As he looked at Eui-jae his smile faltered slightly and his expression lost some of its shine. Something unreadable flickered across his eyes for a second before his expression smoothed out and settled into the nice smile again. Something in Eui-jae’s chest tightened at the flickering emotions on Jung Bin’s face. Had he done something wrong? Was he disappointed?
Eui-jae turned his head away from the other S-grade hunter to gently close the door and step further into the office. Ham Seok-jeong turned her eyes away from where they had been resting on Jung Bin and looked towards Eui-jae.
“J, it’s good to see you.” Ham Seok-jeong gave a nod in greeting. “Take a seat.” She gestured to the chair beside Jung Bin.
Eui-jae walked towards the chair and sat down in it. They had a meeting to get to.
~•~
Only when Hunter J eventually left the office to answer a call about another rift, did Jung Bin let his smile fall. He turned his head sharply towards the director with thinly veiled accusation behind his fiery eyes. His tone was firm when he spoke.
“He’s just a child.”
J was much younger than he had first thought. It was obvious by his figure and the youthful energy that surrounded him. He can’t be any older than 18…
The director met the accusation head on and didn’t break eye contact as she gazed at Jung Bin with a cool expression. “He’s the only one we have right now who can do anything about these dungeons and rifts,” she started. “Hunter J may not be an adult legally yet, but he is incredibly valuable to our country's stability and we can’t afford to not use him.” Her steady tone left no room for any arguments and her squared shoulders showed no signs of backing down.
A few seconds passed in tense silence before the director broke it by letting out a tired sigh. Some of the steel left her shoulders as she brought a hand up to rub at her temple. “If I could take his power I would do it in a heartbeat.” She removed her hand from her temple and continued speaking with a softer tone. “He’s a good kid. The only thing we can do is support him as best as we can.”
Jung Bin bit his lip. The director looked genuine, and when he gazed in her slightly haunted eyes, he could see that she was serious. There were no traces of guilt to be sensed in the director, the only thing there being a twisted form of determination.
She wouldn’t let Hunter J go while the country was still so unstable.
Jung Bin wanted to protest the exploitation of the literal child , but found his mouth empty of any words. He couldn’t argue with the director’s logic. J truly was the most valuable asset they had right now. The peace that they had achieved was only possible because of J.
The realization that the strongest hunter who had been protecting so many people was a child— and wow, he really is just a child isn’t he? —crushed him. The world really wasn’t fair at all.
Jung Bin felt winded, like he had just discovered something truly terrible—and wasn’t this just terrible? He felt helpless.
Had the great Hunter J always seemed so exhausted?
He had tried his best to conceal his worry and surprise when he first saw J, but it was hard when it was so obvious that the younger hunter was being severely overworked. He felt conflicted, but his next step was obvious. He couldn’t ignore this discovery.
He could only do his best to try and bear some of that responsibility that pushed down on J’s shoulders and pray that his presence would make a difference in lifting some of that burden.