Chapter 1110 - 250 - 254

Chapter 250

Side Story 7

5. Your daily routine (2)

The high school freshmen were gathered in the school's athletics field for the entrance ceremony.

Noisy, noisy….

The new students used the gap created by the still-lax surveillance of the teachers to form small groups comprising of the graduates from the same middle schools and noisily chatted away.

It was then.

"Silence!!"

Like a lone shark scything its way into a school of sardines, the 'Venomous Snake', Teacher Park Gi-Sool, made his sudden entrance and shot a scary glare, prompting the new students to hurriedly shut their mouths up at once.

"Who dares to make a noise? Who??"

Rather unfitting for his name, Teacher Park Gi-Sool was in charge of the physical training. But, fitting for a man who competed in amateur wrestling in his youth, he was blessed with cauliflower ears, a thick neck, broad shoulders, as well as muscular thighs.

Everywhere Teacher Park Gi-Sool's glare landed, kids quickly dropped their heads lower. The war of aura – nerves – at the beginning of school life wasn't exclusively fought between the students, oh no.

If one took into consideration the potential atmosphere for the rest of the academic year, or even the classroom itself, then the war of nerves between the teacher and students would be far more important than the one taking place between the headstrong students.

And as far as his track record for this kind of war was concerned, 'Venomous Snake' Teacher Park Gi-Sool had never tasted defeat before.

Starting from ten years ago, when he took his first step into the teaching profession, last year, and the year before that too, never had he failed his mission. He was planning to extend the streak to this year, as well.

The school of sardines in front of the shark, no, the new students in front of Teacher Park Gi-Sool couldn't withstand his fierce glare and quickly lowered their gazes.

All the noisy kids shut their mouths for good wherever he walked past. Meanwhile, his colleagues watching on from the sidelines could only look on with eyes of pure respect.

"As expected of Park Teacher-nim…."

"Looks like we can rely on the director of students' affairs for another trouble-free year, as well."

Park Gi-Sool scanned the new students and their broken fighting spirit while forming a content smile on his face.

'Right, that's how it should be.'

However, he couldn't be satisfied with this much of 'victory' yet. Not today. Didn't he already have a real target in mind for today, the one the headmaster personally entrusted him with?

As long as he didn't break that problem child's fighting spirit, then it'd be rather difficult to claim that he had performed his duty of guiding these students properly today.

Park Gi-Sool continued to scan the faces of the new students and eventually located the problem kid in question.

'There he is.'

The moment he located his target, that content smile was wiped off from his face immediately.

Even at a casual glance from far away, one could tell that the boy was no ordinary challenge, what with his height far taller than his peers, the hints of firm muscles all over his figure, as well as powerful vitality that could be gleaned from his eyes.

'So, that kid is Seong Jin-Woo….'

The thing was, an expert would be able to recognise other experts.

No matter how wild they were as a student, they all would become a well-behaved sheep in front of him before long. And in case the boy decided to show off with inadvisable bravado, then Teacher Park simply had to reveal just a wee bit of what was in store for unruly children.

There hadn't been a single problem kid that 'Venomous Snake' Park Gi-Sool failed to discipline properly. His confidence oozed out from every pore of his body like an actual aura.

'Alright….'

….Time to get started.

Before that, though, Park Gi-Sool's snake-like eyes quickly scanned the problem kid from top to bottom. And then, his eyes gleamed brightly.

'That's it!'

There was a black glove on one of the problem kid's hands.

A teacher in the student affairs department couldn't possibly ignore the problem kid violating the dress code, such as wearing hats or gloves, while standing in the middle of the athletics field, now could he?

Of course, it wasn't as if he had forgotten about the small fact that the boy's left hand had a serious scar and needed to wear a glove all the time.

Such a thing was already written within the student's records, after all.

However, Park Gi-Sool needed a pretext, however small, to butt in and start his operation of breaking that problem kid's fighting spirit.

Indeed, what could be a better pretext to scold a student than the violation of the school's dress code?

Having discovered a suitable gap to dig in, Park Gi-Sool's eyes gleamed sharply like a real venomous snake, and he quickly made his way over to the problem kid in question.

It seemed that the boy hadn't sensed his approach yet, which was good. A surprise attack was very effective in breaking the enemy's fighting spirit, after all.

Once he got close enough distance where a whispered name could be heard by the other party, Teacher Park Gi-Sool's brows shot up as he got ready.

"Hey, you fool! Where do you think you are to wear a glo…."

The loud, energetic roar coming from Teacher Park Gi-Sool prompted Jin-Woo to turn his head around. And then, his eyes met Park Gi-Sool's.

In that moment….

"Uh, uhhh….??"

….Teacher Park Gi-Sool saw 'it'.

He saw the countless black monsters, standing seemingly endlessly behind this 'problem kid'.

The entirety of the athletics field, filled with students, disappeared in darkness from Park Gi-Sool's view, only to be replaced by the sight of a massive army of ten million soldiers standing in columns that stretched endlessly towards the distant horizon.

"Heok!!"

Teacher Park Gi-Sool was instantly shoved away by the absolutely overwhelming pressure and tumbled on his backside while loudly screaming out.

"Teacher-nim?!"

"Park Teacher-nim! Are you alright??"

Other teachers in the vicinity hurriedly rushed over there and supported Park Gi-Sool. His complexion was as white as a sheet of paper. He took another look at Jin-Woo, but by then, his view had reverted back to normal.

"B-but, how….??"

He roughly shook his head and blinked his eyes several times while the attention of the surrounding students began falling on him.

Noisy, noisy….

"Everyone, keep quiet!"

"Park Teacher-nim, maybe you're feeling unwell somewhere?"

Now being on the receiving end of the worried gazes of his colleagues, as well as unsettled looks from the students, Park Gi-Sool's face reddened up considerably from embarrassment.

"I, I'm fine."

He shook off the support from his colleagues and quickly made his escape from the area.

Bellion hiding in his master's shadow quietly whispered to Jin-Woo while watching the departing man's back grow further away.

[My liege, that man must've…]

'Yeah. It seems that he has seen you guys.'

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

There were some people who possessed far keener senses than other regular folks, although there weren't that many. Such people would sometimes – not very often, mind you – discover that Jin-Woo was a bit different from everybody else.

Just like now.

'….Could this be one of the adverse influences I have on this world, too?'

He couldn't tell for sure. Jin-Woo recalled the pale, frightened face of the urgently-escaping teacher and tutted softly to himself.

It was then.

The speakers located in the athletics field issued ear-piercing static before commencing with the campus broadcast in earnest.

– The Headmaster-nim will now address the new students and welcome them to the school.

Jin-Woo stopped looking in the direction where Park Gi-Sool had disappeared to and shifted his gaze forward, just as the broadcast ordered everyone to do so.

It was a brilliantly sunny spring day.

Under the warm rays of the sun gently beating down on Earth, the headmaster's smooth forehead blindingly reflected the excitement these new students were feeling right now.

***

For a reason only known to him, Jin-Woo deliberately applied to a high school that was some distance away from his house. And naturally, he recognised no one in the new class.

'Well…. Isn't that obvious?'

He scanned the faces of other kids without feeling bummed out about it, a smirk slowly creeping up on his face.

He was already well past the age where his heart would start beating nervously from the burden of sharing a classroom with kids he didn't know.

If it was him in the past, he'd start greeting others even while under the vicious assault of awkwardness, but now? It just felt too annoying, so he didn't even bother.

While other kids were busy scanning their classmates to see what was what, Jin-Woo simply took out a book he brought from home and opened it up.

Maybe spending such a long time in the gap between dimensions, where there was not a sound to be heard, had changed him somehow, because he gained a renewed appreciation for reading a book in quiet stillness.

Besides, even though they were ostensibly his classmates, there was the age difference of several decades to consider here, so what could he possibly say to these kids, anyway?

Indeed, it'd be more preferable to share a wordless conversation with a good book, instead.

But then, just as he got ready to spend some quiet time with himself, someone actually approached him to engage in conversation.

"Uh-uhm…. Could you be…?"

The voice sounded a bit powerless. Jin-Woo raised his head towards where that voice came from.

The owner of the voice flinched a bit when their gazes met, but when he confirmed Jin-Woo's face, he seemed to have gained a boost to his courage.

"Y-you are Jin-Woo from XX Middle School��� Seong Jin-Woo, right?"

Who could this kid be? Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed slightly.

'Huh. He does look kinda familiar….'

However, they must not have been all that close, because he couldn't immediately recall this boy's name or things they did together. He tried to dig deeper into his memories, but then….

"Uhm, I…."

As if this sort of situation was a common occurrence for him, the boy with a rather faint sense of existence re-introduced himself without minding it at all.

"I'm Oh Young-Gil…. We belonged to the same class during freshmen year in middle school."

"…Ah-!"

Hearing the name helped Jin-Woo to remember.

He was none other than the boy that kept glancing at the group of kids getting ready to go to the internet cafe with envious eyes. The boy with the buzz cut hairstyle had grown up to become a high schooler now.

His facial expression now half made up of amazement and delight, Jin-Woo extended his hand for a shake.

"Hey, good to see you, Young-Gil-ah."

"Uhm….."

It seemed that shaking hands was a gesture still too foreign for a boy just entering high school life, because Oh Young-Gil was hesitating somewhat on what to do next, but eventually, he cautiously grasped the offered hand with a sheepish expression.

"Y-yeah, me too…."

As they shook hands, Jin-Woo felt this great sense of relief coming from the boy. Indeed, one would certainly feel relieved after finding a familiar face, a friend even, when entering a new school and a new class.

Jin-Woo formed a warm smile so the friend he met after a long time could feel relaxed now. It must've been pretty effective, because Young-Gil grew just a bit chattier than before.

"You live around here? My family moved house to the area nearby."

But, just as the boy's words reached there, Jin-Woo had no choice but to stop him for a bit, slightly peeved by the fact that he was unable to enjoy this unlikely reunion with a friend to its fullest.

"Hang on."

Jin-Woo turned his head to the side, and that was when four kids who didn't look to be a nice sort, even at a casual glance, surrounded him and Young-Gil.

"Hee~ya, hey man. You must be somebody important, right? You even have a glove?"

The hooligans pointed at Jin-Woo's left hand and cackled among themselves. Meanwhile, Young-Gil's complexion grew gloomier at the rather obvious approach of these fools.

'He's supposed to be a man, but he's just too timid…'

Jin-Woo found it rather unfortunate that his friend's expression was hardening like that and he shifted his gaze over to these four hooligans surrounding him.

The kind of faces and glare in eyes best described as worthless were the only things he saw.

These four might not have graduated from the same middle school, but they had been acting as local hoodlums for a bit and had become acquaintances as a result. After finding themselves in the same class, they took a look at the faces of their classmates and arrived at a consensus that there was only one hindrance to their plan of taking over this class.

And so, they were here to prod this potential hindrance a little and see what would happen. Other kids in the class were scared and couldn't even meet these four's glare, but in Jin-Woo's view, who had been fighting non-stop for almost thirty years, these four were….

….Quite adorable, actually.

The quartet, oblivious of how they were being judged, continued their mission to provoke Jin-Woo who had grown silent now.

"Hey, hey. Why don't you take off that glove? I wanna try it on, too."

"By the way, why did you put a glove on only one hand? Maybe, you have a Dark Flame Dragon on your arm, too?"

"Euh, euh, euh-! My hand! My right hand's Dark Flame is roaring out!"

Ahahaha!

They must've found something really funny, because all four of them burst out into boisterous laughter. Seeing them react like that, Jin-Woo formed a derisive smirk at them.

When he did, the glare in the four hooligans' eyes changed.

"Oh, you think this is funny?"

"Seriously, did this b*stard plug his ears with crap or something? We told him to take the d*mn glove off, yet he ignores us?"

"What? What gives? You have a tattoo there or something?"

It was then.

From his shadow, Jin-Woo heard the extremely agitated voice of Beru crying out.

[Oh, my king!!! Grant me the permission so that I can tear the heads and limbs off of these fools and make sure they can never ever disparage you in this manner!!]

'I ain't giving you permission.'

[H-however!]

'Stop it.'

Jin-Woo reprimanded Beru, and before the ant soldier's rage could be fuelled even further, he took his glove off and showed the hooligans his hand. When he did that, a hideous burn scar starting from his palm to his wrist was revealed for all to see.

"…."

"…."

The quartet of troublemakers became speechless from the scar that implied a pretty serious tale even at a casual glance, before they began mouthing some vague excuses.

"T-this guy, we were just fooling around, so why are you getting serious?"

"H-hey, dude. Put your glove back on. I might have nightmares about it now."

"Whoa…"

Perhaps realising that this should be enough, the quartet withdrew from there. Jin-Woo didn't say anything and put his glove back on, before powerfully stomping on a certain blotch of shadow on the floor sneaking towards the departing quartet.

'What were you planning to do after catching up to them?!'

[K-kkiieehk-!]

Beru was really incensed by those kids that dared to insult his liege, but Jin-Woo was ultimately successful in holding back the irate ant soldier. He raised his head again afterwards.

Wasn't this good?

He had already killed all the enemies that bared their fangs at him back in the gap between dimensions. Enemies that threatened him inside dungeons also lost their lives, too.

However, this place was Seoul, the Republic of Korea, where there were no Gates and no monsters to worry about. This was a place filled with peaceful, everyday normal stuff.

Jin-Woo was enjoying to the fullest this peace he achieved with his own two hands, so such a little provocation was nothing more than minor stuff to simply chuckle over and forget about it.

And that was why…

'I'm sure this much is fine.'

Jin-Woo's gaze shifted over to the back of the quartet.

When he did – the hooligans making their way to the rear of the classroom got tripped by the 'invisible something' and fell on their faces as a group.

Tumble, crash!!

Beru, currently being pushed down by Jin-Woo's foot, watched the boys tumble ungainly like that and shifted his dumbfounded gaze back to his liege.

[Uhm… Oh, my king….?]

'I did that for a laugh. You know, so I can laugh.'

Since that was humorous, everything was fine now.

Jin-Woo smirked softly and settled down on his seat again after seeing the flustered expression of the female teacher, who just so happened to enter the classroom at that exact moment to discover that four of her students had fallen face-first on the floor.

With that, his high school life began for the second time.

Chapter 251: Chapter 251

Side Story 8

5. Your daily routine (3)

Ding, dong. Ding, dong….

From the elementary school kids who'd find the embrace of their mothers more comfortable than their respective classrooms, right up to those teachers with greying hair and only a little bit left on their clock until retirement…

….The sound of the end-of-school bell, capable of re-energising pretty much everyone who heard it, rang around noisily throughout the school.

Most of the kids in the classroom formed expressions of ecstasy as if they were about to fly away. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo, sitting among them, carried a carefree face as he greeted the end to his school day in this place.

"Everyone, don't go home late because you want to hang out with new friends you made today, okay! Understand?"

Yeees-!

After the token replies, half consisting of mischievous voices of the male students and the other half high-pitched tones of the girls were made, the classroom became empty in no time at all now that the day's schedule had come to its end.

Jin-Woo deliberately took his time packing up his bag, before he spotted Young-Gil hesitantly and slowly approaching him like a full-bellied tortoise.

'….?'

Jin-Woo stopped packing his bag when Young-Gil cautiously asked him a question.

"Uhm… I'm heading off in the direction of the 'Gigamart', but what about you?"

'Ah, I guess he wants to get close to me.'

An easy-to-read relaxed smile formed on Jin-Woo's face.

'A minor favour shown when young can also become the start of a relationship later on like this, huh?'

Jin-Woo smiled for a little while, before shaking his head.

"Well, yeah, it's in the same direction, but there's something I gotta do first."

"Oh…."

As Young-Gil stood there in disappointment, Jin-Woo lightly tapped the boy on the shoulder and grinned brightly.

"Let's go."

Not too long afterwards, both of them exited from the school building.

"What? Track and field club??"

Young-Gil asked with a surprised voice, while Jin-Woo nodded calmly as his reply.

"Yup."

The reason why Jin-Woo chose this school, far from his home, instead of those nearby was because it was only this particular one that happened to have a track and field athletics department.

Young-Gil could only tilt his head when Jin-Woo replied that he'd join the track and field team from today.

'Was Jin-Woo good at track in the past?'

He remembered hanging around Jin-Woo for only about a month or so. The memories of him playing that game really well were the only thing that came to the boy's head, but he just couldn't recall Jin-Woo doing anything particularly outstanding during physical training or club activities.

No, Young-Gil simply remembered Jin-Woo doing pretty much everything at his pace – which was leisurely.

'A high school track and field club should be operated by only the talented students, though….?'

The boy suddenly felt worried about Jin-Woo and found himself unconsciously chasing after his friend. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo crossed the athletics field and approached the group of athletes loosening themselves up in the corner of the field.

"Mm…?"

Their attention soon shifted towards the incoming duo of freshmen. They initially expected the two to walk past them or change their heading, but their expectation turned out to be off the mark. The senior with the biggest physique took a step forward and 'greeted' the duo.

"What do you two want now?"

Jin-Woo briefly scanned the atmosphere of the team members and replied with a smile.

"I'd like to join the athletics club."

The senior with big physique, the captain of the track and field team Choi Tae-Woong, alternated his gaze between Jin-Woo and a shorter kid with a rather unhealthy complexion.

"You wanna join the club?"

"Yes."

"Both of you?"

Jin-Woo looked behind, and Young-Gil hurriedly shook his head.

"…No, just me."

After seeing Jin-Woo's continuously-smiling mug, the seniors grew interested and gathered around the freshmen.

"Ohh, what's this? We have an applicant wanting to join us?"

"This is my first time seeing a freshman barging in here and wanting to join the team, though."

"He's not playing around, is he?"

Choi Tae-Woong scratched the top of his head and scanned Jin-Woo from top to bottom before asking another question.

"You a student-athlete?"

"No, I'm not."

"Okay, you have experience running track in middle school?"

Although Jin-Woo was rather experienced in running all over the gap between dimensions to kill Sovereigns, that wasn't something he could refer to as his middle school days, or running track competitively, so he could only shake his head with a wry smile.

"No, I don't."

The seniors in the athletics club were ready to welcome this enthusiastic newcomer right up until that answer. But now, their complexions were hardening drastically.

A freshman who hadn't even run track competitively wanted to enter the athletics club comprised only of student-athletes?

Wasn't this kid taking high school track & field way too lightly?

One of the seniors blessed with a short fuse suddenly jumped into the conversation from the side.

"You haven't run track before, so why do you want to enter the team?"

Jin-Woo's reply was rather simple.

"There's someone I'd like to meet during the athletic meet, you see."

She was still in the middle school division, but without a doubt, she possessed enough talent to participate in the regional competition.

Well, she used to be an excellent athlete before she had to give up on that dream after becoming a high-ranked Hunter, didn't she?

If it was an athletic meet featuring participants from both middle and high schools, then wouldn't he be able to naturally run into her there?

Jin-Woo judged that, rather than forcibly get close to her and insert himself into her life that way, this might be a far better approach for both of them.

However, judging from the expressions of the seniors, it seemed that they didn't share his thought process.

"Athletic meet….??"

The expression of the senior with the short fuse, Jeong Gu-Shik, hardened like stone. Even if one was to look down on running track, there was a line one shouldn't cross.

Jeong Gu-Shik's anger shot up to the top of his head and he was about to roar out some choice words to chase away the freshmen, but then, captain Choi Tae-Woong formed a grin and gave his permission.

"Fine."

Jeong Gu-Shik looked back at his captain with an expression of a man failing to comprehend the situation.

"What?!"

"However, there is a condition."

Choi Tae-Woong used an expression that said 'Be quiet' to defeat Jeong Gu-Shik, and pointed at a glasses-wearing student busy stretching his muscles over yonder.

"You see that friend over there?"

Jin-Woo followed after the pointing finger and nodded his head.

"Yes."

"That friend is the worst runner in our team, a reserve from the second year. Meaning, you gotta at least beat that friend to earn the right to enter our team."

That was a bold-faced lie.

Even before he heard the explanation, Jin-Woo had already analysed that particular second-year student's abilities, and as a result, he began chuckling inwardly.

'At first glance, that student's thighs and calves look lean and thin, but they are actually hard and well trained. And confidence simply oozes from the rest of his body….'

Spying from the student's steady, relaxed breathing or his upright posture, Jin-Woo knew immediately that he was looking at no ordinary athlete here.

Meaning, the third year seniors were trying to make fun of him. How could Jin-Woo not laugh when their intentions were so easy to read like this?

Jeong Gu-Shik also belatedly realised what Choi Tae-Woong was trying to do and quickly changed his expression.

"Ahh, right! You said that you're aiming to enter the athletic meet, right? Well, in that case, a simple little admittance test like this is no problem for you, right?"

Jin-Woo didn't like the way this guy was grinning slyly like that, but still, asked back in a calm manner nonetheless.

"That senior…. Is he really a reserve?"

"I guarantee it."

Choi Tae-Woong replied in a confident voice, and the rest of the athletic team members had to try their best to hold back their laughter.

'He's a reserve, alright. Well, the truth is, he did finish third place in last year's regional meet, but he sprained his ankle during winter training so he's been demoted to a reserve spot, for the time being.'

If he were to get technical here, then Choi Tae-Woong wasn't really, really lying by saying that the glasses-wearing guy was the worst 'runner' here due to the lengthy unscheduled lay-off, and that he was in the reserve spot because of the injury.

Jin-Woo then replied in an easy-going manner to captain Choi Tae-Woong and his insidious smile.

"Very well, I understand. Let me try."

This b*stard, he fell for it!!

Not just Jeong Gu-Shik, but everyone in the athletics club shouted out "Hooray!" in their heads.

'A guy who can't even recognise the third-place finisher from the regionals last year wants to join the track and field team? Gimme a break.'

Choi Tae-Woong, standing in front of the group to deal with Jin-Woo, did his utmost best to hide his laughter threatening to break through his lips.

"Very good. However, just running the track like that wouldn't be any fun, so…. How about this? If you win, you get to join the team, but if you lose, you do the team's laundry and cleaning for one month, free of charge."

"Sounds good."

"J-Jin-Woo…."

Young-Gil tried to stop him, but Jin-Woo simply formed a smile that said: "It's fine."

'Let's see how long you can keep that relaxed face of yours.'

Choi Tae-Woong looked towards the 'reserve' student and shouted out loudly.

"Hey, Sahng-In-ah! Looks like you'll have to take to the track for this one."

The ace of the team, Woo Sahng-In finished his stretching exercise and raised his body up.

"It's not a problem."

He took off his glasses and entrusted it to another member of the club, suspiciously ominous aura shooting out from his eyes. Jin-Woo held the senior's fierce gaze while handing over his school bag and his jacket to Young-Gil next to him.

While the members of the track and field club were thinking that here was a chance to let a freshman taste the bitterness of life, Jin-Woo was deeply pondering inwardly just how seriously he should run so that the sheer mental shock his seniors no doubt feel wouldn't be as high.

"Hey, freshman, are you ready?"

"Yes, I am."

"Sahng-In, what about you?"

"I'm ready."

Jin-Woo and Woo Sahng-Min stood side by side on the starting line.

The former assumed a posture that best optimised one's ability to rapidly change directions and enter a battle at any time, while the latter assumed a posture solely designed for track competition.

This time, the team members didn't bother to hide their ridiculing laughter at Jin-Woo's weird posture.

"What the hell is up with this idiot?"

"And he still wants to join the athletics club? But, isn't he a d*mn beginner who doesn't even know anything about running track?"

Jin-Woo didn't pay any attention to their mocking words and controlled his breathing.

"Ready?"

Soon, Choi Tae-Woong's baritone voice signalling the start could be heard.

"Start!"

***

"Teacher-nim? How are you feeling now?"

"Ah…. yes, well…."

'Venomous Snake' Teacher Park Gi-Sool replied half-heartedly at his colleague's question after they ran into each other on the corridor, and with hurried steps, he quickly walked past the confused-looking fellow teacher.

Park Gi-Sool's crumpled expression easily spoke of his current mood.

'I ended up making a fool of myself in front of all the gathered students today….'

He definitely must have made a mistake. Without a doubt, his strange hallucination was the fault of not eating a proper breakfast earlier today.

It felt as if every student was laughing at his expense. He quickly evaded their gazes and slipped into the teacher's lounge, before spitting out a sigh rushing out from the deepest part of his chest.

"Fuu-woo…."

'Should I smoke to take the edge off?'

Since almost every teacher was a smoker, smoking in the lounge was permitted, which meant that this place was like a safe haven for the current Park Gi-Sool.

He stuffed a cigarette between his lips and stood next to the windows while lighting it up. Just as he mindlessly shifted his gaze down to the athletics field…..

….His eyes grew extra large and he hurriedly lowered himself below the windows while spinning around.

'W-what the hell?! Why is that kid running around the track with the rest of the athletics club members??'

It was then, the director of the track and field team entered the lounge and discovered crouching Park Gi-Sool.

"Ah, Park Teacher-nim!"

Wondering if the dizzy spell from the morning had come back again, the director hurriedly ran over to Park Gi-Sool and helped him up.

"Are you alright? You sure you don't need to stop by at a hospital?"

"I, I'm fine, thank you. Just feeling a bit dizzy, that's all…."

Park Gi-Sool made an evasive answer before asking back.

"B-by the way…. Why is the student named Seong Jin-Woo running together with the kids from the athletics team?"

"Ahhh…. That? So, that student's name is Seong Jin-Woo?"

The director took a look outside the window over Park Gi-Sool's shoulder and formed a wry chuckle as if he still couldn't believe it.

"It seems that a freshman just showed up and said that he wanted to join the team. Kids tested him out, and as it turned out, he has a talent, so they just couldn't chase him away. Apparently, what they are doing now is to test his stamina."

"H-his stamina, you say??"

"Yes. That's his 20th lap already. Just watching him going around is exhausting, so I quit first and came up here."

Sports, and sports clubs.

There was no better alternative to get rid of one's overflowing hot-bloodedness of youth than sports.

Several thoughts crisscrossed within Teacher Park Gi-Sool's mind, then. Student Seong Jin-Woo, the one he pre-judged to be a troublemaker, seemed to be trying his best to discipline himself by joining a sports club.

'It's possible that…. That I have been holding the wrong idea about him….'

Now that he thought about it closely, there was simply no way that a boy walking around with monsters would exist in reality.

Student Seong Jin-Woo was just another exceedingly normal learner still searching for a place to call home within the fields of academia and sports, after a lengthy spell of aimlessly wandering around in his life.

But here was a teacher busy going on about seeing monsters and phantoms and whatnot from a regular student like that…. The reputation of the 'Venomous Snake' had been thoroughly stained with this matter, indeed.

Park Gi-Sool chuckled meekly, stopped hiding, and stood back up.

'That's right…. I should look at him without judging him first. I'm sure that will help resolve all the misunderstanding.'

Seeing Park Gi-Sool form a serious expression before breaking into a chuckle, the director looked at him with a concerned face.

"Park Teacher-nim….?"

"Ah, no. It's fine now. I don't feel dizzy anymore."

"Oh… In that case, that's a relief."

Park Gi-Sool successfully made the director withdraw and slowly turned around to look behind him. He could now see a boy, covered in sweat and running diligently around the track while being showered by the bright, warm spring sunlight.

How could anyone point fingers at such a boy?

He focused his gaze on Jin-Woo, currently running steadily and unflustered even after lapping the panting and breathless members of the track and field team several times already.

'Indeed, this morning was….'

Too bad, even before he could celebrate himself…

….Without any warning whatsoever, Park Gi-Sool's entire field of vision was dyed in black and the spectacular sight of the Shadow Army stretching on endlessly entered his eyes.

He nearly toppled over from fright, but he forced his legs to steady himself and gritted his teeth.

'This, this is a hallucination. This isn't real!!'

It was then.

A certain ant monster standing in the front-most row of the soldiers kitted out in black armour, gazed straight at him and opened its maw wide.

[Khak!!]

"U-uwaahk?!"

In the end, Teacher Park Go-Sool did fall on his butt and lost consciousness.

[….]

Within the subspace in Jin-Woo's shadow, Igrit watched Beru's action and used his elbow to rib the former ant king in the side.

[I told you to stop that, didn't I?]

[Kiieehh…. That human can really see us, can't he?]

Beru lightly scratched the side of his head and before his liege could order him to, planted his head firmly on the ground first.

***

Late at night.

Detective Woo Jin-Cheol and the youngest detective in the squad stopped by a diner that served 'gopchang'.

Once enough alcohol entered their bloodstreams, stories they found hard to talk about during the day came out – mostly from the youngest's mouth, actually.

"Excuse me, Senior Woo….?"

"Mm?"

"You've been investigating that missing prisoner case until now, yes?"

What was this guy trying to say here?

Woo Jin-Cheol tipped his glass filled with booze, his head beginning to develop an ache already.

Unfortunately, completely oblivious of his senior's wishes, the youngest detective continued with his questioning time.

"That day… you really did see something, didn't you?"

"What day?"

Woo Jin-Cheol played dumb deliberately, but the youngest simply grinned and replied.

"Eii, senior, you… You already know, don't you? I'm talking about that day when the suspect went missing. Didn't you really see something that day?"

This kid, he had this habit of catching people off-guard when they least expected it.

'Well, that's a good talent to have as a detective.'

Woo Jin-Cheol recalled his own newbie days and formed a slight chuckle as he replied.

"What if I did?"

"Really?"

The youngest looked to be adequately drunk until then, but his eyes suddenly began sparkling and his ears even physically perked up. That wasn't so surprising, considering that the youngest was closer in age to being a student than a full-fledged member of society, anyway.

That was probably why he applied to the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit of the National Police Agency, reputed to be the worst paid but with the highest amount of workload.

Maybe the power of the booze circulating in him was to blame, or maybe, he just wanted to use this opportunity to get some stuff off his chest – Woo Jin-Cheol began speaking of things that he'd never even think about uttering in normal times.

"An ant…. Ant monsters."

Gulp.

The noise of saliva sliding down the throat of the youngest detective could be heard from where he was sitting.

"Even I can't tell for sure what I saw back then. In any case, those things looked like ants."

"Ant monsters, is it? Are you saying that giant insects like ants came out?"

"No, not that. Well, they were ants, but…."

It was right then.

Just as Woo Jin-Cheol spoke up to there, a certain man unsteadily tottering about, as if he had one too many to drink, stopped walking past the duo and addressed them.

"T-those ant monsters, are they monsters with the heads of ants, but bodies that look like humans??"

The heads of the two detectives, Woo Jin-Cheol and his junior, raised up towards the owner of the voice.

Chapter 252: Chapter 252

Side Story 9

5. Your daily routine (4)

Didn't someone say that the ground would harden after the rain had fallen?

Now normally, people would grow much closer when they made up after a big fight. But then, the bond between young boys created through sweat and drive to succeed was far hotter and stickier then any old saying could intimate.

"One, two! One, two!"

As the early dawn's fog thickly covered the school's athletics field, every member of the track team was energetically roaring out their rallying cries.

"Hey, Jin-Woo! How about it? Isn't this doable?"

Before anyone had noticed it, Jin-Woo was now permitted to run alongside the captain of the team, Choi Tae-Woong. The former replied in a refreshing manner.

"Yes, it is doable!"

"Very goooood! One, two! One, two!"

Choi Tae-Woong raised his speed just a bit higher and shouted out.

"Our goal is to conquer the whole country!"

"Our goal is to…..??"

The members almost subconsciously chanted after their captain's words, but they quickly caught onto the fact that their warcry had changed and began questioning their leader.

"Hey, captain! I thought our goal was the overall win in the regionals?"

"Uh-huh!! You're aiming far too low in front of our new ace! Again! Our goal is to conquer the whole country!"

"Conquer the whole country!!"

"The whole country!!!"

Glance.

The captain glanced at Woo Sahng-In, currently running behind him.

"Hey, Sahng-In-ah, are you crying right now?"

"N-no, captain!"

"Don't give up yet, ace of the second year! Although the ace of the team has changed, how can we conquer the nation without your aid?!"

"I… I shall do my best, captain!!"

"Very goooood-!! Conquer the whole country!!"

"The whole country!! The country!"

"Conquer the country! The whole country!!"

While the members of the team lapped around the athletics field, positively buzzing with a heightened fighting spirit, only Oh Young-Gil's complexion was turning blue amongst all the runners present. The poor kid ended up following after Jin-Woo and inadvertently entered the team as well.

"Pant, paaant, paaant…."

Jin-Woo, running out in front, heard Young-Gil's heavy, rough breathing and tutted inwardly.

He wanted to improve the boy's rather feeble constitution, so he said yes to the idea of one-plus-one admittance to the athletics club, but this….

….It was only a matter of time before someone keeled over at the rate things were going.

But then again, it'd not be an easy task to let Young-Gil escape in this atmosphere when the fighting spirit of the seniors had reached a brand new height that they had never seen before.

Left with no choice, Jin-Woo loaded just a little bit of Mana and sent it behind him. Like dandelion seeds being carried in the wind, the lump of Mana gently floated in the air and entered Young-Gil's nose and mouth.

"…..??"

The effects of Jin-Woo's Mana were an immediate stamina recovery, as well as a temporary boost to one's muscular endurance, reaction times, flexibility, and to one's rate of stamina recovery, etc….

Basically, it was a comprehensive buff gift set, filled with his desire to help out a friend.

Since it was a gift set straight from the Shadow Sovereign who reigned over in another world as basically a god, the effects of the buffs were rather incredible.

"Eh? Uh? Uhhh????"

Young-Gil's eyes opened wider and wider as soon as he inhaled the comprehensive buff set.

'Wha-what's going on?! My body, it… It's getting hotter?!'

Thick veins rose up on the boy's legs as they powerfully kicked the ground away.

Paht, paht, paht!!

One by one, seniors running ahead of Young-Gil were left behind, and then….

"Ohh, ohh!!"

Then, Young-Gil's solo sprint began in earnest.

'N-no, hang on a minute…?'

Choi Tae-Woong was instantly impressed by Young-Gil who managed to shoot past ahead of everyone. The captain loudly shouted out in excitement.

"Look at our newbie's fighting spirit burning up like that! How can us folks calling ourselves his seniors remain lukewarm when things are like this??"

"No, we can't!!"

"Definitely not!"

"We chase after the newbie with everything we've got! Let's go!"

"Let's do it!"

"Let's go!!"

Jin-Woo was inwardly worried whether he had given Young-Gil too much energy or not, but that only lasted for a brief moment.

The bright flames of the athletics team swept across the track today, as well.

***

While performing his duties of guiding incoming students from next to the school���s gate, 'Venomous Snake' Teacher Park Gi-Sool was keeping tabs on the track and field team diligently going through their morning training regime at a distance.

Contrary to his initial worries, it seemed that Student Seong Jin-Woo was getting used to the life in the track team without any problems whatsoever.

Heck, the headmaster even thanked Park Gi-Sool out of nowhere, too.

– I heard from the director of the track team that you, Park Teacher-nim, is always watching over Student Seong Jin-Woo.

– Ah, that…. Yes, more or less….

– Isn't the problem child behaving himself so well a fruit of your hard labour? With you around, Park Teacher-nim, I can truly rest easy.

– Oh, uh…..

The only thing Park Gi-Sool had done so far was to watch Student Seong Jin-Woo until he fell or lost consciousness. He became so embarrassed that he'd rather become a potted plant that the headmaster was watering at that moment.

That happened earlier in the morning.

Park Gi-Sool tasted this bitterness deep within his core whenever he thought about the headmaster's high expectation of him versus his own pathetic situation where he couldn't even look Student Seong Jin-Woo straight in the eye.

And that was why… Because of his circumstances, he ended up getting p*ss drunk and unloaded all the useless stuff off his chest to a couple of people he'd never even seen before in his entire life.

'Now why did I have to go and do something like that….?'

Just from recalling that night's events, Park Gi-Sool felt like tearing out all of his hair.

A few days ago, in a certain diner he stopped by out of sheer frustration….

"T-those ant monsters, are they monsters with the heads of ants, but bodies that look like humans??"

With their conversation being interrupted rather rudely like this, the two men shifted their curious gazes at the same time towards Park Gi-Sool, and that helped the school teacher to sober up real fast.

"Ah…. What on Earth am I saying��� I'm very sorry. Looks like I must be really drunk. Both of you, please don't mind me and carry on."

Park Gi-Sool politely bowed his head and turned around to head back to his own spot, but then, Woo Jin-Cheol actually called out and stopped him in his tracks.

"Excuse me."

The school teacher turned his alcohol-reddened face behind him and saw that Woo Jin-Cheol had gotten up from his seat to pull a chair closer to his own table.

"That tale of the ant monster…. Can you tell me more about it?"

Just where would anyone be able to safely tell the story of a teacher seeing strange things when looking at a student?

After being admitted to a mental hospital? Now, which parents would entrust their kids to a teacher who frequented the mental health institution's hallways?

Park Gi-Sool had been silently suffering all by himself, unable to tell a soul what he saw, but now that he was given a chance, he came completely clean as teardrops formed at the corners of his eyes.

"You see, I am someone who teaches his students with his charisma. Charisma, you know? So, where can I possibly go and speak of these things?"

Still, he felt a bit more refreshed, a load off his shoulders, now that he got to say the things he wanted to say. With that, he was given enough leeway to take a gander at his surroundings.

Even though what he said sounded like a lame joke, the two detectives next to him were listening to his tale with serious expressions on their faces. It was at this point that Park Gi-Sool grew quite curious as to what these people's story might be.

"By the way…. Why were two police detectives like yourselves discussing stuff like monsters in a place like this diner?"

Woo Jin-Cheol exchanged glances with the junior detective before explaining their circumstances – minus the bit about him actually witnessing the real monsters, of course.

"….And so, the brass ordered us to look into this matter, but well, it's really difficult to even find a single clue, you see. Right now, I wouldn't mind grasping at straws if that will help us."

Woo Jin-Cheol pulled out his business card and handed it over to Park Gi-Sool as he continued on.

"That's why, I'd like to stop by at the school sometime later on, but will that be fine with you?"

"Ahh, of course. Of course, we must help with the police's investigation. You can come and visit us at any time."

And so, the booze-shared diner experience came to a rather friendly end in that manner, but now…

Some time had passed since then, and after thinking about it for a little while, Park Gi-Sool couldn't help but wonder if he had unnecessarily made the situation even worse than what it was.

'How can a student have anything to do with the case of missing suspects…?'

Especially a boy who was wholeheartedly focusing on the club activities since early dawn?

Fearful that he might see another weird thing again, Park Gi-Sool couldn't stare for too long in Jin-Woo's direction, so he could only afford to sneak quick glances at the boy, instead. Eventually, he shook his head in resignation.

Then, he spoke to another teacher manning the school gate alongside him.

"Teacher Yun, my apologies, but I had a bit too much to drink last night and my innards are…."

"Ahaha, come on now, Park Teacher-nim. No need to apologise for that. Please, go back inside and take a break. I'll cover for you and keep an eye out here."

"Mm, thank you."

Before he went away, Park Gi-Sool took another quick glance at Jin-Woo and slunk off into the school building.

Only then did Jin-Woo shift his gaze towards the departing teacher, even though he hadn't shown any signs of noticing the glances right up until then.

'…..'

Recently, a teacher was staring at him in a rather open manner. He couldn't just gloss over what was happening here. From inside the darkness of his shadow, Grand-Marshal Bellion's quiet voice entered his ears.

[My liege…. Wouldn't it be better to erase that human's memories and take away his abilities?]

Back when he returned home from the gap between dimensions, after ending the war – as Jin-Woo stepped onto the ground of his home, feeling rightly emotional about his return, a proxy of the Rulers showed up and left behind some advice of sorts.

He said that, even if it was only a tiny bit of the Sovereign's powers, it'd end up causing a humongous change to this world. And that was why Jin-Woo had been avoiding interfering directly unless it was something utterly necessary.

'For now…. Let's just observe him for a little while longer.'

[I understand, my liege.]

Jin-Woo wordlessly stared at the entrance Teacher Park Gi-Sool had disappeared to, before turning around to leave himself.

The members of the athletics club who were heading off to the club room before him were waving their hands towards him.

***

Woo Jin-Cheol found himself hesitating several times in front of the school gate.

It had been a week already since he was gifted an unthinkable piece of a lead in a gopchang diner. Starting from then, right up until now, all sorts of thoughts crisscrossed in his head.

He could have treated that testimony as a crazed teacher rambling on about some incoherent nonsense. However, every now and then, a link would suddenly be established between two seemingly unrelated cases and that would lead to an untangling of a dark web that seemed impossible to unravel initially.

'The suspects that encountered monsters, and the monsters of a student that only one teacher can see….'

Woo Jin-Cheol found a vague link between these two disparate incidents. This was from the instincts of a detective, something that couldn't be explained by logic.

However, there was a problem – there was a massive hurdle to overcome here. If there was indeed a link, then what should he say exactly to the student in question?

He couldn't just bet everything on that drunken teacher's words and start questioning this student named Seong Jin-Woo about monsters and stuff, now could he?

As for asking a question in a roundabout way, the nature of the question itself was too broad for that, too.

– By any chance, do you know anything about these Shadow Monsters? What about ants that stand up and walk around like people?

No matter how hard he practised it in his head, he just couldn't picture the interview going down well at all. Woo Jin-Cheol pored at the memo pad containing detailed records of the investigation so far and spat out a long, long sigh.

'It'd be a miracle not to be labelled as a madman while asking around these sorts of questions….'

At the end of a long, long dilemma, Woo Jin-Cheol turned around to leave. He might come back later after thinking up another pretext, but for now, it didn't seem like the time was right.

And so, as Woo Jin-Cheol took steps to get out of there, he lowered his gaze to the ground without thinking much about his actions.

Shuk.

If it wasn't him, famed even among the fellow detectives for possessing a pretty keen pair of eyes, but someone else not as sharp, they would have missed a faint movement on the ground.

Without a shred of doubt, he noticed a blob of shadow move from the shade of a tree towards the school's wall.

He definitely saw it.

Goosebumps broke out all over his body and he hurriedly spun his head back towards the school.

'There is… there is definitely something here!!'

Woo Jin-Cheol's determination firmed up, then. He no longer cared if people pointed at him, calling him insane.

As long as he could find out the reason for this sense of loss that continued to plague him every now and then; as long as he could find out the exact cause why he felt his mind relax for a little while after encountering those ant monsters, then he'd not hesitate to pay any price.

With a hardened expression, Woo Jin-Cheol began walking towards the grounds of this high school.

***

At the same time.

Jin-Woo was spinning a pen with his fingers as he listened to the droning sounds of the geography lesson while the heads of many kids were dozing off all around him.

'Did he see the sentry I posted there?'

As expected of Woo Jin-Cheol, the former President of the Hunter's Association. He should no longer have any memory of his previous life, yet his sharp eyes must've remained intact.

Jin-Woo closed his eyes and recalled the very last image he had of Woo Jin-Cheol.

The image of him tearing up when Jin-Woo revealed his plans of waging war against the Sovereigns all by himself remained vividly etched in his brain.

Back when the late President Goh Gun-Hui died, the voice requesting for revenge also remained, unforgotten, in Jin-Woo's mind, as well.

Was that why?

Even though this 'visit' would prove to be rather troublesome in his efforts to maintain his current lifestyle of pretending to be a normal person, the smile etched on Jin-Woo's lips didn't want to leave him all that easily.

Soon enough, the knocking on the classroom's door resounded out, followed by the surprised voice of the geography teacher.

"A d-detective?"

"It's not a big issue, actually. It's just that, I have some questions to ask a student named Seong Jin-Woo."

Ohhh-!!

At the announcement that a detective had shown up, kids let out gasps of amazement and shifted their gazes to Jin-Woo.

The thing that was coming had come.

Jin-Woo's eyes remained closed throughout, but then, with that grin getting deeper, they opened calmly again.

At that moment, Woo Jin-Cheol was entering the classroom's door and his gaze met with a certain student's. Even though the geography teacher didn't specifically point the boy out, the seasoned detective knew that student was Seong Jin-Woo with just one look.

Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump….

Woo Jin-Cheol's heart began pounding away, as if it wanted to explode.

Chapter 253: Chapter 253

Side Story 10

5. Your daily routine (5)

Woo Jin-Cheol led Jin-Woo to the end of the school corridor. He only stopped walking once they got to a distance far away from the classroom where their conversation wouldn't be overheard by someone else.

Jin-Woo, quietly following behind the detective, also came to a stop as a result. He sneaked a glance towards the classroom.

For some reason, this sense of distance he felt by being a student that was looking into the classroom from the outside seemed rather large.

Perhaps Woo Jin-Cheol was conscious of that too, because the first thing he did was to apologise to Jin-Woo who was still looking back at the class.

"Sorry about dragging you out in the middle of class like this."

"No, it's fine."

Jin-Woo held back the words of 'I wanted to escape from there anyway because it was so boring', in consideration of the teacher doing his best to teach the classroom full of kids.

Rather than say anything, Jin-Woo looked up at Woo Jin-Cheol, instead.

The detective was young.

Since Jin-Woo had changed his physique to match that of a high school freshman, Woo Jin-Cheol was now actually a good head taller than he was, with much broader shoulders, as well.

'A guy who looked like he'd give a gangster a run for his money was actually working as a detective.'

A smile abruptly bloomed on his face after seeing a friend's face in what felt like aeons.

It had been years – no, decades actually, if he added the time spent wandering around the gap between dimensions – since he last saw the Association President Woo Jin-Cheol.

Even though Jin-Woo didn't want to show anything outwardly, there was not much he could do about his expression betraying him with a hint of happiness.

'...?'

However, Woo Jin-Cheol was immediately beset with confusion after discovering the smile on the student's face.

There would be only a handful of people alive who'd remain unflustered after suddenly being visited by a cop, and not only that, a detective with such a threatening face like his.

More than that, was there a reason to say anything else when the person in question was just a high school student?

However, this kid in front of his eyes was actually smiling.

'This boy…. Something's different about him.'

Woo Jin-Cheol felt it the moment he stepped into that classroom – this kid was different.

Thanks to his job being what it was, he had run into his fair share of murderers who killed many people, or gangsters that lorded over the backstreets with iron fists.

However, not even once had he meet anyone with a pair of eyes as calm as this boy.

'How can a student possess eyes like that?'

Gulp.

Unbeknownst to him, Woo Jin-Cheol swallowed back dry saliva from all this tension in the air. Starting from the moment he saw the boy, his heart was still violently pounding away for reasons unknown to him.

To dissolve the many questions swirling and circling inside his head, Woo Jin-Cheol pulled out his memo pad and began looking into it.

���By any chance, Shadow… no, wait. Ants…."

Woo Jin-Cheol was looking at the contents of his memo pad, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't form any coherent sentences. So, he pulled out a pen from his inner pocket, instead.

Jot, jot….

While Jin-Woo watched on with an interested gaze, Woo Jin-Cheol quickly drew something on the page of the pad and presented the resulting artwork.

"….."

Jin-Woo inwardly praised the detective's effort.

'This dude, he's actually a lot more talented in art than I thought.'

What Woo Jin-Cheol sketched just now was the general appearance of Beru.

Although it couldn't be called exact description, still, he got right the head of an ant, human-like hands and feet, the sharp claws, as well as the ant's wings on the back, etc, etc.

Anyone who knew what Beru looked like, they would recognise him from this drawing in an instant. Woo Jin-Cheol asked his question then.

"By any chance, can you think of something when you look at this image?"

Jin-Woo looked at the drawing for a bit before raising his head and spotted Woo Jin-Cheol and his slightly-blushing face. Even he should be aware of how ridiculous this whole thing must've looked.

But regardless of all that, he seemed to be desperate to recover the memories of things that happened to him, but were later taken away, even if that meant he'd have to resort to doing something like this.

Containing all of his desperation….

"….Do you know what this is?"

….Woo Jin-Cheol asked one more time.

Before the hints of embarrassment, as evident in the detective's voice, could grow larger, Jin-Woo quickly answered him.

"Yes."

Ba-dump.

Woo Jin-Cheol's heart powerfully rocked and pounded on his chest.

"Y-you know what this is??"

The detective's voice grew louder. But, Jin-Woo's expression was utterly calm in his demeanour, a complete contrast to Woo Jin-Cheol's.

"Yes."

Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes trembled violently.

Finally.

He finally found it.

His breathing quickened considerably, and his voice picked up just as the greatly urgent questions flew out of his mouth.

"What is this ant monster? And what is your real identity?"

Jin-Woo took a step back in order to avoid the agitated Woo Jin-Cheol. The latter realised that he made a mistake and quickly calmed himself down.

"Ah, I got too carried away there for a second. I've been chasing after this case for a while, you see."

One by one – he would dig into what this student knew, step by step. Didn't he have to go through so much hardship to find this clue already? So, there was no need to be too hasty now.

Woo Jin-Cheol managed to tide over his pulsing heart with those thoughts and spoke up with a much more calm voice.

"Alright. So, you know something about the creature in this image?"

"Yes."

Jin-Woo replied briefly with a nod of his head, before an 'innocent' expression formed on his face.

"Isn't that a monster that pops out from one of those special effects dramas that kids like to watch? Like, Kamen Rider?"

"Ah…"

Woo Jin-Cheol was immediately overcome with this sense of despondency, akin to watching a sand castle he built all day long get washed away by a single incoming wave. A small but heartbroken sigh leaked out of his mouth.

Since his expectation had been great, the ensuing disappointment was just as great, too. His hand holding the memo pad naturally dropped lower.

He looked so fatigued right now, so tired that he couldn't even hold that little pad up anymore.

For a brief moment there, he grew angry at this boy for needlessly stringing him along with his vague answers. But, well, what crime did this student commit exactly, when he spoke only of the things he knew about?

Woo Jin-Cheol forced a smile on his face.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"Is that all?"

"Yes. I spoke to your teacher, so there shouldn't be any issues when you go back.���

Woo Jin-Cheol spoke up to here and was about to pocket the memo pad, but then, Jin-Woo quickly addressed him.

"That image of a monster, can I have it as a souvenir?"

The detective looked at the student's bright expression, and a genuine smile floated up on his face. He opened his memo pad and stared at the sketch for a little while, before tearing the page out cleanly and handing it over to Jin-Woo.

"Here."

"Thank you."

As if he didn't want to get arrested by any lingering emotions, Woo Jin-Cheol spun on his heels and jogged down the steps as soon as the student bade him goodbye.

'...'

Jin-Woo remained in his spot and listened to the detective's footsteps echoing down the staircase. In the meantime, his shadow sneakily expanded to the side like spilt water and Igrit quietly emerged from there.

[My liege.]

"Mm?"

[Why… didn't you tell that person the truth?]

Igrit retained his memories from back when he was still a human, and thanks to that, he knew better than anyone just how sad and difficult it was for a person to be forgotten from the minds of those he cared about.

And that was why he thought of the Detective Woo Jin-Cheol's entrance as perhaps the most ideal opportunity that came knocking so far. Even if it was just one individual, wouldn't it be a good thing for the Sovereign to let someone know how he had saved this world?

There was this distinct hint of rueful longing in Igrit's voice.

Still, Jin-Woo shook his head.

"Being able to forget is supposed to be a god's gift to humans, you know."

Even if that was an artificially created result after using a Tool of God; Jin-Woo thought that he didn't possess the qualifications to choose which memories to erase and which ones to keep.

Only a god should do something like that. That was why he decided to let the former Association President Woo Jin-Cheol go in this manner.

[Are you sure about this, my liege?]

"Yeah."

It was then, Jin-Woo abruptly looked down on his left hand.

There it was, the evidence of the Dragon Emperor's powerful attack.

The burn scar on this left hand, earned from blocking the 'Breath of Destruction' head-on, couldn't be healed no matter what he tried. An unpleasant memory that couldn't be forgotten was rather similar to this scar – a wound that couldn't be healed.

Even if the person in question wanted it, was there really a need to deliberately bring those painful memories back?

Right now, not a trace of pain and misery that was suffered at the hands of the monsters and Sovereigns remained in the memories of people living on this planet.

And that was why Jin-Woo didn't want to let the memories of the past remain in the mind of the former Association President Woo Jin-Cheol.

[I understand, my liege.]

Igrit silently submerged back into the shadow, as if he accepted the explanation.

Jin-Woo remained standing on the spot looking down at the bottom of the stairs before turning around to enter the classroom.

***

Once the break came, the boiling interests of the kids finally focused on Jin-Woo.

Seriously now, just when would these kids get to experience a TV drama-like situation of a police detective suddenly barging into their classroom? It was only obvious that their unbridled attention would be focused on the protagonist of that tale.

Even the girls who were interested in Jin-Woo before but couldn't say it outright hurriedly rushed towards him and soon, a rather sizeable horde of people formed around his desk.

"What happened just now?"

"Hey, Jin-Woo? Why did a detective-nim come to school??"

Jin-Woo grinned softly at the burning curiosity of his classmates and spoke of the fresh excuse he just cooked up on the spot.

"Well, he's someone that I know, and he just stopped by to ask me about something, that's all."

"Wowsers, that's awesome."

"You're an acquaintance with an actual detective?"

"Jin-Woo, I'm so envious, you know?"

Jin-Woo found it hard to keep his laughter in check as the kids' interest began heading down a slightly unexpected direction.

'Young-Gil-ah, why are your eyes sparkling like that now?'

Still, thanks to the detective-nim's unannounced visit, it felt as if the invisible wall these kids felt around Jin-Woo had crumbled just a little. Girls took this opportunity to ask about those things they were dying to know.

"I heard from other boys that you got a killer body?"

"Really? Are you an athlete or something?"

"Ahh! I saw Jin-Woo running on the track with the seniors from the school's track team the day before yesterday."

"Wahh, look how broad his shoulders are."

Kyahk, kyahk….

As the girls surrounded him from all sides, Jin-Woo began pondering how he should go about making them quietly return to their seats, but then…

The quartet of the hooligans found one person hogging all the attention quite displeasing and decided to interrupt the fun.

"Hey, you. Aren't you getting really popular now? Even a cop came to see you and all."

Once this quartet entered the scene, the boys quickly retreated to their seats, while the girls began to quietly back away.

A boy named Nam Joon-Shik, the one with the highest position within the quartet, began slapping Jin-Woo's shoulder that played host to the curious touches of high school girls not too long ago. The corners of his eyes began curling up.

"Does me being mischievous like this count as school bullying? Are you going to report me to the detective-nim now?"

'….It's your hand that's gonna hurt if you keep hitting me like that, though.'

Jin-Woo stared at the dumb kid with apathetic eyes, and sure enough, Nam Joon-Shik's complexion began reddening gradually when he realised that his hand hurt like hell, but despite his efforts, his target's reaction seemed way too lukewarm.

"Argh, just why the hell are this punk's eyes so sh*tty, man?"

Nam Joon-Shik then swiped everything away on Jin-Woo's desk. Textbooks, notebooks, and his pencil case, plus a couple of other things tumbled to the floor.

Ten million-strong Shadow Army hiding in Jin-Woo's shadow all roared out in anger after they witness this show of force from the teenaged fool.

The teen hooligan didn't stop there and reached out to grab the collars of Jin-Woo, whose complexion had hardened just then.

"What? You wanna have a go? You better loosen up while I'm still being civil, got it?"

It was then.

A massive arm suddenly pounced from above and wrapped tightly around Nam Joon-Shik's throat.

"Keok!!"

The hooligan grabbed at the thick arm as he began choking pathetically, and in the meantime, a familiar face revealed itself above the pale-faced kid.

"You have business with our beloved ace of the track and field club, boy?"

That face belonged to none other than the captain of the club, the third year senior Choi Tae-Woong, and he was being accompanied by another third year, the senior with a short fuse, Jeong Gu-Shik.

All four members of the quartet found themselves trapped in armlocks and headlocks of their seniors, their complexions paling gradually from the lack of oxygen.

Jin-Woo wordlessly got up from his seat and picked up the pencil case. Jin-Ah bought this case as a gift to commemorate his successful admittance to the high school, so these four hooligans wouldn't have gotten away scot-free if anything had happened to it.

He dusted the case and placed it back on the desk before asking his question.

"Seniors, what brings you all here?"

"We showed up to dissuade our ace from beating the living crap out of four idiots."

"No, please. Be serious."

"Ahahahat-!"

Choi Tae-Woong's large framed quaked as he roared out in a peal of loud laughter before he continued on.

"I forgot to tell you guys that we were planning to hold a welcoming party for our new members later today, you see. You and Young-Gil both have free time today, right?"

Jin-Woo glanced at Young-Gil and the latter nodded his head.

"Yes, we do."

"In that case, see you both after school."

Still smiling, the seniors began leaving one by one, but then, Jin-Woo called out to them to stop their march out of the classroom.

"Seniors? Where are you taking those four still stuck under your arms?"

"Ahaha, these idiots?"

Choi Tae-Woong exchanged some knowing glances with Jeong Gu-Shik.

"Well, what should we do with them?"

"How about we do an easy lap around the track, captain?"

"Sounds gooood!"

Soon afterwards, the loud shouts of "Conquer the whole country!" slowly got further away from the classroom's interior.

***

Ding, dong. Ding, dong.

Several end-of-school bells rang around, and then, quite a few more bells later.

Jin-Woo stepped out of the school's gate along with the rest of the track and field club members.

Young-Gil had now grown to appreciate the joys of sweating after getting used to the training regime of the club, although he did receive a few timely boosts from Jin-Woo every now and then.

While Young-Gil was listening to the advice of the seniors as he walked among them, Jin-Woo remained a step behind and eavesdropped on the unfolding conversations.

It was, without a doubt, a peaceful sight of a normal day.

Jeong Gu-Shik walking up ahead and turned his head towards Jin-Woo and asked.

"Ah, right. Hey, Jin-Woo? What was up with those idiots earlier in the day? Should we the seniors speak to them 'nicely' so they won't start anything stupid later on?"

Jin-Woo replied with an unconcerned expression.

"Nah, it's fine."

"I'm not doing this because I'm worried about you. No, I just don't want to see problems suddenly crop up and prevent you from participating in the regional meet because of those idiots."

Jin-Woo grinned refreshingly.

"Don't worry. I won't let that happen."

It was then.

Someone suddenly popped out from behind the shadow of the gate's wall and called out to Jin-Woo.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

It was as if time itself had come to a standstill, just then. Jin-Woo froze up on the spot, and slowly shifted his head in the direction of that voice.

Detective Woo Jin-Cheol had been waiting for Jin-Woo until now.

The latter's voice trembled slightly.

"But, how…?"

Having finally gotten his confirmation from Jin-Woo's reply, Detective Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes began tearing up.

"As I thought… you are him."

Chapter 254: Chapter 254

Side Story 11

5. Your daily routine (6)

"That image of a monster, can I have it as a souvenir?"

A few hours ago.

As a souvenir for his reunion with Woo Jin-Cheol, Jin-Woo wanted the sketch of Beru the detective had drawn up on the spot.

'Well, it does kind of resemble Beru, so I want it because of that….'

Of course, a certain someone hiding in his shadow didn't think the same as his liege, though.

[Oh, my kinggggg!! I beg thee not to fall for that shoddy and crude doodling of a plebeian!!]

Beru desperately pleaded with his liege that he was nowhere near that ugly in the sketch, but Jin-Woo simply let that whining enter one ear and go out the other.

In the meantime, Woo Jin-Cheol stared at his own drawing for a bit as if to let go of all his lingering attachments.

Soon, though…

Riiip…

….He cleanly tore the page off the memo pad. Woo Jin-Cheol extended his hand holding the drawing to Jin-Woo.

"Here."

"Thank you."

Jin-Woo gladly accepted the sketch.

And during that process, the detective's hand briefly touched the tip of Jin-Woo's finger.

It was surely nothing important in the grand scheme of things. However, massive events that left their mark in history books sometimes began with seemingly insignificant little things.

Woo Jin-Cheol turned around and hurriedly descended the staircase.

'I knew it, this whole thing was a dumb mistake.'

Regret was rapidly filling him up.

Because he got too hyped up from the prospect of finding a clue, he ended up doing something that he'd be unable to explain even to the youngest detective in the squad with a straight face.

The sense of embarrassment and regret rushed in like the incoming tides, now that this was all he had to show for his efforts.

'Stairs always feel so d*mn long only on days like today, don't they?'

Detective Woo Jin-Cheol bitterly muttered to himself as he climbed down the staircase, but then, his steps had to come to an abrupt halt.

'Mm….?'

He suddenly heard a voice from somewhere, that was why.

– Association President. Do you trust me?

'…..??'

Woo Jin-Cheol froze up when a chill-inducing feeling crept up on his spine and he quickly scanned up and down where he was. He saw not one person coming down from the stairs or climbing up from below.

Classes were still ongoing, so the steps of the school were quite literally, quiet and still.

Woo Jin-Cheol tilted his head this way and that, before he tried to climb down the remaining few steps to the ground floor only to hear another voice again.

– Yes, of course, I trust you.

This time, it was his own voice.

'W-what the heck is this?!'

A person with an easily-scared personality would squat down or start screaming from fear by now. However, Woo Jin-Cheol wasn't one. He simply remained calm while he scanned his surroundings once more, before pulling out a memo pad and a pen as a sombre expression formed on his face.

'I'm suddenly hearing auditory hallucinations. Could it be that the sense of loss I feel or the ant monster I witnessed were evidence of something wrong with my brain?'

The end of a brief observation was signed off with a question mark scribbled on with his pen.

Woo Jin-Cheol felt rather weirded out now. He stuffed the memo pad inside his inner pocket and hurriedly descended the rest of the steps. And with a speed far quicker than that, he escaped from the school building.

But then….

….Yet another auditory hallucination rocked the inside of his head.

– In that case, I hope you will believe everything I'm about to show you.

"Euhk!!"

Woo Jin-Cheol gritted his teeth and covered both of his ears.

The voice he had never heard before and his own words that he never uttered before as well, began making a mess out of his mind. An intense bout of confusion crashed into him like an unstoppable tide.

"W-what the hell is this?!"

And then, out of all those voices swirling in his head, there was this one phrase that kept ringing so clearly in his head.

– Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.

– Hunter-nim.

– In that case, what should we…. No, what should I do to help you, Hunter-nim?

– Hunter-nim!

– Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!!

A name that didn't want to leave his head alone. The name of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.

'If it's Seong Jin-Woo, then…. Isn't that the name of the student I just met?'

He heard that patients suffering from mental disorders often came up with crazy stories that featured people from their lives. Could such a thing be happening inside his head now?

Woo Jin-Cheol walked forward as his body swayed unsteadily. He kept frowning in pain as a migraine viciously pounded away at his temples.

Even then, even if the inside of his head had become so complicated and messy to the point that he didn't know how to unravel all the tangled thoughts in there – every time he recalled the name 'Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim', it felt like the big hole in his heart was slowly filling back up for some weird reason.

Woo Jin-Cheol crashed down on a park bench and began murmuring repeatedly the name that continued to swim inside his mind.

'Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo…

That name holds the clue.

I definitely know that name, Seong Jin-Woo.

I must remember it.

I must drag it out into the open.

I must find all the memories of him, and the reason why those memories are erased from my mind.'

"Euh-euhk!!"

While still under an extreme case of a migraine, Woo Jin-Cheol fought hard to recall his memories and eventually, a certain scene popped up in his head.

"Association President. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course, I trust you."

"In that case, I hope you will believe everything I'm about to show you."

"Excuse me?"

The tip of a finger belonging to someone approached his forehead. The moment it touched his skin, darkness dyed his view for a short while but during that time, a countless number of images flashed past his eyes.

Those were the memories that connected the past, the present, and the future. And they contained the stories of Gates, monsters, Hunters, Rulers, and Sovereigns.

"This, this can't be…. Just how can such a thing be….?"

Woo Jin-Cheol couldn't finish what he wanted to say, and Jin-Woo, now the Shadow Sovereign, replied with a lonesome expression.

"Well, a higher being's memories aren't affected by the flow of time, you see."

Indeed, a Sovereign's memories easily transcended the boundaries of time itself.

"Pant, pant…."

Woo Jin-Cheol panted heavily and with great difficulty after emerging from the flashback of the 'past'. For a short moment in time that no longer existed, his consciousness was connected to Jin-Woo, who was a higher existence.

And it happened then; memories sealed tightly away somewhere within his soul had been unlocked through yet another contact with Jin-Woo, and were brought back up to the territory of his consciousness.

"Oh, my god…."

The sense of emptiness that felt as if there was a hole in the corner of his heart slowly filled back up, and warm tears began trickling down from Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes.

He then remembered the question he asked Jin-Woo after learning of what the latter was planning to do.

– Seong Hunter-nim…. Are you planning to fight these things? All by yourself?

The answer to that question, it was right in front of his eyes now.

A young man whose name was unknown, walking past the park bench while listening to music through a pair of earphones; a pair of lovers brushing past him while whispering their undying love to each other….

An old man out to walk his dog, and people loosening their muscles near the exercise equipment in the park….

In this world, in this place, there were no Gates. No monsters. No battles.

Woo Jin-Cheol now bore witness to the miracle that man had created through his hands, this incredible peace, and thicker, hotter tears began flooding out from his eyes.

"Seong Hunter-nim, you… did it."

Woo Jin-Cheol recalled the screams of so many people meeting their ends at the monsters and continued to weep for a long, long time.

'….No, hang on. I, I shouldn't be doing this.'

The veteran detective's rough, calloused hands busily moved about to wipe away the tears.

Even if the entire world had forgotten about the truth, Woo Jin-Cheol had to go and tell Seong Jin-Woo that at least there was one person who knew the latter had battled for the sake of the world itself.

Such a sense of duty began welling up in his heart, but at the same time, a sense of uncertainty also entered him, wondering if what he was about to do was for the sake of that man.

'He's spending his time as a regular student now, having willfully forgotten about his past as a Hunter.'

If he wanted to remind Woo Jin-Cheol of the past, then there were ample chances to do so. Jin-Woo could've answered his questions, or just like before, transmit a whole section of memories through nothing but a fingertip.

However, the youth didn't show any reactions when a detective showed up in this place through a series of coincidences, before quietly letting him be on his way.

Could it be that… he didn't want his peaceful everyday life to be interrupted?

If that was the case, then wouldn't them going back to their regular lives, while pretending to be none the wiser, be for the better for Hunter Seong Jin-Woo in the end?

Woo Jin-Cheol fell into a dilemma.

His dilemma grew heavier and harder to resolve and he remained stuck with it right up until students began leaving the school for the day. However, watching them cross the park one by one did help Woo Jin-Cheol with coming to a rather tough conclusion.

'….Right.

Rather than me deciding this, let's leave it to Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.

I'll call out to him, and if he pretends to not understand me, then I shall respect his choice.

However.

Even if there is a small reaction, then I….'

Woo Jin-Cheol hurriedly returned to Jin-Woo's high school. And then, he didn't leave the side of the school gate even when no more students walked past him.

He was currently acting on this groundless assumption that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo hadn't left the school yet.

And so, as he stood there for several dozen more minutes, while anxiously sucking on one poor cigarette after another….

"….I just don't want to see problems suddenly crop up and prevent you from participating in the regional meet because of those idiots."

"Don't worry. I won't let that happen."

….He finally got to discover Jin-Woo walking out of the school gates. Feeling genuinely happy now, he took a large stride forward and called out the youth's name.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

Ba-dump.

Just how much courage did he require to mutter out those simple words? Woo Jin-Cheol felt his heart madly pound away and waited for Jin-Woo's reaction.

Sure enough, the youth turned around to look, his entire body now completely frozen stiff. There was an expression of genuine surprise etched on his face.

"But, how….?"

The light in Jin-Woo's eyes told everything there was to know.

Having finally gotten his confirmation from Jin-Woo's eyes, Detective Woo Jin-Cheol began tearing up once more.

"As I thought…. you are him."

***

The two of them moved to the park in the vicinity of the school, the very location where Woo Jin-Cheol recovered his memories.

Sunlight reflected on the gently undulating surface of a small pond located in the middle of the park, creating ripples of ripe gold.

Woo Jin-Cheol stopped walking around there and opened his mouth first.

"I hope I didn't cause a problem between you and your club seniors."

Jin-Woo formed a thin smile and shook his head.

"They are good seniors. Sure, their competitive streak can be a bit much at times, but….."

Woo Jin-Cheol asked Jin-Woo if they could speak for a while, and the latter had to ask his seniors for their understanding on this one. Since there was a prior engagement, the older kids could've easily gotten unhappy at this situation, but….

"Don't be too late!"

"Until you show up to the welcoming party, we're holding Young-Gil as our hostage, okay?"

"S-senior?!"

The seniors from the track and field team didn't sweat it and left for the party venue ahead. Jin-Woo recalled Young-Gil's tearful face as he got dragged away by the seniors and smirked softly to himself.

"Still, the life of my friend is hanging in the balance here, so I can't stay for too long."

Woo Jin-Cheol broke into a gentle chuckle after seeing the youth's expression that showed how much he was enjoying his current life.

"In that case, I understand. Let me get to the main topic, then."

The smile was gone in an instant from the detective's face after he finished those words.

"How long… how long have you been fighting against those creatures in the gap between dimensions?"

According to the records, Jin-Woo was missing for around two years.

However, Woo Jin-Cheol had seen the overall combat force of the Sovereigns through the memories of the Shadow Sovereign, and he knew that the two years were simply not enough to defeat them all.

Jin-Woo cautiously replied.

"27 years…."

The moment he heard that reply, Woo Jin-Cheol sucked in his breath.

To think, he had to fight against over ten million enemies for nearly 30 years in the gap between the walls of different dimensions, where not a single thing could exist….

Woo Jin-Cheol couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult and arduous the battles must've been. For a long while there, he failed to come up with something to say, but eventually, forced his lips to part just a little.

"…..You don't regret anything?"

Jin-Woo's reply this time was instantaneous.

"No, I don't."

He could say this with absolute confidence.

"If I were to be given the same opportunity over and over again, I will make the same decision every single time."

Everything that happened – from when he and his father went to a baseball game while holding hands during the latter's off day; the doenjang stew mom cooked with so much care and love; his little sister's smile, bright and unclouded by the fear of the monsters….

….All of these were precious things that couldn't be measured with any financial value.

If the price he had to pay for all of these things was to carry the weighty burden by himself, then he'd not hesitate to carry it over and over again.

"I don't regret anything."

Woo Jin-Cheol heard Jin-Woo's composed voice and in that instant, felt his nose sting once more.

'Thank you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.'

He barely managed to swallow back those words that almost came out of his mouth. He knew that these simple words of gratitude could never convey his true feelings to Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, that's why.

He took a quick look at his wristwatch while thinking about the 'life' of the hostage and raised his head.

"It looks like you're living a wonderful life now."

Jin-Woo smirked softly.

"It is satisfactory, yes. Well, other than my body not ageing anymore so I need to constantly modify my body shape, that is."

'Eternal youth and immortality.'

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo had now possessed god-like powers after becoming the Shadow Sovereign. However, even though he possessed such powers, he chose to live the life of a simple, normal person. If that was his decision, then….

"May I ask whether you thought about what you'd like to do in the future?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet, unfortunately."

"In that case…. How about, you know, joining this side?"

Woo Jin-Cheol displayed the police identification card inside his wallet.

"You mean… the National Police?"

"Recently, many hardened criminals visiting our offices are all whining about the exact same thing. They say that it's hard to make a living with Shadow Monsters around."

Jin-Woo studied the identification card for a while and returned the wallet with a grin on his face.

"But, if I become a police officer, other cops won't have anything to do anymore, you know?"

"That's precisely why we're working very hard, you see – to create a world like that."

He hadn't changed.

From when he was the Chief of the Association's Monitoring Division, and when he was the President of the Hunter's Association itself, the expressions Woo Jin-Cheol had shown back then remained as he continued his life as a police detective now.

"I'll think about it."

Jin-Woo replied so and turned around to leave as he began to worry slightly about his friend's safety. Woo Jin-Cheol quickly bade him goodbye.

"I shall wait for your favourable reply."

"Please don't. I heard that there's a crap ton of work but the pay is pretty bad."

Jin-Woo waved his hand as he walked away, and Woo Jin-Cheol smiled gently as his silent reply.

'Lots of work, but rubbish pay, is it?'

A wry chuckle leaked out automatically from his mouth after hearing that wonderfully succinct assessment that left no room for a rebuttal. At the same time, he recalled the face of the youngest detective who actually volunteered to join such a squad out of his own free will.

'Isn't he off today, that kid?'

Well, so what if it was the junior's off day?

While thinking that he'd just call out the youngest and treat the kid to a hearty meal, Woo Jin-Cheol politely bowed his head towards Jin-Woo's departing back, now a faint silhouette in the distance.

As the only man who knew of that youth's sacrifice, he stood for everyone in this world and expressed his gratitude, perhaps for the first and the last time.