Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 122
#122. The Withered Flower
2022.11.30.
One day, a mysterious black gate appeared in the metropolitan area.
Korea's first-ever Unknown Gate in hunter history produced countless casualties and missing persons.
Roje's only daughter, Narae, was one of them.
"Narae! Narae!"
"Roje! Get a grip! If you jump in there now, even your life can't be guaranteed!"
"Ah, no... My daughter... Our Narae..."
Yoo Hwan blocked Roje, who was about to jump into the Unknown Gate, with his whole body.
The Rose Guild members around them did the same.
It was clear at a glance that this gate was not normal.
From the size of the entrance to its color, everything was different from an ordinary gate.
Numerous hunters who had already jumped in there were not returning.
But looking back now, he often thought it might have been better not to stop her back then.
Because since that day, Roje had changed somehow.
She would suddenly burst into tears while sitting quietly, then suddenly burst out laughing, or suddenly faint.
If that was all, it would have been a relief.
She, who had suddenly declared she would start researching Unknown Gates, shut herself in her laboratory and didn't even show her face for several months.
Not even to Yoo Hwan, let alone the Rose Guild members who followed her.
After disappearing for about 5 months like that, she returned one day as if nothing had happened.
Her smiling face, apologizing for causing worry, seemed to have returned to her former self.
On the outside, that is.
Not many people noticed Roje's condition.
At most, the executives of the Rose Guild, Yoo Hwan, and...
"The reason I came to see you is to ask in detail about Doctor Plant's recent activities."
It was only Shin Gwihoon, the master of Wolf, Baekya.
"Why are you curious about that?"
Yoo Hwan looked askance at Baekya, who had suddenly visited him one day.
Gwihoon was a hunter who walked the exact opposite path of Roje.
Unlike Roje, who didn't shy away from volunteer work to save not only hunters but also ordinary people, this person named Baekya moved solely for the benefit of the Korean hunter world or the Wolf Guild.
Indiscriminate support and volunteering make humans dull and, furthermore, harbor wicked hearts.
What modern people need after the world has changed is not a helping hand, but a solid bulwark that will never collapse under any circumstances, i.e., an absolute ruler.
That was Gwihoon's logic.
Roje refuted his logic at every turn.
Therefore, the two often clashed over various issues.
It was natural for Yoo Hwan, who was close to Roje, to feel hostility towards such a Gwihoon.
"I know she has recently started researching Unknown Gates. Certainly, if information about Unknown Gates accumulates, it will be a great help. I agree too. However..."
Gwihoon slowly lifted his blue eyes and stared intently at Yoo Hwan.
"I hear she dispatches researchers to Unknown Gates or even enters them herself."
"That's right. So what?"
Yoo Hwan shrugged with a nonchalant face.
"Is there anything strange? I don't know the details, but isn't it all part of the research?"
"If that's the case, then it's a relief."
Laughing lowly, Gwihoon grabbed the teacup on the table and added.
"I was just wondering if she might have gone mad."
Thump!
"...You sure are reckless with your words."
Yoo Hwan, his eyes flashing fiercely, shot up from his seat.
"You of all people should know. That she has changed a little from before."
However, Gwihoon, without a change in expression, calmly brought the teacup to his lips.
A smug expression, as if he knew everything.
That was why.
Yoo Hwan was even more enraged.
"Even if she has gone mad, who can point a finger at that? She lost her daughter. Isn't it stranger to maintain one's sanity? I think you're the one who's not in their right mind, insulting her like that."
"Losing her daughter is unfortunate, but this position we hold is not so light as to lose our minds for such a reason."
"..."
"If she is doing anything that threatens the Korean hunter world in any way, I have a duty to grasp it and stop it. That goes for you too."
Gwihoon slowly rose from his seat.
"We already stand at the pinnacle of Korea. As you said, if she can't maintain her sanity due to the grief of losing her daughter, she doesn't deserve to sit at the pinnacle of the Korean hunter world, let alone as the master of the Rose Guild."
Yoo Hwan, clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms, spoke in a voice that sounded as if it were being crushed.
"...Come to think of it, did I ever tell you? Baekya, I didn't like you from the start. I think I finally know the reason why."
[12th Divine Beast, 'Monkey Bearing the Heavens's Authority ▶ Temporarily release 'Golden Fillet'?]
Clang—!
A sharp metallic sound, as if something were breaking, was heard.
"Get the hell out. I hope the day we speak again never comes."
That was probably the last conversation Yoo Hwan remembered having with Gwihoon.
Yoo Hwan, after thoroughly beating up a sandbag in the Immortal Guild training ground, finally sought out Roje.
"Yoo Hwan, you're here. I was just thinking about a gift for Narae. What do you think would be good?"
Roje looked somewhat cheerful.
"I'll be meeting Narae soon. I need to prepare a good gift since I couldn't celebrate her birthday this year. Right?"
"Roje..."
Yoo Hwan discovered a sketchbook scattered on her desk.
After staring at the three people drawn crookedly with crayons on the white paper, he shifted his gaze back to Roje.
"Ah. Yoo Hwan, when did you get here? Sorry. I'm a bit out of it."
Roje was muttering, clutching her forehead as if tired.
A shadowed face, a stark contrast to the joyful smile she had just been wearing.
"This is no time for this. I need to record the research results quickly..."
"Roje, it's okay."
Thump.
Yoo Hwan grabbed Roje's wrist.
Roje, stiffening, slowly turned her head to look at him.
At that moment, Yoo Hwan saw it.
The sadness and confusion in Roje's eyes... and a faint fear.
'I was just wondering if she might have gone mad.'
Yoo Hwan bit his lower lip.
But it was only for a moment.
'If there's someone before me who looks like they're about to die, and if I can save that person, of course, I must help.'
Soon, Yoo Hwan grinned, showing his canines.
"It's okay, it'll be okay."
And he patted Roje's small shoulder with his large hand.
"What's wrong all of a sudden, Yoo Hwan?"
Roje blinked and smiled.
'Then... would you like to come with me? I'll help you.'
The clear and beautiful smile Yoo Hwan knew, like flower petals staining water.
Yoo Hwan, facing it, made a firm vow at that moment.
This time, I will help you.
—No matter what happens.
Early morning.
Dazzled by the pouring sunlight, Siwoo, who had been lying on the bed as if dead and motionless, slowly narrowed his eyes.
Forcibly lifting his heavy eyelids, he slowly turned his head towards the clock.
Current time: 9:30 AM.
Thump!
"...Ugh."
Siwoo, who had shot up his upper body, clutched his forehead with a large hand due to a tremendous headache.
A thirst as if his throat were on fire.
His stomach was nauseous and his mind was blank.
'Just how long has it been since I've had such a hangover.'
An Awakened, whose recovery ability surpassed that of an ordinary person, also had a significantly better alcohol detoxification ability.
However, that was just a general statement; not everyone was like that.
As proof, S-Class hunter and Dog Vassal, Siwoo, was a lightweight.
Due to his sense of smell, which was noticeably sensitive even among Awakened, just smelling alcohol without even drinking it was enough to make him feel nauseous.
Therefore, he didn't bother drinking unless absolutely necessary.
It was not only his own will, but also because no one had dared to forcibly offer him alcohol until now.
Yet, such a Siwoo had participated in a drinking session of his own accord.
Not only that.
He had drunk until he was completely wasted.
Foolishly.
Cold water was placed beside the bed.
Someone had brought it in advance for Siwoo when he would slowly open his eyes.
Siwoo, downing it in one go, sat on the edge of the bed and recalled the events of last night one by one.
Memories, coming back step by step.
Fortunately, it seemed he had avoided the disaster of having his film cut.
However...
'I should have been born 30 years earlier.'
"...!"
Thump.
The cup Siwoo was holding fell to the floor.
The glass cup shattered into pieces with a clanging sound.
—But that wasn't what was important right now.
Siwoo clutched his head with both hands.
His blue eyes, staring at the floor, began to tremble more and more violently.
Yes, Siwoo had definitely said that to Eunha.
Why did I say that?
I don't know.
How did Sunbae react to that?
I don't know that either.
However, what he remembered clearly was...
'Hmm. Youth, it's youth.'
Only Yoo Hwan's hearty laughter.
If Siwoo's memory was correct, the send-off ceremony had ended soon after that.
He also remembered Heo Jaemin, Immortal's Vice-Guild Master, carrying Yoo Hwan, who had eventually smashed his face on the floor after a long drinking contest, on his back.
As for Eunha, it seemed the Corps guys had made a fuss about escorting her home, and she had returned with them.
In the end, he didn't have a proper conversation with Sunbae until the very end.
Meaning, his last conversation with her had ended with 'I should have been born 30 years earlier'.
The conclusion after rummaging through all his memories was as follows.
"I'm crazy."
And quite thoroughly at that.
It might have been better if his film had been cut.
Siwoo roughly ruffled his bangs.
And he washed his face with his dry hands, bit his lower lip, collapsed onto the bed, and then shot up again repeatedly.
"CEO-nim...?"
At Jehwi's voice from the door, Siwoo, who had been groaning while hugging a pillow, snapped his head up.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I knocked, but you didn't answer..."
At Siwoo's serious expression, Jehwi lowered his gaze with a timid voice.
It seemed he thought Siwoo was angry at him for entering the room without permission.
Siwoo glanced at the wooden tray Jehwi was holding.
It seemed he had brought a simple breakfast and medicine to help with the hangover.
"...Just put it there."
Siwoo, who had only said that, clutched his forehead and let out a silent sigh.
He was definitely not in his right mind.
To not even feel the presence of someone opening the door, let alone the sound of knocking, until they entered.
Shin Siwoo, of all people.
Jehwi, placing the meal tray on the table, suddenly noticed the shards of the shattered glass cup by Siwoo's bedside and jumped.
"Wh-why is the cup broken? Just a moment. If I don't clean it up quickly—"
"It's fine, just leave it. My head hurts, so just be quiet."
Siwoo waved his hand towards Jehwi as if to tell him to leave.
Jehwi, looking back and forth between Siwoo and the glass shards on the floor, finally turned back awkwardly and quietly closed the door.
"...Haa."
Clutching his head again, Siwoo let out a slow sigh.
His schedule was packed starting from the afternoon.
Though he knew he had no time for this, he couldn't bring himself to get up.
Whip.
Then he picked up the phone that was lying beside his bed.
After staring at the screen for a long time, Siwoo, as if resolved, slowly moved his fingers.
[Sunbae, I'm sorry about yesterday.]
...No, that's not it.
He didn't do anything to be sorry for.
Probably.
Hastily deleting the sentence, Siwoo, after contemplating again, tapped the screen once more.
[Sunbae, did you sleep well?]
No, this won't do either.
They weren't close enough to exchange morning greetings via messenger.
She might find it awkward.
[What I meant yesterday wasn't anything else...]
...This looks too much like an excuse.
Delete again.
After struggling with his phone for a long time like that, Siwoo finally threw it onto the bed with a thud.
'Forget it.'
And he leaned back against the soft pillow as if collapsing.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
Small birds, perched on the outer window sill, were singing.
Siwoo, without preparing to leave, just lay still on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time.
"Phew..."
While he was occasionally letting out complicated sighs in the silent room.
Beep— Beep— Beep—
At the suddenly blaring alarm, he removed the back of his hand covering his face and slowly sat up.
...The source of the sound wasn't his phone.
Siwoo rummaged through his pocket.
What he took out was a terminal, smaller than his palm.
'This is...'
<Emergency! Secured Message.>
Siwoo's gaze changed instantly upon confirming the text on the terminal.
<South Coast Regional Gate Management Bureau, Coordinates 937, 650. Confirmation of large-scale black rift occurrence.>
