The Returner

“Please, eat slowly. Slowly.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon looked at Yi Ji-Hyuk with eyes of pity. Seeing the youth shove food into his mouth as if the god of hunger had taken over, he was feeling rather sympathetic here.

‘Looks like it’s been a few years since he had rice in his diet.’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Sure, Yi Ji-Hyuk had many gut-busting feasts before. During the latter half of his stay in Berafe, he had become the wealthiest man there, after all. The only sticking point was that there was no obvious way he could eat a Korean meal over that side.

Yi Ji-Hyuk literally drank the entire pot of kimchi stew. The initial takeaway portion for one person was finished real quickly, so to be on the safe side, three more portions were ordered, yet the youth hoovered them all up, and now, he was busy scraping the bottom of the pot.

‘Was there an ability related to eating food?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

They couldn’t help but stupidly wonder if there was indeed a person out there whose sole ability was to eat food like crazy.

Clang.

The thoroughly-cleaned out pot made a rather refreshingly clear noise.

Yi Ji-Hyuk sucked on his finger as if something was still missing, but Choi Jung-Hoon resolutely didn’t inquire if the youth needed more. A person should have morals, after all.

The door to the office opened and an employee entered while carrying a printed A4 paper. Choi Jung-Hoon received it and read the contents.

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk, take a look at this.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Okay.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“This is your parents’ current address. Originally, we’re not supposed to access such information. Next time, please utilise the services of the local police. We only helped out this time because it might get complicated with you registered as a missing person currently.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

In the case of a ‘regular’ missing persons case, then it only required re-activation of his residential registration card, but Yi Ji-Hyuk was also listed as deceased as well, so the process became quite cumbersome. Choi Jung-Hoon, however, used the excuse of taking care of that process and accessed all the private information available on Yi Ji-Hyuk.

What with the times like this, a person missing for over two years was treated as deceased, killed by a monster or something similar to that effect. Well, monsters that could swallow whole a person, along with any identifiable articles, popped up way too often these days, after all.

“I will!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Suddenly, Yi Ji-Hyuk became a well-behaved child.

“You can go there now you’ve seen the address, yes?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

*SFX for a shake of Yi Ji-Hyuk’s head*

“You can’t?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

*SFX for a nod of Yi Ji-Hyuk’s head*

Rather than a well-behaved child, it was more like talking to a dog which could understand basic commands, instead.

“Then, how should we handle this...?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon fell into a dilemma.

There would be no problem by simply handing over this piece of paper with Yi Ji-Hyuk’s home address written on, and push him out the door, telling him to find it himself. No one here had any reason to waste time on something this minor whatsoever – seriously, wasn’t it the job of the police to help a lost child – no, a lost idiot?

However, the idiot in front of Choi Jung-Hoon’s eyes wasn’t a normal idiot, but an idiot with special abilities. Not to mention, an idiot that his team Captain was licking her lips in anticipation for that inevitable ‘chance’.

Treating such an ability user poorly would only worsen their relationship and that would become an unnecessary headache down the line.

“Please, wait here for a moment.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

In the end, Choi Jung-Hoon chose to leave the decision making responsibility to someone else. But, when he went to speak to the ‘decision maker’, she simply frowned deeply and didn’t even want to listen to him.

“But, Captain.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Argh, what now?! What?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Choi Jung-Hoon quietly drew in his breaths. ‘Get annoyed after listening to what I have to say first!!’

“It’s about Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Didn’t you find out his address already?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I did.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Then, tell him and send him away.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Apparently, he won’t be able to find it.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

With the eyes that screamed she had enough of this sh*t, Seo Ah-Young’s sharp gaze pierced past the office wall and glared at someone beyond it.

“Can’t you call the cops and tell them to give him a ride, instead?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That is indeed not a bad way to handle it, but I was wondering whether we should.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Eh-whew.” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young could understand very well what Choi Jung-Hoon was on about. They could dispense with this matter as easily and carelessly if they wanted to, but if they could become more friendly with the guy right now, then their future working relationship would be that much more smoother.

More importantly, Yi Ji-Hyuk was being seen as a teleporter. Such an ability user was very rare, and incredibly important as well.

They could let the cops take the dude home, but that wouldn’t leave a good taste in her mouth. But then, to take him home personally.... the wasted time doing that was far too precious. That was why Choi Jung-Hoon had sought her out.

“Take him home, please.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“You mean, I should?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Mister Choi Jung-Hoon found him first, so you take the responsibility.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Well, that’s true, but regrettably, I need to attend a meeting soon.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“About what?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“I have to make an official statement on what had happened during this incident, ma’am. It shouldn’t be anything serious, though. I waltzed into a restricted zone without permission due to negligence, so I’ll just receive a couple of demerit points or something.”

Seo Ah-Young chuckled slightly.

So, that was the reason why he came to speak to her, even though he could’ve easily made the decision without doing so.

“I’ll take care of that, so take him home, please. Instead, buy me something for supper on your way back.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“That shouldn’t be a problem. What would you like?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“I’d like a steak takeaway, and as for the drink, get me the Lemon Twist Strawberry from The Slush King. And for the dessert, the cheese box special from The Cheddar King. Also, it would be bad manners to eat alone, so buy a cup of Americano each for everyone working tonight.” (Seo Ah-Young)

“....Demon.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Mm? Did you say something” (Seo Ah-Young)

“No. It’s nothing.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

The grumbling Choi Jung-Hoon left the office while saying he’d be back soon. Compared to getting his performance review affected negatively, her demands were a smaller price to pay. Much, much smaller.

But still, he felt wronged, somehow.

‘I’m also a highly valued individual, too...’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Blessed with academic records that would make him an elite wherever he went, not to mention he also passed the Civil Service Examination with flying colours, yet here he was, a shuttle for suppers and coffee.

But what could he do? This was that kind of a job. If he was to get technical here, then his boss lady was one of the most valuable manpower in the whole country, yet all she did was lots of work that seemed to have very little real world applications. Which was the sorry tale of most government entities, but still.

Choi Jung-Hoon was unable to mount any tangible protest and left the office, heading to where Yi Ji-Hyuk was.

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk. Let’s get going. I’ll take you home.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

*

“Wow, this is a nice car!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk got very surprised after checking out Choi Jung-Hoon’s car. With the salary of a public worker, how could he afford such a luxurious foreign saloon?

“You must come from wealthy stock?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jung-Hoon waved his hands in denial. Regrettably, he was born with a mud spoon in his mouth; he was one of those self-made men with nothing but pure talent.

“My numeration package is pretty substantial.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Even though you’re a public worker?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I get a fair amount of... ‘life-related’ extra pay.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Holy cow, what a nice job.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jung-Hoon smiled bitterly.

The so-called ‘life-related’ extra pay for facing up to scary monsters wasn’t actually a lot. The reason why he got such large paycheck in the first place, was because....

‘...It’s because guys like you.’

Choi Jung-Hoon was not an ability user, yet he was solely responsible for managing many users. And most of his work involved twisting around the law and civil rights. If he was to be honest here, then one little punch from an irate ability user would be enough to make him the star of his own funeral.

*SFX for a car’s alarm being undone*

Yi Ji-Hyuk was deposited into the front passenger seat, and soon, Choi Jung-Hoon drove out of the parking lot.

“Wait, weren’t you heading to work on foot earlier today?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I was walking to the subway station.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Why a subway, when you got a nice car?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Choi Jung-Hoon’s shoulders trembled ever so slightly.

“I wasn’t confident of arriving home in one piece, what with the state of my mind being so and so, after three straight days at work, you see.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Oh...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

So, this car wasn’t just any ol’ car, after all.

Choi Jung-Hoon worked his butt off to afford one, so he might as well get a nice car, should he not?

Yi Ji-Hyuk hid all traces of pity on his face – he got a feeling that Choi Jung-Hoon wouldn’t be too happy to see such an emotion from his passenger, for some reason.

As if the car was infused with the blood, sweat and tears of Choi Jung-Hoon, it featured an excellent ride quality.

“You still can’t remember anything for the past five years?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Yep. Nothing at all.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Where does your memory stop? Do you remember anything before the Black Monday?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Black Monday? What’s that? I know what’s a Black Friday, though.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Ah, so you don’t know the events of the Black Monday.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

The Black Monday.

It was the term denoting the day that Gates opened up simultaneously all around the globe.

Gates opened up throughout the planet and monsters poured out into the world that was severely unprepared to face these creatures. Only around 100 Gates opened, yet the damage caused was incredible.

People started calling that fateful day the Black Monday, so they wouldn’t forget what happened, as well as to remind everyone the battle for their survival that began on that day. 𝒇𝑟𝐞𝐞w𝐞𝑏𝙣𝑜vℯl.co𝑚

“In a nutshell, it’s the day when the Gates first opened.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Gates?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“It’s where the monsters pour out from.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Where monsters pour out from....

Does he mean ‘warp gates’? That means creatures originate from other dimensions.... (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s expressions became a bit more somber.

For a small fry he ran into as soon as he returned, hitting it repeatedly with submachine guns would do the trick. If not, one of those big guns Rambo favoured.

However, if these gates Choi Jung-Hoon mentioned were really ‘warp gates’, then no one could tell for sure just what sort of monstrosity might pop out next. If examples from Berafe were used as a yardstick, then if a drake popped out from a ‘Gate’, the hand-held weapons of the modern day soldiers weren’t going to cut it.

‘What if it’s a fighter plane?’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

As far as speed was concerned, they couldn’t even be compared at all. A modern day fighter jet could rip past the Mach barrier like it’s some kind of a paper wall. But when it came to manoeuvrability, it was quite the opposite. A living creature could suddenly drop in altitude or rise higher quickly. It was hard to imagine a fighter jet designed for maximum speed to match such agility in the air.

Jets would shoot past the target and fire air-to-air missiles, trying to take the drake down, while the flying monster would evade them, and so, that would be how the battle might unfold...

“Will be a waste of time, though.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The problem would be that, the power of such an air-to-air missile wouldn’t be able to penetrate a drake’s scales. (TL: Uh, no, mister author, a modern day air-to-air missile packs quite a punch. Unless you don’t know much about how powerful real military weapons can be... Shouldn’t be using Hollywood movies as your benchmark, there. Oh wait, maybe a drake has really thick scales?)

Besides, hitting it wasn’t the end of the problems, either. If a drake appeared in the middle of a city, then well – the dang thing flying and weaving around the buildings would probably render those missiles useless, leaving no other alternatives to kill the monster.

So, the military would resort to surface-to-air missiles, but they wouldn’t be able to use KM-SAM class rockets in fear of causing massive collateral damage to the surroundings, while KP-SAM would only end up tickling it. (TL: a KP-SAM “Shin-Gung” missile is a shoulder-launched surface to air missile developed in Korea. Same for KM-SAM “Cheon-Gung” except that it’s launched from a dedicated launch vehicle.)

If only a measly drake could cause this much headache, then what if, seriously speaking, a real dragon crossed over?

Utter destruction, that’s what.

The method to kill it, would be to nuke the hell out of it.

Honestly, he suspected whether a nuke could actually pierce past the nonsensical damage resistance of a dragon.

Also, there would only ever be one chance.

If it wasn’t killed with the first strike, then the dragon would simply teleport to elsewhere and evade the second missile.

Although modern day firepower did trump that of a dragon’s, if said firepower couldn’t hit the target in the first place, then there was no answering that.

‘Wait a minute. Things are more serious than I thought....’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Of course, all the ‘capable’ folks in higher places should be doing their utmost something about this quandary, but still, the existence of ‘gates’ was a serious threat nevertheless.

And he was only thinking of examples from Berafe. That Jarchev or whatever monster was something he’d never seen before in Berafe, so, although one could argue that there wouldn’t be stronger monsters than that coming out, that wasn’t a certainty at all – what if a dragon or something even worse pop out?

However!

‘That’s none of my business.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk leaned against the seat with a carefree attitude.

He had suffered enough. He was very confident that there was not one person alive who had suffered more than him even after an exhaustive search throughout the entire planet.

But, to ‘work’ again after his return to the modern world?

Eiii, what an unfunny joke that was.

Such a matter was for the ‘good guys’ still willing to fight to take care of. Really, it’d be akin to calling back a retired soldier enjoying his freedom after spending decades in hellish, death-filled warzones, just because there was a sign of a new war starting.

It’d be a praiseworthy effort if he didn’t rampage around in anger, even.

“By the way, isn’t it difficult for you to acclimatise?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on here at all. Gates and whatnots, monsters popping out and all that, plus other people strangely accepting all of this as if it’s a normal thing. Feels like I’m a sore thumb sticking out.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The youth’s attitude showed how little he thought about this matter, yet the contents were of weighty subjects. Choi Jung-Hoon ended up frowning.

‘Is he telling the truth?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

He was actually probing to see how well Yi Ji-Hyuk was sticking to that lie of convenient amnesia, yet the reaction he saw was from a person who genuinely had no idea. Folks who had lived all their lives in deep rural areas, where contact with modern world was limited at best, would behave this way after seeing soldiers entering their area in order to subjugate a monster running loose there.

They weren’t particularly excited about it, nor were they unnervingly calm – only showing some signs of finding this whole thing quite absurd.

‘I need to probe more.’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

There simply wasn’t enough information on this youth to begin with.

Although he was definitely an ability user, no one could tell what kind of power he possessed, and also, it was nearly impossible to find out just what he had been doing during those five years as well. No matter what avenue of investigation was taken, he was simply ‘missing’. There was not one trace of Yi Ji-Hyuk to be found anywhere.

If Choi Jung-Hoon was to follow the precedence set beforehand, then a guy like this youth was either ‘this’, or ‘that’.

Either he was an incredible ability user, or he was a complete nobody.

Only after confirming which was which, then would the correct countermeasure be cooked up accordingly. If he was the former, then he had to be pulled in no matter the method, but if it was the latter, let the lower branches of government take care of him.

‘However, how should I go about doing that?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

It wasn’t possible to attack Yi Ji-Hyuk under the pretense of finding out what his true powers were, nor could he be chucked in front of a nice ol’ Gate, either. If the numbers from that Ether measurement came out nicely, then they could’ve tested and poked him all over the place to figure out the mystery, but, since the equipment failed to pull out a decent number, Yi Ji-Hyuk couldn’t even be arrested, and the ‘textbook’ wouldn’t even apply in this case.

‘Isn’t there another way?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

*SFX for a smartphone’s alarm*

It was then. Choi Jung-Hoon’s phone issued an alarm. He slammed the brakes and pulled up to a curve, parking the car there. Then, pulling out the phone, he checked his messages.

‘It’s Level 1. The location is...?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

...It was nearby!

Complicated emotions surfaced on Choi Jung-Hoon’s face.

It was fine for him to not respond. Although this was his jurisdiction, in the case of Threat Level 1, the responsibility fell not on the KSF, but to the local military defense force.

However, to ignore a Gate opening up nearby and merrily going on his way also didn’t sit too well with him, either. Unfortunately, a small flicker of his professional pride was showing signs of life at this bad moment.

“Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Yes?”

“There’s a Gate opening up nearby, and due to my professional obligation, I must go there.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Oh, is that so? Well, in that case, you should...” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Would you like to come with me?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s forehead creased up after hearing Choi Jung-Hoon’s words.

“There shouldn’t be any danger. It’s the weakest Threat Level. I’m sure the clean-up will be smooth. I’ll take you home as soon as I’m finished there.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“How long will that take?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“At the longest, within three hours.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Three hours. Three.....

Yi Ji-Hyuk slid into a dilemma of sorts. Well, it wasn’t all that difficult to exit this car now, call for a taxi, and tell the driver the address. Plus, he sure as hell didn’t want to go to a place where monsters would pop out and he might end up doing something annoying unexpectedly.

However, there was this one thing.

‘I am curious....’

Yi Ji-Hyuk was curious about how these Gates operated, and also, curious about what sort of monsters might appear, as well as how they appeared.

There was a possibility that he needed to know such information if he were to live in this world from now on. Investing three hours to learn that – well, it wasn’t such a bad trade, he mused to himself.

“Yeah, let’s.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Then, I’m starting the car.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

As if Choi Jung-Hoon was scared of Yi Ji-Hyuk’s mind changing at the last second, he slammed on the accelerator and sped away.

At the same time, he rolled down the windows and placed something on the roof.

*SFX for a police siren wailing*

As soon as the siren went off, cars in front of them parted ways miraculously.

“Oh, oh!”

Yi Ji-Hyuk ended up exclaiming out after feeling the satisfaction of the might of the ‘Authority’ spreading out like an invisible aura.

“When we arrive at the location, you must abide by every one of my commands. It can get dangerous.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Yes. Don’t worry.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I’m saying this out of caution, but please, do not try to stand out. Beginner ability users trying to show off and then causing an incident happens way too often.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Eiii, what are you talking about here? I’m not an ability user, you know.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Right. Yes, you’re right.” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon only nodded his head a couple of times.

‘We’ll see, after we get there.’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

He had this feeling that, the more he got involved with this youth, more complicated the situation would get. So, there was a definite need to establish their roles in this relationship.

< 10. But, I didn’t return to do this! -2 > Fin.