Retire 306

306 Youthful Girls (4)

I like movies.

Hong Seok-yeong and Soon Sun-jin are the same way, and whenever I say that, for some reason, everyone seems surprised. Is it really so unexpected that I like movies?

Well, to be precise, it’s not just movies—I like any well-made visual medium. It must be thanks to the countless animations and films I watched as a child to pass the time at the research institute. No, it is thanks to that.

Someone with a background like mine could easily have grown to hate such visual media. In fact, Kang Tae-woo never seemed particularly fond of them. Even though he was always eager to play games with Lee Seung-yeon.

If I hadn’t watched all those shows as a child, but instead had been forced to watch them after I’d grown up a bit, when I didn’t want to, I probably would have hated them too.

But I was just a little kid, not even ten years old. There aren’t many children who dislike being told they can watch as many cartoons as they want.

By the time I was old enough to distinguish between animation, drama, and film, I found myself fascinated by something else.

People often say that reading books lets you spread your wings of imagination and experience other worlds. I don’t deny that. But animation—or, yes, since what I want to talk about now is film, let’s say movies—movies, too, let you experience something new, just like books.

Unlike books, though, movies are a visual medium, so the impact is more direct.

That’s why I preferred movies to books.

Instead of struggling to imagine a building in an architectural style I’d never even heard of, it would unfold vividly before my eyes.

Even if I never set foot in another country, I could explore it as though I were traveling there, and I could feel the struggles of a profession I’d never have any real connection to.

I could experience things I’d never done—travel, of course, but also heartbreak, love, all of it.

Of course, it’s not the same as experiencing it for yourself. Not at all.

But if you can learn the bitterness of failure without having to go through it yourself… isn’t that a gain?

What I want to show the students at the Hunter Training High School is an extension of that kind of experience.

It’s not that I’m trying to brainwash them or anything like that—I just want to give them something to think about. Isn’t that what schools usually do? Assigning essays on what you felt after reading a book or watching a movie.

“Wow. What is all this?”

After class, the kids gathered in the auditorium, marveling at the unfamiliar sight.

A large projector screen, soft, plush sofas, and on a table in the corner, popcorn and drinks had been set out.

“When did you get all this ready?”

“Hunter Lee helped out.”

“Auntie did?”

Lee Seung-yeon’s eyes went wide.

“Well, if not Auntie, who else would do it? She’s not the kind of person to run errands for just anyone.”

She glanced over at Lee Mi-seon, who was checking the equipment. She was desperately pretending to ignore us, but it was obvious she was listening to our conversation.

“Please make her do even more in the future!”

“…Your aunt?”

“Yes!”

“You think that’s okay?”

“She’s always goofing off instead of working when she’s at the Seoul Guild office anyway. She should at least earn her keep like this.”

In the end, Lee Mi-seon looked at me with a face full of injustice. Should I defend her? But it felt a bit wrong for an outsider to butt into family matters.

I pretended not to notice and let it go.

Maybe that’s how things look to the kids. Honestly, I think Lee Mi-seon is probably the busiest person here.

The kids, unable to hide their excitement, grabbed snacks and took their seats one by one. What kind of movie were these kids expecting, I wondered. The latest blockbuster?

If so, they still didn’t know me at all….

“Huuu… Hello!”

Just then, Sandra Gamble quietly slipped into the auditorium, opening the door with a hesitant greeting. It was the first time I’d seen her properly since she returned from Australia and greeted everyone.

She still looked haggard, but her face had improved compared to before. Even if it was only a symbolic one, a funeral is still a funeral. Maybe it helped her find some closure.

Gamble, who rarely had reason to come to the auditorium, began looking around curiously. There wasn’t anything particularly unusual here… Runes? There are runes on the lab walls, too, so what.

“There are a lot of people here, aren’t there?”

Following behind Gamble, Kim Chae-min quietly approached and spoke to me.

Just as she said, not only the students I’d originally planned to show the movie to, but other Hunters living at the training school had also shown up.

I told you, it’s not a new release. It’s not some blockbuster!

“…Since everyone seems so interested in movies, maybe I should make this a regular thing.”

“Are you picking the movie list, Teacher Woo?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll pass.”

Kim Chae-min replied primly to my answer.

“…What’s wrong with my choices?”

“I feel like you’ll only pick boring ones.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s for the kids, isn’t it?”

Kim Chae-min snorted.

“I bet you’ll only choose educational films.”

“……”

“See? You can’t deny it, can you?”

For some reason, I felt like I’d lost.

“So, this time… what was it again? You said it was from Europe? Hunter Lee was complaining about where you even found something like this.”

“She never said that to me.”

“That’s because Hunter Lee is too nice.”

Kim Chae-min chuckled. Meanwhile, Gamble, now holding popcorn, naturally joined our conversation.

“So what movie is it?”

“Hmm.”

I thought for a moment before answering.

“The Lonely Troubles of Dalia, a Teenage Girl.”

“…Excuse me?”

“What did you say?”

That was the title it had when it was released in Korea about ten years later. Of course, movie fans complained so much that the title was changed afterward.

I let out a light snort.

“It was released in the US a long time ago. It’s a 2012 film.”

“Oh my, that’s pretty old, isn’t it?”

“It won several awards, but it’s relatively unknown in Korea. Still, in the US… Hmm. Dr. Gamble, maybe you know it?”

“What did you say the title was?”

“In the US, it was called ‘The Birth of a Hero, or Farewell to Youth,’ I think.”

At my words, Gamble suddenly put down her popcorn, looking as if she’d lost her appetite.

Kim Chae-min, startled by Gamble’s stark reaction, looked at me in confusion. Why was she glaring at me? Did she really think I’d show the kids something inappropriate?

“Excuse me, Teacher Woo.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been wondering for a while….”

Gamble asked cautiously.

“Do you not want those kids to become Hunters?”

“…What?”

“Or… well, that movie… I mean, of course you could say it’s inspiring in its own way, but…”

I quietly looked at Gamble.

I’d thought she might know the film, but I hadn’t expected her to actually know it. It wasn’t well known in Korea, but abroad it had a good reputation, and those in the know knew it. Despite its unnecessarily profound and poetic title.

Thick curtains were drawn across the auditorium windows and the lights went out. The projector screen lit up with a vivid image. The kids, who had been whispering, fell silent, and only the sound of popcorn being eaten could be heard.

The movie began.

Only then did I answer Gamble.

“No. I’m not against the kids becoming Hunters.”

“……”

“But I do think they should be the ones to choose what they want to do.”

---

The protagonist of the movie, Dalia, is seventeen. A girl just like any other you might find at that age.

But if there’s one thing that sets Dalia apart—

‘Dalia, I heard your little brother cleared a dungeon this time?’

‘Dalia, Mom’s going into the dungeon starting tomorrow.’

‘Dad’s going in too.’

Dalia’s entire family are Hunters.

Her parents, her grandmother, her aunt and uncle, her cousins, even her younger brother.

And among them all, Dalia alone is unawakened.

I’ve seen this movie countless times already. Even though many things have changed, some things remain the same.

At first, the kids fidgeted, looking bored, but one by one, they began to focus on the film. The movie was well into its second act.

Dalia’s younger brother dies while clearing a dungeon.

A fifteen-year-old boy, lost inside a dungeon, not even leaving a body behind. From that moment, the mood of the film shifts completely. So does Dalia’s family. The only heir to carry on the tradition of their Hunter clan is dead.

Surprisingly, Yoo Ji-eun started sniffling. I hadn’t thought it was the kind of movie to bring someone to tears, but perhaps for a still-young, sensitive heart, it was.

The movie ends with Dalia deciding to carry on the family legacy in her brother’s place. Of course, Dalia never awakens. Instead of becoming a Hunter, she establishes a guild and supports Hunters, raising her family’s prestige. For the first time in the film, her parents smile at their daughter and say they’re glad to have her.

At the start of the movie, Dalia’s biggest worry was what dress to wear to the dance party with her friends. In the final scene, she cuts her hair short like her brother, wears his clothes, and speaks as roughly as he did.

“……”

Kim Chae-min, hands clasped tightly, turned to look at me.

“That’s such a teacherly movie.”

“…Is that an insult?”

“You’re the one who picked it. Why would it be an insult?”

“You always sound so….”

Kim Chae-min let out a small laugh and shook her head.

“No, it was a good film. I get why you wanted to show it to the kids now. I wish I’d seen it when I was their age.”

“……”

“Even if you regret it, you have to make your own choices, right? I always tell Jin-woo that.”

“What about Park Seo-hyun?”

“Seo-hyun’s the kind of kid who knows exactly what she can do and what she wants to do. It’s not my place to say anything to her.”

Kim Chae-min gave a smile tinged with a hint of bitterness.

“When you’re that age, it’s easy to just go along with whatever people around you say, you know? Just nodding along and getting swept up.”

“…You too, Teacher Kim?”

“Me? I’m a mage, so my path was set from a young age.”

She knew that wasn’t really what I was asking, but Kim Chae-min pretended not to notice.

It didn’t seem right to press someone who didn’t want to talk, so I just listened quietly.

“Becoming a Hunter doesn’t mean you stop being a person….”

“In the old days, Awakened people were treated like monsters.”

“Ah, aren’t you talking a bit too much about the past? That’s more something you’d hear from Teacher Hong.”

“It’s not just that. Maybe it’s different in Korea, but in the US, there are plenty of places where the authorities have no reach… I’ve heard things like that happen more often than you’d think.”

Gamble joined the conversation as well.

I looked at the screen as the ending credits rolled. The kids were talking among themselves. Should I eavesdrop? No, I’d told them to write their impressions anyway.

If any of them couldn’t sort out their feelings on their own, they’d probably come to the counseling office.

Gamble, who had been passionately discussing the problems of Awakened people in America, scratched her head awkwardly as the credits ended and the auditorium lights came back on.

“Anyway, what I mean is…”

Before approaching the kids, I spoke to Kim Chae-min and Gamble. Or perhaps, to Kim Chae-min in particular.

“I just want the kids to know that they always have the option to quit if they don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Did you know?”

“…Know what?”

“When I was little, I actually wanted to be a movie star.”

The woman who could only become a mage smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling.

“I thought I’d get to wear lots of pretty clothes.”