༺ Homecoming (2) ༻
1.
Siwoo’s sight swayed slightly.
This magic, ‘Gate’, was a magic created by Duchess Keter and something that was closely related to him.
Perhaps that was why he could feel familiarity towards the flow of mana enveloping his body.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Before he could concentrate, wondering if there was anything he could analyze, the world around him had already changed.
His sight turned bright, as if someone just set off a flashbang in front of him.
Accompanied by an intense rumble, he saw a clear bright sky.
Then he saw towering skyscrapers, encased in glass from the top to bottom, stretched out as far as he could see.
-Booong!
The sound of car horns and engines echoed against the building walls. It was so loud to the point that he wondered, ‘Was it always this noisy here?’
Compared to the mostly quiet and peaceful atmosphere of Gehenna, the bustling city street was so overwhelming that the average Gehenna citizen could mistook it as the middle of a battlefield. Just the ringing sound of horns was enough to make them crazy.
“Ah...”
Siwoo, who had been standing there in daze for a while, took a deep breath.
‘Take a deep breath... Deeper.... Deeper...’
He continued what he was doing until his lungs felt as though they might burst.
A tingly, harsh sensation seeped into his lungs.
The smog he inhaled pricked his throat, leaving a stinging sensation in his nostrils.
He looked around.
A certain river1Referring to the Han River that divided the two famed districts2Referring to Gangnam and Gangbuk District came into his sight.
There was a wide bridge, bustling with cars trying to get across, that cut the river into two.
The set of buildings that once held the title of Korea’s tallest structure3Referring to the Samsung Tower Palace, the vast expanse of the Han River stretching into the distance and the nearby pedestrian paths, all of those unfolded before his eyes.
Streetlights that looked familiar to him, buildings with exaggerated heights, asphalt so black that it’d change the color of the raindrops that hit it.
This was the scene that he could only see in his dreams lately. But, at the moment, the scene was undoubtedly real.
“I’m home...”
He was home.
In his modern world. In Korea. In Seoul. In Han River Park. In a place he never thought he’d step on ever again.
He was truly home.
“I’m home... I’m home...”
He felt all his strength left his body.
Then he dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.
‘Is this a dream? It isn’t, right?’
‘I have to make sure.’
Siwoo wanted a strong assurance.
He randomly reached out his hands, gathering the weeds and dirt around him before shoving it into his mouth like a madman.
The gritty sand and roots of the weeds scratched his mouth, giving him the taste of rich soil and fresh grass.
A nostalgic taste.
This was the taste of Korean soil he had longed for.
“Mom, look! That man is eating dirt!”
“Shh! Don’t look at him!”
“What the hell is that?”
He caught sight of people zooming around on a strange-looking electric scooter.
It wasn’t just one of two people doing that, but dozens of them. All the electric scooters looked the same, as if all those people rented them as a group.
This made him remember the time when he first arrived in Gehenna. When he marveled at the wonder of magic.
As he gazed at the towering buildings, stacked high with dozens of floors, observed the cars that were emitting smoke as they slowly passed by, he found that those things were even more captivating than magic.
Sights like this reminded him of the saying, ‘science is no different than magic.’
Siwoo flicked his cigarette and stepped out of the smoking area.
‘Yeah.’
‘This is what I wanted.’
The ordinary daily life and the familiar scenery.
No one here judged him because he had different skin colors. He could go to a nearby store to grab a cola or whatever else he wanted. There was no ruling class that could torment him with strange magic. Just the ordinary and nostalgic scene that he had longed for.
The paradise he had yearned for.
His homesickness, that once caused his heart to ache, had seemed to heal in the blink of an eye.
“I should go see my parents.”
Siwoo adjusted his crooked eyepatch and climbed up the slope by the riverside to catch a cab.
‘I have some money now anyway.’
He jumped into a decent-looking taxi.
“Where do you want me to take you?”
After informing the driver, who had a friendly smile like a model taxi driver, his destination, Siwoo closed his eyes as he rested his head on the seat.
3.
It had been a while since Siwoo last visited his parents.
Since he didn’t want to go empty-handed, he bought a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of soju with him.
For reference, the former was for his mom and the latter was for his dad.
Compared to Gehenna’s elegant and luxurious buildings, modern buildings had a cheap, yet noticeably refined and welcoming feeling to them.
After he opened the revolving door in front of him, he stepped inside and made his way to the second floor to sign the visitor’s log.
“Mom, Dad... I’m home.”
No matter how busy he was, he’d always visit them once every six months. At the very least, once a year. This was the first time that he had gone without visiting them for a long time.
“Did you miss me? Are you surprised that I suddenly showed up without saying a word? This is your favorite baby’s breath bouquet, Mom. And this red soju is for you, Dad.”
He plopped down in his seat.
Now, his gaze finally met with his parents.
To be exact, the picture of his parents, beaming with a wide smile, wearing cheap hiking clothes while standing shoulder to shoulder.
“Don’t you dare complain about me not visiting you more often. It’s been five— no, almost six years. I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to see your face, Mom.”
He stared intently at the picture.
Even the faces of his long-missed parents seemed a bit faded.
Perhaps because they’ve been exposed to too much sunlight.
“You want to know what happened? It’s not even funny. Honestly, even if I tell you, you probably won’t believe it. You see, I was kidnapped to a fantasy world and became a witch.”
Siwoo covered his face, letting out a wry smile as if he found himself utterly ridiculous.
A witch. A fantasy world.
He used those words naturally, but the mere fact that he was currently in the modern world made him feel out of place.
“There, I ended up meeting with a crazy chick. She tried to bully me and failed... Well, later on, I realized that she wasn’t all bad... I also had some fun with a pair of cute twins— Oh yeah, Dad, there were good people among the Japanese. I got to make some Japanese friends, you know? Of course, I also taught them that Dokdo4 Referring to Dokdo Island, the disputed island located between Japan and South Korea. Japan, North Korea and South Korea, all claimed to be owning the island. The dispute is still unresolved to this day. is a Korean territory. What do you think? I did a good job, right?”
Siwoo