He knew that his brother was aware of his busy situation.
And he was certain that the person moving the Taeseong Group to help him was none other than his brother.
“Thank you… hyung.”
Park Hae Jin’s chest tightened, and tears welled up without him realizing it.
It was the first time in his life that he had received such grand and reassuring support.
And it made him incredibly proud and deeply moved that such an amazing person was his own brother.
Despite the loud outburst, Kang Ju-ho came back several more times to Park Hae Jin, kneeling and begging.
But Park Hae Jin did not forgive him.
A person like that had no right to set foot in the entertainment industry.
He was unmoved by Kang Ju-ho’s desperate apologies; in fact, the more he recalled his ugly actions, the stronger his anger and contempt grew.
Kang Ju-ho’s behavior was not a mere mistake or misunderstanding.
It was a malicious crime trampling on others’ dreams and efforts for his own benefit.
Besides Lee Hye-won’s incident, Park Hae Jin had vague suspicions of numerous unethical and filthy deeds Kang Ju-ho had committed in the industry.
He thought this matter must never be swept under the rug.
Although he had no immediate proof, he vowed to do everything in his power to expose all of Kang Ju-ho’s misdeeds to the world someday.
He firmly believed that creating a clean and fair industry was the path for Hye Won and countless other artists.
***
Not long after, late at night.
Sang-woong was waiting for Kyung Yoon-seul at a quiet café where they had agreed to meet.
The warm aroma of coffee filled the space under the soft lighting.
After a moment, Kyung Yoon-seul, elegantly dressed, approached him with a bright expression and took the seat across from him.
“You’ve been waiting long, Sang-woong? Sorry for being late.”
Kyung Yoon-seul spoke first.
Sang-woong smiled as if to say it was okay and nodded politely.
“No, it’s fine. Thank you for coming, Yoon-seul.”
After taking a breath, he revealed the reason he had come.
“Actually, I didn’t come for anything else today… It’s because I really wanted to express my gratitude for helping out with my little sister this time.”
Kyung Yoon-seul responded humbly, looking at him.
“Of course, it’s something I should do.”
Her voice held firm conviction.
“And people like that cancerous scum deserve to fail so they can help many others.”
Her words carried a sense of justice that wouldn’t tolerate injustice.
Sang-woong chuckled softly at how she seemed to take the matter as her own and nodded.
“Hahaha.”
After their brief chat, Sang-woong carefully slid a shopping bag across the table to her.
“And this is a token of my thanks.”
“What’s this?”
Kyung Yoon-seul took the bag with a curious expression.
Sang-woong pointed at the shopping bag and explained.
“I was wondering what kind of gift to give to say thanks, and I saw an article about your older brother. The article mentioned he’s struggling with insomnia and hair loss. So, I made a potion that calms the nerves and helps with both insomnia and hair loss.”
The Arcana Plant that aids in preventing and treating hair loss was discovered when expanding the Third Land.
Until now, since there was no one suffering from hair loss around, all of it had been sold in the Shop Window for Points.
But after expanding the land, they obtained several new plants with various effects.
One of these was the Rubellite Plant.
It had properties that calmed the nerves and alleviated insomnia.
He brewed a potion using these two plants.
“Really? There’s such a potion?”
Kyung Yoon-seul asked in a voice mixed with surprise and admiration.
Her eyes never left the potion inside the shopping bag.
“I’m so grateful for the help this time that I specially made it.”
Sang-woong smiled shyly at her reaction.
“Thank you. My big brother’s been under a lot of stress, so he’ll be incredibly happy.”
Kyung Yoon-seul clasped the shopping bag with both hands and sincerely expressed her gratitude.
***
The next day, she immediately arranged a lunch date with her older brother.
“Oppa, over here.”
Kyung Yoon-seul waved like a little kid upon seeing Kyung Beomjun entering the restaurant.
Kyung Beomjun noticed his sister and suddenly raised his hand in greeting before heading toward her table.
Sitting across from her, he looked at Kyung Yoon-seul.
“Yoon-seul, did something good happen? You look unusually cheerful today.”
Kyung Yoon-seul smiled even brighter at his words and nodded.
“The good thing isn’t me; it’s you, oppa.”
When Kyung Beomjun made a skeptical face, Kyung Yoon-seul winked and said,
“Here, oppa.”
She offered the shopping bag with an expectant expression.
His curiosity grew.
“What’s this?”
Kyung Yoon-seul answered in a playful tone.
“It’s something that’ll blow your stress away in one shot.”
Kyung Beomjun raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand English.
“It’s a potion. It’s specially made to thank you for caring about this matter.”
“Potion?”
Kyung Beomjun laughed lightly and paused in thought.
“Aren’t potions something hunters use?”
“Well, yes, but the ones made by that person are different.”
Kyung Yoon-seul agreed with his words but emphasized its specialness.
“I know that. The Detoxification Potion is extremely effective, and Tae Young has been receiving a lot of help from it.”
Kyung Beomjun nodded.
Kyung Yoon-seul lowered her voice and said,
“That person looked up your article and personally made a potion to help with your insomnia and hair loss.”
Surprise and hope mixed on Kyung Beomjun’s face.
“Really?”
He had long given up on hair loss, but insomnia was different.
Every night was a battle with sleep.
No matter how hard he tried, there were consecutive days when he only managed one or two hours of sleep.
He tried to cover up the dark circles with makeup and hide bloodshot eyes with artificial tears, but he was anxious and nervous every time he met someone.
He prayed to sleep soundly for even one night—his most desperate wish.
A potion to cure insomnia?
“Is it really a potion made for me?”
Kyung Beomjun asked in a trembling voice.
He immediately took out a small glass bottle from the shopping bag.
Clear and transparent liquid filled it.
When he opened the cap, a faint herbal scent tickled his nose.
He hesitated for a moment.
He had been disappointed by countless doctors before.
But his sister’s resolute gaze and the Detoxification Potion’s excellent effects moved his heart.
“How do I take it?”
He held the bottle and looked at his sister.
Kyung Yoon-seul smiled brightly.
“Well, they said to drink just one bottle right before bed. Don’t take more than one at a time. If you do, and you fall into a deep sleep, you’ll feel the difference the next morning.”
Kyung Beomjun carefully put the glass bottle back into the shopping bag.
Even during lunch, all he could think about was the potion.
How wonderful would it be to be free from insomnia?
He ate in a daze and hurriedly left the restaurant.
He canceled all his plans and went straight home.
Back home, he lay down on his bed.
Although it was still far from sunset, he wanted to drink the potion and fall asleep immediately.
But remembering Kyung Yoon-seul’s words, he decided to wait until evening.
After dinner and before going to bed, Kyung Beomjun nervously took out the potion bottle.
With the feeling of clutching his last hope, he opened the cap and gulped down the liquid at once.
A cool, bitter taste spread in his mouth.
He covered himself and closed his eyes.
How much time passed?
Normally, he would toss and turn at this hour unable to sleep, but strangely, drowsiness overwhelmed him.
He slipped into a deep sleep like never before.
***
The next morning, Kyung Beomjun was startled as soon as he opened his eyes.
Did I really sleep? And until morning, no less?
He couldn’t believe he had slept deeply without waking all night.
And that was not all.
His mind was clear and refreshed, and his whole body was full of energy.
He rushed to the mirror.
The dark circles under his eyes were gone, and the bloodshot eyes had disappeared.
He was so surprised that he shouted while looking in the mirror.
“This is a miracle.”
He sincerely thanked Kyung Yoon-seul and that person.
He felt like he could spend the whole day more energetically than ever before.
But the miracle did not end there.
A week later, as he looked in the mirror again, he was so shocked he nearly dropped the cup in his hand.
His gaze was fixed on the scalp.
At the spot that had long been empty, thin black hair strands were sprouting.
“Is this… for real?”
Kyung Beomjun shook his hands in disbelief and ran his fingers through his hair.
The coarse texture was tangible under his fingertips.
It wasn’t a dream.
He looked into the mirror more carefully once again.
Even faint black dots were scattered across his scalp.
Since the hair loss started, no treatment had worked, but this potion brought such astonishing change.
He burst into a bright smile.
“Truly an incredible person.”
Kyung Beomjun wanted to call Kyung Yoon-seul right away to share this amazing news.
He was very curious about how that ‘person’ could make such a potion.
But he decided not to be impatient.
Having experienced two miracles already, he could wait in anticipation for whatever astonishing thing might happen next.
Above all, he now had hope to sleep peacefully at night and soon regain a full head of hair.
His life was truly reaching a new turning point.
***
On a warm afternoon, the clear laughter of the Ahoa Tribe children echoed by a small pond located on one side of the land.
Sunlight sparkled on the pond’s surface, gently stirring the water.
Tall reeds and various wildflowers bloomed in vibrant colors around the edges.
Children came running, kicking up white dust as they excitedly gathered by the pond.
The first to jump into the water was Tori, the boy with the exhausted expression.
Without caring about getting wet, he rushed in like a spear.
Seeing this, the other children began to jump into the pond one by one, as if waiting their turn.
“Wow, this is refreshing! Hau!”
Tori shouted, splashing the water with his hands.
The droplets reflected sunlight, scattering like jewels.
Other children shouted in response, stomping and waving their hands eagerly.
“Me too! Hau!”
“I want to do it too! Hau!”
Smiles bloomed brightly on the children’s faces.
Every time the clear water droplets shimmered in the sunlight, their laughter grew louder.
The girl Sora sat cautiously by the pond, stirring the water with her hands.
The ripples spreading from her small fingertips gave the pond a lifelike vibrancy, as if it were breathing.
“Oh, pretty flower petals. Hau!”
Sora curiously watched her own reflection in the water, then found small flowers blooming by the pond.
She gently plucked them, letting them float on the water with joy.
As expected, the most active one was Leon.
Splash!
When Leon jumped into the pond, a large splash rose, drenching the children.
“Ka-rurururu!”
The children laughed joyfully as they clung to Leon’s back.
Leon, like a powerful boat, carried the children around the pond.
Aria appeared out of nowhere, sitting on Leon’s head like a captain, striking a cool pose.
Sang-woong quietly watched this scene with a smile.
The noisy laughter of the children seemed to cleanse his heart.
Watching the children splash around, his thoughts drifted to memories of his own carefree childhood.
Catching tadpoles in the stream, fishing for food in the river… those carefree days when the biggest worry was what to play each day.
It moved him deeply that Ahoa Tribe children could spend such joyful times on his land.
Seeing the children laughing as they clung to Leon’s back made him smile involuntarily.
As Sang-woong momentarily forgot the worries of reality and enjoyed this peaceful afternoon,
‘What’s that…?’
His eyes caught a ripple in the air.