JAKE

New York rarely gave anyone a chance to breathe easy.

Heesung had almost gotten used to it—the sirens outside, the roar of cars, the endless crowds on the streets, and the news that Spider-Man had resurfaced somewhere. Lately, everyone was talking about him. Some considered him a hero, others just another masked madman, but Heesung was largely indifferent.

He sat in a small coffee shop by the window, lazily stirring his cold coffee and glancing at the door from time to time.

Jake was late again.

“Twenty minutes,” Hisung muttered, glancing at his phone. “Great.”

Finally, the door opened and Jake practically flew in, disheveled, out of breath, and with an expression on his face like he'd just run halfway across Manhattan.

Hisyn glanced at him.

• You look terrible.

• Thank you.

• This is not a compliment.

Jake sat down opposite and tried to catch his breath.

Hisyn noticed a small abrasion on his cheekbone.

— Did you fight again?

• What? No.

The answer came too quickly.

Hisung narrowed his eyes but didn't argue. He simply sipped his coffee and glanced at his phone screen, where the latest news had just appeared:

"Spider-Man spotted again in midtown Manhattan."

“This guy again,” Hisyn muttered.

Jake froze for literally a second.

Heeseung didn't notice this.

He didn't yet know how close to him was now the man the whole city was talking about.