Sincerity
A colossal dragon head plummeted from the sky.
Beneath it, thick rivers of blood and flesh cascaded down, intestines and torso spilling everywhere.
And directly above it all, there stood Kim Sunwoo, as if summoned from thin air.
“…Coach?”
His entire body exploded in a blinding flash of light.
The weapons gripped tightly in both hands shattered into pieces alongside the release.
A terrifying sensation rippled through him. Even though it was right in front of his eyes, the feeling was as if he was slipping away into the distance.
An indescribable unease washed over him, and from his body, black smoke began to pour out.
“......Ah…”
The black mist around him started to swallow everything in its path.
It looked ominous and sinister, yet for some reason it didn’t feel truly dangerous.
“Eh… eeek….!”
“What the hell is that!”
The black mist simply drifted quietly, devouring the dragon’s remains scattered around it.
Like a living erosion, the mist broke and absorbed every object in its vicinity.
Once it had consumed all the nearby dragon remnants, the black mist surged back toward Sunwoo’s body.
“───Haa…”
A soft sigh escaped him.
Sunwoo stood there, dazed.
And then──he collapsed forward with a heavy thud.
“..........”
Silence blanketed the area.
Had he died? Or was the transformation from the monster earlier not real?
As the ominous black mist caused everyone to flinch and step back, a voice rang out.
“───Hyungaaa!!! ”
Yoo Hyewon dashed forward alone, rushing to check on Sunwoo’s condition.
“Ah… Coach!”
“Ri-he-ton-i-i-i-im!!!”
“........”
Yoo Hyewon followed closely, along with Nam Sujin and Jeon Harin.
Yeonhwa had already been there, silently watching behind them.
“Hyung… Sunwoo-hyung!”
Hyewon quickly pulled Sunwoo into her arms.
It was terrifying. His body temperature was far too low, as if something inside him was completely empty, like a corpse.
A bone-chilling fear gripped her. To confirm, she touched the tip of her nose──no breath came out.
“........…”
For a split second, Hyewon’s body stiffened.
An unimaginable event had unfolded, leaving her completely stunned.
“…119… First I need to call 119… Wait, if his heart stopped, should I… press on his chest? No, wait, what am I even thinking?!”
Harin had lost all rational thought and was lost in mindless panic.
A one-sided state of despair. She wanted to do something, but she couldn’t do anything at all.
“Ah… I know this! After the awakening event, there’s the rest event!”
Sujin smiled back.
With a heart that had stopped, she held Sunwoo’s cooling hand and wiggled it.
“Ehehe! If Coach said he was game over, that’s not possible at all! The protagonist never dies or anything like that!”
“Uhehe~~ Then am I the heroine?”
If I’m the heroine, maybe I’m the side heroine…?
She was so lost in her own reality escape that she didn’t even notice.
And then
“Oi, you damn bastards!”
“───!!!”
Yeonhwa was different.
“Hyewon. Call 119 right now. We all know the location?”
“…. Yes.”
Dungeon raider. Veteran with plenty of dungeon experience.
Someone who had survived countless trials.
“Harin. Do CPR on Coach. You know the technique from the academy, right? No, you have to do it. Just like you were taught.”
“Eh….?”
“Eh? Are you kidding me. Don’t think. Shut up and do CPR. If I say do it, do it.”
“..........”
She had seen panic in teammates countless times.
“Nam Sujin. You and I will check Coach’s body temperature first.”
“Neh…?”
“Before your life game over, listen to unnie.”
“......…”
She knew exactly what to do too.
Yeonhwa quickly issued orders, unifying everyone’s efforts.
“Ser… Sunwoo-nim!”
“Unnie Ayeong? Yeah. Unnie was there too. Heal her quick! Hurry!”
The worst situation slowly began to improve.
“───Cough!”
“”Coach!/Sunwoo-hyung!/Sunwoo-nim!””
The body that had grown cold once again gained warmth, and the stopped heart began to beat again.
Just as everyone was about to sigh in relief.
‘It’s not over yet.’
If just breathing makes someone alive, then even a vegetable is an Olympic athlete.
It wasn’t finished yet. Yeonhwa immediately turned to Hyewon.
“Ambulance!”
“!,… The traffic network is too congested, apparently we need to come ourselves.”
“Fuck!”
Yeah, it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Yeonhwa immediately pulled out her phone and searched.
Where is the nearest hospital.
How to get there.
Just as she was about to open the map and check around.
“I know where I am.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“…Someone who used to be one of Sunwoo’s colleagues.”
A person with an odd complexion approached.
Oh Nari. However, Nature members who didn’t know her guarded her, but soon Hyewon and Ayeong appeared to defend Nari.
“Nari-ssi. Is it okay if I ask you to help?”
“I’ll be in your debt. Nari-nim.”
“… Definitely. I won’t be late.”
Nari held Sunwoo in her arms and straightened his posture.
The moment she took that first step away.
“If you were thinking of going to the ○○ hospital, I’d like to stop you.”
“…. Yeonhwa?”
“The ○○ hospital is already filled with injured civilians. So if you’re going, go to □□ hospital. I already reserved a spot there with Yeonhwa.”
“............”
Why the hell?
In Nari’s eyes, Yeonhwa answered with a blank expression.
“If that man dies, my position won’t improve either.”
“… You are so on point.”
“I am always myself.”
Nari nodded lightly and immediately kicked off the ground, leaping up.
The ground shattered around her as the two people instantly distanced themselves in a flash.
The performance possible only for an A-class physical awakener was enough to make those around believe they could somehow adapt to the situation.
“…. Sunwoo-hyung.”
“”............””
Looking at Sunwoo who was moving away, Hyewon murmured.
Sujin and Harin stared blankly back, as if something had snapped.
“For now… let’s go back. Staying here means nothing.”
“”...........””
Yeonhwa quickly took care of the three of them.
Like ducklings, the three followed Yeonhwa’s hand, clinging to it.
“If you want to rest, follow me.”
“…?”
“If the reporters coming tomorrow can be handled, you can move on your own discretion.”
“… You really say dirty things. Were all the things shown in the news lies?”
“I would say it’s dangerous to believe what comes out in the news as true.”
“I have nothing to say.”
After that, thanks to Yeonhwa’s consideration, they could rest without any external interference.
Small incidents like crazy reporters holding microphones, strange rumors flying around, or weird texts coming through SNS happened, but since they weren’t relaxed enough to check SNS, they actually managed to rest in peace.
...
..
.
“Are you not eating?”
“”...........””
… I said that.
“My words are funny? I put in a lot of effort and prepared it, yet you’re not eating?”
“”...........””
“…. tsk.”
Could this really be called a rest.
Coach. Sunwoo.
The two who had been completely drained of energy after Sunwoo collapsed and were out of their minds.
It would have been better if Coach had woken up, but instead he had fallen into a vegetative state for some unknown reason.
“If only I had been a little stronger… if only I had awakened a little faster from there…”
Harin repeated meaningless self-blame
“.. Sunwoo-nim…. Sunwoo master…. Hii… huiii…!”
Sujin was playing a game in real time, muttering Sunwoo’s name at the character in the game.
At best, the only person who could save them was Yoo Hyewon, the president.
‘… President’s condition isn’t great either.’
Her mind was completely gone.
The whole group had lost their minds.
And among them, only Yeonhwa had regained her sanity.
“.............”
No.
I don’t know.
Am I normal right now?
If important people, precious people, collapse and I don’t even react, isn’t that me being even more trash?
“…. When did I ever have such thoughts.”
If the party is ruined, I leave the party.
If the raid looks dangerous, I immediately abandon the raid.
For a dungeon raider, strong mentality is a weapon.
I need to keep my mind together at any time, any moment.
Even if it’s a precious person…
“…. damn.”
The feeling was disgusting.
My insides were dirty.
When my insides get dirty like this, swinging a sword makes me feel better.
“I’m going out.”
Yeonhwa immediately headed to the training room.
She grabbed the training dummy and swung it hard. She infused it with spirit arts like flame.
─whoosh whoosh whoosh!
“….. hah.”
The feel of actual combat, facing the raid boss, was gone.
Still, she felt sure it would improve with practice.
In any case, she had become stronger. Wasn’t that enough?
‘I was originally here.’
To become stronger.
To have spirits gather and become idols?
Honestly, being an idol or whatever was meaningless, but I came with the intention of teaching spirit arts.
And my aim was spot on, and I was able to break through the B-class wall and reach the A-class level.
So, that’s it.
Everything I wanted to get, I got with that.
Now, if I just go out like before with the party, the raid, Nature…
“…. damn!”
Kuuuung!
I threw the training dummy with all my strength.
Annoying.
Irritating. Frustrating.
I didn’t know what was what at all.
“Haaaa…”
I lay down sweaty, staring at the ceiling blankly.
‘…. Should I go check on him.’
Coach.
Although I’m lying down anyway.
Yeonhwa got up from her seat again and headed to the hospital room where Coach and Sunwoo were.
──ding…..ding…..
“.............”
Sunwoo still lay there.
No sign of waking up.
“.............”
Not a single tear fell.
She felt nothing.
Just. So…
‘… Get up.’
Sujin was suffering.
‘Get up you bastard.’
Harin was suffering.
And Hyewon the president too.
‘Get up and sleep a bit and wake up.’
Without Sunwoo, Nature couldn’t go on.
So
‘Now it’s time to get up.’
For Nature.
For us.
And…
“…. eh….?”
Me. Why am I crying?
I don’t have to cry. I don’t even have a reason to cry.
Why
Why.
“Euh…. I came to do this…. snif… ugh….!”
Don’t cry.
Don’t cry.
I held my breath with all my strength, but still, it leaked out.
“You… you bastard…!”
Tears.
And sincerity.
‘You bastard… bastard… real bastard…!’
Hyewon, who hadn’t given up because of Sunwoo, stopped moving when Sunwoo disappeared.
Harin, who continued thinking because of Sunwoo, lost her wisdom when Sunwoo disappeared.
Sujin, who faced reality because of Sunwoo, escaped reality when Sunwoo disappeared.
And
“Huu…. hua…. eh, huuh….!”
Yeonhwa, who could become strong because of Sunwoo.
When Sunwoo disappeared, she lost the meaning of strength.
“Fuck… damn… damn….!”
I wanted to become strong.
Actually, I didn’t want to be left behind.
I wanted to become strong.
I wanted to protect everyone.
I wanted to become strong.
But I couldn’t become strong.
So I ran away
So I fled
So I turned a blind eye
So ── I was.
‘…. I was.’
Nature got better.
I wanted to stay in Nature forever.
I liked the clever but naive Harin
The gloomy but pure Sujin
The passionate but somewhat awkward president
‘I was….’
Sunwoo.
Sunwoo.
──!
For a moment, a chill ran through my body.
The sensation from the fingertips. The feel. The sudden intuition.
“…Coach?”
I asked, wondering if it was real.
It was. No way.
And──the Coach who didn’t answer, like the first time.
“Huh… I went crazy. How could I suddenly wake up…”
I sighed softly and looked at Coach.
Even I, as a human, had fallen quite badly──my body twitched…?
“…. ha?”
It wasn’t just my mood.
─creak
“............”
Slowly bending, our hands met.
Yeonhwa silently held Sunwoo’s hand.