Have a Meal Before You Go - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Editor: Stomatopoda, Nets,

What happened on that day 10 years ago still came to him vividly whenever he closed his eyes .
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Klang!

Manchangsa’s opponent was a boss-class monster .

His sharp claws blew away his proud spear, causing him to slump to his knees as his legs collapsed under the weight of the blow .

The monster’s giant claws flew towards him , whistling as they cut through the air .

He’d had goosebumps all over .

And at that moment , he realized that he was going to die .

At Cypher School , he had thought that he was experienced and prepared . However, it turned out the world overflowed with things that were tougher, more dangerous, and stronger than each other .

He didn’t want to die .

Caaang!

A clashing sound rang out .

“Get up, kid . ”

A long wound bisected the face of the man standing in front of me . Instead of blocking the monster’s blow, he gave up his left eye .

The grievous cut drew from the left side of his forehead to his chin . It was deep . Blood gushed out from the wound .

“I’m scared . ”

The man reached out his hand, wiping away the flowing blood as if it were nothing .

“I’m scared, and I want to run away,” he added with a grin .

“But you should take a step forward when that happens . If you step back, you’ll be backpedaling for life . ”

Machangsa held back sobs .

The waves of the echo grew louder, and before he knew it, he jumped to his feet, grasping the man’s hand .

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Kim Sang-hu!”

“You’re the new guardian?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

The man grinned, and turned around .

“Look carefully, new guardian . ”

The man clasped his sword in his hands, pacing back and forth with pent up vigour .

“This is what we do . ”

The man started running . Awakened men on all sides ran to follow him . There was a swarm of monsters in the distance . The world was a mess .

Monster invasion!

At the moment of the clash, Machangsa ironically saw a shining path of light .

“Ah…!”

That day was the first day he met Cheon Tae-jung, the captain of the mercenaries .

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Machangsa found a village in a woodland area .

“It’s a nice place . ”

Nice enough to want to come back to .

Soon his eyes were filled with venom .

His eyes searched everywhere .

Not a single monster could be seen .

This place had to be safe, it was where Cheon Ta-jung would live when he retired .

That’s all he had to do now . He had to pay him back for the life he saved and for the left eye he lost . Machangsa suddenly realized that his vision had become blurred .

Damn it . He curtly wiped the tears away with his sleeve .

It was strange .

There were no monsters .

“Why… aren’t there . . ?”

It would have been nice if there was a monster . There was nothing to do .

* * *

“Yes . It was a time of great evacuation . ”

Cheol-ho nodded quietly as he listened to Cheon Tae-jung’s story .

“There were no monsters in my hometown yet . I don’t know why, but inexplicably my hometown was quiet . It felt like monsters were avoiding it . ”

Cheon Tae-jung continued his story, lost in reminiscing .

“But then I realized that I was an awakened human . I was able to handle the sword perfectly . My physical ability has improved significantly . Also, I felt a strange aura in my heart . There were a lot of awakened people in my hometown . ”

A characteristic of awakening… magic .

“So I led my people to Seoul . At the time we decided that somehow, powerful people would have to stick together to survive . ”

It was a good judgment .

“That was the beginning of the Temple mercenary corps . Since then, countless days have passed . A lot of people died–”

Puff… puff .

He sighed, exhaling a breath of cigarette smoke .

“–and many others were born . ”

He laughed quietly .

“A lot has happened since then . ”

Cheol-ho felt lingering emotions underlying his words .

And so he asked him, “Did you have any regrets?”

He smiled bitterly and nodded .

“Every day was a regret . I– we all– had to be perfect . To protect people . To not kill . At least, to survive until the next day . ”

“…”

So people like this really did exist . .

Cheol-ho seemed to understand him .

People who have lived the same way could share the feeling . Cheol-ho felt that this man was a real man .

He too was a real man .

He lived for everyone .

Most of the time Cheol-ho spent in this world was like that . So, Cheol-ho was also able to understand how Cheon Tae-jung felt . He wanted to rest now .

Cheol-ho wanted to tell him that he’d worked hard enough, that he could take a rest now . Live his life the way he wanted to .

“We shouldn’t make mistakes . People die because of our mistakes, people who had dreams and hopes . ”

He didn’t speak for a moment .

He had heard the same thing from someone . Oh, yes, that’s exactly what Machangsa had said .

Cheol-ho thought he was very precocious for his age, he guessed he’d learned that from the captain .

But to be so perfect, one eventually would get tired . This person was already tired enough .

However, as a result, it fostered a great next generation .

“You’re going home . ”

“Yes . ”

Cheon Tae-jung answered him simply, unbuckling the leather armor fastened to him . Under the simple short-sleeved T-shirt he wore beneath, a long scar emerged . It was a scar that had started from the nape of his neck and travelled to his wrist .

His whole body was covered with wounds .

They were the wounds of glory .

Cheol-ho nodded while grinning .

“Then have a meal before you go . ”

It was an honor .

He couldn’t believe he would have the opportunity of serving the last meal of a nice guest .

Chen Tae-jung slowly released a pent up breath, relaxing as he began to dine at ease .

He stared at the rice . Then he carefully picked up his spoon, scooping a portion of the rice and some soybean stew into his mouth and chewing slowly .

It was quiet .

Looking at him in the light, his hair appeared even whiter . Cheol-ho watched him eat his meal peacefully without saying anything .

Cheon Tae-jung finished his meal without leaving a mouthful of a side dish . He remained at the table, looking down for a long time with his eyes closed .

At some point, he finally spoke 

“Thank you for the meal . ”

He stood up from his seat .

Cheol-ho also stood up .

“The bill . . ”

“It’s a service . ”

Cheon Tae-jung looked at Cheol-ho in confusion .

“Our store originally offers services to those who are about to return to their hometowns . ”

He burst into laughter .

“It’s a strange shop . ”

He then bowed, mumbling .

“I’ve had a good meal . I’ll go look for that immature fellow . ”

Cheol-ho shook his head .

“He is already a good guardian . ”

“I think so too . ”

He paused for a moment, then spoke in a quiet tone .

“Yes, he is . He became a good guardian . ”

Cheol-ho knew the guardian was like a son to the man . He hoped they had a good time .

The man opened the store door and stepped out into the night .

Cheol-ho stood at the threshold, watching as the man walked through an alleyway .

Ah .

The moon shone bright .

The moonlight shone, lighting the path for the man .

Yeah .

He really was a good man .

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Cheon Tae-jung drove a shabby motorcycle .

An operating motorcycle was a rare relic of the previous era .

Vehicles relying on petrol and oil were becoming less and less common . Maybe this too won’t last long .

But he liked the motorcycle . Thirty years ago, he rode into Seoul on this motorcycle .

And now .

He was leaving Seoul, the same way he came .

Things had changed .

The world had been destroyed, but it was slowly coming back to life .

New buds sprouted on the broken branches .

Now was the time for the new generation to rise .

Whoo-whoo-whoo-!~

The motorcycle picked up its speed . It wove through the broken asphalt roads in the carcasse of what was once a city .

At daybreak .

Familiar landscapes came into sight . His heart sped up as he recalled events of the past .

He slowed down . Hearing screeching sounds coming from the motorcycle engine, he pushed it to the side of the road and stopped it .

He would walk from here .

He started off walking, his anticipation growing with every step, until he burst into a run .

He could see a low mountain ridge .

His heart was overflowing when he recognised the still-green garden . Somehow, he felt like he had returned to his childhood .

He stood at the top of the ridge and drank in the view of his hometown stretching out below him .

His hometown was full of trees, grasses and shrubs .

The sweet fragrance from the plants and flowers filled the air .

He could still see the warm sunlight under the acacia tree .

In spring, flowers bloomed on the mountains . He used to play around behind the mountain . When the sun set , he would return home to put dry firewood in the furnace, and watch the white smoke rise up the chimney .

It smelt like rice cooking .

He laughed . It was such a leisurely rural neighborhood . He would lie in the yard and stare blankly up at the smoke disappearing into the sky…

“Ah . ”

It was his hometown .

Finally, he was back in his hometown .
The house where he used to live was still there . Everything was intact in the village . Only the people had disappeared .

There were collapsed buildings everywhere, but there were no signs of monsters either .

Cheon Tae-jung reverently touched the gate of his house . Remembering the years gone by, he pushed the rusty gate open and stepped inside .

He was back .

Without saying anything, he laid down in the garden .

It was cozy and soft .

Suddenly, it occurred to him that the heavy burden on his shoulders had finally disappeared .

He smiled up brightly at the sky .

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Far away .

In the huge valley between the mountains overlooking the village, Machangsa leaned back against his motorcycle .

“…take care of yourself . ”

Machangsa stretched out his thumb and index fingers of both hands to form a square shape, and looked through the frame at the village .

“Good luck, old man . ”

This place was safe .

He checked everything . It was where his old man lived, so of course he came by first .

If it was not safe , he would  be the first to run and inform him .

Machangsa turned around .

After a moment of dazed hesitation, he started the motorcycle .

“Leave it to me . I’ll take care of it . Don’t worry about it,” he said to himself, as if he were determined to convince himself .

Vrroomm!

The motorcycle disappeared into the distance .

Now there was silence in the mountains . Only the occasional sound of birds chirping broke the calm rustle of the wind .

A bird sitting in a tree launched itself into the air, flying upwards .

The bird flew freely through the sky above the village, and landed on a branch .

The bird was chirping happily, before something caused it to fly away in shock .

Flutter flutter!

Five fists of fire were fired into the air .

The owner of the flames liked being soft .

Being soft was not harmful, so he thought it was a friend .  

As he had recently become the new owner of the mountain, the owner thought to himself ;

He liked this newcomer very much .