Chapter 220
Chapter 220. Meeting (2)
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Do you know my mother?”
“Ki-joo was my high school friend.”
“Ah…”
“Oh my gosh! You really are Ki-joo’s son!”
The retired hero and Spirit Master, Moon Jeong-hee.
She was a close friend who studied with Yoo Ji-han’s mother in the same high school class. They had even kept in touch consistently since their graduation.
“I thought it was just someone with the same name, but that baby I saw back then was definitely Ji-han! I never imagined you’d grow up to be this remarkable…”
Seeing that it was undeniable that Yoo Ji-han was her friend’s son, Moon Jeong-hee smiled brightly.
The last time she had seen Yoo Ji-han, he was just 2 years old, on the day of his parents’ funeral, where even their bodies could not be found in the MA.
“I’m so, so sorry.”
“Excuse me?”
“I always thought I should take care of my deceased friend’s son, I should go visit him, but I kept making excuses and never went. As a senior hero, I could have helped you…”
“It’s okay. I’m fine.”
Yoo Ji-han waved off Moon Jeong-hee’s apology, as it was unnecessary at this point.
When she raised her head again, there were tears welling in her eyes.
“If Ki-joo were still alive, he would be incredibly proud of you.”
“…Actually, my memories of my mother are quite hazy. It’s been too long since I was a child.”
His father and mother’s faces hardly came to mind unless he looked at photos.
The farthest memory Yoo Ji-han had was when he clung closely to his aunt.
Perhaps because of that, even when hearing stories related to his parents from others, he never felt as sorrowful as those who actually remembered them.
“Oh! I have an old photo I took with Ki-joo. Should I show you?”
Moon Jeong-hee opened the photo album on her mobile phone.
There were old pictures stored within, including one with Park Ki-joo.
‘He looks so young.’
In the photo, Park Ki-joo and Moon Jeong-hee both appeared to be in their early thirties.
Given the timing, it seemed to have been taken before Yoo Ji-han was even born.
“I also have a picture of Ji-han.”
“Oh.”
There was indeed a picture of Yoo Ji-han wearing a white baby outfit in the album.
Yoo Ji-han had truly met Moon Jeong-hee before.
She glanced between the photo and the living version of him and said, “Now that I see it, your eyes are just the same!”
“…But what’s this?”
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han pointed to a star-shaped dot on his neck in the photo.
Because he had that mark on his neck.
Yoo Ji-han absentmindedly brought his hand to his neck, but there was no dot there now.
“Isn’t it a Mongolian spot?”
Moon Jeong-hee suspected the Mongolian spot that commonly appears on Asian babies’ bodies.
Usually, they form on the buttocks or back, but sometimes they appear on the arms or chest as well.
However, Yoo Ji-han tilted his head in confusion.
‘Do Mongolian spots appear so perfectly shaped?’
The dot looked like a hexagram filled with a dark blue inside, too symmetrical to be naturally formed.
Furthermore, the stranger thing was…
‘Why have I never seen that before?’
Yoo Ji-han’s aunt, Han Seo-in, had a photo album of their family at home.
Though it wasn’t even half-filled, he had flipped through it a few times.
Yet he had never seen that star-shaped dot in that album.
“…The more I see it, the weirder it looks. I should have asked about it when it was so visible.”
Moon Jeong-hee also felt a sense of familiarity looking at the old photo she took herself.
Despite being distinctly shaped, she hadn’t cared about that when she met the young Yoo Ji-han.
“I’ll send you all the photos I have since I met you today.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“I’m just grateful that you’ve grown up well.”
Moon Jeong-hee sent all the photos of Park Ki-joo to Yoo Ji-han.
During that process, she received Yoo Ji-han’s contact info, and after a moment of hesitation, she said to him,
“I’m really sorry, but could I ask you for one favor?”
“What is it?”
“If you could just talk to my daughter for a little while…”
“Your daughter?”
“No, actually, she became a fan of yours after accidentally seeing the first movie of your party…”
When she told him that her daughter was so surprised she nearly choked on her food when she learned he might attend this Spirit Master meeting, Yoo Ji-han thought it was endearing.
“That’s not difficult at all.”
Yoo Ji-han accepted her request lightly.
Just after, he had a private fan meeting through video call with Moon Jeong-hee’s daughter.
—Sniff! I’m so happy!
With over 20,000 members in the official fan cafe.
Even there, as a distinguished member, she was close to tears while talking with Yoo Ji-han.
Both mother and daughter were indeed quite emotional.
“Your mother is such a wonderful person. Please listen to her going forward.”
—Yes, yes! Thank you! Thank you, Mom!
Due to time constraints, the video call lasted only 2 minutes.
With a raised shoulder, feeling happy for fulfilling her daughter’s request, Moon Jeong-hee expressed her gratitude to Yoo Ji-han.
“Senior, do you happen to know about my father?”
“Um… I met him a few times, but all I remember is that he was a very gentlemanly man.”
“I see.”
Moon Jeong-hee had no significant connection with Yoo Ji-han’s father.
Since she was a friend of his mother, there wasn’t much reason to expect stories about her father.
But then she seemed to recall something.
“Oh! Ki-joo told me that he had a very close friend.”
“A close friend?”
“They met at least once a week, I heard. He seemed quite close even with Ki-joo.”
If someone who was an ordinary office worker met a friend once a week, they were usually not just ordinary acquaintances.
However, there was no such figure in Yoo Ji-han’s memories.
If they were that close, one would have expected them to visit him at least a few times.
*
The Spirit Master meeting resumed with various discussions flowing.
It was a passionate gathering that stretched on for hours, divided into time slots.
Since all the Spirit Masters were talking about spirit-related topics, there was no information that could be overlooked for Yoo Ji-han.
‘Now I understand why Do-ha invited me.’
If it had simply been a gathering for Spirit Masters to socialize, it might’ve been boring.
However, this meeting allowed the Spirit Masters to positively influence one another.
Yoo Ji-han felt a sense of gratitude towards Yoon Do-ha, who had invited him here.
—You guys! From now on, I’m the boss!
“The newcomer turned the tables!”
—Is this the birth of a new strongman?
—From today, the number one wind spirit is Sylph!
“Sylph! Sylph! Sylph!”
Yoo Ji-han was perplexed watching Sylph, who was elevated to a very high position among the same wind attribute spirits.
—Ooh!
As he watched Sylph being cheered by the spirits, Yoo Ji-han felt astonished.
The Spirit Masters who were quietly observing said,
“She really isn’t an ordinary spirit.”
“She’s already organizing the hierarchy…”
“What an amazing feat.”
According to their tales, when spirits of the same attribute gather, they organize their ranks.
So with Sylph entering as a newcomer today, she had climbed to the top of the hierarchy in just a day.
“What do you base that ranking on?”
“Magic power.”
Instead of physically fighting it out, the spirits determine their ranking using a set amount of magic power.
Hearing that, Yoo Ji-han thought of the magic power of Drimium that Sylph had recently been absorbing.
That must have had an impact on her ranking as well.
“Yoo Ji-han, you said Do-ha would be in Kallem, right?”
“Kallem…”
“Hmm…”
When the name of another world was mentioned, the Spirit Masters fell silent.
Except for the tales conveyed by different races, little was understood about this mysterious world.
“I plan to move to Kallem soon, according to the plans from the Hero Department.”
“Really?”
Though there were many at the Spirit Master meeting who showed interest in another world, hardly anyone had articulated the desire to go.
For nothing is as frightening as the unknown.
However, Yoo Ji-han smiled as he said, “Next time, if I get the chance, I’ll share my experiences of meeting the spirits from that world.”
“That sounds quite interesting.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Before long, Yoo Ji-han had been acknowledged as a proper member of the Spirit Master gathering.
*
—The world really is small, huh.
After the Spirit Master meeting ended, Yoo Ji-han called his aunt.
She seemed quite surprised to hear that he met his mother’s friend at the meeting.
—You want to know about your father’s friend?
“Could you find out about him for me?”
Yoo Ji-han asked his aunt about the friend his father had interactions with.
As she was his father’s younger sister, he thought she might know something.
However, all she remembered was that such a person existed.
She didn’t know exactly who he was.
—I’ll check when I have time.
“You can take your time.”
After wrapping up the call with simple greetings.
Getting into a taxi, Yoo Ji-han headed home.
The mid-aged taxi driver had the radio playing.
—Recently, there’s been a strong response from people since the Hero Department declared that it would expand into another world!
—The Hero Department stated it will seek support from all heroes worldwide, regardless of nationality or affiliation.
—Exciting! Who will get the tickets to the other world?
—Today, we’ve picked out heroes who have a high chance of earning those tickets!
The radio show was discussing the Hero Department’s recent expansion into another world.
With a sharp voice, the radio DJ listed various parties and heroes who might travel to this other world.
—Yoo Ji-han Party!
“…….”
—You can’t leave out the star of the expeditionary force!
Mentioned early on, Yoo Ji-han wore a subtle expression.
The taxi driver also seemed to glance over at his face, perhaps recognizing him.
—Julian Weiss from Germany.
—Liam Kelly from the USA.
—Watanabe Yosuke from Japan!
—As Liu Ying from China also expressed intent to participate…
…
…
The names mentioned by the radio were all well-known figures, including heroes from the Kim Hyun-tae Party or those from large guilds who had lost their guild leaders.
It seemed all the names were of reputed individuals.
‘So all of them are gathering in Korea, huh.’
It was challenging to gather even three of these big shots on usual days.
Each of them had different goals, but there was one shared desire among them.
They all wanted to go to the other world.
‘A storm is coming.’
Yoo Ji-han checked the equipment production status that Nam Ho-yeol reported to him every night on his mobile.
A significant storm was about to hit Korea soon.
To maintain steadiness amidst that storm, substantial preparation would be necessary.
