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Letter to the Hunters: Entry 4
Love is a very weird things to experience. When I first fell in love, I didn’t recognise it at first. It’s very hard to explain. Love for me is when you can trust someone to always be there for you when you need it, to always be there by your side, someone who while may not always understand, be there to listen and help when needed. I don’t have much experience with it, of course. The first time I felt it I nearly tore the group apart.
Funnily enough, it was with another girl, which is also very much against the rules of my time. It seems I really am I criminal. She was an amazing person. I got injured during a battle, and Dae and Eui couldn’t get to me in time, but she foolishly rushed in and dragged me through the floor, into her house for protection, whilst she tried to treat my wounds. Not a very romantic start.
I stayed there for a while until I was better. I wasn’t sure where the other hunters were, and I wasn’t in the right condition to look for them, so I stayed with the girl and helped around. I got to know her better and find out we were very similar, except so different at the same time. She was an incredible person and after a while, I realised that I fell in love.
Eui and Dae came back a month later, I couldn’t believe they spent that long searching for me. They came in and I was so happy to see them again, but they were clearly upset. The attacks had gotten harder for them to take on without me there, and I knew I needed to leave. I stupidly asked the girl to come with us, not wanting to leave her. She was excited about this, but during our first battle, I wasn’t able to focus properly, and I wasn’t able to protect everyone.
The girl and Dae both suffered a fatal wound, to their head and chest respectively. With Eui busy fending off the demons, I had to make a choice.
She died that day, the girl. I was heartbroken for weeks and still couldn’t fight properly, but I eventually found my ground. There was an argument between me and the other 2 hunters around her, and our journey almost ended there. Love nearly tore our group apart.
I know it’s not impossible to find a balance between the obligation of being a hunter, and loving a person, and I hope someone in the future can figure out how to do it, but until you do, I recommend being careful with it, and love could end up being the downfall of your group.
Don’t stop loving, never stop loving. Love is incredible, it binds people together, just don’t let it be the reason why your life falls apart.
-Gyeong, Leader of the first hunters
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It had been a few years since the sunlight sisters had started their debut, and they had only gotten stronger in that time. Celine was trying to be more open (trying being the key word in that sentence) but Mi-yeong could tell she was still putting walls up. It’s not like Mi-yeong could talk though; she had always been the most secretive of the group. Unlike Celine however, she did try her best to hang out with the other hunters when invited to and always had fun teasing the others. Hunting was more fun as well, as the demons were easier to fight, and the girls sometimes turned it into a competition.
Even though life wasn’t perfect, it was still great. They protected the world from the demons and keep the Hunmoon strong. Celine, however, was not satisfied. She wanted the group to be a remembered member of the hunters and wanted to seal the Hunmoon once and for all, so no one else had to get hurt. Mi-yeong thought the idea was ridiculous, although for selfish reasons. She never really had a home, being an orphan stuck on the streets, growing up stealing food, until found by their mentor. She was overtaken quickly by Celine’s dedication, something she admired greatly.
Overall, life was pretty good for Mi-yeong. She was happy after all. Unfortunately, the other 2 hunters fell ill, so she was stuck doing patrol by herself today. It wasn’t hard, and she’s done it multiple times before but today, something was different.
She was following the usual patrol route, searching around for any tears in the barrier, but it looked like there was none today. She was walking on autopilot now, getting distracted by her own thoughts, until someone accidentally ran into her, knocking her over.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” The person held their hand out to help them out, and Mi-yeong saw the purple hue of their patterns, recognising that they were a demon. She cautiously took his hand, as he helped her up.
“Yeah, I’m ok.” She replied cautiously and curiously. What was a demon doing pretending to be a human? He didn’t seem like he had malicious intent. Still, she kept her guard up.
“I need to make it up to you, I know, why don’t I buy you coffee sometime? To pay you back obviously,” he suggested, taking her phone. “here’s my number by the way, to work out details. I’ve saved yours as well! Anyway, I’m late to a meeting, I’ve got to run. See ya later!”
“See ya…” Mi-yeong repeated, confused about the whole ordeal. A demon? Buying her coffee? Did he even know who she was? She looked at her phone and found his contact info. “Ji-ho, huh, I should probably tell the girls about this.”
That night, he texted her, and Mi-yeong made the decision to stay in contact with him. The demon could give her useful information, if nothing else, and besides, she may or may not have been a little curious about why he was pretending to be a human in the first place.
Ji-ho: Hey, it’s the guy who ran into you earlier, remember? That’s probably not the best introduction though. I’m Ji-ho, and I work in accounting, which is boring, but I find it enjoyable. I really like cartoons, although I’ve been told they’re childish and I’ve got plans to go get coffee with a pretty girl who I met today! How about you?
Mi-yeong choked on her drink and got a look from Hwan and Celine. She was in a very strange scenario. Was the demon trying to flirt with her? Oddly enough however, she found herself smiling, thinking it was kind of endearing. She then froze, realising what she thought. If anyone found out that she thought that she’d be kicked off from the hunters, a devastating thought really. Against her better judgement, she decided to text back.
You: I’m Mi-yeong, and I happen to be a famous K-pop Idol, which is tame compared to having a career in accounting.
Ji-ho: Ha! Well, we all have talent in different areas, some are more appreciated than others.
Ji-ho: Can I have your artist name? I’d love to check out your music.
You: You’ve probably heard of my group, it’s the Sunlight Sisters. We’re pretty popular.
Ji-ho: Cool. I’ll go check them out.
Ji-ho: Anyway, are you ok with getting coffee next week, Tuesday, meeting up at the same place we met?
You: Sure, I’m down for that.
Ji-ho: Great! Anyway, I’m going to go to bed, night Mi-yeong. ;)
You: Good night. Bye.
Mi-yeong smiled. Emoticons, really? This demon was full of surprises. She spent the rest of the night hanging out with the other hunters before going to bed, deciding against telling them about the demon she met. Celine would just want to kill him, and Hwan would go along with her. She went to bed, oddly she was filled with excitement for what was to come.
The next day, she had dressed up, not too nice, but still presentable enough for going out, and went out to meet with Ji-ho. He promised to meet her in the square they met at, which was fine with her. Mi-yeong was playing a dangerous game here, as this could easily be a trap or some kind of trick to gain intel. Celine and Hwan were usually the reckless members of the group, although for different reasons, it was Mi-yeong’s job to be the voice of reason, and yet she still found herself going along with this.
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the man demon come up to her.
‘Hi!” He said, cheerfully, “Nice to see you again Mi-yeong. How have you been?”
“Good,” She replied, smiling, convincing herself she was just pretending to be happy to see him, for the hunters. That’s why she was here. “Why don’t you show me where this café is?”
“With pleasure!” The demon spoke, cheerfully again, as she followed in delight. He was good at this.
They talked for a while, and Mi-yeong never expected a demon could be so good at lying. Ji-ho spoke about how he lives in a small apartment, with a cat, and normal human stuff, such as taxes and good restaurants to eat at. One topic caught her attention though, as the demon spoke of an old boss of his.
“He wasn’t a very nice person,” the demon stated, “he controlled us through our fears and shame, making us have no other choice but to work for him. No matter what we thought, we had to do what he said. It was fine at first, but I realised soon the true horrors of it all. The worst part was that no one else knew. While it wasn’t many people, the few who had interacted with our team blamed us for these actions, and never really thought about how we got there in the first place. It got to a point, where most of us believed we were selfish monsters, and honestly, I’m glad I have a new life now.”
Mi-yeong didn’t know what to think. The demon, no, Ji-ho, was talking about his past with Gwi-ma. It was true though, she had never really wondered why the demons fought for him, most of them being human once. It made more sense and made her realise that it wasn’t all black and white. After a long pause, she decided to speak up, although it was a more serious tone than the one she had before.
“You’re a demon, aren’t you?”
His expression shifted into a face of confusion, until he figured out who she was.
“And you’re hunter.” He replied softly, realising the truth.
“I’m sorry,” Mi-yeong immediately apologised, feeling guilty. “I never knew. We were taught that demons were evil, that they didn’t feel or care, but I think I'm beginning to see otherwise.”
“We’re filled with misery, regret and pain. That’s all I experienced before I escaped,” Ji-ho explained with a sombre face, “You aren't going to kill me, are you?”
“No! Oh my god no!” Mi-yeong responded insistently, “I’m not going to kill you! You aren’t harming anyone, and besides, it’s nice to be around someone who isn’t focused on hunting, it’s nice. Would you mind if we stayed in contact? I haven’t told the others about you, and I can keep it that way, I don’t want you dead.”
“Sure,” He replied, smiling, finding the sudden change in her attitude endearing, “I think that would be nice.”
When Mi-yeong went home that day, she knew she had found something special, and she kept her promise to not tell Celine and Hwan, although the latter of the two wouldn’t stop nagging her about it. She knew that there would be consequences but didn’t realise just how much her decision would impact the trio in the future. All she could do was hope that they didn’t fall apart.