The door creaked open softly.
Mi-sook peeked her head out from the kitchen, apron still tied around her waist.
"Oh—you're back!"
She smiled, eyes crinkling with relief.
Joon-seok stepped in quietly.
But something was wrong.He didn't return the smile.Didn't even look up.
"Yes," he said flatly, kicking off his shoes.
Mi-sook watched him.
He was thinking about something—someone his hands were clenched and his steps were heavier than usual.
"Did something happen?" she asked gently.
He hesitated.
"Well…"He looked away."Nothing."
She chuckled softly.
"Is it… Soo-yeon?"
Joon-seok flinched.
Mi-sook caught it immediately.
"I knew it. What happened? Tell me."
He looked at her.
There was no point hiding it anymore.
Not from her.
"Two members of the Serpent Guild were tailing me. I confronted them… using my real form."
Mi-sook's eyes widened.
"You mean… the same guild that killed my son came again? And—Soo-yeon saw you?"
He nodded once.
That was all it took.
Mi-sook went still, her mind racing.
The reporter saw his form. She could talk. She could tell the guilds. If she reports this…
She didn't know what to do.
Step in, and she'd drag herself into a war with people far beyond her means.
But stay silent, and she risked losing another son.
No.
Not again.
She placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"Tomorrow might be… a busy day."
"Stay here. Don't go outside. Please."
Joon-seok understood.
If she tells anyone, hunters will come. Guilds will come. They'll want to control me. Kill me.
He rubbed his temples, frustrated.
"First the Serpent Guild. Now maybe others. This is going to stress you out, Mother. I'm sorry."
Mi-sook shook her head and wrapped her arms around him.
"Don't worry, son."
"It's my responsibility. I'll be by your side."
He stiffened slightly at first—he always did when hugged—but slowly, he relaxed.
Her warmth calmed something in him.
•••••••
Serpent Guild Headquarters – 11:54 PM
The office was dimly lit, with only the glow from a giant snake-emblem wall screen flickering across the room.
Kwon Gyu-min, the Serpent Guild's ruthless leader, sat behind his black marble desk, lazily playing a game on his phone. Some idle RPG, tapping at monsters with the same indifference he had for real lives.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
He paused the game and exhaled.
"Come in."
The heavy door creaked open.
Nam Tae-jin, his sharply dressed secretary, stepped in and adjusted his collar before speaking.
"Sir… we have a situation."
Gyu-min sat up, bored but listening.
"The Shadow Guild just sent a silent report."
"The two assassins they dispatched to eliminate Han Joon-seok—"
"Gone."
Gyu-min blinked.
"Gone?"
"Dead," Tae-jin corrected.
"Tracking devices… stopped. No life signal. No bodies. No fight data. It's as if—"
"They were erased."
Gyu-min's face slowly shifted.
From surprise.
To rage.
He stood abruptly, flipping his desk with a roar.
Chairs crashed. His monitor shattered.
"Erased?! You're telling me a F-rank erased two professional assassins?!"
"From the Shadow Guild, no less?!"
Tae-jin stood calmly amid the storm.
"There's a chance he had help. Or an artifact."
"I suggest we escalate—quietly. Send our own members this time."
"In numbers."
Gyu-min paced the room like a caged beast, hands clenching and unclenching.
Then he stopped. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face.
"No."
"Let's do better."
"We'll take his mother."
Tae-jin's eyes glinted.
"Bait?"
"Lure him here. Alone. I'll handle him myself."
He sat back down and cracked his knuckles.
"If this kid thinks he's strong…"
"Let's see how long he lasts once he's got nothing left to protect."
"Understood, sir."
Tae-jin bowed once, then turned to leave.
The office fell quiet again.
Gyu-min picked his phone up off the floor.
But this time…
He wasn't playing games.
•••••••
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Joon-seok lay flat on the floor in his room, eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling. His mind swirled—not with chaos, not with hunger—but with thoughts that weren't his just months ago.
This house… isn't very good.
He remembered Soo-yeon saying it, offhanded, as if it were just another opinion.
But now?
He wondered.
What if I surprised Mother with a new home?
Would she smile again? Would she… cry?
He didn't know.
But the thought of it gave him a strange feeling in his chest. A heavy one. Warm, and kind of uncomfortable.
He blinked, staring at the dark.
But he knew this couldn't happen yet.
Not until he dealt with the Serpent Guild.
They're still out there.
And as long as they exist, she's not safe.
His thoughts drifted to Soo-yeon.
Will she tell the Peace Guild?
The Phoenix?
Would they come for me?
He couldn't blame her if she did.
She was human.
And humans feared monsters.
Then—he felt something.
A ripple in the space around him.
Energy.
Familiar. Soft. Anxious.
He stood silently, then slid open his door just enough to peek out.
There she was.
Mi-sook.
Sitting alone in the dim light of the living room, her back slightly hunched, arms folded tight across her chest.
She hadn't noticed him.
She can't sleep either…
She didn't need to say it.
He could feel it.
The weight in her chest. The fear.
She was worried about tomorrow—about what the world would try to take from her this time.
And he hated it.
He hated that she had to be scared again.
Joon-seok didn't say anything.
He just watched her.
And silently made a promise.
Whatever happens tomorrow…
I'll erase anything that dares to hurt you again.