By Zephyria “Excuse me, could I use the phone?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Eui-jae headed to the counter inside the Hanover Soup Restaurant as soon as he finished speaking. He picked up the old receiver and dialed the direct line to the Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, a number only he knew. His hand trembled incessantly as he pressed the numbers. However,
—The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again.
Just in case, he tried calling again, but the result was the same. Eui-jae slowly put down the receiver. His heart, which had been quiet as if doused in ice water, began to beat faster and faster, and before he knew it, he was sweating cold.
Did I really fall into the future, eight years later? No, more than that… am I really dead?
But he couldn’t be sure of anything. Maybe the Director just changed his number. Eui-jae tried not to look at the situation too negatively. He turned to leave the Hanover Soup Restaurant in a hurry, but then Eui-jae remembered one important fact.
He didn’t have a penny on him. Before entering the Rift, he had only packed consumables like Elixir, so it was only natural. He had even used up all the Elixir, leaving him with nothing. A perfect pauper, in other words. He didn’t even have money to pay for his Hangover Soup….
Eui-jae glanced at Grandmother and cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um, Grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“I… um.”
He couldn’t continue, only rubbing the innocent sleeve of his clothes, so Grandmother stared at Eui-jae. And slowly walked towards him. Her wrinkled hand grabbed his hand, which had not yet healed from its injuries.
“It’s okay.”
“Yes?”
“Come back and have another meal sometime.”
Two crumpled ten-thousand-won bills were placed in Eui-jae’s hand. Eui-jae, who had been gaping for a while, closed his mouth tightly and bowed his head without saying a word. The old woman opened the door next to the kitchen and soon came out with an old navy blue jacket and a black hat.
“Wear this.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m really okay.”
“If you walk around like that in broad daylight, you’ll get caught. Wear it.”
Grandmother was absolutely right. Eui-jae took off his tattered jacket and suddenly noticed the silver watch on his left wrist. It was something Eui-jae had had since the moment he Awakened. This is it! Eui-jae hurriedly took off the watch and handed it to the old woman.
“Grandmother, this.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a watch. It’s all I have right now.”
“I don’t need it.”
“No, please take it. Or let me leave it with you. I’ll come back for it later.”
Eui-jae forced the watch into Grandmother’s hand, put on the hat, bowed repeatedly, and left the Hanover Soup Restaurant. Grandmother, who had followed him out in a hurry, called out to him, but he ignored her and ran away.
After running for a while, he looked up at the sky and saw that it was already dawn. A long line at the bus stop, cars filling the road, and people walking on the wet pavement with tired faces. Many people were going their own way.
It was a peaceful scene, but it was unfamiliar to Eui-jae. The Republic of Korea, which was presumed to be eight years later, was very different from his memories. Eui-jae stared at the moment of peaceful everyday life with empty eyes.
It was then.
Beep, beep— A loud noise began to ring around him. Everyone was taking out their cell phones and checking something. Two boys in school uniforms were chattering.
“Damn it, the Gate is opening in 30 minutes.”
“I wonder if we can see any Hunters? If a Ranker comes, let’s take a video and upload it to YouTube.”
“Yeah. Damn it, I should have brought my drone.”
…A Gate is opening? Eui-jae looked around in a daze. But even with the announcement that a Gate was opening, people seemed calm. As if the Gate alert was a daily occurrence, he couldn’t find any signs of surprise. Confused, Eui-jae grabbed a woman passing by and spoke to her.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. Is a Gate about to open?”
“Yes? Yes. I just got a disaster text message, didn’t you see it?”
“Ah… yes. I left my cell phone behind.”
“Oh, I see. If you look here….”
The woman held out her cell phone and showed him the text message.
[Rift Management Bureau]
On November 14th, at 7:42 AM, a Gate is expected to appear in the eastern direction of Wirye-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Residents should evacuate to designated shelters. If prior evacuation is not possible, please contact the Awakened Management Bureau.
A Gate is, in short, ‘a Dungeon entrance that suddenly opens.’ While normal Dungeons have a fixed location to enter, Gates appear in random Shields without warning and open an entrance, and if they are not quickly suppressed, they spew out Monsters in droves. But you can know the location and time of a Gate in advance?
The woman cautiously asked as Eui-jae was motionless, lost in thought.
“Um, are you okay…?”
“Ah, yes…. It’s nothing. Thank you for showing me.”
The woman glanced at his face with a worried look, nodded, and walked away. Eui-jae, who had been staring blankly at the backs of the people for a while, also took a step.
Amidst the roaring exhaust sounds of cars cutting through the road, the hallucination he had been trying to ignore buzzed in his ears. The sound of bones breaking, flesh piercing, necks snapping, voices begging for help…. Familiar screams and noises covered the peaceful cityscape. Eui-jae stopped walking and stood there, overwhelmed by the alien sensation. And he thought.
Was all that sacrifice worth it?
The world eight years after J was gone was so peaceful and perfect. In fact, this was the scene he had so desperately wanted.
Broken asphalt roads, a verse crushed under the feet of Monsters, collapsed buildings, burnt and broken roadside trees, and people holding their breath and trembling with fear, not knowing when Monsters would appear. The past was as vivid as yesterday, so much so that he could draw it right away.
Eui-jae had sincerely wished. Please let me live a life without fear. Even if he wasn’t there. But now that such moments were unfolding before his eyes, he felt strange.
What would change even if J, who had been thought dead for eight years, returned? The moment J announced his return, the peace of the world would be shattered. Everyone would roll their eyes and rush at him. They would dig into what happened inside the Rift, why he was the only one who survived, and why it took him eight years to get out of the Rift.
Eui-jae slowly wiped away the cold sweat. He suddenly felt nauseous.
He thinks that he should tell people about the deaths of his colleagues who sacrificed themselves for the world, of course. He remembers all of their names and faces, as well as how they died.
But….
“Eui-jae. Please remember.”
“The world has changed, and since you have power, everyone will try to rely on you. They will want you to save everyone.”
“But Eui-jae, you’re still young….”
“You don’t have to save everyone.”
“You can run away.”
Eui-jae suddenly remembered what his aunt had said to him as she grabbed his shoulders and advised him.
His aunt was a Hunter who had lost her family and Awakened as a B-rank when Eui-jae was swept away by the Rift. She was also the only other survivor in the hellish Rift. They weren’t really aunt and nephew, but they relied on each other like family. She was the one who advised J to hide his identity.
‘I understand now, Aunt.’
Cha Eui-jae rubbed his eyes for no reason.
Hunter J is already dead, and no one knows the human Cha Eui-jae. They probably don’t even know that he exists. Even though eight years have passed, twenty-year-old Cha Eui-jae was still twenty years old. He still remembers vividly how his aunt congratulated him on becoming an adult. But in this world, he is twenty-eight.
People pass him by indifferently. Eui-jae stood alone in the crowd for a long time. Silently, lonely.
And finally,
Eui-jae decided to run away for the first time.
A few months later… back at the Hanover Soup Restaurant.
Eui-jae, who was about to do the dishes in the kitchen for a while, had to come out to the hall again due to the constant orders and calls from customers.
“Here, check please!”
“Yes, just a moment.”
While working at this Hanover Soup Restaurant, Eui-jae realized one important fact. Even though he had changed his job from Hunter to Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer, this was not a place where he could hide his strength 100%.
“More kimchi and radish kimchi here, please!”
“Give us some more hot peppers too!”
“Okay, please wait a moment.”
This Hanover Soup Restaurant has too many customers. To be exact, there were a lot of Hunter customers who ate quickly and ate a lot. For that reason, Eui-jae was using his ability as an Awakened little by little, pretending to be an ordinary person who was a little stronger and more agile than others.
“Um, our table doesn’t have pepper, can we borrow some pepper….”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s hurry up and leave if we’re done eating! We have to go into the Dungeon soon!”
“We’ll wipe the table and leave. Can we use the rag over there?”
“I’ll chop the peppers if you give them to me.”
“This crazy brat is a B-rank Hunter. His main weapon is a sword, so he’s really good at cutting.”
In the short time that Eui-jae went back into the kitchen, the customers began to divide their roles familiarly. Eui-jae, who had barely escaped the bustling hall like a newly opened Gate, took a breather only after taking out the containers of kimchi and radish kimchi from the refrigerator. Eui-jae mechanically moved his body with empty eyes.
‘I need to make a kimchi and hot pepper self-service bar as soon as possible.’
He quickly grabbed a bowl of rice and two bags of hot peppers and came out of the kitchen, quickly scanning the Hunters while racking his brain. It seemed like he should leave the pepper chopping to the B-rank Hunter.
“There, please chop the hot peppers, and take the kimchi, radish kimchi, and bowl of rice. I’ll help you with the bill.”
At his instructions, the Hunters began to help each other in an orderly manner, as if they were carrying out a Dungeon raid. The B-rank Hunter chopped the peppers with a dagger that looked like a C-rank weapon at the very least, and the C-rank Hunter scooped up the kimchi and radish kimchi with tongs. The other Hunters stood in a line in front of them, waiting to be served with bowls in their hands. Eui-jae swiped the card in the card reader and watched the heartwarming scene.
Is this the peace I protected…?
The former No. 1 Hunter in the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea’s first S-rank Hunter, Hunter name J. A national hero who closed the West Sea Class 1 Rift eight years ago and died. His real name, which no one knows, is Cha Eui-jae. He is…
“Thank you, goodbye. Welcome. How many people?”
A current Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer.