Chapter 4 : Sculpture

After that, Hyun-a and Seo-hyun sat on the sofa and continued their interrupted conversation.

Hyun-a talked about her mother, who had risen to a high position in the Guardian Association.
She also shared that she had awakened her own abilities and was receiving Guardian training at school.
She mentioned that while many parts of the world were suffering due to Gates, Korea was relatively safe.

Seo-hyun thought that Earth’s situation seemed considerably better compared to the other world, which was being ravaged by other beings.

She listened quietly to Hyun-a, sometimes nodding, sometimes asking questions in return.
Her way of speaking had become much more natural compared to before.

Now it was Seo-hyun’s turn to share his story.
He slowly began to explain his experiences.
Mostly, they were things he had experienced when he was still human.

“…That’s how I defeated the god, opened a dimensional gate, and returned.”
“You’ve been through so much… The things you experienced are on a completely different scale from what others go through…”

At Hyun-a’s words, Seo-hyun felt complex emotions toward her.
It was a feeling close to guilt for lying to his family.

Seo-hyun couldn’t bring himself to tell her that he had become an Outer God to find a way back.
He believed that it was information that wouldn’t do any good for her to know and that shouldn’t be known.

It was a story he wanted to hide even more precisely because she was his family.

As a result, he had to rack his brains and use all his vocabulary to embellish the story.
Thanks to Hyun-a, who patiently waited for him to finish, even though he spoke exceptionally slowly, he was able to tell her everything.

As they continued to talk, Seo-hyun asked Hyun-a something that had been bothering him.
He thought it wasn’t something he could ignore forever.

“…Hyun-a, why don’t you ask me anything about my appearance?”

Seo-hyun’s question was filled with concern and curiosity about Hyun-a.
Isn’t it perfectly natural for people to be concerned about their appearance?
This fact became increasingly clear as his human perspective gradually returned through their conversation.

That’s why Seo-hyun couldn’t help but worry.
Had something remaining within him surfaced without him knowing and launched some kind of mental attack on Hyun-a? Or was she harboring some suspicion about his appearance even though they were conversing so peacefully?

“Ah, hehe, I was intentionally not saying anything… Did that bother you? Some returnees come back with changed appearances… so I was going to wait until you told me. Many returnees suffered because of that.”

Hyun-a stuck her tongue out slightly, as if driving away Seo-hyun’s worries, and answered with an embarrassed laugh.
She placed the plastic bottle she’d taken out of the envelope on the glass table and continued.

“You were in a dangerous place, right? I thought something… a lot must have happened. Don’t worry too much. Unlike in the past, the Guardians have a lot of influence now, so no one thinks it’s strange if someone’s appearance has changed. And look, my eye color has changed too.”

Only then did Seo-hyun understand why Hyun-a hadn’t asked about his appearance until now.

She had been considerate of him.
He felt foolish for seriously wondering if she had been mind-controlled.

Three years later, the world had changed little by little from the one he lived in.
The idea that a person’s appearance could change had become common knowledge, there were people who had returned from other worlds, and monsters poured out of Gates created by unknown beings.

Seo-hyun, having experienced so much, didn’t think this was entirely beneficial, but he was also grateful.
Thanks to the events that occurred here while he was in another world, this place had become a society that could accept him, someone who had gone beyond being human and had changed both physically and internally.

“……”

Seo-hyun picked up the plastic bottle from the table, slowly brought it to his mouth, and gazed intently at his younger sister Hyun-a’s blue eyes.

Hyun-a’s eyes, which used to be close to brown, were now blue like his, but somehow Seo-hyun felt like he could read the affection, worry, and welcome for him within them.

After staring at Hyun-a for a while, Seo-hyun felt like the tangled threads in his heart were unraveling.
He didn’t seem to have any worries anymore, thanks to his kind younger sister, who had grown up well despite his absence.

From Seo-hyun’s perspective, which had been worried about friction with his family, this could be considered a very smooth reunion.

As Seo-hyun stared at her for a long time without saying anything, Hyun-a started to fidget, wondering how to take it.

“Wh-what’s wrong? Is something wrong? Now that I think about it, you said you went to such a world… It wouldn’t be strange if something was wrong, right? Should we go to the hospital first?”

Seeing his flustered younger sister, Seo-hyun found it funny and burst out laughing.

“Pu, puhut, chuckle…”

Hyun-a’s bewilderment continued for a while longer as her older brother, who had been expressionless since his return, suddenly began to laugh.

*

Time passed, and their conversation gradually shifted to trivial matters.

“…Ah, I’m starting to get hungry. Tell me how to open this.”

Seo-hyun, realizing his stomach was growling, held out a can of cola he’d pulled out from somewhere.

Hyun-a, who had taken the can in surprise, examined it with a strange look.
Leaving aside the fact that he was offering a drink, a blue imitation cola, when he said he was hungry, where was the can’s tab?

She had heard that his common sense was lacking, but the more they talked, the worse Seo-hyun’s condition seemed.

‘This is almost… like a child.’

It seemed that for Seo-hyun to live a normal life, someone would have to teach him everything, just like teaching a small child.
Fortunately, although he couldn’t remember words or how to use things, he seemed to remember most other things.

Worrying about how to teach Seo-hyun, Hyun-a threw the can into the trash can in the corner of the living room.

Two pairs of blue eyes followed the can as it flew lightly and landed in the trash can with a clang.
Looking at Seo-hyun slumped on the sofa with a lost expression, Hyun-a spoke with a sympathetic look.

“…Why would you eat this when you’re hungry? I ordered chicken because I thought you might be hungry, so wait a bit.”

Seo-hyun’s eyes widened at the word he had forgotten.

“…Chicken?”
“Yeah. I ordered a large cola too, so don’t drink that. That’s not even real cola.”

What happened after that is a common story.
Seo-hyun’s first meal after his return was well-fried chicken and spicy yangnyeom chicken.

He once again felt the reward of returning to Earth after three years.

And a few hours later, their mother, who had been contacted by Hyun-a, rushed in and shared a heartfelt hug with Seo-hyun.