Chapter 439

Anyway, I managed to stop the galbitang mission safely, but come to think of it, it was almost time to eat anyway...

'Is it still going to take long?'

Just as Kim Giryeo had that passing thought, it seemed the routine procedures the Awakened gathered in the hallway had been waiting for were finally drawing to a close.

Various cognitive functions, muscular performance, and even minor health indicators such as cholesterol levels.

Well, this was all being done at the request of a VVIP hunter who had donated an astonishing sum of more than ten billion won with the kind of surplus wealth hunters tended to have. Naturally, the hospital staff had every reason to devote their utmost effort to the matter, so it was only inevitable that the examinations would take a long time. Still, by this point, one couldn't help but wonder just how healthy a patient nearing her mid-fifties would turn out to be.

'The humans are all smiling.'

Their expressions were bright. From the hospital director, whose hair was streaked with white, to the rest of the medical staff, everyone nodded cheerfully before finally speaking.

“Guardian Jung Haseong! Please come in.”

As the welcoming atmosphere suggested, the treatment had been a success.

'Although hair that's already grown can't exactly turn black again, her skin definitely seems to have improved.'

A few seconds later, Jung Haseong returned to the hospital room and stood there, lost in thought. More precisely, he was reflecting on all the suffering he had endured up to this point.

'M, maybe not? It's been so long since I last saw Mom open her eyes that, honestly, I'm not really sure.'

Come to think of it, back when he had visited her more frequently, there had been countless times when he quietly held the hand of his only family member.

'Because I would've gone crazy with anxiety if I hadn't checked her pulse myself.'

This, too, could perhaps be considered a side effect of the nuclear family structure. The Awakened who was hailed as a hero by the entire nation had depended excessively on his sole family member from a young age, and as a result, the thought of his mother falling ill and leaving him alone had become his greatest nightmare.

'It would've been nice if I'd at least had a few relatives I could trust.'

For reference, his mother had never told her young son anything specific. But judging from the circumstances, it was likely that relatives on either his father's or mother's side had repeatedly caused financial trouble, eventually leading to a complete severing of contact.

'When I secretly listened to her phone calls from bed as a kid, most of them were about Mom lending money to someone and then worrying about it afterward.'

The only relatives he still had any contact with were from his father's side, but even they felt strangely distant. In the end, he had only one truly precious family member.

He could hardly believe it.

The patient who had just sat up in bed before his eyes was that one person—the person he had longed for so desperately, the person whose eyes he had wanted to meet again.

“My son!”

“M, Mom...”

And when the voice that had been fading away in his memories returned, Jung Haseong couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears again.

“You only just woke up—are you sure it's okay for you to be standing like that? W, what about water? Did you drink any after the examination?”

But tears came naturally from her side as well. No matter how extraordinary an awakening to S-rank might be, to most parents, their child remained a precious part of themselves for life.

Thud.

In the middle of the hospital room, the two embraced tightly and wept.

'Come to think of it, Earthlings really are comfortable with dangerous close-contact gestures like hugging.'

If not for the alien's mood-killing thoughts, it might have been an even more touching scene. Fortunately, Earth had no technology capable of reading minds, so the two members of the Jung family continued their conversation in peace.

“I didn't expect I'd awaken the moment I woke up. It really startled me.”

“For a day or two starting today, everything's going to feel a little overwhelming. You'll probably have trouble controlling your strength too. That's just what happens on the day you gain superpowers, Mom.”

Jung Haseong still couldn't fully grasp the reality of this reunion.

“Yeah, the medical staff told me about the strength issue too. But what surprised me even more was that I... apparently used some kind of strange ability.”

“Strange?”

“Life really doesn't go the way you want, does it? To be honest, I'd always hoped I might awaken with the same ability as my son.”

“Fire attribute? Ah, so that way... even if your power suddenly activated, neither of us would get seriously hurt?”

“Of course.”

The family members didn't bother asking any more health-related questions. After all, a person's condition could be confirmed easily enough just by looking at them.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to another subject.

“But somehow, I had a feeling my awakening might turn out like this too. Haseong, you really do take after your father a lot...”

“Heukh.”

“Still, I thought your quiet personality had improved quite a bit as you got older, but I suppose it's true that children can't help showing traces of their parents.”

“Whether I take after Dad's side or yours, what does it matter? Either way, you raised me well, Mom.”

“Raised you well? Nonsense! My son always grew up perfectly fine all on his own. As for me... when my child was going through the hardest time in his life, I couldn't even be there to help...”

Crying.

But just as another wave of tears was about to break out—

“Haseong, by the way... excuse me, but who is that person standing behind you?”

“Ah!”

When the middle-aged woman asked that question, the number-one-ranked hunter flinched in surprise and quickly turned his head.

“Ahem! Kh-hehm. W, well, that person over there is...”

Up until now, he had been too overwhelmed to keep his emotions under control. But now that he thought about it, there was a third party present—someone in front of whom he probably shouldn't be displaying such an undignified side of himself.

Belatedly clearing his throat, Jung Haseong spoke.

“This is Kim Giryeo-ssi, a former hunter! More precisely, he's also a newly emerged S-rank Awakened who appeared while you were unconscious, Mom.”

“Aah.”

“He's helped me a great deal over the past few years.”

“I'm so grateful...”

“He's the one who's helped us the most. Mom, the only reason you were able to wake up at all is because he obtained the medicine for you.”

While trying his best to sound composed, Jung Haseong suddenly stopped.

The dark-haired man furrowed his brow slightly, as though something had just occurred to him.

“Oh, right. While we're on the subject...”

What followed was a question directed toward the alien sitting in the corner of the room.

“Awakened Kim Giryeo, what should we do about the [Elixir]?”

“Hmm?”

“If we carelessly reveal where that incredible potion came from, it's bound to cause an uproar everywhere.”

At first glance, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable concern.

“Besides, I forgot to mention this earlier, but some guy named Kang Changho showed up while you were away and caused a huge scene!”

“What kind of trouble?”

“He was acting as if he'd personally entrusted you with a bottle of Elixir—making an enormous fuss just because he wanted to see the real thing...! Just imagine what would happen if someone like him heard rumors about an actual genuine one.”

Jung Haseong recalled the anger he had been forced to swallow in silence twenty-four hours earlier, unable to voice even a single word of protest. From there, he continued by explaining in detail what had happened while Kim Giryeo was away from Korea.

“Hmm.”

But this didn't seem like particularly important information.

“Kang Changho showed interest in a rare item, you say.”

The man whose hair had been dyed with cheap coloring finally spoke, and Jung Haseong immediately continued.

“That S-rank hunter being interested in new items isn't anything recent. I only found out not long ago, but apparently, around three years ago, he used to drive around in a black sedan and poke around various gates...”

“I've seen something similar myself.”

“If he's that interested in items, there's no doubt he'll latch onto the [Elixir]. So I think it's better to conceal its source as much as possible.”

That last statement was ultimately true.

But from the alien's perspective, when he examined the matter point by point, there were several odd details.

Kim Giryeo deliberately blinked.

'So he isn't completely avoiding human labor after all. In the end, he still needs manpower from his own kind, huh?'

At that moment, the alien thought to himself.

If he were in Kang Changho's position, he probably wouldn't deliberately antagonize the same compatriots who were supposed to protect Earth alongside him. Depending on the situation, he might even try to manipulate them cleverly enough to make them willingly take his side.

As Jung Haseong's case demonstrated, humans could be remarkably pure-hearted, leaving plenty of room to exploit them in one way or another...

'It seems they feel like they ought to pity that black mammal.'

Kim Giryeo considered every possible scenario.

Only after organizing his thoughts to some extent did he speak calmly.

“For now, let's not worry about Kang Changho.”

To simply ignore such a bundle of unpredictable behavior.

“Honestly, confronting S-ranks doesn't exactly earn you any support from the government. But judging by how that person behaves every time...”

“You mean judging by how he behaves?”

“It's probably one of two things, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Either he's the type who thinks there's no benefit in getting close to us, or he's the type whose social skills are so poor... well, the kind with something wrong with the frontal lobe.”

“Are you referring to a disorder related to impulse control?”

“Well... I suppose I can't really use that as a metaphor for him, since actual patients might take offense.”

Murmur, murmur.

The alien finished summarizing his assessment of the mammal and continued.

“Anyway, there's no need to pay Kang Changho any attention, whichever type he is. But as you said, it's definitely best to keep things like the [Elixir] and the fact that my lungs are completely healed hidden.”

“Even that?”

He remembered the advice he had once received from Seo Esther.

'Just as showing off money often breeds jealousy, there's no benefit in revealing your strength either.'

With the mindset of avoiding unnecessary attention, Kim Giryeo spoke to Jung Haseong.

He instructed him never to reveal anything about the [Elixir].

No matter how skilled a journalist might be, it would be difficult to write a proper article if the eyewitness refused to speak.

“Yes, yes! I'll keep that in mind. Of course! From now on, I won't take a single thing you say lightly, Awakener.”

“Uh, that's burdensome...”

This kind of overwhelming reaction was a bit much.

“What wouldn't I do for you, Kim Giryeo-ssi? At this point, even if you suddenly told me to drop dead, I'd honestly at least pretend to do it!”

At that moment, the blond visitor suddenly raised both hands slightly.

It was a friendly gesture—a silent way of showing that he held nothing threatening in his hands.

“He's just exaggerating on his own.”

And there was only one reason the alien suddenly displayed such behavior.

“I don't have any plans to overwork Jung Haseong. Honestly, I simply had some medicine left over and decided to give it to him, that's all.”

Even on Alphauri, which was little different from a realm full of monsters, mages did not recklessly harm their own offspring.

So why create a scene like this in front of his mother?

“Of course, there will be times when I ask him for something as a fellow S-rank Awakened. But I'm not going to demand any extravagant repayment for this—”

Kim Giryeo made what he considered a sensible judgment and tried to steer the conversation quickly toward another subject.

[Ting!]

Even if the alien had made no effort at all, however, the atmosphere in the room would soon have changed on its own.

“Just a moment. Let me check my messages.”

“As expected of you, Kim Giryeo-ssi. Someone with such outstanding information-gathering ability that he can acquire an incredible elixir like this naturally keeps a close eye on his messages at all times...”

Tak.

Kim Giryeo ignored the stream of worshipful praise and took out his electronic device.

But the message he had just received was not exactly the kind of lighthearted topic that could serve as a simple change of subject.

'Should I just take back what I said and announce that I'm going to work Jung Haseong like a serf after all?'

Before long, the alien even found himself entertaining such a trivial thought.

But from a human perspective, the sudden change in atmosphere was inevitably confusing.

Jung Haseong—the number-one-ranked hunter—politely tilted his head and glanced at the message the other man was reading.

What caught his eye were unusual words such as "reduction"... and "recovery."

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