FLIA 104

“Oh my goodness! Thank You, Lord, thank you so, so much….”

“Yohan-aah!”

Kim Yejoo, who had been standing there in a daze, burst into tears and ran toward her son. Yang Yohan, who had been staring at the two with his mouth open, finally burst into tears after Kim Yejoo embraced him.

“Mom… hic!”

“Yohan! Yohan…! My son! My baby!”

The moment Yohan came face-to-face with the parents he had missed so desperately for the past year, all the fear and hardship he had endured came flooding back. He hugged Kim Yejoo and wept bitterly. Yang Hwapyeong barely managed to stand on his feet, he inspected Yohan from head to toe. He confirmed that not only were all his limbs intact but there were no signs of corruption.

“Thank you for bringing our Yohan back to us with all his limbs intact…!”

Yang Hwapyeong wiped away his tears and continued stroking Yohan’s back. The cries were loud enough that patients and guardians from other rooms came to see what had happened. After a long while, when she’d had some water and finally caught her breath, Kim Yejoo began to sob loudly.

“You! You…! Just because you got scolded by your parents, you go and run into such a dangerous place! Do you have any idea how worried I was? You nearly burned a hole through my heart! Huh?!”

She smacked his back with loud, slapping sounds, but it didn’t hurt, which only made Yohan cry harder. He had mistakenly thought she’s lost so much strength, only to later realize it was his own endurance that had grown.

“What are you crying for, you think you did something praiseworthy?!”

Even as she said that, Kim Yejoo kept crying while scrubbing at her son’s tear-streaked face with her hands. Yang Hwapyeong, too, raised his voice to scold Yohan.

“You brat! Our family business is literally a pharmaceutical company! And you, what, you needed medicine so badly you went poking around dangerous places?!”

“Huh? Medicine?”

Still weeping like a leaky faucet, Yohan blinked at him in confusion. Yang Hwapyeong sighed, and spoke in a doubtful tone .

“Seungmin said that you went into a pharmacy alone to get medicine, got ambushed, and went missing.”

Hearing those words, Yohan’s eyes flashed with a murderous glint, though the tears in them kept his parents from noticing. Yohan shook his head, suppressing the surge of anger. Then he calmly gave the answer he’d prepared.

“Actually, maybe it’s because I hit my head, but… I don’t remember anything from that time.”

“You hit your head?!”

“Where! Where and how did you get hurt?!”

Kim Yejoo and Yang Hwapyeong were shocked at the news of his head injury. While he appeared fine on the outside, their face darkened as they realized he might be hurt inside. Yohan quickly soothed them.

“Other than not remembering that part, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Then what do you remember? What’s the last thing you recall?”

Yohan took a deep breath and quietly closed the hospital room door. He didn’t sense anyone eavesdropping, but just in case, he lowered his voice.

“I remember hiring mercenaries with Seungmin to form an Awakening party and entering a rift. But when I came to… I was in the Abyss.”

“W-what… the Abyss? You went missing in a rift, why were you in the Abyss…?”

Yang Hwapyeong stammered, then froze. A memory surfaced, one week ago, he had seen a news report about Lee Hyunmook, the Sunrise team, and a single civilian returning from the Abyss. He’d felt such envy at the time. Could it be… that civilian was his son?

And now, thinking back, this Hyunsan Hospital was a government-designated partner facility, where Awakeners injured in rift expeditions or fighting high-grade monsters were often brought. Yang Hwapyeong’s eyes widened as he remembered who owned this hospital.

Yohan gently sat his shocked parents down on the bed and explained calmly:

“I was kept in Rift Management’s quarantine ward all this time, so I couldn’t contact you. The embargo was lifted today, so I’m telling you now.”

The two couldn’t believe what Yohan said, repeatedly questioning him. Since they’d hear it on the news soon anyway, Yohan told them that he had met Lee Hyunmook and the Sunrise team in the Abyss and spent a year there. Kim Yejoo absently stroked his hair and murmured blankly.

“No wonder, even if it was a month ago, your hair’s changed a bit. I thought it was strange…”

Hearing that made Yohan’s eyes sting again. The reassuring touch of his parents, checking over him again and again, filled him with warmth. It dawned on him that he had finally escaped that hellish Abyss.

“Rifts are terrifying enough, and how awful must it have been there, and for a whole year… Did you even have anything proper to eat?”

When Kim Yejoo began to sob again, Yohan joined in. But he wiped his tears and forced himself to sound cheerful and determined.

“Thankfully, everyone took great care of me, so it wasn’t hard at all. I ate well, slept well, and was fine!”

In truth, it had been terrifying and grueling, but he lied to ease their hearts. Perhaps because the name Lee Hyunmook carried weight, they still looked doubtful but seemed somewhat reassured. After all the crying, and seeing that Yohan truly seemed unharmed, the mood warmed considerably. Yang Hwapyeong, still trembling, placed his hands Yohan’s shoulder.

“There’s really nothing else wrong with you?”

“Of course. I’m perfectly fine. I was just hospitalized to be safe, so I’ll be discharged in a few days.”

“Seungmin will be so glad to hear that. He worked so hard looking for you.”

“Wow, really? Then… I really should repay his kindness.”

Yohan spoke with a bright smile, but his parents were too busy checking over him again to notice the odd undertone in his voice. He could already picture Park Seungmin literally jumping for joy the moment he heard Yohan had returned. After the reunion, there was someone else Yohan found himself wondering about.

“What about my brother? When’s he coming?”

He was such a snarky brother, but after a year apart, Yohan longed to see him. But the moment he brought it up, both his parents’ expressions darkened. Yang Hwapyeong forced a smile as he replied,

“He’s busy, so he won’t be able to come for a few days. Let’s all meet at home after you’re discharged.”

Yohan sensed something was off from his father’s tone. However, since both his parents seemed determined to avoid talking about Yang Yosep, he didn’t press further. One grim possibility came to mind, enough to guess why they might avoid such talk in public. When he shifted the topic, saying it was thanks to Lee Hyunmook and the Sunrise team that he’d made it back alive, they were deeply moved.

“Thanks to them, you survived. We don’t even know how we could ever repay them.”

The fact that he’d awakened as a purifier, a high-level Purifier, capable of curing corruption, rose to the tip of Yohan’s tongue, but he held it back. Unable to say it yet, he only fidgeted in place until he glanced at the time and quickly reached for the remote.

“Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to watch.”

“You’re not feeling well, why not just rest instead of watching TV?”

“No, I have to see this. You and Dad should watch it with me.”

Yohan switched on the TV in his single-patient room and tuned to the news channel. Familiar faces appeared onscreen, he had seen them just this morning. Hyunmook-hyung looks even better in person than on camera, Yohan thought as he glanced down at the red banner scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

[Sunrise Team Press Conference]

The three of them sat side by side on the bed, eyes fixed on the TV. Kim Yejoo and Yang Hwapyeong sat close to their son, constantly complimenting him on his tall and handsome physique. Yohan played along, mulling over how to reveal his relationship with Lee Hyunmook—or not. It was clear that for the time being, they had to keep it a secret.

Yohan glanced at the screen to check the online chatter. The reaction to the Sunrise team’s press conference, led by Lee Hyunmook, who had just returned from the Abyss, was overwhelming. The fact that it was Sunrise Team without Go Jaewon was already a huge topic of conversation.

[I’m watching the press conference right now]

Why’s only Go Jaewon missing?

Haha….

I always knew something was off about him, guess the rumors were true.

└ He’s just late, lol, Jaewon, wake up, you’ve got a press conference to attend.

└ I’m telling you, he’s deliberately burying his own team’s image

└ Rumor is he got depression and started therapy, but then sold the Sunrise Guild to the government a month later? Hey, traitor, was the silver coin payout sweet?

└ That bastard, if the Sunrise Team had been there, my friend wouldn’t have died.

└ Once the press conference ends, he’s finished

└ I bought stocks related to this last week, this sucks.

Seeing how sour public opinion toward Go Jaewon had turned, Yohan’s lips curved upward.

Even in the past, people had found it suspicious that he alone had survived. He’d worked hard to milk sympathy, crying on camera, doing charity work, making donations, just to barely salvage his reputation. Now, with things turning out like this, he must be in hell. While Yohan was inwardly rejoicing, the press conference began.

Lee Hyunmook with his ever-impressive white hair, stepped onto the podium. Behind him stood Lee Chanha, Seo Yakrin, Yoon Seungryong, and Ju Hoyoung, all waiting in silence. Their faces were expressionless, lending the scene a stark, almost bleak atmosphere. Camera flashes erupted from every direction, dazzlingly bright.

“Hello, I’m Lee Hyunmook, leader of the Sunrise Team.”

When he bowed, the flashes grew so intense it was almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open. Yet not one team member flinched. They seemed quite accustomed to this type of situation. Yohan remembered that he’d seen more press conferences like this than he could count, usually after hunting down high-grade monsters.

“From this moment, I’ll make an announcement regarding the Sunrise Team’s return. First, let me address what I’m sure is on everyone’s minds.”

Then Lee Hyunmook smiled faintly, just enough to lift the heavy atmosphere. Some reporters unconsciously let out the breaths they’d been holding. Locking eyes with them one by one, Lee Hyunmook finally began to speak.