Fallen Lightbringers’ Return - Chapter 11: Strength

“Thank you,” Lee Dojin said. They arrived at a big shopping mall. The place was several stories tall, with many different vendors selling cheap clothing. With their budget, this was all they could afford.

“For what?”

“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “For everything, I guess.”

His mother laughed. “What? Why now? It sounds like you are going to war or something.”

Lee Dojin glanced away. “Maybe I am. Nah, I’m joking,” he also laughed with her. “I just felt like saying it sometimes. Can I not?”

“Don’t sweat it. I’m your mother after all.” She turned silent. “Don’t do anything you might regret afterward.”

“No worries.” He wrapped his arm around his mother’s neck, and with a grin that showed his canines, he told her, “I’m strong, after all.”

“Oh dear, oh dear. I got it.” She brushed his comment off and placed it in the back of her mind. “Instead of strong, why don’t you show me your other qualities. You never buy me anything.”

“Uhm.” He scratched his head in embarrassment. “To be honest, I used up all my money already. I spent it on snacks.”

“What? Everything? Like, ‘whole month’ everything? The year’s just begun!” His mother looked at him in shock, her eyes opened wide.

“Well, I suppose fiscal responsibility is not part of my strong suit.”

“Hah, how can you be strong when you don’t even know how to handle your finances? You know a hero doesn’t take money so how can he spend it?” His mother scolded him.

Lee Dojin lowered his head. “I’m sorry.” The action of lowering his head felt rather comical to him.

His mother sighed. “I’m just messing with you. Did I not tell you? Enjoy your life the way you want. Don’t be a hero, be yourself. I don’t mind, so you don’t mind me either. You can be as great as you want to be, sacrifice as much as you want. but in the end, we all die alone, don’t we? Alright, that was a bit morbid, I’m sorry.” She stuck her tongue out, a cheeky expression. “Lee Dojin. Are you enjoying life?”

“Right now? I could not be happier.” He grinned wildly.

His mother nodded quietly. The two of them started shopping merrily. Though they did mostly window shopping as they had to live frugally, it was still fun walking around and enjoying life for what it was. They passed many different people—couples, families, friends—all searching through the many clothes, talking, and smiling. If Lee Dojin was a hero, that would be what he’d be fighting for; he thought that to himself. His mother, who observed him from the side, let out an admiring whistle.

“How about something like this,” his mother asked. She placed the long black dress on her shoulder and twirled. Seeing the woman, one of the strongest beings in the universe, and a face cold as ice, act like that, Lee Dojin was at a loss on how to reply.

“Oh young lady, these clothes look great on you!” The old man selling the dress told her. “But with your appearance, I suppose everything looks good!”

“Should we buy it I wonder?” His mother placed her palm on her cheek and deeply. Lee Dojin on the other hand thought that if she needed so much time to decide, then it probably was not right in the first place.

A couple who had just been passing by suddenly turned to his mother. “Oh, Unnie is so beautiful,” the girl commented. “But I think white suits you better.”

Lee Dojin looked at the strangers that had barged in, his face full of question marks. Did he know these people? Judging by his mother’s equally confused face, that would be a no. The girl continued. “I know a store just around here, why don’t we go.”

The guy, seeing Lee Dojin in a daze, quickly walked to him and moved his face close. He had orange dyed hair, had piercings in his ears, and wore sunglasses in the winter. “Hey, sorry for the bother, my name is Kim Taewon,” he whispered into Lee Dojin’s ear. “I’m not someone shady I promise, but don’t buy anything from that guy. My girlfriend there got scammed by him last month.” He then pointed at the dress. “See how thin it is? that thing turns see-through when wet. I promise you, that’s not something you want I believe.” He laughed. “At least not unintentionally.”

Lee Dojin nodded, seeing the dress and how it already appeared transparent, the man might have been telling the truth. “Hmm, the people here are really friendly.” A far cry to all the betrayal that would start soon when the First Advent began. He then urged his mother not to purchase the dress, much to the vendor’s disappointment. The friendly couple also bid farewell with that.

Arriving at the upper floors, there was the food court, with many different delicious dishes. Tonkatsu, Sakedon, Kimchijigae, Bibimbap, Jjajangmyeon, Sushi—everything you could think of, they had. Seeing all this delicious food, Lee Dojin began involuntarily drooling.

“If you want to, we can eat something before leaving,” Lee Dojin’s mother said, amid all the bustle of people ordering food and finding places to eat. The smell of all the different food was tantalizing, clouding his senses. Man was governed by food after all.

“But… I don’t have any money.” Lee Dojin showed his empty hands as if to indicate how little he had.

“Excuse me, who do you think you are talking to? What mother can’t feed her son?” She huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

“Well, if you really insist.” Lee Dojin wiped the drool off his mouth.

“I’m not insisting.”

“…Please buy me something to eat mom.”

His mother grabbed her purse and with a proud face said, “Of course dear.”

At once, the two of them looked for food. His mother returned with a salad. Meanwhile, Lee Dojin filled the table with Sushi, a fried pork chop, soup, kimchi, two bowls of rice, and a bowl of fresh salmon.

His mother stared at the table filled to the brim. “You don’t hold back, do you? I was sure your growth phase has already passed, no?”

“Is there something wrong with that,” he asked her as he stuffed the whole Porkchop into his mouth. Sauce dripped down his lips.

“Not at all.” His mother took a few bites off her salad, but she could not concentrate, watching her son wolf down on the food as if he hadn’t eaten for weeks. She felt like she knew why her son had gotten a stomachache these days.

“I’m satisfied,” Lee Dojin said while holding his big belly. At the same time, his mother looked at her empty wallet in silence. If he still wasn’t satisfied, she may have just beaten him up.

“Huh? What do you mean you can’t pay it? You already put it on!” A sudden scream interrupted the serenity of the mall.

A younger voice echoed from the shop right next to Lee Dojin and his mother. “You are being too much. I just wanted to see if they fit me. I didn’t even do anything to it.”

“What do you mean do anything? You touched it, so you might have ruined the product you know?” Screams kept coming from the shop, scaring away any potential customers.

“Fuck, every single one of you. I’m never coming to this damn mall again!” a girl shouted.

“I don’t care where you go, but first” Someone growled. “you have to pay up! It’s 350.000 Won. If not, there will be many different expenses.”

“Are you threatening us?”

“There really are all kinds of people, huh,” Lee Dojin’s mother said as she listened to the voices.

“And why do they have to sound so stereotypical all the time?” He commented, thinking about these ‘bullies’ he had just beaten up. Now it was gangsters? Had he gotten a level up and entered a new zone? “Also, don’t the victims sound kind of similar?” He soon found out why.

Passing by the loud shop, he saw the couple from the beginning, surrounded by a few big men. Vice-versa, the nervous couple saw Lee Dojin too but quickly pretended not to see anything.

“Hmm, these two really are nice, contrary to their looks.” He closed his jacket. “Well, let’s take them by that offer, shall we? Wait, no. there goes my habit again.” Lee Dojin clicked his tongue. “At times like these, I should save them, no?” He held his mother’s hand then approached the shop. She only sighed. Was her son up to something foolish? He never seemed to be that type. New Year really changed him after all. “Hey, is there no police in this world? how will you handle business if you send your customers into the hospital? This whole thing seems like bad marketing, you know?”

“Shut the hell up!” An older gentleman, with tattoos running up to his neck, shouted. “Bad marketing? What do you know? With these two pests around I won’t earn a single penny! Every day, they keep talking bad stuff about my business; Tell you what. this place is doomed anyway, I have nothing to lose.”

“That’s because you keep ripping people off!” The girl screamed. “These products literally fall apart after 2 days!”

“Get lost! Everyone does that!” The man waved his hand. “You know what. You newcomer, you better take your girlfriend away before you get hurt.”

“Actually, I am his mother.”

Her sentence turned everyone silent. After a long while, the middle-aged man laughed loudly, his goons followed right after. “What a joke! Did you have him when you were eight? Damn, everyone’s taking me for a fool. I changed my mind, I’m not letting you all go.” He stood up and walked towards these two, in his hand a wooden pole.

“Will you be safe?” She stared at him. Behind her cold façade hid worry.

“Stop ignoring me.” The man swung the pole like a bat. “Fucker, let me smash that pretty-looking face of yours first.”

Lee Dojin didn’t pay any attention to him; instead, he calmly grinned at his mother, as if he wasn’t even there. Feeling a vein pop, the man saw only red and swung the pole.

“No worries.” He clasped his hand over his mother’s eyes, obscuring her sight. The wooden rod fell, aiming for his face. Lee Dojin swiftly lifted his foot, grazing the pole and diverting it to the ground. The man stunned that his attack had missed, did not know how to react. Lee Dojin stomped on the pole, breaking it apart. And while the man was still surprised, he spun, and through the added momentum, kicked the man’s neck (spit spurting out his mouth, eyes plus hair tremoring, and a loud impact noise), who promptly went limp and ragdolled to the ground.

Lee Dojin slicked his black hair back. “I’m strong, after all.”