Retire 299
by Cristae299 Will (5)
“How was that?” Han Taekyung said with a smirk, his tone as infuriating as ever. Han Eunyoung, who normally hesitated to even sit on bare ground, just lay sprawled out, too exhausted to reply, raising only her middle finger. Laughter erupted among the children. There was nothing that could provoke such a fierce reaction from Han Eunyoung except something involving her brother, Han Taekyung.
If you think about it, she lasted a long time. Disliking getting dirty and preferring to sit quietly rather than move around, Han Eunyoung was, true to her nature, less physically fit than the other kids. During combat training, she was always the first to drop out, ending up sitting next to Yoo Hyeun.
Just now, too, Han Taekyung had baited his exhausted sister into attacking again with a few teasing words.
Surprisingly… he might have some talent as a teacher, Han Taekyung.
I’d never thought so before.
“All right, who wants to go next?” Han Taekyung laughed, delighted by his sister’s adorable gesture, then turned to the other children. As the kids’ eyes changed, a small girl shot her hand up.
Soon Soonjin.
[So, so Jieun. Take care, okay.]
I snapped out of it with a start.
Only then did time begin to flow properly again. It felt as if I’d been sleepwalking with my eyes open.
Slowly, I unclenched my fists. I hadn’t even realized I’d been clenching them.
“That’s it, just like that! Faster! Soonjin, did you grow this year?”
“Why!! Yes, I’m short!”
“Who said anything? Did you grow this year? How much did you grow last year?”
Over the girl sitting at a classroom desk, writing her will, another girl in gym clothes, face scrunched up, swung a wooden sword.
“I haven’t grown at all since starting high school!!!”
“Really? When did you say you awakened?”
“…In elementary school! What does that have to do with anything?!”
“Then you probably won’t grow any more.”
“Are you trying to annoy me?!!!”
“No, no.”
Han Taekyung easily dodged Soonjin’s attacks. Always talented, Soonjin’s movements had improved dramatically over the past few months.
Her voice, shouting at Han Taekyung, was full of life. She looked like she might curse at any moment. It was nothing like the calm tone she used in her will.
“At this rate, you probably won’t get any taller…”
“You are trying to annoy me!”
“I’m not! You have to listen to the end in Korean!”
“Hmph!”
“So, since your body isn’t going to change much, you need to make use of your build!”
“…My build?”
Soonjin hesitated. Han Taekyung nodded vigorously.
“Make use of your small frame? Both Woo and the principal told me that. That’s why I…”
“No, right now you’re making use of your speed, not your frame.”
“My… speed?”
“The principal and Mr. Woo are both a bit stubborn, so they’re waiting for you all to figure it out on your own…”
Han Taekyung glanced in my direction. He knew I was listening, but he didn’t stop talking.
“I don’t know why they’re waiting when they could just tell you.”
But maybe he took my lack of objection as silent permission, because he grinned and continued his explanation.
Fortunately, from where I was standing, I could see Soonjin’s face head-on. I could clearly see her frowning at his words, then widening her eyes, and finally nodding.
“To be blunt, someone with a small frame like you is at a disadvantage in a dungeon.”
“…I know.”
“But let’s think about it differently. From the monster’s perspective.”
“The monster’s?”
“Imagine you’re a monster ten meters tall. Would you care if the annoying bug was one meter or two meters tall?”
“……”
“Size isn’t the problem. But the weak strength that comes with a small body is.”
“Then, I…”
“No. It might be a disadvantage, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a Hunter. If you have a strong characteristic like you do, it means that in certain dungeons, you can turn that into an advantage.”
“……”
“All right, that’s as much as I’ll spoon-feed you. Think about what that means.”
“How is that spoon-feeding?”
“Oh, but your homeroom teacher is watching over there.”
“Eek.”
Soonjin looked up in the direction Han Taekyung pointed. The other kids turned their heads, too.
“Our school’s motto is self-directed learning! You have to figure out what to do on your own. Isn’t that right?”
While Han Taekyung kept chattering on, Soonjin met my eyes.
Across the wide field.
It wasn’t far for an awakened one, but it wasn’t so close that you could see every detail. Still, Soonjin looked straight at me.
Then she broke into a bright smile and waved.
Following Soonjin, the other kids waved their arms wildly, calling out to me.
From Myeongdong until now. Barely over a year.
If you subtract the time spent detained in the investigation room and all the rest, the time I actually spent as their teacher is even shorter.
Just a year.
If you’d told the old Woo Heejae to trust an adult he’d only known for a year, he never would have done it.
You can’t blame their backgrounds, either—Kang Taewoo is among them. The boy who once shrank back and acted so cautiously now laughs and jokes freely. The smiling faces and waving arms directed at me aren’t forced.
What am I to these kids?
I’m not even Hong Seokyoung. Why?
“Mr. Woo!”
“Teacher!!”
“Hello!!”
I saw them this morning—why are they greeting me again…?
I bit my lip, then raised my hand. When I waved back, even just a little, the commotion grew even louder.
Unable to watch any longer, I pointed at Han Taekyung.
“Your teacher says to finish class.”
“Ugh.”
“Hey. Is that something to complain about?”
Once again, laughter filled the field. I staggered away from the window.
Emotion is the driving force behind most human actions.
I’m not talking about instincts like hunger. Something more complex, more intense.
Emotion.
In the end, everything comes down to emotion.
The force that moves human society.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Can you imagine a society without emotion? For your parents, for your children. Even for your own well-being. All these words are rooted in emotion.
You don’t find that sort of thing in animals driven only by instinct.
Look at human society.
Countless emotions intertwine, creating all sorts of motivations. You don’t have to look far—just consider Noah Michel. Why would a mage so praised as a jewel, as a sun, run a bizarre cult, staking the fate of the world, all because of something he saw in a dungeon as a child?
Just as I can’t understand Noah Michel, if he ever learns of my existence, he probably won’t understand me, either.
Hmm…
Still, I think I’m easier to understand.
I have the most common, most relatable motivation in all of human history.
“How do I become someone like you, ma’am?”
…No, not that.
“So I decided to become your dad.”
That’s it.
From the very beginning, what I wanted wasn’t the power to dominate others, or the authority to command.
Back then, that civil servant, Ms. Kim Sojeong, tried to comfort me. It was something I could never forget, even after all these years.
“You’ll be able to see your mom and dad, too.”
Of course, she just assumed I had parents who worried about me.
It wasn’t her fault. Anyone would have thought the same. If I were in her place, I’d have said the same thing to a rescued child.
But those words left a deeper mark on me than I’d realized.
I wanted a family.
Not parents who weren’t really parents, not a brother who vanished one day.
A solid fence that would always be by my side.
Family.
That’s what moves me, what drives everything I do.
It’s time to admit it.
I want to protect my family.
“Mr. Han, buy us ice cream.”
“You can get some in the cafeteria.”
“Then order us chicken.”
“You know they don’t deliver here…”
“You mean go buy it, dummy.”
“Eunyoung, I’m not your errand boy.”
“Don’t care!”
From the field, playful voices and laughter continued to ring out.
This is what my father tried and failed to protect. The childhood my sister might have had.
I am selfish. I want what my family wanted, too.
I want to create a world where my family can be happy.
“I’ll let Heejae do whatever he wants.”
And I want a world where I can be happy, too.
It’s not enough to have only family. Friends, acquaintances, students—everyone I’m close to. Even the cat, if it comes to that.
A world where everyone can laugh and be safe.
Would I give up my own life for that?
Of course not. No way.
I am selfish. I want to enjoy that peaceful world I create, too.
“Seriously, you’re too much. You don’t act like this with Mr. Woo—why only with me?”
“But Mr. Han isn’t really a teacher, he’s Eunyoung’s brother.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Older brothers are supposed to buy stuff for their younger siblings’ friends.”
“This place is full of little thieves…”
I wish those kids could live.
Since I saved them, isn’t it okay to hope for at least that much?
No, kids shouldn’t die like that in the first place.
And just because they didn’t die doesn’t mean everything’s okay. Some end up eating themselves away in depression, or drowning in alcohol. Or else they throw themselves into dungeons, eyes bloodshot, day and night.
I can’t let that happen.
Father must have wanted a world like this, too.
That’s why my sister tried to bring me to the past.
A world where no one has to leave a will at such a young age.
A world where a teacher never has to receive a will from a student thanking them.
That kind of world.
…That’s the world I want to live in, too.
“……”
“……”
“…Um, teacher.”
Soon Soonjin called to me, her face awkward.
“What is it?”
“Well, um. Why are we suddenly doing career plans?”
“It’s about time you all started thinking about it.”
“It’s a Hunter training high school—when we graduate, we’ll become Hunters…”
I shook my head and held out my hand to Soon Soonjin.
“I told you, didn’t I? Not everyone has to become a Hunter. You can find something else that suits you. Didn’t you see Lee Seungyeon’s career plan? He wrote out his whole life—he wants to run a guild, so he’s planning to major in business.”
“Maybe you should talk to Seungyeon first… Should I go get him?”
“That’s why I’m calling him last. Soon Soonjin, let me see your career plan.”
“Uh…”
In the end, Soon Soonjin handed me a career plan full of blank spaces. The only thing filled in was the job title.
Hunter.
Soonjin’s shoulders shrank.
“Why did you only write this? You could go to college like Seungyeon, or join a guild… Have you ever thought about that? You can write down anything that comes to mind.”
“Um. I just… never really thought about it.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Maybe the original Soon Soonjin really was with the Association. Since she was close to Im Miseon, she might have noticed Im Miseon’s affiliation from a different angle than Seo Hanseong.
If she’d been considering joining the Association since high school…
I could never allow it.
Not if it meant crawling into a place where you might die at any moment.