Golden Gate (1)
December 31st.
Hand's 2nd District, a large shopping mall and electronics market.
It was a bona fide departnt store with a theater, bookstore, arcade, pC room, and countless other amusents.
As usual, many people were walking around inside the shopping mall today.
But unlike usual, not a single person was shopping or enjoying the entertainnt facilities.
All the departnt store's facilities were either closed with shutters or had "Closed for the holiday" signs hanging at the entrance.
Despite the disappearance of its amusents, the departnt store was buzzing with noise.
Zzzzt—
Crackle, crackle, crackle—
First floor plaza of the electronics market section.
People were gathered in a ring around that plaza.
And at the very center of it, sothing was shimring in the air, like a flow of electricity.
To be precise, it looked as though a crack had ford in space itself.
It was an event gathered for that very phenonon.
"Is that the crack in the Golden Gate?"
A woman in a suit standing at the second-floor railing spoke.
She had pale white skin and covered her face with a hat and sunglasses.
At her question, a researcher operating a machine next to her answered.
"It hasn't opened yet. Normally, when a gate opens, it's wise to evacuate everyone except the hunters, but..."
After investigating the gate's encroachnt rate, it was confird that the gate would open here.
Naturally, many hunters were waiting at the spot that would beco the entrance.
Their ranks ranged from S-class celebrities to B-class, all with different ranks.
However, around the crack in the gate, ordinary people had gathered as well.
"Heheh, isn't the Golden Gate supposed to be safer than other gates?"
The woman in the suit smiled as she spoke.
"Other gates devastate the area the mont they open, but it's been shown that the Golden Gate has no such impact."
"..."
"And since it's been years since a Golden Gate last appeared, you should see it while you can."
Even non-awakened individuals were watching the descent of the Golden Gate right before their eyes.
The researcher conversing at that mont was also an ordinary person.
Moreover, considering what ca out of the Golden Gate, it was closer to a festival than a disaster.
"By the way, may I ask who you are...?"
At the researcher's question, the woman removed her sunglasses and hat, then introduced herself.
"Nice to et you. My na is Karen Rayhold from the world organization 'The World'."
"Eeek!"
Once her bare face was revealed, there was no sign of life in it.
Her eyes, which you'd expect to be bright, looked utterly dead, and her parched skin gave off an eerie feeling.
She looked like a walking corpse.
Adding to her freakishness, her nails had grown sharp and claw-like.
"Ah, I suppose you must be surprised when you see like this?"
"Huh?"
"There's no need to worry. This is my appearance as a Mutamit."
"Ah..."
Hearing that, the researcher let out a huge sigh of relief.
They'd nearly lost their legs in fright, thinking she was really a ghost.
If she was a Mutamit, that bizarre appearance was easily explained.
"Is the chairman of Hand here for this event, by any chance?"
"The chairman?"
Answering Karen's undead-like question, the researcher replied,
"He isn't present."
"Why not?"
"Hmm, I don't know."
As a re researcher, he wouldn't know anything about that.
Karen bit her lip and spoke.
"That damn bastard, what's he doing that he couldn't show up?"
"Uh...?"
"I went to all the trouble of visiting because I wanted to talk to him."
The researcher was startled at what he'd just heard.
Is it really okay to refer to the Hand's chairman like that?
Or was it because she was affiliated with The World?
"Ah, my apologies. Please ignore what I just said."
"Uh... sure."
"But who are those kids over there?"
It wasn't only hunters standing in front of the spatial crack.
Karen was puzzled to see underqualified students wandering near the front as well.
"Those kids will be entering the gate this ti."
"Seriously?"
"They don't have licenses yet, but they're lucky kids given the chance to experience a gate."
They were middle school students who'd apparently won a school tournant.
Of the five middle schools, 2nd Academy had competed against 3rd Academy, and 1st, 4th, and 5th Academies had competed amongst themselves.
As a result, the two winning teams were selected and had co to this place.
"Hm?"
At that mont, karen turned her gaze toward one particular student.
"That kid..."
It was a boy with black hair.
His school uniform natag read "Ma Seongjin," and he had a fairly decent appearance.
For so reason, karen found her attention drawn to him, but soon shook her head, thinking it was just her imagination.
"It can't be."
The person she was thinking of had white hair, not black.
****
"Hey, Seongjin!"
As I stood waiting to enter the Golden Gate, soone called out to .
It was my friends from Hand.
Since the gate hadn't opened yet, I ran over to greet them.
"What brings you all here?"
"What do you an? Of course we ca to see you."
Choi Sangbaek, standing at the front, said with a shrug.
The appearance he'd shown when he first threatened to join his fan club was long gone.
"Honestly, I was curious to see what the Golden Gate looks like in person."
"It's not like we're banned from entering, anyway."
Sung Chohyang and Park Sumin spoke from beside .
Sang-ah was standing with them, though she looked too shy to step out confidently.
But that was her usual reserved nature.
"Wait, Seongjin—are you going in there with those people?"
"That's right."
"Wow...! You lucky bastard!"
Park Sumin stared at the hunters standing in front of the crack and made a fuss.
I was well aware that those gathered were famous hunters.
Since it was a Golden Gate—the fabled treasure trove—each guild had sent their best people.
"Kang Hyunseok of the Poison Guild, Yoo Cheon-hwa of the Angel Guild...! And even Milo, the S-class hunter from the US Mage Guild...! You're going to see their combat live!"
Park Sumin literally said his chest was swelling with pride.
He kept embracing , pouring out his envy.
It was annoying, so the instant I managed to shake him off, a familiar voice called out again.
"Seongjin!"
"Oppa!"
After my friends, my family ca running up to .
As expected, they were here to watch the event too.
"Are these Seongjin's friends?"
"Hello, I'm Sung Chohyang."
"I'm Park Sumin."
When my mother asked, the others introduced themselves.
Since she already knew Sang-ah, there was no need for her to introduce herself.
"Hello, I'm Choi Sangbaek. I share a dorm with Seongjin."
"Nice to et you."
Sangbaek greeted my father, and the two shared a handshake.
They smiled warmly, as if they understood each other at once.
In that heartwarming scene, oddly, only Yunhee had a sour expression.
"What's wrong? You haven't seen your brother in so long."
"It's almost winter break, so why did we have to co all the way over here?"
She pouted, turning her head sharply.
She looked as though she was devastated at not getting to do what she wanted.
"There's an idol concert today, so why did we have to co here instead?"
"Ah..."
Once I heard that, I let out an exclamation of understanding.
She was sulking because she'd co sowhere she didn't see the point in coming to.
"Vista is appearing today! I was really looking forward to that!"
She used to like a boy group called "Playboy", but now her allegiance had shifted to "Vista."
"Mom wanted to go, too!"
"Of course! I'm a fan of Vista, too."
What are they talking about?
Mom used to be a fan of Playboy as well.
Mother and daughter—fair-weather fans, the both of them.
"But how could a mother miss an event her son is involved in? Don't you agree?"
"Hmph...!"
Still pouting, Yunhee snorted but couldn't argue further.
Mom had given up seeing her beloved idol for my sake.
The sa went for Dad.
"I wanted to see the girl group too, but I held back—for Seongjin's sake."
"What? A girl group, you said?"
At that, Sangbaek's eyes flashed.
His eyes were full of wild hope.
"That must be Unity Girls, right?"
Just as I suspected.
His obsessive devotion to that old girl group hadn't gone anywhere.
"Unity Girls? Ohhh...!"
At the ntion of that na, my father let out a nostalgic sigh.
He'd been a fan once, after all, so he felt a wave of longing.
But now...
"Those washed-up has-beens?"
"...?"
At that mont, Sangbaek's face instantly cooled.
It was as if he realized his lifelong dream had all been a lie, and he looked utterly shattered.
In the next instant, a surge of fury erged from his woeful face.
"How dare you...! How dare you insult my goddesses!!"
He took off his jacket, revealing a Unity Girls' goods T-shirt underneath.
It was an even more bizarre piece of rchandise, visually, than the T-shirts he'd forced us to wear last ti.
"Eek! What on earth is that disgusting thing?"
Dad frowned at the shirt plastered with images of the Unity Girls' faces.
Just looking at it was unpleasant; the one wearing it had to be out of his mind.
"You shall not be forgiven... Ugh!"
"Here we go again."
Sung Chohyang smacked him on the back of the head, knocking him down and quelling his anger.
My father chuckled awkwardly.
"Hahaha... Our Seongjin's made so colorful friends."
Sorry, dad, for having this guy as my roommate.
"I'm going to stick with Sang-ah unni all day instead."
As a substitute for the missed idol concert, Yunhee clung to Sang-ah.
That was the result of the two growing close during sumr vacation.
"Is that really okay, unni?"
"Of course."
With Yunhee latched onto her side, Sang-ah looked genuinely happy.
Her usual shyness disappeared in an instant.
"Oh, right! There's sothing I want to show you, unni."
"What is it?"
Yunhee pulled out her phone and started tapping away.
She played a video and showed it to Sang-ah.
"Ah..."
"How is it?"
Instantly, Sang-ah froze up as if standing on the Siberian tundra.
It was the very video that had earned her the nickna "Berserk Girl."
"You look so cool in it, unni."
"..."
"Nowadays, new videos keep popping up. I bet there are over two thousand by now."
"Kugh... cough!"
That many?
Sang-ah felt a massive sense of pressure.
Her chest constricted so tightly that she started coughing.
How on earth had things gotten this far?
All that, just for beating up so group mates.
"You're super famous at my elentary school. You're a total star, unni."
"Stop... Stop!"
"And also..."
"Aaaaah!"
"I even personally—"
"Aaaaaah!!"
"Edited the video—"
"Aaaaaaa!! Shut up!!"
Covering her ears with all her might, Sang-ah tried to block out what she didn't want to hear.
But it was useless; her hearing was too good for soundproofing to work.
Unfortunately, she could still hear everything she wanted to avoid.
"I can't hear you! I can't hear you! I can't hear you! Aaaaa↗ ↗↘ Aaa↗↗↘aaaaa↗↘!"
In her desperate attempt to escape embarrassnt, Sang-ah scread with all her might.
At so point, her clear tone beca that of a professional opera singer.
'Her voice is unnecessarily good, huh?'
At the beauty of that sound, people collectively turned to look.
At the crowd's reaction, I leaned in close and whispered in Sang-ah's ear.
"Sang-ah."
"I can't heeeaar youuu↗ ↗↘!"
"People are watching you."
"I can't... what?"
The noisy event hall gradually quieted down.
People were srized by her beautiful voice and stared at her in silence.
Since this was an event held at Hand, there were even news caras from dia outlets covering it.
This scene would be aired on the news.
"Sang-ah. You just gave the internet new video fodder."
"..."
At my ominous remark, Sang-ah went vacant.
"Ah... hahaha..."
As if her spirit had left her body, she started laughing as if the world had ended.
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