THIFSGSTW CH 29

Chapter 29: Like Fate

After a while, Song Ha-gyeon approached. He wrote something in his notebook while meticulously scanning the surroundings, then finally seemed to finish his work. The firelight flickered against the monocle he wore.

“…There’s nothing dangerous around here.”

“Great work, Ha-gyeon hyung!”

“Mm. You too.”

Min Joo-hyuk jumped to his feet and continued in an energetic voice.

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

Raen also got up. I was about to follow when someone gently pressed down on my shoulder from behind, making me sit back down.

“Yi-han, stay here with me.” Park Yul patted my shoulder.

In front of us, Song Ha-gyeon sharply turned his head to glance at me and Park Yul.

“…We’ll be back.”

With that, he quickly disappeared with Raen and Min Joo-hyuk.

I stared at the suddenly empty space when Park Yul’s quiet voice reached me from beside me.

“Yihan-ah. You…”

I turned my head. At some point, Park Yul had sat down next to me. He kept his gaze fixed on the brightly burning campfire. The heat from the flames was palpable. After a long moment of thought, Park Yul spoke.

“How much do you know?”

About what? I waited for him to continue, but Park Yul slowly turned his gaze toward me. His eyes were calm and settled.

Before I could answer, Park Yul blinked a couple of times and then looked forward again. The campfire’s crimson glow flickered in his pale green eyes.

“You must have had a lot of questions.”

Was he changing the subject? …Or maybe not? His expression was the same as always, making it hard to tell.

Honestly, whether he asked because he was wary of me or not didn’t matter. As I had thought before, Park Yul had every right to be cautious of me. And despite that, his attitude toward me remained unwaveringly warm.

There was no way this kindness was a lie. That alone was enough.

Park Yul smiled gently and spoke again. “Where should I start?”

As he tapped his fingers on his knee in thought, I spoke up.

“Yul hyung. Raen hyung told me before, that Heroes take care of the monsters and close the Rifts.”

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

“But why do Rifts appear in the first place? Can’t we find out?”

If we knew the cause of the Rifts, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate it from the beginning? While I was thinking that, Park Yul slowly responded.

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

Balance? Was it similar to the laws I had heard about before? ^[1]

Park Yul, after observing my expression, smiled slightly and added, “If there’s good, then evil must also exist. So maybe it’s something that occurs naturally, or maybe it’s because some force has weakened or strengthened somewhere.”

“Ah… So that’s how it is.”

“Yeah. That’s why, for now, saving the world in front of us comes first.”

Park Yul smiled brightly and wrapped his hand around my wrist, lifting it gently. Then, with his other hand, he slowly brushed my palm open.

“Heroes are chosen every five years.”

Park Yul’s clear voice rang against the backdrop of the crackling campfire. So Heroes were chosen periodically. This was new information to me.

Park Yul was still holding my hand. With his hand covering mine, my hand looked small. Of course, that wasn’t actually true. Just because others were bigger than me didn’t mean I was small.

As Park Yul folded my fingers down one by one, he continued.

“When this year ends, it will be three years since I was chosen as this era’s Hero.”

Two fingers were still left unfolded. I stared at Park Yul and asked, “So that means you have two years left?”

Park Yul nodded. Since the others had formed the Hero’s Pact with him, they had the same remaining time.

The faint scent of burning wood lingered in the air. It wasn’t particularly pleasant or unpleasant, just neutral. The time left was the same. Neither long nor short, just… time.

When that time came, we would all part ways, right? Once the world was saved, the system-given abilities would disappear, too. Realizing we had only two years left together felt… a little disappointing.

I folded the remaining fingers down and asked,

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

“A new Hero is chosen.”

Park Yul’s voice was calm as he released my wrist. That wasn’t quite what I had been asking, though.

“What about you? You won’t be a Hero anymore?”

“Well… That doesn’t really matter.”

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

“Because it’s not meaningful.”

Really? I was pondering that when Park Yul gently ruffled my hair.

“Whether I’m a Hero or not after that, nothing will change. Right?”

That was true. Hero or not, Park Yul would still be Park Yul. Nothing would change significantly. But come to think of it, something was odd. If a new Hero was chosen, didn’t that mean the world still wasn’t saved?

Since Park Yul was the current Hero, it must mean there had been others before him as well. If the world wasn’t fully saved, why did they select a new Hero every five years?

Wait. Who even chooses the Hero in the first place?

“Who chooses the Hero?”

“The temple.”

Park Yul took a deep breath and continued at a measured pace. His voice was as calm as ever, but for some reason, I sensed a nervousness beneath it.

“The Gods choose them, Yi-han. Like fate.”

The flickering firelight danced across Park Yul’s face. He turned his gaze to me, his smile soft.

Like fate.

For some reason, that phrase echoed in my mind a second time.

◇

The sky was completely dark, making it impossible to tell the time, but it felt like several hours had passed.

Everyone said they still had a long way to go before returned. The forest was vast, so just surveying it would take a while.

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

“Yihan-ah. Earlier, Joo-hyuk called this romantic, didn’t he?”

How did he hear that? He seemed far away at the time.

Park Yul reached out into the air. Long sticks and a large glass jar, similar to the ones used for jam, appeared before him. Inside the jar were round, white things. The soft-looking balls floated out of the jar and neatly arranged themselves onto the sticks.

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

With a smile tinged with amusement, Park Yul brought a finger to his lips as if sharing a secret.

He placed the sticks by the campfire. After a moment, he took one out. The white balls at the top had a slight golden-brown hue, with warm steam rising from it. After letting it cool a bit, Park Yul popped the top piece into his mouth. Then, he slid another piece slightly forward and offered it to me.

“Marshmallow. Have you tried it before?”

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

The first sensation was warmth. Then, it was soft. It melted instantly, spreading sweetness throughout my body. If I could eat a cloud, it might feel like this. I had no idea something like this existed.

I froze in surprise, and Park Yul quickly cupped his hands under my chin. “Is it too hot?”

Wait, was he telling me to spit it into his hands if it was hot?

I gently lowered his hands and spoke to Park Yul, who was studying my expression with concern.

“It’s delicious. So I was surprised. ”

“I’m glad,” Park Yul replied with a bright smile. That smile, along with the warmth melting in my mouth, was sweet and soft. I quietly listened to his voice as I nibbled on the marshmallows he placed in my mouth one by one.

“This is the Nightfall Forest. The sun never rises here, so it’ll always stay this dark.”

A place where the sun never rises, it was fascinating.

Park Yul said that was why we came here first. A forest so dark that you couldn’t see an inch ahead. He added that if a rift were to open and remain unattended for too long, this place would be the most dangerous.

“There might already be a rift here.”

His voice was light as he added, “Then you might not see me for a while, Yi-han.” But it sounded almost regretful. When I asked why, he answered immediately.

“Only the chosen Hero can deal with monsters.”

Park Yul summoned a long sword in midair. I had seen this sword before—in the <Future Vision>. The blade gleamed sharply, its edge honed to perfection. The handle was golden, with a red gemstone embedded in the center.

For a split second, I thought I saw darkness flicker within the red gem. Or maybe not? When I looked again, nothing had changed. I might have seen it wrong because of the fire in front of me.

“You have to pierce them with this sword to completely eliminate them.”

I focused on his words as he continued, explaining that only a chosen Hero could wield this sword. With a flick of his hand, the sword vanished.

“Did you receive that sword when you were chosen as a Hero?”

“Yeah. It’s been passed down since the previous generation.”

I see. Then… does that mean the sword has to be returned when a Hero’s term ends? It felt strange, but if that was the tradition, it made sense.

“Yul-hyung, is this the reason only Heroes can fight for the world?”

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

“But others can still help, can’t they? Like Raen hyung, Ha-gyeon hyung, and Min Joo-hyuk.”

“Well, rifts usually appear in remote areas. Lucky, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so. But why?”

“Because there aren’t many people around.”

I was still trying to connect the dots when Park Yul calmly continued.

“Meaning… unless the monsters spread too far after being left alone, most people are safe.”

“…So, people don’t care because it’s not their problem.”

“It’s natural to focus on what’s right in front of you. After becoming a Hero, my world just got a little bigger, that’s all. The same goes for everyone who’s taken the Hero’s Oath.”

Why does Park Yul carry such a deep sense of responsibility? It’s not like he chose to become a Hero himself.

“But the only reason you became a Hero is because the Gods chose you.”

“Yeah.”

“Weren’t you ever resentful about that?”