Have a Meal Before You Go - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Editor: Stomatopoda, Nets,

It was amazing that Kim Man-ho still ate ramen whenever he came to the restaurant .

He seemed to have become more gluttonous lately .

The size of his belly would get bigger and bigger, and his class attainment would increase faster . Maybe he ate a lot of good things .

It looked like he had met a good team that would help him continue to develop his ability .

Kim Man-ho finished seven bags of ramen in a flash, leaving only the soup, still filled with cold rice . He picked up the bowl and slurped the soup from it as if he were drinking water .

Finally, he ate the diced radish kimchi, and opened his eyes in awe and appreciation .

“Oh, dear God . ”

“Haha . ”

“This radish kimchi really is delicious . Oh, the ramen and rice are good too, but this is incredible . ”

Cheol-ho could assume so . It was specially made of the Mandragora .

Cheol-ho smiled pleasantly as the next guest arrived .

“Hello, boss . Ah? Good morning, ‘God of Food’!”

It was Choi Jae-woo, the talkative man .

“Oh, yes . Good morning . ”

Kim Man-ho welcomed Choi Jae-woo, Cheol-ho also greeting him lightly .

“I didn’t have time to eat, so I stopped by to say hello,” Choi Jae-woo said, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief as if he were busy . Cheol-ho grinned and took out a pitcher of chilled water .

“I see . ”

“Oh, thank you . But these days, I’ve found it’s much easier to cope in the summer . Is it because my stamina is better?”

No, it was because he’d eaten a lot of the special radish kimchi made from the Mandragora .

Cheol-ho was glad it helped

Choi Jae-woo sighed, and interjected himself into the conversation after taking a sip of the water .

“By the way, ‘God of Food’, you look upset these days . ”

“Yes…”

Kim Man-ho smiled bitterly and nodded .

“Yeah… I guess so . The boss seems to be very depressed these days . ”

Cheol-ho sat down to listen to the conversation between the two .

“Ah . Does the boss know? Is it because of the Temple mercenaries?”

“I saw it in the newspaper . ”

Cheol-ho picked up the newspaper, and set it over the table in front of them .

“Temple mercenaries Captain Cheon Tae-jung is retiring, so everyone’s on alert . ”

“He’s retiring . ”

As Cheol-ho tilted his head, Kim Man-ho replied to his inquisitive gaze .

“… . usually the Guardian’s immediate team protects the city . But sometimes it’s hard to maintain perfect security,” Kim Man-ho continued with his arms crossed .

“That’s where the mercenaries of the district come in . In short, it’s mostly up to the guardians of the Awakening Society to stop the big threats, and it’s up to the mercenaries to deal with the details . It’s a win-win relationship . ”

That was the system .

Cheol-ho listened with a silent nod .

“Among the mercenaries, the Temple mercenaries are the thick-boned mercenaries . The group formed 30 years ago, when the awakening began, and has since made tremendous achievements . Kim Sang-hu of Machangsa and Cheon Tae-jung, the captain of Temple’s mercenary squadron, are said to be the two hearts of the district Seodaemun . ”

“Oh . You know very well . ”

When Cheol-ho spoke as if he were surprised, Kim Man-ho embarrassedly added, “Of course, it wasn’t until I joined the team that I learned about it . ”

Well .

The West Gate was a safe and habitable land, among the districts . It had been for a long time now, but the events that occured in West Gate when monsters appeared were probably the biggest crisis of recent years . Peace only followed afterwards because of the actions of someone .

Kim Man-ho added more after clearing his throat .

“But when Cheon Tae-jung retires, the position of the mercenary captain will be vacant . That’s why people are paying attention . Who will be the successor? Will he be as active as the Captain?”

“Oh . ”

Cheol-ho was enjoying hearing about the situation . To be precise, it was always pleasant to learn information you didn’t know because you didn’t bother to look for it .

This world was more organized than he thought .

“It’s a shame,” Kim Man-ho recited morosely .

“My boss was a man whom I really admired . He was outstanding in terms of personality, not to mention in terms of work . ”

To be loved by everyone?

Cheol-ho smiled slightly .

Come to think of it, now he was curious .

What kind of person was he?

* * *

The Awakening Society

A middle-aged man strode into the huge building . He was dressed in leather armor, and a sword hung from his waist .

He had short grey hair, framing the long black scar etched into his face . The scar crossed from the left of his forehead to his chin .

The middle-aged man made no sound as he walked . When passers-by saw him, they bowed politely .

“Oh, never mind with the bowing,” The man said, and smiled as he climbed into the elevator

At the top of the huge building there was a special room, reserved only for the President of the Awakening Society .

Chairman Yoo Jin-soo was lost in thought, spinning his pen round in a continuous circular motion .  

“Tae-jung is retiring…”

He further disheveled his hair, running his hands through it in agitation . He had expected this day would come… but not so soon .

Cheon Tae-jung .

Although he was an awakened man, classified as a third-class, his true worth could not be assessed merely as third-class .

He was a natural leader . He was the commander of the battlefield, who led the pack .

During the monster invasion 10 years ago, he saved everyone in West Gate . Chairman Yoo Jin-soo thought it would be okay to elevate him to first-class . Many owed him their lives, so they loved him and respected him .

He recalled a memory from 30 years ago . It was when the awakening had just begun, and monsters first started appearing .

His first meeting with Cheon Tae-jung, who visited Seoul, was still vivid . He remembered every detail of when they first met and shook hands .

“Hmm…”

A knock sounded, and the door swung open . Yoo Jin-soo turned his head to see a familiar man standing in the doorway .

“Ah, long time no see,” The man spoke .

“Long time no see, Tae-jung,”Yoo Jin-su said, welcoming him warmly .

“Long time no see, Chairman . ”

The two middle-aged men shook hands .

“Do you truly have to retire?”

“Well . ”

Cheon Tae-jung smiled back while staring blankly into the air in thought, his cigarette drooping from his mouth .

“Yes . ”

“Why?”

“Because it’s time for me to retire . ”

“What do you mean? You raised the mercenary corps! You came to Seoul 30 years ago! Please don’t retire . ”

Cheon Tae-jung laughed bitterly at Yoo Jin-su’s words .

He knew that Yoo Jin-soo didn’t speak with bad feelings . He was just sad .

A comrade who had lived through the struggles of his generation, his friend, was retiring .

“Listen, Chairman . I didn’t do anything by myself in this world . Everyone tried . Everyone has been trying, and everyone had a part in making the world what it is today, including you and I . I’m sure others will continue to try . ”

He rose from his seat, stubbing his cigarette in the ashtray and firmly patting Yoo Jin-su’s shoulder .

“And I’m tired now . I’d like to put down some of the burden of the responsibilities I have on my shoulders . ”

“…”

“See you later . ”

Cheon Tae-jung left the office without a single regret in his heart .

Yoo Jin-su sighed, shaking his head as he stared blankly at the door he had left from .

“You must really be tired . ”
.

.

.

.

.

.

It had gotten dark .

Cheon Tae-jung slowly walked out of the building of the Temple Mercenary Corps .

The official retirement ceremony was tomorrow . However, he was just sick and tired of it .  

The successor has already been chosen .

Kang Hyuk .

He was a promising awakener who turns 30 this year . He was already a third class awakener, and might even grow to second class .

Instead of working for the Awakening Society, he followed the mercenary corps . Perhaps he could make the mercenary corps larger .

Also, the remaining veterans of Cheon Tae-jung’s generation would help him, so he wasn’t worried much .

Cheon Tae-jung looked up at the night sky, and the bright moon tracing its path through the stars .

“Good . ”

Just in time .

***

On the retirement day of a veteran who was once on the battlefield .

“Have you eaten?”

At that time, a man with his back slouched against a building wall called out to him .

Cheon Tae-jung turned his head to see a long spear . He grinned and opened his mouth in reply .

“It’s late at night . It’s time for the kids to go to bed . ”

“I was a child 10 years ago, but not anymore . I’m pretty strong now . ”

“That’s a lot more reassuring . ”

The man pushed off the wall and walked over to him .

“Where are you thinking of going?”

Cheon Tae-jung stared aimlessly into the air for a while .

“To my hometown . ”

“To go home and do what?”

“To go farming . ”

Kim Sang-hu giggled .

“This old man is farming? It doesn’t make any sense . ”

“By the way…”

Kim Sang-hu stopped laughing and looked at him seriously . Soon, he slowly spoke .

“Don’t go . ”

Chen Tae-jung looked at him quietly, and patted Kim Sang-hu on the shoulder . He turned around .

“Don’t go and live there, old man . You don’t have to be a mercenary, do you? Kang Hyuk will do well on his own . I’ll help you a lot, too . It’s good to live here, safe and peaceful . Yes?

“Hmm . ”

“Oh my God, why would you want to quit your old mercenary job and go down to the countryside!?”, Kim Sang-hu bawled .

“Because I’m old,” Cheon tae-jung quietly replied .

“The chairman is old, but he’s doing well!”

“I’m at the forefront of the battlefield . ”

“So what!?”

“Not long ago, three people died in the country’s southern region . ”

“… . ”

He stopped talking .

“It was a small misjudgment . However, it was a fatal mistake . People died when they shouldn’t have . I feel that as I’m old I shouldn’t fight the monsters anymore . Our mercenaries need a young leader . ”

Kim Sang-hu raised his voice angrily .

“That happens all the time! Why is it all your fault? One day the awakeners will die! We always fight to death! I almost died too, but you saved my life!”

* * *

Cheol-ho, alone in the restaurant, suddenly recalled his conversation with Kim Man-ho in the morning .

“We have no choice but to think of Captain Cheon Tae-jung more carefully . ”

“What happened?”

“You know, ten years ago . Ugh, just thinking about that time still makes me shiver . ”

Kim Man-ho trembled and slowly opened his mouth .

“Ten years ago, monsters hit the West Gate . It was a major invasion . It was incredible . ”

Ten years ago .

Cheol-ho nodded .

“At that time, it was the first year that Kim Sang-hu, the current Manchangsa, had been appointed . He wasn’t a guardian yet, but a guardian usually goes through a two-year probationary period .

“And then . Of the five guardians of Seoul, four were killed in action in the process of preventing the invasion . ”