BRH 1

Fifty years ago, gates and dungeons suddenly appeared, threatening humanity. Among them, there is a dungeon called ‘extremely difficult.’

The Cheonok Dungeon, also known as the Leveling Dungeon.

It is an unmastered dungeon that humanity has not yet conquered, and a mysterious lair that has greatly contributed to the development of human civilization.

The government has revealed that the final number of floors in the dungeon is approximately 12. However, humanity has only set foot on 4 floors.

Each time a floor is cleared, strange characters are engraved on the dungeon’s door. At first glance, it looked like ‘Yakum’ was written in Korean.

So, people all over the world called the Cheonok Dungeon the ‘Yakum Dungeon.’

Why? Because the place of origin of the Yakum Dungeon was Korea, specifically, Hoehyeon-dong.

Today, Hoehyeon-dong can be said to be a key area of the dungeon commercial district, where the commercial district has developed around the dungeon. Among them, there is a sign that is immediately visible when you exit the Yakum Dungeon.

‘Morning Star Cafe’

It was a three-story business located in front of the dungeon entrance. The first floor is for restaurants, the second floor is for tea houses, and the third floor has accommodation facilities. The cafe, where the owner’s cooking skills are amazing, was the pride of Hoehyeon-dong no matter what anyone said.

As it was rumored to be a delicious restaurant for Hunters, the cafe was always full. There was a cheerful part-timer who had worked here for quite some time, but if there was one downside… that guy’s mouth was as light as a feather. Whenever a story came out of the cafe, it would go around the commercial district several times in half a day and come back with arms and legs, saying, “Hyung!” A rumor, indeed!

As a result, regulars at Morning Star Cafe carefully controlled their private lives in front of the part-timer. They were just secretly chanting the slogan, ‘Someone get caught!’ Because that’s when they start gossiping enthusiastically.

But a strange rumor started circulating a few days ago.

“Hey, did you hear about that?”

Around 10 p.m. It was the time when customers were starting to leave, so the cafe was sparsely empty. Among them, there is a man eating rice soup while wearing a hat pulled down deep, unlike other customers.

The man, sitting alone at a corner table, stopped using his spoon and glanced around. At the table next to the man, Hunters were leaning their heads together while tilting their glasses, and they seemed to be whispering secretly.

They glanced at the part-timer and lowered their voices. Someone’s love affair, which had caused a stir across the country two days ago, became the topic of conversation.

“Moon Tae-yi, that guy, he chopped off the heads of vicious criminals yesterday and sent them to hell. And then what? He’s going to date? Him?”

“Mister, Moon Tae-yi’s confession article was all over the place yesterday anyway. Why are you so behind?”

“The article was taken down in just one day. What does that mean? It’s over.”

“Hey… Didn’t the reporters get paid a lot of money and took it down? The part-timer saw it at the time. Moon Tae-yi got rejected by a man after confessing.”

“Hey, hey, he wasn’t rejected. He used some trick, and the part-timer doesn’t know what happened after that. Wouldn’t he have seen it? He got paid by the CEO and shut his mouth.”

“Are you sure it’s a man?”

“Yeah, there’s talk that he’s a B-class Hunter.”

“Hmm… They took it down because it’s true, right?”

“Right?”

Creak-

At that time, the man who had finished his meal alone at the next table got up from his seat in a hurry. The Hunters, who were startled and jumped, grabbed their pounding hearts. I was surprised…. Oh damn, I thought it was the part-timer.

“I’ll pay here.”

As the man wearing a hat headed to the counter, the Hunters looked at each other and then drank again until their noses were crooked.

The man who went to the counter took out a bill from his pocket and handed it to the part-timer. The part-timer, smiling brightly, handed over the change and stared at the man for a while. When he met the indifferent eyes under the hat, the part-timer smiled brightly. And he mouthed.

‘I didn’t say anything.’

“…”

The man wearing a hat, Ha Do-heon, pressed his lips tightly and pulled his hat down further. Then, he quickly turned around and left Morning Star Cafe. It felt like gazes were flying and stabbing into his back like skewers.

In addition, there are words that keep tickling his ears.

“Moon Tae-yi, that guy, he’s gone crazy after being dumped? He goes crazy when he sees flowers. Is he crazy?”

“Today, there’s even a picture of him sitting on a bench tearing flower petals…. Huh, fuck. So, is that why he’s been chopping off the heads of vicious criminals these days?”

“Hey, he’s always been like that.”

Clang-.

The bell rang vigorously as the door opened and closed. Ha Do-heon, who came out, quickly turned his body to the side of the cafe. And he stubbornly squeezed into the narrow alleyway that was precariously attached to each store. Then, he buried his face in his hands.

“Sigh (Heuk, sob)… What am I going to do… The rumors have already spread.””

Two days ago, Ha Do-heon received a confession from a man more famous than the president. Even here, at Morning Star Cafe!

The nation’s symbol and a symbolic hero acclaimed by citizens. The first S-class Hunter and a legendary figure who has honorably led Korea.

Those were the words that modified the man who confessed to Ha Do-heon, ‘Moon Tae-yi.’

Just yesterday, the world was buzzing with the dating rumors of the No. 1 ranked Hunter. People started looking for the other person’s identity. Ha Do-heon had no choice but to close his eyes tightly.

If he had been as ordinary as others, he might have seriously considered Moon Tae-yi’s confession at least once. But he had one fatal problem.

Ha Do-heon is a regular at ‘Morning Star Cafe’ and a B-class Hunter in Korea with a Hunter registration card.

But he has another identity that he can’t reveal to others.

“Oh, I’m… going crazy.”

The Yakum Dungeon, an extremely difficult dungeon where all kinds of gold, silver, and resources pour out if you conquer it. The only floor-leveling dungeon in the world.

People will never know.

That the vicious boss of the Yakum Dungeon, which Hunters challenge every day, is walking around the streets like a criminal.

That’s because-.

“Ha….”

Ha Do-heon, he was the final boss of the globally known Yakum Dungeon.

***

Fifty years ago, after the advent of dungeons and gates, the world went through a process of adapting and coping with the upheaval. It took only 40 years for humanity to awaken in the face of the world’s survival and to call those awakened people Hunters.

From then on, the United States and other countries introduced a ranking system. However, there was a time when the rankings, which changed every year, became fixed at some point.

It was around the time when S-class Hunters began to appear. After the United States first produced an S-class Hunter, many countries began to find S-class Hunters like they were catching lice, and Korea also produced three S-class Hunters in the last 10 years.

Among them, there is a man who was the first to be titled an S-class Hunter.

Moon Tae-yi.

He awakened as an S-class at the age of 17 and is now 26 years old. From the moment he entered the ranking, he has never missed the top spot. People called him a comet-like rookie.

Because the gap in power between him and other S-classes is so large, many citizens naturally supported him.

Ha Do-heon, of course, was a citizen of Korea, so he couldn’t help but know about Moon Tae-yi. People often said that he was cruel and scary because of his huge body and destructive power.

But he never worshiped evil or turned his back on good. In the media, he was a very delicate and generous person.

In fact, he would smile softly and give off a languid atmosphere, and he also had a kindness that made people feel comfortable with his harmless atmosphere. Of course, that was only when the other person had the right ideology.

“How did this happen….”

Ha Do-heon sat slumped in his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. Ah…. That confession… confession….

In the end, Ha Do-heon sobbed and buried his face in his hands.

To talk about the confession incident of Korea’s No. 1 ranked Moon Tae-yi, which caused a stir in Korea, we had to go back a few days.

In fact, Ha Do-heon didn’t have much contact with Moon Tae-yi. It’s not like they were close enough to ask each other how they were doing. They had only run into each other a few times while working as Hunters. Just saying a word or two occasionally. That’s how much they knew each other.

Strangely, Moon Tae-yi was always the one who spoke first.

-Your left hand… looks like it’s hurt.

-Yes? Oh… this? I got scratched while feeding a cat, so it’s nothing.

-Do you raise cats?

-No, it’s a stray cat…. It was so skinny, so I give it food sometimes when I pass by. But sometimes it scratches me.

-Oh dear. Why would it scratch such a pretty hand?

-It’s not really… a pretty hand.

Do-heon was drinking banana milk while waiting at the dungeon entrance to prepare for entry. But Moon Tae-yi seemed to have seen him waving his hand because the smoke kept coming to his side because it was a smoking area.

Moon Tae-yi, on the other hand, was sucking on a cigarette until his cheeks were sunken and flicking ashes into a makeshift ashtray. When Ha Do-heon scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, he smiled lightly and said.

-Don’t you usually hear that you have good posture? Maybe it’s because your frame is straight and pretty… I keep looking at you.

-Oh… I’ve never heard that before…. I’m just a Hunter who uses knives, though.

He was embarrassed because he wondered why he was suddenly saying this. Ha Do-heon drank the milk in one gulp, bowed his back, and left the spot. After that, they ran into each other often, but nothing special happened.

So he was puzzled.

“Mr. Do-heon, would you like to have dinner with me next week if you have time?” I have something to say to Mr. Do-heon, um… don’t feel pressured.”

“Yes? I’m okay with it… next week?”

“Today is fine too.”

Because he suggested having dinner.