Chapter 67
Chapter 67
After giving his grandfather’s house address, he turned off his phone. Almost at the same time, a low hum sounded and a dimensional rift opened between Kang Ihyun’s room and ceiling.
Through the rift that tore through the roof, Nari’s legs became visible.
“N-Nari! A bit lower! That’s the roof!”
“Damn… this always happens the first time I go somewhere new….”
The rift vanished with another hum, then reappeared in the middle of the wall.
As long as one had the place or exact coordinates, a dimensional rift could be created. But if one opened it rashly, it often connected to the ceiling or the floor, just like before. In worse cases, someone standing there got forcibly warped.
There was no choice now because it was urgent, but usually she used public transportation to reach unfamiliar places, like taking the train to Busan.
Nari, who looked just as gaunt as Kang Ihyun or even worse, came stumbling out of the rift, breathing heavily. Startled, Ihyun whispered.
“Nari, what’s going on?”
“Is that what you should be asking? Come with me!”
Nari whispered back and grabbed his wrist. Ihyun, his face hesitant, stood frozen in place. When Nari glared at him, he whispered with an awkward look.
“Nari, I need to stay here.”
“Why? You enjoy staying with some old man who feeds his grandson milk on purpose even though he knows you’re allergic? What are you, a masochist?”
Ihyun flinched at her unusually sharp words. He rubbed his throat, which was slowly recovering, and looked at her nervously.
“T-That’s not it. Nari, I need to stay here. If I do, then my grandfather won’t bother other people. That includes you too. And I won’t die from something like this.”
“Kang Ihyun.”
Nari’s brows furrowed tightly. Ihyun blinked. Then he realized he was repeating the same thing he had said in their very first mock battle. Nari whispered quickly.
“You know what mistake you made with me.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t cut yourself down that much for my sake. I don’t really appreciate it. Got it?”
“But it’s not only you. My aunt… and Uncle Jaewon too….”
“God, seriously!”
Nari’s voice grew louder. Ihyun quickly glanced at the door in panic, afraid someone might overhear, but Nari yanked him closer.
“Follow me, now!”
“Wait, Nari!”
In an instant, Ihyun’s body was dragged into the rift. Passing through still didn’t feel pleasant.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked around. They were in a deserted alley.
“N-Nari. I need to go back right away. If my grandfather finds out, this’ll be really dangerous…!”
“Phone.”
“Nari….”
Though flustered, Ihyun handed over his phone. Nari examined it a few times, then blinked.
“Your phone really is bugged.”
“You can tell that too?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a Trait like that.”
Even while calling Ihyun, she had sensed her Trait activating, confirming his phone was tapped. She layered multiple shields of spirit energy over it. It was proving more useful than she expected.
[Illusionist-Exclusive High-Level Skill :: Sensory Mine has been activated!]
“There.”
“What did you do?”
“I planted mines in the call history. If anyone tries to listen, they won’t hear properly, or they’ll hear the wrong thing.”
“…Thank you, Nari.”
She handed the phone back. Ihyun bowed his head and took it, then suddenly looked worried again.
“But I really do have to go back. If he finds out, my grandfather won’t leave the people around me alone.”
“What if that old man doesn’t leave me alone? I’m stronger.”
“E-Even if that’s true for you, what about my aunt or Uncle Jaewon!”
Nari watched his restless face, then snatched the phone again and dialed someone on her own phone. Ihyun stared blankly.
“Kang Ihyun, listen closely.”
Nari cleared her throat, changed her voice to Lude’s, and put the call on speaker. The line clicked, and someone answered. It was his aunt.
[Hello? Ihyun? Are you okay?! Why didn’t you tell me you were with your grandfather?]
“Guildmaster.”
[Lude?]
Upon hearing Lude’s voice, Kang Sujin’s tone shifted in confusion. Nari, using Lude’s voice, spoke evenly.
“I’m with Hunter Kang Ihyun now. I got him out of his grandfather’s house and blocked the wiretap on his phone.”
[Oh. Uh, yes, thank you, Lude. But what happened…?]
“Hunter Kang Ihyun said this.”
She glanced up at Ihyun as if telling him to listen, then continued.
“He says he has to humor his grandfather in order to protect you and me.”
Silence came from the other end. Ihyun tried to speak quickly, but only Kang Sujin’s deep sigh was heard.
[…I understand. Could I speak to Ihyun now?]
Nari turned off the speaker and handed the phone back. Before he could speak, his aunt’s voice came through.
[Ihyun.]
“Yes, Aunt.”
[Why are you trying to protect me?]
“…Because I have to protect you, and also… Sanctuary. Sanctuary is your favorite place, and since I’m the successor, I know Grandfather would keep targeting it. It’s not like the other uncles’ companies.”
Sanctuary had been a subsidiary but was the only company that became independent. Because of that, his grandfather always tried to crush it or seize it.
Both the current Guildmaster Kang Sujin and her successor Ihyun were constantly summoned to suffer humiliation at his hands.
[…So that’s what you thought. Ihyun, thank you for caring about Sanctuary.]
“No need for it, I’ll inherit it too, one day.”
[But listen, I want to tell you something. For some reason, Koreans always seem to misunderstand this, so I’ll say it now.]
“What do you mean?”
He blinked. She let out a faint sigh.
[Ihyun. Sanctuary is mine.]
“…What?”
He looked dumbfounded. Her voice turned firm.
[Sanctuary is mine. Why would I ever give it to you? I’ll be Guildmaster until the day I drop dead. I’m an Awakener and not even combat-type, so I’ll live a long time. If you want to inherit Sanctuary at ninety, then be my guest.]
“…What?!”
[Think about it. If I planned to give Sanctuary to you, don’t you think I’d have raised you as an heir instead of pushing you to be a Hunter?]
…That’s true. He let out a sheepish laugh. His ears turned red as he realized he had been under a ridiculous delusion. Her warm voice carried through.
[Ihyun, you and I are both Awakeners. We’ll live far longer than that damned old man. Right now, both I and Jaewon are only putting up with him until the day he dies. So don’t worry about him. The one who lives longer wins.]
“…Are you even allowed to say that?”
[I told you, you take everything too seriously. You always try to take responsibility for everything alone, but to people older than you, sometimes that’s completely useless.]
“….”
Left speechless, Ihyun just held the phone. She was right. Both Nari and Uncle Jaewon had told him the same thing before. Sujin’s voice continued.
[Sanctuary isn’t yours. So live however you want. Both Jaewon and I know how to survive. You’re still young, you don’t have to carry it all. Trust us, Ihyun.]
“Yes, Aunt. …Thank you.”
His eyes turned red. He pressed his fingers under them to stop the tears. It felt like heavy shackles around his ankles had fallen away, something inside melting.
When he lowered his hand, Nari clasped it tightly. He squeezed back without thinking.
[…I’m sorry I didn’t understand your heart sooner.]
“No, thank you. Really. Then… I’ll rest a bit and head to the shop you booked.”
[Alright. Come by before the morning after tomorrow. I’ll see you then.]
He wiped his tears with his free hand, still holding the phone. Seeing him cry, Nari shook her head, trying not to cry too.
“What did the Guildmaster say?”
“She… she said she’s not giving me Sanctuary. And then,”
Sniffling, he managed to speak, smiling faintly even while crying. He looked relieved, as if something had finally lifted off him.
“...She told me not to worry and to live as I please.”
He squeezed Nari’s hand. Her eyes watered as she remembered what Nan had once told her. Tears welled up.
“N-Nari, what’s wrong? Why?”
“N-No, it’s just… I met someone who knew my mom, and that person…”
She pressed her sleeve against her tears, almost sobbing as she continued.
“They told me not to worry about my dad. That they’d help me. They told me to… to live as I want.”
“Why, why only now do they help?”
“Exactly… I wish they would’ve just helped me sooner, I was struggling…”
“I was struggling too… me too…”
The words made Nari think of how both of them had endured without help until now. She cried harder.
Realizing they could finally put down the crushing weight of responsibility, and that for some, it was nothing at all, they both felt a mix of relief and emptiness.
But knowing they felt it together, and that the relief outweighed the emptiness, was comforting.
In that alley, holding hands tightly, they cried their hearts out. Even with Perception Interference in place, some passersby glanced over at the sight of them sobbing. After some time, they slowly calmed down.
Ihyun, his eyes swollen, gave a small laugh.
“Good adults always seem to say the same kind of thing.”
“Y-Yeah. Thank goodness. Right. …Also, I’m hungry now, let’s go eat.”
“Yes, but no milk.”
“Of course. This place is famous for gukbap.”
Ihyun grinned brightly. Seeing that, Nari wiped his eyes with her sleeve and led him out of the alley, still holding his hand.
As they came out onto the busy road, Ihyun finally looked around. He realized they’d gone farther than expected.
“Wait, where are we?”
“Busan.”
“Oh, I see… what?! Busan?! But I was in Gangnam just now?!”
“What about it?”
With a face that said she didn’t see the problem, Nari looked at him. He spoke in shock.
“Usually you can’t travel this far in one jump…”
“Really? I don’t really know what’s normal.”