Where Did My Room Go?
With my family in tow, I followed my younger sister wherever she was leading us.
"Where are we going? We should head home first."
"Home? The Association needs to process your returnee entry first."
"Returnee entry processing?"
I'd never heard of such a thing. This Earth was nothing like the one I remembered. Was it really that important?
"No need to look so tense. We just go to the Association, they give us a quick rundown, and we're done."
"Really?"
I was a little uneasy, but if Ha-im said it was fine, there was nothing to worry about.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at what looked like the Association building.
"Not going in?"
"They called someone. Let's wait."
Soon after, a woman came sprinting toward us from a distance.
"Huff, huff—Ha-im-ssi, where's the returnee?"
"Right behind me."
The woman looked me up and down. It was a little unpleasant, but I let it slide.
Once she finished her inspection, she brushed her hair back and greeted me politely.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Assistant Manager Lee Ji-woo from the Returnee Team."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you too."
She smiled and handed me her business card, but there was something unsettling behind that smile.
"Shall we go inside and talk? The team leader is waiting."
We followed Assistant Manager Lee Ji-woo into the Association.
"Do you know why there are so many monsters on Earth now?"
I shook my head. How would I know? I'd been whisked away to another world before Earth even started changing.
"Where should I begin? Eight years ago, a gate appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."
It had opened without any warning. Every nation had tried to analyze it, but just as they were about to give up on even determining its composition—
"KRRRAAAAAHH!!!"
—it opened. Along with monsters of unknown origin.
After that, gates appeared in the other four oceans as well, and monsters flooded into Earth. Their strength far exceeded anything anyone could have imagined, and several countries collapsed as a result.
But it seemed God hadn't abandoned humanity. Just as everyone was drowning in chaos, the Awakeners appeared. Thanks to their powers that defied common sense, they managed to drive the monsters off the continents.
"Of course, it was already too late by then. The monsters had already started breeding."
While the monsters living inland had been successfully expelled, the ones in the sky and sea were different. They had already succeeded in reproducing and establishing populations.
"That's why several countries are still in dire straits."
Afterward, nations around the world created organizations called Associations to manage Awakeners more efficiently. The place we were in right now was the Korean Awakener Association.
Just as the world was beginning to stabilize, another gate appeared—this time in a park in California, USA. The entire world was on the verge of panicking again, thinking monsters would overrun everything once more, when—
"Where am I?"
—the one who stepped out of the gate less than a second after it formed wasn't a monster. It was an orc. Well, not exactly an ordinary one. He claimed he used to be human.
The U.S. government arrested him and launched an investigation. But just as he said, he was an Earthling, and he was eventually reunited with his family. After that, returnees began appearing all over the world. Their races varied, and so did their strength. Some had been baggage carriers for hero parties, while others had been swordmasters who saved the world.
"And helping those returnees reunite with their original families and supporting their independence is our job."
While we talked, we arrived at the conference room. When we opened the door, a middle-aged man was waiting inside. He stood up with a welcoming expression when he saw us.
"Welcome. I'm Kim Kwon-ho, team leader of the Returnee Team."
After introducing himself, Team Leader Kim Kwon-ho handed us his business card and had us take our seats.
"I'm sure you've heard the explanation on the way here, so I'll get straight to the point, Mr. Lee Seong-woo."
"How do you know my name…?"
"I told him in advance."
He'd also apparently mentioned that we were siblings. When had she told him that?
Team Leader Kim Kwon-ho handed me a document.
"This is your basic profile, Mr. Seong-woo. Please check if everything's correct."
The document contained my old photo along with all my family's personal information.
So that's what I used to look like…
The profile picture showed me in a school uniform from back then. I must have been a high school student when I was transported to the other world.
"Eight years have passed since Mr. Seong-woo went missing."
"Eight years?"
My eyes widened. Only eight years? My age was definitely…
…Let's not think about that.
Age didn't matter. What mattered was the heart!
"We'll need to conduct a brief investigation. What did you do while you were in the other world?"
"I was basically just a fortune teller."
"A fortune teller? You didn't have any combat abilities or anything like that?"
"No? Why would a fortune teller have combat abilities?"
At my answer, both Lee Ji-woo and Kim Kwon-ho's expressions darkened slightly. Was there a problem?
After that, they asked me all sorts of questions—what kind of world the other world had been, what my race was, and so on. Once the questions were over, Kim Kwon-ho handed me a new set of documents.
"If you could just sign here, we'll issue you a new ID card immediately."
"Really? That's pretty efficient."
I signed right away.
Kim Kwon-ho continued.
"Do you have any plans for becoming independent? As I'm sure you've heard, we also help returnees become self-sufficient."
"Not really. I have a home, so I plan to live with my family."
I was craving the doenjang-jjigae Mom used to make.
"Understood. If anything comes up in the future, we'll contact you through Ji-woo-ssi."
After finishing our conversation, we left the Association building.
"Ugh, finally done."
I stretched my exhausted body. Should we head home now?
"Hey, hurry up and guide us home. What are you doing?"
"I'm texting Mom that I found Oppa."
"What'd she say?"
"She was shocked. Said to bring you home right away."
"She's gonna be even more shocked when she sees me now."
"By the way, what should I call you now? Oppa? Unni?"
"What do you mean, Unni? Call me Oppa."
No matter how much my body had changed into a woman's, I hadn't abandoned my masculinity. But this brat Lee Ha-im wasn't the type to listen even if I told her.
"Nope. I'm just gonna call you Unni."
"Do you want to die?"
"What are you gonna do about it? I've always wanted a pretty Unni instead of an ugly Oppa anyway."
"Ugly Oppa? You little—!"
"Oh, look, a taxi's coming. Taxi, over here!"
Urgh, I'll hold it in until we get home.
Suppressing my clenched fist, I got into the taxi.
The questions continued throughout the ride.
"Oppa, what kind of life did you live over there?"
"It was normal. I wandered around like a gypsy, telling fortunes."
"Ehh, that's it? You didn't have some grand mission like saving the world?"
"A mission? Please. Making good money is the best."
As if I had anything like that. Even killing the Demon King hadn't been about some noble mission—it had just been the only way to return to Earth.
"Tch, boring."
Smack!
"Ow!"
Annoyed by how smug she looked, I gave her a solid smack on the back. Her expression turned vicious.
"I'm telling Mom!"
"Oh please, how old are you that you're still running to Mom?"
She had no idea how hard I'd worked to survive, and she had the nerve to say that? She deserved the hit.
While we bickered, the taxi arrived at our house. We got out.
"Nothing's changed at all."
"Neither of them wanted to move, so let's just go inside."
"Yeah."
The door opened, revealing a living room that looked exactly the same as before. The TV and sofa were all in the same places.
"We're home."
Thud thud thud thud!!!
At the greeting, Mom and Dad both came scrambling out to the entrance. When they saw me, their disappointment was written all over their faces.
What?
"Where's Oppa?"
"He's right here."
"Where?"
Both of them looked around frantically, but unfortunately, they couldn't find me.
"Don't tell me you didn't tell them?"
"Ah, I forgot."
"You little—"
Ow, my neck!
How could she not tell them?! I should greet them properly first.
I bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.
"Um, hello."
"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. Are you Ha-im's friend? What's your name?"
They greeted me awkwardly.
How was I supposed to explain this?
"Um, I'm your son, Lee Seong-woo."
***
We sat at the dining table and talked for a while.
"You're really our son?"
"I keep telling you he is! Can't you tell just by looking?!"
How could parents not recognize their own child? It was too much.
"Of course we can't tell. Your gender changed."
"Hey, you explain it. I'm too lazy."
"Sigh, fine."
Ha-im explained everything that had happened so far. But their suspicion still hadn't disappeared.
"Then let me ask just one thing. What's the name of our son's ex-girlfriend?"
"…He didn't have one."
"Yep, that's our son."
"Exactly."
This was seriously annoying. Did I really have to say that out loud?
"Whatever, let's just go to sleep. My room's still the same, right?"
"……"
Neither of them said a word. Unease crept over me.
"Don't tell me… No way. You didn't clear out my room just because I was gone for a few years, did you?"
"W-well, we didn't clear it out, but Ha-im's been using your room."
"What?"
When I turned my head, Ha-im avoided my gaze.
This brat…
"W-well, it couldn't be helped! Your room was bigger!"
"What, did you think I went to the army?!"
It was too much to completely erase my room just because I'd been gone for eight years.
Wait a second. If the room itself was gone, then…
"Then what about my stuff?! My comics?! My figures?!"
"…Sorry. Ha-im sold all of that secondhand too."
I once again had to suppress my rising fist. I'd finally reunited with my family—I couldn't punch anyone now.
Pressing a hand to my forehead, I sighed.
Was this brat's head empty?
"You. Restore everything. If you don't want to die."
"Ah, got it…"
"Then I'll just sleep in the room she was using—"
"Oh, right. We've already turned Ha-im's room into a storage room, so you'll have to sleep in the living room."
"What?"
Everything proceeded at lightning speed. A blanket was laid out in the living room in an instant, and the lights went out.
"Good night."
My family all went into their rooms, leaving me alone in the empty living room.
I thought to myself.
…I should've just lived on my own, damn it.