Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Homecoming (2)
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1.
A light shake ripples through his vision.
The 'gate' magic conjured by Duke Keter was deeply intertwined with Siwoo.
A familiar flow of mana wrapped around his body.
Before he could even focus to grasp something from it, the world had already shifted.
His vision flashed bright like a burst of light right in front of him.
A intense lurch accompanied the vast, open sky.
High-rises clad entirely in glass stretched out like a tidal wave crashing in.
-Baaaaaang!
The blaring horns and engine roars echoed off the building exteriors like an aftershock, so loud it made him wonder, Was it always this noisy?
Compared to Gehenna, where most places were serene and quiet, the din of the city was ear-fatiguing enough to pass for a warzone.
"Ah..."
Siwoo stood there in a daze for a while before drawing in a breath.
Deeply, deeply, even deeper.
He inhaled until his lungs swelled full.
A sharp, bitter tang pierced his alveoli.
Acidic smog scraped his throat and nostrils, leaving a stinging ache.
Siwoo looked around.
The river bisecting the two cities.
The massive bridge slicing vertically across it, cars speeding along.
The building once Korea's tallest, the vast Han River stretching far into the distance, and the surrounding walkways—all came into view.
Streetlights looked just like that, buildings towered this high, asphalt turned this shade when wet.
Landscapes he'd only imagined or seen in dreams passed before his eyes as reality.
"I'm... back."
He was back.
To the present world he thought he'd never set foot in again—to Korea, to Seoul, to Han River Park.
He had returned.
"I'm back... I'm home..."
His legs gave out.
Siwoo dropped to his knees, tears spilling as he sobbed uncontrollably.
This wasn't a dream, right?
He couldn't just stay like this.
Siwoo craved irrefutable proof.
He reached out haphazardly, scooping up weeds and dirt nearby and shoving them into his mouth.
Sandy grit and weed roots scratched his palate, filling it with rich earth and bitter grass.
Native soil.
This was the Korean dirt he'd missed.
"Mom! That big bro's eating dirt!"
"Shh! Don't make eye contact!"
Ignoring the stares pouring in, Siwoo stayed curled up for a while, mouth stuffed with dirt and weeds, letting his tears flow freely.
2.
Siwoo stopped by a convenience store near the walkway and picked up a 1.5L Coke and some African Lulu.
Strangely, cola never made it to Gehenna, and cigarettes were limited to ancient brands, so chances to smoke familiar domestic smokes had been rare.
He browsed the convenience store, which had changed quite a bit, marveling at everything, then grabbed a whole fried chicken because it looked too damn good.
At checkout, the clerk tilted her head curiously at his exotic card, but seeing Siwoo drooling like a madman, she rushed through it like she didn't want to deal with a lunatic and packed up the chicken.
"Convenience stores fry chicken fresh these days, huh."
He'd expected frozen stuff at best, but the crispy batter rustling and oily aroma wafting up made his heart race.
Siwoo trudged along the polyurethane jogging path, which felt vibrant after so long, then plopped onto a bench by the river and chugged the Coke.
Fizzy carbonation zinged down his throat.
The best drink to blast away the thick, earthy residue no sparkling water could mimic.
And it was ice-cold, chilling his brain, perfectly stocked on the shelf.
"Gaaahhh!"
After downing nearly half the bottle in gulps, his throat burned so bad tears welled up.
Without hesitation, he snatched a drumstick from the paper box and tore in.
The moment it hit his mouth, the fried coating crumbled, oil bursting like water droplets from within.
Convenience store chicken wasn't top-tier, but Siwoo had no bandwidth to care.
By the time he snapped out of it, he'd devoured one drumstick like a beverage and was reaching for the next.
A little carelessness and he'd have crunched the bone whole.
Chicken he'd ordered weekly as a midnight snack was tasty enough—what about after five years?
Siwoo stuffed his cheeks to bursting with chicken, washing down the clogs with Coke. After five minutes, the once-heaping box was empty.
"Whoa... fuck, this is sex."
Everything before wasn't sex.
Sitting on a riverside park bench, city of scientific marvels as backdrop, gazing at the leisurely flowing river while eating chicken and Coke.
This was true sex.
Siwoo wept over his past ignorance of sex's meaning.
Early summer sun beat hot, but under the shady bridge, a pleasant breeze whispered through.
With the Coke gone too, he clutched his bloated belly and leaned back, struck by an illusion.
Were all those Gehenna years just a fleeting dream? Had he really been living this life all along?
It felt just like the day after discharge.
Five years hadn't seemed that long, yet upon return, it felt ancient—a mere instant.
Guided by a smoker's instinct, Siwoo sauntered to the smoking area and cleared the oily film from his throat with harsh tobacco smoke.
Just one cig here...
"Fuckin' sex... goddamn amazing..."
Not everything was unchanged, though.
Fashion had shifted a bit.
Fads were sensitive, especially in Korea with trendy styles cycling yearly.
Everyone strolled the riverbank in coordinated outfits, subtly updated.
Men sported pomade or baby perms as if standard.
Women all jogged the paths in tennis skirts.
"What the hell is that?"
People zipped by on weird electric kick scooters.
Not one or two—tons on the same design, probably rented in groups.
When he'd first arrived in Gehenna, magic awed him.
Now, skyscrapers stacked dozens high and cars puffing exhaust seemed the marvels.
Such sights made "sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic" ring true.
Siwoo stubbed out his cig and left the booth.
Yeah.
This was it.
The everyday normalcy, familiar scenes.
No stares for different skin or race, grab Coke and snacks from a conbini anytime, no bizarre magic-wielding elite lording over everything—just plain, longed-for normalcy.
This was Siwoo's paradise, the one he yearned to feel again.
The homesickness drying his heart cured in a blink.
"Time to visit Mom and Dad?"
Siwoo adjusted his crooked eyepatch and climbed the riverbank slope to hail a cab.
Money wasn't an issue now.
He hopped into a deluxe taxi without a care for distance.
"Where to?"
To the friendly-smiling driver, as expected of a deluxe cab, Siwoo gave the address and closed his eyes, head against the seat.
2.
Visiting his parents after so long.
Couldn't go empty-handed, so he bought a bouquet and a bottle of soju.
FYI, flowers for Mom, soju for Dad.
If Gehenna buildings oozed antique luxury, modern ones felt nouveau riche but cleaner, friendlier.
He pushed through the revolving door, headed to the second floor, and filled out the registry.
"Mom, Dad, I'm here."
No matter how busy, he'd visited every six months, once a year at least—this was the first time in ages.
"Missed me a ton? Bet you were shocked I didn't call ahead. Here, mistflowers Mom loves, and red soju for Dad."
Siwoo plopped down.
Finally, eyes met theirs.
A photo of his beaming parents in cheap hiking gear, arms around each other.
"Don't chew me out for being gone so long. It's been five—no, almost six years. I tried damn hard to see your faces again."
Siwoo stared piercingly at the photo.
Even their cherished faces had faded a bit.
Too much sun exposure?
"Guess what happened? It's ridiculous. You wouldn't believe me anyway. Got kidnapped to a fantasy world and class-changed into a witch."
Siwoo hid his face, bitter smile—even he knew it sounded absurd.
Witch, fantasy world.
So natural before, but swap to modern backdrop and it felt alien.
"Ran into some crazy bitch who couldn't eat me fast enough... Turns out she wasn't all bad later... Hung out with cute twin girls too. Oh, Dad! Met a good Japanese guy. Taught my Japanese friend Dokdo's Korean soil—did good, right?"
Siwoo opened the columbarium niche and pulled out the photo.
Originally a family shot.
But Siwoo's spot between them was Photoshopped out clean.
"Can I take this? Thought I'd forgotten your faces without it."
Suddenly, hot emotion surged in his chest.
Odd.
"You remember me, right Mom, Dad? Haven't forgotten?"
Ridiculous.
He'd never truly believed in the afterlife, but confirming severed ties and erased memories stirred dumb questions.
"Oh, right. Want the full story?"
Siwoo clutched the photo, spilling trivial tales.
Skipped the brutal bits to avoid worry, focused on good times.
Like Border Town's sights, Trinity Academy's beauty, Gehenna's seasonal landscapes, famed magical plant fields of the Latifundium of Images.
"No need for vacations anymore. Everywhere pales now. Europe's overrun with tourists, pickpockets everywhere..."
Slaying mana-wielding beasts, evacuating two from terrifying exiles, etc.
"Put those in a mad movie for my funeral, seriously."
Time flew; he rambled till his throat hurt.
"...Just don't worry. I did great. No money woes forever now..."
Siwoo stood, dusting his butt.
Tucked the small photo frame safely in his chest pocket.
Wiped near-tears.
"Anyway, great seeing you after so long. I'm off."
Siwoo glanced back one last time.
"I'll visit often now. Stay well together, even if bored."
2025 days after leaving his hometown.
Siwoo had returned to Korea.