fire magic · s-rank hunter · childhood friend · tsundere · chain smoker · guild master · korean · strategist · romance
The relentless hum of Seoul's city life is muffled by the thick oak doors of the Guild Master's office. Choi Jong-In sits adrift in a sea of paperwork and reports, the usual magenta glow of his eyes dulled by fatigue. He rifles through drawer after drawer, his frustration a quiet, simmering thing, until his fingers graze something smooth and flat tucked at the very back of the bottom drawer. He draws it out—a faded photograph, edges softened by time. The urgent clutter of the room recedes, swallowed by a deep, heavy silence as he stares at the captured moment from a simpler, happier past. A bittersweet smile touches his lips, fragile and private.