“Is it true that during the funeral the corpse opened the coffin lid and walked out? I’ve even heard rumors he awakened.”
“A dead person ca back to life?”
“ㅎㄷㄷ isn’t he a blood fiend?”
“Are there no photos of the resurrection guy?”
“It’s about ti one of his acquaintances showed up lol”
“According to the mortician at the scene that day, he wasn’t a blood fiend. His blood was red and he looked perfectly fine. Seems like the awakening is legit?”
“I heard a rumor the resurrection guy is the son of so big conglorate—true?”
└ “Which conglorate?”
└ “Resurrection legend—if it’s real he’s got it all.”
└ “Maybe Maru? I think I saw an article that the son died in an accident recently.”
└ “You an the one that got deleted? I saw that too.”
└ “That was fake news.”
“Wild. He must have awakened just before crossing the River Jordan lol live life like the resurrection guy.”
“So is he a golden spoon or not?”
└ “Either way, elental awakening is insanely enviable.”
“Resurrection guy—I feel like I know who he is lol he suddenly went abroad for studies right before break, so I thought it was odd.”
└ “Who is it?”
└ “I know lol our class’s piggy bank.”
“Resurrection guy—is he an idiot? From the vibes I’m seeing.”
└ “The kid’s kind of gloomy, I guess.”
At that mont, the resurrection guy. Roy knew the world was in an uproar over his story. At first, over-the-top posts were climbing fast, but once the conglorate’s legal team showed its teeth, one by one they went quiet, and now the chatter had vanished completely. Still, it seed everyone who needed to know already did.
It had almost been a month since the Awakener Managent Departnt sent him the examination guide.
I can’t put this off any longer. Your exam, my outing.
Honestly, Roy found looking in the mirror far harder than any nasty rumors about his past. His unkempt bangs that obscured his eyes, and a fashion sense that made you doubt his nationality—his closet was full of nothing but trash. What shocked him most was his glasses: a luxury-brand limited edition, only ten pairs in the world, yet he would never have chosen them himself.
The one bit of luck was that his idol coback diet had transford his appearance beyond recognition. After being holed up in his room post-discharge, Roy was finally ready to face the world.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”
“Yes. I want to go alone. There are too many watching eyes.”
Unsurprisingly, his parents weren’t thrilled with Roy’s decision.
“Still, wouldn’t it be better if we went with you? You’re so fragile—you might collapse again...”
“No. I’m really fine.”
Fragile, heh. In his parents’ eyes, Roy still seed delicate, although he had a long way to go before reaching his goals. Understandable—they were bigger figures than he imagined. He’d jotted “son of a chaebol” as a joke, but he never truly expected it to be real. Maru Group was South Korea’s leading food conglorate with over seventy subsidiaries—a chaebol among chaebols. Its chairman was a walking headline; whatever he ate, wore, or drove beca a viral sensation.
To be escorted by soone like that—Roy politely declined on his own behalf.
“Then I’ll be off.”
Roy bowed and slipped out of the house like an escapee.
He arrived at the Awakener Managent Departnt building. The plaza in front sward with reporters and guild scouts. Seeing that, Roy felt even more certain he’d made the right choice coming alone.
The Departnt handled all matters related to Awakeners, functioning as a governnt guild headquarters. Before coming here, Roy had stopped by a salon to tidy his hair and bought contact lenses, reclaiming a cuteness befitting his age. His middle school graduation photos had circulated online once, but no one recognized him.
Roy ignored the front entrance and hurried around to the rear gate. Had he not stumbled on the “Awakeners’ Tips & Tricks for the Awakening Exam!” video, he might have blundered straight into disaster.
“Hello.”
Roy approached the back gate with a signature belly-bow—a habit from childhood that had shattered countless Starlight hearts. Even at twenty-one, its impact was imnse; at his younger age, it was unstoppable. The stern-faced guard’s expression instantly lted.
“How can I help you?”
“Hello. I’m here for the awakening exam but can’t find the entrance.”
“Do you have a guardian with you?”
“No. The teacher said this would be enough.”
Roy produced the crumpled doctor’s note from his pocket.
“Go inside and head down to Basent 1.”
“Thank you.”
Roy bowed again and slipped through the gate. Fortunately, signs to the exam rooms were clear, so he didn’t get lost. Inside, however, was as busy as the outside. Roy paused at the entrance, hesitating, until an attendant approached.
“You’re here for the awakening exam?”
“Yes.”
At that, all the waiting candidates turned to stare at Roy—eyeing him as if sizing up the resurrection guy.
“Hicc”
Roy hiccupped before he knew it, clapping a hand over his mouth. He offered the doctor’s note as calmly as he could.
“This is the note? Please fill out the questionnaire over there first, then I’ll call your number.”
The attendant’s motherly smile and patient guidance chard Roy. He bowed and dashed to an empty seat, his heart pounding at the thought of being discovered. Thankfully, people quickly lost interest—no one recognized his new look. He’d even wrapped a scarf around his neck just in case, which might have drawn more attention instead.
Soon, his number was called.
“Number 36~”
“Yes.”
“Follow the yellow line straight in.”
Perhaps because he looked younger, the attendant was overly kind. Roy followed the floor stickers to a door; inside was a single machine resembling a CT scanner.
“Please remove your shoes, lie down, and close your eyes.”
Roy complied, and the machine began scanning him.
“All done. You may sit up.”
The exam finished in under three minutes—Roy felt foolish for not coming sooner.
“You’ll be auto-registered in Awakening24. Results take two to three minutes. Please wait here.”
The attendant pointed to a chair opposite the exam room and retreated inside. Through the transparent glass, Roy saw the staff’s chanical movents—they looked utterly bored, as if ready to leave at any mont.
Making money isn’t easy for them either.
As Roy privately sympathized, the attendant’s face suddenly registered shock. In her hand was the paper she’d promised would take three minutes.
“!!!!!”
“......?”
Their eyes t through the glass. As she jabbed a finger at him, Roy saw the status window appear again before his eyes.
━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━
Lee Roi (S)
Age: 16
Attribute: Elental / Fire
Skills: God’s Lighting, ???
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
God’s Lighting...?
Roy stared at the ceiling in bewildernt when the door burst open and the attendant rushed toward him, exam paper in hand.
“Mr. Lee Roi!”
“Yes?”
“Uh, uh, uh...!”
“Uh?”
The attendant, unable to speak, fidgeted. Roy frowned at her. Then she thrust the exam results at him—white paper bearing the sa info from the status window.
“Oh. You saw this too? What is it?”
“You saw it? When?”
“I can see it right now.”
“Right?”
Talking to soone had never been this difficult. Their conversation had been off since monts ago.
“How should I... call this? A status window?”
Roy ventured, and the attendant’s face fell.
“Right?”
Ah. Maybe that was classified. Realizing he’d said too much, Roy backtracked.
“No, sorry. I misspoke.”
Debuting at eighteen and growing up amid endless scrutiny had honed his instincts.
Damn. It’s only visible to .
He’d found comfort in believing others saw it too—but now it seed he was the only crazy one. As Roy bit his lip in anxiety, the attendant suddenly grabbed his hand.
“It’s an honor to et you! An Elental-class S-rank! And fire attribute at that!”
Since Prophet Maha’s final prophecy, awakened ones were venerated as heroes. And an S-rank! The first since Healer Baek Eun-seong ten years ago. Only the fifth in South Korea’s history! Yet Roy looked utterly clueless about its significance.
“...Is that good?”
“Good? This isn’t just good!”
The attendant shouted excitedly. He must have thought this frail kid knew nothing of the world. And without a guardian present, this was a rare chance to impress the Minister. His eyes glittered with ambition as he eyed Roy—young enough to manipulate easily.
“Instead of here, shall we move soplace more private? You could et the Minister while you’re here.”
“The Minister?”
Roy’s eyes widened. The head of the Awakener Managent Departnt—the highest person here—was not soone you t casually. Feeling sothing was off, Roy braced himself, and the attendant turned to him.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to go. I don’t want to.”
His instincts scread not to follow.
“It’s nothing sinister. Just an explanation,” the attendant said, but Roy inched back like a frightened kitten. His trembling stance made the attendant’s heart clench—what was he thinking, dragging this small child into sothing? Overco with guilt, he knelt to et Roy’s eye level.
“I’m sorry. I got carried away. I didn’t an to scare you.”
“...Okay.”
“Then shall we just issue your Awakener License? When you leave, use the back gate instead of the front.”
Suddenly, the attendant was caring for Roy like a parent.
“Could you call your parents, by any chance?”
“Why...?”
Roy’s bright eyes blinked up at him like an angelic kitten.
Shit! So cute!
Boom! The attendant struck the wall with his fist, trembling.
The terrified ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) act Roy had perfected broke down as fear of the real person before him took hold.
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