TSOT#1 Chapter 3

“What are you just standing around looking at?”

 

Chan-hee spoke in a sarcastic voice.

 

“If you’re a new recruit, shouldn’t you start by introducing yourself?”

 

At his words, Yeon-joo looked at Joo-ah with an interested expression.

 

After observing them silently for a moment, Joo-ah finally spoke.

 

“I’m Seo Joo-ah. Please take care of me.”

 

Her greeting was simple.

 

Chan-hee clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed, and sat up from where he’d been lying with his head on Yeon-joo’s lap.

 

“Can’t you make a little more of an impression? Like maybe how you easily got into a top-tier team thanks to your well-connected father?”

 

He crossed one leg over the other and sneered. At this, Yeon-joo slapped his thigh.

 

“Why would you say something like that? You’re making our rookie uncomfortable.”

 

She gave Joo-ah a gentle smile.

 

“I like people who aren’t shy. Connections are a type of talent too, don’t you think?”

 

Her voice was kind, but her gaze was cold.

 

Joo-ah looked at her teammates calmly before speaking.

 

“There seems to be an error in team allocation. Please wait until the Special Awakener Association reassigns me.”

 

Surprised by her unexpected response, Yeon-joo asked with a puzzled expression.

 

“You’re getting reassigned? I thought the chairman paid someone in the association to put you here.”

 

The question was blunt.

 

Joo-ah wasn’t sure how news of her background had spread so widely.

 

Perhaps she was the only one unaware of how fully her team understood her situation.

 

She hesitated briefly before replying, slightly embarrassed.

 

“It’s not certain, but the team will probably be reassigned soon. Operating in a high-ranking team at this level is dangerous.”

 

Of course, Chairman Tae-joon had told her he didn’t care if she was in danger, but once he was done observing her, he might reassign her for the sake of appearances.

 

All she had to do was stay out of sight until then.

 

“That’s irresponsible.”

 

At that moment, Chan-hee stood up and slowly approached Joo-ah, casting a large shadow over her. He was so tall that she had to look up to meet his gaze.

 

He looked at her with a tilted posture, his hands in his pockets.

 

“Don’t you think just having someone like you here ruins our team dynamic? How are you going to take responsibility for that?”

 

He wasn’t wrong.

 

An E-rank Hunter joining a high-ranking team would naturally lower the team’s standing.

 

So Joo-ah had no response.

 

“Yoo Chan-hee, enough.”

 

A voice came from behind them.

 

It was Jae-rim, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in the special room.

 

He rose, pulling on the coat he had draped beside him.

 

“If she’s going to leave soon, why make a fuss?”

 

At the Special Awakener Association, uniforms distinguished Hunters from ordinary people.

 

The silver emblem on Jae-rim’s left chest gleamed in the sunlight streaming in from the window.

 

He added with a disdainful look toward Chan-hee.

 

“Aren’t you the one who disrupts our team’s atmosphere the most? Running around with different girls every day.”

 

Chan-hee looked offended.

 

“Hey, why pick a fight with me? It’s not like I’m seeing that many girls.”

 

Almost immediately, a soft knock came from outside the special room.

 

“Is Chan-hee here?”

 

A girl with her hair in cute pigtails peeked her head through the door.

 

“Oh? My pretty one is here.”

 

Chan-hee, who had been about to retort to Jae-rim’s accusation, flashed a grin and walked toward her.

 

“We’ll call it a day for morning training. I’ve got a date with my beautiful girl.”

 

He threw his arm around her shoulder, laughing as they left the room.

 

“Honestly, Yoo Chan-hee’s biggest problem is how different his words and actions are.”

 

Yeon-joo clicked her tongue and shook her head. Then she looked at Joo-ah, who was still standing by the door.

 

“How long are you going to just stand there?”

 

Finally, Joo-ah moved to sit on the couch, sighing.

 

It was exhausting to receive this kind of treatment—a stark contrast to what she’d experienced in her former life as Eun-young.

 

Well, she supposed, they probably only saw her as an E-rank Hunter with a good background.

 

Joo-ah looked down at the watch on her wrist. Beneath it, old scars lay hidden.

 

She wondered if situations like this had led Seo Joo-ah to attempt suicide.

 

Did Seo Joo-ah even want these privileges?

 

Yeon-joo walked toward the training area with Jae-rim and called back to Joo-ah.

 

“We’re going to train. Maybe you could do some monitoring. Surely you’re not planning on skipping training just because you’ll be reassigned, right?”

 

Joo-ah responded in a cheerful voice, imitating a new recruit.

 

“Yes. I’ll monitor them closely.”

 

Yeon-joo waved as she entered the training area.

 

Jae-rim followed without glancing back at Joo-ah. The air felt dry and empty as he passed.

 

Joo-ah watched them leave, then took a brief look around the special room.

 

When she was active in the elite force, she used a different facility; it had been a while since she’d been at the training center.

 

The special room was divided by reinforced glass into a resting area and a training area.

 

Joo-ah’s gaze lingered as Yeon-joo gathered her hair into a ponytail.

 

It made her think of Chae-rin, her former teammate.

 

[Did you see the news? Hunter Min Chae-rin, who returned in a coma from the 999th floor tower, woke up after three years!]

 

Chae-rin had awakened after three years.

 

No one knew how long she had waited for this moment.

 

[Of course! Yesterday was insane. The association was turned upside down.]

 

[Understandable. No one returned intact from there. Hunter Han Se-hyun lost sight in one eye, and Hunter Kwon Eun-young is still unconscious.]

 

Joo-ah’s hands clenched on her knees, trembling slightly.

 

After losing to the boss on the 999th floor, Eun-young awoke six months earlier than Chae-rin.

 

She couldn’t reveal her identity due to her contract with a Constellation.

 

Not even to her teammates or her parents.

 

Her parents, thinking she was still in a coma, had discussed ending her treatment.

 

But Chairman Tae-jun and other Hunters who knew her convinced them not to give up.

 

The first time she awakened in Joo-ah’s body, she felt despair.

 

She resented her parents. She wanted to ask how they could give up on her so easily. But as they grew thinner and more worn down, she felt it was unfilial to make them wait.

 

She thought of breaking her contract with the Constellation and revealing her identity, but there was one problem.

 

Three years ago, on the 999th floor, she encountered the final boss.

 

The Constellation knew about him.

 

He was called “The Administrator.”

 

The one who created the tower, whose goal was to one day annihilate humanity.

 

She had fought him. Or rather, lost before she could fight properly.

 

Was there a Hunter in Korea who could defeat him?

 

Could anyone abroad?

 

There was no guarantee.

 

The Administrator was terrifyingly strong.

 

People would die.

 

Even their families…

 

But maybe if there were Hunters blessed by the gods?

 

If they were chosen by the Constellations?

 

Then, there might be hope.

 

This was why she couldn’t break her contract.

 

For her comrades.

 

For her parents.

 

Joo-ah’s morning drifted by as she watched her teammates train.

 

Chan-hee never returned, apparently still on his date.

 

Around lunchtime, Joo-ah finally left the special room and made her way to the hospital.

 

Taking a familiar route, she rode the elevator and made her way down a long corridor, stopping before a white door and glancing at the name on the wall.

 

A shadow crossed her face as she brushed a hand over the nameplate.

 

The dry air settled, and she let out a quiet sigh.

 

She lowered her hand to the door handle and slowly opened it.

 

In the quiet room, the only sound was the soft hum of a humidifier.

 

Joo-ah walked toward the bed, where someone lay asleep.

 

She could hear their faint breathing.

 

Looking down at the person lying there, Joo-ah spoke softly.