26.
“It’s finally today.”
The families of the missing people, including Park Deok-soo, looked up at the large building in front of them. Today, they would be able to know the whereabouts of their families who had disappeared.
“Let’s go in.”
They hastened their steps.
The meeting was to be held in the auditorium. After being seated according to the guide, it was already 1 o’clock: the promised time. As soon as it was time, the front door opened, and several young men entered.
“It’s Ji Seon-woo.”
The first person he recognized was Ji Seon-woo. Then, next, his Hyung, Ji Hyeon-woo, the vice guild leader Seo Chan-young, but the last young man was unknown to him.
“Now, let’s start the meeting.”
The microphone was taken by Seo Chan-young. It was a conversation, but it was impossible to ask all their questions person by person. Therefore, a representative from the families of the missing persons was selected and placed in the front seat. Once the questions were asked by them, the entire questioning session would be scheduled to be held for a set amount of time.
Park Deok-soo sat in the front since he was the representative. His hands trembled at the thought that he might know where the missing family was now. He closed his eyes tightly and opened them, looking at Ji Hyeon-woo.
All the people next to him were tall and bulky, so he looked particularly young. How did he come back from there with a body like that? He seemed to be smaller than Park Deok-soo’s own son in the past.
‘Then maybe my son is still alive.’
He had a glimmer of hope.
“Hello. This is Ji Hyeon-woo. He is also the first-generation.”
The innocent-looking face bowed. He hesitated for a moment, holding the microphone handed to him. Then the question time began.
The first person to ask the question was Deok-soo.
“Wh-what happened to other people?”
Thousands of people disappeared together. What had happened to so many people? In the time interval between asking the question and getting the answer, his heart started beating like crazy.
“All, all are dead.”
His heart sank. He wanted to shout that it was a lie. Did he just say that they were all dead? I didn’t want to believe it.
The auditorium became noisy. While Deok-soo stood absent-minded, there were people who shouted that it couldn’t be, and some people started to cry. Then, he immediately came to his senses. I mustn’t break down here. If I were to break down here, the time I spent searching for my son would be for naught.
“Is that re-really true?”
When he stuttered, the answer came back.
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?!”
Without realizing it, his voice began to rise.
“If they had been alive, they would have come back this time. But the fairy once told me something. That I’m the only one who survived.”
Fairy. It was the existence that those who were brought to the other world and Awakened used to talk about it. A coordinator, a helper to aid in awakening. It used to be called various names, but it was said to not be a good being.
“Lie! It is a lie! Someone like you survived but my son died?”
Deok-soo started crying at some point.
“Tell me the truth!”
As soon as the words fell, what seemed like black wool that was in the corner stepped forward. Then, a voice called out in an instant.
“Kreung!”
A huge beast with three heads roared. The noisy auditorium became quiet in an instant. Should I run away? As one of the people watching was about to move, a voice was heard.
“Kero is safe. You don’t have to run away.”
“Wh-what is this monster!”
“He is a friend who helped me in the Demon Realm. Kero, go back to normal.”
When Hyeon-woo tapped the beast, it quickly shrunk again and became smaller. Yes, he had no abilities, so he shouldn’t have survived there. There must have been something that helped him to survive. Deok-soo sat down on the spot and understood. And asked in a calmer voice.
“Then, what about my child? Are all the others really dead?”
“Yes.”
“Just why? Just why!”
His eyes got hot. Then, tears began to flow. These were the tears he had been holding back since his child disappeared 10 years ago.
“I’m sorry.”
Hyeon-woo bowed his head and apologized. But he actually knew. It was not him who should apologize. He didn’t kill anyone; he was just lucky to survive alone. He wasn’t the one to blame.
He knew, even though he knew, he was resentful. While Deok-soo was crying, a middle-aged woman sitting next to her hurriedly spoke up.
“D-do you know the name of my child? Yena, it’s Park Yena! She’s 21 years old. She was a college student at that time. That day, she was going to hang out with her friend. If only I had known that would happen!”
She then tapped her chest. She was aware it wasn’t her fault. She just saw her go out to play as usual, so what could have went wrong?
People’s voices continued. “Do you know my children, my husband, and my wife?” The wailing continued.
Hyeon-woo’s expression, who had treated them calmly at first, began to turn pale.
‘I thought I was strong enough.’
It must have been an illusion.
‘Is it just that only my body has become stronger?’
After he let out a small sigh, suddenly something fell on his head and obscured his view. He didn’t even notice that someone was approaching him. Bewildered, he tried to remove the cover on his head, but large hands stopped it.
It wasn’t Seon-woo. He was busy dealing with the bereaved families now. So who was this?
“Stay still.”
It was the same familiar voice from Do-jin. It was then that he realized that it was Do-jin’s jumper that covered his head. An unfamiliar scent wafted through. However, it wasn’t particularly offensive or unpleasant. Rather, it had a pleasant scent. It felt cool and soft.
Do-jin gently hugged Hyeon-woo as the jumper was not enough to cover him. The hugging was so careful that it was as if he was dealing with a piece of glass.
It wasn’t Seon-woo from my family, and it was the first time I had been treated like this by someone else. Maybe it was because of that? It felt weird. The old memories that had been holding him down all this time stimulated Hyeon-woo.
“Ugh.”
He felt like his tears seemed to come out.
“It’s alright.”
A sweet voice comforted him but listening to it made him feel even more sad. Hyeon-woo quietly entrusted himself to Do-jin. He was covered by a jumper anyway, so no one could see him. So, for a while, he decided to rely on him.
For a moment—just for a few more moments.
The disturbance in the room had calmed down to some extent.
‘Hyung!’
Seon-woo looked back at his Hyung, who was worried the whole time. I was worried about how I would deal with this situation. And I saw what I didn’t want to see. He pursed his lips and approached Do-jin, who was embracing his Hyung.
“I’m fine now.”
He wanted to say something, but without him, his brother might have suffered more. So instead of saying something to him, Seon-woo chose to embrace his brother. Do-jin quietly retreated from Hyeon-woo’s side.
“Take this too.”
Then he rolled up the jumper, but Hyeon-woo held on to the end.
“I’m sorry, I want to stay like this for a moment.”
No matter how hard it looked, he naively thought that he would be able to ignore the objections of the bereaved families. Even though he knew it couldn’t be.
“Would you like to go in and rest?”
“No, I’m still okay.”
Hyeon-woo, who stuck his head out between the jumpers, answered. He felt sorry for him, so he took his hand. Thirty minutes later, the interview proceeded again. The questions were not much different from the expected questions that A-yun had chosen.
So it went smoothly afterwards.
“From now on, the Seon-Hyeon Guild plans to actively cooperate with the First-Generation Missing Family Association in preparation for unforeseen events. From support for livelihood through the foundation and to finding the remains of the First-Generation missing persons. We will do our best to help.”
So, the lengthy meeting was over.
As soon as the meeting was over, Seon-woo immediately grabbed Hyeon-woo and returned to his residence. Then, he laid him down on the bed and gave him a cup of hot tea.
“I’m alright now.”
“Rest though. You had a hard time.”
“Yes. Okay then.”
Seon-woo placed Hyeon-woo’s head over a pillow and covered him with a blanket. After that, he went out of the room. It was to give Hyeon-woo time to vent out his emotions by himself.
Hyeon-woo took a sip of the fragrant and sweet tea and fell into his thoughts. Still, the big hurdle had now been overcome. He said that there were still people who were aiming for him, but it would be less than before.
Although there were conditions attached, it was still a little bit of freedom. So what should I do now?
‘I want to rest.’
That thought had not changed since returning from the Demon Realm. He wanted to roll around while being lazy. He wanted to enjoy peace in a peaceful world. Now that would be possible.
He was idly sipping the cup one more time, and then suddenly found a jumper tossed beside the bed. Hyeon-woo got up naturally, picked up the jumper, and placed it on the table.
He hadn’t been able to say thank you. When they meet again, he should start by saying thank you.
“Kheong!”
Kero, who had stretched out on the floor, jumped up onto the bed.
“Yeah, you did well today too.”
After stroking the dog’s hair, he got excited and turned his body over. Then, not long after, he fell asleep.
‘He’s really easy to be taken advantage of.’
Hyeon-woo smiled and laid his body next to him. It seemed okay to sleep next to Kero for a while.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Davine and Meimei
HM: It did feel like Hyeon-woo was pushing himself. 0-0 But then again, his past is terrifying to him to even talk about it.
Davine: Perhaps Hyeon-woo's persona in the Demon Realm was him protecting himself. Once he felt truly safe, he was finally able to be vulnerable.