Courageous Citizen Award 1
That night, the alleyway darkened as the light in the semi-basement room went out, and the entire quiet alley fell asleep. And then.
The moment I thought my mind was growing hazy from sleep, I found myself standing in a familiar space.
'Dae-baek-gong.'
The instant I sensed him far away, Dae-baek-gong appeared right before my eyes. I thought I'd stepped back in surprise, but he took a step forward, closing even that distance.
"Young friend, you're doing splendidly... To grow the power of regeneration this much already—it's beyond my expectations. And in a way that delights me greatly."
"Thanks to that, my ribs healed up nicely... but I still don't really get what's going on."
"Don't try to understand it. Just accept it, and that becomes understanding. I never imagined things would unfold like this either."
"Pardon?"
"You've gained both regeneration and singularity points."
"You mean..."
"The lives you saved will continue living without end, and every influence they have will return to you as singularity points."
"So... if I hadn't saved her, was Gi-joo fated to die?"
"If it weren't for you, three lives would have been lost."
"Three? Gi-joo makes sense, but... were her parents in danger too?"
"To be precise, the girl named Gi-joo, the young woman there with her, and the life that would never have been born."
"Ah... that... woman..."
"Just know her as Ms. Jeon. She's overcome her tragic fate... Who knew fate would flow this way."
"Is the baby okay?"
"Safe and sound. That's part of why the hospital was so busy."
"I see."
"The detectives not finding you is partly because of Ms. Jeon too."
"Pardon?"
"If I tell you, it interferes with the flow of causality. If you're curious, look into it yourself."
"Then... my body healing so quickly today—was that thanks to regeneration?"
"Indeed. Three lives—no, considering the connections they form, you've illuminated ten lives. Broken bones heal in no time at that rate."
"So from now on, wounds will always heal this fast?"
"The more those lives you saved go on influencing others, the stronger it will grow."
"Is there really a power that's nothing but good like this? You emphasized that excess is worse than lack."
"That's true."
"..."
"It means there are that many people who harm others' lives and do anything for their own gain."
"...?"
"Remember when I said offering sacrifices lets me grant great rewards outside the bounds of causality?"
"...Yes."
"With such people running rampant, even if I shower you with rewards, the scales won't tip."
"Are there beings with power like yours who accept human lives as sacrifices?"
"By human standards, it was long ago, but to us, it was just a fleeting moment before most took offerings."
"Even you, Dae-baek-gong...?"
"Earth spirits rarely take offerings. We govern the flow, so our rewards aren't flashy."
"Rewards like this aren't flashy?"
'My Wealth Fortune, Body Strengthening Spell, regeneration, Inventory—those aren't flashy?'
"My rewards are mere fragments of power detached from the flow, connected by fate. You're lucky, but the world has grown so lopsided that those fragments have swelled."
"Ah... so the beings who scattered sacrificial rewards without thought back then..."
"Most vanished or fell dormant. The price isn't paid by humans alone."
"Even those beings have no power without a price?"
"If no power came without a price, what would the world be like?"
"One where the powerful run wild?"
"No... the world would cease to exist."
"Pardon?"
"They could scatter priceless power and revel in the moment. But it's fleeting. The end is destruction."
"Even a fleeting moment might feel eternal to humans."
"Perhaps. But knowing it ends in ruin, who would use such power? Humans may not live forever, but they wish prosperity for their kind."
"You beings might not see the shortsightedness of mortals like us."
"Maybe not. Surely not..."
"What..."
"Never mind. Don't worry too much if I don't appear in your dreams for a while. Your desire for wealth is already offset by the singularity points you've earned, balancing causality. This will be your reward this time."
"Elder...?"
"Do you know how much causality twists if you invest in the present with future knowledge?"
"Well..."
"That's why you need commensurate influence, and your new singularity points solve that."
"Then all my actions affecting my family so far..."
"They were tied to our contract, so somewhat offset. That's why it's special power, special influence. But to wield more, you need more."
"Singularity points are for wielding that special power and influence."
"Yes. To dip into one of this land's great events, you need them. Back then, your influence was too insignificant—just returning to the present world. But now..."
"So now it's enough? What if I dove into the financial crisis without sufficient singularity points?"
"You'd follow fated flow. Not what you desire."
"Were you just waiting for me to gather a certain scale of singularity points?"
"Yes. Mentioning it early would influence things. I could only wait. If your influence hadn't grown this much, I'd have stopped your plan."
"That means..."
"Now, you can proceed as you wish..."
As Dae-baek-gong's voice faded into the distance, I urgently moved and shouted.
"What do you mean? Elder? Elder?"
With my cry, I jolted awake from the dream. Joo-shin's steady breathing told me I was in our small one-room space.
Worried my shout might wake Joo-shin or Mother Nam, I lay still under the covers, listening quietly. From the kitchen outside, I heard Mother bustling about after laying out her simple bedding.
She must have been concerned about our meager late dinner yesterday; she was busy preparing breakfast from early morning.
Screech.
The old door's familiar creak made Mother turn to me. Careful not to wake Joo-shin, she called warmly in a soft voice.
"Joo-in, you're up? You must be hungry. We couldn't eat properly yesterday with everything going on, so have a hearty breakfast."
"Yes."
"Wash up first and come out."
I silently washed my face in the bathroom-cum-toilet. As I plunged my hands into the icy water, I thought.
'As I wish...'
'Whatever Dae-baek-gong says, I should just do what I planned. Nothing gets solved by agonizing over it anyway, right?'
I scrubbed my face hard enough to slap my cheeks with a sharp snap, snapping myself out of it, then stepped out to find Mother's warm breakfast waiting.
"Joo-in, eat first. Joo-shin's on break—they called early, so I'm letting him sleep in..."
"Break already? Isn't there a week left?"
"Probably because of the kidnapping. Parents are scared, classes are almost over anyway, so they're not sending kids... School decided to advance the break and called early this morning."
"Yeah, I'd be too anxious to send him too."
"Right? I think we need to convince Joo-shin to transfer."
"Transfer?"
"The kid who went through it is in Joo-shin's class... but the school's response..."
"What... did they contact you separately?"
"They want to hush it up for the school's image—no interviews or anything, and if we let it pass, they'll pay more attention to Joo-shin's studies..."
"What the... that's..."
Mother grabbed me as I started to rise in anger.
"I don't want to make a big fuss either... but seeing the school's reaction, sending Joo-shin to a place that tries to cover it up instead of solving it— we got lucky this time before anything worse happened, but... I think transferring is best. Joo-shin likes his classmates, so I can't force it right away. I got mad at the call too, but hung up without saying much."
Remembering Joo-shin's shocked face from seeing Gi-joo's kidnapping yesterday, I tamped down my rising frustration.
'Still, that kind of response really rubs me the wrong way...'
"I told the manager I'll come in late today. Joo-shin was pretty shaken yesterday..."
"Good call. Think about opening that mini-stop I mentioned too. If we move and he transfers, wouldn't it be easier for you to work near his school?"
"I'll consider it... getting late."
Only then could I savor the breakfast Mother had delayed her shift for and prepared with care. Steaming bean sprout soup, fried eggs, dried shredded squid—all my favorites. With simple joy, I took a big bite.
'Mother's bean sprout soup is the best...'