On the screen was an official document. A real one, Mu Yichen could confirm by the seal of the National Hunter and Zone Registry Office in the corner.

  Property Transfer Certificate – Full Ownership: West Zone District #03 to #09

  Owner: Lee Aseok

  Authorized Signature: Department Head - Zone Management

  A photo of Lee Aseok, slightly younger-looking but clearly him, was attached in the corner.

  Seo MinHyun let out a long exhale. Then another.

  And then, exploded.

  “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

  He threw the phone down onto the table, glaring at the calm figure on the sofa who was now leaning back, his hair tucked neatly behind his ear, looking like this had nothing to do with him.

  “You’re the OWNER of the WEST ZONE?!” Seo MinHyun shouted, his voice echoing through the building. “WHY?! What kind of maniac BUYS a cursed, abandoned, monster-infested area like THIS?! Are you trying to die early?! Is this performance art?!”

  Mu Yichen remained seated, there was a slight twitch at the edge of his lips as he was holding back something.

  But Seo MinHyun had no such restraint.

  He shot to his feet, jabbing a finger in the air. “And you just sat there like a mute, letting us lecture you about getting a better house! You HAVE the whole zone!!”

  Lee Aseok blinked.

  And then, nod.

  A very calm, almost polite nod.

  “…You..You’re admitting it?!” Seo MinHyun reeled, grabbing his hair. “So you were messing with us?! You let us go on and on while you were probably laughing inside, weren’t you?!”

  To his utter disbelief, the boy on the sofa, still draped in lazy indifference and wearing that same cheap shirt, blinked once, then gave a slow, almost elegant nod.

  Just one.

  Like he was confirming the weather.

  Seo MinHyun nearly combusted on the spot.

  “You—! You—!!”

  Still leaning back, expression dull and uninterested, Lee Aseok nodded again.

  Seo MinHyun froze, jaw dropped.

  Mu Yichen finally let out a quiet chuckle.

  “…I see,” Mu Yichen said, his voice calm. “You’re honest, at least.”

  “Honest?!” Seo MinHyun looked betrayed. “That’s not what this is! He’s a sociopath! A sociopathic, filthy-rich hermit!”

  Words failed him. And for someone like Seo MinHyun, who loved hearing the sound of his own voice more than anything, this was a personal apocalypse.

  Mu Yichen finally sighed, not out of annoyance, but as if watching a child throw a tantrum during a formal banquet. His voice was calm and respectful, yet as firm as iron wrapped in velvet.

  “MinHyun,” he said gently, “calm down.”

  Seo MinHyun turned, eyes wild. “How can I calm down when he’s just sitting there like a mannequin, no, a rich mannequin with land deeds?!”

  Mu Yichen ignored the outburst and turned his gaze to the boy on the sofa. His noble features remained composed, but his eyes held an unmistakable sharpness.

  “Lee Aseok,” he said quietly.

  The boy’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, barely noticeable, but he didn't respond otherwise.

  Mu Yichen had noticed the name on the property ownership documents earlier. It suited the strange, quiet teenager before them. Clean. Plain. Detached.

  He leaned forward slightly, voice warm but curious.

  “…Why are you living here?”

  Silence.

  His posture didn’t change. His expression didn’t move. Only the faintest trace of breathing reminded them he was alive.

  Mu Yichen didn’t press. He simply moved to the next question. “Do you know anything about the abnormal decrease in gate activity in the West Zone over the past year?”

  Still no response.

  Seo MinHyun, who had calmed just enough to sit back down, clicked his tongue with a long sigh. “This is ridiculous. Is he mute? Or selectively mute?”

  Without waiting for permission, Seo MinHyun reached into his coat and took out a small silver device, the standard mana detection scanner used by the Hunter Association. It had one job: flash blue if a person possessed mana.

  “Let’s find out if he’s even an awakened,” he muttered.

  He leaned forward, arm outstretched. “If this lights up, he’s a hunter. If not..”

  The device stayed cold.

  No light.

  No sound.

  No trace of mana.

  “…What?”

  Seo MinHyun stared at the screen and then at Lee Aseok. Then back at the device. Then back at the boy.

  “It’s not picking up anything!” he snapped. “He doesn’t even have basic mana waves!”

  Mu Yichen’s gaze narrowed slightly. That didn’t make sense. Even civilians emitted faint mana residue in areas saturated with gates. But this boy..this landowner of the cursed West Zone..registered as completely empty.

  A void.

  Yet he was here, uninjured. Alive. Resting on a sofa as if monsters weren’t crawling around just a few blocks away.

  “…You’re not an awakened?” Mu Yichen asked softly.

  No answer.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “You don’t have mana?”

  Nothing.

  “You live alone. You eat cheap food. You wear plain clothes. You own seven districts of a zone people wouldn’t even walk through unless forced. And you’re not awakened?”

  Lee Aseok didn’t blink. Didn’t even twitch.

  He simply leaned back slightly, as if preparing to take another nap in the middle of their interrogation.

  Seo MinHyun tossed the mana detector onto the table with a loud clack and ran both hands through his hair in disbelief.

  “I swear… if I stay here any longer, I’m going to develop heart problems. Who is this guy?!”

  “Someone who doesn’t talk,” Mu Yichen murmured, more to himself than anyone else. His gaze never left Lee Aseok.

  Seo MinHyun turned to the boy again, exasperated. “What, do you have a death wish? Why the hell would you live here of all places?”

  Still no response.

  Lee Aseok only shifted slightly, enough to lay his arm across the top of the sofa, eyes half-lidded and unfazed, as if Seo MinHyun’s yelling were background noise.

  “…This can’t be real,” Seo MinHyun whispered.

  And yet, the silence remained. Cold. Heavy. Unbroken.

  But Mu Yichen, with his unnerving perception and always-watchful eyes, felt something different.

  Lee Aseok wasn’t being defiant.

  He wasn’t being disrespectful.

  He was simply… empty.

  And that, somehow, unsettled Mu Yichen more than any hostility ever could.

  “Do you have a death wish or something?” Seo MinHyun asked, his tone a strange blend of exasperation and genuine curiosity. “Why would anyone willingly live in the West Zone? Gates appear here like it's on schedule.”

  His voice rang out, sharp and dramatic, as always.

  But the boy on the sofa didn’t respond.

  Didn’t blink.

  Didn’t even turn his head.

  Lee Aseok had long since checked out of the conversation, mentally and emotionally. All he wanted was to go back to sleep. Maybe for a few more hours. Maybe forever. He didn’t really care either way.

  He leaned into the sofa a little deeper, his eyes fixed on some invisible point in space. The atmosphere around him remained the same: lazy, dull, untouched by the chaotic presence of the two people who had burst into his living room.

  Mu Yichen glanced at Seo MinHyun, who looked moments away from grabbing a chair and smashing it just to get a reaction.

  “I’ll try one more time,” Mu Yichen said, his tone still polite, still composed.

  He stepped a little closer, the sound of his shoes soft against the dusty tiled floor. With that same disarming, gentle smile, he spoke.

  “You can’t stay here. I understand you might want peace or space, but this zone isn’t stable. The Association clears the gates when they appear, yes, but there’s no guarantee. If even one slips through, and no one’s nearby to help…”

  His voice trailed off, hoping the unspoken threat of a monster break would sink in.

  Lee Aseok didn’t flinch.

  Didn’t turn.

  Didn’t acknowledge him.

  Mu Yichen stared at him in silence. In all his life, he had never been ignored like this. Not out of arrogance, people either respected his presence or were too afraid to disregard it.

  But this boy...

  This boy didn't even see him.

  “Unbelievable,” Seo MinHyun muttered, crossing his arms. “Do we need to send him for a psych eval or what?”

  Mu Yichen didn’t respond.

  The rain continued to lash against the broken windows, loud and heavy, forming a low drumbeat beneath the tension.

  Seo MinHyun sighed heavily and said, “When the rain stops, we’re leaving. There’s nothing weird in the West Zone besides…” He glanced pointedly at the boy on the sofa. “...this lunatic.”

  Naturally, he was ignored.

  Again.

  He ground his teeth and added through a clenched jaw, “We’re not leaving him here though.”

  Mu Yichen nodded in agreement, still watching Lee Aseok quietly. “It’s too dangerous. He’s not awakened. If a gate opens and no one responds in time, he’ll be the first to die.”

  “We’ll drag him out if we have to,” Seo MinHyun added with a scoff. “Even if he’s mute, crazy, or both. He can explain himself back at HQ.”

  Seo MinHyun gritted his teeth, glaring at the silent boy.

  And still… the boy didn’t say a word.

  Didn’t move.

  Didn’t object.

  Didn’t react.

  He just sat there, like a painting done in muted tones, a ghost in flesh.

  Seo MinHyun groaned into his hands. “Why do I feel like this kid is going to haunt my dreams tonight?”

  Mu Yichen didn’t answer.

  But his gaze, calm and composed, didn’t stray from the silent figure on the couch.

  Something about him…

  Something wasn’t right.

  And Mu Yichen had every intention of finding out what

  That’s when the boy on the sofa finally moved.

  The shift was small, subtle but after the tension in the air, even that seemed dramatic. His body, slow and heavy like someone moving through water, rose from the cushions with unsettling calm.

  His reddish-brown eyes flicked toward them once, expression still unreadable, before he turned and began walking.

  Mu Yichen and Seo MinHyun exchanged quick glances.

  “What is he doing now?” Seo MinHyun muttered, already tired from trying to make sense of anything in this cursed building.

  They followed.

  Lee Aseok didn’t say a word. His expression remained neutral, nearly dull, but his steps though slow at first, grew faster as he ascended the stairwell.

  Dust clung to the railing, old signs of monsters clawing at the cracked walls remained, but Lee Aseok walked without hesitation, barefooted and light. Silent.

  Mu Yichen’s brow furrowed slightly. “Is he… going to show us something?”

  Seo MinHyun scoffed. “Well, he better. I’m not following this guy up five floors for his daily exercise.”

  They reached the top floor. The stairwell ended in a rusted metal door, which creaked open with a hollow groan. And there, the world opened up.

  The rooftop stretched wide, the rain having eased to a quiet drizzle.

  A cold breeze moved across the cracked concrete, and beyond the ledge, the ruined sprawl of the West Zone lay in view, crumbling buildings strangled by vegetation, twisted metal, and skeletal remains of gates that once cracked the skies open.

  Despite the decay, the view was… beautiful. Hauntingly so.

  The rain had thinned to a whisper, soft and fleeting as mist, when they reached the rooftop. Nothing waited for them there.

  No monster lair. No secret clues. Only the vast, ruined cityscape of the West Zone and the lonely wind brushing past the fractured ledge.

  Seo MinHyun crossed his arms and glared at the long-haired figure now several steps ahead.

  “What is he doing now?” he scoffed and jabbed a thumb toward Lee Aseok. “When we get back, I’m booking him a permanent appointment with a psychologist. Head scan, magic test, maybe even an exorcism. Seriously.”

  Mu Yichen didn’t respond.

  His sharp eyes stayed fixed on Lee Aseok’s back, the calm rhythm of his steps... and the direction they were going. Something didn’t feel right.

  His usual warm, aloof expression flickered.

  Lee Aseok didn’t stop walking, even as he approached the rooftop edge.

  Seo MinHyun turned back to look, still grumbling, until he noticed Mu Yichen wasn’t responding anymore. Instead, the noble-faced man had stepped forward, eyes slightly widened.

  “Mu Yichen?” Seo MinHyun asked, brows drawn. “Why are you…”

  Then he followed Mu Yichen’s gaze, and saw it.

  The long-haired boy didn’t hesitate. His steps didn’t falter. He walked calmly, as if stepping over a puddle.

  And then he was gone.

  Just like that, off the edge.

  Time seemed to halt.

  “What the…!” Seo MinHyun barely got the words out before Mu Yichen had already leapt.

  His long coat billowed in the air like a streak of silver and black. His body tilted forward, falling fast with no fear in his eyes, only urgency.

  “Damn it!” Seo MinHyun cursed and charged forward. “Both of them are insane!”

  He activated his magic circle mid-stride, flames and wind bursting under his boots as he jumped.

  Below, Mu Yichen’s eyes locked on the falling figure.

  Lee Aseok.

  His long black hair fluttered wildly. His arms were slightly open, like wings, face tilted to the heavens. Those rare reddish-brown eyes were looking upward, not with fear, but an eerie peace. Acceptance.

  Mu Yichen’s usual composed expression was gone. The noble smile wiped clean. His jaw clenched.

  He dove faster, stretching out his arms.

  Got you.

  In the next second, he wrapped one arm tightly around Lee Aseok’s waist and pulled him close.

  The rain showed no signs of stopping. It poured relentlessly, like the sky itself had something to grieve.

  Mu Yichen landed softly, the soles of his boots splashing into the wet gravel. The wind tugged at his coat, plastered to his soaked frame, but he paid it no mind.

  What he did focus on was the weight in his arms.

  Lee Aseok.

  The slim body he held was light, far too light for someone his age. His damp hair clung to his pale cheeks, and his long lashes fluttered as he blinked slowly.

  Mu Yichen didn't let go.

  His arms tightened involuntarily. He didn’t understand it, but something in him had screamed when he saw this man fall.

  Something cold and panicked that ripped through his chest. Now that he had him, the storm inside quieted, only to be replaced by something worse.

  Anger. Helpless, consuming anger.

  Why didn’t he care about his own life?

  “Are you insane?” Seo MinHyun landed a few feet away, his voice loud and sharp over the rainfall. “Are you actually crazy?!”

  His red coat, soaked to the thread, clung to him as his magic sputtered and fizzled around his shoulders. He looked furious, but underneath his shouting, there was something else, something tangled and conflicted.

  Seo MinHyun's chest rose and fell rapidly. He felt it too, that terrible grip in his heart when he thought Lee Aseok would hit the ground. He didn't want to admit it, but seeing that expressionless face fall like that…

  It shook him.

  Lee Aseok looked up from Mu Yichen’s arms. The reddish-brown of his eyes looked even stranger beneath the gray light of the storm. His gaze, however, was empty, just like always.

  No joy. No fear.

  No hint of guilt or embarrassment. Only silence.

  He shifted slightly in Mu Yichen’s hold.

  every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Yes, every week!