The street was packed.
Hunters. Reporters. Civilians. Cameras.
In the center of it all stood Han Soo-yeon, holding the now-infamous rusted kitchen knife, beaming like she'd just unlocked her protagonist arc.
"Main character energy," she whispered to herself, basking in the attention.
A flood of voices crashed toward her.
"Miss Han, how did it feel to destroy a dimensional gate?!"
"Are you an S-rank awakener? Can we see your stats?!"
"What guild do you belong to?!"
Soo-yeon raised a hand, smiling like a queen about to give a TED Talk.
"Ahem! Everyone calm down—I'll explain everything. It all started—"
She froze mid-sentence.
There he was.
Joon-seok.
Standing at the edge of the crowd like a ghost in a hoodie, calmly watching.
Before she could even process it—
"Miss, would you consider joining our guild?"
Jin Tae-woon, the Sword King of Seoul, stepped forward, his glasses glinting.
Gasps erupted.
"She got invited by the Peace Guild?!"
"She must be an SSS-rank!"
"She's legendary!"
"Tch. Join your guild?" scoffed Kang Hwa-rin, stepping up beside him, flame licking off her fists.
"No way in hell. She belongs with Phoenix!"
"Hold up," Jin snapped. "Don't go poaching just because I spoke first!"
The crowd buzzed louder.
Reporters scrambled. Phones filmed everything.
Soo-yeon blinked, overwhelmed by all of it.
And then—
A warm hand slid into hers.
Joon-seok.
He was beside her, calm as ever.
"Miss Soo-yeon," he said softly.
Her heart dropped.
Oh no. He's going to say something dumb and blow everything—
She pulled him closer, leaned in, and muttered through her teeth:
"Don't. Say. Anything."
He tilted his head.
Jin Tae-woon squinted.
"Who's this kid? And how did he even get here?"
Joon-seok pretended not to hear him.
Turned his head. Looked at a bird.
"..."
"OH?" Kang Hwa-rin laughed suddenly. "This kid's got some nerve."
"You little punk!" Jin clenched his fist. "Are you ignoring me?!"
Soo-yeon sighed, trying to salvage the situation.
"Alright! Fine! Listen up! The knife wasn't mine!"
Everyone went silent.
"It... belonged to a goblin. Yeah! I stole it off one of the monsters!"
Reporters blinked.
"Wait... so you're not an SSS-rank?"
"I just got lucky," she said, forcing a smile. "So no interviews. No guilds. Please go home."
It was a clean exit lie.
A protective lie.
She didn't care about fame anymore—not if it meant endangering Mi-sook or this weird, awkward "Joon-seok."
But Jin Tae-woon wasn't done.
"Then sell the knife to our guild. I'll pay—handsomely."
That's when Joon-seok spoke up.
"How much are you going to pay?"
Jin froze.
Turned.
"Excuse me?"
Joon-seok stepped in front of Soo-yeon.
Calm.
Genuine.
"Money is important. I'd like to trade it for food. Mother said food requires money."
Jin's brow twitched.
"Are you looking down on me, kid?!"
Joon-seok tilted his head.
Why is he angry? I'm trying to be friendly...
Humans respond to warmth... maybe a hug?
He stepped forward.
And hugged him.
Silence.
Dozens of cameras clicked in disbelief.
Hunters stood slack-jawed.
Seo Nari gasped. Kang Hwa-rin dropped her fireball. Even Baek Shi-woo stopped necromancing.
Joon-seok, still hugging the sword king, muttered:
"You're tense. This helps. I read that somewhere."
Jin Tae-woon stood frozen, face turning every shade of offended.
"DID... DID HE JUST—?!"
"Oh my..."
Yoon Mae-ja gently raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, her sharp obsidian eyes narrowing behind her veil.
"I didn't think I'd witness it in real life."
Behind her, Seo Nari clutched her cloak, still rattled from the earlier chaos.
"Witness what, Miss Yoon?"
Yoon Mae-ja spoke softly, as if unveiling an ancient truth:
"I've read... this is what they call boys' love, I suppose."
Then—
BOOOOM.
A wave of pure, explosive Sword King Rage burst from Jin Tae-woon like a pressure bomb.
"NOOOOO!"
The entire crowd screamed.
Reporters scattered.
Civilians sprinted for cover.
Several news drones exploded mid-air from the energy spike.
Soo-yeon rushed in, throwing her arms out protectively in front of Joon-seok, who stood completely calm.
"No, wait! Please—he's not right in the head!"
"Excuse me?" Jin blinked, veins bulging.
"He's... an F-rank! He hit his head really hard and now he's... sick. Amnesia. Trauma! He's a survivor of the Serpent Guild incident!"
The crowd gasped.
That changed everything.
Jin paused. His rage dimmed to a low simmer as he realized the cameras were still rolling.
He took a breath.
Straightened his tie.
Forced the fakest smile in Korea.
"I see... then he should get proper treatment."
He turned to Joon-seok and said in a tone that dripped with corporate PR:
"And next time... don't hug strangers. It's rude."
Then to Soo-yeon:
"Now. About the knife."
Before Soo-yeon could speak, Hwa-rin stepped forward, arms crossed, flame lightly crackling at her fingertips.
"She's not selling it to you."
Jin's eye twitched.
"Excuse me—?"
"Sell it to the Peace Guild," she said flatly, turning to Soo-yeon. "We don't want it. That thing gives me a bad feeling."
She tapped Jin's shoulder smugly.
"Make sure you use it well, Four Eyes."
Then she handed Soo-yeon a small card—sleek, black with a phoenix emblem.
"Join our guild."
Soo-yeon blinked. "I'm not even S-rank..."
Hwa-rin smirked.
"Don't worry. You've got other skills. And thanks—for saving our butts back there."
The rest of the Phoenix Guild gave brief nods of respect before heading back to their vehicles.
Now only the Peace Guild remained.
Jin adjusted his tie one more time, breathing through his nose.
"Alright. Let's talk business."
"How much do you want for the knife?"
Soo-yeon smiled politely.
"I want ₩300 million won."
A pause.
Jin nodded stiffly.
It was steep.
But he knew what was at stake.
"Fine. I'll send it."
And just like that—
The crowd began to break.
The knife deal was done.
But no one—not even Jin Tae-woon—could shake off one thought:
Who the hell was that kid?