Free Web Novel“Oh my! Thank you, Lord, truly thank you....”
“Yohan-ahhh!”
Kim Yeju, who had been standing there in a daze, screamed as she ran to her son. Staring blankly with his mouth slightly open, Yang Yohan finally burst into tears once he was pulled into her embrace.
“Mommm...! Huuuuhhhh...!”
“Ahhh, Yohan! Yohan...! My son! My baby!”
The moment he faced his parents, whom he had missed so desperately for a year, all the fear and suffering he had endured came crashing back into his mind. Clutching onto Kim Yeju, he sobbed uncontrollably. Yang Hwapyeong staggered to his feet, examining Yohan from head to toe, and confirmed that not only were all his limbs intact, but there wasn’t even a trace of contamination.
“Lord, thank you for returning our Yohan whole and unharmed...!”
With tears streaming down, Yang Hwapyeong endlessly stroked his son’s back. The wailing was so loud that patients and guardians from neighboring rooms came to see what was happening. After a long time crying, Kim Yeju finally managed to drink some water and compose herself. Then, still choking with tears, she raised her voice.
“You! You...! Just because your parents scolded you, you went into such a dangerous place? Do you have no sense at all? Do you know how worried your mother was?! You burned your parents’ hearts to ashes, you hear me?!”
She smacked his back with loud slaps that didn’t actually hurt, making Yohan cry even harder. At first, he thought she had grown that weak, but later he realized it was just that his own endurance had risen since Awakening.
“What are you crying for, like you did something good!”
Even as she said that, Kim Yeju was wiping his face roughly with her hands, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} still crying herself. Yang Hwapyeong also scolded him loudly.
“You brat, our company is a pharmaceutical company! What medicine was so urgent that you had to wander off in a dangerous place!”
“H-huh? Medicine?”
Still crying like a faucet, Yohan looked at him in confusion. With a sigh, Yang Hwapyeong spoke doubtfully.
“Seungmin said you went into a pharmacy alone to get medicine, got attacked, and went missing.”
At those words, Yohan’s eyes flashed with a lethal glint, but his tear-filled gaze hid it from his parents. He forced down the rage rising in him and shook his head. Then he spoke the line he had already prepared.
“Actually, maybe because I hurt my head, I don’t remember anything from back then.”
“You hurt your head?!”
“Where! Where did you hurt it?!”
The moment he mentioned a head injury, Kim Yeju and Yang Hwapyeong froze in shock. He had looked fine on the outside, but if he had been hurt inside, it was devastating news. Their faces darkened again, but Yohan calmly soothed them. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
“Other than not remembering some of that time, I’m fine.”
“Then what do you remember? From when to when?”
After taking a deep breath, Yohan got up and closed the hospital room door. He didn’t sense anyone eavesdropping outside, but just in case, he lowered his voice.
“I remember hiring mercenaries with Seungmin to form an Awakening Party and entering the rift. But I lost consciousness, and when I came to, I was already in the Abyss.”
“W-what.... The Abyss? But they said you went missing in a rift! Why would you, Yohan, end up in the Abyss....”
Yang Hwapyeong stammered and then froze. A memory surfaced. A week ago, he had watched the news about Lee Hyunmook, the Sunrise Team, and one civilian returning from the Abyss. Hadn’t he felt so jealous then? Could it be... that one civilian was his son?
And now that he thought of it, Hyunsan Hospital was a government-designated partner hospital, where Awakeners injured in high-risk battles were usually brought. When he recalled who owned this hospital, his eyes widened.
Yohan carefully sat his shocked parents down on the bed. Then he explained calmly.
“I couldn’t contact you because I was in the Rift Management Agency’s isolation ward until now. The embargo ended today, so I could finally reach out.”
They couldn’t believe it and asked over and over if it was true. Since it would be public knowledge soon anyway, Yohan told them he had met Lee Hyunmook and the Sunrise Team in the Abyss, and that he had survived there for an entire year. Stroking his son’s hair, Kim Yeju muttered blankly.
“No wonder, even if it was a month ago, I thought your head looked a little different....”
At those words, Yohan’s tears welled up again. Sniffling, he was filled with happiness at his parents’ warm hands touching and checking him endlessly. Once more, it struck him that he had truly escaped that hellish Abyss.
“Even rifts are terrifying enough, but the Abyss for a whole year... how did you survive? Was there even proper food there?”
When Kim Yeju choked up again, Yohan’s eyes grew moist as well. But wiping away his tears, he forced himself to sound calm and strong.
“Luckily, everyone took good care of me, so it wasn’t hard at all. I ate well, slept well, and lived fine!”
In reality, it had been terrifying and painful, but he lied to ease their hearts. Perhaps because of the name Lee Hyunmook, his parents, though doubtful, seemed somewhat reassured. After all the crying, and especially since Yohan looked so healthy, the atmosphere quickly warmed. With his trembling, damp hand still on his son’s shoulder, Yang Hwapyeong asked.
“Really, there’s nothing else wrong with you?”
“Of course. I’m perfectly fine. I only stayed hospitalized just in case, but I’ll be discharged in a few days.”
“Seungmin will be so glad to hear that. He really searched so hard for you.”
“Wow, really? I’ll... have to repay him, then.”
Yohan spoke with a bright smile, but his parents were too busy rechecking that his body was truly fine to notice the off nuance. Yohan, however, was certain of one thing—that when Park Seungmin heard of his return, he would be overjoyed enough to jump out of his seat. After the reunion, another thought naturally came to him.
“What about hyung? When can he come?”
As annoying as his older brother was, after not seeing him for a year, he still wanted to. But the moment Yohan mentioned him, his parents’ expressions darkened. Forcing a smile, Yang Hwapyeong deflected.
“He’s busy, so he won’t be able to come for a few days. Let’s all see him together once you’re discharged.”
From his father’s tone, Yohan sensed something was wrong. Still, since both his parents were desperately avoiding the subject of Yang Yosep, he didn’t push further. The one ominous possibility that came to mind was enough reason for them to stay silent. Changing the topic, he said it was thanks to Lee Hyunmook and the Sunrise Team that he had survived and returned. His parents were deeply moved.
“If we owe your life to them, we’ll never know how to repay such a debt.”
Yohan almost blurted out that he had Awakened as a high-tier purifier, able to heal contamination, but he swallowed it back. He shifted restlessly, then checked the time and quickly reached for the remote.
“Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to watch.”
“You’re still recovering. Why watch anything instead of resting?”
“No, I have to see this. You both should watch it with me.”
Yohan turned on the hospital room TV and flipped to a news channel. Familiar faces appeared on the screen—ones he had already seen that very morning.
Hyunmook-hyung really does look more handsome in person than on camera, Yohan thought as his eyes drifted down to the red banner at the bottom of the screen. Large white letters read:
[Sunrise Team Press Conference]
The three of them sat side by side on the bed, focusing on the TV. Kim Yeju and Yang Hwapyeong, sitting close to their son, couldn’t stop praising how tall and impressive the men looked. Yohan agreed absently, all the while wondering when—or whether—he should reveal his relationship with Hyunmook. For now, it was certain he had to keep it hidden.
While glancing at the screen, Yohan checked the online reactions. The public response to Lee Hyunmook leading the Sunrise Team’s press conference was explosive. The very fact that every member was there except Go Jaewon was a huge topic.
[Watching the press conference now]
Why is Go Jaewon the only one missing?
LOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL
Knew something was shady about Go Jaewon. Guess it wasn’t just a rumor.
└He’s just late, lololol. Jaewon, wake up, you’ll be late for the press conference!
└I’m telling you, he purposely buried his team.
└Word is he was depressed and seeing a psychiatrist, but then in just a month he sold the Sunrise Guild to the government? Traitor Go, was the silver worth it?
└That bastard, if Sunrise had still been together my friend wouldn’t have died.
└Once the press conference ends, he’s finished, lololol.
└I even invested in the related stocks last week. Fuck my life.
Seeing the harsh backlash against Go Jaewon, Yohan’s lips curled upward.
Of course, even in the past, people had questioned how he alone survived. He had managed to scrape together sympathy by crying, doing volunteer work, and making donations, but now, with this turn of events, he must feel like dying. While Yohan savored the bitter satisfaction, the press conference began.
As always, the sight of Lee Hyunmook’s striking white hair was impressive as he stepped up to the podium. Behind him waited Lee Chanha, Seo Yakrin, Yoon Seungryong, and Joo Hoyoung. All of them wore expressionless faces, giving off a cold impression. Flashbulbs exploded dazzlingly from all directions.
“Good afternoon. I am Lee Hyunmook, captain of the Sunrise Team.”
When Hyunmook bowed his head in greeting, the flashes grew so bright it was hard to open one’s eyes. Yet not a single team member so much as flinched. It was clear they were used to this. Yohan remembered how countless similar press conferences had been held in the past, usually after the suppression of high-grade monsters.
“From now on, I will be giving a statement regarding the Sunrise Team’s return. First of all, let me address what I know everyone is most curious about.”
Then Hyunmook gave a faint smile. Just that small gesture lifted the heavy atmosphere. Somewhere among the reporters, a held breath was let out unconsciously. Meeting the eyes of the journalists one by one, Hyunmook opened his mouth.
