A month had passed since Lee Gun had died.
Hugo spent his time as if his spirit had left his body. It was to be expected since Lee Gun’s death was a huge shock to him.
Lee Gun was his closest friend in the world. They were like close brothers, and Hugo felt closer to Lee Gun than to his real family.
Of course, Lee Jaewon also mourned Lee Gun’s death as if he had lost a family member. Both of them would run to the door in surprise if someone rang the doorbell on rare occasions.
In the end, Hugo became dejected as he visited Lee Gun’s grave every day, where Lee Gun’s arm that he had found was buried.
Everyone around him said, “You are the hero who saved our country. We will give you a reward for saving the world. There are talks that you will be the recipient of Lee Gun’s insurance money. Please come to our country. We’ll give you a massive amount of money to write the life story of Lee Gun” and other similar stuff.
All kinds of attractive offers poured in, but they fell on deaf ears. Hugo didn’t need a reward. He just wanted his friend back.
‘Of course, he was such an elusive person that he always surprised others.’’
Hugo wouldn’t have been surprised if Lee Gun had suddenly shown up and said, “Hey. What the hell is this state funeral? Don’t overdo it, idiots!"
So Hugo went to the bar where he had promised to meet up with Lee Gun. He waited there every day, yet Lee Gun never showed up.
In the end, the reality of his friend’s death slowly penetrated his skin to reach his bones. It was then…
“Excuse me. You shouldn’t be here like this every day.”
“Ah… You don’t have to worry about me. This might look idiotic, but I’m scolding myself as I self-reflect.”
“I don’t care about that. I want you to get out of the way.”
“W-What?”
“I want to pay respects too.”
Surprised, Hugo turned his head and caught sight of a gorgeous woman who was around the same age as him. “Wait. What…”
“Do you own this spot or something?”
Hugo almost shouted in surprise when he heard Chun Jiwoo’s words. But he quickly came to his senses and moved from his spot.
“Ah. I’m sorry!” He finally realized that he was being a nuisance to the other people who had come to pay their respects.
In the end, Hugo felt embarrassed and awkward and lowered his head.
However, as he was about to leave Lee Gun’s grave, Chun Jiwoo placed a box containing a certain food item on top of Lee Gun’s grave.
Hugo reacted in surprise.
‘That’s a box of chicken.’
He wasn’t surprised because she had placed a type of food that didn’t belong at a grave.
‘That’s the brand that Gun likes.’
When Hugo stared at the box, Chun Jiwoo became embarrassed as she paid her respects. She let out a bitter laugh. “Ah! I know it isn’t an item suitable as a tribute. However, I had a feeling that Lee Gun-nim would have liked it more if I brought this.”
“What?”
“If I had brought fruit, I can imagine him being angry. He would say something like, ‘I’m not a rabbit that would graze on greens like this.’”
Well, she was right. His friend’s taste was very much like that of a child, so he would complain if he saw fruits and vegetables. He would pout while eating them.
However, this was something not even the other Zodiac Saints knew about. Moreover, this woman had brought chicken from a brand that Lee Gun liked.
‘It’s something only someone intimately familiar with Gun should know about.’
Hugo couldn’t look away from Chun Jiwoo as he approached her. “Excuse me. Do you perhaps know Gun—”
Puhk!
“Ah!”
“Ahhk!”
As he moved her, Hugo hit the box of chicken by mistake, and the box’s content fell on Chun Jiwoo. The oil from the chicken and the marinade spilled on Chun Jiwoo’s dress.
Hugo screamed. “Ahhk! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!!!”
Hugo didn’t know what to do with himself as he took out the napkin from the bag that had contained the chicken. He handed it to her, then picked up the chicken pieces and put them back into the box.
“I’m sorry! I am a bit out of it today…”
“It’s fine…”
Growl!
The smell of the chicken was hard to ignore. An incredibly loud sound came from Hugo’s stomach.
He purposefully coughed and cleared his throat as he put the chicken pieces back into the box. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten in four days.
After putting the chicken in the box, Hugo was about to wipe Chun Jiwoo’s shoes.
“Ah. Mom! That foreign man stinks! He must not have bathed!”
“O-Oh my! Shhh!!!!!!”
“He smells like trash! Barf!”
“I-I’m very sorry about that!”
Hearing the words of the people around him, Hugo discreetly moved away from Chun Jiwoo.
He realized that it had been over a week since he had taken a bath.
Hugo’s face turned red after he distanced himself from her. “I’m sorry! Let me give you some money for dry cleaning… Damn it. My wallet…”
Hugo massaged his face. After Lee Gun’s death, nothing had been normal for him.
“Please give me your phone number! I’ll give you the dry cleaning fee later…”
When Hugo started searching for his phone, Chun Jiwoo laughed. “It’s fine. I don’t need the dry cleaning fee.”
“What? Ah! Would you like dinner…!”
“I don’t want food….”
Chun Jiwoo stared at Hugo as she laughed. “What about a drink?”
* * *
Clank!
It was five in the afternoon, a bit too early to be drinking.
When a particular customer entered the pub, the owner’s mouth fell open in surprise. “What the hell? He came with someone else today?”
It was as if he had seen a ghost. The ones entering the store were none other than Hugo and Chun Jiwoo.
The personable male owner quickly took the appetizer as he pounded Hugo on the back. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“What?”
“What do you mean, what? You always come here to drink while you look for Gun. You’ll fall asleep, and when I wake you up in the morning, you start drinking again since Gun isn’t back.”
“Damn it! I never did that!”
Hugo gestured for the owner to just take the order, but the owner continued to whisper.
“She’s a very pretty lady. Is she your girlfriend?”
“She’s not!!!”
The owner looked disappointed as he turned around. “Alright. Do you want the chicken leg combo?”
“What? Ah….”
“Why are you suddenly looking at the menu? You’ll do as you always do. ‘Gun~ The food you like is here~ Gun~ If you don’t hurry up and come back, I’m going to eat all the chicken legs~’ You’ll empty your glass and eat from our restaurant’s special menu. You’ll eat the ‘Chicken that Gun Likes,’ right?”
“Damn it! Please stop!!!”
The owner uproariously laughed as he looked at Chun Jiwoo. “Miss, he might look like a beggar right now, but he’s the Zodiac Saint of the Sagittarius temple. Of course, it’s hard to tell when he is in this state…”
Chun Jiwoo laughed. “Ah. I already know that.”
“Oh! You do know. He might look like this, but he’s amazing…”
“Ah. Right. Amazing…”
When Chun Jiwoo let out a bright smile, Hugo was touched. He started drinking his cup of water. Well, it was all thanks to Lee Gun that he could be complimented as being amazing…
“I don’t know if you’re amazing or not, but I do know you were Lee Gun-nim’s sidekick, right?”
“Pffft!!!”
Hugo choked on the water that he had been drinking. He coughed.
The owner was also surprised as he looked at Chun Jiwoo, but she merely smiled.
“You always charged the monsters, yet got beaten up! That’s you, right?”
“Pffft!!!”
In the end, the owner burst out laughing, and Hugo couldn’t raise his head in embarrassment.
“That is…!”
“What?”
“It isn’t like that…!! I did get beaten up by monsters, but that happened a long time ago…!”
Chun Jiwoo also looked embarrassed as she laughed. “Ah! I’m sorry! If I’m being honest, I’m not interested in the other apostles aside from Lee Gun-nim…. You are Hurie Orison-nim, right?”
“Cough!!”
Hugo once again coughed up blood. He finally realized how she was perceiving him.
‘Well, Gun was extremely popular.’
Lee Gun had been as famous as Stevens, Hailey, and Kevin—the three most popular Zodiac Saints.
‘In certain scenarios, he was the most popular.’
Because of his character and careless personality, he had a lot of enemies. However, most knew Lee Gun was a hero working for humanity.
When everyone had given up, Lee Gun had been the hero who had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He had become a paragon for the world.
It was why so many people had gathered at his funeral.
In the end, Hugo kept drinking his beer as he looked at Chun Jiwoo. “Ah! Didn’t you say you have something you want to give me…”
“Ah.”
As if she had remembered something, Chun Jiwoo opened her bag. In truth, a certain item was the reason Chun Jiwoo had asked for a drink with Hugo.
“I have an item that belongs to Lee Gun-nim, and I couldn’t think of anyone else to give it to.”
Hugo was surprised. “Gun’s item? How do you know Gun…!”
Chun Jiwoo laughed as she held a small box. “In truth, Lee Gun-nim is our family’s benefactor.”
“What?”
“Do you perhaps remember the incident at the Yanghwa bridge?”
“Ah… Yes! A monster appeared there and destroyed the bridge…”
“My father and I were there. I was kidnapped by the monster, and I was almost eaten by it, but Lee Gun-nim had saved me at that moment.”
“Ah…!”
Hugo remembered it. He had called Lee Gun to find out where Lee Gun had gone. Lee Gun had been injured at the time and told Hugo that he was exercising after a meal.
As if slicing up the monster wasn’t enough, Lee Gun had salted the monster before eating it on-air, something that couldn’t be aired!
Hugo suddenly felt nauseous. He put a hand over his mouth.
On the other hand, Chun Jiwoo was pleased as she recalled the memory. She touched the box. “At the time, my father bought Lee Gun-nim a meal… Lee Gun-nim put me in charge of keeping this item. He said he’ll come back for it after returning from the Devil’s Tower… In the end, he wasn’t able to take it back…”
“Ah….” Hugo couldn’t say anything.
It seemed the item in her possession was why Chun Jiwoo had come to pay her respects to Lee Gun.
“I’ll be leaving Korea soon, and I didn’t have a good place to store it. This was why I was looking for someone to hand it over to. Thankfully, I met the owner of this item.”
Seeing Chun Jiwoo’s smile, Hugo tilted his head in puzzlement. “Owner?”
“Yes. The item that Lee Gun left in my possession… It wasn’t for himself. He said it was an item that he would give to his precious partner.”
Hugo was surprised when he opened the box. The box contained a watch. Moreover, it was a very familiar watch.
A couple of years ago…
- Do as you wish. But I’m not going to teach you anything.
- Thank you!!!
- I really won’t teach you anything, but you have to keep feeding me. I want enough to feed fifty people. After two hours, I want a snack…. Ah. My watch is broken.
- Please use mine! My grandfather gave it to me when I was in high school. It’s a bit old, but it’ll do the job for you!
It was the watch that Hugo had given to Lee Gun in the past. However, Lee Gun had said he couldn’t use it because it smelled like a young master from a wealthy family. He had said he sold it because he had been running low on money.
- What? You said you had a lot of watches similar to that one. I sold it because it was broken. What about it?
- Hey!! I had only that one left…!
- Ah. Whatever. I used the funds to buy food.
Chun Jiwoo explained, “My father runs a watch repair shop. This was why Lee Gun-nim left it with us. He wanted us to swap out the watch strap for something special.”
Hugo closely looked at the watch strap. It was glossy as if it was new, and Hugo realized that it wasn’t a normal watch strap.
‘It is a talisman-type holy item.’
He became sure of it when he saw the letters engraved on the inward side of the watch strap. Lee Gun had upgraded the watch for him using a talisman-type holy item.
- You always complained that you want to be able to solo fights. I made this bow with that in mind. You’ll be able to become a solo player.
Lee Gun had already made him a bow that would allow him to solo fights. It seemed Lee Gun wanted to make sure that Hugo would be protected after he had retired, so he had made this item.
When Chun Jiwoo saw the expression on Hugo’s face, she grabbed his arm. “I don’t know much, but I do know Lee Gun-nim wanted his partner to be safe even if he wasn’t present. That was what he said.”
Hugo shed tears as he looked at the watch. He was crying in front of others as a grown man. He didn’t care if they made fun of him.
“Idiot. You did something that is like you.” He laughed as he wiped away his tears.
In the future, this watch would become the badge of the Sagittarius temple.
