Chapter 180

During the journey, Beru told Suho about the past of Sung Il-Hwan that he knew.

Sung Il-Hwan: Suho's grandfather and the father of the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jin-Woo. He was once a superlative hunter who embraced the power of a Ruler. The exact grade is unknown. The reason for this is that at the time of his awakening, there was still no clear definition of his rank as a hunter. However, Beru said that he would definitely be S-rank.

After all, it was possible to accept the power of the rulers with that kind of body.

[And it is very likely that your grandfather has awakened as a hunter again, just as he once did!]

There is no age limit for a hunter's awakening. A constitution suitable for mana is innate. This is because it is the domain of talent in the first place that is regarded, instead of the age.

That's why the "former hunters" they've met so far have awakened the same power as they did in the era before. So Sung Il-Hwan was probably no exception. Just one thing. Regardless of talent, there were different periods of magical awakening.

Not every S-rank had gained their powers at the same time after all.

[Maybe he is still in the process of awakening!]

"That's even more worrying."

[Ah! You're right!]

Suho hadn't heard of his grandfather's awakening yet. 'If my grandfather were to become a hunter, it would have been just like his old firefighter days. He would have even set up a guild of a similar nature.'

Considering the personality of Sung Il-Hwan, there was a high probability that he had not yet awakened, which made Suho feel even more anxious. The perfect vessel for the Apostles of Itarim to aim towards has not yet awakened its power!

Shinggg!!

Gritting his teeth, Suho's silver hair fluttered in the strong wind. The speed was much faster than that of the Baek Miho, which had carried Suho on her back during the previous crisis from the villain Lee Minsung. Compared to back then, Grey was now stronger in his body, and his strength stats had increased tremendously.

"Who is that guy!"

"Be careful everyone!"

"Who's going to report it to the Association?!"

Numerous drivers on the road were surprised to see Suho. Occasionally, people were seen pulling out their phones and calling the police or the Hunter Association. But Suho didn't care, instead he ran and ran as fast as he could. As a result, he arrived at Yangpyeong at the speed of light.

Shuaaaaaaah~~

Paldang Dam.

Along with the noise of the river flowing, a thick mist obscures the view in front of him.

Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is divided into two pathways on the South Han River. In areas near rivers that connect to the South Korean River, water mist often appears as such. In particular, the Paldang Dam was a place that held a lot of water compared to the other rivers, so the water mist was even worse.

Shuaaaaaaah~~

'Huh?'

Running through the thick mist, Suho instantly felt a strange sensation that cannot be described in words. It seems that the sensory stats that had increased considerably due to leveling up have been triggered, but it felt a little different than usual.

'What could it be?' Suho squinted his eyes, scanning his surroundings and expanding his senses.

The situation only became more bizarre. He wasn't able to feel any signs of life or demons around him.

What the hell.

From the moment he stepped into Yangpyeong, a certain feeling of discomfort continued to bother his senses.

"Beru."

[Got it.]

This wasn't his mind playing tricks anymore. Beru immediately began to scan his surroundings in earnest, picking things up with his antennae. Meanwhile, Suho pulled out his cell phone and called his grandfather.

He had already called his grandparents before leaving, but no one answered. Although this in it itself was a common occurrence. They had gotten more relaxed once they became farmers, so they didn't usually have their cell phones at all times.

"...They aren't answering."

Listening to the never-ending beep, Suho furrowed his brow.

[... Do you not know their address?]

"I don't." At Beru's question, Suho nodded a little hesitantly. "For the last five years (1), I haven't been well." In fact... The same would be true for anyone.

Two of his parents suddenly disappeared overnight, and how many people can stay sane there?

"...It was overwhelming."

Suho smiled bitterly as he recalled how he felt at that time. I know everything now, but at that time I really felt like the sky was falling.

He had realized something back then. How weak and insignificant he really was.

"My parents were missing, and there was really nothing I could do as a high school student."

What did he do? The obvious thing first was to report them missing to the police. Then he contacted his relatives and let them know what was going on.

He kept watching from the sidelines as the adults who came to visit had a serious conversation with the police… Sitting at home waiting and waiting for my parents to contact me. I started to wonder when I would suddenly get a call, so I didn't let go of my phone for a moment and held it tightly... It was the best I could do.

"Then my uncle came to me and said: Suho, leave these things to the adults and stick to your schoolwork as usual. That's what your parents really want."

Suho had no choice but to comply. His uncle, Yoo Jin-Ho, was a well-known chaebol(2) in Korea. He said he was doing everything in his power to find his missing parents and that there was nothing Suho could do as a high school student.

And so Suho went back to school.

"...But you know what?" Suho, who remembered the bad memories of that time, asked Beru with a slightly complicated expression.

"What do you think my grandfather was doing at that time?" He didn't wait for Beru's answer and spoke the answer himself.

"It's really strange... Grandpa was still working as usual. Even though his son was missing, he was out there saving others."

[Kiek?]

At that, a twinkle appeared in Beru's eyes for a moment.

"He doesn't keep answering my phone. So instead I'll have to ask my uncle." When Suho's grandparents were not answering his phone, he immediately called his uncle, Yoo Jin-Ho. However, at this time, Yoo Jin-Ho was at work, so he couldn't make a phone call, and Suho tried to contact his aunt as the next best option.

- ¡Oh goodness! ¿Suho ni is that you?

Luckily, he finally got a call through.

"Auntie! Can you give me the address of my grandfather's house?"

-Yes? But why all of a sudden?

There was a hint of surprise in the voice of Suho's aunt "Sung Jin-Ah" over the receiver. Well, this reaction is understandable. As he had just told Beru, his relationship with his grandfather had become a little estranged since then. Suho smiled wryly and picked the words out of his mouth.

"It's just... It's been a long time since I've seen him."

-Oh alright then! That's so thoughtful of you, Suho! This auntie of yours will text you the address right away! Oh, wait! Don't you want to go with your aunt?

"¿Yes– No, I mean you don't have to..."

-No. Even if it weren't for you, I was going to stop by anyway.

Suho immediately refused because she feared that her aunt would get involved in dangerous things, but her aunt's stubbornness was greater than he expected. On this occasion, he felt the willingness to unravel the relationship between Suho and his grandfather.

-Suho. How about this? I'm also coming home from work soon, so come to Ahjin Hospital right away.

He froze. Suho's expression hardened.

"...Um, what do you mean Ahjin Hospital?"

His aunt reacted even more suspiciously.

-Oh my, You didn't know? This auntie of yours set up a hospital in Yangpyeong.

"...What?"

- So you really didn't know?

"...."

Suho realized once again just how disconnected from his family he had been.

* * *

Suho arrived at Ahjin Hospital in Yangpyeong in less than a second.

"Suho!" Sung Jin-Ah, dressed in a white doctor's gown, greeted Suho. "How did you get here so fast as soon as you hung up? Were you nearby?"

"Hi auntie, how are you?"

Suho's aunt and the younger sister of the Shadow Monarch Sung Jin-Woo, Sung Jin-Ah was a doctor who just so happened to set up a hospital in Yangpyeong. Ahjin Hospital was not a huge hospital, but it was famous for its size and each of its facilities were amazing. Suho looked at the name of the hospital and asked Sung Jin-Ah.

"Aunt, could it be...?"

"Yes, that's right. This is a hospital built on the foundation of 'Ahjin Soft.' "

In other words, it was no different from a hospital founded by Sung Jin-Ah's husband, Yoo Jin-Ho's company. Saying that, Sung Jin Ah smiled bitterly.

"There was a little bit of back-and-forth when we built this."

"What do you mean?"

"As you may have seen, there are a lot of rich people living in Yangpyeong. Rich people who have retired from old age, to be precise."

"Oh." Suho was convinced. He had seen a lot of them on the way here, since there are a lot of cottages around here that look more extravagant than usual. From this point of view, it was just the right situation to say that a large corporation such as Ajin Soft had built medical facilities for the rich. But in fact, the reason was another.

Sung Jin-Ah said a little frustrated.

"I don't know if you know, but this neighborhood is reasonably far from Gangnam(3) and moderately close, so it's the perfect location to retire and build a country house to live in. That's why I recommended this place when your grandfather and grandmother said they were going to retire." As Sung Jin-Ah said, Yangpyeong, which Seoul-ites generally think of, was a good place to live a relaxed life with nature after retirement. Enjoy healing and relaxing in nature, but it's not too far from Seoul, so it's a good place for your children to visit.

"There's a saying that goes: My bed is in Yangpyeong, but my daily life is in Seoul. Although when I finally let them live here, I suddenly became worried as I noticed there aren't too many big hospitals around here!" Even if they lived in a cottage with nature, the most important thing for the elderly was that there was a medical facility nearby. After realizing this, Sung Jin-Ah decided to build a hospital near her parents.

"So I set up a hospital, and people gradually started coming from around here." However, there was another reason why Sung Jin-Ah was actively chatting with Suho.

"....So you've decided to reconcile with your grandfather now?"

"We've never fought, you know."

"Yes. That's right. But my dad, or rather, your grandfather, has always been an aloof person. You know, there was a time when your dad suddenly ran away from home for two years when he was in middle school."

"...I've heard it from my grandfather."

Sung Jin-Ah's words flashed a picture of his grandfather saying the same thing in Suho's mind.

-Originally, it was overwhelming that your dad suddenly disappeared for such a long time. Don't worry too much, He'll be back this time as casually as he had done back then.

- Stop trying to comfort me like this!

That's when it started the moment Suho fell in bad terms with his grandfather.

"Suho, we are here. Told you it was really close to the hospital, eh?" Before he knew it, he saw the paddy field that his grandfather and grandmother had cultivated in front of the guard. Suho immediately expanded his senses.

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1: So there is another fallout here because the sentence is literally "지난 5년간, 내가 진짜 제정신이 아니었거든." [For the past five years I've been really out of my mind] instead of the usual 2 years that we saw the Cataclysm appear. So (and god forgive if I'm wrong but I was just noticing this) I think the disappearance of both Jinwoo and Haein happened almost 3 years before the Cataclysm did. And the next sentences after did affirm that in some way.

2: Yoo Jin-Ho is part of a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by the Yoo family.

3: The main city, Seoul.