Chapter 58 – The Meaning of Family
(TLN: This is a sponsored chapter. Thank you Thomas for the donation and kind words. I found out Bibi’s name should be ViVi, but I’m going to stick to Bibi. It is p.r.o.nounced the same in Korean. There are some gaming terminology I am unfamiliar with since I don’t play LOL. So there might be some minor errors if I misunderstood those terms. Please turn off the adblockers if you are able to. Thank you and enjoy~)
“a.s.sault? I did?”
Yes, president. You beat him up on a live national broadcast.
However, Minchan didn’t reply with those words.
Woojin frowned when everyone stayed silent.
“Didn’t I touch his cheeks slightly? I heard from Haemin that it was shown on tv for only a brief moment.”
Even if it was shown for only a moment, it didn’t change the fact that it was an a.s.sault….
Soonghoon was experienced with Woojin touching his cheeks. He shuddered as his face became rigid.
“Huh. Maybe I should have just killed him.”
The cameras had been rolling, so he had held himself back a little bit…
He thought his message had been sufficiently received, so he hadn’t expected to be reported for a.s.sault.
It seemed the Hwarang guild master wanted to continue to tangle with him.
Someone had to die to end a grudgeful relations.h.i.+p, and Woojin was always alive at the end.
“Hey, Sunggoo. You’ll have to drive me.”
“Hyung-nim. If you want to go to the police station, you can go in the morning.”
At Sunggoo’s worried words, Woojin’s eyebrows rose.
“Why would I go to the police station?”
“T…then where do you want to go?”
“Let’s go to the Hwarang Guild.”
When everyone’s faces made worried expressions, Woojin grinned as he glanced at everyone.
“I’ll take care of it, so why are you guys looking so worried?””
How could they not be worried?
Jung-minchan stepped forward to calm Woojin. It would be a problem if this incident ballooned.
“Please let me take care of this.”
It would be laughable to comply with every summons. He was a guild master. Hwarang probably didn’t want the authorities to carry out the sentence for a.s.sault. They were probably working a different angle.
“Wouldn’t that be too annoying?”
“Even if it is annoying work, I will be doing the annoying work. Isn’t that fine?”
Huh? That made sense… He had made the guild to use these guys for incidents like this…
Jung-minchan noddded his head as he watched Woojin put on an impa.s.sioned expression.
“Then you take care of it.”
He knew it. If Woojin didn’t have to do annoying work, then he didn’t’ care what happened. Maybe he had needlessly reported it to Woojin, and worried about it.
“So when will I be able to go to the US?”
“The consortium is scheduled 1 month from now. You should go at that time.”
“Hmmm. So I have one month.”
He wanted to meet the Holy Maiden, but he didn’t feel the need to be in a hurry… Moreover, he still had had to train Sunggoo.
“Is there anything else I need to resolve right now?”
“I do have something that needs your approval. Please allow me to recruit more manpower.”
To solve this current problem, he would have to immediately hire a lawyer. Moreover, he had to expand the manpower of the Support Division.
“While you are at it, pick out some Roused too.”
“Mmmm. If we aren’t in a hurry, then wouldn’t it be better to pick the Roused after we fill out the Support Division? Even if we pick the Roused right now, we don’t have the manpower to support them.”
“Then do as you like.”
“Yes, sir. Please leave everything to me. President should go rest a little bit.”
Woojin grinned.
It would be good for him to worry less. However, he didn’t have the time to rest. If earth wanted to survive like Alphen, then he had to think about survival first. He didn’t want this place to turn in a hostile place.
“I’m going home. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Yes. Please head out.”
After receiving a send-off from everyone, Woojin headed toward his home.
The housing district wasn’t very from the Sahdahng Station, so he walked slowly to his home. He had come here once when they signed the contract, so he wasn’t worried about getting lost.
When he was almost at his home, Woojin stopped walking.
“Ah. What’s the secret pa.s.sword to the house…? I guess mother is asleep.”
Woojin stopped walking, and he was about to take out his phone when he decided to put his phone back into his picket. It was 3 AM right now. He had been hardened on the battlefields, so he didn’t care too much about sleep. Even if he stayed up for several nights, he wouldn’t die. He didn’t feel the need to make a ruckus so early in the morning.
“I’ll just come back later in the morning.”
Woojin changed his steps towards downtown.
Unlike Woojin, Sunggoo was exhausted, so his phone was off. Jung-minchan and Kim-haemin was busy because of work. Moreover, he couldn’t call out Jaemin, who was a student. He felt uncomfortable contacting Jiwon…
It was 3 AM. It was an ambigous time. The person who was walking by Woojin’s side on the night street was none other than Woo-soonghoon.
“President. Where should I take you? You just need to tell me, and I will cater to your tastes.”
What did he prefer to do? Woojin looked across the street, and he pointed at a sign with his chin.
“Let’s go there.”
“Yes?”
It was a 5 story building, and there were signs for tutoring schools on each floor. No matter how much he searched the only likely destination was the PC Bahng on the second floor.
“Do you mean the PC Bahng?”
“Yes. Let’s go play some Chaos.”
He hadn’t played the game in 20 years, so it was fuzzy in his memories However, he was already excited when he thought about the nostalgic memories.
He thought about his memories from his 3rd year in high school. The memories almost deluded himself into thinking his dirty and stained soul had become purified.
He couldn’t return to his innocent days where he hadn’t lived a h.e.l.lish life on Alphen, but…
Woojin and Soonghoon headed towards the PC Bahng.
When he looked around the PC Bahng, Woojin gave himself up to his deep emotions. Soonghoon watched Woojin from the side, and he nodded his head at Woojin’s mundane choice of hobby. If he had taken Woojin to a room then he would have been scolded.
“Please sit over here, president.”
“How much do they charge for this now?”
Woojin moved the unfamiliar mouse several times. Soon he got used to it, and he started to look for Warcraft. Soonghoon looked over from the side, and he spoke.
“President. We don’t play Chaos any more. It isn’t popular any more, so you’ll have a hard time finding a match.”
“Is that so? What are they playing these days?”
Well, 5 years had pa.s.sed, and the change in popularity of games in Korea was fickle.
“It is similar to Chaos, but everyone plays LoL now.”
“Really?”
With Soonghoon’s help, Woojin set up an account then he connected to the game.
“President. Please don’t pick this one and this one over here..”
“Uh. Ok..”
“We can go to the bottom and do a round of bot games. I’ll give explain in detail what you should do.”
Woojin set the setting Soonghoon recommended, and the game started soon.
“President. Just keep hitting them.”
Woojin was a ranged character, who shot arrows. Soonghoon was a support character with a machine arm. The minions charged in a single file when he met the the enemies.
“It’s quite similar to Chaos.”
“Yes, president. You have some experience playing these kinds of games, so you’ll are doing well.”
As he listened to Soonghoon’s praises, Woojin had a good time. It had been awhile since he had fun. The computer’s AI wasn’t that great, so he easily won the game.
Woojin smiled. It had been a long while since he played a game.
“This is pretty fun.”
“Then let’s go into the queue instead of playing bot games.”
“All right.”
“I’m coming in as a Smurf.”
Soonghoon brought his level 5 character, and he entered the queue with Woojin. People were much better than the AI, and Woojin kept dying since he was unfamiliar with the game.
“Ah. I made a mistake again..”
“Hahaha. It’s all right, president. You are doing really well..”
Soonghoon tried hard to ingratiate himself to Woojin. Soonghoon’s heart pounded as he looked at the rapidly scrolling chat box.
[Hey r.e.t.a.r.d. Stop throwing the match.]
[Do you only charge when you see a red hp? Are you that weak?]
[Isn’t your mother sick?]
[Catch the minion to make her some medicine.]
“Ah. Are they insulting me or are they worried about me?”
“Ah-haha. There are good kids and bad kids on here…”
“Chet. Still, these kids are devoted sons.”
Kids… He was a high rank Roused, and his actions were overflowing with charisma. It made him forget at times that Woojin was only 24 years old.
He was much younger than Soonghoon.
Is it because he is a high rank? He turned to look at Woojin, and he couldn’t’ think of Woojin as someone younger than him.
“Haha. It would be best if you ignored the chat..”
“No. These kids are kind.”
[Thank you. Is your mother also in good health?]
Soonghoon became freaked out as he looked at what Woojin wrote in the chat. The chat box started being a.s.saulted by insults.
[Hey you troll f.u.c.ker. How dare you insult my mother?]
[Hey x.x.xx.x.xxx]
“What the h.e.l.l?”
Woojin was taken aback. Before he became angry, Soonghoon turned off the chat box.
“Haha. Usually everyone turns their chat box off in the beginning.”
“Hmm. Was it this bad back in the day?”
It was only 5 years ago. In Woojin’s memories, it was 20 years ago. At the time, many people used foul words through the anonymity of the internet, but he wondered if it had been as bad as this.
After turning off his chat, it turned into something like a private lesson. Under the tutelage of Soonghoon, match after match pa.s.sed.
“Haha. Would you like some ramen, president?”
“Ah, that’ll be great.”
Eating a cup ramen was a delicacy one had to try in a PC Bahng. Woojin was lost in his memories when he suddenly became surprised.
“What time is it?”
“Yes? It’s 11 am.”
“s.h.i.+t.”
He had wanted to return at 7 AM when the sun rose into the sky. He had been having so much fun that he had lost track of the time.
“I’m going home.”
“Yes, president.”
“Yes. It was fun. Keep up the good work.”
Woojin patted Soonghoon’s shoulder, then he disappeared like a elementary student who had run out of money.
Soonghoon had frozen as he was about to open the cup ramen. His expression was reflecting the emotions he felt.
“H…he said he had fun.”
Great. The president acknowledged him.
He had found a way. His existence had been acknowledged, and he found the answer to how he’ll be able to climb to a higher position.
“I’ll make you have more fun, president.”
Soonghoon poured water into the cup ramen.
Ding-dong.
[Who is it?]
“Mother. It’s me.”
At Woojin’s voice, the front door opened in haste as his mother showed up. She hugged Woojin then she looked over his body.
“Aigo, you scoundrel. Why do you keep showing up on TV so often? Are you ok?””
“Haha. The TV is over-reacting. It isn’t a big deal.”
“If they cancel the dramas to show news, then how can it not be a big deal?”
“What about Sooah?”
“She went to kindergarten. Anyways, Director Jung said you were coming here at dawn, so why were you so late? I waited up into the early morning, but I fell asleep…
Ah, did she wait up the whole night for him? No wonder she looked tired around the eyes. Woojin felt sorry, so he scratched the back of his head. It wasn’t his intent, but it seemed he had been neglecting his mother too much while he went around the Dungeons.
“Haha. I was going to come here in the morning, but I was late playing a game in the PC Bahng.”
At Woojin’s embarra.s.sed words, his mother’s expression hardened a little bit.
The worried light in his mother’s eyes for her son changed in a weird way. She was worried, but…
“Haigo, you scoundrel. You spent 5 years playing game yet you went to play more game.”
Uh… That was a game he played with his life on the line. This was something different… It brought up old memories….
Woojin was barely able to calm his mother, then he entered the first house he had purchased. He had seen the house when he signed the contract, but it looked different with furnitures. It also had a different interior design. He knew this was his home, so he felt a different sensation when he entered his home.
“I heard you were busy looking around for furnitures. I knew my mom had great tastes.”
“Hoo. Try going to your room..”
His mother acted as if she was trying to hand him a toy she had secretly hidden. Her expression was full of antic.i.p.ation.
Ah, it seemed she had prepared something for him again.
Woojin opened the door to his room.
“Uh?”
The room didn’t have a lot of stuff. There was tacky wallpaper around the room with an old desk, bookcase and a single bed.
The atmosphere within the room was starkly different from the rest of the house, so Woojin tilted his head in confusion. Then he ran his hand over the used desk.
He looked around the room, and it was weirdly familiar.
“Mother. This is…”
“Yes. You told me you missed your old room….”
He had let it slip while he was eating, yet she had remembered it. Woojin’s was deeply moved as his heart warmed.
“It isn’t the one you used, but I searched long and hard to find this desk.”
He remembered it. This was the desk his father had bought him for entering high school. He had studied on it…
“My son is making money with his life on the line yet your mother don’t have anything I can do for you….”
Yes. It was for his family.
He had endured all the pain for this. He had wanted to come back to earth even if he had to turn into a monster. He had longed for earth, because his family was there.
Woojin hugged his mother tightly.
Woojin rested his eyes for a moment in his room. Bibi kept vigil over his bedside as she gave Woojin the curse of nightmare.
“Uh? Oppa’s shoes is here! Mooooom! Oppa is here?”
Sooah’s loud voice woke Woojin from his sleep.
“Mom! Did oppa bring a dog?”
When he heard Sooah’s voice coming from the living room, Woojin had a moment of realization. His gaze rested on his bedside where the cat Bibi was lazily yawning.
“Hey, Bibi..”
“Nyahng?”
“Never reveal the fact that you aren’t really a cat.”
“Nyahng? What’s going on-nyahng?”
With Bibi in his arms, Woojin headed towards the living room.
“Hey, Sooah. Oppa bought Sooah a cat.”
At Woojin’s words, Bibi and Sooah’s gazes met. The surprised Sooah saw Bibi, and she started crying.
“Ooh-ahhhng. I wanted a dog instead of a cat.”
Woojin felt embarra.s.sed, and Bibi had a bad premonition about this. Both of them were taken aback.