Going Out (1)
"Hoo…"
Park Min-cheol let out a quiet breath the moment he stepped out of the house.
Having escaped the presence of that blue-haired woman who had been radiating murderous intent, the chilling sensation that had been crushing his heart finally faded, and the tension drained from his body.
From the very first step, he had nearly ruined everything by provoking a returnee — a monster who might well be the strongest among all current returnees.
So Park Min-cheol offered silent thanks to Lee Haneul for intervening midway. Even if her sudden demand for an apology had been unexpected, it had given him a way out of that situation.
"I was so scared… I thought you two were about to have a full-blown fight…"
"Taking that kind of risk is part of the Suppression Division's job, Chae-won. Though I didn't expect her to be a returnee."
Park Min-cheol's group climbed into the car. He took the driver's seat while the other two chatted as they loaded the equipment into the trunk.
Once everyone was in, they were ready to go. He shifted the manual gear and was just about to press the accelerator.
"…But Team Leader, is it really okay to leave her like this?"
When Woo-seok's voice came from the back, Park Min-cheol paused what he was doing and answered.
"I figured this was the safer approach."
"But that person isn't normal. Couldn't she become a disaster worse than a demon?"
Demon.
A term for the lofty beings of the other world connected through the World Scar. Knowing the weight that word carried, Park Min-cheol pushed the gear lever back down.
"Chae-won."
"Ah, yes! Yes, sir!"
The new female employee sitting next to Jeong Woo-seok, who had been anxiously staring out the window, turned her head toward Park Min-cheol.
"How did that returnee look to you, Chae-won?"
"I-I don't really know… Her race isn't human, but she doesn't register as a monster either. She seemed like a cup filled to the brim with water — like she was holding herself back from overflowing at any moment…"
"Right. She must have felt like a bomb. Beings who could explode beside you at any time and snatch away lives."
Park Min-cheol nodded at Min Chae-won's words. She was right to a degree. But he didn't stop there.
"But returnees aren't bombs — they're human. They possess reason and logic. They have reasons that force them to act so extremely… Does that make sense?"
Jeong Woo-seok thought carefully for a moment.
"They act because they have reasons… Then if we know those reasons, we can stop them. But without mind-reading, figuring out every reason would be impossible."
Which meant they had essentially left an unexploded bomb in a civilian's home.
That was the implication behind Jeong Woo-seok's question, and Min Chae-won looked at Park Min-cheol expecting him to have an answer.
Park Min-cheol closed his eyes briefly. He wondered whether he should tell them this.
But now that both of them were involved, he decided it would be better for them to know, and slowly asked them.
"It's because returnees possess characteristics different from ordinary people. But this will be a fairly long story — is that all right?"
When the two in the back seat nodded, Park Min-cheol began speaking without hesitation.
"Whatever else they may be, the essence of a returnee is that they 'came back.' Looking at the data we've gathered so far, some returnees were unfortunate cases dropped into extreme environments… but there were also cases who fell into worlds with life and unique civilizations."
"Like isekai reincarnation?"
"…Odd example, but yes. People ejected from this world form bonds with beings of another world and live there."
It was an inevitable process. Humans couldn't live without others. Even while living in another world, bonds and precious things formed, and those became a counterweight placed on the opposite side of their original world.
"So they have to choose. Abandon this world and live in the other world. Or abandon the other world and return to this one. Among them, returnees are… people who have a reason they absolutely must return to this world."
Min Chae-won, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.
"But, um… couldn't someone just come back because home is comfortable and nice? That doesn't seem like a special reason."
"You could think that, but you've overlooked something. Dimensional walls aren't easy to cross."
Why were they called "returnees"?
Why were they classified as dangerous beings?
"Not just anyone can cross. Failing to cross is the norm. Most people, rather than go through that trouble, don't cling to something so uncertain. And even if they have the will, without the power or ability, they can't return."
"Ahh…"
"So the Association looks for the reason returnees had to come back. We call it a Stake."
Like a dog with its leash tied to a stake, a returnee could not escape their reason. Unless something changed through some incident, they could not leave their Stake.
Even if that Stake was driven into their own heart.
Park Min-cheol held back from explaining the meaning of the name. He didn't want to scare people who hadn't been working at the Association for long.
"Through that Stake, we find a point of amicable agreement with the returnee. That's the conclusion the Association has currently reached."
"Then… leaving her alone like this is also because of the Stake?"
When Jeong Woo-seok asked, Park Min-cheol nodded.
"That's right. There's no reason to pick a fight and make things ugly. A returnee who looked ready to explode at any moment calmed down right away at her roommate's words. Whether she's the Stake or not, I can't say, but she's clearly connected to it. So I decided to approach carefully."
"That's…"
Min Chae-won's expression darkened briefly. Since it showed in the rearview mirror, Park Min-cheol casually asked her.
"Thinking of it as finding a weakness?"
"…!"
Min Chae-won's body gave a small startled jump.
With her inner thoughts showing that transparently, how was she going to live? Park Min-cheol clicked his tongue inwardly and continued.
"Think of it positively. It's a process of finding a line where we can respect each other, and knowing the other person means we can offer more certain help."
As an Association, they also wanted to avoid making enemies of returnees as much as possible. If they cooperated instead, it would mean securing valuable human resources.
They simply wanted to confirm whether that returnee was of a caliber that could be accepted in ordinary society.
"Ah, is that so…"
When Min Chae-won nodded, Park Min-cheol shifted the car gear up again.
"So going forward, we'll provide as much convenience as possible and get on friendly terms. Chae-won, go ahead and notify the lobby in advance so that you're assigned as the dedicated guide for the returnee. Assistant Manager Jeong, when we arrive, return the equipment and pass along the data. We're leaving."
"Understood, Team Leader."
Jeong Woo-seok nodded without further comment. But Min Chae-won beside him went wide-eyed. Her brain hadn't properly processed what she'd just heard.
"…What?"
"Do you need me to say more?"
"Ah, no, th-that's not it…"
Min Chae-won made a tearful face. She was supposed to handle that dangerous person herself?
Park Min-cheol thought Min Chae-won's naive and pure qualities would actually be a plus when dealing with a returnee, but for her, who didn't know any of that, this was the crisis of a lifetime.
Mother, Father… if I mess this up, I might not live much longer…
The car slowly pulled away. Whether she wanted it or not, the die had been cast.
To cut to the conclusion, I decided to live with her.
Thoughts like not knowing what her agenda was, or not understanding why she was being so nice to me — all of those ultimately shattered, unable to overcome the desire to live in my own home.
From the start of the final run to clearing and Ascending took three years and two months. Adding the time I'd spent dying and retrying before that, I couldn't even clearly remember how many years I'd endured inside the dungeon.
Throughout all that time, there was only one home I had kept recalling and memorizing. Right here. Because if I forgot it, I felt I would lose even the will to keep fighting and just give up, so whenever I had a chance, I carved the room layout into the walls.
Even if I left this house and lived somewhere else, I would keep thinking of the home I'd originally lived in, and feel a sense of misalignment and discomfort in the new place.
So even though the furniture was different and another person occupied one side of the room, it was enough. Compared to the life of retrying in the dungeon, this was a far better existence.
Then, as if breaking through my thoughts, Lee Haneul's voice from across the table pierced my ears.
"Hmm, but there's one problem."
"…What is it?"
"What you're wearing right now is mine, and you don't have anything of your own, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, look at this?"
Lee Haneul held out her hand with all five fingers spread wide so I could see clearly.
Then she folded one finger at a time as she spoke.
"So right now, you need to buy clothes. Underwear too. I can't make you sleep on the bare floor or the sofa, so bedding like a mattress pad, blanket, and pillow. Personal hygiene items like a toothbrush."
"Uh… uh? Yeah."
"You'll need a phone too. And if you go the Hunter route, there'll be expenses for equipment as well?"
Clothes, underwear, bedding, hygiene items, equipment.
All five fingers had been folded, and the hand she'd spread wide had become a fist.
"R…ight?"
Even as I answered Lee Haneul, I nodded inwardly.
She's right. I hadn't thought about any of this at all…
"So, about that — should I help you with this? Or not? Can you handle it alone?"
Honestly, thinking about it coldly…
No. Impossible. I didn't have a map, I'd completely forgotten the bus routes, the shops that used to be there might have disappeared, and I didn't even know where the department stores were. I currently had no bank account, and I couldn't search or call anyone on a phone.
Wait… am I just a combat-junkie who only knows how to kill things?
The thought suddenly struck me that without the existence of a returnee adaptation program, I might have genuinely starved to death on the streets.
"…Help me. It's shameless of me, but."
"Come on, what are you talking about. Aren't we in a contractual relationship now? I'd take a loss if I don't get paid either, so I'll call it an investment, okay?"
What is this? Giving me a corner of her home and helping with all this too — isn't she an angel? Is it really okay to give me all this?
As I looked at her thinking that, Lee Haneul, who had been smiling as she spoke, slightly turned her head so our eyes wouldn't meet.
Hmm… is she embarrassed? Maybe staring at her continuously made her uncomfortable.
Anyway, it had been a while since we'd finished breakfast, and as I slowly got up from my seat, Lee Haneul said to me.
"Get ready to go out. We'll leave as soon as I finish the dishes."
"The police station?"
"No, they said they left a gift at the Association, right? Then information about you, Sia, would have been passed along there too, so going directly to the Association should process things faster, I think."
Ah. That made sense. I accepted it, and since my hair was already dry, I decided to go outside in my current outfit of shorts and a sweatshirt.
What, why? It's March so it's cold outside? What's that to me. I have cold resistance.
But when I said as much to Lee Haneul after she finished the dishes, I was promptly dragged back into her room.
Clothes just need to satisfy the necessary functionality. Some things I just couldn't understand.