Before the Date Fully Begins.
Before the official start of their date, Saria, who had been debating their destination, finally made a decision and stood up from her seat.
“Haah, I finally managed to make a reservation!!”
“We could’ve just gone to a regular restaurant, you know.”
“Still, it’s our first date. Even if I’m not the type to celebrate anniversaries, I wanted to make this one a bit grand.”
If she had such a dream, it was only right to indulge her.
Si-woo, finishing the last of his hazelnut latte in one gulp, stood up as well.
Even though he had slowed down starting with his third cup, having drunk four drinks in total, his stomach was already signaling that it wouldn’t handle greasy or heavy food very well.
With some caution, he asked Saria what kind of restaurant she had reserved.
“The izakaya ‘Kanade.’ You’ve probably heard of it at least once, right?”
“Kanade?”
At Saria’s words, Si-woo fell into thought.
As she said, it sounded vaguely familiar.
But since he couldn’t remember clearly, it seemed he’d never been there himself.
‘In that case, it’s either a place owned by one of my former clients or a spot someone recommended to me.’
But he couldn’t recall which client or who had suggested it.
If only he could remember the name, it would probably trigger the full memory of who had recommended the place and why.
As he combed through the hazy fragments of his memory, a piece of information clicked.
“They’re famous for sashimi and sushi, right?”
“Exactly. It’s an izakaya that specializes in those two dishes. I heard it’s even a frequent spot for Japan’s A-rank Hunters.”
Japan’s A-rank Hunters?
That phrase from Saria helped Si-woo connect the dots.
The scattered fragments of his memory fell into place, and a vivid scene replayed in his mind.
‘There’s this izakaya called Kanade. Every time I go there, it feels oddly nostalgic. It’s like it stirs something deep inside me—I always leave feeling strangely uplifted.’
It was a recommendation from one of his first-ever clients as a host and a regular customer who visited him two to three times a week until the day he quit.
The vivid memory of that unforgettable experience resurfaced, clear and fresh as if it had just happened.
At the same time, Si-woo realized why it had taken him so long to recall it.
‘It’s been nearly ten months since I heard about this place.’
“So, do you know it?”
“Yeah, someone I know is a regular there. They recommended it to me, but I completely forgot about it until now.”
Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to check it out.
With that thought, Si-woo and Saria left the café together.
Neither of them noticed the massive “fox tail” swaying ominously within the shadows cast by Si-woo.
Arrival at Kanade.
Led by Saria, Si-woo arrived at the izakaya Kanade.
He admired the sophisticated atmosphere and the enticing aromas wafting through the air.
Through the sturdy wooden door, he took in the scenery beyond.
The soft lighting and the distinctly Japanese wooden interior combined to create a warm, gentle ambiance.
The natural scent of wood unique to Japanese restaurants and the beautifully presented dishes made it feel worth coming to this place.
“Hunters are naturally sensitive to their senses,” Saria said.
And this was a restaurant that had captured the demanding tastes of even A-rank Hunters.
It was more than a guarantee—it was a certainty that the food would be exceptional.
As Si-woo looked around the restaurant, his gaze landed on the open kitchen, where a chef wearing a blue bandana worked with precision.
Si-woo couldn’t help but be impressed.
With noiseless steps and knife skills so sharp they seemed more suited to battle than cooking, the chef’s presence unmistakably carried the aura of a Hunter.
“Is the chef a former Hunter?” Si-woo asked curiously.
“Of course you’d notice. He used to be a B-rank Hunter back in Japan. He was skilled, but he didn’t like the idea of killing monsters, so he renounced hunting and immigrated to Korea,” Saria explained.
It all made sense.
‘If he’s that picky about killing, his taste must be equally refined.’
Si-woo and Saria took their seats at the counter, which was connected to the open kitchen.
As they observed the chef’s precise, efficient movements, even the smallest actions evoked admiration from them both.
While Si-woo focused intently on the chef, marveling at his skills—
‘Wow…’
Saria found herself quietly admiring the sharp lines of Si-woo’s profile.
The reason she had fallen for him was clear.
His strength and his unwavering trust in her during the entrance exam had left an indelible impression on her.
Even if he weren’t this handsome, Saria was confident she would have liked him anyway.
But it still bothered her.
‘Being too good-looking is kind of a problem…’
It was an incredibly indulgent worry.
She wasn’t officially his girlfriend, nor could she even call their relationship a romantic “fling.”
More than friends, less than lovers?
Not even that.
Saria and Si-woo’s relationship was nothing more than ordinary friends—no more, no less.
‘What am I even doing…’
No matter how much she tried not to dwell on it, the image of Baek Eun-seol continued to cloud her thoughts.
Si-woo, with his Symbol of Allure, naturally possessed an irresistible charm, even without the engraving’s influence.
Saria was certain that she wasn’t the only one who harbored feelings for him.
The timing of her meeting Si-woo had been one year after he had awakened his engraving.
How many women had developed the same feelings for him in that one-year gap?
How many, like Baek Eun-seol, had openly shown their affection for him?
As her imagination spiraled, the chef’s arrival with their food snapped Saria back to her senses.
“…I can’t believe I’m having these thoughts.”
She let out a sigh, brushing off her jealousy-fueled fantasies as nonsense.
Suppressing the irrational envy that had clouded her judgment, Saria reminded herself that she hadn’t even confessed yet.
For a moment, it felt as if she’d interrogated him like a jealous girlfriend.
Silently berating herself, she lightly tapped her cheeks to ground herself.
‘This is all Baek Eun-seol Hunter’s fault.’
The memory of the S-rank Hunter’s retreating figure, after planting seeds of jealousy in her, came to mind.
But then, Saria’s attention shifted.
Her mana detection skill had picked up something.
Saria had casually spread her mana net around, a detection field that only reacted to beings imbued with mana—Hunters or monsters.
But when something tripped it, her guard went up immediately.
It felt… wrong.
The mana was far too violent to belong to a Hunter, yet too pure to belong to a monster.
This unfamiliar, alien mana made Saria furrow her brows.
Si-woo, on the other hand, also sensed the peculiar energy—but his reaction was different.
“Huh?”
Unlike Saria, this mana wasn’t strange to Si-woo. In fact, it was all too familiar.
“Kitsunezawa?”
“What did you say?”
The moment Si-woo muttered the name.
Jingle.
The door to the izakaya opened, and a black-haired woman stepped inside.
Her jet-black hair shimmered under the restaurant’s soft lighting, gleaming like silk.
The sharp aura she exuded was akin to what they’d felt from Baek Eun-seol at the café, but there was something else about her that stirred the patrons of the izakaya into murmurs.
Unlike the quiet awe Baek Eun-seol had commanded, this woman’s presence made it impossible for the room to remain silent.
‘Ears… and a tail?’
On top of her beautiful black hair, a pair of fox ears stood tall, twitching slightly. Behind her, a glossy fox tail swayed gracefully.
Saria’s eyes widened at the sight of the woman, whose features unmistakably marked her as a sujin—a “beastkin.”
Beastkin were an evolved race of humans influenced by the “story” etched into their engravings.
However, most beastkin couldn’t fully absorb the power of their engraving’s “story.”
Hunters whose bodies were too weak to contain such power often became incomplete beastkin—beings with only one ear, a tail without ears, or other partial transformations.
In the world of beastkin, where ability determined status, Hunters with both fully-formed ears and a tail were incredibly rare.
Even as Saria searched through her memories, she could only think of a handful of such individuals.
The black hair with its subtle, secretive red undertones.
The perfectly shaped fox ears and tail.
And finally, the name Si-woo had just spoken.
Kitsunezawa Wakamo.
The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
The Black-Faced, Golden-Tailed Nine-Tailed Fox.
An A-rank Hunter who had awakened an engraving modeled after the legendary nine-tailed fox.
Roughly ten months ago, this rising star from Japan had shocked the Hunter world by abruptly announcing her decision to immigrate to Korea.
Saria’s gaze darted back to Si-woo.
Could it be…?
No, that couldn’t possibly be true.
She quickly dismissed the theory that had sprung to mind.
Baek Eun-seol’s connection to Si-woo was understandable.
If they had known each other since before their awakenings, it made sense for them to have such a bond.
But Kitsunezawa?
She was someone who lived in an entirely different world from theirs.
Kitsunezawa’s Entrance
Dismissing the idea as impossible, Saria averted her gaze from Kitsunezawa, who was now heading straight toward them.
But it was no use.
The overwhelming emotions emanating from Kitsunezawa couldn’t be ignored just by looking away.
Unlike Baek Eun-seol, who carefully concealed her feelings, Kitsunezawa approached with no restraint, her emotions laid bare.
She exuded a predatory allure, one that seemed to devour all reason, just like the mythical nine-tailed fox she embodied.
As she passed by Saria and reached Si-woo’s side, Kitsunezawa raised one hand.
Leaning close so only Si-woo could hear her, she whispered softly:
“Did you miss me, darling ♥?”
Saria, who could faintly hear that voice, felt a chill run down her spine.
A voice steeped in raw lust and desire.
Even Baek Eun-seol’s displays of affection suddenly seemed restrained and rational in comparison.
The voice carried no trace of reason, no shard of rationality.
If one were to describe it crudely, it was the voice of a female in heat who had just found her chosen mate.
No better words could describe it.
Crass as it may have been, it suited the situation.
It was the voice of someone whose every fiber screamed with a desire to claim someone as their own, condensed to the point of near insanity.
“Kitsunezawa, how many times do I have to tell you not to use that kind of expression in public?” Si-woo said, sighing.
“Ugh, stop using my last name! I told you to call me by my first name—Wakamo!”
“It’s a habit by now, okay? You should actually praise me for correcting my speech to the point where I don’t use formalities anymore.”
Kitsunezawa—or Wakamo—pouted as she responded, her voice dripping with exaggerated frustration.
Saria, meanwhile, stared in utter disbelief at how calmly Si-woo was reacting to Kitsunezawa’s blatantly inappropriate tone.
How could he not feel anything from that voice?
And more importantly—how could he just brush off being called darling without reacting at all?!
Saria struggled to comprehend the nature of their relationship, finding it impossible to keep her composure in the face of this bizarre exchange.
