Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Ugh, who invited the world’s weakest hunter…?”

Sung Jinwoo sighed wearily as the ‘whispered’ words seemed to echo throughout the cleared parking lot. The mesmerising swirl of the D-Rank gate cast a low glow over the 10 gathered Hunters as they prepared for the upcoming raid.

“An E-Rank?” 

Jinwoo’s bony shoulders steadily crept up towards his ears in shame as the disparaging murmurs only increased in volume.

“Why is there an E-Rank at a D-Rank gate? Won’t he just get killed?”

“Hey! This is a good thing! If the world’s weakest hunter is here, that means that the raid’s gonna be easy!”

Jinwoo’s lips curled up into a self-deprecating smile as he slowly trudged towards the raid group. He may be used to hearing the jeers and jibes from the other Hunters, but that did not make it any more pleasant to hear.

“I just feel bad for our healer, man. I mean- she’s gonna have one hell of a job keeping the E-Rank alive in there”

Jinwoo sighed to himself as he settled himself at the edges of the group, feeling the piercing gazes of the gathered Hunters boring into the back of his head. Minwoo steadily checked his bag and its meagre belongings, letting the chatter of the other Hunters wash over him. None of the looks and remarks were ever malicious, just the right amount of apathetic and pitying to make things uncomfortable.

A healer, huh? Jinwoo thought absently to himself, as he continued his checks on his sparse and threadbare gear. At least this group is smart enough to bring along a healer to a raid… Jinwoo winced as one of his old wounds flared up, smarting at his sudden movements. Though I was the only one that got injured-

“Sung Jinwoo!”

Jinwoo jolted as a familiar voice rang out through the air. 

“L-Lee Joohee!” Jinwoo gasped as a woman with long orange hair pulled back into a ponytail marched purposefully towards him.

“What have I said about taking care of yourself, jeez!” Joohee pouted as she coated her slender hands with a thin wispy aura of healing magic, gently healing Jinwoo’s visible wounds.

“Ah- sorry,” Jinwoo smiled sheepishly, the soft golden glow of Joohee’s healing magic dancing across his bruised and battered skin and bringing relief in its wake. “The last group I was with didn’t bring a healer to the raid…”

“What?” Joohee gasped, eyes wide in disbelief, hands halting in their worried flutter over Jinwoo’s injuries. “No healer? On a raid?” 

“Yeah…” Jinwoo laughed softly at himself, unable to meet Joohee’s kind eyes as the reality of his own weakness threatened to choke him. “It was only an E-Rank dungeon and I’m the only one that got hurt…” 

“But still!” Joohee’s brow furrowed in consternation, “You never know what will happen on a raid! It’s common sense to bring a healer-”

“Alright guys! Everyone ready to head in? It’s time!” 

Jinwoo and Joohee jolted as one of the Hunters called out over the hum of chatter, halting Joohee mid-sentence. 

Jinwoo smiled sheepishly as Joohee shot him a look that meant that the conversation was not over as she left to join the rest of the raid party. 

With one last deep breath to gear himself up, Jinwoo resolved to do his best for his sister and mother before jogging lightly to the leaving raid party.

SKT

A cave dungeon. Of course it had to be a cave dungeon . And of course it had to be goblins…

Jinwoo groaned inwardly to himself as he stood to attention, a chipped and battered old dagger clutched tightly with both hands. He frantically flicked his eyes from side to side, keeping vigilant watch over himself and the party’s healer and his friend: Joohee. 

The main force of the raid party may be holding the horde of goblins back, but still. Jinwoo was on high alert. 

The thing about goblins… Jinwoo thought to himself, drawing upon his years of Hunting experience even as he winced at a particularly loud clash of bone club against shield. Is that they burrow hidden tunnels into whatever environment they're in to flank the enemy and take out their support…

He had gone up against goblins so many times that he had even noticed a pattern in their attacks and tactics, simple that they were. Jinwoo mentally counted down the seconds in his mind, waiting for the inevitable emergence of a Goblin from their left flank.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1- Now!

Jinwoo sprang into action, jabbing his chipped dagger into the dark shadows of the wall to his left.

Screech-!

He gritted his teeth in determination as his dagger met flesh. But despite his surprise attack, the goblin did not die, instead, it struggled and fought back in its death throes. Even weakened and injured, the goblin threatened to overpower Jinwoo and his meagre strength.

Jinwoo barely noticed Joohee yelling out in surprise at the monster’s sudden appearance, nor the frantic calls of the party’s damage dealers. ‘Shit! The healer! They’re going after the healer! Sung, keep it off of her-!’

“Gah-!” Jinwoo grunted in pain as the goblin managed to flail one arm free and claw deep, weeping scratch wounds down Jinwoo’s chest with its blunted, split nails.

“Stay… back!” Jinwoo gasped desperately as he shoved the goblin back and away from the frozen Joohee with all of his strength, putting his entire body behind the shove. He could not let the goblin take out their healer- rule number one of dungeon raids, and Jinwoo could never forgive himself if he let Joohee get hurt. 

When threatened, goblins will attempt to bite the face and neck area- 

“Shit-!” Jinwoo struggled to hold the goblin back, his eyes widening as he watched the goblin peel back cracked dry lips to reveal rows of crooked, razor sharp teeth. He struggled to shove his dagger deeper into the goblin’s gut, but his shaking arms were already at their limit holding the monster back from Joohee. 

His mind knew what the goblin would do next, but his body just didn't have the strength to counter. But still, Jinwoo thought to himself, glancing back at the scared stiff Joohee over his shoulder, he could not- would not move. 

Jinwoo bared his own teeth in a determined grimace, waiting for the pain of the goblin’s bite to come-

Thwack!

-Only to reel back, hitting the ground hard as an axe effortlessly split the goblin’s head in two like a rotten pumpkin. 

One of the raid party’s D-Rank tankers towered over him, green blood dripping from their axe in thick rivulets as the goblin’s corpse slowly slid to the ground. The tanker gave Jinwoo a single shallow nod before turning on their heel and making their way back to the main raid force. 

One hit… Jinwoo clenched his eyes shut, battle tension draining from his haggard body. It only took them one hit… Jinwoo looked down at his thin, shaking hands, still clenched tight around the frayed hilt of his dagger. 

God I’m weak… Jinwoo clenched his teeth as he glanced back to the felled goblin. What use is knowing these things when I’m not strong enough to use it…

Jinwoo allowed himself another second to wallow in his own weakness before dragging himself back to his feet. The raid party was already moving on without him, and his mother and Jinah were more important than his shortcomings. He would push through anything no matter how weak he was… For them…

SKT

Ahn Sangmin of the White Tiger Guild hummed thoughtfully under his breath as he leaned back against his car. The eerie glow of the D-Rank gate cast long shadows over the file held in his hands. 

Lee Joohee, a B-Rank healer eh? And unaffiliated too!

Ahn Sangmin’s brow quirked in interest as he skimmed the document. B-Rank healers were rare, she would be a valuable asset to the White Tiger Guild if he could convince her to join. 

And it would make a nice ‘fuck you’ to that smug asshole Joo Sungchan… Ahn Sangmin gritted his teeth in annoyance at the memory of the other Surveillance Chief's smirk as he showed off his new A-Rank recruit- Kim Chul.

So what if the other Surveillance Chief had managed to snag an A-Rank tank? It didn’t give Joo Sungchan the right to act like he owned the entire Surveillance department- I’m a Surveillance Chief too! Team 2 is just as good as team 1, asshole-!

“Ah- Chief! They’re done!” Ahn Sangmin’s assistant, Hyun Kichul exclaimed, struggling to keep his volume at a manageable level.

Ahn Sangmin perked up, eyes snapping to the ragtag group of freelance hunters triumphantly exiting the closing gate. Instantly he picked out his mark right at the rear of the group- an attractive young lady with striking orange hair and a personable smile as she chatted freely with those around her.

“Now’s our chance, Kichul.” Ahn Sangmin moved, pushing out of his leisurely lean and smoothly shuffling his papers and recruitment materials in fluid practised motions. His eyes roved over the emerging group, expertly noting every detail and looking for any individuals of note. 

Hmm, everyone is in good shape, with the front-liners fully healed. She’s good. Ahn Sangmin suppressed an excited grin, concealing his enthusiasm behind a business-casual smile. Never let them know your next move. 

“Miss Lee Joohee?” Ahn Sangmin asked pleasantly, approaching the group nonchalantly as he ignored Kichul’s less than cool stumble at his side. 

“Ah- yes? How can I help you?” Lee Joochee asked pleasantly, smiling politely back at Ahn Sangmin and Kichul.

And she’s polite and personable too! Jackpot! Most mid to high rankers are pompous jerks but she’s- wait, who’s that?

Ahn Sangmin raised a brow in puzzlement as a willowy looking young man turned to look at him in unison with Miss Lee Joohee. He looked remarkably… fragile. Ahn Sangmin knew that in the world of Hunters, appearances were deceiving, but the vast array of sticky bandages and band aids that dotted the young man’s skin told him that it wasn't the case.

Is- Is that an E-Rank? In a D-Rank dungeon-? Ahn Sangmin was taken aback for a second before he forcibly snapped himself back on track. He was in the middle of an important negotiation with a potential B-Rank healer (B-Rank healer!) - he could think about the E-Rank later. Though from what he could see from Kichul’s dropped jaw, his assistant hadn’t gotten the memo.

“Miss Lee Joohee,” Ahn Sangmin cleared his throat pointedly, discreetly nudging Kichul with his elbow to prod him into getting himself together. “My name is Ahn Sangmin from the White Tiger Guild, and this is my colleague Hyun Kichul. Would it be alright if he talked privately? I would like to discuss a business opportunity with you.”

“A business opportunity?” Lee Joohee tilted her head inquisitively to the side, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“You go ahead Joohee.” The young man said with a genuine smile, dipping into a respectful bow to Ahn Sangmin and Kichul before turning on his heel and walking away. 

Ah, another polite Hunter, what a good day… Ahn Sangmin thought to himself with a smile tugging at his lips as he watched the young man leave. Thanks for leaving me a nice in with Miss Joohee, kid.

“Mr Ahn? What sort of business would you like to discuss?” Miss Lee Joohee asked lightly, clasping her hands politely together.”  Miss Lee Joohee laughed sheepishly to herself, breaking eye contact with Ahn Sangmin and fiddling with her thumbs. “Though I’ve got to warn you, if it’s about joining the White Tiger Guild or a high ranking raid party, i’ll have to decline.”

Ah. 

“D-Decline-? But you haven't heard my offer yet?” Ahn Sangmin inwardly cursed himself as he stumbled over his words.

“Well you see,” Lee Joohee chuckled lightly to herself, rubbing a hand sheepishly over the back of her neck, “I don’t do very well in, uh- high pressure dungeons…” Lee Joohee shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly, “It just doesn't agree with me, so I prefer to enter low risk E or D-Rank dungeons…”

“Oh, that’s very understandable Miss Lee.” Ahn Sangmin smiled back politely, inwardly bemoaning the loss of a potential great asset to the Guild. He felt a gentle nudge to his arm and discretely looked over to Kichul with a questioning glance. 

Meeting his assistant’s eyes, Ahn Sangmin watched as Kichul nodded ever so slightly at Lee Joohee and shrugged his shoulders slowly. Sangmin easily picked up on his assistant’s unspoken question: Should we pursue the issue a little?

Ahn Sangmin thought on the issue for a second before slowly shaking his head in a negative. I can’t blame her to be honest- I can negotiate contracts with the best of them, but I doubt I could hack being in a dungeon raid. … though that might be because I’m Unawakened. If she doesn't want to be part of a higher ranking raid party, then we can’t force her.

Ahn Sangmin gave Lee Joohee a respectful nod, opening his mouth to close the conversation before a sudden thought struck, stopping him in his tracks. 

“I completely understand Miss Lee, we won’t press the issue, but I do have another question, off the books” Ahn Sungmin thought back to the fragile looking young man from before, still stuck on a probably E-Rank surviving a D-Rank dungeon relatively unscathed. 

“Who was that kid with you earlier? He looked like an E-Rank so I was just wondering how he was able to clear that D-Rank dungeon with your group earlier,” Ahn Sangmin said as he thoughtfully stroked at his chin.

“Yeah! The mortality rate of E-Ranks in E-Rank dungeons is really high- not to mention in D-Ranks!” Kichul chimed in, bewilderment apparent in his too-loud voice.

“Oh, you mean Hunter Sung Jinwoo?” Lee Joohee furrowed her brow with a gentle huff, crossing her arms across her chest in good-natured irritation. “I keep telling him the same thing! But he keeps saying that Hunting is his hobby!”

“His hobby?” Ahn Sangmin raised a single brow in incredulous disbelief, catching Kichul’s jaw dropping out of the corner of his eye. A hobby? Unlikely. No one would risk their lives every day for a hobby. There must be something deeper…

“That’s what I keep telling him!” Joohee huffed, barely concealing her concerned temper behind a gentle smile, “He keeps getting scraped and cut up in these dungeons! And I won’t always be around to heal his wounds! It’s not worth all of that for a hobby! Even in this raid, he had to keep a D-Rank goblin off of me and he got scratched on the chest for it!”

“You’re right of course,” Ahn Sangmin nodded sagely, Kichul imitating his nod at his side, “My apologies for taking up your time, I’ll leave you to your afternoon- Wait-” Ahn Sangmin cut himself off mid-sentence as a sudden realisation of what Lee Joohee had said struck him.

“Y-You said that he faced a D-Rank monster head on by himself and… only got scratched-?” Ahn Sangmin barely managed to ask through his disbelief. An E-Rank on the bottom of the scale managing to hold back a D-Rank monster. Solo?! It was borderline impossible. Anyone else would have died. And from Kichul’s wordless sputtering at his side, his assistant agreed. 

“Yes, he managed to keep it off of me before one of the other D-Ranks got to it- he even got injured from it as usual, why?” Ahn Sangmin watched in disbelief as Lee Joohee answered the question nonchalantly, as if she thought it was normal. 

“Ah, no reason- please excuse me Miss Lee. Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon” Ahn Sangmin barely managed to keep himself from tripping over his words as his mind span. 

It was supposed to be the other way around. Higher ranked Hunters die in dungeons below their grade when they get cocky and don’t do their research.

Even A-Ranks.

So how. How has one of the lowest rated E-Ranks Ahn Sangmin has ever seen managed to survive in Dungeons above his rating…?

Ahn Sangmin’s eyes widened as a sudden idea struck him with the force of a train. 

So many Hunters’ lives could be saved… If Ahn Sangmin played his cards right- if he got his Guild Master Baek involved… It might work.

“You said his name was… Sung Jinwoo, correct?” Ahn Sangmin asked, barely noting the woman’s bewildered nod before he politely bade her farewell and made his exit.

“Mr Ahn? What’s got you so worked up?” Kichul asked hurriedly, scurrying along after Ahn Minsung as he strode purposefully back to the company car. “Are you really that upset about Miss Lee not wanting to join?”

“No- Kichul.” Ahn Sangmin froze, hand clenched on the handle of the car door. “I’ve just thought about something better.” Sangmin swallowed as he ran through the logistics of his idea in his mind. 

“I’m going to recruit Hunter Sung Jinwoo”

“You’re what?”

SKT

“You’re what?”

Baek Yoonho leaned back in his luxurious office chair, taken aback. When his Chief Surveillance officer had called him in for a meeting, Yoonho had assumed that it would be regarding a potential high ranking recruit like Kim Chul, not…

“I am requesting permission to recruit Hunter Sung Jinwoo!” 

Baek Yoonho silently raised a brow in bewilderment, watching as Ahn Sangmin sweated nervously before him.

“Sung Jinwoo?” Baek Yoonho asked once again, mind still stuck in a cycle of disbelief as he glanced down Hunter Sung’s file and the picture of the frail, awkward looking kid, “An E-Rank Hunter? You want to… recruit them into the White Tiger Guild…?”

“Yes.” Ahn Sangmin stood firm under the weight of Baek Yoonho’s incredulous stare- which was impressive even of itself as many unawakened and lower ranked hunters tended to cower a little in his presence- despite his best efforts with his own employees.

“I believe that Sung Jinwoo would be beneficial to our guild,” Ahn Sangmin’s eyes glinted with a confidence and passion that took Baek Yoonho aback.

Beneficial huh…? Baek Yoonho took a moment to think about Ahn Sangmin’s request, lacing his hands together beneath his chin as he stared intently at his sweating 2nd division Monitoring Chief. He wouldn’t directly approach me for logistics and accounting hires- which would better suit an E-Rank Hunter, so this has to be Dungeon related. But…

“You know that White Tiger recruits from C-Rank and up for raids, right?” Yoonho asked rhetorically.

“Yes Guildmaster,” Ahn Sangmin replied evenly, “I am suggesting a different route with Hunter Sung Jinwoo”

“Oh?” Baek Yoonho raised a single brow in interest, intrigued by the genuine fervour in his subordinate’s eyes. “What’s your idea?”

“I don’t want to recruit Hunter Sung Jinwoo for raids…” Baek Yoonho watched as Ahn Sangmin’s enthusiasm only seemed to build, “I want to recruit him as a trainer…”

“A trainer…?” Baek Yoonho asked haltingly, struggling to wrap his mind around the unexpected words.

“Yes.” Ahn Sangmin straightened his shoulders confidently even under Baek Yoonho’s intense gaze- he must have been supremely confident to not falter even in the face of Yoonho himself. “Please have a look at Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s file, sir.”

His file? Baek Yoonho raised a brow sceptically. An E-Rank Hunter’s file? What would be interesting in there, other than a few low-scale E-Rank gates? At most there’ll be a few gates a year, no more than a single page… 

Yoonho’s thoughts trailed off as his eyes caught the sprawling list. 

No… That’s statistically impossible… 

Baek Yoonho thought numbly, flipping faster and faster through page after page of registered completed Raids spanning years. E-Rank gates- D-Rank gates- 

There’s no way… Baek Yonhoo leant back in his seat, if he were anything less than S-Rank, his disbelief and sheer shock would be on full display. It’s physically impossible for an E-Rank Hunter to survive this many Raids- the average E-Rank dies after ten E-Rank gates, let alone the hundreds that Sung Jinwoo has survived, let alone the D-Ranks-

“These records aren’t falsified, right Chief Ahn?” Baek Yoonho laced his scarred fingers beneath his chin as he saw Ahn Sangmin’s proposal in a new light.

“No Guild Master, they’re not.” Ahn Sangmin replied, taking great care to keep any trace of smugness and ‘I told you so’ out of his voice. It would be unprofessional after all. “Hunter Sung must be an expert in Dungeon survival, and the number one cause of Hunter deaths in Dungeons is-”

“Acting cocky and lack of proper instruction.” Baek Yoonho’s eyes widened, only his composure as an S-Rank kept the budding excitement from showing on his face. “And if Sung Jinwoo were to instruct our own Hunters…”

“Our mortality rate would decrease and our Raid efficiency increase.” Ahn Sangmin’s wide eyes seemed to glint in the airy lighting of Baek Yoonho’s office.

Would it work…? Baek Yoonho’s eyes bored into the luxurious lacquered wood of his office desk in intense thought, Sung Jinwoo is a low ranker, which means that he wouldn't grate against a higher ranker’s instincts- like a mouse before a lion. If Sung Jinwoo gains enough respect for higher rankers to listen, then…

“Guild Master? May I have permission to recruit-”

“Do it.”

Chapter Text

Jinwoo settled back against his old sofa with a world weary sigh. The visit to his and Jinah’s mom had felt… a little off that evening. 

He had no idea why- nothing had changed. 

Mom was still laid peacefully upon the hospital sheets, frail hands folded delicately over her stomach as she breathed deeply and evenly in eternal slumber. But that evening… Jinwoo didn’t know what it was- maybe it was the way Jinah’s voice had cracked when she read out her record grades. Or maybe the way that she was sending non-subtle glances at the sticky bandages peeking out of Jinwoo’s hoodie.

But the atmosphere had felt… different. Almost awkward. 

“Hey Oppa,”

Jinwoo paused in his idle scrolling through the Hunter Network and straightened up from his slump over their tattered couch to look over at his sister in puzzlement. Jinah was seated to his left on the worn carpets of their living room, leaning her back against the sofa and still in her highschool uniform.

“I’ve been thinking…” Jinwoo’s stomach sank as Jinah spoke quietly, uncharacteristically serious and a far sight from the regular bright and cheerful girl she usually was. The unexpected sobriety seemed to quash the comfortable atmosphere of the Sung home and replace it with a precarious silence.

“Well that’s always dangerous.” Jinwoo said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a little. The sight of his sister so toned down and… flat sent a sick feeling crawling in Jinwoo’s stomach.

“Pfft- shut up,” Jinwoo let out a sigh of relief as Jinah snorted in amusement, though there was still a serious air to her that he didn't really like, “I’ve been thinking, maybe I should get a part-time job.”

“What?” Jinwoo sat up straight, mouth dropping open in surprise at the unexpected bombshell.

“A part-time job.” Jinah repeated, meeting Jinwoo’s wide eyes squarely. “Y’know, to help with the bills and stuff.” 

Jinwoo’s mouth opened and closed like a particularly distressed goldfish as he struggled to interpret his sister’s words. “Wha- a part-time job? Where did that come from?”

Jinwoo was too busy reeling from the unexpected statement that he didn’t notice Jinah’s eyes flitting over the tattered edges of bandaids peeking out from beneath his hoodie. 

“No reason.” Jinah said quietly.

“Well, I don’t think you need to.” Jinwoo said resolutely once he had found the words to speak. “I’m doing fine with supporting us as we are right now, you need to focus on your studies. You want to be an awakened doctor, right?”

“Yeah Oppa, but- but…!” Jinah trailed off, clenching her fists by her side as she struggled to find the words to argue.

“Don’t worry Jinah,” Jinwoo smiled softly, trying to reassure his sister, “Everything is OK as it is. I’m fine, and I can earn enough to support us…”

Jinah shook her head silently and turned back to her phone, clearly finished with the conversation. Judging from the frustrated pout on her lips, she wasn’t happy with Jinwoo disagreeing with her, but Jinwoo would gladly take the danger of dungeon raids over taking away from Jinah’s future. She needed the time to study for her dream…

Yeah, things are alright as they are. It could be so much worse… 

Yeah, the Dungeons might suck- they were scary and Jinwoo ended up getting hurt more often than not. The vast majority of the other Hunters that he met might suck- looking down on him for being an E-Rank, but…

Jinwoo had the means to scrape enough together to support himself and Jinah while paying rent and their mother’s hospital bills. 

Speaking of, I should look for another raid… Jinah’s backpack is looking pretty worn out…

Jinwoo pulls out his old, battered phone to trawl through the Hunter Network. If he was lucky, he would be able to find a raid party that accepted low-level Hunters within the next week-

Ring Ring~

“Gah-!”

Jinwoo jumped with a strangled scream as his phone suddenly rang, fumbling as he almost dropped it to the floor in his surprise. Jinwoo’s frantic fumbling and high pitched squeak earned an amused snort from Jinah.

Cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Jinwoo gently rapped his knuckles against Jinah’s head before checking the caller. 

An unknown number…? Jinwoo raised a brow in confusion, not recognising the caller. It’s probably a scam caller- no one calls me aside from Jinah… 

Jinwoo stared as his phone continued to ring for a long twenty seconds. 

…If it was a scam caller they would have given up by now right?

With a nervous little tremor to his fingers, Jinwoo hesitantly accepted the call. It had to be something important if they hadn’t hung up, right?

“H-Hello?”

“Ah, Hello! Is this Hunter Sung Jinwoo speaking? We met yesterday, I am Ahn Sangmin from the White Tiger Guild.”

“Huh wha-?” Jinwoo’s eyes widened in surprise, his startled little yelp earning a questioning look and suppressed snicker from Jinah. “The White Tiger Guild?!” 

“What-?! White Tiger-?!” Jinah ‘whispered’, the previous gloomy atmosphere of the room banished as she scrambled over the sofa like a particularly determined lizard to eavesdrop. With an almost manic glint in her eye, Jinah pressed her cheek against the other side of Jinwoo’s smartphone.

Why would anyone from White Tiger want to talk to me of all people?! Jinwoo met Jinah’s equally as dumbfounded eyes, I’m only an E-Rank, so I don’t see what they would even want to talk to me about- wait…

“I-I’m sorry sir, but if you’re calling about Miss Lee Joohee, then I don’t feel comfortable sharing her contact information without her consent.” Jinwoo said shakily, but firmly, rocking a little from Jinah’s enthusiastic nodding against the other side of the phone. Well, not that I have her phone number anyway, but it’s the principle of the thing…

“Oh! Ah no, no I’m actually looking for you, Hunter Sung!” 

Jinwoo choked.

“I have a business proposal for you on behalf of the White Tiger Guild, can we meet?”  Ahn Sangmin’s tinny voice rang out through the Sung household’s now deathly silent living room. 

Jinwoo and Jinah’s eyes met over the phone, wide in incredulous disbelief, their hearts pounding a mile a minute. Without saying a word, the two had come to a unanimous decision.

SKT

This is the right place, right…?

Jinwoo shifted in place, staring up at the warm glow of the lit up sign lighting the doorway of a cosy little 24 hour coffee shop. Truth be told, Jinwoo was more than a little nervous about the meeting. He had never met, never even considered talking to anyone from a high ranking guild before, yet alone White Tiger. He was only an E-Rank after all.

So it was safe to say that he was a little bit nervous. 

Jinwoo glanced down at his phone one last time to double check that he had the correct address before sliding it into the pocket of the nicest pair of pants that he owned. He straightened the jumper that Jinah had helped (forced) him to pick out for the meeting, her cries of ‘ Oppa! Why is your closet full of ratty old hoodies?! Look, this one’s more holes than fabric! I can’t believe I ever trusted you to dress yourself!’ ringing in his ears.

With one last deep breath, Jinwoo steeled himself and walked into the coffee shop, pointedly ignoring the little tremble to his fingers.

“Ah, Hunter Sung! Over here!” 

Jinwoo perked up, eyes snapping over to a secluded little corner of the cafe- not that the place was crowded to begin with at 11 o’Clock in the evening. There, stood over a little round table tucked out of sight, was undoubtedly the same agent from White Tiger that Jinwoo had encountered the day before. 

Well… At least now I know it’s probably not a scam… Probably…

Jinwoo gulped, feeling a little jittery as he hesitantly picked his way through the nearly-empty cafe, anxiously gripping at the soft sleeves of his blue jumper. 

“Ah! Hunter Sung! I’m glad that you could make it! I’m Ahn Sangmin- head of White Tiger’s recruitment team 2.” Ahn Sangmin crowed happily as Jinwoo approached, reaching out to clasp Jinwoo’s smaller hand in his own and shake it vigorously, jerking him back and forth with the movement. With a smooth flourish, Ahn Sangmin reached into his inner pocket and offered Jinwoo an embossed business card.

“A-Ah, hello…” Jinwoo barely had the time to offer the other man a polite bow before he was ushered swiftly into the comfortable padded chair. 

“Can I get you anything to drink? Is coffee ok? Black or sweet?” Ahn Sangmin rattled off at a mile a minute, leaving Jinwoo taken aback by the man’s enthusiasm. 

“U-Uh sweet please…” Jinwoo said, quietly reeling from the force of the man’s exuberance. Why is he so eager to meet… me? I’m just an E-Rank, what could a White Tiger Rep possibly want to talk to me about…?

“No problem!” Ahn Sangmin grinned, quickly flagging down one of the staff  before turning back to Jinwoo with such speed that he could sense the strain on the poor man’s neck. “Shall we get right down to business then, Hunter Sung?”

Jinwoo’s brows slowly climbed his forehead as Ahn Sangmin dug through his stuffed satchel to retrieve a hefty stack of papers. Barely registering the staff member gently setting down his coffee before him, Jinwoo watched as the other man spread the array of papers out on the table with smooth, practised motions. 

He’s probably going to ask me to steer clear of one of White Tiger’s dungeons or something…

To distract himself from the unfolding seriousness of the interaction, Jinwoo picked up his coffee to take a deep bracing sip-

“I would like to recruit you on behalf of the White Tiger Guild, Hunter Sung.”  

Jinwoo choked.

Coffee sprayed from Jinwoo’s mouth, spattering over the threadbare fabric of his pants as he hacked around his mouthful of liquid. 

“W-What?” Jinwoo asked hoarsely, dabbing at his coffee soaked mouth and pants with a swiped napkin. 

“I would like to recruit you on the behalf of the White Tiger Guild, Hunter Sung.” Ahn Sangmin repeated, completely unphased by Jinwoo’s… less than graceful reaction. There was no trace of deceit or mocking in the man’s eyes as he stared down Jinwoo. He was… telling the truth?

T-The Guild wants to recruit me?! Jinwoo thought frantically to himself, using dabbing up his spilled coffee as an excuse to buy himself a little time to think of a response. But I’m only an E-Rank! I checked all the Guilds’ recruitment policies and C-Rank is their cut off point for Hunter hires outside of the office So he’s recruiting me for a desk job right? But…

“Um- I was under the impression that White Tiger recruits for their desk jobs through written applications?” Jinwoo asked quietly, setting aside his soiled napkin and taking another bracing sip of his coffee to soothe the ache in his throat. 

“You are correct Hunter Sung,” Anh Sangmin laced his fingers together and rested his chin upon them, fixing Jinwoo with an almost… hungry gaze. “However, that is not why the Guild is recruiting you.”

“It’s not?” Jinwoo asked, eyes wide in confusion.

“Are you aware, Hunter Sung, of the number one cause of death in dungeons to this day?” Ahn Sangmin asked intently, looking at Jinwoo over the arch of his laced fingers. 

“It’s overconfidence, right?” Jinwoo asked hesitantly, completely taken aback by the sudden turn in conversation. What does this have to do with recruitment…?

“Correct Hunter Sung, which is why I was so intrigued when I first met you outside of that dungeon yesterday afternoon.” Ahn Sangmin grinned widely, leaning forward over the table to look closer at Jinwoo’s slender face. “You’re an E-Rank Hunter, Mr Sung. Yet you somehow survived a D-Rank dungeon with only a scratch. How did you survive what so many could not? ” 

“Ahahaha…” Jinwoo leaned back and away from Ahn Sangmin’s lean, rubbing at the back of his head sheepishly, “It’s nothing special…”

“Nothing special?” Ahn Sangmin raised a brow in tangible disbelief, grabbing a hold of one of the thick stacks of paper and leafing through it with purpose. “D-Rank cave gate, E-Rank slime gate, E-Rank forest gate, D-Rank shore gate, E-Rank meadow gate- Hunter Sung.” Ahn Sangmin tapped a hand against the sheath of papers, “These records span hundreds of gates over years. How is that not special?” 

Jinwoo coughed, hiding his mouth behind a slender hand, a pinking blush on his face as he looked off to the side- avoiding eye contact. No one… had ever complimented him on his Hunting skills before. His mother had never wanted him to become a Hunter in his father’s footsteps… Jinah was too worried… And not to even mention the other Hunters that joined him in raids. 

“It really isn’t though,” Jinwoo said truthfully, hiding his face behind his steaming cup of coffee, “All I did was watch and learn.” 

“Exactly.” Ahn Sangmin patted the papers one last time before setting them aside an intent glint in his eyes. “Like I said before, the number one cause of deaths in dungeons is overconfidence, and lack of proper instruction.” 

“But what does that have anything to do with- Oh…” Jinwoo trailed off, eyes widening in realisation. “You- You want me to…?”

“That’s right Hunter Sung,” Ahn Sangmin said, a barely perceptible tremor of excitement in his voice, “The White Tiger Guild would like to recruit you on the merit of your experience in Dungeons, and ask you to instruct our rookie hunters. We have prepared a generous salary and benefits should you accept.”

Jinwoo swallowed thickly, a thick fog of disbelief swallowing his thoughts. It- This can’t be real right? I’m at home in bed and this is all a dream right…? Jinwoo watched blankly as Ahn Sangmin slid what was undoubtedly a contract over the table to Jinwoo. I-If this is real, then I’ll be able to support me, mom and Jinah properly… 

With finely shaking hands, Jinwoo carefully picked up the offered contract and began to read carefully. As an E-Rank, he had been around the block enough times with predatory Hunters prowling for the weak and gullible to know to carefully check the terms of agreements.

Ok, nice benefits- Medical, dental, free use of Guild facilities… Job entails instructing Hunters in dungeon mechanics, synergy and monster information… No traps that I can see… No hidden clauses… The salary-

What.

“Uh, is this number correct…?” Jinwoo asked hesitantly, pointing down at the number printed in bold at the end of the document. A number too large to be a simple starting salary…

“Yes, everything printed in the contract is correct.” Ahn Sangmin said evenly, masking the inward cries of elation at being able to recruit such a humble and personable Hunter. The kid hadn’t thrown his power around or taken himself too seriously once. He was practically a Hunter recruiter’s dream. 

With a heavy gulp, eyes wide in perpetual shock, Jinwoo flipped back to the beginning of the contract and read through it again, trying to root out the catch in an offer that just seemed too good to be true. 

But he found none.

“One question Hunter Sung,” Ahn Sangmin’s voice sounded out while Jinwoo was reading, “Since you have exclusively hunted in E-D dungeons, if the Guild were to provide you with data and research materials, plus guarded escorts into higher ranked dungeons, would you be able to teach for those environments too?”

“Hmm? Yeah of course,” Jinwoo mumbled off-handedly, absorbed in his reading. “I do my own research in my spare time anyway.” Jinwoo answered truthfully, he kept an eye on higher ranked dungeons out of respect for his mother after all. She always believed that his father never passed away, and would return one day afterall. 

“Haha, that’s great!” Unseen by Jinwoo, Ahn Sangmin clasped his hands together under his chin in a universal gesture of prayer, inwardly rejoicing over Jinwoo’s soft and agreeable temperament. He does his own research! Out of his own free will! He’s humble too! A blessing! The Jackpot!

“Can I take that to mean that you agree to the White Tiger Guild’s offer?” Ahn Sangmin asked with bated breath, watching the other man mull the question over. 

“Yes, I agree.” Jinwoo said eventually, signing the dotted line on the contract with Ahn Sangmin’s offered pen. “When do I start?”

“Wonderful!” Ahn Sangmin said with a wide grin, shuffling the signed contract back into his stuffed satchel. “Please come to the White Tiger building on monday at 9AM, I’ll guide you through getting your pass printed and get you familiar with our workspace. We’ll then try out a trial run with our lower ranked Hunters to get you acclimated to how teaching feels.”

Jinwoo reflexively rose to his feet as Ahn Sangmin shot to his, accepting the other man’s vigorous handshake. 

“I look forward to working with you, Hunter Sung! I’ll send you a copy of your contract later,” Ahn Sangmin grinned happily, shooting Jinwoo a respectful bow which Jinwoo automatically returned. “Then I’ll see you on Monday!”

With one last nod, Ahn Sangmin disappeared as quickly as Jinwoo had arrived, leaving Jinwoo stood gaping, coffee drying on his pants. 

Well… that was something. Jinah wasn’t going to believe this.

He’d better get his lesson plan ready.

Chapter Text

It’s big…

Jinwoo stood, arms slack by his side as he stared up at the towering building before him. It was everything that Jinwoo wasn’t- all sleek glass and clean edges speaking of a quiet, understated opulence. 

Countless people around him bustled about their daily lives with long, confident strides- cleanly pressed suits and powerful auras that spoke of high rankings. All gathering under the emblem of a snarling tiger proudly emblazoned above the glass doors of the building in the finest of dungeon materials no doubt. 

I feel like I shouldn’t be here…

Jinwoo thought quietly to himself, frozen in place before the looming doors of the building. 

He felt like everyone who so much as glanced his way could somehow sense his lack of money and low hunter status. Even in the nicest clothes he owned- a nice blue sweater and a pair of ironed jeans.

All without holes- will wonders never cease. 

Well, thanks to Jinah… Jinwoo thought fondly to himself, memories of his sister a few nights before when he had returned from the meeting with the recruiter- Ahn Sangmin. The man had said that there was no dress-code, and to wear whatever he liked, but Jinah…

Jinah had taken one look at him and his closet, and had burst out into the huffiest tirade that Jinwoo had ever heard. A few choice phrases being: ‘what the fuck?!’ ‘Are you serious?’ Since when were the top guilds recruiting E-Ranks?! Oh, no offence Oppa.

After the screaming and shaking him by the lapels had stopped, she had then dragged him to the nearest supermart. Then had shoved him into the chaos of the sale section like a sacrificial peon pitted against bargain-hunting grannies until he had emerged battered and bruised with the clothes he was wearing now. 

But even with the barrier of his new clothes, Jinwoo still felt majorly out of place. 

A quick glance down at his smartphone revealed the time 8:45 and Jinwoo knew it was time to brave the storm. 

Come on… Imagine the automatic doors are a dungeon gate… Jinwoo adjusted the strap of his bag, letting out a little sigh of relief as some of his nerves faded. Although… that probably says something about me that I’m less nervous about walking into a dungeon than an office building…

“Hi! How can I help you?” 

Jinwoo jumped a little at the cheery voice ringing out through the low hum of the commuting workers filtering through the lobby, drawing his eyes to a perky-looking receptionist lady sitting at a very fancy reception desk. 

“A-Ah, hello.” Jinwoo said quietly, instinctively dropping into a respectful bow, fluffy hair bobbing slightly with the sudden movement. “It’s my first day- I’m here to see Recruiter Ahn?” He said quietly, heart beating wildly 

Unseen and unnoticed by Jinwoo, the receptionist’s smile warmed and softened out of the practised customer-service pleasantries. Ahhhh… A polite hunter! My luck must be good today! The receptionist thought to herself with a genuine smile gentling her eyes. 

“Of course, he told me this morning that he was expecting someone.” The receptionist said as Jinwoo straightened out of his bow, tapping at her keyboard in confident strokes. “Please wait a moment while I call him down for you.” 

A little sigh of relief whistled from Jinwoo’s lips at the woman’s accepting demeanour. His nerves were soothed somewhat by her placid nature- so, so similar to Joohee that it instinctively brought him down from his anxious edge.

 He was half expecting either a derisive glint to her eyes, or a pitying look. The most common reaction he gets from everyone around him when they realise how low his rank was- even from unawakened people. The moment they realised that his rank was E, their entire perception of him was tainted by preconceptions, so he had stopped even trying to change people’s minds after the first few months of his awakening.

Though out of the two, he would much prefer outright derision than pity…

“Ah, Hunter Sung! I’m glad you could make it!” Jinwoo’s downward spiral was broken by an enthusiastic and familiar voice breaking the silence. 

He watched bemusedly as Ahn Sangmin emerged from a nearby elevator across the sleek lobby and marched towards him at speed, catching Jinwoo’s smaller hand in his own and shaking it so enthusiastically that he jerked Jinwoo's arm up and down with the motion. 

Eh? That was fast- It’s been like… 10 seconds since the lady made the call… Jinwoo thought faintly, caught up in the whirlwind that was Ahn Sangmin. 

“Thank you receptionist Min, have a good day.” Ahn Sangmin shot a smile at the receptionist before dropping Jinwoo’s hand and gesturing out into the sleek and streamlined lobby with a wide sweeping motion. “Come, Hunter Sung. Shall we get started with our day?” 

The next 20 minutes were a blur of motion, the chief recruiter shuffling Jinwoo through various office rooms. Bathrooms that way. Break room that way. The flash of a picture being taken. The hum of a printer. The thrill of embarrassment of his own awkward smile printed on a security pass. 

“Okay! So just to run over our arrangement so far,” Ahn Sangmin said, astoundingly chipper for a man that had just speedran Jinwoo through a security process that usually took hours at the speed of light. 

“You’ll be on a trial period of around a month while we see how you adjust to your new role.” The recruiter said pleasantly, long legs striding down the building halls at a pace Jinwoo had to awkwardly half-jog to keep up with. “For now we’ll set you up with some newbies that were just recruited last week- all C-Ranks- ah here we are!” 

Jinwoo slowed to a stop as Ahn Sangmin gestured a hand at a thick metallic door nestled into the end of the hall, the metallic sheen glistening with a subtle iridescence that spoke of high quality dungeon materials. 

“This is one of our training rooms!” Jinwoo’s eyes widened as the door slowly swung open, revealing an expansive training space within. Swathes of sleek, reinforced metal stretched across the open space, glinting softly in the industrial lighting above. Tucked into the corner were a few low tables sporting various bottled refreshments including water and sports drinks along with what looked to be saltine crackers. 

Mounted on the left wall was a spread of darkly tinted windows- thick military grade glass that could likely withstand a tank round. An observation room- likely empty. The higher-ups had better things to do than watch over a fumbling E-Rank’s first attempt at teaching afterall.

Wow… White Tiger really doesn’t skimp on their members- even C-Ranks huh? I’ve never seen so much dungeon material used in one place… Jinwoo thought to himself, eyes wide as he took in the very very nice training space. He was much too absorbed in observing the copious amounts of dungeon materials used to create the room to remember his initial nerves-

“Ah! And here’s your first team now.” 

Ah. Never mind, there they are again… Jinwoo gulped, feeling the nervous butterflies in his belly start back up again with a vengeance. 

With his heart in his throat, Jinwoo slowly turned and followed Ahn Sangmin’s sweeping gesture with his eyes, observing the group of Hunters gathered in the centre of the room. He vaguely knew of this team from the dossier that Ahn Sangmin had given him in preparation for his lesson planning but… it didn’t even come close to seeing them in person. 

One tank- A tall, muscular woman with an undercut and intense eyes. Two damage dealers- A shifty looking man fingering the hilt of his dagger and a teenaged boy clad in a sweeping robe and pointed hat. One healer- a short woman with kind eyes and- ah. There it is.

Jinwoo felt himself deflate just a little as the group’s eyes were drawn to him like moths to a flame. He felt their gazes drag over him up and down, once twice- then flick away with an air or derisive disinterest. 

Dismissing him with barely a glance.

Perhaps it was Recruiter Ahn and the kind reception lady’s attitudes towards him that made the usual dismissal of him as an E-Rank hunter hit that much harder. 

I don’t know why I thought it would be different… Jinwoo thought resignedly, shoulders lax and defeated under the weight of the tank’s curled lip of apathetic derision, and the teenager’s look of pity. He didn’t know which was worse. 

“Alright everyone! This man here will be your trainer for the day!” Ahn Sangmin clapped his hands together, the sound echoing off of the training room walls with a sharp crack. “Alright Hunter Sung, you have the floor!” 

Jinwoo felt his heart beat even faster as the C-Rank party’s eyes turned back to him, this time with a disbelieving glint to their eyes.

“H-Hello everyone, My name is Sung Jinwoo! I will be your instructor for the day!” Jinwoo said as confidently as he could, dipping into a respectful bow and cursing himself for the little crack in his voice. He hoped that he would get into the swing of talking in front of others soon- teaching was not something in Jinwoo’s current skill-set.

“Today we’ll be going over dungeon synergy with combat against a beginner-level mole dungeon to get you used to the feel of working in a team together-”

“Has there been some kind of mistake?” The shifty man tracing his dagger’s hilt cut Jinwoo off mid-sentence, a single brow raised in tacit disbelief. “An E-Rank? Instructing us? I knew the White Tiger Guild was inclusive, but I didn’t know they took on charity work.” The man said with a snicker.

“I can guarantee you there is no mistake.” Ahn Sangmin said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hunter Sung is your instructor for the day, and is more than qualified for this session, so if you would kindly listen.” 

The man raised his hands in mock surrender, before interlacing his fingers behind his head with a low smirk. Seeing the group’s acquiescence, Ahn Sangmin gave Jinwoo a silent nod before gesturing up at the observation room and making his way back out the training room.

“Ok let’s get started.” Jinwoo said, voice surprisingly firm despite the group’s obvious disinterest in listening to him. He had years of experience with the weight of class-prompted apathy after all. “Have you worked together as a team before? I want to get a baseline to work from.” 

The group looked at each other for a long second before the tank answered, notable disinterest in her raspy voice. “Yeah. We’ve run a couple of simulated dungeons together before.” 

“That’s good.” Jinwoo said, keeping the wobble out of his voice as he slowly approached the party. “We’ll start with a basic flank formation and run over the rules of aggro- ah.” Jinwoo trailed off, eyes wide as he caught sight of a liver pendant peeking out from the healer’s cloth collar. Could it be…? Possibly. The healer shifted under his gaze, slender hands coming up to clasp the pendant- some sort of religious article with guarded eyes, hands angled to hide her ample bosom- Ah.

Jinwoo rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish little smile tugging at his lips as he realised how his sudden interest in the woman’s chest area might look. “Sorry, but can I ask if you’re a religious person?” 

“Oh.” The woman breathed, shoulders relaxing a little at Jinwoo’s question, hands falling away from her chest. “Yes, why do you ask?”

“Just a theory…” Jinwoo hummed quietly, taking a peek down at his lesson plan to confirm his suspicions. Yes- under the woman’s name, the classification ‘healer.’ 

“Could you humour me for a second please?” Jinwoo asked softly, fingers worrying at the paper of his notes. “Could you show me your basic attack spell, please?” 

The woman’s brows raised in surprise at Jinwoo’s sudden question and derailment from the training. The party glanced at each other, puzzlement in their eyes softened by Jinwoo’s pleasant and non-demanding demeanour. 

After a few seconds, the shifty looking man shrugged and answered for her with a disinterested flick of his hair. “Sure why not- go for it, healer lady.”

Bemusement evident in her green eyes, the healer swiftly conjured a sphere of mana in the palm of her hand, the magical energy swirling softly with an iridescent emerald light in the low fluorescent lighting of the training room before flinging it at the wall. The basic attack impacted the metal with a quiet sizzle, leaving a moderate burn-mark the size of a basketball smeared against the glimmering metal. 

“Good, thank you.” Jinwoo said quietly, fluffy hair swaying softly in the aftermath of the attack, shifted from the lingering static energy in the air. “Now could you try again, but invoke the deity that you pray to as you cast please?” 

“Invoke- huh?” The healer asked dumbfoundedly, head tilted to the side as she looked at Jinwoo like he was insane- or bordering on it at least. “I mean, sure- but why?”

“Just humour me please?” Jinwoo asked softly, the majority of his nerves forgotten in the face of finding out if his theory was correct. 

The healer exchanged a little shrug with her party before turning back to the wall and letting mana pool in the palm of her hand once more-

“G-Gya?!” The healer yelped, eyes wide as the blast hit the wall with a deafening crash, the shockwave sending Jinwoo stumbling back a few steps at the sheer force. The magic blast kicked up a cloud of thick, cloying smoke that blanketed the room in an impenetrable screen, bringing tears to Jinwoo’s eyes as he coughed. 

Waving a hand in front of his face to ward away the choking smoke, Jinwoo coughed lightly, throat burning from the thick cloud-

“Oh my god!” 

Jinwoo’s eyes snapped open at the sudden cry from the previously silent teenaged boy, peering through his tear blurred vision to make out a thick, pitch black burn mark. 

A burn mark larger than Jinwoo himself. 

“What did you do?!” Jinwoo jumped as the healer rushed into his personal space, hands clasped around her religious pendant, the teenager hot on her tail. There was a certain glint to the pair’s eyes- something that he couldn’t put his finger on. “How did you do that?” 

“D-Do what?” Jinwoo sputtered, scrambling away from the approaching hunters, blinking furiously at the observation room as he tried to signal desperately for help. He didn’t know what he did wrong, he was only trying to help her, but he definitely couldn’t hold off a pair of C-Rank Hunters. A quick glance at the rest of the party only revealed the tank and the shifty man looking at the proceedings with interested eyes. “Whatever it is- sorry-!”

“Huh? ‘Sorry?!’” The teenager blurted, eyes wide with burning fervour as he crowded into Jinwoo’s space, the floppy brim of his hat pressing against Jinwoo’s chest. “That was awesome!” 

Eh?

“Eh?” Jinwoo said intelligently, pausing in his retreat to look at the pair, mouth dropped open in surprise. “You’re not… upset?”

“Upset? No! Why would I be upset?” The healer gasped, flexing her fingers around her pendant. “That was the most powerful spell I’ve ever cast! How did you do that?” The healer asked again, but this time, Jinwoo could place what the glint in their eyes was.

Excitement.

“Ah- It wasn’t anything special, hahaha…” Jinwoo laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to act under such positive attention from higher rankers that weren't Joohee or some of his regular dungeon raid mates. “I just thought that- since seeing your pendant, you weren’t just a healer, but a cleric.” 

Jinwoo’s words seemed to cast a silence over the room, the entire party’s eyes trained on him with an interested light- even the tank and the shifty man. 

And just like that, the atmosphere in the training room seemed to shift.

“Alright, trainer. What’s on the agenda today then?” The tank lumbered forward, grip tight around her shield as her lips parted in a hungry grin. 

“R-Right!” Jinwoo said with a breathless grin as he felt their gazes on him- but this time without the razor sharp edge of apathy. No this time it was with, dare he say it…

Respect.

SKT

“Jackpot, jackpot Jackpot-! ” Ahn Sangmin muttered under his breath, eyes wide, breath heavy and fingers flying over the keys of his laptop. 

The report of the training session splurged onto his screen so fast that Sangmin could barely see the blink of his cursor. 

He had seen it all. 

The way Hunter Sung had picked out a subclass in their healer that even the White Tiger assessors had missed with barely a glance . 

And now he was running the party through a flank formation against captured mole monsters.

With flying fucking colours.

Even to Ahn Sangmin’s inexperienced eyes, he could tell that the team ran smooth as butter. The tank drew the monster’s aggro effortlessly, the moles chomping ineffectively at her shield with deafening shrieks of anger as they glanced off the sleek metal.

Unseen to the side, the two damage dealers sent swift, almost effortless attacks into the area behind the monster’s shoulders and above their ribcage- killing them instantly in a single shot- Must be the monster’s weak point- Hunter Sung you angel- 

But the healer- cleric. Oh the cleric… Ahn Sangmin panted through his fervour, heart in his throat as he watched healing mana surge forth from the woman’s hands effortlessly- the speed and strength of her casting leaps and bounds ahead of what she was putting out prior to Hunter Sung’s realisation- revelation. 

And from the breathless smiles on the C-Rank party’s faces, they could feel it too.

This is going to work- Oh my god it’s going to work-! 

A wide, almost manic grin tugged at Ahn Sangmin’s lips, fingers working at his laptop keyboard faster and faster in his enthusiasm. 

Fucking suck it Joo Sungchan! This is the power of recruitment team 2!

SKT

“An E-Rank?” 

A smooth, velvety voice rang out in the silence of a spacious penthouse office, the gleam of a pair of glasses casting a sleek glow over the report grasped gently in the figure’s hand. The glint of rings in the dying light of the sunset accentuated the slender length of the figure’s fingers as they traced the words with their eyes. 

“What are you thinking, Baek Yoonho?” The figure asked to the empty air, a sly smirk tugging at their lips. “How intriguing…”

The figure let the report supplied by their trusty guild spies flutter to the sleek desk, leaning back in their luxurious office chair as they tasted the name of the unknown- interesting variable on their lips. 

“Sung Jinwoo…”

Chapter Text

Jinwoo sighed wearily, shoulders sloped in an exhausted curve as he trudged to the front door of his apartment. The day had been long- even with the very nice refreshments that the White Tiger Guild had provided. 

It had been drill after drill after drill, and his poor E-Rank body just wasn’t built to keep up with higher ranks. 

And speaking of his E-Rank body…

Jinwoo’s skin still tingled and crawled at the phantom sensation of eyes dragging over his face and neck, sending his heart pounding in his chest as he felt a little bit like a prey animal caught in the sights of a predator. 

Extended time with a group of unfamiliar high rankers would do that to you. 

Although the sensation wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as when he had first awakened- merely being in the same room as a D-Rank had set his teeth on edge. But Jinwoo had spent long enough- years even, as the weakest Hunter in the country. Being surrounded by the strong was nothing new to him. Though sticking around C-Ranks and up for an entire working day would take some getting used to. 

But Jinwoo would adapt.

He had to. 

But still, despite the buzz under his skin and the bone-deep weariness from a full day’s training, Jinwoo felt… exhilarated. 

He’d done it. 

He’d managed to get higher rankers to listen. To work together as a team instead of five separate Hunters hacking away at monsters indiscriminately. It was… rewarding. He felt like he had actually done something rather than cart around a raid party’s gear and waste the healer’s mana.

Besides, from the beginning, he was in no real danger- he could tell. None of the Hunters’ eyes had held even a glimmer of malice towards him. 

Just apathy and derision. 

His sense for people was deep and ingrained right from the beginning of his Hunter career. Sticking around people who could crush him with the flick of a finger had led him to developing some pretty sharp observational skills- especially when the E-Ranks around him disappeared-

“Ah- Oppa!” 

“Gah-!” Jinwoo’s inner musings were cut off as the apartment door swung open with a reverberating clang. A slender hand lashed out and seized him by the sweater, yanking him into the depths of the apartment with a hefty tug.

“Oppa! How did it go?!” Jinah yelled, her wide, giddy grin barely visible as she shook Jinwoo back and forth like a ragdoll by the shoulders. “How was it? What did you do? Did you see the buff guildmaster? Still can’t believe they recruited you- ah, no offence oppa”

Jinwoo felt dizzy amongst the barrage of questions that escaped his sister's lips seemingly at the speed of light. “Ah, slow down-” Jinwoo said with a breathy little chuckle as he slipped from his sister’s grasping fingers. 

With an indulgent, yet teasing smile, Jinwoo reached up and gently flicked his sister on the forehead, earning himself an offended huff and gentle kick to the shin. He let Jinah’s familiar chatter wash over him as he smoothly sidestepped her to enter the apartment, bumping her teasingly with his hip as he passed. 

“You know, that sweater doesn’t look half bad~” 

Jinwoo paused mid-motion as he was setting down his bag, quirking an eyebrow as he looked back over his shoulder. 

“... I don’t like that expression…” Jinwoo deadpanned, narrowing his eyes at Jinah’s wide, smug smile. There was a certain glint to her eye that put his hard-earned instincts for bullshit on edge. 

“I’m just saaaaaying~” Jinah sung, waving her hand lackadaisically through the air as she swayed across the room to sprawl across their threadbare sofa like an empress draped across their throne- complete with the hand tilted delicately under her chin. “You know with your gods-awful fashion sense you would have shown up to your first day in a swiss-cheese hoodie and jeans that are ripped unfashionably.”

“I-I’m not that bad!”

He was. 

“Yes you are!” Jinah yelled, incensed and pointing at him furiously. “I saw your closet, Oppa! You have the fashion sense of a blind hermit! No matter how good you are at sewing the holes, IT’S STILL SWISS CHEESE-”

Ring ring ring

Jinwoo immediately reached into his pocket and retrieved his buzzing phone, for both the out from the fashion scolding and for the added benefit of pissing his sister off.

“Hello, Sung Jinwoo speaking.” Jinwoo said pleasantly into the phone before his eyes widened in surprise at the familiar voice on the other end of the line, instantly brightening. “Ah! Recruiter Ahn, how can I help you?” 

No sooner than the words had left his mouth, Jinah had scrambled up from the couch in an ungainly mess of limbs and had plastered her ear to the other side of the phone. Blatantly eavesdropping- as usual. 

“Hello Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin’s slightly tinny voice sounded through the slightly damaged speakers of his phone. “I’m just calling to congratulate you on your first day!”

“Hnnggnnff-!” A muffled squeal of excitement sounded from Jinwoo’s side, accompanied by rapid, stinging slaps to his upper arm as Jinah practically vibrated in place.

“I just wanted to let you know that there were no problems with your first lesson.”

Ah. That was a relief- 

“In fact I would say you exceeded expectations!”

Oh. 

Jinwoo’s cheeks heated at the compliment- a rarity that he didn’t experience often- not in his line of work. Not with his ranking. Jinwoo gulped, grip tightening around the phone as his wobbly smile grew more genuine.

“Th-Thank you Recruiter Ahn!” Jinwoo said happily, tension draining from his shoulders as a weight he didn’t know he carried from the lesson melted away. He was so caught up in his wordless happiness that he didn’t notice Jinah’s searching stare and determined set to her brow as she pressed herself closer to his side. 

“Of course, Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin said cheerily down the line. “In fact, that’s part of the reason why I’m calling you tonight.” 

“Oh?” Jinwoo asked softly, head tilted to the side in confusion. He could barely pick up the rustle of jostled papers over the phone line. He offhandedly registered the sound of his sister holding her breath on the other end of the phone. 

“Yes, going forward, we will keep you with a training team for a week, then move you onto the next over your probation period so that we can see how your training affects different team compositions, but I digress.” Ahn Sangmin paused to take a deep breath, the sudden silence leaving Jinwoo and Jinah on the edge of their seats. 

“On behalf of the White Tiger Guild, I’m happy to inform you that you will be getting a bonus of 335,000 Won*.” 

No sooner had the words left Ahn Sangmins lips saw both the siblings’ eyes going dinner-plate wide, mouths dropping open-

“What- why?” Jinwoo instinctively asked, earning a piercing glare from Jinah and silently worded reprimands that Jinwoo could practically feel in his bones. You idiot! Why would you ask why?! Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth Oppa!

“Oh, that’s simple, Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin chuckled. “You provided the guild with a service- you saved us a lot of time by pinpointing the healer’s true class as a cleric. ”  Ahn Sangmin’s voice wobbled with a barely perceptible quiver of excitement as the word ‘cleric’ left his lips. 

“A-Ah, it was nothing special.” Jinwoo said with a little chuckle, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his neck at the effusive praise that he was decidedly not used to. After all, it was only a matter of paying attention, anyone could have figured it out. 

“I beg to differ, Hunter Sung.” Ahn Sangmin said patiently, but firmly, halting the words on Jinwoo’s tongue. “But I won’t take up anymore of your time- the bonus will be deposited in your account within the hour. Have a good evening, Hunter Sung!” 

Jinwoo could barely stumble out a cordial reply before hanging up the phone with shock-numb fingers. 

Silence hung heavy in the living room for a couple of loaded sessions, before the tension broke with a quiet sigh from Jinwoo and an ear-piercing scream from Jinah. 

“Ow, ow!” Jinwoo winced playfully, clasping his hands over his ears at his sister’s sudden ungainly wailing. 

“335,000 Won, Oppa! 335,000 Won!” Jinah cheered, a slightly hysterical edge to her jubilation as she began to shake Jinwoo’s arm with a strength that if Jinwoo didn’t know any better, he would think that she was the awakened one in the family.

“I know, I know-!” Jinwoo laughed, eyes wide as his phone pinged with a notification from his bank- it wasn’t a dream after all… That was more disposable income that Jinwoo had had in… months- maybe even years…

“Oppa…” Jinah asked, voice quiet, but still shaky with giddiness. “What are you going to to with the money?” 

Jinwoo took a breath, barely even having to think of the answer before turning back to his little sister with a smile so bright that it crinkled the corner of his eyes, robbing the breath from his lungs with his joy.

“Let’s go backpack shopping, ok?” 

Jinwoo pretended not to notice as Jinah’s lower lip wobbled, fat tears welling in his sister’s slate grey eyes. 

“O-Ok Oppa!”

SKT

… It’s still big… 

Jinwoo thought to himself, breath caught in his throat as he stared up at the towering guild building, the clean angles and pristine dungeon materials exactly the same as they were the day before. 

But this time… 

This time Jinwoo didn’t feel quite so oppressed by the atmosphere. His breath came a little smoother, his heart beat easier. Don’t get him wrong, he still felt like he’d be arrested for even brushing his broke E-Rank self against something that he shouldn’t. Like- an expensive chair or something similar. 

But even still… 

“Oh! Good morning Hunter Sung! Please head on right through, Recruiter Ahn is ready for you!” The same nice receptionist lady called out from her seat behind the desk, a genuine smile brightening her face- a far cry from the plastic customer service one she had bore the day before. 

It’s not so bad… 

“Ah, thank you Miss!” Jinwoo replied pleasantly with a little chuckle, rubbing at the back of his neck as he bowed his head politely. 

Taking deep breaths, Jinwoo walked through the sleek corridors of the building, tracing his steps from the day before until he came to a stop before the reinforced door of the booked training room. He took a couple of seconds to centre himself before he took the plunge and opened the door. Just because he was used to the apathetic stares of higher ranks, it doesn’t mean that the persistent racing of his heart like a prey animal in their predator’s sights was pleasant. 

After a couple of bracing breaths, Jinwoo mustered the courage to push the door open once more, steeling himself for the same uncomfortable atmosphere of the day before- 

“Ah! Hyung-nim! You’re here!” 

Eh?

Jinwoo stood frozen as the teenager from before bounded over, the Healer- Cleric hot on his heels, eyes wide and bright in the stark lighting of the training room.

“H-Hyung?” Jinwoo questioned, cheeks warm and flustered as this- this C-Rank looked at him like he was worthy of his respect. Him. An E-Rank. Out of the corner of his eye, over the wide bobbing brim of the teenager’s hat and the Cleric’s blonde hair stood the shifty looking Assassin and the Tank. And dare he say it, he saw the same feelings reflected in their eyes too- if muted, but the looseness to their shoulders spoke volumes. 

Maybe this is actually going to work… Jinwoo thought breathlessly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he stepped properly into the room, slinging his bag off of his back to grab the training materials within. 

“Alright! Has everyone warmed up? Today we’re going to be looking at how to deal with slimes!”

SKT

One month later…

Baek Yoonho leaned forward in his seat, scarred fingers laced under his chin as he listened intently to Ahn Sangmin’s words. The second he had heard the words ‘E-Rank’ out of his head recruiter’s mouth, he had been mildly interested. 

By his count, it had been roughly a month since the start of Ahn Sangmin’s little experiment, and Yoonho was interested to see how it had turned out. Not that he was very hopeful of the outcome. 

As an animal-type Hunter, he was intimately familiar with the way lower ranked Hunters felt and reacted around those higher than them on the food chain. It was ingrained- an instinct for them to retreat- to seek safety with those of the same rank like that of a herd animal. 

It was natural. 

And also the reason why Yoonho never recruited below C-Rank. He was sure that any Hunters in a raid party with him or any of his higher rankers would work themselves into a panic and end up getting themselves hurt- whether that be in a dungeon or otherwise. Hell, even some of the A-Ranks were shifty around him, even though he makes an effort to reign in his aura around anyone other than that bastard Choi Jongin-

Anyway…

Yoonho banished his rising ire with the snake with practised ease, ready to hear of the results of the little experiment.

“How did it go, Recruiter Ahn?” Yoonho asked lowly, voice naturally raspy as he regarded the man over his laced fingers.

“Well… there were a few bumps in the road…” Ahn Sangmin chuckled sheepishly, nervously fingering at the edges of his dossier. “The team was sceptical of Hunter Sung, and pretty much dismissed him at a glance…”

I’m not surprised… Yoonho thought with a sigh, eyes slipping shut. He couldn’t be disappointed, that was just how the majority of High Rankers operate. Almost the entirety of the world would judge a person solely by their rank alone. While Yoonho himself did not operate that way, the same could not be said for the rest of the Hunting World- heck, even unawakened.

At least they didn’t react violently or insulted by being put under an E-Rank… Yoonho’s gaze hardened. But if they had, I would have had a… talk with them about their attitude towards guildmates…

“But! As soon as Hunter Sung demonstrated his knowledge, they took to him like a duck to water!” 

Oh? 

Yoonho perked up, brows rising in surprise at the other man’s words.

“Is that right…?” Yoonho asked, eyes now locked on Ahn Sangmin- his interest was fully piqued. 

“Hehe, that’s right Guildmaster!” The smaller man grinned, beginning to flip through his dossier with enthusiasm now that he had Yoonho’s full attention. “After Hunter Sung revealed his knowledge, the team were happy to listen to him! Especially the younger members of the party!” 

Ahn Sangmin grinned before leaning in conspiratorially, as if Yoonho’s office wasn’t soundproofed with the finest dungeon materials. “Off the books Guild Master, I’ve noticed camaraderie increase between the party too! They’re friendlier towards each other- they even meet up outside of work hours too!”

Ahn Sangmin cheerfully turned his papers around so that Baek Yoonho could catch a glimpse of the pictures that the man must have snapped from the observation room. 

Well would you look at that… A disbelieving little chuckle slipped from Yoonho’s lips at the sight before him- of the unmistakable fondness in the C-Rankers eyes. 

Of the way the Healer and the younger boy practically hung off of Hunter Sung’s arms. 

Of the way the tank stood almost protectively like that of a bodyguard of to Hunter Sung’s side, eyes trained on the monster corpses as if looking for stragglers. 

Of the way the Assassin stood at a distance, directly in Hunter Sung’s blind spot to watch for any hidden dangers from the slain beasts. 

I wouldn’t have thought it possible… An E-Rank swaying C-Ranks like this… It was an unexpected development, but an entirely welcome one nonetheless. 

Hmm… 

“How well did the training go outside of their general attitude towards Hunter Sung?” Yoonho asked, mind racing over possibilities of bettering the guild. If Hunter Sung is this comfortable around Higher Rankers, then maybe White Tiger should get some more newbies in… 

We were constrained from lack of training resources, but now that Hunter Sung is here, we can afford to take on more people without neglecting their training. Heck, we might even see a slight rise in efficiency if he is any good as a teacher. 

“About that…” 

Yoonho looked up at the sound of Ahn Sangmin’s voice, quirking a brow at the near imperceptible look in the man’s eye. The look of a cat that got the cream- so slight that he might not have picked up on it if not for his enhanced beastial instinct.

“Hunter Sung shows remarkable potential as a trainer, Guild Master.” Ahn Sangmin’s papers rustled as he shuffled through them. “To begin with, Hunter Sung picked up that our Healer wasn’t just a Healer at all, but rather a Cleric.” 

“Right, right, very impressive- wait.” Yoonho’s words caught in his throat as Ahn Sangmin’s words fully registered. “He was able to pinpoint her class without our team of researchers and any prior information?”  

“That’s right.” Ahn Sangmin’s grin only widened at Yoonho’s shock. “I was just as surprised as you are, Guild Master. But to continue with the report, Hunter Sung was able to improve the party’s work to the point where there was a marked difference.” 

“Oh? That’s surprising.” Yoonho hummed, leaning back in his expensive office chair, the light streaming in from the wide windows behind him casting his fire-red hair in an almost ethereal glow. 

“There was consistent improvement? To what degree? I imagine that it was a couple of seconds of improved clear time at most.” Yoonho said, speaking from years of experience. Usually, training would grant minor benefits to newly formed parties. But it was only through true raids that a group was either truly made or broken and significant improvements could be seen.

“That’s right Guild Master.”

Right, it’s as I thought. I’m glad that Hunter Sung is skilled enough to enable teams to work together efficiently enough to shave seconds off of their clear time. Maybe even a minute if we’re lucky-

“The team’s average improvement is 23 minutes per simulated raid, Guild Master.” 

What. 

“What.” Yoonho said shortly, mind halted at- at the impossible number. 

“I had the same reaction, Guild Master.” Ahn Sangmin said calmly- how was he so calm? “I think that we may have stumbled across an asset to White Tiger, Guild Master.” 

“An asset…” Yoonho breathed out a chuckle, muscles going slack with shock as he laid a hand across his eyes, tilting his head back with the force of his laugh. “I think you might be right there, Recruiter Ahn.”

“Right Guild Master.” Ahn Sangmin said almost smugly, shuffling his papers back into the dossier and laying it down on Yoonho’s sleek desk. “I take it I have permission to end Hunter Sung’s probation period?”

Yoonho parted his fingers just enough to level an unimpressed stare at Ahn Sangmin, face completely deadpan. 

“Orders received, Guild Master.” Ahn Sangmin said with a wide smile, dipping into a polite bow.

“I want to observe tomorrow.” Yoonho stated decisively once he had gathered himself enough to speak once again. 

“I want to see this ‘miraculous training’ myself.”

SKT

“Chairman.”

Go Gunhee looked up with a raised brow at the unexpected intrusion. “Jinchul, what can I do for you?” He asked pleasantly, leaning back in his chair to crack his neck with a weary sigh. Would the paperwork ever end?

“We’ve received reports from our informants that we think you might be interested in.” Woo Jinchul entered the room, closing the door to the office softly with a respectful bow. 

“Oh?” Go Gunhee reached forward and pushed his stacks of paperwork to the side- any chance he could get, and he would take it. 

“Yes Chairman.” Jinchul approached Go Gunhee’s laden desk and delicately laid down a single open file before him. A file that depicted-

“An E-Rank?” Go Gunhee asked, wizened face scrunching in a perplexed frown as he looked down at the innocent looking child emblazoned on the Hunters’ Association record before him. The child’s awkward smile tickled something within the Chairman, prompting a little quirk of the lips from the old man. 

“Yes sir.” Jinchul replied with his ever-present formality, arms folded neatly behind his back. “We have gained intel that he is an effective trainer with significant results.” 

“Oh?” Go Gunhee’s brow quirked with interest as he looked down at the boy’s awkward smile with new eyes. “How interesting… An E-Rank…” He thought to himself for a few moments more, deliberating over how best to proceed with the unexpected- good, but unexpected news. 

After a moment of careful thought, Go Gunhee had come up with his answer. “Keep an eye on him, Jinchul. Maybe get another member of the monitoring division in on this.” The Chairman ordered decisively, a calculating glint entering his eye as he thought over how best to use this unexpected boon that had fallen right into his lap.

He didn’t need to go over how a step up in training would be beneficial to the Association combat wise, but the potential effects of one Guild gaining too much power too fast… No, it would be best if the child was on more… neutral ground. 

“Keep an eye on him.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Chapter Text

“Good morning Hunter Sung!”

Jinwoo pulled up short, halted mid-step as he was greeted by an unexpected voice in the White Tiger lobby the next day. 

“R-Recruiter Ahn?” Jinwoo blurted out in lieu of a greeting, completely taken aback by the sight of Ahn Sangmin stood cheerily next to the nice receptionist lady, arms folded behind his back and smile a tad wider than usual. 

Almost like he was waiting for Jinwoo.

But that doesn’t make any sense… Jinwoo thought to himself with a little furrow to his brow, completely confused by the sudden change to his steady schedule over the past month. I’m… pretty sure he’s high up in the company right…?

Jinwoo gulped nervously as he glanced around the Guild lobby. People were… looking. The well-groomed unawakened employees clad in their sharp suits and grouped together, sending subtle feather-light glances over Jinwoo’s way. 

Feather-light glances that held all the weight of their Guildmaster’s infamous punches. 

He was… attuned to sideways glances in his line of work, but the sudden turn of the Guild’s welcoming vibe felt more like a gut-punch than usual. He had grown used to the laid-back energy of the White Tigers over the past month. No one had spared him a second glance, not questioning his right to be there outside of the first session with his class. But that little blip was to be expected- higher ranked Hunters were involved after all.

But this? The unawakened employees…? 

Jinwoo felt his shoulders slowly creep up towards his ears as the low hum of concealed whispers washed over him. His ears weren’t nearly sharp enough to pick up on exactly what was said, but… 

He could guess. 

‘An E-Rank? I thought our Guild had better standards than that.’ 

‘He’s got to be a regular employee, right? No way would he have been hired for his hunting abilities!’

‘How much did he pay the recruiters to get into the company? I didn’t see his interview paperwork. Nepotism?’

“Let’s get right to it, Hunter Sung.” Jinwoo snapped out of his murky thoughts as Ahn Sangmin sprang instantly into action, tucking an arm behind his back and gesturing for Jinwoo to lead the way. It was… much more ceremony than Jinwoo was used to. In his days as a lowly part time worker and E-Rank, he had only seen people far above his paygrade receive that sort of respect. 

It was… weird. 

“Uh, thanks?” Jinwoo said awkwardly, shuffling ahead of Ahn Sangmin towards the training room, unsure of how to act in their suddenly shifted dynamic. He wasn’t sure what to do. The mixed signals of the employees in the lobby and Ahn Sangmin’s weirdly intense behaviour left him floundering for solid ground.

“Allow me to brief you on today’s agenda, Hunter Sung.” Ahn Sangmin said cheerfully, Jinwoo’s sharp observational senses picking up on the minute waver of excitement in his voice. “As you saw in your dossier, we’re going to see how your training applies to B-Ranks today as opposed to C-Ranks.” 

Jinwoo nodded slowly, wondering where the conversation was going. Surely the shift to teaching a new team didn’t warrant… this. 

“I will be in the observation room today to observe how you get on! If you succeed how you have previously with our C-Rank rookies, we can look at expanding your ‘class’ so to speak.” The two eventually arrived at the training room after walking their usual route, Ahn Sangmin bidding Jinwoo a ‘goodbye and good luck!’ before retreating to the observation room.

Jinwoo took a deep bracing breath, still reeling from the switch-up to his normal routine, and the sudden side-eyes and whispers from the usually neutral unawakened employees. Taking a moment to centre himself, Jinwoo slowly reached out to open the door, hands shaking in a way that they hadn’t since day one. 

As soon as the door opened, Jinwoo was rocked back on his heels by the sheer power that seemed to rush out of the room.

It suffused the air- filled it. Overwhelming and oppressive in a way similar yet entirely different to the C-Ranks before. He had just gotten used to the ‘mouse before a lion’ feeling from his previous students, but this… this was a whole different sensation entirely. Maybe he had gotten used to their mana signatures, and he now had to begin the process again. But. 

He can’t afford to back down now.

So… this is what B-Ranks feel like… Jinwoo thought to himself, blinking away the fuzziness at the edges of his vision to slip into the room. 

There, stood in the centre of the training facility stood Jinwoo’s new students, recognisable from the dossier that Jinwoo had received in advance. A Buffer, Sorcerer, Monk and Paladin, all men this time ranging from the teenaged Buffer to the old grizzled Paladin. It was… difficult to move. 

The air felt so dense with power that it felt like Jinwoo was moving through molasses, but he could tell- it wasn’t malicious. Jinwoo could feel the familiar cold apathy of the B-Ranks, the almost physical sensation of their regard brushing over him and sinking away with barely a glance. Disinterested. 

Nothing new. 

“Hello, I am Sung Jinwoo. I will be your instructor for the day.” Jinwoo walked up to the group, feeling safe enough to approach from the lack of hostility in the air. He shuffled his bag off of his shoulder to rifle for his dossier, breathing through the urge to retreat back to the lobby. 

I’d better have a skim through the dossier again, if they’re anything like how the last group was in the beginning, they won’t answer my questions immediately- 

“Hello, we are under your care for the day. Our group consists of a Buffer specialising in attack and speed buffs, a Paladin specialising in defence, a Monk specialising in combat healing, and an elemental DPS Sorcerer.” 

Huh?

The dossier almost slipped from Jinwoo’s shock slack fingers as the group willingly surrendered information. Without him even asking. 

What the fuck? 

Jinwoo gaped at the group for a good couple of seconds, taking in the way they almost stood to attention, backs ramrod straight and facing straight forward. Not a hint of the apathy and please let this be over soon so that I can actually do something worthwhile was present in their expressions- only through their roiling overwhelming mana signatures. 

Jinwoo couldn’t help but think that they were… on their best behaviour? 

He frowned to himself, taken aback by the odd mix of behaviour, and somehow, his eyes couldn’t help but be drawn up to the observation room. Strange… isn’t it just Recruiter Ahn up there…? Oh well. I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Shoving aside his misgivings in the face of having a job to do in a long-practised move, Jinwoo dragged his eyes away from the observation room to turn back to his suspiciously well-behaved students. 

“Alright, so the plan today is to run through some basic team synergy tailored to your classes, and do a demo run through a simulated goblin dungeon. Let me know if you have any questions.”

SKT 

“Stop smiling.” 

Yoonho huffed, feeling the almost physical sensation of Ahn Sangmin’s smug grin burning into the side of his face. But even still…

He couldn’t look away. 

Impressive. Yoonho thought to himself, lacing his scarred fingers under his chin as he watched the group below through the observation window intensely. The man was undoubtedly an E-Rank- Yoonho’s eyes and instincts did not lie. But the man’s skill and instruction went far beyond rank. 

Yoonho had watched a tape of the group below running the same simulated goblin dungeon beforehand. They were passable- slightly above average. But now… 

Yoonho laced his fingers together under his chin, leaning forward to look at the group more intently through the observation window. Now they ran like a well-oiled machine. 

The changes in their behaviour were light- minimal even. But they made an astronomical difference in the sheer efficiency of their moves. Small changes to the group’s synergy created wider openings which the party ruthlessly exploited. 

Such as…

Yoonho watched intently as the group attacked while their buffer cast their support skill instead of waiting for the effect to hit. They utilised the bright flash of the skill while the goblins were blinded, rushing forward to press the advantage- a tactic usually only seen in groups who had been together for a long time. 

Furthermore, the group switched their formation up to a spearhead, focusing equal heals and buffs on the paladin and DPS. A far improvement from the party’s previous approach of charging in with no plan. 

It was… Unbelievable. 

Yoonho was quite literally speechless. 

And steadfastly ignoring Recruiter Ahn’s smug aura to his left. 

He was pleasantly surprised- he had been prepared to step in on Hunter Sung’s behalf after his beastial instinctints had picked up on their dismissive aura and general regard for the E-Rank. Like a predator regarding its’ prey- a sensation that Yoonho was intimately familiar with. 

Most in Hunter Sung’s position would have taken off screaming, overwhelmed by the concentration of high ranked energy in the same room. 

Furthermore, there was something… soft about Hunter Sung’s presence, almost soothing even. Yoonho took note of how the man did not look at anyone differently based on their rank. He had seen security footage- Hunter Sung treated their unranked receptionist the same way he treated the B-Ranks before him. The only standards the man seemed to follow was the general Korean societal standards.

Yoonho liked it. 

Another point in the man’s favour was that Yoonho’s animal instincts didn’t ping around the man like they did for most other Hunters he had met. The combination of Hunter Sung’s hypercompetence, value, and the way he looked at high rankers like they were people was appealing. 

Very appealing. 

Yoonho sat back and watched as Hunter Sung wrapped his lesson up, the sound of recruiter Ahn’s frantic note-taking echoing softly throughout the observation room. 

Later… Yoonho thought to himself, slitted golden eyes focused on Jinwoo through the thick glass of the window. I’ll approach him later. Give him a chance to acclimatise to higher rankers. He mused, not wanting to push too fast and drive the poor guy off.

But Yoonho was now invested in the man’s journey. Up until their first official meeting…

He would be watching. 

SKT 

Jinwoo hummed lightly to himself as he packed up, shuffling his various lesson notes that he had taken on the group’s various specialties and progress back into his bag. 

The lesson seemed to have gone well. The group- against all of his expectations, had warmed up to him fast once he had gotten into the actual meat of the lesson. They had taken his direction without complaint, and had markedly improved their performance based on his advice- once again blowing his perception of higher rankers taking orders from him out of the water. 

Speaking of… 

The group had taken up position in the corner, huddled close together as they came down from the high of battle. Their mouths moved in hushed whispers, heads bowed close. 

Normally, Jinwoo would assume that they were gossiping- or at least shit-talking the literal E-Rank in the room, but… from the wide smiles on their faces it wasn’t anything negative, so Jinwoo shook it off. They must be talking about that new restaurant opening down the street or something- whatever raid parties do in their free time. Not that I would know… 

Jinwoo continued to pack away his things, completely oblivious to the true nature of the group’s whispers. 

“So the rumours are true! He really can up your synergy!” 

“Yeah! He actually does know his stuff!”

“I would never think an E-Rank knew that much about dungeons and monsters!” 

“Right? Especially someone so small and squishy looking!” 

Leaving the unheard whispers behind, Jinwoo walked back out into the lobby, buzzing from another good day’s work. It was… nice. Having an assured paycheck waiting for him at the end of the month that wasn’t at risk of the whims of his raid master and/or how many gigs he could scrape by in while help together by band-aids and sticky tape…

Oh! Speaking of! Jinwoo thought with a gasp as his phone buzzed with a notification from his bank. It’s payday! I’d better pick up some fried chicken on the way home. Jinah had an exam today and could use the pick-me-up… 

With a spring to his step and a hope for tomorrow that he had not felt in years, Jinwoo headed in the direction of home. 

SKT 

CRASH

The door to the White Tiger rec room slammed against the wall with a force that would crumble any non-dungeon material. The hunters milling around in the wide space looked up with bored expressions, brows quirked in askance. 

“The rumours are true!” 

Immediately, the Hunters straightened- an intent glint in their eyes. 

“It’s true!” The buffer yelled, the teen’s eyes wide. “He really does know what he’s talking about! You should have seen how we raided today, oh my god!”

The Paladin entered behind their excitable groupmate, a curl of a smile to their lips. “It’s true. The man is scarily competent, and we’re glad to have him teach us. He helped us genuinely improve our runs.” 

And as soon as the last word left their lips, the room descended into chaos. 

SKT 

The next day saw Jinwoo walking into the training room as normal, notes for his B-Rank group updated with his observations from the day before and a slightly altered lesson plan for the day. Eyes on his notes, Jinwoo softly closed the heavy door behind him and began his introduction for the day.

“Good morning, today we’ll be running through some strategies for single opponents- huh?” Jinwoo stopped short, words dying on his tongue. 

The room was… fuller than expected. 

A crowd of maybe… 15 hunters leant against the walls, flanking his regular B-Rank party. But the strange thing was, Jinwoo felt no hostility or dismissal from the gathered group. It was almost like they were there to… see him? 

But no, that’s impossible… Jinwoo thought to himself, still frozen in place. No one above E-Rank would go out of their way to meet someone like me… They must not have gotten the message that the room was being used… Jinwoo gulped, not looking forward to having to tell a group of 15 high rankers that the room was occupied- 

“Hi! Sorry for the intrusion!” A woman in a frilly raid dress chirped happily, leaning against her sorcerer’s staff. “I hope you don’t mind if we join in on your lesson today!” 

Huh? 

Jinwoo’s mind blanked for a second, thoughts halting in their tracks. They want to… join his lesson?

Someone actually… wants to join my lesson…? Without having to be told to? A fragile warmth built in Jinwoo’s chest- a jumble of emotions that he was too taken aback to decipher. Happiness, surprise, validation, shock… They were being genuine too. His long years of watching and waiting for higher ranked Hunters to screw him over told him as much.

A bright, genuine smile lit Jinwoo’s face at the gathered Hunters’ sincerity. It was here- not the moment of being offered the contact. Not the moment of his first paycheck. Not the moment of his finder’s fee bonus. But here with the gathered Hunters looking at him with no judgement for his rank, with a willingness to listen to him that Jinwoo knew…

He made the right choice joining White Tiger… 

“That’s perfect.” Jinwoo finally responded, stubbornly ignoring the slight wobble to his voice that came with his swelling emotions. “We can run through some raid practice with larger groups. It’ll be useful for anyone planning to join the Guild’s main raid parties.” 

The room erupted into happy cheers, prompting Jinwoo to hide his happy little smile behind his fluffy hair under the guise of taking his bag off. Taking a deep breath, Jinwoo launched straight into the lesson, validation burning in his chest as the gathered Hunters took his words on immediately- almost eagerly.

Unknown to Jinwoo, at that very moment, word of ‘Teacher Sung’ was spreading throughout the White Tiger Guild like wildfire.

Chapter Text

“Phew…” Jinwoo let out a tired but fulfilled sigh as he slumped back on his threadbare sofa. He let his bag slip from his grip to land against the floor with a dull thump. 

The past few months since his beginning at White Tiger had been… A whirl. 

He simultaneously felt as if he had found the right path and also like he had no idea what he was doing at the same time. He had spent a good few months at the Guild now but still felt like his first day was yesterday. He was in a position where he could put his knowledge to use and be useful to the people around him, but… 

Years of life and death in a dungeon full of parties that couldn't care less if he lived or died left their mark.  

“Hey oppa! How was work?” 

Jinwoo perked up as his sister’s voice rang out through the apartment, heralding her arrival from her bedroom. Any doubts about whether he was doing the right thing dispersed as he took in Jinah properly for the first time since he had started at White Tiger a few months ago.

She looked… healthier. There was a rosy pink sheen to her cheeks and a glossy sheen to her hair that he hadn't seen since the dungeons first appeared. Not to mention the new (new!) pyjamas that she was currently sporting rather than Jinwoo’s own hand-me-downs. 

“Same as always.” Jinwoo said truthfully. Outside of his ‘class size’ growing larger than the day, it remained mostly the same. With him imparting his knowledge as best he could and trying not to get ripped apart by the higher rankers in the room. 

“Ohoho~ I wouldn’t say that Oppa~” Jinah sang, a wide, taunting grin on her face as she flopped down on the sofa at Jinwoo’s side, kicking away his legs to make room for herself. “Take a look at what I found today!” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Jinwoo questioned, forcing himself back upright to peer blearily at her phone in a squint. 

“Oh my god, can you not look at the screen like an actual ahjussi?” Jinah groaned, poking viciously at the squint-wrinkle between Jinwoo’s eyebrows. 

“Wha- Ahjussi?! I’m 23!” Jinwoo protested, slapping his sister’s hand away though making sure to tone down his hunter strength to not hurt her. (Though of course leaving enough bite to leave a sting because what could he say? The Cain instinct was strong.)

“Ow!” Jinah pouted, slapping Jinwoo back on the shoulder with full strength, prompting a breathless laugh from his lips. “I wouldn’t call you an ahjussi if you didn’t squint at my phone like one oh my god! You want your reading spectacles next, old man?” 

Jinwoo opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Jinah shoving her phone back in his face. 

“Now shut up and look at what I found!” She crowed. 

On her screen was a typical Twitter feed- specifically someone’s profile page. A Hunter to be exact going by the guild tag in their bio and the cool action shot of them in the profile picture. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

“...What?” Jinwoo questioned, raising a single brow at Jinah in question.

“Oh my god just read it!” Jinah huffed, pointing at the latest post on the account. 

“Why?” Jinwoo questioned even as he leant in to read to humour his sister. “It’ll be the same general thing the majority of Hunters post right- Oh.” 

“Yeah, ‘oh.’” Jinah said smugly, allowing Jinwoo to take the phone from her hand. 

There, posted in plain text was a post about… him? 

SorceryBae147 : Just got finished with a training session at White Tiger! If you needed a reason to join us after your awakening assessment (Well, aside from our hunky Guild Leader and unmatched aura ;) ) then our new training will help you improve so much better than any of the other Guilds!

#WhiteTiger #NotAnAd #NotSponsored

“I’m not going insane right…? That’s about me?” Jinwoo questioned out loud, eyes wide. 

“Who else could it be about?” Jinah grinned, taking her phone back out of his slack hands. “Anyway, what an upgrade from slumming it in the dungeons, right-?”

Ring ring

“Gah!” Both Jinwoo and Jinah flinched back at the unexpected buzz of Jinwoo’s phone with identical expressions of shock which only deepened at the name emblazoned across the screen. 

Recruiter Ahn. 

“H-Hello?” Jinwoo asked as he answered the call, rocking slightly at the speed with which Jinah pressed her ear against the other end of the phone to blatantly eavesdrop. “What can I do for you, recruiter Ahn?” 

“Ah hello Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin chirped happily from the other end. “I have something to discuss with you which I think would be better suited to speak about in person. May I come over to your apartment?” 

Eh? Here? 

Jinwoo’s brows crept up his forehead in surprise. What sort of business would drive someone so senior in the guild, awakened or not, to seek him out personally outside of business hours. And from Jinah’s slackened jaw and taps against Jinwoo’s shoulder, she thought the same. 

“Uh, sure? But what is it that you need to discuss-?”

“Great! I’ll see you shortly then, Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin cut Jinwoo off mid-sentence, the tell-tale beeping tone signalling the call being hung up. 

“What the heck just happened?” JInah asked candidly, echoing Jinwoo’s own thoughts perfectly- 

Knock knock 

“Gah!” 

Jinwoo and Jinah flinched for the second time in as many minutes as an enthusiastic knock suddenly sounded from their front door. 

There was no way… right? 

With a look to an equally as shocked Jinah, Jinwoo stood to answer the door, too bemused by the situation to feel any nervousness. 

“Hello, can I help you?” He asked as he cracked the door open. 

“Hello Hunter Sung!” Ahn Sangmin himself replied cheerily, phone still held up against his ear. “I hope you don’t mind, but this is the type of thing that should be discussed in private and away from any curious awakened ears. I swear, they must all have the ears of a bat.” The recruiter smiled, gesturing at Jinwoo’s apartment with a questioning tilt of his head. 

Numbly, Jinwoo stepped aside in a wordless offer, allowing the man entry into his home. 

“Thank you, thank you.” Ahn Sangmin smiled, sending a wave over to a gobsmacked Jinah. “Ah. hello miss. You must be Hunter Sung’s sister? Nice to meet you! May I?” He asked, gesturing to one of the free seats scattered around the Sungs’ cramped living area. 

“Ah yes, please.” Jinwoo answered automatically, the manners that his mother had raised into him acting on autopilot. 

“Now, down to business! I’m sure the both of you would like to continue on with your evening so I will make this as quick as I can.” Ahn Sangmin said, digging out a file of papers from his bag and laying them out on the shabby scratched table before him. 

“Our Guild Leader has taken notice of your situation, Hunter Sung.” He said with a smile, tapping a well-maintained nail against the file. 

“What?! The Guild Leader?!” Jinwoo exclaimed reflexively, eyes popping wide. Baek Yoonho?! The S-Rank?! One of the most powerful individuals in the country?! “Guild Master Baek knows who I am?!” He exclaimed, rocking slightly with the force of Jinah’s excitable slaps against his shoulder. 

“What? Of course he does, the Guild Leader is the one who personally gave the go-ahead to hire you, afterall.” Ahn Sangmin replied casually, as if he had not rocked Jinwoo’s entire world view. 

“But back to the matter at hand!” Ahn Sangmin pushed the papers towards Jinwoo. “The Guild Leader conveys his congratulations on passing your probation period and approves of your work.”

Oh my god?

Jinwoo’s face heated slightly at the compliment- he had always had a weakness for kind words, not noticing Jinah’s calculating look at his reaction. What with them being so sparse as an E-Rank Hunter labelled ‘Humanity’s Weakest.’ Let alone from Baek Yoonho of all people- 

“And with you passing your probation, you are now entitled to the benefits that come with being a full member of the Guild.” Ahn Sangmin crossed one leg over the other. “I did not want to discuss this within earshot of other Hunters due to the personal nature of this, but are you aware, Hunter Sung…” 

Ahn Sangmin casually swept his neatly parted hair to the side, during the natural pause in his words. 

“That the health benefits of White Tiger Guild members are extended to their non-awakened family members?” 

What? 

Is he… saying what I think he’s saying…? 

“Are you… Do you mean…?” Jinah stuttered at Jinwoo’s side, a single slender hand pressed against her lips, cheeks pale in shock. 

“Yes,” Ahn Sangmin continued, completely oblivious to the siblings’ sheer shock at the situation. “That includes your mother.” 

“What- you-” Jinwoo struggled to talk around his leaden tongue. They were… offering to help him…? Help his family? Unprompted? If recruiter Ahn had not said anything, then Jinwoo would have remained unaware, and the Guild would not have had to deal with the extra hassle of dealing with his mother’s medical needs. 

Did that mean… They actually wanted to help him? 

“It’s alright Hunter Sung, I know it’s a lot to take in, and it is a big decision. But White Tiger are offering to transfer your mother to our private medical facilities- of course the fees will be largely subsidised due to your status of being a member.” Ahn Sangmin rose to his feet, leaving the file of paperwork behind and patting Jinwoo on the shoulder as he passed. 

“Don’t worry, I will see myself out. Please take your time in making a decision for your mother’s medical care.” 

And with that, Ahn Sangmin left as quickly as he had appeared, the muted click of the front door shutting behind him heralding his exit. 

With shaking hands, Jinwoo opened the file before him, breath rushing from his lungs shakily as the printed text confirmed everything that Recruiter Ahn had said while bearing the official seal of the White Tiger Guild. 

It- It was true… 

His vision began to blur a little as the reality of the situation truly hit him. For the first time since his mother had went to sleep and did not wake up…

He wasn’t fighting alone… 

A thump and pressure against his side told of Jinah slumping against him, letting Jinwoo’s thin body support her weight. From the shake to her shoulders, he could tell she was just as affected as he was. Knowing that someone outside of Jinwoo himself was working to help their little family without any ulterior motives until- 

“So the hot Guild Master is your sugar daddy now, huh?” 

“Shut up-!”

“Ow!”

SKT 

“Good morning Hunter Sung!” the Guild receptionist greeted cheerily the next day as she always did, only this time Jinwoo waved back with a more relaxed air to his smile, the tension around his eyes lessened. 

Since Ahn Sangmin’s visit the night before, the nervousness that surrounded coming to work each day seemed to have diminished, taking with it a subconscious fear that he would be stabbed in the back and tossed out on his ear once they had figured out that he was in fact an E-Rank and Humanity’s Weakest…

But now it felt… different. 

Like he was actually a part of the Guild. 

“Ah, before you head on up to the training room, Hunter Sung, the Guild Master wanted to see you in his office.” 

Never mind. 

“O-Oh yeah-?” Jinwoo’s voice cracked on his reply, nervousness back in full force.

“That’s right. Top floor, straight ahead, you can’t miss it.” The receptionist said kindly with a warm smile that did njothing to soothe the anxiety squirming in Jinwoo’s belly. 

“Th-Thanks… I’ll head up right away…” Jinwoo muttered, face pale as he stumbled towards the elevators. The whispers of the guild members packed into the lobby washed over him like white noise as his mind raced a mile a minute. 

The Guild Master wants to see… me? 

But why? Is he going to fire me? No, if he was he’s too important to be doing it personally, especially after offering medical support for mom… Oh shit am I doing something wrong during my lessons-?

Ding

Ah. 

Jinwoo gulped as the elevator doors opened with a cheery ping, shocking Jinwoo out of his anxiety-fueled fugue. Phew… it’s now or never… waiting is just going to make it worse. 

With a deep breath, Jinwoo tore his gaze away from the floor, heart beating faster at the sight of the sleek hallway crafted exquisitely with dungeon products. The design and the materials screamed of money and made Jinwoo feel out of place in a way he hadn’t felt since his first day at the guild. 

Jinwoo gulped shuffling in place for a second as he gathered his courage, aware that the Guild Master could likely sense him outside of his office- lingering outside of his office. 

After a few moments of bracing breaths, Jinwoo finally approached the office door, rapping a quick knock against it. 

“Come in.” 

Oh my god… Jinwoo jolted at the sound of Guild Master Baek’s voice. Despite having heard the low raspy tones over the tv during the association’s many interviews, nothing quite prepared him for hearing the real thing. In person. 

“Good morning Guild Master…” Jinwoo replied as he slowly creaked the door open. Immediately Jinwoo could feel the man’s presence. 

Sheer power. 

Power so thick and intense that it was almost a physical entity in the room along with them.

Although… Jinwoo gulped, heart not racing as fast as he thought it would be. It doesn’t feel… hostile. Only watching… True to his instincts of being around hunting parties that changed by the day with the constant threat of backstabbing and lizards, Jinwoo could tell that the man truly bore no ill will.

Emboldened by his findings, Jinwoo found the strength to look up from the floor and directly at the Guild Master himself. 

Oh… He’s just a person…

Jinwoo didn’t know why he was so surprised by that revelation as the man beckoned him into the office. Logically he knew that, but S-Ranks seemed so larger than life that they almost seemed to be on another plane of existence. Seeing one in person really put things into perspective. They were powerful yes, oh my god they were powerful…

But they were still people. 

Albeit laughably powerful people who could level a city if they wanted to, but people nonetheless. A fact that could be seen in Baek Yoonho’s appearance alone. The man was huge- the sleek black suit the man was wearing did nothing to hide the dense packed muscle that hid within. The man’s slitted eyes almost seemed to glow slightly in the natural light of the office…

“Guild Master.” Jinwoo said respectfully, most of his instinctual fear gone as he dipped into a low bow as he would to any company boss. 

“Hunter Sung.” Baek Yoonho replied cordially, leaning his chin against a scarred palm as he looked Jinwoo up and down with slitted eyes, lingering on the set of his shoulders and his relaxed hands. “Please, have a seat.” 

Jinwoo nodded gratefully and settled himself in one of the comfortable looking chairs opposite the Guild Master’s desk, letting the waves of S-Rank power wash over him.  

“Now, onto the reason why I called you here.” Baek Yoonho laced his fingers together and watched Jinwoo with an unerring gaze. “You have already answered one of my questions.” 

Eh? 

“Eh?” Jinwoo couldn’t help but parrot, brows climbing his forehead in surprise. 

With a languid chuckle, Baek Yoonho leaned back in his chair. “I wanted to see how comfortable you were in a higher ranker’s presence, Hunter Sung.” Baek Yoomnho shook his head with a laugh, blood-red hair swaying with the movement. “Most E-Rankers would have passed out or ran away by now.” 

“Oh- well…” Jinwoo laughed sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. His cheeks were stained red at the roundabout praise, tongue clumsy in his mouth at a compliment from Baek Yoonho ( Baek Yoonho-!) “I’m kind of used to it? And I could tell that you weren’t being hostile, it’s easy to tell through a Hunter’s aura…”

With his gaze turned bashfully away, Jinwoo missed Baek Yoonho’s brows shooting up in surprise, and a sharpening of his gaze as he really looked at Jinwoo. 

“Is that so…” Baek Yoonhoo murmured before bringing the conversation back on track. “Well, I won’t keep you from your lessons long, Hunter Sung, but this leads into the main reason why I wanted to speak with you.” 

“First of all, well done on your lessons. White Tiger are already seeing the benefit.” 

Oh my god? 

“Second, with you being able to hold a conversation with me without effort, would you be open to holding lessons on A-Ranked material with our elite hunters?” Baek Yoonho asked intently, but openly. Sliding a thick manilla folder over the table to Jinwoo. “I am aware that the highest rank you have had contact with us are B.”

“Eh? You want me to- with A-Rankers?” Jinwoo stuttered, at a loss. “Surely you have other more qualified trainers?” 

“That’s the thing. We don’t” Baek Yoonho said seriously- and truthfully from what Jinwoo could tell from the man’s aura.

“Wait- really?” Jinwoo gaped, taken aback. Surely a Guild as prestigious as White Tiger had dedicated training for new recruits? Exams? Qualifications? 

“Yes. The same is true of the other Guilds and the Association itself.” Baek Yoonho hummed, settling his large form back in his chair. The vast majority of awakened Hunters are combat oriented who want to jump straight into raiding to make money. The rest are craftsmen. There is no one with the knowledge to hold training.” 

Baek Yoonho leaned forward, looking Jinwoo straight in the eye. “Which is what makes you an asset.” 

Baek Yoonho tapped a scarred finger against the manilla folder, bringing Jinwoo’s attention back to the initial offer. “All of the information is in here. Think it over and let recruiter Ahn know what you decide.” 

He’s… giving me a choice…? Not just- telling me to do it…? 

“Ah, thank you Guild Master.” Jinwoo replied numbly, leaning over to gather up the folder on autopilot before walking stiffly out of the room with a respectful bow. His mind raced a mile a minute with the onslaught of new information and the sheer implications of it. 

There are no real trainers in the Hunter world… Not in the Guilds… Not in the association… What does this mean for me…? 

SKT 

Baek Yoonho watched Jinwoo leave, humming thoughtfully through the contented purring of his inner beast. 

Sung Jinwoo was… different. 

He could see in real time how the E-Ranked hunter had actually relaxed and accepted his presence. 

An E-Rank. 

Baek Yoonho had seen A-Ranks sweat in his presence in a raid party, let alone one on one. 

And his inner beast liked it. 

It liked how the soft and squishy looking E-Rank had been a non-intrusive, non-confrontational energy within his territory- the perfect blend of competence and a power level low enough that his inner beast wasn’t snarling to defend its space. 

No, the young man had been polite- not deferential, not sycophantic, but… polite. Polite in a way that Baek Yoonho missed sometimes. The majority of his days were filled with either other high rankers looking to screw him over like that snake bastard Choi Jongin, sycophants that wanted to suck up to him for power, or finally lower rankers and regular people that pissed themselves in fear at the mere sight of him. 

It had been so long since someone outside of his (tiny) inner circle had treated him with simple Korean courtesy without the expectation of something in return. 

And he’s polite! Baek Yoonho buried his face in a wide palm with a groan as memories of that snake flashed behind his eyes like a particularly nasty flashback. You don’t see that very often, especially not when they have a skill-set as valuable as his… 

Heh. Take that you fucking snake!

Speaking of, Yoonho hummed, ignoring the contented purring of his inner beast to reach for the copy of the folder that he had given Sung Jinwoo, flicking through it absent-mindedly as he thought of the next steps. If he agrees, I’ll get our new A-Rank newbies to sit in on a lesson with Hunter Sung. His lessons caused a huge benefit to our C and B ranked recruits, I’m curious to see what he can do with real firepower. If I remember correctly, one of our recruitment teams brought in the A-Rank Tank Kim Chul-

Ping!

Baek Yoonho’s brow furrowed as he looked down at his phone displaying a notification from the Korean Hunters Association. 

A summons. A major guild-wide summons.

Odd… Baek Yoonhoo tilted his head, eyes narrowing as his inner beast growled in suspicion, not liking the . Baek Yoonho wasn't aware of any high ranking gates or upcoming changes to the Hunting world, and his moles in the other Guilds and the Association hadn’t reported anything significant back… 

He had a bad feeling about this…

Chapter Text

Jinwoo clenched his fists as he marched down the White Tiger hallways to his new training room. His stomach was roiling, tying itself into knots with his own nervousness. His satchel bag felt as if it were burning a hole in his side with every step as the afterimages of the A-Classes within flickered across his mind’s eye like a mirage. 

He wanted to say no, he really did. 

He could tell from a glance at the files on the Hunters he would be teaching that they would be more overbearing than any of his students so far. Especially the tank Kim Chul… 

The nagging feeling of the hairs standing up on the back of his neck- like a prey animal caught in the sights of a predator rattled down his spine. Was it the concept of teaching such high class material when the highest dungeon he had ever been to was a mere D rank? 

No, he had spent years researching Gates and Hunter phenomena to try and track down what had happened to his father out of respect for his mother. Did he himself believe that his father was alive? No. But his mother did and that was enough for Jinwoo to dedicate himself to researching on her behalf. 

The material was not the problem, but the potential students. A-Rank students. 

Years worth of memories danced through his mind. Scorn, disparagement, discrimination, lizards- 

But also…

The earnest yet firm gaze of the Guild Master Baek Yoonho himself. The S-Ranked Hunter. Somehow the man looked at Jinwoo with such… confidence. 

Him. Sung Jinwoo. Humanities weakest Hunter. Baek Yoonho looked at him like that. Like Jinwoo was worth something. 

There was no hint of deception in the man’s thick aura. There was simply too much of it to hide anything like that from Jinwoo’s experienced senses.

The heady feeling of being seen- of being recognised by such a high-standing Hunter made Jinwoo… want to help. Want to give his services if only to be looked at like he was worth something by someone like him one last time…

So of course he said yes to taking the A-Class Hunter class. 

It’s now or never… Jinwoo thought to himself nervously as he came to a stop in front of the door to the new training room. …Of course the doors are bigger. Why are the doors bigger…? 

With a deep, bracing breath to quell the butterflies in his belly, Jinwoo pushed the heavy (far too large) doors to the training room open with a low grunt of effort. 

Oh fuck… 

Jinwoo gulped as he caught sight of what he feared would happen. All too familiar stares seemed to pierce into his soul from the opposite corner of the room. 

Ahh… Great. 

Jinwoo took a deep breath as he looked around. There weren’t too many students around for this lesson- a far sight from the packed classrooms he had grown accustomed to over the past few months. No, this time there was a grand total of nine A-B Ranked hunters packed into a room together. 

And at the head of the pack was a heavily scowling face that Jinwoo recognised from the file. 

Kim Chul. 

Jinwoo’s knees threatened to shake as he closed the door behind him- the aura of the gathered Hunters so thick with barely contained hostility that it felt like it was choking him and stealing the air from his lungs. But… it didn’t scare him like his first day. Not when he knew that he actually had support from the Guild in the form of Ahn Sangmin, the company itself, and dare he say it… Baek Yoonho.

What a strange feeling. 

“Is this it?” Kim Chul questioned, voice deep and toned with the thrum of power. Only the man wasn’t addressing Jinwoo- no, instead he was only speaking to his fellow A and B Ranks. “An E-Rank? What’s the Guild Master thinking?”

Kim Chul’s derisive comments washed over Jinwoo like water from a duck’s back. The disparagement was nothing new, and it didn’t cut deep like it used to. 

“Apologies for the intrusion.” Jinwoo said politely to the group, not letting Kim Chul’s words distract him from his role. He had a job to do for the sake of his mother and sister. He couldn’t let anything short of an attempt on his life distract him from the best thing that had happened in over a decade. 

Jinwoo dipped into a polite bow, hiding his trembling hands behind his back with the movement. “I am Sung Jinwoo. I will be your trainer for the day. Please, let me know what your names, ranks and classes are and we can begin.” 

Jinwoo straightened up, keeping his eyes firmly away from any eye-contact with any of the Hunters. Best not to risk it just yet- not with the cold apathy of the stares he could feel boring into him. 

A few tense moments of heavy silence passed until the first voice rang out in the dense air, cutting through the tension like a knife in a manner reminiscent of Jinwoo’s first day on the job. 

“Park Heejin, B-Rank. Mage.” A female voice rang out shortly, drawing Jinwoo’s eyes over to the speaker- a young woman with long black hair and piercing green eyes. A delicate gold accessory framed the shell of her ear and hugged the curve of her temple before arching upwards in thin spires reminiscent of feathers. 

With the tension broken at the first introduction, the rest of the group followed. Offering short and to the point introductions, volunteering no more information than what was strictly needed. 

No matter, Jinwoo could work with that. After all, nothing could be more difficult to prod into motion than waking Jinah up for school in the mornings… 

Well, all except one. 

“Excuse me, Hunter. May I know your name, rank and class please?” Jinwoo asked of the final silent figure in the room. Kim Chul’s towering figure stood firmly in the centre of the group, large stature easily dwarfing the rest of Jinwoo’s students- not to mention Jinwoo’s own. 

Kim Chul merely glanced at Jinwoo, narrowed eyes taking in Jinwoo’s unkempt (no matter how much he tried to tame it) hair, obviously on-sale and off-brand clothes, and small height. Jinwoo could see in real time the exact moment that Kim Chul completely lost interest in Jinwoo and his lesson. 

Great… 

A few tense seconds passed before an annoyed sigh sounded followed by another short introduction. “That is Kim Chul. A Rank Tank.” Park Heejin said, arms crossed over her chest with a frustrated set to her lips. Jinwoo couldn’t tell if her ire lay with him or the Tank in question. 

“Thank you, Hunter Park.” Jinwoo said with a nod, keeping his tone light and polite. These were his colleagues after all, it was only right to treat them like any self-respecting Korean co-workers would. 

In the midst of his bow, Jinwoo did not notice the calculating look in Park Heejin’s eyes at his reaction- to the softening of the set of her lips and the furl of her brow. Huh… What a nice change from the ass-kissing gold diggers that usually try to approach me. He’s different from the other low-rankers and non-awakened. It feels… good to be treated like an actual person and not something that can be exploited for money… 

Jinwoo straightened, not noticing the shift in the room and the annoyed click of Kim Chul’s tongue at his behaviour. Beyond his notice, the oppressive aura in the room seemed to lighten, changing to the brighter dulcet tones of curiosity. “Now that introductions are finished, I will quickly go over our lesson for the day.” 

Jinwoo opened his bag and drew out one of the folders that Baek Yoonho ( Baek Yoonho- Jinwoo still couldn’t believe it) had given him earlier. 

“Since you are all recently awakened Hunters, I’m going to go through the basics with you all, then have a look at your skill-sets individually.” Jinwoo hummed, flicking through his pages of typed up statistics. “I’m sure that you all have a good idea of how raid parties work already- I mean,” Jinwoo chuckled, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck sheepishly and looking down at the ground. “We’ve all lived in the same country, I’m sure we’ve all googled it at least once, right?” 

With every word out of Jinwoo’s mouth, the energy in the room seemed to shift more, not that the man in question noticed it. Jinwoo himself was too absorbed in setting up his lesson now that he had passed the initial hurdle of checking that the high rankers in the room were not immediately going to gun for him to pay too much attention to the minute shifts in their collective aura. 

“Alright, let’s begin.” 

From that point forward, the group instructions went relatively smoothly with the majpority of his students following his gentle instructions, with the one exception being the thorn in Jinwoo’s side. 

Kim Chul. 

At every step, the larger man refused to even acknowledge Jinwoo’s existence in the room, never taking any instruction from Jinwoo himself and only moving when one of the other high rankers in the room suggested it instead- which mostly turned out to be Park Heejin. 

Thank you Hunter Park, you’re my saviour… Jinwoo thought glumly to himself as he watched the group work through the exercise he had assigned. They were stellar in their performance- as expected of higher rankers, aside from one small detail… 

“Hunter Kim, could you please try synergising with the B ranks as well as the A ranks? The party’s power output will increase if you include everyone in your plays.”

No response. 

“Kim Chul. Where do you want me?” Park Heejin asked, voice terse with exertion as she charged up an offensive spell. 

“Left flank. Support the damage dealer.” 

And now he answers.

Come on Sung Jinwoo… Don’t let it bother you. You’ve had worse… 

Jinwoo thought to himself with a frown. As the group wrapped up their excercise Jinwoo decided to move onto individual focus. No matter how hard he tried- there was only so much blatant ignoring he could take in a day. 

“Great job everyone.” Jinwoo called out with a smile, tilting his head as he looked at the gathered hunters. “As I thought, you all have a good grasp on the basics, as expected of high ranking hunters.” He said, so absorbed in picking out who he would call up first that he missed the small flicker of pleasure in the gathered hunter’s aura- after all a compliment from a mere E-Rank would never elicit such a reaction from those so far above him. 

Right?

“Alright, like I said before, let’s being some solo instruction.” Jinwoo called out fearlessly, his previous nerves almost completely gone once he fell into the rhythm of the lesson. He felt a little guilty about his reaction earlier- like the Guild Master, Hunters were just people. They probably got enough fear from the general public, Jinwoo didn’t need to add anything on top of that. 

“Alright, to start off, could Hunter Jin please step forward?” Jinwoo asked pleasantly, setting his bag down on the ground. At his call, the A-Rank Assassin stepped forward with an inquisitive tilt to his head. The man himself was tall yet lithe- jet-black hair falling into slitted blood-red eyes, an almost palpable aura of death clinging to the man’s long limbs. 

And yet he didn’t scare Jinwoo. Not anymore. 

“Hunter Jin. I was keeping an eye on you during the group exercise. That skill you were using, that was abominate, right? An illusion feint then a sharp critical jab from the side?” Jinwoo asked, eyes firmly glued to his notes. 

Unseen, Hunter Jin’s smooth steps faltered, eyes widening in surprise as Jinwoo accurately pinpointed the exact skill he was using. How. He is only an E-Rank. Does he have an appraisal skill? No. Skill appraisal skills are at least B-Rank. There’s no way. So how? The Man thought to himself, paying more attention to the little Hunter before him than ever before. 

He was intrigued. 

“Mn.” The assassin confirmed with a nod. The single hum nowhere near enough to voice his thoughts. 

“Great. Would you be willing to try something for me, Hunter Jin?” Jinwoo asked pleasantly, only now looking up from his written notes. “When you activate Abominate, could you please try holding your dagger in a reverse grip please? With the way you move, it seems like your flank strike would have more power that way.”

“Mn.” Jin replied in the exact same hum as before. It was a strange request, but the little Hunter had proved himself just with that accurate skill appraisal just enough for Jin to humour him. 

Wordlessly activating the skill, Jin- on a whim- tried the reverse grip on the dagger and-

Crack!

Holy shit?

The skill this time scored a deep gash over the polished metal flooring of the training room. The floor made from Gate products. The A-Rank damage resistant Gate products. 

Holy shit, as expected from an A-Rank. Jinwoo thought to himself numbly as he stared down at the damaged floor. The uptick in damage had surpassed his own hunch. The world of High Rankers… It’s different than what I could have imagined. 

“Well done Hunter JIn,” Jinwoo said quietly, jotting down his notes on the improved skill. He was so absorbed in his notes that he didn’t see the man’s eyes snap towards him with a new light, something hungry, something covetous a gaze full of…

Respect. 

“Please head back to the others and I will call the next Hunter forward-”

“What the fuck do you call that.” A cold voice echoed throughout the training room, simmering rage lurking beneath the barely suppressed tone. “What did you do?”

“Wh-What?” Jinwoo stammered, sweat building on his brow and blood leeching from his cheeks as the previously apathetic aura from Kim Chul boiled into something dangerous. Something angry. 

Danger!

Jinwoo’s legs began to shake as his instincts screamed at him to escape. Gone was the assurance that none from the Guild would lay a hand on him. A revelation that immediately left him weak with existential fear. 

An A-Rank wanted him dead. 

“You are an E-Rank. An E-Rank.” Kim Chul spat, stalking towards Jinwoo, lips pulled back in  a snarl. With every step, the man’s thick plated armour clanged with a bone-wrenching screech. “There is no way that you could have come up with that on your own. You must have cheated. Or you’re a mole that had help.” 

“I-I’m not-” Jinwoo stammered, heart pounding at the murderous aura permeating the room. 

“Step back.” 

Jinwoo gasped as a second A-Rank aura wrapped around him, stealing the tremor from his bones and blanketing him in protection. 

Who…? 

Through bleary eyes, Jinwoo glanced up and caught sight of Hunter Jin’s broad shoulders standing between Jinwoo and the livid Kim Chul. Through his blurred vision, Jinwoo could almost see the seething green of Kim Chul’s aura clashing with the blood-red of Hunter Kim’s own. 

“Are you alright, Teacher Sung?” sounded a voice at Jinwoo’s side, piercing through the fog in his mind just enough for him to register the new presence at his side. 

“H-Hunter Park?” Jinwoo asked weakly. The comforting aura blanketing and protecting him from the sharp blade of Kim Chul’s shielded him from the worst of it, but the display of sheer angry power before him still left him weak at the knees. (ha, first time Jiwnoo has said an A-Rank assassin’s aura was comforting) 

“Yes, it’s me.” Park Heejin said softly, a scowl scrunching at her brow as she placed dainty yet deceptively strong hands on Jinwoo to support him, one below one of Jinwoo’s elbow and one at Jinwoo’s shoulder. 

She clicked her tongue with a sharp tch as she felt Jinwoo’s bird-like pulse fluttering at his wrists. “Alright, we’re going down, alright Teacher Sung?” She asked, voice soft despite her thunderous scowl at Kim Chul as he faced off against a stalwart Hunter Jin. 

“Wha- huh? Ok…” Jinwoo answered blearily, barely coherent through the force of Kim Chul’s anger despite the blanket of Hunter Jin’s aura. He barely registered Park Heejin gently lowering him to kneel on the ground by her gentle grip on his elbow and shoulder.

“What are you waiting for?” Jinwoo barely registered Park Heejin’s voice through his pounding heartbeat as she addressed the rest of the frozen Hunters in the room. “Help Jin get Kim Chul out of the room!” 

Her sharp tone spurred the rest of the group into action. Not all of them were completely sold on Jinwoo just yet, but there was no way that they could just stand by and watch. An A-Rank trying to intimidate an E-Rank who had objectively done nothing but try and help them? 

Not good. 

Jinwoo shivered and subconsciously leaned into Park Heejin’s steadying grip as he barely registered the rest of the Hunters springing into action to separate him from Kim Chul.

“Are you hurt, Teacher Sung?” Park Heejin asked, giving Jinwoo’s shoulder a squeeze. The gentle pressure roused Jinwoo just enough to reply through pale lips. 

“I-I’m fine… sorry for the disturbance.” Jinwoo answered, the brush of Kim Chul’s aura not enough to shake the manners his mother had raised him with. 

An amused yet disbelieving huff of air sounded by his ear as Park Heejin took in his words. Privately, Park Heejin thought to herself: He has to be the strangest E-Rank I have ever met… Such scary competence with the lessons, not to mention a regular person would have long passed out by now from aura pressure that intense… 

“Come on Teacher Sung.” Park Heejin ended up saying, gently lifting Jinwoo back to his feet. “Let’s get you to the healers to check you out.” She said, unfurling her senses to make sure that the others had successfully herded Kim Chul away. 

Keeping an eye on Jinwoo’s shaky legs, ready to catch him should they give out, Park Heejin began to gently lead Jinwoo from the training room. What she had seen that day had cemented her view of the strange E-Rank. She hadn’t been sure what to make of him through the wild rumours circulating the Guild, but one thing was for certain… 

He had earned her respect. 

That and she was definitely submitting a complaint against Kim Chul to HR. 

SKT

I have a bad feeling… 

Baek Yoonho’s eyes narrowed as a shudder wracked down his spine. He wasn’t sure why, but he could tell that somewhere, somehow, something had gone wrong. 

Sometimes, my Beast Instincts are both a blessing and a curse… Baek Yoonho grumbled to himself, dismissing the niggling feeling in the back of his mind with a growl as the Guild car pulled to a stop outside the Association building. 

I’d better get my head in the game. Baek Yoonho thought to himself as he opened the car door, careful not to let his rattled instincts damage Guild property. After all, if he damaged it, he would end up being the one to pay for it. The old man is crafty on a good day, I need to phsych myself up for what curveball he’s going to throw at a Guild-Wide summons-

“Well well well, look who it is.” 

Ah. 

For fuck’s sake. 

Baek Yoonho’s hackles instantly raised as a familiar slimy voice rang out through the air. 

“... Choi Jongin.” Yoonho gritted out. Good god, it amazed him every time how just the sight of the man’s sleazy ‘smile’ could irritate him instantly.

“Baek Yoonho.” Choi Jongin replied, smile wide and head tilted like that of a snake. “Come, the Association Head is waiting. I’m sure you’re going to love the reason behind this summons.”

… Did Yoonho mention that he had a bad feeling?

Chapter Text

“...Is he OK…?” 

“...Physically he’s fine but… energy shock…”

Jinwoo drifted. 

His eyes were open. His legs were moving- walking? But he felt… DIstant. Far. Like the world around him wasn’t real. 

His thoughts moved sluggishly through his mind like they were simultaneously dipped in honey and stuffed with cotton wool. 

Vaguely, he registered panicked voices at his side and the clamour of voices that passed by like the wind… Oh yeah his legs were moving. Was he going somewhere…?

All he could really feel was the nice Hunter aura to his side- nice and cool… soothing and deep like water… It was nice. Grounding. Like it was the only thing keeping him from floating away…

Floating… 

“Teacher Sung, please keep your eyes open.” A woman’s voice sounded to Jinwoo’s left, accompanied by a steadying grip to his elbow and a slender hand pressed into the small of his back to guide him along. “Just a little bit further, OK teacher Sung?” 

Unseen through Jinwoo’s floaty haze, Park Heejin gritted her teeth in equal parts anger and worry as she guided Jinwoo through the Guild halls towards the healers’ ward. Many milling Hunters stopped to stare at the sight of the talk of the Guild Teacher Sung practically half-conscious in Park Heejin’s grip, but a stern glare and a glance at Hunter Sung’s state quickly had them going about their business. 

Good. Park Heejin thought gritting her teeth at the chill biting into her fingers even through the man’s deceptively soft sweater- too cold. Any more hostile auras would probably make his condition worse… 

Park Heejin may not know Hunter Sung personally- or even at all, but she was not the type of woman to just leave someone in an obviously vulnerable state. Especially when Kim Chul could still be lurking around. 

She really needed to submit that claim to HR. 

All through this process, Jinwoo continued to drift until they reached their destination. 

The milling healers- took one look at Jinwoo’s glassy unfocused eyes and unsteadioness and instantly leapt into action. One at each side, taking Jinwoo’s weight from Park Heejin, and one in front shining a pen-light into Jinwoo’s eyes and tutting at the slow reaction of his pupils. 

Dully, Jinwoo heard snippets of their conversation as he drifted. 

“Thank you… Hunter Park…”

“Let’s get him to a bed…” 

“...Acute energy shock… E-Rank…”

“...What happened… Who…”

“We’ve got it from here, Hunter Park. You can leave now if you like.” 

Huh? 

That nice cool aura shifted, moving away, taking away Jinwoo’s only grounding force -

“Please don’t…” Jinwoo muttered, tongue heavy and words slurred in a move that would have him cringing into oblivion from embarrassment had he been at all lucid. Clumsily, he reached out to snag a frilly sleeve, looking up through his lashes in the vague direction of the source of the aura pleadingly- though his vision was too blurred to truly tell what he was looking at. 

…

Unseen to Jinwoo through his addled mind and blurred vision, Park Heejin gazed back at him, frozen in place and face carefully blank.

Cute.

Her previous thoughts about having no attachment or particular strong feelings towards Hunter Sung? Yeah, she took every single one of those thoughts back at the sight of the man’s pleading look, slightly teary eyes, and grip on her sleeve. 

Never in my life have I seen ‘harmless mouse aura’ so profound… 

Without conscious thought, Park Heejin allowed the gentle tugs on her sleeve to lead her to the chair stationed next to Hunter Sung’s clinic cot. She was so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the healers around her that she didn’t fully stop to think about the questions stirred from Hunter Sung’s behaviour. 

Sung Jinwoo had just had a run-in with A-Rank killing intent. How was Sung Jinwoo still conscious? 

How was Sung Jinwoo so comfortable with a higher rank Hunter aura, let alone seek it out after such? 

And why did Park Heejin’s instincts as a higher ranker not rankle at being in proximity with another Hunter, even if he was E-Rank? 

SKT

That snake bastard… Baek Yoonho silently fumed, brow furrowed in a thunderous scowl. 

It hadn’t taken long for them to reach the Hunter’s Association meeting room- the decor the same simultaneously bland and overwhelmingly patriotic hanging flags and sleek, but colourless metals and woods. 

Yoonho spared a moment to quickly glance around the meeting room, taking in his surroundings. A large rectangular table spanned the centre of the room, lined with high quality chairs that looked comfortable but somehow seemed to dig into Yoonho’s spine awkwardly no matter how he positioned himself. And of course, it wouldn’t be an Association room without framed pictures of various government officials lining the walls.

And of course no one else had arrived yet, leaving Yoonho alone with Choi Jongin and his stupid irritating smirk. Even the harsh lighting of the room seemed to be against him, casting a bright glare over the snake bastard’s glasses in a horribly cliche gleam. 

“So?” Choi Jongin drawled, taking a seat at the table opposite Yoonho. 

“So what?” Yoonho sighed, fighting the urge to snap back as he lowered himself down into his chosen chair. 

“Do you know why this meeting has been called?” The bastard smirked, leaning forward to rest his chin on his intertwined fingers, rings glinting in the harsh lighting of the room. “Because I certainly do.” 

“...Good for you.” Yoonho gritted back, carefully neither confirming nor denying Choi Jongin’s questions. 

Yoonho would rather die than admit that the annoying idiot knew something that he didn’t. 

“Ah! Baek Yoonho! Choi Jongin!” A cheery voice sounded from the entrance, drawing both of their gazes up to see Lim Tae-Gyu, Ma Dongwook, and Park Jongsoo- guild masters of Fiend, Fame, and Knight Guild respectively. 

Hm. Baek Yoonho’s eyes narrowed as he took in the meeting’s attendees. All major Guilds have their Guild Masters attending instead of a representative… something big is happening… 

“Afternoon.” Yoonho replied, keeping his suspicion out of his voice. Never let them know your next move. 

“I wonder what the meeting’s about, major Guild summonings are rare!” Lim Tae-Gyu chimed as he sprawled out in the chair to his left, long slender ranger limbs thrown akimbo as he slumped back like he hadn’t a care in the world. 

“Mn. You’re right.” Ma Dongwook replied, voice deep and booming as always as he plopped himself down at Yoonho’s other side, folding his broad muscular form into the sturdy dungeon material chair, while Park Jongsoo settled down next to Choi Jongin. 

Hey- what was that, I saw that- Baek Yoonho honed in on the slightest of glances exchanged between the other four Guild Masters, a glance so fleeting that without his beastial instincts, Yoonho would never have picked it up. 

“Thank you for attending at such short notice, gentlemen.” A deep, refined voice sounded from the entrance, the door swinging open to reveal chairman Go Gunhee himself in all his glory, that one A-Ranker Woo Jinchul that Baek Yoonho still hadn’t managed to recruit after years trying. A Hunter of that skill and calibre was hotly contested over- the only upside being that Choi Jongin hadn’t managed to recruit him either.

“Now, let's get down to business.” Go Gunhee took his place at the head of the table, the sleek black suit that the man was wearing doing nothing to hide the sheer strength and corded muscle that hit beneath. Afterall, despite his appearance as an older man, the man was still an S-Class hunter. 

“Now, I’m sure that all of our intelligence networks have kept us up to date of the current situation, so I’ll cut straight to the chase.” Go Gunhee continued, opening his slate grey eyes to look directly at- 

Wait, directly at him? 

A quick glance around the room showed every other occupant of the room- even polite Woo Jinchul looking directly at Yoonho. 

Possibilities of what that could mean raced through Yoonho’s mind. Was there an issue with one of his gates? Had one of his rankers caused trouble again? Had- Oh. 

Mother fucker. 

All of them? Are you kidding me? 

Baek Yoonho scowled as Go Gunhee nodded at Woo Jinchul to fire up the room’s projector, casting the image of Yoonho’s fuckign trainer on the big screen. 

All of them have fucking moles in my Guild?!

A look across the table revealed Choi Jongin practically vibrating with smug energy, the man’s smile stretched so wide Yoonho was surprised the man’s jaw hadn’t fallen clean off. 

This was going to be a long meeting. 

SKT

Go Gunhee looked down at the file before him, eyes drinking in the face of a boy so young he could be Gunhee’s grandson. Complex emotions that Gunhee couldn’t quite place rose in his chest as he smoothed the crisp edges of the paper with wizened fingers, gently tracing at the lines of the young man’s endearingly awkward smile. 

To think that one so young would hold such sway without even knowing it… 

“Now, I’m sure that you all know of the situation at hand.” Go Gunhee rumbled, leaning back to observe the room in its entirety. As expected, the other four Guilds had a covetous gleam to their eyes, smiles sharp with the possibility of gaining an advantage- particularly Choi Jongin who had a remarkably serpentine curl to his smile. 

Go Gunhee huffed with amusement as he caught sight of the suppressed urge to leap across the table displayed plainly on Baek Yoonho’s face. 

Both have been Guild Masters for years yet still act like my teenaged nephews… 

  “As we all know, White Tiger has recently hired a Guild Trainer.” Gunhee continued, suppressing a smile at the man in question’s twitch to the word ‘all’. 

“You must have all heard that this Trainer has managed to secure a net positive in average statistics of simulated raids, am I right?” He continued. 

“Yeah, we haven’t managed to get specific numbers or anything like that.” Park Jongsoo said pleasantly, leaning back in his chair with a smile. “But training can only do so much for newbies, live combat is where teams really start to mesh and learn to fight with each other.” 

“Right, right.” Ma Dongwook agreed, crossing his broad arms across his chest and nodding resolutely. “Real synergy can only be learned on the battlefield!”

“Yeah,” Lim Tae-Gyu chimed in, “The best this Trainer guy can probably do is up an average raid time by a couple of seconds maybe? Maybe prevent a couple of injuries tops.” 

Go Gunhee took in each member’s input, letting the moment sit for a few long seconds for effect before turning to his ever trusted second with a nod. 

Taking the silent cue, Woo Jinchul pressed the projector remote and advanced to the next slide, hard numbers and statistics displaying irrefutable evidence to the gravity of the situation.

“And what if I told you the net average time for raids under this Trainer’s instruction had reduced by 23 minutes?” Go Gunhee stated, letting the words sink in. 

Immediately the atmosphere in the room shifted. 

What had once been light-hearted fun at Baek Yoonho’s expense had sharpened, true interest and calculating attention entered each attrendee’s eyes. 

“What?!” Ma Dongwook broke first, leaning his broad bulk over the table with his enthusiasm. “Who is this trainer and why haven’t we heard of them before now?! Surely they must be A-Rank, maybe B-Rank at a push. ”

“Right.” Park Jongwook bit his lip in thought, clearly searching through his own memories. “We all know how recruiting works- we all have representatives at the awakening centres to scout out new talent. There’s no way an A-Rank or a B-Rank would have flown under everyone’s radar.” 

The statement was met with agreeing murmurs around the room, the only exception being Baek Yoonho, who seemed torn between annoyance and pride. 

“That’s right.” Go Gunhee mentioned to Woo Jinchul to advance to the next slide, displaying that same charmingly awkward smile from the young man next to irrefutable proof of his Hunter’s license. “This is Sung Jinwoo. E-Rank fighter.” 

“What- E-Rank?” Choi Jongin finally broke his smug silence, eyes wide behind his glasses as he gaped at the screen. “But our reports say that he has been training C to A rankers, there is no possible way an E-Ranker can withstand that amount of power!”

“Now, onto the true objective of today’s meeting.” Go Gunhee continued, lacing his scarred fingers together and resting his chin atop them as he gazed upon the room. I have to play my cards carefully. I can’t let power tip too far in a Guild’s favour. The balance of Korea would collapse. 

“The Association’s goal is, and always has been, prioritising the safety of our Nation’s Hunters.” Go Gunhee began, watching as Baek Yoonho’s scowl deepened with his words, that uncanny instinct of his sensing what was coming next. 

“And as such, I suggest that Sung Jinwoo be transferred to the Association for standardised training.” 

Go Gunhee had barely gotten the words out before the room devolved into spirited protests.

“Absolutely not! The Association has no right to be poaching Guild Hunters!” 

“Right! The Association has no legal backing to do this if there is no probable cause or immediate threat!” 

“If we let this happen, what will stop the Association from poaching other Hunters in the future?” 

“Alright, alright.” Go Gunhee raised a hand to halt the avid protests. “While that may be true for active Hunters, Hunter Sung is classed officially as an Awakened employee, and is not beholden to the same rules.” He steadfastly ignored Baek Yoonho’s mounting annoyance.

“But taking into account everyone’s concerns, let's come to a compromise.” Gunhee nodded at Woo Jinchul to go back a slide, displaying the statistics once again to emphasize Go Gunhee’s points. 

“A benefit like this cannot be kept to solely one Guild.” He said resolutely. “It’s not the clear time that we are concerned about, but the potential drop of mortality rate. It is a well-known fact that many of our Hunters meet their end in dungeons not out of lack of skill or power, but out of over-confidence and lack of instruction.” 

“As such, as a compromise, I propose that Sung Jinwoo remain affiliated with White Tiger, but his Training become accessible to all Hunters in an Association sponsored training programme.” Go Gunhee stated, leaning back to gauge the reaction of the room. 

This time, instead of outright protests, Go Gunhee was met with thoughtful murmuring. 

Got them. 

“Alright Gentlemen. Let’s discuss the details of this arrangement.”

Chapter Text

“That was a productive meeting, thank you all for attending.” 

Baek Yoonho sighed heavily through his nose, pinching at the space between his brows to try and stave off the building headache. He still wasn’t happy about the way that the meeting had been sprung on him as a surprise. He did not take kindly to the old fox moving behind his back regarding one of his employees like that. 

Yoonho stayed seated as the other Guild masters rose to their feet around him, thoughtful glints in all of their eyes as they stretched out the soreness of staying seated for an extended period of time. 

“Though meeting notes will be provided for all of you shortly, to summarise the outcome of our meeting,” Go Gunhee began, sliding the manilla folder before him closed with a low hum. “Today was a foundational meeting only, no official decisions have been made, and will not be made without Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s input.”

Go Gunhee reached over his shoulder to pass the folder to a lurking Woo Jinchul, the A-Rank cool and collected as always even before 6 of the most powerful Hunters in the county. 

“Next stages are to gain Hunter Sung Jinwoo’s agreement and plan for accommodations and safety if this were to go forward. No one, including Association members, are to approach Hunter Sung Jinwoo until we gain the go ahead from him to avoid coercing or putting undue pressure on him.” Go Gunhee leaned forward in his chair, allowing his aura to flare ever so slightly, lending an unearthly golden glow to his slitted eyes. 

“Are we all agreed?” 

An echo of approval echoed through the room, and satisfied Guild Leaders began to filter out. Yoonho could already see calculations and plans flitting through their minds as they filed out the door, Woo Jinchul following close behind- no doubt to reduce the risk of any ‘S-Rank incidents’. 

Yoonho waited until the room’s other occupants had left, waiting until he could feel their auras retreat far enough before he levered to his feet with a sigh. 

Go Gunhee looked up at him with a knowing quirk to his brow, as if he were expecting Yoonho to approach him after the meeting. 

He probably did too, Sly Old Fox… Yoonho thought to himself with a huff both annoyed and amused. 

“Chairman.” Yonhoo narrowed his eyes as he approached the still seated Go Gunhee, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“How can I help you, Guild Master Baek?” Go Gunhee asked placidly, a knowing glint to his eye as he remained seated. 

“I think you know why.” Yoonho scowled, pointedly keeping his tone civil even as his inner beast strained to colour his voice with a growl. 

“Right,” Go Gunhee leaned back in his chair with a chuckle, crossing one leg over the other as he looked up at Yoonho. “You want to know why you or Hunter Sung Jinwoo were not given advanced warning, am I right?”

“Yes,” Baek Yoonho sighed out, brows drawing down into a frown as irritation rose in his chest- if the Chairman already knew that it would piss him off, why exactly would he continue to go through with it? Not to mention… “I also have concerns about your proposal hamstringing the White Tiger Guild by exploiting one of our employees An employee that I personally hired.” 

Yoonho let the irritation rush through him as he dug to the core of why he was truly upset. 

“Let alone beginning negotiations like this without the man in question even being here to speak for himself.” Yoonho lost the battle against his inner beast as the timbre of a growl coloured his voice, deepening his tone and displaying the true extent of his irritation plainly. 

“Here?” Go Gunhee leaned back in his chair once more, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “We all know why that wouldn’t work. E-Rank Hunters are known to be unable to withstand anything above C-Rank pressure without acclimatisation. Even then, they are more likely to lose consciousness or hurt themselves in their panic.” 

“That may be true, but there are ways around that, Chairman.” Yoonho grumbled, frowning and unconvinced. “A Video conference being one of them.” 

“That is true, but I could not give you advance warning about the meeting’s agenda.” Go Gunhee released the bridge of his nose with a dry chuckle. “If you had caught wind of today’s objective, you would have tried everything in your power to wiggle out of it.”

Yoonho huffed to himself, unable to deny the accurate read of him. 

“Besides,” Go Gunhee looked up, his serious expression breaking to allow a sly smile to tug at his lips, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “We know the labour laws. The Association is unable to poach Hunters or employees- merely open up negotiations with the Guild Master’s permission.” 

No. 

Go Gunhee smiled, tapping the meeting recording device in the middle of the table. “Which we now have on record.” 

You Sly Old Fox- 

“You were never expecting your initial ‘proposals’ to work, were you?” Baek Yoonho said flatly, his dry tone sending the Chairman into deep, raspy chuckles. 

“No, but I’m glad we were able to get approval to negotiate from the Guild Master of White Tiger.” Go Gunhee smiled, letting his amused chuckles wind down. “I’ll arrange for some Association representatives- unawakened or low rank, to head over to negotiate with Hunter Sung Jinwoo.” 

“Wait, Chairman.” Baek Yoonho held out a hand, halting Go Gunhee’s motion of reaching into his suit jacket to retrieve- a flip phone? What generation was the man living in? The Stone Age? 

Yoonho tore his eyes away from the Chairman’s questionable technology choices, ignoring the man’s questioning look. “I want to break the news to Sung Jinwoo myself, he deserves at least that much.” 

“Ah, are you planning on sending a representative to speak to him yourself as well?” Go Gunhee nodded, tucking the flip phone back into his jacket pocket. “A wise choice, give the young man some time to think things over.” 

“A repre-? No.” Baek Yoonho huffed out a chuckle of his own, tension finally beginning to drain ever so slightly. “I’ll tell him myself, it’s the least I can do for one of my Guild members.” Baek Yoonho spun on his heel with a wave and began to make his way out of the meeting room, already going over how he would break the news in his head. 

“What- yourself?!” He heard the old man exclaim from behind him, the tell-tale screech of chair legs dragging over the floor as the man shot to his feet. 

“Guild Master Baek, did we not just discuss how E-Ranks faint or panic in the presence of Hunters above the level C- let alone Rank S?” Go Gunhee called after Yoonho. 

“Yes we did.” Yoonho threw one last parting smirk over his shoulder- payback for the sly old fox’s underhanded tactics. 

“But I have spoken with him before and he seemed perfectly happy to speak to me one-on-one in my office with a pleasant lack of fainting or panicking.” 

“Excuse me-?!”

SKT 

“Ngh… My head…” A Low fuzzy hum escaped Jinwoo’s lips as his eyes fluttered open, squinting up at a bright, white overhead light that seemed to be beaming itself directly into Jinwoo’s sensitive eyes with the full concentrated power of the sun. 

With an overstimulated groan, Jinwoo rolled onto his side and buried his face into the scratchy pillow, mercifully blocking out the intense light-

Wait. 

Pillow? 

Jinwoo frowned as his sluggish mind searched through fuzzy memories, feeling as if his head was stuffed full of cotton wool. 

Wasn’t I training just now? There aren’t pillows in the training room- Ah! 

Jinwoo’s eyes snapped open fully as realisation fully hit, chasing away the fog clouding his brain. “The training-!” 

“Ah, Teacher Sung, you’re awake.” 

A quiet voice sounded from Jinwoo’s left, drawing his attention over to-

“H-Hunter Park Heejin?” Jinwoo gasped, fumbling over his words in his shock. “Wh-Where are we and why are you here-?” 

“Ah,” Park Heejin nodded nonchalantly- way too nonchalantly for the unbelievable situation that Jinwoo had somehow managed to get himself into. “We’re in the Guild infirmary after the incident in training. It’s understandable that you’re a little muddled- to be frank I’m surprised you’re even coherent after just half an hour, Teacher Sung.”

Right. Kim Chul the A-Rank… Jinwoo mused, wincing as memories slowly trickled in. Ugh… I’ve had Hunters hit me with their auras before, but never like that… Ow… 

“But I’m hurt, Teacher Sung.” Park Heejin crossed her legs and delicately interlaced her hands below her knee in one elegant move, expression deadpan and refined. “I am here because you asked me to stay, how could you not remember after one of your students went out of their way for their teacher.”

WHAT?

Jinwoo’s cheeks instantly heated, flushing bright red as Park Heejin’s words fully registered. Embarrassment flamed to life in his belly, and he found himself wishing that he could either 1- cringe himself into oblivion, or 2- that Kim Chul’s outburst had just killed him outright. 

“I- I asked you to stay…?” Jinwoo questioned, voice small and wishing that the earth would just simply swallow him up as Park Heejin nodded- expression calm and collected as ever. 

Sung Jinwoo! How you could you inconvenience a colleague like that?! After the first meeting no less?!! We haven’t even had a company dinner together and you’re asking for favours?!!! What would mom say?!!!!! Jinwoo berated himself mentally, giving into the urge to bury his heated cheeks in his hands and hide his face. If Mom were awake, she’d kill me for being so rude!

“I am so sorry, Hunter Park.” Jinwoo groaned out between his fingers, the tight press of his hands muffling his words into something that sounded more like “Iimm S-Ssry Hnnr Prk” 

Unseen to Jinwoo, hidden in his hands as he was, Park Heejin raised a hand to her mouth to muffle an amused chuckle, lips quirked up in an uncharacteristic smile at the E-Rank man’s antics. Now she typically made it a policy to remain cool and collected in front of other Hunters that she wasn’t familiar with- something about them seemed to ping at her senses, like they were a competitor in her space and she needed to defend her own space but… 

Something about Sung Jinwoo didn’t set her off like other Hunters… In fact, he was strangely pleasant to be around. 

Jinwoo groaned to himself once more, quietly wallowing in mortification until- 

White hot anger- Snarling, Growling- Something powerful and angry was coming- Something was looking at him.

Something familiar. 

Jinwoo’s brow furrowed, mortification draining away as a shiver wracked down his spine at the feeling of something powerful. The likes of which he had not felt before, but somehow… through the layers of aggression and snarling, he felt that it wasn’t angry at him. 

The only thing that kept Jinwoo from leaping from the bed onto wobbly legs to sprint from the building kicking and screaming from panic were his years of experience in observing the people around him. They told him that the spiritual equivalent of a loaded shotgun was not aimed in his direction.

Just as the instinctual panic at being around an apex predator began to set in, the presence seemed to… contain itself. It reeled in its hot, burning anger and contained itself in a little tightly packed box before mellowing out into… was that determination? 

Once the burning layers of anger had faded, Jinwoo could finally get a true feel for who the energy belonged to. 

Oh. It’s the Guild Master. Jinwoo thought to himself, the last of the tension draining from his body as he thought back to the nice man he had met before. To the way that the man was powerful, but was just that. A man. 

Jinwoo was a good judge of character, and he could tell that the Guild Master would not harm a member of his own guild. 

Oof… I wonder what poor soul made the Guild Master angry… Jinwoo thought to himself, relaxing back into the pillows of the medical cot not that the perceived danger had passed. 

Idly, Jinwoo kept half an eye on the energy signature out of curiosity even as he smiled and nodded back at Park Heejin, who had straightened up to look at Jinwoo in concern. The Guild Master was moving through the building slowly with what felt like purpose heading in the vague direction of-

Wait, is he coming this way-?

“Ah, I think I can sense the Guild Master.” Park Heejin mused to herself, tilting her head in thought as she looked over to the door. 

Eh? Just now? Jinwoo thought, furrowing his brow in bemusement. But he’s been obviously flamingly angry for the past 5 minutes- ah. Jinwoo’s expression cleared as he came to a conclusion. She’s just being polite after my- ahem, incident. She’s a B-Rank, she probably clocked Guild Master Baek way before I did! 

Just as the thought crossed Jinwoo’s mind, a sharp knock rapped against the infirmary door, revealing the Guild Master himself hovering at the threshold. 

“A-Ah! Guild Master Baek!” Jinwoo stammered, scrambling to his feet out of the clinic bed to clumsily bow to his boss like every good Korean employee should. 

“Hunter Sung please. Have a seat.” Guild Master Baek exclaimed, looking as if he wanted to approach, but held himself back at the last second, choosing instead to stay standing by the door- hovering like a particularly powerful, dare Jinwoo say it- mother hen judging by the concerned twist to the man’s aura. 

“Hunter Park, thank you for taking initiative during the incident earlier, could we have the room?” Guild Master asked calmly, his intense eyes raking up and down Jinwoo’s body as if searching for injuries. 

Unseen, the man’s aura spooled around the room, power so thick that the air itself felt like honey. It was powerful- so powerful, and yet… Jinwoo did not feel threatened, even after his A-Rank run-in earlier. 

“Of course, Guild Master.” Park Heejin stood graceful with a nod, leaving the room swiftly with a determined glint to her eye and purpose to her steps. 

As soon as Park Heejin had left the infirmary, Guild Master Baek pulled up the chair that Park Heejin had recently vacated. He pulled it a healthy, if not too generous distance away before taking a seat. 

“I heard of what happened, Hunter Sung.” The Guild Master began, his deep, raspy voice grim. “Rest assured that I do not tolerate that kind of attitude within my guild. Kim Chul wil be disciplined, and you are ot expected to continue lessons with him.” 

“A-Ah, thank you, but that isn’t necessary to that extent…” Jinwoo stammered, cheeks heating at the seriousness to Baek Yoonho’s demeanor. Even though he was relieved, he felt a deep sense of embarrassment and… shame. 

Who was Jinwoo? A measly E-Ranker. Barely even awakened. 

And who was Baek Yoonho? An S-Rank. One of the top Hunters in the entire country. 

How could he inconvenience a man so far up the food chain with his own weakness? Let alone the boss of his company!

“Hunter Sung, please.” Guild Master Baek shook his head, with a huff- chuff? Something vaguely non-human adjacent. “I care for my Guild members, and I do not stand for workplace harassment. It’s the least I can do as Guild Master.” 

Caught, Jinwoo had to bite his tongue to hold back his instinctive protests. 

“Um, then can I ask why you’re here, Guild Master?” Jinwoo questioned carefully, watching Baek Yoonho’s body language for any indicator that he was irritated at being questioned. But surprisingly, both the man’s aura and his body stayed loose and relaxed.

“Hmm.” Baek Yoonho’s breath rushed from his nose in a heavy sigh as he mulled over Jinwoo’s words. “I did have something to discuss with you, but I will not spring decisions on you when you are literally sitting in the infirmary, Hunter Sung. It can wait until tomorrow.” 

“The only thing I wanted from you today, was to just check how you were doing, Hunter Sung.” Baek Yoonho cracked a small smile, the minute change in expression softening the man’s entire face and making him seem more… human. Approachable. “I’m sorry it took me so long to properly introduce myself- I wanted to give you a chance to fully acclimatise to being around Higher Rankers before hosting a more personal meeting.” Baek Yoonho shook his head.

He’s checking on his employees? Even E-Ranks? Jinwoo thought to himself, eyes wide as Baek Yoonho challenged his world view of higher ranking Hunters without even a thought. What a nice boss… 

“Thank you Guild Master, I’m doing fine.” Jinwoo smiled, ducking his head in a shallow bow. 

“Which is surprising. You are a resilient one, Hunter Sung.” Baek Yoonho chuckled, the sound deep and raspy like that of a big cat- fitting considering how his Guild was named. “But I had a look at your notes earlier- the clinicians said that you had a case of energy shock?” 

Jinwoo nodded wordlessly, puzzled at the direction that the conversation was going. 

“Right, you can say no of course, but I find that energy shock is best treated by blanketing.” 

Eh? 

“May I, Hunter Sung?” Baek Yoonho held up a single, broad hand in offer. 

Ehhhhh?! 

“U-Um- are you sure? Jinwoo stammered, eyes wide at the incredibly thoughtful- if impossible offer from his Guild Master. What kind of High Ranker would waste their time on something that could be done by someone else? Especially for an E-Ranker like him.

Baek Yoonho chuckled once more, voice pitching deep. “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure, Hunter Sung. You’re definitely not the first Guild Member I’ve done this for- Gates can take their toll on a Hunter, and sometimes a reprieve is needed.” 

After taking a moment to inwardly flounder at Baek fuckign Yoonho (Baek Yoonho!) offering to blanket him, the words getting caught in his throat like glue, Jinwoo wordlessly nodded. 

With an amused quirk of his lips, Baek Yoonho reached out- movements slow and telegraphed to the point where even Jinwoo could track the motion with ease. 

The moment seemed to stretch on forever until Baek Yoonho carefully settled a hand on Jinwoo’s shoulder. 

Even through the layers of soft sweater fabric the warmth from Baek Yoonho’s hand seemed to soak into Jinwoo’s skin, making his skin tingle and sending a shudder down his spine before he instantly relaxed when- 

Oh. 

Energy. Pure Energy. 

Warm like the sun. Languid and lazy like a cat soaking in the sunlight. Loose yet vigilant. Watching. Protecting. 

A power so deep like a bottomless well of liquid warm settled over Jinwoo’s form like a shroud, chasing away the residual chills and shakiness from the attack earlier. It rushed over Jinwoo’s edges- scraped raw by the invasive shove of Kim Chul’s power and simply… held him. Shielding him from the myriad of roaming Hunter auras in the building and giving Jinwoo’s mana a chance to rebuild itself without having to worry about shielding Jinwoo’s core.

I… Didn’t know that a Hunter’s aura could feel this way… Jinwoo thought to himself relaxing completely under the blanket of Baek Yoonho’s energy. He was used to the bitter sting of apathy or outright malice. Of Hunters tearing at Jinwoo with their disregard not…

Whatever it was that Baek Yoonho was doing. 

Jinwoo didn’t even have a name for it, it was so unfamiliar to him. 

It was… Nice.

“Please swing by my office tomorrow morning, Hunter Sung. I have something I need to run by you.”

SKT

“Ugh… What a day.” Jinwoo groaned as he flopped down on his threadbare couch, exhausted, and limbs loose and floppy with the slightest tingle with the remnants of Baek Yoonho- The S-Rank’s energy. 

“But I wonder what he wants to talk about tomorrow…” Jinwoo mused to himself, brow furrowed in thought. It had to be about the training right? But he had made it abundantly clear that he did not blame Jinwoo for what had happened that day, if anything it was the opposite. 

But if not that, then what…? 

“Hey Oppa! How was work?” A cheerful voice suddenly sounded from Jinwoo’s left, followed swiftly by a mass dropping onto the sofa next to him. The movement made Jinwoo bounce a little on the couch as his sister obnoxiously spread her limbs akimbo. An arm ended up strewn over the back of the coach, and a foot ended up planted in Jinwoo’s stomach. 

“Eh, it was ok…” Jinwoo mused, and in his mind it was true. Sure, he had been pressured by an A-Rank, but if it were up to him, the positives far outweighed the negatives. 

“Cool cool, anyway, I was wondering if it was cool if I could go to the mall with Han Songyi after school tomorrow- wait.” Jinah cut herself off mid sentence, eyes narrowing as she suddenly leaned in close to Jinwoo. 

“Why do you smell like nice cologne, Oppa? You’re not bougie enough for that.” Jinah asked, suspiciously clear in her voice as she fisted her hands in Jinwoo’s sweater- trapping him in place. 

“Oi. First of all, rude.” Jinwoo snorted, flicking Jinah firmly in the forehead and smirking at her annoyed whines. 

“But it's true Oppa!” Jinah plowed on stubbornly, nose wrinkled in playful irritation.

So stubborn. Where did she get that from? Couldn’t be me. Jinwoo thought to himself in amusement. 

Suddenly, a smug grin grew on his face as he suddenly thought of a way to piss Jinah off. What could he say? Perks of being a sibling.

“What can I say?” Jinwoo grinned, bracing himself for Jinah’s reaction. “Baek Yoonho is a nice man. 

“WHAT?!”

Chapter Text

“WHAT?!” 

Jinwoo blurted out before slapping a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, cheeks pinking with embarrassment at his own outburst. “Sorry Guild Master, what?” Jinwoo repeated himself, this time forcing his voice so quiet it was almost a whisper. 

After their one on one the day before in the infirmary, the last of Jinwoo’s shakiness had completely disappeared, leaving him comfortable in Baek Yoonho’s presence- well, comfortable in the Hunter sense. 

Baek Yoonho blanketing him (a concept that Jinwoo had never come across before in his time in gates, so forgive him if he doubted whether it was as common as his Guild Master made it out to be), had fully gotten rid of the little instinct in Jinwoo that screamed predator! Run! Instead, it now perceived Guild Master Baek’s aura as a slumbering beast, there to protect instead of Hunt. Which was great, but… 

Jinwoo was still privately shitting bricks at standing in front of his boss as an entry level employee. 

Baek Yoonho chuckled, voice deep and raspy in his amusement as he reclined back in his sleek office chair. “Like I mentioned before, the Association has made an offer- they’d like to expand the range of Hunters in your class .” 

“B-But-” Jinwoo stammered, fidgeting in place in his own chair. “I’m only E-Rank, I don’t think I can handle a bigger class.” 

“Understandable,” Baek Yoonho nodded, “But don’t worry, your class size wont expand over what it already is, the only thing that will change is you will also have Hunters from outside of White Tiger in your classes as well.” 

“Ah, that makes sense.” Jinwoo nodded, bowing his head respectfully like a good employee should. 

“Also, rest assured Hunter Sung, that we will take steps to ensure that yesterday’s incident will not happen again.” Guild Master Baek said, voice so deep it could almost be a growl. “I will be putting together a dedicated group to watch over your training sessions, Hunter Sung.” 

Jinwoo squirmed in place, embarrassed at someone so powerful going out of their way for him, even though the concept eased a fear in his chest he had no idea was there. Nevertheless,  he opened his mouth to protest out of politeness and an almost sense of shame, only to stop short as his Guild Master raised a hand. 

“Hunter Sung. No employee of mine will feel unsafe in the workplace.” Baek Yoonho’s voice pitched down to show his seriousness, and- 

Are his eyes… slitted? No, must be a trick of the light… Jinwoo tilted his head, brow furrowed in confusion. Ah, must be my mind playing tricks- it’s just his aura feels so much like a big cat…

“O-Ok Guild Master.” Jinwoo accepted, bowing his head once more in thanks. 

“But aside from that, how do you feel about the Association’s offer?” Baek Yoonho asked, sitting back in his chair, satisfied by Jinwoo’s acceptance. 

“It sounds good, the incentives and benefits are very nice but…” Jinwoo hesitated, looking up at Yoonho through his lashes shyly. 

“But what?” Baek Yoonho replied curiously, aura curling lazily around his ankles. 

“White Tiger is- um. Is the first employer that has done right by me and my family and has actually tried to help.” Jinwoo shuffled awkwardly, feeling awkward actually voicing his feelings in the way that growing up as an older brother with absent parents would bring. With flushed cheeks, Jinwoo sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and smiled shyly up at his Guild Master. 

“Ah.” Baek Yoonho’s voice uncharacteristically caught in his throat, eyes wide as he looked at Jinwoo. The silence hang loaded in the air until- 

“Hahaha!” Baek Yoonho broke out into breathless laughter, his grin seeming to completely brighten his face. “You’re a good guy, Sung.” Suddenly he didnt seem so intimidating- it almost felt like… like…   

Is this what an older brother feels like…? Jinwoo thought breathlessly as Baek Yoonho’s eyes crinkled with mirth and what looked to be genuine affection. Ah no! That’s rude! That’s your boss you idiot! Jinwoo berated himself even as Baek Yoonho leaned forward to address him directly. 

“Looks like I was worried for nothing, huh?” He smiled, cheeks pleasantly flushed with mirth, lending a softness to his otherwise rough and wild look. “I’m glad you feel that way since White Tiger isn’t going to let go of you any time soon.” Baek Yoonho grinned, lips curling back to bare teeth that looked a little too sharp. 

“Not even if snakes come knocking at my door.” The man snorted as if he had made a particularly amusing joke, leaving Jinwoo tilting his head in confusion. “We found you first, so you are ours.” 

Ah, why does that feel good? Jinwoo thought to himself absently, overcome by the warm feeling building in his belly. Someone actually wants me to stay..? Jinwoo shook his head, trying to shake away the cloying memories of-

Heh world’s weakest is here, huh? 

Oh come on who invited the deadweight? 

Do you think anyone would notice if we just left him behind in the gate? 

“We’re happy you said ‘yes’ to joining our Guild, Sung.” Baek Yoonho smiled. 

Oh. 

“But don’t worry about White Tiger.” Baek Yoonho continued, shaking his head with a smile. “The Association is providing us with some great favours in exchange for allowing them to utilise your skills too, besides,”

Baek Yoonho’s grin turned mildly sinister. “Bragging rights are priceless.” 

“Speaking of, one thing you’ll need to be aware of is that you may have other S-Ranks dropping by to observe. Is this something you’d be comfortable with, Sung?” Baek Yoonho shook off his grin, getting back to business. 

“Oh um, what kind of people are they?” Jinwoo asked, brow furrowing as he thought back on what he had seen if the other Hunters on the news. “I’ve only seen them on the news and you can’t really trust the media.” 

Jinwoo was so deep in thought that he did not see Yoonho’s eyes widen with pleasant surprise as once again, the little E-Rank before him defied expectations. Not many would look past an S-Rank’s overwhelming power to try and understand them as a person before even meeting them. 

There’s just something about Sung Jinwoo. Baek Yoonho mused to himself with a smile, hiding the quirk of his lips behind his interlaced fingers. That mix of competence, humility and seeing High Rankers as people… It makes me feel human again. I should introduce him to Byung-gyu. I think they’d like each other. 

“To answer your question, Sung.” Baek Yoonho leaned back in his seat once more. “They’re annoying, all of them- some more than others, but they’re good people. Except for Cha Hae-In, she’s ok. The point being, none of them would let anything happen to you.” 

“In that case, I accept.” Jinwoo smiled, bowing his head respectfully. “I’d be happy to really pull my weight.”

“Eh? Pull your weight?” Baek Yoonho asked, seemingly thrown for a loop. “What do you mean?” 

“Eh?” Jinwoo echoed, not computing Baek Yoonho’s confusion. “I’m not exactly doing much to earn my wage- just some beginner level training.” 

“Beginner level-” Baek Yoonho all but gaped, “Sung what level of training do you think you’ve been delivering?” 

“Uh, beginner level? Basic synergy and dungeon strategy that every Hunter knows?”  Jinwoo  replied, voice pitched up in a way that made it sound more like a question than an answer. 

“Sung you- never mind.” Jinwoo watched in puzzlement as Baek Yoonho seemed to give up, reaching under his desk with a sigh to bring out a manilla folder. “Your results speak for themselves.”

Jinwoo wordlessly took the folder and began to flip through as Baek Yoonho continued to speak, the Guild Master absently spinning a pen in his fingers as he waited for Jinwoo to read. 

“Since you’ve accepted, the Association and the other involved Guilds want to do a trial run.” He hummed, watching as Jinwoo read through. “You’ll be training a few newbies from the other 4 Guilds. They’ve never met before and they want to see if you can make a cohesive team out of them and deliver the information in the brief.”

“That’s the information we would like for you to deliver in training during this trial. It’s A-Rank this time, Sung, higher than the B-Rank limit you were delivering before, please let me know if you need any adjustments or clarification.” Baek Yoonho leant back to wait for Jinwoo to have a quick read through. “I’m aware that the material may be a bit difficult as you probably haven’t heard of any monsters over C-Rank with your raiding career.”

Instantly, Jinwoo’s face brightened in a smile, eyes crinkling with the sunniness of it. “Ah! A Blue Oni, I’m familiar with this one!”

“Excuse me?” Baek Yoonho drew up short, pen slipping through his shock-slack fingers.

“Yeah, they have a three hit attack pattern with a feint on the second strike. They like to toy with their prey like a game of hide and seek by hiding in the shadows and following their prey as they run away,” Jinwoo rattled off, not even glancing at the page below him as he recited from memory. “ Their weak spot is the horn, but only to blunt attacks though.” Jinwoo pointed to his own forehead with a smile. 

Unseen through Jinwoo’s enthusiasm, Yoonho choked on his own saliva- a clumsy move that he hadn't done since he had awakened as S-Rank. What does he mean he’s familiar with these monsters?! They’re A-Rank. Not to mention incredibly rare! Where in the hell did he learn about that?! Ahn Sangmin mentioned he did his own research but that’s ridiculous- Beginner level knowledge my Ass-

Outwardly, Yoonho smiled, not showing any of his reeling thoughts on his face as he simply replied:

“You’ll be fine.”

SKT 

“Wow! So this is the training facility!” Jinwoo gasped with wonder as he looked up at his new dedicated facility- a sleek White Tiger owned building a healthy distance away from anything that may be damaged. 

Like the main building, the walls appeared to be made from the finest of dungeon materials, lending the building sturdiness and resilience much higher than any common building- most likely constructed to withstand the force of S-Rank attacks.

The Guild had been kind enough to allocate Jinwoo one of their external training sites in the heart of Seoul, a fact that Jinwoo was ever grateful for as it meant not having to worry about any potential Hunters dropping by.

Unknown to Jinwoo, the facility choice was a conscious decision on Baek Yoonho’s part, to establish White Tiger as Jinwoo’s primary. And Yoonho would never admit it, but his inner beast purred at the thought of keeping the E-Rank that felt so pleasant to be around safe and sound in his own territory. 

“Yup, that’s the training facility we’ve assigned to you. From now on any training will be held here, Sung.” A familiar raspy voice sounded from behind Jinwoo, making him jump almost a full meter. 

“G-Guild Master-!” Jinwoo yelped, almost tripping over his laces until a sturdy hand caught him by the shoulder, steadying him and saving him from falling face first into concrete. “What are you doing here?” 

“Didn’t I say you would have S-Ranks observing your training sessions.” Baek Yoonho grinned, baring his pointed canines in dare Jinwoo say it- a playful grin. “Well you’re looking at one of them.” 

“But aren’t you busy?” Jinwoo flailed, unable to compute Baek Yoonho (Baek Yoonho!) wanting to sit in on his standard training. 

“The last time I stepped out, my employee got hurt- until I see with my own eyes things are in working order, i’ll be with you to set things up.” Baek Yoonho huffed, using his steadying hand to pat Jinwoo firmly on the shoulder. 

“Ah,” Jinwoo swallowed back a sudden surge of emotion, feeling a little bit choked up at the unconditional support. I’ve never… never had anyone stick up for me like that, let alone anyone like the Baek Yoonho… 

“But yes, you’ve had a look at the file, right?” Baek Yoonho moved on like his support hadn't meant the entire world to Jinwoo. “You’ve got a Hunter from one of the other four Guilds to train. Don’t be afraid of being stern.” 

Baek Yoonho grinned, his aura flaring ever so slightly like an awakening beast, eyes slitted lazily as it observed its prey. “I’ll be here to keep 'em in line if they get rowdy.” 

With that, the pair made their way into the building, Jinwoo doing his best not to gape at the obviously expensive construction and furniture lining the sleek walls. The facility itself wasn’t very large, split into three main areas- the reception/common area, the changing rooms/facilities, and a large gymnasium-like room in the centre. 

All the while, Baek Yoonho stalked forward casually, barely looking at the building around him. He was clearly used to such opulence on a day to day basis, nonchalant in the face of an amount of money that would no doubt make Jinwoo pass out on the spot.

That’s the world of an S-Class for you… Jinwoo mused to himself, Not that I’d ever know. 

“Ah, there they are. I’ll stay by the wall, you have the floor, Sung.” Baek Yoonho nodded as they rounded the corner and caught sight of Jinwoo’s students for the day. 

Jinwoo nodded, feeling the familiar flutter of nerves in his belly as he took in who he would be training, but with the feeling of Baek Yoonho’s coiled aura quietly keeping vigil in the corner… Well, he somehow didn't feel so bad.

Phew. Time to get to work. 

With that, Jinwoo put his all into concentrating on the lesson before him. I can’t fumble things and give White Tiger a bad name! Not after the Guild Master himself has been so nice to me! 

“Good morning, I am Sung Jinwoo and I will be your trainer for the day.” Jinwoo approached the group, dropping into a polite bow as he observed the group before him. 

A burly middle-aged man leant nonchalantly against the wall, his black hair salt and pepper with flecks of grey that fetchingly feathered around his temples- the tank. A young woman with rund glasses and some sort of gear headband that resembled cat ears perched atop her head as she waited patiently, hands clasped politely in front of her stomach- the mage. 

There was also a… girl? Boy? Person lurking in the corner, their build and face completely obscured by the loose black hoodie that they were wearing, the hood pulled down so deep that only the line of their jaw was visible- the assassin. And finally, There was a remarkably muscular woman donning bandage wrappings around her hands and forearms- the fighter. 

And this time, they were all A-Ranks. 

Gulp. 

Jinwoo watched in real time as the Hunters noticed his presence, raised a brow as they took in his no-doubt E-Rank appearance and seemingly dismiss him…

Only to do the largest and most obvious double-take that Jinwoo had ever seen in his life as they caught sight of Baek fucking Yoonho chilling by the door. 

Vaguely at the edge of his senses, Jinwo felt the faint brush of the feeling of many A-Ranks gathered together rubbing a little bit at Jinwoo’s own core. Now normally, this would have Jinwoo shaking at the knees and fighting the urge to run for the hills. But he could also feel Baek Yoonho subtly cloaking Jinwoo in his aura from across the room in a watered down version of the ‘blanketing’ that he had done the day prior.

Something which Jinwoo still had questions about because the practice of soothing each other in dungeons was something he had never heard of before. In the words of his dear sister Jinah: Sounds fake, but OK.

After that, the training went relatively smoothly, with the Hunters visibly on their very best behaviour with the Guild Master of the White Tiger guild himself standing right there staring them down like they owed him money.

To begin with, they were relatively wary of working together from what Jinwoo could gather. Makes sense, they’re all from different guilds- Hunter, Knights, Fiend and fame if I remember correctly. 

But after Jinwoo had run through a couple of synergy runs, they were working together like they had for years. Even to his untrained eye, he could tell that more and more time was being shaved off of each simulated run, which made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Is this what it feels like to be a kindergarten teacher and have the kids actually listen to you? It’s… satisfying. Jinwoo thought to himself with a soft smile.

“Ah! Great job everyone! Your synergy on that run was great!” Jinwoo cheered when the group wound down from their best run yet. The steadying presence of Yoonho’s aura relaxing and emboldening him more than usual. “Especially you assassin-nim.” Jinwoo smiled and jogged over, eyes wide and bright with genuine pride for the Hunter’s achievement. 

“Well done on implementing my suggestion! I saw that you took care to hide your movements behind fighter-nim’s strikes to confuse an opponent!” Jinwoo waved his arms in his enthusiasm, unknowingly acting like he would with Jinah at home when she would return with high grades. 

Like an older brother. 

Unseen by Jinwoo in his fervour, the hooded assassin stood stock still, frozen in place. They were unsure of how to react, so utterly inexperienced with such genuine praise for their skills that were seen as bare minimum. Mediocre even within the Guild. 

“And the way that you use your skills is really creative too! So I think that we should try- Ah.” Jinwoo cut himself off mid-sentence, cheeks flaming a bright, hot red. 

“I am So Sorry!” Jinwoo apologised profusely, dipping into a deep bow. “That was unprofessional of me! I have a younger sister and it just slipped out! I swear it won’t happen again!” 

In his deep bow, Jinwoo completely missed the light pink blush that spread across what little was visible of the assassin’s face. The way that they shuffled bashfully in place and kicked their boot against the ground like a praised child. As part of a large Guild where there was always someone better than you, and excellence was the norm, anything less a problem… Jinwoo’s kind words and genuine enthusiasm struck the assassin and the rest of the group to their core.

Nor the way the other trainees looked on in amusement and slight envy. 

All he heard was the ever so quiet “...it’s fine.” The first words that the assassin had spoken in the hours that they had been training together. 

When Jinwoo looked up, the group was once more as calm and composed as ever, but this time, perhaps a little more open to listening to what he said.

From his position observing the training, Baek Yoonho smiled to himself. Sung Jinwoo was exceeding all of his expectations and them some. From a few short hours of synergy training, these A-Rank Hunters who had never met prior to that day were working together seamlessly. 

A feat that often took months of working together and experience in live raids together. 

Baek Yoonho grinned. 

He couldn’t wait to rub it in that snake’s smug face. 

SKT

“Hey mom,” Jinwoo smiled as he took a seat by Park Kyunghe’s bedside, Jinah plopping herself down by the woman’s other side. Already they could feel the large difference in quality in the few minutes they had spent in their mom’s new hotel room. 

The sheets felt soft, almost silken, and each piece of medical equipment almost gleamed in the bright hospital lights. Each and every piece well-maintained with care. 

“Things are going pretty good, I hope that your new room feels ok.” Jinwoo smiled, speaking over the soft hiss of the life-support machines. 

“Yeahhhh and Jinwoo’s got a new boyfriend~!” Jinah grinned sleazily, whispering into their mom’s ear like a gossiping kid on the playground. 

“Wha- shut up no I don’t- don’t lie to mom like that!” Jinwoo sputtered, flicking his sister in the forehead and smirking at her pained yelp. “It’s not my fault you decided to interpret what I said like that!” 

“Well how else was I supposed to interpret it?!” Jinah scowled before launching into a playful tirade, letting his sister’s chatter wash over him. 

It’s been… a while since the atmosphere in mom’s room has felt so light. Like we were mourning her when she’s right there and alive. Jinwoo looked over at his still ranting sister, taking in the healthy flush to her cheeks and the sheen to her hair. The new (new!) socks and shoes, the pink hair clip that he had never seen before and- 

And…

Jinwoo couldn’t remember a time where life had been so good. 

“I’ve got a new job, Mom. And I got a promotion too.” Jinwoo relaxed into his comfortable chair (comfy chairs in a hospital, will wonders ever cease? That's how he knew the place was fancy ) as he told his sleeping mom about the newest news in his life. 

“Oi! How come you didn’t tell me you got a promotion?!” 

Jinwoo staunchly ignored Jinah’s derailed ranting. She had lost talking rights after her malicious rumour spreading to their mom. 

“I know you wanted to keep the apartment in case dad came back, Mom. But… now that I’m earning good money, I’m thinking of moving.” Jinwoo confessed to a woman who couldn’t hear him. “I’m worried about the area and Jinah getting to and from school, mom.” 

Jinah instantly quietened at his words, eyes wide. 

“I’ve got access to more High Rank research material to see if I can find where he disappeared to, so I hope that you can forgive me for finding a better place for us to live.” Jinwoo scooped up one of his mom’s hands, shuddering at the chill to her skin before pressing his forehead to the back of her hand pleadingly. 

“She wouldn’t care.” Jinah said quietly, breaking the silence. “She’d want us to be happy and safe more than anything.” 

“Mn, you’re right.” Jinwoo took in a bracing breath, straightening up and placing his mom’s hand gently back down on the sheets before turning to look at his sister fully. “Let’s have a look in the catalogues when we get back home yeah?”

“Yeah!” 

SKT 

Across the city, various A-Rank Hunters were reporting to their very interested Guild Masters. 

Tales of expert teaching, intimate knowledge of High Ranking monsters, and most importantly an E-Rank being completely comfortable in the presence of an S-Rank quickly spread through the major Guilds.

Without a second thought, the trial training session was approved, and official collaboration talks began.