# 016. The Era of Great Awakening (9)
Jaehee felt strange in many ways as he rode home in the car provided by the Management Bureau.
Through the car window, he could see collapsed roads and buildings. Though he had thought things were fine, the scars of those terrible two months still remained here and there. Still, he was relieved that the city didn’t have a gloomy atmosphere.
“Your parents must be looking forward to seeing you soon. You said it’s been two months, right? Most people return from the tutorial within one or two weeks. Your parents must have been so worried all this time.”
The driver from the Awakened Management Bureau glanced at the rearview mirror as he spoke. He seemed quite excited to meet the last Awakened One to emerge from the tutorial. Seeing the driver’s eagerness to keep talking, Jaehee didn’t know how to respond and just gave an awkward smile.
“Oh, I see a lot of collapsed areas. The damage must have been quite severe?”
“Goodness, this is actually quite decent. There are very few major cities in the world that got away with this level of damage considering how many people live here. It’s all thanks to Lee Shin-hoo, the head of Guild Sahae. When everyone was in chaos and didn’t know what to do at the beginning, he took the lead, which is why things ended up relatively well. Still, many people died and got injured. Many buildings collapsed too… Since then, lots of people have moved to the suburbs or countryside. Foolish thinking, really. Do they think dungeons only appear in urban areas? Well, at least there’s no traffic, which is nice. Hahaha.”
Listening to the driver, Jaehee realized that indeed, there were hardly any cars on the road. The driver continued talking non-stop.
“But everything will be restored soon. I heard most other countries have stabilized too. It’s all thanks to Awakened Ones like you two. Places have been gradually returning to normal operations since last week.”
“…I see. That’s good news.”
Jaehee halfheartedly agreed with the driver. Even though he was an Awakened One, it still didn’t feel real to him. It was a different feeling from encountering strange creatures in the tutorial.
Since there was no traffic, it didn’t take long to get from one end of Seoul to the other. The driver parked in front of Jaehee’s house and glanced at Jeongwoo. Throughout the ride, Jeongwoo hadn’t said a word. Despite being a young student, he had an intimidating presence, perhaps because he was an Awakened One.
“Um, is it really okay to drop off both of you here?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Although the driver had been instructed to take each of them to their respective homes, he nodded when they insisted on getting off at the same place. It was uncomfortable enough being alone with Jeongwoo as it was.
“I understand. Then I’ll be on my way. Have a good time with your families.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After sending away the talkative driver, Jaehee let out a short sigh. Seeing the familiar alley and buildings made it finally feel real that he had returned. Jaehee’s house was a two-story detached home inside an alley. Before entering the alley, Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo.
“Jeongwoo, are you sure it’s okay not to go to your home?”
“Yeah, if you’re comfortable with me coming to your house.”
“I’m fine with it, but Jeongwoo, what about your parents?”
Both of Jeongwoo’s parents were doctors. Jaehee had met them a few times when he was young and remembered them as good people who cared a lot about Jeongwoo. Are they so busy that they can’t see their only son who’s been missing for two months?
Jaehee tilted his head in confusion.
“They both got called in for an emergency and can’t come home, so what’s the point of going? I’d rather be with you. I already talked to my mom on the phone, so it’s fine.”
“Are you really okay with that? You must miss your parents too. How about you go see them?”
“They’re in a rural area, apparently. Seems they volunteered to go somewhere with a shortage of medical support. They can’t leave their posts because there’s no replacement staff right now. Anyway, I’m more comfortable staying at your place if that’s okay with you. Does it make you uncomfortable if I come?”
Jaehee flinched a bit at Jeongwoo’s words but maintained his expression.
The truth was, since coming back to Seoul, he had never brought a friend home. But it would be awkward to tell Jeongwoo that.
“…Well, you can stay in my room. Let’s go in. Just warning you… my house might be a bit noisy.”
“I don’t mind that sort of thing.”
Ding-dong.
Despite it being his own house, Jaehee didn’t just open the door and go in but pressed the doorbell instead. He thought it would be better since Jeongwoo was with him. Shortly after, there was movement inside, and the door opened.
“Oh my goodness! Jaehee! Honey! Jaehee is here!”
“Ah, hello.”
“Hello. I’m Jeongwoo, Jaehee’s friend.”
Jaehee greeted his stepmother awkwardly as she welcomed him. His stepmother seemed happy to see him, but there was some awkwardness too. The most natural person in this situation seemed to be Woo Jeongwoo. Jaehee inwardly sighed as he watched Jeongwoo casually greet his stepmother.
He couldn’t tell if Woo Jeongwoo was perceptive or oblivious.
* * *
“Well, it’s good that you’ve returned safely.”
“Yes… I’m glad everyone seems to be safe as well.”
“It’s good that you made it back safely too, Jeongwoo.”
Jaehee sat on the sofa and awkwardly avoided eye contact as he exchanged greetings with his father.
Sitting in the living room with family members he wasn’t close to was torture, so Jaehee thought it was actually fortunate that Jeongwoo was there.
Jaehee’s father was usually so busy that they rarely ran into each other at home, but now seeing his father at home in the middle of the day wearing shabby clothes was strange. It was so unfamiliar and awkward that Jaehee didn’t know where to look.
“Oh, Father, you’re home at this hour.”
“Most people are working from home these days… Still, I need to go into the office occasionally.”
“Oppa!”
At that moment, little Yeong-i came waddling out and reached out to Jaehee.
“Oh my, Yeong-i. Don’t bother your brother.”
His stepmother tried to stop her, but Yeong-i grabbed Jaehee’s leg and patted it, asking to be picked up. Jaehee glanced at his stepmother and father before picking up Yeong-i. His half-sister, who had just turned three, was quite attached to him.
Do young children grow this quickly?
It had only been two months since he last saw her, but her arms and legs had grown noticeably longer.
“Yeong-i, have you been well?”
Yeong-i hugged Jaehee tightly with her tiny hands and patted his shoulder. Jaehee’s eyes unexpectedly reddened, and he bit his lip hard.
Among the unfamiliar household members, Yeong-i was the one Jaehee felt most comfortable with.
He hadn’t felt anything when looking at his father or stepmother, but when Yeong-i hugged him, he felt like he had truly come home.
“Ah, right, Jeongwoo’s parents are both away right now, so I was wondering if he could stay with us for a while…”
“Oh… I see. Then I should prepare the guest room.”
Jaehee trailed off as he glanced at his stepmother’s reaction.
Although the house wasn’t small, having an extra person wouldn’t be comfortable. As the atmosphere became a bit awkward, Jeongwoo stepped in.
“Ma’am, please don’t worry about me. I can just stay in Jaehee’s room. I’ll be busy with Awakened Management Bureau work for a while. I just need a place to sleep, so please don’t worry too much.”
“Ah! That’s right. You both became Awakened Ones. Oh my. Then our house has nothing to worry about! We have two Awakened Ones here! Yeong-i! Your brother and his friend are both Awakened Ones, so they can get rid of all the scary monsters! Yeong-i doesn’t have to be scared anymore, right?”
At his stepmother’s words, Yeong-i’s eyes widened. Excited, she wiggled her short legs back and forth while being held by Jaehee.
“Oppa, strong? Win? Yah, yah! Can you?”
“Uh, well…”
“Yeong-i has been having seizures in her sleep since she saw the monsters. Come on, Yeong-i. Your brother and his friend, that handsome one over there, are both very strong and can defeat all the monsters! Yeong-i doesn’t have to be afraid anymore!”
Seeing Yeong-i smiling at him, Jaehee found himself nodding.
His stepmother, who had seemed uncomfortable with Jeongwoo at first, was now beaming and clapping her hands.
Had he ever received such a warm welcome since coming to this house?
His stepmother’s expression looked brighter than he had ever seen.
Yeong-i nuzzled her face against Jaehee’s shoulder and whispered softly.
“Oppa. I missed you. Mm.”
