HIF 29

Like Fate

After a long while, Song Ha-gyun approached us. He had been writing something in his notebook while carefully surveying the surroundings, and now it seemed his task was finally done. The flames flickered, reflecting in the monocle Song Ha-gyun wore.

“…There’s nothing dangerous around here.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Ha-gyeon hyungnim!”

“Yeah. You too.”

Min Joo-hyuk sprang to his feet and continued in a lively voice.

“Then I think we can go take a look around now.”

Raen also stood up. I was about to stand as well when someone gently pressed down on my shoulder from behind, making me sit back down.

“Yi-han-ah, stay here with hyung.”

Park Yul patted my shoulder. Up ahead, Song Ha-gyun swiftly turned his head and looked at me and Park Yul.

“…We’ll be back.”

Then, along with Raen and Min Joo-hyuk, he vanished in an instant.

I was staring at the suddenly empty spot when Park Yul’s quiet voice came from beside me.

“Yi-han-ah. You.”

I turned my head. Park Yul was now sitting next to me. His gaze was fixed on the brightly burning campfire. Hot heat radiated from the flames. After thinking for a while, Park Yul continued.

“How much do you know?”

About what? As I waited for him to continue, Park Yul slowly turned his head and met my gaze. His eyes were calmly settled.

Before I could even answer, Park Yul blinked a couple of times and looked forward again. The campfire’s red flames were reflected in his jade-green eyes.

“You must have been curious about a lot of things.”

Did he just change the subject? …Or not? His expression was the same as usual, so it was puzzling.

Actually, it didn’t matter whether he asked that question out of wariness towards me or not. As I had thought before, it was justified for Park Yul to be wary of me, and even so, his attitude towards me had always been consistently warm.

This kindness couldn’t possibly be fake. So it was already enough.

Park Yul smiled softly and continued.

“Where should I start explaining?”

I spoke to Park Yul, who seemed lost in thought as he tapped his knee with his fingers.

“Yul hyung. Last time, Raen hyung told me something. That Heroes handle Monsters and close Rifts.”

“That’s right. Raen explained it well.”

“But why do Rifts appear? Is that unknown?”

If we knew the cause of Rifts appearing, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate that cause from the start? As I was thinking that, Park Yul slowly continued.

“Hmm… That’s still being researched, but I think it might be due to the world’s balance.”

Balance? Is it similar to the law I heard about last time? Park Yul, who had been observing my face, smiled slightly and added.

“Where there is good, there is also evil. So it might occur naturally, or there’s a possibility that somewhere, a power weakened or strengthened, causing it.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Yeah. So for now, saving the world in front of us comes first.”

Park Yul, who smiled brightly, grasped my wrist and slowly lifted it. Then, with his other hand, he stroked upward along my palm, straightening it out.

“A Hero is chosen once every five years.”

Park Yul’s clear voice resonated against the backdrop of the crackling campfire. So Heroes are chosen periodically. I didn’t know that until now.

Park Yul was still holding my hand. With him holding it like this, my hand looked small. Of course, that’s not necessarily true. Just because others are bigger than me doesn’t mean I’m small.

Park Yul slowly folded my fingers one by one as he spoke.

“When this year ends, it will be three years since hyung was chosen as the Hero of this generation.”

Two fingers were still left unfolded. Staring intently at Park Yul, I asked.

“So there are two years left?”

Park Yul nodded. He said the others also have the same amount of time left since they made the Hero’s Oath with Park Yul.

The pungent smell of burning wood faintly spread around. It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, just a neutral smell. The time remaining ahead was the same. Neither long nor short, just a neutral amount of time.

When that time comes, I’ll have to part ways with everyone, right? After saving the world, the abilities granted by the System will disappear too. Thinking that there are only two years left to spend together, that seems a bit regrettable.

Folding the remaining fingers, I asked Park Yul.

“What happens when the five years are over, Yul hyung?”

“The next generation’s Hero will be chosen.”

Park Yul answered calmly and lowered my wrist that he had been holding. That wasn’t what I was asking.

“What about you, hyung? Will you no longer be a Hero?”

“Well. That’s not important.”

“Why isn’t it important?”

“It probably won’t mean much.”

Is that so? As I was quietly thinking, Park Yul gently ruffled my hair.

“Whether hyung is a Hero or not after that, nothing will change. Right?”

That was true. Whether a Hero or not, Park Yul was Park Yul. Nothing would change much.

But thinking about it, it was strange. The fact that the next generation’s Hero is chosen means the world still hasn’t been saved, right?

Given that Park Yul is the Hero of this generation, it seems there have been several chosen Heroes before. Even though the world hasn’t been fully saved, why choose a new Hero after five years?

Wait, who chooses the Hero in the first place?

“Who chooses the Hero?”

“The temple.”

Park Yul took a breath and slowly continued his next words. His voice was calm as usual, but somehow I felt a sense of detachment underlying it.

“A god chooses, Yi-han-ah. Like fate.”

The red light of the campfire flickered in front of Park Yul’s face. Park Yul, who had turned his head towards me, smiled with his eyes gently closed.

‘Like fate.’

For some reason, those words seemed to echo once more in my mind.

◇

The sky was completely dark, so I couldn’t tell the passage of time, but it felt like several hours had passed.

They said it would still be a while before everyone returned. They said the forest was vast, so just looking around would take a long time.

Park Yul draped a cozy blanket over me and handed me a cup of cocoa. I wasn’t cold since I was right in front of the fire, but I still felt warmer.

“Yi-han-ah. Earlier, Joo-hyuk said it was romantic, right?”

How did he hear that? He seemed far away.

Park Yul reached his hand into the air. In front of it, several long sticks and a large glass jar, like the kind used for holding jam, appeared. Inside the glass jar were round, white things.

The round lumps slipped quietly out of the jar and were carefully skewered onto the sticks. They looked soft.

“You’ll like this too. Joo-hyuk really liked it.”

Park Yul said with a voice tinged with laughter, then brought his finger to his lips as if to say this was a secret.

Park Yul stuck the sticks near the campfire and, after a while, pulled one out. Hot steam rose from the white lump, which was slightly toasted.

After letting it cool briefly, Park Yul put the topmost one into his mouth. It’s not hot now, he said, gently pulling one off the end of the stick and offering it to me.

“Marshmallow. Have you ever had one?”

I shook my head. Park Yul carefully placed it in my mouth.

The first thing I felt was warmth. And then softness. It melted away instantly, spreading sweetness throughout my body. If I were to eat a cloud, it would probably feel like this. To think such a thing existed in the world.

I froze in unfamiliar surprise, and Park Yul quickly cupped his hand in front of me.

“Is it hot?”

Surely he doesn’t mean for me to spit it out into his hand if it’s hot now?

I took Park Yul’s hand and gently lowered it. To Park Yul, who seemed to be carefully observing my expression, I opened my mouth.

“It’s delicious. That’s why I was surprised.”

Good, Park Yul replied with a clear smile. That smile, and the warmth melting in my mouth. Both were sweet and soft.

As I nibbled on the marshmallows Park Yul fed me one by one, I listened to his calm, continuing voice.

“This is a forest where night has fallen. The sun won’t rise, so it will stay dark like this.”

It was amazing to think there was a place where the sun truly never rose.

Park Yul said that’s why he came here first. A dark forest where you can’t see even an inch ahead. He added that if a Rift were left open here for a long time, it would be the most dangerous place.

“There might be a Rift open here too.”

Then I might not be able to see hyung for a while, he added lightly, his voice sounding regretful. When I asked why, the answer came immediately.

“Only the chosen Hero can handle Monsters.”

Park Yul summoned a long sword into the air. I had once seen Park Yul using this sword in a Future Sight.

The sword’s blade was sharply honed. In the center of the golden hilt was embedded a red gemstone.

For a moment, a dark light seemed to flicker inside the red gem. Or not? When I checked again, there was no change. Maybe I mis saw it because of the campfire right in front.

“Only by stabbing with this sword can Monsters be completely dealt with.”

I focused on Park Yul’s following words. He added that only the chosen Hero could use this sword, then waved his hand. The sword disappeared.

“Is that the sword you received when you were chosen as a Hero?”

“That’s right. It’s been used since previous generations.”

I see. Then do you have to return the sword when your term as Hero ends? It’s a bit strange, but if that’s the tradition, then it might be the case.

“Yul hyung. Is this the reason why only Heroes fight for the world?”

“That’s right. Only the chosen Hero can finish it.”

“But others can still help from the side. Like Raen hyung, Ha-gyeon hyung, and Min Joo-hyuk.”

“Actually, Rifts mostly appear in outer regions. It’s fortunate, right?”

“Yes, it’s fortunate. But?”

“So there aren’t many people around.”

I was pondering what that had to do with anything when Park Yul continued in a calm voice.

“Hmm, so… Unless they’re left for too long and the Monsters spread far, it’s usually safe.”

“…So you’re saying it’s unrelated, so people aren’t interested.”

“It’s natural to focus on what’s in front of you. After being chosen as a Hero, hyung just sees a slightly larger world in front of him. It’s the same for everyone who made the Hero’s Oath.”

Why does Park Yul have such a deep sense of responsibility? He didn’t choose to become a Hero himself.

“But hyung became a Hero because a god chose you.”

“That’s right.”

“Yul hyung, weren’t you resentful about being chosen as a Hero?”