The Returner
chapter-107

Chapter 107

[After failing to resolve the serial murder case and allowing the suspect to escape overseas, the KSF has been strongly criticised for their handling of this matter . However, both the National Police and the KSF have blamed each other, and in the meantime, angry mobs of citizens have gathered in front of the KSF’s headquarters to stage a protest… . ]

“Well, I guess the Director would be feeling really terrible right about now . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

Seo Ah-Young grinned refreshingly while watching the news .

When she imagined that half-baldie staring outside his office windows with a mother of all frowns perma-stuck on his face, she felt as if all of her pent-up frustration was being cleared up in an instant .

“But that’s not something to rejoice over, ma’am . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Well, I’m just saying…… I do understand that . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

She wasn’t happy about the public turning their backs on the ability users like this, of course .

“But, it’s not our fault to begin with, anyway . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“It’d be wonderful if everyone thought as magnanimously as you, but you know that humans are not like that . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

And besides, these protests weren’t about them letting the serial killer slip through their fingers . No, the things that had been bubbling under the surface over a lengthy period of time finally exploded out into the open, that was all .

Animosity .

Anxiety .

And finally, hostility .

They might have started off from the same point, but the two ‘races’ and their paths had gone on to their separate directions; some people had noticed this estrangement and now they were making their presence known .

“This… How should we fix this?” (Seo Ah-Young)

Choi Jung-Hoon smiled brightly .

“There’s nothing we can do . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“That’s so irresponsible, though . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“But, it’s not my responsibility, is it, ma’am?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

There were no one to blame for the current situation, of course . And, a human being could only do things that were within their capabilities .

“Okay, that’s that . By the way, what happened to that woman?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Didn’t I give you a report about it yesterday?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“… . I can’t remember what was on it . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

Ha… . .

Is there a meaning in me giving you reports if you’re like this? Don’t just receive it and not bother to read it through!(Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)

“… . She went to live at Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk’s house, ma’am . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“This is not a joke, right? How could she march straight into his house only after one day?” (Seo Ah-Young)

… . That’s not it, ma’am .

It’s more important that Yi Ji-Hyuk didn’t try to stop a woman from entering his place .

After all, if it was any other female, he’d kick them right out even before they got to step past his front door .

Yup, this is really strange . (Choi Jung-Hoon’s inner monologue)

Choi Jung-Hoon felt that there was this indescribablesomethingbetween Yi Ji-Hyuk and the woman, ‘Richae’ . What he couldn’t understand the most was that he could definitely feel those two sharing a strong bond .

The problem was, such a bond wasn’t something as weak-sauce as a close friendship . No, a bond like that could only form if the two of them had went through many, many things together .

‘However, in only five years?’

Yi Ji-Hyuk went missing for five years before returning home .

In order to form a bond that thick during such a short period of time, just what kind of crazy things did they do together… . ?

“No, hang on a sec . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Yes?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Ma’am, when you were there! You said that time was slower here!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Pardon?” (Seo Ah-Young)

“When you were thrust into that black portal thing, ma’am . You said that Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk sent you to a strange place . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“That’s right . We spent around half a year there, but when we returned, only… . ” (Seo Ah-Young)

“Ah!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Couldn’t this situation also apply to Yi Ji-Hyuk’s case, too?

If so, those five years may not have been only five years after all .

With this theory, that “youth” and his philosophical view on life, or his completely random bouts of violent tendencies, could be explained quite easily .

“So, is that what it was?” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

If that was the case, then those things Yi Ji-Hyuk did when the two men met for the first time made perfect sense now .

Indeed . Sure thing . But… . .

However, what did it matter now?

Yi Ji-Hyuk was still Yi Ji-Hyuk at the end of the day .

Even if Choi Jung-Hoon knew the truth, that fact wouldn’t change . If he knew the truth prior, then it could’ve helped him to come up with a suitable response, but now… . .

‘Even if I know, what does that change?’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

Choi Jung-Hoon decisively stopped thinking about this matter . Time spent worrying about Yi Ji-Hyuk was equivalent to time utterly, completely wasted .

However, that didn’t mean he could escape from the person in question, though .

*SFX for the door suddenly opening*

The office door was flung open and Yi Ji-Hyuk entered with a face full of barely held-back irritation .

And why was he acting like this so early in the morning?

“Mm?”

The expressions of Jeong Hae-Min and Doh Gah-Yun entering the office behind him also didn’t seem quite right, either . But then, when Choi Jung-Hoon saw Affeldrichae entering the office behind those two girls, he couldn’t help but inwardly sigh .

Wouldn’t one get used to a person’s face after seeing it over and over again?

Choi Jung-Hoon had seen that woman’s face for almost a day, so he thought that he had gotten used to it, but then, just one look and he became dazed again . There was nothing he could do about this .

“Hello, everyone . ” (Affeldrichae)

But, what was this?

Did she learn how to speak Korean in a single day?!

“I’ll be in your care from today onwards . ” (Affeldrichae)

No, this wasn’t the level of fluency one would get from a single day of practice!

“Who’s in care of who?! You saw what you wanted to see, so go home already!!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I don’t have enough Mana to open another Gate . ” (Affeldrichae)

“What? Does that mean… . You’re not going home?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Yes . ” (Affeldrichae)

“Then, just what were you thinking when coming to this planet in the first place?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I was hoping that Mister Ji-Hyuk could do something about it . ” (Affeldrichae)

“You are really hopeless, you know that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Affeldrichae tilted her head slightly .

“Well, it’s not like there’s no hope . Actually, I thought that you’d have conquered this world by the time I got here . ” (Affeldrichae)

That, that doesn’t sound like she’s joking, now is it?!

Cold sweat trickled down Choi Jung-Hoon’s backside .

No, not a joke but maybe that could have happened for real . If Yi Ji-Hyuk really decided he’d do that, then could anyone really stop him?

“How would I do that when there’s no Mana in this world?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I thought you’d have found ways to resolve that by now . ” (Affeldrichae)

“I wanted to come home, not because I wanted to do something to this world, you know . Have you any idea how surprised I was to find all this monster-related shenanigans once I returned home? Wait, do you know something about this?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“The gap between the dimensions has been split open . ” (Affeldrichae)

“Mm?”

“The gap has been split open, and that’s why these Gates can be opened up . I can’t be sure of whether this was done deliberately or not, though . ” (Affeldrichae)

“Is there a way to fix this?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You just have to close the tear, but you know that’s not an easy thing to do . It’d be a hard task even for my original body, so the current me has no chance . ” (Affeldrichae)

“Hmm… . . ”

Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head to the side .

The gap between the dimensions had been split open?

Could something like that happen often?

“Although there is a very low probability, it could happen . ” (Affeldrichae)

“Did something like that ever happen back in Berafe?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Berafe is a world ruled by the gods . Even if there was a tear, they would mend it immediately . ” (Affeldrichae)

“That’s how it was . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

… . Uh? Wait, isn’t that strange?

“You saying that there’s no god in this world? What about God-nim,Buddha-nim, Allah-nim… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

… . Wait, is it correct to refer Allah as Allah-nim?(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

“I couldn’t locate any divinity here . Well, it’s true that I can sense a very faint presence of something, but even I can’t tell whether this is divinity or not . Even if there was a divine figure presiding in this world, it could have disappeared a long time ago . Or, it’s such a mighty being that I’m not strong enough to sense its will . ”

“So, it’s neither here nor there, eh… . ”

In that case, it was the same thing as no god existing in this world . Or, not that different from humans not caring about cellular-level organisms living in their bodies .

“Well, it doesn’t really matter . Whether there is one or not, it wouldn’t be of much help, anyways . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Meanwhile, Choi Jung-Hoon was smiling brightly to the side .

‘I’ve no idea what they are talking about, so I should just keep my mouth shut . ’ (Choi Jung-Hoon)

With this, Yi Ji-Hyuk’s morning started anew .

*

With her eyes sparkling like a pair of jewels, Affeldrichae studied her surroundings with great interest .

She took a look at the different architecture of buildings and all sorts of items made out of metal . Without a doubt, this place was so much different to her own world .

When she first arrived, she did think that she had indeed arrived in a totally new world, but now, she could definitelyfeelthis fact .

Most of all, she found the sight of Yi Ji-Hyuk sitting in a chair doing something definitely mystifying . The Yi Ji-Hyuk from her memories would do nothing but loaf about sitting on his throne, or do his best to endure the endless boredom .

But now, such a person was… . .

“Argh, crap!! I Blink’ed, so how come?! Why didn’t it work? You’re driving me crazy here!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk) (TL note at the end)

“What the hell?! You thought you could use Blink in that situation and still survive?!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“What? That, were you trying to say something to me here?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I wouldn’t have said anything if you didn’t suck this bad!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“You saying I suck?! Hah! So what’s your tier, Mister Oh So High and Mighty?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“It’s gold . ” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“How dare a gold tier trying to nitpick with me?! A measly little gold tier? A pathetic gold tier who can’t even openly reveal his tier in a forum?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You!! You’re a dang bronze!! A bronze! Right at the bottom!! Not only that, you’re the worst player in the bronze tier, too!!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Hah, it’s just that my hands haven’t loosened up sufficiently enough… . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You’ve been loosening your hands for the last three months, so how much loosening do they need? You have Parkinson’s or something?!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)

“Ha-ah?!”

The glares of Yi Ji-Hyuk and Choi Jung-Hoon violently clashed in midair as sparks began flying off to everywhere .

“What is that you’re doing right now?” (Affeldrichae)

“It’s a computer game . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“A computer game?” (Affeldrichae)

All the ‘games’ she knew of, one couldn’t play by oneself like how Yi Ji-Hyuk had been .

“Is it like chess?” (Affeldrichae)

“You could almost say that, but, mm……” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Hah, how should I explain this to her?

As a matter of fact, once upon a time Yi Ji-Hyuk played chess with Affeldrichae and lost 1000 times in a row . He got p*ssed off so hard that the steam of anger vented out from his sweat pores, even . So, as a way of getting back at her, he taught her the game of go .

And then, once she figured out the basic rules, she slapped him in the face with yet another 1000 straight defeats .

‘Hmm, isn’t this going to be interesting?’

“Why don’t you take a seat over here?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Pardon?” (Affeldrichae)

“Sit down over here . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk got up and pointed at the chair he’d been sitting in .

“Alright . ” (Affeldrichae)

Affeldrichae didn’t say much and did as Yi Ji-Hyuk told her .

A grin formed on Yi Ji-Hyuk’s lips .

“Allow me to teach you all about the zenith of the human civilisation . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Pardon??” (Affeldrichae)

She could only tilt her head in confusion as she had no idea what was going on here .

***

“Heu-euh… . ”

The man shivered after sensing that cold aura coming from behind him .

In order to survive, he joined hands with this group of people . No, he thought he had . But, it didn’t take too long a time for him to realise that he was nothing more than a little dog with a leash around his neck .

‘Was this the right decision?’

Of course, if he didn’t follow these people, he wouldn’t have any future at all .

Still… .

Even though he was aware of this fact, these people were scary enough for him to continuously regret making that decision .

In these people’s eyes, his ability to teleport as well as to conceal himself would amount to nothing more than some throwaway skills to use and discard later on .

So, they would definitely try to use him as much as possible .

‘I will let you use me for a while, but I’ll just escape from here later . ’

He was an ability user that no one could come after if he decided to earnestly make his getaway .

For now, the surveillance on him was a bit too tight, but if he continued to display a subservient attitude for a while longer, surely their vigilance would weaken… .

“Looks like you’re thinking of a lot of useless matters . ” (Alpha)

The serial killer’s body shuddered .

That voice had a certain quality that automatically made people anxious for some reason .

“It’s not always good to dwell on unrelated matters too much . Your determination will suffer when you do . So, please . Concentrate on your job first, and think about everything else later on . ” (Alpha)

“Y, yes . ”

The serial killer .

The one who was referred to as the worst murderer in the history of the Republic of Korea, Nah Jang-Ho, couldn’t help but fall into a slight dilemma .

Should he ask, or should he not?

However, he didn’t hesitate for long .

“Alpha . ” (Nah Jang-Ho)

“Please speak . ” (Alpha)

“Why did you bring me here?” (Nah Jang-Ho)

He expected to hear a rather obvious answer, but he just had to ask the question . Because… . he could sense a certain level of contempt in the way Alpha looked at him, that was why .

If he was to become an object of ridicule, then what would be the point of bringing him here?

“The reason for bringing you here… . Well, I wonder . How should I go about explaining it?” (Alpha)

That was surprising .

Nah Jang-Ho thought the answer would be a simple “Because we need you” but he was surprised to see Alpha wanting to explain in depth .

“Mm… Truthfully, I am not much of a fan of you . ” (Alpha)

“Is it because I’m a murderer?” (Nah Jang-Ho)

“No, no . Not that . It’s not because you’re a murderer, but because you’re still a murderer . ” (Alpha)

“Eh?”

What was he even talking about? Nah Jang-Ho couldn’t understand it .

“I’m not a fan not because you killed a few people, but because you’re still being called a murderer . ” (Alpha)

“What do you mean by that?” (Nah Jang-Ho)

“Hmm… . . ”

Alpha sheepishly scratched his cheek .

“It seems that talking to someone with a lower level of intelligence than myself is a tough and inefficient task . If I were to simplify further… . Mm, that’s right . Do you consider Hitler a murderer?” (Alpha)

A murderer?

Hitler?

Nah Jang-Ho frowned deeply .

He had never thought about such matters before, but now that he did, there was little doubt that Hitler was a murderer . Not only that, a pretty serious one, too .

“When a murderer crosses a certain threshold, he or she shouldn’t be considered a murderer anymore . From that moment onwards, that person would no longer be ‘bound’ to such a trivial matter as a murder . Well, you wouldn’t really become cognisant of the obvious things you do everyday, would you?” (Alpha)

So, what Alpha meant was… .

The only reason why Alpha wasn’t Nah Jang-Ho’s fan could be boiled down to the fact that he was just a trivial little serial killer?

But, he had already killed close to 100 people?

Alpha smiled brightly .

“So, allow me to remove the fetters still tying you down with these . ” (Alpha)

Alpha extended his hand out .

With a slightly dumbfounded face, Nah Jang-Ho received the objects Alpha handed over .

“These are?” (Nah Jang-Ho)

On top of Nah Jang-Ho’s upturned palm, there were five blue-coloured gemstones .

“They are my gifts to you, so you may leave your mark in the annals of human history . ” (Alpha)

Alpha began smiling ominously .