Shin never thought buying groceries could feel more complicated than an assassination.
He stood in the middle of a small convenience store, staring blankly at the rows of instant noodles. Chicken flavor, beef flavor, spicy miso, seafood… There were too many choices.
He muttered under his breath, "Why does anyone need this many flavors?"
The clerk behind the counter glanced at him suspiciously. Shin quickly grabbed three random packs and shoved them into his basket, pretending he knew what he was doing.
The truth was, he didn't. He had spent years eating whatever scraps his missions allowed. He didn't even remember the last time he had cooked for himself. Now, standing under the fluorescent lights with a basket in his hand, he felt strangely out of place.
He paid quietly, avoiding the clerk's eyes, and stepped out into the busy street. The sun was high, glaring off the wet pavement left from last night's storm. People moved around him—laughing, arguing, carrying on with their lives.
Shin walked slowly, carrying his groceries like they were something fragile. For the first time in years, his hands weren't holding a weapon.
That was when he heard it.
A woman's voice. Sharp. Panicked.
"Let me go!"
Shin turned his head just in time to see a scene unfolding across the street. A van had screeched to a stop, and two men in dark jackets were dragging a young woman toward it. She struggled fiercely, her white-and-red-streaked hair catching the sunlight, her blue eyes wide with defiance rather than fear.
Dozens of people froze on the sidewalk. Some pulled out their phones. Others whispered nervously. But no one moved.
Shin felt his jaw tighten. His instincts screamed to stay out of it. This isn't your world anymore. Don't interfere. Just walk away.
But then her eyes met his. Just for a second, across the chaos.
And something inside him shifted.
Before he realized it, the grocery bag slipped from his hand, cans rolling across the pavement. His body moved on its own, faster than thought, faster than reason.
The first kidnapper barely saw the blur before Shin's fist slammed into his jaw, sending him crashing against the van. The second swung a knife, but Shin caught his wrist, twisted, and dropped him with a single strike.
The crowd gasped. The kidnappers writhed on the ground, groaning.
Shin stood there, breathing steadily, his black eyes locking once more on the woman he had just saved. She was still in shock, but she didn't look away.
"Who… are you?" she whispered, her voice soft but trembling.
For the first time in years, Shin didn't have an answer.