The shopping mall she'd brought me to.
True to the neighborhood's reputation, a massive shopping mall sat not far away.
As we pulled into the parking structure, a neatly uniformed attendant approached.
She stepped out of the car and handed over the keys with a light flick of her fingers.
The attendant bowed deeply and courteously, then drove the car off into the shadows.
Another attendant appeared without a sound.
He received her with a manner that was polished and entirely without excess.
Then he produced an elegant case from inside his jacket and carefully presented what looked like a pair of sunglasses.
Hm…? That's…
A perception-inhibiting device.
Right — she's famous, after all.
The hand that received the device was casual and graceful at once.
This kind of glamorous life felt foreign and awkward to me.
Hm…? Didn't I have plenty of money too?
I did.
Not that it compared to her wealth, of course. But I'd saved up a respectable amount.
The difference was, I was never this type.
My idea of luxury was grilling a mountain of ham without anyone complaining, or stacking the freezer with ice cream and eating it whenever I felt like it.
Ah… extravagant. Truly extravagant.
A wry smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
Well. That's all a distant dream now.
She led me — lost in thought as I was — through the entrance of the mall.
The automatic doors slid open, and cool, pleasant air-conditioned air hit my skin.
The faint scent of expensive perfume drifted past, and the lively noise of a crowd poured in around us.
Not just people, either — all manner of other races mixed in among them.
Anyway, she led me first toward the clothing section.
***
The moment we stepped inside, the distinct smell of new clothes tickled my nose.
Her eyes lit up as she turned to me.
"Shin-a, do you have any particular style or brand you like?"
"I don't really… know much about that sort of thing."
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
"Is that so? Then would it be all right if I picked out something that suits you?"
Her voice carried an energy that was hard to refuse.
I nodded and gave a short answer.
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Then first… just wait a moment!"
She bustled around the store, scanning this way and that, then approached a staff member and began asking something with a serious expression.
I sat down in a nearby chair and waited.
A moment later, she came back holding a piece of clothing.
"What do you think of this?"
A black sweatshirt — clean, unfussy design.
Even to my fashion-blind eyes it looked perfectly acceptable, so I just nodded.
"Try it on, then? I want to see how the size fits."
"Okay."
Honestly, changing in and out of clothes every few minutes was a genuine nuisance, but I couldn't ignore the goodwill of someone who was buying them for me.
I stepped into the fitting room and drew the curtain.
"……"
The moment I grabbed the hem of my shirt to take it off, I froze.
The silhouette reflected in the mirror felt strange and unfamiliar.
No — I'd seen it just yesterday. There's nothing strange about it…
A restless feeling stirred somewhere near my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and changed as quickly as I could.
The moment I pushed the curtain aside and stepped out, she let out a gasp.
"Oh…! Shin-a, it suits you so well!"
"Does it… really?"
She kept snapping photos, making a fuss.
Is it really that much?
My face burned every time the shutter clicked.
But the ordeal was only beginning.
The moment I came back out in my original clothes, she was already holding out something new.
"Try this one too."
"Okay."
Then another, and another…
Each time I went in and out of the fitting room, another shopping bag appeared at her feet.
By the time my legs had started to tremble, she held out one final item with an expression that was both careful and resolute.
"Last one… Shin-a, what do you think of this…?"
"This is…"
What she held out was something in an entirely different category from everything before — a light, flowy dress.
Unmistakably a garment made for a girl.
"This one is a little…"
A skirt.
I wasn't mentally prepared for this yet.
I was already stepping back to refuse when she caught my hand and held it firmly, looking up at me with a pitiful expression.
"Shin-a… just once… couldn't you try it on just once? Please?"
"Ugh… that's kind of…"
When I made my reluctance plain, she played her trump card.
"Th-then! If you just try it on, I'll grant you one wish — anything you want!"
"……!"
That was a tempting offer.
Something I'd been hoping for flashed through my mind.
I hesitated for a moment, then finally let out a sigh and snatched the dress from her hands.
"F-fine. Just once."
The words had barely left my mouth before she gave a thumbs-up.
A moment later.
Swish —
The fitting room curtain slid open, and I stepped out in front of her with careful, tentative steps.
The soft fabric brushing against my thighs and the strange emptiness around my lower half felt deeply, profoundly wrong.
"H-how does it look?"
But she didn't answer.
She just stood there, expression blank, staring into the middle distance.
The silence stretched on. Growing uneasy, I called out to her carefully.
"Hello…?"
That seemed to snap her back. Her pupils trembled violently, and a peculiar excitement spread across her face.
"It's… it's perfect…! Let's buy ten — no, a hundred!"
"What? No, that's way too—"
***
She walked ahead of us, both hands weighed down with shopping bags, smiling brightly as though she'd won the world.
"……"
I followed behind in silence.
I was still wearing one of the outfits I'd tried on earlier.
"So… is there anything our Shin-a wants? Or maybe… something you'd like to eat!"
She spun her head around to ask.
As if reminding me of her promise to grant my wish, her eyes were full of expectation.
I opened my mouth carefully.
"I… want a phone."
"……Oh! Right! Goodness… Shin-a doesn't have a phone right now!"
"Would it be all right if I… asked you for one?"
"Of course! Actually, no — this doesn't count as a wish. I'm just buying it for you. Save your wish for something better!"
Her breezy answer made me dip my head slightly.
"Thank you."
And just like that, we headed straight for the nearest electronics store.
***
"Here you go, Shin-a. What do you think?"
"…Thank you."
It was nothing like the drawn-out process of choosing clothes.
The moment she walked into the store, she pointed to the latest model without hesitation, and the payment was done in an instant.
"……"
The moment I took the phone out of the box, I realized something I hadn't anticipated.
A size that would have fit neatly in one hand before — in my smaller hands now, using it one-handed was going to be a challenge.
Still, the simple fact of having a phone made me genuinely happy.
It had only been one day since I'd woken up in this changed body, but going without a phone was more unsettling and inconvenient than I'd expected.
There was something else weighing on me, though.
This must have been expensive…
First the clothes, now the device — the weight of this debt I was accumulating pressed down on a corner of my chest.
"……"
I turned the phone over in my hands and pressed the power button.
The logo appeared, followed by the initial setup screen.
And then, out of nowhere, a very fundamental question surfaced in my mind.
"……?"
How do I activate it?
Getting a number required a name on the account, and a name on the account required a resident registration number.
But in my current state — could I prove my original identity?
No, more to the point — did an identity for "Shin-a" even exist in this world?
"Huh…?"
My lips trembled faintly with the shock of it.
She noticed my expression darkening and tilted her head as she came closer.
"Shin-a, what's wrong? Is it broken?"
"No, it's not that…"
"Hmm…?"
I looked back and forth between the phone screen and her face, then brought up the fundamental problem in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I… don't have an identity."
"Wha…?"
My out-of-nowhere confession made her eyes go wide.
She stared at me with a blank expression, and a brief silence settled over her face.
***
The shocking revelation that Shin-a had no legal identity wiped Jang-mi's mind completely blank.
A child who didn't legally exist.
"……"
Jang-mi bit her lip and thought.
How painful it must be for this frail girl standing before her — to be asked about her past.
The one who had spent the loneliest time of all was none other than Shin-a herself.
But to help this child, she had no choice but to ask.
Jang-mi spoke carefully, in a low voice.
"Shin-a. Your mother… what happened to her?"
"That's…"
The moment the question landed, the girl's large eyes widened for just an instant — then lost their footing and wavered weakly.
She's shaken.
'Oh no……'
The girl swallowed dryly and lowered her head.
"My mother… left me behind…"
The answer that slipped through those small lips was fragile and halting.
Before that sorrowful confession had even finished, Jang-mi quickly reached out and gently covered the girl's mouth with her hand.
"Mm…?"
"Shin-a. That's enough. You don't have to say any more."
She pulled Shin-a close and held her fully within her arms.
Then, with trembling hands, she stroked the girl's hair.
"……?"
Jang-mi held her there, feeling the girl's heartbeat against her own chest, and pressed her lips tightly together.
'How… how could a mother do that…? To this little child… this small, helpless child…?'
Something hot rose up from deep inside her chest.
***
"……?"
The question she'd thrown at me out of nowhere.
I'd answered vaguely to hide the truth, but for some reason, the moment she heard my answer, she pulled me into a hug.
"……"
Why…?
***
Jang-mi's steps leaving the shopping center were heavier than when she'd arrived.
Both hands were full of shopping bags, but the bright, carefree smile from earlier had vanished completely from her face.
"……"
"……"
Only silence filled the car.
Her profile as she gripped the steering wheel was somehow cold, a deep furrow carved between her brows.
The car drove along the road toward the Awakened Association.
Lucky, I supposed — the identity registration process for Awakened was far simpler than for ordinary people.
When the Gate crisis first erupted and chaos reigned, countless records were lost and systems collapsed, leaving no shortage of people with ambiguous identities.
How do I know that?
I was an orphan with no registered identity myself.
Anyway, from the state's perspective, whether someone had an identity or not, securing a talented individual with Awakened abilities came first.
Even now, with remnants of that era still in place, Awakened registration was as good as a new identity.
Before long, the Association building came into view.
A towering glass-walled high-rise that blazed in the sunlight.
It held authority on par with — or exceeding — city hall. The kind of place that felt like the heart of the city.
"Let's go, Shin-a."
Following her guidance, I stepped inside the Association building.
In the lobby, several high-ranking Awakened were visible at a glance — each radiating an unmistakably formidable presence.
And the woman beside me was no less than any of them…
No — she was the kind who radiated presence that outshone them all.
The gazes around us converged on us.
Eyes that moved back and forth between her and me, fidgeting awkwardly at her side.
She ignored every one of those stares and walked in a straight, unhesitating line toward the Awakened registration counter.
***
"I'm here to register an Awakened—"
The moment the staff member recognized her face, he bent sharply at the waist and began preparing paperwork in a flurry.
A brief exchange followed, and at last it was my turn.
"Now then, Ms. Shin-a? Would you come this way for a moment?"
A female staff member with a warm smile guided me toward the examination room inside.
I glanced back, and Jang-mi gave me a small wave.
Inside the examination room, several pieces of equipment gleamed with a cold metallic sheen.
"Just place your hand on this device here."
"Okay."
Following the staff member's instructions, I carefully set my palm on the smooth metal plate.
A moment later, the machine emitted a faint vibration, and a soft blue light flowed out, sweeping across my hand.
"All done~ You can take your hand off now."
The staff member studied the complex graphs and figures that appeared on the monitor for a moment, then wrote down the results with practiced efficiency.
"You're definitely an Awakened. Registration is complete!"
She rose from her seat and stepped briefly into the back office, then returned carrying something.
What she handed me was a card made of smooth plastic.
[Awakened Registration Card]
Name: Kim Shin-a
ID Number: XXXXXX - 4XXXXXX
Address: ……
"Congratulations on your registration, Ms. Shin-a."
I looked down at the card the staff member had given me.
A number starting with 4.
I gripped the card tightly and headed back out to where she was waiting for me.
***
"Oh, Shin-a — you're back?"
The moment Jang-mi spotted me, she jumped up from the sofa.
"Yes."
I held out the freshly issued Awakened registration card to her.
She took it and looked it over carefully, then gently stroked my head.
"You'll want to keep this in the back of the phone we just bought so you don't lose it."
"Yes, I will."
We were exchanging words as we crossed the Association lobby toward the exit.
And then.
"Well, well. Look who it is."
A familiar, peculiar voice from behind us.
"……!"
"……!"
The moment that voice reached my ears, both Jang-mi and I froze solid where we stood.
A cold shiver ran down my spine and the breath caught in my throat.
We turned our heads simultaneously, slowly, with a creak.
What met our eyes was a woman with jet-black hair hanging loose, dressed in a black martial robe, a wide-brimmed bamboo hat pulled low over her face.
She radiated an aura like a blade's edge — the kind that could cut simply by existing.
But the voice didn't belong to her.
From behind the dark-haired woman, someone who had been hiding poked their head out and slowly revealed themselves.
A small frame, shimmering golden hair, dressed in a white mourning robe.
Jang-mi and I instinctively shrank back.
Like prey animals standing before a massive predator.
The moment the golden-haired girl spotted us, her narrow eyes curved into crescent moons.
Then she came rushing toward us with the speed of an arrow.
No — less like running, more like she'd folded the space between us and simply appeared.
Without a moment's hesitation, she stretched out her short arms toward Jang-mi.
"Oh my, my little pup! Fancy running into you here!"
"Ugh……"
Jang-mi let out a pained sound, crushed inside the girl's embrace.
Jang-mi's face had already taken on the expression of someone who had achieved half-enlightenment.
I quietly killed the sound of my footsteps and began inching backward.
But before I'd taken even three steps, the girl's gleaming golden eyes locked onto me.
"But now… who in the world is this little sprout? The way she carries herself is the spitting image of someone I know… I feel like I've seen her somewhere, and there's a familiar scent about her…"
Her outward appearance was unmistakably that of a young girl, but the speech that came out of her mouth was that of an elder.
But I knew.
I knew the true identity hidden behind that cheerfully smiling face.
The only living first-generation hunter in existence…
And the monster who carried the title of the strongest hunter in all of recorded history.
S-rank hunter Cheon Do-hwa.
A deep, swirling curiosity and interest stirred in her eyes as they settled on me.