Chapter 613
Today, the training room of the Special Operations Unit was as silent as ever.
Various types of weapons were scattered across the floor, and despite the automatic restoration spell cast on the walls, they lay in ruins.
And at the center of it all… there I sat in meditation, lost in thought.
‘More. Just a little more.’
I was almost there.
The final piece of this massive puzzle.
Right after parting ways with Jinho hyung, I had locked myself in the training room, diving into the final process for that missing piece.
Even if the stress made all my hair fall out.
Even if I spiraled into a state of [Qi deviation].
I had to overcome it.
No matter what, I had to complete this puzzle before I left.
‘For the future ahead.’
It was only recently that I began searching for the final piece, but I had resolved to complete the puzzle months ago.
Yes, it must have been after the battle with the Arch Lich—what was later named the [Minor Cataclysm].
‘At this rate, everyone’s in danger.’
That thought came to me out of nowhere one day.
And as time passed, my unease became certainty.
Mana levels had risen abnormally. Monsters were growing stronger.
And casualties—once drastically reduced after the Great Cataclysm—were now occurring again everywhere.
Modern humanity needed a new kind of power.
And after much contemplation, I made a decision.
To develop a new [Martial Art].
To provide a new sword and shield in the face of growing disaster and danger.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
It had to be safe enough for even low-rank Hunters to learn, yet powerful enough not to be abused by the wicked.
But finally, I found it—the final piece to this massive puzzle.
‘This is it.’
The single path I forged after hundreds of trials.
In the moment I completed the new [mental technique]—yet unnamed—
Ding. Ding. Ding.
The notification rang out powerfully, as if to celebrate my success.
—
Choi Team Leader—no, now Guild Leader of Peace Guild and Vice Guild Leader of Ares Guild, Choi Minwoo was unimaginably busy.
In just one week of absence, the number of pending tasks had exploded into the hundreds.
His temporary personal secretary was sweating bullets answering endless calls from VIPs.
“G-Guild Leader. The Blue House is requesting a luncheon.”
“Both the political circles and the business federation are inviting you to a social gathering…”
“The Guild Union has proposed a partnership regarding Gate operations…”
“Regarding the overseas branch setup…”
There were proposals he couldn’t refuse, and others he easily could.
But Choi Minwoo always responded the same.
“Understood. Set the schedule.”
He moved according to a minute-by-minute itinerary.
Working day after day like a machine, he barely slept.
Those around him looked at him with concern, seeing how overworked he was.
“Come on, just pick one, Team Leader Choi. Guild Leader Choi. Vice Guild Leader Choi. Which title should we use?”
“Just call me Team Leader. That’s what we started with.”
“Alright then, Team Leader Choi. I’ll be blunt… you need to rest. Lighten the schedule, delegate more to your secretary.”
“Yeah, Team Leader. Even if you’re young, you’ll collapse at this rate.”
“I’m fine. No need to worry.”
“But Team Leader—”
“No, really. I’m fine.”
His calm, repeated answer eventually silenced even Song-Yi and Im Jeok-jung.
But why was it?
Though the words entering their ears were the same, what reached their hearts felt different.
“I’m fine.”
It was the same phrase… and yet not.
And so, Choi Minwoo continued to bury himself in work.
Even after sending away the personal secretary who had been helping him slightly, he drowned in an even more hectic schedule.
It was no surprise when one day, during a private meeting with President Baek Hanseong, this conversation came up.
“You seem quite busy these days.”
“I like it that way.”
“I heard you don’t even keep a secretary anymore… is there some special reason?”
“Coffee.”
“…Excuse me?”
“They couldn’t make decent coffee. That’s all.”
President Baek thought it was a joke and laughed it off.
But every word from Choi Minwoo was genuine.
He liked being completely immersed in work.
And for some reason, the coffee the young secretary brewed always tasted awful.
And above all…
He was thankful that in this way, he could momentarily forget the longing and sorrow for a certain someone that constantly rose in his mind.
“I’ve said something meaningless. Let’s move to the next agenda.”
While Jin Taekyung was training in complete isolation, Choi Minwoo was isolating himself in the midst of meeting countless people.
Perhaps that was why…
One day, all of a sudden, he thought of a name.
On that day, as he ruthlessly pushed himself harder than usual, long-buried longing rose from deep within.
“Driver Jung, turn the car around.”
“Pardon? I thought your next appointment was—?”
“Cancel everything for today. I need to go somewhere.”
Ignoring the driver’s startled gaze in the rearview mirror, Choi Minwoo sank deep into the limo seat.
Soaking in the warm spring breeze and sunlight flowing through the half-open window, he headed to meet someone.
Step. Step.
He climbed the hill alone.
It was steep and tall, and each step felt heavy.
Or perhaps it was his heart that was heavy.
No matter how many times he climbed this high, steep hill—a hundred, a thousand times—he could never reach that person again.
Sadness and guilt weighed down his chest.
He picked a handful of spring flowers blooming along the path.
White violets weren’t enough, so he added clusters of crimson moss phlox.
That person—who was no longer here—had always loved the color red.
‘And yet you always wore black suits…’
It wasn’t until recently that he learned what that man’s favorite color was.
Why he sold all those motorcycles.
Why he quit drinking,cut his long, scruffy beard, and styled his hair so neatly.
‘Why did you do all that? You were enough, just as you were to me.’
Even though he now understood everything, it was already too late.
Clutching his aching chest, Choi Minwoo continued to walk.
On that warm, breezy hill—a large grave awaited him.
Three letters carved into the granite tombstone stood out more clearly than ever.
‘The Late Kim Hwajong’
What should he say?
Standing still, staring at the old butler not buried in a cold snowy mountain
but resting on a warm hill, Choi Minwoo finally opened his lips.
“I’m here.”
His usually composed eyes trembled slightly.
Clenching his lips to suppress the quiver, he spoke slowly.
“…Grandfather.”
That single word—one he had never said aloud while he was alive—escaped at last.
Swoooosh—
A gust of wind suddenly swept over him.
The grass bent low.
Tree branches swayed.
Then, the moment Choi Minwoo placed the bouquet next to the grave, his body froze.
‘That is…’
His widening eyes locked onto the back of the tombstone.
A place he had never noticed before.
There, new words were engraved:
‘You’ve come. Thank you, and I love you. Be happy.’
Who could’ve carved them?
He should have wondered.
But in this moment—it didn’t matter.
Choi Minwoo stood like a statue, his eyes locked on that short message.
Like flowers swaying in the wind, his heart wavered.
Something from deep inside surged up, choking his throat, heating his eyes.
“…Ah.”
A breathless sound escaped—a choked sob filled with everything overwhelming his chest.
“You came faster than expected. I thought I’d have to wait a few more days at least.”
A sudden voice.
Turning around, Choi Minwoo saw a familiar figure holding a small box.
The Skeleton King.
Why was he here?
What did he mean by ‘waiting’?
But those questions faded as quickly as they came.
Right now, Choi Minwoo didn’t need reasons—he needed warmth.
He needed an answer to a question he couldn’t solve himself.
“May I ask… just one thing?”
The Skeleton King, normally gruff and blunt, would’ve usually said no.
But this time, he nodded quietly.
“Anything.”
“If it were Jin Taekyung… what would he have done at a time like this?”
It was a sudden question, but the Skeleton King immediately understood.
“Why ask?”
“He’s the strongest person I know.”
The Skeleton King looked at him in silence for a moment, then answered in a low voice.
“He would’ve cried. Definitely.”
“…And then he would’ve moved on. Kept living. Remembering the one who’s gone—forever.”
That was enough.
Choi Minwoo shed the tears he had held back.
Sorrow and regret.
Longing and guilt.
He released it all through his tears.
The Skeleton King silently stepped away and thought—
It was best to deliver the items in that box a bit later.
At the same time, he recalled what Jin Taekyung had said to him about half a day ago:
– ‘Sorry, but I have a favor to ask.’
– ‘No. I refuse. Go away.’
– ‘Give this to Team Leader Choi. No one else. Just him.’
– ‘Damn it, you bastard. Ignoring me again.
– Do I look like a delivery boy to you?’
– ‘Not a delivery boy—I’m entrusting you because I believe in you.’
– ‘…And what the hell am I supposed to give him?’
– ‘[Martial Art].’
– ‘What?’
– ‘He’ll understand if you call it that. There’s a letter inside. Make sure he reads it.’
– ‘How the hell am I supposed to find him?
– You’re always disappearing these days—’
– ‘Wait at Butler Kim’s grave. Don’t say a word before then.
He’ll need time to overcome this.’
The Skeleton King thought to himself—
Jin Taekyung really was a strange human.
Running into him exactly at the grave…
And being the kind of guy who wouldn’t wake up even if you shook him by the collar once he was asleep.
‘Damn. That bastard gives me a crappy errand, then sleeps peacefully by himself?’
He’d even told him not to wake him under any circumstances.
So by now, he was probably out cold.
The Skeleton King found him annoying…
but honestly, he didn’t feel all that bad about it.
‘Because I trust you.’
Remembering that line and the box he carried, the Skeleton King muttered to himself.
“…Sweet dreams, you wicked bastard.”
Swoooosh—
The wind blew again.
Along with the faint sobs of one man,
and the voice of a monster now strangely close to human,
carried away on the wind.
(T/N: You will be missed butler Kim.)