Retire 441

441 Once Again (1)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠“Hyung….”

Having just come back from a movie outing with our grandfather, Uirok looked at me—who was struggling to make sense of Daniel’s report—and began to speak, his tone sour.

What is he trying to say, dragging it out like this?

“What? You have something to say to me?”

“…Why are you at home?”

“……”

Is that really something to say to your older brother?

I was so taken aback that I sat up and looked at Uirok. He lifted his chin, brazen as ever.

“You’re just going to lie around like this if you stay home anyway. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more productive to go out and work?”

Who on earth does he take after…?

I made a mental note to remember these words and throw them right back at him when he eventually gets a job.

Damn it, now I understand why my father used to look so disgruntled when I said things like that as a kid. And why my sister would burst out laughing beside him.

Is this all karma? Maybe this is why people say you should keep a kind heart.

“Irok.”

“What.”

“Adults need rest too, you know. You don’t go to school on weekends, do you?”

“But I still go to taekwondo and work out with Grandpa. You don’t even do that.”

“…I just got back from an overseas business trip. Can’t I rest a little?”

“They say you should even go out of your way to suffer when you’re young.”

What is this kid watching? Every time I checked, he seemed to be watching perfectly normal stuff.

“You’re always slacking off, so Uncle is busy!”

“……?”

Uirok, seeing me at a loss for words, let out a deep sigh, clicked his tongue, and slipped into his room.

…What was that?

Is this really karma? No, I wasn’t that bad… Well, maybe I was!

And what does he mean, I’m slacking off? At school, the only person busier than me is Lee Miseon! Even Hong Seokyoung is just taking it easy these days! Sure, he’s overseeing the kids’ training, but honestly, from his perspective, that’s hardly work. He’s just relaxing.

Mulling over Uirok’s words, I sat up fully, intent on asking someone closer to his age what on earth was going through his mind.

“Kang Taewoo?”

“Yes?”

Having come home for the weekend, Kang Taewoo answered quietly. But when I actually saw his face, the question I’d meant to ask wouldn’t come out.

“…What’s that on your head?”

“Oh, Sohee did it for me. All the elementary school kids play like this these days, right?”

“If you ask me…”

Taewoo scratched his head. One of the many ribbon pins stuck in his hair fell to the floor.

With a sigh, Taewoo picked up the pin and stuck it back in his hair.

“…Did she tell you to keep it on?”

“She said I have to. Are all little sisters like this?”

“I only have a younger brother, so…”

“…….”

“…….”

For the sake of this poor older brother, I decided to pretend not to notice the ribbons. Well… let’s just call him a good brother.

Anyway, I asked Taewoo about Uirok. He had also been one of the grandsons to go out with Grandpa. For Taewoo, too, Grandpa was a new presence, but perhaps thanks to his little sister, he adapted quickly to this family.

At first, Uirok would bare his teeth and growl whenever he saw Taewoo, but now he could share the same space with him without that level of aggression.

Well… I suppose I’ve also gotten used to Taewoo. I never would have imagined I’d be having a conversation with him, his hair full of ribbons.

“Anyway.”

“Yes.”

“Anything else going on these days?”

“……”

Taewoo looked at me with a subtle expression.

Somehow, it made me miss the Taewoo who first arrived at Yangseong High—or rather, the demonstration school. Not that I preferred him back then, but at least he pretended to listen to me.

“Irok, you mean?”

“…That’s part of it, but I’m also asking you. There have been a lot of visitors at school lately. Anything making you uncomfortable? Are classes all right?”

“The Alps Patrol was fascinating. I’d never heard of anything like that before.”

Taewoo answered my question promptly.

“Is there anything else like it? I tried searching, but couldn’t find much.”

“Well…”

I thought about the collaborative work with the management office and the history of the modern hunter industry.

“In the U.S., uninhabited areas are managed by the military, but… in the Middle East? Since the cities are right up against the desert, I heard hunters patrol like the Alps Patrol there.”

“Oh…”

“You can ask Mr. Han about that. He’ll explain it well.”

“Mr. Han?”

Taewoo made a reluctant face.

Suddenly, I realized… this kid had changed a lot. The Taewoo I used to know would never have shown his feelings so openly in front of an adult.

“Mr. Han is a bit…”

“Why? Mr. Han likes you guys.”

“I like him too. But still, Mr. Han is…”

“He’ll be hurt if he hears you say that.”

“He’d probably just laugh and say that’s exactly what he wanted…”

I couldn’t deny it.

To confirm the feasibility and safety of Daniel’s shocking, physically eliminative method, Han Taekyung had gone back into the lab.

‘I’m clean when it comes to magical engineering!’

‘Why is that clean?’

‘Because I don’t know a thing about it!’

‘…But still, Mr. Han, you have plenty of hunter experience. Even compared to Mr. Kim, you’ve been in more dungeons, right? It’s about offering a new perspective.’

‘Perspective, perspective! My brain is mine, and that’s all I can offer!’

Watching Han Taekyung was oddly comforting. No matter how turbulent my own adolescence had been, I was never as bad as that man. At least at his age, I was mature. Or rather, if you’re not mature by then, isn’t that a problem in itself?

Anyway, Taewoo’s expression as he thought of Han Taekyung was far from bright.

“Ah, about Irok, sir.”

Before I could redirect Taewoo’s view of Han Taekyung, he changed the subject himself.

“I think it’d be good to have a proper talk with him.”

Why does that sound so ominous?

“Did he say something to you?”

“Not exactly… but you can just tell, being around him.”

“Like what?”

Taewoo shrugged.

“The principal worries about Irok a lot.”

“…What.”

“Irok pretends not to, but he really looks up to you.”

“……”

“He seemed pretty sulky that you didn’t come home often, even after your business trip.”

Taewoo said this with a bright laugh.

“It’s kind of amazing, seeing him get annoyed for such a cute reason. Oh, I’m not badmouthing him.”

“No… it’s fine. Honestly, I’m just as surprised to be having this kind of conversation with you.”

“Me too.”

Taewoo replied with a clear, open face.

Maybe this was what my father had wanted. I looked at Taewoo again. The calm high schooler who used to guide people at the cult meetings felt so distant now. It had only been a year.

“Anyway… right. I’ll talk to Irok. Thank you.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“If you ever have trouble with anything, you can talk to me, too.”

Taewoo’s eyes went wide, then he nodded energetically.

“Actually, I was thinking of not graduating this time and just attending for another year.”

“…After teasing Yoo Jieun so much about graduating?”

“Well, that’s…”

Taewoo hesitated. For a moment, I wondered if there was something he couldn’t say, but that couldn’t be.

The proof was in the mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“I honestly can’t be sure the school will run smoothly next year.”

“You do realize I’m a teacher at that school, right?”

“That’s why I’m telling you! But with Mr. Funes and Mr. Robinson joining… and you’re working with Mr. Robinson’s guild too, right?”

“There’s going to be a sister school.”

“Yes! That’s it! Mr. Robinson hinted that as soon as he returns to France, he’ll set it up. Even if I graduate now, I’m not sure what I’d do for a living, but if I stick it out another year… maybe I could get a job in France? Mr. Robinson’s guild is famous.”

That man, honestly.

Don’t be fooled by his stoic face. To survive as a famous hunter, especially to run a major guild, you need political skill.

I shouldn’t be so pleased about getting high-quality free lectures. He’s already trying to poach talent…

“Weren’t you going to university?”

“Studying in France sounds good too.”

Taewoo said this with a serious face.

“The translators are good these days, but I think it’d be nice to learn French. Grandpa said he can speak French, you know? I didn’t know, but apparently his father was French. Did you know that, sir?”

“No…”

“Eunyoung noona is good at French too… They say you only improve by learning more languages. And Eva noona said my pronunciation was good!”

“I see…”

My annoyance at Robinson grew a little, but… well. Never mind.

Hadn’t I had a similar conversation with Kim Chaemin?

That we can’t stop these kids from becoming who they’re meant to be.

It hasn’t been that long since I said that—I can’t just pretend I’ve forgotten.

If they’re about to go down the wrong path, we have to stop them. That much is necessary. But this isn’t that. Who knows if Taewoo will really choose the hardship of studying abroad in France? But even if he does, is that wrong?

No. If anything, it means Taewoo has worked that hard.

In that case, we should support and encourage him. That’s what teachers, guardians, and family are supposed to do.

Just as my father did for me.

Thanks to Daniel, it’s been put off a little longer, but now I really can’t delay it anymore. It’s not something that should have been put off this long in the first place.

…No, it wasn’t just delayed. I ran away from it.

But seeing Taewoo’s eyes shine as he talked about his plans for the future, I felt courage rising in me, too.

I should talk with Hong Seokyoung, and with my father.

This time, I won’t run away.

---

Of course, just because I’d made up my mind didn’t mean everything magically fell into place.

It wasn’t my problem. This was about Hong Seokyoung.

I have no idea why someone with a bad leg is wandering around so much.

…Actually, it wasn’t Hong Seokyoung’s fault. Kim Chaemin concluded that the research in the U.S. had been correct. The contaminated toad eggs were spreading disease like parasites. Once those were removed, the rest could be treated normally.

That was good news.

The bad news?

Hong Seokyoung was practically living at the lab, trying to figure out how to remove eggs that were invisible to the naked eye.

Normally, I would have told him to stop getting in the way and come out already, but this time he was genuinely participating in the experiments, so I couldn’t say anything. He must have been the most frustrated of all, being stuck with an injured leg. Maybe that’s why he complied with all of Kim Chaemin and Gamble’s complicated requests and behaved himself.

“Why don’t you take a break?”

Even for me, it was hard to call Hong Seokyoung out in front of Kim Chaemin, who surely had a good sense of the situation.

I grabbed some snacks from the café inside Yangseong High, which was still thriving. It was run by a hunter from Daseon, and as the school stabilized, the café kept evolving. Now they were even trying their hand at a full-fledged bakery… I don’t know. As long as the kids liked it, I suppose it was good.

“Coffee?”

“I need alcohol more than coffee.”

“Don’t even think about drinking on the job. I’ll dock your pay.”

“Have you never wanted a drink while working, Mr. Woo?”

“Whenever you act like this, Doctor.”

“……”

Gamble didn’t like having more work added to his plate. But what could we do?

A shortage of people was a chronic problem for small guilds.

As we talked about work progress and various other trivial matters… I looked at Hong Seokyoung. His calm, smiling face was somehow infuriating.

“Hm?”

…No. I shouldn’t act like a child.

I steadied my breathing. Then I turned to Hong Seokyoung and began to speak.