Chapter 138: Do Hwa’s Disappearance
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: Do Hwa’s Disappearance
Chapter 15 – Do Hwa
1
[Heeheehee.]
“Is my story that funny?”
[Of course it is. I’m happiest when I’m on the phone with you, Ha-chan.]
Listening to Seol-hyang’s voice over the phone, I let out a bitter sigh.
It was already November 24th.
With December just around the corner, I was at home, heating up some instant rice while talking to Seol-hyang.
The topic of our conversation was none other than the recent incident in Iceland.
While the Korean Hunter Management Bureau was handling the situation, Seol-hyang had been monitoring global trends.
Lately, the Bureau had been subtly spreading rumors about the existence of an SS-rank hunter.
At first, other countries, with the exception of Alterz, had been skeptical.
But now that it was revealed a Korean had defeated the Rank-Ex Dimensional Entity, Ilbelli, the existence of an SS-rank hunter had become known to the upper echelons of other nations.
Of course, she told me this was a story circulating only among the top brass of various countries.
If my existence were revealed to the general public, my daily life would be completely upended, so Seol-hyang had taken measures to prevent it.
“Thanks for always working so hard for me.”
[Not that. Say something else.]
“…I love you.”
[I love you, too.]
At Seol-hyang’s coaxing, I uttered the words that still felt unfamiliar, a wave of awkwardness washing over me.
From a distance, Baeksan was staring at me with an expression that said he was about to vomit.
Well, who told you to eavesdrop?
“Fuck, I really need to make sure I'm nowhere near you when you're on the phone from now on.”
As if he couldn’t stand it anymore, Baeksan stormed off past the wall. I watched him go and continued my call.
“But is it really okay for things to proceed like this?”
In terms of firepower, it wouldn’t be strange for me to be considered SS-rank, thanks to Baeksan.
Still, I was worried about things progressing so easily.
Hearing my question, Seol-hyang let out a small laugh.
[Of course it’s okay. In fact, from my perspective, I’m grateful.]
“Grateful?”
[Because other countries and organizations have learned that the SS-rank hunter, the hottest topic right now, took down a Rank-Ex Dimensional Entity with a returnee.]
Hearing that, I understood immediately.
“So it was a demonstration of hunters and returnees uniting.”
[Exactly.]
As I’ve said before, in our country, the relationship between hunters and returnees is decent thanks to Geumgangho.
In other countries, the situation is often extremely hostile.
That’s why the fact that I defeated a Rank-Ex entity alongside Eva was an issue other nations couldn’t simply ignore.
It was the most prominent case yet of the synergy between a hunter and a returnee.
“Then, if things go well…”
[Yes. It will serve as a useful case for improving the public perception of returnees.]
Hearing Seol-hyang’s words, I could finally manage a smile of relief.
“…That’s a relief. If that’s the case, I’m willing to do it as many times as it takes.”
[Although, if you go picking a fight with another Rank-Ex Dimensional Entity, I’ll be seriously angry.]
“Ah, yes, ma’am.”
I replied as if making a vow.
[Really, you should also consider how it feels to see the person you love come home hurt every day. Ha-chan, do you want to see me get hurt?]
“I’d rather get hurt myself.”
[I told you not to get hurt.]
We both laughed it off.
“Oh, right. I mentioned it to Eva, but what do you think about a guild meetup? What about you, Seol-hyang?”
Seol-hyang hadn’t revealed to everyone that she was ‘IKnowit.’
To be precise, she’d been so busy with everything lately that she hadn’t had a chance.
[Hmm, as long as you’re there, Ha-chan, I don’t really mind.]
“You say that, but you secretly care about our guild, don’t you?”
[That’s because it’s the guild you made.]
Though she grumbled, Seol-hyang laughed softly.
[Alright. Let me know when you set a date. I’ll try to make time. It’s actually the perfect time for it.]
With the exception of Erebos, Girasung had been suppressed.
Alterz was quiet, needing to resolve its internal conflicts first.
And while the problem of dimensional gates opened by Girasung remained, the World Returnee Association was handling it.
So, these days, Seol-hyang was relatively free.
“Okay, I’ll set it up and let you know right away.”
[Don’t just wait until then to call me. I need to hear your voice at least once a day, Ha-chan.]
She said it playfully, and I cleared my throat.
“I promise I will.”
[Mhm, good. I love you. See you later, my husband.]
With that, Seol-hyang hung up. I scratched my cheek with an awkward expression.
There was a reason Baeksan had stormed off.
Just then, the microwave dinged, signaling that the instant rice was done.
I should just fill my stomach, I thought. But as I reached for the rice, I realized my phone was ringing again.
I picked it up and saw it was a call from Ahyu.
Does she want to play a game?
I picked up the phone and answered immediately.
“Ahyu?”
[Domi-oppa.]
The moment I heard her, I could tell her voice was down, different from usual.
As soon as I heard it, I set the instant rice aside and started getting dressed.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick? Should I come over?” I asked urgently.
Ahyu answered cautiously.
[Do Hwa is gone.]
Ahyu’s half-brother had disappeared.
2
After hearing from Ahyu, I left immediately and hurried to the place where she was waiting.
Ahyu was standing in front of a cafe, and I ran straight to her.
“Ahyu.”
Slightly out of breath from running, I called her name, and her eyes turned to me.
Just as on the phone, her eyes were filled with anxiety.
Wanting to calm her down, I cupped her cheeks with both hands.
“We’ll find Do Hwa. Why are you so anxious? Don’t worry too much. He’ll be okay.”
She seemed to calm down a little at my touch. Her eyes softened slightly as she covered my hands with her own.
“…It’s not that I’m worried about Do Hwa. It’s something else that’s bothering me.”
“He’s missing, but something else is bothering you?”
Ahyu hesitated for a moment before pressing her head firmly against my chest.
“Domi-oppa, do you think Do Hwa doesn’t resent me?”
Hearing that, I fell silent for a moment.
Ahyu had killed Do Hwa’s mother.
To be precise, she was Cheon Hong-ryeon’s mother as well, but Ahyu had said she didn’t think of the woman as her own mother.
She had simply felt empty after it was all over.
But Do Hwa thought of Ahyu as his older sister.
They had different fathers, but they were born from the same mother.
“Do Hwa’s life was ruined because of me.”
“Ahyu, that’s…”
“I could make the excuse that I was just desperate to survive. But there’s no way Do Hwa could accept that from his perspective.”
Ahyu bit her lip.
Back when she was the Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hong-ryeon, she had felt no guilt for any of her killings.
But after returning to Earth, living in modern society, and watching her parents die with her own two eyes…
She was no longer Cheon Hong-ryeon. She was Shin So-ra.
People change.
That was true even for returnees.
“When Do Hwa first came to find me, I thought what was bound to happen had finally happened.”
“You thought he came to get revenge on you?”
“Yes. I wasn’t going to let him kill me, but I was prepared to at least listen if he resented me.”
But Do Hwa had asked Ahyu to save his world.
That must have flustered her even more.
The boy whose life she had ruined was asking her for help.
“Maybe Do Hwa really thinks of you as his older sister.”
“Me? We’ve barely even talked; we just share the same blood. Domi-oppa, I know very well that the world isn’t always so beautiful.”
A complex, somber emotion colored Ahyu’s eyes.
For her, who had been swept up in a dimensional shift and endured so much, the world didn’t seem like a bright place.
I understood that.
The world was full of irrationality. I myself had hit rock bottom because of Kwak Sa-yeon.
“Ahyu, but Do Hwa’s mother asked you back then, didn’t she? If you were getting along well with Do Hwa.”
“…Yes.”
“Then maybe Do Hwa’s mother was telling him all along. That he had an older sister, and how that sister was living now.”
Even if she was a child forced upon her by the Supreme Cult Leader, to the Sword Empress, Do Hwa’s mother, Cheon Hong-ryeon was still her daughter.
What must she have thought, seeing her daughter become the head of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon, and command the world?
One thing was certain: when she asked if Ahyu was getting along with Do Hwa, the Sword Empress must have felt a deep love-hate for Cheon Hong-ryeon.
Because she was the child she had abandoned.
“They say children are heavily influenced by their parents’ emotions.”
A child is like a blank canvas.
Parents raising a child paint a part of their own lives onto them, and in doing so, they find a part of themselves in their child and come to love them all the more.
It was possible that the feelings the Sword Empress had for Cheon Hong-ryeon had been painted onto Do Hwa and remained there.
“And Do Hwa knows, too. He knows what the Murim Alliance did.”
He was the one who had to be sent as an envoy to the Demonic Cult while the Sword Empress was held hostage.
He, more than anyone, would know the circumstances behind that incident.
“That’s why you’ve been watching over Do Hwa for the past month, right?”
About a month had passed since Do Hwa came from Murim to Earth.
During that time, he had been living with Ahyu at her house.
As such, Ahyu knew him better than anyone.
“Does Do Hwa seem like he resents you or anything?”
Ahyu slowly shook her head.
That gesture was proof of Do Hwa’s feelings.
Seeing this, I slowly raised my hands and pulled her into an embrace.
“Ahyu, you want Do Hwa to resent you, don’t you?”
Ahyu’s body flinched and began to tremble faintly.
The life Ahyu had lived as Cheon Hong-ryeon.
A forced life, where she had to become the Heavenly Demon just to survive.
In that life, Ahyu had suffered and broken down.
That was why she had thrown it all away, exhausted.
But now, that discarded life was trying to continue once more, all because of Do Hwa.
If Do Hwa had come seeking revenge, she could have simply killed him and put an end to the life of Cheon Hong-ryeon.
But Do Hwa didn’t resent her.
On the contrary, he had politely asked her to return as Cheon Hong-ryeon and save Murim.
For Ahyu, that truth was likely far more difficult to bear.
“Ahyu, you’re not alone anymore.”
I held Ahyu in my arms, letting her know that I was by her side.
“You have me, you have our Dangchan guildmates, and you even have the World Returnee Association.”
There were many people who would help her.
“And even if everyone else is busy and can’t help…”
I met Ahyu’s gaze.
“You have me.”
No matter what happens to you, I’ll help you.
That’s what I told her.
Ahyu looked at me with blurry eyes, then slowly broke into a smile.
“…Yeah, you’re right. I have you, Domi-oppa.”
Seeing her finally smile, I felt a wave of relief.
I smiled back at her. Ahyu looked up at me and said,
“I want you to kiss me right now.”
Whoa, that came out of nowhere.