“What business does the Rift Management Agency have in our home? There’s no contaminated person here.”
Yang Yosep, who had just been thoroughly purified by Yohan yesterday, spoke with perfect confidence. The suppression unit agent, who had been maintaining a domineering attitude, faltered in confusion.
It was only natural. They had stormed in armed with Park Seungmin’s contamination report and even secured a supposed eyewitness. More importantly, they had information that Yang Yohan was close with Lee Hyunmook, which made them treat this case as significant. If things went well, it might have been a golden chance to find leverage against the Sun Guild. But now events were unfolding in an unexpected way.
“Awakener Yang Yosep, we received a witness report stating you were heavily contaminated while inside a rift.”
“Me? Whoever it was, they must have been mistaken.”
Spreading his arms wide, Yosep slowly turned in a full circle on the spot as if to show himself off. The suppression agent let out a grunt. The man looked far too healthy to nitpick. They had rushed over as fast as possible after receiving the report, worried he might have already been healed through Yohan’s connections. And indeed, it looked like he had already been treated with the Eternal Stone.
“If you want, I can even strip off my underwear!”
Yosep’s brazen confidence left the agents only glancing at each other. Yohan assumed they would leave at this point—but surprisingly, they did not. Severe contamination always left physical signs. Yosep was clearly fine, yet they insisted anyway.
“Procedure is procedure. You’ll have to come with us for examination.”
“Hold on, when anyone can see he’s not in a contaminated state, why does he need an examination?”
Unable to stand it any longer, Yohan stepped in. Though his objection was perfectly reasonable, the suppression agent barked harshly, still trying to intimidate him—especially since the boy looked so young.
“Awakener Yang Yohan. Are you refusing to cooperate?”
“And if I refuse, what will you do?”
He snapped back with a force like he was about to gore them with horns. The agent was momentarily at a loss for words. Then Yohan swiftly pulled out his phone and dialed. The agent panicked—he had intended to drag Yohan off as well if possible.
“W-wait. Who are you calling?”
Ignoring him, Yohan deliberately raised his voice so everyone could hear, though the call hadn’t even connected yet.
“Hyunmook hyung! Hurry and come here! The suppression unit suddenly barged in and says they’ll arrest me and drag me away!”
“What?! I never said that...!”
The agent, stunned at being tattled on so openly and now accused of something he hadn’t even said, began protesting in bewilderment. But just then, a voice with a faint trace of laughter came from behind them.
“So, the Special Suppression Division is arresting innocent citizens without cause? How disgraceful.”
The agents all whipped around in shock. They hadn’t sensed a thing, but there stood Lee Hyunmook, as if he had risen out of their shadows. Cold sweat trickled down their backs.
Yohan, too, was equally stunned. The call hadn’t even connected yet. In truth, he had only been bluffing, never intending to summon Hyunmook for real—yet here he was. Yosep’s jaw dropped, and he quickly pulled the towel tighter around himself to cover his body.
“What business does the Special Suppression Division have in my guild member’s house?”
Hyunmook’s voice was polite, smooth, but his eyes were anything but. Veterans who had worked countless times with Jung Siyoung, herself a high-tier Awakener, felt their throats tighten.
They knew better than anyone that an unscalable wall stood between high-tier and mid-tier Awakeners. And yet even with that experience, facing Hyunmook now left them ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ drenched in cold sweat.
This man. This being. He should be human—yet meeting those lightless eyes felt like standing before a terrifying monster. Their breath caught, their knees threatened to give. Only by gritting their teeth could they resist the urge to flee. One agent managed to stammer a reply.
“...We came responding to a contamination report.”
“I see. If there was a contamination report, of course it would be proper to isolate the subject for everyone’s safety.”
As he stepped closer, the agents instinctively backed away. Passing casually between them, Hyunmook glanced slowly around the house. Flashing a reassuring smile at Yohan’s family, he turned back to the agents.
“But do you see a contaminated person here?”
Silence fell heavy. To Yohan’s family, it seemed ordinary, but the suppression agents felt an unbearable pressure weighing down on them. Only one thought hammered in their minds.
Don’t provoke him.
He’s displeased. He’s tolerating it, but barely. It felt like standing before a live explosive, a fuse about to blow. Something darker, more chilling, more monstrous pressed against them, right there, inescapable. One of them, unable to meet Hyunmook’s gaze, shifted his eyes behind his goggles and muttered.
“...No. It appears to have been a false report.”
One low-tier Awakener, one mid-tier Awakener, and two civilians—they could have easily subdued that. But with Hyunmook present, it was impossible. Perhaps he wouldn’t kill them, but any conflict would spiral into disaster, and they would be the ones chewed out by their superiors. They had no choice.
Still, they didn’t leave empty-handed. They had learned something valuable: Hyunmook was far more concerned with that low-tier Awakener than expected. Marking that fact in mind, the agent gestured for his men to retreat.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Hyunmook said as they left.
Closing the door, he turned back with a smile. Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju, shocked by his sudden appearance, failed to notice, but Yohan realized at once.
Wait... he’s wearing the same clothes as the night of the dinner party!
Now that he looked closely, the outfit seemed dirty, worn. Had he really been loitering near the house all this time? Hastily, Yohan bent to purify the footprints on the floor while also cleansing Hyunmook’s clothes. Feeling the purifying energy seep into him, Hyunmook smiled faintly.
Yosep, who had stood bold half-naked before the suppression agents, now blushed red before Hyunmook. Their parents, flustered and unable to speak, only opened and closed their lips. Yohan quickly interjected.
“Hyunmook hyung! Welcome! I’ll get you something to drink!”
Grabbing him, Yohan pulled him toward the kitchen. Behind them, Yosep scrambled off to his room. Turning on the water purifier, Yohan whispered urgently.
“You didn’t go home?!”
“How could I, when you’re here?”
“But you said we’d meet again in a week!”
Yohan nearly jumped. He had meant Hyunmook would return home and they’d meet again in a week—not that Hyunmook would camp outside the house all that time. His protest made Hyunmook’s brows dip slightly.
“Sorry. I suppose it was rather creepy.”
“It’s not creepy—I’m saying it because I was worried! Don’t do this again. Why sleep outside when you have a perfectly good home?”
Even though the water came from the purifier, Yohan reflexively purified it again before handing it to him. Hyunmook only gave a troubled smile, not promising to change. Drinking it like it was a sweet treat, he replied.
“There might be danger. And besides, I wasn’t sleeping rough—I had my car.”
Whether in the car or on the street, to Yohan it was all the same and just as upsetting. Trying to stall, he pulled fruit from the fridge, slicing and stacking them neatly. In a low voice, he said.
“What danger could there be? This isn’t the Abyss anymore. I’m a high-tier Awakener now.”
“Yohan, being high-tier doesn’t mean you can’t die.”
Yohan froze. He knew it was true. High-tier Awakeners had died before, even after the Rift Crisis. He remembered the fire-element dealer who had fought a level-10 monster alone in a skyscraper to buy time for evacuation, and perished of fatal wounds. After Hyunmook vanished into the Abyss, no other fire-element high-tier had appeared for years.
“If the Rift Agency sent the suppression unit to drag you away today... or if Jung Siyoung or several mid-tier Awakeners schemed against you... or if suddenly a rift opened nearby and a level-10-class monster appeared?”
“That’s... true, but still.”
Yohan had no choice but to admit it. His physical strength might rival a mid-tier, but he had no real offensive ability. He could purify monsters, but against people, it was useless. Worse, since he was hiding his identity as a purifier, he couldn’t even use that ability freely.
“Then why don’t you just stay with us here?”
“You need time with your family. I can’t interfere with that.”
Saying so, Hyunmook naturally took the knife from Yohan’s hand and began peeling the fruit himself. Flustered at letting a guest do such work, Yohan tried to take it back. In the middle of their back-and-forth, a loud cough sounded.
Turning, Yohan saw his family watching from the doorway, curiosity written plainly across their faces, their smiles awkward.
