"I really have to go, there's an elementary school student wandering around outside at this hour. Aren't you concerned about a child wandering the streets alone at this time of night?"

It was a heartbreaking moment that could have been a public service announcement.

Though I couldn't read his mind, I prayed to myself as I looked at the man in the gas mask.

"That's right, I am."

But despite my desperate prayers, the gas mask man's voice was still relaxed, and it sounded like he was telling me that the plan wasn't working. After shaking his head a few times, the gas mask man pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, typed something into it, and waved it in front of me.

"My guys are going to find the kid, so can you wait?"

But I was quick enough to take the next step this time. I shook my head and said firmly, "No, I refuse. I'm going to call the police, I'm going to ask people nearby for help."

"Okay... Then I'll call the Awakening Bureau."

"Why would you call the Bureau?"

"Because the hunters can use their powers to find the child faster than the police. Do you like Jungbin? He'll come if I call him. Do you want me to call him?"

I was at a loss for words at the gas mask's direct answer and then glared at him.

Are you serious?

Seriously?

After quickly reading each other's eyes, I was drained of energy and could no longer fight back. I raised my hands slightly as if I understood.

A hunter who specialized in tracking would have an easier time finding them than the police, as the man with the gas mask said. But that wasn't the only reason why I took a step back, because this guy's offer to call Jungbin didn't sound like an empty gesture.

Judging from the way he'd beaten up some people, the gas mask man must have been registered in the Awakening Bureau's database as a person of interest. I'm sure the law-abiding Jungbin would rush here as soon as he heard about him, which would only make things worse.

Just from our short conversation, I've decided that this bastard in front of me is not to be messed with.

Haa... I sighed deeply and nervously ran a hand through my hair. The clock was ticking, and it seemed like the conversation would never end if they kept talking like this.

"What do you want from me?"

The gas-masked man chuckled slightly at how I'd phrased my question, dropped the deference and asked bluntly. He leaned a little closer and whispered softly.

"I only have two questions."

"..." I tilted my head as if to encourage him.

"First question. Choose."

The man in the gas mask showed a V-shape with straight hands. Thanks to the moonlight, his hand was clearly visible in the darkness. The tips of his pointed fingers were stained black.

Not wanting to prolong the silence, he spoke first, despite the unevenness of his gas mask.

"First, the pan is an S-class weapon, unknown to the world. Is that true?"

The 6,900 won ladle's elevated status, it's crazy....

I can't believe you put the ladle up like that just because it got rid of that thorn. The gas mask man was more naive than I thought, or was he just an idiot? I was too tired to think about it and didn't answer as I walked away.

When there was no answer for a long time, the gas-masked man sighed deeply, slowly folded his index finger and turned his wrist halfway so that the back of his hand was visible. He asked, his face still calm, his middle finger pressed tightly together.

"Second, you're an unregistered Awakener. What about this?"

"Cheap..."

Did all hunters eat rice rolls like that these days? I looked at his impossibly long middle finger and made a face of amusement.

Eight years ago, when I was on active duty, such a mutiny was unthinkable. No matter when this guy woke up, he couldn't be older than me. Of course, I'm the first S-class Awakener in Korea!

I wouldn't have thrown away the Confucian ideas that have been around for hundreds of years since the time of the Great Hunter. Just as I was about to interrupt the junior's rant about his arrogance, the gas mask interjected with a laugh.

"Well... that doesn't look like an S-class weapon, so it must be unregistered, right?"

"I'm not unregistered."

I wasn't technically unregistered, since I was registered as an awakener anyway. Maybe I'd been declared missing or dead and had my record expunged, but I'd been registered eight years ago, so there was nothing to pierce my conscience with. But the gas-masked man snorted as if he'd had enough of the bullshit.

"If you're going to bullshit me, at least do it with some sincerity..."

"I am serious."

Before I could finish my sentence, the man in the gas mask flashed out of sight. And the very next moment-

Boom!

I parried a blow from behind with my ladle. Behind the lens of his gas mask, his violet eyes flashed. Even after the attack was blocked, the gasmasked man did not withdraw his hand, but clutched the ladle tightly. With a snap, the dented pan crumpled under the force.

Chiiik-

A moment later, the ladle in the Gas Mask Man's hand began to melt. The acrid smell of burning metal stung my nostrils.

Is this a corrosion or decomposition ability?

Drip, drip, drip, dark liquid dripped onto the floor, turning it a frighteningly dark color wherever it touched. I had seen this before, recently; the fangs of the basilisk, the master of the Western Rift, had melted everything it touched.

Poison.

Poison that could even rival the venom of a basilisk. I thought the man with the gas mask was just a young hunter...

I frowned as I felt the face behind the gas mask smirk. He took a step back, dusting his hands, not sure if he'd gotten the answer he was looking for.

"An ordinary ladle."

"..."

"And you, you're an unregistered awakener blocking my attacks..."

"How many times have I told you that I'm not unregistered?"

"That's it."

A violet glow formed behind the round lenses of the gas mask.

"There's no way I wouldn't know a person like you."

Why did it feel so strangely repulsive when it could have been said as a compliment? I thought as I returned the steady gaze, and it didn't take me long to figure it out.

You bastard, you've been short with your words ever since.

This behavior was extremely annoying to the ears of me, the former J, now Cha Ui-jae, who had basically lived the life of a hunter with nothing but the utmost respect. There were ups and downs with cold water. I stiffened and raised my eyes.

"Hey."

"Huh?"

"How old are you?"

Shaking his head at the out of the blue question, the gas mask soon killed the momentum from earlier and answered innocently, "Twenty-four."

Twenty-four? Twenty-four? I leaned even more heavily to the side and crossed my legs.

"Wow, this kid has been talking down to me from the beginning."

"You look about my age."

"Hey, I've eaten five thousand more bowls of rice than you."

Of course, I still couldn't believe that I was twenty-eight and not twenty, but I hadn't actually eaten five thousand more bowls of rice! At my age I should have used it more effectively. Right now, the only thing I had over the Gas Mask Man was the eight years I'd gained in the past.

The Gas Mask Man shook his head again at the sudden snide remark. It was a childish thing to do with a scary gas mask, because it was so cute.

"Aha... so?"

"You speak informally."

"I see..."

The gas mask man smiled briefly and bowed slightly to me. Behind the lens, his eyes narrowed and he whispered, "Shall I speak formally?"

The gas-masked man had a strange aura about him, perhaps because he had just beaten a man. If I hadn't had the experience of fighting monsters while working as a hunter, I might have been a little intimidated.

But I was a veteran hunter on the verge of exhaustion from rolling and rolling. The soft way he spoke and the subtle way he lifted his gas mask was enough to make me think he was tired. Of course, I wasn't big enough to be talked down to by someone four years younger than me.

I had the body of a twenty year old, but the mind of a two hundred and eighty year old. Maybe 280 was a better age for my bratty temper.

Whether he knew it or not, he added, running his fingertips over the black surface of his gas mask, "I'm sorry, it's been a while since I showed any respect.

Was this what prostration looked like? Even though I heard the respect I wanted, I felt rather uncomfortable. I felt like a grandfather with a grandson who wouldn't listen to me and bowed twice when I asked him to bow once.

I tried to calm down and remind myself.

I was a commoner now. A normal person. Not Hunter J. He was a precious hunter and I was a commoner. A commoner who needed his help to find Haeun quickly. When I remembered the purpose of coming out today, my head felt cold.

-Haeun is nowhere to be found, Uyano. I don't know when she went out without the mice and birds knowing. The world is scary as hell these days, but she went out alone...

But couldn't I have found Haeun with the time I took to wrestle with that guy? As my mind wandered to this point, cracks began to appear in my self-hypnosis. I could feel something stirring inside me, threatening to rise.

I wasn't J anymore, but a good and ordinary person...

"Even twins separated by a minute can tell each other apart!"

Finally, my bully pulpit exploded.