"What the hell... Why is this femboy approaching me again?" Jaemin whispered to himself while forcing a polite smile. He hoped his internal frustration wasn't obvious.
"Hey, you're really fast," Minjae said as he walked up, slightly out of breath but still smiling like nothing was wrong.
Jaemin scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah… I get that a lot."
An uncomfortable silence followed.
"So," Minjae said, crossing his arms casually, "you ran away earlier."
"I didn't run away," Jaemin replied instantly. "I strategically repositioned myself."
Minjae stared at him for a second… then let out a soft laugh.
"That's just a fancy way of saying you ran."
Jaemin clicked his tongue. "Whatever. What do you want?"
Minjae didn't hesitate. "Let's team up."
"No."
The reply came out so fast it almost echoed.
Minjae blinked. "That was quick."
"I don't do teams."
"Why?"
Jaemin turned slightly, avoiding eye contact. "I just don't."
Minjae stepped closer. "You're strong, right?"
Jaemin frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Strong people don't need to avoid teams unless they have a reason."
Jaemin's eye twitched. "You talk too much."
"And you dodge questions."
Jaemin sighed loudly, already feeling a headache forming.
"I work better alone. That's it."
Minjae tilted his head. "That's not convincing."
Jaemin turned and started walking away. "Good. I wasn't trying to convince you."
Footsteps followed him again.
Jaemin stopped.
"...Are you serious right now?"
Minjae stopped beside him. "Completely."
Jaemin slowly turned, his expression flat. "Do you not understand what 'no' means?"
"I do," Minjae said calmly. "I just don't accept it."
Jaemin stared at him like he had just encountered a new species.
"This guy is insane," he muttered.
Minjae smiled. "So, where are you going next?"
"Not telling you."
"Battlefield?"
Jaemin froze for half a second.
Minjae's smile widened slightly. "I'll take that as a yes."
Jaemin exhaled sharply. "Listen carefully. The place I'm going to is dangerous. You'll die."
Minjae shrugged. "Then I'll just stick close to you."
"That's exactly why you'll die."
Minjae stepped closer again. "Or maybe I won't."
Jaemin took a step back instinctively.
"Stop getting close," he said, clearly annoyed.
"Then agree."
Jaemin's face twitched. "Agree to what?"
"Teaming up."
"No."
"Then I'll keep following you."
"No."
"Then I'll wait outside your house."
Jaemin froze completely.
"...You're joking."
Minjae shook his head. "Nope."
Jaemin stared at him, trying to figure out if he was serious.
"...You're actually crazy."
"Maybe."
Jaemin ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Why me?"
Minjae answered without hesitation.
"Because you're interesting."
Jaemin blinked.
For a moment, he didn't know how to respond to that.
"...That's not a valid reason."
"It is for me."
Jaemin looked away, clearly irritated, but his ears had turned slightly red.
"Annoying…"
Minjae stepped even closer.
Jaemin immediately backed up again.
"I said stop getting close!"
"Then agree."
Jaemin clenched his fists. "You're unbelievable…"
Minjae just kept smiling, completely unfazed.
"So?"
There was a long pause.
Jaemin sighed deeply, like he had just given up on life.
"...Fine."
Minjae's eyes lit up slightly. "So we're teaming up?"
Jaemin quickly shook his head. "Not today."
Minjae blinked. "Huh?"
Jaemin turned his face away, still slightly flushed.
"I'm going back home. I need to rest."
Minjae watched him quietly.
"...And?"
Jaemin clicked his tongue.
"And we'll team up next time, alright?"
Another pause.
Then Minjae smiled.
"Alright."
Jaemin immediately turned around and started walking away, not even looking back.
"...Freaking annoying," he muttered under his breath, his ears still faintly red.
Jaemin didn't stop walking until the military base was completely out of sight.
Only then did he let out a long breath.
"...What the hell was that?"
He rubbed his face in frustration.
"Why am I even agreeing to this?"
There was no answer.
Only silence.
Jaemin clicked his tongue and continued walking toward his house.
By the time he reached home, the sky had already turned dark. The faint glow of streetlights stretched across the empty road, giving everything a quiet, eerie feeling.
The moment he stepped inside, he shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
"...Finally."
His body relaxed slightly.
Without wasting time, he walked over to his chair and sat down.
"I need to check my stats."
The familiar translucent screen appeared in front of him.
[Name: Jaemin Park
Level: 17
Experience: 120000 / 500000
Hunter Rank: E
Class: None
Skills: None]
Jaemin stared at the screen in silence.
"E-rank already…"
He leaned back slowly.
"I'm getting stronger way too fast."
That thought didn't comfort him.
If anything, it made things worse.
"That thing from earlier… the abomination wasn't supposed to move like that during the day."
His eyes narrowed.
"And now that voice…"
Something was clearly interfering with his story.
This was no longer just about leveling up.
"If I don't figure out what's changing the plot, I could walk straight into something I can't handle."
He stood up.
"Inventory."
The system responded instantly.
The black crystal appeared inside the interface, quietly pulsing with that same ominous energy.
Jaemin stared at it.
"...You're definitely connected to all this."
He clenched his fist.
"If something reacts to this thing, I can track it."
That was his motive.
Instead of waiting for the unknown entity to make the next move, he would force it out.
Jaemin grabbed his coat and headed outside again.
The night air felt colder than before.
The streets were empty.
Too empty.
As he walked, he kept the black crystal open in his inventory screen, focusing on its presence.
At first, nothing happened.
Then slowly, he felt it.
A faint pull.
Jaemin stopped.
"...There it is."
He followed the sensation, step by step, until he reached a narrow alley.
The moment he stepped inside, the air changed.
The temperature dropped.
The space around him felt distorted.
Jaemin's eyes sharpened.
"So it really worked."
A figure slowly formed in front of him.
Its body flickered violently, like a broken signal.
Its shape unstable.
Almost like reality itself was rejecting it.
"What… is that?"
The creature tilted its head.
"Error… detected…"
Jaemin exhaled slowly.
"So you're the one messing with my system."
The creature glitched harder.
"Foreign… interference…"
Without warning, it lunged.
Jaemin reacted instantly.
He stepped forward and threw a punch.
His fist passed straight through it.
"...Not physical."
The creature reappeared behind him and attacked.
Jaemin barely dodged.
"Tch."
He created distance, thinking quickly.
"If it's connected to the system…"
He raised his hand.
"Status."
The screen appeared.
For a brief moment, the creature flickered.
Then information appeared.
[Name: Unknown
Level: ???
Type: System Anomaly]
Jaemin smirked slightly.
"Got you."
The creature charged again.
This time, Jaemin didn't move.
Instead, he focused completely on the system.
"Absorb."
A faint glow surrounded his hand.
The creature froze mid motion.
Its body began to distort violently.
"Error… ERROR…"
Jaemin clenched his fist.
"Yeah… disappear."
But something went wrong.
The glow suddenly flickered.
The creature's body expanded instead of collapsing.
Jaemin's eyes widened.
"...Wait."
The creature let out a distorted screech.
Its body swelled uncontrollably.
Cracks of light began forming across its surface.
"System… overload…"
Jaemin stepped back instinctively.
"...That's not supposed to happen."
The pressure in the alley skyrocketed.
The ground beneath him began to crack.
The creature's body reached its limit.
Then it exploded.
A blinding flash of light filled the alley.
Jaemin raised his arm to shield his eyes.
"F*ck!"
The explosion didn't end.
Instead, the space itself tore open.
A swirling void formed in front of him.
A portal.
Dark.
Violent.
Unstable.
"What the hell is that?"
The pull was immediate.
Jaemin's body was dragged forward.
His feet scraped against the ground as he tried to resist.
"Not good…"
He grabbed onto the wall, his fingers digging into the concrete.
The force increased.
Cracks spread across the wall.
Jaemin's grip started slipping.
"Sh*t!"
The pull became overwhelming.
There was no resisting it anymore.
His hand slipped.
In an instant, his body was dragged into the portal.
Everything went dark.
Silence swallowed him whole.
And then… nothing.