Chapter 61
Yoon Sang-min was unusually busy from first thing in the morning. Yoon Sang-hyuk, freshly washed and already finished with his preparations to leave, looked at his younger brother and shook his head.
"Why are you in such a rush?"
"Because, obviously. Let’s go already."
"Fine. I get it. Just give me a second to get dressed."
By the time he had dressed, Lilith was standing beside Yoon Sang-min. She wasn’t in the red dress she usually wore at the Masked Castle, but in casual clothes, the sort she put on when she went out. The dress suited her beautifully, of course, but so did skinny jeans and a knit sweater. Lilith looked good in anything.
"Lilith. Why are you just standing there like that?"
"Can’t I come too?"
"Do you even know where we’re going?"
Lilith nodded.
"We’re going to meet your parents, right? I’d like to greet Oppa’s parents too."
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Yoon Sang-min. Yoon Sang-min merely shrugged and shook his head. It meant he hadn’t said anything to Lilith. Yoon Sang-hyuk patted Lilith on the head and said,
"Lilith. Our parents are dead."
"Huh?"
Lilith stared at him, her eyes going round with surprise.
"They died when we were kids. We’re going to visit where our parents are resting now."
"Ah... I see."
The smile faded from Lilith’s face. In its place came apology.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t know."
"It’s fine. It’s a little awkward today, so let’s go together another time and visit our parents, all right?"
"Yes."
Yoon Sang-hyuk lightly smacked Yoon Sang-min’s shoulder.
"Let’s go."
The two of them fed mana into their teleportation rings at the same time. The world rippled, and instead of the Masked Castle, the brothers arrived at the apartment where they had once lived.
They went down to the parking lot and got into the car.
"Hyung, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?"
"Twenty-two years? No, was it twenty-three?"
"It’s only been two years in reality."
"Right."
He started the engine and pulled out.
"Thank God Mom and Dad’s graves aren’t in a dungeonized mountain."
If the mountain where their graves were had become a dungeon, he wouldn’t have been able to come and pay respects in such neat clothes like this.
Because it was still early, the roads weren’t clogged. They reached Taean, their destination, faster than expected.
"It hasn’t changed."
Yoon Sang-hyuk muttered as he looked over the town.
"It’s only been a long time for you. Reality’s only moved forward two years, remember?"
"Yeah. I keep forgetting."
That was how vivid the twenty-two years he had lived in Eternal World still were. As he drove, Yoon Sang-hyuk surveyed the area. It was a place he had wanted to come back to dozens, even hundreds of times while he was in Eternal World.
He parked near the low mountain where his parents were buried, then soon climbed the hill. Their graves were in a spot that didn’t get much sun. It had been the only burial ground the mountain owner had allowed.
"You came alone."
Seeing how neatly the grave had been tended, Yoon Sang-hyuk asked,
"If the eldest son isn’t around, the younger one has to do it."
Before he had gone to Eternal World, it had been Yoon Sang-hyuk’s responsibility to care for the graves. He took things out of his inventory and laid them in a row before the two adjoining graves.
"Father’s favorite liquor, Mother’s favorite roses, and..."
Tears slipped down Yoon Sang-hyuk’s face.
"It’s been a long time since I last came to see you. Have you been well?"
Their parents had died in a traffic accident when Yoon Sang-hyuk was in the second year of middle school. They had gone out saying they were attending his father’s reunion, leaving the two brothers at home, and never came back.
At the time of their parents’ deaths, Yoon Sang-min was still in elementary school.
After that, the two brothers had relied on each other and lived on until now. They hadn’t been rich, but they had enough to get by, and because the insurance money their parents left behind was considerable, they weren’t crushed by money troubles.
But the world wasn’t kind to children who were only fifteen and twelve years old.
"Hyung, you really are something else. If you came all this way to see Mom and Dad, you should be smiling, not crying."
"Yeah. I’m really a fool, aren’t I? Mother, Father. Your son is doing well. Today I’m going to brag a little. Your son has become the most famous person in the world. So don’t worry anymore."
The two brothers emptied out everything they had wanted to say to their parents over the years. After spending about an hour pulling weeds from the graves and tidying the place, they went back down the mountain.
"Feels good coming here after such a long time, doesn’t it?"
"Feels great."
"Are you heading right back up now?"
"No. There’s somewhere else we need to stop."
"Huh? Where? You don’t know anybody in Taean."
"What do you mean I don’t?"
Yoon Sang-min gave an awkward laugh.
"Don’t tell me you’re planning to go there?"
"Why wouldn’t I?"
"Why do you want to go there?"
"I’ve just got some business."
He drove out of Taean and followed the road that ran beside the sea. After quite a while, they arrived in front of a house behind a tall wall. Inside the fairly large yard stood a two-story home.
"Hyung. Let’s just go."
Yoon Sang-min got out of the car and grabbed Yoon Sang-hyuk’s arm. Yoon Sang-hyuk smiled as if to say it was fine and patted his brother’s shoulder.
When he rang the doorbell, someone answered through the intercom from inside.
- Who is it?
"I’m Yoon Sang-hyuk. Is Great-Uncle Dang there?"
- Ah, Sang-hyuk. Just a moment.
With a metallic sound, the gate opened.
They had come to the house of his father’s cousin, the man Yoon Sang-hyuk would call Great-Uncle Dang. That great-uncle was also the owner of the mountain they had just visited to pay respects.
They walked through the yard and stood before the front door. It soon opened, and a woman in her early fifties came out.
"Sang-min too, I see. Long time no see."
"Great-Aunt Dang, it’s been a while."
"Is your great-uncle home?"
"Yes. Come in."
They went inside. The place had only been visited twice when they were very little, so it held no real memory for them. In the large living room overlooking the yard, Great-Uncle Dang and a cousin from the sixth degree whose name Yoon Sang-hyuk couldn’t even remember were sitting on the sofa.
"Sang-hyuk, long time no see."
"Yes. How have you been, Great-Uncle?"
"As for me..."
Dang Jong-tae trailed off.
He was his father’s cousin, but for the brothers he was less than a neighboring relative. They had had no contact at all since their parents died.
The last time they had met had been when the family graves were made on the ancestral mountain. Even now, he still remembered clearly how the man had generously offered them the spot that didn’t get much sun, as if it were some great favor.
"Come to think of it, today is your father’s memorial day."
"It’s my mother’s memorial day too."
"Right. So what brings you here?"
Since they hadn’t visited once in ten years after their parents died, it was only natural for a sudden visit to seem strange.
"I came because I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal?"
"Yes. To be exact... sell me the ancestral mountain."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Dang Jong-tae looked at Yoon Sang-hyuk as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
"I’ll give you 2 billion won. Sell it."
The ancestral mountain where their parents were buried was only worth around 500 million won at most. The location wasn’t good, the mountain wasn’t large, and access was poor since the road was far away.
"2 billion?"
Four times the market value. Dang Jong-tae’s expression changed. After studying Yoon Sang-hyuk for a moment, he asked,
"Are you a player too?"
"Yes. Both I and Sang-min are players."
"Ah, so that’s it. You must have made a lot of money, then, to talk about 2 billion so casually. Right, our Sang-ho is a player too. You remember Sang-ho, don’t you?"
The man sitting beside Dang Jong-tae, about Yoon Sang-hyuk’s age, was his sixth cousin, Yoon Sang-ho. They had met only twice when they were children, so there wasn’t much to remember.
"Yes."
"Our Sang-ho’s in his eighth year. How many years in are you two?"
Yoon Sang-min seemed about to say something, but Yoon Sang-hyuk stopped him with a tap on the thigh. Then he looked at Yoon Sang-ho. Eight years meant he was close to the very bottom among players, if not already there.
"Our Sang-ho has been hunting monsters or whatever they are lately and making a good living. He’s been buying land nearby and plans to rebuild the house soon. By the way, have you heard of the Goguryeo Guild? Our Sang-ho belongs to the Goguryeo Guild."
Like all parents, Dang Jong-tae never missed a chance to brag about his child.
"The Goguryeo Guild."
Yoon Sang-hyuk murmured it under his breath.
He had heard the name. It just wasn’t a guild important enough to keep in memory. If he remembered correctly, the Goguryeo Guild was one of Balhae Guild’s subsidiary guilds.
Now that the guild’s name had come up, Sang-ho, who had been quiet until then, put on a slightly smug expression and said,
"Come to think of it, hyung... wait, can I call you hyung?"
"I’m one year older than you."
"Well, one year doesn’t matter much... Anyway, I’m with the Goguryeo Guild. You’ve heard of the Balhae Guild, right? We’re one of their subordinate guilds, but if you work hard in our guild, you can move up to Balhae Guild. What do you think? Want me to introduce you? I think you could join for about 500 million won."
"You have to pay money just to join a guild?"
"That’s how the world works. Do you think it’s so easy to get into a big guild like Goguryeo Guild? Besides, it’s a lot cheaper now. Back when I joined, it was 1 billion won."
In the end, he was saying he had paid to get into the guild too.
"I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested. Great-Uncle Dang."
Yoon Sang-hyuk called to Dang Jong-tae.
"Will you sell the ancestral mountain or not?"
"Even so, it’s the family mountain..."
"I’ll give you 3 billion."
"3 billion?"
Dang Jong-tae’s expression changed. Greed flared to life in his eyes.
"Sang-hyuk, you know this already, but a family mountain means something special, doesn’t it? So..."
"I’ll give you 5 billion."
"Ahem."
Just then, Great-Aunt Dang, Lee Seon-hee, came back carrying a tray of drinks. She sat down on the sofa and jabbed Dang Jong-tae in the side.
"Honestly, just sell it. Who even cares that much about family mountains these days? Things can change in strange ways at any time."
"Ahem! Who asked you to butt in? Just stay quiet. The family mountain is something passed down through our family for generations..."
"I’ll give you 10 billion."
"Wh-what?"
Dang Jong-tae stared at Yoon Sang-hyuk with his eyes wide.
"I said I’ll give you 10 billion won. Sell the mountain."
"You’re really willing to buy it for 10 billion?"
That was a ridiculous sum, nearly twenty times the market price. The Dang household might have been considered well-off in the neighborhood, but 10 billion won was money he would never have touched in his entire life.
"You’re really saying you’ll pay 10 billion?"
"Yes. If you still say no this time, I’ll just leave. There are plenty of low mountains around. I’ll just buy one of those."
"Hmm. The family mountain does mean a lot, but you’re not a stranger, and you’ve asked so sincerely, so I’ll sell it to you."
"Thank you. Do you know a real estate agent? Call them right away."
"Right now?"
"Yes. Why waste time? I’ll pay in full today. Let’s write up the contract now."
"Ah? O-oh, all right."
Dang Jong-tae got to his feet, walked into another room while calling someone, and disappeared from view.
"My, my. Looks like Sang-hyuk’s made a lot of money."
Lee Seon-hee spoke with a forced smile, but Yoon Sang-hyuk didn’t respond.
"You have money? Then why not just join our guild? What do you need to buy some tiny rocky mountain for?"
Sang-ho said while sipping his drink.
"To you it might be just a mountain, but to me it’s where my parents are resting."
"Who said otherwise? Anyway, think about joining our guild. If I introduce you, no one will ignore you."
Watching Sang-ho puff himself up, Yoon Sang-hyuk let out a small laugh. There was no way they’d give him special treatment just because he knew some eighth-year player. Seeing that smile, Sang-ho bristled.
"What’s that supposed to mean? You laughing at me? Just how great are you, anyway?"
"Just stay quiet. I didn’t come here to fight you."
"Hah. Unbelievable. Do you even know who I am?"
"I do. Yoon Sang-ho, eighth-year player. Happy now? If you’ve got nothing more to say, finish your drink."
Yoon Sang-hyuk leaned back on the sofa as if he had nothing else to say.
"The real estate agent I know will be here soon."
Dang Jong-tae came out of the room holding a document envelope. It was probably the registry certificate for the mountain.
A short while later, just as Dang Jong-tae had said, a man who looked to be around his age arrived.
"Hello. I’m Park Gwang-cheol, a real estate agent in Taean. You’re buying the mountain that Mr. Yoon owns?"
"Yes. I’d like to write the contract immediately."
"That’s the way to do it. I’ve brought everything prepared."
As Park Gwang-cheol filled out the contract, he said,
"The sale price is 10 billion won, correct?"
"Correct."
"How would you like to pay?"
"If you give me your account number, I’ll transfer it right away."
Dang Jong-tae handed Yoon Sang-hyuk a slip of paper with the account number written on it. Yoon Sang-hyuk immediately called Jey, the Master of the Dark Merchant Guild.
"It’s me. I’m going to send you an account number by message, so transfer 10 billion won. You don’t need to know what it’s for. Bye."
He hung up and looked at Dang Jong-tae.
"The money will be deposited right away. Check again in about five minutes."
A moment later, after checking his bank balance on his phone, Dang Jong-tae’s mouth nearly split with delight.
"Hah, hahahaha. It’s been deposited."
"Really? It really went in?"
Lee Seon-hee cried out in excitement too.
"The contract’s done. Fill in the marked spaces and stamp it with your seal."
They finished the paperwork easily and made the seal impression.
"Now go to the community center and..."
Park Gwang-cheol briefly explained the rest of the procedure.
Yoon Sang-hyuk took the contract and said to Dang Jong-tae,
"That ancestral mountain belongs to me now. Correct?"
"Hah, yes. It’s yours."
"That’s what you’re saying?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Dang Jong-tae with a strange expression.
"I’m giving you one month."
"Huh? Time for what?"
"Move every grave in the mountain except for my parents’ graves."
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean, what am I talking about? It’s my mountain, isn’t it?"
"No, even so, you can’t do that. The people buried there are all your ancestors."
"Really? When my parents died when I was fifteen and I was surviving out there with Sang-min, I learned a great deal. Family, relatives... you’re just strangers who happen to share the same surname. Do you remember when my parents died? You gave us a spot that barely got any sun and acted like you were doing us a favor."
"T-that was..."
Dang Jong-tae faltered, unable to continue.
"I won’t say any more. I’m giving you a month. Move them."
As the brothers rose to leave, Sang-ho shouted in anger.
"Hey! What the hell is this? This is too much, isn’t it? Are we strangers or what?"
"Didn’t you hear what I just said? We’re less than strangers. And what’s with calling an older man 'hey'?"
Yoon Sang-hyuk smiled faintly.
"Want me to show you what really counts as too much?"
"What bullshit are you talking about?"
"Wait and see."
Yoon Sang-hyuk called someone.
"It’s me. There’s a guild under you called the Goguryeo Guild, right? Yeah, that one. I have no intention of being tied up with them. You understand what I mean, don’t you? Good. Thanks for the work."
After hanging up, Yoon Sang-hyuk looked at Sang-ho, who still hadn’t understood what was happening.
"Do you know who I just talked to?"
"How the hell would I know?"
Watching Sang-ho shout, Yoon Sang-hyuk gave a thin smile.
"Balhae Guild Master Choi Seok-hyun."
"W-what?"
"That’s all. You said that if you worked hard in your guild, you could move up to Balhae Guild? You won’t need to dream about that anymore."
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean? It means Balhae Guild is going to cut Goguryeo Guild loose."