[Oh ho, so that little one dares to call itself a god and reaches out to us? How amusing. We slaughtered its mother and drained her divine blood to the last drop. It’s almost touching—like a beast staring at the hunter wearing its mother’s flayed skin.]
Shut up.
Tae Woon pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead and growled at the voice invading his mind. Layer upon layer of laughter crashed down like a collapsing wave.
[It is our child. Will you not claim it? Its Incarnate Body may be fragile, but the divinity it holds is clear. Better to eliminate it before it realizes what lies dormant within you.]
Get lost. Now.
[When have we ever forced your hand? Do as you will. Chaos is our divinity, but we, who created you, simply wish for you, our child, to pursue the farthest reaches of transcendence.]
Chaos—the ancient god resting at the bedrock of the world, the one who is one and many, beginning and end—vanished at last, trailing delighted laughter behind. Tae Woon bit the inside of his cheek, calming his expression.
That presence always grated on his nerves, no need to point it out—but now wasn’t the time. Not yet.
His cool gaze drifted to the window, where the reflection of a fledgling crow fluttered. Kim Sibaek still needed this young god. And so did he. The fledgling was the key to helping Kim Sibaek recover his Divine Power smoothly.
If he fully regained it… then…
With calm returning, Biendeoé felt embarrassed by her earlier reaction. More than anything, the strange sense of alienness she’d sensed right after Kim Sibaek’s recovery no longer lingered. Maybe her weakened state had made her oversensitive.
Even so, what about that strange sense of déjà vu?
Still chewing thoughtfully on her apple, Biendeoé was struck by a flash of insight—like lightning cracking across her thoughts.
That personality shift that only happened around Kim Sibaek. That oddly devoted younger companion… This was it. That was the clue.
He’s Gloiuken’s younger brother…!
That wily half-human, half-mermaid brat—his Earth counterpart was standing right in front of her. Tae Woon. And the fact that Kim Sibaek seemed fond of both of them? Another shared trait.
Just imagining Tae Woon and that other brat meeting face-to-face made Biendeoé’s feathers bristle. But she quickly calmed herself and resumed pecking at the apple.
There was no need to worry. That brat had no way of traveling from Mak Slechth to Earth.
“Anyway, what matters now is getting Sibaek-hyung’s name out there.”
Of all times, Tae Woon chose that moment to speak, nearly making Biendeoé choke on her apple slice. She was about to cough in embarrassment, but a perfectly timed phone call saved her.
Tae Woon ended the brief call and slipped the phone into his inner pocket.
“Sibaek-hyung’s ID just arrived. Since it’s almost lunchtime, let’s meet him and eat together.”
At the mention of meeting Kim Sibaek, Biendeoé hurriedly swallowed the last of her apple and flapped her wings. Out of habit, she aimed for the crown of Tae Woon’s head—but caught the sharp glint in his narrowed eyes and quickly veered toward his shoulder instead.
“Can’t you just fly and follow me?”
“……”
It was possible, technically. But flying in the body of a fledgling would be exhausting. Feigning innocence, she perched quietly on his shoulder. Tae Woon, looking vaguely annoyed, furrowed his brows and stood up from his chair. Only then did Biendeoé let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Tae Woon had just shared two pieces of good news: the new ID was ready, and today’s staff cafeteria menu was seolleongtang. After all, a detective’s soul food had to be either jjajangmyeon or seolleongtang. And the seolleongtang from the soup joint near the police station had once been one of Kim Sibaek’s favorites.
Strangely, no one from the guild sat near Tae Woon in the cafeteria, which made conversation easier.
“My ID came already?”
“They sent it via express courier the moment it was issued.”
It had only been a few days since he’d come down from the director’s office to take a photo and give his fingerprint, and yet it was already ready. When did Korea’s administrative process get this fast? As a former civil servant, Kim Sibaek found it suspicious.
Did someone push to expedite it? But who?
Deep in thought, he glanced across the table at Tae Woon, who sat there looking completely innocent. Nah. No way his sweet boy would use underhanded means to get an ID. Probably Director Noh had put in a strong request.
“Hyung, let’s talk over lunch.”
Fair point. Whatever the reason, getting it early was better than late. Kim Sibaek spooned up a hot bite of seolleongtang broth. Memories surfaced—he used to argue that seolleongtang only tasted right with glass noodles.
He had never been fond of spicy food, and his extended time in Mak Slechth had only dulled his tolerance further. Since returning, he hadn’t touched chili once. So when Tae Woon, sitting across from him, casually ate a small, fresh green chili, it caught him off guard. If he remembered right, Tae Woon had a cat’s tongue and couldn’t handle spicy food.
Maybe it’s not that hot?
Thinking he could handle it too, Kim Sibaek dipped one in doenjang and took a bite. But the sharp, stinging heat exploded in his mouth, making him flinch. Hiccups followed as the burn set in, but he managed to calm himself.
“Whoa—since when could you eat spicy food like that?”
“It was spicy? Oh… uh. Didn’t taste that hot to me.”
“Well… I guess you’re getting older. Your palate must’ve matured too.”
[“Didn’t you used to say he had a baby’s taste buds?” Death and Beauty chides with a mocking tone.]
“……”
[Death and Beauty snaps again, telling him not to play dumb.]
Kim Sibaek simply lowered his head and spooned up more seolleongtang. Hot, comforting—delicious.
“Now that I’ve got my ID, is the next step getting my Hunter license?”
“Looks like it. You’ll need it if you want to go public and start working properly.”
Tae Woon’s face lit up with quiet excitement.
“In other countries, you can get by without a license, but not in Korea. Very few nations register all Hunter data at the state level.”
“Huh? Isn’t that just basic stuff? Like how everyone has an ID?”
“Well, because it’s personal information, it raises human rights concerns. Korean Hunters didn’t think twice about it since they’re used to carrying IDs, so they accepted registration without much resistance. Korea was also one of the first countries to restore its admin systems after the Cataclysm. Reissuing IDs was the very first step.”
Tae Woon explained that several countries had tried to follow suit but failed due to public backlash. Thinking about it, Kim Sibaek had to admit—it all made sense.
[Death and Beauty asks, “Didn’t the Atrebathum Empire also have a national registration system?”]
“Now that you mention it, the country I lived in back in Mak Slechth had a citizen registry too.”
“People are the same everywhere, huh? Was it mandatory there?”
“Not exactly. Once you came of age, you could choose to get a biometric chip implanted. But there were perks if you did…”
Kim Sibaek’s words trailed off as a memory suddenly struck him. Long ago, he’d once casually told the Emperor about the national ID system back home. Ten years later, they implemented citizen registration across the empire… Wait a minute.
“……”
What kind of chaos had a data-compliant Korean caused in another world?
Kim Sibaek felt a cold sweat trickle down his back and hurriedly shifted the topic.
“So other countries don’t restrict Hunter activities?”
“Not really. If you’re with a guild, people just assume you’re a Hunter.”
“What about international coordination? You’ve got sea-type monsters here too, right?”
“Yeah. We just rerouted the international paths to avoid their habitats. Once we fortified the ports, we reopened routes within a few years.”
As they chatted, they both finished their seolleongtang, bowls wiped clean. There was no need to delay—he might as well go register this afternoon.
As if reading his thoughts, a system window appeared right before his eyes.
[In Korea, hunting monsters or using abilities in public without Hunter registration makes you a criminal. We’d be so sad if our beloved Returnee became a criminal. T.T]
[Quest 02]
[Complete your Hunter registration (0/1)]
[Time remaining: 12 hours 00 minutes]
…Okay, well, great timing. Pressing a hand to his forehead, Kim Sibaek quickly jotted the new quest into his phone’s memo app. Tae Woon’s expression shifted, caught somewhere between curious and concerned.
“Hmm… If the goal is to keep you from becoming a criminal and having your actions restricted, I guess it makes sense…”
“There’s something else weird, though.”
Kim Sibaek tapped the screen, pointing to the second line of the quest.
