The Meaning of Rest
“Hah! Haah!”
Seia, now the youngest mage in existence, sat in the corner seat by the window and threw herself into her magic training. No one quite knew how she was practicing, but the steady stream of small yet booming battle cries made it clear she had found her own method.
“If you need anything else, please let me know.”
“Thank you. Ah, by the way, I noticed on the app that there are gaps in the operating hours.”
Jungwoo had set the break times for ten to twelve and eight to ten in the evening. Seona’s Restaurant rarely saw customers after seven or eight anyway. By that hour most people were drinking, and the restaurant had never been a place for that.
“I’ve started selling at a stall in the hunter shopping district.”
“The hunter shopping district…”
Yuhyeon, who had only recently returned from a gate, took a moment to search his memory before recalling the street Jungwoo meant.
“You managed to get a permit for the stall?”
“Yes. Luckily, there was even a support program for the permit.”
No matter how long he had been trapped inside a gate, Yuhyeon knew the realities of that world. Securing the right to sell anything in the hunter shopping district was no easy feat.
They must have done something.
Park Geon-su or Seong Ye-eun—probably both. From the very first conversation, it had been obvious they cared about this restaurant far more than he had initially realized.
“What exactly are you selling?”
“Lunchboxes. Something hunters can eat quickly before entering a gate or right after coming out.”
“I see. It will do well.”
“Haha, thank you. I hope everything goes well for you too, sir.”
“…Is that so.”
Yuhyeon’s expression was difficult to read. Jungwoo offered a wry smile as he met those eyes, which always seemed to hold a hollow, bitter light.
To Jungwoo, Yuhyeon was clearly a powerful man. The way he handed over magic stones without hesitation suggested he ranked among the stronger hunters. Jungwoo knew little about the hunter world, but he had enough sense to recognize that much.
Even someone like him can make that face.
In Jungwoo’s eyes, hunters with great power were people who possessed almost everything. They could do what ordinary people could not. If someone could control fire like the performers in a circus, the possibilities were endless—cooking would become effortless, and the same power could be used for research or countless other things. Anything that saved time and effort always came at a price, whether in money or something else, and that price was usually far higher than one expected.
That was what hunters were to Jungwoo. The kind of people for whom the expensive cost of an awakening measurement could be considered an investment rather than an expense. That was why he had once wanted to become a hunter himself—to gain great power and receive an equally great reward. Not for his own greed, but for Seia’s sake.
Yet even a hunter like that wore such an expression. The look of someone who lacked something essential.
Jungwoo was not usually the type to speak so openly, but today felt different. He took the seat across from Yuhyeon. The hunter, who had not expected the owner to sit with him, looked up in mild surprise.
“I wanted to become a hunter.”
“I see.”
It was a common story. Most ordinary people envied and resented hunters while secretly admiring them. That was the usual reaction when someone else possessed what you did not—envy, jealousy, desire.
“I wanted to make a lot of money.”
Jungwoo’s gaze was fixed on Yuhyeon, but the hunter understood. None of that desire was for personal wealth or fame.
“Most people do. Money isn’t everything, but it’s what most people want.”
“Have you ever made a lot of money, sir?”
The question caught Yuhyeon off guard. Since Jungwoo did not know who he was, it was only natural. At the moment, Yuhyeon did not have much money on hand, but if he wished, he could earn an absurd amount in an instant. He simply had no desire to draw attention by revealing that he had returned.
“Yes. More than enough to grow sick of it.”
Yuhyeon found himself thinking of his past self—the hunter who had simply enjoyed subjugating gates, who had taken pleasure in cutting down magic beasts and ripping out their hearts. He was surprised at himself. He had recalled those days before, but never the emotions that came with them. He had never even tried. Whenever the memories surfaced, he had assumed the feelings would follow naturally. But when he focused on the emotion itself rather than the events, something unexpected stirred within him.
Back then he had been reckless, living only for gate subjugation. He was more mature now, yet if he measured happiness, those days had been far better.
Why is that?
The only difference was that he had grown older. Both then and now, he had possessed a great deal. He had never entered gates to gain more. The ten years trapped inside had been ten years of blood—endlessly cutting down wave after wave of magic beasts.
Was I… tired?
He had thought a little rest would be enough, but it seemed the exhaustion had been in his heart, not his body. The real problem was that he had no idea how to rest. What did resting even mean? How could one heal the heart rather than the body?
Anyone could see that Yuhyeon had sunk deep into thought. Jungwoo said nothing and simply watched.
“How do you rest, sir?”
“I’m resting right now.”
“You consider running the restaurant rest?”
“Well… to be more precise—”
Jungwoo pondered the question for a moment, then suddenly stood up. He walked over to Seia, who was still sitting behind them.
“Hah!”
Seia continued her training with single-minded focus. All it amounted to was gripping the magic stone and pouring power into it, but she was giving it everything she had. Jungwoo scooped her up in one smooth motion.
“Ah, Daddy?”
“Hm?”
“……?”
Seia had no idea why she was being lifted. One moment she was on the floor, the next she was in his arms. For a second her eyes widened in confusion, but then she decided it did not matter. It was her father’s embrace, after all.
Jungwoo carried her back to the table and sat down again. He did not need to say anything; Yuhyeon understood at once. This was what Jungwoo meant by resting—being with Seia. The restaurant work could be busy, but his heart was always at ease when she was near.
Seia still clutched the magic stone in one hand while the other gripped Jungwoo’s shirt. As his hand slowly stroked her back in a steady rhythm, she looked up at him with sleepy eyes.
“Then, for Seia to fall asleep…”
Her voice was already thick with drowsiness, though it had not been long since she started speaking. Jungwoo simply continued patting and stroking her without pause.
“Does that answer your question?”
“It does.”
It was the clearest answer possible.
Come to think of it…
Yuhyeon suddenly recalled the day he had left the gate and first come to Seona’s Restaurant. He had met unexpected people that day, but the first thing that came to mind was Park Geon-su’s question—how his day had been. Yuhyeon had answered that it had been good. Now he realized it had not merely seemed good; it simply had been good. This restaurant, and everything that made it what it was.
That was why he had returned today. After resting for a while following his escape from the gate, he had cleared another one and come straight here, as if drawn by something.
“I think I understand what you mean.”
Jungwoo smiled at the reply. The hollow look in Yuhyeon’s eyes had softened.
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. The window seat is taken, of course.”
“Understood.”
It was Seia’s favorite spot, after all—the one Jungwoo never offered to other customers. With their conversation finished, Yuhyeon returned to his meal while Jungwoo carried the now-drowsy Seia back to her training spot.
He had thought she might fall asleep in his arms, but her determination to keep training had not yet faded.
“You didn’t sleep?”
“Seia has to be a mage.”
“When are you going to show Daddy?”
“When Daddy wants to see!”
What he really wanted to see was Seia using magic, not the magic itself. Still, it involved the magic stone, so he played along.
“Huhu. All right. I’ll watch once you’re ready.”
“…Yes!”
Seia’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. It would be best to wait until she felt truly prepared.
“But resting properly is important too. Everything needs rest to work well.”
“Even training?”
“If Seia is so sleepy she can barely keep her eyes open, do you think she can use magic properly?”
Seia thought for a moment, then shook her head. She already slept a lot; she knew how hard it was to do anything when she was tired.
“See? That’s why rest is important.”
“Okay!”
Seia answered brightly, then wriggled her way back into Jungwoo’s arms.
“Hm?”
“Eh?”
She looked up at him again, their eyes meeting and blinking several times.
“Seia is going to rest now.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. So you have to pat my back.”
That was why she had climbed into his arms—so he would help her fall asleep. Since Jungwoo had used sleep as an example of rest, she seemed to think resting simply meant sleeping. It was not wrong, and it was certainly the fastest way to recover.
“Haha. All right. Let’s sleep.”
She had almost drifted off earlier and woken again, so falling asleep might have been difficult, but Jungwoo’s touch worked like magic on Seia. A few strokes and pats were enough to fill her bright eyes with sleep. Usually it took only a minute; this time it took a little longer than usual, but not by much.
Seia’s breathing soon turned soft and even as she fell asleep. Even after she was out, Jungwoo’s hand did not stop. He kept stroking her back so she would sink deeper and not wake.
Ding.
The moment Seia slipped into a deep sleep, the bell above the door rang. Unlike its usual cheerful sound, this one was quiet and strangely gloomy.