‘I still can’t believe that it was Hyung.’ Byung-Ho fell into a state of disbelief last evening. And it carried over to the next day.

The Mysterious Hero that got praised by many people across the nation. The one he wanted to meet was in fact in front of him the whole time.

“What are you so lost for?” Do-Yun raised an eyebrow.

This attentive guy didn’t even bring him water and towels between his sets like usual. He stood at the counter with that lost expression this entire time. From his experience this type of change often happens when the other gender gets involved.

“Is it romantic troubles or something?” His question brought Byung-ho back to the land of living.

“A-Ah, No Hyung. There’s nothing like that…” His eyes darted around the place. He didn’t know why he would think of that. But, he has troubles indeed.

“Is that so? Then I’ll go back to my training.” Do-Yun's shoulders sagged as he went back to the rack. His curiosity died and he buried it six feet deep along with the advice he had.

Byung-ho watched from behind the counter. Unreal, that was the only way to describe Do-Yun. He trained his body with no care. Even if he said that things were in control, Byung-Ho knew that he was going through pain.

His trembling hands and feet were always numb by the time he finished a set. And there were traces of blood on the towel he used. Do-Yun drove his body to a wreck every day, but it never put a dent in his routine.

At first, Byung-Ho wondered why he trained this hard. But he understood the reason.

‘He's a man on a mission.’ Do-Yun saved many people from those monsters when he didn’t have to. It was a great risk to face that final monster alone and he didn’t plan to, but he did that.

He even saved reporters in the middle of that destructive fight. It was incredible, the internet praised him and they should.

‘And here I am not even sure how to begin,’ Byung-ho couldn’t shake this feeling off.

But, if he wanted to stand true on his promise then he would have to. Though the fear stopped him every time. It gripped on him and never released him since that day.

“You got lost once again?” Byung-Ho’s eyes widened, Do-Yun stood before him and sighed.

‘It is evening already?’ Lost in his own world he had wasted another day.

“…It is nothing. Good work today Hyung, I’ll see you tomorrow.” But even after his greetings Do-Yun didn’t leave.

“What happened Hyung?” Byung-Ho felt a bit weird when he smiled.

“If you have something to say you should. Life is too short, who knows if you’ll get another chance or not.” Do-Yun said.

‘I know…’ Byung-ho had heard of this before.

It was the day when everything changed for him. The day he lost everything.

‘What are you doing alone in this rain? You want to get a cold and die? Come with me.’ On the lowest point of his life he met someone important. And through that encounter he got his purpose in life.

‘You want to train and be stronger? Haha, now that’s the spirit.’ The old man’s cheerful laughter still rang in his ears to this day.

‘I was weak… No, even after training for years I am still weak, I couldn’t change anything. Even then I was given this place…... And now I have another chance.’ Do-Yun stood in front of him as that chance, ‘With Hyung I’ll be able to use my power for good.’

‘You’ll regret it if you fail, but you’ll regret it more if you don’t try.’ Reminded of the words his teacher left him with. He took a deep breath and faced Do-Yun.

“Hyung, will you take me along when you fight those monsters again?” Byung-Ho asked, or more so shouted as he bowed and almost banged his head on the glass counter. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for the answer.

“Oh My, this sounds more like a confession.” Do-Yun chuckled. But, Byung-ho stayed in his position, even if it was kind of embarrassing after that comment.

‘Hyung must be trying to diffuse the situation with a funny comment. I know that I am lacking, but I won’t give up.’ Byung-ho was ready to go through intense training or asking for Do-Yun's approval numerous times. If it meant that he could face the monsters alongside him, he didn’t mind it.

‘There was zero chance that Hyung would accept me in my current state. I'll only drag him down if he does, even then…’ This was the reason he didn’t want to ask this at first. But, now that the matter was out he had to show his grit and be worthy enough to be part of the team. At least, that is what he thought.

“Sure.” Do-Yun said.

‘Wait wha-’ Byung-ho looked up with his mouth agape, wasn’t this too easy?

“You helped me when I needed it, so I’ll return the favour.” Realisation set into Byung-Ho’s eyes.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“But that was nothing.” He said.

All he did was ask around for some information and trusted Do-Yun to pay the gym fees later. There was nothing extraordinary about that. So, it wouldn’t sit well with him if he got way more in return.

“The weight of the favour gets determined by the one who receives it. What you think of as a small favour was something important to me. And this is the same, you think that I am doing you a great favour? But, to me this is like taking a kid to the fish pond.” A smirk formed on Do-Yun’s lips at the end.

‘He compared hunting those monsters as Fishing? If someone hears it they might think he is crazy.’ Byung-ho didn’t know how one can make that connection. But the years Do-Yun spent in the other world moulded his mind to be that way.

‘The real monsters are in the tower after all. The Gates are but training areas.’ And Do-Yun had to go through that tower once again. That is why, beyond the intent to pay back for the favour there was more to this decision.

‘Having a team to explore is never bad. At least I won’t be talking to myself and the monster corpses like an idiot.’ It was a way to get rid of his old habit.

“Thank you, I’ll do my best!” Byung-ho’s face lit up as happiness oozed out of him.

“Alright then, I’ll head home.” Do-Yun stretched his body and headed for the door.

“Be careful on the way back, Hyung!” He waved his hand without looking back.

‘It feels like my body will fall apart. That’s what a good day at training does to you.’ The day was arduous and he wanted some rest, but there was one problem.

“How much longer will you follow me?” Do-Yun stopped in the middle of the road. But even after seconds passed the only thing that surrounded him was the chilly wind.

His gaze focused on the third alley behind him, the residue energy was still there. If he wanted to, he could give chase and find the one that tailed him. But, he started his walk back home again.

“They’ll come find me soon enough because of this.”

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Jam-sil, Seoul.

Within the desolate landscape where people worked to recover bodies from the rubble. Someone ran around the area in total madness.

She had no destination or planned route. She ran around weaving through the oblivious people and broken buildings. Without stopping for a single second she looked over her shoulder every few seconds.

‘How did he see me?’ Cold sweat bathed her body when she recalled the moment. She was careful enough to maintain a safe distance from him, but he still caught her.

[N-Noona, why are you running around in circles?] Then a soft voice came from the in-ear.

“He might be following me, I can’t let him find the location of the base.” Stressed thanks to her failure she was in a hurry.

[I-It is fine, you can come back.] But even if he said that, Na-young couldn’t go back.

“No, we can’t let the Base get compromised.” This was her fault so she needed to solve it.

‘I can’t let this affect my teammates. They have been so nice to me. So... I have to protect them!’ But as she reaffirmed her beliefs, something happened on the other side.

[D-Da-Eun don’t grab the headphone like that, it'll bre—Come back and stop wasting everyone’s time!] Another voice came booming into her right ear.

“But the location-”

[Our base’s address is on the fucking internet you imbecile!] Na-young froze on the spot. She got told about this during the recent briefing, but it slipped her mind.

“A-Ah, yeah I for- No… yes, the real reason I am doing this so that he doesn’t know we are spying on him.” She said with unreal bravado, but the person on the line had enough.

[If you don’t come back in five minutes I will throw your damn cotton balls out.]

“NOOO! Not my Docodocos!!!” She shouted but the line got cut.

Her eyes burned green. Her body vanished from sight as the asphalt below her feet cracked.

“Just you wait, my cute children!!!!” She zoomed through the streets at breakneck speed. Ran across the Han River, and leaped across buildings shouting all the way, but no one heard her.

Regardless, Na-Young did everything to reach her destination. A high rise building in Jong-No. That was their New Base.

With no consideration she ran up the sides and broke into the 10th floor through the floor to ceiling window. In front of her were a seven foot giant with blonde hair and a nervous short woman with brown hair.

“What did you do to my precious Baek-Hyeon!” Na-Young rushed to the tall guy covered in sweat as he laid flat on the tiled floor. Blood poured out of his nose and mouth as he gasped.

“I-I am sorry Noona…I couldn’t stop her.” He squeezed his voice out in the awkward silence that dominated the hall.

“How can you do this to such a gentle child, Da-Eun!” Na-Young glared at the short woman who avoided her eyes.

“I didn’t do this… he was trying to stop me and tripped.” Da-Eun coughed.

“Yeah, he fell right on your fist. So convenient isn’t it?” The white haired man resting on the sofa quipped.

“Da-Eun, I thought that you were a good person… but to think that you would lie and harm a kid…” Na-Young’s face turned dark.

“W-What do you mean good—Never mind that, Chung-Ae tell her that you were joking!” Da-Eun glared over.

“I wasn’t though, isn’t that what happened? He tried to stop you and tripped. His face then landed on your outstretched hand when you tried to catch him,” Chung-Ae smirked and sat up on the couch for a good show, “besides I don’t think she heard any of that so get ready.”

“You fucker!” Da-Eun gritted her teeth as Na-young rushed in her direction.

“N-Noona Stop!” Even Baek-Hyeon’s words weren’t heard. He didn’t want her to fight a teammate but more than that…

“Lord please forgive me for I am about to si-ack!!” Na-Young ran face first into a yellow barrier.

“Well… This place is quite lively… ” Park Chan-Yeol bit down on the insides of his lips.

“It is so lively that I want to resign.” Ji-Hu said. It has been a real chore taking care of them.

“N-Noona you are bleeding!” Ryu Baek-Hyeon, an expert in information gathering and analysis. All the public knew about him was his name. Rank: Captain.

“You are bleeding too, Uwaa! I am sorry!” Ryu Na-Young, an assassin that can become invisible to everything. No one knew anything more about her. Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Vice-Captain of ROK’s 1st Awakened Squad.

“S-Stop crying you two. I-It can’t be helped, I’ll just heal you.” Ahn Da-Eun, the most important asset of the Korean Army, and the only known Healer in South Korea. Rank: Lieutenant Colonel.

“Heh, so fun.” Kang Chung-Ae, known as ‘Fire Lord’(Self-proclaimed). He has fans surprisingly. Rank: Captain.

“I shouldn't have left the police force.” Ryu Ji-Hu, given the name ‘The Korean Wall’ by the netizens after his demonstration on live T.V. Rank: Colonel. Captain of ROK’s 1st Awakened Squad.

‘No one would believe that this is the 1st awakened squad that has cleared 15 Gates till now.’ A wry smile formed on Chan-Yeol’s lips.