In the immediate aftermath of the regression, I was so preoccupied with my own problems that I didn't even think about it. Or perhaps, I deliberately tried not to think about it.
Before the regression, Choi E-chan had also awakened as a Hunter. He was a Defense-type Hunter, ranked E.
My friends and I all congratulated him. While it wasn't generally considered a high rank, a Hunter is still a Hunter, and they were very rare.
No one suited the role of a Hunter better than Choi E-chan, who loved helping others.
We giggled, saying he might become so famous that we'd only be able to see him on TV.
But we really did end up not seeing him again.
A rift appeared near an elementary school in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Choi E-chan, who happened to be nearby, voluntarily jumped into the dungeon to prevent the children from being caught in it.
That was his first and last dungeon run.
Initially classified as an F-rank dungeon, it unexpectedly mutated into a higher-level attribute dungeon. Overwhelmed by the powerful attribute attacks, Choi E-chan couldn't even use his full strength and died.
The last name on the list of casualties in the news bulletin was his three-character name.
That was the end.
His body was never found.
After that day, talking about Choi E-chan became taboo among my friends. We even stopped talking about Hunters altogether.
No matter how great Hunters were, Choi E-chan had ultimately died. We didn't know how to accept the death of someone close.
"Kwon Ri, are you hurt? Your face doesn't look good."
Those words snapped me back to reality, and I lifted my head.
A face tanned by the sun looked at me worriedly.
He's still alive.
This is just a memory from before the regression; Choi E-chan is still safe.
Repeating this to myself, the trembling finally stopped.
"No, I'm fine..."
"Ah, I'll call you later. Let's grab a meal together sometime."
"Hey, wait a moment."
I called out, but Choi E-chan, who seemed to be jogging, waved and quickly ran far away. His back soon shrank to the size of a fingernail.
He's still alive.
But soon...
My heart pounded wildly.
Until now, I hadn't deeply considered the meaning of the regression.
I had just been relieved to have come back from death and was eager to live a different life from the past.
But that wasn't all.
Returning to the past meant this: I could meet someone I would never see again.
Perhaps... I could change the future.
The wind was cold. I stared at his retreating back for a moment before turning around.
* * *
"I'm back."
Rustle.
As I opened the door to the shop, a piece of paper blown by the wind fell on my head.
What's this?
When I picked it up, it turned out to be a tissue. In the center was a large footprint stamp from Meeum. It must have been the tissue with the footprint stamp that flew over from earlier.
I stuffed the tissue into my pocket, and another one rustled and flew over.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The tissues, all stamped with footprints, kept falling endlessly.
"..."
A bad feeling crept over me. I hurriedly entered the shop and looked around.
Piles of tissues were scattered on the floor and tables. Not only that, but the floor and walls were also covered with footprints from the enthusiastic stamping.
"Meeum, Lime, where are you?"
I searched the shop, and soon a thin cry came from the storage room.
Bang. I forcefully opened the door and looked inside.
A cat and a slime, who had been busy stamping footprints on the floor and ringing bells, were startled.
"Meeum?"
"Meow..."
"Lime?"
"Kyu..."
The two animals bowed their heads, looking ashamed.
"Stamping footprints must have been really fun, huh..."
It's good that they're energetic, but the thought of cleaning up all those ink marks made my head throb.
Raising animals is really hard...
* * *
Feeling a headache, Kwon Ji-woon lifted his head.
Time had flown, and it was already close to evening. There was still work to be done, but a heavy fatigue weighed him down.
"..."
He rubbed his eyes with his fingertips, looking very sensitive. His silver hair, which had turned silver after his awakening, added to the cold winter wind-like atmosphere.
Kwon Ji-woon picked up the document left on his desk.
He didn't need to read it; he already knew the content. He had received the same document many times, word for word.
The document was the search result for the guild leader of the *Silver Guild*, his older brother and Kwon Ji-woon's father.
There were no results.
His father had entered a dungeon a few years ago and never returned.
Under normal circumstances, one would assume he died in the dungeon. After all, Hunters dying in dungeons was a common occurrence since the advent of dungeons, monsters, and Awakened individuals.
However, Kwon Ji-woon didn't think his father was dead.
It wasn't just because he found it hard to accept reality. There were suspicious points on the day his father went missing.
So, he continued the search without giving up.
"..."
Kwon Ji-woon looked at his status window. A red mark flashed, indicating a notification.
[Mana is depleted.]
[Debuff: All stats reduced by 70%.]
He had overused his skills a few days ago while treating an injured Hunter from a recent rift. He had drunk potions repeatedly, but the debuff from mana depletion had reduced his stats to the bottom.
Since his father's disappearance, the *Silver Guild* had been Kwon Ji-woon's responsibility.
He had never found the responsibility burdensome. However, when his stats were in such a mess, a sense of powerlessness welled up inside him.
There was about 30 minutes until his next appointment.
Staring at the document wouldn't make new words appear. The headache only worsened.
Kwon Ji-woon put the document back on the desk and leaned back in his chair, thinking he should take a short break.
That's when he noticed a silver thermos in the corner of his desk. It was left by his cousin, Kwon Ri.
"He said he made coffee."
Kwon Ji-woon hesitated for a moment before reaching for the thermos.
"Even though I said I didn't need it."
Muttering this, he picked up the large thermos. The headache continued to torment him.
Kwon Ji-woon still opposed the idea of opening a cafe in front of the dungeon gate.
The Great Dungeon *Abyss*.
It appeared suddenly in the middle of the city, bringing monsters, Awakened individuals, and the system. An unknown dungeon that had brought all this.
Whenever he saw its endlessly rising walls, he felt a chill. Sometimes, it felt almost alive, though that was an absurd thought.
Currently, it was quiet, but who knew what might happen in the future. What if something dangerous happened right in front of the dungeon gate?
However, he couldn't stop Kwon Ri from doing what she wanted to do for the first time.
Kwon Ji-woon thought about his only cousin with a complex heart.
Since awakening as a rare Healer, Kwon Ji-woon had received a lot of attention.
The first A-rank Healer in Korea, with powerful healing skills. It was natural to have high expectations.
However, not all the attention was positive. Criticisms and attempts to belittle his abilities were one thing, but the attention extended to his family. Suspicion and criticism about his missing father, and...
Paparazzi and people approaching for favors targeted his only cousin.
In the end, Kwon Ji-woon thought it was better to keep his distance to protect his younger cousin.
The current Hunter world, though seemingly calm, was a den of demons. He wanted his cousin to stay away from this world.
Yet, a Hunter approached Ri, and his cheerful smile was very suspicious.
"..."
He should definitely move the cafe to the first floor of the guild. It would be more reassuring to keep it close.
The headache worsened. Though he didn't want to drink coffee, he hesitated to throw away the thermos and opened it.
The moment he lifted the lid, a soft coffee aroma filled the air. The nutty scent seemed to warm the surroundings.
"!"
Forgetting that he didn't want to drink coffee, Kwon Ji-woon immediately poured a cup.
The deep brown liquid was steaming hot, as if freshly brewed. The warmth soothed his tense muscles. Just one sip filled his mouth with the rich and savory flavor of the coffee.
By the time he realized it, he had finished the cup and poured another, feeling a sense of loss.
Then, he noticed his headache was gone. The debuff from mana depletion, which had plagued him all day, had completely disappeared.
'Status.'
The debuff in his status window had also been lifted, returning to normal.
What was going on? He had never seen a debuff lifted so quickly. What could be the reason...
A coincidence?
Kwon Ji-woon dismissed the thought.
What did it matter? The coffee his cousin made was delicious and made him feel better.
Not only the fatigue but also the heavy worries and anxieties that had always lingered in his mind were washed away. He had never felt so at ease since his awakening.
With the anxiety lifted, Ri's situation didn't seem so serious anymore.
"Maybe I don't need to be so hasty."
He had decided to make Ri move the cafe immediately, but now he reconsidered.
Let's just keep an eye on it for a while.
Kwon Ji-woon put down the empty cup. The fragrance lingered, enveloping him.
* * *
"Here? It's really quiet."
"It's a shop left by my late grandmother."
"It's really... um, charming and... peaceful and has a good atmosphere!"
Choi E-chan must have tried his best to say something nice about the old building standing alone on a desolate street.
When he heard I had opened a cafe, Choi E-chan said he wanted to visit. I immediately agreed.
Perhaps talking to him might help me find a way to change the future.
Choi E-chan was caught in the dungeon on the day the first snow fell nationwide. I don't remember the exact date, but I clearly remember it was during a weather news broadcast.
It's now late October. There's still some time before the snow season.
If I can recall more details in the meantime, maybe...