The party had been sitting in silence for the better part of an hour. 

Ever since the Association hunters had finished debriefing them in the hospital, Ra Seoyeon, Gim Changmin, and Sang In Ho hadn't said a word to each other.

Since they first joined up as a trio, nearly six months ago, Seoyeon couldn't remember a time when more than ten minutes went by without some sort of comment or joke. Their easy camaraderie had been the reason why they worked so well as a team, why they had so many successes as a small novice party without so much as a minor guild to support their backs. 

Not that they had ever entertained an offer from one of the smaller guilds. 

As the son of a business mogul, Changmin's family pride wouldn't allow him to join anything other than one of the top guilds in Korea. For him, it was Nightfall or nothing. 

In Ho was in a similar position to Seoyeon. Both of their families had scraped and save to afford their starter equipment, betting on the success of their awakened children to financially support the family in the future. 

Seoyeon sent nearly half of her earnings back home every month, and she knew that In Ho—with his five younger siblings and sick father—sent home even more of his. A small guild's paycheck wouldn't pay back the sacrifice of either of their families: they simply had to make it big. 

But... even if it was just temporarily, maybe spending some time in a small  guild would have taught them enough to have retreated from the gate as soon as things seemed unusual. 

They had almost died today.

Even now, nearly thirty minutes away from the gate that had already been closed, Seoyeon's hands wouldn't stop shaking.

The bone-deep terror she had felt when their attacks had bounced off the ogre, when it had charged directly towards her with single-minded killing intent, it was all too fresh in the forefront of her mind. 

If they hadn't met up with that other hunter, Seoyeon's family would have received a letter with a small compensation payment for the lose of their daughter. 

She would have paid back everyone's faith in her with utter heartbreak.

"... maybe we should see if a small guild will give us a monthly contract." In Ho was the first one to break the silence, his usual even voice wavering slightly as he stared down at his hands. "Having some more experienced hunters around could help us."

Changmin's jaw clenched, "We had an unlucky break today. That doesn't change the good work we've done up until now."

Seoyeon liked Changmin, she really did. In some ways, he made the ache of missing her siblings ease just a little bit with their friendly banter. However, this was a matter of life or death and friendship had to come second to staying alive. 

"Oppa... you would've lead us to our deaths today if Sua-ssi hadn't been around. That does change things, it has to."

He scowled at her, "I didn't hear you protesting any of my orders."

She flinched slightly—it was embarrassing how blase she'd been when, objectively, she knew that gates were incredibly dangerous. "In Ho voiced concerns and you brushed them off. I was trusting your leadership, but I guess now I have to start questioning things too."

Slamming his hand on the table, Changmin got to his feet, starting to pace in their small hospital room. "It was a complete fluke. I've led us through a lot of success. I even overlooked the fact that your growth as a mage has the most ridiculous limit I've ever heard of!"

Anger and shame warred in Seoyeon's system as she stared at Changmin. 

To think she had been mindlessly following a man who couldn't own up to his mistakes, even after an absolute catastrophe. The fact that he would throw her one insecurity in her face just to avoid taking responsibility made her look at him entirely anew. 

The person she thought Gim Changmin was, and who he actually was, seemed to be two different people right now. 

"... Changmin, you're the one with the lowest rank out of the three of us. I don't understand why-"

"Shut up!" He snapped, face turning red as he glared at her, "You know damn well I just need more combat experience to be B-rank!"

The silence that fell between them after that was a much heavier silence, one filled with hurt, disbelief, and an anger bordering on rage from their party leader. 

Once again, In Ho broke the silence as he cleared his voice, pointing at the television mounted on the wall, "Guys, look."

Turning in her seat, Seoyeon glanced up at the TV, her eyes widening at the sight of Sua standing in front of a crowd of reporters at the evaluation center. The lower-third on the screen was shocking: New S-rank hunter announced in Korea.

"S-rank..." Seoyeon mumbled. "We met an S-rank hunter..."

"... and we tried to save her from a group of mob ogres." In Ho mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed, "How ridiculous of us."

Seoyeon rubbed at her temple, trying not to think of how she had bragged about being a B-rank to such a hunter. "We're just lucky she came in the gate with us. Better embarrassed a bit than dead."

The television turned off, Changmin tossing the remote on his bed. "She shouldn't have lied to us about who she was, stop acting like she was a saint."

She frowned slightly, running their conversations back in her head, "She didn't lie, she never said her rank was low or anything. We just assumed."

"Well she doesn't have anything to do with this party's future, does she? We were having a conversation about whether the two of you are going to quit and join a small guild or if you'll stay in this party."

"I didn't say anything about quitting!" Seoyeon couldn't even imagine how long it would take her to find another party that was understanding of her limitations.

"Neither did I." In Ho rushed to add. 

After all, it was thanks to Changmin that they were able to send so much money to their families, seeing as he picked up the tab for all of their team meals. 

A knock on the door preempted Changmin's reply, all three of the hunters turning to look as a man in a crisp suit stepped inside. He swept his gaze over them, "Gim Changmin, Sang In Ho, and Ra Seoyeon, correct?"

Changmin nodded, "We already gave our stories to the Association, they said we were done."

"I'm not from the Association." The man closed the door behind him, "My name is Gan Yongsun, I'm a recruiter from Nightfall. We would like to offer the three of you contracts to join the guild."

That was... beyond difficult to believe. 

"Why?" The question left Seoyeon's mouth before she could think to phrase it a bit more politely. "Sorry, it's just, doesn't Nightfall usually recruit rookies right after the evaluation and then only scout people with extraordinary accomplishments after that window?"

He passed out slim leather folios to each of them in turn, "The three of you were part of the subjugation team for the gate break today. Our scouting chief heard the role you played and believes your talents will flourish better with our resources."

An ear-to-ear grin was on Changmin's face as he opened the folio, "Didn't I tell you two this would get Nightfall's attention? Do we even need to discuss this?"

Seoyeon stared down at her own folio, hating the fact that she didn't feel comfortable accepting the contract when it was offered so suddenly. "... I'd like to take some time to read it over."

"We appreciate careful consideration of the agreement. My business card is included in those folio's. The offer will stand for two weeks, give me a call when you're ready to discuss signing. There is also a number to call if you would like a full tour of headquarters and the amenities before making your decision." Dipping them a polite bow, the man left just as quickly as he appeared. 

Changmin rounded on Seoyeon immediately, "What is there to read over? We all agreed our goal was Nightfall and it just fell into our laps."

"It's been a really stressful day, Changmin. I need to get some rest before I consider a contract." Seoyeon got to her feet, her lingering fear suddenly replaced with exhaustion. "I'll see you two later."

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Park Jae-sung let out a soft sigh as he looked over the spoils from the fallen boss monster.

What a depressingly easy dungeon he'd been called to clear. Just the idea that Vietnam couldn't handle something so simple left him exasperated.

Before he could wallow in his frustration too much, a blue screen popped up in front of him

"Ahn Sua?" He murmured to himself, turning away from the loot items as the screen flickered away. In the back of his mind, an odd tingle accompanied the hunter's given name.

Perhaps the two of them had met before, or perhaps it was something else. Either way, he needed to get back to Korea.