# 017. Long Live the King (1)
“…Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m fine. Yes, yes. Mom too.”
Jaehee glanced at Jeongwoo as he lowered his voice to whisper.
Making a phone call with Jeongwoo next to him was uncomfortable, but it would have been awkward to take his mother’s call in front of his stepmother too. Jaehee wrinkled his nose and blinked his eyes—a habit that emerged when he felt uncomfortable and awkward.
Though the call was brief as always, he somehow felt tired afterward.
“Who was that? Your mother?”
“Ah, yeah. My mom.”
“Is she doing well?”
Jeongwoo, who had been reading a book on the bed, was now looking at Jaehee.
“Well, she didn’t say much, so I guess so. Actually, I don’t keep in touch with my mom very often. But since I became an Awakened One, she keeps calling to ask if I’m okay…”
“She’s probably worried. She’s your mom after all. Plus, the whole world is in chaos right now, with monsters no one has ever seen before, and her son was missing for two months…”
“Well… I guess so.”
Yes, she must have been worried. There was no way his mom wouldn’t be concerned. She was always a worrier. But her worry wasn’t enough to make her come see him. You can’t quantify the size and intensity of affection, so it’s not unreasonable to guess the size of affection from actions.
Jaehee rubbed the center of his chest. After taking his mother’s calls, his chest always felt tight, like indigestion.
His mother had started a new family not long after the divorce. That was also why his grandmother cursed her so much. The way she remarried right after the divorce, as if she had been waiting for it, clearly indicated she’d been having an affair.
“Jaehee…”
Jeongwoo hesitated, wanting to say something to Jaehee, but eventually closed his mouth. He knew well that this was an issue where he had no right to interfere. Nevertheless, his hand kept reaching out from a sense of pity.
Jaehee still hadn’t faced the truth about his mother. Jeongwoo wanted to force him to see it, but he knew Jaehee couldn’t bear it.
Was there anyone else in this world as delicate yet resolute, as cold yet soft-hearted as Shin Jaehee? Woo Jeongwoo was looking at Jaehee with complicated eyes when a message flashed.
“Huh? Jeongwoo! This… Looks like another mission has appeared!”
“I saw it too.”
[♢ Global Mission: Become a King or Become a Subject. ♢
Countdown D-30 (Progress: 0.0025%)
Surely, you Earthlings haven’t forgotten about the global mission?
I’m too disappointed to hide my feelings because the progress of the global mission is still too minimal. -`д´-
Now, you poor and lazy Earthlings. It’s time to face the harsh reality! ٩(•̀ᴗ•́)و
You must protect Earth from many who are targeting it!
If you don’t want to die, hurry up and beg a king to accept you. Good luck!!
The King of Earth doesn’t necessarily have to be an Earthling.
If there’s no king you like, how about serving a different Constellation?
Now that the Constellation channel is open! ಠ‿↼
* The Constellation channel will open after this time.
** No more unauthorized monsters will invade when a main mission is imposed.
(While a king is being elected, even if the throne is empty, all invasion processes are temporarily suspended out of respect for the rights of the planet.)
Success: Survival
Failure: Death]
The word “death” written in bold red felt quite ominous.
“What is this? Oh, come to think of it, a global mission appeared before, right? Is this an extension of that?”
“I’m not sure… But isn’t this too soon?”
“Too soon? What is?”
Jeongwoo stood there with a grave expression, without answering.
At that moment, a flurry of text began to appear.
[Channel, Earth Open.]
[To all Constellations, Earth is a newly opened channel that has just become available. Let’s maintain good manners to build an advanced universe.]
[Excessive profanity and speech that incites conflict may be subject to system sanctions.]
[Channel Earth is currently protected under a temporary protection rating. Unfair actions will be severely punished if detected.]
[Constellation, Ancient Memory has entered.]
[Constellation, Winter Night Traveler has entered.]
[Constellation, Responding Exterminator has entered.]
[Constellation, Red Demon King of Dark Night has entered.]
[Constellation, Dawn of Whispers has entered.]
[Constellation, Blazing Flame has entered.]
.
.
.
[Channel Earth synchronization is in progress. It is expected to take some time for smooth channel exchange and security.]
In an instant, countless lines of text rushed upward. It was literally a storm of text.
Unable to read everything, Jaehee stared at the words with a blank expression and then turned to look at Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo stood there with a somewhat jaded expression and let out a light sigh.
“Jaehee! Jaehee! Jeongwoo!”
“Oh, ma’am?”
At the sound of loud knocking on the door, Jaehee was startled and looked at Jeongwoo.
His stepmother was someone who never made loud noises inside the house and always moved quietly. This was the first time he had heard her voice so excited since coming to this house. When he opened the door, his stepmother was standing there with Yeong-i, her face pale white.
“J-just now, that message that appeared, w-what is it?”
“The message? You saw it too?”
After the global mission notification appeared, it seemed that the message had appeared to everyone, not just Awakened Ones. Jaehee was flustered seeing his stepmother shouting hysterically.
“W-what is this, what are we supposed to do?”
“Um, well, that is… We don’t really know yet either… Wait, please calm down…”
“You’re A-Awakened Ones, right? Then you must know more! What, what are we supposed to do? Yeong-i said she saw something too! And she said she heard voices like someone talking next to her! Yeong-i’s dad is at work and not here… I’m, I’m scared…”
His stepmother screamed, pointing at the air with her hand. Seeing her unfamiliar behavior, Yeong-i’s eyes filled with tears. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
His stepmother seemed unable to breathe properly from excessive excitement. She stumbled over her words and eventually her face turned blue. While Jaehee was floundering, not knowing what to do with his stepmother, Jeongwoo brought a plastic bag.
“Ma’am, here, try to exhale slowly. Yes, yes, like that. Getting so excited will scare Yeong-i and it’s not good for your health. Looking at the message, we still have a month left. It’s okay for now. You don’t need to do anything yet. Yeong-i, were you scared? It’s okay.”
Seeing Jeongwoo comforting her mother, Yeong-i clung to Jaehee.
“Oppa!”
“Yeong-i. It’s okay.”
Yeong-i tightly hugged Jaehee’s neck and held her breath. Meanwhile, his stepmother tried to calm her breathing with Jeongwoo’s help.
“Ma’am, are you feeling better now? Can you breathe?”
“Y-yes… Whew, I’m, I’m okay now.”
“Don’t worry. Jaehee and I were planning to go to the Management Bureau today, so we’ll try to find out more there. They probably know more about this. Oh, and I met the head of the Sahae Guild before. Ma’am, you know Lee Shin-hoo, right?”
“Hoo, hoooo, hoooo, y-yes. I know. The, the head of Sahae Guild… Amazing… Jaehee, knows the head of Sahae Guild too.”
“Of course. Jaehee is incredible. The head of Sahae Guild seemed like he wanted to recruit him.”
“That… Lee Shin-hoo?”
Jeongwoo brought up Lee Shin-hoo to divert his stepmother’s attention elsewhere. Lee Shin-hoo, the head of the Sahae Guild, seemed to be quite a famous figure as his stepmother appeared to know him well. His stepmother gradually regained her composure as she talked with Jeongwoo. It was ironic that Jaehee, an Awakened One, didn’t know much about Lee Shin-hoo, who gave such confidence to his stepmother.
When Jaehee quietly put Yeong-i down on the bed, she quickly went to her mother and hugged her tightly.
“Yeong-i. I’m sorry. Were you scared? I was just too shocked. I’m sorry to you boys too. I’m an adult but I behaved shamefully. When I suddenly saw something strange, I was scared and surprised… And when I heard that Yeong-i saw it too, I got so frightened.”
“Yeong-i saw it too? Yeong-i, what did you see?”
“Oh! Lots of sparkles! A lady was talking!”
Jeongwoo nodded at Yeong-i’s words.
“I see. Since Yeong-i can’t read yet, it must have been read aloud to her. But it would have been difficult for Yeong-i to understand.”
“No! Yeong-i understands everything!”
“Ah, yes, yes. Yeong-i is smart and understands everything.”
When Jaehee smiled and patted Yeong-i’s head, the excited little girl vigorously shook her legs back and forth. Only then did his stepmother manage a slight smile.
“Hah… I’m really fortunate that you two are here. Jaehee, Jeongwoo. This, this isn’t anything serious, right?”
“We can’t say for sure yet, but as soon as we know, we’ll let you know first.”
“O-okay. Thank you, Jeongwoo… Oh, right, what would you like for dinner tonight?”
“Oh no, it’s fine. We need to go to the Management Bureau today.”
His stepmother tried to speak calmly, but her eyes kept shifting anxiously. Jeongwoo smiled and continued talking to her.
Watching the two of them, Jaehee suddenly thought that perhaps… Jeongwoo fit in better with this family than he did.
“By the way, Jaehee, are you planning to join the Sahae Guild?”
“I’m not… sure yet. The Management Bureau says becoming a civil servant is good.”
“Yes, being a civil servant is good too. But the Sahae Guild is currently the largest guild in the country, so that’s also a good opportunity. However, once you join, it seems it’s not easy to leave, so make your decision carefully.”
His stepmother asked Jaehee about the guild when the topic came up. It seemed the guild discussion caught her interest.
His stepmother seemed to know quite a bit about Awakened Ones and guilds, as if she had researched a lot. After chatting for a while, she seemed to have regained her composure and stood up with Yeong-i.
“I’m ashamed that instead of being helpful, I’m the one receiving help. Did I, did I take up too much of your time? Yeong-i, let’s not bother your brothers anymore and go downstairs now.”
It was when his stepmother was about to leave the room holding Yeong-i’s hand. Yeong-i, who had been walking well with her mother, suddenly turned her head back.
“Oppa.”
“Me?”
“Yeong-i. Don’t disturb your brother. Let’s go with mommy now.”
When Jaehee pointed to himself, Yeong-i nodded. She tilted her head and then grabbed Jaehee’s leg.
“Mommy. Oppa is strong, right? Pretty, right?”
“What?”
“Just now, the lady went sparkle sparkle. Woah, pretty person! Strong person! Hooray!”
Yeong-i’s speech was already difficult to understand, but this time it was even harder. His stepmother also shook her head, not understanding what she meant. As Jaehee slightly frowned and looked down at Yeong-i, she pouted and patted her chest.
“I am Yeong-i.”
“Yes, yes. Oppa knows you’re Yeong-i. Oppa is Jaehee.”
“Oppa is…! Mmm, mmm, hooray! Hooray!”
Yeong-i clenched her fist, trembled, and then held out her fist to Jaehee. Jaehee didn’t know what it meant, but he smiled because Yeong-i was cute. However, when he laughed without understanding what she meant, Yeong-i seemed angry and stomped her feet.
“Uah. Oppa stupid! Meong!”
She kept repeating herself a few more times, but when he still didn’t understand, Yeong-i got angry and started repeating “meong meong.”
Then a sparkling Status Window appeared before Jaehee’s eyes.
[Minor Sovereign.
Shin Yeong-i has chosen you as her King. Will you accept Shin Yeong-i as your subject?
A King who gains subjects becomes a Great Sovereign. A Great Sovereign has the duty to protect their subjects and can declare territory. War can be declared against those who trespass on your territory without permission. However, if you fail to protect your territory or lose your authority, subjects may leave and you may be demoted to a Minor Sovereign.]
Yeong-i, who had been hitting her chest a few times, grabbed Jaehee’s leg and this time spoke in quite a clear pronunciation.
“Oppa. Oppa is a king, right?”
