By Zephyria Day of Change
Many people’s screams were tangled messily. But there wasn’t even the mental space to properly hear them. His feet kicked off the ground incessantly. His breath hitched rapidly. His heart, pushed to its limit, pounded as if it would burst. He couldn’t stop, even as nausea churned within him.
Kwaang—!!
The ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck. He lost his balance and staggered. A massive cracking sound echoed from right behind him. Sharp screams continued to be buried beneath it. It was a moment when he couldn’t help but look back, even though he knew he shouldn’t. Curiosity won over fear.
And,
“Aaaagh!”
A giant fist flew straight at him. The man screamed and hurriedly rolled away. He was covered in dirt and ash, but that wasn’t what mattered. Thump! The lost fist slammed into the middle of the pavement.
Ggrrr, the giant Golem’s head slowly turned towards him. A massive shadow covered the man’s head.
The man squeezed his eyes shut. Tears streamed down his face involuntarily.
‘I shouldn’t have looked back, I should have taken another route, no, I just shouldn’t have left the house today.’
His thoughts didn’t extend any further. The man curled up, praying that the approaching pain would be brief.
At that moment,
Fwooosh! Thwack!
Instead of the pain he had braced himself for, he heard the sound of something being pierced. The man abruptly lifted his head. The Golem was frozen in place with its fist outstretched, but something was sticking out from the center of its chest. The end was blunt, and it was covered in black plastic…
‘…An umbrella?’
Incredibly, what had pierced the Golem’s heart looked like an ordinary black umbrella sold at convenience stores.
The man gaped, watching the umbrella disappear after leaving a round hole in the Golem. A glimpse of a black figure riding on the Golem’s shoulder near where it had stopped moving. He could tell at a glance that it was a handsome young man.
The black figure raised the stick in his hand—
Thwack!
And struck the Golem’s head.
Soon, the Golem’s body, which had been tilting precariously, slowly collapsed, and a thick cloud of dust rose. Coughing sounds could be heard from here and there. How much time had passed? Just as his vision cleared, the man craned his neck and looked around, but the black figure had already disappeared. He felt like he had been possessed by a ghost.
Soon, several footsteps approached. They were Hunters wearing fluorescent vests. One of the Hunters approached the man, who was still sitting on the ground.
“We’re from the Rift Management Bureau. Are you alright?”
“…J was.”
“Pardon?”
At the mumbled reply, the Hunter asked back, puzzled, and the man answered loudly once more.
“It was J!”
“They wore a mask so I couldn’t see their face, but it seemed like J, they disappeared too quickly so I couldn’t see properly, but anyway it seemed like J… It was all black so I couldn’t see properly, but it must have been J… Why are all the testimonies like this?”
The Hunter, who was reading the written testimony, shrugged and turned off the tablet screen. The fluorescent ‘Safe+ty’ armband on his arm moved along with him.
“All the witnesses’ testimonies are like this. They disappeared too quickly, so they couldn’t see properly. At least it’s consistent.”
Another Hunter, who was squatting in front of the Golem, propped up his chin and replied.
“Judging by the clean skill of piercing just the core, it seems like it was J. Did they pierce it with a spear?”
“Um, according to the testimony… they pierced it with an umbrella.”
“What is this, a verse from a hymn? Did they use Instant movement technique too?”
“It was a moment of desperation… It could be the witness’s mistake.”
Clap, at that moment, a sharp clapping sound stole everyone’s attention. The source of the sound was a woman wearing a fluorescent vest over a white shirt. It was A-rank Hunter Yang Hye-jin from the Rift Management Bureau.
“Stop chattering. What about the witnesses?”
“Yes! We guided them to a nearby shelter because of the risk of additional Monster appearances.”
“Good job. Then control the perimeter and clear away the Golem first. Appearing in the middle of the sidewalk and causing a ruckus, a ruckus.”
Tsk, she clicked her tongue, put her hands in her pockets, and jumped onto the collapsed Golem.
A wind mixed with white ash blew. The fluorescent safety vest fluttered along with it. The fallen Golem had collapsed with the center of its square head caved in. But somehow, the shape…
“…What is this?”
She felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Why was it so familiar? It was a shape she felt like she had definitely seen somewhere. Yang Hye-jin frowned and stared intently at the head, even trying to wedge her hand into the caved-in gap. A Hunter who was controlling the perimeter poked his head in.
“Senior, they say the Golem will be transferred to the Seowon Guild. They requested a transfer for research purposes.”
“Perfect timing. Rookie, why does this look so familiar to me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This head.”
Recently, not only the Awakened Management Bureau but also the Rift Management Bureau had been suffering from a shortage of manpower. Thanks to this, the rookie, who still hadn’t escaped being the maknae, stood on tiptoe and examined the head. Yang Hye-jin muttered seriously.
“I definitely feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”
“…Is that so? I don’t know.”
“Really? Ah, what is it?”
Yang Hye-jin ruffled her hair in annoyance. At that moment, beep beep, the walkie-talkie hanging from her waist rang. A Hunter who was repairing the damaged area shouted.
“Senior! Team 2 is requesting support!”
“Ugh….”
“Ah, Field Support Team 1 is going.”
“Yes! Jung-bin Hunter is the best.”
Hye-jin, who answered listlessly, put the walkie-talkie to her ear. Come to think of it, the surrounding scenery was familiar. If she went down that alley, there was her favorite Hanover Soup Restaurant. Although it had suddenly closed…
Thinking about it made her even more depressed. She missed the spicy broth, the tender meat, and the fragrant perilla seed powder. Not only was the taste good, but the part-timer was also good at their job. Their neat face flickered in her mind. It had only been three months since she had seen them, but their features were a bit blurred.
Regulars had cooperated to confirm the safety of the Master Grandmother and her granddaughter. But the part-timer had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of them anywhere.
‘I hope they’re safe and sound.’
The fact that it had closed right after ‘that day’ made it impossible not to worry. Yang Hye-jin muttered weakly.
“Ah, I really want Hangover Soup with soju…”
“S-Senior, the walkie-talkie is on.”
“What? Ah, damn it!”
Three months ago. The Black Hole that had been in the sky since the Day of the Rift turned white, and a giant whale appeared through the gap. The media gave the day the whale appeared in the sky a name.
‘Day of Change.’
It was quite a grand name. Some called it the Day of Bleaching with a bit of humor.
Fortunately, the Day of Change was not as damaging as the Day of the Rift.
The frequency of falling objects from the hole gradually decreased, and after J defeated the whale, no Monster as large as that appeared. Of course, compared to the past, unobserved Rifts and Monsters appeared more frequently, but people quickly adapted to the changes, having already experienced it once.
Thus, the seasons changed, and spring arrived, with the ground melting after winter. However, people didn’t feel the spring as much as before. Not because of yellow dust or fine dust, but…
“I can’t wear black clothes anymore, now.”
Because of the white ash falling from the sky like snow.
People began to call the giant hole in the sky a Whitehole.
News footage was playing on a screen installed on top of a building.
—Mok Taeo, the Guild Master of the HB Guild, stated that he would prioritize the safety of the people, and Song Jo-heon, the Guild Master of the Samra Guild, also announced that he would cooperate with the HB Guild to overcome the crisis…
—Meanwhile, Lee Sa-young, the Guild Master of the Wave Guild, is still missing. The Wave Guild is maintaining its existing position that Lee Sa-young Guild Master cannot appear in public due to health problems. In the current situation where the frequency of unobserved Rifts is increasing, the voice of anxiety is growing because Hunter Lee Sa-young, who is ranked 2nd, has not appeared…
Beep beep, a mechanical sound mixed in between the anchor’s neat voice.
—Rift observed in Sinwol 5-dong, Yangcheon-gu, requesting response from teams capable of providing support.
—Field Response Team 1 is moving.
—Confirmed.
“Oh.”
On the rooftop of a building covered with thick green waterproof paint, a large black umbrella was spread wide open. Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo, who was crouching in the shade created by the black umbrella and holding a walkie-talkie to his ear, exclaimed in admiration. He carefully adjusted the channel on the walkie-talkie and said.
“We don’t have to worry about this side. Let’s look for another place.”
Beep beep, the walkie-talkie rang once more.
—Ah, I really want Hangover Soup with soju…
—S-Senior…
Hangover Soup. The black eyes behind the sunglasses glanced towards the railing. A handsome man in a black jacket was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed, his head slightly lowered. His face was not visible. Because a black mask without even eyeholes was covering his entire face.
As the wind blew, his gray hair fluttered lightly. It resembled the color of the cloudy sky. Min-gi Seo suddenly asked.
“Are you not going to dye your hair anymore?”
“Is there a need to…”
A lukewarm answer returned. It seemed like an unwelcome topic. Min-gi Seo pretended to be listening to the walkie-talkie and changed the subject.
“By the way… it’s getting harder to stop the rumors. The pressure from the Samra Guild and the HB Guild has been severe recently. The vice-guild master is pretending not to notice and fending them off, but I don’t know how long they can hold out…”
“Isn’t it not pretending and actually not noticing?”
“Well, that’s true.”
A half-burnt cigarette was held between his firm fingers. A shadow rose from under his feet and transformed into a round bowl shape. His finger flicked the cigarette ash into the shadow bowl.
“It seems like they’re trying to take the top Guild spot for sure this time.”
“Oh, please…”
A voice, altered to be unidentifiable, muttered.
“They should look before they leap.”
A small displeasure settled at the end of the dry voice. Min-gi Seo didn’t answer immediately and glanced at the sky. The scattering ash was gradually stopping.
“Should we just call it a day and go back?”
The gray head moved slowly up and down. Min-gi Seo picked up the umbrella and stood up.
“Do you have to use that umbrella?”
“I don’t want ash on my suit. And didn’t the umbrella play a big role today?”
“…That’s true.”
The shadow slowly swallowed his shoes.
“Then I’ll escort you to the door, customer. And say hello for me.”
The man wearing the mask pressed the end of the smoking cigarette between his thumb and forefinger. As if he couldn’t feel the heat, there was no hesitation in his movements. No trace remained on the fingers where the embers had died out.
“I will.”
Only a bit of cigarette ash remained.
Before he knew it, the man was standing in the entrance of a bleak and dark house. After taking off his dusty shoes, he opened the inner door and stared at the long hallway stretching out in front of him. It was dark and silent here. A voice, altered, spoke casually, cutting through the desolate space.
“I’m home.”
No answer returned. But the man was used to greetings without replies. Fortunately.
His feet moved silently, heading to the deepest part of the house. He opened a tightly closed door. Darkness greeted him. Along with a small breath.
Click, he pressed a button, and a soft reddish-orange night light turned on. The bed was already occupied. Curly black hair was scattered across the pillow.
A firm hand grabbed the black mask and took it off. Soon, a neat but sharp face like a well-honed knife was revealed. J, Cha Eui-jae, grabbed the headboard of the bed and lowered his head, quietly gazing at the face of the person lying on the bed. An affectionate voice that couldn’t be hidden squeezed out between his dry lips.
“I’m back.”
Three months had passed since the ‘Day of Change,’ and many things had changed.
But Lee Sa-young was still asleep, unchanged.
From that day on, continuously.