Late at night.
The bedroom door opened.
“Good grief…. What on earth is all this noise at this hour?”
Out stepped an elderly woman.
Crash, bang, thud—the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
Shrill shouting.
Someone must have been drinking, she thought.
Even with her poor hearing, it was too loud to sleep through.
The old woman shuffled in her slippers toward the front door.
Zzzzt.
Click.
She rubbed her drowsy eyes and peered out into the hallway.
“Hmm?”
The hallway was dead silent.
Only the cool early-morning air touched the tip of her nose.
“Must be my imagination…”
She muttered to herself and was about to close the door when something made her pause.
The hallway was dark.
She looked up at the ceiling—the light bulb had gone out.
The old woman clicked her tongue and shut the door.
“Oh dear, the hallway light’s out. I’ll have to tell the management office tomorrow…”
Click.
The hallway fell quiet again.
***
Near the apartment complex.
A black van was parked in front of a quiet park.
Black clothes.
Black cap.
Black mask pulled up over the chin.
The man sitting in the driver’s seat was staring at his phone, fighting back a yawn.
*Should be about done by now.*
No word yet.
The plan was for them to contact him within five minutes of going in.
But it had already been over twenty minutes.
*Then again, there’s no real reason to bother checking in every five minutes.*
“Haaah—!”
He finally lost the battle and let out a wide yawn.
*Using six A-rank Hunters for something like this.
Even if it’s the boss’s orders, isn’t this overkill?*
That was his honest opinion.
Moon Dong-hyeon.
Son of Jeong-hyeon, the one the guild members called “Young Master”—he was B-rank in name, but frankly, his skills were nothing to write home about.
He never trained, kept company with drugs and women.
A good-for-nothing who threw his weight around on the back of a high rank he’d lucked into and his father’s fearsome reputation.
That was how the guild members saw the Young Master.
And the lackeys who followed him around were no different.
Every last one of them—worthless trash.
They bossed guild members around like servants or looked down on them at every turn, all because of who they had backing them.
*Getting your life ruined by picking the wrong enemies—that was always going to happen sooner or later.*
Because of all that, even though Dong-hyeon had been killed, the man couldn’t muster even a shred of sympathy.
That was how bad his behavior had been.
The man looked up at the apartment building.
He could see the darkened hallway.
*Haven’t gone in yet?
Or they went in and forgot to check in.*
Just then.
Fwump.
The passenger door swung open.
Well, there we go.
Looked like the leader was back.
“What, did you forget to check in?”
He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned his head toward the passenger seat.
But.
“…?”
Sitting in the passenger seat was a woman he’d never seen before.
White hair.
Horns.
Red eyes.
The corners of her lips curved ever so slightly upward.
“Hi there.”
Whoosh!
His fist shot out immediately.
The best move he could make in that situation.
Tap.
But it was stopped.
By a pair of snow-white index and middle fingers.
“…!”
His eyes went wide.
Not a single tremor.
It was as if all the momentum behind his punch had simply evaporated.
His mind raced.
*What—why is the target here?
Where are the others?
Did they miss each other somehow?*
He forced down the dread crawling up his spine and glared at Da-hong.
“…How are you here?”
Instead of answering, Da-hong smiled and tossed something to him.
Thud.
He caught it reflexively as it flew into his arms.
“Returning this.”
“…?”
A clump of something with hair on it. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
The part he’d grabbed was uneven, lumpy.
He slowly turned the object over.
It was the leader.
Missing everything below the neck.
“Guh—!”
The man lurched backward.
His back slammed into the door with a bang.
Clunk!
The door flew open.
“AAAAAAGH!!”
He tumbled out of the driver’s seat and rolled onto the park ground.
Thump, thump.
The leader’s head—eyes still open—rolled across the asphalt.
Da-hong leaned out from the passenger seat and looked down at him.
“Oh my, be careful.”
Her expression was one of genuine concern.
The man scrambled to his feet.
He was staggering, barely keeping his balance, but he drew his weapon first.
Shhhing.
The weapon folded against the back of his thigh snapped open.
“You crazy bitch—! Get away from me!”
His hands trembled as he leveled the weapon at her.
To behead an A-rank Hunter without a second thought—this was no ordinary fighter.
Looking at the cross-section of the cut: clean, single stroke, no resistance whatsoever.
And her body didn’t have a scratch on it.
Not even a speck of dust.
That meant she’d killed with an overwhelming, absolute difference in power.
*Damn it, is she a villain?*
He and his crew weren’t exactly clean themselves, but nothing like this.
Decapitating someone and acting like that—she had to be completely out of her mind.
At his reaction, Da-hong let out a bored sigh.
“I’ve seen so many like you I’m sick of it. You’re everywhere.”
“What are you talking about—! …Hk.”
“You didn’t come here on your own, did you? Someone sent you.”
Back when Da-hong had been making a name for herself in hell.
There had been a time when demons came for her day after day without rest.
Most of them were underlings of greater demons who’d taken an interest in Da-hong’s power.
Da-hong had sent every last one of them back with only their heads intact.
“…hah…hah.”
Instead of answering, the man’s eyes darted around.
What could he say here to give himself even a slightly better chance of surviving?
If this was some kind of test, the moment he gave up information, his value would disappear.
That psycho woman would decide she had no use for him.
Da-hong watched him work through it all and shrugged.
“Don’t be so scared. I’ll let you live.”
“…?”
He stared at her with suspicious eyes.
“I need someone to deliver a message.”
Da-hong jerked her chin toward the head rolling on the ground.
“…”
“Bring it back nicely, yeah? You understand.”
He swallowed hard and nodded.
“Alright, I’m going. Oh, and—there won’t be a next time?”
Da-hong said that, then actually stepped out of the car and walked away without a fuss.
“…”
Even after Da-hong disappeared, the man kept his guard up, staring into the darkness.
Every nerve in his body was on edge, braced for an attack from behind.
Only after a long while did he finally let out a breath and sink to the ground.
His legs had no strength left, and sweat poured off him like rain.
“Damn it… what the hell did that idiot stir up.”
Thinking he’d just barely escaped with his life, the curses came out on their own.
***
A sunny morning.
Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—
Se-ha opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm.
It was blaring away on the nightstand.
He reached up above his head out of habit before realizing he was on the floor.
“…Ugh.”
Se-ha dragged himself up and turned off the alarm.
The bed was empty.
He scratched his stomach and shuffled out of the bedroom.
A faint scent of coffee tickled his nose.
Da-hong was sitting at the dining table in a white dress shirt, reading a newspaper.
Where did she even get a newspaper.
“You’re up early…”
“Mm, sleep well?”
“Yeah…. …Huh?”
Se-ha was about to walk past Da-hong when he noticed something off.
A white dress shirt?
He spun around.
Da-hong was wearing his shirt—not her suit.
And nothing on the bottom.
The buttons were practically screaming under the strain of her chest.
“Wh—wha—WHAT—!?”
Se-ha let out a sound that couldn’t quite be called words.
Da-hong’s face scrunched into a frown.
“What are you doing this early in the morning? Calisthenics?”
“Who does calisthenics like this! Th-th-that—that’s my shirt!”
Da-hong answered like it was nothing.
“Then you could have said something—! A-and why did you take off the pants!”
“They’re dress pants.”
Da-hong switched which leg was crossed over the other as she spoke.
The space hidden beneath the shirt briefly came into view, and Se-ha slapped both hands over his eyes.
“Then you could’ve at least put on some shorts—!!”
“It’s fine. This is enough.”
“It is NOT fine for me!?”
Se-ha yelped.
Then he noticed the hanger he’d left out yesterday was empty.
“Ah! And that’s the shirt I ironed yesterday! I was going to wear that today—!”
Da-hong stuck out her lower lip.
“What, all this fussing. Fine, if it bothers you that much, I’ll give it back. Here.”
“Wai—WAIT—!”
Da-hong started undoing the buttons on the shirt, and Se-ha bolted back into his room.
Da-hong watched him go and let out a quiet laugh.
No matter when she teased him, this one was genuinely entertaining.
She’d thought becoming a woman’s body would be a nuisance, but to think it would come with this kind of amusement.
It seemed like she wouldn’t be bored for a while, at least.
***
A little while later.
“Here.”
Se-ha came out of his room with a sulky expression and took the shirt.
He clearly wasn’t happy about Da-hong constantly teasing him.
“Is it fun for you, Da-hong? Messing with me?”
“Mm. Incredibly.”
“…”
Se-ha crossed his arms and looked straight up at Da-hong.
“Da-hong.”
“Mm.”
“I’m going to say this seriously.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’m a Summoner. You’re the summon I called.”
“That’s right.”
“So technically, I’m the owner.”
“Hmm.”
“Shouldn’t you listen to what your owner says?”
Da-hong took a sip of coffee and looked at him.
“You want me to call you ‘Master’? That’s a bit perverse.”
“Th-that’s not what I meant—! I mean this! I’m asking you to show me a little respect!”
“Hmm.”
Da-hong stroked her chin and made a noncommittal sound.
“But here’s the thing.”
“Yes.”
“What exactly can you do?”
“…Pardon?”
“Can you dismiss the summon?”
“…”
He couldn’t.
“Can you give me a Forced Command?”
“…”
He didn’t even have the faintest idea how.
Da-hong shrugged.
“You can’t.”
Se-ha’s mouth opened, then closed.
“…That’s…”
“That’s?”
“…”
He had nothing to say.
Da-hong rested her chin in her hand and watched him.
“Anyway! You still need to show me more respect, Da-hong!”
Se-ha said that, then turned sharply on his heel and went back into his room.
He stomped inside, closed the door, and started putting on the shirt.
But the moment he slipped his arm in.
“…”
The shirt was warm.
Of course it was—Da-hong had just been wearing it.
But.
Something faint reached the tip of his nose.
A scent that was unfamiliar, yet somehow felt like he’d caught it somewhere before.
*…?
I didn’t change fabric softeners.*
Se-ha lifted the shirt and brought it to his nose.
A soft, faint scent.
“?”
He was tilting his head, sniffing at the sleeve, when—
“Hey.”
“!!!”
Se-ha whipped around.
Red eyes were looking right at him.
Da-hong grinned.
“Told you. Pervert.”
Se-ha’s face went scarlet.
“N-no! Da-hong! This is—it’s not like that—! It’s a misunderstanding!”
He threw open the bedroom door and ran out.
“Kyaah~ Pervert!”
Se-ha tried desperately to explain himself as Da-hong dodged away from him.
But Da-hong just kept grinning that same grin every time.
For the first time in a very long while, Se-ha thought about how he wanted to disappear off the face of the earth.