Prologue

“Why are you making that face, Shin-ah?”

“Shut up, don’t call my name.”

“…It’s sad. That our time is only preserved in me.”

He laughed. His pitch-black eyes like graphite stared straight at me. Beyond those abyss-like eyes, I cannot know what you are thinking.

“Thanks to me, you even awakened, you should be honestly happy.”

“I was never happy! I don’t know anything about the time you speak of.”

Between my suppressed voice gritting my teeth, his laughter could be heard.

Even at this moment, blood flowing from Cheon Shin Woo was staining the floor. Surely it must be a side effect of the regression skill.

As if death was all that was needed on this earth, frozen ground and pieces of despair scattered upon it.

The first fragment of destruction, the result caused by the first demon king was unspeakably horrific.

This much is only because Cheon Shin Woo stopped it. As soon as that thought occurred, the blood in my whole body sank coldly.

There’s no time to argue with that guy, I need to deal with him quickly.

If it weren’t for me, Cheon Shin Woo could have easily defeated the first fragment without getting hurt this much.

He was that strong of an existence.

Unlike my mind going blank, he was just laughing as if something was so amusing.

“It’s sad indeed. Is this how it feels to be left alone in the world? But it’s okay. If you call my name affectionately like you did back then.”

“I told you I have no such memories!”

He reached out his hand to me, making an expression I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or not. I swatted that hand away. He who was smiling expressionlessly blinked once and reached out to me again.

The touch caressing my cheek was terribly affectionate.

“You’ll have no choice but to understand me. Even now, that’s how it is. You say you have no such memories, but you don’t push me away.”

“……”

I wanted to refute but my mouth felt glued shut. If all those nightmares I’ve seen are true…

Still, this is wrong. This way is wrong.

I’m here right now, aren’t I? That should be enough. I wanted to say that, but the moment I met his pitch-black eyes, my breath caught.

Someone’s groan was heard. It was the sound of people who survived this pandemonium.

Glancing, he looked at the survivors and soon lowered his hand to touch my necklace that had lost its light.

“Right, I’ll leave the greetings at this. The next time we meet…”

Ting. The chain of the necklace broke. The ‘Blue Melancholy’ that was given to me out of concern for my safety was now in his hand.

“−It’ll be when the world ends, right?”

In the place where he left with those greetings, only a gently scattering breeze remained.

#Chapter 1. Actually, I’m the younger sister of the rank 1.

The sky was exceptionally blue. A few sparse clouds drifted gently. The weight in my hand felt light. Had I already finished one can? A sigh escaped involuntarily.

There’s a saying that life is like Sai Weng losing his horse.

People often say that if something good happens, something bad will follow, and if something bad happens, something good will follow. Yeah, then shouldn’t it be time for some light to shine on my life?

“Damn that Manager Kim! Let’s see how well you live after cutting me off!”

But unfortunately, there was no such twist in my life.

Someone might look at me and say, what’s there to complain about in a short life of only 23 years? That if I try hard from now on, I could live well.

Then I would answer: try living like me.

No parents. No siblings. A life without a single blood relative. A life where I had to fend for myself was arduous.

They say being an orphan isn’t so special after the day of destruction, but add unfair dismissal to that and the story changes.

I was just fired from the company I had been working at for 2 years.

Not even giving a month’s notice, but right now! They kicked me out, damn it.

I’ll report this for sure. I opened a new can of beer, grinding my teeth. The taste was bitter.

“Mom, I think that person is crazy.”

“Shh, let’s pass by quietly.”

An affectionate mother and child passed by me. Tears welled up.

I know I’m still too young to discuss the fortunes and misfortunes of life. I know, but it was heartbreaking.

They say when others return, they all awaken and live well off, so why am I in this state?

The clear blue sky seemed to contrast with my mood, making me feel even more depressed.

Do you know about the existence of awakened ones, or returners?

To explain about them, I should first talk about the destruction of this world.

The world experienced one destruction and upheaval.

Gates that appeared one day. It was such an ordinary yet novel-like event where those who gained special powers saved the world amidst the despair of monsters pouring out of those gates and encroaching.

Awakened ones have special powers. Moreover, all returners who fell into different dimensions through torn spaces are also awakened ones.

By the way, I’m a returner too.

So of course, I thought I would awaken too. But I didn’t.

For some reason, despite being a returner, my life was not a fantasy action drama but a life documentary.

Still, I lived on with effort.

I don’t know why I persevered so hard, but I lived on with effort. I did various part-time jobs and scraped together a non-existent resume to get a job at a small company.

And I just got fired.

“How can they fire me to insert their nephew? Does that make sense!”

The beer can in my hand crumpled. But the anger didn’t subside.

In an era of job scarcity, to fire a well-working employee to insert a nephew who can’t get a job… yeah, they can. Yeah, they can do that.

The only thing I felt wronged about was just one thing. Damn, I should have quit this company first!

“Status window.”

I shouted with anger after emptying all four cans of beer. Nothing changed.

“Status window, status window, status window!”

The more nothing changed, the more intense my resentment grew. People casually strolling in the park whispered as they looked at me.

“Must be an aspiring awakened one. But awakening won’t happen just by doing that…”

I know. I know! But I’m a returner, aren’t I?! Even if I don’t have fancy skills, shouldn’t I at least be able to see the status window?!

“Hah…”

With no more beer to drink, only sighs escaped.

I didn’t want to return to the mold-filled house. Searching through my phone, the contact list was meager.

“Everyone else awakens and lives well when they return, but only me! Why only me!”

Still, after searching and searching, I contacted someone I found, and felt wronged again. But the cries of a half-drunk person reached no one…

Light seeped through the gap between my eyelids. Along with the alarm ringing at the set time, my head throbbed. Trying to turn off the noisy alarm, I got up in shock.

Am I crazy! Why did I drink so much on a weekday!

But soon I remembered that I had been unfairly dismissed from the company.

Right, I don’t have to go to work anymore. After turning off the alarm, I drank some water I found and lay back down.

When I woke up after sleeping for a while, it was midday. It was a time I would never sleep until normally, but thanks to the effects of alcohol, I slept soundly without even dreaming.

A headache pounded in my head. Moreover, my stomach churned.

After washing my face, I opened the refrigerator to see a withered onion. When did I buy that…

Searching through the cupboard, there wasn’t even a single pack of ramen. Gloominess washed over me. This is really something.

With no choice, I put on my coat and stumbled out the front door.

Ordering bean sprout ramen at a nearby restaurant, I finally felt like I was coming to my senses. Ordering hangover ramen on a weekday afternoon while drunk, I’m the epitome of an unemployed person.

The gaze of the owner auntie looking at me seemed to be filled with pity, but that must be my imagination. I smiled as if nothing was wrong and just watched TV. The news was on.

“The ‘Black One Day’, known as the worst S-class gate. Cheon Shin Woo, who is known to have single-handedly conquered Black One Day, which even the elite party of Amwol couldn’t conquer, continues to make shocking moves…”

The face shown on the screen was familiar. Not someone I knew personally, but a face everyone living in this country would know.

Rank 1 in Korea, Cheon Shin Woo. A first-generation awakened one and undisputedly called the strongest S-class hunter.

He was a shining existence.

“Now we’ll have an interview with Cheon Shin Woo of Cheonrang. You insisted on a solo conquest against this boss, was there any special reason?”
“There’s no need to carry around cumbersome hindrances.”

Moreover, his personality shone brightly too.

Is it okay to choose such vocabulary on a public broadcast news? Unlike the rough dialogue, the handsome man exuding a melancholic beauty was wearing an annoyed expression.

While some are struggling after being fired from a small company paying a pittance of a salary, others are solo conquering S-class gates while being rude.

They say life is a game of luck, but does it need to be this much of a rigged game?

Just as I was about to feel dejected, a steaming bowl of bean sprout ramen was placed in front of me.

“Are you a fan of Cheonrang too, miss?”

The auntie who brought the food sat down nearby and spoke to me.

“Well, I guess so.”

“Oh my, my daughter is going crazy too. He’s more popular than celebrities. Really, how is the world going to turn out…”

The auntie seemed bored with no customers. As I gave casual answers, she soon started talking about various things. I ate my ramen while giving perfunctory responses. Ramen made by someone else was incredibly delicious.

“No matter how shining his face looks, you shouldn’t be fooled. Kids these days don’t know, but geez. What’s the use of a person being handsome? They need to have good character.”

“That’s true.”

The auntie lamented in front of me. It wasn’t something to say in front of someone who just said they were a fan.

“She’s just looking at weird sites all day long. Awakening or whatever, I wish she would just study quietly… The child is still young, so she doesn’t know the fear of those times.”

“It can’t be helped.”

I gave a nonchalant answer. The fear of those times, huh. Even those who experienced that time are just as safety-insensitive anyway.

The news kept talking about some gate called Black One Day or Two Day. How it’s called the worst and couldn’t be conquered even by parties including S-class hunters, how many casualties there were.

At that time, I didn’t think much of it.

Not knowing how I would become entangled with that ‘Cheon Shin Woo’, I just slurped my ramen.