“I’m back!”
After spending two full days having fun at Ban Eunhyeol’s house, I finally returned home.
“You’re back! Did you have fun?”
“Just hearing your voice, it sounds like you had a great time.”
I must have looked excited and lively.
My parents, who were in the living room, glanced toward the entrance and smiled warmly.
As I entered the living room, the news about the Gates was in full swing.
Even though it had been several weeks since the Gates disappeared and the Awakened lost their powers, it was still a hot topic.
It had been an enormous event that swept through the world.
A bizarre phenomenon, inexplicable even by science, suddenly appeared and then vanished, so the commotion was understandable.
“Ah, what a relief. How many people suffered because of those damn Gates?”
“Did the Other-Dimensional Beings return to where they came from? I hope they never cross over again.”
My parents each said a word while watching the news.
“Yeah, I hope they never open again.”
Although the Other-Dimensional Beings were still here, our genuine wish was for the Gates never to reopen.
My mother looked relieved and said,
“I’m just so glad you don’t have to face danger anymore. So, let’s study hard from now on, okay? You’ve had your fun, right?”
“Yes. Eunhyeol and Hayun said they’d tutor me for the college entrance exam.”
“Really? That’s so kind of them!”
“Didn’t they say they didn’t need to study?”
Hearing that the first and second top students in the school were going to tutor me, my mother clapped her hands and laughed.
She had never approved of my involvement in closing Gates, thinking it was dangerous, so she was glad to hear I planned to study hard.
I nodded at my father’s curious question and said,
“They’re special. Their grades won’t drop just because they tutor me.”
Of course, it was natural since they were the main characters of the story.
After all, the protagonists usually get into the best universities without studying at all, no matter how many fights or romantic escapades they have.
Extras like me had to study hard just to dream of any hope.
It was clear that aiming for the same university as the protagonists and main characters required extraordinary effort.
Besides, my grades weren’t that good.
“What did you do in the valley? Are you getting along well with your friends these days?”
“Their families are quite influential. Even if the guild disbanded, they wouldn’t suffer any real damage.”
Not long ago, a public broadcaster aired a documentary about how the now powerless Awakened had lived and worked.
Saving people, killing monsters, shooting commercials, becoming famous.
It was a summary of their lives, and my father was talking about the Four Heavenly Kings segment.
The documentary briefly covered how they lived before awakening.
Ban Eunhyeol and Han Ji-bin were third-generation chaebol heirs from families well-known across South Korea, Eun Ba-da was the hospital director’s son, and Ji Gang-han’s grandfather was a former president.
I only found out about Ji Gang-han’s family this time.
“A former president? No wonder they’re called the Four Heavenly Kings.”
While watching the documentary with my parents, I remained calm when Ji Gang-han’s grandfather appeared on screen, unlike my parents, who were surprised.
I just ate watermelon without much reaction, and my parents seemed to think I must have known this already.
After the Four Heavenly Kings episode, a notice appeared that the Yeon Sibling episode scheduled for the next week was canceled.
Seeing that message, my parents always looked at me with concern whenever the Yeon Sibling came up.
“They aired the Four Heavenly Kings, but the Yeon Sibling episode is banned. What kind of family is that?” they would say.
“They don’t do anything bad, though.”
I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t seem like they did anything outright wrong.
If anything, maybe they were on the side of justice.
“Of course, there could be a hidden underworld I don’t know about.”
But I figured it was better not to know.
Extras should stay extras and pretend not to see.
Anyway, aside from beating up anyone who caused trouble for me mercilessly, there was nothing particularly bad about them.
My dad, who was cutting watermelon, suddenly remembered something and asked,
“By the way, I heard Onsaemiro, the guild leader, visited before. What’s he up to these days?”
“Oh, Do Ihyeon…?”
I thought the conversation would end with the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon.
But my dad surprisingly remembered Do Ihyeon and asked about him first.
I hadn’t been in contact recently, but when I met Kang Yedam, I heard that Do Ihyeon might have to study quite hard.
If his grades fell, he might have to go abroad to where his parents lived or something about not entering college.
I wasn’t sure, but that was roughly the impression.
“He’s studying these days.”
“Oh my, I didn’t think he’d study at all. That’s unexpected.”
My mom, who had seen Do Ihyeon before, said with genuine surprise.
“Third year students are different. Our daughter should try a little harder now!”
It was probably time to go to my room.
I figured it would be best to at least pretend to study.
Once inside, I looked around my empty room with a bitter feeling.
‘I have to get used to this, quickly.’
Without the summons who used to greet me or play among themselves in the room, it felt so empty.
Shahin sitting regally on the chair or bed, Bishap and Redd fluttering around in their small forms or rolling on the bed.
Though I couldn’t summon them now, I missed the other summons I’d grown fond of.
But more than anyone, I missed Shahin, Bishap, and Redd, who I’d seen almost every day.
‘Before awakening, I lived well alone.’
Since I had been a non-Awakened before possession, I was used to being alone.
Back then, after awakening, the summons became my friends, but now the summons were gone, and the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon had taken the spots of close friends.
‘Come to think of it, except for before awakening, I’ve never really been alone.’
Only then did I realize my surroundings were always lively.
With a sense of longing, I pulled out a chair and sat down.
Then, from the bookshelf Ban Eunhyeol had gifted me, I took out a workbook.
To get used to being alone in my room, the best thing was probably to study.
***
Thunk—
A heavy blow echoed through the construction site.
Many sturdy men lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
Yeon Ha-yeon, who had just taken down their boss, rubbed her wrist and caught her breath.
“Boss, these are all the men here.”
“Is that so? Then today’s work is done.”
Despite the big fight, the members of the ‘Hyulhwa’ organization looked at Yeon Ha-yeon with eyes full of admiration as if nothing had happened.
“Shall we go get some tteokbokki?”
At Yeon Ha-yeon’s muttered words, all the members stifled their laughter.
No matter how skilled and capable their boss was, moments like this showed she was still a student.
“I’ll get you to our regular place in no time.”
Dokki, Yeon Ha-yeon’s driver, opened the car’s back door and spoke politely.
The door closed, and the car started moving.
‘My wrist feels strange.’
Though the members looked fine, Yeon Ha-yeon furrowed her brow lightly at the wrist pain that had been creeping up.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke to Dokki.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
“Huh? Did you get hurt? Just leave those guys be!”
“No, my wrist is just aching a bit.”
“I’ll get us there quickly!”
Dokki pressed the accelerator and sped up.
As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Yeon Ha-yeon went straight inside for a checkup.
She came out wearing a light cast on her wrist.
“Boss, you said your wrist was aching a little…”
Yeon Ha-yeon, who rarely got injured, now had a cast on her wrist.
Though it was light, that wasn’t the point.
At Dokki’s fuss, the members rushed to the hospital, causing a scene.
“Boss! Who did this? I’ll go break their necks right now…!”
“I’ll go avenge the boss!”
The scene looked like something out of a gangster movie, causing passing patients to quietly back away.
“This is a hospital. Keep it down and let’s get out of here.”
Finally calming the members down, she was about to leave the hospital when a gentle, pleasant mid-low voice came from behind.
“Oh? Ha-yeon.”
Yeon Ha-yeon smiled softly and turned around.
Eun Ba-da stood behind her members, holding a paper bag.
“What brings you here? Are you hurt?”
Eun Ba-da approached with a raised eyebrow and looked at her with concern.
Then, noticing her wrist, his eyes widened, and he grabbed her wrist.
His round eyes quickly narrowed into a frown.
“You hurt your wrist. That must have hurt a lot.”
“It’s not that bad. What about you? Why are you at the hospital?”
“I had something to bring to my father. Sometimes I bring him food or underwear.”
“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him.”
“I actually only started recently. Lately, my relationship with my father has gotten pretty good, so I come like this.”
Eun Ba-da scratched his cheek awkwardly as he spoke.
Yeon Ha-yeon looked between the empty paper bag and Eun Ba-da, then ruffled his hair.
“That’s good. Keep visiting the hospital from now on.”
“Thanks.”
To an outsider, it might not sound like much, but it was a way of saying to keep maintaining this peaceful family relationship.
Eun Ba-da smiled kindly as usual.
Yeon Ha-yeon grabbed Eun Ba-da’s wrist and said,
“Let’s go get tteokbokki.”
Eun Ba-da followed her lead and got into the car.
Dokki drove toward their boss’s regular restaurant while glancing at the two through the rearview mirror.
The slight change in their mood brought a subtle smile to his lips without him realizing it.