Homecoming in Glory
Episode 100. Homecoming in Glory.
Eileen’s private jet sliced across the clouds.
Inside the cabin, there was a king-size bedroom, a bar, and even a conference room—luxuries you wouldn’t normally find unless you were boarding the first-class section of a regular airliner. But all that space looked meaningless now, because the human density around Woojin had turned the place into a crush.
“H-hey, guys, could you maybe… back up a little…?”
Unfortunately, not a single one of them paid Woojin’s desperate plea any mind.
“Oppa, try this. It’s fruit we got after saving a village, and it’s super sweet.”
“Woojin oppa, tell us what happened while you were away.”
“Aaah, I’ve waited so long for a peaceful day like this!”
Woojin was breaking out in a cold sweat, trapped by three women while holding a tiny goblin child in his arms. On his left, Yu Jihyun was spearing fruit with a fork and feeding it to him. On his right, Eileen was stroking his arm while subtly pressing her body closer. Behind him, Jo Ayoung was hanging onto him like a koala.
They were reunited after half a month apart.
All the affection they’d been forcing down while they were at war was erupting all at once.
“Hmph. To think you let Catherine have half a month alone with you… I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
Eileen said that while shooting a glare across the cabin at Catherine, who was cozily teasing Kim Chulsoo from the opposite seat. Her eyes were thick with suspicion and jealousy.
“You two weren’t off doing anything in the jungle, were you? Like ripping each other’s clothes off, or getting trapped in a cave together?”
Catherine answered with a meaningful smile.
“Ho-ho, Lady Eileen, really. Nothing that dramatic happened.”
Beside her, Kim Chulsoo was accepting fruit from Catherine’s hand and eating it obediently.
“My man became the single greatest man in the world on this expedition, did he not? He wouldn’t have had the luxury of looking anywhere else.”
Confidence bloomed across Kim Chulsoo’s expression.
But Eileen just snorted.
“Hah. You mean that ridiculous +15 incident.”
“It wasn’t just ridiculous, Lady Eileen. It was a revolution.”
Eileen, who had no firsthand experience, found herself genuinely curious.
“It was that good…?”
Catherine nodded.
“You absolutely have to do it. Even if Woojin says he doesn’t want to, you’ll have to make him.”
“R-really? That impressive?”
“Yes. I can guarantee it, Lady Eileen. You, Lady Jihyun, and Ayoung… you’ll all be more than satisfied. No, you might not even be able to live without Woojin anymore.”
That was a bit too much for Woojin, and he exploded.
“Hey, what the hell? We just got on the plane and you’re already talking like that? There’s a kid here!”
At that, Eileen turned to Gabi.
“Gabi, how old are you?”
Gabi blinked her round, adorable eyes and answered in a bright little voice.
“Gabi doesn’t know her age. She’s been around for a really, really long time.”
“I don’t know the exact number, but if she’s the origin of goblins, she’s probably at least several hundred, maybe several thousand years old. And early sex education is necessary.”
“What kind of sex education? Absolutely not!”
Woojin’s cry, like a model Confucian gentleman in full panic, rang through the cabin—but the others didn’t care in the slightest.
Jo Ayoung shouted it out with no shame at all.
“No way!! Tonight! It’s tonight!!”
Woojin already knew exactly what she meant, but he still played dumb with all his might.
“W-what’s tonight!?”
“Don’t act innocent, oppa!! Do you know what I was thinking while holding back against a million monsters on Borneo Island?! I survived by imagining us going further!! I was lonely enough to die over here!”
At Ayoung’s declaration, Yu Jihyun added her own voice, trying very hard to sound dignified, though it trembled at the edges.
“……Ayoung is right. Come to think of it, we still haven’t decided the order, have we?”
Eileen nodded with deadly seriousness.
“Hmm. We were too busy during the war to even make time for it. Fine. Let’s decide the order fairly tonight.”
“And we can think about the details slowly.”
“Good!”
Woojin stared out the window and did his best to look calm, but his heart was pounding like a drum.
Honestly… I’m kind of, no, a lot excited.
Hero or not, Woojin was still a healthy man in his twenties.
Three of the most beautiful women in the world were practically sharpening their teeth to devour him; there was no way he wasn’t looking forward to it.
He struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting, then forced his reflection in the window back into something like composure.
“Woojin, look outside. We’ve entered airspace.”
At Catherine’s words, Woojin looked out the window.
The instant he did, the mouths of Woojin, Sangjin, and Gabi all dropped open at once.
VROOOOOOM—!!
Cutting through the clouds, a formation of the South Korean Air Force’s latest fighter jets appeared.
Three planes on each side—six in total—were flying in perfect formation, escorting Eileen’s private jet like an honor guard.
Once they confirmed that Woojin was looking out the window, they all gave him a salute by rocking their wings in unison.
This wasn’t just a state visit. It was more respect than that.
“Waaah!! Daddy! The planes are saying hi! Can I make friends with them!?”
Gabi pressed her face to the glass and bounced up and down.
“N-no! You can’t do that, Gabi!”
“Okay!”
Passengers, we have now entered South Korean airspace. A formation of Air Force fighter jets is escorting the heroes home. A message has arrived from the Incheon International Airport control tower. Welcome back safely, heroes who saved humanity. South Korea is proud of you. You’ve all worked hard. Lady Eileen, and all the heroes.
Since the pilot had been hired by Eileen, it only made sense that he singled her out in the announcement like a dutiful office worker.
Still, Woojin felt a thrilling shiver run down his spine.
I really did it.
And when the plane finally landed, the view outside the windows became even more unreal.
The runway was lined with an endless red carpet, and at its far end stood a military band, an honor guard, and…
“Isn’t that… the president?”
Sangjin asked, sounding completely stunned.
Eileen laughed when she saw his reaction.
“Mm, he contacted me yesterday. Said he wanted to come greet us personally.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us?”
Eileen answered with a shrug, as if it were nothing.
“What’s such a big deal about the President of South Korea coming to welcome us?”
“……”
When Woojin looked outside, it was true: the President of South Korea had actually come in person.
And not just him. The leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, the Minister of National Defense, even the heads of major conglomerates—every heavyweight who moved South Korea was lined up to receive Woojin’s group.
And among them, the most eye-catching face of all was a familiar one: Director Jeong Sung-hwan of the Awakened Management Bureau.
Seeing someone he actually knew standing among all those strangers made Woojin feel, oddly enough, a little glad.
Long time no see, old man. You look like you’re doing well.
When the stairs lowered and Woojin stepped out first, the cheers burst loose.
“WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!”
It was the roar of hundreds of thousands of people—no, of the entire airport and everything beyond the fences.
Taegukgi and the Benedict family’s banners rippled like waves.
“Kim Woojin! Kim Sangjin! Eileen! Yu Jihyun!”
People chanted their names and screamed until they were hoarse.
Some of them were even crying.
No way… why are they crying…?
The relief of being freed from the terror of the gates that had devoured Asia, and the overwhelming pride that the miracle had been achieved by Koreans, flooded the runway.
The President walked up to Woojin and gripped his hand with both of his own.
“Kim Woojin-nim. It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Jeong Ui-cheol, President of South Korea.”
Woojin answered, still dazed.
“Ah, yes… n-nice to meet you.”
After the brief greeting came the President’s words of thanks.
“Thank you. Truly… thank you. The two of you saved South Korea, Asia, and, beyond that, the entire world.”
Woojin bowed with a dazed expression.
“I just… did what needed to be done.”
That evening, the South Korean news was plastered wall to wall with stories about Woojin and his group.
[Breaking] Asia Pacification Force Returns — “Goblin Dad” Kim Woojin Syndrome Sweeps the Nation
[Economy] South Korea’s sovereign credit rating upgraded to AAA… the Kim Woojin Effect
[Society] Hunter hopefuls around the world say, “I’m moving to Korea”… admissions inquiries to Hunter Academy flood in
[Culture] Bigger than K-pop? “Goblin” character merchandise sells out everywhere… global shortage mania
Whether he turned on the TV or opened the internet, it was all about them.
The government decided to award Woojin and Sangjin the highest decoration available, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, and the National Assembly unanimously passed a special Hunter support bill—the so-called Kim Woojin Act.
Tax exemptions were just the beginning. Lifetime pensions, discounted state land transfers, and every other benefit anyone could imagine came raining down on them.
DH Group and the Benedict family’s stock kept slamming into the daily price ceiling, and there was even the absurd phenomenon of the toothbrush brand Woojin and his brother had used selling out nationwide.
In other words, the entire world was praising them.
And inside the vehicle heading to the banquet hall, Woojin and Sangjin finally had a rare chance to ride alone together.
“Hyung… I’m scared. What even is this…?”
“Looks like we’re done with living quietly, Sangjin.”
“Not me. You’re the one who’s done for.”
“What?”
“It’s Eileen, Yu Jihyun, Jo Ayoung, Gabi, and Kim Woojin. Kim Sangjin’s just a little side attraction, you know?”
“A side attraction…?”
Sangjin nodded with great confidence.
“Necromancers are the kind of thing only people with a very specific taste are into. Right now, Eroa or Lumi-type maids are way more popular than I am.”
“……So you’re saying you’ll live quietly by yourself?”
At that, Sangjin let out a long sigh.
“Well, just being Kim Woojin’s younger brother probably means I’m never living quietly anyway.”
“You little punk. You were always going to say that, weren’t you?”
The two brothers looked at each other and laughed.
Then, for a moment, silence settled between them.
Even without speaking, they both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Power, wealth, fame, and authority—things so enormous they would have been impossible to imagine not long ago.
And popularity.
For two men who had once lived at the bottom of the world, the rewards handed to them were so sweet they almost felt unreal.
Woojin looked at Sangjin with a distant expression and said, “It was a long road, wasn’t it, Sangjin?”
Sangjin shot back at his brother in a tone that was half annoyed and half embarrassed.
“There you go again, trying to get all cheap and sentimental.”
That made Woojin snort with laughter.
“Why, can’t I? You and I both held on, didn’t we? We endured it. We made it through. So of course a day like this would come.”
“……You’re annoying. Stop trying to sell me on feelings.”
“Heh. You worked hard, Sangjin. I’m proud of you.”
If you didn’t say it, the other person might never know.
Because they were brothers. Because it was embarrassing. Because of that, Woojin had held back from saying things like this in the past.
But now, he had decided not to do that anymore.
At Woojin’s sincere words, tears finally spilled from Sangjin’s eyes.
“Ah, shit, seriously. I said stop it! And what the hell do you mean, I worked hard? You’re the one who did all the hard work!”
Watching that, Woojin felt certain that the road he’d walked had not been the wrong one.
“Yeah. Thanks. Let’s really live happily now.”
Trying to hide his tears, Sangjin finally managed to say, in a trembling voice, “I should be the one saying that… Thanks, hyung. For real. You’ve been through a lot.”
The heartfelt words from the family he had spent his life trying to protect became, for Woojin, a reward more precious than anything he had experienced that day.
Smiling, Woojin looked out the window and answered, “Been through a lot? Please…”
It was a short sentence, but it carried more meaning than either of them could count.