216 – Haildo, If This Continues # 1
Kim Gwon-sanim said she had been visiting the cemetery whenever she had the time for the past few years.
Cleaning the tombstone and dusting it off had become her daily routine.
“If I had known my friends would come today, I should have packed some kimbap to bring along.”
Hohohoho-.
Kim Gwon-sanim was a strong woman who had worked in food sales at a large supermarket and had a tenacious vibe. It would be appropriate to say she was resilient.
Most women from my mother’s generation have this kind of feeling.
However, she was still an older lady.
She was better than during the chaotic funeral, but her face was deeply wrinkled, and her hands, which wiped the tombstone, were rough from hard work.
Seeing her like that made me unable to withstand it.
“Give it here. We’ll clean it today.”
Swish-.
I received a handkerchief from Kim Gwon-sanim.
I was going to wipe the gravestone of my classmate Kang Cheol-Min, and Lee Jeon-Hun, who had been standing beside me in indifference, took off his sunglasses as if slightly flustered.
“Wait, do I have to do it too?”
“Of course.”
“……”
Lee Jeon-Hun seemed to have many things he wanted to say but closed his mouth tightly as if he were holding it in. However, a few words eventually slipped out in a mumble.
I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it was probably along the lines of “Why do I have to wipe Kang Cheol-Min’s gravestone?”
Back during our training days, Lee Jeon-Hun had been unilaterally bullied by Kang Cheol-Min.
Kang Cheol-Min was always spouting things like, “The wealthy are my enemies,” attaching himself to such phrases.
He was a funny guy.
To be honest, it was true that I had wanted to hit Lee Jeon-Hun back then.
“Give me the handkerchief.”
Yet, Lee Jeon-Hun was also someone’s son, so after glancing at Kim Gwon-sanim, he silently wiped the gravestone with the handkerchief.
Now, Kim Gwon-sanim opened her Bible and read a few verses.
Then after singing a hymn or so, she placed a round baseball near the gravestone.
“When my son Cheol-Min was eight, he would always say that whenever we passed the stationery store. ‘Mom, please buy me a baseball.’ But back then, I didn’t have the money to buy it for him. Now, I keep thinking about it.”
Kim Gwon-sanim said her morning routine was now over.
It was time for her to go to the supermarket to work.
Lee Jeon-Hun asked.
“Are you still working? You must have received a good amount in condolences, right? It should be enough for a lifetime.”
The condolence money she received when Kang Cheol-Min died was quite a large sum, sufficient for an elderly woman to live on comfortably.
Yet, she had not quit her job at the supermarket.
“If I work, it feels like my big, dark-haired son will come back and say, ‘Mom, let’s go home together.’ So I can’t quit.”
She said she donated most of the condolence money back to the country.
Since then, she had been living the same daily life she had before losing her son. Watching her, I found myself at a loss for words.
Saying things like, “Your son is a hero who saved many lives,” didn’t seem like it would provide much comfort.
At that moment, Lee Jeon-Hun spoke.
“Kang Cheol-Min, that guy is a completely ungrateful son. Just makes his mother suffer.”
What a rude guy!
I thought that, but Kim Gwon-sanim laughed as if she found it amusing.
“He’s never listened to me since long ago. I raised him strictly so he wouldn’t be criticized for being a son without a father, but maybe that was the problem…. But if friends come to visit like this, maybe he wasn’t a bad kid after all.”
Swish-.
Kim Gwon-sanim caressed the tombstone one last time.
Then she spoke softly.
“Still, sometimes I feel like my son is alive. Just that I can’t see him but feel like he’s somewhere far away…. After all, he must be in heaven because he lived a devout life. Surely.”
I remembered how Kang Cheol-Min told me every Sunday, “Go to church.”
Looking back, it seemed quite out of character, but he was a devout Christian.
We gave Kim Gwon-sanim a ride to her workplace.
Well, when I say we, it was actually Lee Jeon-Hun who drove.
As she got out of the car, Kim Gwon-sanim repeatedly thanked us and finally added one more thing.
“Do what is right, not what you want to do.”
“What is the right thing?”
“A week before I lost my son, Cheol-Min had the same expression as he does now. He had a hesitant look on his face. He said the same thing back then. To do what is right.”
“The right thing….”
“If I could go back to that moment, I think I would say the same thing again. Even if it meant not being able to meet him afterward. My son definitely did the right thing. I am proud of that.”
Pride.
Is that the power that sustains Kim Gwon-sanim after losing her only son?
“So, how is it? Is your heart a bit more settled?”
Lee Jeon-Hun, who had driven me to the well, said.
“I don’t think you did anything wrong. If that ‘superconductor dragon’ had gone to the city, the loss of life would have been greater. Haildo, you did the right thing.”
Lee Jeon-Hun was my junior.
But he was also a previous S Ranker who had looked at higher views before me.
Hearing such comforting words from him strangely calmed my heart.
I asked Lee Jeon-Hun.
“But what if I had died? Would my mom have been this sad? Honestly, I don’t know.”
Swish-.
The car stopped.
While parking, Lee Jeon-Hun said.
“No, I’ll change my mind. Haildo, you were wrong.”
“What?”
“Haildo, if there’s something you did wrong, it’s being weak. Haildo, you became A Rank 14 and might think you’ve become strong and can be arrogant. But you’re weak. That’s why you died to a dragon like that.”
“……”
“If I had been in my peak S Rank days, I could have defeated the ‘superconductor dragon’ without taking any damage in under ten seconds. I’m not joking or boasting here.”
That was true.
If S Rankers had been there, they could have defeated the S Rank demon without much trouble.
Although he was now down, Lee Jeon-Hun had once been a powerful psychokinetic who could turn mountains into plains in his heyday.
“Kang Cheol-Min was weak. That’s why he’s causing his mother so much hardship. If Kang Cheol-Min had been a stronger, greater person, he would have survived to the end, and no one would be sad. Haildo, it’s the same for you.”
Did he not understand the hearts of ordinary people?
Sometimes Lee Jeon-Hun spoke as if it were easy.
It felt like he was saying, “If there’s no bread, just eat cake.”
I wanted to hit him.
While understanding the feelings of Kang Cheol-Min, who had bullied Lee Jeon-Hun, I was also somewhat shocked by Lee Jeon-Hun’s words.
Born as the son of a conglomerate, he had grown up to dominate above others, and his thoughts were incredibly progressive and proactive.
Lee Jeon-Hun’s remarks were, in fact, correct.
“Haildo, use your time worrying to put in more effort.”
# # #
Lee Jeon-Hun parked the car near the fields by Primal Village.
An empty greenhouse after the harvest.
Someone emerged from within.
It was Yu Ara.
“Lee Jeon-Hun, did you say unnecessary things to Senior Haildo?”
“I didn’t.”
“I’ll say it again, don’t approach senior carelessly and say unnecessary things.”
Swoosh-.
As Yu Ara, with her narrow eyes, opened them, Lee Jeon-Hun inwardly grumbled, ‘No, Haildo called for me.’
Then suddenly, he felt wronged in this situation.
“Why am I here like this? I’m Lee Jeon-Hun of the Osa Group! I’m S Ranker Lee Jeon-Hun! Do I have to live like this? How long? For a lifetime…!?”
Clench-.
Lee Jeon-Hun’s fists tightened.
In the past few days, he had been training and honing his psychokinesis through intense drills. He had even trained himself to bind both hands and use psychokinesis for all actions.
‘If it were now….’
He would knock Yu Ara down in one hit.
While thinking that, Yu Ara raised her left leg slowly, making a 180-degree angle. She had an incredibly flexible body.
It was truly a perfect I-shape.
Thinking back to the time when the I-shape challenge had been a trend, it happened.
Boom-.
Her leg, raised to the top of her head, swung down lightly like a crescent arch.
Swoosh-.
A blade-like breeze swept past Lee Jeon-Hun’s face.
“No, what the hell is that…!?”
Generating a knife wind just from the pressure of her kick.
It was a very powerful technique.
Lee Jeon-Hun released his tightly clenched fists.
“Uh, um, Haildo was worried. He was thinking that if he died saving people, wouldn’t others be sad? So I advised him to become stronger.”
“Lee Jeon-Hun! You idiot, don’t give advice to senior! If your strange advice makes senior develop weird habits, you’ll be the one responsible!”
“……”
“Is it possible that senior will die? That sort of thing can’t happen?”
Hoo-hoo-.
Yu Ara’s dark eyes sparkled.
It was thanks to Han Ju-Ryun’s first aid that Haildo had been revived, but Yu Ara’s medical skills, hidden among the emergency response team, had been critical.
Of course, no one knew that fact except for Yu Ara.
Secretly yet greatly.
Doing what needs to be done even if someone doesn’t recognize it.
That was Yu Ara’s motto for helping Haildo.
“Senior will not die. I’ll make sure of that. Anyone who gets in the way will not be left alone.”
Seeing the fierce gleam in Yu Ara’s eyes, Lee Jeon-Hun felt a chill run down his spine.
Yu Ara’s obsession toward Haildo was growing stronger.
“I… don’t know….”
Lee Jeon-Hun stopped thinking.
Then Yu Ara asked him.
“Any information on Gumihee? Have you been collecting it? You’re part of the Osa Group, after all.”
“I’m investigating, but even if it’s Osa Group, there are many subsidiaries, and my brothers handle each, so it’s not easy to investigate. My brothers are all competitors, so our relationships aren’t good.”
The mega corporation Megacorp had influence equivalent to that of a nation.
Osa Group was that Megacorp and the largest company in Korea.
The new S Ranker Gumihee was a woman sponsored by Osa.
“We’re aware that the witch we’re chasing is related to your ‘Osa,’ right? Lee Jeon-Hun, you’ve been unknowingly involved too. Keep a close watch on everything about Osa Group and report.”
Lee Jeon-Hun nodded instead of answering Yu Ara’s words.
Witch.
A fairy with honey-colored hair.
The mastermind wreaking havoc across the world.
A living history said to have resided on the Korean Peninsula since ancient times.
According to the classified documents that only the president and a few VIPs could read, it was said that her name was mentioned as well.
Lee Jeon-Hun had seen that name.
So he couldn’t really believe it.
That is, the original name of that Nymph called a ‘witch’ was—
# # #
“Inoi, I’m back!”
I returned home and called for Inoi. After visiting the national cemetery and hearing the stories from Kim Gwon-sanim and Lee Jeon-Hun, my heart felt incredibly light.
I felt like I knew what to do.
First, I wanted to apologize to Lee Jin-A.
No matter what, it seemed wrong to have fought with her.
I should contact her later.
Soon, the Nymph Inoi sprang out from inside the room.
“The master of the house requests your presence…!”
Pababat-!
Another small Nymph bounced out beside her.
It was a Nymph with striking red hair.
“Muhuhuh, the house master welcomes you…! From now on, I, Illinois, have decided to live in this house…! This is truly a companion Nymph double event…!”
It was Illinois.
It seemed Illinois had decided to stay at our house. It looked like she had been chased away after staying with Han Ju-Ryun.
Not many people can handle Illinois.
Toktok, tok, tik-.
I sent a text to Seo Ye-rim saying, “Illinois is at my house.”
To that, Illinois spoke to me.
“I, Illinois, have listened to the master of the house diligently working harder to level up to a new stage…! I can help with that…!”
“Oh, really?”
“Do you want to obtain the powers of animals…? If so, I, Illinois, along with my Nymph sister Inoi, will share this ‘Animal Potion’ we made…!”
Dum-.
The brown liquid in the water bottle looked peculiar.
“I, Illinois, am an incredibly useful and wonderful miracle organic Nymph…! Hurry, give it a good drink…!”
“This Inoi also feels great anticipation…! Since the master of the house seems to be troubled and suffering a lot since last night, I worked hard to make it for the master…!”
Hoo, hoo…!
“Kalilnoi also helped out to make it…!”
I drank the mysterious beverage at the Nymphs’ urging.
They said they prepared it specially for me, so I couldn’t refuse.
Glug, glug, glug-.
However, it tasted bizarre, like drinking muddy water, and my stomach churned.
“…Ugh, what the heck was that made of?”
“Muhuhuh, it’s made from squirrel tail fur and—.”
Thud-.
I couldn’t hear what Inoi was explaining and collapsed.
It was as if my consciousness was cut off in a film strip.
After that, one afternoon, when I awakened from an uneasy dream, I realized I had turned into an enormous Squirrel Beast in my bed.
