Chapter 3: Things to Do
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 3: Things to Do
For a brief moment, I stared blankly into the mirror, processing the fact that I had returned to the past.
Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat, and my breathing quickened.
It wasn't due to a lack of air in the room, nor was it a side effect of the regression.
‘Then, out there right now…….’
I turned my head and looked at the doorknob of the firmly closed door.
Beyond it, I could feel the presence of two people I missed so dearly.
-Honey. Should we go in?
-Just leave him be. He’ll need time to compose himself.
-He’s been like that for a whole week already!
-Shh! He’ll hear you. You know how hard this is for Hyeok, don’t you?
-I’m just worried he might be thinking bad thoughts. You heard him muttering to himself just now…….
The moment I heard my parents’ anxious voices talking outside the door.
Something began to drip from tear ducts I thought had long since dried up.
I pushed myself off the bed and stumbled towards the door.
My parents were out there right now.
Alive and well, just as I remembered them last.
“……”
I hastily wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, then stood in place and took several deep breaths.
My hand, gripping the doorknob, trembled uncontrollably.
I was afraid that the moment I stepped outside, all of this would turn out to be a dream.
Creak…
So, very slowly, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, I opened the door.
“……Mom, Dad.”
They both looked at me with startled expressions.
Of course, they’d be surprised to see their son, whom they hadn’t seen in days, appear with a swollen face.
But for me… it had been twenty years.
“Uh, uh-oh! Hyeok! What’s wrong?”
“Do you need anything? Should Mom get it for you?”
I could feel my parents’ anxiety, worried I might hide back in my room.
In that brief moment, countless words swirled on my lips.
I missed you. I love you. I won’t let you suffer because of me again. Thank you so much for appearing before me once more…
I swallowed all those words and uttered the ones most needed at this moment.
“I’m… hungry. Let’s eat.”
At my tone, like a child throwing a tantrum, my parents looked momentarily dumbfounded.
“Huh?”
“What?”
First, an awkward smile touched their lips, then slowly, a sigh of relief, and finally, just as I’d planned, a bewildered laugh escaped them.
“We were just about to eat, perfect timing! Just a moment!”
“Don’t go back to your room, sit at the table! Mom will get it ready right away.”
I watched them both hurry to the kitchen, almost tripping over each other.
As they bickered good-naturedly while preparing the meal together, a quiet chuckle escaped me.
“Hahaha……”
“Is he going crazy from hunger?”
“I’ll get you some cherry tomatoes, eat those first!”
That day, as soon as I regressed to the past, I fulfilled my greatest wish.
For a few days after my regression, I truly did nothing.
I clung to my parents relentlessly, as if I were an elementary schooler again.
“……What’s gotten into him, really?”
“Are you really my son, the one who was crying and making a fuss about his life being ruined?”
Even if it’s gross, bear with me. For me, it’s been twenty years, you know?
My parents were flustered at first, but I could feel their relief at my brighter demeanor.
“Dad. Shall we play a game together for old times’ sake? It’s been so long, I’ve probably forgotten everything……”
“Are you trying to butter me up?”
The head of the Ki household, after returning from work, would often play console games with his son late into the night, only to get a smack on the back from his wife.
“Look, Mom. I told you to stretch like this, didn’t I? If you just half-ass it, it’s no workout at all.”
“Too much trouble…”
Mom, a former judo club member who had become severely lacking in exercise after marriage, started working out with her son. She grumbled a few times that she really didn’t want to, but as long as family health was at stake, I wasn’t about to back down easily.
My parents seemed to think, ‘The Constitution Test must have really shocked him,’ seeing their usually reserved son suddenly become so affectionate.
……Of course, that was their thought at the time, but now, I simply wished for my parents to be healthy and happy for a very long time.
‘It all starts again now.’
Every time we sat down to eat together as a family, I vowed to cherish and protect this second chance that had come to me like a miracle.
“Alright, Mom and Dad are off to work.”
“Don’t just stay home, go out and meet your friends.”
“Yes, yes. Have a safe day.”
Both my parents worked, so from the time they left for work until they returned, I was alone.
During that time, I quietly observed the changes within my body.
My young, robust body felt capable of anything.
Compared to my pre-regression body, which I’d abused and ruined beyond repair, this was truly a world of difference.
‘I need to use it carefully.’
In the past, I foolishly believed that more training was always better, no matter what.
But that wasn’t true. While a young body might endure strenuous training, the accumulated strain eventually breaks it down.
It was a bitter lesson I’d learned over twenty years of scraping by as a Vagrant in the Underworld.
‘This time, I won’t rush. I’ll build a proper body.’
I already had a clear picture in my mind of how I would train and develop my body.
After a light warm-up in the living room, I sat down in a lotus position.
As I slowly took deep breaths, I felt a stirring energy in my lower abdomen.
Within me… was a Dantian.
Even though I’d confirmed it dozens of times since the night I regressed, my lips still curled into a grin every time the reality sank in.
‘I can definitely feel it.’
I was no longer a Martial Arts Practitioner with an unsuitable Constitution.
Qi flowed smoothly within my body, and at its center was the Dantian.
Though it felt smaller than a pea right now, I instinctively knew it could grow much larger.
I’d only know the exact grade after a Constitution Test… but even if it was Grade 7 or lower, it was incomparable to an Artificial Dantian.
-Even if you return to the past, will you still learn martial arts?
To Man Bak-ja’s question, I had answered that I would.
I meant it.
Because even if I were reborn, I wanted to learn martial arts and become a Martial Arts Practitioner.
“……A true Martial Arts Practitioner.”
Not a Vagrant scrambling to survive day by day in the Underworld, but a proper Orthodox Faction Member, one who could proudly reveal himself.
From now on, I could change the future.
And I had to change it.
I meticulously planned and organized the tasks I needed to accomplish.
Important events, I jotted them down whenever they came to mind.
People I wanted to meet again.
People I was grateful for.
Pests that the world would be better off without, if only they died sooner.
I wrote each one down, building my future plans.
Near the end, I wrote four characters and stared at them for a moment.
“Heavenly Demon Divine Cult……”
Approximately twenty years from now, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would unleash terror upon the entire world.
They would raid and illegally occupy governments in various countries, and some nations would actually fall under their dominion.
Naturally, immense chaos, fear, and casualties would ensue.
“Not this time.”
Before my regression, I didn’t care if the world went to hell.
I was going to die soon anyway, and I had no family or friends to protect.
But now, it was different.
Now, I had a family by my side, a healthy body, and a bright future ahead.
‘A world ruled by a crazy cult couldn’t possibly be normal.’
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was a Demonic Path organization that stopped at nothing to gain power. A future where they reigned supreme was a horrific world.
Under the law of the strong preying on the weak, common sense and public order collapsed, and within it, the cultists committed heinous crimes.
It was a time when no one could punish such villains.
‘For me, who had lost my parents and was dying without a single friend, such a world didn’t matter… But not anymore.’
I resolved to stop the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to the best of my ability.
Besides that, I tapped my fingers on the notebook where I’d jotted down various thoughts as they came to me.
I had many plans, but ultimately, what I needed to do was simple.
“Become strong. Stronger than anyone.”
I raised my head and looked at the idol’s poster on the living room wall.
-Those who are dissatisfied with my rule, seek me out here. I will accept a Betting Duel from anyone who is qualified.
The most frequent winner since the <World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament> began.
And the man who would later be revealed as the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Richard Han.
The Martial Arts Practitioner I respected most was looking down at me.
“That means if I defeat you, you’ll stop all this pointless nonsense, right?”
The man who would one day be my opponent in the finals of the <World’s Greatest Martial Arts Tournament> merely wore a confident smile.
My birthday always fell during summer vacation.
This year, turning nineteen, as soon as my birthday arrived, I went to a specialized hospital with a pounding heart to get a Constitution Test.
……After receiving the ‘unsuitable’ verdict, I cried and threw a fit, holing myself up in my room for a while, but thankfully, this time I regained my senses quickly, so there was still some vacation left.
Which means, I’m currently a third-year high school student.
For some, it was a time to study themselves to death, but for me, whose path was set as a Martial Arts Practitioner, that wasn’t the case.
“It’s the same here.”
I pulled my hat low and headed to Namdaemun Market.
Following the familiar path, I paused, lost in memories, and looked around.
Even on a weekday, there were quite a few people, and shops packed tightly together.
However, as I ventured deeper into the less-frequented underground shopping arcade, the presence of people dwindled, and occasionally, I felt sinister gazes from the darkness.
‘Drug-addled Vagrants.’
A faint smell of drugs mixed with the stench of decay. The sight of the street, unchanged for decades, naturally dampened my spirits.
I clicked my tongue lightly, ignored their stares, and continued towards my destination.
And a moment later, I arrived in front of a building with no sign.
Was the inside even five pyeong? Talismans plastered all over the rusty iron door added to its eerie atmosphere.
Of course, being familiar with the place, I approached without hesitation and pounded on the thick iron door with my fist.
BANG BANG BANG BANG-!
Loud heavy metal music blared from inside the shop. This person wouldn’t even know someone was outside if I didn’t knock this hard.
A moment later, the music stopped, and a wary female voice came from inside.
“……Who is it?”
Creak.
The door opened just enough for a hand to slip through. Inside, numerous safety chains hung like shackles.
Through the gap, I caught a glimpse of red-dyed hair.
Lowering my gaze further, I saw a woman with heavy makeup and a rider jacket looking up at me.
I suppressed a laugh and said,
“This is the place that performs Qi procedures, right?”
“……Customer?”
The face I’d somewhat missed glared at me with a surly expression, then shook its head.
“It’s not working hours right now. What’s with you showing up at the crack of dawn?”
For the record, it was past 3 PM.
I looked at the woman, who appeared much younger than I remembered, with a pathetic expression.
-Your Dantian has settled well. You’ll feel a heavy energy in your lower abdomen in a day or two.
The very quack who had performed the Illegal Artificial Dantian Procedure on me in the past.
She had also given me my first job after I became one-eyed due to the procedure’s side effects, and had been a benefactor who helped me in many ways afterward.
“……I heard your skills were good, so I came from far away for a consultation. How about we talk over a cup of tea?”
I’d spoken politely with a rather gentle smile, but she stiffened as if she’d seen something disgusting, and tried to slam the door shut.
“Get lost. I’m not interested!”
Wait, wait a minute.
I quickly reached out and shoved my hand into the closing door.
“I just want to talk for a bit, okay?”
“Aren’t you going to move that hand? Want me to chop it right off?”
As if it wasn’t just a simple threat, the quack brought out a saw from inside and brandished it… It seemed our first meeting was already going a bit awry.
There was no other choice. I had to bring up something that would pique her interest.
“Kim Bok-ja. Let’s talk.”
“You, you, you—who are you?!”
When I called her by her real name, which almost no one knew, Kim Bok-ja’s face turned bright red.