The Unwelcome Reunion
The pillar of light vanished, and darkness returned once more. Yooshin, who had been staring up at the sky, lowered his head. A cold light shimmered in his eyes as he turned his gaze toward the vampires. They flinched.
"Well? Are you going to have a go at me, or are you going to kneel? Just so you know, I’m in a terrible mood right now."
Malice was boiling within his body. His head was already throbbing at the thought of the nightmares he would have to endure soon. The silence that followed was brief. The vampire at the very front knelt down. As if that were the signal, knees hit the ground everywhere. At first, it was just a few, but soon, thousands of vampires were all kneeling. It was a spectacle in its own right. However, Yooshin watched them with indifferent, silent eyes.
"Good. A very wise choice."
Yooshin shifted his gaze from them to Baek Woohyun.
"Captain?"
At his call, Baek Woohyun rushed over and stood before Yooshin.
"Please, give me your orders."
"Handle these guys for me. They say they’ll turn back into humans in a few days, so just lock them up somewhere."
"Understood. I will handle it as you instructed."
The hunters from the Hunter Management Department pulled out their radios and began sending messages busily. The stadium became bustling, as if waking from a dream back into reality. Soon, Team Leader Park Haesu came running over.
"Yooshin! That was truly incredible! The whole country is in an uproar because of you!"
Yooshin glanced at the fussing Park Haesu and said,
"Please take care of my sister. And I’ll be sleeping in your office tonight. For some reason, I don’t feel like going home tonight."
With that, Yooshin brushed past him. Just as Park Haesu was about to run after him, Baek Woohyun grabbed his shoulder.
"I think it would be best to leave him alone tonight, Team Leader."
"Huh? Why?"
Park Haesu blinked, clearly not understanding the situation. Baek Woohyun pointed to the drones hovering in the sky and said,
"Didn't you see everything through those?"
"I saw it! He took down hundreds of vampires in an instant with a superhero landing, and defeated their leader in a one-on-one fight! Then thousands of vampires knelt before him. Isn't this basically a movie? Even if it were released as a film, I’m sure it would hit ten million viewers. I guarantee it."
Something was off. He didn't know? He could guarantee that what happened after that would be a bigger issue than anything the Team Leader just mentioned.
"Did you perhaps not see the pillar of light that descended from the sky?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"...Never mind. I must have been mistaken."
It was certain that they hadn't seen it. That was for the best. Explaining what they had just witnessed would have been difficult.
'To think that souls actually exist.'
Baek Woohyun’s eyes followed the back of Cheon Yooshin as he trudged away. 'You... are you even human?'
Baek Woohyun’s eyes grew complex at the thought of that power, the limits of which he could not fathom.
Korea was in an uproar. All because of one name: Cheon Yooshin. It was only natural. He was the hero who had saved the country. The thousands of vampires had been someone’s head of household, someone’s son, or someone’s daughter. He had captured them without killing them. Moreover, who could remain calm at the news that they would return to being human within a few days...?
The Blue House immediately issued a monetary reward. Minister Choi Jeongwon even handed over his personal card and patted Team Leader Park Haesu on the shoulder. Thanks to this, the Hunter Management Department took the unprecedented step of clearing out the office and going out for a team dinner.
And then.
Park Haesu arrived in front of the darkened Hunter Management Department building with a cheerful gait. His face was slightly flushed from the alcohol, but his eyes were clear. He held chicken and beer in both hands. Chimaek—the one thing no South Korean office worker could ever hate! He hummed a tune as he entered the building and headed toward his office.
Finally reaching his office door, Park Haesu stared at it for a moment. It was where Cheon Yooshin, the protagonist of today who would be remembered in history, was staying.
"Chimaek. It’s a bit humble, I suppose."
It was far too meager to treat a hero who had saved the country... but he shook his head.
"Eh, whatever. It’s the sincerity that counts."
Park Haesu carefully opened the door.
"Yooshin! Are you sle—!"
But Park Haesu couldn't finish his sentence. His bright smile froze instantly. The chicken and beer fell from his hands to the floor with a clatter, but he couldn't bring himself to pick them up.
The reason was Cheon Yooshin, who lay on the makeshift cot installed in one corner. He was sleeping. However, he was curled up, trembling as if in a seizure. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his pale face was twisted in pain. Incoherent muttering leaked from his lips.
"N-no... stop..."
Yooshin’s fingers repeatedly clenched and unclenched the bedsheets. As if he were being tormented by someone invisible.
"Kuaaaaah!"
Yooshin screamed.
"Yooshin! Yooshin, wake up! Yooshin!"
Park Haesu was startled and rushed over, shaking Cheon Yooshin to wake him, but he could not wake from his slumber. Even for Cheon Yooshin, sleep was a state of vulnerability. And so, he was currently suffering from memories of the Abyss.
Countless living beings had fallen by his hand. Their screams, their faces twisted in agony, the blood that had flowed all over his body. Everything came back to life vividly. Normally, he could suppress it with his powerful Magi, but Sagi had entered his body. A crack had formed in his otherwise perfect Magi.
Of course, given time, the Sagi would be consumed by the Magi. As the night deepened, Yooshin’s pain only intensified. And finally, as dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, he awoke from his nightmare.
"...Huh?"
Yooshin discovered Team Leader Park Haesu, who was bobbing his head in sleep on a folding chair next to the bed.
"This guy sleeps whenever he gets the chance. Hey, Team Leader."
At the sound of his voice, Park Haesu’s eyelids fluttered open.
"A-are you okay? Yooshin!"
"Wipe the drool off your face before you talk."
*Sniff...*
"I-I apologize."
Cheon Yooshin stretched and stood up from his seat.
"Ah, I didn't sleep well, so my back is stiff. I really should sleep at home."
Then, as if he suddenly remembered his sister, he asked,
"Oh! What about my sister?"
"Fortunately, she had no external injuries. She regained consciousness shortly after you left, and I tried to take her to the hospital, but she was stubborn about having to go back to the dormitory..."
Park Haesu scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Yooshin clicked his tongue.
"Eh, what a foolish sister. She could have gotten free hospital food—how great would that have been?"
He had treated her external wounds, so that wasn't a problem. But what Yooshin had been worried about was her mental stress. As expected, a high school senior was an unfortunate species that had no time to be sick.
It was Chuseok. And what is Chuseok? It is a series of events where relatives who usually don't keep in touch gather in one place to boast about their wealth and the success of their children. And on the day of Chuseok.
Yoo Insook called out to Yooshin, who was rolling around on the sofa with a somewhat nervous expression.
"Yooshin."
"Did you call for me, Your Majesty?"
Yooshin clasped his hands together like a eunuch and bowed his waist. Behind him, a historical drama was playing on the TV. Yoo Insook giggled at her son’s playfulness.
"You didn't forget about tomorrow, did you?"
Yooshin winked playfully.
"Eh, Mom! I’m Cheon Yooshin. The Cheon Yooshin who would have entered Hankuk University as the top student if I had just studied! Of course I know. Tomorrow is Chuseok."
"Yes. We have to go to your uncle’s house tomorrow, so don't go wandering off anywhere else. Do you understand?"
He nodded.
"Don't worry. I already told the Team Leader not to call me."
For hunters and agents belonging to the Hunter Management Department, who maintain a 24-hour emergency standby system because they never know when an uncleared gate or a Sudden Gate might pop up, holidays are a luxury. But Yooshin was an exception. He was that strong, and with his recent resolution of the vampire incident, his influence now easily surpassed that of the President. Some even joked that if Cheon Yooshin ran for president, they would gladly cast their vote for him.
Anyway.
"What about Jin-ah?"
Mom’s expression stiffened for a moment before she smiled.
"Jin-ah doesn't have much time left until the CSAT. She said she couldn't come out of the dormitory because she has a lot to study."
"Eh, but it’s a rare occasion for the relatives to gather. How can she do that!"
Yooshin clicked his tongue.
On the morning of Chuseok, Yooshin and Yoo Insook took a taxi to his uncle’s house.
"Wow, Uncle has really made it. Living in a house like this."
The place where the taxi stopped was a place with high walls. One could see the determination to thoroughly block external gazes and intruders. It was a luxury house that looked truly wealthy.
He pressed the doorbell. A stranger’s woman’s voice was heard.
"Who is it?"
"Hello. I’m Yooshin’s mother. I’ve come to Uncle’s house. I’ve come to pay my respects for Chuseok."
*Click!*
At the same time, the locked door opened. Yooshin followed behind his mother and passed through the massive iron gate. At that moment, his mouth fell open at the sight that unfolded before him.
"Wow, this is insane."
A wide lawn, and in the middle, a path paved with white gravel led to the house. On both sides of the path stood shrubs that had been well-trimmed as if by an expert. Beyond that were flowers of various colors. There was even a fountain spraying clean streams of water. Watching that scene, Cheon Yooshin’s face gradually hardened.
'So they didn't help us even though they lived this well?'
Though they were living in a high-end villa that didn't lose to this place now, before that, his mother and sister had lived together in a small 1.5-room apartment with mold-covered wallpaper.
'At this level, it wouldn't have been that hard to help us.'
Come to think of it, Mom was acting strange. Mom’s expression was stiff. Why was Mom acting like that again? Isn't it a pleasant thing to go visit relatives on Chuseok? He remembered playing games with his relatives and receiving pocket money from his uncle every holiday. Mom seemed to have been happy back then, too.
'Was my memory embellished?'
Meanwhile, they arrived in front of the entrance. The door was already open. A man with a face similar to his father’s—his uncle—greeted Yooshin and his mother with an awkward smile.
"Welcome. It’s been a while."
However.
'Look at this? There’s something going on.'
Yooshin didn't miss the awkward smile and the anxiety in his uncle’s eyes.
The Blue House office. President Cha Insoo was sitting in front of his desk, and the Minister of Unification entered with documents in hand.
"Mr. President, I have come to report on the schedule for the inter-Korean summit to be held in Pyongyang."
"It’s really just around the corner now."
A deep sense of responsibility was etched in the President’s eyes.
"Yes. That is correct. First, a preliminary visit by the working-level team to Pyongyang is scheduled for next Monday. We plan to coordinate the inspection of the Pyongyang summit venue, protocol, and security-related matters on-site."
President Cha Insoo nodded slightly as he listened.
"Following that, on Wednesday, we plan to exchange the draft of the summit through the inter-Korean channel."
"Were there any special requests from the North? For instance, economic aid?"
The inter-Korean summit had been proposed by North Korea first, not them. That was why President Cha Insoo thought they must want something.
"None so far. Unlike before, the North is currently aligning everything with us for this summit. It is unusual for them to align entirely with our opinions like this... the only thing they desire is the attendance of Hunter Cheon Yooshin."
"The Hunter Management Department will handle it well. If Hunter Cheon Yooshin cannot attend, the summit will go up in smoke. The reason the North is being so submissive right now is probably because of Hunter Cheon Yooshin."
The Minister of Unification nodded.
"Yes. That is correct, Mr. President. Looking at how the inter-Korean channel was closed when the rumor of Hunter Cheon Yooshin’s death was circulating, it is clear."
"Indeed. Therefore, more than anything else, whether or not Hunter Cheon Yooshin attends will be the most important key to this summit."
A heavy silence descended upon the room.