Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
43. Things which don’t change (1)
There were always a lot of people around Cheon Seong-heon.
Just hearing the name Cheon Seong-heon, anyone would know it was the widely rumored son of chaebeol family, and as his conduct was neat, and he was very polite, his popularity pierced the sky.
Thanks to that, there were many occasions when Cheon Seong-heon was invited to drinking parties, but he was in fact a Person who couldn’t handle his drink very well.
Even so, though he had a polite attitude, everything he said was neatly tied and cut off like a knife, so even while he drank to not ruin the drinking party atmosphere, he did so appropriately to his alcohol tolerance.
However, that day wasn’t his lucky one.
— He is completely drunk as if he got crooked after coming back to school…
— Why is he trying to feed Seong-heon so often? Is he picking up a fight?
— Can’t we call someone to get him out?
— That drunk has sharp eyes. The moment we tried to get him out this way, he noticed the caller’s name and punished us.
It was a day of discharge for the senior, who served as the department representative and went to army late.
It seemed that the previous department representative, who had nothing to fear in the world, perhaps because he was just discharged, didn’t like Cheon Seong-heon, an extremely excellent junior.
The previous department representative made Cheon Seong-heon drink a lot of bad quality and cheap western liquor and kept an eye on the current department representative and juniors, who tried to stop him before.
Facing against the previous department representative, who because of the large age gap was treated as a fossil senior[1] and had senses of a ghost, it wasn’t an easy situation.
It was me who moved behind the scenes and destroyed the drinking party that day.
I expected this matter to be quietly buried, but a few days later, Cheon Seong-heon found me.
— I heard that it was senior Jo Uisin-nim, who called assistant teacher-nim that day. Thank You.
That day the previous department representative was wearing a military uniform with the reserve force insignia and the military hat of the marine troops.
So I called the university assistant teacher, who was a senior flag bearer of the marine corps that the previous department representative came out of.
The assistant teacher, who heard my words about marine corps junior discharge, said he should buy him a drink, even though he had no previous contact with that previous department representative, gathered the marine corps comrades, who were at school, and came flying straight away.
As result, the previous department representative was fed so much alcohol, he couldn’t make Cheon Seong-heon drunk, because he fell unconscious, and the drinking party ended peacefully.
— I just asked to buy a drink, because I recalled senior belongs to the marine corps.
I roughly glossed over it, because it wasn’t a matter worthy to receive thanks for, and let it go.
But from that day on, Cheon Seong-heon started to follow me while calling me ‘Uisin hyung’.
“Seong-heon…”
Cheon Seong-heon was an excellent junior, who wasn’t lacking anything.
On the other hand, I was a bastard that couldn’t obtain anything by getting close to.
As my only daily hobby was playing the widely known for notorious reputation of national game wreck PMH, there was nothing in common between me and Cheon Seong-heon.
Even so, Cheon Seong-heon followed me well.
After I began my fight with lung cancer, the only one remaining until the last moment from my gradually narrowing human connections was Cheon Seong-heon.
“A person I know.”
But in the current situation, I couldn’t say anything beyond that.
I wasn’t Cheon Seong-heon’s senior anymore, and Cheon Seong-heon wasn’t in this world.
“Isn’t it obvious that they aren’t a person you don’t know? They’re someone you asked for the news about just before coughing blood.”
“…”
When using the Communication skill, the replies of the Transcendent Universe couldn’t be heard outside, but the questions itself came out as sound out of my mouth.
I have taken into account the risk of being heard by the surrounding.
But even so, I thought that if the story of Cheong-ho and Sinin came out, they wouldn’t bother with what kind of nonsense came after.
“I guess you have no thoughts of answering, eh?”
Hwang Jiho shut his mouth for a while as if waiting for an answer.
After waiting for a while, Hwang Jiho spoke:
“… There will be a guest to meet at the out-building in the afternoon. Rest until then.”
What kind of guest was coming to Hwang Myeong-ho’s mansion that I had to meet them?
I was worried, but it was a bit much to ask Hwang Jiho something in the situation when I also didn’t answer his question just now.
“If so, then I will return to dormitory for a moment and then in the afternoon I’ll come…”
…. Woof! Woof!
I suggested it to secure time to think alone and to prevent a situation where I’d be tied up in the mansion, but I was blocked by Snare.
Snare grabbed my sleeve and pulled me towards a pillow, sending a signal to lie down.
I couldn’t refuse a request from Snare, who was angry, so from a half-sitting position I turned to lie down and immediately closed my eyes.
I didn’t know if it was because I was still tired or because Snare suggested for me to sleep, but after closing my eyes, not a long time passed when I fell into sleep without dreams.
* * *
Eungwang District, Gwangli Neighborhood, vacant lot of the Eungwang Brilliant Light Children’s Home.
The place that was usually empty these days was full of vehicles sent from the Hwang Myeong Foundation.
At first the people from children’s home were amazed at the sight of air shuttles, but as they continued to see the vehicles for a few days, they didn’t pay them any particular attention any longer as if they got accustomed to it.
The air shuttle, which was parked in the deepest part of the vacant lot among the numerous vehicles, had particularly dark window tinting.
The door of that air shuttle, which inside couldn’t be seen at all, quietly opened.
Wiing.
It looked as if the door suddenly opened on its own.
However, the person waiting inside the car saw through the being who opened the door and entered.
“Jeok-ho.”
Paaa…
After Hwang-ho, who appeared 20 years old, called out Jeok-ho, the red fog leaked from somewhere and dispersed in the air.
Midst the disappearing red fog, Jeok-ho lifted the Red Fog and revealed his face.
“Hwang-ho, I’m back.”
“The data?”
“All original and back-up data were erased.”
“Those trashes?”
“We destroyed and deformed the parts of bodies of people, who personally participated in the blackmail, and disguised it as an incident. The person who sent the blackmail message had their hearing permanently damaged.”
Ping.
In the hologram opened by Jeok-ho were pictures of the scenes disguised as incidents.
Beside the pictures, a report on results of secret investigation was attached.
“We confirmed that the people, who suffered incidents, don’t have finances to receive a restoration operation right now.”
“I don’t see one trash, eh?”
At Hwang-ho’s words, Jeok-ho opened a hologram with police hospital’s medical report and material records.
“After the Gwangli Police Station Raid incident, the Gwangli Police Station’s captain keeps being hospitalized at the police hospital. I’ll personally deal with him after he is discharged.”
“You worked hard.”
After finishing the report, neither of the two, Hwang-ho or Jeok-ho, spoke.
Jeok-ho turned his head around to stare at the children’s home visible beyond the window.
He seemed to be searching for an old close friend, but regretfully it seemed she was still absent.
Recently, thanks to Jo Uisin, Jeok-ho and Hwang-ho learned that Gong Cheong-hwon and Han Yi were reincarnations of Sinin and Cheong-ho.
There was no doubt about Jo Uisin’s words, but the Ho tribe members judged that if it was openly revealed, Gong Cheonghwon and Han Yi would become targets, so that fact was revealed to extremely few beings.
Currently, among the Ho tribe the only ones who knew about Gong Cheonghwon and Han Yi’s existence were Hwang-ho, Jeok-ho, Baek-ho, Kim Sinrok and Cheong-ho’s four best disciples.
“Did you meet Han Yi?”
“… I only observed from the distance.”
Jeok-ho couldn’t take his eyes off of the children’s home.
Because he heard the news that today was a day when Han Yi was coming to do volunteer work.
“How are your thoughts about the observation?”
“I saw her yesterday having a meal with the 1st year class 0’s students at the Earthly Wings Hall’s dormitory cafeteria. She seems to eat little, just like before, eh?”
“She eats sweet food well.”
Hwang-ho giggled as he spoke.
Han Yi, eating the food he chose, even though she was indignant about it, was vivid in his eyes.
“Hwang-ho, You told me a few stories about Han Yi, correct? You said that there is a child, who inherited Taehokwon in the same class as You…”
“We sparred in the first class, and after that we sparred a few times. And we used Taehokwon when clearing the otherworld simulator together.”
At some point, all holograms closed and instead, Han Yi’s profile floated up.
“But even so, You didn’t notice, so it means that all Taehokwon experience Cheong-ho built up was lost, eh?”
“Yeah. There is no opponent the current Han Yi would be able to win against among the Ho tribe’s disciples taught by Cheong-ho. She would be completely defeated.”
Opportunely, they saw Han Yi enter the children’s home with Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum.
It seemed that Han Yi still didn’t like the two people coming to do volunteer work, but Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum held Han Yi’s arms from both sides and walked with vigor.
Then, as if she strengthened her resolve, Han Yi said something to the two with a vague smile, and they saw Kwon Lena and Sawol Seeum nod their heads a few times and smile to each other.
Somehow, that scene reminded them of Cheong-ho, who as the sole female among the Mythological tigers, even while refusing to join the pranks played by other close friends, at last would give in and smile.
“… Cheong-ho didn’t say a word when departing, while I was tied to the rack. Why would Choeng-ho depart like this, without even a word?”
“That might also have been a part of the price.”
“Price?”
“To cut ties with us, who were her close friends.”
At Hwang-ho’s words, Jeok-ho couldn’t hide his pained heart.
After Jeok-ho was tied to the rack for committing a great sin, Cheong-ho sometimes visited him and told him stories about his son, whom she accepted as her disciple.
Even after Cheong-ho’s visits were cut off, and he learned about her disappearance, Jeok-ho had no doubts in the belief that she would be back someday.
Did the friendship he thought that wouldn’t change ended in such an unexpected way?
Looking at Cheong-ho or Han Yi, who forgot everything and became human, Jeok-ho felt pain even through happiness.
“I’ll respect the choice of my close friend, who chose Sinin over us. However, even though it’s like this, our friendship didn’t change. Isn’t that right?”
At Hwang-ho’s words, he felt as if his eyes were opened.
Jeok-ho replied with a bright voice.
“Yes…! Your words are right. Whatever choice Cheong-ho made, and whatever she looks like now, there is no way for our friendship to change.”
While the two Ho tribe members shared a conversation, the scene outside the window changed a bit.
After Han Yi entered inside the children’s home together with the class 0’s friends, Cheong-ho’s best disciples appeared from shadows, fell to the floor and started to cry.
They kept their bodies hidden, but as Han Yi disappeared, it seemed they didn’t have energy left to hide.
After Hwang-ho called the secretary through the device to give her a command to drag out Cheong-ho’s disciples, he spoke:
“There is something to investigate.”
“Please speak.”
“I’m bothered by what Jo Uisin said in front of the Heavenly Sacred Tree, eh?”
Jeok-ho recalled Jo Uisin, who he saw in front of the Heavenly Sacred Tree, asking about something, while bearing that overwhelming power.
He guessed what Hwang-ho was about to order.
“Looking into the person named ‘Seong-heon’. There are no clues, but as it isn’t a common name, something should come up.”
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, the sun was setting.
As if I was really tired before, my head was refreshed.
Kieek.
The door opened almost immediately after I opened my eyes.
“Uh, Uisin oppa, You’re awake!”
“Uisin hyung, hello! Good evening.”
Before I could even reply to the greetings, Eun-ho’s descendants swiftly approached me.
“We wanted to visit You when you were sick, but Hwangho-nim and Baekho-nim kept saying we can’t, so… They said that we can keep watch over You from the side as it was time for You to wake up!”
“We were waiting until You wake up. Ah, You’re going to stay for a sleepover today too, correct? We can’t eat dinner together because of the guest, so… Eat breakfast with us tomorrow!”
Eun-ho’s descendants were smiling brightly, while greeting me.
Did Hwang Jiho send them intentionally?
I thought of meeting the guest and going back straight away, but it regretfully ended in failure.
“Ah, Baekho-nim said to bring You to Hwangho-nim to see the guest!”
“Let’s go together!”
Looking around at the words of the oldest Eun Seoho, Baek Ho-gun was still standing, leaning against the wall.
At Baek Ho-gun’s side, Snare opened its eyes wide and was wagging its tail a little.
I guess the two stayed by my side.
As I kept them waiting for long, I couldn’t make them wait even more, so I stood up.
“… Who is that guest?”
At this question, the second, Eun Niho, replied:
“I heard it’s the head of Nok tribe!”
*~*~*
[1] fossil senior — refers to a person who spent a long time at school or university for some reason, without graduating.
Translator’s note: Yes… No relationships change… And Hwang-ho is also a wise old man sometimes… Just like Jo Uisin is always moving behind the scenes, saving people…
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