Editor: Stomatopoda, Nets,
It was amazing that Kim Man-ho still ate ramen whenever he came to the restaurant .
He seemed to have become more gluttonous lately .
The size of his belly would get bigger and bigger, and his class attainment would increase faster. Maybe he ate a lot of good things.
It looked like he had met a good team that would help him continue to develop his ability.
Kim Man-ho finished seven bags of ramen in a flash, leaving only the soup, still filled with cold rice. He picked up the bowl and slurped the soup from it as if he were drinking water.
Finally, he ate the diced radish kimchi, and opened his eyes in awe and appreciation.
“Oh, dear God.”
“Haha.”
“This radish kimchi really is delicious. Oh, the ramen and rice are good too, but this is incredible.”
Cheol-ho could assume so . It was specially made of the Mandragora.
Cheol-ho smiled pleasantly as the next guest arrived.
“Hello, boss. Ah? Good morning, ‘God of Food’!”
It was Choi Jae-woo, the talkative man.
“Oh, yes. Good morning.”
Kim Man-ho welcomed Choi Jae-woo, Cheol-ho also greeting him lightly.
“I didn’t have time to eat, so I stopped by to say hello,” Choi Jae-woo said, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief as if he were busy. Cheol-ho grinned and took out a pitcher of chilled water.
“I see.”
“Oh, thank you. But these days, I’ve found it’s much easier to cope in the summer. Is it because my stamina is better?”
No, it was because he’d eaten a lot of the special radish kimchi made from the Mandragora.
Cheol-ho was glad it helped
Choi Jae-woo sighed, and interjected himself into the conversation after taking a sip of the water.
“By the way, ‘God of Food’, you look upset these days.”
“Yes…”
Kim Man-ho smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Yeah… I guess so. The boss seems to be very depressed these days.”
Cheol-ho sat down to listen to the conversation between the two.
“Ah. Does the boss know? Is it because of the Temple mercenaries?”
“I saw it in the newspaper.”
Cheol-ho picked up the newspaper, and set it over the table in front of them.
“Temple mercenaries Captain Cheon Tae-jung is retiring, so everyone’s on alert.”
“He’s retiring.”
As Cheol-ho tilted his head, Kim Man-ho replied to his inquisitive gaze.
“….usually the Guardian’s immediate team protects the city. But sometimes it’s hard to maintain perfect security,” Kim Man-ho continued with his arms crossed.
“That’s where the mercenaries of the district come in. In short, it’s mostly up to the guardians of the Awakening Society to stop the big threats, and it’s up to the mercenaries to deal with the details. It’s a win-win relationship.”
That was the system.
Cheol-ho listened with a silent nod.
“Among the mercenaries, the Temple mercenaries are the thick-boned mercenaries. The group formed 30 years ago, when the awakening began, and has since made tremendous achievements. Kim Sang-hu of Machangsa and Cheon Tae-jung, the captain of Temple’s mercenary squadron, are said to be the two hearts of the district Seodaemun.”
“Oh. You know very well.”
When Cheol-ho spoke as if he were surprised, Kim Man-ho embarrassedly added, “Of course, it wasn’t until I joined the team that I learned about it.”
Well.
The West Gate was a safe and habitable land, among the districts. It had been for a long time now, but the events that occured in West Gate when monsters appeared were probably the biggest crisis of recent years. Peace only followed afterwards because of the actions of someone.
Kim Man-ho added more after clearing his throat.
“But when Cheon Tae-jung retires, the position of the mercenary captain will be vacant. That’s why people are paying attention. Who will be the successor? Will he be as active as the Captain?”
“Oh.”
Cheol-ho was enjoying hearing about the situation. To be precise, it was always pleasant to learn information you didn’t know because you didn’t bother to look for it.
This world was more organized than he thought.
“It’s a shame,” Kim Man-ho recited morosely.
“My boss was a man whom I really admired. He was outstanding in terms of personality, not to mention in terms of work.”
To be loved by everyone?
Cheol-ho smiled slightly.
Come to think of it, now he was curious.
What kind of person was he?
* * *
The Awakening Society
A middle-aged man strode into the huge building. He was dressed in leather armor, and a sword hung from his waist.
He had short grey hair, framing the long black scar etched into his face. The scar crossed from the left of his forehead to his chin.
The middle-aged man made no sound as he walked. When passers-by saw him, they bowed politely.
“Oh, never mind with the bowing,” The man said, and smiled as he climbed into the elevator
At the top of the huge building there was a special room, reserved only for the President of the Awakening Society.
Chairman Yoo Jin-soo was lost in thought, spinning his pen round in a continuous circular motion.
“Tae-jung is retiring…”
He further disheveled his hair, running his hands through it in agitation. He had expected this day would come… but not so soon.
Cheon Tae-jung.
Although he was an awakened man, classified as a third-class, his true worth could not be assessed merely as third-class.
He was a natural leader. He was the commander of the battlefield, who led the pack.
During the monster invasion 10 years ago, he saved everyone in West Gate. Chairman Yoo Jin-soo thought it would be okay to elevate him to first-class. Many owed him their lives, so they loved him and respected him.
He recalled a memory from 30 years ago. It was when the awakening had just begun, and monsters first started appearing.
His first meeting with Cheon Tae-jung, who visited Seoul, was still vivid. He remembered every detail of when they first met and shook hands.
“Hmm…”
A knock sounded, and the door swung open. Yoo Jin-soo turned his head to see a familiar man standing in the doorway.
“Ah, long time no see,” The man spoke.
“Long time no see, Tae-jung,”Yoo Jin-su said, welcoming him warmly.
“Long time no see, Chairman.”
The two middle-aged men shook hands.
“Do you truly have to retire?”
“Well.”
Cheon Tae-jung smiled back while staring blankly into the air in thought, his cigarette drooping from his mouth.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s time for me to retire.”
“What do you mean? You raised the mercenary corps! You came to Seoul 30 years ago! Please don’t retire.”
Cheon Tae-jung laughed bitterly at Yoo Jin-su’s words.
He knew that Yoo Jin-soo didn’t speak with bad feelings. He was just sad.
A comrade who had lived through the struggles of his generation, his friend, was retiring.
“Listen, Chairman. I didn’t do anything by myself in this world. Everyone tried. Everyone has been trying, and everyone had a part in making the world what it is today, including you and I. I’m sure others will continue to try.”
He rose from his seat, stubbing his cigarette in the ashtray and firmly patting Yoo Jin-su’s shoulder.
“And I’m tired now. I’d like to put down some of the burden of the responsibilities I have on my shoulders.”
“…”
“See you later.”
Cheon Tae-jung left the office without a single regret in his heart.
Yoo Jin-su sighed, shaking his head as he stared blankly at the door he had left from.
“You must really be tired.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
It had gotten dark.
Cheon Tae-jung slowly walked out of the building of the Temple Mercenary Corps.
The official retirement ceremony was tomorrow. However, he was just sick and tired of it.
The successor has already been chosen.
Kang Hyuk.
He was a promising awakener who turns 30 this year. He was already a third class awakener, and might even grow to second class.
Instead of working for the Awakening Society, he followed the mercenary corps. Perhaps he could make the mercenary corps larger.
Also, the remaining veterans of Cheon Tae-jung’s generation would help him, so he wasn’t worried much.
Cheon Tae-jung looked up at the night sky, and the bright moon tracing its path through the stars .
“Good.”
Just in time.
***
On the retirement day of a veteran who was once on the battlefield.
“Have you eaten?”
At that time, a man with his back slouched against a building wall called out to him.
Cheon Tae-jung turned his head to see a long spear. He grinned and opened his mouth in reply.
“It’s late at night. It’s time for the kids to go to bed.”
“I was a child 10 years ago, but not anymore. I’m pretty strong now.”
“That’s a lot more reassuring.”
The man pushed off the wall and walked over to him.
“Where are you thinking of going?”
Cheon Tae-jung stared aimlessly into the air for a while.
“To my hometown.”
“To go home and do what?”
“To go farming.”
Kim Sang-hu giggled.
“This old man is farming? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“By the way…”
Kim Sang-hu stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. Soon, he slowly spoke.
“Don’t go.”
Chen Tae-jung looked at him quietly, and patted Kim Sang-hu on the shoulder. He turned around.
“Don’t go and live there, old man. You don’t have to be a mercenary, do you? Kang Hyuk will do well on his own. I’ll help you a lot, too. It’s good to live here, safe and peaceful. Yes?
“Hmm.”
“Oh my God, why would you want to quit your old mercenary job and go down to the countryside!?”, Kim Sang-hu bawled.
“Because I’m old,” Cheon tae-jung quietly replied.
“The chairman is old, but he’s doing well!”
“I’m at the forefront of the battlefield.”
“So what!?”
“Not long ago, three people died in the country’s southern region.”
“….”
He stopped talking.
“It was a small misjudgment. However, it was a fatal mistake. People died when they shouldn’t have. I feel that as I’m old I shouldn’t fight the monsters anymore. Our mercenaries need a young leader.”
Kim Sang-hu raised his voice angrily.
“That happens all the time! Why is it all your fault? One day the awakeners will die! We always fight to death! I almost died too, but you saved my life!”
* * *
Cheol-ho, alone in the restaurant, suddenly recalled his conversation with Kim Man-ho in the morning.
“We have no choice but to think of Captain Cheon Tae-jung more carefully.”
“What happened?”
“You know, ten years ago. Ugh, just thinking about that time still makes me shiver.”
Kim Man-ho trembled and slowly opened his mouth.
“Ten years ago, monsters hit the West Gate. It was a major invasion. It was incredible.”
Ten years ago.
Cheol-ho nodded.
“At that time, it was the first year that Kim Sang-hu, the current Manchangsa, had been appointed. He wasn’t a guardian yet, but a guardian usually goes through a two-year probationary period.
“And then. Of the five guardians of Seoul, four were killed in action in the process of preventing the invasion.”
Editor: Stomatopoda, Nets,
It was amazing that Kim Man-ho still ate ramen whenever he came to the restaurant .
He seemed to have become more gluttonous lately .
The size of his belly would get bigger and bigger, and his class attainment would increase faster. Maybe he ate a lot of good things.
It looked like he had met a good team that would help him continue to develop his ability.
Kim Man-ho finished seven bags of ramen in a flash, leaving only the soup, still filled with cold rice. He picked up the bowl and slurped the soup from it as if he were drinking water.
Finally, he ate the diced radish kimchi, and opened his eyes in awe and appreciation.
“Oh, dear God.”
“Haha.”
“This radish kimchi really is delicious. Oh, the ramen and rice are good too, but this is incredible.”
Cheol-ho could assume so . It was specially made of the Mandragora.
Cheol-ho smiled pleasantly as the next guest arrived.
“Hello, boss. Ah? Good morning, ‘God of Food’!”
It was Choi Jae-woo, the talkative man.
“Oh, yes. Good morning.”
Kim Man-ho welcomed Choi Jae-woo, Cheol-ho also greeting him lightly.
“I didn’t have time to eat, so I stopped by to say hello,” Choi Jae-woo said, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief as if he were busy. Cheol-ho grinned and took out a pitcher of chilled water.
“I see.”
“Oh, thank you. But these days, I’ve found it’s much easier to cope in the summer. Is it because my stamina is better?”
No, it was because he’d eaten a lot of the special radish kimchi made from the Mandragora.
Cheol-ho was glad it helped
Choi Jae-woo sighed, and interjected himself into the conversation after taking a sip of the water.
“By the way, ‘God of Food’, you look upset these days.”
“Yes…”
Kim Man-ho smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Yeah… I guess so. The boss seems to be very depressed these days.”
Cheol-ho sat down to listen to the conversation between the two.
“Ah. Does the boss know? Is it because of the Temple mercenaries?”
“I saw it in the newspaper.”
Cheol-ho picked up the newspaper, and set it over the table in front of them.
“Temple mercenaries Captain Cheon Tae-jung is retiring, so everyone’s on alert.”
“He’s retiring.”
As Cheol-ho tilted his head, Kim Man-ho replied to his inquisitive gaze.
“….usually the Guardian’s immediate team protects the city. But sometimes it’s hard to maintain perfect security,” Kim Man-ho continued with his arms crossed.
“That’s where the mercenaries of the district come in. In short, it’s mostly up to the guardians of the Awakening Society to stop the big threats, and it’s up to the mercenaries to deal with the details. It’s a win-win relationship.”
That was the system.
Cheol-ho listened with a silent nod.
“Among the mercenaries, the Temple mercenaries are the thick-boned mercenaries. The group formed 30 years ago, when the awakening began, and has since made tremendous achievements. Kim Sang-hu of Machangsa and Cheon Tae-jung, the captain of Temple’s mercenary squadron, are said to be the two hearts of the district Seodaemun.”
“Oh. You know very well.”
When Cheol-ho spoke as if he were surprised, Kim Man-ho embarrassedly added, “Of course, it wasn’t until I joined the team that I learned about it.”
Well.
The West Gate was a safe and habitable land, among the districts. It had been for a long time now, but the events that occured in West Gate when monsters appeared were probably the biggest crisis of recent years. Peace only followed afterwards because of the actions of someone.
Kim Man-ho added more after clearing his throat.
“But when Cheon Tae-jung retires, the position of the mercenary captain will be vacant. That’s why people are paying attention. Who will be the successor? Will he be as active as the Captain?”
“Oh.”
Cheol-ho was enjoying hearing about the situation. To be precise, it was always pleasant to learn information you didn’t know because you didn’t bother to look for it.
This world was more organized than he thought.
“It’s a shame,” Kim Man-ho recited morosely.
“My boss was a man whom I really admired. He was outstanding in terms of personality, not to mention in terms of work.”
To be loved by everyone?
Cheol-ho smiled slightly.
Come to think of it, now he was curious.
What kind of person was he?
* * *
The Awakening Society
A middle-aged man strode into the huge building. He was dressed in leather armor, and a sword hung from his waist.
He had short grey hair, framing the long black scar etched into his face. The scar crossed from the left of his forehead to his chin.
The middle-aged man made no sound as he walked. When passers-by saw him, they bowed politely.
“Oh, never mind with the bowing,” The man said, and smiled as he climbed into the elevator
At the top of the huge building there was a special room, reserved only for the President of the Awakening Society.
Chairman Yoo Jin-soo was lost in thought, spinning his pen round in a continuous circular motion.
“Tae-jung is retiring…”
He further disheveled his hair, running his hands through it in agitation. He had expected this day would come… but not so soon.
Cheon Tae-jung.
Although he was an awakened man, classified as a third-class, his true worth could not be assessed merely as third-class.
He was a natural leader. He was the commander of the battlefield, who led the pack.
During the monster invasion 10 years ago, he saved everyone in West Gate. Chairman Yoo Jin-soo thought it would be okay to elevate him to first-class. Many owed him their lives, so they loved him and respected him.
He recalled a memory from 30 years ago. It was when the awakening had just begun, and monsters first started appearing.
His first meeting with Cheon Tae-jung, who visited Seoul, was still vivid. He remembered every detail of when they first met and shook hands.
“Hmm…”
A knock sounded, and the door swung open. Yoo Jin-soo turned his head to see a familiar man standing in the doorway.
“Ah, long time no see,” The man spoke.
“Long time no see, Tae-jung,”Yoo Jin-su said, welcoming him warmly.
“Long time no see, Chairman.”
The two middle-aged men shook hands.
“Do you truly have to retire?”
“Well.”
Cheon Tae-jung smiled back while staring blankly into the air in thought, his cigarette drooping from his mouth.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s time for me to retire.”
“What do you mean? You raised the mercenary corps! You came to Seoul 30 years ago! Please don’t retire.”
Cheon Tae-jung laughed bitterly at Yoo Jin-su’s words.
He knew that Yoo Jin-soo didn’t speak with bad feelings. He was just sad.
A comrade who had lived through the struggles of his generation, his friend, was retiring.
“Listen, Chairman. I didn’t do anything by myself in this world. Everyone tried. Everyone has been trying, and everyone had a part in making the world what it is today, including you and I. I’m sure others will continue to try.”
He rose from his seat, stubbing his cigarette in the ashtray and firmly patting Yoo Jin-su’s shoulder.
“And I’m tired now. I’d like to put down some of the burden of the responsibilities I have on my shoulders.”
“…”
“See you later.”
Cheon Tae-jung left the office without a single regret in his heart.
Yoo Jin-su sighed, shaking his head as he stared blankly at the door he had left from.
“You must really be tired.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
It had gotten dark.
Cheon Tae-jung slowly walked out of the building of the Temple Mercenary Corps.
The official retirement ceremony was tomorrow. However, he was just sick and tired of it.
The successor has already been chosen.
Kang Hyuk.
He was a promising awakener who turns 30 this year. He was already a third class awakener, and might even grow to second class.
Instead of working for the Awakening Society, he followed the mercenary corps. Perhaps he could make the mercenary corps larger.
Also, the remaining veterans of Cheon Tae-jung’s generation would help him, so he wasn’t worried much.
Cheon Tae-jung looked up at the night sky, and the bright moon tracing its path through the stars .
“Good.”
Just in time.
***
On the retirement day of a veteran who was once on the battlefield.
“Have you eaten?”
At that time, a man with his back slouched against a building wall called out to him.
Cheon Tae-jung turned his head to see a long spear. He grinned and opened his mouth in reply.
“It’s late at night. It’s time for the kids to go to bed.”
“I was a child 10 years ago, but not anymore. I’m pretty strong now.”
“That’s a lot more reassuring.”
The man pushed off the wall and walked over to him.
“Where are you thinking of going?”
Cheon Tae-jung stared aimlessly into the air for a while.
“To my hometown.”
“To go home and do what?”
“To go farming.”
Kim Sang-hu giggled.
“This old man is farming? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“By the way…”
Kim Sang-hu stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. Soon, he slowly spoke.
“Don’t go.”
Chen Tae-jung looked at him quietly, and patted Kim Sang-hu on the shoulder. He turned around.
“Don’t go and live there, old man. You don’t have to be a mercenary, do you? Kang Hyuk will do well on his own. I’ll help you a lot, too. It’s good to live here, safe and peaceful. Yes?
“Hmm.”
“Oh my God, why would you want to quit your old mercenary job and go down to the countryside!?”, Kim Sang-hu bawled.
“Because I’m old,” Cheon tae-jung quietly replied.
“The chairman is old, but he’s doing well!”
“I’m at the forefront of the battlefield.”
“So what!?”
“Not long ago, three people died in the country’s southern region.”
“….”
He stopped talking.
“It was a small misjudgment. However, it was a fatal mistake. People died when they shouldn’t have. I feel that as I’m old I shouldn’t fight the monsters anymore. Our mercenaries need a young leader.”
Kim Sang-hu raised his voice angrily.
“That happens all the time! Why is it all your fault? One day the awakeners will die! We always fight to death! I almost died too, but you saved my life!”
* * *
Cheol-ho, alone in the restaurant, suddenly recalled his conversation with Kim Man-ho in the morning.
“We have no choice but to think of Captain Cheon Tae-jung more carefully.”
“What happened?”
“You know, ten years ago. Ugh, just thinking about that time still makes me shiver.”
Kim Man-ho trembled and slowly opened his mouth.
“Ten years ago, monsters hit the West Gate. It was a major invasion. It was incredible.”
Ten years ago.
Cheol-ho nodded.
“At that time, it was the first year that Kim Sang-hu, the current Manchangsa, had been appointed. He wasn’t a guardian yet, but a guardian usually goes through a two-year probationary period.
“And then. Of the five guardians of Seoul, four were killed in action in the process of preventing the invasion.”
