The Hero Returns

Act 2

Hak-joon was sitting in the living room with his eyes closed, thinking over the fight he'd had during the Ranking Wars.

<< I got lucky. >>

He knew that he wasn't skilled enough to get to the finals. He'd only managed to pass the preliminaries because the team he was assigned to didn't fight amongst themselves and got through their mission, that was all.

Then, his opponent during the first round just happened to be an awakener specializing in recovery-type skills. So far, he had been riding his luck. If he had to go through a similar path as Su-hyeun, then he'd have dropped out during the prelims, that's for sure.

<< What would've happened if I fought against Thomas....? >>

He had witnessed Thomas's strange skill through the display screens. Although that particular skill's name was unknown, Hak-joon knew that his abilities were inadequate to break out of that.

Su-hyeun's methods always had been based on the overwhelming, absolute difference in power level between himself and his opponents. Such a method would only work for people like him and maybe Gordon Rohan and...just these two, really.

<< What if I fought against Gordon Rohan? >>

He imagined how he would fight the American in his mind. It wasn't a pretty picture.

<< What if I fought Su-hyeun, then? >>

He couldn't even picture that. Hak-joon had no clue of the true extent of Su-hyeun's abilities, since he'd never seen him go all-out before.

Su-hyuen, Thomas, and Gordon Rohan.

Compared to those three, he was just too weak.

"Hah-ah-" Hak-joon sighed.

Lee Ju-ho, sitting next to him asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I was thinking that I'm still way behind, that's all."

Lee Ju-ho's expression soured as he heard Hak-joon's reply, "Is that something you should say in front of me?"

He'd been an awakener for far longer than Hak-joon, after all.

"Oh, that, uh...." Hak-joon could only smile awkwardly and avoid meeting Lee Ju-ho's piercing gaze.

He knew he should be resting, yet his body continued to itch for some reason. He stood up from the couch, wondering if he should go somewhere to loosen up, but then...

"I'm home." Su-hyeun's voice drifted from the foyer.

Hak-joon was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice Su-hyeun's return. He got up and walked over to the foyer to welcome back his bro, returning from almost a full day's absence.

"Hey, bro. Welcome ba....?"

"Uh? Both of you are here?"

Su-hyeun was about to greet Hak-joon, as well as Lee Ju-ho, also coming to the entrance, but belatedly noticed that both men were frozen stiff, eyes wide.

All thanks to Thomas, cautiously following behind him.

"B-bro, behind you..."

"Oh, him. He said he had no place to go, so I told him to come with me. Why don't you say hello, Thomas."

Thomas listened Su-hyeun and awkwardly greeted the others from behind his back. Since the greeting itself was in pretty simple English, understanding the dude wasn't a problem. No, the real problem was something else.

"Will this be okay?" Hak-joon asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Let me explain what happened."

Su-hyeun went on to explain Thomas's situation to Hak-joon and Lee Ju-ho. After hearing everything, they began to see Thomas in a slightly different light.

"Ah, that means from now on...."

"I should say that he really doesn't have anywhere to go. Until the Ranking Wars are over and we're ready to leave, he's going to crash here with us. And then I'll find him a house once we get back. He'll probably go back to climbing the tower afterward."

"Meaning, he'll be with us until then?"

"Yeah. So, please, do try to look after him."

"Even if you ask us that, I don't speak a lick of English, so...."

"Don't worry, I'll be the interpreter," said Lee Ju-ho.

"Bro? Since when do you know English?" Hak-joon asked, eyes wide.

Lee Ju-jo ignored Hak-joon and furrowed his brows ever so slightly. "Su-hyeun, someone was looking for you while you were out."

"Who was it?"

"It was the other Korean S-Rank awakener besides our little group. Name's Bak Yun-gyu. Besides the name, I don't know much about him."

"Bak Yun-gyu....?"

Su-hyeun's brows rose at hearing that name.

Lee Ju-ho was puzzled and asked him a question. "What's the matter? You know him?"

"No, not personally. But I do know what kind of a person he is."

Su-hyeun knew that he was in America as well, but since they weren't acquainted at all, he didn't expect the other side to seek him out first. Also, that man had never been too interested in other people's business, anyway.

<< Looks like I'll meet him far sooner than I thought. >>

Bak Yun-gyu.

The awakener affiliated with the Korean Awakener Authority, and also the man who taught Su-hyeun how to fight in his previous life.

More importantly, South Korea's strongest awakener, as far as Su-hyeun knew.

That was Bak Yun-gyu.

* * *

Inside a spacious cafe within the Gordon Tower:

Currently, the place was off-limits to everyone until the end of the Ranking Wars, yet one man was using it as if he had rented the whole place out.

He was a clean-cut man in his mid-thirties, his black hair cropped short like a soldier's, his face angular like an actor's.

With a cup of coffee bought from the convenience store in one hand, he was observing the countryside of California spreading outside the windows.

"....You came faster than I thought," the man said while turning around, as a familiar face walked into the cafe. "Mister Kim Su-hyeun."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Bak Yun-gyu."

Bak Yun-gyu nodded his head at Su-hyeun's greeting and stood up from his chair. He walked closer and pushed forward another cup of coffee he bought earlier from a convenience store.

"This place isn't operating at the moment, so I had one ready beforehand. We're meeting in a cafe, so I thought that at least coffee should be available."

"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."

"I'm not sure if such a cheap cup of coffee will satisfy your palate. People's taste buds seem to have become rather discerning lately."

"Tastes good in your mouth but is bad for your health. In that regard, this cup is better than okay, actually."

Su-hyeun received the cup, took the lid off, and emptied half of the coffee inside in one go, since Bak Yun-gyu had already finished his coffee a while ago, after growing weary from all the waiting.

The lukewarm cup of coffee had no aroma, just the bittersweet taste.

"You're exactly as I expected."

Bak Yun-gyu was observing Su-hyeun as if he found the person before him quite interesting.

"In what regard?"

"You're honest, informal, yet still courteous at the same time."

"Who did you hear that from?"

"From Kang Seung-hoon, a friend that's working for me. I'm sure you don't know who he is. But he told me that he received your help during the Anyang city outbreak incident."

Kang Seung-hoon.

Su-hyeun, of course, knew the name. They had worked together in his previous life, after all.

Right under Bak Yun-gyu's wings, no less.

"May I ask why you wished to see me?"

"At first, I wasn't interested in you. I believed that it wasn't meant to be, since you rejected the offers from the awakener authority."

"I feel bad about how that business turned out."

"Of course. It's quite rare for any S-Ranks to want to join the authority, after all. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out what the director said in order to entice you."

Bak Yun-gyu didn't try to hide what's on his mind and spoke without holding back.

And he was just as ruthless while criticizing the director afterward. He was quite strict with the definition of right and wrong, and didn't hesitate at all to speak up or to uphold that ideal.

He was a soldier, through and through. Not only that, the most ideal, perfect soldier that everyone would picture in their heads.

That was why he wished to join the authority, as well. A life lived for one's country was the story of his life, after all.

"I'll be going back to South Korea tomorrow," said Bak Yun-gyu.

Indeed, this meeting happened back then, too. In the middle of his participation in the Ranking Wars, Bak Yun-gyu had to return to Korea.

Su-hyeun never learned what the real reason for that was—except that Bak Yun-gyu was assigned a special mission by the authority, and that was about it.

"But what about the finals?" Su-hyeun asked.

"It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm sure you can already guess from what I've said so far." Bak Yun-gyu's eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at Su-hyeun. He then finally revealed the reason. "I want to fight you, at least once."

Thought so.

Su-hyeun sighed under his breath.

Personality-wise, Bak Yun-gyu was never a fan of fighting. There was only one reason why he wanted to fight despite his personal preferences.

<< Because he's worried about the future of South Korea. >>

No matter what anyone said, Su-hyeun was one of the top awakeners currently active. Not only that, before Hak-joon's entrance, he had been the youngest ever S-Rank.

And that was precisely why Bak Yun-gyu believed that the future of Korea rested on Su-hyeun's shoulders. He was probably curious about who 'Su-hyeun' the man was like, too.

If it was any other time, Su-hyeun would've flatly refused. There was nothing to gain by fighting Bak Yun-gyu.

But...

"Let's head to the arena," said Su-hyeun.

He wanted to confirm it himself—to see how wide the gap between himself and Bak Yun-gyu was.

* * *

With the Ranking Wars temporarily suspended, the underground arena was eerily empty. Su-hyeun and Bak Yun-gyu strode to the middle of this deserted arena.

On their way there, they spoke about this and that. Most of their conversation consisted of talking crap about the authority's director, though.

"That man, he can be just a bit too much. I wonder if it should be labeled as 'safety at all cost'... Put nicely, that's the case. But, in all honesty, such a side can make him look very selfish, instead. There's no denying that."

Bak Yun-gyu knew the director's personality very well, just as much as Su-hyeun did. Since they had worked in the same organization, it seemed that they had no choice but to know a lot about each other.

"How does the 'team' look at the moment?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Team?"

"Yes. I heard from the director that the authority was currently 'raising' a team. From what I hear, they went active about a year ago?"

The authority's awakener team built around Bak Yun-gyu consisted of people acknowledged as some of the very best in South Korea. Each and every one of those awakeners was skilled enough to occupy high-ranking directorial positions in most large-sized guilds.

The team's existence hadn't been announced publicly yet, but those in the know already knew all about it.

"Well... it's not so bad. I'm the only S-Ranker in the team, but our average rank has risen quite high, so it's alright."

"But, you can do the jobs of several average S-Rankers, can't you?"

Su-hyeun was well aware of Bak Yun-gyu's strength. Although his prowess wasn't well known since he was affiliated with the authority, Su-hyeun believed him to be South Korea's own Gordon Rohan.

Of course, he might be ways off from the real Gordon Rohan, but still.

Bak Yun-gyu replied, "Even if that's the case, there's a clear difference between one pair of hands and many. Even if I'm strong, I can't raid several dungeons at once. There are definitely limitations to being just one person."

Su-hyeun agreed with Bak Yun-gyu's line of thinking.

One pair of hands couldn't win against multiple— admittedly, this saying had become something of a cliché by now. Right now, Su-hyeun possessed more than enough power to fight against dozens, hundreds, or even thousands all by himself, after all.

Even then, limits clearly existed.

That was why he was looking forward with bated breath to Hak-joon's growth.

"I guess this far will be enough." Bak Yun-gyu, walking in the lead, stopped after reaching the center of the arena and turned to face Su-hyeun.

Su-hyeun raised his head and replied, "Looks like we have a few spectators."

"Spectators?"

Bak Yun-gyu belatedly picked up the presence of people he failed to notice earlier.

Above their heads, toward the arena's ceiling—two people were currently watching them.

"We got busted."

"They found us."

They were Gordon Rohan and Johnny Brad. The two men muttered in a resigned fashion.

"What are you two doing up there? Are you planning to peep on us or something?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Technically speaking, this here is still part of my house. So, how will that be a problem?" Gordon Rohan replied.

He wasn't wrong there.

Besides, Su-hyeun wasn't unduly bothered by it. He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I don't mind either way."

"I was planning to throw both of you out if you said it's a problem, but well, aren't you a confident one. You'll probably have to fight me tomorrow, though?"

Gordon Rohan's question only made Su-hyeun smirk slightly.

"I can handle such a handicap."