He opens the door and sees the landlord and his parents sitting tensely.
His father was talking desperately with the landlord.
His mother was sitting holding her temple.
He looked at Ji-Ho, who was standing beside his mother.
He went to Ji-Ho and asked him about the situation, but he said that he didn't know.
Si-Hun was worried.
All of this was affecting his brother negatively.
Ji-Ho wasn't as mature.
"Dad. What's going on?"
"Go to your room."
"At least tell me wha-
"I said GO TO YOUR ROOM."
Si-Hun didn't argue anymore and went to ask his mom.
"Why is the landlord here?"
"He is asking for the rent, but we already have a lot of debt. We are not able to pay him this month. Your father is trying to convince him to give us 1 month, and we'll pay him this month's and next month's rent."
"All of a sudden."
"Now go back to your room. It's not like you're any help."
That…hit hard.
Si-Hun was about to say something, but seeing his mother say that, he kept his words in his throat.
He turned and left.
Kuro was seeing his interaction with his mom, and he felt…something—a sting in his chest which he had never felt before.
"Why does my chest feel heavy, and it is hurting?"
He was unfamiliar with what he was experiencing,
He didn't like how his master's parents interacted with him and called him a burden.
Si-Hun was in his room.
He lay down, quietly thinking
"It doesn't hurt anymore; their comments."
He wasn't really sad or hurt.
It was normal
He'd adapted, so it didn't seem like a big deal.
His heart was numb, like any feelings were never even there.
"Master. Why do you let them treat you like this?"
"Kuro, they're my parents."
"But they don't have any right to treat you like a burden. You're their son."
"I'm deciding to move out."
"What?"
"I've had enough with this. I won't bother anyone here. I have some money saved up. I can go on more portal raids and do extra work. This way, I should be able to move to a small apartment in the main city."
"Okay, but master, you already do too much work every day. You have too many responsibilities. How will you manage that, the bills, food, utilities, everything? You're just 20."
"I will manage."
"Master, you're pushing yourself too much."
"I have to."
His voice cracked, but it was stern.
Si-Hun's schedule was tough and packed.
He had plenty of low-level portal raids to go.
He has 3 raids to go to tomorrow.
"Master, you will level up rapidly during these raids, and you will gain XP and abilities. You can go to mid-level raids after you gain more powers."
"I'm afraid people will notice."
"People will, but if I say the truth, these powers are not exactly from master Eravus; they come from inside. You're not gaining power because master Eravus is helping you; master Eravus has designed the XP to be related to the person's brain and heart. Their determination and commitment matter. So, ultimately, if you continue, your powers will be a result of your willingness to grow stronger and not give up when you're broken. People will notice, but it's YOUR hard-earned strength that no one can even dare have 1% of. Master chose you because only you had the potential to control this much power. I can't tell you more."
Si-Hun looked at Kuro, who was super invested.
"How come you say such things when all you do is annoy me?"
"What?? I can be like this, too."
"Differently built."
"I'm just unique." He said, smirking.
Si-Hun felt light, and he was bonding with Kuro very well.
4 a.m:
~Ringgg
No response.
"Master! Wake up!!"
Si-Hun was fast asleep.
He pushed Si-Hun's shoulder.
When he didn't wake up, Kuro slapped him hard on his arm.
"Ahh! Bro, what is wrong with you!?"
"You wouldn't wake up otherwise!"
Si-Hun got up with a frustrated face.
They went to the hills.
"It's starting to get cold now."
"I'm not cold."
"Because you can't even feel the cold! Dumbass."
"Shut up!"
Si-Hun bent down for push-ups.
"My goal is 50. Count for me."
Si-Hun began doing push-ups.
He was so invested that he didn't even notice that Kuro was not counting.
When he started getting tired, he realized that Kuro was not counting.
"Kuro! I told you something."
"Told me what? That you got a girlfriend!?"
"NO SILLY, I told u to count my push-ups."
"Ahhh, I forgot…"
"Bro, why! You're always so lost."
In reality, Kuro hadn't forgotten to count. He was testing Si-Hun's limits, how far he can go to achieve his goal, and even after being exhausted because of doing 117 push-ups, he thought that he had not reached 50 yet and continued.
It showed the power of commitment.
Si-Hun started his second set, and like this, he was done with his workout.
"Bro, I want you to practice with me, since you can't get hurt."
"Umm, ok. But I don't know how you do kickboxing, but I can guess it with my intelligence, so don't cry if you lose."
"You got confidence. Okay."
"1, 2, 3 Go!"
They started sparring.
Si-Hun started punching.
His punches were fast, powerful, and controlled.
One punch, then another, he landed his punches straight at Kuro's face.
Kuro, after seeing his master do it, was getting the hang of it.
He landed a punch at Si-Hun.
Si-Hun gasped at the impact.
Blood started coming out of his nose.
While fighting:
"Master should I stop?"
"No. Keep going."
"Okay."
Kuro was a shadow and highly intelligent, so he had grasped the movements really quickly.
Si-Hun was taken aback, but he leveled up his game too.
He studied Kuro's patterns and movements and dodged every single punch.
"Woah master!
Si-Hun punched one final punch at Kuro's face, and he fell back.
"You won."
"You learned."
They both chuckled, and Si-Hun relaxed.
This was the first time Kuro had heard his master's genuine chuckle.
Something rare to see.
"You did good, master. You studied me as a shadow, and I am very intelligent, but you still defeated me. No wonder master Eravus chose you."
"You learned fast. No wonder Eravus made you for me."
"Hahahaha."
They moved on to running.
After completing 10 laps, Si-Hun finally took a break.
"We'd better get going. I have many raids to go to. I don't want to overexhaust myself," Si-Hun said breathlessly.
"Yeah."
Si-Hun had too many responsibilities.
He had to fulfill each one.
A few hours passed, and Si-Hun and Kuro were at the portal site.
The portal was a bit strange one.
It felt like there were faint noises that were absorbed in the wind.