Chapter 305: Returning Home (2)
Beyond the eons and spaces, in a dimension unlike South Korea, there existed the ‘Kiaora’, the core component that illuminated the Gem of Truth. It sat atop the Gem, shining its light of truth upon the world and announcing its presence far and wide. However, the Kiaora had no fixed form. It simply touched the objects around it, and if it found them impressive, it would evaluate and replicate their material and shape. Even when atop the Gem of Truth, it merely maintained a replicated form.
Thus, no one had ever seen the true form of the Kiaora, not even the Dragon King Verkis. He had sent the Kiaora through dimensions without much thought, and it wasn’t until it reached South Korea that it revealed its true form—a metallic cube, like a die tossed by the hand of a god, crossing the dimensional barrier to land in a railing factory warehouse in South Korea.
Clang!
The warehouse was filled with iron railings awaiting delivery. The Kiaora fell upon these railings and decided they were impressive enough to replicate. Thus, it transformed.
Whirring sound…
In the dead of night, within the empty warehouse, the Kiaora mimicked the form of the railing, perfectly assuming its new shape. After spending several days in the warehouse, it was installed as a decorative railing at Namsan Tower in Seoul, known as the ‘Love Lock Fence’, where countless couples attached padlocks as symbols of their love and future together. This setting would prove to be a great challenge for the two men from Lorasian continent.
“…How are we supposed to handle this?” Lloyd sighed deeply, his gaze fixed on one spot.
There, at the outdoor observatory of Namsan Tower, many couples enjoyed the fresh air of the mountain, drunk on the night view of Seoul below, whispering sweet nothings and making plans for the future, all the while clicking padlocks onto the iron railing—which was actually the Kiaora!
“Oh, this is just crazy.” Lloyd wanted to smack his forehead. The last thing he had expected was for the core component of the Gem of Truth to take such a ridiculous form. He had thought it would be a massive stone-like the other components they had found—buried on the mountain slope or used as paving stones on the observatory floor.
“Man, I thought this would be simple, but it’s right there in the most conspicuous spot.” It was not only visible, but it was also in the busiest part of the observatory. This complicated things.
Javier seemed to grasp the situation from Lloyd’s cues and asked, “Lord Lloyd?”
“Yes?”
“That iron railing you’re staring at with such difficulty…”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lloyd chewed on his lip, “I had hoped it would be somewhere less noticeable. It would be easier to retrieve that way, and we wouldn’t cause a scene. I thought we could handle this quietly.”
“But I didn’t expect it to be in such a crowded place.”
“I agree. There’s no way to go about this without attracting attention.”
This was troubling. If it were only about being noticed, it might be manageable.
“People will create a commotion. Calls will be made, and it’ll get noisy. This has become a hassle.”
“That’s true. Should we wait then?”
“Yeah, let’s try that.”
Lloyd glanced around; without a watch or smartphone, it was hard to tell the time, but he guessed it was around 8 PM. “It seems we’re at peak time now. Let’s wait for it to thin out a bit.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s sit and rest for a while then.”
“That sounds good.”
They found a nearby bench and took a moment to catch their breath and cool down, enjoying the breeze that was refreshingly sweet with the scent of Seoul, awakening memories with every scent carried by the wind.
The people passing by, the ones whose eyes turned to hearts at the sight of Javier, felt like familiar hometown folks asking about the latest TV shows, songs, slang, and even what number Galaxy or iPhone was currently out. Curiosities that weren’t important but suddenly felt urgent to know.
‘This place, these people, I still want to remember them.’
They were strangers, but they were just people from Seoul he hadn’t seen in a while, speaking the same language and eating the same kimchi and soybean paste. For such trivial reasons, everyone here felt familiar.
So, this felt like home.
Even the couples attaching locks to the Love Lock Fence, no, the Kiaora, seemed innocently sweet.
“Isn’t it great up here, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why? The night view is beautiful.”
“I don’t see it. It’s too bright here; I can’t see the view at all.”
“Bright? Where?”
“You, my love.”
“Oh stop it, give me a kiss.”
Snap!
‘Innocently sweet, my foot!’ Lloyd clenched his fist, enraged by the degradation of this world’s morals, glaring at the lovey-dovey couples with a mission to right what was wrong.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s just do it now.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
With shared resolve, Lloyd and Javier stood up, driven by a sense of righteous indignation. They walked steadily toward the Kiaora, pushing through the crowds of couples with a sense of justice, ignoring their protests, and finally stood before it.
As if on cue, they bent down and grasped the Kiaora from both sides, exchanging a look that carried the solemnity of cleansing a dirty corner of the world with fiery determination.
Whirring of intense mana!
A massive wave of mana filled their Mana Hearts, invigorating their muscles with overwhelming vitality, fueled by a desire to exact vengeance on the sappy couples.
With a crack, the Kiaora, no, the Love Lock Fence, was pulled out in one go.
“…!”
The crowd was stunned. They had thought these handsome but strange foreigners were just tourists, but they had never imagined they would pull out the railing in its entirety, let alone run away with it.
“…Hey!”
“Uh? Oh?”
“Wait a minute!”
The cries of numerous couples filled the air, asking them to wait because they had just attached their locks, were about to propose, or simply expressing their outrage.
But Lloyd did not stop. Carrying the Kiaora on their shoulders, they charged down the Namsan stairs like wild boars of the Ural Mountains, breaking through the crowd.
“Keep going! Don’t stop!”
“Understood.”
They had already committed the act, so Lloyd and Javier continued their escape with the Kiaora. They adjusted their stride and speed perfectly, sometimes leaping down several steps at a time, sliding down pathless mountain trails as the surroundings became noisier.
“There they are!”
“You can’t take that, tourists!”
Squeal of whistles!
Perhaps due to someone’s report, several staff members looking like park officials spotted them and ran towards them, their calls and whistles filling the late evening of Namsan.
But they had no intention of stopping.
“Just ignore them and keep going!”
“Yes.”
They continued to run, the hundreds of locks attached to the Kiaora clanging with each step, a racket that continued even after they had descended from Namsan. Two police cars were there to “welcome” them, apparently dispatched after receiving reports.
So, Lloyd’s response?
“Ah, forget it! Keep running!”
Regardless of what the police said over the loudspeaker, they kept running. There was no need to stop because complying would only lead to being apprehended for public property damage, being investigated, and possibly losing the Kiaora. Plus, Javier and Lloyd didn’t even have IDs like passports with them—they were effectively undocumented.
It was clear that cooperating with the police would bring them no benefit.
“This way!”
They dashed past the Namdaemun Library and the An Jung-geun Memorial, with Lloyd leading and Javier following, the Kiaora still on their shoulders, running like a train. And behind them, the police cars pursued just as determinedly.
Stop! Halt!
They ignored the blaring sirens and commands and ran towards Hoehyeon-dong, deliberately entering the twisting residential streets to shake off the police pursuit. The old villas, shops, and complex alleys unfolded before them—it was a familiar route.
“Follow me, this way.”
It was quite late, so the back streets of the residential area were not very crowded. They moved quickly through the darkened streets, evading people’s gazes like navigating a maze, and soon managed to lose the police cars.
As they walked through the alleys to catch their breath, Javier looked at Lloyd’s back.
“Lord Lloyd.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That we could shake off our pursuers by coming here.”
“And you didn’t?”
“Uh?”
Javier hesitated as the fake Lloyd stopped and turned around, eyebrows slightly furrowed in disdain.
“Didn’t you look around when we climbed that mountain? Didn’t you use that vantage point to survey the area?”
“Well…”
“Tsk. Javier, you still have a lot to learn. When you’re in an unfamiliar place, you need to scout thoroughly. Know where’s dangerous, where’s safe, how to move in an emergency, or use the terrain to your advantage, right?”
“…”
“So I had already scoped this place out.”
“This place?”
“Yeah. It looked perfect. Short buildings packed together, narrow streets twisted like a maze—perfect for escaping if needed. And the result? Just as you see.”
Lloyd shrugged nonchalantly, lifting his chin in a show of brash confidence.
“So when you’re in a strange place, just trust this hyung and follow me, got it?”
“…I see.”
“Huh? Why are you agreeing so easily? You usually argue back.”
“Should I not?”
“No. It’s weird. Creepy.”
“…”
“Seriously, who are you? My Javier isn’t this docile and loyal. Not someone who just nods along without arguing.”
“…”
“Come on, be honest. Where did you hide my Javier?”
“Ugh, really.”
Javier could only smirk bitterly.
“Who else could be this handsome? But I have another question.”
“What?”
“What’s your phone number?”
“…What?”
“When you went to the restroom earlier, a lady asked for it.”
“And?”
“I was nervous. Giving it out seemed like it could blow our cover.”
“Good thinking. I don’t know my phone number either, but when in doubt, play dumb.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s right.”
They resumed walking, with Javier watching Lloyd’s back, thinking, ‘Playing dumb, like you’re doing now.’
He was now certain.
No matter how much they pretended otherwise.
No matter how much they acted unfamiliar with this place.
This Seoul seemed to indeed be the fake Lloyd’s homeland.
The way he navigated the alleys, chose directions, and all his actions confirmed it.
It was the same when Lloyd brought out Ppodong.
“Ppodong? This way. There are two large statues ahead, just run past them straight to the return point.”
“Ppodong!”
Lloyd and Ppodong charged down a major thoroughfare at night, cars on the twelve-lane road honking in shock. The police cars they had shaken off were now trailing again, but they couldn’t catch Ppodong.
Being captured on CCTV and phones was unavoidable, but Lloyd didn’t care.
‘No intention to return or stay, so no problem.’
Even if their escapade stirred up the news and social media, it would just be another event in a distant world.
Unlikely anyone would recognize them.
‘So there’s no reason to stay here.’
Lloyd spurred Ppodong on harder.
At Gwanghwamun intersection, they finally reached the return point. As soon as they arrived, the dimensional travel magic reacted. A three-dimensional magic circle arose, light swirling around them, opening the door to another dimension.
The familiar sights of Seoul blurred around them. As they prepared to activate the magic circle with the final phrase, Lloyd thought to himself.
Not missing anything.
Not regretting anything.
Not falling into unnecessary sentimentality.
He would return without any lingering attachment, reaffirming to himself over and over again.
‘So…’
Seoul was just a place he had lived for a while.
The receding streetlights, the shouts of people, the headlights of cars, the bright neon signs, the smoggy air, the familiar neighborhood from his childhood, the residential area near his parents’ apartment where he had recently visited—all of it would remain just a fading memory.
‘So…’
Lloyd bit his lip, bidding a long farewell to the receding memories.
And murmured the activation phrase lowly.
“…Return home.”
