That evening, Jin-Woo headed to the same barbecue restaurant he and Yoo Jin-Ho always frequented.
—Hyung-nim! There's something I need to tell you.
Yoo Jin-Ho's voice carried a weight that was out of the ordinary, and Jin-Woo agreed to meet without hesitation. Upon stepping inside the restaurant, Yoo Jin-Ho — who had been sitting near the entrance where he could see the door, his face taut with anxiety — threw his hand high in the air.
"Hyung-nim!"
After graduating from college, Yoo Jin-Ho had been learning the ropes of business management under his father, Chairman Yoo Myung-Han, and his demeanor had transformed remarkably. But to Jin-Woo, he was still nothing more than a little brother.
"Oh."
Jin-Woo answered with a smile and took the seat across from Yoo Jin-Ho.
"What's with the sudden summons out of nowhere?"
As he spoke, Jin-Woo's eyes briefly swept over the soju glass in Yoo Jin-Ho's hand and the half-empty bottle beside it.
'A kid who can't even hold his liquor...'
Whatever he had resolved to do, it was clear this was something that demanded tremendous courage on Jin-Ho's part. After hesitating for a moment, Yoo Jin-Ho pulled a small box from inside his jacket and opened it. Inside sat an elegant ring.
"Hyung-nim!" "What?" "This time, I'm going to propose to Jin-A!"
Ah.
'So that's what this is about.'
Having half-expected Yoo Jin-Ho to come complaining about getting scolded by Jin-A again, Jin-Woo let out a small chuckle. Misreading the meaning behind that smile, Yoo Jin-Ho steeled his drooping eyes with determination.
"Hyung-nim! I'm dead serious this time. Today is the day I confess. But... do you think Jin-A will like this ring?"
Knowing that Jin-A had been grumbling at home about when Jin-Ho would ever get around to confessing, Jin-Woo was sure she would be overjoyed — but for the thrill of the confession itself, Jin-Woo deliberately gave a vague answer.
"Hmm... I'm really not an expert on this sort of thing." "Ugh."
Yoo Jin-Ho hung his head in anguish, then raised it again.
"That's alright, Hyung-nim. Actually, I've got plenty of backup gifts prepared since I wasn't sure what she'd like."
So saying, he rustled around and pulled out a large paper envelope. From inside came an architectural rendering of a building.
"To tell the truth, we're putting up a building on our company's land, and once Jin-A finishes her specialist medical training, we'll set up a hospital right here—" "Wait a minute."
The rendering looked familiar, and Jin-Woo cut Yoo Jin-Ho off.
"Is this building... estimated at thirty billion won?"
Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes went wide in shock.
"No — how did you know that, Hyung-nim?"
Of course he knew. It was exactly the same. The same rendering Yoo Jin-Ho had offered him in the lost timeline as the price for making him guild master. Jin-Woo fought back a laugh. Seeing his face flush red, Yoo Jin-Ho hurriedly explained.
"Hyung-nim, I'm still learning from my father, so this is all I can offer Jin-A right now, but..." "No, that's not what I mean, Jin-Ho." "Yes?"
Jin-Woo spoke earnestly to clear up any misunderstanding.
"You don't need to go overboard trying to impress her with a bunch of different things. You're a good guy — just show her who you really are." "....."
At those words, Yoo Jin-Ho went completely silent, then began to choke up.
"Hyung-nim..."
A beat later, Jin-Woo recalled Yoo Jin-Ho's drinking habits and felt a sense of foreboding. Sure enough.
"Would it be okay if I gave you a hug, Hyung-nim?" "It would not."
Just as expected. Yoo Jin-Ho, his nose flushed red to the tip, had tears brimming in his eyes as he lunged for an embrace.
"Hyung-nim!"
But with a deft outstretched arm, Jin-Woo kept him at bay. Yoo Jin-Ho, unable to reach him, finally managed to compose himself and retreated to his seat.
"Uh-huh..."
Watching Yoo Jin-Ho sniffling, Jin-Woo smiled. His junior brother was a bit of a goofball, but Jin-Woo knew what kind of person he truly was. He remembered the moments when Jin-Ho's life hung in the balance. When he was forced to make a choice in a C-rank Dungeon alongside swindlers. When he was captured and brutally tortured by an S-rank Hunter blinded by vengeance. In every instance, Yoo Jin-Ho chose loyalty over his own safety. A good guy — that had been Jin-Woo's assessment after watching him closely for so long. Jin-Woo poured himself a drink.
"Shall we toast to your success?" "Huh?"
When Yoo Jin-Ho looked up, Jin-Woo held out his glass.
"If your proposal succeeds, we'll really become family. How about a toast to that?" "Really becoming family with Hyung-nim..."
Yoo Jin-Ho's face momentarily softened with emotion. He raised his glass, then his gaze lingered on Jin-Woo's left hand. Yoo Jin-Ho knew very well what lay hidden inside the black glove covering it.
"Uh... Hyung-nim." "Hm?" "If it's not too much to ask, could I ask you one thing?" "Of course."
Stealing glances at Jin-Woo's left hand, Yoo Jin-Ho gathered his courage.
"That scar on your hand... How did you end up with such a severe injury?"
The wound was ghastly — the kind that instantly evoked excruciating pain. Whatever had caused those burns was no ordinary accident. Summoning his nerve with the help of liquid courage, Yoo Jin-Ho finally asked the question he had held back for so long.
"This?"
Jin-Woo glanced at his left hand, then grinned.
"Saved the world."
His gaze was already back on Yoo Jin-Ho. At that offhand reply, Yoo Jin-Ho let out a light laugh.
"Hyung-nim, honestly, with your jokes..."
Jin-Woo offered no further explanation and simply laughed it off. It was only a moment later that Yoo Jin-Ho belatedly realized his brother had been holding his glass up for quite some time, and he raised his own.
"To a successful proposal!"
Jin-Woo gently touched his glass against it and wished him well.
"To a successful proposal."
Clink. They struck glasses and drained them. While Yoo Jin-Ho grimaced at the bitter taste of soju, Jin-Woo smiled wryly and set his empty glass on the table.
'On a day this nice, I wouldn't mind getting a little drunk, but...'
Absolute power wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Just then.
'Oh right.'
Perhaps the word "family" had reminded him of his own household, because Yoo Jin-Ho suddenly spoke up.
"How is your wife doing?" "She's doing well." "And Su-Ho? I should go visit him too. Is he walking around yet?"
Jin-Woo shook his head with a laugh.
"Not yet. He's only six months old, so he's barely crawling." "That's strange. With Hyung-nim and your wife as parents, I figured he'd be running around from the moment he was born." "What exactly did you think we were?" "Haha."
Yoo Jin-Ho scratched the back of his head with a grin, and Jin-Woo chuckled too. Then, remembering something he had heard about how exhausting it was to raise a baby, Yoo Jin-Ho quickly caught himself and changed the subject.
"Then shouldn't you be heading home?" "Hmm... maybe I should."
As it happened, Jin-Woo was already thinking of Hae-In and his son Su-Ho, who would be waiting for him at home — all triggered by that word, "family."
* * *
A house on the outskirts of the city. Jin-Woo parked his car nearby after arriving home. The house was enormous — far too grand to be afforded on a detective's salary. But because the person living in it was once a sports idol known by practically everyone in South Korea, Jin-Woo could raise no suspicion. The secret that its true builders were not human was known only to Jin-Woo and Hae-In. When he stepped inside, he found the two legion commanders locked in a standoff right at the entrance. Bellion and Igrit faced each other without yielding an inch. Shortly after, Hae-In emerged carrying their son Su-Ho.
"Honey."
Jin-Woo smiled and gently took Su-Ho from Hae-In's arms, cradling him. The baby —
"Pa-!"
— burst into giggles and threw himself into his father's embrace. Jin-Woo held Su-Ho against one shoulder and jerked his chin toward the legion commanders.
"What's going on with them?" "Well..."
Hae-In hesitated, stifling a laugh, but Jin-Woo understood the situation right away. Bellion glared at Igrit and spoke.
[Saying we must not teach the Young Monarch how to use a sword — do you truly think that makes any sense, Igrit?]
But Igrit's defiance was equally fierce.
[In this world, grades are everything, Bellion.]
In one of Igrit's hands was a children's workbook, which he had apparently ordered who knew when. The two soldiers' battle of wills left Jin-Woo utterly exasperated. He watched them both with a look of disbelief, then stepped forward and spoke.
"You two..."
Noticing that Jin-Woo had approached, the legion commanders spun around and dropped to their knees.
[My liege!] [My liege!] "Whether it's swordsmanship or studying, how about you wait until the kid can at least walk before you argue about it?"
Bellion and Igrit exchanged a glance, then bowed their heads to Jin-Woo.
[Wisdom itself.] [You speak the truth, my liege.] "Good."
Jin-Woo lifted Su-Ho and grinned, and Su-Ho, cradled in his father's arms, grinned right back.
"Gah."
Father and son wore identical smiles, as if stamped from the same mold. Even Hae-In, standing beside them, let out an involuntary laugh. And so, another peaceful day in the life of Jin-Woo's family drew to a close.
* * *
It was around the time that Lee Se-Hwan, the detective who had joined as Jin-Woo's successor, was finally growing accustomed to the work, when Jin-Woo was summoned by the chief. The way his senior colleague shot him a meaningful look on the way out of the chief's office told Jin-Woo this was no pleasant matter. Once the senior had left and the door was shut, Jin-Woo approached the desk where the chief stood.
"You called for me?"
Still gazing out the window, the chief spoke without turning around.
"There are still rumors going around that you've been poking into other detectives' cases..."
As expected. That look in his senior's eyes had definitely reeked of self-satisfaction. Jin-Woo suppressed a silent cough of frustration. The chief soon turned to face him with a mild smile.
"Just keep it within a range that won't earn you the collective wrath of the other detectives, please — Hunter Sung."
Woo Jin-Cheol was the youngest chief in the department's history. Of course, buried within that appointment were the many behind-the-scenes contributions Jin-Woo had made, helping resolve case after case. Jin-Woo corrected him with a smile.
"I'm not a Hunter anymore, Chief." "Still, I find it more comfortable to call you Hunter."
As he spoke, Woo Jin-Cheol scanned the documents laid out on his desk and continued.
"A few days ago, the father of a woman who committed suicide suddenly went missing. Did you know?" "...I see." "And by some coincidence, every CCTV camera in the area around his home experienced a simultaneous malfunction." "What an extraordinary coincidence."
Woo Jin-Cheol let out a dry laugh at Jin-Woo's deadpan response, then tossed the documents into the waste bin.
"Whatever you do, Hunter Sung, I trust you."
Jin-Woo gave a brief nod of gratitude for the unwavering trust. Then —
"Actually, that's not why I called you here..."
Woo Jin-Cheol slid over a notepad he had set aside. On it was written the name of a hospital and a room number.
"...I thought you might want to know." "What is this?"
When Jin-Woo asked, Woo Jin-Cheol answered as if he had been waiting for the question.
"Chairman Ko Geon-Hee — or rather, Association Chairman Ko Geon-Hee — is in critical condition."
* * *
This was Jin-Woo's second visit to Ko Geon-Hee's hospital room. About ten years ago, Jin-Woo had saved Ko Geon-Hee's life — the man who had been lying in a hospital bed — using the "Elixir of Life," the same item he had used to save his own mother. Now he found Ko Geon-Hee once more, on the verge of death and wasted to a husk. Since this was his second visit, Ko Geon-Hee was not surprised to see him. He tapped lightly on the oxygen mask covering his face. Jin-Woo carefully removed it, and Ko Geon-Hee drew labored breaths as he pieced together his words with difficulty.
"You've... come again, young man... In truth, for quite some time, I have been... searching for you."
Watching him with a pang of sorrow, Jin-Woo asked.
"If you wish to be cured, Chairman..."
Before he could even finish saying he was willing to treat him one more time, Ko Geon-Hee shook his head.
"I have... lived long enough. During the ten years you gave me, I did everything I needed to do. That is more than sufficient."
In the lost timeline, Ko Geon-Hee had wound down his business and became chairman of the Hunter's Association. In this timeline, he was a model philanthropist at the forefront of charitable work. And now he no longer wished for his life to continue. What he wanted was something entirely different from what people might expect.
"I have... a request for you."
Jin-Woo nodded. Ko Geon-Hee looked at him with earnest eyes and spoke.
"You told me there was a world where you and I fought together?"
Jin-Woo nodded silently once more.
"Could you show me those times? I want to see them for myself. What I looked like then, and what you looked like..." "Those may be memories you'd rather not revisit." "It's all right. I simply wish to recover what was taken from me."
Seeing the desperation on Chairman Ko Geon-Hee's face, Jin-Woo took his hand. And so, like a flood, the memories of the lost timeline surged into the old man's mind.
"Ah..."
Tears streamed from Chairman Ko Geon-Hee's eyes. Jin-Woo slowly pulled back his hood and revealed his bare face. Chairman Ko Geon-Hee, clutching Jin-Woo's hand tightly, wept even harder at the sight.
"To think I would meet you... like this, again."
Jin-Woo gently squeezed the hand of Chairman Ko Geon-Hee, who was gasping for every breath. Wheeze — wheeze — the old man's gaze turned once more toward the ceiling of his hospital room.
"To think that I, with young heroes like you..."
With a voice full of contentment and joy welling up from deep within his chest, Chairman Ko Geon-Hee shed tears and quietly drew his last breath. After a moment with tears brimming in his own eyes, Jin-Woo gently closed the old man's eyelids. Before long, the machines announced the patient's passing. Beep — when the startled doctors rushed into the room, the mysterious visitor had already vanished without a trace.
As Jin-Woo walked through the streets, electronic billboards flashed breaking news of Chairman Ko Geon-Hee's passing. The faces of many who watched the broadcast carried traces of mourning. Both before and now, Chairman Ko Geon-Hee had been beloved by countless people, and his death was met with widespread grief. Jin-Woo turned toward a screen showing footage of Chairman Ko Geon-Hee in life and offered a silent farewell.
'Goodbye... You, too, were a hero who gave everything for others.'
Passing through crowded streets, Jin-Woo walked toward a quieter direction. With every gust of wind, autumn leaves that had changed color came rustling down. Winter would arrive soon.
'And spring will come again.'
Lost in thought among the falling leaves, Jin-Woo picked up his phone as it rang insistently. It was Hae-In.
"Honey?"
The moment he called her name, her frantic voice came through.
"H-Honey! Su-Ho! Our Su-Ho!"
Could something have happened even with two legion commanders guarding the house? Unable to believe it, Jin-Woo raised his voice.
"What about Su-Ho?"
Hae-In, as if she could barely believe it herself, screamed into the phone.
"He's flying right now!" "What?" "Su-Ho is flying around the house!"
At that moment, words Yoo Jin-Ho had spoken days ago flashed through his mind.
"That's strange. With Hyung-nim and your wife as parents, I figured he'd be running around from the moment he was born."
At the memory of that remark, Jin-Woo was struck speechless and stood frozen in place.
"Wh-what do we do?"
Hearing his wife's panicked voice, he felt a laugh about to burst out of him. Jin-Woo did his best to calm her down first.
"It's okay. Don't worry." "What?" "I'll teach Su-Ho how to fly, one step at a time." "You... you could fly too?"
Ah. Had he not told her yet? During the time in the lost timeline when he and Hae-In had been together, his flying hadn't been nearly as refined, so they had mostly gotten around by riding the shadow dragon Kaiwel. And so, as laughter finally escaped Jin-Woo's lips, the autumn leaves stirred by the wind rustled once more to the ground. Autumn comes, then winter, and then spring again. Everything has a beginning and an end, and from that end, yet another beginning follows. But —
"S-Su-Ho, don't do that!"
Crash! — It seemed winter in Jin-Woo's household was still a ways off.