Chapter 1: The Ideal Type and the First Awakened

What is your ideal type?

“—Someone with a lot of money, who spends it well.”

‘That was an unexpected answer. Doesn’t he have plenty of money himself?’

“—That’s true, but it’s money I acquired suddenly, so I don’t really know how to spend it well. I just hoard it. I prefer someone who’s been well-off since birth, who can give freely without a second thought, even to the point of seeming like a pushover sometimes.”

‘If he weren’t the world’s top guild master, that answer might sound materialistic. So, is he only looking at money?’

“—(He laughs for a long time.) No, not at all. I like beautiful people. Someone with fair, clear skin, whose eyes turn up slightly, making them seem a bit sensitive, but who is actually kind and gentle to those around them.”

“I want to fill in those delicate aspects of such a person. I want someone I can be a pillar of support for.”

‘That’s incredibly specific.’

“—My desires are just clear. A height of around 177cm would be good. I’d prefer someone a bit slender, with pretty hands and legs.”

“Oh, and it would be good if they were a Hunter. Since I’m here, their rank doesn’t need to be very high. B-rank is sufficient.”

‘Those are severely picky conditions.’

“—They’re not that picky. Since I ask for a lot, I plan to treat them exceptionally well. If we were to marry, I’d even consider quitting my job and supporting them at home.”

‘Losing Hunter Joo Yi-won would be an enormous loss to the Hunter world. It seems I should hope it doesn’t come to pass.’

“—There’s no chance of it happening anytime soon. The person is an iron wall. (He laughs.)”

‘In truth, Hunters who meet all those conditions are not common.’

“—Of course. But I have no intention of lowering my standards. I want someone who perfectly fits the description. I’d rather live alone.”

‘Actually, I think there is one person who fits those conditions.’

“—You’re probably thinking of the right person. (He laughs.)”

‘Can you really say that so openly?’

“—People should be honest. I don’t lie. Marrying someone like that has been my dream since childhood. Until then, I have no intention of dating.”

(Continued)

****

Hunter Space

Title: Why don’t you just openly say your ideal type is Shin Ji-ho?

It’s so obvious you two are dating.

Comments

– Are Joo Yi-won and Shin Ji-ho really dating?

➥ No way. He’s just deflecting because he’s sick of the constant ‘ideal type’ questions and scandals, telling people to stop asking lolololol.

➥➥ Anyone can see he’s desperate to marry Shin Ji-ho? He probably would have given the name if they’d asked who his ideal type was directly.

– I think they really are dating.

➥ What nonsense.

➥➥ If they’re dating, then they’re dating. What else would you call it?

➥➥➥ Stop shipping them.

– Not shipping, it’s real. Look at Joo Yi-won’s eyes (photo).

➥ Shin Ji-ho is going to get pregnant soon…

➥➥ Let’s get them married and make South Korea a nation with six S-ranks!

➥➥➥ They’re both men, they can’t get pregnant.

➥➥➥➥ Why are you taking this so seriously? This guy seems to be the most earnest one here.

****

Three years ago, the first anomaly erupted in the heart of Seoul.

A rift tore open in the empty air. Through this rent in space, otherworldly monsters, never before seen, poured forth.

This was the inaugural rift to appear on Earth.

Rifts served as conduits connecting dungeons from another dimension to Earth. The very first rift, appearing in Seoul—a city oblivious to other worlds, monsters, gates, or dungeons—threatened to unleash catastrophic damage.

However, in that critical moment, a young man awakened a new, unprecedented power. With his overwhelming, newly manifested strength, he effortlessly annihilated the torrent of monsters.

That young man was Shin Ji-ho, Earth’s very first Awakened being.

Naturally, Shin Ji-ho instantly shot to fame. Anyone with even a slight connection to modern civilization soon knew his name.

Shin Ji-ho’s name, face, upbringing, family, school, friends—a deluge of information was disseminated across the globe.

Fitting for a metropolis of ten million people, countless videos captured the moment of Shin Ji-ho’s awakening. These awakening videos garnered hundreds of millions of views on MeTube.

Yet, the subject of all this buzz remained oblivious to his own celebrity for a long time.

Perhaps as a consequence of wielding such immense power, Shin Ji-ho collapsed on the spot. He remained unconscious for a staggering two years.

Two years.

During that period, which felt both short and long, an era of intense chaos passed.

After Shin Ji-ho, countless others awakened their own powers, and society gradually began to accept gates and Awakened individuals as a natural part of life.

Finally, Shin Ji-ho awoke.

Though the intensity of attention wasn’t quite what it had been immediately after his awakening, public interest in Shin Ji-ho remained high. The entire world turned its gaze to him the moment he regained consciousness.

One year later, Shin Ji-ho was living a life completely detached from the public eye.

****

“Shin Ji-ho, behind you!”

At Im Seung-ju’s sharp warning cry, Shin Ji-ho instinctively ducked. Yet, his judgment seemed to be mistaken; the attack, flying in from behind, grazed past his head by a hair’s breadth.

“Kugh!”

A powerful impact made his head ring. His vision, momentarily bleached white, flickered erratically. Ji-ho desperately drew upon the magical energy within his body, and a temporary surge of vitality returned to his sluggish limbs.

Accustomed to swallowing the blood welling up in his throat, Ji-ho clenched his gloved fist tightly and swung.

*Thwack!*

Though the sound was rather light, hardly indicative of a heavy blow, its effect was devastating.

With a single punch from Ji-ho, the monster’s head was crushed. Blood and gore splattered violently in every direction from the messy strike.

Im Seung-ju, stepping closer, clicked his tongue at the gruesome sight.

“Why didn’t you dodge? What if it had venom?”

“This much is fine.”

Seung-ju knew Ji-ho lacked the energy to dodge, yet he deliberately taunted him like this every time.

Im Seung-ju’s attitude was severely insubordinate for a vice-guildmaster speaking to his guildmaster. However, Shin Ji-ho offered no particular rebuke.

In truth, he couldn’t.

The mere fact that Im Seung-ju remained with the guild was a stroke of luck.

“I’ll try to dodge better next time,” Ji-ho offered with a faint smile.

Regrettably, Im Seung-ju possessed the kind of personality that could calmly spit in a smiling face. While he didn’t actually spit, disliking the idea of a lawsuit, he frowned with an even more displeased expression and turned his gaze back to the scene.

“Guildmaster, you should head back. I’ll take care of the cleanup here.”

This was his polite way of saying, ‘Don’t be a bother, just get lost quickly.’

“Ah, alright.”

There was no point in them continuing to face each other; their relationship was already awkward. This was despite their positions as guildmaster and vice-guildmaster of the same guild.

Moreover, Im Seung-ju’s words held truth.

Today’s task involved the aftermath of a small-scale rift that appeared in a residential area. Although an evacuation order had been issued, it was a densely populated neighborhood, and crowds quickly gathered.

Shin Ji-ho, with his high-but-empty reputation, would only cause more trouble by lingering.

“Then I’ll head ba—”

Mid-sentence, Shin Ji-ho pressed his lips together. A premonition of ill omen settled over him.

His head began to spin, followed by a familiar sensation: an immense weight pressing down on him, and a pain like sharp weapons tearing through his body.

Unable to endure it, he coughed, and a surge of blood welled up from deep within his throat.

Through his blurring vision, he saw Im Seung-ju’s face, etched with profound annoyance.

‘Oh, again.’

Im Seung-ju’s lips seemed to form those very words.

‘Sorry for being a bother, you jerk,’ Ji-ho thought, but before he could convey the unspoken apology, Shin Ji-ho slowly lost consciousness.

****

Shin Ji-ho opened his eyes in a hospital room.

He hadn’t been unconscious for too long, given that the ceiling above him was unfamiliar.

Had his unconsciousness persisted, he would have been transferred to a private room at Cheongram Hospital, the familiar specialist hospital for Hunters. This was clearly a facility near the incident site.

“Are you awake, Mr. Shin Ji-ho?”

Ji-ho simply nodded in response to the voice. He felt too bothered to do anything but lie there, but the medical staff, having confirmed his awakening, became busy.

However, there was no cure or medicine for his chronic condition of collapsing while vomiting blood. After merely checking his vitals, the medical team and healers retreated without much progress.

Finally alone after a long while, Ji-ho checked the internet news articles on his Hunter-exclusive terminal.

[C-rank Rift in Bangbae 2-dong, resolved in 40 minutes… 0 casualties]

There was nothing particularly noteworthy in the articles related to today’s gate incident. Fortunately, it seemed his collapse hadn’t made the news.

Presumably, his father or Joo Yi-won had handled things to prevent any articles from being published. Of course, it also helped that public interest in Shin Ji-ho had waned considerably. He hadn’t seen many articles featuring his name recently.

Naturally, the Hunter communities, with their separate informants, were likely lambasting Shin Ji-ho again.

Shin Ji-ho, having always been distant from the internet, hadn’t even known what people were saying about him online. It was only by chance, overhearing guild members, that he checked a site where his name frequently appeared, often in contrast to his low rank.