CH 23

He was one of the best S-Class Awakeners. His head knew it, but his heart didn’t understand. To Hyeon-woo, Seon-woo was still his lovely little brother.

He abandoned a child who was only 11 years old for 10 years, but he had grown well without him. It was an unfamiliar feeling that made his heart constrict, as if he felt happy but guilty at the same time.

As the corners of Hyeon-woo’s eyes turned red, water droplets began to form inside his eyes. And he was now able to say what he had been wanting to say this whole time.

“I am back.”

At that, Seon-woo rolled his eyes in happiness and smiled.

“Come on, Hyung.”

In the house where they lived long ago, the brothers exchanged greetings of reunion.

“Now please don’t disappear again.”

“Un, I won’t disappear.”

“Promise.”

Hyeon-woo curled his pinky around the one that Seon-woo extended. He reiterated the promise he had made whenever he left the young Seon-woo. Now, even if something worse than that happened, not even if that fairy came, he would not leave Seon-woo’s side.

“Perfect!”

The director muttered with an ecstatic expression on his face. He had prepared the script in advance, but it ended up being totally unnecessary. The story was unfolding in its raw form, so what was the use of a script here?

It was worthwhile to follow along despite sweating a bucketful.

‘The scene is so good.’

Ji Seon-woo was a rare handsome man. The Hyung was also a different breed of handsome. Wouldn’t it be nice if those two got along together?

The director naturally looked around the room and followed the two out to the yard. After that, filming continued smoothly. They would have to edit it to find out, but it seemed like something great would be born.

Filming ended late in the evening. He filmed in the town he used to live in, went to the Seon-Hyeon Guild, and looked around for a while. Neither Seon-woo nor Hyeon-woo had a tense personality, so there was nothing particularly difficult about it.

“When will the edited version come out?”

A-yun asked the director.

“I think if I stay up all night, I will finish it by next week.”

“Then I’ll check it out as soon as it’s finished.”

The broadcast date had already been set. It was to be premiered on HBC’s prime time. Originally, a documentary called 『Human Age』 was being aired at that time, and it was a fairly popular program. She was thinking of pushing this into the pro’s hands.

Of course, She was planning to do thorough publicity. A-yun looked at Seon-woo who was having a conversation with the director. Ja-yun and A-yun were also close siblings, but they seemed to be closer.

‘If you drive, I will carry you.’

Then his gaze turned to the side. Seon-woo, he was his older brother, so it was okay, but Do-jin was not. He was treating an adult male as if he had grown up rather quickly. In the evening, he covered him with a blanket to avoid being cold and gave him a hot drink he bought from somewhere.

‘It hasn’t been a long time since the two of you met each other.’

Just by looking at what he was doing, he seemed to be treating someone important. It was a little different to ask Seon-woo or Hyeon-woo directly but Do-jin was different. A-yun sneaked to Do-jin’s side.

“Hello?”

She couldn’t say hello properly before, so she said hello again. Then, Do-jin looked down at A-yun with an indifferent face.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“I think the weather was nice today and it was perfect for filming.”

“Yeah.”

It was a short answer that was cold enough for anyone else to back away, but who was his opponent? It was her. She naturally continued the story.

“By the way, how did you become close with Hyeon-woo? You two seem friendly with each other. Do you have any tips?”

“…Do we look friendly?”

Do-jin asked. That was pretty friendly enough! Who would have acted like that to a person he was not even close to?

“Yes, you look friendly.”

Do-jin turned and looked at Hyeon-woo. Being young, Do-jin’s emotional state was something that A-yun couldn’t understand. She thought it was pretty quick.

“It’s not like that.”

After a while, a negative answer came.

“Sure?”

“I am just paying for my sins.”

What sin? If he was doing that, A-yun would also have to repay Hyeon-woo for her sins. She was involved in the plan to kidnap him, after all. Or was there some other reason? A-yun smiled and continued the conversation casually.

“Then I must pay something back too. What should I do?”

A-yun tilted her head and bumped her fist with her open palm as if she’d gotten an idea.

“Shall we ask Hyeon-woo? Is there anything he wants?”

“Ji Seon-woo will not welcome you.”

Did that mean that Ji Seon-woo reluctantly allowed Do-jin to be next to Ji Hyeon-woo? There might be room for prying in though. A-yun ordered someone else to buy some drinks from a nearby store.

After that, she approached Hyeon-woo with a drink on a paper tray.

“Now that autumn is over, it’s a bit chilly.”

“I know. Right.”

Hyeon-woo quickly accepted the words. Seon-woo next to him was staring at him, but he didn’t really stop him. So far it was fine.

“I bought some drinks; would you like some?”

“I already have something to drink.”

“You can drink one more. What do you like? I bought several types too.”

Then Hyeon-woo looked at this side in curiosity. In the meantime, A-yun sat down on a chair placed nearby.

“There’s strawberry latte, and there’s also hot chocolate. How about grapefruit-ade?”

“Grapefruit-ade?”

He seemed to be intrigued. A-yun took grapefruit-ade from the tray and handed it to Hyeon-woo. Hyeon-woo handed the cup he was holding to Seon-woo and took the grapefruit-ade. And after chugging it down, he frowned.

“It’s bittersweet.”

And then he kept drinking.

“But it’s also sweet.”

“Isn’t it strange? That is the charm of grapefruit-ade.”

A-yun replied with a smile. ‘Okay, let’s continue on like this.’ Then they might be able to get closer in a few days. He seemed to be good at talking to Do-jin. A-yun smiled and pulled out another drink.

***

Tododok.

A hand tapped the phone at an extraordinary speed.

- Hey, did you see that?

- What?

- The documentary rerun on Friday evenings, “Human Age.” I heard that Ji Seon-woo will appear in it.

- Really? I need to see it! The story of an S-Class Awakened isn’t easy to see.

- I agree. But seeing the trailer, I just can’t wait. It’s said that one more person will appear.

- Who is it? I only heard that Ji Seon-woo was going to show up

- I don’t know. It stimulates a lot of curiosity, though. I’m going crazy because I’m curious.

- I hope it’s Friday soon!

Firstly, the trailer brought an explosive reaction in the general public.

Usually S-class Awakeners were called the Sky. It was because they were so high up above and difficult to understand. But all of that was broken because of Ji Seon-woo, who first appeared in a TV documentary.

It was also about that time that Awakeners approached the general public in a more friendly manner. After that, the number of appearances on TV of the Awakeners increased too. It didn’t bring about as much craze as when Ji Seon-woo appeared, but it was enough to satisfy the curiosity of the general public.

Thus, more and more people became fond of Awakeners, and children often write their hopes for the future to be one of the awakened. However, after that one documentary, Ji Seon-woo hadn’t appeared in any media. People were saddened by that fact.

Meanwhile, it’s said that Ji Seon-woo would appear in 『Human Age』. There was also an unknown person that would make an appearance! Naturally, it piqued everyone’s curiosity.

At every place where people gathered, stories and theories about the documentary came and went.

“Isn’t Friday coming soon?”

“Ah, are you going to watch 『Human Age』 too?”

“You should see it! Ji Seon-woo appears in it. Now he’s 21, and he’s one of the world’s best S-Class Awakeners!”

“Ugh, I want to see him soon.”

“Me too!”

The response to the trailer was explosive, so the price of advertisements before and after 『Human Age』 skyrocketed. HBC screamed joyfully. A-yun was the same.

“Wow, look at this. Oppa!”

A-yun pushed the tablet in front of Ja-yun with an excited expression.

“The reaction is amazing!”

Ja-yun stroked his younger sister’s hair.

“Yeah, it’s okay because you did great too.”

“Why, you don’t like your oppa?”

“The fact that the response is so good means that Ji Seon-woo is very popular.”

“It is not just that.”

In that sense, she felt a sense of crisis. A-yun retrieved her tablet, which she had pushed on him.

“Still, my oppa is very popular.”

“Not like Ji Seon-woo.”

“It’s still higher than Uncle Ga-jun.”

“He’s not the kind of person who thinks and moves like that.”

Apart from this conversation, they discussed about the meeting with the First-Generation.

“You can feel the loneliness of the child, can’t you?”

“More than that, are you prepared for an interview with the First-Generation?”

“Yes. I’ve put together a detailed list of questions to ask. He said he would answer anything, so I wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.”

Anyone wants to leap to a higher place. Ja-yun and A-yun also had such desires. At the very least, they didn’t want to stop at third place in the guild ranks. So, it was natural to prepare thoroughly.

“Someday, back to normal!”

“To normal.”

The two immediately looked at each other and exchanged a smile. Time passed without exception afterwards.

Friday night, 9pm.

HBC documentary, “Human Age.”

Start broadcasting!

『Ji Seon-woo, the illuminating hero.』

It started with the title of a previously aired documentary. Some of the content of the documentary the PD shot in the past passed quickly. And finally, the scene, where the producer asks Ji Seon-woo, who laid down a white chrysanthemum in front of a grave.

『If you were to meet your brother again, what would be the first thing you would say? 』

At those words, Ji Seon-woo, who was looking down at the chrysanthemum with a forlorn expression, slowly shut his eyes and opened them. And said with trembling lips.

『Hyung, please come back quickly. 』

The camera angle changed and mirrored the gray gravestone. Then, something small fell on it and spread out in a small circle.