CH 24

Tears. It was tears. Everyone knew it even without seeing it. The first tears of an S-Class Awakened anyone had seen.

Then, the changed angle illuminated the sky and fell down to show the earth slowly. It reflected the back of Seon-woo, who was getting farther away.

Then the music played with the appearance of the scenery, and a new title appeared.

『Family of Heroes』

The background changed again. This time, it was a cozy and neat studio. On a chair in the center of the studio, Ji Seon-woo, dressed in a different and more comfortable outfit than the usual, was sitting.

「Hello. 」

After hearing the greeting of the invisible reporter, Ji Seon-woo greeted back.

「Hello. 」

「It has been two years since the first documentary. How have you been? 」

At those words, Ji Seon-woo smiled faintly.

「Well. How have you been? I do not know. 」

「Why do you think so? 」

「Because every day was like hell to me. 」

「Seon-woo-nim has everything as an S-Class Awakened. But why did you have such a tough time? 」

「You have everything? It’s not like that. For me, there is only one thing I lack. 」

「What is that? 」

Then, a word popped up in the corner of the screen.

[Family]

「It’s my Hyung. 」

「Oh, I remember. It was from the first documentary. I mean, the Hyung who is said to be the First-Generation missing person... 」

The ratings began to soar sharply.

Hyeon-woo hugged a large cushion and looked at the TV with an excited face. It was amazing to see his brother next door doing the broadcast. In the meantime, he would have almost felt that way if he could watch it there in person, but he couldn’t watch the outside broadcast.

“That’s so awesome.”

When he looked at Seon-woo with his eyes lit up, Seon-woo was looking away with an awkward expression. Even the best of the world could feel ashamed in front of their Hyung.

“But how did you come up with the idea of going on a TV show the first time?”

“It was concluded that the mass media would be effective in promoting the image of the Seon-Hyeon guild, and.”

“And?”

“You can watch the show anywhere. Rumors spread quickly too. If you are somewhere else on Earth, you can see it too. That’s what I wanted.”

“Ugh.”

Hyeon-woo let go of the cushion he was holding, approached Seon-woo and sat down next to him. Then he gently stroked his brother’s head, who was still looking elsewhere. Then, Seon-woo lowered his head to match his height.

‘Damn Fairy.’

He wished he could have come sooner. His brother had been waiting so long like this. The past years felt wild. Because of that fairy, he couldn’t protect his brother, nor did he see him grow up.

“Do you have any pictures of your childhood? Any photos taken during middle school or high school.”

When he asked in anticipation of the graduation album, Seon-woo put on a troubled expression.

“No. I didn’t go to school after awakening.”

Hyeon-woo was shocked by those words.

“Then did you not study something!”

“I took the GED later. Just because it was good to have some knowledge.”

“What about your memories of school days?”

“I don’t really need it?”

Where he goes on with the things he didn’t need! Hyeon-woo swallowed the rising resentment. If he could have stayed by his side, he would have been able to help Seon-woo properly graduate from a school. He himself was not here at the most critical time. It was so upsetting.

The next time he meets the fairy, he would rip those limbs apart.

“I was really okay with it.”

Seon-woo continued to say it was okay, but his heart did not calm down easily.

“Rather than that, let’s finish watching the rest of the broadcast. Didn’t you want to listen to what I am going to say?”

“…I must see it.”

Hyeon-woo turned his gaze back to the TV.

On the screen, Seon-woo continued talking calmly.

「Yes, I have only one person I can call family. 」

This time, another text appeared on screen from below.

[Sincere, and Affectionate]

The screen stayed like this the whole time: not too gloomy, but not too bright either. But it was so stirring that it struck people’s hearts.

「How old were you when your Hyung disappeared? 」

「I was 11 years old. 」

「Who is your guardian? 」

「There was none. My only guardian was my Hyung. 」

「Then how old was your Hyung? 」

「He was 15. 」

So, he was only a sophomore in junior high school.

However, the little boy tried to do a lot for his younger brother. Every morning he delivered newspapers, trying to make some money. The process was not easy, but he tried not to fall apart, thinking of his younger brother.

“Ugh.”

Hyeon-woo covered his face with a cushion. His brother’s story was fine, but he was embarrassed to hear his own story.

“It’s hard to listen to.”

As he mumbled with his face covered, Seon-woo laughed out loud.

“Why is it not good?”

“It sounds like you’re exaggerating too much. It wasn’t like that.”

“No. You’ve worked hard enough.”

His stomach churned at Seon-woo’s words.

“Do you really think I have worked hard enough?”

“Ung. That’s why I have grown up like this.”

How could his younger brother still be so nice and kind? Hyeon-woo stretched out his hand with his head buried in his cushion. Then Seon-woo took the hand and held it.

Yes, it was like this before. Whenever it was difficult and he wanted to break down, Seon-woo would hold his Hyung’s hand tightly. Then the power to continue rose up.

“Let’s continue watching.”

“Yes.”

The two concentrated on the broadcast again.

「How was it when that older brother disappeared?」

Seon-woo gently stroked his chin with his hand and covered the corner of his mouth.

「I couldn’t believe it. Because I always thought that Hyung would always be by my side. So at first, I waited recklessly.」

He covered himself with a blanket and waited in the cold room. But after a day, Hyung did not come back. It occurred to him that something big was going on in his young mind. So he then went out and started looking for his brother.

「But even when I called out for him, my Hyung didn’t appear.」

As he was a child without a guardian, Seon-woo was sent to an orphanage after a report from the owner of the house. He struggled to not go, but there was nothing a helpless little boy could do.

「After a while, I found out that a portal had opened and 10,000 people who were nearby had disappeared.」

「It was a terrible case.」

「Yeah.」

「This was an incident 10 years ago. 」

There were many missing people, and many people fell into mourning. And after that, as the second generation disappeared and returned, the world of the Awakened was opened.

「How would you feel if your Hyung came back? 」

「I will be more than happy. 」

[It has been 2 years from last interview]

The screen changes, this time revealing another person to the camera. A well-dressed young man has a very gentle impression.

「Hello.」

「Please introduce yourself.」

「Yes, my name is Ji Hyeon-woo. I am currently 25 years old. And I’m also a First-Generation missing person.」

The ratings, which had already skyrocketed, rose even more.

Comments

- What did I just see?

- A First-Generation missing person?

-

- That has to be a lie!

HBC’s bulletin board shook as if it was about to explode. No, it wasn’t just the bulletin boards of the broadcasting stations that had exploded. Information began to appear on the Internet quickly and everywhere was overflowing with the stories of the First-Generation.

Comments

- Is this even possible?

- Isn’t that the main thing?

- No way, Ji Seon-woo wouldn’t lie! Besides, it’s from HBC, right? It’s Public broadcasting?

While everyone was surprised and talking, the broadcast was still being conducted steadily.

The reporter continued the question in a calm tone.

「The first generation that went missing 10 years ago, right? 」

「Yes. 」

「Also Ji Seon-woo’s Hyung, right? 」

「That’s right as well. 」

[Hyung has returned]

The screen then switched again, this time showing the brothers side by side.

「How did you feel when you first found out that your Hyung had returned? 」

「I was really happy.」

「What about your Hyung? 」

「So am I. 」

「He must have changed a lot over the course of 10 years, how did you recognize each other? 」

「No matter how many years have passed, my Hyung will always be my Hyung. 」

「That’s amazing. 」

The reporter didn’t ask any questions that could cause a backlash or irritation to other people. He continued the conversation calmly and in a similar tone throughout. And when the conversation was over, the story of the two brothers began.

They showed the room where the two are staying in the Seon-Hyeon guild and took a sneak peek into their daily life. Then, they released the parts that were filmed by the director.

Hyung returned to his old house. They climbed the slope to reach an old, small house. And for the first time, he shed tears as he saw the house that was still maintained as it was.

No matter how beautiful it looked, people were mesmerized and fixed their eyes on the screen. After passing the section where he shed tears like that, he showed his Hyung who was immersed in his unfamiliar daily life.

「What, how did this change like this?」

Wherever he went, Hyeon-woo had a surprised expression on his face. In 10 years, even rivers and mountains would have changed and so many things have changed. Besides, even before disappearing, there were still many more things that he had never experienced because he was young, so everything felt strange.

Seon-woo, who stood by his brother’s side, gave a happy expression. At first glance, it seemed like the brothers had changed a lot.

Comments

- cute!

- Both the brothers are handsome.

- Then what happened to the rest of the First-Generation?

- I also wanted to know. I was curious about it. Did you say that on purpose?

- do you know that you're saying this in public?

- There is a person I know who said that they decided to make a bold decision and have a conversation with the First-Generation missing person.

- I’m glad if that’s true. But no one had the luck to see him? I cried so much that I ran out of tissue papers.

- Me too. Tears came out when I was seeing them, and I was so young when this was happening!

The story of Seon-woo and Hyeon-woo continued to be discussed constantly all over the place. There would probably be a buzz about this story everywhere for a while.