“Who is J?”

“Hmmm…”

Gyu-Gyu, dragging out his response, swayed his upper body from side to side with a smirk.

“What if I don’t want to tell you?”

“You’re going to have to,” Jung Bin replied firmly, clenching his fist. The black chains constricting Gyu-Gyu’s body tightened even further, and a new strand looped around his neck, as if to strangle him. Gyu-Gyu shrugged, sighing.

“Alright, alright. But first! Answer me one thing, and I’ll tell you everything right away.”

“I’ll hear it first, then decide.”

“Oh, it’s nothing big…”

Gyu-Gyu twisted his stiff neck in a circle.

“Why are you looking for J?”

“Because those are my orders,” Jung Bin answered curtly, gesturing for Gyu-Gyu to get to the point. Gyu-Gyu clicked his tongue and scowled.

“Ugh, think about it without the orders. Do we really need to find J?”

The overhead light swayed precariously. Jung Bin remained silent, staring at Gyu-Gyu’s smirking face as he answered coldly.

“What’s your point? Stop beating around the bush and get to it.”

“It’s just… funny.”

Gyu-Gyu blew a puff of air, making his disheveled yellow hair flutter. Beneath the messy locks, his brown eyes glimmered sharply.

“I mean, do we really need to go to all this trouble, hunting down J like a rat?”

“……”

“Take Ham Seok-jeong, for example. The guy couldn’t stop me from leaving the country, and now the higher-ups are on his case. But does it make sense that he’s so obsessed with finding J that he put me on the job?”

Ban Gyumin—Gyu-Gyu’s real name—was the fifth S-rank awakener in South Korea. Before him, all of the S-ranks had chosen to stay and establish themselves in the country. But Ban Gyumin was different. He declared that he wouldn’t stay in South Korea and instead became a freelance Hunter, traveling around the world. Naturally, this caused an uproar, and Ham Seok-jeong had worn down his shoes trying to persuade Ban Gyumin to stay.

As Jung Bin remained silent, Gyu-Gyu, not really expecting an answer, continued to ramble.

“And it’s laughable that we’re supposedly looking for J because of the apocalypse. We don’t even know when, where, or how the end will come, but we’re chasing after J for that? What, we can’t stop it without J?”

“……”

“Are we really planning to throw someone who barely survived the rift back in there?”

Gyu-Gyu grinned, his tone laced with sarcasm. Jung Bin couldn’t respond. Ban Gyumin’s tongue was as sharp as a serpent’s in the Bible.

“Weren’t you and J in the same era? The first S-rank and the second S-rank. You two must’ve known each other well, right?”

“……”

The words stirred memories buried deep within Jung Bin, memories he had long locked away and kept hidden.

Nine years ago.

Jung Bin stood in front of the mirror, taking a deep breath. His hair was neatly trimmed, and he was dressed sharply in his police academy uniform. As he made one final check to ensure everything was in order, the bathroom door swung open, and a middle-aged man with a sharp, tiger-like face poked his head in.

"Jung Bin, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, good. I like that you're keeping yourself in line."

The man, laughing heartily, was Song Joheon, a well-known A-rank Hunter. Jung Bin nodded respectfully, and Song Joheon motioned for him to follow.

"Come on. We shouldn’t keep busy people waiting."

"Yes, sir!"

"Remember what I told you. Don’t stare too long, and don’t try to dig too much."

"I remember."

"Good, good. He’s not too difficult, so it should be fine."

There was a strange awkwardness in his voice, but Jung Bin didn’t show any reaction and quietly followed him. They walked down a long corridor until they reached a door.

“We’re here.”

Song Joheon cautiously opened the door to reveal a spacious conference room. In the center, at an oval-shaped table, sat a young man slouched in his chair, flipping through a thick file. His face was entirely hidden behind a mask, and his black combat suit was covered with dried bloodstains.

Jung Bin recognized him immediately. He was J, the hero who had saved the country.

J, however, didn’t seem to care about the people entering the room. He remained focused on whatever he was reading, completely ignoring their presence. Jung Bin stood straight, his posture rigid, and saluted. Song Joheon also smiled and bowed his head.

"J! This is the newly awakened S-rank, Jung Bin. Say hello."

“Huh?”

Finally, J turned his head towards Jung Bin. It felt as if their eyes met through the mask. J put down the file he had been reading and asked casually.

“Oh… How old are you?”

“I’m 21 years old.”

“You’re younger than I expected.”

J’s voice was oddly modulated, making it impossible to discern his gender or age. Was it just his imagination, or did J seem to be in a good mood? Jung Bin couldn’t help but study J more closely.

The J who appeared on TV and radio was a reassuring hero for the country. But the person in front of him, wearing that mask…

‘Is he even an adult?’

Jung Bin had always been observant. And no matter how he looked at it, J didn’t seem like an adult. At most, he could be described as a high schooler caught between adolescence and adulthood. Could he really be a minor? While Jung Bin was lost in these thoughts, J stood up and walked toward him.

As their eyes met, J abruptly held out his hand.

"Hi, I’m J."

"Ah, I’m Jung Bin. Pleased to meet you."

Still caught up in his thoughts, Jung Bin didn’t immediately realize what was happening until Song Joheon nudged him. He quickly grabbed J’s hand. J’s hand was bony, firm yet surprisingly soft. After a few shakes, J pulled away and asked with a friendly tone.

“What’s your awakened ability?”

Jung Bin glanced at Song Joheon, who gave him a small nod of approval before answering.

“Binding. I can restrain my opponent.”

“Monsters?”

“No, awakeners.”

“Wow, that’s great. There’s been a surge in awakened criminals lately, so that’s really useful.”

“Exactly. Haha, he awakened just when we needed him.”

Song Joheon chuckled before continuing. “J, you’ve heard about the rift that opened in Danyang, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“We’ve got a helicopter ready. You should get going.”

“Sure.”

J, scratching his head as if it were a bother, turned and waved to Jung Bin.

“It was nice meeting you. See you next time.”

“Ah, yes! It was a pleasure.”

With a short farewell, J opened the window wide and jumped out. A cold breeze blew into the room as he disappeared. Song Joheon gave Jung Bin a light tap on the back as he stared at the open window.

“Hey, don’t get too interested.”

“Sir?”

“I said, don’t get too interested in J.”

Jung Bin looked puzzled, and Song Joheon shrugged.

“We need a hero right now. The more you know about J, the more uncomfortable it’ll get. I’m just warning you in advance. Keep your distance. But don’t make him an enemy either.”

“……”

Jung Bin’s expression must have given him away. As they left the conference room, Song Joheon muttered under his breath.

“There’s no other choice. Until things settle down, the powerful ones will have to make sacrifices. The country’s in a mess…”

Jung Bin glanced at the file left on the table. It had been left open, and the contents were clearly visible.

---

**Swamp Toad**: Prevent it from spitting out mountains ☆☆☆ Target the head and mouth first.

**Red-tailed Spear Dragon**: It’s a problem if it reunites with its group! Pierce its throat before it calls its allies.

---

What J had been reading was a list of monster names and strategies, written in a firm, deliberate hand. A strange feeling of discomfort settled in Jung Bin’s chest. If he looked any further, he knew he might start questioning things he shouldn’t. With that, he quietly turned away and followed Song Joheon out.

---

Back in the present, Jung Bin quietly stared at Gyu-Gyu. The swaying light had finally come to a halt.

“We have to find him, even if it’s not an order.”

“And why is that?”

He remembered J’s back, always heading toward the rift alone. The sight of him jumping without hesitation. Jung Bin had turned away back then. The odd discomfort he had ignored as a child still lingered in his memory.

He couldn’t let the same thing happen again.

“To protect him.”

“……”

Jung Bin slammed his hand down on the metal table and stood, looking down at Gyu-Gyu.

“So tell me. Who is J?”

“Hmm, let me think… I don’t know?”

After all the memories Jung Bin had revisited, that was the lazy response he got. His expression hardened, and he raised his finger, ready to tighten the black chains around Gyu-Gyu’s neck.

“Man, you’re impatient. I’ve already got a lead! …Though it’s been cut off.”

Gyu-Gyu quickly added.

“Look into Lee Sayoung.”

“And why’s that?”

“I did my own digging and narrowed down a few J candidates… but all the info keeps getting cut off at Lee Sayoung and the Wave Guild. That guy’s been feeding fake info, annoying everyone.”

As soon as Gyu-Gyu said this, a memory flashed in Jung Bin’s mind.

The day the rankings were updated, Lee Sayoung had stood before the memorial, staring at J’s name. Hadn’t he said back then that everything that came out of the rift was his?

Jung Bin eyed the humming Gyu-Gyu with suspicion.

“And why are you suddenly being so cooperative?”

“Huh? You seem like one of the ‘J supporters.’”

The chains wrapped around Gyu-Gyu’s neck slithered back onto the table and coiled around Jung Bin’s wrist instead. Puzzled, Jung Bin asked.

“Did you have a connection with J?”

“Nah, nothing special.”

Gyu-Gyu smiled brightly.

“Once, that friend killed a monster that was about to destroy our church.”

“……”

“Well, I do repay my debts, after all~”

Gyu-Gyu closed his eyes and began humming a tune again. It was a song Jung Bin had never heard before.

---

Meanwhile, back in the auction hall, where the Hunters were left to their own devices, it was like an 8-ton truck with its brakes cut.

“Seven! Ten! Two! Seven! Eleven!”

The price skyrocketed as the bidding paddle was raised again and again, with no signs of stopping.

“Hey! Stop outbidding me! Are you going to put down that paddle or what?”

“Uh-huh. What are you going to do about it?”

“We’ve already cut off the phone lines so the foreigners can’t bid.”

“Good job. Go for the kill!”

In the midst of this battlefield—where super hamsters wielded their weapons against each other—Cha Uijae, the accidental protagonist who had thrown gasoline on the fire, sat with his legs trembling, supporting Lee Sayoung, who was slumped like a wet towel.

‘Where the hell is Jung Bin when you need him…?’

He was missing Jung Bin more than anyone else at that moment.