[What's life, just living as it comes]
[What's life, just living as it comes]
Like a superhero, a man wearing a raccoon mask swung a 3-meter-long whole tuna, blowing the head off an Enemy Species.
Find the part in this sentence that doesn't make sense (5 points).
You can leave the answer blank. Because it's all true.
"Uh, hey, you're that Raccoon Man-ssi from back then, right?"
"Why is the reporter-agassi here? Filming?"
"Ah, yes........"
"What a crazy coincidence."
Perhaps realizing the death of their kin, lizard-like Enemy Species began to gather from all directions, screeching. Right now, everyone else was running away, and there were almost no other humans nearby except for them. On top of that, their hostility had increased due to the death of their kin, changing their priority targets.
"But why a tuna?! Why are you fighting with a tuna?!"
"Picked it up on the way."
"Just because we're in Busan, acting like a 'Busan Cool Guy' is still weird, you know?!"
It wasn't even frozen; it was a raw tuna. And a whole one at that. A massive 3-meter-long tuna. Even now, it was blinking its eyes with a look that said, 'Wtf? What the hell is that?'
The battle began without a signal. To kill the human in front of them, they bared their claws and teeth, rushing toward him with cries that sounded like metal plates scraping against each other.
Whoooosh!!!
The heavy tuna was swung with wind pressure. Since he was holding the thin part near the tail of the tuna, it served as a sufficient handle, and the centrifugal force from the swing turned the stiffly extended tuna into a massive blunt weapon that smashed two Enemy Species at once.
Seeing that, reporter Jin Seo-hee had an absent-minded expression for a moment before hurriedly tapping the cameraman's shoulder.
"W-what are you doing?! Hurry up and film! Film!"
"It's a scoop, but it's a scoop in so many ways, Noona!"
A man wearing a raccoon mask swinging a 3-meter-long tuna weighing nearly 2 tons to defeat Enemy Species. Everywhere you looked, there was plenty of material for a scoop.
The tuna, enhanced by his ability, boasted a hardness greater than steel of the same weight. It was crushing and smashing through the Enemy Species, which ignored physical impact by reducing or nearly nullifying it, and he was advancing in all directions.
The sight of him standing alone and holding off a massive army, like Zhang Fei at Changban Bridge, created action worthy of a blockbuster movie. Especially since a big and beautiful weapon had been a man's romance since ancient times.
Even if that weapon happened to be a tuna.
"Since ancient times, frozen tuna has been the symbol of a veteran."
"In the first place, that's not frozen, it's a living creature. Where did you hear that?"
"In a game."
"Reality is more like a fantasy than a game, but would people even believe this if we broadcasted it?"
"We're not the only ones filming, you know."
When a situation is too surreal, one tends to become calm. The two of them started filming him fighting while cracking light jokes.
"W-what is that?"
"Tuna? Why is a tuna......"
Some people who had been running away managed to regain their senses after seeing Raccoon Man advancing spiritedly while defeating the Enemy Species one after another. They took out their phones and were filming the scene.
Seeing a Force User fight was something they only saw on TV; it was a distant world to them. If such a scene unfolded right in front of their eyes, it was only natural to film it.
Before long, all the small Enemy Species had been crushed or smashed to death. The only one left was a large Enemy Species that hadn't finished its Force infusion yet.
Its size was smaller than the wolf-type Enemy Species that had appeared in Japan, but its outer skin looked much harder. Even if the Force infusion finished and it became easier for a Force User to fight, if their basic specs didn't hold up, they wouldn't be able to leave a single scratch on its skin.
"You're the only one left. Your direction is different from the bastard I saw in Japan. That guy looked like he had high combat power but weak durability. You look like you'd be fine even if I beat you for three days and nights."
Of course, he didn't actually mean he would beat it for three days and nights.
"Krrrak!"
Suddenly, the creature spat something out of its mouth. A disgusting, dark blue and green liquid was sprayed toward him.
It was a split-second surprise attack, but Choi Ak twisted his body slightly and stepped back, dodging the liquid. The liquid that fell to the ground began to boil threateningly, melting the sand on the beach.
"Acid? Hey, isn't acidic spit an Alien trait? Ah, was that the blood?"
Choi Ak swung the tuna. The tuna, imbued with centrifugal force and weight, carried massive physical impact as it struck the large Enemy Species' chin from bottom to top.
Kwaaaaang!!!
With a crashing sound, the creature, which could have been hit directly by a missile and remained unharmed, had its neck snapped by that single blow and spun twice in the air.
"Uh........."
"Uh-uh......?"
The sight of a massive creature, which looked like it weighed dozens of tons, spinning in the air was extremely surreal. It was only for a few seconds, but to the people watching, it looked like it was spinning in the air for several minutes.
Soon, the massive body fell onto the sandy beach. Fine sand rose in clouds, and the vibration shook the ground. The large Enemy Species, unable to get up while lying on its back, struggled and spewed out purple, blood-like liquid from its mouth.
"Welcome to Korea, you son of a bitch."
Choi Ak, who had climbed onto the belly of the creature that hadn't regained its senses, said while lifting the tuna.
"Do you know Gangnam Style? Do you know Kimchi?"
"Kwooooooo!!!"
"You don't? Then you gotta die, you Korea-ignorant bastard."
He grabbed the tuna with both hands. He looked like a warrior wielding a giant two-handed sword. Although the weapon was a tuna.
The target was the creature's head. The monster, which didn't know whether to run away or kill the human in a situation where it was being overwhelmingly beaten, missed its chance to do something one last time.
Bang!!
The tuna's blow struck the creature's right eye. At the same time, the eyeball burst, spraying body fluid.
Kwaang!!!!
The following attack struck the creature's chin. The jaw, which had the grip strength to chew through steel, was torn off and flew away.
Kwaaaaang!!!!!
The third attack struck the creature's neck. The spine was crushed instantly, shattering the bones.
Kwaaaaang!!!!!!
The final blow landed squarely on the creature's crown. It shattered the skull and turned the brain inside into mush.
That was the end of the large Enemy Species that had plunged Haeundae Beach into terror. The body, having lost its head, went limp as its strength faded. It had been killed relatively cleanly, but the mangled head was spewing liquid from every hole.
Whoosh!
Choi Ak, who had shaken off the tuna and slung it over his shoulder, climbed down from the creature's body.
It was the appearance of a returning hero, but the sight of the tuna on his shoulder left people in shock. The people who had been watching, wondering what was going on, finally realized that what he had been using as a weapon was a tuna, and were shocked.
Choi Ak didn't run away immediately but approached reporter Jin Seo-hee, who had been filming with her camera.
"Reporter-agassi. Do you happen to have that?"
"U-uh, what is it?"
What could 'that' mean? Cigarettes? Alcohol? Or something else?
A large Enemy Species was something that dozens of Force Users and the military could barely kill, yet this man had killed it alone, and with a tuna at that—was there anything he could possibly want from a lowly reporter?
"Soy sauce and wasabi, or maybe some red chili paste (chojang)."
".......Excuse me?"
She felt her sanity, which hadn't returned yet, drifting even further away to the Andromeda Galaxy.
In the middle of the sandy Haeundae Beach, an unexpected tuna dismantling show was taking place.
"Go to a better place, Dong-won."
"Uh.......by any chance, is 'Dong-won' the name of the tuna?"
"I rode it from Japan to here. It was a short time, but I got attached, so I gave it a name."
The name 'Dong-won' for a tuna gave off a strong feeling that it should be made into canned food.
Choi Ak was quickly dismantling the tuna with a knife left behind by someone who had run away. Cutting off the head, removing the bones, and slicing the meat by part was a task that would take time even for an expert, but he was doing it smoothly without any hesitation.
Even just the head weighed dozens of kilograms, but he lifted and moved it lightly with one hand and meticulously carved out every bit of flesh attached to the bones. It took less than 10 minutes for a nearly 2-ton tuna to be completely dismantled, with bones and flesh separated.
"E-excuse me! Could I ask for an interview, Raccoon Man-ssi?"
"A short one is fine."
"Ah, yes. Then first.......I would like to thank you for preventing a major catastrophe. Did you come here for a vacation too, Raccoon Man-ssi? Considering the distance from Seoul to here, it's hard to think of it as a coincidence."
"It's not a vacation, I just went to Japan for a bit and came back?"
"......Japan?"
"Yeah, I went to Japan and swam to Haeundae. It was a bit of a distance, but it took about a day."
"You swam from Japan to here?"
"Maybe there will be some news from Japan by tomorrow, right?"
He piled up the tuna separated by parts in one place, and reached out his hand to use his ability slightly.
The 'Interference' ability he could use might lack depth, but its range was wider than anyone else's. Even if it was a power of an unrelated lineage, he could use it to a superficial extent.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature cooled down as if it had dropped. At the same time, the cut tuna froze and became properly frozen.
"Ah! Raccoon Man-ssi, is this an ability using a Force Trait? Freezing? Temperature control? Refrigeration? May I ask what your Trait is?"
"It's 'Interference', though?"
"If it's Interference, isn't that a general-purpose Force Trait?"
A Force User's Force Trait exists as much as each person's disposition. There are unique Traits that only the individual can handle, and there are general-purpose Traits that many people can handle.
To give an example of a general-purpose Trait, first of all, there is 'Enhancement'. It is thanks to this Trait that Force Users show stronger physical abilities than ordinary people by enhancing their bodies. There is a way to operate Gaia Force purely to enhance the body, but physical enhancement using the Enhancement Trait is even more effective than that.
The same goes for the Interference that Choi Ak mentioned. Because it can grow in any direction, it is so general-purpose that there is even a separate training course for newly awakened Force Users to learn it basically.
"My ability.......no, my Trait is two. One of them is just 'Interference'. They say it's general-purpose, but it has so many uses."
"What is the other one?"
"That's like a passive skill, so it's a Trait that doesn't show on the outside. I'll keep this a secret."
"How did you do that just now? Can you use the ability to lower the temperature with the Interference Trait?"
"You just have to try your best and work hard."
"You don't intend to answer, do you?"
"Want a bite of tuna sashimi?"
The principle of the method Choi Ak used to freeze the tuna was to slow down molecular activity to lower the temperature. It was a technique that could be applied if one had basic physics knowledge.
There is a Master-class Force User who uses a similar tactic with a similar Trait. However, to the eyes of an ordinary person who is not a Force User, the principle could not be grasped.
Choi Ak, who had sliced a few pieces of the tuna sashimi he had set aside earlier and dipped them in the red chili paste he had brought, exclaimed at the chewy texture unique to sashimi and the fatty taste of the tuna.
"Oh! I don't really like tuna sashimi, but this is good. I prefer salmon, so I eat more salmon than tuna."
"Ah, yes.......Then, Raccoon Man-ssi. How much do you think your skills are? Seeing your ability to repel a large Enemy Species alone, don't you think you are among the top Force Users?"
"That much? Probably Master-class? I knocked down a Master-class user in Japan, so I guess that much."
"Excuse me?"
What did he just say? He knocked down a Master-class user in Japan?
Before the issue of strength, this would escalate into a problem between nations. In the first place, unless it was a dispatch, a country's Force User leaving for overseas was a big problem.
"........It seems you've done many illegal things in various ways. Shouldn't you turn yourself in for that? In the first place, you're an unregistered Force User, right?"
"So what. I might have done some bad things, but I've done good things too. Saving people, killing Enemy Species. Excluding everything else, just the people I saved today would be tens of thousands. Right?"
"I have nothing to say if you put it that way. But you still have to distinguish between what you did well and what you did poorly."
"Wasn't this an interview? Why are you getting so emotional, reporter-agassi?"
"Ah......"
Because of him, who kept saying things that exploded one after another while talking in his own pace as if it were nothing, she had reacted a bit emotionally.
She calmed down a little and pointed the microphone to continue the interview.
"Then, do you have any intention of revealing your identity? You are doing something like a mysterious hero while wearing a mask. Even if you reveal your face, there is much more you can do. How about acting legally for the people like now while receiving support from the country next time?"
Stiffly, Choi Ak's hand stopped.
Revealing his identity. He had been hiding his face on purpose, but revealing his identity would come with many disadvantages.
First of all, his information would spread, and facts about his family would also be known. People approaching him with goodwill and hostility would appear.
Jin Seo-hee realized that the atmosphere had changed. He, who had been answering with a light voice while smiling, replied in a quiet voice.
"The reason I hide my face is"
It's because he knows it's not fitting for him to be a hero, even before someone gets hurt. That's why he doesn't step up as a hero with his own face.
He is a Reincarnator.
Having repeated a human life of about 100 years dozens of times, he has become numb to many things.
He has become able to endure insults directed at him.
He has become able to view humans with more mercy.
The meaning of his gender identity has become meaningless.
He gained a lot, but conversely, he lost a lot.
"It's because I know I can't be a hero."
"What does that mean?"
"My original personality is trash. So, while I'm wearing a mask, I'm just trying to save people if I can and help if I can."
"If that's the case, couldn't you take off the mask and do it?"
"It's only this much because I'm wearing a mask. If I walk around without a mask, I'll probably make a mess of everything."
Choi Ak put the tuna he had cut by part into a plastic bag and put it back into the bag he had borrowed from the two people. It took about 20 minutes to defeat and dismantle the Enemy Species.
"The police or the military or whoever will be here soon, so I should leave quickly. These days, the 52-hour workweek makes leaving on time mandatory, right?"
"We don't have anything like that."
"Broadcasting station reporters must have a lot to do, so it's tough. I'll cheer for you when it comes out on TV. I'm going home first because my wife is waiting."
"Wait, you're married......?!"
He, who had picked up the bag and stood up, avoided the spot as if to say he wouldn't take any more questions. And as he ran far away, he waved his hand and shouted.
"I left a few chunks of tuna, so eat them together! Whether you make sashimi or grill it, it'll be delicious!"
The two people looked at the tuna chunks he had left behind.
They didn't know by what standard it was 'a few chunks', but thick, fatty red tuna meat the length of an arm was greeting them. Even though the bag he had borrowed from Choi Ak was a large one, it wasn't big enough to hold all of the nearly 2-ton tuna.
So most of the remaining tuna was left for them.
The image of the fatty meat, which would be good grilled or just eaten as is, with its very chewy texture, lingered in their mouths. As it happened, there was soy sauce and red chili paste next to them.
"He's generous."
"Yeah."
The two of them decided to think about it later and eat their fill of tuna first.
The universal means of transportation that comes to mind when going from Busan to Seoul is, of course, the train. KTX, at that. You can arrive in one direction in 2 hours.
Originally, Choi Ak had also intended to buy a ticket to Seoul with the card he had, but he couldn't use that method.
"Ah, this fucking son of a bitch, what kind of EMP breaks a credit card too?"
The electromagnetic pulse of the large Enemy Species that appeared in Japan had an effect similar to an EMP and destroyed electronic devices, but unlike a typical EMP, the aftermath also destroyed the magnetic part of the card, making it unusable.
He could get it reissued, but that wasn't something he could do right now. It was faster for him to run to Seoul himself than to get a card issued.
He had cash in his wallet, but he couldn't exchange it, so most of it was Japanese Yen he had used in Japan, and the Korean Won was barely over 10,000 won. To go from Busan to Seoul with 10,000 won, he would have to transfer subways several times, and it would take several hours.
Swimming from Japan to Busan. And running from Busan to Seoul.
The act of using his body as if he were suddenly participating in a triathlon looked pleasant on the outside, but when it was him, deep irritation was rising in his heart.
Especially since it was during his honeymoon.
Ruining the honeymoon as it was, suffering with his body, and considering that he couldn't use his phone or card, it was a miracle he was holding back.
"When I get in, I'll drink a glass of beer with cold tuna sashimi and sleep while hugging Sion."
Otherwise, his stress would explode, and he felt like he would do something. He had enough sense not to do anything bad, but he might just go to the other side of the world to eradicate Enemy Species and tear them apart.
The land had more obstacles than the sea, so it was uncomfortable to run, but in front of physical abilities that transcended humans, it was not a problem. He easily crossed the mountains he encountered in the middle in less than 10 minutes, and on flat ground, he ran fast enough to run alongside vehicles speeding on the highway, breaking through.
There were people who spotted him and took pictures from time to time, but he ignored their gazes. He had decided that if he was going to be caught, he would be caught anyway.
Choi Ak, who arrived in Seoul without taking much time, carefully removed his mask. The raccoon-shaped mask that had covered his face returned to being a headset, and his face was revealed.
Because it was summer, the sun was still up, so it was shining, but it looked like it would set before long. He hid among the crowd of people leaving work and used public transportation to get home.
"Welcome back."
"Ah, you were here first?"
"I arrived yesterday. It's not like it's far from Japan to Korea, so it shouldn't take more than a day to get here, right?"
"That's true. Ah, I brought tuna."
"Wow!"
He handed over the bag containing the heavy tuna. Inside, it was full of nicely frozen tuna. The red meat unique to tuna was greeting her.
"Are you glad to see me? Or are you glad to see the tuna?"
"Of course, the tuna."
"......Really?"
"Don't you have a big tuna too?"
Sion's gaze was looking between his legs. At that sight, Choi Ak smiled slightly and stroked her hair.
"We'll do that later, let's eat tuna first. Is there beer at home?"
"I've prepared beer, red chili paste, soy sauce, everything. I even bought seaweed to make kimbap."
"Keu, kimbap with plenty of tuna. Nice. Ah, it would also be good to chop the tuna meat finely and make a rice bowl."
"Hot rice, cold rice. Which one do you prefer?"
"You have both? Your preparation is thorough."
The two of them set the table together and prepared to eat dinner. The main dish was, of course, tuna. They prepared to eat it as sashimi, prepared to grill it, and prepared various other variations, planning to fill their stomachs with only tuna tonight, and set the table grandly.
"I couldn't watch the news because my phone wasn't working. Did any news about me come out?"
"Not yet. It's quiet in Japan too, so it hasn't come out. It seems the higher-ups are talking about it."
"What about the Busan story?"
"That will probably be on the news soon."
He opened a canned beer while turning on the TV. Along with the sound of 'pssh', the carbonation escaping, he gulped down the cold beer. He felt a refreshing sensation as if his thirst was quenched at once.
And he took a big bite of the cold tuna sashimi dipped in soy sauce with wasabi mixed in. The fatty taste filled his mouth, and the chewy texture called for more alcohol.
Watching the news that was just starting, Sion asked him.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Well."
Honestly, there was no way he had any particular plan. Most of the things he had done so far were just Choi Ak doing things spontaneously and impulsively.
Even if she asked for a plan now, not only was there no proper plan, but even if there was, there was no way he could execute it properly given his personality.
"For now, I should keep pushing Raccoon Man, right? If I go around beating up Enemy Species when I have time, it seems like I'll have enough to do."
"When will you reveal your identity?"
"When I want to quit. Heroes are guys who don't give in to any adversity and carry that name, but you know I don't have the personality to be a hero while getting cursed at. I'll just be Raccoon Man until the day I get pissed off, throw away the mask, and go around smashing everything."
"I thought you would go in front of the camera right now and reveal your identity as Raccoon Man, so it's unexpected."
"Hey, a man has pride; how can there be a hero who reveals his identity just because he appeared a couple of times?"
"It's the first time I've heard that a hero needs pride. What are you, GaoGaiGar?"
"Is pride courage, or what?"
The two of them giggled along with the jokes. Soon, as the news started, they focused their attention there.
The first news story was about Choi Ak, as Raccoon Man, holding a tuna and defeating an Enemy Species.