The Hero Returns

"What's wrong?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Oh, were you there?" Lee Ju-ho answered.

He walked as fast as he could down the corridor. Hak-joon and Yun-seon also heard the commotion and left the room after Su-hyeun.

"There is a guest for you, Su-hyeun," Lee Ju-ho said.

"Who is that?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Her name is Park Ji-yeon. She is the guild master of Ripper Guild and an S-Rank awakener."

Park Ji-yeon. The name sounded familiar to Su-hyeun.

<<She was the youngest S-Rank awakener.>>

He remembered her name and face. He had never met her in person though.

"Why is she looking for me?"

"I suppose she wants to suggest you join her guild."

"She came here herself?"

There were not many cases of S-Ranks working directly for guilds. Unless it was planned long ago, they spent most of their time climbing the Tower of Trials.

<<I guess the timing was right,>> Lee Ju-ho thought.

It had been decided a few days ago when Su-hyeun got reexamined. As she led the green dungeon in Ansan not long ago, she might have been interested in Su-hyeun.

"Well, I suppose I can meet her," Su-hyeun said. He took out his phone and added, "Of course, not in the building right now."

***

The lobby of the Authority was noisy with the voices of many journalists and awakeners. They had been waiting for Su-hyeun all this time, but they got louder because of the appearance of a celebrity.

"How long should I wait?"

"W-wait a second, please. I've forwarded your business and contact. So, I am sure you can meet him soon."

The lobby staff, who was dealing with guests in the lobby, began to sweat. He could not rejoice, even as a beautiful woman standing in front of his eyes. She was a beautiful lady with a milky-white face and dark hair in a bun. She was Park Ji-yeon.

"Is that so?" She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Ok. I will wait. Thank you."

"Oh. O-okay…"

The staff, who was worried about her pestering, sighed with relief. Soon after, Park Ji-yeon sat down on one seat and pulled the phone from her pocket. She glanced at the screen and got up.

In a small voice, she said, "I will be back in a minute."

"Where are you going?" Kim Seok-jin asked.

"It won't take long."

"Watch out for the paparazzi," Kim Seok-jin said.

"Sure. Don't worry."

Swish—

As soon as she finished her words, Park Ji-yeon disappeared from her seat. It happened the moment he noticed that she was moving. It would be impossible for ordinary reporters or other awakeners to follow her.

"…I guess she got him."

Kim Seok-jin noticed where she went and smiled.

***

Whiz, bam—

Park Ji-yeon flew to the roof of the Authority. She lightly stepped on the wall of the building and went up about 20 floors. When she arrived, she could hear the voice.

"You are coming loudly, Ms. Ji-yeon."

She looked at the owner of the voice. It was an unfamiliar face, but she could tell who he was.

"Su-hyeun?"

Su-hyeun, who was sitting on the roof railing, put on a sour face. "…Are you talking down to me?"

"I heard you are younger than me," Park Ji-yeon said.

She was only one year older than Su-hyeun. She must have heard about his age already. Su-hyeun realized that she had already researched enough about him.

"But we're meeting for the first time… Never mind. I will talk casually, too. You are not much older than me anyway."

"Okay." Park Ji-yeon slowly walked toward Su-hyeun and asked, "I heard there were more people. Where are they?"

"I sent them back. I will see them later. Hak-joon and Mr. Ju-ho might be in the trouble by now though."

"I guess you don't like being noticed, do you?"

"More exactly, I don't like bothersome things. Time is precious, isn't it? There is nothing much to gain and I don't like being bothered like that," Su-hyeun said and looked at Park Ji-yeon's eyes. "So, unless you have a special case, keep your business short and simple."

"I like that," Park Ji-yeon said.

As the place to talk was made, Su-hyeun rose from the railing where he was sitting. There was no chair or table to sit on, so Su-hyeun and Park Ji-yeon stood and faced each other.

"Do you want to join the Ripper Guild?" she asked.

"You started the conversation by talking down to me and now you are trying to recruit me?"

"But you won't join anyway, won't you?"

She was very straightforward. It almost sounded like teasing. If other S-Rank awakeners heard her proposals, they might have gotten mad.

<<I did know she was this kind of person….>>

In his previous life, he had not encountered her many times, so he had not seen her act like this. He had heard that she was an eccentric person, but he never personally experienced her personality.

"So, what are you saying now?" Su-hyeun asked.

"I just said so. Well, I really meant it, of course," Park Ji-yeon said.

"So, since you know I won't join anyway, you're just poking around?"

"Yes."

"Then, what is your point?" Su-hyeun asked.

"When you join Ripper Guild, that means you literally will work under me. But I am sure that is not what you want…"

"If you don't want that kind of relationship, what you want is cooperation?"

Park Ji-yeon smiled a little. "That is what I am talking about."

Su-hyeun narrowed his eyes. Perhaps things could easily be solved. As a matter of fact, he had been thinking about contacting Ripper Guild.

"What do you mean by cooperation?"

"I heard you had friction with the Dump Guild," Park Ji-yeon said.

Su-hyeun nodded. Of course, the friction that she said did not mean Su-hyeun had killed the awakener of Dump Guild. She meant that Su-hyeun had spread the information about Dump Guild everywhere.

"At first, I just asked our vice guild master to recruit you… But I changed my mind after I heard you were involved with Dump Guild. I wanted to see you in person," Park Ji-yeon said.

"Is that why you want to work with me?"

"Yes," Park Ji-yeon erased the smile on her mouth and replied in a suppressed voice. "The destruction of Dump Guild. That is my goal."

<<That is what I thought.>>

If it was not about this in the first place, Su-hyeun would not have met her. If he met the guild master, the only thing they would ask about recruiting him. But…

"Is it a personal grudge?" he continued his thought.

In his previous life, Ripper Guild had disappeared due to an all-out war with Dump Guild. That alone was enough to suggest that Ripper Guild was an enemy of Dump Guild. But he didn't know whether it was a guild-level struggle or a personal grudge by Park Ji-yeon. Instead, the possibility itself opened.

<<It looks like her personal grudge.>>

When he saw her eyes, he could tell — this kind of hostility was more likely a personal grudge.

"I think it will be a long talk." Su-hyeun looked down at the people gathered in front of the building and said, "Would you like to talk in some other place?"

***

Lee Ju-ho broke out in a cold sweat. When he looked around, there were a lot of people. More than a hundred people were asking questions at him.

"Is it really confirmed that Mr. Kim Su-hyeun became an S-rank awakener?"

"How did you get to know Kim Su-hyeun? I heard you were acquainted with him before the Anyang outbreak…"

"Wait. Jeez, please move! Hey, Lee Ju-ho! You know me, right? We met last time…"

Everybody was talking about different things. It was so chaotic. Among them, some awakeners from large guilds, who he could not remember the faces of, approached him pretending to know him well and asked about Su-hyeun.

<<Oh, Jesus,>> Lee Ju-ho thought.

This was not the first time he had dealt with people to cover up Su-hyeun's back. Of course, that time, there were not many people like this. Moreover, he had volunteered to do that. Su-hyeun told him to ignore them, but he could not just ignore all these people, considering the reputation of Su-hyeun. Anyway, they were journalists of the big press in this country, and they were the main figures of the big guilds. However, Su-hyeun's stubbornness was not something that Lee Ju-ho could defeat.

"I think I should meet Park Ji-yeon in person," Su-hyeun had said in an earnest voice, putting his hands on Lee Ju-ho's shoulder. "I begging you, brother."

<<He never called me "brother" when I wanted to hear it, but now he's doing it! It weakens my heart….>>

But what could Lee Ju-ho do? He just blamed himself because he became soft over that one word. In the end, he had to answer all the questions one by one.

***

The conversation with Park Ji-yeon took place in a room cafe on a secluded street. Unlike Su-hyeun, Park Ji-yeon was known for her face. She was beautiful and high-ranking, so she was quite a famous celebrity.

Even though they took time and came here, their conversation didn't take long. They talked for about 30 minutes. Park Ji-yeon flicked her finger at the glass on the table.

Chink—

"I guess it is more like a concept of the enemy of an enemy is a friend, instead of cooperation."

"Well, that is cooperation."

Su-hyeun emptied the remaining beverages in an instant. He was thirsty because he had been talking a lot. At any rate, the goal had been achieved. He did not have to join the guild, but he could get their help when he needed it.

<<And information…It's important,>> he thought.

The power of a large guild was not just from the number of people. It was the world that one awakener could do more than a hundred people. But he could not hear everything by himself. The power of the large guild was the information it could gather. They could talk and listen to many people. The information was also something that Su-hyeun needed. Of course, the fact that it was a cooperative relationship that benefited each party was a constant fact.

"It is only about the Dump Guild. Remember that," Park Ji-yeon said.

She drew the line. That way, their promise could only work with Dump Guild. Su-hyeun, who had emptied the glass, nodded his head and got up.

"Besides that, I won't need help from Ripper Guild for anything else. Don't worry."

"What are you going to do from now on?"

"Why do you ask such an obvious question?" Su-hyeun asked. He finished what he had put off, so there was only one thing he had to do. "I have to keep challenging the Tower of Trials."

To Su-hyeun, S-Rank was just a passing phase. He had experienced many things above this. He was once the best awakener of the world. For him, this was the beginning.

"We've got a long way to go, haven't we?"