Morning came quietly to the dojo, light creeping across the yard as the city woke up around them.
Yuna gathered everyone around the table after breakfast. She had that look on her face, the one that meant she'd been thinking about something for a long time.
Yuna: It's time to register the guild. Officially.
Ji-hu looked at her. Ara looked at Ji-hu. Minjun perked up.
Minjun: Finally! I've been waiting forever!
Soojin: You're impatient.
Minjun: I'M EXCITED! Different things!
Yuna: We've waited long enough. First for Ji-hu to come back. Then for him to settle. But we can't keep putting it off.
Ji-hu: You're right.
Minjun: So what's the name? I've been thinking about this for a year!
Soojin: We know. You've told us.
Minjun: Minjun's Awesome Guild!
Soojin: That's a name.
Minjun: THAT'S NOT—
Soojin: It's a name. We can do better.
Yuna: Something meaningful. Something about what we do.
Ara: We protect people.
Yuna: Exactly. That's how I started the shop. Selling to Defenders because no one else would. Protecting the ones who protect others.
Ji-hu: Shield Bearers.
Everyone turned to him.
Ji-hu: We carry shields for people who can't carry their own. That's what we've been doing.
Ara: Shield Bearers.
She said it quietly, testing how it felt.
Yuna: I like it.
Minjun: It's okay. I still like mine better but okay.
Soojin: That's surprisingly mature.
Minjun: I CAN BE MATURE!
Soojin: Occasionally.
Yuna: Shield Bearers it is. But before we register, we need current ranks. A year changed all of us. We should get reevaluated at NHA first.
Minjun: I'M DEFINITELY STRONGER NOW!
Soojin: We'll see.
---
Before they could leave, a knock came at the door.
Three people in formal clothes stood outside. Badges visible. Official NHA insignia.
Woman: I'm Director Park from the National Hunter Association. This is Senior Examiner Choi and Records Officer Kim. We're here to see Ji-hu.
Ji-hu stepped forward. Said nothing.
Director Park: We've heard the reports. About where you spent the last year. Another world. No one's ever come back from something like that and been able to talk about it.
Minjun: He doesn't like talking about it.
Director Park: I understand. But this isn't curiosity. If there are other inhabited worlds connected to ours, we need to know. It could change everything we understand about the Convergence.
Ji-hu was quiet for a long moment. Then he sat down at the table.
Ji-hu: Ask.
Ara: You don't have to.
Ji-hu: I know. But if it helps someone else survive what I survived... it's worth it.
The officials sat across from him. The Records Officer prepared to take notes.
Director Park: Let's start at the beginning. When you disappeared, where did you go?
Ji-hu looked at the people around him. His family. Then he began to speak.
---
END OF CHAPTER 34