Sl57

Choi Jong remembers this woman - the secretary of 'that' man.

The man from 'that' family, who had married his beloved sister Choi Minha solely for a fucking prophesied child, only to later ignore her and drive her into the depths of drug and sex addiction.

 This same man who caused Choi Hok-In, his father, to disown his sister Minha due to her shameful behavior, and whose presence in Azaroth's life only served to worsen his already severe depression.

And that fact that his sister, the daughter of the most powerful businessman in Korea, Despite being advised to get a divorce, she stubbornly clung to her relationship with that Fucker, only to ultimately end up divorcing after a few years.

And instead of being strong-willed and being there for Azaroth, she decided to indulge herself in all sorts of indecent scandals and drugs.

Choi Minha, his sister.

Oh, how fiercely Jong despised this woman and all that she represented.

Her face still haunts his nightmares,

her voice echoes in his mind like a venomous snake's hiss.

But he cannot forget her -  he cannot banish her from his mind - not when she was the epitome of perfection to him, a shining example of grace and strength that he had looked up to as a little kid—

 Ahh… where was he.. oh yeah, he was talking to 'that' man's dog.

He ended the call with just three words: "Go Fuck Yourself."

(A/N: Chad! I hope nothing bad happens to him...)

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When all that was happening.

The evening moon over Seoul. 

Azaroth drove through the bustling city streets with the roof down. Beside him rode Jinwoo looking at the buildings as he was not sure what to say at the moment.

He had already said his thanks for everything Azaroth had done.

It was 8:30 PM and a pleasant evening breeze ruffled their hair. Earlier, Jinwoo's sister Jinah had called while they discussed about some stuff.

To Azaroth's surprise, Jinah shyly invited him for dinner at home.

Ah! On second thought, wasn't it Azaroth who had invited himself..?

Well, time goes back 15 minutes—

When they were talking,

Jinwoo's phone suddenly rang and he answered it eagerly, causing Azaroth to grow curious.

"Oppa you you idiot! How can you be so recless!" Jinah's voice could be heard through the receiver, her tone irritated and scolding.

Jinwoo sighed embarrassingly and Azaroth just chuckled and took the phone from him whispering let me surprise her.

They were talking about Azaroth's school stuff and how Jinah mentioned Azaroth being absent after his hunter evaluation anyways.

Jinwoo just gave him the phone.

"You idiot Oppa! You skipped yesterday's dinner so I being a NICE sister made omelets and sandwiches for you, but what is this huh!? Why the hell I can see your breakfast still placed in the fridge?" It seems that because Jinwoo had skipped breakfast, his sister was furious with him.

'Oh God, I am quite jealous of Jinwoo' Thought Azaroth.

"Now don't wander off so late and come home! I'm gonna prepare a whole lot of Kimchi Jjigae! bla bla bla… … … bla"

(image in attachment. Souse- Player Who Returned 10,000 Years Later)

She nagged at her older brother for not taking care of himself and promised to make plenty of Kimchi for him to eat today.

Azaroth heard all that as Jinwoo was fighting hard to hold his laughter.

 Azaroth's voice crackled over the phone, a deep and hearty laugh escaping his lips. "Well, well, Jin-ah. I never knew you could sound so intimidating," he teased.

"Ek! A-Azaroth!"Jin Ah blushed at the comment, feeling both flattered and embarrassed.

She had only ever shown her studious and reserved side to Azaroth until now.

'Kya~ w-what should I do! Oppa should have told me! Was I nagging at him all this time?

Let Oppa come home, I'll kill him!' She thought clenching her hand with burning eyes.

"Hey, Have you forgotten me Jin-ah? aren't you gonna invite your friend?" Azaroth said cheekily which made Jin ah's head panic and her voice shutter.

"O-of course. Umm please come! I am not a good cook but my mom had taught me how to make Kimchi and my Oppa also loves it, s-so.. yeah.. I think you will like it.. so.. ahm.. come whit Oppa.. bla bla bla.."

 Feeling a surge of courage, she greeted him back and invited him to join them.

Her voice was slightly shaky, betraying her nervousness at being caught in a vulnerable moment by someone she had a c-crush. But she couldn't help the rush of excitement at the thought of spending some time with him…

Azaroth grinned expectantly "We'll be there. Thank you."

Jinah made a small noise of "Not giving Jinwoo food for tomorrow" before hurriedly hanging up.

LOL

As they cruised down the street with the wind in their hair, Azaroth chuckled to himself as he recalled the phone call. Jinwoo sat beside him, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Something funny?" Jinwoo asked, avoiding Azaroth's smug grin. He had a feeling what was coming.

Azaroth turned to his friend, eyes glinting with mirth. "So Jin-ah has quite the temper, hmm?"

Jinwoo coughed, face reddening. "She's, uh, protective like my mother and yeah.. ikes to nag."

"Mmhmm." Azaroth's smile grew mischievous. "And what about you? Something you're not telling me?"

"Ah.. wha-what do you mean..?"

Azaroth just looked at the road and uttered two words, " Second Awakening"

Boom

Jinwoo's heart sank, smile twitched nervously at the corners.

"I don't kno—"

"You had a second awakening, didn't you?" Azaroth asked again, still not looking at him.

How? Why?

How did he know?

Why is he suddenly asking?

Jinwoo was feeling great all this time thinking about eating that dinner and all.. then why was the topic changed to this..?

Azaroth glanced at him, 

 Azaroth continued, "Even though you conceal it well, I noticed something during our last mission together."

Jinwoo looked at him questioningly.

"When Yum-Na was attacked by the lizardmen from her blind spot, do you recall what happened?" Azaroth prompted.

Jinwoo nodded slowly, unsure where this was going. "Yes.. her friend shouted but it was too late, but then you dealt with the lizardmen.. "

"In your moment of panic, your aura slipped out momentarily." Azaroth watched him closely. "Just for a second, but it was enough. Your aura - it was low C-rank. Far greater than what an E-rank hunter should possess."

Jinwoo paled.

He thought he'd kept his budding powers carefully hidden all this time.

'...'

Jinwoo listened intently as Azaroth continued his deductions.

'I-If that's the only thing he knows then I can say that I awakened recently—' Jinwoo was trying to make a false story but his chain of thoughts were cut of by Azaroth.

"There's more," Azaroth said.

"Remember that unusual B-rank dungeon no one would enter to help? You entered it for the rescue, didn't you? That's unusual for a low-ranked hunter."

"And even when the other D-rank and C-rank hunters got wiped out by the Spider Queen, only you remained, facing off against a B-rank monster as an 'E-rank'."

Azaroth fixed him with a searching look. 

Jinwoo's eyes turned cold as the implications sank in.

Azaroth had clearly been observing him far longer than he let on, noticing clues even Jinwoo was unaware of.

Yet Azaroth never confronted or questioned him about it till now? Why?

Continuing to treat him as any other hunter.

This bothered Jinwoo more than outright suspicion would have. What did he want?

"You've known all this time, haven't you?" Jinwoo asked quietly. 

The car fell silent.

His voice remained even, but a storm raged within. All this while, had Azaroth simply been observing him like some specimen?

And did he know about my System?

"I know" Said Azaroth.