The Weight of Five Years
Return. My parents, my older sister, my brother-in-law, my niece. Are all five members of my family safe? Honestly, I have no idea. On the way here, Kim Minseok explained that when the Tower first appeared, 25% of Seoul’s population perished. I waited for news with a growing sense of anxiety.
"Are you not hungry?" Chae Sumin asked cautiously.
"Hungry? I suppose I am a little."
"This is your first meal since returning to Korea. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
All sorts of dishes flooded my mind. Kimchi Stew was the first to surface. However, I excluded it because the person making it matters more than the dish itself. After a moment of deliberation, I made my decision.
"I want Ganjajang (dry-style black bean noodles) with plenty of chili powder sprinkled on top."
The Murim where I spent my time was an era before chili peppers were introduced, so I never had the chance to eat spicy food.
"Is that really all you want?"
"Get me some Tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) and fried dumplings, too. That's possible, right?"
"Of course! I’ll have it ready in no time. Let me make a quick call."
Chae Sumin finished her call and beamed at me. "They said to wait just 20 minutes."
"Do you have a restaurant here?"
"We have over 1,500 employees working here."
"That’s quite large, isn't it?"
"We handle all sorts of matters. Finding returnees is only a small fraction of the Association's work."
Exactly 20 minutes later, the door to the Association President’s office opened. An employee pushed a cart inside.
"Please, set it over here."
Plastic bowls, something I never saw in Murim, were placed on the table. As requested, there were noodles topped with a fried egg, steaming black bean sauce, Tangsuyuk, fried dumplings, and a container of chili powder.
"Enjoy your meal."
"I will."
I poured the sauce over the noodles and mixed them vigorously. I also sprinkled the chili powder generously. The chefs at the Heavenly Demon Palace were incredibly skilled, and I had eaten delicious food at many famous inns whenever I traveled through the Central Plains. But I had never found Jajangmyeon with this specific color and texture. It was an era without chili powder or MSG, after all.
As I tasted the well-mixed noodles, old memories came flooding back. Jajangmyeon is, in a way, a soul food. I’ve had many occasions to eat it in all sorts of places.
"How is it?"
"It's delicious."
The Tangsuyuk and fried dumplings were crispy and perfectly fried. In the blink of an eye, I devoured the Ganjajang, the pork, and the dumplings. We chatted while I drank a zero-sugar cola for dessert. I asked about the biggest change: the Tower.
"Is the Tower only in Seoul?"
"No, they are located all over the country, but it doesn't hold much significance."
"Why is that?"
"Because the progress is shared regardless of the location."
"How fascinating."
Chae Sumin stared at me intently.
"Why?"
"You're going to climb the Tower, right?"
"I suppose so. I need to make money, after all. On the way here, Team Leader Kim said the Magic Stones from the Tower are a decent source of income."
Chae Sumin nodded.
"Even if you just repeat the 1st floor, you can earn 200,000 won each time. Since you can enter once a day, that’s 6 million won a month."
"That’s quite decent."
"But my recommendation is to climb as high as possible. With your strength, Minho, I think that would be better."
"As high as possible?"
Chae Sumin nodded. I could see a hint of desire in her eyes, but there was no malice. I often met people like this in the early days of the Sacred Cult, and they usually turned out to be decent trading partners.
"If you are the first to clear a new floor, you receive a completion bonus."
"What’s the amount?"
"From the 40th floor onwards, it’s the floor number multiplied by 200 million won."
"So, the 40th floor would be 8 billion won?"
"Actually, 8 billion won was paid to the first clearer."
Currently, Korea has reached the 43rd floor.
"Besides that, a Hidden Stage opens once every three months."
"A Hidden Stage?"
"You know those defense games, right?"
"I do."
"It's similar to that. If you don't exceed a certain score within the time limit, thousands of Gates appear across the country simultaneously. Several countries have actually fallen because of this problem."
"There must be a reward for that, too?"
"The reward set for the Hidden Stage in a month is 10 billion won. You're interested, aren't you?"
I nodded readily. Having more money is never a bad thing.
"I'm interested."
"That's a relief!"
Just then, the door to the office opened again. An employee in a suit entered and spoke politely.
"Your family has arrived, sir."
Chae Sumin asked, "Where are they?"
"We have escorted them to the conference room on the floor below."
I stood up.
"Let's go."
I went downstairs with Chae Sumin. My heart pounded the entire way down. I prayed that everyone was safe.
"The conference room is this way."
I took a deep breath and opened the door. The only people in my line of sight were three women. My parents were nowhere to be seen, and my brother-in-law wasn't there either. My heart sank. Right, I shouldn't have assumed everyone would be safe from the start.
"Nuna?"
My sister and my niece. And a child I didn't recognize.
"Mi-Minho!"
My sister, who looked much older, approached me. She hugged me and burst into tears.
"I'm just glad you're back."
When she had calmed down a bit, I asked the question that weighed most heavily on me.
"Where are Mom and Dad?"
"The day... the day after the Tower appeared."
I let out a long, silent sigh. So that’s what happened.
"And my brother-in-law? Don't tell me he's..."
My sister shook her head vigorously.
"No, he couldn't come because of the restaurant."
Soon after, my niece approached me.
"Un-Uncle, right?"
"Yes, it's me. The uncle who used to tease you all the time."
Tears streamed down my niece's face as well.
"I... I missed you."
For a while, we were a sea of tears. Once things settled, my sister brought the child over. After staring at me for a moment, the child bowed politely, and my sister introduced her.
"You've never seen Jieun before, have you?"
"No, I haven't. How old is she?"
"She's five!"
I looked at my sister. It’s 2032 now, and my niece was born in 2016.
"So she's nearly a zodiac cycle apart from Daeun?"
"It just happened that way."
I crouched down to meet the eyes of the niece I was seeing for the first time.
"Hello, Jieun."
Jieun ran behind my sister's legs, clinging to them, and peeked out at me. My sister, still teary-eyed, laughed.
"She's shy because it's her first time."
"She'll get used to it if we spend time together, right? Oh, are you still living in the family home?"
My sister shook her head.
"The family home collapsed on the first day the Tower appeared."
"What?"
"There was an earthquake. Mom and Dad were there, too..."
Seeing her about to burst into tears again, I hurriedly changed the subject.
"Where are you living now?"
"We're living on the second floor of the restaurant."
At least they weren't homeless. That was a relief.
"Isn't it cramped? If I remember correctly, my brother-in-law's restaurant isn't that big."
My sister smiled awkwardly.
"We just use one room for the kids and one for us. Is... is it okay if we stay in the living room for a bit? I heard the building where your old studio apartment was also collapsed."
I made my decision. I’ll start climbing the Tower tomorrow. I’ll earn enough quickly and move us into a bigger house.
I decided to visit the Association again tomorrow. Right now, I wanted to spend time with my family. I rode in a car driven by an Association employee assigned by Chae Sumin to my sister's place.
My brother-in-law's restaurant was in Cheongnyangni. It was a Korean restaurant that sold lunch, dinner, and snacks to market merchants. To think the shop he opened just before I went missing was still in the same spot. When I asked my sister, I understood why she said it was stable, even if the earnings weren't huge.
"I will come to pick you up tomorrow."
I told the employee I understood and got out of the car. I peered through the glass into the shop. I saw my brother-in-law clearing tables, but he kept limping on his right leg. It was strange, so I asked.
"What happened to my brother-in-law's leg?"
My sister, who had gotten out of the car while tending to Jieun, smiled bitterly.
"There was an incident during the evacuation."
So much has changed. I sighed and opened the shop door.
"Welcome."
My brother-in-law turned his head to greet us, but the moment he saw me, his eyes widened.
"Bro-Brother-in-law?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Are you really back? Are you hurt anywhere? Are you completely fine?"
He was just as worried as my sister. It wasn't strange. There was a 10-year age gap between my sister and me. She had often taken care of me in place of our busy parents. Naturally, I saw my brother-in-law, who had been dating my sister for a long time, quite often. As an only child, he had taken very good care of me. I had received plenty of pocket money from him during my middle and high school years. He was also the one who taught me how to drink after I became an adult. To me, he was like a comfortable uncle who wasn't much older than me.
"I'm perfectly fine."
When my gaze drifted to his leg, he smiled.
"Daeun is healthy, and that's what matters. I've adapted, so I'm fine now."
My brother-in-law grinned and added, "Since it's a historic day that my brother-in-law has returned, I'm closing the shop for today."
He walked to the entrance and flipped the sign.
"I'll have to show off my skills today. Is there anything you want to eat?"
I said without hesitation, "I want Kimchi Stew."