The crackling campfire added to the atmosphere.
Before we knew it, evening had arrived.
After we all watched the glowing World Tree together, we gathered under the darkened sky.
As night fell, the Milky Way, which had lost its light, gently shimmered.
Underneath, the flickering campfire illuminated Ara’s face brightly.
Gulp.
Skewered vegetables, small fish, and marshmallows were roasting over the fire.
Ara, who had never tried marshmallows before, sat by the fire with an eager look, holding her skewer.
“Here comes the hot curry!”
“Woah!”
We made curry in large pots for our late-night snack.
The golden curry was poured over freshly cooked white rice.
As soon as that happened, Ara, who had been enthusiastically roasting marshmallows (but not very well, as she was too far from the fire), quickly rushed over.
“Curry time!”
“Yes, should we eat the curry first before the marshmallows?”
“Yes! Marshmallows take too long to roast!”
Ara, isn’t that because you’re too far from the fire?
I decided to show her how to roast them properly later and started serving the curry to everyone.
Gulp.
Even while serving, I couldn’t help but swallow my own saliva.
Since this was my first time making curry after growing my own rice, I was full of anticipation.
Thanks to everyone helping with serving, we finished quickly.
“Those who want more, feel free to help yourselves now!”
“Woah! Thank you!”
The people, already thinking of getting seconds, smiled brightly.
At that moment, Ara had already emptied her first bowl.
“I want more!”
“Ara, you’re such a glutton.”
“Yes, I’m a glutton!” Ara said proudly, puffing out her chest, and everyone burst into laughter.
I couldn’t help but smile at her adorable demeanor as I served her another heaping bowl of curry.
“Thank you!”
“Make sure to eat it with the fish too.”
“I think roasted vegetables would go well with the curry,” someone chimed in.
As people considered various ways to enjoy the curry, they took a bite and then… froze.
Without a word, they began devouring the curry and rice.
“Aren’t you going to eat it with the fish and roasted vegetables?”
I wanted to pair mine with roasted bell peppers.
Roasting them enhanced their sweetness and deepened the flavor.
I imagined the combination would be fantastic with the curry rice.
I scooped up a large spoonful and brought it to my mouth…
Whoosh!
What is this?
For a moment, the image of a dungeon of Wrath flashed through my mind.
A bubbling sea of lava.
But instead of feeling hot, it was a pleasantly warm sensation!
I realized that it wasn’t lava but the curry itself, bubbling like molten liquid, enveloping my whole body.
Gulp.
As I barely swallowed it down, a rich aftertaste of spices followed, leaving a delightful tingle on my tongue.
I had made three types of curry this time: mild, spicy, and extra spicy, and I had opted for the spicy one.
This was possible because I had cultivated my own chili peppers.
Adding chili to the curry had been a stroke of genius.
Delicious…!
Not to mention the rice, which I proudly boasted was the best among all my crops.
This combination was an assault of flavor.
I could see myself making and eating this regularly, almost as a staple food.
The curry itself was the result of simmering down my crops until they melted, so it was impossible for it not to taste good.
The vegetables, which had lost their shape and turned into liquid, became the base of the broth, and when combined with curry ingredients like turmeric, garlic, ginger, and cloves, it created a flavor that was nothing short of heavenly.
If this didn’t taste good, it could only be because it was burnt.
Even then, I bet it would still taste better than most food.
Sigh…
As I swallowed the curry in my mouth, I let out a deep breath.
It was a sigh of satisfaction.
Looking around, I saw that people had already lined up in front of the pot for refills.
Since there were three levels of spiciness, some people were eager to try them all.
Thanks to that, the curry, which was supposed to be a simple late-night snack, was quickly devoured in no time.
“What a shame.”
“They scraped the pot clean. Not a drop of broth left.”
The pot was so thoroughly emptied that there was no need for washing.
The rice, too, was completely gone.
“Snack time!”
Only then did Ara pick up her marshmallow skewer again and resume roasting with enthusiasm.
A snack, huh?
I thought it would be nice to have some Layla fruit as dessert, so I went to the storage and brought it out.
If you’ve eaten rice, you should follow it up with some fruit.
We all sat around together, peeling and eating Layla.
Watching everyone gathered around the fire, quietly eating Layla, looked rather cute.
“Kyu-seong.”
“Yes, hyung.”
While I was enjoying my Layla, Young-seong suddenly called out to me and pulled something out to show me.
I wondered what it was, and then he revealed the identity of the item.
“These are fireworks. Can we use them here?”
“Oh! You brought fireworks?”
I hadn’t expected fireworks, but I figured Ara would love it.
Ara, however, was completely absorbed in eating Layla with Ryu Cheon, Seon-ah, and Jeong So-yeon, paying no attention to our conversation.
“Fireworks sound fun. Should we try them now?”
“Let’s do it.”
With my approval, Young-seong began pulling out fireworks he had hidden away.
I thought he brought a lot since there were many people, but as time passed, more and more fireworks kept coming out, and my expression slowly hardened.
How many fireworks did this guy bring?!
There were all kinds of fireworks, in different sizes and types.
I was impressed by how much he had prepared.
“Did you buy these online? Wait, can you even buy fireworks online?”
“I made them myself.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Yeah, I’ve been making them bit by bit just for today. Hehe.”
Wait, seriously…?
Is this what he’s been doing instead of working at his job?!
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all as he finally finished pulling out the last of the fireworks.
At some point, his wife, Si-young, had come up beside us and sighed, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry, Kyu-seong. My husband still hasn’t quite grown up…”
“Wow, this one’s huge! I bet the explosion will be massive too. What was that, hyung?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Looking at the fireworks, I felt my excitement rising too.
This was going to be fun!
We quickly informed everyone else, who had been resting or playing in their own ways, about the fireworks, and started preparing to light them.
“Alright, let’s start with these!”
Young-seong lit the fuse of the fireworks he had prepared.
The fuse burned down quickly, and soon, whoosh—a firework shot up into the sky.
“Whoa! It’s flying! Is that a breath attack?!”
Ara, who had been watching beside me, stared wide-eyed in amazement.
We all looked up at the sky, following its path, and then…
Bang!
With a loud pop, the firework exploded in the air.
Boom!!
Pa-pa-pa-pat!
“Oooo.”
“Wow.”
“It seems Chief Choi has been making these in the lab all along.”
“Uh oh, the Guild Master’s expression just stiffened.”
The fireworks were the epitome of brilliance. They were much more colorful and dazzling than the ones you could buy in stores, captivating not just Ara but all the other children as they gazed up at the sky in awe.
Fwooosh!
Bang!
Since there were so many fireworks prepared, they shot into the sky one after another, bursting in a spectacular display.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Do you think the Guild Master will forgive him after this?”
“I think he might actually be angrier. I mean, these fireworks are too well-made.”
Ara’s face was bathed in different colors, depending on the hues of the fireworks she was watching. She stood there, completely mesmerized, staring up at the sky in silence. I found myself more focused on watching her adorable, dumpling-like expression than the fireworks themselves.
Like me, Ryu Cheon and Seon-ah, who seemed more interested in Ara than the fireworks, were busily taking pictures and videos.
Hey, that’s an invasion of privacy. Could you tone it down with the photos of Ara, please?
The scale of the fireworks grew larger and larger, and towards the end, the sheer size and magnificence of the display left everyone’s jaws dropping.
Instead of a single explosion, one firework would burst multiple times in succession, drawing louder cheers and exclamations of surprise from the crowd.
“Wooow.”
Even Ara, who had been watching quietly with Gomgom tucked by her side, finally let out a small exclamation. Though it seemed like an unconscious reaction, her expression was still one of pure awe.
Pop-pop-pop!
Sizzle.
With the final firework exploding, the grand firework show came to an end.
Or so we thought.
“Now, anyone who wants to try some handheld fireworks, come and get one,” Young-seong announced.
Curious, I looked over to see that there were small handheld fireworks available for anyone to use.
However, despite the offer, no one approached.
Puzzled, I glanced around and saw that everyone was watching Ara and the children with eager anticipation.
“I want to do it!”
With a grin, Ara and one of the Kkumuris quickly ran over to Young-seong, raising their hands.
Their cute enthusiasm made it impossible to keep a straight face. Young-seong lit the small handheld fireworks and handed them to Ara and Kkumuris.
Fizzle.
The tiny fireworks sparkled and burst prettily, lighting up Ara’s face as she laughed gleefully.
“Fireworks! Hehe!”
“Hehe!”
Soon, other Kkumuris approached, extending their hands to Young-seong.
Each Kkumuris held a small firework, running around in all directions, brightening the surroundings.
The sight was magical, almost like something out of a fairy tale, and it filled me with warmth.
“This is so healing.”
“I could live here forever, just watching this peaceful scene.”
“I’m already sad. We’ll have to say goodbye tomorrow.”
“You can work hard and come back next time. Kyu-seong said he’d organize more gatherings like this in the future.”
The scene of the little ones running around with fireworks in hand was adorable.
Ara approached me, holding a firework in each hand.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
“Yes?”
“I’m happy!”
“I’m happy too.”
I lifted Ara up and placed her on my shoulders.
She gleefully spun her fireworks in the air, laughing in delight as she rode on my shoulders.
And so, the first Ara Hongryeon gathering came to a close, marking the end of a long day.
***
“I wanted to go too…”
Back at the Awakening Headquarters, those left behind to work overtime wore disheartened expressions as they were buried in paperwork.
Due to the recent surge in activity, they hadn’t been able to attend the event, even though Kyu-seong had invited them.
Chief Jeon Young-joo, in particular, looked close to tears.
“At my level, shouldn’t I be done with overtime by now?”
“No matter how you look at it, the Awakening Headquarters is like a pit of endless work. There’s no end to it, and we can’t even transfer to another department…”
“Transfer? You think I’m going to let you transfer?! We’re all stuck in this hell together!”
“That’s what I was saying, Chief… There’s nowhere to transfer to anyway.”
The only small comfort they had was the snacks Kyu-seong had sent over.
They munched on dried produce, trying to console themselves about their situation.
“Chief!”
“Whoa, you scared me. What’s the matter?”
“We just received a message from the Iron Sight Guild in the U.S.!”
“Iron Sight? The Iron Sight I know?”
Jeon Young-joo immediately stood up and followed her subordinate.
Iron Sight was a massive guild located in Silicon Valley, one of the top 10 in the U.S., with a status that rivaled or even surpassed China’s Skyscraper Guild.
“Hmm…”
“Currently, Kyu-seong and all of the Ara Hongryeon members are at a gathering in his dungeon, so we can’t inform him of this right away.”
Jeon Young-joo silently checked the email from Iron Sight.
The message was simple.
They were interested in Kyu-seong’s items and planned to visit Korea soon.
They also politely mentioned that they were sending the message in advance to avoid any misunderstandings.
“So, the U.S. has finally noticed.”
The fact that the U.S. had taken notice of Kyu-seong wasn’t a good sign.
They were notorious for swooping in with overwhelming capital and snatching up exceptional talent.
In fact, quite a few of Korea’s Awakened had already been taken this way.
Moreover, there was even a Korean Awakened who had naturalized and joined Iron Sight.
“We absolutely cannot let them take Kyu-seong!”
The furrow in Jeon Young-joo’s brow deepened as her concern grew.
Cliche Novel 