novelThe Story That Shouldn't Have Existed (6)
| ← Ch.371 | Ch.373 → |
Chae Nayun sat down, facing Chae Joochul. Chae Joochul smiled gently at his granddaughter.
Chae Nayun clenched the fists that were placed on her lap. Chae Joochul remained still, seemingly waiting for his granddaughter to speak. The atmosphere wasn't heavy. In fact, it was warm and gentle. Even so, Chae Nayun was more nervous than ever before.
Eventually, Chae Nayun opened her mouth.
"Grandfather, there is something I want to ask."
Chae Joochul nodded his head without replying. Chae Nayun's expression stiffened. Chae Joochul hid his expression too. Chae Nayun looked into Chae Joochul's eyes, which were as deep and dark as the abyss.
"Do you remember... the Kwang-Oh Incident?"
Chae Joochul didn't show even the slightest hint of emotions. Chae Nayun suddenly became afraid. However, she didn't stop.
"Do you remember the countless people you've killed, Grandfather... ?"
Chae Nayun mustered up her courage to speak. She said everything she knew - the relationship between the Association Chairman and Chae Joochul, the countless people they've killed, the colluding between Djinns and the Association, all the schemes used to maintain their authorities, etc....
The thoughts that had been suppressed by her nervousness erupted one by one.
"Senior Jin Seyeon's father, Jin Younghwan, must have known. That the Association was colluding with the Djinns."
As Chae Nayun continued, the light in Chae Joochul's eyes became deeper.
However, Chae Nayun didn't back down.
"Thinking about it, it really was weird. Cube had too many Djinns. Sven, Yoon Hyun.... I don't know why I didn't think about it before. Djinns shouldn't be created so easily from a military academy with the purpose of raising Heroes."
Djinns appearing in Cube naturally aroused the interest of the public and reminded them of one thing - that Djinns' terrorism could only be stopped by Heroes.
Since the Djinns had Pandemonium to base their activities around, the Heroes also had to assemble around a single entity, the 'Association'....
As more Djinns went wild, more people came to rely on Heroes. Naturally, the Hero Association came to hold authority greater than any other government body.
"... Answer me, Grandfather."
Chae Joochul didn't say a word in response to Chae Nayun. Meanwhile, Chae Nayun continued to wait, hoping that he would return the reply she wanted.
A not-so-short silence flowed in the air until Chae Nayun's grandfather finally spoke.
"I remember. I know about it."
His voice was still lacking in emotion.
However, Chae Nayun felt a small ray of hope within these words.
"The Association used Djinns to solidify their political power, and I lent them a hand."
"Why? Why did you—"
"Because that was the right choice at the time."
Chae Joochul's voice carried a hint of warmth.
"... Right choice? You said it was the right choice?"
Chae Nayun clenched her teeth. She felt like she couldn't continue this conversation as she felt her stomach becoming nauseous.
Tak—!
Chae Nayun put down all the evidence she brought.
"Here is a list of all the corrupt things the Association has done. It includes evidence of their wrongdoings, including the Kwang-Oh Incident."
"...."
"They made use of Djinns, deceived Heroes, and killed countless civilians. You're saying that this is right?"
Chae Joochul stared at Chae Nayun intently before nodding his head.
Chae Nayun flinched.
"G... Grandfather, you...."
Chae Nayun pushed her hair back with her trembling hands. The words "You're trash" came out of her mouth.
Still, Chae Joochu remained silent and only stared at the evidence Chae Nayun brought. He slowly reached forward and picked them up. Then, he murmured softly.
"That might not be the case now."
"... Wha?"
Chae Nayun got tongue-tied. She scowled and glared at her grandfather. Chae Joochul continued talking while facing her funny look.
"Nayun, what is right and wrong is determined by the 'era'. At the time, no one was trying to enforce righteousness. The Nine Stars, who had the power to keep the Association in check, were stuck in a rut. They were tired from their neverending fights against monsters and were afraid of their Gifts' side-effects. Although a good balance was maintained when Shin Myungchul was alive, once he died, no one was there to go against the Association."
Being emotionless meant he was thoroughly calculating. The past Chae Joochul had based his decision on what was appropriate for the era.
Reaching the top by becoming a part of the system, or resisting it to lead a revolution with a low chance of success.
The scale had obviously favored the former.
Chae Joochul spoke while staring at Chae Nayun.
"But it seems like the era is changing once again."
His voice didn't have a high or low. With a monotonous, apathetic voice, Chae Joochul continued.
"But if the era changes, both you and your father will be badly affected. You might lose things you've always had until now. Is that okay?"
Gulp- Chae Nayun swallowed hard. She was expecting this question, but Chae Joochul was much calmer than she anticipated. He didn't refute her accusations nor did he criticize her for it.
Chae Nayun asked calmly.
"... What about you, Grandfather? Are you okay with it?"
Chae Joochul didn't smile and nodded his head. He was clearly giving permission.
"... Really?"
Why was convincing him so easy? While Chae Nayun sat in a daze, Chae Joochul took out a small notebook from his desk drawer.
"As you know, Nayun, your grandfather doesn't have emotions."
Declaring calmly, Chae Joochul handed the notebook to his granddaughter.
"It is hard to notice that you are losing your emotions. You lose yourself before you realize what's happening."
Chae Nayun took the notebook.
"So when I finally noticed the change within me, I set a standard so that I would never lose myself."
Chae Nayun opened the notebook. It only had one page with only one sentence written on it.
Chae Nayun stared at the sentence in a daze.
—The most important thing to me, Chae Joochul, is family.
Chae Nayun's thoughts stopped. Her brain lagged, seemingly unable to take in the sentence in front of her.
Soon, her head creaked up and her gaze landed on Chae Joochul who looked just as emotionless as ever.
"This sentence is quite alien to me. I cannot even remember what thoughts I had when I wrote this sentence."
But why was it?
"But your grandfather isn't someone who uses the word 'family' often. That, I remember."
Why was Chae Nayun feeling warmth from the aged wrinkles on her grandfather's emotionless face?
**
[March 28th — Essence of the Strait, Chief Officer's Office]
On the other hand, Yoo Yeonha was sitting at her desk, inspecting the plan once again. There were too many variables to consider. Although Kim Sukho didn't seem to be suspecting anything according to Hassan-i Sabbah, she couldn't relax.
From the moment she sent the invitation letters out, she was unable to sleep. She subsisted, using all sorts of fatigue recovering medicine and Tower of Wish Skills. She would rather ruin her body while she was alive than regret things in the grave.
—Chief Officer, there is a rumor that might catch your interest.
At that moment, Essential Pharmacy's HR department called her. Her sharpened senses turned lax, and Yoo Yeonha picked up the call while feeling exhausted.
"Rumor?"
—Yes, take a look at this.
HR sent over a social media post.
Yoo Yeonha narrowed her eyes.
[crwekdl] [♥]
[There is a pharmacist living in a cabin deep in the Swiss Alps. His miraculous powers can cure any illness. He helped cure my daughter's incurable disease.... ]
"There is a pharmacist living in a cabin deep in the Swiss Alps.... What is this? Some sort of an urban legend?"
—At first, that's also what we thought. But there are too many people who claimed to have found this pharmacist. We plan to go there ourselves. This person might be the talent we've been searching for.
"Mm... well, I won't stop you. Go ahead."
Yoo Yeonha hung up without thinking about the matter too much. Then, she looked at the calendar once again. The party would be held on April 15th. Since it was March 28th today, there were three weeks left.
What should she do until then?
Taking a deep breath, Yoo Yeonha turned on her smartwatch. Rachel had sent a few pictures of Evandel. For some reason, she was with an eagle.
—What's with the eagle?
Yoo Yeonha asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.
Rachel replied immediately.
—Ah, this eagle came to see us. We were worried at first because of its size, but it was actually kind and gentle. Evandel tamed it easily. They're practically best friends now.
—Interesting. What's its name?
Yoo Yeonha yawned while chatting. Her body slumped over her desk. It seemed not sleeping for a week was too much.
—Evandel named him Spartan.
"... Spartan?"
'What kind of a name is that?' Yoo Yeonha smirked and slowly closed her eyes. Her chin was already touching the desk, and drowsiness flooded in like a tsunami.
"Spartan... pft."
Mumbling, she entered the world of dreams.
**
[April 2nd — Creator's Sacred Grace, Vice-Leader's Office]
"Hmm...."
Kim Suho was rubbing his chin while looking at the invitation letter Yoo Yeonha sent. This [VIP Invitation Letter] had been all the rage in the Hero community. There were rumors that those who participated would come to walk on the royal road.
But Kim Suho wasn't too interested. There were other things to take care of, like civilians who were still suffering from the war. He strongly thought it was too early for them to be celebrating like this.
"I guess I should still go."
But both Yoo Yeonha and Yun Seung-Ah strongly advised him to go. Yoo Yeonha even said she would never talk to him again if he didn't go.
"Ehew...." Kim Suho sighed and looked at his computer monitor. There was a long list of missions on his agenda.
[Demons appeared in Gangwon-do... ]
[A Colosseum for demons has been built in Pandemonium.... ]
[The New Evils' subordinate group, 'Iron Armor Eccentrics, ' appears in Gaesung's sky.... ]
Even with Baal's annihilation, Heroes had many tasks to take care of.
However, the missions given to Kim Suho by the Association were too strange. They were important missions without a doubt, but they were also far from the core of the problem. It felt like they were telling him to ignore Pandemonium and the heart of the New Evils.
Kim Suho slicked his hair back and thought about the Association. The international organization that created the occupation known as Heroes and ranked them... what were they thinking about right now?
—Hey, Kim Suho!
At that moment, a loud voice rang out on the screen. Startled, Kim Suho sat up straight.
—Uhahaha, look at you, all surprised.
A big screen popped up from the monitor, uncomfortably close-up with a particular person's face.
The white-haired, fairy-like shorty on the screen was none other than Aileen.
"... Aileen-ssi?"
—Yo, it's been a while~
She was just as prim and young as always. Kim Suho said with a grin.
"I thought you were busy playing 'Leraje's Game'. Is it fun?"
—What? Fun? I'm doing work. The Temple of Justice has to grow faster than Leraje's guild and crush them.
'Leraje's Game' was a virtual reality game that was taking the world by storm. It was so fun that there were people who had given up on real life to spend all their time in that world.
"Really? Well, why did you call me?"
—Ah, it's nothing much. I was just wondering if you were participating in that party.
It seemed she was talking about Yoo Yeonha's VIP party.
Kim Suho replied simply.
"Yes, I'm participating."
—Uun~ I see.
—Aigo~ Suho-ssi. It's been a while~
Yi Yongha peeked his head in from the side. He wasn't the only one. Kim Suho also caught a glimpse of Nicholas. It seemed the members of the Temple of Justice all logged out from Leraje's Game.
"Are you all coming to the party?"
—Yes, of course.
"Then I'll see you there."
—Yes. Also, you should try out this game too. It's incredibly fun-
—Ah, move!
Aileen shoved Yi Yongha's face out of frame.
—Anyways, we were planning on a reunion. Chae Nayun, Old Man Heynckes, Rachel, and everyone else who fought against Baal.... What?! An attack?! Those fuckers! Ah, we're hanging up! Guys, we're logging in!
Something must have happened in the game as Aileen hung up angrily.
"... They must be pretty busy, huh."
Kim Suho looked at the blackened screen and shrugged. Just as he was about to return to work...
Whish—
The wind blew from the back. A chilling air grazed his neck.
'Didn't I have the window closed?' Kim Suho tilted his head and turned back.
"... What?"
Kim Suho's eyes widened. An unexpected guest was standing there.
"Oi, Kim Suho."
Jin Sahyuk was staring at him, waggling her long, slender finger.
A strange smile emerged on her face, making Kim Suho listless. He hadn't seen her for a while, so he had thought she went back to Akatrina.
Jin Sahyuk smirked.
"That party sounds pretty fun. Why don't you bring me too?"
Before Kim Suho could say a word, Jin Sahyuk added.
"Of course, you can't say no."
| ← Ch. 371 | Ch. 373 → |