Woojin was facing the most annoying battle of his life.
"Please quit."
"I can't quit."
"You don't have to earn any money. I'm making a lot of money now. This is the money I earned in half a day." Woojin pleaded.
He opened the bank app on his phone to show his mother his balance. However, she didn't budge an inch.
She asked him, "You've only just returned after five years, how could mother thrust you back into such a deadly situation?"
Woojin spluttered, "Then do you want me to continue living by getting an allowance from you? Do you want me to stay unemployed for the rest of my life and mooch off the money you struggle to earn?"
Woojin smacked his chest in frustration, "I'll make a lot of money. I'll make enough that mother won't ever have to worry about money again. Mother and Sooah are my responsibility now. I've returned, so I'm the head of this family."
Tears started to fall down his mother's face. "Wo-Woojin. You…."
Her arguments caught in her throat, as the words 'head of the family' resonated in her heart. Five years ago, her oldest son had gone missing and even her husband had died.
The daughter she had late in life was only two years old, and she had always been a stay-at-home mom. Yet she had to continue living with such a heavy burden. It was probably fairer to say that she had managed to hold on, than live on.
Woojin tightly hugged his mother as a river of tears started to course down her cheeks.
But before the tear-filled mother and son could continue their conversation further, the owner of the restaurant coughed politely. She was Soongmi's mother, Kim Soonohk. If it was solely up to her, she would have kicked them out already for making a spectacle in her restaurant. But Soongmi had been frantically signalling her the whole time, so she had kept quiet.
She cleared her throat again, "I don't want to say something like this, but how can you just quit your job like this? I know what your situation is like, but you should have a conscience. You know how busy our restaurant gets, so work until I can hire someone else."
Woojin's face stiffened. He had no such compunctions at all. He wanted his mother to immediately quit this arduous job, but his mother's answer came out faster.
"Yes. Even if I do quit, a responsible person can't act that way. This isn't about money, so don't say anything." She said.
Woojin gave up, "Ughh. Then please quit this place within a week. Sooah needs mother more than me."
Sooah was only seven years old, and his mother had always felt guilty about how little time she had for Sooah. Perhaps bringing her up would be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Oh, husband. Look at our Woojin…
She didn't know what her son had been doing for the past five years, but he had suddenly shown up out of the blue. He'd told her that he was going away to prepare for his high school exams and then showed up in front of her with money in his account. For someone who scraped by from paycheck to paycheck, the money felt like a gift from the heavens.
Her tears wouldn't stop falling as she thought about her difficult days in the past.
"Mother. Hoo-hook. This is so sad." Soongmi also started crying, and an astounded Kim Soonohk passed her a handkerchief. She had never seen her daughter act this way. Even though Soongmi was her daughter, she wasn't a kind girl. Truthfully, she could be a bit of a bitch.
Normally, her daughter would call the kitchen lady auntie and vent her bad temper on her. For some reason, her daughter was acting like a chaste and modest woman today.
Woojin's mother regained a bit of her composure after crying, and turned to her boss, Kim Soonohk. "Do you think I could get off work early today?"
Woojin butted in, "If she doesn't let you off, then just quit."
Kim Soonohk groaned inside when she heard Woojin interrupt. In the end, she had no choice but to allow it. It made a big difference if a single person went missing from her kitchen, but it would be bigger trouble if Lee Soogyung didn't show up starting tomorrow.
Soongmi piped up, "Yes, mother. Please go out first. Have a nice time with big brother Woojin."
"O-okay, Ms. Soongmi." Lee Soogyung was bewildered by this new Soongmi. She had never seen her so personable.
"Big brother. Be safe! I'll see you again next time. Oh yeah. Here is my phone number." Park Soongmi snatched Woojin's phone like she was about to run off with it. Then she added herself to his contacts.
She smiled radiantly, "Heh heh. Have a nice day, mother."
After receiving their goodbyes, Woojin and Lee Soogyung left the restaurant. The dinner rush wasn't far off, but she didn't feel like working on a day like this.
"Uh. Where are we going, mom?" Woojin was getting dragged by Lee Soogyung in a different direction from their house.
"You'll know once you get there. What kind of relationship do you have with Ms. Soongmi anyway?"
Woojin was confused, "Ah, her? She used to be my junior in school. Why?"
"Mmmm." His mother didn't speak for a long time, and then stopped to face him. She looked him straight in the eye, and Woojin noticed traces of worry in her expression, "I don't plan on involving myself in my son's love life, but if you bring a bitch like her home, mother will be against it."
Woojin smirked at his mother, "I was wondering what you wanted to say to me. Don't worry, I don't have any interest in her."
The girl had given him a lot of stuff during Valentine's Day, but for him, it had already been twenty years since he'd last thought about her. The only thing he remembered was her face.
He hadn't any feelings for her back then, and he doubted that would change. Also, judging from his mother's reaction, he could guess how Soongmi had treated her. The only feeling he had towards her was disgust.
"Where are we going?" He asked again.
His mother replied, "You'll know once we arrive there."
Lee Soogyung took her son to a newly built apartment complex not too far from their home. The Hammer Guild had built their headquarters in the middle of the devastated region and allowed properties to flourish around them. That had allowed the creation of a massive park in one part of the neighborhood.
Lee Soogyung asked her son to buy a bottle of alcohol from the convenience store near the park's entrance. She went next door to the flower shop and purchased a single chrysanthemum.
She led him through a secluded path in the park until they arrived in front of a large monument located in the center of the park.
Several hundred thousand people had died during the Dungeon Shock. A lot more had died during the Dungeon Breaks that occurred, but the day of the highest casualties had always remained the day of the Dungeon Shock.
Woojin had disappeared on that day.
On that day, everyone who had used the subway system had died. As a result, a lot of memorial parks were built near the stations destroyed by the subsequent Dungeon Breaks.
Woojin wordlessly placed the flower in front of the monument and poured out the alcohol. He kowtowed in front of the memorial with a heavy heart. Lee Soogyung silently watched him, tears once again falling down her cheeks.
"Husband. Our Woojin has returned. Our Woojin...."
Woojin finished his kowtow and hugged his mother tightly. In front of her husband, his mother could no longer keep her composure and broke down in tears.
Father…
His father rose up in his thoughts, and Woojin became melancholy. He hadn't spared a thought for his father after he found his mother and sister struggling, but it didn't mean he had forgotten his father.
Woojin missed his father. However, the ache in his heart when he thought about his mother and Sooah was larger. He really was all too familiar with death.
Lee Soogyung dried her tears, "Please tell me now."
Woojin looked down at her, "What do you mean?"
His mother asked, "Where and what have you been up to in the past five years?"
"...." When he saw his mother's earnest face, Woojin struggled for a long time, but he ultimately decided to tell her the truth. However, the entire truth might shock her too much, so he tried to downplay it a little.
On Alphen, he had walked a cliff's edge to overcome countless near death experiences. His hands had snatched away lives like wheat as he struggled to live just one more day.
Because of what he'd done, innumerable people had looked at him with gazes of loathing and fear.
He didn't want his mother to look at him like that.
He carefully responded, "Uh, mmm. I think it was caused by the Dungeon Shock. I was summoned to a planet named Alphen."
If it had been before, she wouldn't have believed him. However, the world had gone through an impossible change, so the impossible had become just improbable.
"Alright. What did you do over there?" She prodded.
How should he explain this? Woojin thought about it, and opened his mouth after organizing his thoughts, "It wasn't too dangerous. Ah. It was like a game... I leveled up a couple of times and diligently hunted to feed myself. I ordered around my summons and even participated in a few wars. But mother shouldn't worry about that. I was just watching my summons fight from far away."
Lee Soogyung's expression stiffened, "...."
She sighed, "Aiigooo. I was so worried about you, but you came back after playing some game?"
Huh? That's not it.