“I never expected you guys to come here of all places.”
They were in the living room of Hugo’s house. Hugo looked displeased as he threw a glass of whiskey through the air.
Hweek!
Stevens took the glass out of the air. He sat on the other side of Hugo, looking intimidated.
Hugo had opened the expensive whiskey that they had brought as a housewarming gift. It was a whiskey that sold for fifty million won.
“I don’t know why you are here, but I’ll allow you to stay until we drink all of this. Hurry up and tell me why you are here. Then you can leave.”
Stevens nodded as he looked at Hugo in fear. To be precise, he was scared of Yooha, whom Hugo held in his arms.
Yooha sat on Hugo’s knee, pressing the remote control’s button. Her rage could be felt through her hand gesture.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click!
She kept glaring at Stevens. Her eyes asked, “Why isn’t this working?”.
Stevens was shaking in fear.
‘Damn it! I have no idea why the missile isn’t coming for me.’
Yang Wei had been sent flying after being hit by the missile, yet no missile had come for Stevens. The Leo Saint had no idea why, but he did know one thing…
‘Hugo gave that to his daughter.’
Stevens felt a surge of anger as he protested to Hugo. “Have you lost your mind? Why would you give that to a kid?!”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“What’s wrong with it? Hey! You know what that item was used for, right? You watched from the sidelines as Lee Gun frequently used it to blow us up! You know its killing power, yet you gave it to a little kid?!”
Hugo looked dumbfounded. “What nonsense are you talking about? It’s broken. It isn’t activating right now.”
“It did activate! Didn’t you see Yang Wei being blown away?”
“Hmmph. You idiots are probably at fault for doing something stupid.”
Aggrieved, Stevens as he looked at Yooha. “It isn’t like that! Your daughter sent a missile!”
“Shut up! My kid sent nothing your way! My kid gets frightened by the sound of thunder and jumps into my arms! There is no way a timid girl like her would send a missile your way!”
“Damn it!” Stevens pounded his chest in frustration, but he also could guess why the missile hadn’t come for him.
‘It’s because Hugo was next to me.’
He wasn’t certain, but the remote control didn’t activate if he was next to Hugo. This was why Stevens discreetly moved closer to Hugo.
When she saw this, Yooha’s mochi-like cheeks puffed out as she continued to press the button.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click!
Yooha pouted as she hugged the broken Lee Gun figurine.
Hugo laughed as he kept his eyes on Yooha. “Hey, Yooha. Dad will buy you a new Gun figurine. Please stop being angry. Ok?”
With unshed tears in her eyes, Yooha shook her head from side to side. “No. No.”
“No?”
“Lee Gun-nim alwedy dwed. New one is useless…”
It was rare to see Yooha cry. A surprised Hugo patted her back. “I understand. Then I’ll take it to a hospital and ask the doctor to save Gun. Will that be ok?”
“Wheally? We can swave him?”
“Yes. We can save him.”
Of course, they couldn’t bring back the real Gun.
Yooha seemed to have accepted his father’s words, but…
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click!
“Hey! Stop pressing that thing!!!!”
Yooha completely ignored Stevens’s shout. She continued to press the button.
Hugo looked at Stevens as if he were pathetic. “So? Why are you here?”
Stevens flinched. It seemed he finally remembered why he had come here. “I heard you’re going around shooting down rumors about Lee Gun. We would like you to stop it.”
Hugo’s eyes flashed as if he hadn’t expected something like this. “Get out! Right now!”
“Hugo.”
“You guys are a bunch of cowards. If I nip the rumors about Gun too quickly, are you afraid of being criticized?!”
“I’m sorry, Hugo.”
“…!”
Hugo’s eyes turned round at the unexpected words, but Stevens truly meant it.
“If only we had carried out the plan…”
What would have happened if they hadn’t run away from Red Eye in fear?
“Lee Gun might not have fallen into the trap.”
It was the mighty Lee Gun that they were talking about. He had recovered over 50% of humanity’s territory, and he was a monster that had killed Red Eye. How could someone like that fall into a trap?
In truth, someone had spoken up about it. That person was the one who Lee Gun called the rotten Crab.
- That trap was strong, but it wasn’t strong enough that he wouldn’t have been able to run away from it. Yet Lee Gun fell into the trap. Why do you think that happened?
- T…That’s… Isn’t it because Lee Gun weakened over time?
- Do you really think that’s true? You are shameless. We didn’t follow the plan. As if that wasn’t enough, everyone ran away in fright. The plan was almost unraveled, and the world almost came to an end.
- !
- Thankfully, Lee Gun was able to kill it. However, he was supposed to act as our support only. It put too much stress on Lee Gun’s body. He was weakened to a point where he couldn't even dodge the trap.
- …!!
- Everyone who ran away is responsible for Lee Gun’s death.
None of them had anything to say in response.
Stevens couldn’t raise his head because he had been the first one to run away.
“That is why I’m sorry. We are basically responsible for Lee Gun’s death.”
Hugo became angry. He violently grabbed Stevens by his throat. Murderous intent was written all over his face and eyes. “It has been five years, and now you’re admitting it…!!!”
An angry Hugo was about to punch Stevens’s face, but he stopped himself. He saw his daughter’s face. It seemed he had scared her.
“Whatever. It isn’t as if my relationship with you guys will improve just because you’re doing this.”
“…!”
Hugo was still being highly sought-after by the other Zodiac Saints. He looked at Stevens with a cold look in his eyes. “Why did you guys claim to have killed Red Eye?”
Stevens thought about what had happened at the time. When the reporters were asking a slew of questions as to who had killed Red Eye, Stevens had been about to answer, but someone else had beaten him to the punch.
- Stevens killed it!
The one to speak was Sergeyevich.
Surprised, Stevens had grabbed Sergeyevich. However, Ivan spoke up next.
- That’s right. It was Stevens. We all helped in killing Red Eye, but Stevens was the one to decapitate it.
- Hey!
They put pressure on Stevens to keep him in line. It seemed they needed a sacrificial sheep who would represent them.
They chose Stevens since he had the most support amongst the populace, and he was the most likely one among them to have pulled off such a feat.
Hugo fiercely asked, “Then why didn't you say anything at that time?”
“Do you remember what I said before Lee Gun died?”
Hugo furrowed his brows.
- Do you know when hope disappears? It’s when the being that deserves our faith disappears. If humanity wants to win, Lee Gun must be the symbol of victory. He’ll make us believe that humanity will win in the end.
That was what Stevens had said.
The Leo Saint said, “I was more afraid of hope disappearing than the criticism.”
“You thought hope would disappear?”
Stevens groaned. Red Eye was dead, but the problem remained that a great number of monsters had yet to be killed.
To make matters worse, the one to die among the awakened beings was the true hero, who had killed Red Eye. The ones to survive were the fake heroes, who had run away.
If the truth of this matter became known, the world would despair. They would ask why the fake ones were spared instead of Lee Gun.
Humanity would lose hope when the war hadn’t yet come to an end. They would start to panic.
At that point, the Zodiacs would have a hard time using their power, and all of humanity would be destroyed.
“People can freak out after all the monsters are gone.”
“That’s why you kept your mouth shut?”
“Yes. Humanity needs hope. That’s why I kept my mouth shut, and I planned on telling the truth after we got rid of all the monsters.”
“What nonsense! Do you really think I’ll believe such a story?”
“Then you can tell everyone about it.”
Hugo mocked Stevens. “You’re an idiot. Do you not realize why they put your name on all the accomplishments? They are trying to cut off their tail. If anything goes awry, they can put the blame on a single person. They’ll put it all on you.”
“That’s a problem that I’ll deal with when it happens.”
However, that wasn’t important right now.
‘Giselle.’
“That woman is gunning for you.”
It was because Hugo was aggressively striking down the recent rumors about Lee Gun.
Hugo contemptuously looked at Stevens. “You came here to give me that warning?”
“Yes. You have a family now. You should refrain from standing out too much.”
Giselle’s power wasn’t normal. Of course, Stevens had tried to interfere not too long ago when Giselle was trying to get rid of Hugo….
“Anyway, you can look me up if you’re in a tough spot. You don’t even have any good weapons.”
“Get out of here. There is no way I’ll ask for your help. Also, you came here in vain if you are here looking for forgiveness.”
Stevens wasn’t looking for one. He laughed as he patted Yooha’s head. “Hey, kid. If you need anything, Uncle will help you.”
“Don’t need chu. My dad is stronger than you!”
Stevens snorted. “Yes. That’s right. Your father is the strongest in this world. That’s why you should meet someone like your father.”
Hugo became furious. “He’s talking nonsense, Yooha. Don’t fall for his lip service.”
Hugo looked at him as if Stevens had said something he didn’t mean.
This left Stevens dumbfounded. “I went out of my way to praise you in front of your daughter, yet…”
“Listen to me, Yooha! Dad isn't the strongest! Gun is the strongest in this world!!!”
“?!”
It seemed Hugo was disgruntled by that particular claim. He grabbed his daughter and started brainwashing(?) her.
“Do you understand me?! Gun is the strongest in the world! Don’t try to meet someone like Dad! You must find someone like Gun!!”
“Wheally? Lee Gun-nim is the bwest?”
Stevens looked at Hugo in shock. Since Hugo’s face looked fine, Stevens hadn’t noticed it, but Hugo was drunk!
“Yes, Yooha! Follow after me! Gun is the best!”
“Gun is the bwest!”
“One more time!!”
“Bwest!”
Stevens started letting out a cold sweat as he looked at Hugo. W…Was this really ok???
* * *
A couple of months passed, and Yooha’s younger brother was born.
It was a healthy boy, and after the mother and the child were discharged, the family gathered to celebrate in happiness.
“Ha ha ha! Since he’s a boy, no one will stop me!!!” Hugo ran toward the community service center to register the birth of his child.
Lee Jaewon, who had tenaciously interfered with Hugo when Yooha was born, was out on a mission for a short period. Of course, he had been very worried before leaving.
- Zodiac Saint-nim. You must not. I repeat. You must not name your second child Gun, Gundol, or Gunshik. None of them is ok!!!
- I understand. Hurry up and go.
- You really must not!!!
As the date of the birth approached, Lee Jaewon had kept a watch on him. However, he was gone right now! And Hugo had received permission from his wife!
“Please write down my kid’s name as Gun!!!”
“?!”
Taken aback, the employee of the community service center looked between Hugo and the paperwork. “Y…You really want this?”
“Yes.”
The employee of the community service center kept an eye on him as he went over the paperwork.
In the end, the employee let out a bitter laugh as he looked at Hugo, who seemed a bit drunk. “Excuse me… There are too many letters…”
“How about this?”
[Genius-Throughout-Heaven-and-Earth-Cool-and-Handsome-Gun]
“That one is a bit too….”
“Let’s make it simple. <Lee Gun>!”
“Excuse me… You have to match the last name…”
“Chun Lee Gun!!!”
The employee of the community service center was sweating as he laughed. Going ahead with the paperwork wouldn’t be too hard, but something about Hugo’s state seemed off.
“Excuse me… Why don’t you come back tomorrow after you get the alcohol out of your system?”
If the employee let this proceed, he would be creating an embarrassing moment for the man in the morning.
However, Hugo was stubborn. “It’s fine! Do it before the obstructer comes back! Hurry!”
Hugo ignored the call he received from Lee Jaewon, who had said, “I’m going there right now. Wait for me.”
Hugo quickly stamped his seal and handed over the documents.
However, it didn’t take long for the sweating employee to speak up. “I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to use this name.”
“What?! Why!!!”
“Recently, we have discovered cases of identity theft. People used Lee Gun-nim’s name to conduct phishing and commit crimes. So, Lee Gun-nim’s name has been designated as a special name. We won’t be able to give that name to a newborn for a while.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
At that moment…
“Zodiac Saint-nim!!!” The fuming Lee Jaewon dragged Hugo away. “Here! This is the real paperwork drafted by your wife! You should sit here and do nothing!”
“Wahhhh!”
In the end, Hugo failed to name his second child Lee Gun. Instead, the second child received the name “Chun Sungjae.”
