Chapter 17

Wake up, ple-ase! Ji-oh-nim!

Ji, oh—

Ji—

……

“Jioh.”

“……”

“Gyeon Jioh, our princess. Time to get up.”

“I’m not a princess.”

[The next stop is Jukjeon, Dankook University Station, the final destination of this train.]

[When you disembark, please check once more to make sure you haven’t left anything behind.]

The mechanical chime of the doors opening.

The busy footsteps of people all moving at once.

Gyeon Jioh opened her eyes.

She mumbled in a voice heavy with sleep.

“I’m the king. How many times do I have to say Snow White is Seulgi?”

“Haha. Isn’t the prettiest kid in the class supposed to play the princess? In Dad’s eyes, my daughter is the prettiest.”

“Dad, people can hear. Stop saying Stone Age caveman stuff like that. Seulgi’s decent enough. She’s not as good as Na-yun, who’s the queen, but her visuals look exactly like Snow White.”

“There’s a queen, too? But why is my girl the king?”

“I said I wanted to do it, so the kids piled their votes on me.”

Holding back a laugh, Gyeon Taeseong scooped his daughter up at the foot of the stairs.

He couldn’t believe this kid who liked to act so capable was already in the third grade.

“Why did you want to be the king?”

“They have the least to do but they’re the strongest. People bow down on their own.”

“……Kiddo. Isn’t that a bit too materialistic?”

As she slowly woke up, Jioh’s eyes turned clear and bright.

She looked at him like he was pathetic and let out a long sigh.

“It’s efficient. Mom said since Dad’s a big dumb bear, we have to be smart and figure out our own way to live.”

“……Sunyo……”

The image of his wife, likely at home with their nine-year-old son and youngest daughter of six, came to him faintly.

Before leaving the station, Gyeon Taeseong took out a children’s mask.

It was still a chilly March.

Jioh, who’d been quite sick a few days ago, still had a slight cold lingering.

“Do I have to wear it? I hate how stifling it is.”

“No. Wearing this was the condition for coming along. If you catch a cold again, Dad’ll get scolded by Mom. She might not let us come to the Yongin house again.”

Father and daughter strolled slowly along the Tancheon.

A couple of middle-aged ladies out jogging passed by, chuckling at the grade-schooler buried in a furry hoodie with bear ears.

“I helped you, Dad.”

“Hm?”

“I helped so Mom won’t hate you as much. If you bring me, Grandma stays a bit calmer. I was supposed to watch Toy Story with Bambi at home.”

“You were? Oh my. Our girl’s all grown up. Thinking of Dad and all.”

“So why do you keep doing stuff Mom hates? It’s not like anything good ever happens at Grandma’s.”

Jioh kicked at the ground and grumbled for no particular reason.

Mom had cut ties with her side of the family even before Jioh was born.

Because they thought it was only natural for a daughter to sacrifice herself for her son-brother.

She couldn’t go to college and earned money at a factory, but every bit she made was snatched away; one day, she suddenly realized she couldn’t live like that.

Even so, up until then she had somehow kept in touch.

But when she found out they were secretly squeezing money out of her husband—already looked down on as an orphan with no one in the world—she cut it off completely.

At the time, Grandma had a Hunter for a son-in-law, and she even argued back, asking how she couldn’t at least get this much.

This was something Jioh had heard straight from Grandma.

The stubborn old lady beat her chest, saying how could she have been that wrong, and wept.

She had handed over the household money to a son who claimed he was starting a business, then even turned over her daughter’s bankbook as well……

In the end, all Grandma had left was a small apartment in Yongin that no one visited.

And even that had been provided by Jioh’s dad, Gyeon Taeseong.

“Grandma acts that way because she’s lonely. She’s alone—how lonely must that be? Jioh, do you not want to go see Grandma?”

“Mom hates it, so I hate it too.”

“Of course Mom doesn’t like it. But Dad doing this makes Mom’s heart a little easier. For daughters, even if their mother is hateful and awful, she’s still their mother.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Apparently it’s a thing. Honestly, even Dad doesn’t perfectly understand it. It’s something your mom told me.”

“Mom did?”

“She said it when she was tipsy and honest. Your mom can’t hold her liquor. This is a secret just between you and Dad.”

The neighbors recognized Gyeon Taeseong, who came every weekend, with casual familiarity.

Hearing people say, “Back again?” and seeing him exchange greetings, Jioh considered being a little nicer to Grandma this time.

But, as expected, it wasn’t easy.

“Jioh’s father, come here a moment.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s a big new Korean medicine clinic that opened nearby a few days ago, and I hear the director was a famous doctor up in Seoul, you know? To mark the opening, if you get a membership, they’ll give you acupuncture anytime, cupping, foot baths and all that. What do you think, son-in-law Gyeon? Not bad, eh?”

“……Yes, Mother-in-law. It does sound nice. But Geum-hee is starting kindergarten this year…… things aren’t that easy for us right now. If it isn’t something you truly need……”

“Well then! I’m saying it because I need it—would I ask for something I don’t? Honestly, you! All the old folks in the neighborhood are going, and you want me alone stuck at home? It’s not like I’m asking to ride a yacht like somebody’s mother-in-law! Good grief, forget it! Let’s say it never happened!”

Plainly showing she was offended, Grandma snatched the flyer back and folded it.

Clicking her tongue, she muttered that for someone who was even a Hunter, there had to be a limit to his stinginess.

It had been nearly ten years since the Babel Tower appeared.

But the number of awakeners was still lacking, and to drive out people’s fear, the TV blasted propaganda day after day.

How much wealth and honor you could gain by becoming a Hunter.

And the kind of ultra-luxurious life you could enjoy.

For an idle old person with nothing to watch but television at home, misunderstanding was perhaps natural.

But that story applied only to a tiny topmost tier.

Gyeon Taeseong was no more than an E-rank support-type Hunter.

He had to tiptoe his way into dungeon raids, and on days with no minimum-grade runs, he even doubled as a porter.

“Ah, no, Mother-in-law. I was just speaking. If I hurt your feelings, please let it go. Then, well…… shall we go register together tomorrow? If it’s Bojeong, it’s really close from here—nice and convenient.”

“Big dumb bear.”

There wasn’t a single wrong word in what Mom always said.

Jioh kept pretending to sleep.

All the way until Dad returned to the room, let out a small sigh, and gently stroked her hair.

The clinic was four stories tall.

Since it was Sunday with shortened hours, there were noticeably fewer people for the size of the place.

Thanks to that, the TV boomed loudly.

[ Today we have the undisputed trend of Korea right now! These days, when women get together, they say they talk about no one but this man! The hotshot elite-college Hunter who’s become every Noona’s dream!

We have with us the nation’s favorite younger man, Jeong Gilgaon. Can you feel the popularity these days, Gilgaon? ]

[ Hard not to notice. ]

[ Haha. Your handsome looks and academic pedigree are impressive, but above all, your ability is what’s making waves.

To learn and emulate other people’s abilities! Amazing. The nickname “Alpha” suits you, but on various forums they say your epithet should be “the Actor.” Actor Jeong. ]

[ People say nice things—embarrassingly so.

Of course, as many point out, it’s not some invincible ability. I can’t explain the details, though. ]

[ Oh, of course! A Hunter’s ability is crucial information. We know at least that much. Still, it’s certainly an incredible power.

And your current ranking—look at this!

I thought graphs like this only showed up on music charts. You’ve already entered the domestic Top 10. Truly amazing. You’ll go even higher, right? ]

[ Well, I don’t think this is my rightful place yet. I should climb as far as I can. Seeing as my face has been sculpted to look good on camera, anyway. ]

“Where’s your mom?”

Jioh turned around.

It was a young woman in the next seat. She had a support belt around her waist.

“At home.”

“……Huh? Then did you come alone?”

“No. With my dad and Grandma. They went inside for tests.”

“You startled me. I thought they’d sent a little kid alone.”

“I’m not a little kid. I’m in third grade.”

“What? Then you’re the same age as my daughter! But why are you so tiny? You’re a picky eater, aren’t you?”

“……Saying short kids must be picky is a pathetic prejudice.”

“Oh my, listen to this kid talk. Who said that?”

“I did.”

The woman even clapped as she burst into laughter.

Chatting about this and that, she pulled out a yogurt from somewhere and peeled it open for her. It was the kind they handed out at the desk when you checked in.

Jioh had already polished off three—including Dad’s and Grandma’s shares—but she took it with a straight face as if it were her first.

“So your home is in Seoul, then?”

“Yeah.”

“No wonder you’re a bit of a slick one—you’re a Seoul slicker, huh?”

“Ajumma, that’s an insult, right?”

“Sharp little thing, aren’t you.”

“Oh—Dad.”

“That’s your dad? Wow, no wonder he looks so striking—he’s a Hunter.”

Just as Jioh was about to retort that looks ran in their family—

• -, – – -!

It began with a hefty seismic wave.

“E-earthquake!”

“Down!”

The woman quickly shielded Jioh and pushed her to the floor.

At the same time, indoor items came crashing down with a rumble and all kinds of shattering sounds rang out.

“Jioh!”

Rushing over, Gyeon Taeseong took Jioh into his arms. And then—

“……”

“……”

Blackout.

The tremors that had been shaking the building subsided into silence.

Huff, huff. Tense breaths echoed.

In her father’s arms, Jioh lifted her head. In the darkness, panicked faces began to show one by one.

“……”

In the stillness, Gyeon Taeseong was the first to stand.

Thankfully, it was 4 p.m. There was still light by the windows.

A chillingly quiet moment.

Not a single person bolted outside.

Maybe everyone sensed it instinctively.

Gyeon Taeseong stood blankly in front of the window.

Looking out, he swallowed dryly and turned back to the waiting people.

“……It’s not an earthquake.”

“It’s a ri—Rift…… a Gate.”

Pa-at—! Vrrrmm—

The machine sounds came back. The lights flickered on again……

Jioh tightened her arms around her dad’s neck.

People stared blankly in one direction. At the television that had come on right then.

[ Breaking Rift news. The sudden Rifts that have formed widely across Yongin City are estimated at least Class 2, and the government is…… ]

“Th-that… isn’t that Jukjeon……?”

Someone spoke in a dazed voice, pointing with trembling fingertips.

But even without that, everyone knew.

The scenery on the screen was far too familiar to deny.

And as people turned ashen—

WEEEEEEE-NG—!

The sirens began to wail.

Very close by.