Yoon Seo smiled slightly behind the mask, watching Kwon Jihan gently flick the chubby cheek of a child with his fingertip. The child giggled, clearly tickled.
'The man who's scared he might not control his strength handles kids' cheeks just fine.'
An idea came to Yoon Seo, and he whispered to one of the nearby children.
"If you ride on Kwon Jihan Hunter's shoulders, you'll be as tall as a giraffe. Go ask him for a ride."
"…!"
The child's eyes lit up, and they immediately rushed over to ask Kwon Jihan for a shoulder ride. Reluctantly, Kwon Jihan lifted the child onto his shoulders, and when he turned around, there was already a line of kids with eager faces waiting for their turn.
After spending more time there than expected, they hurried to the annex, where Hong Euiyoon was anxiously waiting.
Hong Euiyoon was in a private room, and Park Soobin and Soo Jaehee were already there when they arrived. Yoon Seo put down a basket of bananas and took a glance at Hong Euiyoon's body. His right arm, right leg, and neck were all in casts. Judging from the bruising on the right side of his face, his entire right side had taken some serious damage.
"Hmph, you didn't need to come. I was hoping to spend some time alone, but why does no one leave me alone?"
Though Hong Euiyoon's online persona had changed, his offline attitude was the same as ever. As he grumbled, Riceball flew over, chirping loudly.
Peeeep!
Startled, Hong Euiyoon looked at the small, round creature that was rubbing itself against him, chirping noisily.
"Hey, what's wrong with it? Is it not recognizing me because I'm in this state?"
"No, it's worried about you. Wondering how you got so hurt."
"Riceball can tell I'm hurt?"
"Of course. Riceball's a special bird."
Hong Euiyoon gently cupped Riceball in his hands and brought it closer to his face. Then, looking around, he whispered very softly.
"Hey, I'm fine, okay? So stop crying. It doesn't hurt at all."
Peeeep…
"Worry about your owner instead, you fool. Your owner can't even be healed by skills or potions."
Peeep…
Even though he whispered, everyone obviously heard.
Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan exchanged glances. It was time to update everyone on the latest developments.
"Take a seat. We just got back from a trip."
Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo began recounting their adventures in space and explained how they had obtained an elixir that could cure status ailments. The three friends were genuinely happy to hear the news. Hong Euiyoon, eager to share the news on social media, was already fiddling with his phone, but they warned him not to post anything yet.
The plan was for Seo Chaeyoon to post it himself after confirming that the elixir completely cured all status effects.
While things had been happening in space, events were also unfolding on Earth.
The world government had been restructured, and in Levels 1 and 2, a sports tournament with the Ystävä was to be held every four years.
Although not as grand in scale, there was one piece of news that felt more significant to their circle.
"Jo Mani started a guild."
"Oh, really? It's been two years now, hasn't it?"
"Exactly two years."
Two years ago, an internal whistleblower exposed that Rainbow had deliberately lowered the grade of their shield traps. As a result, the guild leader and vice guild leader were replaced.
Jo Mani excused himself, saying that the trap structures were too tricky, and he had no choice but to lower the grade to match the maintenance time. It was a humiliating admission of his lack of skills. After leaving the guild, he attempted to reinvent his image through volunteer work, eventually forming a small guild.
Most of the guild members were reportedly the same people who had followed him since his Rainbow days.
"With today's standards, none of those people would have awakened, right?"
"Who knows? Jo Mani's not exactly a bad person."
"One thing's for sure, the former guild leader of Rainbow definitely wouldn't have awakened."
"That's for sure."
Listening to Soo Jaehee and Park Soobin's conversation, Yoon Seo thought to himself.
With today's standards.
Would I have awakened?
In the past, when awakened beings were desperately needed, the Gaia System had a tendency to… awaken just about anyone who wasn't entirely bad.
In hindsight, it was the right thing to do. If the system had been more selective about who it awakened back then, Earth would have perished.
These days, the standards have gotten stricter.
To put it simply, in the past, they would have awakened someone with a score of 80 because the situation was dire. But nowadays, only those scoring over 90 are awakened.
Fifteen years after the Cataclysm, the system had begun to filter more carefully.
Now, there are people who deliberately live their lives doing good deeds in hopes of awakening. And ever since people learned that enforcers like Kwon Jihan existed, the number of awakened beings committing crimes has dropped.
'Even if it's for awakening, if someone lives their entire life hypocritically, wouldn't that ultimately mean they're living a good life?'
Yoon Seo wasn't sure if he could live his entire life being a hypocrite.
Wouldn't he eventually fall from grace?
Though he had awakened, almost by accident.
'With today's standards, I'd never…'
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Hong Euiyoon let out a scream. Everyone's attention turned toward him, but Soo Jaehee reacted the quickest.
"Ah, hyung. Can't you stay still? What's wrong now? Why are you yelling?"
"The banana…"
It seemed that Hong Euiyoon had strained his finger while trying to pull a banana from the basket.
"If you need something, just ask me to do it."
Soo Jaehee roughly peeled the banana and shoved it into Hong Euiyoon's mouth. Hong Euiyoon chewed on it, looking sullen. Soo Jaehee immediately peeled another one.
"I told you to keep the cast on your finger. Guys, scold him. He took off his finger cast because typing on his phone was difficult. No matter how addicted to social media he is, isn't this too much?"
"Yeah, that's a bit extreme."
As Kwon Jihan nodded, Hong Euiyoon sharply chimed in.
"Damn it. When I have the cast on, I keep making typos. Hey, Park Soobin, heal me one more time."
"Do I look like I'm at your service?"
"Hurry up. It's uncomfortable."
Park Soobin used his healing skill. A bright light enveloped Hong Euiyoon's finger.
"Even after receiving multiple healing spells, it still hasn't fully healed?"
Yoon Seo asked, and Park Soobin sighed before answering.
"It was completely shattered."
"…"
"If it was just a crack or a simple break, a potion and a few healing spells would have fixed it. But when we found him, the right side of his body had been dislocated and was inside the mouth of an entity."
"To be honest, we all thought Euiyoon hyung was dead."
Soo Jaehee's expression darkened, and Park Soobin's did the same.
"That's not true!"
Hong Euiyoon pouted, pushing his lips out in a sulk.
"I wasn't hurt that badly, but I thought I'd take this chance to rest a bit, so I exaggerated."
"Stop reading the comments, hyung. People online blew it out of proportion, and now you've started doing it too."
"What are you going to do if you let the hate comments affect you?"
Soo Jaehee and Park Soobin scolded him, though their words were laced with affection.
Yoon Seo quietly murmured.
"It seems he was hurt worse than I thought."
At that heavy remark, Kwon Jihan spoke up in a somewhat hurried tone.
"Anyway, he survived, didn't he? He didn't die. It was a life-threatening situation, but he made it out."
Kwon Jihan gently held Hong Euiyoon's hand without hurting him.
"Hong Euiyoon. I'm really glad you made it out alive. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart. Please be more careful from now on. Your body isn't just yours anymore. There are a lot of people who worry about you."
"…Huh? Oh… uh… yeah, I got it. I'll be careful. Ahem."
Hong Euiyoon responded, slightly flustered and somewhat proud, with a face that said, 'I didn't know Kwon Jihan cared this much about me!'
***
After the hospital visit, the two headed to Yoon Seo's home in Yongsan. While Kwon Jihan prepared dinner, Yoon Seo took care of some light housework, and Riceball sat on Yoon Seo's shoulder, then moved to sit on Kwon Jihan's head, cheering them both on.
"Eat a lot, hyung."
"…"
Yoon Seo glanced at the table, which was filled with obvious choices: grilled eel rice, black garlic braised short ribs, oyster pancakes, abalone porridge, and dried pollack seaweed soup. His gaze shifted to Kwon Jihan with mild disbelief.
"When did you buy all these ingredients?"
"The day we returned to Earth. Hyung, you don't pay enough attention to what's in the fridge."
"…"
"Of course, you don't have to stay. I'll handle everything myself. Enjoy your meal."
"Yes, thank you for the food."
Yoon Seo thoroughly chewed each bite twenty times, finishing all the food that was prepared.
After the meal, they passed time watching 'Love in Han River', doing squats, knitting, and before they knew it, it was already 2 AM.
Elixir in production…
Time remaining: 10 seconds
Elixir in production…
Time remaining: 9 seconds
Elixir in production…
Time remaining: 8 seconds
"Ah! I'm so nervous I'm about to go crazy. Ugh!"
"Calm down, Kwon Jihan. You'll wake up Riceball."
Elixir in production…
Time remaining: 1 second
The completed elixir settled into Yoon Seo's palm.
It was a radiant, beautiful green liquid, contained within a vial.
The moment Yoon Seo grasped the vial, something unexpected happened.
Rumble.
The air vibrated, and a black substance formed in the middle of the living room. Kwon Jihan immediately moved Yoon Seo behind him. He knew Yoon Seo hated being protected, but his body moved on instinct.
Kwon Jihan activated
The black substance began to coalesce into a single form, and soon it took the shape of a person.
No, not just the shape—an actual person appeared. A young man wearing an old-generation hunter outfit with many pockets.
He appeared unconscious, with his eyes closed, but Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo recognized him all too well. Any Korean would know who this handsome man was. Yoon Seo instinctively stepped forward.
"…Lee Seokyoung?"
It was Lee Seokyoung, who had been reported dead in a dungeon explosion, standing before them, looking exactly as he did 13 years ago.