Shiwoon plunged the sword into the Anubis. It let out a final yelp as the life bled out of it. He sighed as he began to dismember the corpses lying around him and quickly realised that he would only be able to sell the crystals. He had not been very gentle with the monsters because he did not know just how weak they would turn out to be.

The monsters, which had the lower body of a muscular man, had hound heads like the Egyptian god of death, which was how the nickname had come about. Before the Hunters had come through the Portal, they could see the Anubis looking at them with hungry eyes and dripping tongues. They were as tall as an average man but had none of the brains that monsters like Goblins did. They died easily to his sword, which had its edge enhanced by his Aether, something he had learned to do during the ordeal he had faced only a few days ago.

It seemed almost like a lifetime since he had fought those Goblins and lost the other Hunters. He hadn't thought of them during the fight - he didn't have the luxury to think of anything - and after he managed to escape the Portal he attended their funerals and spoke respectful words and he did not cry. He did not feel sad. He wished he had. Truly mourning their deaths would have made him feel better. But he did not want to lie to himself: Happiness and relief at remaining alive were the only emotions he selfishly felt.

He pulled the crystal out of the Anubis' corpse as he ended his thoughts before he could sink any deeper. Behind his back he could hear the sound of heavy footsteps. When he turned around he found himself staring at a Hunter named Han Sungoh. Han Sungoh was a friendly looking man who was closest to him in age and had a penchant for gossip that Shiwoon did not quite dislike. Already, he could hear Han Sungoh badmouthing one of their fellow Hunters.

"They really aren't anything like you," Han Sungoh said disapprovingly, "I don't understand it at all."

There were no porters in D-rank - trainees were too afraid to play the role and guaranteeing the safety of regular civilians was much harder too - and everyone carried a bag with them to store their loot. Shiwoon saw that Han Sungoh's bag was filled with neatly salvaged fangs and claws, as well as the magic crystal.

"You dismember really well," he pointed out.

"Not half as well as you kill these monsters! It's the safety you provide that lets me do it so carefully, it's all you, Shiwoon!"

Being praised so directly was heartening. Though rationally he told himself that Han Sungoh was just buttering him up, despite not knowing why the man would do such a thing, he could not help but feel a touch of pride at the man's words.

"Ah, that's not true, senior," he said.

Han Sungoh spoke louder after Shiwoon finished saying those words. "It is, it is. You don't have to be so formal; just call me by my name. It's my honor to be teammates with a future star!"

'Star…?'

"I'm not a future star at all, but I will be less formal if you'd like."

Han Sungoh nodded energetically. "That's exactly what I want, Shiwoon. And what are you talking about - we all know how you climbed the ranks so quickly! That's future star material right there!"

It was uncomfortable to be addressed with such respect. It had been a long time since anyone had shown him any respect. Shiwoon could still remember being looked down upon while he was dining at a restaurant during his trainee days.

They went back to the rest of the extermination team together after ensuring that they had cleared their assigned area of any Anubis. Together, the team retreated in an orderly fashion from the Portal and emerged unscathed into quiet Dohwadong. Han Sungoh stretched and yawned lazily into the face of the setting sun, as a crowd of onlookers looked at the team with hopeful, hateful eyes.

The team leader collected the bags from everyone and went to talk to the official from the Bureau after storing the bags in his ring, leaving the team to continue interacting on their own. Shiwoon wanted to talk to more of the D-rank Hunters but he was afraid to do so. They had ignored him earlier. Receiving his greeting with lukewarm smiles, the team had very quickly split into a group of five Hunters who had already known one another before the extermination, two friends, Shiwoon and Han Sungoh who talked to one another, and the team leader who drifted naturally from one clique to another.

Nobody ignored him when he went up to them but he could sense the walls they put up. The bubble of silence that would form every time he appeared was ample sign to him that he was unwelcome. And so he had naturally stopped trying. They all did their jobs on their own. It was a team in name alone.

After the Portal collapsed without anything major happening, the team dispersed after some mild goodbyes. He exchanged numbers with Han Sungoh, unable to shake off the feeling that he disliked something about the man intensely, and went back to his car.

It had not been a fun extermination but he took comfort in the fact that there had been nothing out of the ordinary. They had done their jobs and done it well. There was nothing at all to celebrate because it was part of receiving a salary like everyone else in the country. The eerie sense of faux normalcy was disturbing.

Just like when he had bought the Ocean Eleven, the joy of driving his own car had quickly dissipated. That happiness had been particularly hampered by the substantial payments he would have to make for the car loan. He sighed as he saw an orange light ahead, slowed down just in time for the light to turn red as he slid into a spot just behind the white line.

He had lost his drive in life.That was not to say that Shiwoon was unhappy. He wasn't. There was nothing to be upset about in his life. Money, money and more money. He was on track to reach his goals and that could only be a good thing. But even sitting in his car, waiting for the light to turn green again, he found himself wondering what could have been.

Shiwoon's eyes drifted to a photo of his family. In it, he could see his elder sister in an ugly shirt that had been patched one too many times. He was wearing a cheap shirt his mother had bought from the market and his brother was wearing a cheap hand me down. It was the exact kind of picture Shiwoon had sworn he would never allow to be taken of his family again. Cruising through the road, he wondered idly what others had thought of the pictures. How their perceptions of him would be changed by seeing the picture displayed too proudly in their house's living room.

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"Money can't buy you everything," he said to himself, "but it sure as hell does buy you things that keep sadness at bay."

*

He parked outside their house. The day after he had first returned with the car, his neighbours had come over with expectant smiles, asking if his sister had found a rich husband. He delighted in the surprise they showed when he claimed it was his. Even that night, he could feel their gazes filled with envy, though he pretended not to notice. They quickly looked away as he stepped out of the car. Their gazes fell upon him and the suit he wore and turned away just as quickly.

They drew their blinds soon after, cutting off the light and the faint silhouette of their faces. He stepped into his house.

"I'm home," he said.

His mother was reading the news while his sister and brother lounged on the living room couch, watching a music show.

"Hey, hyung," Sungwoon said halfheartedly, his attention still drawn to the man singing an intense ballad on the screen.

He hadn't told his family about the incident with the Goblins. As far as they knew, he had received a hefty bonus for being promoted from a trainee to an official Hunter, and that he had been tested to be strong enough to be a D-rank Hunter, earning him a promotion. That explanation had staved off worries about his financial situation, particularly from his mother and sister. He had repaid his debt to them by now.

Still, he felt just a little too ashamed to spend time with them again like the old days. The lies he spun had formed a web through which nothing genuine could slip through.

He took a cold shower and went straight into his room after, as he always did these days. He lied on his bed and looked at the underside of the bed above him and sighed. He turned to his side. On his table, sitting proudly, the Ocean Eleven gleamed as the room's light struck it. Somehow, it seemed a lot less bright that night than usual.

*

There were no calls again that day. It seemed that there were either many more D-rank Hunters or far less Portals of the rank popping up. He didn't exactly know any Hunters who were D-rank to ask; he didn't think any of the other trainees would climb quite as quickly as he did and he had only met E-rank Hunters on the extermination teams he had been a part of.

As he stopped at a traffic light, he decided to check the time. He found that he would reach the cafe on time. As he looked out the window to his side absentmindedly, he found himself staring at an old man dressed in only a wifebeater, sitting behind the wheel of a grimy Civic. Shiwoon shook his head, wondering why the old man couldn't have dressed better, before turning back to his wheel. The traffic light turned green and he started driving again.

When he reached the cafe, he found the person he was meeting already seated and sipping a cup of iced coffee. Shiwoon checked the time again - it was five minutes before the meeting time. He took his seat with a shake of his head and a customary sigh.

"Senior Choi Minsik," Shiwoon said, "you shouldn't be so early. It gives me pressure."

Choi Minsik laughed. He still had the same mirth that belied his bear-like stature and he looked the same way he had in his training days, save for the fact that he had replaced gym outfits for the customary suit. "Good, good, people like you should feel some pressure from time to time."

"Do you want anything to eat with your coffee?" Shiwoon asked.

Choi Minsik waved his hand. "I don't need anything, but thank you."

Shiwoon nodded and went to order himself a slice of tiramisu cake and a cup of iced tea. "How have you been, senior?"

Choi Minsik pursed his lips. "You can speak more casually."

"Ah, yes. Sorry, Minsik."

Choi Minsik nodded with a smile. "Things have been pretty easy for me. My organisation had a team of E-ranks with an open spot for a melee tank, so I fit right in."

"I see. That's good to hear. Is the team okay?"

Choi Minsik had a thoughtful look before he answered. "I would prefer to be working with Park Sua, but it's a good team. What about you, Shiwoon?"

Shiwoon scratched his nose, slightly embarrassed to talk about his accomplishment. "...I'm a D-rank Hunter right now."

Choi Minsik choked on his drink. "...excuse me?"

Shiwoon passed Choi Minsik a paper napkin before explaining. "I was part of a misclassified Portal and as a result I Reawakened twice. Because of that, the Bureau awarded me the official status of a Hunter and allowed me to skip to D-rank immediately."

"Ah… My, you really are a high flyer, aren't you, Kim Shiwoon?"

Shiwoon put his hand on the back of his head as he blushed. "Not at all, senior. Sorry, I mean Minsik."

"So, did you call me here today to brag or did you have something you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, I wanted to catch up with you since it's been a while. But I also had a few questions."

Choi Minsik scoffed. "I knew it. Go ahead and ask."

"Why do I seem to be working less as a D-ranj?"

Choi Minsik thought for some time before answering. He lifted up two fingers. "There are two main reasons. Firstly, D-rank Portals are slightly rarer than E-rank. Naturally, you will find less work." He put down his middle finger. "The second reason is that in D-rank, connections are a lot more important."

Shiwoon tilted his head in confusion. "Connections?"

"That's right, connections. D-rank is where most Hunters start to organise into teams. The Monitoring Bureau also prefers to assign exterminations to teams rather than motley crews, though they sometimes have no other choice. That's another reason you will find less work at D-rank."

"How can I build these connections then? Everyone seems to ignore me."

Choi Minsik shook his head with a sorry look. "Most people build them while climbing from E-rank. Because you progressed through Reawakening, you can only make these connections in the D-rank assignments you receive, or you can request to be downgraded to E-rank for the time being."

"I see." Shiwoon sighed. "I'll just have to try to talk more to them then." He decided to move the topic into more frivolous and friendly territory. "So, how are things between you and senior Park Sua?"

Choi Minsik choked on his drink again. As he thumped on his chest to get the coffee down his throat, he stared at Shiwoon. "I won't deny I have a connection with her," he said with careful thought, "but that's it for now."

"Ah, so you are the type to take it slow. I see, I see."

"What about you then, you punk? What about your love life?"

Shiwoon laughed. He took out his car keys. "This is my love life."

Choi Minsik furrowed his brows. "Hey, Shiwoon," he said slowly, "do you remember me asking you before what you trained so hard for?"

Shiwoon nodded. "I didn't get the chance to answer but it is simple. I want to make money."

Choi Minsik had a sad smile on his face. "Money. Right. That's fair."

Shiwoon looked out the window of the cafe, where he could see passersby still walking on the sidewalk. They were all focused on some intermittent thing, lost in their own worlds. "I need to make lots more money," he said wistfully, "lots and lots more." He wondered why the words sounded hollow to his own ears.

They continued their chat at the cafe for a while more after that before parting ways before dinner. (When Shiwoon asked Choi Minsik if he was meeting Park Sua for dinner, he looked away and gave a noncommital answer that was really the only answer Shiwoon needed.)

*

It was Anubis again. He had just encountered them a few days before but there they were, growling at him and drooling globs. They stood tall and proud, charging at the Hunters with sticks and branches. He dodged the attack that came at him, slashed downwards, and cut off the neck of the monster with a single Aether-enhanced blow like a hot knife through butter.

Sighing as he moved to the next Anubis, he marvelled inwardly at the efficiency and tidiness with which he killed the monsters. Practice makes perfect, and while he was hardly perfect with the sword, he was a lot more proficient with it than he had been before. Moreover, the Anubis had very obvious patterns to the way they attacked, and that made it easier for Shiwoon to cut them down.

There wasn't a single crisis throughout the extermination. Everyone acted within their little cliques and did their jobs well. After it was over, Shiwoon tried to approach the other Hunters, but was quickly rebuffed by meaningless pleasantries like 'you did really well today' that led to nowhere. Still, he could feel that if he kept pushing by saying interesting things, they would humor him. That alone made it better than his previous team. He did not know what to say, however, and so he excused himself and retreated into his own quiet little bubble in the corner.

After the Portal collapsed, around midnight, Shiwoon left and drove back home. It was not so much anger as disappointment that he felt. For the first time in his life, there were those who excluded him from their interactions. Apathy, rather than dislike, was a poison to his ego. Unlike high school, no one came to him on their own. Nobody looked up to him and nobody valued his opinions. He was just another cog in the grand Hunter machine.

As he drove along the road leading back to his neighborhood, he spotted a familiar face on the sidewalk. He decided to pull over.

"Hey," he said, peeking his head out of the window with a smile, "do you need a ride?"