Three Weeks Later
Yongsan High School had developed a new favorite pastime: speculating about Park Seoyeon and Kang Jihoon.
The rumors had started small—whispers about the Student Council President spending unusual amounts of time with the mysterious transfer student. Then someone spotted them leaving school together. Another student saw them at a convenience store, looking "too comfortable." A third swore they'd seen them entering the same apartment building.
By week two, the gossip had metastasized into full-blown relationship theories.
"I heard they're childhood friends who reconnected."
"No way. Apparently they met at middle school displacement."
"My cousin says Park Seoyeon's family took him in as charity."
"That's not charity. That's dating."
Jihoon tried to ignore it. He attended classes, took notes, submitted assignments, and played the role of a normal student recovering from trauma. His test scores were perfect—too perfect, actually, which earned him suspicious looks from teachers who wondered how a student displaced for years could retain such flawless academic knowledge.
"You need to get some answers wrong," Seoyeon had advised after his third consecutive 100% on a math exam. "Normal students make mistakes."
So Jihoon started deliberately missing questions. It felt wrong, like fighting with his non-dominant hand, but it made him blend in better.
The rumors, though. Those were harder to manage.
It didn't help that they walked home together every day. Or that Seoyeon occasionally brought him lunch. Or that everyone had seen her defend him from Go Minseok twice now.
"People think we're dating," Jihoon said one afternoon as they walked through the hallway between classes.
"I know." Seoyeon kept her expression neutral, aware of the eyes tracking them. "Just ignore it. Rumors die down eventually."
"Do they?"
"In my experience? Not really. But we can pretend they do."
A group of girls giggled as they passed. A boy from Jihoon's class gave him a thumbs up that somehow managed to be both supportive and envious. Go Minseok, leaning against a locker with his friends, glared with undisguised hostility.
"Your admirer looks upset," Jihoon noted.
"Minseok has an inferiority complex the size of Seoul," Seoyeon said quietly. "He thinks everyone is either above him or beneath him. You're in the weird middle category—someone he can't categorize, which makes him angry."
"Should I be worried?"
"Probably. He's been bragging lately about getting scouted by a major guild. It's made his ego worse."
They reached Seoyeon's classroom, and she paused at the door. "Try not to antagonize him. We're at forty-one days until—" She caught herself, glancing around. "Until you know what. Can't afford complications."
"I'll be careful."
"You say that, but your version of careful involves taking beatings without flinching."
"I'm working on it."
Seoyeon rolled her eyes and disappeared into her classroom, leaving Jihoon to navigate the last period of the day alone.
The attack came during the final period break.
Jihoon was at his locker, organizing textbooks, when he felt the familiar prickle of hostile intent. Seven years in the Void had honed his danger sense to a razor's edge—he could feel aggression the way normal people felt temperature changes.
Go Minseok was approaching. His two friends flanked him as always, and several other students had started gathering—the way crowds did when they sensed violence coming.
"Yo transfer student," Minseok called out. "We need to talk."
Jihoon closed his locker slowly. "About?"
"About you and President Park." Minseok stopped a few paces away, arms crossed. "I've been watching you. The way she looks at you. The way you're always together. You know what I think?"
"I don't, actually."
"I think you're playing her. Pretending to be weak so she feels sorry for you. Appealing to her motherly instincts or whatever." Minseok's voice was rising, attracting more attention. "You're not some traumatized victim. You're Awakened. Probably C-rank, maybe higher. And you're hiding it to manipulate her."
Murmurs rippled through the gathering crowd.
"That's quite a theory," Jihoon said calmly. "But you're wrong."
"Am I? Then prove it."
"I don't have to prove anything to you."
"Because you're hiding something!" Minseok stepped closer, his mana starting to leak out—a D-rank Awakener's attempt at intimidation. "Tanked my punch last week like it was nothing. You took a beating without bruising. Normal people don't do that. Even C-rank tanks show damage."
Jihoon said nothing. Responding would only escalate this.
"You think you're so smart," Minseok continued. "Playing the mysterious transfer student. Getting close to the most desirable girl in school. But I see through it. You've got an ego. You think you're better than everyone else—"
"I really don't."
"—and you're using her for status. Well, guess what? It stops now." Minseok cracked his knuckles, and Jihoon saw the telltale earthen shimmer of an Earth Affinity skill activating. "Let's see how tough you really are."
The punch came fast—D-rank speed enhanced by mana.
Jihoon sidestepped.
Another punch. Jihoon swayed back, letting it pass by his face.
A kick. Jihoon pivoted, avoiding it by centimeters.
The crowd was murmuring now, phones out, recording. This was entertainment. Drama. The kind of thing that would be all over social media in minutes.
"Stop dodging!" Minseok's frustration was mounting. "Fight back!"
"No," Jihoon said simply.
"Why not? Scared?"
"Something like that." Well I am scared.... of putting him in the ICU by accident.
Minseok threw a combination—left jab, right cross, low kick. Jihoon avoided all three with minimal movement, his body operating on instincts carved by seven years of combat. In the Void, dodging wrong meant death. Here, it just meant looking suspicious.
"He's definitely Awakened," someone in the crowd whispered.
"Look at those reflexes—"
"No way that's normal—"
Minseok was breathing hard now, more from frustration than exertion. "Stand still and fight me like a man!"
"I don't want to fight you."
"Because you know you'll lose!"
"If I say I loose will you leave me alone?."
The patronizing tone was apparently the last straw. Minseok's face went red, and he charged—a straightforward tackle boosted by Earth Affinity strength.
Jihoon sidestepped again, and Minseok crashed into the lockers with a metallic bang.
The crowd winced. Someone laughed. Minseok's humiliation was now complete.
"That's enough."
Park Seoyeon's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. She stood at the edge of the crowd, still in her Student Council President mode, but her expression was thunderous.
"Minseok, attacking another student on school grounds is a violation of code seven-point-three. That's an automatic three-day suspension and a mark on your hunter academy applications." She pulled out her phone. "I'm reporting this to the faculty office now."
"President, wait—" Minseok stumbled forward. "He provoked me! He's been—"
"He's been standing at his locker while you threw punches at him. I saw the whole thing." Seoyeon's tone was ice. "Disperse. Now. All of you."
The crowd scattered like startled birds. Minseok stood there, face red, fists clenched, looking between Seoyeon and Jihoon with pure hatred.
"This isn't over," he said to Jihoon.
"It really should be," Jihoon replied.
Minseok stalked off, his friends trailing behind. The hallway emptied quickly, leaving just Seoyeon and Jihoon.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"Fine. Didn't get hit."
"I noticed. Your dodging was... impressive. Too impressive." She glanced around to make sure they were alone. "People are going to talk."
"They're already talking."
"This will make it worse. 'Mysterious transfer student dodges D-rank Awakener's attacks with perfect reflexes.' That's suspicious, Jihoon."
"What was I supposed to do? Let him hit me again?"
"Yes, actually. Take a few hits, go down, play the victim." Seoyeon pinched the bridge of her nose. "Now everyone's going to think you're some hidden powerhouse."
"Is that better or worse?."
"It draws attention. The exact opposite of what we need." She started walking, and Jihoon fell into step beside her. "Just... try to be less obviously superhuman. Please?"
"I'll work on it."
The next day, the rumors had evolved.
"Did you see that video? The transfer student dodged like ten attacks in a row."
"Someone said he's actually a B-rank Awakener in hiding."
"No way. If he was B-rank, he'd probably have taken over the school by now."
"Maybe he's doing that thing where talented Awakeners hide their power to live normal lives?"
"That's stupid. Who would hide being powerful?"
Jihoon kept his head down and tried to focus on classwork. The attention was exhausting—far more draining than actual combat. At least in the Void, threats were straightforward. Here, every interaction was mined with social implications he didn't fully understand.
Lunch period found him on the roof, alone, eating a convenience store sandwich and watching the city skyline. Forty-one days until Void Touch consumed him. They still hadn't found an S-rank priest willing to treat him—most were affiliated with guilds or the government, and approaching them meant revealing himself.
He was running out of time.
The roof door opened. Jihoon tensed, but it was just Seoyeon.
"You need to stop hiding up here," she said, sitting beside him. "It makes you look antisocial."
"I am antisocial."
"Fair. But you could at least pretend." She pulled out her own lunch—a proper bento, homemade. "I talked to one of my mom's contacts. There's an S-rank priest named Father Matthew who does freelance healing. He might be willing to help."
"Might?"
"He's expensive. Fifty million won for a consultation. More if the treatment is complex."
Jihoon felt his stomach sink. "I don't have that kind of money."
"I know. But you could earn it. There's a B-rank gate opening this weekend. My team needs an extra member for the clear. You'd get a share of the loot—probably ten to fifteen million won if we're lucky."
"You want me to raid a gate?"
"You've survived the Void. A B-rank gate should be easy." Seoyeon took a bite of rice. "Unless you think you can't handle it with your reduced stats?"
"I can handle it. But won't your team ask questions?"
"I'll tell them you're a C-rank friend who needs experience. They won't pry." She looked at him seriously. "We need that money, Jihoon. Forty-one days isn't a lot of time."
He was about to respond when the roof door slammed open again.
Go Minseok stood there, breathing hard, his two friends behind him. His expression was manic—the look of someone who'd worked himself into a rage and needed an outlet.
"There you are," Minseok said. "Running away to the roof. How pathetic."
Seoyeon stood up immediately, placing herself slightly in front of Jihoon. "Minseok, you're suspended. You shouldn't even be on school grounds."
"Suspension starts counting tomorrow. Right now, I'm still a student." His eyes locked on Jihoon. "And I have something to say to your boyfriend."
"He's not my—"
"Save it, President. Everyone knows." Minseok took a step forward. "You know what I figured out? He's not pretending to be weak. He IS weak. Those dodges yesterday? Pure luck. Reflexes from all that run and hide in the dungeon he was displaced in, maybe, but no real power behind them. He's playing you, Seoyeon. Making you think he needs protection so you'll keep him around."
Jihoon stood up slowly. "You're wrong."
"Am I?"
"I don't have to prove anything—"
"Because you CAN'T!" Minseok's voice echoed across the roof. "You're a fraud. A nobody who got lucky with some time dilation and now you're leeching off the Student Council President's kindness. Well, I'm done watching it."
He started walking forward. Seoyeon moved to intercept, but Minseok was faster—he feinted toward her, then pivoted sharply, his fist already moving toward Jihoon's exposed back.
A sucker punch. Coward's tactic.
Jihoon's body reacted before his brain caught up.
Seven years of fighting things that attacked from every angle. Seven years where turning your back meant death. Seven years where instinct was the only thing between survival and dissolution.
His hand snapped up and caught Minseok's fist mid-swing.
The impact made a sharp crack sound—not bones breaking, but the compression of air between palm and knuckles. Jihoon's fingers wrapped around Minseok's fist completely, stopping the punch cold.
Silence.
Total, absolute silence.
"Holy shit," one of Minseok's friends whispered.
"He caught it—"
"Did you see how fast—"
Jihoon stood there, still holding Minseok's fist, his face carefully neutral. Inside, his mind was screaming. You idiot. You just revealed yourself. You promised to stay hidden. You promised not to cause problems.
But his body had moved on its own. Void-trained reflexes didn't care about staying undercover.
"Let go," Minseok said, his voice strained. He was trying to pull his fist back, but Jihoon's grip was iron.
Jihoon released him and stepped back. "Sorry. Reflex."
"Reflex?" Minseok flexed his hand, staring at the red marks where Jihoon's fingers had been. "That was... how did you..."
He trailed off, looking at Jihoon with new eyes. Calculating. Reassessing.
Then his gaze shifted to Seoyeon, and something in his expression changed. She was staring at Jihoon—not with admiration or relief, but with clear annoyance. You idiot was written all over her face.
But Minseok misread it completely.
"Oh," he said slowly. "Oh, I get it now. You're mad at ME. You think I attacked him unfairly." A smile spread across his face—triumphant, vindicated. "You're defending him. Even now. Even after he just proved he's been hiding his strength this whole time."
"Minseok—" Seoyeon started.
"No, it's fine. I understand. You don't want to see him for what he really is. That's okay." Minseok straightened up, his confidence flooding back. "But before you make any more mistakes, you should know something. I've been scouted."
"What?"
"By Shadow Blade Guild. One of the top five guilds in Korea. Founded and run by Kim Jaehyun—one of the Seven Heroes." Minseok's chest puffed up with pride. "They saw my potential. Offered me a recruit position starting next month. Full training, equipment stipend, and a direct line to Hero Jaehyun himself."
The world seemed to narrow.
Kim Jaehyun. Hero #4. The quiet one with the daggers. The one who'd walked through that portal without looking back.
"So here's what's going to happen," Minseok continued, oblivious to the shift in atmosphere. "Your boyfriend here is going to stay away from you. Because if he doesn't, if he touches me, if he even looks at me wrong, I'll tell the shadow blade guild. And Shadow Blade doesn't take kindly to people attacking their recruits. They'll send people. Strong people. And your little C-rank tank act won't save you."
He stepped closer to Jihoon, lowering his voice to what he probably thought was menacing. "I'm a recruit now. Just so you know I know him personally. So think very carefully about what you do next."
The name.
The guild.
The connection to one of them.
Something inside Jihoon snapped.
Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just a quiet, cold breaking—like ice forming over still water.
His jovial expression—the mask of a normal student trying to fit in—vanished. Disappeared like it had never existed.
What replaced it was something else entirely.
Empty eyes. Flat affect. The face of someone who'd spent seven years in a place where mercy didn't exist and survival was the only truth.
The face of the Void.
Minseok's words died in his throat. He actually took a step back, his confident smirk faltering.
"Jihoon," Seoyeon said quietly. Urgently. "Jihoon, don't."
But Jihoon wasn't looking at her. He was staring at Minseok with the kind of focus a predator reserves for prey—absolute, clinical, devoid of humanity.
"Kim Jaehyun," Jihoon said. His voice was wrong. Too calm. Too empty. "You know him."
"Y-yeah. So what?"
"Where is he?"
"What?"
"Where. Is. He." Each word was precise. Measured. "His office. His home. Where does he operate?"
"I'm not telling you—"
Jihoon took a single step forward.
Minseok stumbled backward into his friends, his Earth Affinity mana flickering to life defensively. "Stay back! I'm warning you!"
"Jihoon!" Seoyeon grabbed his arm, and he could hear the fear in her voice. Not fear of him being hurt. Fear of what he was about to do. "Stop. Right now. You promised. You promised you wouldn't cause problems."
Jihoon didn't move. Didn't blink. Just stared at Minseok like he was calculating exactly how many pieces a human body could be separated into.
"Tell me where Jaehyun is," he repeated.
"Fuck you!" Minseok was backing toward the roof door now, his friends already halfway there. "You're insane! I'm reporting this! Shadow Blade will—"
"Shadow Blade..." Jihoon interrupted, "....won't save you."
The certainty in his voice made everyone freeze.
Seoyeon's grip on his arm tightened painfully. "Jihoon. Look at me. Look at me."
Slowly, Jihoon's gaze shifted to her. The emptiness in his eyes made her flinch, but she didn't let go.
"Not here," she said firmly. "Not now. Not like this."
They stared at each other for a long moment. Jihoon's expression didn't change—still that terrible, empty calm—but something behind his eyes shifted. Recognition, maybe. Or restraint.
"Later," Seoyeon said. "We'll handle this later. But right now, you need to leave. Go home. Cool off. Don't do anything stupid."
"But—"
"Go. Home."
Minseok used the distraction to bolt, his friends scrambling after him. The roof door slammed shut, and then it was just Seoyeon and Jihoon.
She released his arm slowly, like she wasn't sure if it was safe to let go.
"What was that?" she asked.
"He knows Jaehyun."
"I heard. But Jihoon, you looked... you looked like you were going to kill him."
"I was considering it."
The blunt honesty made her pale. "You can't. You know you can't. If you hurt him, if you do anything to a Shadow Blade recruit, Jaehyun will investigate. He'll find out about you. Everything will—"
"I know." Jihoon's expression finally shifted—exhaustion replacing the emptiness. "I know. I just... hearing that name. Knowing he's here in Seoul, running a guild, living normally while I..." He trailed off.
"While you're dying from Void Touch with forty-one days left," Seoyeon finished. "I get it. But you can't lose control like that. Not in public. Not when we're this close to finding a solution."
Jihoon looked down at his shoulder. The black veins were more visible now, pulsing with that wrongness that marked him as Void-touched. "You were scared of me?"
"I was scared of what you might do. There's a difference." She stepped closer, her voice gentler. "You survived the Void. You became... how do I put it... less... human. But you're not a monster, Jihoon. Don't let them turn you into one."
"I'm closer to monster than human?"
"You're the kind of monster who eats convenience store sandwiches and tries not to make trouble." She managed a weak smile. "The least threatening monster I've ever met."
"Seoyeon—"
"Go home. I'll handle the fallout here. Tell anyone who asks that you were having a PTSD episode from dungeon trauma. That'll explain the weird behavior."
Jihoon nodded slowly and started toward the door. Then stopped. "Thank you. For stopping me."
"Someone has to. You're clearly bad at stopping yourself."
He almost smiled. Almost.
Then he left, and Seoyeon was alone on the roof with the sinking feeling that things were about to get much, much worse.
In Gangnam, at Shadow Blade Guild headquarters, Kim Jaehyun was reviewing application files when his secretary knocked.
"Sir? There's a call from one of our junior recruits. Go Minseok. He says it's urgent."
Jaehyun frowned. Minseok was a promising D-rank prospect, but hardly important enough to warrant interrupting his schedule. "Put him through."
The call connected. "Hero Jaehyun! Thank god. I need to report something—"
"Calm down, Minseok. What's wrong?"
"There's a student at my school. Transfer student. Kang Jihoon. He just—he threatened me. When I mentioned your name and the guild, he... he looked like he wanted to kill me."
Jaehyun set down his pen. "Threatened you how?"
"He asked where you were. Where you operate. And the way he looked at me... Sir, I've seen veterans with PTSD, but this was different. It was like he wasn't even human."
"Kang Jihoon," Jaehyun repeated, pulling up a search on his computer. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place why. "Did he say anything else?"
"No. The Student Council President stopped him. But sir, I think he might be dangerous. Maybe someone with a grudge against the Heroes? Or—"
"I'll look into it," Jaehyun interrupted. "In the meantime, avoid confrontation. If he approaches you again, call me immediately."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
The call ended. Jaehyun stared at the name on his screen: Kang Jihoon.
Why did that sound familiar?
He pulled up the system notification he'd dismissed weeks ago—the Void signature detected in Seoul. Still present. Still weak. Still in Yongsan district.
Kang Jihoon. Transfer student. Yongsan High School.
Coincidence?
Jaehyun's instincts said no.
He made a note to investigate further and returned to his paperwork.
But something nagged at him. Something about that name.
Kang Jihoon.
Where had he heard it before?
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION - KANG JIHOON]
[VOID TOUCH PROGRESSION: 4% INCREASE]
[EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY DETECTED][WARNING: VOID CORRUPTION ACCELERATES WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS][ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING: 40 DAYS, 8 HOURS]
[ALERT: HEROIC SIGNATURE KIM JAEHYUN NOW ACTIVELY MONITORING VOID SIGNATURE][PROBABILITY OF DISCOVERY: INCREASING]
In her apartment, Seoyeon received a text from Jihoon:
I'm sorry. I lost control. It won't happen again.
She stared at the message for a long time before replying:
It better not. We have 40 days. Don't waste them on revenge we can't afford.
Outside, the sun was setting over Seoul.
And in the shadows, pieces were moving on a board that neither Jihoon nor Seoyeon fully understood.
The mask had slipped.
And now, people were starting to pay attention.