As a leisurely weekend arrived, after finishing breakfast,
I sat at my desk and thought carefully about my ability.
The system window that had appeared out of nowhere had, along with some incomprehensible text,
forced information into my head, but thanks to that, I had become able to
use my ability and escape that situation.
“I’m really happy my ability manifested, but... what exactly is my ability?”
The information that had flowed into my head was as follows.
《 Innocent Flare 》
A power whose flames change in strength according to emotions.
I was relieved that I could use my ability now, even at this point,
but the system window I had seen back then was still lingering in my mind.
As I continued thinking while staring at the small flame burning at my fingertips,
the door opened with a knock, and Hayun came in.
“Suhan, come out and have some fruit.”
“Okay.”
Thinking about it now would only give me a headache, so I decided to ask Team Leader Kang Suhyeok later,
and went out to the living room to eat fruit with my friends.
“Suhan.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you feeling better now?”
Minjeong, who had been peeling apples with the teacher, asked me with a slightly worried look.
I picked up another piece of apple and ate it, then answered briefly, “I’m fine now.”
Originally, I had planned to wrap up the situation quickly and head straight to the shelter.
But I failed to do that and ended up collapsing, unable to wake up for three days,
so from the perspective of the kids and the teacher, it must have been an extremely worrying situation.
“That’s a relief.”
“But don’t push yourself next time.”
“Do you know how worried we and the teacher were when you didn’t come back...?”
“Sorry. Going back didn’t go the way I wanted.”
When Hayun grabbed my shoulder and asked what it had been like fighting the monsters,
I grimaced and answered that they were creatures I never wanted to meet again.
“Apparently, those monsters had a separate main body, so they kept multiplying.”
“Haa... I was wondering where they kept popping out from...”
The moments when I fought those monsters were still vivid in my mind.
Their sharp claws grazing my shoulder, my weapon breaking, and me fighting them with my bare fists.
As I was thinking that I never wanted to run into them again, my phone rang.
Bzzzz.
When I checked who was calling, Team Leader Kang Suhyeok’s name was on the screen.
I quietly got up from my seat, went into my room, and answered the call.
“How is your body?”
“I’m fine now.”
The team leader asked if I had time today, and said that if possible, he wanted to meet in person and talk.
When I answered that it was all right, he soon sent me a text with the place and time to meet.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
I opened my closet door and started looking through it to see what I should wear.
I wasn’t interested in clothes, but no matter what, I was going to meet someone,
so I couldn’t just throw on anything and go. Thinking that I should dress neatly,
I rummaged through my closet, but I couldn’t see anything suitable to wear.
“Hmm... What should I wear...?”
Because I wasn’t very interested in clothes, all I had were hoodies and tracksuits, so I was troubled over what to wear.
“Ah, right.”
“I can ask Jiyeong.”
The person I needed at times like this was Jiyeong.
Jiyeong was interested in clothes, and since she had already decided on a career in fashion, she would definitely be able to put together a neat outfit for me.
“Jiyeong.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you pick out some clothes for me?”
“Sure.”
“Are you going to meet someone?”
“Don’t tell me it’s a girl?”
“It’s not that... I just have someone to meet.”
“Got it. Let me see your closet.”
But the moment Jiyeong saw my closet, she let out a deep sigh.
Looking at the closet that had nothing but hoodies and tracksuits, her expression hardened, and she seemed to be wondering what on earth she could dress me in.
“When are you going to meet them?”
“Today.”
When I answered like that, Jiyeong let out another sigh as if she had given up in the end,
then borrowed clothes from the other kids and began holding them up against me one by one.
“Mm... This is the best one, at least.”
“Wear this with this.”
“Thanks.”
As expected, once Jiyeong picked out my clothes, I ended up looking incredibly neat.
“Later, you and I are going clothes shopping.”
“The other kids at least have a decent amount of clothes, but you have way too few.”
“Okay.”
And so, when the time came, I put on the clothes and headed to the meeting place.
The place I arrived at was a fairly large café, and after checking my phone once more to make sure this was the right place,
I quietly stepped inside.
“Over here.”
As soon as I entered the café,
Team Leader Kang Suhyeok, who had arrived first and was waiting, raised his hand from a seat in the corner and called me over,
and I politely greeted him before sitting down.
“I have quite a lot I’d like to talk about. Is that all right?”
“Yes, it’s fine. I actually have something I want to ask you too.”
“Good. Then let me introduce myself properly first.”
He held out his hand to me and introduced himself once more.
“I’m Kang Suhyeok, leader of Team 2 under the Tigers Combat Unit.”
I took his hand in both of mine and greeted him respectfully.
“My name is Lee Suhan.”
After finishing our introductions, we sat down and went straight into the conversation.
Team Leader Kang Suhyeok first expressed his gratitude for the last incident.
He said they had only later confirmed that there were civilians they had failed to evacuate at the time,
but thanks to me saving them, there had been no casualties, and he felt deeply ashamed about that point.
Then he quietly bowed his head, thanking me for protecting the people.
“I only did what I could.”
Next, I asked him something I was curious about.
“By the way, where do those monsters come from, and how?”
“People say they appear when space splits open, but I’ve never actually seen something like that myself.”
When I asked, he explained how the monsters appeared.
“It’s a little complicated to explain, but in short, you could call it spatial transference.”
“Spatial transference?”
Simply put, the monsters were beings sent through an ability by someone belonging to a hostile organization.
Most of the monsters that had appeared so far had shown up through spatial transference, and I asked whether they could appear inside buildings as well.
At that, Team Leader Kang Suhyeok explained that no such case had been reported yet.
Because there were certain restrictions on their appearance, monsters had only appeared in outdoor spaces or wide open areas so far.
However, he also made it clear that we must not let our guard down.
He added that the side sending the monsters was also continuously attempting changes, and no one could guarantee when or how their method might change.
“Next, I’d like to ask you something.”
He then began asking about my ability.
He said that at the time of the incident, two massive flame explosions had been observed in another area.
It seemed he wanted to confirm whether those were caused by my ability.
After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously nodded and admitted the truth.
“Uh... I guess you could say that’s right?”
“My ability has manifested now, but there were some circumstances.”
“I see. Among the team leaders like me, there’s someone who uses a flame ability like you, so I asked because I was curious.”
After taking a sip of my iced chocolate, I began asking him the thing I wanted to know most.
“Actually... I had a bit of a strange experience.”
“What was it?”
After thinking for a moment, I honestly told him that I had been an “incomplete ability user,”
and about the system window that had appeared at the moment my ability manifested.
Then I carefully asked whether the flame power I was using now was my own unique ability,
and whether there had been any cases similar to mine.
Team Leader Kang Suhyeok listened to my story to the end, then answered seriously with a slightly more hardened expression.
“I’d say that flame is probably your ability.”
“That system window is likely one of the unusual phenomena that appeared during the ability manifestation process.”
“Hmm... I see.”
When he asked if that answered my question, I replied that I thought it did,
and he took a sip of his Americano before immediately getting to the main point.
“I’ll be direct.”
“Would you join the Tigers?”
“Pardon...?”
“You want me to join the Tigers...?”
When he brought up something unexpected, I became a little flustered.
“Yes. Our Tigers need talented people like you.”
“If possible, I’d like to bring you into my unit. I’d like to ask whether you’re interested.”
No matter that I was an ability user, I hadn’t expected to receive a direct offer like this.
I had grown up without parents since I was young, living a quiet and peaceful daily life with the teacher and my friends.
For someone like me to join the Tigers felt as if an ordinary unemployed person had personally received a scouting offer from the chairman of a major corporation.
“I may be an ability user, but... I don’t think I’d be much help.”
“If you took down a hundred monsters alone, I think you’d be more than enough help.”
When I answered that I still wasn’t sure, he said he wasn’t asking me to answer right away,
and that it wouldn’t be too late to tell him after I’d made up my mind, so I should think it over slowly.
“Understood.”
This seemed like something I should discuss deeply with the teacher at least once.
“Ah, I nearly forgot.”
He took a paper envelope from inside his clothes and handed it to me.
“Take it. It’s a reward from our side.”
I looked at the paper envelope I had cautiously received and asked what it was.
At that, he said it was a token of gratitude for saving the people, and that someone called the chief team leader had personally asked him to deliver this reward to me.
Just what was inside?
I slowly opened the envelope.
And the moment I saw what was inside, my mouth fell open on its own.
“W-wait a second...!”
“I-is this right?!”
“Is it really okay for me to accept this...?!”
Inside the envelope were five checks worth one million won each.
A huge sum of five million won.
He answered as if it were only natural.
“Of course.”
“If it weren’t for you, there would have been casualties.”
I had barely even handled a fifty-thousand-won bill properly in my life, so suddenly receiving a one-million-won check left me extremely bewildered.
“Uh... Yes... Thank you.”
It was a very burdensome amount of money, but since it was being given as thanks, it would be rude to reject it carelessly, so I had no choice but to accept.
Then I carefully placed the envelope inside my bag so I wouldn’t lose it.
“Then I’ll see you again next time.”
“Yes. Think it over slowly.”
“Once you’ve made up your mind, let’s meet again then.”
After saying goodbye to him, I began heading back to the shelter,
pondering the offer he had made and wondering what I should do.