The Ghost of the Past
"What kind of measure is that?"
"Hmm, love?"
Lupinus giggled as she spoke, prompting a flustered reaction from the boy.
"Ah! Lupinus-nim!" Yunjae looked utterly embarrassed.
"Well, anyway, some kind of extraordinary measure will be necessary."
"Ah, but if we just leave it like this, it'll get in the way of my part-time job at the cafe..."
"Oh, you cutie! Whether you live or die, all you think about is finding romance at the cafe!"
"Because that's my ultimate goal!"
The number one part-time job for finding romance! Actually, the fact that he was wishing for such a thing while already living with Mari was ironic in itself, but regardless, he was a Hero who remained remarkably faithful to his most trivial desires.
"Then! Then! I'll wear whatever you want!"
Lupinus was overjoyed and practically melting with affection. Yunjae smiled softly at her reaction.
"Yes! Lupinus-nim! Anyway, I'm satisfied with my life right now. So I don't plan on changing it much. And I will definitely handle Mamon with my own hands. I absolutely won't forgive anything that gets in the way of my romance!"
Yunjae boldly declared that even a Demon God would struggle to withstand the wrath of a 77-year-old virgin!
At that moment...
"Mr. Lim Yunjae."
Yunjae flinched at the voice behind him and turned around.
"Ah, Lupinus-nim!"
"Yes, what is it?"
Normally, a person would back off in this kind of situation, but Lupinus didn't care in the slightest. She clung to him stickily, showing no intention of letting go.
"Ah, anyway, who are you...?"
With his face flushed red, Yunjae asked the question.
"Nice to meet you."
A man he had never seen before took off his sunglasses, tucked them into his jacket's breast pocket, and spoke.
"I am..."
The man reached into his coat, pulled out a business card, and handed it over.
The moment Yunjae received the card, his eyes widened.
"H-How...!"
Seeing Yunjae's look of utter disbelief, the man now looked bewildered.
"Yes? Is there something wrong?"
"Ah, no! It's not that...!"
Yunjae shook his head, looking back and forth between the card and the man.
"Ah! Danny Ahn?!"
First Demian, and now Danny Ahn?!
"My real name is Ahn Seunghyun."
"Ah, ah! Yes!"
Utterly flustered, Yunjae shook the hand the man had offered.
"By the way, who is this lady...?"
As Seunghyun looked at Lupinus, who was still clinging to Yunjae, he couldn't help but blush and show interest.
"None of your business! Why have you come looking for our cutie?"
At her question—which carried a mix of beauty, sexiness, and cuteness—Seunghyun scratched his head awkwardly.
"Actually, I..."
Flash!
At that moment, Akemi appeared right in front of them.
"Ten minutes are up! You pervert goddess!"
With the sudden appearance of Akemi, who had stepped forward as a vanguard to prevent any potential sexual assault, a brief silence fell over the group.
"...Who is this person?"
"He says he's Danny Ahn."
"Eee?! Again?!"
Seeing Akemi's shocked reaction, Seunghyun tilted his head, wondering what on earth was so strange about the name Danny Ahn.
"But this time his race is completely different, so it doesn't seem to be a similar setting!"
"Hmm, but his outfit is pretty similar! Didn't they just change his race?"
"Excuse me... what are you talking about...?"
"Ah! I'm so sorry! Your name is just so similar to someone we know!"
Seeing Yunjae repeatedly apologizing, Seunghyun chuckled, deciding to let it slide.
"It's nothing. I am Ahn Seunghyun, the CEO of JNC Entertainment."
As Seunghyun introduced himself, Yunjae and Akemi stared at him with bewildered faces at this completely unexpected turn of events.
"Eee?! So you're not like Danny Ahn of the Lightning Dragon? Do you practice lightning breathing or something?!"
"Yes? What on earth is that..."
"Ah, no! It's nothing!"
He wasn't an ability user! While the two of them flurried in confusion over the unexpected appearance of an entertainment agency CEO, Lupinus, who still hadn't let go of Yunjae, spoke up.
"Are you trying to cast Yunjae?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct..."
He answered her bold question, but did she really have to ask it while holding such an intimate pose? It was enviable, but also a bit strange.
As Seunghyun looked slightly flustered by the unusual situation, Akemi's face lit up with excitement.
"Eee! Casting Yunjae?"
"Ah! Why would you cast someone like me..."
As Yunjae, the person in question, looked at Seunghyun with an incredibly embarrassed face, Seunghyun got straight to the point.
"To be honest, I've had my eye on you since before the global portal incident. But after that incident happened and I saw today's articles, you are truly amazing!"
Yunjae had become the most famous person in the world overnight. There was no way anyone wouldn't recognize him.
"And as I looked into it, I realized that despite being an ability user, you don't do any guild activities or hunter work at all."
Knowing that Yunjae was working a mundane office job, Seunghyun had personally come to scout him, thinking if it doesn't work, so be it, but if it does, it'll be a jackpot.
"Then is he going to be an idol? Or an actor?"
At Akemi's question—she was as excited as if it were her own business—Seunghyun shrugged his shoulders.
"We'll have to wait and see, but for now, just working as a TV personality would be more than enough. I hate to toot my own horn, but our JNC is Korea's top entertainment agency with seventy years of history and tradition. I've raised many stars myself!"
"Who did you raise?"
"You probably know them. Do you know Jang Hanna or the girl group Marionette?"
"Eee! I love Marionette! I'm a fan!"
"I believe Mr. Lim Yunjae is someone who can truly receive the love of the public!"
Encouraged by Akemi's reaction, Seunghyun appealed more confidently.
Right now, whatever field Yunjae entered, he would make money. A massive amount of money! Especially in the broadcasting industry, if he signed, networks would be desperate to cast him. It might be a temporary trend, but his character itself was so unique that he had plenty of potential for long-term success.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to do that kind of work anymore."
Surprisingly, Yunjae, who was usually bad at rejecting people, flatly refused.
"Eee! Are you going to be a manager instead of a celebrity? So you can find romance with a celebrity?"
"No, Akemi-san."
At Akemi's question, Yunjae shook his head, denying that as well.
It was unlike Yunjae, who was usually lenient about all professions. And there was something strange. He said he didn't want to do it anymore. Didn't that mean he had done it before?
"...By any chance, do you have experience debuting?"
"A very, very long time ago. So I have absolutely no interest in that field. I'm truly sorry."
At those words, Lupinus and Akemi stared at Yunjae in unison.
"Really?"
"Eee? You've debuted before? Really?!"
They thought he was just a former b-boy, but he had actually debuted!
"Our cutie, when on earth was this?"
Lupinus also asked, suddenly curious about the past Yunjae had never mentioned.
At that, Yunjae shook his head reluctantly, looking troubled.
"Ah, well, I have to go clock in for work now, so..."
"I-If you ever change your mind...!"
"I don't think I ever will. I'm sorry."
Yunjae, refusing more firmly than usual, walked into the Blast Guild building.
"What on earth happened?" Akemi asked, her face flushed with curiosity.
"Yes! A debut! Did our cutie really stand on a stage?"
Lupinus was the same! At the goddess's gaze, which showed her intense desire to know everything about him, Yunjae said bitterly:
"When I was twelve."
"Eee?!"
"I was in an idol group for about two years. But it's not a very good memory, so I don't want to talk about it."
It was the most resolute tone Yunjae had ever used. Lupinus and Akemi, stunned that the usually non-confrontational boy would speak so firmly, lost their words and nodded.
"Ah! Anyway, please keep it a secret from the others!"
Though he quickly returned to his usual self and made his usual request.
"Y-Yeah. Got it! I will!"
"Of course it has to be a secret until I find out everything."
Leaving behind the two women, who had developed a new curiosity about his past, Yunjae arrived at the office.
"Mister!"
As soon as he walked in, Taerin, who had been waiting for him, ran over and threw herself into his arms.
"I'm sorry! I'm late today, aren't I?"
"No. I was waiting with Daddy."
At the words of the precocious and bold five-year-old, Yunjae looked up and saw Taejun waiting for him.
"Ah, Guild Leader!"
"You've arrived?"
Knowing Taejun's personality, he probably couldn't contain his curiosity about what had happened and had come early to wait.
"...Yunjae."
Mari called his name, wrapping her arm around the shoulder of Rozamy, who was hanging her head like a sinner. Yunjae nodded.
"Miss Rozamy, it's alright. Yesterday, if it weren't for you, the entire world except for Seoul would have suffered massive damage. Thanks to you, the damage was minimized."
"...Yes."
At his words telling her not to feel guilty, Rozamy nodded, looking as if a bit of her burden had been lifted.
"How on earth is she able to open portals and travel around? That is what I am most curious about."
This was the most debated topic within the Blast Guild. An ability user who could open portals and move like monsters!
"I shall be the one to explain that!"
In the meantime, Lupinus stepped forward, declaring that she was the one who should speak.
"...Please do."
Although she hadn't done much, seeing how Yunjae treated her with respect, Taejun figured she must be someone important.
"I am the Goddess Lupinus. I have come to protect you all from the subordinates of the Demon God Mamon, who is invading this world."
Taejun's eyebrow twitched.
"That lady is weird."
Taerin also tilted her head, thinking it was nonsense, just like her father.
"The reason portals opened and monsters poured out to attack you was so that the Demon King Cadmus and the Demon Dragon King Halles could rule this world. And the reason some of you humans were able to become ability users in the meantime was thanks to me."
At that moment, everyone's eyes widened.
The awakening of ability users was Lupinus's doing?
"Because I needed time. To complete Yunjae."
"Ah..."
The appearance of portals and ability users was all her doing!
"She wasn't just a foolish pervert!"
At Mari's sudden exclamation of admiration, Lupinus shouted proudly.
"Who's a fool! I might be a pervert, but I'm no fool!"
Her proud refusal to deny being a pervert while rejecting being a fool made Taerin grab Yunjae's hem tightly.
"That lady is weird. She's scary."
"Ah! She won't hurt you, Taerin!"
While Yunjae was soothing Taerin, who was wary of Lupinus's beauty and eccentricity, Lupinus looked directly at Taejun.
"You surely remember me, Ryu Taejun."
"I believe this is our first meeting."
"No, Mason."
At that moment, Lupinus uttered his American name.
"Eh?"
While everyone was shocked and confused, Lupinus shouted.
"This isn't our first meeting."
"Think carefully."
She tapped her head with her finger, looking at Taejun.
"Remember the day you lost ten dollars."
Taejun's eyes widened.
"...Come to think of it, I feel like I've seen you somewhere."
As a rational mental-type ability user, he pondered for a moment before his eyes widened as if he had remembered something.
"Tazza!"
The moment that unexpected word burst from Taejun's mouth, everyone burst out laughing.
"Pfft!"
"That lady, seriously!"
"Eee?! You took ten dollars from Taejun when he was a kid?"
"Oh my, did you forget what ability you gained instead of that ten dollars?"
Taejun nodded, fully remembering now.
"I see. It seems I gained my ability after meeting you."
"Exactly!"
"But if I had that ten dollars, I wouldn't have been beaten by my drunkard father and left on the streets..."
Lupinus flinched at the heavy words.
"...Was that so?"
"Still, I am grateful now. Thanks to that, I learned about the world, gained my ability, and climbed this far. Thank you very much."
But the past was the past! Taejun didn't seem to mind, and Lupinus laughed awkwardly.
"R-Right? In the end, it turned out well."
"This lady's way of handling things is incredibly sloppy!"
Taejun was teaching young Taerin that the world was a place without love, and perhaps that incident was the catalyst for his cold worldview.
As Mari looked at her with suspicious eyes, Lupinus snapped.
"You can't be perfect in every aspect! Anyway, the person involved is satisfied!"
"Well, yes. It was truly painful back then, but that experience became the foundation for who I am today. I often hear that I am cold and inhumane, but I don't think that's important."
No matter who heard it, it felt like Lupinus was in the wrong.
"I gave him something much better than ten dollars, and yet I have to hear this."
Sighing that nothing she did went right, Lupinus walked over and naturally clung to Yunjae. Then, she deliberately brought her face close to Taerin's!
"Ugh! Go away, lady!"
"No."
"Don't rub your cheeks on me!"
"Aww, so soft."
Since Lupinus loved teasing young children, Taerin's resistance was futile.
"Daddy! Help me!"
"You must handle your own problems, Taerin."
But he was a cold father!
"Waaah! Mister!"
Believing that Yunjae was her only hope, Taerin cried out for help...