Seoul Station’s Necromancer Chapter 71:
Chapter 71 – To the US (3)
“Mr . Kahng-woojin, who is the most popular man right now, came to see our movie . It is really an honor . ”
At Cindy’s words, everyone inside the theater turned to look at him . Kahng-woojin let out a bitter smile as he looked at Cindy .
“If you don’t mind me asking, could I bring you up to the front of the stage?”
At Cindy’s words, a staff rapidly approached Woojin . The staff spoke as he bowed towards the audiences sitting close to Woojin .
“Excuse me . Please move for a brief moment . Yes . Excuse me . ”
The people sitting next to Woojin all stood up, and they moved into the aisle . They made way, so Woojin could come out . The staff approached Woojin, and he spoke .
“Please come this way . ”
“
I do mind, so **** off . ”
“What?”
If she already knew she was being a bother then she should have left him alone . Why did she have to annoy him by asking him a favor?
“Tell her I said hello and to **** off . I’m starting to get annoyed . ”
“T…that is…”
“Are my words insufficient?”
When Woojin started gathering his magic, the staff member started feeling a threatening energy, so he started backing off .
“I…I’ll deliver the message . ”
The staff member quickly approached Cindy to deliver Woojin’s words . The theater was quiet, so everyone heard what was being said . The director laughed as he grabbed the microphone .
“Haha . I’m sorry for making you wait . I’m sure his rebuttal means he really wants to watch our movie as soon as possible . Please have fun . Enjoy the movie . ”
After a brief farewell, the director and actors exited the stage . Everyone kept sneaking glances towards Woojin . Jiwon whispered into Woojin’s ear .
“It seems Cindy doesn’t know she graduated from the same high school as you .
Well, it was likely she had no idea .
Woojin didn’t know Cindy, and Cindy didn’t know Woojin .
The movie was quite entertaining .
The Roused used magic . They showed abilities that was impossible in real life .
They were very expensive to hire, but a movie casting the Roused didn’t need special effects or CG . They could film everything on the spot .
They were Rank F and Rank E Roused hired professionally for these works .
They didn’t make a lot of money, but not everyone wanted to risk their life for a large income .
When the movie ended, it was close to the appointed time .
Since the weather was getting chilly, people were wearing a thick layer of clothes . Woojin suddenly realized Jiwon was wearing a very worn coat .
“Didn’t you say before that you have some debts?”
“Ah . I paid it all off . I received my severance pay . ”
“Hmmm . If you need some help, just tell me . ”
“Eh-ee . You don’t need to help me . I’ve already received too much from you . ”
She owed him an incalculable debt from the fact that he had restored her face .
“What’s Jaemin doing these days?”
“His college entrance exam is right around the corner, so he is really busy . He is taking his studies really seriously these days . ”
“Is that so? I guess he got past the shock . ”
“Huh? Shock?”
“The girl he liked entered a trainee program for entertainers . He made a big scene . He cried a lot . ”
“Huh . Jaemin said that?”
“You didn’t know?”
This was the first time Jiwon heard about this . She had thought there were no secrets between her sibling . She was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t tell her what had happened .
“So that is why he is study so hard these days… . ”
“Haha . There aren’t any downside if he studies hard . ”
Woojin decided he should meet with Jaemin after he took his college entrance exam . He always talked about entering a guild, so he’ll let Jaemin enter his guild .
Woojin followed Jiwon to the appointed grilled meat restaurant .
They were led to a room reserved to Nahm-jihyuhk, but no one had arrived yet . After a brief amount of time, Nahm-jihyuhk and Park-soojin opened the door, and they carefully entered the room .
“Soojin . ”
“J…Jiwon!”
Park-soojin was her friend who had kept in contact with Jiwon until the end . Since Jiwon had been busy with her factory work, she was rarely able to keep in touch with Soojin, so they had become estranged .
When Woojin cleared the Dungeon in Daegoo, Soojin saw the article with the picture of Jiwon kissing Woojin . Soojin had recognized her, and she had tried to get a hold of Jiwon again .
When Soojin saw Jiwon’s face, she started crying .
“Good for you . Girl! You are all better now . You are whole . ”
“Ooh-oong . I’m all good now . ”
“Hoo-hook . Good . That’s really good . ”
Soojin started crying from genuine happiness, and it made Jiwon’s eyes well up with tears . It was as if separated family members had reunited after a long time . They hugged each other as they cried with runny noses . Nahm-jihyuk felt awkard by the scene, so he approached Woojin .
“It…it’s been awhile?”
The friend he had thought was dead when Woojin went missing had suddenly shown up after 5 years . Moreover, he was one of the top Roused in the world, and the media covered him daily .
He used to worry about the college entrance exam with Woojin . They used to study and play Chaos together . Only 5 years had passed, but his friend had become someone amazing .
Jihyuhk couldn’t help being awkward and he was mindful of how he acted around Woojin .
Woojin was meeting his friend after 20 years… .
“You’re here?”
He wordlessly raised his glass .
Ggol ggol .
Woojin smiled as he filled the glass . He thought he wouldn’t recognize anyone since it had been 20 years . He dimly remembered some names, but everything was fuzzy .
‘Nahm-jihyuhk . I remember him . ’
Woojin recognized his face . He had seen his friend’s face in 20 years, and couple memories from his third year in high school started surfacing .
He was happy .
He was so happy that he wanted to cry .
“How have you been?”
“Dude . What have you been up to before you suddenly fell out of the sky? I was so surprised when I saw you on TV . ”
Woojin treated Jihyuhk in a relaxed manner . Jihyuhk started to grin when his nervousness dissipated .
“Hey, let’s have a drink . ”
All of his classmates from Mido High school was gathered here .
There were friends he was close to during his high school days, and there were those he only remembered by their faces . However, this moment was very precious to him .
It felt as if the Immortal of Alphen was turning back into Kahng-woojin of earth .
He wouldn’t be lying if he said he would be satisfied if he was struck dead right now .
His family was here, and now he had friends here .
He wouldn’t mind dying in battle now . There were people who will remember him…
He wouldn’t have any regret even if he died . However, he wanted to live much more now .
He wanted to protect his family and friends, who remembered him .
He hadn’t fought tooth and nail to surive, so he could just return to earth .
The war to protect everyone was just starting .
When the meat and alcohol started coming out, the atmosphere turned mellow .
Woojin listened to old stories about his life from his friends, and it was great .
He felt warm, and cozy when he started dwelling on his old memories .
He was happy as if he was a babe in his mother’s bosom .
For a moment, he escaped from his worries about Trahnet and the Dungeon Break . He felt as if he was in a dream for a brief time .
*
After they parted from their friends, Jiwon and Woojin walked the night streets together .
“Ha . It was great . ”
Woojin let out a breath, and the happiness could be heard in his voice .
“I’m glad you liked it . ”
Jiwon also smiled . It felt as if she repaid a small portion of the kindness she had received from him .
“I guess we’ll meet more of our friends at the end of the year, right?”
“I guess so . ”
Jiwon didn’t meet as many friends as Woojin . There was an alumni reunion at the end of the year, and she was already looking forward to it .
A person, who kept glancing at Woojin and Jiwon in the street, approached them with a pen and a paper .
“Mr . Kahng-woojin . I’m a fan . Please sign this for me . ”
“…… . ”
Woojin looked back dumbly, and the people in the surrounding rushed towards him .
One person after another continuously stepped up towards him .
Even if they took home the paper with signature, it was of no use . However, everyone still tried to get a signature from him .
“I’m not a celebrity, so why should I sign this?”
“Aren’t you a public figure?”
“Why don’t you get out of the way? You are being annoying . ”
At Woojin’s cold response, the people crowding around him hesitated .
Woojin started walking, and the people made way for him . He escaped from the crowd while he led Jiwon by her hand .
“Chet . What the hell?”
“Can a public figure act like that?”
Woojin stopped walking when he heard the people whisper behind his back . He was about to turn around and say something, but Jiwon grabbed Woojin’s arm .
“Let’s just go . ”
“Hoo . ”
He shook his head . Woojin started walking again as he looked at Jiwon . Was he too emotional right now since he met his high school friends? He became angry at the whispers he would usally ignore .
“I’ll have to buy a car . ”
“Huh?”
Yes . That will be for the best . Since he can’t wipe out the people in the street, he’ll just have to avoid them .
“You don’t have a driver’s license?”
“Nope . I don’t have one . ”
“…… . ”
Woojin was summoned during his 3rd year in high school . There was no way he would have a driver’s license .
“I guess I’ll have to get a driver’s license first . ”
Woojin took hold of Jiwon’s hand and they walked the streets .
*
One week passed by quickly .
Woojin went around to gather information about setting up a cafe for his bored mother . In the evenings, he set aside time to play with Sooah . Sooah, who had felt a bit awkward at his presence, started to slowly open her heart . It warmed his heart .
Sunggoo soloed 3 star Dungeons during the day, and at night, he went to the 5 star Dungeon owned by Alandal with Woojin . He also made appointments for 5 star and 6 star Dungeons owned by other guilds . It was advantageous to spend the night inside the Dungeon since time ran 4 time longer insdie . It was better to sleep briefly inside the Dungeon to relieve the mental fatigue .
Sunggoo diligently ate Reinforcement Stones, and he continued to learn various Skills . He also learned how to deal with variety of monsters . He came up with various battle tactics using his magic and skills .
It had been only a week, but he had spent a much longer time inside the Dungeon . It was enough time to allow the Roused Hong-sunggoo to turn from Rank C to Rank B .
“Hyung-nim! I changed it . ”
He proudly displayed his Roused Registration card, which had changed to Rank B . Woojin grinned when he saw Sunggoo .
“Too bad . I planned on going to the US after I raised you up to Rank A . ”
“No, hyung-nim . ”
Sunggoo’s voice trembled from being overwhelmed by his emotions .
“I’m a Rank B now . This all thanks to hyung-nim’s teaching”
“Don’t enter anything above 4 star . ”
“Of course, hyung-nim . ”
Sunggoo had soloed 4 star Dungeons several times under the administration of Woojin . Sunggoo thought he could solo 4 star Dungeons with no problem, but the future wasn’t set in stone .
Woojin held up a fist-sized red gem . Sunggoo’s eyes turned round when he received it .
“H…hyung-nim! Isn’t this a Return Portal?”
“Don’t die because you got cute . If you are in danger, just come out . ”
“H…hyung-nim . ”
He had easily gave up a rare 10 million dollar item to him… Sunggoo looked like he was about to cry .
“You’ve developed into something useful, so it would be a loss if you die now . ”
Ah . He was always like this in touching situations… Sunggoo knew his indifferent words was different from what Woojin felt .
“Don’t die a pointless death . I’ve invested a lot of money in you . If you die, wouldn’t it have all been a waste? How wasteful would that be?”
“…… . ”
He was almost sure Woojin’s real feeling was warm… .
Still, Woojin had invested couple million into Sunggoo . The Reinforcement Stones, Artifacts, and Skill books he had used… Moreover, the ring on Sunggo’s finger was a sub-dimension Artifact able to store 3 items . It was worth around 3 million dollars .
The Return Portal was like a lifeline . Sunggoo put the item into his sub-dimension .
“Then keep up the good work . ”
“Heh hehe . I’ll accompany you to the airport . ”
“It’s alright . Just go clear a Dungeon . ”
“Heh hehe . ”
Sunggoo was still giddy from becoming a Rank B Roused, so he kept laughing for no reason . Woojin and Minchan got on the taxi .
If Woojin went alone, he would get into all kinds of trouble . Woojin didn’t know anything about the consortium, so Minchan would accompany him to take care of the Alandal’s business . Woojin was just here to meet the Holy maiden .
“Have you been to the US, Minchan?”
“I’ve been there 3 times . ”
“Mmmm . ”
“Have you been there, president?”
“Nope . ”
This was the first time Woojin was riding a plane, let alone visiting the US . After a momentary silence, a cheerful song rang out inside the taxi .
[The only thing I want is your ph . one . num . ber!]
“Yes . This is Alandal’s Jung-minchan . ”
After picking up the call, Minchan started speaking in a serious manner .
“Yes . Yes . I will do so . Thank you for giving us a heads up . ”
“What? Who is it?”
After ending the call, Minchan spoke with a serious expression on his face .
“It’s a call from the Ministry of National Defense . They were tipped off on a terrorist attack . ”
“Is that so? What about it?”
“President . It seems you are their target… . ”
“Me? Why are they targeting me?”
Minchan didn’t know what to say when Woojin asked the question in such an oblivious manner . Woojin had made a lot of enemies recently . Woojin just shrugged his shoulders at Minchan’s serious expression .
“I guess they want to entertain me since the road to the US is boring . ”
“…… . ”
It would be a problem if he was joking . It would also be a problem if he meant those words .
Minchan secretly let out a sigh .