The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Golden Gate (2)

Sang-ah sat in her chair, looking as deflated as a mosquito dying of thirst.

Having made such a loud commotion in a public place, she ended up drawing everyone's attention.

Of all places, it just had to be an event hall, filled with all sorts of celebrities.

On top of that, broadcast cameras were roaming around the venue.

'I was definitely caught on camera. I must have been...'

Mortified to the point of madness, Sang-ah hung her head weakly.

She was already infamous for being called the "Berserk Girl", and now it looked like she'd get even more famous.

Out of curiosity, she'd once watched one of those videos, but ended up turning it off in embarrassment after less than ten seconds.

'How could anyone watch that!'

It was practically the same as being secretly filmed while she was having a meltdown.

The fact that that moment had been recorded was one thing.

The problem was that, much like Shim Yeong from "The Age of Wild Men," it became material for all kinds of remixes and memes online.

'Please, just let me live.'

Seriously, what should I do...

Could there be someone here who has seen that video?

Is this how the "Berserk Girl Season 2" will begin?

The anxiety was eating me alive.

Grrrrr—

The more anxious she got, the stranger the noises coming from her stomach became.

It felt as if a starving demon inside her was rampaging wildly.

She would have eaten even a single grain of rice; she just wanted something, anything to soothe her hunger.

Only then did it feel like her anxiety might subside, if only a little.

"Unni, what are you doing here?"

Just then, Yunhee approached and sat down next to Sang-ah.

Yunhee tilted her head, staring at Sang-ah's utterly crestfallen face.

"Did something bad happen?"

"...."

Sang-ah was so out of it that she couldn't even answer Yunhee's question.

She wanted to say so many things to Yunhee, who was speaking as if she knew nothing.

"It's nothing."

But she couldn't let herself get angry at someone younger.

She wanted to be a different person from Kwon Yong-joon, that awful older brother.

"But, unni, do you go to a music academy?"

What kind of random question was that?

She had never even set foot in an "academy," let alone a music school.

The only time she remembered learning music was during elementary school music class.

Of course, Hand also had music as a subject.

"Why music, all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean, why? Your voice was amazing, unni. I was shocked when I heard it!"

Now that she thought about it, people only started focusing on her after she screamed.

They weren't looking at her because some crazy person was shrieking.

They were looking because her voice was so remarkable.

"I really thought you were a singer, you know? Are you sure you've never been trained?"

"Yeah."

Was she really that good?

But she genuinely didn't know anything.

She didn't even have any guesses.

Even when she was learning music at school, her voice had never come out like that.

It was something that had happened suddenly.

'Why am I like this lately?'

Suddenly she'd been possessed by hunger, binge eating for no reason.

And now, out of nowhere, she had this amazing voice.

Plus, her body burned hot every night.

It felt as though some strange changes were happening inside her.

"Sniff sniff... But what's up with the soy sauce smell since earlier?"

"Oh, I brought sushi for us to share, unni."

Yunhee let out a happy sound and pulled sushi out of the bag she was holding.

She took out one of the boxes, each with two pieces, and handed it to Sang-ah.

"There was this famous place outside the department store, so I bought some right away. Did you eat lunch, unni?"

"No, I haven't."

"Tada!"

Yunhee proudly opened the box.

Inside, glistening sashimi and tuna caught their eyes, looking delicious even at a glance.

Shrimp, salmon, and other seafood were also nestled together with rice.

"What do you think, unni?"

"Sluuurp..."

"Uh... unni?"

She was literally drooling.

The hunger demon inside her was raging.

Her eyes rolled back.

Utterly entranced by the luscious sushi, Sang-ah couldn't hear anyone else's voice.

"You must be really hungry, huh?"

"...."

"Here you go."

Unaware of what was really going on, Yunhee casually handed her some chopsticks.

But it wasn't necessary.

Swoosh—

Something flickered by on a gust of wind.

"Huh?"

What was that just now?

It felt as if something invisible had raced by right in front of her.

When she came to her senses, one of the sushi boxes was already empty.

"Eh? My sushi!"

All of the sushi that Yunhee had been holding was gone.

The same went for the sushi Sang-ah had been holding.

"Munch munch munch..."

"...."

"Gulp."

A grain of rice stuck to the lips of a red-haired girl with horns on her head.

Seeing that, Yunhee's faced iced over.

"Sang-ah unni."

"...."

"What do you think you're doing?"

Sang-ah finally snapped to attention at Yunhee's now chilly voice.

Realizing what she had just done, she immediately sobered up.

"Sorry."

"...."

As silence fell between them, the event hall suddenly grew noisy.

At last, one of the eagerly anticipated big-name guilds was arriving.

People in lavish attire walked through the main doors.

Their clothes, made of purple fabric, made them look more like members of a religious order than a hunter guild.

At their center was a girl shrouded in white robes, her face veiled in white.

"Unni, which guild is that?"

"That's the Sura Guild. It's the largest guild from China."

"So they're number one?"

"And that person standing in the center is basically the highest-ranking member of the Sura Guild."

"Wow, so such an amazing guild actually came to Korea?"

Late to catch up with the news, Yunhee's jaw dropped.

They were as famous as her favorite boy group.

Especially, the veiled girl among them was "Sura", the idol of the Sura Guild.

Sang-ah, who had been watching her, suddenly spoke to Yunhee.

"Yunhee, why don't you come with me somewhere for a bit?"

"Huh? All of a sudden?"

"Take your mother with you while we're at it."

Where did she want to go, with the gate about to open?

And why bring her mom along?

"It'll only be for a moment."

"Okay."

Though she didn't know what for, Yunhee agreed to Sang-ah's request.

She ran to her mother, asked her, and her mother readily agreed.

.

.

Meanwhile, there were those observing the girls' movements.

Two middle-aged men stood on the third-floor railing overlooking the plaza of the department store's first floor.

They kept their eyes glued to the girls.

Suddenly, Ma Yunhee called her mother and started walking off somewhere with the horned girl.

"What should we do? Should we follow them?"

"No. The Golden Gate hasn't opened yet. If we rush and end up catching the attention of the Sura Guild, what then?"

"Tsk. True. The Sura guys must've noticed we turned on them by now."

Mclean Kang and Eric Ruin.

The two wore masks and bandanas to hide their faces.

Normally, they were businessmen distributing hunter supplies, but today they'd temporarily stepped away from their usual post.

"That's the kid."

"Yeah, that's right."

They stared intensely at the boy with the name tag "Ma Seongjin" on his school uniform.

Revenge was their sole purpose.

That kid had made their own sons and daughters suffer through hell.

They intended to show him the same hell.

They wanted to cut off his family's head right away, but with the Sura Guild around, it was too difficult to act.

"Could information about us have leaked?"

They had once worked with the Sura Guild, but now they'd switched over to the Holy Church.

The Sura Guild could never look favorably on that.

If caught, the Sura Guild would pounce and label them traitors immediately.

The Sura Guild had even sent them a warning:

If you interfere, you'll die.

"No way. They've always been amazing at gathering information."

"...."

"Even if we have been found out, we can't turn back now. We've lost something more precious than our lives."

After losing their children, the two had already been through hell.

They'd experienced suffering worse than death; there was nothing more to lose.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

They monitored the crowd of hunters waiting to enter the Golden Gate.

Among them was a hunter from the Holy Church, hiding in plain sight.

When he gave the signal, they would move simultaneously.

"It's starting to open."

The once tiny fissure began to widen.

As the noises from inside grew louder, the waiting hunters finished checking their equipment.

Their plan was about to begin.

Watching the situation, McLean and Eric tensed with anticipation, yet smiled.

****

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

With a sound like air tearing, the rift in space rapidly expanded.

Once fully opened, the rift shone brilliantly golden.

At last, the dungeon entrance known as the Golden Gate was unlocked.

"Alright, you lot. Is this your first time entering a gate?"

They needed to give a little warning before entering.

It was meant for the students, new to this, not for the experienced hunters.

"Listen carefully to what we're about to say. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Speak up!" ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel[f]ire.net

"Yes, sir!!"

Yu Cheon-hwa, the S-rank hunter from the Angel Guild, bellowed instructions to the students.

He looked down on the kids, clearly disgruntled.

No matter how safe the gate was supposed to be, there were still monsters inside.

And even if the monsters were weak, they were dangerous for kids with no experience.

'They've never even killed anything before.'

Everyone around him just brushed it off as a good experience for them.

But in the end, it was people like him and the other active-duty hunters who would suffer because of these kids.

Ten boys and girls.

Just the thought of having to babysit all of them made him sigh.

"If anything happens, tell your hyungs right away. If you just stand around doing nothing, you'll end up in trouble. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!!"

As the students shouted in response, the hunters started entering the gate.

The Sura Guild went in first.

From their attire to their formation, they looked nothing like a normal guild.

The girl in the middle seemed like some kind of Saintess from a fantasy world.

'It's not like they're here to proselytize or anything.'

As they moved, the students chattered noisily.

"Whoa, is that the famous Sura Guild?"

"It's my first time seeing them in person."

"Who's that girl?"

"Yeah, who is she?"

"My dream is to enter my first gate with those veterans."

Kids were still kids.

They were only middle schoolers, so it was understandable.

The more he thought about it, the more he sighed.

"Huh?"

But it wasn't true for all of them.

There was one who was acting completely indifferent among the group.

'His name's Ma Seongjin.'

Unlike the others, who were buzzing with excitement, he was oddly calm.

Had he already been inside a gate before?

Or was it as if he'd had even greater experiences and thus showed absolutely no tension?

Maybe he thought it was nothing, with the hunters around.

You know the ones—kids from wealthy families who think nothing of the world.

'Ma Seongjin, I'm watching you.'

You're going to get burned, kid.

.

.

I could sense someone looking at me.

It was Yu Cheon-hwa from the Angel Guild.

For some reason, when he looked at me, he'd let out a sigh.

It seemed like he was looking down on me, but also kind of worried.

'But the Angel Guild, huh...'

That girl with wings came to mind.

I almost wanted to ask about her, but let it go.

"Alright, let's go in!"

Yu Cheon-hwa raised his voice, leading the students forward.

As the others nervously entered, I followed behind them.

It wasn't my first time crossing a gate's threshold.

How long had it been, since that winter camp six years ago?

"Huh?"

But it felt definitely different this time.

As soon as I entered, the scent of Mewzealand filled the air vividly.