AFT l CH 01

Posted by Eleanor, Released on October 19, 2025

Episode 1

It was very early in the morning when a young man stood before his bedroom window.
He gazed out at the scene beyond the glass.

The apartment complex in Sillim-dong looked utterly ordinary for a weekday morning.
A few people hurried through the narrow alleyways, chased by time itself.
But the young man’s face shone as if he were beholding the most breathtaking view in the world.

“Earth, South Korea, Seoul, Sillim-dong… my home.”

How long had he yearned for this sight?
How many years had he wandered, clinging to the single wish of returning here?
How many trials and hardships had he endured?

It had already been a week since his return to Earth—
yet looking out that window still filled him with joy and wonder.

“I finally came back…”

He was smiling to himself, almost looking delirious, when—

“Kangjun.”

The door swung open, and his older sister, Lee Soobin, appeared.

“I have to leave early for work this week, so could you feed Seol her baby food while I get ready?”
“Got it.”
“And while you’re feeding her, make sure you eat breakfast too. Oh, and help the elder eat as well. I made kimchi stew—just heat it up. Don’t forget to check the gas valve…”

Kangjun nodded and gently cut in.

“I’ve already taken note of all that, so you needn’t worry.”
“I’ll be back right after work. Keep an eye on the house, and if anything happens, call me immediately…”

Soobin paused, then continued in a more serious tone.

“Kangjun, you’re still… very confused, aren’t you?”
“Not at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
“No, you’re not. You must be.”
“I said I’m really—”

She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and worry.

“After being trapped inside a Gate for years and only just returning home, it’d be stranger not to be shaken.”
“As I’ve said many times, I wasn’t ‘trapped’ in a Gate. I was suddenly summoned to a place called the Anux Continent—”
“Right, and you said you were some kind of emperor there? That the elder you brought home was your advisor who helped you govern a kingdom?”

Kangjun nodded energetically, his voice full of excitement.

“Exactly! That’s right!”

But Soobin’s expression remained sorrowful.

“I’ve read a few cases like yours. Most people who survive after being trapped in a Gate suffer from severe PTSD.”
“What…?”
“Some lose their sanity or even become mute. You and the elder only show mild paranoia, which is… actually lucky.”

Soobin firmly believed that her brother and the elderly man were both “Gate survivors.”
There had been many who were sucked into dimensional rifts—so-called Gates—and, years later, miraculously returned alive.

“Come to think of it… the time Kangjun disappeared was right around the first Gate incident…”

After her brother vanished, the world changed dramatically.
Dimensional cracks began appearing everywhere, and scholars started calling them “Gates.”

From those Gates came monsters—creatures modern weapons struggled to contain.
Fortunately, some humans awakened supernatural powers that could fight them.
These new humans, the Awakened, became humanity’s front line of defense.

At first, nations were helpless—too little power, too little knowledge, no organization.
But humanity learned. Slowly but steadily, it adapted.
They discovered that clearing a Gate prevented the Wave Phenomenon—the surge of monsters spilling out.
They also learned that many materials from beyond the Gates had immense scientific and industrial value.

Eventually, order and systems were established.
Associations and institutions arose everywhere to train and manage the Awakened.

And so, humankind became richer and stronger than before the Gates—
but also more divided.
A ruthless world where strength alone determined wealth and fame.

Meanwhile, Kangjun’s face twisted with disbelief.

“Even if you’re my only sister, it’s rather rude to treat me like some madman…”

He was clearly offended, but decided against arguing further.

“Well… even to me, it all sounds absurd. No amount of explanation could ever convince her.”

Soobin clasped his hands gently.

“Kangjun, I’m just happy you came back alive. But now you have to try to fit into society again.”

Kangjun murmured, almost to himself:

“Society…”

Then smiled faintly.

“Yes, I have to adapt.”

For centuries, he had dreamed of nothing but an ordinary life on Earth.
He had once held unimaginable power, vast treasures, absolute authority—
and yet, at the end of all desire, he had found only emptiness.

Though three hundred years had passed for him on Anux, only three years had passed on Earth.

“A perfect balance of fate,” he thought.

Now all he wanted was to return to the simple life he’d lost—
the ordinary mid-twenties man he’d once been before being thrown into another world.

“Adapt. Start over.”

Soobin squeezed his hands tighter.

“Three years may not sound long, but the world’s changed so much—you’ll need time.”
“Is that so?”
“But we’ll get through it together. Oh, and about the elder…”

She glanced toward the closed door.

“He’s welcome to stay here until he gets in touch with his family. Just… help him feel comfortable, okay?”
“Really? You don’t have to go that far.”
“We can’t just throw out an old man with nowhere to go, can we? I’ll do my best to keep things together until both of you are settled. You just focus on—”

Kangjun tilted his head.

“On… recovery?”
“I-I mean treatment—no, I mean…”

She trailed off, fumbling for words, before blurting out:

“Adaptation! Focus on adapting!”
“Of course.”
“Wow, look at the time already…”

Checking her watch, Soobin hurried toward the door.

“Anyway, I’m counting on you, okay? I’ve got to get ready for work. Feed Seol properly, and take care of the elder.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

With a towel over her wet hair, she left the room.
Kangjun followed a moment later, stepping into the living room—

—only to see the elderly man seated at the dining table, scribbling furiously in a notebook.

The moment he noticed Kangjun, the old man jumped up and exclaimed:

“My lord!”

Kangjun sighed.

“What are you doing this early in the morning?”
“Nothing else, my lord. I merely wished to resume documenting your every move, and thus began preparing—”

“Stop. Just stop.”

Kangjun frowned, then glanced downward.

There, sitting on the living room floor, a little girl was playing with her dolls.

She was beautiful—so beautiful it was easy to imagine how stunning she’d be when grown.

Soobin had said that little girl was her daughter.

“I still can’t believe it…”

He had vanished before anyone even knew of her existence.
Her mother—Kangjun’s former girlfriend—had died giving birth.

His memories of her were faint: a name, a few fleeting moments.
Until recently, he hadn’t even known the child existed.
So while paternal love didn’t hit him instantly, he did feel a sense of duty.

“Yes… I’ll take responsibility.”

He wanted nothing more now than a quiet, ordinary life—
to lay down his crown, his power, his past.

“Raising my child… that’s a kind of normal life too.”

Lost in thought, he was suddenly brought back by a sound.

“Bba?”

The child babbled, looking straight at him.

Kangjun knelt down, gently stroking her hair.

“Your hair is tied so beautifully.”

Soobin, adjusting her outfit in front of a mirror, smiled at the sight.

“He already looks like such a gentle dad.”

But her smile froze a second later.

“Incidentally,” Kangjun added, “I’m quite skilled with knots. Back in my empire, I used to tie the ropes used for hanging traitors.”
“Ha… hang?”
“Yes, you see, to break the neck cleanly in one go, there are certain knotting techniques—”

“KANGJUN!”

Soobin rushed over and smacked his back repeatedly.

“What on earth are you telling a child?!”
“I merely sought to educate her as a father should—”
“Enough! Just go warm up her baby food!”

“Good grief… so difficult,” he muttered as he shuffled to the stove.

Meanwhile, the old man mumbled to himself, writing rapidly.

“When His Majesty spoke to the princess about execution knots, Her Grace Soobin struck His Majesty’s back thrice in outrage. When His Majesty inquired as to the reason—”
“Didn’t I tell you not to write down every little thing?”
“Her Grace exclaimed, ‘What are you saying to a child?!’ Despite His Majesty’s protests, she—”
“Are you seriously ignoring me and writing all of it?!”

Watching the two bicker, Soobin couldn’t help but laugh quietly.