Ding-dong-dang-dong, ding-dong-dang-dong. The school bell rang out, lifting the spirits of all who heard it — from young elementary school students who still found their mothers' arms more familiar than a classroom, to graying teachers on the verge of retirement. With expressions that looked ready to take flight, most of the class filed out, and Jin-Woo, seated among them, greeted his first dismissal time at the new school with a look of relief.
"Don't just wander around with your new friends until late. Everyone, head straight home. Got it?"
"Yessir—" The chorus of the boys' playful voices and the girls' high-pitched replies blended into a perfunctory answer, and with that, the classroom emptied quickly as the school day came to a close. Jin-Woo, who hadn't bothered to rush and was packing his bag at an unhurried pace, spotted Young-Gil approaching slowly like a full-bellied turtle.
'...?'
As Jin-Woo paused, Young-Gil spoke carefully.
"Um... I'm heading toward Giga Mart. What about you?"
So he wants to become friends. A smile that was easy to read appeared on Jin-Woo's face.
'A small kindness shown in childhood can become the start of a bond like this.'
After indulging in a moment of warmth, Jin-Woo shook his head.
"I'm going the same way, but I've got something to take care of today." "Oh..."
Jin-Woo gave the crestfallen Young-Gil a light pat on the shoulder and grinned.
"Let's go."
Jin-Woo left the school building together with Young-Gil.
"What? The track team?"
At Young-Gil's surprised voice, Jin-Woo nodded calmly.
"Yeah."
The reason Jin-Woo had chosen this school, farther away instead of one near his home, was the track team — the only one among the surrounding schools. At the answer that he was going to the track team from now on, Young-Gil tilted his head.
'Did Jin-Woo ever used to be good at running?'
Young-Gil had only known Jin-Woo for about a month. He remembered that Jin-Woo was good at games, but he'd never seen him move during gym class or club time. He did everything at a leisurely, unhurried pace. The image of that relaxed Jin-Woo came to mind.
'A high school track team is usually made up of students with special athletic talent, though...'
Feeling vaguely worried about Jin-Woo, Young-Gil found himself unconsciously following along. Jin-Woo crossed the athletic field and walked over to the track team members who were warming up in a corner.
"Huh...?"
The team members' eyes converged on the newcomers who, rather than walking past or changing direction, had come straight toward them. The biggest senior among them took a step forward.
"What do you two want?"
Jin-Woo took a quick look at the track team's atmosphere, then said with a smile:
"I'd like to join the track team."
The big senior — Choi Tae-Woong, the team captain — looked down at Jin-Woo and the small, pale-faced boy standing behind him.
"You want to join the track team?" "Yes." "Both of you?"
When Jin-Woo turned to look at Young-Gil, Young-Gil shook his head.
"Just me."
Seeing Jin-Woo still smiling cheerfully, several interested seniors gathered around.
"Oh, what's this? A hopeful recruit?" "Never had a new student barge in like this to join." "No joke, man."
Choi Tae-Woong scratched the top of his head, looked Jin-Woo up and down, and asked again:
"You a track-and-field specialist?" "I'm not." "Any experience running in middle school?"
He had been busy traversing dimensional rifts chasing after Monarchs, but that was hardly the sort of experience one could call "running in middle school," so Jin-Woo simply smiled and shook his head.
"No."
Up to that point, the seniors had been in a welcoming mood toward the bold new recruit, but their faces began to harden one by one. A first-year who had never once properly practiced running, showing up and wanting to join a track team made up of athletic specialists? Were they taking high school track too lightly? One hot-tempered senior jumped in from the side.
"You've never even run before, so why do you want to join the track team?"
Jin-Woo's answer was simple.
"Because there's someone I want to meet at a competition."
The girl was still in the middle school division, but she was certainly good enough to compete in regional tournaments. Before becoming a higher-rank Hunter and giving up her dream, she had been a fine track athlete. If they could meet at a tournament where both middle school and high school competitors gathered, wouldn't that be natural? Rather than forcing his way into her life, Jin-Woo judged this to be far better. But from the looks on their faces, the seniors apparently didn't agree.
"A competition...?"
The hotheaded senior, Jung Gu-Sik, had his face stiffen. There was a limit to taking track lightly. Just before the agitated senior could curse and chase the new recruits away, Captain Choi Tae-Woong grinned and gave his approval.
"Fine."
Jung Gu-Sik turned to him with a look that said he couldn't understand.
"What?" "But there's a condition."
Choi Tae-Woong, who had silenced Jung Gu-Sik with a "just watch" expression, pointed to the bespectacled kid stretching hard in the far corner.
"You see that guy?"
Jin-Woo looked toward the fingertip and nodded.
"Yeah." "He's a second-year candidate on our track team — the slowest runner we have. Still, you ought to be faster than him if you want the right to join, don't you think?"
A lie. Having already assessed the second-year's talent before a word was even explained, Jin-Woo chuckled inwardly.
'He looks thin at first glance, but those solid thighs and calves, and the confidence radiating from his entire body...'
Even without examining his stable breathing or upright posture, it was obvious he was no ordinary runner. These third-year seniors were trying to toy with him. Their intentions were plain as day, and in Jin-Woo's position, all he could do was laugh. Realizing Choi Tae-Woong's scheme a beat late, Jung Gu-Sik changed his tune.
"That's right — you said you're aiming for the competition too, right? Then a little entrance test should be a breeze for you."
Jin-Woo didn't like that smug grin, but he calmly asked:
"That senior... is he really just a candidate?" "I guarantee it."
At Choi Tae-Woong's confident voice, the track team members behind them struggled to hold back their laughter.
'He is a candidate, alright. The kid placed third at last year's regional tournament but dropped to candidate status after spraining his ankle during winter training.'
Well, strictly speaking, it was all true — being out for a long time meant he was the "slowest" of the bunch, and he was indeed a "candidate" runner. Choi Tae-Woong, wearing a devious smile, gave Jin-Woo a nod.
"Understood. I'll give it a shot."
He's hooked! Jung Gu-Sik and the other seniors cheered inwardly.
'A first-year who can't even recognize a third-place finisher from last year's regional tournament thinks he can join the track team.'
Choi Tae-Woong, especially, who had been leading the deal from the front, had to use every ounce of willpower to keep the laughter from bursting out.
"Good. But just a plain run wouldn't be any fun... If you win, you join the team. If you lose, a month of free laundry and cleaning duty. How about it?" "Sounds good." "J-Jin-Woo..."
Young-Gil tried to stop him, but Jin-Woo just smiled and said it was fine.
'Let's see how long that cocky look of his lasts.'
Choi Tae-Woong turned to the candidate and spoke in a commanding voice.
"Sang-In, you'll have to do a run for me."
The track team's ace, Woo Sang-In, who had just finished stretching, rose to his feet.
"No problem."
Taking off his glasses and handing them to another team member, an extraordinary intensity blazed from both his eyes. Meeting that gaze, Jin-Woo also handed his bag and jacket to Young-Gil. While the track team members were excited about teaching the new recruits a hard lesson in life, Jin-Woo was seriously contemplating just how fast he should run so that they'd only be mildly surprised rather than completely shaken.
"First-year, ready?" "Yes." "Sang-In, how about you?" "Ready."
Jin-Woo and Woo Sang-In stood side by side at the starting line. Jin-Woo's stance was optimized for immediate combat engagement, while Woo Sang-In's posture was built purely for running. The team members didn't hide their smirks at Jin-Woo's awkward-looking form.
"What the hell is that?" "And he wants to join the track team? Looks like a complete beginner who doesn't even know the first thing about running."
Jin-Woo let their whispers pass through one ear as he regulated his breathing.
"On your mark."
A moment later, Choi Tae-Woong's thick, booming voice erupted with the start signal.
"Go!"
* * *
"Sir, are you feeling any better now?" "Ah... yeah, I guess..."
The teacher Park Gi-Sul, nicknamed "Viper," answered half-heartedly as he hurried past a colleague in the corridor. His crumpled expression spoke volumes about his mood.
'Having to endure that humiliation in front of the entire school today...'
He must have seen things wrong. Skipping a proper breakfast must have caused him to see hallucinations. Fleeing from the students' gazes that seemed to mock him, he ducked into the gym teachers' lounge and let out a sigh from deep within his chest.
"Phew..."
Maybe he should have a smoke? The lounge, where smoking was permitted since everyone there was a smoker, was nothing less than a sanctuary for Park Gi-Sul. With a cigarette between his lips, he stood by the window, lit up, and looked down at the athletic field with a blank mind — then his eyes went wide. He quickly ducked down and turned his back to the window.
'W-what? Why is that kid running around the field with the track team?'
Just then, the track team's supervising teacher entered the lounge and spotted Park Gi-Sul.
"Mr. Park!"
Thinking the morning's dizzy spell had returned, the supervisor rushed over and propped him up.
"Are you all right? Are you sure you shouldn't go to a hospital?" "I-I'm fine. Just a little dizzy for a moment..."
Trying to brush it off, Park Gi-Sul asked:
"By the way... why is that student, Sung Jin-Woo, out there running with the track team kids?" "Ah... that? That student's name is Sung Jin-Woo, is it?"
Peering past Park Gi-Sul's shoulder out the window, the supervisor let out an incredulous laugh.
"A first-year showed up wanting to join the track team, apparently... We tested him and his performance was too good to just send away, so now they're seeing how his stamina holds up." "S-stamina?" "Yes. He's already on his twentieth lap. I got tired just watching, so I came up first."
Exercise, the sports team. When you're young, nothing beats sports for burning off excess energy. Various thoughts crossed Park Gi-Sul's mind. The student Sung Jin-Woo, whom he had written off as a problem child, was apparently trying to hone himself by joining the sports team.
'Could it be... could it be that I had it wrong this whole time...'
Thinking about it, there was no way a kid who carried a monster around with him could exist. Student Sung Jin-Woo was nothing more than an ordinary student who had gone through a long period of wandering and was now finding his place through academics, athletics, or other pursuits. To have seen a monster in such an ordinary student, to have claimed he saw ghosts — "Viper's" reputation was in tatters. Park Gi-Sul chuckled and straightened up.
'Yes... Let me look at him without prejudice. Then the misunderstanding will clear up too.'
The supervising teacher watched the serious-then-laughing Park Gi-Sul with a worried look.
"Mr. Park...?" "No, I'm fine now. No more dizziness." "Ah... well, that's good."
Shooing away the supervisor who had been supporting him, Park Gi-Sul slowly turned back around. The boy, drenched in sweat under the bright spring sun, running laps around the field. Who could dare point a finger at that boy? Jin-Woo, who had been lapping the breathless track team members for several rounds without the slightest sign of fatigue, came into his view.
'As I thought, morning is—'
Before he could even enjoy the thought, his entire field of vision suddenly plunged into darkness, and the endless Shadow Army revealed itself. Park Gi-Sul nearly stumbled but braced his legs and clenched his teeth.
'This is a hallucination. A hallucination. It can't be real!'
Just then, the ant monster standing at the very front of the soldiers in black armor saw him and gaped wide.
[Gak!]
"U-urgh!"
In the end, Park Gi-Sul collapsed and lost consciousness.
[...]
Inside Jin-Woo's shadow pocket dimension, Igrit, who had been watching Beru, nudged him in the ribs with an elbow.
[I told you not to do that.] [Kieh... That human really can see us, huh.]
Beru scratched the side of his head, then bowed before his lord's command could even be issued.
* * *
Late at night. Detective Woo Jin-Cheol stopped by a tripe restaurant he frequently visited with the junior detective. After a good amount of alcohol had gone down, things came out of the junior's mouth that he normally wouldn't say.
"Hey, Senior Woo..." "Hmm?" "You've been investigating the surrender case ever since that day, right." "..."
Here we go again. Woo Jin-Cheol's head started to throb, and he silently tipped back his glass. But sure enough, undeterred by his senior's wishes, the junior's unrelenting questions continued.
"That day... you really did see something, didn't you?" "What day?"
Playing dumb on purpose, Woo Jin-Cheol watched as the junior smiled and pressed on.
"Come on, Senior... You know all about it. The day the surrenderer disappeared. You really saw something, didn't you?"
This kid sometimes hit where it least expected.
'He's got good instincts as a detective.'
Reminiscing about his own rookie days, Woo Jin-Cheol let out a soft chuckle and answered.
"What if I did?" "Really?"
The junior's eyes, which had seemed drunk, suddenly gleamed and his ears perked up. After all, the junior was still more of a kid than an adult. That's why he'd joined the investigations division — a meager salary and endless workload. Whether it was the alcohol finally hitting or a desire to finally say something he'd been holding back, the words came out of Woo Jin-Cheol's mouth too, something he normally wouldn't have said.
"Ants... an ant monster."
Gulp. The sound of the junior detective's swallow carried all the way across the table.
"I don't know exactly what I saw that day either. But to me, it looked like an ant." "An- an ant monster? You mean a giant ant appeared?" "No. It was an ant, but..."
That was the exact moment. Right as Woo Jin-Cheol had said that much, someone who appeared dead drunk stumbled past and stopped.
"Th- that ant monster — is it a monster with an ant's head but a human-like body?"
Detective Woo Jin-Cheol and the junior detective both turned their heads toward the voice at the same time.