CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR!
────family reunion.

❝I KNOW A SORRY ISNT ENOUGH.❞

THE GINORMOUS GATE IN seoul's sky had the country in shock and curiosity.

below it, many citizens had their phones out recording it or taking pictures to upload it online.

but that wasn't the only place that was in shock by appearance of the gate.

ANOTHER GATE, JUST AS HUGE HAS APPEARED IN [YOUR COUNTRY]. IN THE SKY OF [YOUR CITY].

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

DOCTOR BELZER HAD made his introduction to the emergency conference with government officials in korea.

"i have been warning the authorities about the enormous
amount of magical power that was gathering in the skies, a
few days ago." he begins, his expression grim. "but these two gates are just beginning, and we can expect such gates appearing in the skies of many different countries."

a government official looks at the doctor in shock. "so you mean that these strange occurrences may happen in multiple places?"

"that is exactly the point i wanted to make."

"you have been researching gates and magical beasts for a
long time. what do you think would be the wisest response
we could take in this situation?" the official questions the bespectacled man.

doctor belzer sighs as he looked at the man, eyebrows furrowed.

"PRAY. PRAY THAT THIS WON'T END AS A TRAGEDY."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

IN [YOUR CITY], [YOUR COUNTRY]...

[y/n]'s hair swayed with the wind as she got up close to the gate with helios, that's right above her birth place.

the gate's color was pure, shining gold and it's center a sparkling white. it's light dyed her city in a soft gold.

but the feeling of the gate wasn't dangerous nor ominous, it felt warm and comforting which was already odd.

the female hunter reaches her hand to it, thinking she could enter but her hand physically stopped.

as if there was a wall.

"nothing?" a woman's voice asks her and the hunter sighs, shaking her head.

"yeah, it's like there's a wall stopping me from going in." [y/n] explains before turning to person who joined her on wyvern summon.

"HOW STRANGE, A GATE THAT EVEN THE AWAKENED CAN'T ENTER..."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

NAVIER WING, PRESIDENT OF [Y/C]'S HUNTER ASSOCIATION

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

navier wing, an ambitious and intelligent woman who took the position of president from her cheating ex-husband. she was also an s-class hunter, a mage/assassin type.

"i'm surprised you decided to join me, miss president." the player comments. "didn't think you'd be so willing to fly on a dragon."

the woman waves her hand in dismal. "something like this is nothing to me, i've faced with worse. besides, i wanted to take a look at it myself."

[y/n] smiles at her reply before turning back to the gate that's in front of her.

"usually, if there's a wall, i could have easily broken it down. but that's not the case this time."

"makes you wonder if the monsters from this gate will be different from what we've seen before."

she turns to the blonde woman, again. "did you get the information i asked of you?"

"yes, with both requests from us and the korean hunter association, the hunter bureau scanned for gates with their satellite." navier starts before her expression turns hesitant.

"THERE WERE NO NEW APPEARANCES OF GATES ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD."

the female player furrows her eyebrows. "so, does that mean there have been no new gates other that ones than the ones that have already been created?"

"yes, that is correct." the woman states with a nod.

'it's been a total of 3 hours, since both gates have appeared in seoul and [your city].' [y/n] recalls, gazing downward in thought. 'what are the fricking odds that no new gates have started appearing across the globe coincidentally in those 3 hours?'

this wasn't just a simple coincidence.

"as of right now, we are planning to evacuate the citizens that live near the gate. so, that we don't have a mass panic we're doing it by steps." navier states with a tired sigh, making the player notice.

"how bad was the mess you had to clean up?"

"horrible, that ex-husband of mine had no idea what he was doing."

[y/n] lets a laugh escape her lips. "surprised, that this hunter community didn't fall apart with him in charge."

"oh, do not even get me started on that." the president adds with a huff.

her sharp green eyes meet with the player's jewel like glowing golden eyes, wondering something.

"what are you planning to do when this thing opens, hunter [y/n]?" navier asks her, causing the [h/c] haired woman sigh and to look back at the gate.

she shrugs her shoulders. "hell if i know, but i'll plant the apple tree regardless."

"that's one way to put it."

suddenly, [y/n]'s phone vibrates in her hand. someone was calling her, without much of a thought, she answers and brings the phone to her ear.

"hunter [l/n], speaking."

"ah, here i thought i would been given a fake number."

the voice on their other side of line had the player confused as wasn't someone she recognized.

"may i ask who are you?"

"dean winchester, i'm an employee at jump corporation, the publishing company."

'what the hell? what do they want with me?' [y/n] thinks, letting the man continue speaking.

"my boss wishes to meet you, miss [l/n]."

"and who would that be?"

"ray [l/n]."

the name makes the hunter freeze and the grip on her phone tightens a bit. she puts the call on mute before turning to navier.

"this became a personal matter, i hope you don't mind." she asks and the president only nods in understanding.

"and don't worry about me, hunter [l/n]. i can get down just fine." she assures the hunter, her green eyes glow as butterfly like wings appear on her back.

navier expertly jumps down from helios, her wings giving her the push she needs to land safely on a rooftop of a nearby building.

[y/n] watches her leave before unmuting the call and bringing the the phone back to her ear, her expression stern.

"wanna give me a reason why he's asking for me?"

"he simply wants to talk to you."

she raises her eyebrow, clearly not believing it. 'after all these years and it's now that he wants to talk? what crap.'

"funny, i don't know if you know. but ray is full of shit."

"oh, believe me. i'm well aware considering i'm his only best friend."

"he has friends?"

the hunter hears the man burst into laughter at her comment on the other side of the call. greatly puzzling her on why he was laughing in the first place.

"okay, now i believe you guys are siblings."

"yeah, we use to get that a lot."

'still, he has friends? what the hell has he been doing all theses years?' [y/n] thinks, growing curious by the second as she looks at the gate once more.

the [h/c] haired player never bother to check up on what her brother was doing, he didn't check up on her so what was the point?

she knows her older brother is stubborn and prideful little shit. not knowing when to give up or admit when he was wrong, when he should.

'he got that from mom...' she deadpans, knowing her birth mother was the same way. 'though mom knew how to deal and talk about her emotions while ray never did.'

"so, he wants to talk to me? to apologize or what?"

"well, yeah. the reason why i'm calling for him is because he thinks he doesn't deserve to talk to you or you don't want to talk to him."

"well, he's half right."

'seriously, he hasn't changed. that bubblegum haired bastard still a wimp when it comes to feelings.' [y/n] sighs, knowing her brother's antics all too well.

"give me one good reason why i should i met up with him, considering you're his best friend."

"well, he's been a mess, wallowing in his own guilt."

the female hunter lets out a defeated sigh, knowing the man wasn't lying.

her brother had always been like that. he always end feeling guilty when he realized he's wrong and thinking he doesn't deserve forgiveness.

"how bad is it?"

"the dude hasn't showered in weeks when he realized."

'oh it's bad...' she furrows her eyebrow, looking down at city below her.

[y/n] was now at a crossroad.

all of her pent up anger mainly came from min-hyuk, but now that anger is gone.

what kind anger does she have with her brother, now?

a grudge?

part of her knows that their parents death hit him harder, harder than she could've imagined. she was barely a teen back then, she, herself didn't know to handle it.

but that didn't excuse ray from acting the way he did.

but she also understands that they both coped in different ways and that a life without their parents hit them differently.

'what should i do...' she wondered, narrowing her eyes.

"i know it's not my place to speak on what happened between you two. but can i at least put my two cents in."

"...sure go ahead."

"i've been his friend long enough to know he truly regrets what he did. he hates himself for it."

'does he really?' she pondered, shuffling her feet.

"but i also know he's a good guy who wants to right his wrongs. and i think you know it too."

dean wasn't wrong. in the end, ray has always been good person. he was rough around the edges, sure, but kind overall.

"though he doesn't say it, he does want to talk to you again. but he understands if you say no."

'i... i really need to think about this...' [y/n] sighs, running a hand through her hair.

"...i'll think about it. when i have my answer, can i call you back with this number?"

"yes, you can. have a good day, miss [l/n]."

"thank you."

the hunter hangs up first with huff, thinking about what transpired.

she looks around at her birth place below her and an idea pops into her head.

"ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I VISITED..."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE FEMALE HUNTER walks across the grass, searching for a pair of specific gravestones.

[y/n] smiles sadly when she arrives, slowing halting her steps. she notices case full of semi-fresh flowers sat in between them.

'he must have of visited recently...'

she crouches down, looking at the engraved wording on the stones.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

[M/N] [L/N]
20xx — 20xx
a loving mother
who didn't know
when to quit.

[F/N] [L/N]
20xx — 20xx
a doting father
who was too
kind for this world.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

"hey mom. hey dad." [y/n] starts, her voice low. "sorry i haven't visited in a few months. a lot has changed recently."

she then goes quiet, as if she was leaving room to speak for her parents.

"i, uh, got myself a boyfriend!" she giggles, knowing her father would have hated the idea. "sorry dad, but i am happily taken!"

the hunter pauses again, as to leave room for her parents to speak. "i kinda wish i brought him with me so you could meet him. he's quiet and a bit straight forward but he's a total softie. i think you'd like him mom."

[y/n] spends an hour rambling about jin-woo and how she's an s-rank hunter now. she tells them funny and cute stories about the sung family.

"seriously, you should have seen his face when he woke up to find all the things jin-ah drew on his face." she laughs, as she remembering the fond memory of pranking her poor boyfriend.

the hunter grows silent again, her smile falling from her face as she knows what wanted to really talk about.

"ray reached out to me, today. well, sort of. he's still a wimp when it comes to this kind of stuff." [y/n] states, with a roll of her eyes. "he wants to talk to me after all these years, but he understands if i say i don't wanna meet him."

"it's not like i don't know how he felt when you guys left, but i'm not gonna excuse his actions for it..." she mutters, playing with a piece of grass beneath her.

"it's just..." the hunter says, feeling tears well up in her [e/c] eyes. "why'd he take so long to realize he was wrong..."

"I DON'T KNOW EITHER."

[y/n] eyes widen when she hears the a familiar voice of her older brother. she looks up and sees him, a few feet away, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers.

his pink hair was unkept and messy, he looks like he's hasn't eaten in days nor shaved either.

"ray..." she mumbles, quickly wiping away her tears as she stands up to face him while he approaches. "how did you know i was here?"

he shakes his head, "i landed here just yesterday, i wanted to visit mom and dad."

"oh..."

the two siblings grow quiet, avoiding eye contact with each other.

'crap, i didn't even think he would be here?!' [y/n] thinks, sweating nervously.

ray was in the same predicament. 'crap, i'm not even mentally prepared to meet her yet?!'

the pink haired man takes a look at his baby sister, raising an eyebrow.

'wait a minute? since when did she grow up so fast?!'

"you've grown, a lot." he starts, making her look at him. "a lot better than i thought you would."

"oh? and what is that suppose to mean?"

"it was complement, shortie."

the [h/c] haired hunter rolls her [e/c] eyes as she crosses her arms. "i'm not that short to begin with, i don't know why you keep calling me that."

"cause, you'll always be my baby sister, that's why." ray retorts causing [y/n] to freeze at his words.

"yeah, whatever."

it falls silent again, the awkwardness growing. none of them planned to meet each other so soon.

"i'm surprised you aren't disgusted by the sight of me." [y/n] mutters loudly. "since you said you wanted me out of your sight."

ray knows she's rubbing salt in the wound but he lets it happen, knowing he rightfully deserves it.

"i had to sell the house to feed myself. lived off cheap junk food and water." she says, starting to vent out all things he's put her through. "my home was some old abandoned apartment, didn't even have the means to keep myself clean sometimes."

tears begin pricking her eyes as hugs herself, remembering all the dark times she had to go through before she was able to level up.

"i waited for the day you would come back, you know."

the pink haired man furrows his eyebrows, looking down as he didn't have the strength to even look at his sister.

"waited for the day that my kind big brother would come back home to help me, that he didn't actually abandon me." she says, her voice shaking, tears slipping down her cheeks.

noticing he wasn't saying anything, [y/n] grows angry. she pushes him making him drop the flowers he was holding.

she grabbed his dress shirt and starts shaking him as to somehow relive her anger. while she didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

"i needed you ray, but you just left me! you left me to die!" she shouts, hots tears escaping. "you never came back, why?! why did you leave me?!"

ray feels his own tears slip down his cheeks, knowing there was nothing he can do to make it up to her.

so, he hugs his little sister.

he lets her cry and scream profanities at him, feeling her hit his chest, asking questions but not knowing how to answer them.

because the only thing ray can do for her is hug and comfort her. something he should of done years ago.

"i should have been there for you. i should have supported you. i should haven't said all those disgusting things to you." he whispers to, hugging her a bit tighter. "i've been horrible to you, you were mom and dad's little sun and i dimmed your light."

more tears escape his [e/c] eyes he continues to speak the things he should have done for his precious baby sister.

"i know a sorry isn't a enough for you but please, give me a second chance at being the big brother you deserve." he chokes out. "if you don't want that, then tell me what you want. i can leave you alone and i won't ever talk to you again."

silence falls between the two sibling again, as the pink haired man still hugs the [h/c] haired woman.

then, hesitantly, [y/n] slowly wraps her arms around his waist and laying her forehead against his chest.

"i just want my big brother back."

it takes ray a moment to process her words before he nods, hugging his sister a little closer.

"...OKAY, THEN I'M BACK [Y/N]."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

AFTER A WHILE, the two siblings decided to go by a nearby park bench in the cemetery to sit down and talk.

"so, you're a ceo now?" [y/n] hums, resting her face against her knuckle.

ray nods with a sheepish smile. "yeah, i assume you know because dean called you?"

"yeah he did, didn't know you were into the whole reporter thing."

"it wasn't, i found a passion for it when i moved to america."

the hunter scoffs before realizing something. "wait, i was barely just in america? why didn't you call me then?"

the ceo's face fall at the sudden new information. "wait, you were?!"

"you didn't know?"

"i was depressed?!"

the female hunter facepalms at her brother's stupidity before bursting into laughter.

the pink haired brother blinks at her sudden outburst then smiles, happy to see his little sister so carefree.

"so, what's life like as one of the world's greatest hunters?" he asks the [h/c] haired sister making her scoff.

"crazy as hell, ray. like anything i do excites the media." she explains in disbelief. "apparently, their calling me korea's it girl nowadays."

"oh, yeah, they call you and that guy you hang out with all time, 'korea's sweethearts.' it pisses me off." rays adds, clearly annoyed by the mention of jin-woo.

'there's no way he doesn't know—'

[y/n] looks at her brother as she holds back a cheeky smile. "now, why does that piss you off?"

"oh, don't even get me started." he starts making her giggle. "first, his pretty face and the fact he walks around like he's hot shit."

ray had to pause for a moment to let his sister laugh making him crack a grin.

"keep going, i wanna hear the rest of it."

"okay so, second, the way he holds you sometimes? like dude, let my little sister breathe?!"

the older brother's comments on jin-woo had the woman wheezing, it seems like her suspicions were correct.

ray doesn't know that their dating.

"so, what do you believe?" she asks him after calming down, as she wonders what his opinion on the matter.

he raises an eyebrow at her. "my opinion? i don't know how they think you two are dating?! like they're delusional?!"

'he really doesn't know, he can't be this dumb.' she assumes, looking at him with pursed lips. 'no, he's my brother. of course he's dumb.'

"and if i were to say we were dating? what would you do?" [y/n] questions, taking it all it has in her to not laugh.

ray looks at her an unamused expression. "no way, you're lying. you're way too good for him."

it falls silent as the youngest sibling doesn't say anything causing the oldest to start panicking.

"my dear and lovely baby sister, please tell me your lying."

"..."

"[y/n], please tell me your lying."

the female hunter bites her lip, holding back an obvious smile. in that moment, she could practically see her brother's soul leave his body.

"why him?!" he questions, quite literally in tears.

she shrugs her shoulders with a cheeky grin. "why not him!?"

ray puts his face in his hands with a groan that sounded like he was immense agony, while [y/n] continues laughing at him.

"you can meet him, if you want." she suggests with a giggle, trying to calm down. "and decided for yourself if he's good for me."

"no, i rather keep my life." he says, muffled causing another round of laughter for the youngest.

the pink haired boy watches her laugh to her heart's content. if there was one thing he missed about his little sister, it would be her laughter.

"DOES HE MAKE YOU HAPPY?"

he questions, making her pause and look at him. then, a small and lovesick grin forms on her face.

"yeah," she mumbles nodding. "he makes me really happy, ray."

he sighs in defeat, knowing he can't argue about something if it makes me her happy. he pushes her head towards him, giving her a forehead kiss.

"that's enough for me, as long your happy." he says, with a sad smile. "damn, my baby sister is all grown up."

"i'm 23, ray."

"[y/n], can you at least let me be sentimental?"

then, two siblings burst into giggles at their own antics. as they both know that they love to annoy each other.

there was still mending that needs to be done, of course. one can't deny that. but, the first step is something like this.

reconnecting with each other, knowing what went wrong and what could be done to fix it.

"i'm sorry again, for leaving you behind." ray repeats again, still feeling horrible. "once i realized how i wrong i was, i just let the guilt eat me up."

"when did you realize?" [y/n] questions, laying her head on his shoulder.

"the moment i got on the plane for america. but my prideful and stubborn ass couldn't accept it."

the youngest sighs, looking out at the cemetery in front of them. "let me guess, you worked yourself to death to ignore the feeling."

"yeah, i did." the oldest scoffs with curt laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "you know me all too well."

"WELL, I AM YOUR LITTLE SISTER AFTER ALL."

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR END!
────family reunion.