By Zephyria “Oh my! Thank you, God, thank you so much….”
“Yohan-ahhhh!”
Kim Ye-ju, who had been standing in stunned silence, cried out and rushed to her son. Yang Yohan, who had been staring blankly at the two of them with his mouth agape, finally burst into tears after being embraced by Kim Ye-ju.
“Mommm…. Hoooeeeeeong…!”
“Oh, Yohan! Yohan…! My son! My baby!”
Upon seeing his parents, whom he had missed so dearly for a year, Yohan’s fears and hardships came flooding back. Embracing Kim Ye-ju, he wept uncontrollably. Yang Hwa-pyeong managed to stagger to his feet and examine Yohan from head to toe, confirming that all his limbs were intact and there were no signs of Corruption.
“God, thank you so much for sending our Yohan back with all his limbs intact…!”
Yang Hwa-pyeong wiped away tears, endlessly stroking Yohan’s back. Patients and their guardians in other rooms, hearing the cries, came to see what was happening. After crying for a long time, Kim Ye-ju drank some water and finally regained her senses. She sobbed loudly, scolding him.
“You! You…! You went into that dangerous place because you were scolded by your parents, huh? Do you have a brain? Do you know how worried I was! You burned our parents’ hearts out! Huh!”
Kim Ye-ju slapped her own back repeatedly. The sound was loud, but it didn’t hurt, so Yohan cried even harder. He mistook her weakness for his own increased durability gained from his Awakening, a realization that came much later.
“What are you crying about, like you did something good!”
Even as she said this, Kim Ye-ju was crying again, wiping her son’s face with her hands. Yang Hwa-pyeong also scolded Yohan loudly.
“You brat, our company is a pharmaceutical company! What’s so urgent about medicine that you’d get distracted in a dangerous place!”
“Sob, Yes? Medicine?”
Yohan, who had been crying like a leaky faucet, asked in confusion. Yang Hwa-pyeong sighed and said doubtfully,
“Seung-min told me. He said you went into a pharmacy alone to get medicine and were attacked, then went missing.”
Upon hearing this, Yohan’s eyes glinted ferociously, but the two parents didn’t notice through his tear-filled eyes. Yohan suppressed his surging emotions and shook his head. Then, he spoke the words he had prepared.
“Actually, I think I hit my head, because I can’t remember anything from that time.”
“You hit your head?!”
“Where! Where and how did you get hurt!”
At the mention of a head injury, Kim Ye-ju and Yang Hwa-pyeong were aghast. Contrary to his outward appearance of being fine, they realized he might be injured internally, and their faces darkened. Yohan calmly soothed them.
“Other than not remembering some things, I’m fine.”
“Then what do you remember? From where to where do you remember?”
Taking a deep breath, Yohan closed the hospital room door. He didn’t sense anyone eavesdropping from outside, but just in case, he spoke in a small voice.
“I remember forming an Awakening Party with Seung-min and hired mercenaries to enter a Rift. But I lost consciousness and when I woke up, I was in the Abyss.”
“W-what… The Abyss? You went missing in a Rift? Yohan, why were you, in the Abyss….”
Yang Hwa-pyeong stammered and then froze. A memory surfaced. A week ago, hadn’t he been intensely envious of the news about Lee Hyun-muk, the Sunrise Team members, and one civilian returning from the Abyss? Could it be that the one civilian… was his son?
Moreover, now that he thought about it, Hyunsan Hospital was a government-designated partner hospital. It was where Awakened individuals who were injured during Rift exploration or fighting high-grade monsters were primarily admitted. Yang Hwa-pyeong’s eyes widened as he recalled who owned this hospital.
Yohan gently sat his shocked parents on the bed. Then, he calmly explained.
“I was in the Rift Management Agency’s quarantine room, so I couldn’t contact you. The embargo is lifted today, which is why I’m contacting you now.”
Disbelieving Yohan’s words, the two parents asked him repeatedly if it was true. Since they would soon find out through the news anyway, Yohan told them about meeting Lee Hyun-muk and the Sunrise Team members in the Abyss, and that he had spent a year there. Kim Ye-ju stroked Yohan’s hair and murmured blankly,
“No wonder, I thought it was strange that your hair looked a bit different, even if it was only a month ago….”
Hearing this, Yohan felt tears welling up again. Sniffling, he felt happy at his parents’ warm hands, which touched and checked him until they were worn out. The reality of escaping that hellish Abyss hit him anew.
“Rifts are such terrifying places, how hard must it have been there? And for a whole year… Was there even proper food to eat?”
As Kim Ye-ju began to cry again, Yohan also started to tear up. However, wiping his tears, he spoke with forced composure and cheerfulness.
“Fortunately, everyone treated me well, so it wasn’t hard at all. I ate well, slept well, and lived well!”
In reality, it had been terrifying and difficult, but he covered it up with lies. Perhaps it was the power of the name Lee Hyun-muk, but both parents seemed to relax somewhat, though they remained half-believing. After crying their fill and, more importantly, seeing Yohan so perfectly fine, the atmosphere rapidly turned warm and affectionate. Yang Hwa-pyeong placed his still trembling, damp hand on Yohan’s shoulder and asked,
“Is there really nothing else wrong with you?”
“Of course not. There’s nothing wrong. I was hospitalized just in case, but I’ll be discharged in a few days.”
“Seung-min will be so happy to hear this too. He worked so hard looking for you, you know.”
“Wow, really? I definitely… have to repay his kindness.”
Yohan said this with a bright smile, but his parents were too busy reconfirming his physical well-being to notice the strange nuance. Yohan was certain that Park Seung-min would jump for joy on the spot upon hearing the news of his return. After this reunion, someone he was curious about came to mind.
“What about Hyung? When can he visit?”
Even though he was an annoying Hyung, he missed him after not seeing him for a year. However, for some reason, as soon as he brought up his Hyung, his parents’ faces darkened. Yang Hwa-pyeong forced a smile and made an excuse.
“He’s busy and won’t be able to visit for a few days, so let’s all see him at home after you’re discharged.”
Yohan sensed something unusual in his father’s tone. However, both Yang Hwa-pyeong and Kim Ye-ju seemed to be desperately avoiding talking about Yang Yosep, so he didn’t press further. He recalled a single ominous possibility that might explain their reticence. When he changed the subject and said he was able to survive and return thanks to Lee Hyun-muk and the Sunrise Team, they were deeply moved.
“Thanks to them, you’re alive. We don’t know how we can ever repay this debt.”
Yohan had the words “I awakened as a Purifier, a High-level Awakener, and can even cure Corruption” on the tip of his tongue, but he held them back. Unable to speak them immediately, Yohan, who was fidgeting, checked the time and quickly found the remote.
“Ah, right. I have something I wanted to watch.”
“You’re not feeling well, why are you watching TV instead of resting.”
“No, I really need to watch it. Mom, Dad, watch it with me.”
Yohan manipulated the TV in the private room with the remote. When he switched to the news channel, familiar faces appeared. In fact, he had seen them just this morning. Hyung Hyun-muk is even more handsome in person than on broadcast, Yohan thought. As his gaze lowered, he saw large white letters written in red at the bottom of the channel:
[Sunrise Team Press Conference]
The three of them sat side-by-side on the bed, focused on the TV screen. Kim Ye-ju and Yang Hwa-pyeong sat close to their son, constantly praising how tall and handsome the individuals were. Yohan agreed, while contemplating when and how he should reveal or conceal his relationship with Lee Hyun-muk. He was certain that for the time being, it had to be kept quiet….
Yohan glanced at the screen and checked the internet reactions. The response to the press conference, led by Lee Hyun-muk, who had returned from the Abyss, was immense. The fact that the Sunrise Team was present, but Go Jae-won was missing, was already a huge topic of discussion.
[Watching the press conference right now]
Why is Go Jae-won the only one missing?
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I thought Go Jae-won was suspicious from before, so the rumors weren’t false.
└ He was just lateㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋJae-won! Wake up, you have to go to the press conference.
└ It’s true that Go Jae-won deliberately ruined his team ㅋㅋ
└ He says he’s been going to therapy for depression, but sold the Sunrise Guild to the government after a month? That traitorous bastard, was the taste of silver sweet?
└ Fucking bastard, if it were just the Sunrise Team, my friend wouldn’t have died.
└ He’s going to be ruined after the press conference ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Got the related injection last week, it’s fucked up.
Yohan’s lips curled upwards as he confirmed the extremely negative public opinion towards Go Jae-won.
Naturally, there had been public suspicion in the past about him being the sole survivor. So, he had worked hard to gain sympathy through tears, social service, and donations to recover his image, but now that things had turned out this way, it must be a living hell. As Yohan inwardly relished his schadenfreude, the press conference began.
Lee Hyun-muk, with his ever-impressive white hair, stepped onto the podium. Behind him stood Lee Chan-ha, Seo Yakrin, Yoon Seung-ryong, and Joo Ho-young. They all had expressionless faces, giving a rather grim impression. Flashes of light blazed blindingly from all directions.
“Good day, I am Lee Hyun-muk, the Team Leader of the Sunrise Team.”
As Lee Hyun-muk bowed in greeting, an intense barrage of flashes, so strong it was hard to open one’s eyes, poured down from all sides. Yet, not a single team member winced. They seemed accustomed to such events. Yohan recalled countless similar press conferences in the past, usually after the subjugation of high-grade monsters.
“We will now make an announcement regarding the return of the Sunrise Team. First, we will address what many of you are likely curious about.”
Then, Lee Hyun-muk offered a slight smile. That alone lightened the heavy atmosphere. One of the reporters unconsciously exhaled a breath they had been holding. After slowly making eye contact with each reporter, Lee Hyun-muk opened his mouth.