In a secluded alleyway in Seoul, Moon Yigyeol—a returnee who had decapitated the Demon King and returned after 100 years in the Demon Realm (7 years in Earth time)—was currently clinging to the pant leg of an elderly woman he had never seen before, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Grandmother, please take me in! I’m really strong! I’m good at everything! I’ll do anything!”
In the year 2058, the sky of Earth tore open, and a disaster known as the ‘Gate of Reverse Heaven’ arrived.
Humanity dispatched a suicide squad of 100 elites called the ‘100 Apostles.’
Nineteen-year-old Yigyeol was the sharpest sword among them.
However, at the edge of hell, in front of the Demon King Beelzebub, five comrades he trusted betrayed him.
They used Yigyeol and the wounded as bait and fled through the exit by themselves.
The toxic energy spewed by the Demon King melted his friends away, leaving not even a corpse behind.
To mourn those bitter deaths, Yigyeol chose to become a monster himself.
He spent 100 years crawling through hell, eating demons, and finally took the Demon King’s head before tearing through dimensions with his bare hands to return to the surface.
The problem was that the price was too high.
“……Ugh, cough!”
Having returned to Earth, Yigyeol vomited dark red blood onto a pile of trash.
[Warning! Your physical body is collapsing!]
[‘Fragment of Beelzebub’ is crushing you.]
[Curse+ Fading Flame]
[Curse+ Terrible Nightmare]
[Curse+ Pain of Carrying Mt. Tai]
Countless curses from demons.
He had endured for 100 years, yet he was about to die in a junk yard before he could even get revenge.
It was so unfair.
Just as Yigyeol’s consciousness was flickering amidst the burning pain in his body—
Splash!
A burst of cold water poured over his face.
“Oh my, why is a young fellow trying to become a frozen treat here? Drink this and wake up.”
a grumpy-looking grandmother was crouching there, clicking her tongue.
The 500ml water bottle she held out contained a golden liquid.
As if possessed, Yigyeol took the bottle and drained it.
Gulp, gulp.
It was sweet.
Even though he hated sweet things, it was unbelievably delicious.
The moment the liquid passed down his throat, his veins—which felt like they were about to burst—miraculously calmed down.
Ding!
[You have consumed ‘Sweet Ribbit-Gasa Honey Water’.]
[Hidden Creator: A special elixir prepared by ‘Jangchun Seonhui’.]
[Curse+ Fading Flame Alleviated]
[Curse+ Terrible Nightmare Alleviated]
[Curse+ Pain of Carrying Mt. Tai Alleviated]
[Curse+ Paimon’s Twisted Whisper Alleviated]
The curses of the Demon Realm, which even an S-rank Healer supposedly couldn’t touch, were suppressed by a single bottle of honey water.
Barely regaining his senses, Yigyeol looked at the grandmother with trembling eyes.
She was dusting off her rear and getting up as if her business was done.
Yigyeol’s instincts screamed at him.
‘If I lose this person, I die.’
That was exactly why Yigyeol clung to her baggy floral pants as if he were going to tear them.
“Wh-what! Let go of this!”
“Grandmother! What was that honey water just now?! My body is…!”
“It’s a special water I made myself by digging up herbs in the dungeons.”
In her wrinkled face, a flash of extraordinary wisdom like that of a Taoist master passed by.
Yigyeol hung onto her with tears in his eyes.
“Grandmother, if you take me as your apprentice, I’ll repay you greatly!”
“I-I don’t take apprentices… but I do need someone to run errands for me.”
“Then use me as a worker! I’ll do anything! Grandmother!!”
And so, the jobless life of the returnee who saved the world, Moon Yigyeol, began.
His messy hair swayed.
The way he wore his floral apron was quite impressive.
Though his thin frame made his collarbones stand out in his loose clothes, Yigyeol didn’t care as he moved busily around the kitchen.
Sizzle—
A delicious egg wash was turning yellow on the frying pan. Yigyeol hummed a small tune.
The stainless steel spatula in his hand moved rhythmically.
“So much time has passed already.”
It had been over a year and a half since he entered Ms. Kim Oksun’s ‘Jangchun Health Center.’
It wasn’t a long time, but it had been a happy one.
During that time, the lady passed away, and Yigyeol inherited the health center according to her will.
Although his body was a terminally ill shell, he was able to live a somewhat normal life thanks to the honey water made from the recipe she left behind.
“Life really is unpredictable.”
Yigyeol nodded to himself, agreeing with his own thought.
Bubble, bubble.
The soybean paste stew in the pot on the gas stove was cooking with a delicious sound.
Yigyeol used the spatula with practiced movements to roll the eggs.
“Hmm~”
Judging by the savory smell, the rolled omelet was a success.
Since he clung to Ms. Kim Oksun and entered this place, his cooking skills—which used to consist only of grilling monster meat—had improved to the point where he could make most Korean dishes look quite appetizing.
As he tilted the pan to pour more yellow egg wash, Yigyeol thought:
‘I’ve really become a human now.’
Ms. Kim Oksun was like a savior and a second mother to him.
Although she passed away from an incurable disease after about a year, Yigyeol was able to live on with this rotting body thanks to the health center and the ‘special honey water recipe’ she left behind.
“Hey, part-timer. Let’s eat.”
Yigyeol called out as he set the table.
Hyeongil, who was crouching in the corner of the shop playing mobile games, approached sluggishly.
“Ah, Hyung. What are the side dishes today? Is it grass again?”
“Stop talking and eat. I grilled some ham, too.”
“Oh! What’s the occasion? Did you win the lottery?”
“Be quiet. I’m just feeding you like a cow so I can make you work, that’s why.”
“Booo—”
Hyeongil grinned and picked up his spoon.
Watching Hyeongil take a huge mouthful of steaming white rice, Yigyeol chuckled and slowly tasted the soup first.
The voice of a news anchor reached his ears, and he looked up.
An old TV was always turned on near the dining table.
It was a piece of junk that had been there since the lady was alive.
A boring breaking news report was playing on the screen.
It was about a monster that went on a rampage at Miyang Intersection yesterday.
[…The United Nations Police Department stated that an unidentified awakened person suppressed the monster…]
“Hyung, isn’t that about you?”
“Don’t know. Just eat.”
“It sounds like you. You did it, right?”
“I said I don’t know.”
Yigyeol picked up a piece of rolled omelet half-heartedly.
Hyeongil was the part-timer who had been working here since Yigyeol first met Kim Oksun.
Since he had helped the lady with his treatment back then, he knew Yigyeol was a Hunter and a returnee.
Just then, the news ended and the screen changed, accompanied by a grand and holy background music.
[The most noble light that purifies the world. We are with you.]
It was a public service announcement.
A man stood against a blindingly white background that filled the screen.
His Roman collar was emphasized first, followed by his pure white priest’s clothes.
Transparent yet black eyes with a hint of blue light. If one wondered how eyes could be black yet transparent, this man was the definition of it.
That was how the man looked.
A perfectly symmetrical face, contours as beautiful and delicate as if they were sculpted, a high nose bridge, and lips that seemed touched by God.
A gently curving mouth.
Deep eyes and thick eyelashes.
An elegant atmosphere radiated from him.
The man was perfect down to the single strand of hair on his forehead, looking so clear and pure that he might sprinkle holy water and purify everything at any moment.
He was South Korea’s number one ranker and the one and only SS-rank: Seong Yohan.
[Do not be afraid. Darkness can never defeat the light. I am always by your side.]
Seong Yohan whispered lowly while staring into the screen.
His mid-to-low tone voice was so impressive that Hyeongil stopped his spoon and stared with his mouth agape.
“Wow… crazy. Yohan-nim really… doesn’t seem human. How can that be a human face? Is it CG?”
“…….”
“The girls at my school are going crazy. You’re a spy if you haven’t joined his fan club. Hyung, that guy probably doesn’t even poop, right?”
Hyeongil chattered with sparkling eyes, but Yigyeol picked at his food with a sour expression, looking at the TV with distaste.
His stomach felt churned.
Even though it was just a TV screen, seeing that excessively clean and noble energy Seong Yohan radiated made the demonic energy inside Yigyeol’s body feel like it was having a rejection seal.
Disgust. Or perhaps an instinctive repulsion.
Among the 100 Apostles, there were those who shone the brightest.
Those who shouted for justice and sang of humanity’s hope.
But the ones who betrayed their comrades and fled first at the crucial moment were also those ‘shining bastards.’
To Yigyeol, people like Seong Yohan were defined by only two things: a disgusting hypocrite, or a stupid young master who knew nothing of the world.
“He’s too white, I don’t like it. Isn’t he a warm tone? White doesn’t suit him at all.”
“What are you talking about, Hyung! He’s freaking handsome! If you’re that handsome, that stuff doesn’t matter!”
“Kid. What are you going to do with such low standards?”
“Low?! Hyung, you’re the weird one!”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
Yigyeol snorted and picked up the remote to turn off the TV.
With a static sound, Seong Yohan’s holy face disappeared into the black screen.
Hyeongil pouted and complained.
“Ah, why’d you turn it off! The part where he winks comes out at the end!”
“Be quiet. When you eat, just eat. You’ll get indigestion.”
Yigyeol lightly tapped the grumbling Hyeongil on the head with his spoon and silently went back to stuffing food into his mouth.
Why would he ever run into someone like that?
That guy was the sun floating in the sky, and he was like mold stuck in the corner of an alley.
It would be ridiculous for them to meet.
Yigyeol thought so as he gulped down the soybean paste soup.
