Only then did Yohan realize it had not been reluctance that made him speak slowly—it was because the words were sincere—and he was left speechless. Unlike their parents, who only vaguely imagined the Abyss must have been hard, Yang Yosep, who had already cleared rifts several tis as an Awakener, had the eyes of soone who could at least guess how hellish the Abyss truly was. Yohan swallowed dryly and asked:
“What? Can you say it one more ti?”
“Co here. I’ll say it close so you can hear it well.”
At the sight of Yosep’s fist, Yohan darted away again. Turning his head so Yosep could not see, he smirked. In his whole life, he had almost never heard his brother say he had suffered or that he was grateful. Seeing both sons—one once missing, the other once severely contaminated—now healthy at ho, the last traces of worry finally vanished from Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju’s faces.
“Let’s check one more ti if our son is really all right.”
“I really am all right. I have never felt better in my life.”
After soothing the still-worried Kim Yeju and convincing her of his good health, Yosep let out a sigh and spoke.
“But if I was that severely contaminated, you should have reported to the governnt.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. How could we hand you over to those people, trusting them with anything?!”
Yang Hwapyeong, who had been watching proudly, flared up and retorted. Yosep’s face hardened, and he slowly shook his head, stubborn. The warm atmosphere turned cold in an instant, and Yohan simply watched in silence, gauging the mood.
“At the very least, it would have been better than becoming a degenerate who harms his own parents.”
“But you endured it in the end! If we had handed you to the governnt, Yohan wouldn’t have been able to treat you.”
“That’s true. But all of this only went well because we were lucky. If Yohan hadn’t been able to co back, then I...”
“Why make aningless assumptions about a boy who has already returned safe?! If sothing like that happens again, we’d rather take you to an uninhabited island and live there than ever do that!”
As for Yohan’s thoughts, Yosep’s words sounded reasonable, and he also understood Hwapyeong’s heart. These days, it was still common for the contaminated to harm family or those around them. On the other hand, if they had reported him to the governnt and he had been quarantined, they might never have seen their son again, so he could understand why his parents had locked Yosep in the basent.
But it had certainly been dangerous to keep him here. Even half out of his mind, Yosep had shown restraint—but how long would that have lasted? Moreover, Yosep was a mid-tier Awakener with excellent evaluations. A truly horrific tragedy could have happened.
‘If my brother had been quarantined by the governnt, it would have been a hassle, but I would have saved him soday.’
It would have been hard with only his own strength, but now he had Lee Hyunmook and the others.... Besides, they had escaped the Abyss—what could be impossible here?
Watching the family matter as if it were a story unfolding far away, Yohan thought about the Sun Guild. Just imagining working together already made him excited. Whatever he did here, compared to the Abyss, it would be fun and good.
“Enough! What’s the point of rehashing sothing that’s already over? You stop, too. Let’s eat. It’s been a while since we’ve had a al with the boys.”
As the mood grew more heated, Kim Yeju hurried to stop the two. Hwapyeong and Yosep withdrew without further argunt. Honestly, Yohan was quite hungry, so he quickly sat at the table. It felt like he had already digested everything he had eaten at the team dinner.
After a alti prayer, they picked up their spoons. Overjoyed that both sons were safe, the breakfast spread that Kim Yeju had prepared with the housekeeper was far more plentiful than usual. With eager anticipation, Yohan heaped up a big spoonful of rice and side dishes and ate. It was so delicious.
Having built the habit of focusing intensely on alti—the greatest joy in the Abyss—Yohan did not notice that his family had fallen silent and were staring only at him. Normally, Yohan chattered away while eating, but now he ate without a word like soone who had gone hungry for days. This was also because his appetite had increased markedly after Awakening. Yosep, too, could easily finish two or three bowls in one sitting after Awakening.
“Is it good? Shall I give you more rice?”
Kim Yeju, eyes glistening a little with tears at the sight of her second son emptying a bowl in an instant, asked as her hands were already scooping more. Still a bit hungry, Yohan accepted without refusing and smiled.
“As expected, ho-cooked food is the best.”
Yoon Seungryong was truly skilled at cooking, and the dishes at last night’s team dinner had been delicious, but nothing suited his taste like food eaten at ho. Even after finishing the al, the family stayed at the table, enjoying dessert and the warm, peaceful atmosphere. Yosep, examining the fingertips where disgusting tentacles had once grown, asked:
“So how long do you plan to keep being a purifier a secret?”
“Until the ti is right? It might take a few months.”
More precisely, until they could receive contaminated individuals from the governnt as contracted. To this end, Lee Hyunmook was urgently having an island purchased under the Sun Guild’s na and construction rushed. In these tis, an island was a relatively safe place to quarantine the contaminated. It would take so ti to build facilities to house close to several hundred people.
‘Still, I can at least purify the ones we’ve already diverted.’
Just imagining the joy of people freed from pain by purification already made him feel good. As Yohan unconsciously smiled, cheeks dimpling, Hwapyeong, a little flushed after a couple of drinks, said:
“Right, Yohan. A high-tier Awakener—how splendid is that. This is great. Truly great. You brothers will be able to help each other well.”
“You’re going to join your brother’s guild and work, right? Since you suffered so much in the Abyss, how about resting more before you start?”
Eyes bright with happiness, Kim Yeju spoke, and Yohan was montarily at a loss for words. The endless joy he had felt upon returning ho settled a little. Before he could say anything, Yosep burst into laughter as if he had heard sothing ridiculous. Putting down the tangerine he had been half-eating, he said:
“Father. Why would he join my guild? What would he gain?”
“What’s wrong with your guild?”
Proud of his firstborn, Hwapyeong frowned. Neon, the guild Yosep had founded with family funds right after Awakening, had a solid reputation. One reason was that its mbers had thoroughly hidden Yosep’s contamination. Neon Guild had investnt from Saimyeong Pharmaceutical. Yosep started to say sothing, glanced at his younger brother, then closed his mouth and yielded the floor. Yohan spoke calmly.
“I was going to tell you anyway—I’ve decided to join the Sun Guild.”
“You’re joining the Sun Guild? You?”
Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju were startled. Honestly, Yohan had thought they would have guessed, since he had even had a team dinner with Lee Hyunmook and the forr Sunrise mbers. But unlike his expectations, his parents still had not truly grasped that Yohan had survived in the Abyss for a year and escaped, nor the value of a high-tier Awakener who was a purifier.
“R-right. Yes.... If it’s the Sun Guild, that’s certainly a good place.”
Even as he said it, Hwapyeong seed sobered up, dazed. He straightened in his seat. My son is going to work with that Lee Hyunmook! Seeing a flash of that joy pass over his father’s face, Yohan opened his mouth.
“But even if I wasn’t a high-tier Awakener—even if I were just a plain, strength-boost-type low-tier Awakener—I still wouldn’t have joined my brother’s guild. Even if I hadn’t Awakened at all.”
“Yohan...”
Frowning, Hwapyeong began to speak, and Yohan cut him off, knowing he was about to hear the sa words he had heard countless tis before.
“This isn’t sothing born of inferiority or a chip on my shoulder. Even before that, I never wanted to live as my brother’s tagalong. My life and my brother’s life are separate. In our ho, no matter what, my brother was always the best, so in your eyes what I have achieved till now may not have asured up....”
“Mom just thought it would be nice for family to work together because you’re brothers.”
“Right, it was all for your good.”
Yohan did not agree with them; he simply lowered his eyes.
He recalled their reactions when, worried about ears outside, he had claid to be a low-tier Awakener. Even after hearing he had Awakened, they had brushed it off with awkward smiles and a vague “it’s enough that you’re ho.” In most hos, Awakening alone would be cause for great celebration, but because there was a mid-tier Awakener nad Yang Yosep, it had not been.
“Joining the Sun Guild...”
Murmuring blankly as she looked at Yohan, Kim Yeju suddenly °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° rembered sothing and lifted her head.
“But Yohan, the Sun Guild is far from here. How are you going to commute?”
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