Time seemed to flow particularly quickly since the accident. I turned twenty-six this year. As per my resolve that day, I've endured eight years without loving anyone. Though I have only one year left to live, I'm trying my best to live my life.
Climbing a cliff with a 'risk of fall' danger sign in broad daylight is what I call living fast.
"What could possibly be out here in this remote mountain…."
Today, I'm hiking again on a request. There's a herb that only grows at the top of the mountain, so I climbed the steep cliff continuously. When I reached the summit, sweating profusely, a refreshing breeze greeted me. But there was no time to enjoy the scenery. I squatted down and carefully examined likely spots for the herb.
It supposedly grows in cool, shaded areas. I looked under a rock, just in case, and there it was—a small plant no bigger than my finger. I slowly dug out the surrounding soil and carefully harvested the herb to avoid damaging the roots. Today's request was complete once I put it in a bag and took a photo.
[I'll leave it in the locker at Exit 1 of Gangnam Station.]
I finally took a deep breath after sending the photo and the message.
"Ha, what a struggle from the morning."
Who would've thought I'd end up doing such things as an adult? I could have made good use of my cursed body like my mother and become a hunter, but I had to hide my ability to see other people's awakening conditions, so I gave up. There was also the anxiety of potentially facing Sang if I became a hunter.
Nevertheless, I'm satisfied with this job now. I get more requests than expected, and I earn a decent amount of money thanks to that. After covering living expenses, I anonymously donate all of my leftover income to Jeongdong Cathedral.
It's not purely for the sake of donation. It's also partly repentance for abandoning Sang at the cathedral that day.
Ding—.
A new open chat appeared. Wondering what the request was this time, I checked it and frowned.
[Hey, do you take requests to photograph hunters, too?]
Who does this guy think he is, speaking to a stranger so informally? I almost got annoyed, but I held back since he's a client, after all.
[Depends on who it is.]
[You know The Apostles?]
[Yes, I know them.]
[It's the guild leader, Simeon.]
…Simeon?
The name made me laugh out loud immediately.
Even a regular person like me knows about 'The Apostles.' Everyone knows that the guild members hide their faces with masks, so no one knows their identities. Among them, their leader, Simeon, is rumored to be one of the few S-class hunters in the country. Apparently, he can even take down massive monsters with just a few moves… And now this client wants me to take his photo?
[That's a tough one.]
No way, nothing good will come from getting involved with such a dangerous person.
Besides, I've heard rumors related to The Apostles before. A journalist who tried to dig into The Apostles' secrets disappeared without a trace. They say he was either dragged away and killed or imprisoned at their base… Just ominous speculations abound.
Even though taking a few photos isn't exactly the same as an investigation, I didn't want to risk it.
I should just decline…
[I'll triple your reward.]
…But thinking about it, many people are making money by photographing hunters these days, so I should be fine, too.
[When's the deadline?]
[Within a month.]
[I'll need 30% of the payment upfront as a deposit.]
Almost instantly, I received an alert confirming the deposit. The amount was substantial enough to make me smile.
[Confirmed.^^ But, what are you planning to use the photos for?]
The client, who'd been responding diligently, ignored this message.
"Hm, mind your own business… Is that it?"
Well, as long as I get paid on time, I don't care.
As soon as I came down from the mountain, I took a bus to Gangnam Station. I put the herb in a plastic bag, left it in the predetermined locker, and then sent the client the password. Confirming the client had transferred the remaining payment, I couldn't resist humming happily to myself.
With that, one job was done, and a more important one had begun.
"Where would I begin to look for Simeon…?"
If you want to photograph a tiger, you must enter its den, but I didn't know where that was. Unlike other hunter guilds, The Apostles' base is shrouded in secrecy. So, to find Simeon, I had to rely on either luck or hard work.
Since I'm notoriously unlucky, I chose the latter.
[Location of the Seoul Hunter Association]
No matter how elusive Simeon is, he's bound to appear near the Hunter Association at least once.
From that day, I stayed around the building day and night. I think I saw more hunters than I ever had in my lifetime, but Simeon never showed up. I hoped to see an apostle at least, but not a single black mask appeared.
However, there were so many black-haired hunters that it became tiresome. Whenever I saw someone with a neat hairstyle who looked a bit tall, I mistook them for Sang. In one instance, I instinctively followed a hunter who looked very much like Sang from behind, and before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed his wrist.
"Excuse me."
The man turned around and immediately frowned at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, sorry. I mistook you for someone else."
The displeased gaze snapped me back to my senses.
What am I doing? Moreover, what if that person had been the real Sang? What was I planning to do by grabbing him? Would I have shamelessly said, 'Hey, it's me, Johan. I disappeared on you all those years ago without a word, remember?'
"I must be out of my mind…"
A week passed without any progress, and just when I was about to give up,
A tip finally appeared on the hunter's forum I'd been frequenting. I immediately hailed a taxi to Mapo Bridge. I didn't know why he suddenly appeared in the middle of the city, but I could only think about getting Simeon's photo.
"Keep the change!"
Without even looking at how much it cost, I pulled out all the ten thousand won bills in my wallet and handed them to the driver before getting off. I rushed to Han River Park under Mapo Bridge, where a crowd was gathered. After pushing through the crowd, I was met with the fierce glow of yellow eyes.
"Wow…"
It was an A-grade monster. A Salamander. It'd suctioned itself to the underside of Mapo Bridge, its breath ignited everything it touched. Standing opposite it were two hunters in black masks. Without confirming whether one was Simeon, I started taking pictures.
The first to move was a hunter in a frilled dress reaching her ankles. She leaped from the ground and landed on a streetlamp. The metal prosthetic leg under her fluttering skirt shone sharply in the night breeze. Then, she flew like a butterfly and mercilessly struck the salamander clinging to the bridge.
Thud—!
The lizard hit the ground with a writhing scream.
Screech—!
As the enraged salamander spewed fire, another hunter below swiftly extended his hand. What blocked the flames was a massive tree. With a simple gesture, the ordinary street tree had grown to the size of a large wall.
A tree that didn't burn, created by a hunter's unique ability.
I was mesmerized by the scene, realizing something strange only after a while.
"Huh…?"
The tip said Simeon would be here. But I only saw two apostles. I looked around, thinking I might've missed him. At that moment, the salamander's fire hit the Mapo Bridge sign.
Bang—!
A massive metal chunk fell towards the crowd. Chaos erupted as people who'd been enjoying the spectacle started fleeing in panic.
Maybe it was because I stood firm with my camera amidst the chaos, but I soon noticed a tall figure come into view as the smoke cleared. Adorned in a black mask and a black suit, it was the hunter I'd been searching for.
Simeon…!
I immediately captured him in my frame.
Unlike the two hunters fighting the salamander with all their might, Simeon just stood there, too calm to be paralyzed by fear. Then, Simeon slowly began moving his hand in the air. His graceful gestures resembled those of a conductor.
Wondering what he was doing, I watched closely and realized he wasn't conducting but… playing chess. With the salamander breathing fire and his comrades struggling to subdue it, the guild leader leisurely played chess. Yet people were watching him in awe instead of urging him.
Before I knew it, I also visualized the chessboard with every move of his long fingers.
White opens with pawn to E4. Black counters with pawn to E5. White moves knight to F3, and black responds with knight to C6. White then positions the bishop at C4, dominating the center and pressuring black. It's the classic 'Italian Game' opening.
I recognized it instantly; it was the first opening I taught Sang.
"It must be a coincidence…"
A few more moves followed. Every time Simeon moved a piece, I felt an uncanny sense of familiarity but tried to ignore it. However, a chill ran down my spine when he tapped the air twice.
That was a habit Sang had whenever he was certain of victory.
"No way….."
When it finally reached checkmate, the salamander collapsed in a heap. The crowd, who'd been watching in a daze, erupted in cheers and applause. The sudden burst of sound washed over me like a wave. No, what overwhelmed me was the memory of the past that I had buried in the sea that day.
I'd seen it more than a dozen times, so I knew. These were Sang's chess habits. He always holds the chess pieces between his index and middle fingers when moving them. His swift hand movements when capturing his opponent's pieces resemble a hunting beast, and when he's certain of victory, he taps the chessboard twice.
Just like 'Simeon' did just now.
'I can tell it's you just by looking at your hand movements when you play.'
It was half a joke.
'…Don't lie. It's not that obvious.'
'It's true! Even if you covered your face, I'd recognize you by your hands.'
Still, I was confident. I would definitely recognize Sang if we met someday. But now that the moment was right in front of me, I couldn't believe it.
Honestly, if I said I wasn't curious about how Sang has lived for the past eight years, it'd be a lie. I often searched for Sang's name in the hunter community, but I'd never found any news about him for all those years. So I vaguely assumed he hadn't become a hunter yet or received a grade so low that he wasn't mentioned.
But if I think about it this way, his absence makes sense.
"Simeon, the leader of The Apostles… is Sang Heo?"