Free Web NovelYohan finally realized that perhaps, for the rest of his life, he might have to wander across the world following the path where the Abyss moved. Without meaning to, he glanced at Lee Hyunmook. It seemed that what Yohan had only just realized, Hyunmook had already anticipated long ago. With a smiling face, Hyunmook said,
“Do not worry. Wherever you go, I, and the team, will always be with you.”
The future that had not yet come already felt frightening and dreadful, but hearing Hyunmook say that gave Yohan courage. If he had already roamed the Abyss, then circling the world was nothing. Besides, now he was a high-tier Awakener, and the strongest Awakeners in the world would be by his side—there was nothing to be afraid of.
“...I like traveling!”
“My brave little sheep.”
Hyunmook’s voice was so gentle and warm. Every time he called him by that nickname, Yohan’s mood soared. His chest tickled so much that his hands fidgeted restlessly. Embarrassed, he asked,
“Can I play some music?”
“As much as you like.”
After some thought, Yohan selected a playlist of pop songs and pressed play. A soft ballad about love flowed out. After hearing nothing but the dreadful screams of the Abyss, the song seemed like the very essence of human civilization. Swayed by the music and the atmosphere, Yohan admired the night view—until he suddenly looked at Hyunmook and froze.
The face gazing at the glittering night view was expressionless and cold. His unsettling gaze pierced through in one direction. ...What was in that direction again? Or was he simply staring at nothing? Yohan carefully asked,
“...Can I ask what you are thinking about?”
“Of course, Yohan.”
As though he had never looked like a lifeless statue, Hyunmook gave a faint smile. His eyes, catching the city lights, looked only black.
“I was thinking... that this scenery is very, very precious....”
And when he turned his gaze to Yohan, it was nothing but warm and humane. Still, Yohan could not shake the eerie, disquieting feeling. Yet he could not put a finger on the reason and dismissed it as just his imagination.
The two-hour drive felt much shorter than expected. Even upon arriving at the home he had longed to see, Yohan dawdled after unbuckling his seat belt, sneaking glances at Hyunmook.
“Um....”
“What is it, Yohan?”
“...Can I kiss you?”
Face flushed red, Yohan asked in a small voice. Yet his hand was already on Hyunmook’s thigh and his body leaned forward. Brave and spirited, his young lover pulled Hyunmook closer too. Hyunmook whispered,
“I would not mind, but... your parents are watching right now. Is that all right?”
“What? ...Ah!”
He had not even done anything yet, but Yohan jerked back in fright and turned his head. Only then did he notice two figures pacing on the second-floor terrace. His face reddened further as he scrambled awkwardly. Before he could wrestle with the seat belt, Hyunmook had already undone it for him.
“Rest well at home, and let us meet again in a week. By then, the construction of the headquarters should be finished.”
“Yes! ...We will see each other in a week!”
Yohan waved until Hyunmook’s car disappeared. Then he slowly turned his head to look at his house. Seeing it again after a year filled him with tears of joy. After calming down, he stood before the gate and pressed the bell. A reply came immediately.
-...Yohan?
“Yes! It is me!”
The lock opened at once. As soon as he stepped inside, the front door swung open and Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju rushed out. Kim Yeju’s eyes welled with tears again, and Yohan’s were no different. The sight of the home he had only dreamed of for a year filled him with warmth. The tension in his shoulders melted away, and a deep sigh escaped him.
“It is home....”
Though a year had passed in the Abyss, only about fifteen days had flowed here. Even his room remained unchanged. After stepping inside, he came back to the living room, sat on the sofa, and began to sob. Yang Hwapyeong silently placed a firm hand on his son’s shoulder. The return of a child who had entered not just a rift but the Abyss itself was overwhelming. Sniffling, Yohan asked,
“You stayed up this late without sleeping?”
“How could we sleep when you had not returned?”
Having forgotten his family for a while, immersed in the joyful gathering, Yohan felt a pang of guilt. Only a year had passed, yet everything before the Abyss felt like a distant past. What was more, Hyunmook and the others had come to feel almost like family. Seeing his son’s guilty face, Yang Hwapyeong quickly asked,
“So, you had a good time with that Lee Hyunmook, yes?”
“You got to know him a little, right? Did you?”
Kim Yeju pressed further, her voice tinged with unease. From it, Yohan sensed not only joy and expectation at his connection to such a famous man, but also a more desperate undertone.
“What about my brother? Is he sleeping?”
At that, both parents’ faces clouded with worry. Yang Hwapyeong, too honest to lie, awkwardly replied,
“Your brother is away on business for a while. You will not see him.”
“On business....”
Suspicious, Yohan rose from the sofa and slowly wandered the living room. His gaze drifted downward. He felt a strange presence there—not just the living, but something tainted. Sensitive now to contamination, he could feel it clearly. Sighing, Yohan asked his parents, who had been secretly holding their breath,
“My brother is down there, right? Around here... would it be the wine cellar?”
When he pointed precisely, both parents jerked their heads up in shock.
“H-How did you...!”
So my guess was right. I had hoped not. With a heavy sigh, Yohan headed straight for the stairs to the basement. Kim Yeju, coming to her senses late, rushed after him.
“Yohan!”
“I need to see my brother.”
“Wait, Yohan! Your brother is....”
But Yohan, now an Awakener, moved faster than any ordinary human could. By the time his parents reached the spot, he was already standing before the cellar door. Unlike before, the door had been replaced with thick steel, out of place in this house. From beyond came faint noises. A cross was affixed above, and the handle was locked with a keypad. Kim Yeju, sweating, grabbed her son’s arm.
“Yohan, I told you—there is nothing there.”
“I know my brother is here. Please open it.”
Holding back tears, Yohan spoke calmly. Yang Hwapyeong, who had been watching in silence, spoke in a grave voice, trying to soothe his anxious wife.
“Let us open it. Yohan needs to know anyway. And he is not the type to go telling others.”
“I know, but... I am scared. What if something happens to Yohan too? He only just came back, sob, sob.”
While she wept, Yang Hwapyeong entered the code. At once, a foul stench poured out, like rotting flesh still alive. It reminded Yohan of the Abyss. He saw his father’s struggle to hold his breath, pretending it was nothing. Without hesitation, Yohan stepped into the unlit room. freewebnovel.cσ๓
“Brother....”
Even with only the faint light from the doorway, he could see clearly. On a mattress stained with filth lay a human figure—his older brother, Yang Yosep, severely contaminated. Worse than Yohan had expected.
Disgusting tendrils had sprouted from Yosep’s fingertips and back, embedding into the floor like roots. He looked like a plant grown from the seed of a human body. Hunched, unmoving, he only breathed raggedly. Barely touched food lay scattered near his head. His pale face no longer looked human. Though nearly unconscious, Yohan could see his brother was in agony.
Kim Yeju turned her head away, unable to watch, trembling against her husband. Her voice shook.
“Does it not seem worse than before?”
“No. It is the same as last time. It has not gotten worse.”
“But, last time... No, never mind.”
Unable to endure, she burst into tears and left the room. Yohan stood silently, staring at his brother who gave no response to any stimulus. His heart felt torn apart, and he thought he understood how his brother had ended up this way.
“Did my brother... become like this, searching for me?”
“Sob... At the beginning of your disappearance... they said survival chances were highest if we searched right away... so he....”
From outside, Kim Yeju’s trembling voice explained. As soon as he heard of Yohan’s disappearance, Yosep had led his guild into a rift to find him. A few days later, badly injured, wrapped in layers of sleeping bags, he was carried back. Anyone could see he was deeply contaminated. Even half-conscious, afraid of harming his family, Yosep had crawled into the basement and locked himself away—a week ago.
Yohan closed his eyes tightly. He had expected this, but it did not dull the pain. Yang Hwapyeong sighed heavily, while Kim Yeju sobbed.
“I knew... that with contamination this severe, we should have reported him to the government. But... no one who goes into detention ever comes out....”
There was a reason the current government—more precisely, the Department of National Rift and Homeland Security and the Rift Management Agency—had such a poor reputation. Their suppression of the contaminated was violent, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} sometimes fatal. No one who entered the isolation facilities had ever been released. Even those still rational were cut off from family, no visits, no contact, as if dead. When families asked after them, the replies came back like automated scripts.
Some even returned dead, cremated without even letting families see the bodies. Families, and even mild contamination cases, kept silent, hiding it rather than report. Official statistics were meaningless.
So Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju begged Yosep’s guildmates to keep it secret and hid him thoroughly. They even considered buying a deserted island to confine him there. Hearing this, Yohan bit his lip in guilt. Then, a faint voice whispered.
I am fine.... I am fine....
