Our mode of transportation was the bus. There was a bus stop just a short walk from the main gate of the base.
“Yun-ho, you take the 59 too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hehe, then I won’t be bored on the way… Oh! There’s the 59! Hurry, let’s get on!”
We quickly ran over and boarded the number 59 bus that had just arrived.
Since the base was close to the city, most of the passengers were civilians.
Even though it was early in the morning, all but one seat was occupied.
“You should take the seat, Corporal Jeong Ye-som.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll stand. Just switch with me when you get up later.”
“I’d feel bad sitting alone, though.”
Corporal Jeong Ye-som scooted back in the seat and patted her lap.
“Here. Sit on my lap.”
“…I respectfully decline.”
“Why? I may be a Mage Soldier, but I’m surprisingly sturdy.”
The power of magic was determined by Mana, but constantly chanting spells and dodging monsters ultimately turned into a battle of stamina.
That was why Mage Soldiers never neglected physical training either.
Anyway.
“It’d look a little strange to everyone else.”
“I guess it would?”
“Yes.”
“Right. A man sitting on a woman’s lap would look a little strange. We should do it the other way around.”
“That’s righ… What?”
“Sit here. I’ll sit on your lap.”
Corporal Jeong Ye-som started to get up.
Startled, I quickly pressed down on her shoulders.
She really was impossible.
“Pfft. Our Yun-ho really is cute.”
Corporal Jeong Ye-som was only teasing me because she found my reactions amusing.
“By the way, you said you were spending time with your family, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“The whole time? All day?”
“Hmm, I think we’ll probably be done by the evening.”
“What time in the evening? Around 19:00?”
“Probably?”
“Ooh, then hang out with me.”
“Don’t you already have plans, Corporal Jeong Ye-som?”
“I do, but it’s just a dinner appointment, so I think it’ll end early. I’m free after that. What do you think? Want to hang out with me?”
“Ah. Sure, I’d like that.”
“Good, good. Is 21:00 okay? Around Modang Station.”
“Isn’t Modang Station pretty far from your house?”
“My dinner appointment is near there.”
“Then sure, that works. But what are we going to do?”
“What else?”
She mimed lifting a soju glass and let out a satisfied, “Aahhh.”
“Let’s have a drink.”
Of course.
You couldn’t have our Ye-som without alcohol.
“It’s not often you get the chance to drink with me. Consider it an honor.”
“Yes, yes. It’s a very, very great honor.”
I responded jokingly, but I had to admit she had a point.
I was so close to her that I hardly noticed anymore, but Corporal Jeong Ye-som had striking looks that practically any man would be drawn to.
Her figure was incredible too.
If you had to pick the textbook example of a baby-faced beauty with a voluptuous figure, Corporal Jeong Ye-som would fit perfectly.
There were probably quite a few people on base who had a crush on her.
“This is my stop. See you later!”
“Understood. Loyalty.”
“Oh, come on. We’re outside now. You can drop that.”
After chatting about this and that, I saw Corporal Jeong Ye-som off first.
Apparently not wanting to hear another “Loyalty,” she got off without even looking back.
I rode a few more stops, transferred, and then traveled quite a while longer.
Then I finally got off.
Gocheon City, Gyeonggi Province.
My hometown, where I’d lived ever since I was born.
Turn your head one way and you saw the city.
Turn it the other and fields stretched out before you.
Humming to myself, I headed toward the farmland.
My house was that way.
My parents rented a plot of land nearby and ran an orchard.
Once I start making money, the first thing I need to do is buy them some land of their own.
“Man.”
Everywhere I looked was filled with memories.
I even spotted several utility poles that wouldn’t exist anymore by 2055.
Regression has its perks like this too.
I get to see things again that had disappeared.
Of course, the best part was.
“I’m home!”
“You’re home, son?”
Being able to see my parents in the prime of their lives instead of as elderly people.
“You should’ve called from the bus stop. I would’ve come to pick you up.”
“I wanted to look around for a while. It’s been a long time.”
“Look around at what? The fields?”
“Yes.”
“You always said you couldn’t wait to get out of this countryside. Did you start missing it after being stuck on base?”
“Haha. Maybe.”
“You little rascal. Come inside.”
“Yes.”
Just seeing my mother healthy made me happy.
I took off my shoes and went inside.
Unlike the scenery outside, the house itself hadn’t changed very much.
It looked almost the same now as it would twenty-five years later.
Only the family photograph hanging on the living room wall was different.
The elderly couple had become a middle-aged couple.
My sisters, who had all gotten married and had children, were now young women in their twenties.
They had all become young again.
And of course, so had I.
The middle-aged man approaching his fifties was nowhere to be found.
In his place was a young man.
Come to think of it, I’d forgotten the greatest advantage regression had given me.
Youth.
I’d obtained something no amount of money could buy.
“Where’s Dad?”
“He went out to work. Mom has to head out soon too.”
“Did you wait because of me?”
“I have to feed my son. Everything’s ready, so wash your hands and come eat.”
I’d barely eaten breakfast because I knew this would happen.
The Cooks made good food too, but they could never compare to my mother’s cooking.
“How is it? Does it taste good?”
“Yes. Everything’s delicious.”
“Eat plenty. You’ll get indigestion eating that fast, so drink some water too.”
“Yes.”
“It’s been a while since the whole family had lunch together.”
Sitting at the dining table in one corner of the kitchen, I took a large bite of japchae and spoke.
“Exactly. Let’s go out and eat something good.”
I had three older sisters.
My eldest sister worked as a reporter.
My second sister was an actress.
And my third sister was a Hunter, just like me.
They were all making time to come see their youngest brother.
I was grateful to all of them.
Even my second sister, whom I bickered with every time we met, deserved my gratitude today.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Mom’s going to head over to the orchard for a bit.”
After filling my stomach, I quickly changed into work clothes.
“What are those clothes for? Are you coming too?”
“Yes. I should help.”
“Oh, please. You’ve been training nonstop. Our dear son can stay home and rest.”
“We didn’t have any training this week.”
There had been, but let’s say there hadn’t.
“Really? There isn’t much work anyway. We’ll finish quickly. Your father and I will be back soon, so stay here and watch TV.”
“Helping out is how I relax.”
I could argue all day and she would still tell me to rest.
So I quickly slipped out through the front door.
“Lead the way, madam.”
“Honestly.”
My mother shook her head as though she couldn’t win against me and headed around the back of the house.
That was where the orchard was.
Before long, a broad-built older man came walking toward us.
He walked with a limp in one leg.
It was my father.
“Yun-ho, you’re here.”
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. What about our Yun-ho?”
“I’ve been doing well too. Making sure I eat three meals a day.”
“Hahaha. Good. Eating properly is the most important thing.”
My mother, who had been watching our father-son reunion with a pleased smile, spoke.
“Exactly. You can skip anything else, but never skip meals.”
“I’m eating so much I think I’m going to turn into a pig.”
“Listen to this rascal. You haven’t changed at all.”
The youngest of three daughters and one son.
I had always been the mischievous one in our family.
But there was a time when I’d caused my parents a great deal of worry too.
A Hunter.
Despite my parents’ firm opposition, especially my father’s, I had refused to give up on what I wanted.
Just like my third sister, who had become a Hunter before me, I stubbornly held out until the very end.
Eventually, my father raised the white flag.
I could fully understand how he felt.
My father hadn’t opposed it because I lacked talent.
He was afraid his son would end up like him.
My father had been a Hunter.
Like me, he had made a career in the Hunter Corps.
But around the time he reached Sergeant First Class, he suffered a serious accident.
He lost most of his abilities, and on top of that, he was left with a permanent limp.
Even the [Healing] of Medical Hunters couldn’t fix it.
His injuries had been that severe.
People said he was lucky simply to have survived.
A Hunter’s work was always dangerous.
You could die tomorrow.
No, you could die today.
My father had opposed me because he had personally experienced that danger.
Sorry, Dad, but what could I do?
I still wanted to become a Hunter.
I wanted to become a great Hunter like him.
The image of my father rushing out even late at night to protect civilians was still vivid in my mind.
That was why I hadn’t given up even after enduring all kinds of humiliation before the regression.
If I gave up just because things got a little difficult, I wouldn’t have been able to face my father.
“What should we eat for lunch?”
My father asked as he trimmed the branches.
I quickly went over to help him.
“How about duck bulgogi? You know, the place we used to go to all the time.”
“That place is good. Let’s do that.”
My father had never pressured me.
At least, not when it came to being a Hunter.
He must have known too.
I’d been transferred ages ago, yet I still had only a single stripe.
What else could that possibly mean?
But he still never said anything.
He simply waited in silence.
He supported me.
My father, whom I respected.
This son of yours will become more successful in this life.
I’ll become successful enough to be a son you can proudly show off anywhere.
I promise.
I quietly told him those words in my heart as I continued working.
For some reason, the clear sky looked especially beautiful today.
***
As lunchtime approached, a small green SUV drove into the yard.
It’s been ages since I’ve seen that car.
I had just finished working and returned, so I waved happily toward the car.
My sisters had arrived.
My eldest sister had driven my second and third sisters here with her.
“Our baby brother!”
A woman wearing round glasses jumped out of the driver’s seat and immediately ran toward me.
My eldest sister, Gu Min-gyeong.
“A little time in the military and you’ve gotten pretty manly, huh?”
A woman with her hair tied back and a firm, athletic build emerged from the passenger seat.
My third sister, Gu Min-a.
After leaving the Hunter Corps, she had joined a private Guild.
She was a Hunter just like me.
“Mmm… We’re already here?”
The last woman to get out, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, was my second sister, Gu Min-ji.
In dramas, she looked like the very picture of femininity.
In reality, she was completely different.
She shoved a hand inside her T-shirt and scratched her stomach.
And at home?
Burping was standard, and she farted wherever she pleased.
She usually went at least three days without washing her hair too.
Ugh.
“When did you get here?”
“Earlier this morning.”
“You got here early. Where are Dad and Mom?”
“We’re right here.”
My father and mother entered the yard behind them.
Our family of six, together again after such a long time.
I quietly looked over each of their faces.
Seeing my parents and sisters all looking rejuvenated(?) somehow put my heart at ease.
“Did you decide what we’re eating?”
“Duck bulgogi. You know, the place we go to all the time.”
“Oh, that place is good.”
We decided to eat first.
After I quickly showered, we headed to the restaurant.
There were too many of us for one car, so we split between two.
Our parents went together, while the children took the other car.
“How’s life on base these days?”
“Yeah, tell us about it.”
My sisters had plenty of questions for me.
There was a bit of an age gap between us, and since I was the youngest, they naturally worried.
So that’s why they sent Mom and Dad in the other car.
My third sister in particular, who had also served in the Hunter Corps, grilled me with questions.
“Are your seniors treating you well? Nobody’s bullying you, right?”
I smiled and answered.
“It’s great. My seniors treat me well too. Of course nobody’s bullying me. What era do you think this is?”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Half of that was a lie.
Especially when I thought about bastards like Corporal Byeon Ji-tak and Private First Class Kang Seong-jun.
But I couldn’t exactly tell them the truth either.
They would obviously worry.
And worrying would be the better outcome.
My third sister might actually storm onto the base.
After all, she was the one who had sent the neighborhood delinquents who extorted and beat me in high school to the hospital with injuries requiring eight weeks of treatment.
Of course, I knew too.
Simply hiding the fact that something like that was happening to me wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
But I had a way to deal with it now.
Things were different from before the regression.
Those bastards were so vile I could grind them to death and still not feel satisfied.
I had absolutely no intention of letting them get off easy.
“You’re not saying there’s nobody when there actually is, are you?”
My second sister, who had been listening with her arms crossed, spoke.
She always had frighteningly good instincts about things like this.
“I told you, there isn’t. Besides, you know I’ve never been good at lying.”
“Bullshit. Who was it that used to ditch evening self-study and go to a PC bang?”
Ahem.
“Maybe being an actress and memorizing scripts all the time has made your memory too good.”
“Exactly. I even remember you drawing a map on your blanket in your sleep.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?! When did I ever do that?!”
“Don’t play innocent. I’m the one who cleaned it all up.”
“Stop making things up.”
“Wow. Instead of repaying the favor, you’re pretending it never happened at all. You ungrateful brat.”
“Whatever. Whatever. The only thing I remember is you bawling your eyes out in front of the gate after breaking up with your boyfriend.”
“Hey! Why would you bring that up?!”
The car quickly became noisy.
My third sister, sitting in the passenger seat, shook her head at the two of us.
My eldest sister simply focused on driving as though this were an everyday occurrence.
“You’re seriously dead!”
“You’re not beating me with strength.”
I spent quite a while bickering with my second sister as she pelted me with little punches.
We acted like this every time we met, but the truth was that my second sister took care of me just as much as my eldest and third sisters did.
She had been an unknown actress who probably didn’t earn much in appearance fees, yet she still gave me spending money.
This time, I should be the one taking care of her.
I’d make sure my second sister became a successful actress.
I’d make sure my eldest sister rose from a junior reporter all the way to a 9 o’clock news anchor.
I’d make sure my third sister rose to become an executive in a major Guild.
I’d make sure my parents stayed healthy for the rest of their lives.
I’d make sure they lived comfortably.
And that they could brag about their children as much as they wanted.
That was what I would do.
I could do the same for myself.
I could become far more successful than I’d ever been before the regression.
Of course, if I wanted to do that, I first had to get discharged from the military.