The Perfect

A second chance in life is not difficult. You just need to change yourself. And finding out what you truly want is the start. I am at that moment right now. What I want to do, how I want to live is more clear than ever.Unfortunately, this start came at the brink of death. While others face death and their past life flashes before them, I must still have lingering attachment to life. Even while gasping for breath as if I might die any moment, I dream of another life ahead.But what can I do? Maybe I’ll survive like a miracle. Maybe someone will appear out of nowhere and take my hand like a prince. Yes, one of the things I desire is this. I dream of a prince. You can call it lack of self-reliance or an unrealistic dream.Since childhood, my heart would always beat fast when reading fairy tales with princes. But as a man, I couldn’t say I liked princes. As a man, I couldn’t say I wanted someone to save me because I was scared of living in the world.Because I was a man, I couldn’t show my timid and easily startled nature through my expressions. Because I was a man. I squeezed myself into the mold society had set for me and lived accordingly. I lived well enough. Hiding my true nature and living by doing things others liked, not myself.But if I survive this place, even if I get criticized, I will live as my true self. If I’m scared, I’ll say I’m scared, and even if I get finger-pointed at, I’ll proudly say I like stories with princes. I’ll let out all the delusions about princes that have been overflowing in my mind since childhood.I will admit that I like childish, cheesy, and cringe-worthy stories. I’ll scream if I’m startled. Instead of gritting my teeth and climbing up, I’ll take a step down and live comfortably. If I can just get out of this hell alive.It looked like a scene from a drama. But while an excited boss yelling at two employees might be interesting to the audience, in reality, it was a tragedy.“What are you good at? If you have eyes, take a look at this!”Manager Kim yelled as he picked up a file in front of him. He replaced his unachieved dream of becoming a baseball player by throwing files. Unfortunately, the two employees facing him didn’t know even a ‘y’ of ‘ya’gu (baseball in Korean), so they couldn’t shout ‘strike’ realistically.* * *Thud.The 175cm, average-looking employee quickly turned his body, but the chubby colleague next to him was hit directly by the file as he was late to dodge. Thanks to this, the papers in the file scattered noisily in the air.“Because of you, I got scolded harshly from above! Do you know who has the longest pending case of Heartless in this department? It’s you, both of you! What do you come out here and do? Is it just working like this and getting your salary?”DaDa, being a semi-government official, his tenure was guaranteed unless he committed a major crime.“If you work like this, I’ll transfer you to the provinces.”Manager Kim’s threat was just a light bluff to the average-looking employee. He was ready to work on a deserted island as long as the salary came on time. The problem was with the other employee.“I will work hard!”At the loud voice, the average employee looked surprised at his colleague. The colleague who usually worked with an even more complacent attitude than himself was betraying him. Why is he doing this? Our motto was ‘work just enough not to get fired,’ right? He strongly conveyed their belief through his eyes, but the betrayer’s will was firm.“We will manage and handle the pending case. Manager, really. Please trust us this time.”The average employee quickly intervened.“Wait, no. We can’t solve this pending case…”“We will surely solve it within a week!”A moment later, the average employee realized he had missed his chance. It was too late to drag his colleague by the collar. Manager Kim, gritting his teeth, warned them.“If you don’t solve it, I swear by my name, I’ll fire you.”Thud! I slammed the glass full of anger on the table.“Are you crazy? Did you spew such nonsense to the manager because you were afraid of being transferred to the provinces?”That’s right. Byunghee made that promise because he was genuinely afraid of being sent to the provinces by the manager. At my reprimand, Byunghee turned his head away shyly. I scolded him.“What’s wrong with going to the provinces? As long as our salary comes on time, it doesn’t matter, right?”“No. The provinces are not okay.”I lowered my hands, worried I might throw the glass, and asked, “Why not?”“Because there’s no Gukjeon (abbreviation for National Exhibition Center) in the provinces.”“Gukjeon? The place where you buy games and figures?”Nod, nod.Darn, I should have grabbed a knife.“Damn it, just order that stuff online!”“There are things that can’t be bought online. Even for Grade A second-hand goods, you need to go immediately when you get a call. And with the power supply restrictions, waiting for contact is unrealistic. You have to go and search yourself.”Byunghee lifted his glass with a sad face. These days, everything requires personal effort. The power supply restriction has continued for several years. They say it will be normalized soon, but it’s obvious that it will still be this way next year. It’s been 3 years since we went through chaos almost like a civil war. Everything is quickly recovering as if nothing happened, but it’s still not like before.The electricity, which was the most severely destroyed, was so badly affected that new power plants need to be built, and all facilities using electricity are controlled. Even before, the power supply was unstable, but it suddenly hit rock bottom 3 years ago. The world turned into darkness. Over the past 3 years, it has somewhat returned to normal, but sudden blackouts are still routine.“Why drag me into this if you’re worried about it?”“We’re on the same team…”“So we should fail together as a team?”“We won’t fail! We just need to solve it.”“How are we supposed to solve a problem that we couldn’t handle for almost a month within a week? Don’t you know the companies we manage have all given up?”“We need to find another company.”Another company. Did he think no one tried? It’s been weeks since the manager pressured us. Do you think no one looked? Almost all companies have been contacted. You can’t use the phone and internet all day, and some places reply by mail, so it took all the time just to get responses from contacted companies. Of course, the results were obvious. Today the manager gave the final ultimatum, and my colleague made a crazy statement.“Sorry to crush your hope, but it’s impossible to finish in a week. You know that. All the companies we contacted refused. They’d rather pay penalties than take this job.”“Let’s try another company this time.”“How many times do I have to tell you? We’ve already contacted all the feasible companies on our list. And you keep suggesting we do this together, but this is your mess, so you should take responsibility…”“There are still two companies we haven’t contacted. My client said they might be able to handle it.”I silently put down my glass.“If you mention ‘L&Y’ and ‘4K’, I’ll start calling you an idiot.”Byunghee turned his head sideways. I immediately fulfilled my promise.“Hey, you idiot.”“Ah, come on. What’s the big deal? They’re both officially registered Heartless hunting companies, so they have to meet their government quotas. If they have quotas left, we can ask them to handle our case…”“Who would want to take on an E-grade case that requires a lot of time and money? And the government contracts companies to handle anything above E-grade separately.”“On paper, it’s still a C-grade case…”“The companies already know everything.”“…”“And L&Y is the biggest company, so they already have contracts with the higher-ups. There’s no quota left for small fries like us.”“Then let’s contact 4K. They’re the top in the industry, but they operate with a small team and don’t deal with the government, so they might have quotas left.”“They’ll be thrilled to fill their quotas with an E-grade case.”“They might… they might do it…”Byunghee never gave up on his dreams. Once he set his mind on something, there was no stopping him.“Do you really have to live in Seoul?”“It’s not just about that. If we don’t solve this, we might not just get demoted, we could get fired. You know that. It’s clearly an E-grade case, but we’ve been pretending it’s a C-grade to handle it ourselves. We reported it might be an E-grade, but we missed the chance to send it to the E-grade department because of delays. Who do you think will take the blame? Us. They’ll definitely pin it on us. We’ll be the only ones getting fired.”I silently refilled my glass. It was only 11 PM, but the owner informed us that the power was out and they would switch to candlelight. It seemed the generator here wasn’t very large. That’s probably why the drinks were cheap.“Even if you have a side job, it’s not okay for me.”I frowned as I was about to drink.“Hey, I barely make any money from that. It’s just pocket change.”“Still, you make some money doing what you love. If I can’t make money right away, I can’t buy any of the games I love. This is all I have. If I can’t even do this, it will be really, really miserable.”He drank continuously. With just one power outage, factories closed, prices soared, and alcohol became as expensive as gold. People started making things themselves when they couldn’t get them. They made their own electricity and alcohol. The homemade makgeolli (Korean rice wine) the owner made was delicious. If I had the money, I would drink it all night; it was sweet and savory.Most of the thoughts that came to me while walking alone at night after drinking were useless. What if I had made different choices in the past? What if there were no Heartless in the world? I don’t know about the former, but the latter would definitely make the world a better place.People lived in constant fear and distrust because someone they lived with could suddenly become a Heartless, destroying the world and killing people. Without Heartless, the world would be peaceful, right? Everyone would live happily without any worries, right?But such a world rarely comes. In reality, the crazy Heartless attack power plants, so electricity isn’t properly supplied. Life is tougher because of them. I don’t even like calling them Heartless. It’s a brain issue, so they should be called Brainless. Why call them Heartless? Mental zombies would be a better nickname. Heartless sounds too light, like someone who got dumped. In reality, they kill people without a second thought.I work at the ‘Special Disaster Prevention Agency,’ which finds and informs hunting companies about Heartless outbreaks and handles the aftermath. Heartless are classified by danger level from A to G, and I handle the lower danger levels from A to C. So I didn’t expect any major problems at work.Byunghee thinks it’s okay if I get fired because I have a side job, but it’s really just pocket change. I started it because I liked it, so I didn’t care about the money. If I get fired, I need to find a job immediately to survive. No, I need to do that to keep doing what I love.But damn it, an E-grade Heartless. Damn, what bad luck. Not even a D-grade. I grumbled as I walked, staying alert. Despite the lack of electricity, the streets and buildings were filled with blue lights that Heartless hated, making the night safer.Still, I didn’t let my guard down and held my flashlight tightly like a lifeline. You never know when or where a Heartless might jump out and swing a knife. These days, there are even robbers pretending to be Heartless, so flashlights are designed as long sticks for self-defense.The batteries, which have become expensive, require three, and honestly, losing this flashlight is scarier than the Heartless. But if I get fired, I won’t have money to buy batteries, so I won’t be able to carry it. Just as I was feeling a surge of sadness, I saw someone crouching inside the apartment entrance.What the…? Startled, I instinctively stepped back and pressed myself against the wall. Was it a Heartless? The blue lights illuminating the area made him look even more eerie. I squinted, trying to figure out who he was. It didn’t take long.At least he wasn’t a Heartless. Blue light was coming from his hand. He had a flashlight like me. But why was he crouching there? Then it hit me. He was at the emergency flashlight station. Oh, so he didn’t have a flashlight… wait, no. He was holding a flashlight. And he was using it to shine on the emergency box and remove the batteries!Yes, he was a thief. A very sneaky one. Even though electricity was scarce and batteries were expensive, people didn’t touch the emergency flashlight batteries. No matter how much survivors fought, stole, and caused chaos, they united against the common enemy, the Heartless.No one would crouch in front of a locked emergency box and unscrew the lid with a screwdriver. I watched in disbelief as he skillfully removed the batteries from three of the four emergency flashlights and stood up. He left one flashlight, probably out of a tiny bit of conscience, but still, he was a shameless thief…Huh? He was tall. He had broad shoulders. I hated to admit it, but he had a good physique. Could he be handsome too? I felt uneasy. He stopped a few steps away under a streetlight, seemingly checking the stolen items. I stepped out from my hiding spot, craning my neck to see his face. He must look sneaky. No, he had to. If he had a decent face, it would make me angry. And then he turned his face.…I was very angry. He had a clean face, even though he had a double eyelid on one side, making him look a bit uneven. Wow, what a shameless guy. If you have good genes, you should be grateful and live well, but he was so greedy.Gasp!The thief suddenly turned his flashlight towards me. Startled, I quickly stepped back. I thought our eyes met for a moment. But it might have been my imagination. I quickly hid in the darkness. The light barely missed where I had been.I pressed myself against the wall, clutching my pounding heart. He seemed to be looking in my direction for a while, but then the light disappeared. Phew, that was close. Wait, I didn’t do anything wrong, so why am I hiding? The one who’s wrong is that conscienceless guy, no different from a Heartless.Although I was furious, I stayed hidden until I heard his footsteps fading away. Yangsimless, as I dubbed him, was very cautious and took a long time to leave. I cautiously peeked out. He was turning to walk inside the apartment. Under the blue safety lights, his tall stature and good physique were visible again. Wow, isn’t it a waste to have that height, that body, and that face?Thanks to Yangsimless, I felt sober and wide awake when I got home. Though I didn’t mind staying up late since tomorrow was a holiday, his presence made me want to work. How can someone with such good looks and height live like that? He could be perfect with that appearance!I turned on my laptop. Normally, I avoid using it to save electricity, but now I wanted to type away furiously. I wanted to write a story, my hobby and side job that Byunghee envied. What kind of story? Although it would be nice if it were a hard-boiled action story about the ruthless world of back-alley men, it’s actually a sweet romance. A beautiful love story filled with my long-held dreams and fantasies, though Byunghee called it vomit-inducing fantasy.Thud. Siwoo was working frantically when he dropped his file on the floor. Oh no, my file! Siwoo hurriedly turned, but the rainbow-colored documents inside were already fluttering all over the place.“Wi Siwoo, are you trying to turn the office into a flower garden?”Siwoo, who was picking up the documents, blushed and stood up at the sound of the throbbing voice.“Man, Manager Kim.”Manager Kim, who had somehow started helping him pick up the papers, was standing there. Siwoo suppressed his racing heart and asked bluntly, trying to sound indifferent.“What flowers are you talking about in an all-male office?”“There are no flowers, but why are butterflies landing?”Manager Kim smiled as he handed over the rainbow-colored documents.“Just a moment ago, it looked like butterflies were flying around you.”“That’s not funny, Manager.”“Shall I tell you something really unfunny? Your team achieved the management performance goal first this month. You’re always number one. You’ve been staying late at the office. Aren’t you working too hard?”That’s because you are here at the office, Manager. Siwoo thought to himself and just bowed his head slightly. He should not show any interest in the Manager. No, he should not give his heart to him at all. Siwoo thought nothing could happen between the tall, handsome, well-mannered, gentle, and perfect Manager Kim and himself. But Manager Kim watched Siwoo’s retreating back with longing eyes until he disappeared.“Oh, this is great. If Manager Kim and Siwoo start a precarious flirtation, the readers will go crazy.”The editor smiled contentedly after reading this week’s installment of my serialized novel. Then she asked the question she always did.“Will Manager Kim and Siwoo end up together?”I gave my usual reply.“Well, who knows.”The editor gave her usual awkward smile. Beneath it was a genuine ‘Again?’“Isn’t it about time they get together? More than ten guys have flirted with the protagonist. Isn’t it time for a romance?”That’s right. My novels are always about flirting but never about actual romance. Because I haven’t found the perfect match yet.“More than ten, you say. Two went abroad, one died of cancer, and another was a lost twin. They don’t really count as flirtations.”“…Well, if you say so, Ms. Writer. Your unique style has a niche following after all.”Instead, it’s not popular enough to make money. These days, the world doesn’t care about same-sex romance, but my stories aren’t popular mainly because of their content.“By the way, Ms. Han, your dialogues seem to get cheesier by the day. This week’s installment was especially cringe-worthy.”I tried to keep a straight face and not smile at her praise. Being called a writer while freely indulging in childish and glittering settings and dialogues I loved—it was why I visited the publishing house once a month despite not being a popular writer. Initially, they weren’t too pleased with my visits due to low viewership, but after over a year of consistent serialization and shamelessly showing up, we became quite friendly.My stories got more attention, though not because they were fun. The content was so childish, and new love interests kept appearing, making people curious enough to check them out. They wanted to see who the protagonist would end up with. As a result, 90% of the feedback consisted of cursing, 5% were people feeling sorry for the cursed-out writer, 3% found it moderately entertaining, and 2% genuinely loved my writing.“The current Manager Kim seems nice. He’s got manners, looks, height, a good body, and lots of money. Readers are expecting a perfect match finally showing up. What do you think?”“Well, who knows.”The editor chuckled at my reply, nodding.“Right. Now that I think about it, it might be disappointing if the protagonist actually falls in love. By the way, since you’re here, why don’t you take your fan letters?”Every month, when I visited the publishing house, the editor handed over the collected fan letters. Due to the high cost of electricity, fan letters that used to come via screens now appeared in physical form. Not many, of course. Just one. Strangely enough, there was one die-hard fan who sent me a letter every month.This month’s letter was no exception; it was from that avid fan. Identifiable at a glance by the plain white envelope and cute, childlike handwriting. But what made SDE special was the content.SDE’s letters were purely about my writing. Usually, people would mix in a bit about themselves, but SDE focused entirely on my stories. Especially showering praise on the protagonist, Siwoo, who was the main reason my novels received so much hate and lost readers.Enthralled by a protagonist who only flirts, is timid, and keeps pushing away handsome suitors with a fortress-like demeanor—SDE was the only one who liked Siwoo. And there was another reason why this fan was special.“Once again, it’s a letter from SDE. Open it quickly.”The editor urged me expectantly. I opened the letter with anticipation mixed with dread. Inside was a letter filled with dense writing and another piece of paper. It was that. I nervously unfolded the paper. And, as expected, the editor’s reaction came.“Pfft! …Ahem, heh heh …Ahem.”The editor turned her face away, trying to suppress her laughter. I wanted to do the same. But the shocking drawing in front of me held my gaze. Yes, this avid fan always sent a drawing of Siwoo with the letter. Though I was grateful, it inevitably made me wince.Did they draw with their feet again? The drawing skills were consistently terrible. At one point, I seriously wondered if it was a high-level anti-fan. In the novel, Siwoo was portrayed as a seductive beauty who could captivate any man, but the Siwoo in the drawing looked like someone who would remain single until 100.“This middle schooler seems to have improved since last time.”The editor guessed the avid fan was a middle schooler, judging by the drawing skills, the somewhat clumsy handwriting, and the frequent spelling mistakes.“Improved? Are you serious?”When I showed the drawing, the editor stifled a laugh at my expression.“Look, they’ve even tried to depict the office with partitions, a copier, and a break room door at the end.”The avid fan always depicted a scene from the novel in their drawings. Looking closely, the office scene was quite believable.“True. A middle schooler knows about break rooms. The phone is a keyphone.”“Oh, with so many buttons, it really is a keyphone. Do middle schoolers know about these things these days?”“Maybe they’re not a middle schooler.”“No way…”The editor spoke firmly but then trailed off, looking at me. Why? I asked, and she looked at me intently.“Well, no one would have guessed the writer is a man in his 20s.”I gave an awkward smile. She was right. My stories might have male protagonists, but they were filled with clichés, featuring prince-like men, and elements of melodramatic dramas.“But this fan definitely isn’t an adult male.”They better not be. I couldn’t imagine an adult male being inspired by my stories and drawing with ink blobs. It should be a middle school girl drawing with pen stains on blank paper… wait, even that doesn’t make sense. Confused, I stood up, and the editor suddenly asked.“Have you thought about adding a villain to your story?”“I have a villain every time a new guy shows up. The supporting characters who like the same person and bully the protagonist.”“Not those roles,” she shook her head.“A villain who likes the protagonist.”“That’s already been done too…”“But they all had poor conditions. Short, no money, bad temper. This time, try adding a villain with good conditions. Perfect but bad like Manager Kim. It could make Manager Kim stand out more, and the protagonist might finally get to date. What do you think?”It sounded reasonable, but I didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to introduce a villain easily. And I was suspicious of the editor’s intentions.“Isn’t it just because you like bad boys?”“Ahaha-”The editor laughed but then called out to me as I turned to leave.“Bad boys are so attractive!”What attraction? A bad guy is just a bad guy. The bad boys in movies and novels aren’t truly bad; they’re just show-offs with superficial charm. Real bad guys are either scammers who ruin lives by swindling money and guarantees, sadistic abusers under the guise of love, or selfish narcissists who only care about themselves.If such a character were paired with the protagonist, it would be chaos. Even without the guarantees, Manager Kim in real life would be the worst in the novel. So the charming bad boys the editor talks about are all fake. I wouldn’t want such characters in my perfect novel where the protagonist lives a popular life without Heartless or power shortages.So what if my novel isn’t very popular? I get a salary… damn, I might get fired. The grim reality weighed down on me. That wasn’t all. On weekends, I had to run like crazy to catch the one-hourly train. What? I was already late even if I flew.I looked at my watch and glanced around. With power shortages, car usage had decreased. How did people get around? Just fine. Walking, biking, taking the few buses and trains available. Three years ago, a sudden increase in Heartless led to large-scale attacks, plunging the world into darkness.People worried about how to survive, but no animal adapts better than humans. Walking and biking increased, making people healthier, and industries using eco-friendly energy made leaps in progress. But it’s still not widespread, so energy remains painfully expensive.Without a bike, I had to run to catch the train. After running for a while, I stopped, panting at an intersection. The deserted downtown on a weekend reminded me of the Day of Hell years ago. Remnants of that time still lingered.To get to the subway quickly, I had to go right, but that was a controlled area with half-destroyed buildings. Though the world was recovering quickly, the lack of energy slowed reconstruction. The controlled area to the right was one of those places. There were chest-high barricades blocking the path, as debris from collapsed buildings could fall at any moment.I looked between the barricade and my watch. If I missed this train, I’d have to wait an hour. The decision was quick. I looked around and climbed over the barricade into the controlled area. The path was covered with debris and dust, but there were traces of others who had taken the shortcut. I followed the trail left by my predecessors, weaving through the wreckage. Just halfway more to go…Bang!A sudden thunderous sound echoed through the ruins. I was momentarily startled but quickly recognized it as gunfire. Since the rise of Heartless, the firearms industry had grown significantly. Guns were no longer unfamiliar. But firearms could only be used against Heartless. So there was a Heartless nearby.I was about to flee but hesitated. Should I keep running forward? But there was still half the distance left. Then go back the way I came… it was a hassle. Plus, I was curious about the situation. I clutched my pounding heart and carefully approached the source of the sound. I took out my safety light and extended it into a long stick.The blue light was useless in daylight, but it had become a habit to grab it first. The gunfire was close, so I soon reached the scene. I immediately hid. Two men were grappling in a small open space. Specifically, they were fighting over a pistol.I decided to watch the situation from my hiding spot. I was afraid of getting hit by a stray bullet if I stepped in, and I couldn’t tell who the Heartless was. The blue light, which could reveal a Heartless, had a disadvantage in bright daylight, as it needed to be very close to be effective. And I couldn’t step in and shine the light while the two men, who were similarly built, were fiercely fighting over a gun.They were fighting savagely, unaware of my presence. It was truly brutal. What if that gun went off and I got hit? I should just run… But then everything seemed to stop. No, it felt like that. The fight between the two men grew fiercer, but identifying the Heartless didn’t matter anymore. My gaze was fixed on the man in the suit. It couldn’t be helped.He’s handsome! Really handsome! Not the delicate, pretty boy type that’s popular among women, but a manly handsome with a chiseled jaw and piercing eyes. The kind of face that looks like it could be holding a razor in a magazine ad, giving a fierce look. Most importantly, he looked exactly like the Manager Kim I imagined while writing my novel. My heart started racing. Seeing someone like that in real life!* * *Thud!The two men fighting in the ruins tumbled to the ground. They hit the ground hard, but both sprang up as if in a contest. They simultaneously looked for the gun that had flown out of their hands. The gun was only a few steps away from them. However, unlike their quick rise, neither of them immediately ran for the gun.They both took a step towards the gun but then stopped. Someone closer to the gun was reaching for it. Very slowly. The movement was almost in slow motion. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off him, and by the time the two men realized it, the gun was in the hands of a third person. One of the men spoke up, looking at the intruder.“Who are you?”The man in the sports jacket eyed the newcomer warily. The man holding the gun looked at it curiously, as if seeing it for the first time. He seemed like a passerby who had picked up the gun. About 175cm tall with an average face.“Hey, who are you?”The sports jacket guy asked again, and the average man looked up.“Han Jemyung.”Both men frowned. The average man seemed to think his explanation was lacking and added.“I live in Gaebong-dong.”“……”“……”“If you stretch it, Garibong-dong.”The atmosphere turned awkward. The man in the suit’s eyebrow twitched slightly. The sports jacket guy openly frowned.“Give me the gun.”The sports jacket guy held out his hand. The average man seemed like someone who could be easily persuaded if not for his strange sense of humor. He cautiously took a step closer and quickly added.“I’m a police officer. I’m here to catch a Heartless. That guy is the Heartless. It’s dangerous, so give me the gun.”But Han Jemyung only glanced at the man in the suit. The man in the suit was glaring solely at the sports jacket guy.“Don’t talk nonsense.”“Whether I’m talking nonsense is for him to decide. That gun is mine. Give it to me. That guy looks fine, right? He’s an E-grade Heartless. He might be talking normally now, but his mind is completely gone. The only thing left in his mind is how to kill others…”The sports jacket guy stopped talking. His expression hardened. His eyes followed Han Jemyung’s movements. He watched as Han Jemyung handed the gun to the man in the suit.“Here.”As he handed over the gun, the man in the suit finally looked at the intruder properly. Why is he giving me the gun? The guy who claimed to be a police officer, most people wouldn’t ignore that. Why choose me? The man in the suit wanted to ask but decided to deal with the sports jacket guy first.“Damn it, bastard.”The sports jacket guy confessed his love for dogs and started to run. But before he could take a few steps, a loud gunshot rang out. The man in the suit had already grabbed the gun and shot him in the head. Thud, his head shattered like a watermelon, and the remains scattered in the air. The headless body fell to the ground a beat later. Among the red blood on the ground, blue brain fragments were visible. Evidence of a Heartless. When they go mad, their brain tissue turns bluish.“How did you know?”The man in the suit finally asked.“You have a nice voice.”“What?”The man in the suit didn’t hear properly and asked again, but Han Jemyung blinked as if he hadn’t said anything. The man in the suit looked puzzled and asked again.“How did you know I wasn’t a Heartless?”“…Because you’re handsome.”“What?”“No. The gun. That’s not a police-issued weapon. It looks similar, but the government wouldn’t issue something that expensive.”“Excuse me for a moment.”Suddenly, the man in the suit took out a small safety light, like a pen, and shone a blue light in Han Jemyung’s eyes. It was suspicious to doubt the person who saved him, but Han Jemyung’s eyes sparkled. When the man in the suit quickly passed the light over, Han Jemyung asked.“You can check for an hour if you want.”“That’s a funny joke.”While the man in the suit, who had been serious, looked puzzled, he shone the blue light in his own eyes to confirm.“Thank you, Han Jemyung from Gaebong-dong.”He thanked him and approached the sports jacket guy’s body. He started searching his clothes. The Heartless he encountered today was an E-grade but spoke and acted like a normal person. This was rare. The man in the suit thought he needed to gather information first and was absorbed in collecting data when he finally turned his head.Enough time had passed for him to leave, but the person who helped him was still standing there. Did he smile? Was it an illusion? The man in the suit wondered but dismissed the thought when he saw the other’s serious expression. There was no reason for him to smile at him.“Han Jemyung.”Gulp. The other man’s expression hardened as if he was nervous. Well, an ordinary person would be flustered in this situation. The man in the suit asked gently.“Are you okay?”“Yes. Are you a Heartless hunter?”At Han Jemyung’s question, the man in the suit nodded. He smiled and handed over his business card.“If you need anything, please contact me.”‘CEO of 4K, Na Jinwook’* * *― Amazing! This is huge! Absolutely huge!Byunghee’s texts kept coming in on my phone. He usually only uses electricity for his gaming console, lights candles, and sends texts that are exactly 80 characters long to save battery.― We’re saved! I can keep getting my salary!― So, they’re accepting our E-grade case? You saved his life, so of course, he’ll help, right? Right?― He’s not a scammer, right? He’s really the CEO of 4K, right?!I shared the good news with the excited Byunghee.― Battery low.After sending that, I held down the power button to turn off my phone. Now Byunghee would spend the entire weekend in a cycle of wild fantasies and worries. This was the price for his reckless promises to the manager. Of course, there was a bigger price. He might faint if he found out I hadn’t asked CEO 4K for any favors.But I really couldn’t say anything. By the time I came to my senses, I was already at the subway station. I only remembered looking at the business card and turning away without a word. I should have at least said thank you, or that I had a favor to ask, or that I would contact him soon.Regret hit me, but only briefly. The joy of experiencing a coincidence worthy of a protagonist overshadowed all other emotions. I was grinning so much on my way back to the apartment that someone might have reported me as a Heartless. But I am a person of reality. The noise around me pulled me out of my daydream.“Look! It’s gone again!”“They took the batteries again, didn’t they? Right?”“How shameless do you have to be to take the batteries from the emergency lights, huh?”Emergency, shameless. Those two words hit my ears hard. Sure enough, the noise was coming from the apartment entrance. The same place where Yangsimless had been standing last night.“That’s why we should at least keep the CCTV on here.”“I told you, the budget…”“Then have someone guard it!”“We did. But they come and take it when no one’s around. I don’t even know when they took it last night.”I watched the security guard and three women vent for a moment before deciding to do something uncharacteristic. I was in a very good mood. Good enough to tattle.“It was around 11:48 PM last night.”All four heads turned to me simultaneously. Especially the three women, who approached me with intense looks.“You saw it, young man? Did you see who it was?”“Yes. It was dark, so I didn’t see clearly, but…”“What did he look like?”“He was a young man. His age…”“About 28 years old?”The exact number was odd, but he did look like he was in his late 20s, so I nodded.“Yes. And his face was quite…”“Handsome, but with sharp eyes, and if you keep looking, he has an arrogant vibe?”Did he really?“I’m not sure about that…”“How tall?”“He was tall…”“Just over 190cm, a regular at the nearby Gold Medal Swimming Pool, has a good body, but a terrible temper and shameless?”I learned the value of concise questions. Why was this woman asking so many detailed questions?“I’m not sure about that…”“See? He definitely saw him.”I was a bit flustered. But the three women surrounded me, not giving me a chance to explain, and the situation ended in a flash.“I knew it was 1406! I knew it!”“Who else could it be but 1406?”“No need to stay here. Let’s go to 1406 right now!”As they disappeared, I felt a small pang of regret. If I could contact the resident of 1405, I could tell them there was a good show happening right now.“This won’t be easy either.”I looked at the security guard, wondering what he meant. He shrugged at me.“1406 isn’t an ordinary person.”If Yangsimless was stealing emergency light batteries, he certainly wasn’t ordinary.“Has 1406 stolen things more than once?”I remembered seeing warning notices frequently over the past few weeks.‘There is an issue with the emergency light box at the apartment entrance. Please carry your personal safety lights.’And it turned out it was the work of a fellow resident.“There have been suspicions, but we’ve never caught him in the act. Even if we did, 1406 is tough to deal with. This time, there’s a witness, so the residents’ association will come down hard…”The security guard’s gaze lingered on me. Why did he look so sympathetic?“Is 1406 a difficult person?”“It’s more about the aftermath…”“Aftermath?”“Yes. The aftermath is just…”“…”“I’ll keep quiet about you living in Building 205.”He patted my shoulder. I looked between my shoulder and him.“Does 1406 retaliate against people who point out his mistakes?”Tap, tap.“If you really want to testify, go to the management office and find the head of the residents’ association.”“If I really decide to testify…”Tap, tap. Before I could finish, he patted my shoulder again, with a look full of pity.“If you end up moving, I won’t charge you for the elevator use.”“…”How much of a grudge does he hold that I might have to move? I looked again in the direction the women had disappeared.“How did you know I live in Building 205?”“It’s my job to see the residents who pass by here every day.”“So you must know the resident of 1406 well?”Tap, tap.“…”I received more encouragement in three minutes than I had in my entire life before I could turn away. Just being involved with 1406 was enough to get sympathy. Was the guy in 1406 a monster? I remembered making eye contact with him last night and felt a chill, but I quickly pushed it out of my mind. I was in the dark, so he couldn’t have seen me. And the security guard promised to keep quiet, so there shouldn’t be any problems.I didn’t want this to ruin my day. It was the day I experienced a once-in-a-lifetime fateful encounter. Seeing the perfect model I had always imagined right in front of me. I wanted to add a new character to my novel right away. This time, my protagonist might actually get to date. My heart was already racing.Byunghee called me to a quiet place as soon as he got to work on Monday and then pressed me in disbelief.“You didn’t? You didn’t contact him? Why?!”“I wanted to look for other options first.”“There are no other options! 4K is our last hope!”“There’s also L&Y.”“They’re… out of the question.”“How do you know? Did you go and beg?”“…”“Really?”Byunghee pursed his lips and avoided my gaze. He must have been really desperate.“You begged on your knees, and they still refused?”“Why would I get on my knees?! …I just bowed and asked. But they wouldn’t even let me in the entrance.”“They’re a big company with tight security. Why didn’t you go to 4K?”“How do you know I didn’t?”“You just said it was our last hope.”“I didn’t not go. I couldn’t go. I couldn’t find their location.”Well, if they were exposed, they’d be the first targets of the Heartless. So most places have tight security like L&Y.“So you’re really our last hope. You got a business card from the CEO, right? He told you to contact him, right? Do it now. Don’t just stand there, do it now. Hurry.”“…”“Hey, why are you avoiding my eyes?”“Am I?”“See? You’re avoiding my eyes right now. Don’t think I don’t know that’s your habit when you don’t want to do something.”“It’s not that I don’t want to.”“Then?”“I just don’t want to contact him right away.”“Hesitate and you’ll lose your chance.”When I still didn’t move, Byunghee looked at me with pity.“Is this the time to be thinking about romance?”“Who said anything about romance? I just want to approach him carefully because he’s close to my ideal type.”“That’s the same thing.”“It’s different. I want to approach him out of admiration, not because I like him…”“Whether it’s romance or admiration, if you get fired and become a beggar, you’ll be worse than a stray dog.”He looked at me with pleading eyes. But I shook my head firmly after a moment.“I might get demoted, but I won’t get fired.”“Prepare your resignation.”Manager Kim quietly called us over and added a word.“I’m sorry.”His apology made Byunghee and me shiver. Manager Kim was different from usual. No loud voice, no swearing. His calm words made us even more anxious. He had been called by a higher-up since the morning, probably because of our issue.“Really? This isn’t even our fault…”Byunghee asked in shock, but the manager just kept smoking his expensive cigarette, which he only smoked once a week.“That’s how it is.”What do you mean, that’s how it is? Resignation? Really? Are you really telling us to resign?“Are you serious, sir? GM Week is just around the corner. No company fires employees before GM Week.”“I’m sorry.”His apology stabbed our hearts more painfully than any confirmation. As Byunghee said, no matter how bad we were at our jobs, it was customary not to fire anyone before GM Week. It wasn’t a rule, but it was GM Week. There was nothing crueler than making someone unemployed before that. Besides, is this really something to resign over?