“Hyung had a lover.”
At the story he tossed out as though it were nothing, On Suhyeong’s expressionless face went blank for an instant.
“Geuru is that person’s child with Hyung.”
He spoke deliberately calmly. It was so his father wouldn’t be too shocked.
“……Are you playing some kind of joke on me?”
Jurim let out a bitter laugh.
His father must have known very well that this was no joke.
He was only asking again because he couldn’t believe it, because the words had slipped out before he knew it.
That was why the end of On Suhyeong’s voice was trembling.
“A lover? Ijo had a lover?”
“Chloe Han. She was a researcher on Project Wilderness.”
“Good God.”
On Suhyeong clamped a hand over his mouth. His fingertips were shaking violently.
“If… if this is a lie, don’t ever think of showing your face to me again.”
As if he still couldn’t believe it, On Suhyeong painfully furrowed his brow.
“So don’t tell me it’s a lie. Please.”
At that, Jurim took an envelope of documents from his coat and handed it over.
After checking the documents, On Suhyeong squeezed his eyes shut.
It was a certificate stating that there was a 99.9% probability that Geuru was On Ijo’s biological child.
A metallic sound escaped from inside his mouth.
“I see. Geuru was…….”
On Suhyeong stared blankly at the memorial engraved with On Ijo’s name.
“So that was it. I see.”
“…….”
“Ijo must have loved her so much…….”
Hot tears were streaming from On Suhyeong’s eyes.
*
Geuru, who had been running around in front of the memorial, went inside the memorial hall.
The interior of the hall was dimly lit and quiet, and in the center stood a large hologram.
A hologram recreating On Ijo using his skill played on repeat.
‘Thump, thump.’
When Geuru saw a small monster being created in his two hands, his heart began to pound fiercely.
Perhaps he himself had been surprised by the wondrous sight, because On Ijo in the hologram was smiling brightly too.
‘Uncle looks like he’s making familiars too.’
From what Jurim had told him, On Ijo was a production-type Awakened with godlike power, capable of materializing anything in the world.
If Geuru had wanted, could he have made an Archaeopteryx that flew through the sky, or dinosaurs that stomped across the earth?
If so?
How far could Geuru go?
Geuru opened both his hands and looked down at them.
He didn’t know whether he had been born with the ability because he was of On Ijo’s bloodline, or whether it was because of that experiment his mother had sensed.
But Geuru also had an L-rank skill, and he possessed the ability of an S-rank production type.
So far, New Life had only managed to create a small rabbit familiar, and he had not yet been able to make Beilak or Yurian into humans, but he had created an S+ that anyone would envy.
Geuru was steadily growing.
‘Can I become like Uncle too?’
Would Geuru also be called someone with power that was like a god’s?
Just as clouds billowed through his mind and his imagination began to spread its wings—
‘Hm?’
He saw the fin of a goldfish.
‘Chuen-unni’s goldfish?’
The moment he recognized the goldfish, Geuru began to be surrounded by goldfish made of mana.
“Hm?”
Why was this happening?
Flustered, Geuru flailed.
Step.
Footsteps sounded nearby.
‘I can’t see!’
Thinking it might be Jurim, Geuru called out to him.
“Dad?”
“……Yeah.”
It wasn’t his dad’s voice. It was a gentler tone, a voice damp with tears.
But it wasn’t unfamiliar.
Rather, it was a voice he had heard somewhere recently.
“Yeah. It’s Dad.”
Geuru shook his face between the goldfish.
His heart grew impatient.
It was pounding so hard it felt as if it might burst.
He tried to tear the goldfish away until his face turned bright red, but they wouldn’t come off.
Drip. As a tear fell to the floor, the man lifted the trembling corners of his mouth and smiled.
“It’s Dad, Geuru. It’s Dad.”
The man repeated the word “Dad” over and over as he pulled the child into his arms.
At the same time, when the goldfish disappeared, Geuru blinked.
The uncle who was said to have vanished along with the 100th floor was standing before his eyes.
‘Is it because I couldn’t control my power again?’
Come to think of it, the control device had broken.
Geuru thought of the control device in the form of a photo card that he used to wear around his neck.
After the control device had broken—
His skill didn’t activate randomly like before, but even so, whenever he felt emotional turmoil, his power would sometimes be used on its own.
Then could it be, this time too…….
‘Without Geuru even knowing, maybe Geuru made Uncle……?’
Geuru’s shoulders trembled. He must have missed him so much that he had created an illusion of him for a moment.
That was what Geuru thought.
But when he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, Geuru froze.
Only the goldfish had disappeared. The man before his eyes had not.
He was simply standing a short distance away.
The man before him, standing like a mirage, had the same face as the hologram.
Geuru held his breath.
In the hologram, On Ijo was smiling.
A dimple appeared in the same place as the man before him.
It was On Ijo’s arrival.
*
[Title: Rumor says On Ijo showed up at the memorial park]
Is this for real?
[Comments]
- It’s bullshit
- As if
[Title: On Ijo pic, about to be deleted at light speed]
(A blurry photo of On Ijo taken at the memorial park)
[Comments]
- The photoshop is so fucking obvious
- It’s just someone who looks like him
- Fact) On Jurim and On Suhyeong were also spotted at the memorial park that day + someone who looks like On Ijo = case closed, move along
Real fact) once bitten, twice shy
- Looks like he might be more handsome than the real one?
Fact) the real one is just plain handsome
[Title: Did something big drop?]
Did On Ijo really show up?
[Comments]
- If he really showed up, every broadcast would’ve stopped and there’d be breaking news
They say it’s under embargo!
The embargo’s in your heads lmaoooo If it were real, every media outlet would be losing its shit, fuck
- My friend’s friend said they really saw him at the memorial park (real)
- Then where is On Ijo now and what’s he doing?
[Title: If you don’t know what’s going on with the On Ijo incident, come in, I’ll summarize]
The day before yesterday, On Jurim, On Suhyeong, and On Geuru appeared at the On Ijo Memorial Park
It’s a place where foreign tourists gather, so there were a lot of proof shots (confirmed facts up to here)
At that time, some of the foreign tourists posted proof shots saying they saw On Ijo there
I don’t know why they’re using phones like that in the 21st century, but the image quality is fucking awful
But that person looks like On Ijo (the board admins keep instantly deleting the photos, so they’re about to become lost media)
Speculation that since On Jurim, On Suhyeong, and On Geuru appeared at the memorial park, there’s no way someone who just happened to look like On Ijo would show up too
Fierce clash between “it’s the real On Ijo” vs “it’s a conspiracy theory” = now
Conclusion: for the day we someday discover On Ijo, let’s use good phones. Summary over
[Comments]
- I was wondering what all the fuss was about, so it was this
- Why would On Ijo suddenly show up? The bad image quality alone makes it obvious bullshit lol Fuck, I couldn’t use a camera like that even if I wanted to
- UFOs only get photographed with cameras like that too
Is it easier to discover a UFO or to discover On Ijo?
UFOs exist,,,
- No but fuck, if On Ijo appeared, do you think Korea would be this quiet~~~!! Say something that makes sense
For real, only Korea? The whole world would be turned upside down lol Conspiracy nuts, I swear tsk tsk