Chapter Text
When Sunoo steps back into Seoul, his clothes a little torn and dusty from having finished a fight with mutant pterodactyls, the first thing on his agenda is eating mint chocolate ice cream. That first bite is like Heaven, the sweet rich chocolate mixing with the shivering mint flavor. It’s no doubt that this was the best choice he had made in over a thousand years.
When Sunoo had been swept up in a rampant gate all those years ago, it had been so hard surviving in an overgrown jungle, fending for himself and learning how to live off the land. There was no ice cream, no tv, and no hygiene products. He’s just lucky that he gained a skill to have his skin looking as good as it did now. He placed one hand on his cheek, glancing at himself in the reflection of the metal spoon that he was holding.
“Thank God I don’t look too rough! I need some moisture though.”
Shoving the spoon into his mouth, savoring his treat, Sunoo checks out his phone. As he pushes down on the power button, he hopes that it works. Back when he realized that he wasn’t getting saved anytime soon, he had shut off his phone in hopes that he could save what little battery he had. Back then he had about 86% and now, as Sunoo bit his lip in suspense, the number in the upper right-hand corner hadn’t changed. He let out a relieved sigh before double checking his calendar.
9/24/XX15
Ten years. It’s been a staggering ten years since he was sucked into a random gate and suffered so much. He had trained, compromised, even lost parts of himself as he went from a D ranked Healer to an EX rank Healer that also became the God of an alternate world before being given an opportunity to come home. A long journey, his mom would say, one that had made him sob for countless nights.
As Sunoo frowned at the date, he flinched as his phone started to freak out, endless buzzing as text messages and phone call notifications started popping up on his screen. Dozens and dozens to the point where his phone started to lag. And of course it would, now that his phone was receiving all the messages from the past ten years. Rolling his eyes, Sunoo shoved his phone into his jacket pocket. He’d deal with that later but for now, he needed to see if he still had a home.
Being a D ranked Healer meant that Sunoo had been paid more than the average human but it still wasn’t much, not when his friends had all made thousands more than he did. Chucking his trash in a nearby trash can, Sunoo headed towards Gangnam. He had moved to Gangnam after his previous home had been destroyed by Sunghoon’s fat ass being launched towards his living room during a battle. The older man had been distraught about leaving Sunoo homeless and had built him a new home, one big enough to host all six of his friends.
He scoffed, “Friends… What a lie.”
Sunoo rubbed his eyes, fighting back a headache. He ignored all thoughts about his previous friends and glanced around, humming. His neighborhood looked the same, only the playground changed as the plastic tubing shined like it was new. It felt just like old times, when he had bags of food, ready for a whole group of rankers to devour (including himself). But now, as he stared up at the luxury home, he felt empty inside.
“Well, here goes nothing.”
Sunoo typed in his door code (1130) and blinked when the door opened. The air inside was a little stale but nothing he couldn’t handle as he kicked off his shoes. His slippers were still in the same place, the top shelf right next to his lucky cat statue that Jungwon had gifted him when he first moved in. Heading inside, he noticed that there wasn’t a lot of dust anywhere, as if someone had been by recently to clean everything. Dipping into his kitchen, he found that even the fridge was clean, only having bottles of water inside, to which he took one to drink. Sunoo sipped on his water before shuffling to his bedroom, ignoring the doors to the other bedrooms.
Untouched at first glance but Sunoo saw the tissues in the trash can, his desk chair out of place, as if someone had left without thinking about pushing the chair back. His skincare fridge was empty but he didn’t mind, knowing his products would have been expired and disgusting to use. His wardrobe was still color coded, nothing out of place as he pulled out a shirt and some sweats to slip on, after he had a proper shower of course.
The hot water was hot against his skin, hot in a way that was nourishing to his soul as he shaved and cleansed himself. He was reborn as he slipped on his fresh clothes (which didn’t smell like must and instead wafted a familiar peach scent) and finally decided to attend to his phone.
He deleted all the text messages that were spam, briefly opening up each chat so the unread bubble would go away before moving onto his voicemails. He deleted everything that wasn’t left by his family or his… not-friends. Thankfully his inbox wasn’t too full as he saved the important emails and removed the rest. Within an hour, his phone was neat and organized and he could get down to business.
Obviously, someone had been taking care of Sunoo’s rent and home but that wasn’t the most important thing to him right now. He needed to focus on purifying Earth and taking over as its God, as that was the only condition placed on him when he chose to come home. Once a God, always a God and nothing would change or else his whole existence would start to deteriorate. So, meeting Earth’s God, finding out the best way to purify Earth, and then the inheritance ritual. Those were his goals for now.
His stomach grumbled, causing his fingers to check his bank account, which unlike his inventory (which was filled with riches), only had enough money (after paying for ice cream earlier) for about three meals. His nose scrunched up, his body slouching from the fact he was still broke, even ten years later.
But he went ahead and ordered take out, just some fried chicken to hold him over until he got a little part time job and sold off the riches he had in his possession. “Two chickens, one fried and the other garlic mayo. Two cokes please.”
The excitement from having fast food made Sunoo wiggle his toes, his smile bright as he grabbed two blankets and pillows, throwing them on his couch before he snatched a candle from his secret stash, lighting it before turning on his tv. He was ready to relax when his door suddenly bursted open, a yell pulled from his mouth when he saw a sword pointed at him.
“What the fuck are you doing? Who the hell are you?”
The hooded figure froze as he saw Sunoo, hands planted on his hips, angry eyes directed at them. Sunoo stamped his foot, eyes darting around to see who intruded on his home. “If you don’t answer, I’ll be forced to call the police!”
As Sunoo raised his phone to his eyes, the figure dropped his sword, coming close enough for Sunoo to see their face, clear as day.
“Jake hyung?”
Jake flinched at hearing his name, but his eyes never left Sunoo’s as he kicked the front door closed and inched closer, his eyes glittering. “Sunoo-yah? Is that really you?”
Sunoo huffed, crossing his arms as he raised one eyebrow at Jake. “If you’re asking me that seriously, then maybe you should get your head checked. As far as I know, there’s only one of me and I’m keeping it that way.”
Jake chuckled. “That’s my Sunny. But where have you been? It’s been ten years since we’ve lost you.”
“It’s a long story and I don’t feel like telling it right now. Are you busy? I ordered chicken and it should be here soon.”
“Yes! Um yeah, just let me make a call right quick.”
Sunoo flopped back on his couch, snuggling into his blankets.
“Sure, but tell the others to bring food if they’re gonna drop by. I didn’t order enough for everyone.”
Jake gulped but nodded, darting out the front door in seconds. Sunoo rubbed his eyes, wishing he could just hide under a rock. He didn’t want to see anyone, he didn’t want to hear lies and excuses from their mouths but from how panicked Jake had been, the way he was twitching in that way Sunoo knew, like he wanted to reach out and touch someone. It was obvious they had monitored his home, for reasons he didn’t know, but he was about to have six powerful men in his home and God, he would kill for a drink right now.
Jake came back inside, holding Sunoo’s chicken in his hands. “Food’s here.”
Sunoo snatched the food, immediately opening a pair of chopsticks and digging in, not waiting for anyone. The crispy chicken skin made him moan, his eyes fluttering shut as he brought a hand up to his cheek in satisfaction. He didn’t notice the way Jake’s eyes darkened, his teeth biting his bottom lip as he observed Sunoo. He wanted to sit down, drink in the sight in front of him, be relieved that his missing friend was ok, but he couldn’t. Jake wanted to scream and shout, to hold Sunoo in his arms and curse the people that had taken him away from Jake after making sure it was really him.
Where had he gone? Had he missed them…like they had missed him?
It had been hell, knowing Sunoo had overheard them but not going after him. Not assuring him that they still loved him even though as a D ranked Healer he had been holding them all back. And then he disappeared and their friendship fractured. The fights, the arguments. Jake knew Sunghoon never really forgave Heeseung for saying what had been on their minds, his words loud enough to chase Sunoo off. Especially their eldest hyung had been the one to help Sunoo awaken.
Sunoo eyed Jake before pointing to the chair next to the sofa. “Sit down. Eat.”
Jake didn’t say a word, he just followed Sunoo’s directions. And to him, the chicken was unbelievable, a sensation he had no idea he had been missing until now. With Sunoo by his side.
“So Hyung, what were you doing before you decided to surprise me tonight?”
Jake ruffled his hair, shrugging his shoulders.
“I was filling out paperwork when Jay called me about the security alarm going off for your home. We changed the password so you, using the old one, sent an alert to his phone. So he sent me out to see what was going on. You’re lucky that Riki and Sunghoon were on a joint hunt because they would have raced here and that door would have been gone.”
“Dear God, why are all of you animals!! Knock before you open my door! Well, if Riki and Sunghoon hyung are in a gate, where is everybody else?”
“Jungwon and Jay are busy with a meeting and Heeseung hyung is out of the country at a Ranker convention, discussing the topic of healing with liquefied gems.”
Sunoo raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘healing with liquefied gems’? Are you talking about my research I had left here? In my safe? My private property?”
“Well,” Jake was sheepish. “Heeseung hyung found your research into healing with gemstones and decided to help you by furthering the research since…you weren’t here.” Jake waved his hands around as Sunoo narrowed his eyes at him, “But he gave you all the credit! I promise! You know he’s not the type to take credit unless he’s bragging about ramyeon.”
Sunoo sighed, “I know but still. I don't like it. It was mine.”
“Yeah, I know. I'm sorry Sunny.”
“It's not you who has to apologize about my research. Now I'm sure they'll get here soon so let's relax. Why don't you catch me up on what's happened in the ten years I've been gone?”