According to Haneul, the third building in the complex was reserved for the hunters signed under the Association.

Entrance to the building was only available with an Association badge, which meant the press that were still eagerly waiting to bombard Sua with questions couldn’t do anything but watch her slip inside after Haneul, the door locking behind them and the windows tinted to prevent anyone from being able to look in.

As they traveled through the hallways, Haneul pointed out a handful of locations: a gym and training facilities, a gaming room and lounge, an indoor pool with hot tubs, on-location doctors, and (most importantly to Sua) the cafeteria.

“You can use any of the facilities while you’re staying here. That temporary badge the chairman prepared for you will get you everywhere except for the briefing rooms. You’ll also want some help before dealing with the gate simulator the first time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sua commented, thoroughly impressed by the entire operation. “Do all the hunters with the Association live here?”

“All of us have a dorm here, but some hunters only stay here while they’re on-call or if they have business nearby.”

Stepping off the elevator near the top floor, Haneul led Sua down a quieter corridor, stopping next to a door that didn’t have any signage on it. “This is your place while you’re here. Give it a try.”

Sua held her badge up to the lock, pushing the door open when the light flashed green. Her eyes widened as she stepped inside, taking in a room that was larger than most of the homes in Guryong Village.

A generous living room greeted her just past the door with a couch and an armchair facing an electric fireplace, a flat-screen television nestled above it. Sua slipped her shoes off on the mat inside the entrance, eyes sliding past the living room to where a small kitchen was settled on the left wall of the dorm, large windows showing a view of the park at the back of the Association complex.

“… this is huge.” Sua mumbled, walking past the table to poke her head in the bedroom that featured a large bed, yet another television, and a little sitting nook by the windows.

“I think it goes without saying that this is one of the nicest dorms in the building~” Haneul sounded amused from where she had stayed by the door, watching Sua look around. “The chairman wants to make a good impression.”

Just having a comfortable bed would have been a good impression based on Sua’s standards, but she turned back toward the main room with her unpracticed ghost of a smile, “He’s done that. Thanks for showing me around, I’m going to get some rest.”

“A well-deserved rest.” Haneul smiled in return, “There’s a directory in the drawer underneath the dorm phone. You can call straight to my room or the help line if something comes up. Have a good night, Sua-ssi.”

“You too, Lee-ssi.”

When the door closed and locked behind Haneul, Sua turned back toward the dormitory, letting out a quiet laugh of disbelief. 

To have all of this at her fingertips less than twelve hours after returning to Earth was beyond dizzying.

If she weren't so exhausted from the onslaught of new experiences, Sua might have found herself staying up all night from adrenaline and curiosity. As things were, her feet dragged slightly as she made her way through the bedroom and into the attached bathroom.

She was brought to a stop by the woman in the mirror, Sua’s eyes widening slightly as she studied her reflection.

As a child, Sua had mostly seen herself in the reflection of puddles or the basin where she would clean on particularly warm days. Her memories of her childhood were seldom about her appearance but, in her mind’s eye, Sua was a scrawny girl with short black hair and pale eyes. Despite the fact that Jae-sung would mention that she was a cute little sister, she did not think she was anything special.

It was hard to say if she was anything special now, but Sua thought she was… pleasant to look at, at the very least. 

Reaching up, she undid the hasty bun she had tied her hair into during the evaluation. Having cut it with a dagger shortly before leaving the Abyss, Sua’s hair now tumbled down to the small of her black, framing her delicate facial features. 

Leaning in closer to the mirror, she studied her eyes: pale pink at their brightest on the bottom of the iris, growing slightly darker along the way up and the color clouding at the very top of her eyes. 

Straightening once more, Sua slipped out of her clothes, letting them fall into a small laundry basket by the door. She was still slender, but no longer sickly so. While her skeleton was not peeking out from underneath her skin, Sua's hips and chest had only grown the barest bit during puberty.

A healthy flush grew on her cheeks as she turned on the shower and the heat began to fill the bathroom. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror, Sua stepped into the shower, letting out a delighted little laugh at how pleasant it was to have warm water tumbling down around her. 

After hearing the adults in the slums complain about missing the baths or showers they took when they were in better times, she used to imagine what it felt like to step into one. It was hard to find any word to use other than ‘incredible’ as she reached for the soap, washing away the dirt and grime from her fights with the ogres.

The towels hanging on a rack nearby were more lush than anything Sua had ever used to dry off before, and the waiting lotion left her skin softer than she had known it could be.

Leaving the bathroom, she dropped back-first onto the waiting bed, a slow smile curling onto the corners of her mouth as she sank into the sheets. 

Despite her fatigue, Sua’s gaze slid over to the television, the curiosity that had been eating away at her in the Abyss rearing its head once more. Given that hunters were celebrities, it was likely that she could find more information about Jae-sung fairly quickly. 

Having never handled a television remote before, Sua squinted at the sheer number of buttons before clicking the power button.

A newscast came on first with an anchor settled behind a desk. “The announcement of Korea’s third S-rank hunter came as a shock to the nation. Unlike many A and B-rank hunters of the past few years—whose abilities had been scouted by the major guilds prior to their evaluation—Hunter Ahn Sua seems to have appeared out of thin air.”

Sua changed the channel quickly, skipping past a K-drama to pause on the next newscast. This one had two anchors who seemed to be in a heated debate.

“It has been shown time and time again that you cannot assume a hunter’s specialization based on their appearance, Bak-ssi.”

“I’m not disagreeing with that, but we also have to acknowledge that there is still a statistically greater chance that a person of Hunter Ahn Sua’s size is a mage or a supporter. In fact, if you consider what the Association said about her work decreasing casualties in the break, including hunter ones, some sort of large-scale defense, stealth, or shielding ability is the most reasonable conclusion."

The first anchor gave a firm shake of her head, “It is just as likely that she formed an attack vanguard, especially since she was credited with helping to defeat the boss of the gate.”

Watching two strangers get paid to argue about what Sua did in a fight was a truly bizarre experience. Sua changed the channel again.

The next station looked a lot more promising. A bold title of "Hunter Watch" flashed across the screen as applause sounded from a studio audience. This show also had two hosts, but they sat in armchairs with topic cards in their hands, two guests settled at an angle opposite the hosts on a sectional.

“Thank you for joining us on Hunter Watch!” The host closest to the guests spoke first, gesturing at the couch, “As promised, we are joined today by two stars in the hunting field: the reliable supporter, Im Youngjae of Nightfall Guild; and the miracle alchemist, Yu Mi-Cha of Apollo Guild!”

As the crowd erupted into more applause, Sua took in both hunters curiously. With the role of a supporter, Im Youngjae would stand back behind the tank and the damage dealers, much like Ra Seoyeon did. Similar to Seoyeon, he was relatively unassuming at first glance: slender, black hair framing his face artfully, and a charming smile on his face. If he was popular… perhaps he was a healer?

Perhaps he had even healed her brother.

Settled next to him, the alchemist looked slightly more reserved, her smile small as she nodded in acknowledgment of the applause. If they were standing next to each other, Sua thought that the other woman might actually be shorter despite looking a few years older.

“Our regular viewers were expecting our scheduled power ranking, where we rank the top 10 hunters of the month in terms of skill and achievement.” The second host spoke up next. “However, we have decided to postpone the ranking due to extraordinary news.”

The sinking feeling in Sua’s stomach was only a few seconds ahead of the appearance of her face on the giant screen between the hosts and guests.

Picking up with the introduction, the first host spoke again, “Just this afternoon, the Hunter’s Association confirmed the registration of Korea’s third S-rank hunter. Age nineteen and hailing from Guryong Village in Gangam-gu, Hunter Ahn Sua is only the fourth S-rank to emerge globally this year.” Turning to the guests, he leaned forward slightly in anticipation, “What are your thoughts on this news?”

“It’s exciting, of course.” Yu Mi-Cha spoke first, the small smile on her face growing a bit. “Hunter Ahn Sua is the first female S-rank for our country, I’m sure she will be a role model for the rest of the rookie class this year. It is my hope that I have the chance to supply her with some of my potions if she goes on to raid the gates.”

Im Youngjae nodded enthusiastically at the mention of excitement. “It’s been almost six years since the last emergence of an S-rank in our country, so Korea has been lagging behind other countries on the world stage. This should show the world that you cannot count us out so easily.”

“As many have heard, Hunter Ahn Sua stated that she had not made a decision on joining a guild thus far. Will Nightfall be working to recruit her?” Host two asked.

The supporter laughed softly, “I am sure most guilds have already started recruitment efforts, but few have the resources to support a hunter of her caliber like Nightfall does.” Im Youngjae looked directly at the camera, grinning, “On the off-chance that Hunter Ahn is watching this broadcast, I'm personally in no position to make a formal offer, but I can guarantee-”

Stifling a sigh, Sua changed the channel again—

“Is Hunter Ahn Sua single? All signs point to yes!”

—and again—

“The Hunter’s Association is yet to confirm Hunter Ahn’s class. Viewers have weighed in with their guesses…”

—and again…

“The lack of surveillance cameras in Guryong Village means our reporters are currently in the field, looking for witnesses who can confirm details of Hunter Ahn’s involvement with the gate break. One witness claims that the S-rank carried him on her back all the way to the nearby international school.”

Admitting defeat for the night, Sua turned off the TV with a groan, “… I’m on every channel.”

Something soft dragged through her hair, warmth brushing against Sua’s scalp in a familiar, affectionate gesture. It brought a sense of peace as she focused on the comfort of her shadow. “I’m alright, just a bit overwhelmed. Things are more complicated than I expected.”

In response, her hair was flicked across her cheeks as if in disagreement. 

Huffing a laugh—and ignoring the strange sense of homesickness that washed over her at the fact that they can’t converse as they did in the Abyss, she expanded a bit more, “I’m not moping or anything, I’m mostly just tired. A lot happened today.”

The duvet on her bed shifted, the shadows carefully pulling it out from underneath her before covering Sua in it, much like Jae-sung had done when she was young. Her eyelids grew heavy as she relaxed against the pillows.

"Before I fall asleep, I need your help investigating this place."

A question mark formed in shadows on the opposite wall.

"Lee Haneul: keep track of where she goes and who she talks to. The chairman, Kim Dae-Hyun, I want to know anything he does in relation to me." She trailed off for a moment, wracking her brain for anyone else she needed to look into, "... Ra Seoyeon as well, I'm curious about her. I think that's it for now."

The question mark splintered into pieces, the shadows racing away from the wall to vanish from her room as they spread through the building, across the complex, and into the city of Seoul.

Sua only kept track of them for a few seconds before letting her attention narrow to her new bedroom. Having a proper bed was nice, it made a little bit of the hurt from her hard childhood on the streets ease slightly. Sua drifted off to sleep within minutes.