Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Off to Mexico
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Nayoung asked why I was going abroad.
Should I tell her I was going to stop a Gate Break? And should I confess that I had regressed?
I didn’t agonize over it for long. I couldn’t say it. Even if the world was already a mess because of gates right now, there was no benefit in knowing that it could completely perish in a few years. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to say if Nayoung asked about her future self.
“....To have fun?”
“....Let’s go together.”
She seemed to have picked up on something, but Nayoung didn’t pry any deeper.
“Yeah, let’s go to Mexico. They say the beaches are beautiful.”
In a few months, a highly intelligent monster would emerge from a gate on Mexico’s eastern coast. That monster would command a legion of tens of thousands of monsters and occupy the entire area. It would later be called the first Legion Commander or Commander.
There was a world of difference between random monsters charging into the wild and attacking humans and the organized army of tens of thousands.
This incident marked the turning point where the situation on the American continent drastically changed. They were already struggling to contain the existing gates, and unable to stop the monsters spreading north to North America and south to South America, countries began collapsing one by one.
It would take a long time for the impact to reach our country, and no one expected me to grow this strong so quickly, so I had given up on it before. But now, I was confident I could stop it.
“Chairman, your passports are ready~”
Manager Jeon Gyuhee, President Yang’s secretary, brought our passports.
“Thanks for the trouble.”
“When would you like to depart?”
“As soon as possible.”
Too much time had been lost on minor tasks, and now we were out of time. The incident would erupt in about a week.
“Then, how about this afternoon?”
“Yes? That soon?”
“You can take the private jet.”
“We have a private jet?”
“Yes. Didn’t you know?”
Regen was making a killing with its regen money. I’d never lacked for cash with huge sums hitting my account daily, but I hadn’t realized it was to this extent.
“The afternoon’s too soon. Make it tomorrow.”
The next day, I let the mothers rest in Korea and headed to the airport with Nayoung, Sanghun, Yesl, and the Oh brothers.
We drove to the airport’s private jet hangar. The plane parked there had Regen’s logo stylishly emblazoned on it, and unlike large passenger jets that carried hundreds, it was sleek and elongated.
“This is it?”
“Yes. It’s a supersonic jet powered by mana stones. It’ll get us to Mexico in six hours.”
Manager Jeon Gyuhee had come to the airport to guide us.
The group marveled at the fighter-jet-like aircraft.
“Have a great trip.”
With Manager Jeon Gyuhee’s farewell behind us, we boarded. The plane took off without any notable delay.
“Ooooooh.”
Four of the Oh brothers, excluding Hyungbin, gazed out the window in awe.
“Is this your first time on a plane?”
“Yes, why would we ever ride one?”
“Well, enjoy it.”
They might suffer on the way back.
Glancing to the side, I saw Yoo Hyungbin stiff and trembling, while Yesl held his hand.
How could a tanker built like a mountain be so scared...?
“But how did those two end up like that?”
“When you were gone, hyung, the five of us and Yesl formed a party and cleared gates. That’s when....”
Sanghun told me what had happened in my absence.
“Hyungbin! Even if you’re a tank, you can’t just take every hit! Dodge some and deflect!”
Sanghun yelled at Hyungbin, who was grappling with an orc.
“That’s easier said than done!”
Even with his armor, which expanded with his gigantification, Hyungbin could still suffer minor wounds, and he couldn’t fully block impacts from blunt weapons.
With relatively low agility and strength, he had no choice but to tank hits while hunting.
Yesl healed his wounds instantly, but she couldn’t ease the pain, so Hyungbin’s shouts and screams never stopped.
“Jinwoo! Watch out!”
Jinwoo’s eagle summon vanished after taking a hit in the melee. When Jinwoo was exposed to an orc’s attack, Hyungbin threw himself in and blocked the sword with his back.
“Argh!”
His shoulder blade cracked. His size and armor kept it to that extent.
“This won’t do....”
Sanghun jumped in to clean up the situation.
“It’s good to protect, but tanking like that is dangerous. If the tank falls, the rest of the team dies. And trust your brothers a bit more. Minwoo wasn’t in that much danger, but you jumped in and made it worse.”
Frustrated, Sanghun lectured.
Hyungbin, with nothing to say, just hung his head and listened.
“You rely too much on Changhee and charge in recklessly. Without him, look at this mess. You’re all over level 15—can you really struggle this much against a few orcs?”
Unlike the four stuck at E-Rank, Changhee was already C-Rank. The four sipped potions and listened to Sanghun’s advice.
“Let’s rest a bit and continue.”
Sanghun sighed and turned away. With Jiseok gone, he felt a strong sense of responsibility. He tried to handle Jiseok’s tasks flawlessly, including training the Oh brothers.
He trained the four without Changhee and with Yesl, but it wasn’t as easy as Jiseok had made it seem.
“It’s tough....”
Sanghun’s sighs didn’t stop.
“Are you okay?”
Yesl approached Hyungbin.
“Thanks to you. It’s definitely different partying with a healer.”
“But it still hurts, right?”
“It does.”
“Then why keep going?”
“It’s better than before.”
“Oh.”
“You must’ve heard what kind of guys we were. Yeah. Better me hurting than nailing spikes into someone else’s chest. Haha.”
He scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.
Yesl stared blankly at Hyungbin.
“Hey, hey, the healer lady isn’t mad, right?”
Sihwan, watching Yesl and Hyungbin, poked Minwoo’s side with his elbow.
“Hard to tell with no expression, but if she were mad, she wouldn’t be taking care of him like that.”
“Right? Big bro’s about marriage age anyway, huh?”
Sihwan rubbed his chin.
“But big bro’s such a blockhead. Freezes up around women.”
“Man, what’re the little bros for? Let’s step in.”
“Hyung, what’s the plan?”
Sihwan grinned at Minwoo.
“This hyung’s got a plan.”
“Sihwan hyung’s plans never work out....”
Minwoo and Jinwoo exchanged uneasy glances, but they agreed big bro getting married would be nice, so they stayed quiet.
“Great work, everyone!”
After clearing the gate, they went for drinks, raising glasses at Sihwan’s lead.
“Great work!”
They exchanged brief greetings and shoveled food into their mouths. After a full day in the gate surviving on dry rations, everyone was ravenous.
“Eat plenty.”
Yesl impassively took good care of everyone.
“Healer, no drinks?”
“No. Never tried alcohol.”
“What? Really? Your age....”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Twenty-seven, five-year gap that’s supposedly no big deal without fortune-telling....”
Sihwan muttered.
“Yes?”
“Oh, nothing. But twenty-seven and never had a drink?”
“....No good memories with alcohol. I like sweet things, so I’ll have a non-alcoholic cocktail.”
“Big bro, have some too!”
“Sihwan, you know I don’t drink. Why’re you so hyped today?”
“Come on, just a little today~”
“No, I said. What’s with you today?”
Sihwan nagged, but Hyungbin didn’t drink.
“Hyung, the plan is to get him drunk? Big bro doesn’t drink.”
Minwoo asked incredulously.
“Get drunk, play games, get close.... It’s not working out.”
Soon Sihwan and the brothers forgot the goal, got drunk, laughed, and chatted, but Yesl and Hyungbin, who didn’t drink, remained a bit quiet.
“Bored? Want to head out first?”
“No. It’s fun. Sorry. My face bad?”
“Oh.... No! Just worried you might be bored.”
“Having fun now. Bit hot though. Face hasn’t changed since I was little.”
“Even when something’s funny?”
“Funny inside, but no laugh.”
“When sad?”
Yesl paused, recalling something.
“Sad inside, but face....”
Tears streamed from Yesl’s eyes.
“Huh?”
“Huh? Huh? Yesl, you okay?”
“Tears.... water.....”
“You okay? Did I mess up?”
Hyungbin panicked and offered tissues.
“It’s not that.... Why now....”
“Sir! Sorry. We were supposed to bring non-alcoholic, but gave you one with alcohol. This one’s on the house.”
The server rushed over and replaced Yesl’s drink.
“Alcohol.... makes you cry?”
Yesl’s tears flowed more, then she burst into sobs.
“Uh.... Huh?”
“Uh.... Mom.... Dad!! Waaah.... I was sad then! Sorry. Sorry. Why.... alcohol....”
Yesl wept bitterly and ran outside.
“Hyung! Hyung! Go after her!”
“Huh? Uh....”
The brothers pushed, and Hyungbin followed.
Yesl sat on the curb, sobbing nonstop.
Hyungbin, unsure what to do with a grown woman bawling, just watched nearby.
After a long cry, Yesl composed herself.
“Sorry.... sniff....”
“Oh, no! Nothing to be sorry for.”
Having cried her fill, Yesl’s face looked relieved, not her usual blank expression.
“Not asking why I cried?”
“People cry sometimes.”
Hyungbin sat beside Yesl, and they silently watched passersby.
“Whew.... Parents died in a car crash when I was in middle school. Drunk driver.”
Yesl began confessing.
“Oh.... That’s why no alcohol.”
“Yeah. But.... If I knew alcohol made me cry, I’d have tried sooner.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t cry at parents’ funeral either. Heard people whispering we didn’t raise the kid right, but no tears. Falling apart inside.”
Tears welled in Yesl’s eyes again.
The usually quiet Yesl poured out to Hyungbin like a broken dam.
Bouncing between relatives after parents died. Relatives keeping distance, maybe because of the funeral. Meeting kids in worse straits during school volunteering.
“Hunter work’s tough, yet volunteering in spare time. Impressive.”
“You too, Hyungbin.”
“Me?”
“First time seeing someone care that much for family.”
“As their big brother, it’s natural.”
Hyungbin scratched his head silently.
“And a few days ago, I saw.”
“What?”
“You kneeling on the street.”
Hyungbin, knowing what she meant, shut his mouth.