Before the Incident

Before the incident broke out.

After enduring a run of disasters most people would be lucky to survive even once—terror attacks, kidnappings, and worse—the Cha family of a certain rural village had at last reclaimed a measure of peace.

"Flower Pig."

Cha Eun-hyeok watched his younger sister, Cha Ah-ra, as she stepped into the kitchen.

"What's with all the meat?"

"Oh, this."

"Why is there so much of it?"

She clearly meant to cook. Ingredients he almost never saw in their house were laid out everywhere—thinly sliced meat far too fine to have come from any ordinary hunt, perfectly ripe round pears in the dead of winter…

"Holy shit, there's even kiwi."

"I'm making bulgogi with this."

"Where'd the money come from?"

"I got compensation from the Collector Guild."

"…"

Cha Eun-hyeok fixed his sister with a faintly dubious look.

"…They actually had something to compensate us for…? Weren't we the ones who should've been paying them?"

"Umm…"

"Far as I can tell, all they did was pull our half-dead family out from between a bunch of monsters. That's it."

"Uh…"

"This is that classic 'save a drowning man and he demands your pack' routine, isn't it. Shaking down a megacorp for cash—look at you, finally learning how the world works."

"I didn't shake anyone down. They just gave it to me."

Faced with her brother's entirely reasonable skepticism, Cha Ah-ra fumbled for words.

"Look, I didn't really get it either, but… anyway, we're pretty tied up with Black Cloak and the mermaid princess, and Black Cloak is under the Collector Guild's responsibility, so… it wasn't like there was zero connection, you know…?"

"…?"

Cha Eun-hyeok's face crumpled.

"What the hell are you even talking about?"

"Anyway, he said we'd been through a lot, so we should eat something good and rest. Said he was sorry."

"Is this a scam? Did you get scammed? I always knew you'd fall for something like this one day."

"It's not. Who do you think you are, lecturing me?"

"I'm still better off than you."

"Don't talk crap, you soft-hearted idiot."

"You think calling me names is going to make me drop my guard? Nope. My dear little sister, the walking safety hazard."

Cha Eun-hyeok took her by both shoulders and spoke with complete seriousness.

"People in this world only think about how to fleece suckers like us."

"But they gave us money. Money's not a crime. If they gave it, we should spend it."

"No—we should give it back. Who knows what they'll pull if we keep this as leverage. Why did they even give it to us?"

"Compensation…? Is that wrong…?"

At his sister's pure-hearted answer, Cha Eun-hyeok smiled with paternal kindness.

"Flower Pig. Flower Pig. You become a hunter, take hit after hit to the back of the head, and you're still falling for the word 'compensation'?"

"Uh… uh…?"

"I don't know which Collector decided to hand us compensation, but every single employee over there is either a 1st- or 2nd-Class citizen. Why would they think of doing that?"

"Uhh…"

"No one from any city shows mercy to a 3rd-Class citizen for no reason. Let's carefully walk through the situation. Who exactly gave you that money?"

"H-Hunter Yu Seong-un…"

"Hunter Yu Seong-un."

Cha Eun-hyeok nodded.

"Then this isn't compensation. It's closer to a condolence payment."

"Are we dying? Did I spend too much already? I really shouldn't have bought the kiwi, right?"

"That's not the problem."

He thought he understood why Yu Seong-un had given them the money.

"We're among the handful of people who know the true identity of the 'Black Cloak' that's been lighting the internet on fire lately. And how many people in this world do you think want to use and study that 'Black Cloak'? So how much do you think genuine information about him is actually worth?"

"Uh… uh…"

"That value is more than you could match even if you harvested every organ from 3rd-Class citizens like us. The reason Mr. Yu Seong-un gave us this money is closer to mourning—because we found out the terrifying truth about the 'Black Cloak.'"

"So are we dying?"

"If we keep our mouths shut, we might not die… or we might just die anyway…"

Cha Ah-ra's face crumpled into a near-tearful pout.

"Then what do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? Take the money, enjoy it, and keep your mouth carefully shut."

"Is it enough if only we keep quiet?"

"If we're unlucky, the information could leak from Priest Kang Seo-dam's side or the Collector Guild."

"Then we die?"

"Life would definitely get a whole lot more exhausting."

In the absolute worst case, they could be dragged off somewhere and forced to spill everything they knew about the Black Cloak. They might even die in the process—but Cha Eun-hyeok accepted the situation with surprising calm.

"Anyway, I don't think Hunter Yu Seong-un gave us the money out of malice."

"Really…? Now I'm getting anxious."

"From where I sit, he realized our futures as people who know about the Black Cloak aren't going to be smooth, and he gave us the money as a way of saying hang in there. So it's fine if you keep cooking like this."

"Ugh… but still…"

"It's probably compensation that also covers Cha I-sol getting kidnapped. You and the kid both went through hell, so just use what you got."

Cha Ah-ra scrunched up her face.

"Are you telling me to relax or not to relax?"

"I'll do the worrying. You just keep cooking without a thought in your head."

As long as Cha Eun-hyeok—who was not entirely without life's wisdom—stayed alive, it was fine if his two younger siblings were a little stupid. The money didn't seem to come with malice attached, so there was no need to panic right this second.

Judging by the personality of Hunter Yu Seong-un that had come through in their conversations, and by the way a megacorp like the Collector Guild usually operated, they probably already had a protection team assigned to the family.

There was the protective angle, given the previous kidnapping—but it might be more accurate to call them surveillance personnel for information control.

Either way, it didn't matter.

"You like cooking, don't you."

"W-well, yeah, but…"

"Money finally came in after forever. It's fine to spend this much."

Of course they could have saved it to fix the house or cover the youngest's dorm fees. It could have helped with Cha Eun-hyeok's bungeoppang business, or bought Cha Ah-ra gear so she wouldn't die.

But if you only ever spent money on absolute necessities, was that even living?

"We were already earning the money we needed on our own. On top of that, we lucked into some extra funds—it's a little much to insist we pour even that into essentials."

"Mmm…"

"If we don't blow off stress like this, when else are we going to?"

People needed little joys like this to keep living. Cha Eun-hyeok knew that if all you did was scrape by to survive, you were only burning through your body and mind until you died.

"So how much compensation did you actually get?"

"Oh, right."

"'Oh, right'? Flower Pig, are you living with your brain switched off?"

"I-I just got back from Seoul, okay? My head was a mess…"

Cha Ah-ra held up her fingers.

"A thousand."

"…A thousand? Without any negotiation? That's pretty solid."

"It's been ages since I went shopping in Seoul, so…"

"Tonight's dinner's going to be a feast, then."

"Hehe. Right?"

"Show me what you've got."

Cha Eun-hyeok glanced toward the drafty corner of the room.

"I'll go sit with the kid."

"You're not helping?"

"I don't particularly like cooking, and what if the youngest gets kidnapped again?"

"…Y-you really think that could happen again?"

"From where I'm standing, our little brother's life looks anything but ordinary."

It was a gut feeling only Cha Eun-hyeok could have—he saw strange monsters no one else could.

"I think he's going to have a much rougher life than us. It makes me uneasy. My heart won't settle."

"What the fuck, are you putting a curse on him? He's about to become a 2nd-Class citizen. If his life ends up harder than us lifelong 3rd-Class locals, isn't that a problem?"

"No matter how I look at it, it won't be a normal life. That Cha I-sol kid keeps getting tangled up in weird shit… and his personality doesn't help."

The fact that the boy himself had almost no fear probably played a part. Uselessly cheerful and socially gifted, too.

"A soft-hearted idiot with no fear—what do you call that? He's twisting his own fate."

"Ah, shit. Did we raise him wrong?"

"What can you do? He's already grown up like this. Still, once he joins the Sun Temple he'll learn a few things and get some protection. The church has its dignity to uphold, so he'll rein himself in."

"Aigoo…"

Cha Ah-ra waved a hand.

"Hearing that doesn't make me feel better at all. I wanted to feed him something delicious before he went into the dorms. Go sit with him and talk to him about stuff."

"Talk about what?"

"Tell him not to live like a sucker…"

"Like that'll work. We're already screwed."

Even as he said it, Cha Eun-hyeok went straight to his youngest brother, Cha I-sol. After the last kidnapping, leaving the boy alone made him deeply uneasy.

"Hey, kid."

"Hyung, what's Noona doing?"

"Says she's making bulgogi."

"Whoa, bulgogi! Isn't that expensive?"

"It is expensive. The ingredients are insane. Just pray your sister doesn't ruin dinner."

"Should I pray to the Sun God first?"

"No. You're not even that close to him yet…"

"Really?"

Delighted, the youngest brandished his pencil. Cha Eun-hyeok sat down beside him. He still had no idea what the boy was drawing. He loved his brother, but he couldn't quite love his drawing skills.

"Once you move into the dorms, you'll get to eat things even better than this."

"Should I bring some out?? Want to eat together??"

"I heard you can't really leave until you're officially a priest."

"I'll sneak out."

"…Finish your training first, then buy me a meal. I'll wait."

With Cha I-sol, it actually seemed possible he would sneak out of the dorms and walk all the way back to this remote village, so Cha Eun-hyeok postponed the promise into the future. As he ruffled his brother's hair, his gaze drifted lower.

"You were drawing?"

"Yeah."

"What were you drawing?"

Something pitch-black and blotchy on the back of a scrap of paper caught his eye.

"Black Cloak!"

"…"

Cha Eun-hyeok fell silent.

"…What?"

"Huh? Black Cloak!"

"You… do you… know what that is?"

"Isn't he a nice ghost who gives presents to good people?"

"That's, uh, well…"

"I felt too shy to pray to the Sun God, so I drew Black Cloak first!"

"What does that even have to do with anything? More importantly, Black Cloak is a monster…"

"Isn't it the same thing?"

"No."

Cha Eun-hyeok short-circuited.

"Who told you about Black Cloak?"

"Iser did."

"Iser… the village chief's daughter?"

"All the kids in our village know about Black Cloak."

"Why…?"

"Because he's cool."

"…"

Knowing the true nature of that Black Cloak, Cha Eun-hyeok took a careful breath.

"…Hyung's a little out of the loop, so humor me. Is Black Cloak really that famous these days?"

"Huh? Yeah, that's what they say."

"What exactly is Black Cloak? Do you know?"

"Honestly I don't really know either…"

Scratch, scratch. Cha I-sol kept talking as he filled in a black lump with his blunt pencil.

"Isn't he kind of like Santa?"

"…The old man who gives presents to kids who don't cry?"

"He likes good people, and he really likes it when you talk with him. If you're polite, Black Cloak even gives you gifts."

"Oh…"

Cha Eun-hyeok was still trying to figure out how to respond when—

"…"

"…Huh?"

Both brothers' eyes locked onto the "Black Cloak" on the paper.

"…Did that just move?"

The black mass, drawn with a child's clumsy skill, had wriggled.

"…"

Cold sweat beaded on Cha Eun-hyeok's forehead.

A secretive portrait whose true nature even a massive guild like the Collector Guild had yet to fully grasp.

And sometimes those unreal, dreamlike beings—including the gods called fate who possessed wills of their own—had summoning rituals unique to them.

…Don't tell me…

Of all people, Cha I-sol, who had awakened as a priest, had drawn the Black Cloak instead of the Sun God. Completely oblivious to the way his older brother's heart was burning with dread, Cha I-sol beamed.

"Wow, Black Cloak must be here!"

"Wait—wait a second, I-sol. Please just wait… this isn't—"

"Be my friend!"

"Please!"

Cha Eun-hyeok grabbed his brother and begged, but it was already too late.

"Whoa!"

Inside the drawing.

The clumsy sketch moved, taking on form.

"Black Cloak…!"

"…"

"…Black… Cloak…??"

He was wrapped in a pitch-black cloak.

The deep shadow beneath the heavily drawn-down hood hid every trace of a face, dark enough to feel alien.

The black shirt and suit visible inside the cloak absorbed light without reflecting any, yet the long, well-proportioned body was unmistakable.

"…Ji-oh hyung?"

It was the Seo Ji-oh that Cha I-sol knew.

"Ji-oh hyung?"

"Yes. I am Seo Ji-oh."

"Huh. It really is Ji-oh hyung."

That flat tone, as if run through a translator, and the strangely heavy air. It was no different from the devotee of the sun, Hunter Seo Ji-oh, who had once shared a meal with Cha I-sol.

"Why are you here?"

"Did you not say you wished to be friends?"

"I didn't say that to you, hyung."

"That saddens me. Do you not wish to be friends with me?"

"But hyung is hyung…?"

Watching the exchange, Cha Eun-hyeok pressed a hand to his forehead.

"…"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cha Eun-hyeok."

"…Yes. Truly a pleasure. A pleasure, but…"

Hesitating, Cha Eun-hyeok asked,

"Do you normally get called out like this?"

"Student Cha I-sol called for me."

"…"

Suddenly Cha Eun-hyeok remembered the compensation money Cha Ah-ra had received.

…So it was for moments like this.

Having unintentionally learned the Black Cloak's summoning method, Cha Eun-hyeok naturally pulled out his phone.

This information was far too dangerous for them to keep to themselves. His fingers, as if by reflex, searched for Hunter Yu Seong-un's direct line.

Please save us.

Yu Seong-un had probably given them the money for exactly this reason.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll step outside for a moment."

"Please do as you wish."

"…In the meantime… my sister Cha Ah-ra will take care of you. It won't take long."

"I apologize for the sudden visit. Please make yourself comfortable."

"Yes. Thank you."

And that was how Cha Eun-hyeok came to request a rescue from Yu Seong-un.

Not long after, Yu Seong-un arrived at the Cha family's house.

"Where is Ji-oh?"

"He's talking with the youngest."

"No one died, right?"

"…Why… would you even ask that…?"

"Ah, just in case."

"…R-right…"

It had been a thoroughly exhausting day.

(To be continued)