Closing Out the Year

Even after that encounter with the man, Seong-min's life did not change in any dramatic way.

He kept a careful watch over Ji-ah, wary that some harm might come to her — but fortunately, nothing of the sort ever did.

From that day on, the man never appeared before him again, nor did he interfere in any way. There were no further entanglements with gangs like the Yonggol Faction or the Gangil Society either.

A full month passed like that. Only then could Seong-min finally breathe easy.

The man truly had meant him no malice. If he had, it made no sense that he would have done nothing for an entire month. And Seong-min had not spent that month idle.

He was really strong.

For the first time, Seong-min had faced an opponent who forced him to draw out the full measure of his power. Compared to fighting ordinary gangsters, it had been on an entirely different level. He had never imagined he himself could be that strong. He had vaguely believed he had grown powerful enough to be called a Transcendent — but the strength that surfaced had far exceeded anything he could have pictured.

And yet Kang Jung-gil had not yielded an inch against that version of him. He had even pressed Seong-min hard enough to make him feel the threat of death. On top of that, the man's breathing had never once faltered.

Seong-min saw that as the difference between them — a full year. The man had obtained his Status Window a year earlier. How vast that gap truly was, Seong-min could not even begin to imagine. Whether Kang Jung-gil had even used his full power in that clash was still an open question. It had felt, quite literally, like a test. Had the man fought him in earnest, Seong-min would not have walked away unscathed.

"Seong-min… are you worried about something…?"

It had been a while since Seong-min had taken A-reum out on a date. She looked up at him as she ate her soft-serve ice cream.

"No, I'm fine. More importantly — is the ice cream good?"

"Yes… it's good…"

The expression on A-reum's face as she ate the soft-serve drizzled with chocolate syrup was genuinely happy.

"Thank you, Noona…"

"……?"

"Thanks to you… Ji-ah seems to be doing a lot better."

Over the course of that month, Ji-ah had been working hard to free herself from her trauma and slowly return to ordinary life. Just yesterday she had even said she could not keep sitting around like this and wanted to look into finding a job. The person who had given her the most help and influence in recovering from her mental exhaustion and wounds was none other than A-reum.

"…Ji-ah… is a good person… We're… friends…"

Just as A-reum said with a smile, Ji-ah and A-reum had become close friends — almost like a pair of inseparable companions.

"Yeah… you two are friends."

Seong-min smiled back at her with his eyes. Perhaps it was not only Ji-ah. Min-hyeok, and Seong-min himself, might also be finding comfort in A-reum — just like this.

Once they finished the soft-serve, Seong-min walked with A-reum along the winter sea of Sokcho Beach on the East Coast. It was the weekend, and the two of them had come all the way out to Sokcho in Gangwon Province alone. Min-hyeok had given his blessing, and Yoo Ji-ah, who by now had a fair sense of the relationship between Seong-min and A-reum, had not found it strange.

"Even though it's this cold, there are still quite a few people out to see the night ocean."

Up ahead, people who looked like families or couples were visible. Seong-min followed A-reum's gaze. A couple walked side by side along the shore, hands linked.

Without a word, Seong-min took A-reum's hand as she walked beside him and closed his fingers around it. She looked at him for a moment, and he offered her a small smile. Her face flushed, and she lowered her head.

"Isn't it really amazing…?"

Seong-min watched the couple's retreating backs — the same ones A-reum had been looking at.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"That two people who didn't know each other can meet, grow fond of each other, and become a couple like that…"

Listening to the gentle sound of the waves, he went on.

"A-reum Noona. Do you remember…? When I used the key from your necklace to open the door and come in — the way you looked at me so warily."

"…Yes…"

A-reum answered softly.

"I was sitting on the floor waiting for Min-hyeok, and you were staring blankly at me through the doorway. Do you know how flustered that made me?"

"…I'm sorry."

"No. Don't apologize. You don't have to be sorry for something like that. I'm just bringing that day back to mind. Even that can become a good memory, you know…"

Seong-min tightened his grip on her hand.

"Min-hyeok said it, didn't he? That you're not stupid. That no matter what other people say… you shouldn't care. Those words he said while crying that day… they stayed with me. And… I feel the same way. A-reum Noona… I think you have a specialness that's all your own. You're just a little different from other people — nothing more, nothing less."

"…I'm… okay… If Min-hyeok… is okay… then I'm… okay… If Seong-min is okay… then I'm… okay…"

A-reum no longer kept her head down. She met Seong-min's eyes as he looked at her, and she was smiling brightly. And just like him, she squeezed his hand firmly in return.

That night, Seong-min and A-reum slept at a hotel.

"Mm…"

A-reum always grew shy and bashful under Seong-min's caresses. He, for his part, touched her body with a careful, delicate touch whenever he pleasured her — because he knew she responded sensitively to every single contact, and that she felt those caresses all the more deeply for it. The sense of calm it brought her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heart was a bonus.

After he had caressed her entire body and they became one, A-reum was no longer the shy girl.

"…More… come closer!… I… too… nngh—!"

The more they made love, the hotter A-reum's body grew, and the more fully she was able to feel it. In that moment, for her, it was also an act of knowing herself completely as a woman.

When the time of rapture had passed, A-reum lay asleep in Seong-min's arms, her body damp with sweat — looking more pure and peaceful than anything. He slowly stroked her hair as she slept, breathing soft and even.

It might be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hard to believe A-reum had ever looked like that — but Seong-min believed it. When those thug-like bastards had come after Min-hyeok after he ran away, A-reum had wrapped her own body around him to protect him. What Min-hyeok had said was surely true as well: that the reason he had been able to keep living without falling apart was because of her.

For that entire month, Seong-min simply lived out his ordinary days without any major incident. He went on dates with A-reum and spent good time together. Ji-ah, too, was gradually finding her footing. This was exactly what Seong-min had hoped for.

What the hell is it, though?

And over that long stretch of time, he had thought it through. He had turned it over and over in his mind — the things Kang Jung-gil had said.

He had let those words pass at the time. But the more time went by, the more Seong-min found himself feeling the same way. He had thought this special ability had been given to him alone. And yet a year earlier, that man had already obtained the Status Window first.

Seong-min chewed on those words for a long time. Then he thought back to the being who had granted him this power — the things that old man had said.

Parallel worlds. That old man definitely said parallel worlds.

A parallel world meant another world existing alongside the one he lived in. And the old man had said something else as well: that once the power was given, the lives and appearances he saw were different. Seong-min had not understood what that meant at the time. But now he thought he had some idea. The content of what the old man had described had included Kang Jung-gil as well.

Then… were Kang Jung-gil and I originally both people with power and people without it?

In this world where Seong-min was an ability user, Kang Jung-gil might not have been one. And in a parallel world where Kang Jung-gil was the ability user, Seong-min might be living without any power at all. Even as he thought this, Seong-min wondered whether it was actually correct.

If so — how was he supposed to make sense of the present situation, in which both he and Kang Jung-gil possessed the same ability?

This is only inference. Just me piecing together what that old man said.

Everything was confusing and full of questions. If, as he thought, parallel worlds existed — if there was a world where he had no power and a parallel world like the present where he did — then Kang Jung-gil should not be an ability user here. And yet right now, both of them were ability users with the same power. That part, he felt, could only be resolved by talking with the man himself.

All kinds of thoughts and musings cluttered his mind. Thinking about them did not actually solve anything.

Just be faithful to the life I have now. And keep growing through the Status Window's level-ups. That's enough.

Just as he had done until now, he figured he could keep doing the same going forward.

Time flowed on once more. At last the year was ending, and the new year was approaching.

Hye-sook had decided to spend the New Year with her son Seong-jun, who had come home. Seong-min, for his part, planned to spend New Year's Eve together with Yoo Ji-ah and A-reum. And one more person.

"Heh heh… Hello. I'm Han Min-hyeok."

Min-hyeok introduced himself with a shameless grin.

"Yes… hello."

Ji-ah, who had already heard about Min-hyeok from Seong-min and A-reum, welcomed him with a smile.

"You're older than me, so just talk casually~ And I've heard a lot about you from Hyung and my Noona… haha…"

With Min-hyeok joining them, they spent the last night of the year together. Once the rambunctious Min-hyeok was in the mix, Ji-ah's one-room apartment grew even livelier and more crowded.

"So then~ I barely managed to dodge sideways, right? Just thinking about that moment still gives me the chills…"

"…Min-hyeok… that was really… dangerous…"

"Tell me about it, Noona. Honestly, the fact that I didn't wet myself is the real miracle, okay?"

As expected, once Min-hyeok joined in, he did most of the talking. Yoo Ji-ah had been awkward with him at first, but as time passed she naturally got drawn into the conversation. Seong-min knew well that Min-hyeok was the type whose social skills let him warm up to people quickly, so he was not worried.

"Ah! The New Year's bell is ringing~!"

And at last the year drew to a close, and the New Year's bell rang out to announce the start of a new one.

"Happy New Year, everyone."

"Hyung too, Noona too, and Ji-ah Noona too — Happy New Year~ haha!"

"…Min-hyeok too… Hap…py New Year…"

As they exchanged New Year's well-wishes, many thoughts passed through Seong-min's mind — the power he had been given, and everything that had happened because of it.

This is going to be a year I'll never forget.

It truly had been a special year. And for this newly beginning one as well, he hoped it would be filled with nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but good things.

And so they welcomed the new year.

And with it — the year that psychic energy arrived. The year the Awakeners, those called superhumans, first appeared.