FLIA 115

Yohan had wanted to say this after coming home, the timing had never been right. Hearing those words, Kim Yejoo was the first to realize the truth.

“You awakened there? Then… that bastard Park Seungmin….”

“Yes. He could never be a high-level awakener.”

The first awakener of any given type was always a high-level, and since Yohan had awakened long before Park Seungmin, it was impossible for Park Seungmin to rank higher than him. Thinking back on what had just happened, Kim Yejoo suddenly grew angry and shouted.

“No, then why is that bastard being treated like that instead of tou? That fraud should just be…!”

“Let’s talk outside first, Mom. You’ll wake hyung.”

Knowing how sensitive an awakener’s senses were, Yohan gestured. Only then did Kim Yejoo and Yang Hwapyeong glance at Yang Yosep and quietly leave the room. They turned off the lights and wished him a good rest. Yohan sat on the living room sofa and explained to his parents.

“Not long after entering the Abyss, I awakened. Thanks to that, I was able to live without being corrupted. And with this ability, I was able to escape the Abyss too.”

Of course, he said nothing of the countless shocking, bizarre hardships he had endured even with this ability. Nor did he ever mention how Lee Hyunmook and the others had been so badly corrupted that they had nearly lost their human forms. That was something he would never say to anyone, not even his family. At Yohan’s words, Yang Hwapyeong understood what Lee Hyunmook had said before.

“So that’s why he said it. I wondered why someone like Lee Hyunmook would claim to have received such a great favor…. I thought it was just empty words. Our son really has become someone remarkable.”

Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo looked at Yohan with proud and delighted gazes. Their faces were full of affection for their son who had survived the Abyss, and even pride that he had become a high-level awakened and had helped someone as great as Lee Hyunmook.

But Yohan, for some reason, felt more choked up and overwhelmed than happy.

He had always lived being compared to his older brother, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been loved. He had seen proof of their love in the way his brother had even become corrupted for his sake, and in how his parents had desperately searched for him, worried and grieving. But he still felt a little bitter.

He remembered how, when he said he was a low-level awakener, his parents’ faces had not lit up with joy. In their hearts, the standard for happiness must have been at least a mid-level like his brother’s. As always, Yang Yosep had been the measure by which they judged him, and that stung. Yohan hid his feelings for now and continued his explanation.

“Hyunmook-hyung advised me that it’s best to keep my awakening a secret for now. Do you know how many people in the world are desperate for a purifier? I could be kidnapped without anyone noticing. And above all, we can’t trust the government. One day I’ll reveal it, but not now. So please, both of you, keep it a secret for the time being.”

Since they themselves had hidden Yosep in the basement out of distrust for the government, the two understood, nodded, and agreed. They chose to look beyond immediate gain and toward a more distant future.

Now that both of their sons were home, safe and healthy, Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo’s faces felt more peaceful, as if all their worries and sorrow had faded away. By the time the conversation ended, they even smiled. After checking on Yang Yosep once more and tucking in Yohan, the couple returned to their bedroom. And for the first time in days, they fell into a deep sleep.

Back in his room, Yohan too felt a little more at ease. Purifying his brother’s corruption had eased his guilt.

‘It was a reckless act….’

Even if awakening parties weren’t illegal, they were dangerous. It had been an impulsive act born of frustration, but in the end, hadn’t it been the starting point that brought misfortune to his family? This was something Yohan would regret and repay for the rest of his life.

But he considered it fortunate in a way. Because of his recklessness, he had joined the awakening party, fallen into the Abyss, and as a result, become a purifier. That had allowed him to meet Lee Hyunmook and the others, and together they had escaped the Abyss.

‘I wonder what everyone’s doing now?’

When Yohan opened the group chat, he saw a few photos from their get-together. All of them looked cheerful and lively, so much so that it was impossible to imagine how wretched they had once been in the Abyss, or the terrible, harsh experiences they had endured. Yohan saved the photos and then typed a message.

I’m going to sleep now. Everyone, have a good night!

Seo Yakrin

Maknae¹, you too, sleep well ^^

Ju Hoyoung

Good night!

Lee Chanha

I hope you also have a good night, Yohan-gun.

Yoon Seungryong

Good night, Yohan!

As if none of them had been asleep, the team members’ replies came back in an instant, Lee Hyunmook’s answer came up last.

Lee Hyunmook

Good night, Yohan-ah.

Lee Hyunmook’s warm voice seemed to reach him here, Yohan stared at the message for a while, then smiled. Meanwhile, he received a few low-grade curses mixed into texts from Park Seungmin, but Yohan didn’t even care. That guy probably still didn’t realize he was being used let alone revenge. Yohan both hoped that delusion lasted long and wished it ended quickly.

In the peaceful, quiet atmosphere, Yohan was sorting through the photos taken at the gathering that day when he fell asleep.

But Yohan’s peaceful face, so soundly asleep, began to distort little by little. Cold sweat began to break out on his forehead and his lips trembled. He groaned, tossed and turned for a long time, then suddenly jumped awake in fright. He looked around hastily, rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“It was a nightmare….”

He had dreamed an unpleasant nightmare. In the dream, Yohan was in a city heavily corrupted. He didn’t know whether it was the Abyss or a rift zone. Everything was filthy, foul-smelling, and monsters were prowling. But that wasn’t why it felt like a nightmare.

In the darkest, most shadowed part of the city, there was a hole. A small hole, endlessly black and unfathomable, horrifying and revolting just to look at. The hole grew larger, soon enough to swallow an entire building. And from it slithered out something so nauseating it twisted all living things.

Yohan could clearly feel the malice of the being that tried to devour people, and himself. Even though it was a dream, it was so vivid that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His chest churned ominously. It felt like the nightmare he had right before the Flood struck in the Abyss, and Yohan shuddered.

“This isn’t the Abyss anymore. I’m back on Earth. It’s a safe home.”

Curling up, Yohan mumbled and sniffled a little. He floated a few faint, glowing particles in the room like mood lights. “Even if the Flood came, it would be fine. It would be fine….” Comforting himself like that, he gazed for a long while at the cluster of light scattering like the Milky Way, and only then fell asleep again.

Even after Yohan slept, the light didn’t vanish but kept sparkling. At some point, a shadow crept out from under the bedside stand. Then it slowly devoured the scattered lights around the room. Each time, the room grew darker. Even though it was night, it was an eerily, impossible to describe darkness.

Now in the pitch-dark room, the only light source was the faint glow from Yohan’s body. The shadow that had devoured all the lights climbed over him. Like a cool breeze, or a shadow beneath the sun, it quietly and softly surrounded the glow. At last, the tip of the shadow reached Yohan’s face. Only then did Yohan frown, as if he had sensed something.

“Cheek… don’t eat my cheek….”

He murmured in his sleep. But even as he muttered, his furrowed face relaxed. Wrapped in the cozy, gentle shadow, Yohan slept soundly this time, without dreaming at all.

***

A certain rift zone.

A corrupted monster crawled quickly along the road, its long whiskers probing all around. From the sharp, high-pitched screeches and its movements, it must have been a rat before corruption. While it ran among broken debris searching for food, it froze.

The unusually long, numerous whisker-tips had sunk into a strange, unfathomably black darkness. The rat sensed something and couldn’t move, paralyzed. Soon, from beneath the rubble, something crawled out of the darkness.

1. the youngest person in a group or family ↩︎