C1

Regret

“Gwanghyeon, you’ve worked hard all this time.”

“You’ve done well, senior.”

Choi Gwanghyeon was a middle-aged C-rank Hunter.

Today marked his retirement, and he had just finished a farewell gathering with his teammates, enjoying himself as much as he could.

“Thank you, everyone.”

He felt both relieved and wistful.

Looking back on his life, Choi Gwanghyeon could never say that he had lived a life of abundance compared to others.

In the past, he had foolishly stood as a guarantor for someone and ended up buried under debt. His wife could not bear it and left, forcing him to raise their two children alone.

It really was hard.

His life was stable now, but the years he had gone through had been anything but easy.

He had poured most of his youth into paying off his debts.

Back then, Gwanghyeon simply did not have the ability to earn enough money.

He possessed an extremely rare personal trait known as a Growth Type, but its starting point was so low that it was practically useless at first.

Although he had eventually risen to the rank of C-rank, when he first started his life as a Hunter, he had only been F-rank.

As a result, his income was barely comparable to that of an ordinary office worker, which was nowhere near enough to pay off a debt worth hundreds of millions of won while raising two children.

In modern society, going hungry was an extremely uncommon occurrence.

Yet his children had quite literally grown up hungry.

And even so, they grew up so well. For that, I’m nothing but grateful.

Gwanghyeon smiled softly as he thought of his children.

“Oh? Team Leader, Senior Gwanghyeon is making that face again.”

“Leave him alone. Looks like he’s thinking about his kids again.”

“Haha. You said your son is a Hunter and your daughter is a government employee at the Administration Bureau, right?”

Both his son and daughter were sources of pride, but his son was especially admirable.

Having matured at an early age, his son had decided to become a Hunter like Gwanghyeon as soon as he awakened, determined to help support their struggling family.

Fortunately, his son had awakened with a fairly decent trait and had been evaluated as B-rank from the very beginning.

His son’s contribution to stabilizing their household had been enormous, so Gwanghyeon could not have been prouder of him.

“Look at that expression. What a fool.”

The team leader poked Gwanghyeon in the side with his elbow as he watched him think about his children. His junior, Jeongmin, also looked at him and burst into laughter.

“Anyway, Senior, now that you’re retired, don’t even think about work anymore. Get some proper rest.”

“Yeah, Gwanghyeon. Take a break. How did you manage to keep working all this time without even using your annual leave? You really are something.”

At the joking remark, Gwanghyeon chuckled and nodded.

“I should. And Jeongmin, don’t slack off just because I’m not around.”

“Come on, Senior. Of course I won’t.”

And so, Gwanghyeon and his teammates spent a long while reminiscing about everything that had happened over the years.

The cool night air felt pleasant against his face, and Gwanghyeon smiled as he tilted his head upward.

Yes.

He had lived as though he were constantly being chased, but he had somehow endured and made it this far.

Wasn’t that enough?

Perhaps, in its own way, this was happiness.

“Well, I’ll be heading home now.”

“Yeah, Gwanghyeon. Get home safely.”

“Take care, Senior!”

His teammates smiled as they watched Gwanghyeon walk away.

Only after his figure disappeared from sight did Jeongmin slowly speak.

“Senior Gwanghyeon really is retiring.”

“I know. Sigh… That foolish man never knew anything except work.”

“…That’s true, haha.”

“I really don’t know how he managed to live such a frustrating life. He was always holding himself back and ended up missing every opportunity.”

The team leader shook his head sadly as he recalled the years they had spent together.

In fact, ever since Gwanghyeon’s mana had grown enough for him to reach C-rank, he had continuously received scouting offers from various places.

An experienced C-rank Hunter with years of experience was often more desirable than an inexperienced B-rank Hunter.

But Gwanghyeon had always chosen stability over challenge and change.

And in the end, he was going to end his career right here.

So ordinary.

So modest.

“But didn’t you like it, Team Leader? The fact that Senior Gwanghyeon stayed here instead of going somewhere else?”

“Hey, of course I liked it as his team leader. But as one person to another, it’s a little sad, isn’t it? Don’t you think so? He spent his whole life working for his children, and now he’s practically lost contact with that daughter he loved so much.”

“Haha… You don’t have to go that far.”

The team leader, who had been passionately speaking his mind, soon sighed and fell silent.

There was no point bringing up such things now.

The man had already finished everything and was leaving.

Right. Let’s just congratulate the guy who’s leaving. Just congratulate him.

With that, the team leader shook his head and turned around.

The next morning, Gwanghyeon stopped by the office early one last time and collected all the belongings he had packed in advance.

He was about to head home when he suddenly stopped.

He noticed that a white light had begun shimmering around his body.

“Huh…?”

Gwanghyeon knew exactly what this meant.

It meant that his personal trait had activated.

In other words, the amount of mana within his body had increased.

What terrible timing.

His trait was strange, yet incredibly unhelpful.

Unlike the traits of ordinary Awakened, his trait continued to grow on its own.

But it activated suddenly, without any warning or explanation whatsoever.

At first, he had not even known that his mana was increasing.

Hmm.

Gwanghyeon stood still for a moment, thinking.

Then he glanced around before walking toward the portable mana measuring device installed in the office.

After checking to make sure no one was around, he casually placed his hand on the device.

A moment later, he looked at the results.

His mouth fell open in stunned disbelief.

“Uh…”

“Gasp, B-rank?”

The sudden voice from behind startled Gwanghyeon.

He had been so distracted by the measurement results that he had failed to notice anyone approaching.

The owner of the voice was none other than his junior, Jeongmin.

When had he arrived?

Jeongmin was standing behind him, staring at him with wide eyes.

“C-Congratulations, Senior. Wait… Is this even something we should be congratulating you for?”

It was truly absurd.

Of all days, his rank had increased today.

Yet as the seconds passed, Gwanghyeon’s expression became completely blank.

He eventually shrugged.

“It doesn’t really mean much anymore, now.”

“Come on, Senior. Still, if you’re B-rank now, couldn’t you postpone your retirement? Should I talk to the team leader?”

“No. We already had the farewell party. There’s no point postponing it now.”

Gwanghyeon smiled bitterly.

Even if he had become B-rank, there was no guarantee he could properly make use of his abilities.

His body had already aged considerably.

If this had happened when he was young, he would have been overjoyed.

But the Gwanghyeon of today was not capable of feeling that way.

“Well, it’s still a good thing, so I guess I feel pretty good.”

“Haha, I’m jealous. When will I ever reach B-rank? And when will I ever get to retire?”

“Nothing to be jealous of.”

They continued chatting and joking around when suddenly, Gwanghyeon felt a vibration coming from his pocket.

His smartphone almost never rang, so he pulled it out with a slightly puzzled expression.

“…Huh?”

“What is it?”

The caller was an unknown number.

Jeongmin approached Gwanghyeon as he tilted his head in confusion.

“Unknown number?”

“Looks like it.”

“You should answer it, at least.”

Gwanghyeon nodded and slowly picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

But the moment he answered the call, Gwanghyeon’s expression twisted horribly.

After receiving the call and arriving at the hospital, Gwanghyeon could do nothing but stare blankly into empty space.

When he had first heard it over the phone, he could not believe it.

But now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to accept it.

His son was dead.

“I’m sorry.”

They said it was because of injuries sustained during a battle with a villain.

He had been rushed to the hospital, but by the time he arrived, his heart had already stopped.

Thud.

Upon hearing the news, Gwanghyeon collapsed to the floor with vacant eyes.

Then he clutched his head with both arms and began laughing as though he had lost his mind.

“Ha… Hahaha…”

According to the attending healer, the injuries should normally have been survivable.

But his son’s body had already been ravaged by years of Hunter activity, and it had been unable to endure the additional injuries.

“We killed the villain responsible immediately at the scene, but… We failed to protect your son. I’m sorry.”

Gwanghyeon felt an overwhelming hatred toward the villain who had caused this incident.

But the object of his hatred had already been killed.

All that remained for Gwanghyeon was self-blame.

If only his son had felt a little less pressure and had not pushed himself so hard as a Hunter.

No.

If only his son had never become a Hunter in the first place.

Why was I so happy that he had matured at such a young age?

It only meant that I hadn’t been able to take proper care of him.

The reason his son had matured so early was simple.

Amid their poverty, he had been forced to face reality far too soon.

It was only now that Gwanghyeon finally realized the truth.

His self-reproach gradually turned into anger.

Anger at his own helplessness.

And anger at the world itself.

What had he worked so desperately for?

Why had he lived so stubbornly, when this was the ending waiting for him?

“Ugh… Ughhh…”

A splitting headache began to pound inside Gwanghyeon’s skull.

He did not notice the footsteps of someone approaching from behind.

The footsteps stopped beside him.

Then a familiar voice could be heard.

“…Yes, he’s my younger brother. …Yes.”

It was a voice he had not heard in a long time.

Yet one that was deeply etched into his mind.

His daughter’s voice.

Gwanghyeon abruptly turned his head.

And his eyes met his daughter’s.

“Seo… Seoyoon…”

His daughter had come after hearing the news of her brother’s death.

Her eyes were filled with sorrow.

But not long afterward, she abruptly turned her head away.

Gwanghyeon could not say a single word.

The pain tore through his chest.

Only a few days had passed, yet Gwanghyeon had changed beyond recognition.

Not just his appearance.

Even the aura emanating from his entire body had changed.

The Gwanghyeon who had always tried to live a proper, diligent life was gone.

All that remained was a man walking through the streets with eyes filled with venom.

“…Ha.”

It wasn’t as though he had any particular destination in mind.

Nor was there anything he could actually do even if he wanted to.

He had simply gone outside to soothe the helplessness and emptiness inside him.

I miss you.

After walking for a long time, Gwanghyeon stopped.

He slowly closed his eyes and pictured his son’s face.

Come to think of it, it had been a very long time since he had last seen his son alive.

Then he thought of his daughter’s face as well.

He had seen her recently, but he had never wanted to meet her under such tragic circumstances.

Where did I go wrong?

After some time, he sighed and slowly opened his eyes.

What meaning was there in continuing to dwell on this?

…Huh?

But when Gwanghyeon opened his eyes, he felt a strange sense of discomfort.

When had it started?

A sudden golden radiance was pouring from Gwanghyeon’s body.

“W-What?”

Confused, Gwanghyeon turned his head and looked around.

But for some reason, darkness had filled the surroundings.

W-What is this?

Grip.

Then he felt something grab tightly onto his thigh from behind.

Startled, he turned around.

And his eyes widened in shock.

“Dad… What’s wrong?”

His son and daughter were looking up at him.

As children.

“Uh…?”

Before he knew it, the scenery around him had transformed into a place he knew very well.

Gwanghyeon quickly turned his head and looked at the mirror hanging beside him.

And there, reflected in the mirror, was his own appearance from several decades ago.