Chapter 21 – The Returned Prodigal Son

Upon returning to the company, Yoo Sang-heun welcomed him.

“Se-min. You went through a lot.”

“Should I give you an autograph?”

“What are you talking about?”

Yoo Sang-heun leaned back in the president’s chair, raising his thumb.

“The Bureau support team leader praised you. He said you were a rarely excellent Raider, though I don’t know if he saw something wrong, but you acted well.”

“I do not act. I am always sincere.”

“Right, right, right.”

“Give me work if there is any. I am currently anxious to protect the safety of the citizens!”

“Really? Want to run one more round immediately? They were urgently recruiting one person.”

“Wassup man! It’s me! I go!”

“Here it is.”

“Check it out!”

“By the way, Jae-young…”

“Tell him to train on his own!”

Se-min received the raid overview sheet and left the company again. The taxi driver who had just driven him back had parked his car at the convenience store next to the company and was drinking coffee.

“Mister!”

“Ah, it’s the Raider friend from earlier. Where are you trying to go again?”

“Injustice does not sleep even at night. As a Raider of justice, I must fight without rest to protect the citizens.”

“Oh my, you talk a lot. A man should have a serious side.”

“Keheuk, sorry. Since I was in a place where I couldn’t communicate, I have grown talkative. Are you available to drive again?”

“Wait in the car. I will drive you after drinking this. Where are you going?”

“Going to Kkachisan Park.”

“Alright.”

This time, the grade was quite high. Both Blue Marks and Green Marks were eligible to apply.

“Young man, you go through a lot of trouble.”

“No.”

“Not really, right? Well, you earn money well, so hardship is not hardship.”

“What are you talking about? Not money, but a burning sense of duty…”

“Oh my, ya punk. He shouldn’t drive like that. Accidents happen because of fellows like that.”

“With a sense of duty…”

“You too, drive properly when you get a license later.”

“Yep.”

The taxi arrived at the destination.

Control was starting in an area where vehicles could not go. Se-min stopped the car at the apartment complex bordering the entrance of the park.

When Se-min got out of the taxi, the driver gave him well wishes.

“Don’t get hurt, and do a good job! Fight carefully!”

“You too, drive safely, mister!”

Getting out of the taxi, Se-min grabbed the collar of his Sukajan jacket and tidied his clothes.

Residents of the neighborhood gathered nearby to watch the Raiders.

Se-min was about to enter the raid area proudly, but hesitated.

He recalled what Kim Yu-ri said earlier.

At that time, everyone was a Blue Mark, so no one cared, but this time Green Marks would also be mixed in. If the Green Mark fellows questioned his mark notation, unnecessary friction would arise.

“Mmh…”

Se-min looked around. There was no way a Raider equipment shop or a mark shop was nearby. Se-min walked sluggishly, contemplating.

“Wow! A Raider! A Raider!”

A kid found Se-min and ran after him.

He was a bold-looking kid wearing a Taekwondo uniform.

“Kid. Are you good at Taekwondo?”

“I am good.”

“But what is that blue belt? I was a black belt at your age, ya punk.”

“That’s because it hasn’t been long since I started!”

“Sell that belt to me.”

“No. Why?”

“I will give you money, so buy a black belt with that.”

“No!”

“It is fine. Buy snacks with the remaining money. Here.”

“Really? Oh yeah!”

When Se-min handed over a few ten-thousand-won bills, the kid’s eyes widened. Thus, Se-min seized his blue belt. The kid ran somewhere in excitement.

Se-min spread the blue belt. Though it smelled a bit musty, it would do at this level.

“Blue Mark Raider Lee Se-min is coming.”

Se-min tied the blue belt around his head.

The Raider Bureau employees were watching what he was doing. For some reason, they had reluctant faces.

“Nice to meet you. I am Lee Se-min, who contacted you. As you can see, I am a Blue Mark. I don’t have an autograph yet, but I can make one if you need.”

“You can just enter.”

“Yes.”

***

Se-min went on raids busily for a while.

Rumors began to circulate.

They were rumors about a raid machine who took charge of raids people avoided and pulled off several cases a day.

And the protagonist of the rumor, the raid machine, Blue Mark Raider Lee Se-min, was meditating cross-legged on a chair.

On his lap, the claymore KCL2 of Geoseong Metal Industry, which he fetched from the repair center, lay neatly in a clean appearance.

His chair groaned.

“Ugh…”

“A chair does not speak.”

“*Gasp*…”

Hyun Jae-young was in a plank position, carrying Se-min on his back. Se-min hummed a song.

“I wanted to remain~ as a cool man~ I struggled with all my might~”

“*Gasp*!”

“Blocked by a dead end~ I collapsed miserably~”

Eventually, Hyun Jae-young collapsed.

As an aftermath, Se-min also rolled on the ground.

“Hey. You can’t even endure this?”

“I think I’m going to die!”

“This is why military exemption doesn’t work. Huh? In the military, ya punk, this is just a joke. Have you ever put your head on a toothpaste cap? A military-exempt guy like you wouldn’t know. Weakling.”

Se-min censured Hyun Jae-young’s mental strength, mentioning military hazing he hadn’t even experienced himself. Hyun Jae-young caught his breath with a resentful face.

Se-min offered a carrot after the whip.

“Still, you have improved a lot. The Hak-jae’s Divine Art is finally becoming familiar to your body.”

“Yeah.”

Hyun Jae-young grinned in his collapsed state.

The aura method Se-min passed down, Hak-jae’s Divine Art, was truly a divine art. It was of a different class from the existing aura method he knew. Even using the same aura, the output was several times greater.

“I will definitely get Green Mark.”

Hyun Jae-young said, lifting his hand. The aura of Hak-jae’s Divine Art flickered in his hand.

Se-min mocked him.

“Is that barely all?”

“What do you mean, barely all.”

“To think the successor of Hak-jae’s Divine Art is such a small-hearted fellow. The elder would wail.”

Se-min held Hyun Jae-young’s hand and pulled him up. Hyun Jae-young stood up falteringly.

Se-min handed him the spear.

“If you are satisfied with something like Green Mark, you die by my hand.”

“Understood. Gold Mark.”

Se-min merely kept a strange smile, leaning on his claymore. Hyun Jae-young bet higher.

“Understood. Platinum Mark.”

Even so, Se-min did not answer.

Hyun Jae-young’s expression changed.

Black Mark was truly the monopoly of the chosen ones. He couldn’t open his mouth.

When he didn’t open his mouth, Se-min spoke.

It was something that once again surpassed Hyun Jae-young’s expectations.

“Unique Mark.”

Hyun Jae-young shook his head.

“Isn’t that too much of a dream?”

Awakening as an aura user was not the end. The moment they were recognized for their aura and entered raid society, they came to feel that a clear gap, as distinct as that between ordinary people and aura users, existed further.

Talent.

Aura was talent. It was so from birth, and that wall was sturdier than in any other field.

A person who couldn’t escape Blue Mark lived his entire life as a Blue Mark.

“Speak after you try to follow me.”

He was a man who couldn’t be known. Even when all his actions seemed like a concept, they were serious, and even when they seemed serious, they also seemed like acting.

“If it’s still hard to believe, think of your girlfriend. Become strong enough so she cannot go to anyone but you.”

Hyun Jae-young looked at Se-min anew. His smile was confident. The dragon embroidered on his Sukajan jacket opened its mouth wide and roared.

For the first time, he thought that clothing suited Se-min well.

“Of course, you still have a long way to go. Raise your spear.”

“I am exhausted…”

“I am busy today. Quickly get hit a few times and let’s go somewhere together.”

“Where?”

“We must greet my parents.”

“Are you finally going?”

“Yeah.”

Se-min did not visit his parents even after returning.

Although the fact of his survival would have been delivered, there was a reason he didn’t go.

He didn’t want to meet them merely in a state of just being alive.

As his identity was restored, the Raider Bureau also revived things that weren’t very pleasant.

Debt.

He had eked out a living on a government loan for Raider aspirants. The debt grew and grew. He had ruined his family fortune while buying a sword to prepare for enlistment.

He had nothing but debt.

However, he earned money by repeating raids recently. He also realized the reason why the government provided loans to Raiders.

The debt accumulated over several years was reduced by half in a few weeks.

He was also able to accumulate his own assets.

It was true independence.

Now he was confident to face his parents proudly.

“I must buy a gift.”

***

His parents were in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

“How long has it been since you saw them?”

“Ten years.”

“What?”

It was a return home after ten years.

It was ten years ago that he declared he would become a Raider and left home.

He returned after a long way, but in the end, he became a Raider.

“We can go that way.”

Hyun Jae-young’s Ferrari ran along the ridge of the rice paddy and arrived in front of a country house. A young dog barked at them in the yard.

The two got out of the car.

“Is this place right?”

“Yeah.”

“The scenery is nice.”

Then the front door opened.

“Is that you, Se-min?”

It was his mother whom he saw after ten years.

She was exactly as he remembered. Se-min, not knowing what to do, stared at his mother blankly.

“Mother…”

His feet didn’t move.

Hesitating, Se-min pulled out a gift set.

“Mother. I bought this as a gift…”

Hyun Jae-young, unable to watch, pushed his back.

“Just go.”

Se-min shut his mouth and walked toward his mother.

Not knowing what to say, or what she would say, Se-min only toyed with the handle of the paper bag containing the gift.

The distance closed.

Se-min realized he didn’t need to worry about words.

Naturally, his arms opened, and his mother embraced him.

A warm hand patted his back.

“Welcome. Welcome back.”

That was enough.

“I thought you were dead, but you returned as an adult.”

“Mother.”

“Do you know how happy your father was to hear you were alive? Enter quickly.”

She was a person who was always calm, but water was in her voice. Se-min sniffled and answered.

“Yes.”

And he introduced Hyun Jae-young standing behind him.

“Mother. This is a brother I am relying on. He is lacking, but he is a good friend.”

“Hello. I am Hyun Jae-young.”

“Welcome. Come in.”

“Mother, I brought a gift. It is Yeonggwang dried yellow croaker. This is precious, so eat it with father.”

“Yes, yes.”

His father was out.

His mother immediately began to set the table. Se-min and Hyun Jae-young declined, but she did not stop.

Soon his father returned.

His father, who had a calm impression, saw the returned Se-min and said nothing for a long time. As if angry, he let out a sigh, went into the room, and closed the door.

When the door opened again, his father held an aged ginseng liquor.

“Se-min.”

“Yes, father.”

“Sit.”

Se-min sat down with Hyun Jae-young, received a glass, and confessed what had happened during that time.

He talked about the days when his aura didn’t increase, meeting an eccentric to receive the aura method and rising again through it, eventually failing the exam and enlisting, and crossing over to the gate during the operation.

His parents just listened.

Se-min finished his story and said.

“Now that I became a Raider, I will repay all the grace during that time.”

“No need. We are living comfortably even now.”

“Still…”

“Forget it.”

Se-min received a glass again. He turned his head along with Hyun Jae-young and emptied the glass.

“You have come to do the work of protecting people.”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe that is what you must do?”

Se-min lifted his head.

In his memory, his parents were always sitting side by side, smiling.

Exactly like the appearance before his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Then it is fine.”

Hyun Jae-young, who was weak to alcohol, began to doze off. Se-min placed Hyun Jae-young’s hand on the table and let his forehead rest on it.

Looking at his sleeping appearance, Se-min said abruptly.

“I will become a person who is not ashamed of my name.”

His name was Lee Se-min.

Using the character for world and the character for people.

It was the name of the great emperor commemorated by history.

His parents smiled warmly.

“Keep that promise by all means.”

“Yes.”

Se-min and Hyun Jae-young stayed for a day and left as soon as the next morning broke.

Before returning, he secretly left cash, but a few days later, a contact came saying they had donated it all.

Hearing his parents’ voices telling him not to do useless things, Se-min ended up laughing.