In his previous life, Oh Changseok was thirty-three years old, four years older than Kim Seojoon.
Among their seven comrades, he was the third oldest and was known for being incredibly stubborn, making it very difficult to get close to him.
However, once you became friends with him, he was the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to give you everything he had, embodying extremes in personality.
The reason behind his stubborn nature was partly due to physical issues.
Standing under 170 centimeters with skin problems covering his face, he made it impossible for himself to get close to others.
His face was filled with red, acne-like bumps beneath his eyes, causing people who saw him to instinctively look away.
Still, his martial arts skills were so powerful that Oh Changseok confidently stood before others in his previous world.
And now, Kim Seojoon met that same Oh Changseok again.
He was living as a meat restaurant worker here, with the same hideous face unchanged from before.
As Kim Seojoon recalled his past memories and looked at Oh Changseok, a middle-aged man hurriedly ran over from their side.
“Ah, I’m terribly sorry. This guy just started working here not long ago, so he didn’t recognize such an important guest. Hey, you! Apologize to the customer right now!”
“Bu-boss, the fault surely lies with this person…”
“Ugh! If you want to keep working here, apologize properly at once!”
At the restaurant owner’s words, Oh Changseok lowered his head deeply with a pitiful expression, as if giving up on everything.
“I’m sorry… I made a mistake.”
“See! Should’ve done that from the start. Hey, you’re the boss, right? Train your employees properly. What is this? We came here to eat happily but ended up leaving with a terrible mood.”
The influencer woman’s tone grew even more aggressive as she lectured the owner.
“I sincerely apologize. It won’t happen again, so please cheer up. To show my apology, I won’t charge for this table’s food today. Also, here’s a discount ticket. Next time you visit, you’ll get 30% off and we’ll serve you properly. Ha ha ha.”
“Of course you should. Still, it’s different when the boss apologizes. I’ll leave a good review, so you better be grateful. Let’s go, everyone.”
The woman snatched the envelope containing the discount ticket from the owner and left the restaurant with her friends.
Everyone who witnessed this shook their heads in disapproval.
They were deeply displeased by how this so-called somewhat famous influencer treated people carelessly and even made the restaurant owner bow down.
Kim Seojoon felt the same.
But he saw something others didn’t.
‘What did he slip inside her clothes?’
When the woman suddenly stood up and pulled off her mask, Oh Changseok discreetly flicked something into the inside of her clothing.
The motion was very secretive, and the object was so small it was hard to tell exactly what it was, but to Kim Seojoon, it looked like a tiny chip.
‘So that whole scene was a show to attach that chip inside her clothes?’
That was exactly what it looked like to Kim Seojoon.
Though curious, he didn’t want to ask what he was doing or meddle unnecessarily.
In the past, he would have definitely confronted such secretive actions, but not now.
‘No wonder he seemed to be living such a simple life—it wasn’t really that simple.’
Oh Changseok was hiding something.
Perhaps the entire restaurant was being run for some other purpose.
But—
‘As long as he’s not a villain, it’s fine.’
Kim Seojoon felt no malice from Oh Changseok, so he decided to let it go.
“What are you doing without eating, son? Want Mom to wrap some ssam for you?”
As Kim Seojoon’s gaze lingered on the commotion, Mrs. Baek Yeonji called him.
Turning his head, he saw Baek Yeonji carefully wrapping ssam for her son.
“Give that to Dad. I’ll wrap my own.”
“Oh, Kim Seojoon. Are you so grown up now that you don’t even want to eat the ssam your mother wraps for you? You used to cry when I didn’t wrap it quickly enough.”
“Ah, Mom!”
Kim Seojoon’s face flushed at Baek Yeonji’s words.
But it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.
Her words brought up memories of young Kim Seojoon that had been buried deep inside.
“They say Bire Star influencers run rampant these days. I’m seeing strange things right before my eyes.”
“That’s abuse of power, plain and simple. But many people fall hard for such abuse. I think that woman will fall too, soon enough.”
Responding to Kim Joohyeok’s words, Kim Seojoon turned his gaze back to Oh Changseok.
But for some reason, Oh Changseok was no longer visible.
Whether he hid out of embarrassment in front of the guests or deliberately vanished to clean up the mess from his secret act was unknown.
‘I’ll definitely come back to find you later.’
Kim Seojoon muttered quietly toward the absent Oh Changseok.
“It’s good to be out like this with my son after so long.”
“Oh? Am I being treated like I don’t exist?”
Baek Yeonji narrowed her eyes mockingly as Kim Joohyeok chuckled.
“Well, you’re always like a shadow by my side, so I didn’t feel the need to mention you.”
“Really? That’s not sweet talk, is it?”
“Why would I lie?”
“Fathers don’t lie. He’s a famous guild hunter and a hero to this son, after all.”
Kim Seojoon jumped into the conversation, making Kim Joohyeok awkward.
“Hero? Ha ha ha. What kind of hero is this old man? Others might get the wrong idea if they heard that.”
“Who cares if they do? My dad will always be my greatest hero.”
“That brat… He’s clearly out to embarrass me. Tsk.”
Kim Joohyeok, feeling embarrassed, took a big gulp of soju.
“Hey, Mr. Senior Hero and Junior Hero, how about both of you focus on eating now? The commotion is over, so let’s enjoy our private party!”
Baek Yeonji poured soju into Kim Joohyeok’s glass and prepared some ssam as a side dish. The sight made Kim Joohyeok smile brightly, and Kim Seojoon did the same.
For Kim Seojoon, who had lived twenty years fueled only by vengeance, this was a happy moment that could wash away all the loneliness, sorrow, and anger weighing on his wounded heart.
He even wished time would just stop like this.
A dependable father and a loving, deep-hearted mother.
Kim Seojoon hoped and wished to continue living with such parents in this very way.
But he knew better than anyone that such a wish would be hard to come true.
‘This happiness will only last until the demon sickness appears.’
It would end.
The moment the demon sickness appeared in the world, ordinary life would shatter, and countless people would die screaming in horror.
‘At least, I won’t let those bastards touch my family!’
Kim Seojoon vowed once again to do his best to become stronger to protect this small happiness.
*****
Through the door connecting the kitchen and the hall of the restaurant, a pair of eyes watched Kim Seojoon and his parents.
“Don’t charge that family for their meal today.”
The owner of the eyes was none other than Oh Changseok, who had concealed himself earlier.
And the person he gave the order to was the middle-aged man acting as the restaurant owner.
“I will do so. Since you noticed the tracker he attached and pretended not to see it, I suppose we should reward you in some small way.”
Surprisingly, they were even aware that Kim Seojoon had noticed Oh Changseok’s secret action.
“Bang Hyojin will definitely stop by the black market today. There must be a reason why she caused such a commotion to draw attention. Make sure to track her movements well. But don’t let her notice.”
“Yes, don’t worry. We specially assigned Keho (癸湖) to watch over Bang Hyojin.”
The attitude wasn’t that of a boss toward an employee but rather the employee acting like the boss.
Yet everyone in the kitchen treated this as perfectly normal and didn’t find it strange.
They were currently watching Bang Hyojin, the influencer, like it was a military operation.
“By the way, how strong are that student and his father’s mana?”
“They’re not particularly high, but when I passed nearby, the mana compass fluctuated subtly.”
“Exactly what grade?”
“The student is late E-rank, and the adult is early C-rank.”
“Should our ‘Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches’ pay attention to them?”
Oh Changseok quietly put on his mask again and asked, and the owner hesitated briefly before answering carefully.
“Qualitatively, we should be interested, but quantitatively, they’re not a concern.”
“I see. Understood.”
“How should we classify them?”
“This time…”
Oh Changseok trailed off slightly before narrowing his eyes.
“Let’s go by quantitative standards.”
“Understood.”
“But if there is one more direct or indirect contact with our side’s matters, then we switch to qualitative evaluation.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“I’ll be leaving now.”
Oh Changseok took off his apron and hat and instead put on a leather long jacket.
“I’ll see you again, Deputy Lord.”
“Then take care.”
He quietly slipped out through the back door connected to the kitchen.
*****
After finishing their family party at the meat restaurant and returning home, Kim Seojoon was still beaming.
This was what happiness really felt like, and he wanted to hold onto that joy a little longer.
As Kim Joohyeok got a little drunk, he mentioned that breaking through the mana wall of 59 was thanks to Kim Seojoon’s massages and slyly asked where he had learned such techniques.
Kim Seojoon vaguely evaded the question.
He gave a ridiculous excuse that an old recluse master taught him some kind of health-improving massage alongside his martial arts, emphasizing self-care.
Kim Joohyeok didn’t press further.
Though the explanation was hard to understand, he figured if his son was hiding something, there must be a reason.
Kim Joohyeok said he wouldn’t tell the guild he had reached mana 60 for now.
Until the regular mana measurement day came around, he planned to quietly increase his power.
He intended to first completely shed his still soft flesh and build a perfect body capable of performing well on the field, then confidently raise his rank and repay all the humiliation he had suffered.
Of course, that humiliation mostly came from the guild and Vice Guild Leader Ko Taehwan.
Kim Seojoon actively supported his father’s plan.
Especially since if Ko Taehwan learned that Kim Joohyeok had reached C-rank, he might concoct something worse than the demon parasite’s bodily fluids.
‘About four months until the next regular mana measurement.’
All hunters, without exception, had to visit the Rift Management Bureau annually between October and November to measure their mana.
Depending on the measurement and rank, the government subsidies they received varied greatly, so few tried to hide their mana.
Also, higher ranks allowed access to higher-level rift raids, creating more opportunities to earn money.
“In four months, I have to become as strong as I can.”
Kim Seojoon thought, habitually checking his mana stats before sleep.
[Kim Seojoon]
-Mana: 18 / Inner Strength: 8
-Mystic Arts: Reverse Radiation Technique (11%) / Solar Divine Skill (3%)
‘Huh?’
Though he hadn’t done anything special, his mana and inner strength had increased, and even the mastery of Solar Divine Skill had improved.
The increase was very slight, but such growth in just one day was honestly unbelievable.
‘Wow… unbelievable.’
He was so happy it almost brought tears.
The reason for this was obvious.
‘Training with Dad relentlessly and his help with my inner strength circulation must be the cause.’
Injecting inner strength into his father’s body and experiencing the multiplayer mystic arts firsthand also contributed.
Now Kim Seojoon had three methods to raise mana, inner strength, and mastery.
First, registering martial arts as mystic arts increased mana.
Second, constantly using inner strength and engaging in direct sparring improved inner strength and mastery.
And third.
Even helping someone else with their inner strength circulation could raise his own inner strength.
‘I should teach Mom some simple mental techniques when I have time.’
Not just for himself, but also for his mother’s health and safety.
Since the demon sickness was almost certainly made in this world, the danger of the apocalypse could come at any time.
Kim Seojoon made plans accordingly, then took his breathing exercise with the Solar Divine Skill.
He raised the inner strength in his dantian and circulated it through the meridians of his entire body to cleanse the impurities accumulated throughout the day.
He then calmly began circulating the Great Celestial Cycle, reaching even the small pulse points in his fingertips and toes.
Though his inner strength was still weak now, if he practiced steadily without laziness, he would show satisfying progress within four months.
‘Mana over 100, inner strength at least 60.’
Kim Seojoon began intensive training to reach the goals he set.
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