Even without laws, he was the type of person who would live just fine.
Despite his dirt-poor upbringing, he was someone who lived tenaciously without losing hope. Perhaps it was because of ‘that misfortune’ which had arrived without warning.
When his mother, whom he loved more than anyone else in the world, contracted Dungeon Disease, his modest life began to be shaken to its very roots.
The cost of his mother’s treatment was so astronomical that twenty-year-old Ho Shin-woo couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
All he could do was save every possible hour of sleep to work grueling jobs all day long, barely scraping by from day to day.
Upon his small shoulders rested the heavy burden of despair that was too much to handle.
Then one day, he awakened as a Hunter.
To someone who had to do anything for his only remaining family, Awakening must have been like a ray of light. However, while Awakening as a Hunter was a miracle, ironically, it was also the beginning of his misfortune.
Not only was he scammed by an acquaintance for Hunter equipment, losing all his savings, but he also ended up with an unbearable amount of debt.
It was a common tactic used to target novice Hunters, but Ho Shin-woo was a young man just starting out in society with no adults around to help him.
Because of that incident, his mother’s illness only grew worse.
In that desperate situation, the creditors introduced him to a guild with the respectable name of ‘Sebo Guild.’
“If you work hard here, you can pay off your debt and get your mother admitted to a good hospital!”
Ho Shin-woo grabbed their hands as if clutching at straws, but it was an atrocious slave contract wrapped in fancy packaging.
He practically lived in their private dungeons, hunting monsters until his bones ached, but nothing came back to him. The interest was too high to begin with, and the structure was designed so that no matter how hard he worked, he could never earn money.
Yet, he endured in silence.
Because the Sebo Guild had promised his mother’s treatment, he held onto that one promise and endured that hell tenaciously.
Then one day, he overheard a shocking conversation between the guild members guarding him.
“That idiot, does he still not know? That his mother is already dead.”
“Hahaha, I’ve never seen such a naive guy before. To not even notice that and keep his nose buried in the dungeon.”
When he heard the news of his mother’s passing through the mocking laughter of his captors, his world shattered into pieces. His trust in humans, his hope for life—everything collapsed.
So, he gave up.
He gave up being human.
And he chose revenge.
His Contamination level was already high. This was because the Sebo Guild had restricted the supply of Detoxification Potions to a minimum to save costs. Trapped in deep distrust and despair toward humanity, he eventually reached the point of refusing even the provided Detoxification Potions, forfeiting his humanity himself.
When the monster Contamination in his body approached 90%, his reason became completely paralyzed. All that remained in him was the instinct for destruction and slaughter.
Ho Shin-woo was a quite talented Hunter. He used any means necessary to brutally murder the members of the Sebo Guild who had deceived him and driven his mother to her death. But as if that wasn’t enough to satisfy his rage, he blinded himself with anger toward society and mercilessly killed other innocent Hunters as well.
This horrific panorama played vividly in Sang-woong’s mind.
For a while, Sang-woong couldn’t take his eyes off the poster. Naturally, a deep frown formed between his brows.
Right then, his gaze landed, as if by fate, on a young man sitting at an outdoor table of a nearby convenience store, drinking a beverage. It was a face that still held a clear and pure energy, before the black shadow of tragedy had cast its veil.
Sang-woong recognized him at once.
‘Ho Shin-woo. It’s definitely him.’
His heart began to pound fiercely. This was a chance encounter, but at the same time, it was a massive opportunity. If he missed this moment, the horrific tragedy of his past life would repeat itself.
His shoulders felt heavy. This wasn’t merely about preventing a recurrence of the past. It was an opportunity to save countless innocent lives and redeem the soul of a pure young man.
He didn’t hesitate. Driven by instinct, he stood up and walked toward Ho Shin-woo.
“Hey, isn’t this Shin-woo! Ho Shin-woo! To see you here! It’s been so long!”
Sang-woong approached Ho Shin-woo with a voice that was as bright, friendly, and slightly exaggerated as possible, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.
Startled by the sudden action, Ho Shin-woo turned around with a stiffened body. His eyes showed obvious wariness toward the stranger along with confusion.
“Um… Who… are you?”
His thin, dry voice was full of anxiety. Not knowing what to do with Sang-woong’s sudden friendliness, he just blinked awkwardly.
“Haha, did you forget your brother already? Well, it’s been a while, so I guess that makes sense. We were in the church choir together! Don’t you remember how I was always out of tune next to you?”
Sang-woong laughed slyly and made up a plausible lie on the spot.
From the faint memories of the investigative news, a fragment of information about how Ho Shin-woo had briefly attended a small neighborhood church during his unfortunate childhood flashed through his mind.
With a good-natured smile and exaggerated gestures, Sang-woong struggled to break down at least a bit of Ho Shin-woo’s frozen guard.
Ho Shin-woo looked at Sang-woong with wide eyes, studying him carefully, then tilted his head.
“Choir…? Church…?”
His expression said ‘I don’t remember at all.’ His clear, large eyes were full of pure questioning.
“Oh man, back then you sang the loudest and got praised by the Pastor! You remember singing ‘Until the Lord Comes Again,’ right? Did you forget?”
Sang-woong displayed even more intense intimacy and grabbed his arm firmly. Like a brother seeing a close younger sibling for the first time in years, his acting was as natural as flowing water.
Ho Shin-woo seemed to try and pull his arm away with a bit of strength, but he soon gave up and smiled awkwardly as if he were in a difficult spot.
“Ah… I’m sorry. My memory isn’t very good… I’m really sorry.”
He scratched the back of his head as if he were truly apologetic.
“It’s okay, kid! That happens. How can you remember everything from when we were kids? Anyway, meeting like this is fate, so it’d be a shame to just say goodbye, right? Brother will buy you a meal. Let’s talk for a bit while we eat. Do you have some time?”
Sang-woong naturally pulled him by the arm. Ho Shin-woo, caught up in Sang-woong’s pace, still looked bewildered as he asked cautiously.
“Um… will it really be alright? I don’t want to… be a burden to you…”
His voice was as small as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Hey, kid! What’s burdensome about buying a meal for a brother I haven’t seen in a while! I’m just happy to have run into you like this! Is there anything you want to eat? Don’t be shy, just say it. Brother’s treating you right today!”
Sang-woong laughed heartily and tapped him on the shoulder once more in encouragement. Beneath his exaggerated actions and voice, desperation was hidden.
After taking a seat in a corner of a nearby decent meat restaurant, Sang-woong ordered immediately.
“Three servings of samgyeopsal, please. No, wait.”
Sang-woong stopped mid-order and looked at Ho Shin-woo.
“Why are you so thin? You need to eat a lot. Give us five servings, and should we have a glass of soju?”
“Oh, well, that’s…”
“Don’t feel pressured, let’s just have one drink. Five servings of samgyeopsal and a bottle of soju, please.”
The side dishes came out first, followed by the alcohol and meat. Sang-woong stopped Ho Shin-woo from trying to cook and grilled the meat himself.
“This is cooked well. Try some.”
He placed a piece of golden-brown, well-cooked meat onto Ho Shin-woo’s front plate.
“Th-thank you.”
Ho Shin-woo’s wariness began to melt away bit by bit at Sang-woong’s kindness.
Like a close older brother who had known him for a long time, Sang-woong comfortably asked Ho Shin-woo how he had been. Each of his questions was imbued with sincere concern and warmth.
“So, Shin-woo. How have you been lately? It must’ve been tough, right? How is… your mother doing?”
Sang-woong asked cautiously, yet he threw a question that hit the core. Ho Shin-woo didn’t notice, but Sang-woong’s eyes, knowing everything, were trembling with deep pity.
Ho Shin-woo was gradually breaking down the walls of his heart at Sang-woong’s warm gaze and sincere worry. After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth with difficulty in a small voice.
“Ah, well… to be honest, my mother contracted Dungeon Disease.”
Ho Shin-woo slowly poured out his circumstances.
“It’s been really hard, but luckily, I awakened as a Hunter not long ago. But then I got scammed… I felt like the sky was falling, but fortunately, I’m scheduled to officially join a place called ‘Sebo Guild’ soon.”
At the end of his voice, there was a sense of resignation toward his harsh reality, mixed with a very faint, dust-like anticipation and excitement for a new start.
“Sebo Guild…”
The moment he heard that name, a cold flash crossed Sang-woong’s mind. His face, which had been wearing a good-natured smile, showed no change on the outside, but fierce anger and a horrific premonition boiling up from deep within his heart scratched at his insides simultaneously.
The tragedy of his past life came to mind so vividly that it was difficult even to breathe. Knowing what kind of hell this innocent young man was about to step into, his Adam’s apple trembled slightly as he suppressed his rising emotions.
Sang-woong forced himself to steady his voice. It was low and calm, but it was faintly imbued with an unfathomable tension and suppressed rage.
“Did you say… Sebo Guild?”
Sensing that something about Sang-woong had subtly changed, Ho Shin-woo looked flustered. He looked at Sang-woong with uneasy eyes and asked cautiously.
“Yes. Is it a guild you happen to know?”
Sang-woong remained silent for a moment at Ho Shin-woo’s question. In his head, the atrocities of the Sebo Guild and the past of Ho Shin-woo, who had been ruined because of them, swirled like a storm once again.
He spoke slowly, but with a firm expression.
“Shin-woo. A Hunter contract is a very important matter that can determine your entire life. Never, ever make a decision lightly. You have to look through the contents of the contract with your eyes lit up, and if even a single word is strange or if there’s a part you don’t understand, you must check it ten or twenty times.”
His voice was serious and resolute, like a seasoned Hunter who had weathered many storms over the years, with no trace of the sly brother from before. At that weight, Ho Shin-woo unconsciously gulped.
Ho Shin-woo felt his chest tighten along with an unknown anxiety at Sang-woong’s serious and solemn attitude.
“Yes… of course, the guild explained the contents of the contract to me one by one in detail. Well… it didn’t seem like there was anything particularly problematic…”
Ho Shin-woo answered with an awkward smile, but his eyes were shaking with unease. In truth, he knew nothing about Hunter contracts. There was no one around him to give that kind of advice.