Prologue :
...In the year 20XX, I, a hunter, suffered a fatal accident during a raid....
There was no hope for me to be rescued or survive. I offered a prayer to whatever gods may be, at the death’s door, holding on to my broken spirit.
‘If there is a god, please send me to the past.’
This was my last wish as I was despairedat the fact that I had spent a modest life as a C-class hunter who hadn’t even been able to graduate from the Academy until I awakened as a hunter at the late age of my late twenties.
If only I could go back to my childhood. If only I could have awakened earlier, attended the Hunter Academy and let my talents bloom. If only I could have done that, I would have led a very different life to the one I do now, I thought.
After desiring for these things that wouldn’t change anything, I fainted.
***
And when I woke up……
It was the year 1939, during the Japanese Colonial Era.
...***...
“Cough, cough! Agh…… Cough!”
I woke up to a splitting headache. Only after I had coughed up blood for a while that I was able to come to my senses.
‘Huh, I actually managed to survive.’
The memories before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind.
Dungeon. Raid. An unexpected accident. I lost consciousness thinking I would just die like that, but I guess I somehow managed to survive. Had the rescue arrived, even if a little late?
“Grunt.”
I painfully raised my curled up upper body and looked around. Contrary to my expectations, this was not a hospital where I woke up.
A small room, no bigger than about 70 square feet. All you could call furniture were a small blanket closet and a small floor sitting table. Other than that, all that there was in this room was a couple of coats hanging on the yellowed newspaper covered wall.
‘Where am I?’
I got up completely and walked towards the door. As soon as I opened the door covered in window paper, fresh air and the outside caught my eye.
What I saw was a girl that looked about 16 years old hanging laundry to dry in a small yard. I barely managed to call out to her.
“Hey, hah, student.”
Hearing my voice, the girl turned to me and replied with a grin.
“What do you mean student? If anything you, our guest, are the student! The only school I have been able to go to is a regular school.”
Guest? I’m a guest and a student? I was so dizzy I couldn’t understand what she was saying. When I looked around the yard, it looked like any ordinary family house. To be specific, it looked like a rural family house, the kind you would see in old dramas.
Why am I in a place like this instead of a hospital? If I had been saved by the rescue team, they would have taken me directly to a hospital. Could it be that I was rescued by a civilian hunter and not a rescue team?
“Did you save me? And what’s this place…….”
“What do you mean by save you? Seriously, you came home late at night after going to Jingogae* yesterday, are you still drunk?”
“What……?”
*TL/N: Jingogae was the name given to a hill located in Seoul back during the Japanese colonial era. It was located in the place that’s now known as Chungmuro-2 ga, a neighborhood in Seoul. I imagine it’s one of the downtown locations in Seoul back during that era, having a lot of bars and entertainment businesses, hence the girl’s comments.
Drunk? I’m still drunk?
“It’s too late for breakfast. Should I at least serve you lunch?”
I don’t know what’s happening. I waved my hand in the same awkward pose, with only my head out the door.
“No, ah, no. It’s okay.”
“Some people, seriously…….”
I left the girl shaking her head in disappointment behind, closed the door and crawled into the middle of the room and grabbed my head. I didn’t understand what in the world was happening.
‘Phew…….’
I let out a sigh and wiped my face down. But I was suddenly startled by an unfamiliar sense of everything feeling out of place.
‘It’s so soft!’
Astonished, I looked closely at the hands that I had just taken off my face. The hands were white and thin. Compared to my own hands, these looked like a woman’s—
‘Huh?’
Ah, no. Fortunately, they were a man’s hands. Even so, what was so surprising was that there were no signs of the calluses and scars that had been formed from my years of rolling around as a hunter.
I urgently looked around the room for a mirror. Next to the floor sitting table a mirror, about the size of a palm, was hanging. When I looked in the mirror, what was reflected was the face of a young boy about the age of a high school student.
‘Who…… in the world is this?’
It definitely wasn’t the face of a younger me. Where had the original me gone, and why did I look like a boy that I’ve never seen before in my life?
Looking around the room again, I found a calendar hanging on the wall. It was a calendar that, to say the least, looked retro, but in reality looked crude, and looked like it had been printed through engraving. But what was even more surprising were the numbers printed on it.
...昭和(Showa period) 14...
...西紀(Year) 1939...
...四 月(Month April)...
‘……What.’
The year on the calendar was 1939.
This, is this the home owner, or that girl’s hobby? Did they hang this ancient calendar to decorate the interior on purpose because they like things that are “antique” or “retro”? There are people with all sorts of strange tastes in the world……!
But, if that’s not it.
‘Nah. No way. It couldn’t be.’
I opened the door and stumbled across the yard barefoot.
“Hello? Dear guest?”
I ignored the girl who called me, surprised, and opened the gate across the yard. As soon as I opened the gate I could see the scenery spread out over the narrow alleyway. It looked like the house was located on a hillside.
Under the blue sky, I could see the spiky mountain range in the distance, and the city area extended wide beneath it. Tiled houses and wooden buildings close to each other. In between, I could also see large buildings made of grey cement or reddish-brown brick.
When I looked down somewhere closer, I could see people walking around the streets dressed in white jeoksams* and fedora hats, and every once in a while a man dressed in a suit passed by on a bicycle. There were signs and flags in Chinese or Japanese hanging on the streets.
*TL/N: Jeoksam: A single-layered upper garment that is similar to jeogori, a traditional Korean upper garment.
I mean, this is……
‘……the Japanese Colonial Era?’
What I saw across the gate was the scenery of Seoul, or rather “Gyeongseong*”, of the Japanese colonial era that I saw in movies or dramas.
*TL/N: During the period of Japanese colonial Era, Seoul was referred to by the Japanese exonym Keijō (けいじょう or 京城), or Gyeongseong (경성; 京城) in Korean.
‘We are really in the year 1939?’
Whilst I was confused about what had happened, I suddenly remembered the wish I had made just before I lost consciousness.
‘Please send me back to the past.’
That’s right. That was it. I had definitely made such a wish. Had God listened to my wish? But what I had meant with that wish was……
‘TO SEND ME BACK TO WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!’
However, it seemed this god that granted wish interpreted it a little differently. Since I asked him to send me to the past, he literally sent me back in history.
‘I can’t believe it.’
However, whether it was from my wish or not, that fact that I had entered the body of a boy who lived in 1939, during the Japanese colonial era, was not a dream but reality.
‘But, even if it’s the past, why the Japanese colonial era?’
The more I thought, the stranger it was. Even if the god that had heard my prayer to ‘send me back in time’ had misinterpreted it, why did it have to be the Japanese colonial era and not some other period?
Could there be a hidden purpose to all of this?
In the small chance that God, or whatever may be, had an intended purpose to all of this, why was I sent to this era? I tried to guess that purpose.
The reason why my spirit, that of a hunter, was sent to this era.
However, there was nothing I, a (former) hunter, could do in this era. Not only was I not in the body that had awakened its powers, but the awakening ability of mankind had started in 2019 after the first gate incident happened.
In this era, 80 years before the gate incident would even occur, monsters that threatened mankind, let alone the awakening of abilities and magical powers, would not exist.
If so, it must be that.
This present period of Japanese occupation was definitely a dark period in history, but on the other hand, it was also a period where gates and monsters didn’t exist.
So, if I dare make a guess……
It’s clear that God’s intention in sending me to this era was in consideration for me, to forget everything about the gates, monsters and hunters, and live a normal life, since I’ve suffered so much so far. While enjoying myself by using my knowledge of the future moderately!
‘Knowledge of the future, huh. I never imagined awakening so late would help me in this way.’
In my 21st century life, I awakened at a late age, in my late twenties, so before that, as an ordinary person, I studied hard to enter into the job market and to get various qualifications.
I even graduated a four-year college, spoke a bit of English, and since I once wanted to become a civil servant, I had quite a bit of knowledge of Korean history.
So, if I can use my knowledge of the future I can lead a comfortable life.
I would be the perfect Hoi Bing-Hwan……!
Since I came back in time: “HOI-gui”*; since I received another person’s body: BING-eui*; and since I get to live another life: HWAN-saeng*. Now that Hoi Bing-Hwan had become certain, there was nothing for me to worry about anymore.
*TL/N: HOI-gui: to go back, BING-eui: possession, HWAN-saeng: reincarnation
‘This is a second life that God has given me. A second chance!’
“Sorry, dear guest?”
After having seen me standing at the gate for a while in my delusion, the girl came to me asking, with worried look on her face.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sober now. Since I took some fresh air, yeah…….”
After evading her question like that I ran away, back into the room. And I looked at myself in the mirror once again.
In the mirror, it was still the face of an unfamiliar boy that was staring back at me.
Who was this boy? Since I would have to live my second life as this boy I would have to at least learn what kind of person he was.
I put the mirror back down and slowly looked around the room.
In the small room there were no significant living amenities or artefacts apart from the small table and the closet. It felt like a boarding room for someone who had just started living alone.
‘That girl called me ‘student’ and ‘guest’, right?’
Just as she had said, on the wall a black school uniform that looked new was hanging. I could make the guess that I had just come to Seoul from the countryside to attend a school and stay here.
As I got close to see, the old-style black school uniform had a badge that read “白林哲然(Baekrim Cheol-yeon)”.
‘The name is 4 letters long?’
I wondered why I had a 4 letter name but I realized after a bit.
‘It’s the Japanese Colonial Era!’
Even if the “Cheol-yeon” at the back might be the original name the front “Baekrim(白林)” was probably a Japanese style surname. In other words, it was name due to the Japanese Name-Changing Program! Wow, so this is the sorrow of losing your country?
Inside the front pocket of the uniform, there was a wallet with yellowed Japanese money. There was obviously no student ID card like we have in the 21st century, but there were some folded pieces of paper.
When I unfolded them I saw they were documents written in Japanese.
‘Damn. I don’t know that much Japaneses…… What?’
But I could easily read what was written on them. Was this because I had possessed a student that had learnt Japanese?
Anyway, one of the unfolded papers was a notice that I had been admitted to a place called “Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School”.
I didn’t know what “Yeopsa” meant, but if this was a “vocational school”, as far as I know, it was a higher education institution where specialized skills are taught during the Japanese colonial era.
‘I’m lucky.’
In an era where even elementary education is difficult to receive, it was obvious that students that were able to receive higher education beyond secondary education were quite the elite.
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“Cough, cough! Agh…… Cough!”
I woke up to a splitting headache. Only after I had coughed up blood for a while that I was able to come to my senses.
‘Huh, I actually managed to survive.’
The memories before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind.
Dungeon. Raid. An unexpected accident. I lost consciousness thinking I would just die like that, but I guess I somehow managed to survive. Had the rescue arrived, even if a little late?
“Grunt.”
I painfully raised my curled up upper body and looked around. Contrary to my expectations, this was not a hospital where I woke up.
A small room, no bigger than about 70 square feet. All you could call furniture were a small blanket closet and a small floor sitting table. Other than that, all that there was in this room was a couple of coats hanging on the yellowed newspaper covered wall.
‘Where am I?’
I got up completely and walked towards the door. As soon as I opened the door covered in window paper, fresh air and the outside caught my eye.
What I saw was a girl that looked about 16 years old hanging laundry to dry in a small yard. I barely managed to call out to her.
“Hey, hah, student.”
Hearing my voice, the girl turned to me and replied with a grin.
“What do you mean student? If anything you, our guest, are the student! The only school I have been able to go to is a regular school.”
Guest? I’m a guest and a student? I was so dizzy I couldn’t understand what she was saying. When I looked around the yard, it looked like any ordinary family house. To be specific, it looked like a rural family house, the kind you would see in old dramas.
Why am I in a place like this instead of a hospital? If I had been saved by the rescue team, they would have taken me directly to a hospital. Could it be that I was rescued by a civilian hunter and not a rescue team?
“Did you save me? And what’s this place…….”
“What do you mean by save you? Seriously, you came home late at night after going to Jingogae* yesterday, are you still drunk?”
“What……?”
*TL/N: Jingogae was the name given to a hill located in Seoul back during the Japanese colonial era. It was located in the place that’s now known as Chungmuro-2 ga, a neighborhood in Seoul. I imagine it’s one of the downtown locations in Seoul back during that era, having a lot of bars and entertainment businesses, hence the girl’s comments.
Drunk? I’m still drunk?
“It’s too late for breakfast. Should I at least serve you lunch?”
I don’t know what’s happening. I waved my hand in the same awkward pose, with only my head out the door.
“No, ah, no. It’s okay.”
“Some people, seriously…….”
I left the girl shaking her head in disappointment behind, closed the door and crawled into the middle of the room and grabbed my head. I didn’t understand what in the world was happening.
‘Phew…….’
I let out a sigh and wiped my face down. But I was suddenly startled by an unfamiliar sense of everything feeling out of place.
‘It’s so soft!’
Astonished, I looked closely at the hands that I had just taken off my face. The hands were white and thin. Compared to my own hands, these looked like a woman’s—
‘Huh?’
Ah, no. Fortunately, they were a man’s hands. Even so, what was so surprising was that there were no signs of the calluses and scars that had been formed from my years of rolling around as a hunter.
I urgently looked around the room for a mirror. Next to the floor sitting table a mirror, about the size of a palm, was hanging. When I looked in the mirror, what was reflected was the face of a young boy about the age of a high school student.
‘Who…… in the world is this?’
It definitely wasn’t the face of a younger me. Where had the original me gone, and why did I look like a boy that I’ve never seen before in my life?
Looking around the room again, I found a calendar hanging on the wall. It was a calendar that, to say the least, looked retro, but in reality looked crude, and looked like it had been printed through engraving. But what was even more surprising were the numbers printed on it.
昭和(Showa period) 14
西紀(Year) 1939
四 月(Month April)
‘……What.’
The year on the calendar was 1939.
This, is this the home owner, or that girl’s hobby? Did they hang this ancient calendar to decorate the interior on purpose because they like things that are “antique” or “retro”? There are people with all sorts of strange tastes in the world……!
But, if that’s not it.
‘Nah. No way. It couldn’t be.’
I opened the door and stumbled across the yard barefoot.
“Hello? Dear guest?”
I ignored the girl who called me, surprised, and opened the gate across the yard. As soon as I opened the gate I could see the scenery spread out over the narrow alleyway. It looked like the house was located on a hillside.
Under the blue sky, I could see the spiky mountain range in the distance, and the city area extended wide beneath it. Tiled houses and wooden buildings close to each other. In between, I could also see large buildings made of grey cement or reddish-brown brick.
When I looked down somewhere closer, I could see people walking around the streets dressed in white jeoksams* and fedora hats, and every once in a while a man dressed in a suit passed by on a bicycle. There were signs and flags in Chinese or Japanese hanging on the streets.
*TL/N: Jeoksam: A single-layered upper garment that is similar to jeogori, a traditional Korean upper garment.
I mean, this is……
‘……the Japanese Colonial Era?’
What I saw across the gate was the scenery of Seoul, or rather “Gyeongseong*”, of the Japanese colonial era that I saw in movies or dramas.
*TL/N: During the period of Japanese colonial Era, Seoul was referred to by the Japanese exonym Keijō (けいじょう or 京城), or Gyeongseong (경성; 京城) in Korean.
‘We are really in the year 1939?’
Whilst I was confused about what had happened, I suddenly remembered the wish I had made just before I lost consciousness.
‘Please send me back to the past.’
That’s right. That was it. I had definitely made such a wish. Had God listened to my wish? But what I had meant with that wish was……
‘TO SEND ME BACK TO WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!’
However, it seemed this god that granted wish interpreted it a little differently. Since I asked him to send me to the past, he literally sent me back in history.
‘I can’t believe it.’
However, whether it was from my wish or not, that fact that I had entered the body of a boy who lived in 1939, during the Japanese colonial era, was not a dream but reality.
‘But, even if it’s the past, why the Japanese colonial era?’
The more I thought, the stranger it was. Even if the god that had heard my prayer to ‘send me back in time’ had misinterpreted it, why did it have to be the Japanese colonial era and not some other period?
Could there be a hidden purpose to all of this?
In the small chance that God, or whatever may be, had an intended purpose to all of this, why was I sent to this era? I tried to guess that purpose.
The reason why my spirit, that of a hunter, was sent to this era.
However, there was nothing I, a (former) hunter, could do in this era. Not only was I not in the body that had awakened its powers, but the awakening ability of mankind had started in 2019 after the first gate incident happened.
In this era, 80 years before the gate incident would even occur, monsters that threatened mankind, let alone the awakening of abilities and magical powers, would not exist.
If so, it must be that.
This present period of Japanese occupation was definitely a dark period in history, but on the other hand, it was also a period where gates and monsters didn’t exist.
So, if I dare make a guess……
It’s clear that God’s intention in sending me to this era was in consideration for me, to forget everything about the gates, monsters and hunters, and live a normal life, since I’ve suffered so much so far. While enjoying myself by using my knowledge of the future moderately!
‘Knowledge of the future, huh. I never imagined awakening so late would help me in this way.’
In my 21st century life, I awakened at a late age, in my late twenties, so before that, as an ordinary person, I studied hard to enter into the job market and to get various qualifications.
I even graduated a four-year college, spoke a bit of English, and since I once wanted to become a civil servant, I had quite a bit of knowledge of Korean history.
So, if I can use my knowledge of the future I can lead a comfortable life.
I would be the perfect Hoi Bing-Hwan……!
Since I came back in time: “HOI-gui”*; since I received another person’s body: BING-eui*; and since I get to live another life: HWAN-saeng*. Now that Hoi Bing-Hwan had become certain, there was nothing for me to worry about anymore.
*TL/N: HOI-gui: to go back, BING-eui: possession, HWAN-saeng: reincarnation
‘This is a second life that God has given me. A second chance!’
“Sorry, dear guest?”
After having seen me standing at the gate for a while in my delusion, the girl came to me asking, with worried look on her face.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sober now. Since I took some fresh air, yeah…….”
After evading her question like that I ran away, back into the room. And I looked at myself in the mirror once again.
In the mirror, it was still the face of an unfamiliar boy that was staring back at me.
Who was this boy? Since I would have to live my second life as this boy I would have to at least learn what kind of person he was.
I put the mirror back down and slowly looked around the room.
In the small room there were no significant living amenities or artefacts apart from the small table and the closet. It felt like a boarding room for someone who had just started living alone.
‘That girl called me ‘student’ and ‘guest’, right?’
Just as she had said, on the wall a black school uniform that looked new was hanging. I could make the guess that I had just come to Seoul from the countryside to attend a school and stay here.
As I got close to see, the old-style black school uniform had a badge that read “白林哲然(Baekrim Cheol-yeon)”.
‘The name is 4 letters long?’
I wondered why I had a 4 letter name but I realized after a bit.
‘It’s the Japanese Colonial Era!’
Even if the “Cheol-yeon” at the back might be the original name the front “Baekrim(白林)” was probably a Japanese style surname. In other words, it was name due to the Japanese Name-Changing Program! Wow, so this is the sorrow of losing your country?
Inside the front pocket of the uniform, there was a wallet with yellowed Japanese money. There was obviously no student ID card like we have in the 21st century, but there were some folded pieces of paper.
When I unfolded them I saw they were documents written in Japanese.
‘Damn. I don’t know that much Japaneses…… What?’
But I could easily read what was written on them. Was this because I had possessed a student that had learnt Japanese?
Anyway, one of the unfolded papers was a notice that I had been admitted to a place called “Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School”.
I didn’t know what “Yeopsa” meant, but if this was a “vocational school”, as far as I know, it was a higher education institution where specialized skills are taught during the Japanese colonial era.
‘I’m lucky.’
In an era where even elementary education is difficult to receive, it was obvious that students that were able to receive higher education beyond secondary education were quite the elite.
The other page was a copy of the family registry. This boy must have got it to submit to the school. On one corner of the copy I could see my current name “Cheol-yeon”.
Cheol-yeon
Father: Baek No-Pyeoung/Baekrim No-Pyeoung
Mother: Yoon
Second son
Birth date: 10th year of Taishō, September 7th
‘It seems my original surname before the Name-Changing Program was Baek. And since the date of birth is the 10th year of Taishō (1921) …… Since it’s now 1939 I must be 17 years old.’
17 years old. He’s just a young child. It’s a pity for this student to have lost his body to me at such a young age, but for me, I can only say it’s great luck to have a second chance to live thanks to his body.
I put my hands together, slightly lowered my head towards the boy in the mirror and thought.
‘I’ll do my best to live for the both of us!’
I slowly opened the door and looked out again. Blue skies without any fine dust, air pollution, and without being obscured by high-rise buildings. The weather was amazing.
‘First of all, let’s look around a bit.’
Before making a full-fledged life plan, it would be a good idea to look around the era I have to live in.
As I was about to leave, I noticed the clothes I was wearing had traces of what looked like vomit on the front. So I put on the clean uniform hanging on the wall and headed out the door.
As I was putting on the shoes that were placed on the rock, I asked the girl – probably the boarding house owner’s daughter – that was in the yard.
“Say, student, are there any bookstores around here?”
“I told you I’m not a student. You keep on saying that…….”
That was right. I was not in a period where everyone that looks young is a student. Especially since the enrolment rate for secondary education was low.
And, since I didn’t really know what was going on, I kept on talking to her informally, but as I thought about it now, it would be rude to just keep on talking to her so informally, but the boarding house daughter continued to speak sarcastic manner as if my informal talking didn’t bother her.
“There’s no bookstores around here, but if you go down the main road over there and go straight to Myeongryun Pavilion, you will find a Furuhonya next to the record bar. You must have seen it coming and going…….”
There was no chance I would know what a Furuhonya was, but since I had possessed this body and inherited the boy’s language skills I understood right away it meant a second-hand bookstore.
“Thanks.”
I left the alleyway the boarding house was in and headed towards the main road.
After walking for a bit I slowly left the residential area and arrived at a place you could call a downtown area. The street was still small but there were a lot of buildings that stood 2-3 floors tall and I could start to see shops that had Japanese signs hanging outside.
Astonishing. This was my first impression I got when I vividly witnessed the historical scene that was 80 years older than the 21st century when I lived.
‘It’s like the set from “Rustic Period”.’
Suits wearing fedoras, women in Japanese clothing with parasols, and rickshaw pullers busily running in between them. Black classic cars passing by every once in a while and streetcars that looked kind of familiar. Wow, I should ride one of those later.
And as the boarding house daughter had told me next to the shop with a sign saying “Myeongryun Record Bar” stood a shabby second-hand bookstore.
“Welcome.” As I entered the bookstore listening to the owner’s words, I found a pile of junk newspapers and magazines on one side and headed towards it.
The reason I looked for a bookstore first was for this. Having lived in the 21st century, I lacked any common knowledge about this era.
Of course, I had some general knowledge about history and since I had possessed a student who knew Japanese I could understand the language, but it seemed that I had not inherited the student’s memories or knowledge, so the appearance of the streets, or just everything about this era in general were unfamiliar.
I would soon have to attend school and live the rest of my life in this era, so I needed to gain some common knowledge. An era where internet and TVs don’t exist, so it is obvious to gain knowledge from books.
And what I thought would be the most helpful kind of book were newspapers and magazines, so I randomly picked up some days-old newspapers and various magazines.
During that I found a magazine called “Yeopsa Joseon”.
‘Yeopsa’…….
Now that I thought about it the name of the school that was on the notice of admission that was inside my uniform was also “Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School”. I didn’t know what it was, but since I thought it might be related I picked up that magazine as well.
Whilst I was looking through the magazines I heard a voice from behind.
“Well, well, isn’t this Baek Cheol-yeon?”
I hadn’t realized this was something that had been said to me so I ignored it at first, but the words that continued were definitely directed towards me.
“No, rather, should I be calling you “Shirabayashi” in the jap way instead of Baek Cheol-yeon? Hahaha…….”
“Shirabayashi” was the Japanese pronunciation of “Baekrim(白林)”, the surname on the name tag on my uniform. I looked back wondering what was going on, and there was a skinny four-eyes with a ponytail standing there.
Looking at his face, he was definitely my age, but, as I stood there staring at him since I didn’t know who he was, he said, raising his glasses.
“What’s the deal? The day before yesterday, during the preliminary call-up day, you were acting like you were from the “bourgeois”, but here you are in a second-hand bookstore instead of a new bookstore.”
The way he was standing crooked made him sound sarcastic. Looking closely, he was wearing the same uniform as me, and considering he said “preliminary call-up day”, or whatever it was, it seemed he was a peer who was going to attend the same school as me.
Was he someone I met during the preliminary call-up day? But of course, I didn’t know who he was, so I glanced down to his name tag and saw it read “宋炳午(Song Byung-oh)”. “Song Byung-oh”……
‘Huh?’
Something was weird.
‘This guys doesn’t have a Japanese-style name?’
Song Byung-oh. No matter how you read it, it was a regular Korean, I mean, Joseon name. I started to wonder, I have a Japanese name from the Name-Changing Program but why does he still have a Joseon name? I had heard that during the Japanese occupation era Name-Changing was forced so if you didn’t change your name you couldn’t even go to school……
I looked back to the history I knew for a moment. The knowledge I accumulated before I awakened my hunter skills, when I was still studying for a Korean history certificate to get qualifications like a regular person.
Modern history…… The Japanization at the end of the Japanese colonial rule…… The Japanese genocide of Korean culture…… Was it 1940 that the Name-Changing Program came into effect? I wasn’t completely sure but I thought so.
And right now it was the year 1939. If that was so this was before the Name-Changing Program. Ah-ha, so that’s why this guy could still walk around wearing a name tag with the Joseon name “Song Byung-ho”.
But, thinking about it this way caused another confusion.
‘No, wait, what about me, then?’
I looked down at the name tag on my chest. What the hell was this Japanese-style surname, “Shirabayashi (白林)” then?
‘……I’m pro-Japan!’
If you were a person from Joseon who had a Japanese surname voluntarily, before the Name-Changing Program was implemented, it was difficult to think of any other possibility than that you were pro-Japan. That was it. I had possessed the body of a student who was pro-Japan!
Pro-Japan! I can’t believe I’m pro-Japan!
If this was so, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out why this kid, Song Byung-oh – who seemed to be my enrolment peer – suddenly started talking to me in such an aggressive manner.
There was no reason for him to think well of a pro-Japanese like me who had changed his surname to Japanese-style despite being from Joseon!
Then, it seemed, that this student, Baek Cheol-yeon, who I had possessed, had a quarrel with that four-eyes named Song Byung-oh on the day of the preliminary call-up.
‘This is a pain in the ***.’
However, my current self didn’t want to cause any kind of problems before starting school because of some conflict that the pro-Japan student “Baek Cheol-yeon” had created in the past. Rather, I needed to right the wrongs in order to have a comfortable school life in the future.
I extended my hand at the guy as I said.
“Sorry. Song Byung-oh, right? I apologize if I said anything the other day that might have offended you.”
“Uh…… uh……?”
As I gently apologized and reached out, he looked puzzled and grabbed my hand. I kept on going.
“Also, I would rather you call me “Baek Cheol-yeon” and not “Shirabayashi”. Like you, I’m also Kor-, I mean, I’m also from Joseon and I didn’t change my surname because I wanted to.”
As I said this, he stuttered, confused and still rather wary of me.
“Oh…… Okay. Is…… is that right? Hmm, I’m sorry as well ……?”
“No need to apologize. Let’s get along as compatriots from now on.”
As I said this I patted him on the shoulder. That’s right. We should fix things one by one with this brotherly love as compatriots. For tight friendships, a smooth school life, and a comfortable life.
“It seems there was some kind of misunderstanding last time, but I–”
As soon as I wanted to add that I’m not pro-Japan I couldn’t keep on speaking. I felt a strange sensation.
‘……What is this?’
It was an uncomfortably familiar sensation. It was coming from outside the second-hand bookstore, from the streets.
“Why did you stop mid-sentence? Hey, Shira …… Baek Cheol-yeon!”
I ignored Song Byung-oh’s screaming and ran out to the street. There were pedestrians running and shouting from across the street.
“The magic door is opened!”
‘Dobiraga hiraita! Ryoshio obe!’
“Yeopsa! Call the Yeopsa!”
“AAAARGH!”
My eyes were directed towards where the ominous sensation emanated, in the direction the pedestrians were running away from.
In that place there was a streetcar that was missing half as if it had been bitten by something, and something was floating on the street, with a presence as if it was swallowing the streetcar.
This thing, it was a sphere that fluctuated in colours that didn’t exist on Earth,
‘Fuck, why is that thing showing up on this era?’
It was a Gate.
A sphere that fluctuates with colours that a human cannot perceive – a Gate.
It was floating right in the middle of the intersection, the passing tram as if it had just been half eaten up and,
"The magic door opened! Hurry, call the......!"
『Nigero! Hayaku Nige- Agh!』
"EEEEEEK!"
'.......'
As the pedestrians bumped into me whilst running away, I stood still, just looking at the Gate.
'What the hell is this?'
As far as I knew the first ever Gate appeared in 2019. There was no way that thing had appeared in this era.
'Did history change when I came back to this era?'
Soon after, monsters started spewing out of the Gate. What dragged themselves out of the Gate were three monsters in the shape of large cephalopods.
As I watched the scene unfold, dumbstruck, Song Byung-oh, who had quickly come next to me, shouted.
"Damn it, I'm not even an official Yeopsa yet but ......!"
As he said this he pulled something from inside his uniform. It was a revolver. I was surprised.
Wait, where the hell did you get a gun? Don't tell me you're planning on fighting these monsters with that gun. A regular civilian, let alone a student, with just a handgun?
We had just gotten to know each other, but I couldn't let him die. I had to stop him.
"Hey! It's dangerous! Do you even know what those are? What are you gonna achieve with that-"
"Obviously it's dangerous, like I wouldn't know! But even so, how am I just going to stand still when I'm a prospective Yeopsa student!"
"What?"
"If you're afraid just step aside!"
As he said, he shoved me back, started walking towards the monsters with his arm extended and started shooting his gun.
Bang! Bang!
The deafening gunshots kept on ringing out one after the other. But he was fighting against monsters. I didn't know how a student like him managed to get his hands on a gun, but these monsters were not something he could fight with just regular bullets.
But then,
Bang!
The bullets that directly hit the monster's head exploded with a brilliant flash. This almost looked like,
'Mana bullets?!'
They were mana bullets! I turned and looked at Song Byung-oh.
'He's an Awakened?'
In the 21st century there were also Hunters that put mana into bullets to injure monsters, and what Song Byung-oh was shooting as well, even if a bit clumsy, was very similar.
And now that I thought about it, the way he reacted was not one of someone who had never seen a gate. No, not just him, but also all the pedestrians seemed to start running away knowing what a Gate or monster was.
'You're telling me that it wasn't me who changed history but rather that Gates already existed in this world? That's why there are Awakened people...... Then also Hunters......'
All of a sudden, the word "Yeopsa(獵師)", which I had seen several times already, came to my mind.
'Yeop(獵) as in hunting.'
Yeopsa. Although they were unfamiliar Chinese characters, if I thought carefully it meant "hunter". Did that mean, then, that Yeopsa was this era's equivalent to the Hunters I knew?
If that was so, then was the "Yeopsa Vocational School" I was going to start attending the same as the "Hunter Academy"?
'That's absurd.'
I thought I'd been sent back in time to live a life different than that of a Hunter in a place with no Gates and no monsters, but it was just a world where Gates had existed for a long time and I'm just a freshman at the Hunter Academy?
I did make a wish saying that "I want to go back and attend the Hunter Academy", but this is the way my wish is being fulfilled?
'Oh, my.......'
Whatever it may be, if I, Baek Cheol-yeon, was a freshman at the Hunter Academy then I must also be an Awakened.
Up to this point, I had never thought that this body would be that of an Awakened, so I hadn't even tried to feel the magic. But when I focused on my body I could feel the mana flowing.
'Hmm......?'
However, the amount of mana was hardly amazing. If you rated based on the magic power rating of the 21st century, it was E-class or even lower. It was even less mana than I originally had.
Anyway, it was clear that I was an Awakened since I could sense mana, but this alone wouldn't be enough to let me know what kind of ability I had.
In the 21st century, where I was a Hunter, there was a system that analyzed the mana pattern of the Awakened and showed it objectively with an indicator. Based on that, one could objectively see what kind of Awakened they were and how strong they were.
Since I was possessing another body I couldn't expect that right now, but I called out the system call command just in case.
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'Status widow!'
Fwoop-!
...[K-HUNTER'S STATUS SYSTEM ver.3.2.2]...
...[Starting up......]...
'It shows up?!'
But, as if to kill my expectations, the system immediately showed an error message.
... [Error: User information is corrupt.]...
...[Unable to run status system.]...
'So it doesn't work......'
The status system is implanted into the soul of each Awakened, so it must have come with me when I resurrected, but it seemed that something broke in the process.
Now that I couldn't use the status window, I had no choice but to dive into it to find out what my ability was.
I looked around to search for something I could grab in my hand and found a sharp split wooden stick. As I focused a bit, the stick was infused with auror.
From the way the auror was infused, I thought that the student I had possessed was probably an Awakened in the style of an auror blower. However, since the amount of operating mana was so small the auror I infused was only enough to make the stick I was holding "slightly" harder.
Unfortunate, but this was enough for now.
I held the stick and stared at the monsters. I didn't know what they were called here, but they were the kind of monster that we called "Cephalopods" in the 21st century, and I was quite familiar with them.
A typical cephalopod monster with monsters, roughly the size of a car, they looked like a mixture between an octopus and a jellyfish. Their movement speed was very slow, but their elongated tentacles were very agile and had a very long range, making them tricky opponents.
Their heads were hardened so firearms didn't work on them, and, although the mouth that was in the middle of their extended legs was their weak point, due to their dozens of tentacles it was difficult to get close and damage them.
But they were categorized as only D-class monsters and I had killed plenty of them in my Hunter days.
Like the seafood looking things they were, magic – especially fire magic – would just cook them right up, ready to be sold in sushi restaurants, and even without fire abilities, they were monsters that you could defeat without any special abilities or weapons as long as you had the strength and good technique.
I clenched my weapon tightly and ran past Song Byung-oh towards the nearest of the three Cephalopods. Song Byung-oh shouted, surprised.
"Baek Cheol-yeon, you......?"
"Fire when I give the sign!"
After instructing Song Byung-oh, I headed straight to the Cephalopod, and as soon as I had barely reached its tentacle range, I turned right and started circling it in a large circle.
Maintaining close distance, I avoided the approaching tentacles by simply slapping them away with the end of my stick as I pulled the monster's attention.
After all, it would be impossible for me to cut off the tentacles with a stick like this, and even if I grabbed a knife, it would be unreasonable to cut off the tentacles one by one by myself. Especially since if I get close enough to cut one off, the monster would attack me with its other tentacles.
Since each tentacle moves individually, the pattern would be too complicated, and as soon as I got into range, I would be surrounded by tentacles in the blink of an eye.
But, exactly this individual movement of its tentacles was also its blind spot!
If I swatted each tentacle away whilst moving around it like this, since it would be fixated on me, each tentacle would try to grab me and they would all just end up getting entangled.
And then, as the tentacles supporting its weight reach out towards me, it would start stumbling,
I would stop the circling movement, turn and start running straight at it. The tentacles, wrapped around the monster's body, couldn't react immediately to the movement approaching fast.
Crash!
I stabbed the monster's mouth with my stick as it started to lose its balance. This was the weakest point on this guy's body. If what I was holding in my hand had been a weapon that could inflict magical damage instead of just a regular stick, this would have been the end.
Of course, I wouldn't have tried this kind of attack with a stick that couldn't even hold magic normally, but I wasn't alone right now. I twisted the stick and forcibly opened the monster's mouth as I shouted.
"Song Byung-oh! Now!"
It would be over if we shot a mana bullet into the open mouth. Song Byung-oh wasn't very experienced and his mana bullets were still weak, but they were more than enough to destroy the squishy internal organs and the power source, the magic stone beyond this fragile throat.
But what came flying by from Song Byung-oh wasn't a mana bullet, but his panicked voice.
"Uh, y- yeah...... Wai- wait a second!"
I looked back, he was reloading now of all times. Song Byung-oh pulled something that looked like a bullet from his pocket, looking flustered, and he even dropped it on the ground.
'For crying out loud.'
I was cursing inside, but it was hardly his fault. If someone had made a mistake, it had been mine for shouting out orders at and trusting a student who hadn't even started his Hunter education.
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But with this happening it was me who couldn't afford to relax. The entangled tentacles started to unravel.
Even if I wanted to avoid it, the other two Cephalopods, that had noticed that something unusual was happening, started extending their tentacles towards me. It was a disaster.
'Damn it. This is dange-'
At that moment, I heard a voice whispering behind me.
『Dokinasai(Please, move to the side).』
A person with long black hair started passing by in front of me, and suddenly an intense heat engulfed me. At the same time huge red flames surrounded the Cephalopods.
The tentacles that had been approaching me screeched as they started retreating, avoiding the flames. I quickly moved away from the fire as well.
The Inyoung (人: "In", meaning person; 影: "Young", meaning shadow) standing in the middle of the fire was a female student wearing a black "Sailor Moon"-style sailor uniform. The long Japanese sword she had in her hand was engulfed in flames as if it had been doused in oil.
『Yozo-sama(Lady)!』
A group of men rushed in front of the girl. The men, wearing black suits, were all carrying Japanese swords like the girl. They rushed at the Cephalopods and began cutting off their tentacles.
Song Byung-oh cried out.
"We're alive! They're Yeopsas from the "Shimazu Gumi"!"
I asked.
"Shimazu Gumi?"
"Yes! Look at their badges! Those are the badges the Yeopsa Union of the famous Shimazu Gumi wear!"
I realized that the "Yeopsa Union" he mentioned was probably their "Hunter Guild" equivalent. If that was so, then did this mean that these people were profesional Hunters belonging to a group?
Indeed, as soon as the men in suits began to fight the Cephalopods, two of them had already been downed.
Among them, the girl who had stormed in front of me particularly caught my eye. The girl wearing the black sailor uniform held the long sword that was almost as tall as her up above her head and
『HYAAAAA!"』
With a sharp shout, she lowered it towards the last standing Cephalopod. The hot, burning red blade cut the Cephalopod in half.
'Whoa.......'
The flames and heat that rushed out were definitely those of a fire-style Awoken, but the swordsmanship that had just cut the Cephalopod in half was just her own physical skills, nothing to do with her Awakening.
It seemed that her ability was one where she applied her Awoken abilities as an aide and relied mainly on her own physical skills and technique. Even if some of her movements seemed a bit clumsy, her skills were nothing to laugh at.
Song Byung-oh, who had been watching, was amazed.
"As expected, the Shimazu Gumi is as amazing as I had heard!"
I couldn't disagree.
All three Cephalopods that had burst out of the Gate had been eliminated in a few minutes since the Hunter Guild, or rather, Yeopsa Union "Shimazu Gumi" had arrived onto the scene. Even if the Cephalopods were low level monsters, they were quick and clean.
As soon as all the monsters had been eliminated, some of the Hunters started to put out the fires that had spread to the surrounding houses, and some placed a caution line around the Gate that was still open. It was exactly the kind of clean-up work that would be expected from professional Hunters belonging to a guild.
And the girl who had just defeated the last Cephalopod spoke to her surrounding guild, or rather, union members, ordering something, and then turned and started approaching us. Five union members followed behind her like an escort.
"Huh?"
Why is she coming this way? Does she want to see if we're okay? But as the girl came close enough that we could make out her face Song Byung-oh started muttering.
"Wait...... Wait a moment. If it's the Shimazu Gumi does that mean she's ......?"
As soon as I tried to ask him if he knew who she was the girl had got close and started talking to us.
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『That uniform. That should mean you are a freshman at the Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School, entering this semester. Like me.』
It was the same as before, even though the girl was speaking in Japanese I could understand every single word that she was saying. So this meant that this girl was one of my school peers, just like Song Byung-oh who was standing behind me.
"Yeah."
As soon as I answered, the girl stretched her hand and said.
『I am Renka. Shimazu Renka.』
Song Byung-oh, who had been standing behind me, started getting hiccups as soon as he heard that name. I didn't know what was happening with him but...... Although I was a little taken aback by the girl telling us her name first, the only right thing would be to tell her mine as well.
I grabbed the girl's, Renka's white thing hand and said.
"Baek Cheol-yeon."
『......Beku, Cho-ryon......』
Renka frowned slightly as she struggled to imitate the pronunciation. Then, as she was having a hard time, she closed her mouth.
『Wouldn't it be better if I just called you Shirabayashi-san?』
......Wait, this...... I was not too comfortable since that was a Japanization of my name. But since Renka couldn't pronounce the name "Baek Cheol-yeon" to save her life so I just nodded. It would be more comfortable for a Japanese person like her to call me by a Japanese name.
I answered in Japanese.
『Call me whatever you prefer.』
『It's good to meet you, Shirabayashi-san.』
Only then did Renka tighten the hold on her clasped hand and said with a slight smile. But then, a young union member standing behind Renka shouted.
『Lady! That man is from Joseon!』
『......!』
Renka hurriedly let go of my hand. ...What? She asked to shake my hand first, but as soon as she realizes I'm a "Joseon-jin" she doesn't want anything to do with me?
As soon as I was about to start feeling offended she turned her head slightly to the side and quietly opened her mouth.
『Dahikiro-san.』
At Renka's voice the young union member lowered his head and answered.
『......Yes, Lady!』
『For a person studying to be a Yeopsa there is no need to distinguish their inner good.』
『But a person from Joseon-』
As soon as Renka turned her head quickly and glared at the union member he stopped talking.
『......I'm sorry, Lady.』
Was it because Renka was ranked highly in her union? Even though this union member seemed to be an officer he couldn't say a word at Renka's remarks.
But even so, he kept his head high and staring at me as if displeased. So I stared back at the guy. What? What you gonna do?
The more I thought about it, the more it pissed me off. This kid, barely looking 25 years old, glaring at a grown-up and finishing every sentence with "Joseon-jin". Was this the real feeling of sorrow you get from losing your country?
As my emotions intensified, my magical powers started to boil over. The stick was still clenched in my hand. I took a step towards the union member. Song Byung-oh shouted from behind me.
"He- hey, Baek Cheol-yeon!"
I ignored Song Byung-oh's please and kept on staring at the union member. He also met my gaze, quietly resting his hand on the handle of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.
『Dakahiro-san!』
Once again, Renka’s voice, not very loud, but full of anger.
The mana emanating from the members, boiling over just a moment ago, had noticeably mellowed down.
『……Yes, Lady.』
『Shirabayashi-san is a person who will become my colleague from now on. Please be careful with what you say.』
As she said this, Renka’s eyes, which were glaring at her union members, looked like they were about to shoot out sparks. Immediately, I could feel the release of mana coming from the union members completely die out.
The union member pulled his hand off his sword and bowed at Renka.
『Please forgive me. I have troubled my Lady.』
『You should apologize, not to me, but to Shirabayashi-san.』
『…….』
After a pause, he eventually bowed at me.
『I’m sorry.』
I could feel he was just reluctantly, forcibly apologizing, but since he took this stance I couldn’t keep being aggressive either. I subdued my mana and nodded to show I accepted his apology.
Renka slightly bowed her head at me.
『I hope you forgive our rudeness, Shirabayashi-san.』
『Y-yeah.』
『I will see you at school. I shall get going.』
As she finished her sentence, Renka quickly turned around with her hair swinging, got into an expensive looking black luxury old car and headed off. The remaining union members followed her and left.
The Gate was still there, but it was quiet like if all the monsters to come out had already done so, and only a few of the clean-up personnel remained to stand guard at the caution line. That Gate was probably going to end up belonging to that guild called “Shimazu Gumi”.
Even in the 21st century, it was regular procedure after Gates and monsters had been suppressed. After that, when the police arrives, they explain what happened and get a reward for their service…….
Just then, on the other side of the road, police officers wearing yellow uniforms were running in two rows. But Song Byung-oh, after seeing this scene, spat out.
“Damn it, it’s the police.”
At this he started running to the opposite direction. Without knowing what was happening, I followed Song Byung-oh as he went through alleyways in between the buildings. After running away for a while Song Byung-oh stopped and said.
“Phew, we barely got away.”
“Wait, *GASP* wait. Why are we running away?”
Since Japanese police officers were often portrayed as villains in movies and dramas, I didn’t trust them too much either, but still, there was no need to run away, right? It wasn’t as if we had done something bad.
As I asked, Song Byung-oh answered.
“What? You fought so well just a moment ago, but you’ve never seen a Genba*? Even if you belong to the bourgeoisie, you know so little about the way the world works!”
*T/LN: Genba means scene
What the hell? Who’s looking down on who for being inexperienced? However, I decided to listen to him in silence since it was true that I didn’t know how the Japanese colonial period where Gates existed worked. Song Byung-oh opened his mouth.
“Sheesh! We’re Joseon people who haven’t even received their Yeopsa permits, so bumping into the police is a bad idea. Isn’t that obvious?”
As he said this, he still kept looking down the alleyway in case someone might be listening.
“They say it is the natural duty of an Awakened to exterminate the beasts, and don’t even give us a single penny as reward, instead we get called in to the police station to get investigated and we’re forced to spend all day in there…… If we got unlucky, they would even try to make us take the blame for smashing all the shops around the scene!”
Song Byung-oh sighed before continuing.
“That’s why if we feel this is unfair, we have to become successful. If we get our diplomas from the Yeopsa school, then we can officially get our permits and we could proudly……”
From what he said I gathered that the Awakeneds from Joseon who didn’t have their Yeopsa permits, or Hunter licenses, were treated as social dangers. How did this even make sense? Even if you gave your life to save citizens, you would still get discriminated against just because you were from Joseon.
‘This is the real “hell Joseon”.’ (note: “Hell Joseon” is a term used by the younger generations of Korea to criticize the competitive nature of living in Korea.)
We were already in the Japanese colonial era, a time were people from Joseon were discriminated against on a daily basis, but on top of that there were now Gates and monsters. This. Is. Hell Joseon. How the hell did I end up in such a shitty world?
However it was already spilled milk. There was nothing else I could do but get through it as well as I could since I was already here. As he said, if I feel wronged, I should just become successful.
Success…….
I changed the subject and asked Song Byung-oh again.
“Anyway, the Japanese girl from back there. Renka, was it? What, is she famous?”
When Renka had approached me earlier, I became curious since Song Byung-oh seemed to know, and as he was speaking he started getting hiccups and stuff.
At my question, he asked back, raising his glasses in bewilderment.
“Are you seriously a guy trying to become a Yeopsa?”
“Huh?”
“Shimazu Renka! She’s the only daughter of the Duke of the Shimazu family! Of the Kazoku! Not only that, but she’s the branch head of the Shimazu Gumi Gyeongseong branch…….”
Him mentioning something about dukes and royal families meant that she was part of the Japanese aristocracy. Even so, I didn’t really get it. What kind of social position was she in? Since Duke is the first in the order of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron, did this mean that it was quite high?
And as for branch head…… Was that like being the head of an overseas franchise branch of a large guild? That girl?
As I was trying to assess the situation in my head, Song Byung-oh sweeping his chest, said.
“Speaking of which, are you insane?! Against a Shimazu Gumi Yeopsa, not to mention in front of that girl who’s part of a Kazoku…… I thought I was going to lose 10 years of my life!”
It seemed he was talking about the moment when I was facing the young union member. But I had something to say as well.
“It pissed me off that that Japanese sonnova kept on saying “Joseon-jin” at the end of every sentence. Not like I was afraid of him, either.”
I didn’t lack the confidence to fight that union member, since I was a veteran Hunter who had been in life-or-death situations for almost 10 years.
…But, it was also true that I was at least a bit intimidated.
No matter how experienced of a veteran Hunter I was, the amount of mana I had now was poor, and I didn’t really have any proper skills to use the mana I had, anyway. And when it came to fighting experience, there was no chance that that union member, who seemed to be at the level of a guild officer, was lacking in it.
Furthermore, the weapon I was holding in my hand was just a piece of wood that couldn’t even be properly imbued with mana. It couldn’t compete with a real sword that was imbued with the mana of a B-class Hunter.
If I had been lucky, I would have been able to at least land a critical hit, but I would have been seriously injured.
“Even so, though……”
Song Byung-oh, who had been scolding me, smirked and said.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Joseon person like you stand so proudly facing a Japanese person, let alone one from the aristocracy. Seriously, I only thought you were just someone from the bourgeoisie siding with the Japanese. I didn’t know you had this side to you. I apologize, once again, for my misunderstanding.”
After saying this, he extends his hand, apologizing for his misunderstanding again.
‘Mm-hmm.’
The misunderstanding that I was pro-Japan had finally been corrected. But it wasn’t really a misunderstanding. The Baek Cheol-yeon he had met on the day of the preliminary call-up a few days ago, was definitely a pro-Japan bourgeoisie.
Well, whatever, what’s good is good. I took his hand in mine, and after a short handshake Song Byung-oh turned his body and said.
“Anyway, I’ll get going so let’s meet at school tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony. Huh, you didn’t read the notice? Anyway, see you.”
After saying this he pulled his hat to his face and walked out of the alley. Alone again, I stayed in the alley, leaned against a wall and took out the piece of paper from my school uniform pocket.
...Entrance Ceremony for the...
...34th class year,...
...Gyeongseong Yeopsa...
...Vocational School...
...April 5, 14th year of Showa...
...(AD 1939)...
If the entrance ceremony was tomorrow as Song Byung-oh said, that would make today the 4th of April. I didn’t know what day it was today, since I had come out of the boarding house without checking what day it was today.
‘Tomorrow’s the entrance ceremony…….’
However, I started to wonder as I looked intently at the admission notice.
‘Is it okay for me to attend this school?’
Everything about this era was well beyond my imagination.
When I first woke up in this era, I thought I would finally be able to live a life that had nothing to do with Gates and Hunters. A life where I could be comfortable using my knowledge of the future in moderation.
However, it’s a world where Gates already existed, and the “Yeopsa Vocational School” I’m about to attend is a Hunter Academy.
Does it mean that I’m destined to become a Hunter even if I die and get reborn?
To be honest, I could just accept it. Accept that in my past life I died as a Hunter and so, this was actually fate.
But the possibility of history changing due to the existence of Gates made me nervous.
This meant that my “knowledge of the future” I had gained from studying so hard in my previous life would become obsolete. It meant that I couldn’t say for certain that Joseon would gain freedom in the next few years.
Even if history just proceeded as I knew it, this would still be an issue. It’s the Japanese colonial period, of all times! There was a chance that people with an occupation that is essential for combat, like Hunters, would be forced into the Japanese military if unlucky.
And yet, is it okay for me to attend the Hunter Academy? No, rather, do I have to attend? I just……
‘Academy or whatever, should I just get out of Joseon?’
I held the admission notice in both my hands.
Yes! Let’s just rip this thing apart, leave the cursed land of Joseon, and immigrate to the US. Even there, whether I work as a Hunter or set up a laundry, I would be able to make ends meet…….
As I thought this, I was ready to rip the admission notice in my hands,
‘…….’
But I couldn’t.
It just felt like too good of a chance.
In the 21st century, in my past, I awakened my powers late, and always lacked the talent to make it into the Academy. And this had remained forever as a regret throughout my life as a Hunter.
If I had awakened earlier, and due to this, if I had been able to attend the Academy, I wouldn’t have stayed forever a C-class Hunter.
‘But this time…… Wouldn’t it be possible?’
Unlike my previous life, wouldn’t I be able to develop my talents in school and become stronger? Maybe I would be able to get to higher places.
It’s a chance of a lifetime. Ignoring such an opportunity just because the future is uncertain?
‘Giving up? That’s such a stupid idea.’
I neatly folded the admission notice that I was about to tear up, put it back into my pocket and thought.
‘Let’s at least attend school.’
Even in the 21st century, Hunters who had graduated from the Academy were treated as valuable talents in society, and that shouldn’t be any different in this era.
In a world where Gates existed, it was clear that the abilities that were nurtured in the Academy and the status of being a graduate would be of huge help living in the chaotic world that was to come.
How could I refuse such an opportunity? No matter what happens, no, rather, since I didn’t know what would happen from now on going forward, I would have to at least get my diploma.
‘But something that keeps worrying me is being forced to serve in the Japanese military……’
I thought back to my historical knowledge once again.
‘Although they started receiving Korean volunteers from 1938, it was only in 1944, at the end of the Pacific War, that students were forcibly conscripted.’
Since we’re in 1939, it will be 1942 when I graduate from this 3-year vocational school. Even if history in this world flows the way I know it, there would be plenty of time for me to escape Joseon to avoid conscription.
‘Alright. I’ll at least attend school and improve my skills. And I’ll run off to the US as soon as I graduate. It’s not too late to run away after I get my diploma.’
I made this decision in my head and walked towards the boarding house. A white moon had risen in the dark night sky.
***
Under the full moon in the night sky, somewhere in Gyeongseong.
Water trickled along the bamboo canal.
Water flowed into the bottom bamboo barrel, and the bamboo barrel, unable to overcome the weight of the water flowing into it, tilted over. The tip of the slowly tilting bamboo piece touched the stone floor,
‘Tap-’
With a clear sound, the accumulated water poured out. The bamboo barrel, now lighter after pouring all the water out, raised its head again and started filling up with the flowing water.
Trickle, trickle……
If you turned your eyes from the scene that would repeat forever, there was a well-maintained garden full of bonsai cherry trees, and in front of it was a neat but formal Japanese-style mansion.
April, under the full moon of Qingming,
A woman – or rather, would it be more appropriate to say she was a girl – wearing a yukata was walking alone in the garden, surrounded by the fluttering cherry blossoms.
Slim shoulders covered by long black hair that went down to the waist, and a body that drew youthful curves.
However, with sharp eyes that were exposed under her straight-cut bangs, her pointed nose, and thin jawline, there was a charm that could be said was of a mystical woman.
She was the only daughter of the Duke of the Shimazu family, the same family that had reigned in the faraway land of Kagoshima for generations, and at the early age of 17 she was the branch head of the Gyeongseong branch of the Shimazu Gumi Yeopsa Union,
She was Shimazu Renka(蓮花).
Now wearing a crimson yukata, she was recalling the incidents from earlier in the day when she was wearing a dark blue “Sailor Moon”-style uniform.
That afternoon, when she had received a report of a magical door opening—
She and the Shimazu Gumi had been looking around the Changgyeongwon Zoo, so they were able to get to the site of the incident, Myeongryunjeong 2-jeongmok intersection, quickly, as it was nearby.
As she arrived to the scene, she noticed three “Takoashi(蛸足)”, intermediate level demonic beast, that had just come out of the Demon Gate.
There were not Yeopsas that had arrived before the Shimazu Gumi, only two cadets that were facing the Demons. Looking at their uniforms, she noticed they were also freshmen of the Gyeongseong Yeopsa Vocational School, like her.
『It is too much for cadets to face. We should immediately jump in, Lady.』
Standing next to Renka, Takahiro, the sub-branch head of the Shimazu Gumi Gyeongseong branch, and her direct assistant, said, drawing his sword. However,
『Wait.』
Renka stopped her union members. This was a great opportunity for her. It was her chance to see the skills of the other cadets who she may be collaborating with, or competing against in the future.
Soon enough, the two cadets started to move. Listening to what they were shouting at each other, it seemed they were both from Joseon. One of them took out his gun and the other grabbed a stick.
‘Hmm.’
But, surprisingly, the cadet with the stick was very skilfully facing off against the middle-class demonic beast, Takoashi. It was as if it was not the first time he had faces such a beast. It seemed that he knew exactly how to defeat it.
But right at the final moment, the mana imbued in the stick was not enough to destroy the Takoashi’s mana stone, and his strategy failed as his colleague panicked and dropped his bullet.
When Takahiro saw this, he snorted and muttered.
『Joseon-jinwa shoganaina.』
Takahiro sarcastically said “there’s nothing Joseon people can do,” but Renka thought differently. If the weapon this cadet was using had been a proper weapon instead of just a wooden stick, and if his colleague had not made a mistake, he would have actually been able to subdue the Takoashi.
‘How in the world can he fight like that?’
In order to succeed the family business, she herself had been receiving harsh martial arts training within the family even before she started walking, let alone awakening,
And as soon as she Awoke, she became the branch manager of the Shimazu Gumi Gyeongseong branch so she had the same ability and experience as any other active Yeopsa, but this was a special case unique to her.
It was shocking to her that an average boy around her age, other than herself, could fight like that, with the same boldness and situational judgment of an active Yeopsa.
‘In addition, that confident attitude.’
His combat ability was, of course, amazing, but the more surprising thing was this completely unexpected attitude. When Renka approached him and asked for a handshake and introduced herself,
—I’m Renka, Shimazu Renka.
There was no way that in Joseon, let alone Gyeongseong, there was anybody that wanted to become a Yeopsa would not know about the reputation of the Shimazu family and their Yeopsa union. But even so,
—Baek Cheol-yeon.
He proudly accepted her handshake without even getting intimidated. Even though he clearly had his Japanese-style surname on his nametag, he gave his Joseon name, as if to make sure everybody could hear.
That wasn’t all. There was no sign of him losing any ground when he faced against Takahiro, a member of the family’s entourage and sub-branch head.
All of this was difficult for her to understand.
Most of the Japanese people around her, including Takahiro, would often blame the Joseon people’s manners, saying “Joseon people are servile in front of the strong and savages against the weak”.
She did not agree with that kind of racist prejudices, but since she came to Joseon she had become familiar with ‘submissive Joseon people’, so the perception that ‘it’s not their fault, but it can’t be helped’ had been growing.
However Shirabayashi, no, “Baek Cheol-yeon” was different to all the other Joseon people she had met so far.
There was no trace in him of the gloomy characteristics that people of Joseon had. No, she even felt the unyielding spirit of someone that was like if he was the owner of this place.
It wasn’t the vanity of common mischief, nor was it the pretense of deceiving himself to build self-esteem.
In Renka’s head, she suddenly remembered the people she encountered when she was a child, traveling with her father to Gurapa* and America. Baek Cheol-yeon’s confident and free-spirited attitude was like that which was characteristic of people from developed countries in those places.
(*note: old Korean name for Europe)
What kind of person was he?
Renka, looking up at the full moonlit night sky of Gyeongseong, softly muttered.
『Shirabayashi-san. What…… are you?』
***
“Are you an imbecile……?”
The next day, early in the morning of the day of the entrance ceremony. As I was about to leave the boarding house’s gate, I realized one important fact that I hadn’t even thought about before, and stood there muttering in shame.
‘How could I not know that? Shouldn’t I have checked in advance? Am I a freaking imbecile?’
That was, the fact that I didn’t know how to get to school.
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