The Returner

Chapter 370: Is that a problem? (5)

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s expression grew utterly dazed.

Why was Dah-Som here, of all places?

He went, “Could it be that she knows someone else in here?” and scanned the rest of the crowd in the venue, but they were all looking at her with expressions that said, “Who the heck is that girl?”

Although the door was wide open, Kim Dah-Som only ever so slightly peeked her head in. Soon enough, though, she spotted Yi Ji-Hyuk and Jeong Hae-Min, and quietly stared at them.

“S-so cold.”

“Did someone leave open the window?”

This creeping coldness began pervading inside the venue.

‘One of her ancestors must be the dang Ice Queen or something.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The problem wasn’t with why she came here – no, it’d be more to do with someone needing to evaluate her Ether output sooner rather than later. At least, that’s the impression one would get from her deeply cold glare plus the atmosphere oozing from her entire frame.

“W-what are you doing in here?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Kim Dah-Som wordlessly entered the venue, strode over to where they were, and quietly stared at Min Ye-Jeong.

“Euh....” (Min Ye-Jeong)

Min Ye-Jeong was defeated by her cold aura and physically backed off without even realising it. Kim Dah-Som nonchalantly settled on the empty chair next to Yi Ji-Hyuk.

“Ng?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

She then wordlessly pushed forward an empty glass towards him, and he reflexively lifted up a beer bottle.

“Hey, she’s underage, you know.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Oh....” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Jeong Hae-Min quickly reminded him, so he put the beer down and instead poured some cola in the girl’s cup.

Gulp, gulp.

Kim Dah-Som wordlessly emptied the cola in one go, before slamming the cup down on the table with a loud thud. Even the one and only Yi Ji-Hyuk flinched from her chilly aura just then.

“W-what are you doing here?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Just.” (Kim Dah-Som)

“O-oh, really?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Although her reply didn’t make one lick of sense, it still ended up as an acceptable answer. Yi Ji-Hyuk couldn’t dare to ask any other questions, and simply nodded his head.

If it was ‘just’, then that would ‘just’ have to do.

Especially when it felt like his head might go flying away if he asked another unnecessary question here. However, there was someone here unaffected even by this ‘head might fly away’ atmosphere.

“No, why did you even come here?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“.......”

Intense sparks went off between Kim Dah-Som and Jeong Hae-Min.

“Argh, too hot.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The poor, innocent Yi Ji-Hyuk trapped between these two females reflexively yanked his body back. Something felt just too unbearably hot while being stuck between their scorching glares.

“A kid shouldn’t show up to an occasion like this, you know? I mean, it won’t look good for a high schooler to show up to a high school reunion, wouldn’t you say?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who showed up to another’s reunion, thank you very much.” (Kim Dah-Som)

“I only came because Ji-Hyuk asked me to come, that’s all. I mean, he pleaded with me to come no matter what, so how can I refuse?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“When did I... Ouch?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shut his mouth when his side was painfully pinched.

If this was any other time, he’d have thrown a tantrum while shouting out that this crazy woman was trying to kill him, but not today. Jeong Hae-Min’s own aura was just as terrifying and he simply had to hold himself back.

‘This is why I don’t like hanging out with women....’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Starting from Affeldrichae, Erukana, Jeong Hae-Min, and now even Kim Dah-Som. Every single female around him couldn’t be called ‘normal’ in his book.

And when he recalled his mom and Ye-Won back at home, it suddenly became a lot harder to figure out whether only the women around him were strange or every female in the world was just as crazy, instead.

Completely disregarding what he was thinking about at the moment, Kim Dah-Som and Jeong Hae-Min continued on with their psychological warfare.

“Isn’t it even more weird to come just because you were asked to? If you have any shame, then you should know how to differentiate between where you can and cannot go.” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Unlike you, people welcome me regardless of where I go, you know.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Looks like you’re feeling quite confident about yourself. You’d be an even better person if only you realised that confidence only applies to you.” (Kim Dah-Som)

“Nope, I’m fine just as I am.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“And besides, if everyone here is Ji-Hyuk oppa’s friends, isn’t there too much of an age gap for you to overcome?” (Kim Dah-Som)

Grit.

The sound of Jeong Hae-Min gritting her teeth could clearly be heard.

The one thing she felt truly sensitive about, her age, had been accurately and ruthlessly attacked by Kim Dah-Som. She was already simmering inside after Yi Ji-Hyuk kept calling her an ‘ahjumma’, so she got royally angry after a girl who was even younger than him said something so damaging straight to her face.

“....I’m still young, I’ll have you know.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Yes, of course you’re. Although, you’re still older than Ji-Hyuk oppa.” (Kim Dah-Som)

“No one cares about stuff like that nowadays, you know. Look at Ji-Hyuk, for instance. There are Miss Affeldrichae and Miss Erukana, who are practically a pair of grandmo.... N-no, well, anyways, he’s got no problem with them, right?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Hell, he’s even married to one.

Argh, thinking about it makes me mad even more. (Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)

In order to calm her boiling heart down, she one-shotted the beer in the cup nearby.

“.........”

Yi Ji-Hyuk was flustered by this sudden onset of psychological warfare, but truth be told, the others around him were even more flustered.

Here was a strange young girl who just waltzed in without any warning, didn’t pay a single heed to any of them, and started a war of words with Jeong Hae-Min.

Judging from what they could hear, this girl was clearly bickering with the diminutive idol over the ‘rights’ to Yi Ji-Hyuk at the moment.

That alone was more than enough to churn their stomachs, but....

‘Is she a goddess??’ (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk’s jaw was almost on the floor.

Jeong Hae-Min already possessed the kind of beauty that would make any regular person do a double take. One could say that her adorable cuteness was utterly unmatched anywhere.

But then, this girl appearing out of nowhere possessed otherworldly looks that were on a different dimension to Jeong Hae-Min.

‘There was a girl like that in South Korea??’ (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

If that girl was to enter the entertainment industry, then hell, all those actors and actresses claiming to be hot and beautiful needed to bury their heads in the sand right away. One would have to earnestly question why someone of her peerless beauty had not been known to the wider world at this stage.

Her pure-white, blemish-free skin and clearly-defined facial features were so arresting that you couldn’t tear your eyes away from her.

“But, but why....” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Why were all these beauties gathering around Yi Ji-Hyuk, of all people? Just what kind of heroic feats did he achieve in his past life!!

Choi Chang-Hyuk spat out a deep groan, prompting Jo Ji-Woong to lightly pat him on the shoulder, perhaps to signal that he understood his friend’s internal conflict.

“Things will get easier if you just accept it.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“....Shut up. Like hell I’ll accept this sh*t.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Even while these two men were conversing, Jeong Hae-Min and Kim Dah-Som were still bickering away with enough force to potentially devour each other. Yi Ji-Hyuk was sitting between them, sipping his cola with a somewhat dazed expression.

“Well, it’s nothing special.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He then shrugged his shoulders.

It felt like his past life was getting blurrier and harder to recall recently so he wanted to retrace his steps, but even after meeting his former classmates, he didn’t feel anything special or particular at all.

“Kids should just go home.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“I heard that as you get older, you start sleeping less, but I guess that’s all true? When I take a look at you being like this and all?” (Kim Dah-Som)

“I don’t sleep because of my age, but it’s my job preventing me from getting a good sleep, you know?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“And who told you to work, anyway?” (Kim Dah-Som)

“What was that?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Yi Ji-Hyuk stuck his index fingers in his ears.

‘This is why I’ll die before my time.’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Why did these girlies have to be so antagonistic towards each other?

They seemed to be getting along more or less okay initially, but things were deteriorating pretty rapidly with every passing day. What a big problem this was.

“Eiiing.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head in helplessness.

It was right then, an empty cup was slowly pushed forward from behind his back.

“....Please stop.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Even you? Why?? (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

Yi Ji-Hyuk looked at Doh Gah-Yun pushing forward that empty cup from behind and spat out a lengthy groan.

Yup, this is why I’ll die before my time.... (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

It wasn’t only him who was in danger of dying before his time, however.

Choi Chang-Hyuk’s cheeks were trembling visibly.

Who was this new girl now?

“Hey, Ji-Woong.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“This is supposed to be a reunion, right? Or is it that guy’s blind date or something?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm, well. I do understand how you feel. I do. But....” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“But?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“But, I don’t think you’re the most p*ssed off person in this room, actually. So I was thinking that maybe it’s okay to accept the truth, if it’s only on that level.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Eh?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

After hearing Jo Ji-Woong’s words, Choi Chang-Hyuk quickly looked behind him only to discover every female in the venue glaring at Yi Ji-Hyuk with faces resembling scary spectres.

“....And what are they all so riled up about?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“No other creatures are as complicated as women, dude.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Some should be hating this spectacle of Yi Ji-Hyuk being surrounded by several girls, while some others hoping to suck up to him while using this occasion should be angry at the fact that they couldn’t find a single opening.

What was for certain, though, was that the atmosphere was rapidly getting worse by the second.

“I didn’t organise the reunion for this. I’m getting really embarrassed here.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Jo Ji-Woong smirked just then.

“Still, Ji-Hyuk isn’t someone you can casually meet, you know. I’m an ability user living not too far from where he lives, but even then, I can hardly ever see his face. That’s how rare it is.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“You guys are that busy?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Nah, he just doesn’t come outside his house often.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“...........”

Should he say that’s amazing or, ‘as expected’ from a surplus?

“....Let’s just call it a day and go home.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

From the look of things, it was far too late to salvage this reunion. And he certainly didn’t want to waste his limited free time on spectating some girls fighting over Yi Ji-Hyuk.

But then, something Choi Chang-Hyuk didn’t expect happened out of the blue.

Weeeeeeeee-!!

“Ng??” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Choi Chang-Hyuk hurriedly looked outside the windows in shock.

Sirens were going off everywhere.

‘Is this a civil defence exercise?’ (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

But that couldn’t be. The sun had set a long time ago already, so who in their right minds would initiate a defence exercise so late in the day?

However, the sirens he could hear now were definitely different from the likes of ambulances or fire engines.

Choi Chang-Hyuk’s expression hardened as he shouted out.

“Hey! Someone check out the news! See what happened!” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Everyone hurriedly pulled their phones out and accessed the internet.

Vrrr, bzzzz....

However, even before they could tap on their internet browser icons, texts began flooding their devices first.

“Eh?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head as he watched the rapidly-unfolding situation.

“...Ah!” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong looked at his phone’s screen and shouted out.

“It’s not that big of a deal. No, hang on, maybe it is a big deal? Anyways. There was an anti-Gate operation taking place but it went sideways and monsters apparently broke through the defensive lines.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Hul. Does that mean it’s chaos out there?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm, yeah. I guess so. But, things should calm down after enough time passes by. Still, it’s a relief, you know. I thought North Korea fired a nuke in our direction or something. I mean, you know how weird the mood in the north has been like lately.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“N-ng, sure. That’s true.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

In the middle of this conversation, Choi Chang-Hyuk felt something was off somewhere. This unholy, unclean feeling just didn’t want to let him go.

“Hey, man.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“So, what’s the name of the area with monsters running loose?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“It’s Daeyeon-dong, apparently.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Ohhh. So it’s Daeyeon-dong?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

Okay, so if it’s Daeyeon-dong....

Seon-Mi’s complexion paled instantly as she cried out.

“That’s where we are!!” (Seon-Mi)

“Aha, I was wondering where I heard of that name before, but it’s actually this area, eh?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Jo Ji-Woong smiled awkwardly.

“Hahaha, it’s going to be alright. Ability users aren’t here just for a show, you see. And if we stay put indoors and not try to go outside, nothing much will happen, I think. I’m sure the others are busy going around killing the monsters as we speak.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Hey, look at this. Main pages of every portal site is filled with the evacuation notice. They are telling us to run right now, you know?!” (Seon-Mi)

“....Oh, really?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Yeah, the order to evacuate from the area just came up. We’re supposed to head to the nearest shelter, and not hide inside regular buildings!” (Seon-Mi)

Jo Ji-Woong shot up from his seat.

“Looks like it’s not a simple situation, then. Everyone, let’s hurry and head to the shelter.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Y-yeah, we should. Right?” (Seon-Mi)

They all knew this was a serious situation, but this wouldn’t be their first time experiencing it, either. People living alongside the threats of Gates post-Black Monday all had to experience mass evacuation once or twice in their lives before.

“We need to get there in a calm manner, but...” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Outside the windows was already a sea of crowd rushing towards the nearby evacuation shelter in sheer pandemonium.

“You’re right. These people are really in a hurry, aren’t they? An accident might happen at this rate.” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

It was like watching a zombie movie or some such. Even if an urgent evacuation notice was sent out, why were they in such a....

“....By the way, what’s that over there?” (Choi Chang-Hyuk)

“Mm?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

Choi Chang-Hyuk’s question prompted Jo Ji-Woong to peek his head outside the window. Then, he pulled his head back and opened his mouth with a rather pale face.

“...Ji-Hyuk?” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Ng?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Uhm, a horde of monsters is headed this way.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Well, it can’t be that many, can it?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“It’s almost on the level of a disaster movie, actually.” (Jo Ji-Woong)

“Ng??” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk got up from his seat and looked outside the window as well.

“....Ehh?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He was treated to a spectacle of countless monsters completely filling up the road in the distance, busy rushing towards in his direction.

He spat out a groan while watching that view.

“A class reunion, my foot.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Sure, it was a reunion, alright.

The only problem was, it was a reunion with monsters.

< 370. Is that a problem? -5 > Fin.