I Won't Give You Any Affection
I had exactly two choices in front of me.
Anyone who heard the first option would immediately think I was out of my mind.
"Have you lost it, Minister?"
I felt the same way. The fact that this proposal was even being made to me was insane, and the person making it had clearly gone mad.
"I am perfectly sane, Superhuman Lee Dokyung."
"Minister."
"If anyone calls this crazy, it would be those gold-badged gentlemen in Yeouido who passed this law."
"Aren't you currently serving as both a member of the National Assembly and a minister?"
"The Special Act on the Management of Superhumans. You can't possibly be unaware of it."
The world had gone mad. Managing superhumans? Hadn't the American captain already shown everyone in the comics what happens when you suppress a superhuman's freedom?
"I know. I know it very well. That's exactly why I'm saying this. Under the provisions of the Special Act on the Management of Superhumans, I'm demanding my rightful retirement pension."
"Yes. And that comes out to two billion won a month. As a lifetime pension."
"Correct. That's the fair compensation I earned by rolling around like a madman on the front lines, getting half my torso bitten off by a monster, and dancing on the edge of life and death countless times."
Two billion won a month. For a superhuman who had dedicated his life and risked everything for the nation, it might seem rather shabby when viewed as a pension.
"Is it because I came from a nonexistent unofficial unit that this budget was set so low?"
"Of course not."
"Or is it because of my public rank?"
"That isn't it either."
"Then...!"
"Dokyung. I know. I understand."
But I couldn't pour my complaints and grievances onto the middle-aged man sitting across from me.
"Yes. This is fair compensation. You have no idea how hard I fought with the Blue House to secure this amount."
"Minister."
This man had at least done his best to help me and others like me.
"The world really has gone to hell. The very people who eliminated the global threat were superhumans, yet now that the threat is gone, they're muttering about slowly cutting the benefits for those same people."
The Minister pointed at the report lying on the table. The printed document contained photographs of every kind of colossal monster, along with what looked like mechanical alien creatures straight out of some third-rate Neo-Tokyo movie. Beside each one were the faces of countless people. I recognized all of them. Some faces were painted gray, and in one group, only my own face remained in its original color.
"Isn't it truly ridiculous? The ones who fought for the nation and for humanity were superhumans, yet the world now sees those same superhumans as the next potential threat."
"......"
"China is preparing an even stricter superhuman management law than ours. It's essentially a regulatory act against superhumans. If they don't work for national defense, they won't be allowed to live as individuals. America is the same."
"The world really has gone insane."
"Indeed. Perhaps it was already broken from the moment monsters first appeared in 1999 and superhumans began to emerge."
"......"
"It took a full twenty years. Twenty years to defeat every last monster and ensure none remained on this land. Thanks to you and your team, the Last Apostle—"
"I understand."
I was caught between a rock and a hard place. There was no way for me to handle this with my own power.
"If I refuse this and walk away, I'll have devoted myself to the country out of patriotism with absolutely nothing to show for it."
"......"
"They told me to 'live,' but I'm certain they never wanted me to live like this."
"I'm sorry."
"What do you have to apologize for, Minister? You've been in politics for over twenty years in a world full of monsters, only for the monsters to disappear and now these petty people need a new monster to maintain their control."
For a moment, I considered it. Should I just wipe them all out? With one punch—no, with a single gesture—I could slaughter them all.
"......Haa."
But what would come after? If I, of all people, did something like that, the consequences would be truly beyond what I could handle.
"Peace, huh."
It was the peace we had finally obtained. I didn't know what the future would hold, but one thing was certain: we had said goodbye to the hellish world that existed from 1999 to 2020.
A new era. An age of peace. The superhumans who had awakened their abilities and slain monsters now had to adapt to this changing world. No one knew what that world would look like, but one thing was clear.
There were no more monsters threatening humanity.
If there was any threat to humanity now, it would be the 'monsters in human form' that people ranted about in late-night debates or internet broadcasts.
"...Fine. In that case, let me ask one question."
"Is it about the money?"
"Devotion to the nation and..."
"It's not just you. This covers lifetime pensions for every superhuman, every soldier injured or disabled in battle against monsters."
"......"
"We've suffered under the monsters for far too long. The KOSPI has barely crossed 1,500. In these circumstances, providing lifetime pensions to wounded veterans and their families has pushed the national budget to its current limit."
"......"
"Frankly, if it were just for you alone, giving ten trillion won a year wouldn't be difficult. However..."
"I understand. That's enough. I won't argue about the money anymore."
To be honest, the money didn't really matter. My superhuman abilities hadn't completely vanished, and I had some fame. I could make a living somehow.
"...Why does it have to be raising a daughter?"
There was only one condition I couldn't understand.
"If they said they'd give me two billion won a month but I had to become a soldier under the Ministry of National Defense, I could at least understand that."
"Would you do it?"
"Have you lost your mind? Re-enlist?"
"That's... a shame. So what you're curious about is why it has to be childcare, correct?"
"Yes."
"For the sake of the future."
A sudden statement. But coming from the man who held the highest practical position in this country's political world and politically bore the lives of Korea's thirty-eight million people in 2020, those words carried real weight.
"The large-scale monster waves that began in earnest in 2016. Since the monsters officially named S-class started invading Earth in full force, the number of orphans produced in the past five years has reached one million."
"......"
"These days, if you visit an elementary school, a class has about twenty students. Out of those, six are from single-parent households or have lost their parents and are under the protection of orphanages or government facilities."
"......"
I knew. I knew it all too well. Among the comrades who had gone with me to the final battlefield, there had been a married couple. For the peace of the world. For the future of humanity. The Earth lost two superhumans, and before even a year had passed, their child lost both parents.
"Some parents lost their children. Of course it's best for families to remain whole, but if they can connect with each other in this way?"
"Is that the conclusion those people in Yeouido came up with?"
"In vulgar terms, it's a trick to reduce the government's tax revenue burden. If we're being poetic, it's about the wounded filling each other's empty spaces and helping one another mentally."
"Do you really think that helps?"
"Someday it will."
Giving new families to those who had lost their own. It was like taking broken machines missing parts and piecing them together to create new robots.
"...It seems you want me to become the spokesperson for this policy."
"That's right. Not just you—other superhumans will be the same."
Beep.
[Video playback initiated]
[...Given the current situation, what will you do?]
[Just one?]
"This lady is..."
"A-class superhuman Yoo Heejung. She already signed the papers three hours ago."
The woman with bandages covering half her face held several children's profiles to her chest.
[I'll take three. After all, I can't have children anymore. This works out perfectly.]
"...Even if you show me something like this—"
[This video is being shown to others as well, right? Then, I ask you. If we don't take them in... these children are destined to be 'disposed of'.]
"......What does that mean?"
"......"
The Minister closed his eyes.
"Minister."
"...I always liked how quick-witted you were, but this is quite inconvenient."
"Minister."
"Calm down. I didn't know either. If I had known about this, I wouldn't have approved it or come before you so boldly. You'd probably rip my head off."
"......"
"If you want to know the details, take one. Then I'll tell you the whole truth."
The Minister pulled a file from his drawer.
[CLASSIFIED]
Hwacheon Research Institute
Project Mutant
— Author: Seo Yoona —
"The moment you open this file, you will have given your consent."
"......"
Without realizing it, my hand reached for the name written below the file title.
"...Alright. Fine. I'll give it a try."
"You..."
"It's because of the two billion won a month. No more, no less. Just one. I'll only take one."
I quickly flipped through the pages. Instead of names, there were numbers. Children with various hair colors and strange eyes. Dressed in white clothes, next to each number was the individual rank symbol used to classify superhumans. Along with all sorts of other profile information.
I quickly tapped one page almost at random.
"I'll take this child."
"...Dokyung. This is a child you'll be taking in as an 'adopted daughter,' so..."
"You were the one who told a twenty-something single male veteran with nothing but his body, no family, and no relatives to adopt a daughter. How I raise her is entirely up to me."
"......"
The Minister gave a bitter smile, but I spoke to him firmly.
"Listen carefully. From now on, she is my daughter. If the government doesn't like how I raise her, you can revoke my custody and take her away."
"In return—"
"In return, don't touch my pension. No matter how I raise the child, that pension is the price of my life."
"...Understood. I swear on my position. ...Still, since she's become your daughter, how about truly becoming a family?"
"What do you mean?"
"You need a family. If no one else, at least you do."
"......"
"Alone, you—"
"Keep this in mind, Minister. I have accepted an adopted daughter, and I will fulfill my legal responsibilities until she becomes an adult. In exchange."
Having received his assurance, I declared clearly to him.
"I won't give you any affection."
And then.
"Team Leader Lee Dokyung."
"Yeah, what?"
"Please stop uploading videos of your daughter to the group chat."
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"It's a work group chat."
"I know."
It was now 2030.
The world had entered the age of superhumans.
And at the very peak of those superhumans stood my daughter.