novelraw Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56 : Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Five Days of Time (4)
“It seems like Yu-seong is being a bit too quiet. Why don't we have a casual chat until the other children arrive?”
As soon as she finished sending the Sound Transmission to me, Cha Yu-na spoke naturally, as if nothing had happened.
I was somewhat speechless, wondering if a person could really be that good at acting, but I decided to follow her lead and expressed my agreement.
“Yes. I do not mind.”
“Right. Jin-oh, what would you like to do?”
“…I am also fine with it.”
“Hehe. Then, what would be a good topic to talk about…?”
Cha Yu-na smiled as if she was satisfied with the answers from Ryu Jin-oh and me, and she began to contemplate a topic for our conversation.
She appeared to be thinking hard, but for me, I could already guess what the main theme would be.
I could bet that, considering the current situation, the only topic that would come up was….
“I suppose talking about that fellow, Shin Yu-hwan, would be the most interesting.”
…Indeed. It could only be Shin Yu-hwan.
‘Cha Yu-na is not the type to miss such minor details.’
In the first place, Cha Yu-na had said through the Sound Transmission earlier that she would help me build my network.
When considering that, was it not obvious that the topic of conversation would be Shin Yu-hwan?
Naturally, when people share a common interest, a certain level of exchange is bound to occur.
Therefore, what I was curious about was not the broad subject of Shin Yu-hwan, but rather which specific part of him she would discuss.
For me, getting to know the side of a hero that I did not know was quite a happy occasion.
Ryu Jin-oh and I waited for Cha Yu-na’s next words with anticipation, and Cha Yu-na laughed as if she found our reaction amusing.
“It seems you both are very curious. Hmm… Since it is a bit uncomfortable to talk about Yu-hwan’s personal life, this would be good.”
“What is it about?”
“It is nothing major, but do you happen to know that he used to be a complete wild child in the past?”
I nodded at those words.
Every time Shin Yu-hwan’s past was mentioned, I had read it with interest, so I remembered it clearly even without borrowing my talents.
On the other hand, Ryu Jin-oh shook his head as if he did not know.
In the process, I felt a sensation as if Ryu Jin-oh was glaring at me, but I chose to ignore it.
“Hehe, Yu-hwan does not talk much about those days, so it is impressive that you know.”
I had never heard it directly from him, but I was not a fool who would talk about such things one by one, so I kept my mouth shut and just looked at her.
“But you probably do not know this. Back when he was acting out like that, he even fought with Senior Ryu Jin-seong.”
“Is that true?”
It was not me who asked that question just now.
Ryu Jin-oh was looking at Cha Yu-na with wide eyes, looking as though he had just heard something incredible.
Cha Yu-na continued speaking while smiling at Ryu Jin-oh.
“Yes. It was likely back when he was nineteen years old. He rebelled because they kept excluding him from villain hunts and only put him in Gate clearing teams.”
“Ah….”
“At that time, Senior Jin-seong was an S-Rank, but even considering that, it was reckless. It was a time when rumors were circulating that he would soon rise to become a Hero-Rank player.”
“And then?”
“What do you think happened next? He jumped right in after rebelling. He was a real crybaby back then.”
This was a story even I did not know.
A story about a nineteen-year-old Shin Yu-hwan throwing a tantrum and attacking Ryu Jin-seong… this is quite precious.
Actually, the story itself was valuable, but the truly amazing thing was that he had already caught the attention of Ryu Jin-seong at the age of nineteen.
Listening to Cha Yu-na, Ryu Jin-seong was essentially a Hero-Rank player even back then, and to have caught the interest of such a being….
It felt like I was hearing a fragment of the reason why Shin Yu-hwan is still alive today despite his aggressive behavior toward villains.
“So, I tried my best to stop Yu-hwan back then, but was he ever the type of guy who could be stopped?”
That was true. Furthermore, it sounded like they had completely blocked him from hunting villains, so there was no way Shin Yu-hwan would have endured that.
“So, on that day, Yu-hwan told the Senior. He said that if he won, they should let him go quietly.”
“…Really?”
“Of course~ If you think about it, he was a real madman, right? To think about winning against an S-Rank player when he was only nineteen and still at the age of a cadet.”
Cha Yu-na spoke as if she was scolding Shin Yu-hwan slightly, but it seemed as though Ryu Jin-oh was no longer hearing any of that.
Looking at his expression, it felt like he was greatly looking forward to the next part of the story.
Well, it was a battle between his father, a Hero-Rank player, and Shin Yu-hwan, who had inspired his dream of becoming a player, so how could he not be excited?
Even I was feeling this much anticipation.
‘It feels like I am listening to the stories teachers used to tell during class back in school.’
When I thought about those times, it was strange how intensely I would focus on the teachers' stories.
It was probably due to the psychological factor of not having to attend the actual lesson, and I felt a similar sensation now.
Perhaps because I knew I would be suffering later, this moment felt even more enjoyable?
Therefore, I also focused intensely on Cha Yu-na’s story without spacing out.
“I did not know you would like this story so much. Anyway, so the Senior accepted Yu-hwan’s condition, and the two of them went BANG! and clashed.”
“…….”
“And I realized it for the first time that day. I knew Yu-hwan wanted to hunt villains, but I never imagined he wanted it that much.”
“Just how was it?”
“It was like seeing something out of a manga or a movie right before my eyes. Even if he is a player, how can someone fight for four days straight without resting… I was truly sick of it.”
…Did I hear that correctly? He fought for four days without resting?
I feel like I would collapse after fighting for just a few hours.
“Judging by your expressions, you do not seem to believe it. I was exactly the same back then. Even if the Senior was taking it a bit easy during the fight, how can a human do that?”
“……."
“It got to the point where the Senior, who was always laughing heartily, eventually fought with a face that had lost all its humor.”
At those words, I could not even manage my facial expression.
The same was true for Ryu Jin-oh, who was sitting across from me.
If Ryu Jin-oh, who always showed a consistent expression, was reacting like that, then what more needed to be said?
‘Even if it was a fight where he was being spared, is that not a bit too much?’
It was not forty minutes or four hours, but a full four days.
In terms of time, that meant a staggering ninety-six hours.
No matter how superhuman a player’s body might be, this was impossible without an extraordinary level of mental strength.
In fact, it meant that from a certain point, he was not in his right mind and was simply fighting to hold on with sheer persistence….
‘Could I ever do that?’
I was not sure.
If it were something related to a hero, I would want to confidently say I could, but I really did not know.
Such things can only be known when one is actually in that situation. Anyone can talk a big game.
But one thing for sure was that I sincerely hoped such a situation would never happen to me.
Being in such a situation would mean, at the very least, that a once-in-a-lifetime crisis had arrived.
‘For Shin Yu-hwan, that must have been a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.’
A man whose goal in life is to kill villains.
Taking that opportunity away from him would have been no different from taking away his purpose for living.
Thinking about it that way, I could not simply criticize Shin Yu-hwan as a madman.
Because if I felt that someone was taking away my chance to protect a hero, I would likely act the same way.
…Thinking about it, is this not like looking in a mirror? They say you resemble those you like, so I must take after Shin Yu-hwan.
While I was lost in those thoughts, Ryu Jin-oh, who had only been offering short interjections until now, spoke up toward Cha Yu-na first, as if he was very curious about the rest of the story.
“So, what happened next?”
“Huh? Ah, these things are usually more interesting when they end with an open conclusion… but looking at your faces, I feel like I might get cursed if I do that.”
“…….”
“Nothing much happened after that. It ended with the Senior eventually giving up because of the way Yu-hwan looked. It seemed like he would keep attacking until the moment he died if they continued.”
It was a lackluster ending compared to the content.
However, even this was a sufficiently interesting story.
Besides, where else would one hear such a thing?
The hidden history between Hero-Rank player Ryu Jin-seong and the Spear God Shin Yu-hwan. Cha Yu-na was probably the only person who could tell such a story.
As if she knew what we were thinking, Cha Yu-na grinned and added another comment.
“So, try to get along. Who knows? Maybe later, Yu-hwan will tell Yu-seong even more interesting stories.”
I did not think that would happen, but seeing Ryu Jin-oh’s expression, I did not bother to speak.
It felt like he had been completely won over by Cha Yu-na’s suggestion that he could hear more secret stories.
Just as I was dancing internally at the thought that a chance to get closer to Ryu Jin-oh had been created, a knock was heard from outside the door.
At the same time, the voice of an employee could be heard.
Cha Yu-na, the guests who were scheduled have arrived.
“Is that so? Then please send them up here.”
Yes. Understood.
It was obvious who the guests the employee mentioned were.
It was likely the other three who had scheduled their appointment later than us.
“Now then! Since it seems the other children have arrived, shall we end our conversation here? It is time to move on to the main reason I called you all here.”
Cha Yu-na spoke to Ryu Jin-oh and me in a spirited voice.
However, unlike Cha Yu-na’s energetic tone, I could not help but feel my strength draining away.
That was because the "hard work" Cha Yu-na mentioned earlier was now right in front of me.
They say good medicine tastes bitter, right? They say there is nothing wrong with the old sayings….
It seemed the moment to truly suffer had finally arrived.
***
In an office where the atmosphere was quite different from the busy Monday morning, Shin Yu-hwan was sitting in his seat, spending time with a more relaxed demeanor than anyone else.
“Suddenly, my ears are itching. Is someone talking behind my back?”
Shin Yu-hwan scratched his ear and thought that might be the case.
After all, by now, Big Sister and the boy would be together.
It seemed Big Sister’s suspicion had deepened after the last incident, so while it might not be badmouthing, it was certain they were talking about him.
“Haha! But well, Big Sister would not say anything bad to the boy, so it should be fine.”
She is a Big Sister who knows how much he cherishes the boy.
It was unimaginable that she would do any harm to the boy.
That was why he had agreed when she brought up the topic of the boy.
“Knowing Big Sister, she will probably try to raise the boy instead.”
They have known each other for over ten years.
Even if he did not have much interest in others, the story was different when it came to Cha Yu-na.
It was obvious what choice Cha Yu-na would make in this kind of situation.
“They say that one is influenced by their company. It will surely be a great help to the boy as well.”
In the first place, it was not as if he lacked talent. The boy he saw definitely possessed a clear talent as a player.
And if it were Big Sister, she would surely be able to draw out that talent in a short period of time.
“Of course, that process will be damn hard.”
But what did it matter? It was not as if he would actually die, and it was a way to improve his skills.
Shin Yu-hwan smiled broadly as he thought that.
It was a smile that would have horrified Choi Yu-seong if he had seen it.
“I am looking forward to seeing what he looks like the next time we meet. Haha!”
Shin Yu-hwan laughed and then savored the tea in front of him as he thought.
How would the boy surprise him next time, and how much growth would he achieve?
It was a moment where he could not help but hope that their next meeting would come soon.