Seo-jun made kimchi fried rice again.

The freshly made kimchi fried rice was brought to the table along with a beer.

Seeing the deliciously prepared fried rice and the ice-cold beer, he couldn’t help but smile.

Eating could wait.

For now, he decided to quench his thirst with a beer first.

Tak!

Chororororok—

As he poured the beer into the glass, bubbles of carbonation foamed up.

Seo-jun had never been a fan of imported beer. In fact, drinking imported beer often made him feel queasy, so he tended to avoid it.

On the other hand, domestic beer suited him quite well. It didn’t leave him feeling bloated like imported beer often did.

He especially liked the sharp, tingling taste of domestic beer.

Import beer enthusiasts claimed that the strong carbonation ruined the beer’s flavor, but Seo-jun enjoyed the subtle alcohol scent that rose with the carbonation.

He took a sniff. The blend of alcohol and carbonation was always fragrant.

Gulp!

“Khh!”

The sharp fizz pricked his mouth.

Soon after, the gentle beer aroma surfaced, subduing the carbonation.

Yes, this was the taste.

Even in the demon realm, he had tried to recreate this taste with all sorts of ingredients, but he had failed.

“Come to think of it, Quairans must have had a tough time.”

Among the demons who followed him, Quairans was far lower in rank compared to the other lords.

However, he had a talent for cooking. Seo-jun used to cook with him, experimenting with various ingredients from the demon realm.

One time, they had even attempted to brew beer.

Quairans had scoured the entire demon realm searching for barley, much like Xu Fu who had roamed in search of the elixir of immortality.

Despite the word "realm" making it sound small, the demon realm was unimaginably vast.

It was likely three to four times the size of Earth.

And yet, he had combed through such a massive world in pursuit of barley just to make beer for Seo-jun. It must have been exhausting.

Heh.

“I wonder how he’s doing.”

The human heart was truly fickle.

Back in the demon realm, he had longed so desperately to return.

Now, while his current life still felt like a dream, memories of the demon realm would occasionally surface.

It wasn’t exactly homesickness—perhaps more like romanticized nostalgia?

Yes, that was the right way to describe it.

Romanticized nostalgia.

Seo-jun took a big spoonful of that nostalgia and put it in his mouth.

“Delicious.”

The spicy kick from the chili powder was especially delightful.

The secret ingredients were vinegar and Hydra’s deadly venom.

The under-fermented kimchi met the vinegar, creating a perfectly aged, tangy flavor, while the Hydra’s venom enhanced the umami.

Just when the grease threatened to feel overwhelming…

Gulp!

Alternating between kimchi fried rice and beer, he soon finished his drink.

Seo-jun grabbed another bottle.

This beer contained more barley than the last one, so it might taste slightly bland, but it had a more pronounced sweetness.

A spoonful of fried rice, a sip of beer.

A sip of beer, a spoonful of fried rice.

Repeating the pattern, he gradually felt the warmth of intoxication.

Come to think of it, even in the past, Seo-jun would get tipsy after just one can of beer.

But that didn’t mean he got outright drunk after just two bottles.

Rather, he would maintain that buzz consistently.

He vaguely recalled his college friends being fascinated by this quirk of his, though he could barely remember their faces now.

Just then.

Seo-jun sensed a familiar presence through his energy perception. And the owner of this presence was…

Screech—

“Ah, come on. I already told you I’m not defecting.”

“I know, I know. Our dear Kim Chul-jun is a man of his word. I wouldn’t doubt that.”

“If you know, then just go home already. I’m tired.”

“I know, but I just wanted to treat you to a drink. Maybe we could clear up any misunderstandings over a drink.”

“I don’t have any lingering resentment, so don’t worry about it.”

“I know that. No one understands how straightforward you are better than me. Still, I feel bad. Really, I do. So come on.”

“But.”

“Yes?”

“Director, do you come here often?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“You found it so easily, I thought you were a regular.”

“Ah… A friend of mine from the Bureau, Choi Sungkyun, recommended this place. I kept meaning to visit, and now I finally made it.”

This seemed like the perfect moment to step in.

“You must have come here through Chief Choi’s recommendation.”

“Are you the owner?”

“Yes.”

Technically, he was more of a co-owner.

“Chief Choi spoke so highly of this place. He kept raving about the fried eggs and gochujang pork belly.”

“Is that so? Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Chief Choi around lately. I hope nothing’s wrong?”

“He’s probably been busy. There’s been speculation that the unexplained fires in Districts 12 and 13 weren’t just cases of arson.”

“If it wasn’t arson, do you mean accidental fires?”

“No. I can’t give details since it’s classified, but there’s suspicion that it may be related to a channel.”

Seo-jun fell silent.

Could the strange energy he had sensed from time to time have been connected to the channel?

As he was thinking, Kim Chul-jun wore a puzzled expression.

“Did you say you’re the owner?”

“Yes.”

“Have we met before?”

“Where would I have met you? This is our first time meeting.”

“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”

“I’ve never seen the owner before either, and I was the one who got this place recommended. Just relax and have a drink.”

Though still uncertain, Kim Chul-jun followed Lee Myung-seop to a table by the window.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Would you like to order?”

“It’s a bit late to ask, but are you open right now?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I saw the sign saying you open at 6 PM, so I was a bit surprised.”

When Lee Myung-seop pointed to the sign on the table indicating the opening hours, Seo-jun chuckled softly.

“If you were recommended by Chief Choi, does the time really matter?”

“Haha. Alright, then I’ll place an order. Two servings of gochujang pork belly, a fried egg, and for drinks…”

Lee Myung-seop glanced at Kim Chul-jun.

“I’ll have soju. Pork belly goes best with soju.”

“One bottle of soju, please.”

After taking their order, Seo-jun first brought out the soju and basic side dishes. Then, he went to the kitchen to grill the gochujang pork belly.

Sizzle—!

As the pork belly sizzled, their conversation naturally flowed into his ears.

“By the way, I just wanted to ask, just in case…”

“I already told you, I’m not going to naturalize. And it’s not like I’ve even received any offers. Well, the Japanese side did reach out, but still.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant. I was talking about the 12-K98 Gate barrier.”

“What about it?”

“Are you really sure about this?”

“Sounds like even you think I’m going to fail again, Director.”

Lee Myung-seop didn’t bother denying it. At that, Kim Chul-jun let out a small chuckle.

“Well… I heard no other guilds have accepted the request either.”

“You already knew?”

“I’ve been in this business for ten years now. The Bureau isn’t the only one with eyes and ears.”

“Hmm… I’ve heard you prefer people to be direct, Chul-jun.”

“Yeah, I hate beating around the bush. That’s probably why they call me the Demon King.”

“Then I won’t beat around the bush. I think you’re going to fail the reattempt. The taming-type skill you obtained… sure, it’s better than Henry Michael’s. But…”

Lee Myung-seop glanced at Kim Chul-jun to check if he was offended before continuing.

“Your training skill won’t be of any help in breaking the barrier. And your orcs are still only level 1, aren’t they?”

“Can’t argue with the truth.”

“Then why are you trying again? You know you’re going to fail, and if you fail…”

“The public will ridicule me.”

“If you’re okay with it, the Bureau can put out an article right now.”

“An article?”

“Yes. We could report that an unidentified energy has been detected in the 12-K98 Gate, making barrier destruction temporarily unfeasible.”

“The public would understand. It’s not the first time unidentified energy has been found in a gate.”

Kim Chul-jun let out a small laugh and poured himself a shot of soju before downing it.

“Director.”

“Yes?”

“Someone once told me something.”

“……”

“They said that if a person runs away once, they’ll run away a second time. And if they run away twice, the third and fourth times become even easier. Do you know what happens after that?”

“……”

“They start giving up the moment things get even slightly difficult. They get used to running away. Do you know who said that?”

“No. Who was it?”

“Jae-hyuk hyung.”

The Early Days of the Upheaval.

Signs of abnormality were detected all over the world.

When the United States was the first to suffer a monster invasion, the South Korean government evacuated the citizens of northern Seoul to the south.

But they couldn’t evacuate everyone. A small portion of the population was left behind in the north.

Eventually, the government gave up on a rescue operation and made a public statement:

“Through a joint civilian-military rescue operation, we have successfully evacuated all citizens from the northern districts. Our government will reclaim the area as soon as possible. Please continue your daily lives with peace of mind.”

The people believed the government.

Or maybe they just wanted to believe it.

And then—

A media outlet sent a drone into the restricted airspace over northern Seoul.

As soon as the drone went up, it captured an image of a child on a rooftop, drawing an SOS signal.

The child shouted toward the drone, and soon, people poured out onto the rooftop, waving their arms.

Look at us! We’re still here! We’re still waiting for a rescue team!

Eventually, the survivors managed to communicate with the drone.

They all said the same thing—many people were still alive.

Even then, the government remained firm.

Even if there were tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of people in northern Seoul, their lives were not worth sacrificing a few hundred Awakened individuals.

It was a cruel but, in some ways, logical decision.

And that was when Lee Jae-hyuk, an Awakened, stepped forward.

The government and many others tried to stop him.

They told him that his life was more important than those people. That he could be the hope of South Korea.

And his response?

“Aren’t you tired of running away?”

Lee Jae-hyuk entered northern Seoul with a small group of Awakened. In just one day, they rescued hundreds of civilians.

When the rescue effort turned out to be easier than expected, the government hastily put together a rescue team and sent reinforcements. In the end, they managed to save tens of thousands.

But Lee Jae-hyuk himself never returned.

And Kim Chul-jun was one of the few who knew why.

“Jae-hyuk hyung didn’t run away, even then. Instead, he turned to me and said, ‘Get out of here!’ That was the last time I saw him.”

“……Lee Jae-hyuk’s death was not your fault, Kim Chul-jun.”

Kim Chul-jun let out a dry chuckle and took another shot.

“I know. I don’t even feel particularly guilty about it. And I know that this barrier situation is completely different from what happened with Jae-hyuk hyung. Besides, I was paid for this job.”

“Then why…?”

“Who knows? Maybe it’s just my pride.”

“Your pride?”

Kim Chul-jun let out a bitter laugh and nodded.

“I already ran away once back then. I’m not going to do it twice.”

“……This is difficult.”

“It really is. Let’s just drink. Hey, boss, is the food ready yet?”

Seo-jun, who had unintentionally eavesdropped on their conversation, brought out the prepared food.

As he set down the gochujang pork belly and fried eggs on the table, Kim Chul-jun let out a gasp of admiration.

“Wow, this pork belly looks amazing!”

“Yeah. No wonder Team Leader Choi recommended this place.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

The two nodded and each picked up a piece of pork belly.

Kim Chul-jun’s eyes widened.

“Whoa, shit! This is insanely good!”

“I never thought I’d use the phrase ‘absolutely delicious’ at fifty-one, but damn, this pork belly is amazing.”

“Come on, Director, no one says ‘absolutely delicious’ anymore.”

“Then what do they say?”

“These days, they say ‘meokdwimeok.’”

“Meokdwimeok?”

“It means the food is so good that you find yourself eating more even after you thought you were done.”

“Then this pork belly is definitely meokdwimeok.”

“You pick things up fast. Oh, wait! Hold on!”

“What?”

“I need to take a picture. Gotta brag about this later.”

There was nothing more satisfying than watching someone enjoy the food you made.

As the two men continued eating and drinking, a smile formed on Seo-jun’s lips.

And for just a moment—just for a fleeting moment—

Someone’s face overlapped with Kim Chul-jun’s.