By Zephyria Why is it Yang? The next day, Yohan, sitting on his hospital bed and looking at the online reactions, had the same thought. And he didn’t just stop at thinking; he asked in the group chat.
Why is the guild name Sun?
It’s not the Yang I’m thinking of, right?
Yoon Seung-ryong
Hahaha
Joo Ho-young
Hahaha
Seo Yakrin
Because our youngest is cute hehe
Joo Ho-young
Because the Sun shines brightly?
Yoon Seung-ryong
A cute mascot is fitting.
Seo Yakrin
Did our maknae eat lunch?
Yoon Seung-ryong
Heat up whatever’s in the fridge for 3 minutes, Yohan.
They weren’t answering properly, just laughing and talking about other things, and Yohan was sure they had all ganged up on him. Lee Chan-ha, who hadn’t replied for a long time, perhaps because she was busy, sent a cute sheep emoticon she must have found somewhere. The last reply from Lee Hyun-muk was as follows:
Lee Hyun-muk
Yangyang
Clenching his fists, Yohan captured the chat and saved it with a satisfied smile. Just a year ago, he couldn’t have imagined chatting with these people… In fact, he secretly felt a little, just a little, no, actually, a lot proud that he had become like a representative symbol for the new guild, even if he was shy about it.
He was rereading the lively and harmonious chat conversation when he heard a knock. The door creaked open, and the person who appeared was a face Yohan had never forgotten, not even in his dreams.
“Yang Yohan…?”
Park Seung-min entered the room with a fruit basket, his face etched with worry. Yohan, after looking at him with a cold gaze for a moment, quickly composed his expression. He greeted him warmly, as if meeting a close friend he hadn’t seen in a year.
“Park Seung-min! It’s great to see you after so long! I’m being discharged soon anyway, why did you bother coming all the way to visit me?”
Only after seeing that reaction did Park Seung-min enter the room with an air of forced nonchalance and confident steps. He lightly patted Yohan’s shoulder and chided him.
“Hey, you… if you came back, you should have contacted me, of course!”
“Sorry. The Rift Management Agency didn’t allow me to contact anyone. I only contacted my parents yesterday for the first time. But what’s with the fruit?”
Park Seung-min, who had been watching Yohan’s reactions, hesitantly put down the rather heavy fruit basket.
“Still, I had to bring something when visiting.”
Then, carefully examining Yohan, who had an innocent expression, he asked cautiously.
“You… really don’t remember anything?”
“Ah. You heard from my parents?”
Yohan, who had been rummaging through the fruit basket, saying he wanted to eat mangoes, replied nonchalantly.
“I must have hit my head. When I came to, I was in the Abyss. I remember forming an Awakening Party and entering, but nothing after that comes to mind. Even after spending a year in there, no memories returned, so they must be gone forever.”
“Is that so…? Then you really don’t have any memories.”
A look of relief flickered across Park Seung-min’s face. He quickly hid it, but Yohan could see it clearly.
“What does it matter if I don’t remember? I’m just glad I came back safely.”
“Right. And thanks to that, I had an Awakening too.”
This was news to Park Seung-min, who turned his head sharply. He was trying hard to maintain a happy expression, but Yohan knew well that he wasn’t happy about his Awakening at all. Now, this vile nature was clearly visible.
“You had an Awakening?”
“It’s nothing special. Just a Strength Enhancement Type. It’s only Low-grade, so even if I make money with this, it’ll just be pocket money level.”
“Pocket money….”
Park Seung-min muttered blankly. Yohan had deliberately said “pocket money level” to provoke him, but in these difficult times, the money earned by Low-rank Awakened was not negligible. There were Rifts that were relatively safe to explore, and even outside of Rift exploration, there was high demand for Awakened individuals hired as bodyguards or security. Yohan continued to prod Park Seung-min.
“Anyway, my family has a lot of money, so I don’t need to work. Oh! And this is just between us, but I’m joining the Sun Guild this time.”
“The, Sun Guild? How… how did you?”
Park Seung-min’s eyes widened as he tried to stay calm. With his heightened senses as a High-level Awakener, Yohan could detect the subtle movement of Park Seung-min grinding his teeth and even the faint sound.
“I was really lucky. I met Hyun-mook Hyung in the Abyss. Hyun-mook Hyung and the others said we should stay in touch even after escaping. I’m getting a huge annual salary too! It’s almost like I can just hang around doing nothing. My life is set now.”
As Yohan deliberately boasted at length, Park Seung-min’s lips twitched, and he finally couldn’t hold back.
“But you… your personality seems to have changed?”
“Really? Maybe it’s because I hit my head? Or maybe it’s because I went into the Abyss and came out. It was a truly terrible place. I’d do anything to get out of there.”
Yohan said this with a serious expression, then suddenly grinned as if nothing had happened. Park Seung-min, feeling guilty, involuntarily averted his gaze. Yet, he shamelessly made himself comfortable on the auxiliary bed. His reason for visiting Yohan wasn’t finished yet.
“What did the hospital say? Do you think your memories will come back?”
“Most people don’t get them back. But maybe it’s better not to get them back.”
“Well… I think it’s better not to get them back either.”
Park Seung-min, who shamelessly agreed with Yohan, shrugged his shoulders and blabbered.
“Anyway, you insisted you were looking for medicine and went into a pharmacy alone, got ambushed, and that’s how we got separated.”
“Yeah. I heard that story from my parents. But I don’t really understand. If I asked Dad, I could get any medicine quickly, so why would I go rummaging through a pharmacy alone for some medicine?”
Muttering as if he truly didn’t understand, Yohan threw the mango he was holding back into the fruit basket and asked Park Seung-min.
“Do you know why I did that?”
“Well… maybe you were sulking after being scolded. I don’t know what you were thinking back then. And now you have no memory, so you’ll never know.”
He answered vaguely, and then Park Seung-min finally brought up the main reason he had come to see Yohan.
“So, are you close with the Sunrise Team?”
This son of a bitch… How can a person be so shameless?
Yohan stared at Park Seung-min with that angry curiosity. It was Park Seung-min who had enthusiastically coaxed him to go on an Awakening Party together. He had said he had acquaintances, that they would only go around the outskirts, so it wouldn’t be dangerous at all.
Yohan had seen Park Seung-min act selfishly from time to time, but he had thought it was just a difference in personality. He had treated Yohan very well, and he got along reasonably well with other friends too. So, the result of believing only what he saw and heard himself was his fall into the Abyss.
Looking back now, Yohan understood why Park Seung-min had treated him so well. He had acted friendly to use Yohan as a useful connection, while also being jealous of him. After being betrayed, Yohan could now clearly see the emotions in Park Seung-min’s eyes. His friend was a person made of inferiority complex, jealousy, and a vile nature that delighted in others’ misfortune. Yohan deliberately paused and answered slowly.
“It’s not Sunrise anymore, it’s Sun.”
“Uh, uh, the Sun Guild. So, are you close or not?”
Impatient, Park Seung-min anxiously pressed Yohan for an answer.
“If I wasn’t close, would I be able to join the Sun Guild?”
“Then… can you use those Eternal Stones for Corruption Treatment too? Is there any chance of a friend’s favor or something?”
As expected, this was the question. Yohan, who was starting to want to kick out this hypocritical traitor, asked indifferently.
“I don’t know. I’d have to ask. But there aren’t any corrupted people anyway, so why would you need that?”
“Well, after I went on that Rift Awakening Party, I think I got a little corrupted.”
“You’re not corrupted?”
Yohan asked, staring intently at Park Seung-min. Since becoming a Purifier, he could sense the degree of Corruption sensitively, and Park Seung-min showed no significant signs of it. If one looked closely, there was a very slight trace of Corruption, but it was so minor that it was hard to find someone without it.
“No, it’s not physical symptoms, but mental ones. Like nothing seems to work out, I get unreasonably angry, and I just keep drinking.”
“Why is that? You’re always like that anyway. As far as I can see, you’re not corrupted.”
“…Instead of worrying about your friend, what kind of things are you saying.”
Park Seung-min’s face hardened. It was the first time he had seen Yohan taunt him like this. Perhaps feeling a bit uneasy, he asked seriously.
“Are you… really not remembering anything?”
“Maybe my personality changed a bit because I hit my head? Or maybe some Corruption is lingering and affecting me? But why do you keep bringing up the memories I don’t have? Is there something I absolutely must remember?”
Yohan asked with a bright smile, and Park Seung-min faltered.