Gu Sawon hooked one arm over the railing and looked back at Ji Hayeon.What was that supposed to mean all of a sudden…? Was he asking why he became a hunter?Not every Awakened entered the Central Hunter Bureau or the Research Institute. To join the government as an Awakened, you had to go through a strict exam and procedure. Without that level of resolve, it was easy to fall off the dangerous front line.Especially hunters. Because they endured and broke through difficult processes, most government-affiliated Awakened had a clear reason for joining. And nine out of ten of those reasons were things that weren’t easy to talk about.“Why, you ask.”Sawon must have had a trigger too. But Sawon had no memory of his past. He had forgotten even the reason he joined the Central Hunter Bureau. Even so, he had a certainty that he had to stay here.Unable to answer the question, he returned it as it came.“Then why are you working as a researcher, Chief?”“I…”Ji Hayeon stared straight at Sawon. Sawon leaned more of his weight against the railing as if telling him to keep talking.“…I…”Ji Hayeon couldn’t continue and dropped his head.It felt like something fell from Ji Hayeon’s gaze and rolled sadly across the ground. With him looking down the cliff, it almost felt like he might tip over and fall at any moment.Sawon, suddenly feeling soft-hearted for no reason, waved one hand.“No, forget it. You don’t have to say it.”Ji Hayeon leaned his upper body forward and only turned his head toward Sawon.“Don’t you want to live a normal life? Like the people who didn’t join the Central Hunter Bureau… maybe something like that…”One word hit Sawon in the chest.Normal… living normally…He tried imagining his daily life without being a hunter. Would he eat burgers every morning? What would happen if he ran into a Heukgu like that?Imagination bled into reality.Maybe he would be working at some company. And if a Heukgu opened near the building, he’d just die?The end of Gu Sawon, if he weren’t a hunter, was death. A normal daily life wasn’t supposed to mean death, but for Sawon, imagining that normal was difficult. Maybe because the only life he remembered existed in the moments of being a hunter.Sawon gave a dry smile.“Is it even possible for an Awakened to live normally?”Hearing that answer, Ji Hayeon’s gaze wavered. Looking at him sink like that made Sawon’s ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ chest feel strange. He wanted to comfort him; at the same time he wanted to know why he was even asking questions like this.The thought turned into a new question.“Chief. Do you want to quit being a researcher and live a normal life?”“…If it were possible.”Sawon stepped one pace closer to Ji Hayeon.“What’s living normally for you, Chief?”Ji Hayeon only looked at him again.“What is it? Hm? Say it.”Ji Hayeon’s eyes dropped like they were falling into a cliff. His red lower lip was pressed tight between his teeth. He bit it and released it, then spoke slowly.“For me…”“Squeak!”Then Nine suddenly popped out and jumped onto Ji Hayeon’s shoulder.“Nine!”Using Ji Hayeon’s shoulder as a springboard, Nine leapt off and landed far behind Sawon. The push made Ji Hayeon’s body stagger. His body tilted over the railing, which barely reached waist height.“Hey, hey, careful!”Sawon quickly grabbed Ji Hayeon’s forearm. His palm caught on the Amplifier.Ji Hayeon grimaced at the pain of his arm being pressed against the accessory. Sawon immediately reached out with his other arm and pulled him into his chest.“Wow, that scared me. You okay?”Sawon let Ji Hayeon out of his arms and checked for injuries. And the moment he confirmed he was unhurt, he spun around sharply.“Squeee.”Nine was calmly grooming his fur.“Nine! What do you think you’re doing.”“Eek! Squeee.”But Nine acted like he’d done nothing wrong and ignored Sawon completely. Sawon’s expression hardened.“You, I keep telling you you’re cute and cute, and this is how you act. This is something you really ought to be scolded for.”Only then did Nine look back at Sawon, shoulders slumping. Then he scratched his own butt for no reason.“He causes trouble like that once in a while… Chief, sorry.”“No. It’s fine.”Ji Hayeon rubbed the arm that had been grabbed and turned away. Right then Mok Geonho called out to the two of them.“Gu Sawon! Chief! You buying snacks or not? They say we’re leaving in ten minutes!”Sawon shot Nine a warning glance, then tugged Ji Hayeon by the wrist.“If not now, when are we ever gonna feel like we’re at a rest stop again. Come on, let’s grab everything.”It wasn’t even much force, but Ji Hayeon didn’t resist and simply followed along. Seeing Ji Hayeon follow him so obediently made Sawon’s heart melt for no reason. His emotions that had swelled and darkened just moments ago had somehow calmed.He found it strange how a short conversation with Ji Hayeon could make him sway like waves. But Sawon didn’t think too deeply and let his mind drift as it wanted.Sawon smiled slightly as he asked:“I glanced around while we were coming—there were a ton of interesting vending machines. Hope there’s butter potatoes.”“There are potatoes.”Ji Hayeon answered as if certain.“How do you know? You saw them on the way?”“…Yeah.”For someone who seemed like he would never pay attention to things like that, it was unexpected.“And there’s butter squid too.”“Oh? That’s something I really like.”“…I also saw seasoned squid.”“Wow, I like that even more. Chief, you’re something else. We came together, so when did you see all that?”But Ji Hayeon didn’t answer that part.***The hunters with strong stomachs didn’t care about the sour smell left in the car. They actually ate even more energetically, saying they had to neutralize it.Sawon gave Ji Hayeon the window seat and sat in the middle with his arms folded. The hunter who had been carsick stuck his head out the window and endured the long ride.After switching from the old, leaning van to a small boat that wasn’t much better, they traveled two more hours before the boat finally stopped. Looking down at the destination, Seo Hansu grumbled.“Even with a buoy, no way you’d find this place alone.”The destination was coordinates 52SFG49728 (37.4905°, 130.6654°). Depth of 400 meters in the East Sea. This place was where a problematic Gate lay dormant.Not long after Hinari’s existence was revealed, a fissure on a rock reef in the East Sea turned into a Heukgu. Hunters, unprepared for underwater combat, couldn’t act quickly, and the Heukgu eventually evolved into a Gate.It was the first fissure humanity failed to seal, and the only Heukgu that had become a Gate.“Man… I really hate it here. It’s way too dark.”Mok Geonho shook his head as he looked down at the sea. His expression screamed fed up.Failing to seal the Heukgu was bad luck, but there had been one fortunate thing. The Gate had fused stupidly right onto the rock.Humans got clever. Like scooping ice cream, they carved out the rock with the Gate attached and sank it into the sea. Only after sinking the reef down to 400 meters—where light barely reached—did the Deater appearances stop.After this day, fissures never took root anywhere except suspended in midair, as if they had learned their lesson. The Gate, now the only passage to Hinari, thus ended up sleeping in the deep sea.“Even a normal person would get deep-sea phobia in a place like this…”Researcher Lee Seorim, listening to the hunters complain, rubbed her arms.Deep underwater where no proper light reached, the expedition team had to cross the Gate there. The captain opened the deck floor and pulled out several waterproof bags.“Take these.”The expedition leader this time was Mok Geonho. He handed out the equipment bags and explained.“You all know how to wear the gear. We’ll assist the Research Institute folks. If anyone needs an extra medical kit, speak up.”Mok Geonho glanced at Ji Hayeon and the researchers.“Researchers will move in pairs with one hunter each. Hunter Kim Wujeong.”“Yes.”“You’re paired with Researcher Lee Seorim. And Hunter Seo Hansu.”“Right.”“You team up with Researcher Park Myeongjin. And Hunter Gu Sawon.”Sawon naturally stepped beside Ji Hayeon. Then he tapped Ji Hayeon’s shoulder with the side of his fist. Ji Hayeon flinched hard and pulled away. Mok Geonho looked at Ji Hayeon with sympathetic eyes as he spoke.“Chief, you can move with Gu Sawon.”By then the sunset had faded. No lights were switched on over the growing darkness of the sea. But not only the Awakened on the boat, even the captain, seemed calm as if used to this.Hunters helped their assigned researchers put on their Metena diving suits. Helping Ji Hayeon, of course, was Gu Sawon.As Sawon tightened the strap at Ji Hayeon’s waist, he spoke.“Never been here before, right?”Ji Hayeon quietly nodded. With a click, all the chest belts locked into place. Sawon tugged the chest strap twice and smiled.“Just trust me, Chief. I’ll bring you back without a scratch. Also, there’s something I’ve been meaning to say.”“What?”“When did you sneak that in?”Sawon poked lightly at Ji Hayeon’s pants pocket with his fingertip. Then he brought his lips close to Ji Hayeon’s ear like whispering.“Don’t even think about using what’s in that pocket. Okay?”

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