Breakfast at Home and the Back Mountain Stir
The morning after returning home.
I woke up to a savory aroma that pulled me from sleep like a spell. Gurgle!
“Man, I’m hungry.”
It was a sensation I hadn’t felt in ages. Back before I’d crossed into that other world, I might’ve wrinkled my nose at it. But now? A contented smile crept across my lips.
Demons don’t feel hunger in their stomachs, not really. It hits differently—when the mana in their horns runs dry, agony racks the whole body. The only way to dull it is to devour whatever’s at hand. Even as you rise in rank as a demon, it eases only a little. That’s their lot in life: eternal struggle against torment.
In a way, it’s not so different from humans.
I shook off the stray thought and followed the smell to the kitchen, where Sujin was setting the table.
“Oh! Oppa! You’re up?”
“Yeah.”
The table held fresh lettuce and perilla leaves from the garden plot, sliced-and-pan-fried canned ham, and a clay pot bubbling with soybean paste stew.
“It’s kinda basic for a meal after twenty years, but I wasn’t sure what to make, so this is what I threw together!”
“…Hic!”
Basic? Nonsense. This was the exact table I’d dreamed of for two decades. I wrapped some ham in lettuce, dipped it in the rich stew, and took a bite.
“W-why are you crying?! I’ll pick up something tasty on my way home from work later…”
“Nah. This is more than enough. It’s the best.”
“Sniff. Really?”
I sat down and ladled a big scoop of steaming stew first. It looked hot enough to scorch the roof of my mouth, but that was fine.
Slurp.
The savory soybean paste flooded my senses, umami bursting on my tongue. This was paradise. What else could it be?
“Hic.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s exactly like Mom’s.”
After our parents passed, my attempts at the stew never quite matched it. I’d followed the recipe—anchovy stock, soybean paste, veggies, simmer—but something was always missing. Mom’s secret touch, I guess.
But Sujin’s version nailed it perfectly.
“Haha! Knew it! A big scoop of MSG, and boom—that flavor’s back.”
“…”
“Here, lettuce and perilla too. I’ll grab kimchi later, so hang in there.”
“We… buy kimchi?”
“Duh! You think it’s 2002 or something? Everyone buys it these days.”
“Huh. Okay.”
Didn’t we used to make it together in winter?
I remembered brining quick kimchi with her around the holidays, even if it was just for show. First time since arriving that her words struck me as off, but with no way to check, I let it slide. Mid-bite of a hearty lettuce wrap stuffed with ham, a question bubbled up.
“So… what now? For me, I mean.”
“What do you mean? Help your cute lil sis manage the land around here so you can retire comfy to farm life later, duh?”
She’d explained before bed last night. She’d bought this remote hometown plot—far from her job—for her post-retirement life. She wanted me to tend the surrounding land, turn it prime for farming. Oh, and stay the hell away from the back mountain until the “purification” was done.
“Got it, but what about ID? Legal stuff? Guy vanishes for twenty years, pops back up—won’t they think I’m a spy or something?”
“Spy? Pffft…”
Tears of laughter in her eyes, Sujin pulled something from her pocket. A sleek rectangular plastic slab.
“What’s that?”
“Huh? Phone, obviously.”
“Phone?”
Phones flip open, right? Didn’t look like some fancy slider model either.
Before I could ask, she tapped the screen. It lit up. Actually worked.
“Whoa.”
“Hehe.”
She snickered at my bafflement. A dial tone chirped, then connected.
“Hey, hello?”
“[…Gasp! Section Chief Park Sujin!]”
“Haha, already at work? You’re so diligent, Min-young.”
“[N-no, ma’am. Gotta clock in early. Haha…]”
Her voice was tight, deferential. Made my sister seem… bigger somehow.
“[Uh… anything you need?]”
“Nah, no biggie. Remember that thing about registering someone under my brother’s name? Yeah?”
“[Oh! Yes, of course!]”
“Do it now.”
“[Uh…]”
A hesitant pause.
“Problem?”
“[N-no! Right away. He with you?]”
“Yep.”
Sujin nodded at me. I leaned in awkwardly.
“Uh, hi there.”
“[Ah… You must be the one registering as Park Soo-hyeok?]”
“Er… yeah?”
Weird convo, but sure.
“[Korean national?]”
“Obviously?”
“[Got it. Registering now.]”
“…Huh?”
“Thanks, Min-young~ Dinner’s on me sometime~”
“[No need, Section Chief. It’s my job. Haha…]”
“Cool~ Eat a good breakfast~”
Click.
“…What just happened?”
“What else? Restored you to the family registry.”
“Huh?”
“Resident system tanked completely in 2003. It’s mostly back now, though.”
“…So registering someone under my name?”
“They thought you were dead, duh. Lots of foreigners get added that way.”
“Whoa…”
“But you’re really back, right? No issue. All good?”
“O-okay.”
“Done deal. Welcome back to Korean citizenship, Park Soo-hyeok. Ahaha!”
“Heh…”
“Now finish eating.”
Thirty-five and already pulling strings like that.
“…What’re you thinking?”
“Uh, stew’s great. Haha.”
“Hehe. Damn right! Who made it?”
Sujin, who’d always seemed the little sis, felt downright mature.
* * *
“Alright, oppa! I’m off to work—guard the house good!”
It was the kinda thing I used to tell her every day before getting dragged to that other world.
“Haha. Got it.”
Her baby-sis energy was kinda cute, so I played along.
“I get you wanna sightsee for your homecoming, but! Back mountain’s off-limits till purification’s done, got it?”
“Right, yeah.”
Yesterday’s warning.
Monsters usually spawn from gates. But fields are another beast—they corrupt normal land into monster habitats. Once that starts, they breed, devour each other, spawn named bosses way stronger than average. Hunters’ main gig is purifying fields, but in a Gangwon-do backwater like this—nowhere near the capital—that ain’t happening proper.
No wonder farming ain’t for just anyone anymore.
Back in my day, it was burnt-out urbanites seeking solace. Lots bombed out, sure, but that was the vibe.
Now? Rural spots lack real authority muscle. Unpurified fields everywhere. Solo non-awakener farming? Suicide.
But that’s for powerless folks.
“Sujin. About that…”
“Hm? What?”
She tilted her head, eyes wide, kinda excited.
“…Nah. Have a good day at work.”
She nodded with a grin and headed out.
“Hehe. Sure! See ya~!”
Whoosh!
“Whoa.”
A light stomp, and she vanished in a blink. No amateur hunter, that’s for sure.
Makes sense—she’s a big-corp section chief. Must be famous.
Proud she’d grown so capable alone.
“Time for a stroll.”
Outside, the vast fields stretched behind the garden. Early spring: weeds and dead stalks painted it khaki.
“Hm.”
She’d said start with the fields around the house. Memories everywhere from family days. Parents dragged seven-year-old me here for farm life. Cried over leaving friends at first, but adapted quick. Then Sujin was born; happy times.
A collapsed vinyl greenhouse lined the path. Cucumbers, lettuce—big ones, cabbage-sized. Some American variety that sold great, they’d said.
“That’s…”
A pile of blackened, rotted planks. Unrecognizable now, but vivid in memory: Dad’s gift after Sujin, a kiddie pool stand-in.
“Summers, we’d fill it up and splash around.”
Twenty years on, every spot brimmed with nostalgia.
Further along the path, back mountain entrance. A battered sign greeted me.
NO ENTRY!
C-rank Monster Emergence Area
“Hoo.”
My breath fogged white. Mountain base felt colder; I straightened my clothes. Winter’s grip lingered—chilly.
Decent hike, but no huffing. Normal back then, but now? No horn, no mana core like hunters have. Should be plain human.
Sujin was right: stay away.
But something felt off. I hadn’t told her.
Crunch!
Gripping my fist unleashed raw power—like back there. Couldn’t spill before she cut me off.
My body was near-identical. Just no mana use.
“Meaning…”
Test: palm forward, focus. Demons draw horn-mana, shape it into skills. No horn? Nothing.
“Yeah, no dice.”
Unique ability gone too? Couldn’t test easy—that one wasn’t casual.
No way to check anyway.
But my otherworld strength wasn’t just mana. I preferred honing the body—hated the demon reminder mana brought.
Pure muscle outdid Hero Reinhardt; could tangle with Knight King Lebron.
“Perfect.”
Mountain trees: thick ones, two men to hug. Picked one, stood ready. Breathed deep.
“…Hup.”
Basic form: straight punch. Fist clenched light, snapped concise.
BOOM!
Thunderous impact dented deep. Not flashy, but wait.
“Let’s see.”
Behind the crater: pot-lid hole bored through. Tree couldn’t stand.
Creak… CRASH!
It toppled, hole in its trunk.
Light punch, otherworld power intact. Mana would’ve doubled it, but still.
“Usable enough.”
“Kieeeek!”
“Hm?”
Felled tree roared. Monster parasite?
Snap!
A huge eye glared from the trunk. Halved, it shut quick.
“Tree spirit, huh.”
Sujin’s “monsters.” Lucky pick.
“Time to head back…”
“Keeik!”
“Kiaaak!”
“Oh ho.”
Surrounding trees sprouted glaring eyes.
“Figures. Not just one.”
Snap! Crunch!
Roots coiled my feet—straining to shred me.
A grin tugged my lips. Sujin might scold later, but these needed clearing anyway.
“Time to play big brother.”