Chapter 585: Reunion After A Long Time, And… (2)
The first thing that came into my sight was his sweaty face. Seeing that he had arrived earlier than Jung Hayan, it seemed like I could a.s.sume that he came running as soon as he was contacted.
There was nothing different from nine months ago.
His hair, which he had always kept the same length, wasn’t properly arranged, making him look like he had stuck himself in a cave since he spared no effort in training.
Using my Mind’s Eyes, I immediately saw that his stats had definitely grown. His eyes had urgency in them, and as soon as he entered, I heard a loud voice.
“Kiyoung, do you recognize me?”
‘Of course, I do, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Why would you even ask that? Do you think I forgot?’
Doom Kiyoung’s appearance was maintained for so long it must’ve made him worried about me.
Regardless, Kim Hyunsung looked the same as usual.
‘He’s still too good-looking.’
His actor-worthy face was still visible, but his guilt stood out. Of course, I quickly realized where that guilt came from.
‘If you don’t feel guilty, you’re not human, really.’
I got news about him through Cho Hyejin and even received the gifts he sent through her, but it was no different from ghosting on me for nine months.
During that period of absence, the incident broke out, and in the end, Light Kiyoung had been greatly injured. Not only was I damaged by the dirty demon contractors, but I also transformed into my Doom state. It must’ve looked like I had gone through all kinds of hardships.
As a result, I had pa.s.sed out for four days.
Wasn’t it something that wouldn’t have happened if only Kim Hyunsung was with me in the first place?
He probably knew that better than me. I understood that he entered the closed training after solidifying his decision, thinking there would be no more threats for the time being, but the incident had already erupted, and it was too late.
Light Kiyoung had been wounded and hurt.
Even though I was genuinely happy, I had no choice but to suppress my emotion.
That was because I was wondering what kind of route I had to take to make the b.a.s.t.a.r.d increase the distance between us. I wondered if it would be better to send him back to the closed training after giving him a good talk, but…
That didn’t suit me well.
‘You have to drag rather than get dragged.’
I felt like it would be better to draw a line right at that moment rather than leading a warm atmosphere. I was sorry, but my top priority was to handle the post-work. I spoke after taking a deep breath.
“No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s been such a long time that I can’t seem to remember you.”
“Um…”
“It’s just a joke.”
However, it was embedded with thorns. Hyunsung had a shocked and gloomy expression, sighing as if he felt desolated upon my reply.
When I fired a gaze at him, saying, “Don’t pretend to care now,” his pupils shook.
“I’m sorry. I… was…”
“No. There is no need to be sorry at all. I already knew that you were busy… I know that training is more important than anything else. You don’t have to be here. You didn’t even have time to contact me… Isn’t it time to go to training again? Don’t mind me and go. I’m fine, Hyunsung.”
“No… I mean…”
“I know there are three more months left before the scheduled time…”
“No. That… Based on my development… It should be fine… now.”
“No. I’m really okay, so go back to practice.”
I wasn’t just saying that. I really meant it. I used a provocative voice, unlike usual. I could be certain that Kim Hyunsung would be shocked.
‘I’m sorry, Hyunsung, but… Don’t even insist on doing the post-work together with me here. Just go ahead and do what you have to do. That’s the right option. I have my own schedule and matters to be resolved, and if you keep doing this here, I’ll get very uncomfortable.’
“The… training is already over.”
‘The training is over my a.s.s, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Don’t give me that.’
“No. I’m actually okay. My body’s back to normal, and everything has been resolved. Thank you for your concern, but… you have to get stronger. Now, go train.”
‘It’s too late to be worried now. Stop worrying about me and do what you have to do.’
“No. The training really is over. From now on… yes, I can stay here now that all of the troops at the joint training center have to be moved to the base. So… So… Are you really completely healed now?”
“Yes, I think there isn’t anything wrong with me. Actually, the wound wasn’t that big in the first place, and I’ve been asleep for a long time… due to a decrease in my stamina. I wasn’t injured or mentally damaged as much as you thought. Weren’t you with Hyejin?”
“Ah… yes, she’ll probably arrive soon.”
I didn’t know what they were doing, but it seemed that he had abandoned Cho Hyejin and came running. Not surprisingly, Cho Hyejin entered the room before long.
She carefully closed the open door and came in. When she saw me awake, she nodded.
“You’re up.”
“Ah! Please sit here, Hyejin!”
“Uh… okay.”
‘Look who’s here. The pride of our Blue Guild, the hope of the Blue Guild, our Hyejin is here!’
I looked at her with a proud expression, but she looked back at me as if to say, ‘What’s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly acting like that?’
“Come here.”
I momentarily put a business smile on my face and called her over with a sweet voice, but her reaction wasn’t that nice. Still, didn’t she deserve to receive such treatment?
‘Whew… our hero is here. The top contributor who saved the light of the continent has come.’
The guild member came to save me alone while the revolutionary three partic.i.p.ated in the revolution outside the building. She was the warrior who responded to the threat when the regressor was keen on his training.
There was no way I could forget her beautiful and cool appearance that reminded me of Zhao Yun.
I didn’t know about anyone else, but I only knew that I had to treat her well.
She looked at me with a face that told me I was acting creepy when I patted her back with a warm smile, but I wanted to praise her a hundred times more.
“Please have some tea here, Hyejin.”
“I’m… good.”
She seemed to suspect if it was poisonous or not. However, when she looked quietly toward Kim Hyunsung, I could see that she was taking the tea.
‘Our Hyejin has become very clever.’
Cho Hyejin, who was very slow, was now realizing it. That when she gets along with other men, Kim Hyunsung would get slightly jealous.
That was the only reason why she seemed to accept this overly kind favor.
Usually, she would say, ‘What are you doing now? Please stop making that annoying face.’
She not only sat down, but she took a sip of the tea as well, just as I instructed.
‘At this point, she won’t even need a coach.’
I wondered how the fool who didn’t know anything had grown so much. It was clear that all of the advice I gave while playing chess with her became her bones and flesh.
Kim Hyunsung looked slightly uncomfortable. He looked like he was nervous, but I didn’t really need to give any other comments towards him. Rather, I thought that he was the one being careful.
“Um, I mean…”
It felt like there would be one more bag in the house within a few days. The guild members began to come in just as I was wondering if it would be better to take care of him a little bit, seeing him looking like an abandoned puppy.
Jung Hayan came running in a hurry.
“O-Oppa… Ugh… Oppa…”
It was a month earlier than the promise, but I couldn’t tell her to go back at that moment.
Although what happened at District 5, which was in ruins, bothered me, it was only proper to hold her tightly.
“Waaaahh… I missed you. I missed you.”
‘Yes. You endured well, Hayan. You’ve done so much. Even though the walls were smashed, your firepower was amazing. You’re beyond extraordinary.’
Another person nodded more satisfactorily than anyone else.
‘Sora… yes. You also worked hard.’
I gestured for her to come closer to hug me with a pure heart, but she didn’t come to me as if she felt threatened. It was Sun Hee-young who took that place, wiping her tears.
“I missed you.”
Since she said that, I finished with a quiet pat on her back.
Ahn Ki-mo embraced me afterward, and I also patted Kim Chang-ryul’s back, who hugged me as well.
Since there were many guild members, it was tiring to greet them all. I had already hugged Elena earlier, so I skipped her, and the next one was Yoo Ahyoung.
“Vice Guild Master.”
“Did you grow a lot?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Looking at her with my Mind’s Eyes, it was clear that her cla.s.s had changed.
‘Yes, yes, our precious blacksmith. During that time, you’ve been working hard as a unit among the dwarves.’
Even Park Deokgu’s girl, Hw.a.n.g Jeong-yeon, had grown.
“You’ve worked hard in the guild.”
“Are you giving me a bonus?”
“Sure.”
Although Kim Ye-ri’s face told me she didn’t want to hug me, she still did. Right then, I felt a large pig hugging my body tightly.
Although I was worried about my bones breaking, it seemed that he was controlling his strength.
Hearing him sniffling, I guessed tears were probably popping out of his eyes. I thought he would be like that because he had always been a warm-hearted guy, but I didn’t know how to react.
“You worked hard too.”
“You worked the hardest. I didn’t do anything. I’ll do everything from now on, so you just lie in bed.”
‘Don’t say that kind of thing.’
The only one left after exchanging greetings with the guild members was Kim Hyunsung, who had maintained an awkward posture.
I wanted to pretend I didn’t notice that, but it wouldn’t be a very good scene for other guild members to see. As I quietly glanced, I could see the guy slowly approaching.
I was uncomfortable because I was sitting in bed, but we decided to wrap up the short greeting by patting each other’s backs.
“Er… I’m sorry. I’m so… sorry.”
‘Say those words when they’re not around. What would they think?’
“No, as I said earlier, it’s okay.”
“Yeah…”
‘So let’s take a little break. It won’t take long. I’ll take care of all this and have a drink with you.’
I didn’t know if he got what I was thinking, but one thing was certain. Kim Hyunsung’s face was stained with regret. I kept speaking with the nuance of keeping a short distance, after all. He probably wouldn’t be able to mark me closely.
As for the others’ expressions, I thought it would be best to ask Cho Hyejin or Jung Hayan and Hee-ra if they had time.
‘Ah… It’s been a long time since we met and the atmosphere became a little warm… If I talk about work right now, will I sound too cold?’
I couldn’t stand it because I was curious about whether there were any other remnants left like Mikhail and Natalie, and if so, whether they were properly captured.
‘I think it would be better to bring in Jihye…’
That would definitely be the best course of action to take.