Chapter 5
A long-awaited family reunion.
I thought we would exchange light greetings, being closely connected by blood, and then shed endless tears of longing and joy as we caught up.
But the reunion was completely different from what I had imagined.
When we actually faced each other, laughter flowed endlessly.
It's not that there were no tears, but at most just a few drops.
Perhaps because the same blood flows in us, my younger sister Seo-yoon's reaction was exactly the same.
When we first saw each other's faces, her eyes seemed to redden for a moment, but then she simply greeted me with a smile.
It was different from what I expected, but not bad.
No, I could even say I was happy.
In fact, a smile kept blooming on Seong-jun's lips.
"What's been making you smile like that since earlier?"
"I'm just smiling because I'm happy, don't mind it."
There really wasn't any big reason.
Seeing his sister sitting next to him on the bus and walking side by side made him break into spontaneous laughter.
For the first time in his life, he was keenly feeling what it meant to smile from happiness.
"You didn't suffer a serious head injury or anything, did you?"
"If it looks that unseemly, I'll try to restrain myself a bit."
"No, as long as you're not sick or hurt, just act however you feel comfortable."
Seong-jun's lips curved into another smile at her somewhat brusque but concerned tone.
'You really grew up wonderfully.'
Though I was an inadequate older brother, my only family suddenly disappeared.
Naturally, considerable effort, time and money would have been spent trying to find Seong-jun who went missing from home.
The already poor family finances due to mother's medical bills would have gotten even worse.
An impoverished life, an unstable family situation.
Considering that Seo-yoon was 16 at the time, in her adolescence, it could be said she grew up admirably, maintaining a surprisingly warm heart.
'Though it seems there are some worries...'
Her once clear and innocent eyes had become heavy and deep.
Even without asking directly, it was easy to guess the reason for this change.
'The family situation is still not very good, I suppose.'
It may have gotten even worse.
The disease our mother was suffering from was the mana syndrome, which appeared in 2038 along with the emergence of awakened ones.
It was a very fierce disease that couldn't be treated by ordinary means, but fortunately it wasn't a critical illness that threatened life as long as continuous treatment and management were received.
However, this also meant that normal life was impossible without ongoing care.
As a result, the monthly expenses for hospital bills and medications were not small, and the family's finances could not be abundant.
In that situation, the neighborhood we originally lived in was invaded by monsters, forcing us to move.
'It must have been an enormous burden.'
Although it was unavoidable circumstances, the government's compensation for damages was merely formal, and in reality the measures were absurd when examined closely.
In fact, on the way home, there were signs of poor conditions everywhere.
Carelessly scattered garbage, a terrible sewer stench, narrow and dark alleys, streetlights with broken bulbs inside.
Though trying not to show it, Seong-jun unconsciously bit his lower lip at the surrounding environment that could be called the worst without exaggeration.
'You must have had such a hard time...'
Feeling a painful ache in one corner of his heart at the even more serious family situation in his absence, Seong-jun said:
"There's no need to worry anymore, just trust in your big brother."
At the sudden words, seeing Seong-jun's gaze busily scanning the surroundings, Seo-yoon tried to smile calmly.
"I've been managing well enough on my own, so there's no need to worry like that."
Seong-jun chuckled at the bold response.
"You've really become an adult."
His sister was no longer the child that remained in his memories.
She was trying to be considerate and understanding as a full-grown adult.
As feelings of pride and admiration were blooming in one corner of his heart:
"I can put up with everything else, but if possible, could you maybe change your way of speaking?"
"...I'm sorry, I hadn't thought about it at all."
Seong-jun's eyes wavered.
Come to think of it, his current speech patterns and habits were those of the Thousand Continent and the Demon God.
Originally he had the personality of an ordinary Korean youth, but after living for no small amount of time as a Blood Demon and then Demon God in the Thousand Continent, his speech naturally gained weight.
Those who knew the Demon God Seong-jun would accept it as a matter of course, but from the perspective of modern people on Earth, it might make him seem somewhat strange.
'I should change it.'
Though it would be a bit awkward at first, it was better to change now that he had returned to the modern era.
'There seem to be more things to change than I thought.'
As Seong-jun was picturing the future in his mind, Seo-yoon who had been walking ahead stopped in her tracks.
In front of the entrance to a semi-basement home where little light reaches.
This was the house where his family lived. Seong-jun's brow furrowed at the extremely poor living conditions.
'It seems the family's financial situation is even worse than I expected.'
However, since he was going to change everything from now on, there was no need to show his concern.
In the first place, what mattered now wasn't the immediate living environment.
It was that the moment had come to reunite with the family and parents he had longed for so much.
Thump! Thump!
As he was taking a deep breath to forcibly suppress his heart that was trying to race again,
"There's no need to be so nervous, they both said they can't come right away because of urgent business."
Creak-
Indeed, even after flinging the door wide open, there wasn't even a hint of presence from inside the house.
"I see... I mean, really?"
"But they said they'd try to leave work as soon as possible, so they should be here soon. It's just because they're really busy, so don't feel too hurt."
The tension that had built up in his heart imagining a dramatic reunion instantly drained away.
After that brief moment of relief passed, suddenly one corner of his chest began to ache.
Of course, it wasn't because he wasn't welcomed.
A son who had been missing for 5 years has returned.
It was truly like a dream, but the situation was so bad that they couldn't suddenly leave their workplace even to live through tomorrow or next month.
As a bitter taste lingered in his mouth, Seo-yoon who had skillfully taken off her shoes and entered the house asked a question.
"Did you eat?"
"Fortunately they took good care of me at the shelter."
"Then we can talk right away."
"About what?"
"The Association said you're a returnee, where and how did you live?"
As mentioned earlier, the current Earth is a world where awakened ones and returnees live.
There was no reason to hide it, so I boldly shared all the stories about the Thousand Continent and everything else.
"It all started in a place called the Thousand Continent..."
The circumstances of joining the Blood School, ascending to Blood Demon and dominating the Thousand Continent, and the tales of rising to the position of Demon God.
After listening silently for 30 minutes, Seo-yoon carefully opened her mouth.
"So you're saying you were the Demon God?"
"Yes."
A faint smile appeared on Seo-yoon's lips at the calm answer.
"All real returnees are the same."
It's an understandable reaction.
Most returnees were extremely boastful.
They all claimed they were the strongest, the supreme beings.
Of course, it was a lie told to get good treatment and high salaries by packaging themselves as best they could.
So in the past, Seong-jun himself had the same reaction as his sister.
But from Seong-jun's position, who hadn't told a single lie, he couldn't help but feel somewhat wronged.
"I'm telling the truth."
"I didn't say I don't believe you. I believe everything you say, since it's you saying it."
Having dealt with all sorts of people as a Blood Demon for no small amount of time, he could read a person's intentions to some extent just by looking at their facial expressions.
There was still a bit of a smile mixed in Seo-yoon's expression, but she wasn't lying.
'Come to think of it, she was like this in the past too.'
Even when I made excuses that made no sense or told lies, she would just let it slide without saying anything.
I felt so grateful yet sorry.
Newly, I could understand why I had wanted to return to Earth so badly.
'It was because I had family like this.'
Even if I had enormous wealth, power, and strength, there was no one who would truly be on my side without any words or conditions.
She just believes me.
"You really went through a lot. It must have been incredibly difficult, thank you for coming back safely, brother."
Seong-jun's lips naturally curved into a pleasant smile at the warmth of his family's sincerity filling his heart, that sensation of fullness in one corner of his chest.
"You went through a lot too."
"This is getting too cheesy so I can't say more, and my curiosity is satisfied, so I'll go rest in my room until our parents arrive. Let me know if you need anything."
Perhaps feeling awkward at the atmosphere, Seo-yoon tried to get up from the floor, but it didn't go as planned.
"Ugh...!"
For a brief moment, Seo-yoon clutched her waist and spoke with an embarrassed expression.
"I must have worked too hard yesterday. It doesn't usually hurt this much..."
Seong-jun's pupils dilated.
"Aren't you attending school?"
At 21 years old, she should be in university studying.
It wasn't just because of her age that he assumed she would be in university.
Seo-yoon was quite bright, and she also worked very hard herself.
In fact, she had always maintained the top rank in her school, so he thought she would have naturally entered one of the top universities in the capital region.
"How could we afford university with our family's situation?"
"..."
Seong-jun bit his lower lip hard at the bitter smile that flowed across Seo-yoon's lips.
"Don't make that expression. I'm doing this work because I want to help the family."
At her firm tone, he couldn't bring up anything more about university.
"...What kind of work are you doing that your back hurts so much at such a young age?"
"I mainly do restaurant assistant work, and I take any part-time jobs that pay well. But yesterday happened to be logistics work, so that's probably why. It's not something to worry too much about."
Contrary to her words, Seo-yoon was still clutching her waist with a pained expression. Seong-jun immediately stood up.
"Let me take a look."
"Huh? Oh, okay..."
Seong-jun placed his hand on her waist and flowed his inner energy to examine Seo-yoon's back.
The bone was slightly twisted.
This was also causing problems with her spine, preventing proper blood circulation.
She must have been extremely tired every day.
"You must have moved a lot of heavy things yesterday."
"There was a huge amount of cargo, but how did you know?"
Of course, her back wasn't damaged like this just because of yesterday's work.
It happened because she had been overworking her body for quite a long time without proper rest.
She's still young so she only feels pain occasionally, but it's not something that should be left untreated.
'If it gets worse, she'll experience terrible pain.'
In the worst case, she might not be able to use her back at all.
It needs to be fixed right away.
"Lie down for a moment."
"This happens sometimes, it's really not something to worry about."
Perhaps because of his earlier spot-on words, contrary to what she was saying, Seo-yoon was carefully lying face down on the floor.
Seong-jun placed his hand on his sister's back and drew up his inner energy.
'The twisted bone fundamentally needs to have its balance corrected, but for now I should be able to straighten out the tangled blood vessels.'