The wind stirred softly through the trees, rustling the leaves like a whisper. Birds chirped above. The world kept moving… but Jacob was still.
"Um… are you alright, sir?"
Jacob stared up, stunned for a moment. The voice did not match the conflict in his mind, or the empty quietness in the park.
Standing before him was a young girl. She had to be about ten years old at most.
She was small, with soft, rounded cheeks, with large silver hazel mix eyes, questioning eyes that looked at him not with suspicion or fear—but with a grave concern. Her cloth was slightly wrinkled, and she hugged a plush rabbit tightly to her chest, as if it were her anchor.
She tilted her head to the side a bit, pushing her black hair back behind her ear.
"You seemed kind of… unhappy," she said again. Her voice was gentle, like she didn't want to disturb him too much but also couldn't just walk away.
Jacob blinked.
Where did she come from?
How had she gotten that close without him being aware?
That wasn't right. He had always been in tune with what was around him—since the accident. Since everything changed.
But there was something harmless-looking about the girl. Just...oddly comforting.
"I…" He cleared his throat, voice hoarse from disuse. "I'm alright. Thank you."
She gave a small nod, satisfied with the answer, and sat down beside him on the bench like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He gazed at her hesitantly. "But what about you? Why are you alone? Where are your parents?"
She pointed to the tall skyscraper building across the street. Its glass front glinted with late afternoon sunlight, and the large logo in the front was unmistakable:
The Korean Hunter Association.
"Oh," Jacob whispered, recognizing the building at once. "Is your dad taking the hunter qualification test?"
She nodded proudly. "Yup! His first time."
"That's pretty brave of him," Jacob said, trying to smile a little. "Good luck to him."
"He'll pass," she said confidently, swinging her legs a little. "He's strong. He always tells me I don't have to worry."
Jacob couldn't help but smile. "He sounds like a good dad."
She grinned a gap-toothed smile, with a missing front tooth. "He is."
Jacob held up, and rapped on the empty seat beside him. "Well, do you want to sit here until he's done?"
She nodded and settled down again, this time a bit nearer. "Thank you, mister."
They sat in silence for a while.
Birds flew overhead. A couple jogged by. Somewhere in the distance, a car honked.
And for the first time in a long time, Jacob felt… calm.
****
Thirty Minutes Later
The doors to the Hunter Association opened with a hiss.
A tall man stepped out, walking with easy strides and shoulders relaxed. He was dressed in a dark hoodie, sleeves rolled up, revealing forearms dusted with faint scars. His eyes were kind—but there was a weight to them. A calm intensity, like a storm waiting behind clear skies.
Jacob didn't see him approach.
Not at first.
But then—
A chill.
It crept up Jacob's spine, uninvited and cold, as if something primal inside him had sensed danger.
His muscles knotted. His instincts screamed at him to move, to prepare, to ready himself to fight, to run.
But before he could respond—
"Daddy!" Seo-ah's cry cut through the fog. She leapt from the bench and threw herself into the arms of the man with pure joy.
The quietness was broken. Jacob blinked.
That's her dad? The man smiled gently and picked her up with one arm as though she weighed nothing.
"Miss me already?" he teased, ruffling her hair.
"You took forever," she said.
Jacob stood up, trying to compose himself. The man glanced over and nodded respectfully.
"Thanks for watching out for her," he said with a low but firm voice.
Jacob nodded in reply. "It was no trouble. She's… kind."
There was a short pause.
A silence not awkward, but curious.
The two men studied each other. Not with hostility, but with the subtle tension of two people who had both seen things the average person couldn't even begin to imagine.
"I'm Jin," the man said at last.
"Jacob."
They shook hands.
The moment their skin touched, Jacob felt it again.
That chill.
That sensation of something powerful. Something huge. A presence like a mountain behind the serene eyes of Jin.
And yet…
There was no hostility. Just… depth.
"Thanks again," Jin said, setting his daughter back on the ground. "I'll be seeing you."
Jacob nodded once more, watching them walk away.
****
A Short Distance Away
Seo-ah accompanied her father, walking and swinging his hand back and forth.
"How was your test?" she said, peeking up.
Jin made a mock-serious face. "Well, the results aren't in yet. Takes some time. They have to check in with the results and they told me to come back again another time"
Seo-ah giggled. "Did you break any of their stuff."
"Hmmm, occupational hazard," he replied with a sharp and guilty smile.
She sprang a little forward, her arms spread to the sides like airplane wings, laughing quietly.
Jin looked at her with a soft expression.
****
Back at the Park
Jacob sat back down, his head spinning.
What was that?
That feeling. That paralyzing fear. He hadn't felt it in years—not since the awakening of his father.
Who in the world was that guy?
He glanced at the building one last time, but Jin and Seo-ah were out of sight.
He exhaled slowly.
"…I'm probably just imagining things," he murmured.
But even as he said it, something in the back of his mind wouldn't let go.
That pressure.
That chill.
That feeling of being so… small.
He shook his head and tried to refocus.
But the unease lingered.
To be continued…