The bracelet the attendant fastened around my wrist looked a lot like a smartwatch, made of a sturdy rubber band with a round screen. The moment it clasped shut, I felt a slight pricking sensation, followed by a loading sequence. Then, letters slowly surfaced across the screen.
[Welcome, Choi Ga-hyeon.]
[Current Rank: Unmeasurable]
“This device functions as a form of identification during your activity as a Hunter. It’s required for dungeon entry or in special circumstances, and not carrying it could lead to trouble, so we strongly recommend you always wear it. In addition, the Association can send emergency alerts through the device, so if you feel it vibrating, please check the screen immediately.”
I flipped my wrist back and forth, already uncomfortable with how tight it was. It felt practically like a shackle. Reading about this kind of thing in novels was one thing—actually experiencing it was something else entirely.
<As a Fragment of the Star, your rank cannot be measured.>
<You are an irregular existence.>
Apparently, the reason for this ridiculous classification was because I was a Constellation. Even though my technical rank was F, just being labeled a Constellation caused this nonsense. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have registered in the first place.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Is this “unmeasurable” thing for real?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Where do you even pick up phrases like that??]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: It’s real.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Stop picking up weird stuff already.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: What do I even do now?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What do you mean, what do you do?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: I mean, you’re my son. Of course you’ve got to be at least this cool to pull it off.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Didn’t you just say earlier that you’ve never had such a pathetic son before???]
“Hyung, are you done?”
“Yeah. Looks like I am.”
“Then let’s go already.”
“What? Why the rush?”
Baek Tae-beom showed a slightly awkward expression, his eyes naturally dropping. Something about the way he looked made me instinctively want to pat his head. It was hard not to treat him like a puppy.
“An article came out.”
“Ah, an article… Wait, what? An article?”
That ridiculous statement made my eyes go wide. Baek Tae-beom held out his phone. On the screen was a headline—about me.
[First Unmeasurable Rank Hunter in the World, Including South Korea, Appears…]
“What is this?”
I’d just gotten my ID, and those lunatic reporters had already managed to write and publish an article? When I checked the content, it was just a regurgitated mess of the headline with barely any substance. But the real problem? They’d printed a photo of me and Baek Tae-beom—my full name completely exposed.
We were still inside the Association building, and I could feel more and more people glancing our way after seeing the article.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Care to share a few words on how it feels to become a public figure?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Escape Destruction: Don’t act like we’re close.]
[Constellation, ‘One Who Guides the Dead’, lets out a bark-like laugh.]
[Constellation, ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’, pushes them away in irritation.]
[Constellation, ‘One Who Guides the Dead’, sulks in a corner with a sad expression.]
“There’s somewhere we need to go first, so let’s head there.”
“Somewhere to go?”
I asked, puzzled. He nodded.
***
The place we arrived at was the Hansung Guild headquarters. After pushing through a string of tedious procedures, I followed Baek Tae-beom into a room where Lee Myung-won sat calmly.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be alive,” he said right away. “Of course, Baek Tae-beom here must’ve told me at least 390 times that you were still alive, but still—people believe what they’ve seen with their own eyes. It’s hard to break away from those assumptions. You get what I’m saying, right? Anyway, I can now understand why you didn’t want to hold a funeral. But there’s still something I don’t get. Just how are you still alive? What have you been doing all this time? I really can’t wrap my head around this, Choi Ga-hyeon. Could you please explain?”
“Lee Myung-won.”
“Yes?”
“Your coffee’s overflowing.”
He paused, then finally realized the pot in his hand was tilted. He hurried to set it upright, but it was too late—coffee had already spilled everywhere, soaking the documents on his desk.
Apollo clicked his tongue in my head.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Dumbass.]
Lee Myung-won stacked the dripping papers neatly to one side and pushed up his glasses.
“You’re not a ghost, are you?”
“I’m not.”
“It’s just… I’m a little weak when it comes to ghosts and zombies…”
“Unfortunately, I’m neither.”
“I’d be fine with a vampire, at least.”
“Sorry, not that either.”
He slurped down the spilled coffee like nothing happened and stood up from his seat.
“Then what are you?”
“A person…”
“What kind of person comes back from the dead?!”
Before I realized it, I was shouting too. “Then what do I look like to you right now?!”
“A person!”
“Exactly. Then I must be one!”
“But I just can’t understand it!”
“The world’s full of things that make no sense! One person coming back to life isn’t that far-fetched!”
How did I survive? Simple—I didn’t. I’d been resurrected because I was a Constellation. But how the hell was I supposed to explain to them that I was now casually chatting with their Constellations?
Baek Tae-beom might’ve figured it out on his own, but to an average person, it would sound completely insane.
Lee Myung-won faltered, then sat back down, letting out a long sigh as he buried his face in both hands.
“Anyway… I’m just glad—no, relieved—that you made it back alive. Or rather, resurrected. Either way, this calls for a celebration.”
“That’s a pretty quick change in attitude.”
“Spending time around Baek Tae-beom forces you to accept all sorts of insane things. I’ve grown a lot of gray hair thanks to him. Not that I have a kid to pluck them out for me… And as I’ve said before, Baek Tae-beom, Red Apple is still a recognized guild. Attacking them recklessly in public only damages your reputation.”
Baek Tae-beom, who had been smiling at me this whole time, responded coldly, “I don’t care.”
What the hell?
I blinked and looked between the two of them. Lee Myung-won didn’t seem fazed at all, like he was used to this. Meanwhile, Baek Tae-beom looked just as surprised that I was surprised.
Crazy bastard. That just made him even more handsome.
“Did you two fight?” I asked.
“No.”
“Nope.”
They answered at the same time. Not even a shred of believability in either response.
“Don’t tell me… you fought after I died?”
“……”
“You’re telling me two fully grown men got into a fistfight? And have been in a cold war ever since?”
“That… doesn’t quite capture it. We didn’t hit each other, per se,” Lee Myung-won offered.
“I won, Hyung,” Baek Tae-beom added, shameless.
“……”
I ran a hand through my hair with a complicated expression. Lee Myung-won looked like he was trying to justify himself.
“I felt partially responsible for your death, Choi Ga-hyeon. Oh Kwon-hyuk did too. That’s why we wanted to support Baek Tae-beom, since he was the one closest to you…”
“Support? You mean you two fought over who got to recruit him once he turned out to be S-rank.”
“…The Hansung Guild is the largest in South Korea. We believed we could truly support Baek Tae-beom and, in agreement with the Guild Master—”
“Bullshit. You tried to beat him into submission.”
“We didn’t beat him.”
“What else would you call it, then?”
“We just wanted Baek Tae-beom to come to his senses.”
“So you teamed up with that old geezer and came at me like you were trying to kill me?” Baek Tae-beom snapped.
“Watch your language when you talk about the Guild Master,” Lee Myung-won warned.
“Now you’re policing my tone? Just ‘cause I’m in front of Hyung?” he growled like a tiger.
Even I could feel the pressure of his presence from beside him. But Lee Myung-won didn’t flinch, as if this was all routine.
“Anyway, Choi Ga-hyeon.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Join our guild.”
“What?”
He turned a tablet PC toward us. On the screen was the same article I’d seen earlier—my photo plastered right across the headline.
“We’re taking the articles down as fast as we can, but the aftermath won’t die down anytime soon. If anything, your being with Baek Tae-beom is only going to make the media frenzy worse. The world’s first-ever unmeasurable-ranked Hunter, Choi Ga-hyeon.”
“……”
“I don’t know much about you, Choi Ga-hyeon. All I know is the person you were two years ago. I have no idea how you came back to life, or what your true identity is. That’s why I believe—more than ever—that you need to join our guild, so we can protect you.”
“Protect me?”
“It’s already out that you’re moving around with Baek Tae-beom, and the rumor about your extraordinary rank is spreading fast. Do you really think other guilds or illegal Hunters won’t try to get their hands on you? The only thing our guild wants from you is simple: to stay with us as an unknown card. We’ll provide everything you need, so there’s no need to worry.”
I’ll admit, it sounded tempting. Basically, I’d just have to show up and they’d take care of the rest. If it was Hansung Guild, I’d at least have the basics covered—and maybe I wouldn’t have to lean on Baek Tae-beom so much.
“What do you think, Beom-ah?”
“It’s not a bad offer… but I’m not in Hansung Guild, Hyung.”
“…Huh?”
I stared up at him, stunned. I’d just assumed he was part of the guild—he’d brought me here, he was clearly close with Lee Myung-won… But now he was saying they weren’t even in the same guild?
“So… you’re unaffiliated?”
“Not exactly…” he said, looking slightly sheepish.
“I’m the Guild Master of my own guild. Want to join, Hyung?”
A wave of dread hit me like a truck.
“How many members?”
“Including me, one.”
A one-man guild. Rare, but not unheard of. Still, for Baek Tae-beom to go that far… there had to be a reason.
My voice came out shaky. “The guild… what’s its name?”
He answered slowly. “Ga-hyeon Guild.”
In the chat window, Apollo and Anubis were losing it—laughing like maniacs.
Of course. Ga-hyeon Guild. My name. Yup, it’s your name, Hyung. Got it.
By the time I snapped out of it, I already had Baek Tae-beom by the collar, shaking him like a man possessed. Meanwhile, Lee Myung-won, as if expecting this exact scene, quietly sipped his coffee—now diluted to the point of being basically water.
