The Returner

Chapter 363: I better stop being jittery (3)

“You dumba*s, you shouldn’t be saying stuff like that. They work for our country, you know.”

“Working for our country, my a*s. They get paid for it, don’t they?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Oh, so you think soldiers and firefighters work for free, then? Getting paid for your work is the same for everyone.”

Choi Chang-Hyuk was getting unnecessarily agitated here.

“Let me ask you this, then. Isn’t it true that the ability users receive special treatment ever since they started appearing in public? What was that thing called? Special residential area? I’m not in favour of that thing. Why did they have to get a land of their own? Only for ability users and no one else?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

A man named Jo Ji-Woong stared straight at Choi Chang-Hyuk and replied.

“That’s obviously because ability users living alongside regular people will cause lots of friction. The area first came about because those regular people started complaining about how worried they were.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“In that case, wouldn’t it have sufficed if they were provided with an apartment block or something? Why is there a need to separate an expensive piece of land off Seoul and create a residential zone? Does that even make sense? I thought I was looking at Miami or something, you know?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“....That’s because they are worth investing in, that’s why.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Eh-whew.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk continued on with a bitter expression on his face.

“Let’s be honest here. Forget about me for a second here, since I’m already halfway a loser in life. But let’s take people like Seon-Mi over here as an example.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“What about me?” (Seon-Mi)

Choi Seon-Mi’s expression hardened, wondering why she was brought into this conversation.

“I mean, look at her. She studied her butt off for 12 years to go to a good university and is about to graduate from it all. But, even if she was to start working for a big corporation, how much do you think she will be making?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“..........”

“She studied hard for 16 years but can only make pocket change, but these ability user punks literally make millions just because some abilities landed on their lap one day. So how can I not get p*ssed off?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“That’s how life is.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“That’s why I’m p*ssed off, you know. If those ability things manifested in people who worked their butts off, then I wouldn’t be saying this crap, either. But that’s not how it is, right? I mean, you just wake up one day with an ability, right?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Well, yeah.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Choi Chang-Hyuk did have a point there.

“That’s why it’s so d*mn frustrating. At the very least, there should be a good reason why that punk is making lots more money and living a better life than me, don’t you agree? He didn’t even study hard as a student, he didn’t even invest a ton of money in stocks earlier, and hell, he wasn’t even born with a gold spoon in his mouth. No, he just woke up one day and found himself with superpowers and that’s what’s been driving me crazy.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong sucked in his breath.

“But then, it’s not much different to pro athletes, right? They are all born with athletic talents, aren’t they?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Choi Chang-Hyuk looked on disbelievingly at Jo Ji-Woong.

“Hey, man. You can play basketball, right?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Eh?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“How about baseball? Football?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Of course I can.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“If they were doing something you can also do but at a much higher level than you, then I wouldn’t even be saying this. But hell, can you spit out flames? Some people can shoot a ball of flames as big as a house, but can you spit out one the size of a lighter fire?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“....Of course not.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“That’s the crux of the problem. This ain’t an issue of who can do better and who can’t. No, it’s got to do with opportunities. Opportunities aren’t given equally to everyone here. Sure, I know that no matter how hard I work my a*s off, I can never be as good as Jordan or Bryant, but at least I have the opportunity to work hard and try to become an athlete of their calibre. I’m free to make my choice, in other words. But that’s not how it is with ability users, no? From the get-go, you are either an ability user, or you’re not. What I’m saying is, no matter how hard you try, a regular person can never enjoy what ability users are enjoying.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“I guess that’s true, but.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong still didn’t seem to agree with his friend.

“When you look at it from the other side, those people also suddenly woke up one day as ability users, am I wrong? It wasn’t as if they wanted to become one in the first place. The moment they become ability users, they are drafted into active service regardless of their wishes and are ordered to fight monsters. Have you ever thought about how stressful that can be?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“They get paid a lot, don’t they?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Are you willing to do anything if you get paid well? Really now? Wow. If the French foreign legion is willing to pay you a crap ton of money, are you going to join them and participate in wars?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Eii, that’s a bit....” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Jo Ji-Woong’s voice gained more fervour than before.

“That’s right, man. The lives of ability users aren’t as simple as you make it out to be. And if you think for some reason that ability users do receive special treatment, then you should be blaming the government treating them differently. Why are you blaming the ability users instead? That’s what I’m saying.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Choi Seon-Mi looked at Jo Ji-Woon and smirked.

“Wow, since when were you such an eloquent speaker?” (Seon-Mi)

“Ng?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“If it was before, you’d never have been so confident like this in front of Chang-Hyuk, so I’m guessing a lot has changed for you.” (Seon-Mi)

“N-no, not really.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong shook his head, looking a bit flustered.

“What do you do for a living nowadays?” (Seon-Mi)

“Ng?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“It doesn’t look like you’re in college at the moment, so you must be doing something else, right?” (Seon-Mi)

“M-me?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“If it’s not you, who could I have been talking to just now?” (Seon-Mi)

When Jo Ji-Woong started nervously shifting his gaze around, the corners of Choi Seon-Mi slowly curled upwards.

“Now normally, people who usually speak up so highly of ability users have someone in their families as one or are a user themselves.” (Seon-Mi)

“........” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Am I right? Is it you, or is it someone from your family? Why don’t you answer me?” (Seon-Mi)

Jo Ji-Woong spat out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“It’s me.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Heu-euh?” (Seon-Mi)

Choi Seon-Mi suddenly formed an unreadable smile.

“I knew it. I was wondering why you were suddenly being so passionate like this. Okay, so. How much is our high and mighty ability user-nim making these days, I wonder?” (Seon-Mi)

Jo Ji-Woong quietly scanned his surroundings.

Up until a few seconds ago, people had been looking at him in a fairly favourable light, but it now felt like that emotion had completely dissipated.

“When did you become an ability user?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk asked, and after a short hesitation, Jo Ji-Woong made his reply.

“It’s been about a year or so.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Oh, really?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk continued on with an unimpressed tone of voice.

“That means you must be rolling in dough by now, right? Enjoying special privileges and treatments, too.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“I told you, it’s not like that.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong sighed and replied.

“You all know I’ve been preparing to enter law school, right? But out of the blue, stuff manifested one day and now I have to fight monsters everyday, so you think I’m happy about my situation? I too studied my a*s off for twelve years and had dreams of my own, but my ability just manifested without any warning and because of the ability user special legislation, I’m forcibly drafted into the KSF, you know.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Hmm?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Even my seniors are in a serious dilemma at the moment. If someone told you one day to go fight monsters from now on and you don’t have a say in it, you think you can calmly accept that?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Well, I think I’ll be over the moon, actually” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“That’s only because you haven’t experienced it personally. There are so many restrictions imposed on you when you are an ability user, too.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“You sound like a spoilt brat, you know that?” (Seon-Mi)

Choi Seon-Mi cut in, sounding rather irritated.

“How can you say something like that while enjoying lots of benefits? You honestly think salarymen can do whatever they want with their lives? The difference here is that you now have money so you can do what you want during your downtime, am I wrong?” (Seon-Mi)

Choi Chang-Hyuk nodded his head.

“She’s right, you know.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“I’m telling you, it’s not how you think it is.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“In that case, do you want to go back to university and pursue your dream once more if that ability user special legislation goes away?” (Seon-Mi)

Jo Ji-Woong didn’t answer right away and hesitated.

Seeing this spectacle, Choi Seon-Mi smirked even more.

“Dream? Now that’s a nice sounding notion. But why don’t you tell me just how many people in South Korea are living their dreams today? Everyone wishes to live their dreams, but they can’t. So, don’t speak as if you’re a special case with a stolen dream or whatever. Get my drift?” (Seon-Mi)

A certain coldness could be found in her voice now.

“Someone has to study till they almost die of stress just to build up their resume but still can’t even earn half of what you make. Yet some people don’t have to put in any work whatsoever but still rake in lots of money just because they got themselves fancy special abilities and stuff. Don’t you agree?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Yeah, you have a point.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Although he didn’t agree with everything Choi Seon-Mi had said, he didn’t want to make the atmosphere even worse on a day like today.

“Does that mean Ji-Woong makes the most money among us?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Now that was a question that stepped on their pride.

“I heard that Tae-Sik started his own business and now is rolling in dough, though? He must be making more than Ji-Woong, surely?”

“Hey, hey! Stop with this money talk, will ya? This ain’t a reunion of ahjussis in their 40s or something, and besides, what’s the point of discussing money matters when we’re still so young? I mean, the majority of people here are still stuck in universities anyway, so why worry about money so soon? We can talk about it in ten years’ time, you know?”

“That’s true.”

Perhaps to blow away the awkward atmosphere, booze soon began flowing rather freely among the group next.

“By the way, why hasn’t Ji-Hyuk come yet?”

“Dunno.”

“Hey, Chang-Hyuk?”

“Ng?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Did anything change with Ji-Hyuk, like, compared to how he was?”

“Mmm....” ( Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk seemed to be pondering something before opening his mouth.

“Well, it’s a bit of a push to say something has changed about him, but it did feel like words were now getting through to him, somehow.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Words got through to him?”

“I mean, you know, he never paid any attention to what others said, remember? He wasn’t interested in what others were doing, either.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Yeah, you’re right. He was the type to make everyone an outcast except himself back then.”

“Right, but the last time I met him, he actually showed some interest in people, you know? I had no idea he’d recognise me first. And even if he did, I would’ve never thought he’d start talking to me first, too.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Jo Ji-Woong nodded his head.

“Well, people do change, after all.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“I never expected Yi Ji-Hyuk to change, though. The moment I saw him changed like that, that’s when I realised we were getting older for real.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“That makes sense.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Does that mean we can relax a bit now?”

A loud peal of laughter soon spread out among the venue.

“By the way, how much does Ji-Hyuk make, anyway? You think he makes as much as Ji-Woong?”

Jo Ji-Woong’s complexion changed to blue and he hurriedly replied.

“I’m still a first year newbie and I don’t make much, you know.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“But, isn’t Ji-Hyuk also a first year newbie? It hasn’t been all that long since he came back after going missing, right?”

“Sure, he might be a first newbie but our story is different. He and I aren’t even in the same command structure.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Ng?”

Jo Ji-Woong looked around and continued on.

“I work under the KSF, while Ji-Hyuk’s affiliated with the NDF, you know? The NDF people get paid on a completely different pay scale than mine. If you compare it to the military, then they are like the elite special forces, while I’m just a lowly grunt. Never mind how they are treated, from what I understand the differences in wages are pretty enormous, too.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Oh, really??” (Seon-Mi)

“....Not only that, I heard that Ji-Hyuk receives special treatment from the NDF, too, I can’t be sure, but he probably gets paid billions.” (Jo Ji-Woong) (TL: In Wons, not Dollars.)

“Wow!!” (Seon-Mi)

Choi Seon-Mi’s eyes sparkled dangerously.

“Is this true?” (Seon-Mi)

“You think I’ll lie about stuff like this? As far as I know, the NDF people get treated real well because the work they do is famed for being really harsh. Even then, there aren’t all that many people wanting to join them. They say it’s just too dangerous.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“In any case, that means Ji-Hyuk is making a killing, right?” (Seon-Mi)

“Don’t you know?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Know what?” (Seon-Mi)

“Every single ability user in South Korea has heard of the name Yi Ji-Hyuk by now.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Seriously?” (Seon-Mi)

“I find it strange that you guys haven’t heard of Ji-Hyuk’s feats until now. Even if you’re a regular citizen, it still doesn’t make any sense that you haven’t heard about him yet.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“We can’t know about every single ability user, you know.” (Seon-Mi)

“You know Seo Ah-Young, right? The Flame Witch?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Of course I know who she is. She’s our country’s best ability user, right?” (Seon-Mi)

“And Ji-Hyuk is even better than her.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Seriously?!” (Seon-Mi)

“Were you lied to your entire life or something?”

Everyone present seemed to be quite shocked by the revelation.

Seo Ah-Young the Flame Witch was an ability user acknowledged not just in South Korea but the rest of the world as well. So the assertion of Yi Ji-Hyuk being better than her signified that he was the true number one among the South Korean ability users

It was then, the venue’s door opened and a certain man peeked his head through the open gap.

“Hi.”

< 363. I better stop being jittery -3 > Fin.