Kim Yechan clocked out later than usual.
The glass doors of White Stars’ headquarters slid open behind him with a quiet hiss, sealing away the sterile brightness of the building and releasing him into the evening air. The city buzzed—cars humming, distant chatter rising and falling like waves—but compared to the controlled chaos inside, it felt... softer.
He stretched his arms over his head, rolling his shoulders with a tired groan.
"Ah... I’m dead."
A few employees passed him, dressed sharply, talking about raids and numbers and contracts—voices laced with ambition. Yechan barely listened. He never did.
He adjusted the strap of his worn bag and started walking.
Even now, years after becoming a Porter for White Stars, he still walked ho.
He could afford a car.
He could afford a lot of things.
But he didn’t want them.
"...Feels weird otherwise," he muttered.
The neon glow of a convenience store flickered into view ahead. Without thinking, his feet carried him inside.
A soft chi rang as the door opened.
The air inside slled faintly of instant noodles and heated snacks. Familiar. Comfortable.
Yechan exhaled.
This was more his pace.
He wandered through the aisles slowly, hands in his pockets, scanning shelves without urgency. Chips, drinks, cheap bento boxes—nothing fancy.
He grabbed a couple of items without much thought.
Then stopped.
His hand hovered over a simple packet.
For a mont, he didn’t move.
His eyes softened slightly as he picked it up.
"...This one."
The plastic crinkled faintly in his grip.
It was cheap. The kind of thing he used to eat all the ti.
Back then.
Before everything changed.
Before gates, awakenings, rankings... before the Tower beca part of life.
Before his little brother beca soone untouchable.
Yechan stared at the packet a little longer than necessary.
"...I kinda wish things stayed like that," he murmured under his breath.
A quiet pause.
"...Just and Jin... eating this stuff after school."
He chuckled faintly.
"...Back when I was the one paying."
Silence lingered for a second.
Then he shook his head lightly.
"...Should I call Woonhee and ask her to eat together?"
His thumb hovered near his phone.
Then—
"...Nah."
He slid it back into his pocket.
"She’s probably working her ass off right now."
A small exhale.
"No need to bother her."
With that, he grabbed the packet and headed to the counter.
The cashier barely looked up as Yechan paid.
Another chi rang as he stepped back outside.
—
By the ti Yechan reached his apartnt, the sky had darkened.
He slipped off his shoes at the entrance, tossing his bag onto the couch with a soft thud.
"Ho sweet ho."
The apartnt wasn’t large.
It wasn’t luxurious either.
But it was clean. Quiet. Enough.
Yechan rolled up his sleeves as he walked into the kitchen.
"Alright... let’s cook."
A faint rustle sounded behind him.
Then—
A low, dignified presence filled the space.
A creature perched elegantly atop the kitchen counter.
A Griffin.
Golden feathers shimred faintly under the light, its wings tucked neatly at its sides. Its sharp eyes watched Yechan with an intelligence far too human.
"...You’re early," Yechan said casually.
A pause.
Then a voice echoed directly into his mind.
"You are late."
Yechan clicked his tongue.
"Sa difference."
The Griffin tilted its head slightly.
"You said you would return before sunset."
"I said I’d try."
"You failed."
"...Why are you acting like my mom?"
The Griffin didn’t respond imdiately.
Then—
"Because without , you would starve."
Yechan froze.
"...That’s not even wrong."
The Griffin gave a small, satisfied nod.
"Correct."
Yechan sighed, grabbing ingredients from the bag.
"Alright, alright. Let’s get started."
—
As they cooked—well, as the Griffin expertly directed and occasionally intervened—Yechan leaned against the counter, watching.
"...You know," he said, "it’s still crazy to ."
The Griffin glanced at him.
"What is?"
"That you can cook better than ."
A pause.
Then—
"Your incompetence is not my fault."
"...Hey."
"It is simply reality."
Yechan snorted.
"...Fair."
He scratched the back of his head.
"...Man, I still don’t get how I even ended up with you."
The Griffin’s feathers shifted slightly.
"You stumbled into ."
"That’s putting it nicely."
A grin spread across Yechan’s face.
"...I got chased, tripped, and almost died."
—
It had been his first ti entering the Tower as a Porter for White Stars.
Back then, he wasn’t awakened.
Just a normal guy carrying supplies.
Scared out of his mind.
"...I rember thinking, ’Yeah, I’m gonna die here.’"
He laughed.
"...Then that stupid beast started chasing ."
The Griffin gave him a look.
"You entered my territory."
"I didn’t even know it was your territory!"
"Ignorance does not absolve you."
"You literally tried to kill !"
"Correction. I tested you."
"TESTED—"
Yechan stopped himself, sighing.
"...Anyway."
He waved a hand.
"I ran. You chased. I tripped over a rock like an idiot."
The Griffin nodded slightly.
"That part was accurate."
"...Thanks."
Yechan continued.
"And then sohow... I grabbed your feather."
A pause.
"...And then everything went weird."
Light. Heat. Sothing pulling at him.
"...Next thing I know, boom."
He pointed at the Griffin.
"You’re in my head."
The Griffin’s eyes softened slightly.
"That was the mont your class awakened."
"Yeah..."
Yechan chuckled.
"...Contractor."
He shook his head.
"Out of everything I could’ve gotten... I ended up babysitting you."
"Incorrect."
"...Huh?"
"I am babysitting you."
"...Okay, that’s actually true."
They fell into a brief silence as the food finished cooking.
Yechan glanced at the Griffin.
"...You’re still the only one, you know."
The Griffin didn’t respond.
"...I tried contracting others," Yechan continued. "Didn’t work."
A small shrug.
"Guess my talent’s just... that bad."
The Griffin’s gaze lingered on him.
"Talent is irrelevant."
Yechan smiled faintly.
"...Easy for you to say."
He turned off the stove.
"My little brother’s a national treasure player."
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"...And I’m this."
He gestured vaguely at himself.
"A Porter with one overqualified Griffin."
The Griffin didn’t laugh.
But sothing in its expression shifted.
Yechan sat down with his food.
"...Funny, right?"
A pause.
"The older brother relying on the younger one for protection."
Silence.
The Griffin didn’t respond.
But it stayed.
—
After eating, Yechan slumped onto the couch, remote in hand.
"Ti to rot my brain."
The TV flickered on.
So random program filled the screen—he didn’t even care what it was.
His mind drifted.
Half-listening.
Half-numb.
Then—
Clack.
Sothing small.
Sothing subtle.
But loud enough.
Yechan froze.
"...What was that?"
Another sound.
Roll.
His head snapped toward the shelf.
A small rock—no, a gemstone—rolled off the edge.
"WOAH—!"
Yechan jumped back, nearly dropping the remote.
The stone hit the floor with a dull sound.
Silence followed.
Yechan stared at it.
"...What the hell."
He cautiously got up and approached it.
"...Oh."
He crouched down, picking it up.
"...This thing."
The surface was rough—gray with streaks of purple. But at its center, a crystalline core shimred faintly.
"...I got this during..."
His expression shifted.
mories surfaced.
—
Floor 11.
Chaos.
Players shouting. Magic clashing. The air thick with mana.
And at the center—
The 65th Demon King.
A monster far beyond what that floor should’ve held.
Yechan had been hiding.
Like always.
Just doing his job.
Carrying supplies.
Trying not to die.
Then—
A flash.
A single strike.
His younger brother.
Kim Jin.
One clean motion.
And the Demon King’s head fell.
Silence.
Then—
From the corpse...
The stone rolled out.
Straight toward Yechan.
—
"...Yeah."
Yechan stared at it now.
"I rember."
He turned it over in his hand.
"I was gonna give it to White Stars."
A pause.
"Or Jin."
Another pause.
"...But I didn’t."
He frowned slightly.
"...Why didn’t I?"
The stone glinted faintly.
"...Must be worth crazy money though."
He chuckled.
Then stopped.
"...Ah."
Right.
Everything he owned...
Was under Jin’s na.
His bank account. Assets. Everything.
For safety.
To keep attention away from him.
"...So even if I sell it..."
He sighed.
"...It’s basically Jin’s."
He stared at the stone again.
"...Man."
Suddenly—
The stone pulsed.
Yechan blinked.
"...Huh?"
A faint glow.
Then stronger.
"Wait—"
Light burst from the gemstone.
"HEY—!"
The room flooded with blinding purple light.
"WHAT IS THIS—?!"
Yechan scrambled, rushing to the windows.
"Crap, crap, crap—!"
He yanked the curtains closed, fumbling with the blinds.
"Too bright—soone’s gonna see—!"
The light intensified.
The air humd.
Yechan turned back slowly.
"...No way."
The gemstone was floating.
Mid-air.
Pulsing.
Alive.
"...This is bad."
The glow shifted.
Changed.
The light began forming shapes.
Tiny points.
Like stars.
Connecting.
Building.
Yechan’s breath hitched.
"...What is that...?"
The points of light twisted, weaving together into sothing more.
A figure.
A silhouette.
Descending slowly.
The light dimd.
Gradually.
Until—
It vanished.
And what remained—
Standing before him—
Was a naked female.
Her body radiated a faint purple glow, strands of energy drifting from her like stardust. Her hair flowed like liquid light, shimring with the sa deep violet hue as the gemstone’s core.
Her eyes opened.
Glowing.
Ancient.
And focused directly on him.
Yechan froze.
His brain stopped working.
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