Chapter 8
“Oppa!”
The moment the door opened, Go Hyeon-a, whose nose had turned bright red from the cold, threw herself into Hyeon-jun’s arms.
“Has it been six months?”
“Yeah! Have you been doing well?”
“I have. Can’t you tell just by looking at me? I’m completely different now, right?”
Hyeon-a stepped back and examined him.
The last time she had seen him, he had looked extremely exhausted.
Now he looked completely different.
“Did you find a good job or something? You look way healthier. And... did you get bigger too?”
“Hehe. I’ll explain all that later. Come inside first.”
Hyeon-a casually kicked off her shoes and rushed into the apartment.
Hyeon-jun picked up her luggage and closed the door behind them.
“Wooooow!”
Hyeon-a let out an amazed cry.
And understandably so.
During the past five years, this was the first time they had lived in a place this clean, organized, and fully furnished.
“Wow! There’s another room?!”
Two rooms were separated by sliding doors.
Hyeon-a opened one and couldn’t stop exclaiming.
“What do you think? This is your room. Nice, right?”
“Of course it is!”
Hyeon-a jumped onto the bed and rolled around excitedly.
Hyeon-jun watched with a warm smile.
How long has it been since I’ve seen her this happy?
He had spent quite a bit of money renting the apartment and buying furniture.
Yet not a single won felt wasted.
“Rest for a little. Let’s go out for dinner later.”
“Okay. But, Oppa.”
“What?”
Hyeon-a sat up and stared directly at him.
For some reason, her eyes looked moist.
“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen?”
“No... it’s not that...”
Her emotions seemed to suddenly surge.
Hyeon-a wiped at her eyes.
Hyeon-jun became flustered.
While he stood there not knowing what to do, she finally spoke.
“I’m always comfortably studying while you’re out working so hard. I feel guilty about that...”
Hyeon-jun secretly sighed in relief.
He had worried something had happened at school.
Thankfully, that wasn’t it.
“You think about the strangest things. It isn’t hard at all.”
“Liar. You pushed yourself because I was coming home. I told you the basement apartment was really fine...”
Seeing his worried younger sister, Hyeon-jun couldn’t simply laugh it off.
He had always hoped the burden of being the family breadwinner wouldn’t weigh on her too.
That was why he worked harder.
Why he had lived so stubbornly.
But it seemed Hyeon-a had been carrying her own burden too.
I should clear this up.
He needed to explain that he wasn’t pushing himself.
And that she wouldn’t need to worry so much from now on.
“Should we eat dinner outside?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m full.”
Grrrr.
Hyeon-a awkwardly rubbed her stomach.
“If you don’t want to go out, we can order delivery. It’s okay to spend some money on a day like this.”
“Then... fried chicken?”
“Only fried chicken? Order anything you want.”
By that point, Hyeon-a also realized something was strange.
Even if today is special, Oppa would never normally say something like that.
Wasn’t he the kind of person who tried to save every possible won?
Thinking about it, his appearance was strange too.
He looked healthier than before.
Far from someone who had overworked himself.
Part of her was relieved.
Another part wanted to know why.
“Oppa, are you doing different work these days?”
Hyeon-jun nodded.
Before he could say anything, Hyeon-a grabbed his hand.
“Y-You didn’t join some criminal organization, did you?”
“Do I look like someone who would do that?”
“No... but the situation is weird...”
Hyeon-jun had to admit she had a point.
His spending had suddenly increased.
From Hyeon-a’s perspective, that must have looked suspicious.
“I started Hunter work again.”
“...What?”
Hyeon-a’s expression immediately stiffened.
She had opposed his Hunter work in the past too.
She had said that with his Trait, going into hunting grounds would only get him hurt.
Hyeon-jun hurriedly continued.
“Should we order first? Delivery might take a while.”
“...Don’t try to dodge the subject. Explain everything properly. Got it?”
“You wouldn’t let me avoid it anyway.”
“Of course not!”
Hyeon-jun ordered several dishes through a delivery app.
Hyeon-a stared holes through him the entire time.
The moment he finished, she asked again.
“You said Hunter work wasn’t efficient for you. So why are you suddenly making money from it?”
“I gained a new ability. It feels almost like I awakened again...”
Hyeon-jun told his younger sister everything.
There was no better way to completely reassure her.
“Is something like that even possible?”
“At least, there’s never been a reported case before. So I guess I’m the first.”
“Hmm...”
Hyeon-a narrowed her eyes.
She really was suspicious of everything.
“Believe me or don’t. I don’t lie to you.”
“What’s the new ability?”
“Hmm.”
Instead of explaining Copy, it seemed faster and easier to simply show her how much stronger he had become.
Hyeon-jun looked around, then opened a drawer.
Inside was a toolbox.
He took out several long nails.
“Watch this.”
Hyeon-jun held multiple nails in one hand and squeezed.
When he opened his hand again, the bent nails had been crushed together into a single twisted lump of metal.
“!”
Hyeon-a’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit.
A smile appeared on Hyeon-jun’s lips.
“What do you think? You know one Strength Rune wouldn’t let me do something like this, right?”
“I-Is it really true? You really got a new ability?”
“I told you. That’s why Hunter work has been paying pretty well lately.”
Hyeon-jun took out his smartphone and showed her the purchase messages he had received from the Exchange.
Hyeon-a scrolled through them with trembling fingers.
“Y-You really earned all of this money?”
“Yeah. And I’m barely even struggling for it.”
“What do you mean you’re not struggling? You’re making this much because you’re doing dangerous things.”
“Come on. Don’t you know your Oppa? Safety always comes first for me.”
“...You say that so shamelessly.”
Hyeon-a didn’t completely believe him.
But she couldn’t exactly oppose his Hunter work either.
Oppa must have already made his own decision.
She couldn’t take that decision away from him.
There was only one thing she could do.
Support him.
“If you’re tired, rest. And never push yourself too far. Promise me that.”
“Hunter work actually gives me more time to rest than before.”
“That’s a relief.”
The food arrived soon afterward.
They set everything on the table and started eating.
Hyeon-a ate happily, as though she had never been worried in the first place.
Considering she had originally suggested ordering only fried chicken, her appetite was impressive.
Hyeon-jun watched her with a satisfied smile.
This is why I earn money.
From now on, he wanted to buy her much more delicious food.
He wanted her to wear better clothes.
He wanted to build a life where even failing an exam wouldn’t feel like the end of the world.
[Enough power has accumulated within the <Primordial Soul Circuit>.]
[The grade of <Primordial Soul Circuit> is changing. <F> ▶ <E>]
“Done.”
A full month had passed since his reawakening.
Several days had already passed since the beginning of the new year.
