[Raccoon Man Beginning]
[Raccoon Man Beginning]
Whoa, fuck, I thought I was gonna get sucked in and die. My past life where I died during sex flashed before my eyes. If I didn't have this prime body, I would've really fucked myself up.
I am a Transcendent, but my essence is more on the soul side. And to truly have no aging, one must reach a higher realm where there is no distinction between body and soul.
The reason aging exists is because I have a physical body. Anything with a form is bound to decay over time, and that applies to me as well.
Anyway, two days after the incident where the Four High School Delinquents acted like assholes, Baek-ri was shocked to see me come into work.
"Whoa, Hyung, why do you look so gaunt?!"
"You need to marry a woman with a moderate sex drive."
".......Every time you say that, it doesn't match up. Because of how Hyung-su-nim looks."
"What's wrong with my wife!"
"She looks like an elementary schooler!"
"No! Yesterday she was in her normal adult form!"
"Ah...... you did say Hyung-su-nim could change her appearance. I can't imagine what she looks like when she's grown up."
"She's incredibly pretty."
"That, I envy. By any chance, does Hyung-su-nim have any relatives like an older sister?"
"First off, even if she had an older sister, the appearance wouldn't be much different. Sion only has one relative, a cousin."
Sion said she's never even seen her parents' faces, so there's no way she has family. The only person who's shown their face is her cousin, Utopia.
"Then, is there anyone else you could introduce me to who's pretty?"
"Hmm...... well, two of my coworkers are women. One is a friend's daughter so it's hard to introduce her, and the other one I'm close with, but...... you'd absolutely hate her."
"Why? If she's pretty, I can put up with some flaws. Even if dating isn't just about looks, you can't ignore beauty."
"Her personality is like Ruri's, but with a shitty attitude. Ah, let me correct that. She's just Ruri with a shitty personality."
"Ah, I'm not buying it. Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Baek-ri made a face like he'd just eaten shit and frowned. Well, for normal siblings, that reaction is only natural.
What kind of idiot brother gets turned on by his younger sister, or a younger sister who gets turned on by her own brother? Anyone in their right mind wouldn't think like that.
"Forget that...... come to think of it, a broadcasting station came to the shop yesterday."
"Broadcasting station? What, do they want me to appear on TV again?"
After appearing on VJ Special Forces last time, customers increased for a bit, but after the big Myeongdong Dimensional Rift, that became a thing of the past. Regulars still come often, but it's really nothing compared to when we were on TV.
If we got on TV again, business would be good, but...... honestly, considering the hassle, I think it's better as it is now.
"No, it's not that, it's something else. You know when the police came when those high schoolers caused trouble the other day?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"They came to do a witness interview or something because of that one female police officer who couldn't even properly subdue one of them."
"Is that so?"
When we called the police because of the Four High School Delinquents' rampage, the people who came were two police officers, a man and a woman, from the Local Police Substation. The male officer wasn't particularly big, but his skill in throwing the high schoolers was excellent.
Compared to that, the female officer couldn't even subdue one person and even asked me to handcuff them instead. Honestly, it was absurd.
"Because of that, there's a lot of talk right now. Like, 'Are you still going to increase the number of female police officers?' or 'Is this misogyny?', stuff like that."
"Are they crazy? If they want to increase the police force, it'd be better to just put them on patrol to lower the crime rate, but what's the point of increasing female police officers who can't even properly subdue one high schooler?"
The people trying to frame this as misogyny are idiots. We don't hate women; we hate police officers who can't even properly perform their duties as police.
If the female officer had been a former national team martial artist and subdued them in one go, I wouldn't have said anything. But what? They're talking absolute nonsense.
"I handled it for now. I told them since you're the person involved and you're resting today due to assault treatment, they should come back tomorrow."
"Well done. Whatever you say in front of reporters just gets blown out of proportion hundreds of times. It's better if I'm the one who takes the shit."
"You? Will you be okay?"
"They say human malice is endless, but I pride myself on having seen almost the very end of it. Do you think I'd be fazed by some trash reporter just playing the media?"
"What if you end up in a tough spot because of that? I don't know about anything else, but it'll be a big problem if our chicken shop business fails......."
"Don't worry. If it comes to it, I'll just smash them all."
"Ah! Do you have some way to stop media manipulation?"
"No, I just meant I'd literally smash them."
Media manipulation (physical).
As they say, the fist is close and the law is far. I could probably wear the Raccoon mask to fuck over corrupt media.
If I kill the person writing the article, they can't write, so that's media manipulation. Anyway, yeah.
"I hope it gets resolved well. So you can go on your trip with a light heart."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"Ruri has been in a bad mood lately because of Raccoon Man No. 2 last time. So we decided to go on a trip together this holiday."
"True, even so, her brother put his neck on the line when it was dangerous, so she must be worried."
"She was whining for a suit for herself, too."
"So that wasn't the worry."
Truly a close sibling relationship.
"With what happened and all, I don't think it's good for her to just study all the time, so I'm trying to take her out. I don't have a car, so I can't go far, so we'll be using public transport."
"What, want me to lend you a car?"
"......? Did you buy the Starex we rode in when we went on summer vacation last time?"
"You know what I drive."
"You're going to lend me that?!"
Anyway, cars are meant to be driven, not kept in a shrine. In the first place, a car isn't that important to me, and Sion bought it for me, so I drive it because it looks cool. Otherwise, I would've just bought a car with good value for money and driven that.
Lending it for a trip is within the acceptable range.
".......I got my license after being discharged, so I can't guarantee my skills. Thanks, but I'll decline. If I get into an accident, it'll be a huge mess."
"Hey, most cars will just avoid you. Even if you cut in slightly, they'll be surprised and yield, right? That's why people say expensive cars are easier to drive."
"Do you know how much it costs even if just the bumper gets scratched?!"
"Well, you'd have to send it to the headquarters for repairs, so hundreds of millions would just vanish, right?"
While we were talking, Seo-ae-ssi arrived for work. It's about time to start the business.
Today, customers were just so-so. Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the Myeongdong Dimensional Rift incident, I didn't see many customers other than the regulars.
But there was an uninvited guest.
Around the time the sun was setting, the reporter who said she'd come back yesterday visited our chicken shop.
"The person who said they'd come was a woman?"
"Besides that person, a few others came, but she's the only one who stuck to it so persistently."
"Is that so?"
Unexpectedly, the reporter who came was a woman.
I don't distinguish between men and women. Sometimes macho mindsets like 'Men should have power!' pop out and act like assholes, but that's it. I look at individuals rather than gender.
If a man and a woman fight, it's natural for the man to usually win. Because physical abilities are different. But what if the woman is a martial arts athlete? Even if there's a difference in physical ability, the man would be overwhelmed by technique, so the woman would usually win.
That's why I don't see the difference between men and women. I just see people.
However, the female reporter who came gave me a bit of a repulsive feeling. Usually, people who give me this feeling are narrow-minded and self-centered.
Of course, I can't be completely sure of my gut feeling, but the gut feeling I boast about, having awakened my ability as 'Sense', has a 99% accuracy rate.
Even in a 1% gacha, you can hit the jackpot on a free pull, so I can't deny that 1%......
"Hello? I mentioned it yesterday, but are you the owner here?"
"Yes, I'm Choi Ak, the owner here. Who are you?"
"I'm reporter Lee Eun-jeong from the KWN broadcasting station. Could I possibly have a few interviews about the incident that happened the day before yesterday?"
"I'm in the middle of business right now, so it might be difficult. How about later?"
"Even though there aren't many people anyway? Please spare a moment. I came yesterday too, but since the owner wasn't here, I came back today. And it probably won't take long."
The desperate person is her, not me. You shouldn't say things like that to someone in the middle of business.
And the reason our shop doesn't have many customers right now is because of the Myeongdong Dimensional Rift incident. Before that, there were many more customers, and on top of that, not just our shop, but other shops around here are quiet too.
With people like this, if you don't satisfy what they want, it's not easy to make them give up, and they forget favors in 10 minutes but never forget a grudge even after 10 years. I should just deal with it appropriately and chase her away.
If I scratch where it itches, she'll leave on her own.
I left the kitchen to Baek-ri and stepped out of the shop for a moment. There's a dessert-focused coffee shop above our store, so I went up there, bought a slice of cake with coffee, and did the interview.
She took out a notebook and a recorder and turned it on.
I glanced at the recorder and put my hands in my pockets.
"First, about the incident that happened two days ago. What do you think about it, boss?"
"Which part are you talking about? The assault case, or......"
"About the female police officer's handling of the situation during the suppression process."
If it's that, I have a lot to say.
How should I talk about it...... I have a rough guess as to what I should say to make her satisfied and leave. But my pride won't allow me to just say it like that.
People should be faithful to their duties.
As a chicken shop owner, my duty is to serve delicious chicken to customers. And I am faithfully fulfilling that duty. Ah, of course, this is a side job, and my main job is tough, but I'm doing that faithfully too.
"Because of the mistake that happened during the suppression process, that female police officer is currently being unfairly gossiped about. Your interview will help defend the female officer from those people......"
"Wait a second, I think there's a word in there that shouldn't be. 'Unfairly'?"
I wondered if I heard wrong, but it was true. Wow, they say reality is stranger than fantasy. Don't underestimate reality, fantasy!
Honestly, it's more like that when it comes to where people live.
"Yes, no matter if they're students, it's hard to subdue four men, right?"
"The male officer who came with her at the time beat them all up by himself. In the first place, they were all drunk, so if they hadn't been carrying weapons, I don't think there would have been a big problem."
"She's a female police officer."
"Is being a female police officer some kind of noble title?"
Even for a man, fighting 4-on-1 is usually tough. But the four were drunk high schoolers without weapons, so they couldn't make rational judgments, and the other side is a police officer who passed a difficult police exam.
With the throw I saw that officer use back then, even a healthy adult man wouldn't be able to breathe properly, so even if there were four of them, she could have subdued them one by one.
"Women are the same as men, they have enough ability to do the same job. But should they be witch-hunted like this over an incident like this? Do you hate women, boss?"
"No, the whole mess happened because the female officer couldn't do the same job as the male officer. I don't know why misogyny is coming up here."
"You're doing it right now."
Reporter Lee Eun-jeong glared at me with a frowning expression and said.
Ah, is she one of those? The self-proclaimed feminists who have been quietly gaining momentum in the last few years.
If you want equality, freedom, and rights, you have to pay the price. Did the French Revolution happen without bloodshed, and were black people's human rights just handed to them?
Yet, the type of people who only want rights while turning a blind eye to responsibilities and duties are the ones I absolutely loathe.
"Is a female police officer a woman, or a police officer?"
"Obviously a police officer. Do you have that kind of mindset?"
"Why do you keep trying to frame it that way? And if a female police officer is a police officer, shouldn't she be faithful to her police duties?"
I got heated up, so I gulped down an iced Americano filled with ice and continued speaking.
"A few years ago, our country's president was impeached and went to prison because they weren't faithful to their duties. If a police officer couldn't subdue an assault perpetrator and asked me, who was standing next to them, for help, isn't that also dereliction of duty? If the perpetrator sued me for touching them, who would help me? The police? Yeah, right!"
That's why ordinary people shouldn't get involved in police work. Sometimes people help, but conversely, if the perpetrator sues, the police can't help.
"Police are police because they are responsible for the safety of citizens and maintaining public order. In the first place, people who lack physical strength or ability shouldn't be police."
"Are you saying women can't be police? Are you discriminating against gender right now?"
"Why is gender discrimination coming up there again? I said people who lack physical strength or ability shouldn't do it, I didn't say women shouldn't do it."
"That's the same thing!"
"Huh? Earlier you said women are fully capable of doing the same work as men. By saying that, aren't you admitting that there is a difference between men and women?"
She had just affirmed women's abilities a moment ago. But tackling my words now is the same as denying what she said earlier.
People like this usually have weak logic. And surely, there is a contradiction in that logic.
And logic with contradictions cannot be accepted.
Just as I was confident that I had dealt a critical hit, she, blocked by logic, glared at me and said.
"Boss, are you perhaps a Hannam-chung?"
If you're trying to provoke me, I'll give you credit.
Because that provocation successfully worked.