Side Story 7: Woo Yeon-Hee’s First Greeting (2)

Side Story 7: Woo Yeon-Hee’s First Greeting (2)

“I didn’t expect you would remember all that.”

“She was passionate. It’s rare for a teacher to visit home because of a student’s career.”

Images of Woo Yeon-Hee back then emerged one by one in Jeon-Il’s mind.

“It was the end of your grade seven in middle school. It was around that winter. She came to ask for our opinion as a school known for basketball had reached out to you. We were very grateful and appreciated her for her hard work then. But, Ms. Yeon-Hee... She looks just as I remember. Does that mean...?”

“Yes, both Yeon-Hee and I were pre-Awakened. That is one of the stories I have not told you, Father.”

It was a story he had from his parents long before the Day of Advent. Seon-Hu’s face darkened as he revealed it. Jeon-Il’s expression hardened as well. They both fell silent for a bit.

Seon-Hu... You were a pre-Awakened...

Jeon-Il patted Seon-Hu’s back and opened his mouth first after hesitation.

“I heard the Stage of Advent spanned decades, right? You might not remember what happened before that. It was hard to contact you, son. I could only guess how hard it must have been for you, but you were doing much more than that. You managed societal tasks and the responsibilities of a pre-Awakened. You have been through a lot.”

Before the Stage of Advent, it was well known that the pre-Awakened were honing their skills under Osiris’s Revolucion. People also knew that these individuals fought monsters from other dimensions, staking their lives in places referred to as dungeons.

Jeon-Il thought there was nothing more surprising after hearing that his son now had omnipotent power. However, he was wrong. His son had actually spent dangerous times as a pre-Awakened. As a father, this was even more shocking.

Jeon-Il had a lot to say, but swallowed his words. Then, he found a good topic to divert the conversation.

Jeon-Il asked while pointing to the tattoo on his chest, “Did you give this mark to me? Hey, why is your face stiffening again?”

Innread.com".

Perhaps it was around the time when Seon-Hu became a pre-Awakened. When the Jeonil Group was founded by the old Jeonil Investment, a weird scar appeared on his chest out of nowhere. After learning about the existence of insignias, Jeon-Il once seriously pondered if he was also pre-Awakened or not.

Jeon-Il was confident he already knew the answer, so continued, “I knew it was an insignia. So, what power does this have?”

“It is the insignia of resurrection.”

“Reviving from death? Is that what you mean?”

Jeon-Il had never heard of such an insignia in the Awakened world. Nonetheless, the miracle of resurrection was obviously very precious even without knowing about it.

Jeon-Il murmured as if he could not understand, “But why would you give such a precious thing to me...”

When Jeon-Il heard his son’s reply, it felt like something deep in his mind would burst. He then realized the reason why Seon-Hu’s grateful partner was continuously swallowing her saliva. If she had not, then she might have embarrassed herself in front of his son.

Jeon-Il deliberately looked towards the cold wind to cool down, but his warm tears did not stop. His son simply replied, “Because you are my father.”

***

“Please let me do it.”

Woo Yeon-Hee swiftly pulled the tray towards her before anyone could object. The knife fit perfectly in her small hand. She skillfully peeled the apple, leaving the flesh untouched.

He did not specifically mention the debt of gratitude she had already paid. However, her heavy heart was unavoidable. If every mother vividly remembered the pain of childbirth...what Yeon-Hee had experienced would not have occurred. In that case, Yeon-Hee would not have had the dilemma she was facing now.

Anyway, although Yeon-Hee was worshiped as a deity by the Lunea clans, she was just a person here. Seon-Hu was relieved by that fact. Seeing Yeon-Hee troubled by human concerns because of her mother made her even more lovable. Thus, her cute lips caught his eye even more.

This is the first and the last time.

Seon-Hu was determined that he would suppress the power of divinity at least on Earth. Looking back, his fierce battle with Doom Kaos was consistently colorless. He did not want such a life anymore. If one knew everything and could do everything as they thought, then they would never find happiness.

Seon-Hu put his hands around Yeon-Hee’s cheeks.

Tik!

The second hand of a moving clock stopped. Raindrops falling somewhere were frozen in mid-air. There was no wind and waves anywhere. Only two people were alive and breathing in the whole world at the moment: Seon-Hu and Woo Yeon-Hee.

“Seon-Hu?”

“We have been apart for so long. Come here. I cannot resist any longer.”

“But this is your parents’ house!”

“Here?”

When Seon-Hu responded, the Mediterranean coastline spread out in front of them.

“Right now, it’s just the two of us.”

***

Seon-Hu was gazing at the sleeping Yeon-Hee. He felt the presence of a being sneaking in during the gap when time seemed to stand still.

There was a beautiful woman with short hair, her body concealed by bandages. The wings that sprouted from her back were large enough to cover her entire body. As she folded her wings, she landed in front of Seon-Hu.

She said, “Please forgive me.”

Seon-Hu’s eyebrows twitched. An incident he was trying to avoid during a reunion with his parents suddenly came before him. Woo Yeon-Hee also felt the woman’s presence and opened her eyes.

Valkyrie?

However, she was different from the typical summoned entities. She was speaking and seemed to possess a sense of self. The way she knelt with her head bowed in front of Seon-Hu did not appear threatening, so Woo Yeon-Hee decided to observe the situation.

The discomfort displayed by Seon-Hu affected the being as well. It spoke in a trembling voice.

“The reason we possess a sense of self...it was not our intention.”

From Woo Yeon-Hee’s perspective, the woman was begging Seon-Hu for her life.

“That would be the case.”

Right after he defeated Doom Kaos and became the sole deity, four of the Valkyries that remained on the weighty battlefield not only gained self-awareness but also an increase in usable power. This naturally happened only to those who had consistently survived on the eternal-seeming battlefield.

There were four. One was restoring the spiritual realm. Another was capturing the escaped evil spirits. Another had gone to monitor other dimensional beings that might challenge Odin. And the last one, as you can see, had come here to represent all of them to beg for their lives.

“Please... Please... Please be our witness... Lord Odin.”