Siwoo’s face crumpled as he looked at the man blocking his way.

“Stop bothering me and get lost.”

Sitting in front of the TV, Eunha stared expressionlessly at her cell phone.

‘What’s going on.’

Was he interested in 90s pop songs? Even though he wasn’t even born at that time?

‘……Unexpected.’

Setting her phone down, Eunha turned her gaze back to the TV, with the canned beer that Jehwi had filled the refrigerator with recently.

On the TV screen that covered the entire wall, a popular idol from the time was dancing and singing. Lyrics floated up in white subtitles above the camera view, spinning madly 360 degrees.

The idol reflected on the screen had his bangs sticking up, wearing distinctive orange goggles.

It might have seemed tacky at the time, but now it looked quite rustic. Eunha, who had been gulping down canned beer, froze.

‘……Am I in any position to think that way?’

Eunha glanced at the dress hanging in one corner of the living room. It wasn’t a design that could be called rustic. It was just very flashy.

If that dress had been red or yellow instead of black.

“…….”

Perhaps she should be grateful it was black.

Anyway, whether it was the stage costume worn by the 90s idol or the dress she was wearing and working in, they both seemed out of place in the current era.

Not long after, the front doorbell rang.

“Senior.”

It was Siwoo.

Considering the proximity of his residence, his arrival time was incredibly fast.

His blue eyes quickly scanned over Eunha’s shoulder into the room.

The turnedon TV. And the 90s pop song coming through the speakers. Siwoo’s face was tinged with faint relief.

“What’s the rush? It’s not over yet, so relax.”

Eunha let Siwoo into the house.

“Is it raining outside?”

Handing a dry towel to Siwoo, Eunha muttered. Siwoo accepted the towel with a flustered face. Even though he was wearing a hat, his hair was wet.

“……It seems so.”

Glancing at Siwoo, Eunha walked to the refrigerator and said,

“I was going to record the beginning, but I don’t know how to do it. And I don’t have a tape.”

“No, that’s fine. I don’t need the recording.”

Thank you for the towel. Siwoo, who had neatly folded the towel and placed it on the table, sat down in front of the TV with a more composed face.

“How’s your injury?”

“It’s just a scratch. I’m fine.”
Eun Ha’s words were indeed true; nothing appeared different on the surface.

It was fortunate, then. Siwoo, feeling relieved inside, turned his gaze for a moment.

“…….”

He discovered that the laptop on the dining table was turned on.

┖>□□: I really wish all the posers would drop dead, I hate looking at them

Everything he hoped she wouldn’t see was spilling over the faint glow of the monitor.

In front of Siwoo, who had become stiff on the spot, Eun Ha, placing a new can of beer, glanced at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“……Did you see it?”

Following Siwoo’s blue eyes, Eun Ha soon shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“Ah.”

Fsshh.

Eun Ha cracked open the can of beer and gulped down the cool carbonation. Wiping her wet lips with the back of her hand, she opened her mouth indifferently. Come to think of it, she had something she wanted to ask him.

“What’s a poser?”

At the straightforward question, Siwoo’s eyes were momentarily filled with confusion.

How to explain it, or whether to explain it at all. No small amount of worry seemed to swirl in his blue pupils.

“……I’m sorry.”

In the end, what came from his mouth was not any explanation, but a single word of apology.

Eun Ha, who had been tearing at dried squid, stopped her hand and looked up at him.

Siwoo was staring at the laptop.

Black pixels became sentences like thorns and poured into the white monitor screen.

It was a blade, and also an arrow. Poison that should have been directed at him and not her.

“What are you sorry for?”

“It’s my fault that you had to hear such words.”

“Why?”

“Because I hid your──.”

Because he wanted to hide in the shadows.

The words he could not quite spit out turned into dust and scattered into thin air. Siwoo firmly closed his mouth.

Of course, this was a ‘contract.’

Eun Ha had accepted the contract, and Siwoo had promised to pay a tremendous amount of money.

Originally, it should have ended there. Even if some disadvantage came to the other party after the contract’s stamp was affixed, he would not have cared.

However, the problem was that she was a firstgeneration Hunter.

The early upheaval of the Gate’s emergence. Hunters called the late 90s, when the gates first appeared, a dark and cruel time.

The darkness and horror of that era could be felt even by reading about it in books. If he were to live through that time right now, honestly, he didn’t think he could survive.

She who had overcome that era, and survived several years in an unknown gate before returning, was brought to the public by him.

Though it was an act of necessity, and he would pay a corresponding price, he still felt he was tarnishing the honor of a firstgeneration Hunter.

Only for his own goals.

It was, unexpectedly, not sitting well with him.

“If you haven’t acted against the contract, you don’t need to apologize.”

Her profile, holding a can of beer, was utterly serene.

“Do you need to care about people’s reactions every single time? They are insignificant people who don’t help in clearing the Gate or fulfilling the contract.”

“Hunter’s reputation greatly influences their activities. If public criticism towards you doesn’t die down, it might hinder future activities.”

Despite Siwoo’s words, Eun Ha’s expression remained unchanged. She simply looked at him intently.

“So?”

After a while, she opened her mouth, tilting her head slightly.

“Even so, you’re not going to cancel the contract, are you?”

“─I am.”

“Keep your head up.”

Suddenly, to Siwoo, who had almost pressed his forehead against the table glass, Eun Ha spoke succinctly.

“You are my contract partner. And the only one I can rely on in this unfamiliar modern world.”

“……Senior.”

“So you don’t need to bow your head. Not to me, nor to the public.”

Siwoo slowly raised his head and looked at Eun Ha.

“Don’t blindly apologize. Provide me with direction now. Isn’t that what you should be doing?”

Unwavering black pupils.
That firm gaze made Siwoo unable to bow his head any further, as if holding him firm, ensuring he had no reason to do so.

In the face of that gaze, Siwoo faintly realized the reason his heart felt so uncomfortable.

Perhaps it was because she was too dazzling to become a shadow, to be buried under the word ‘concept.’