A Slightly Early Return
The cheerful impact sound echoed from Kang Hyuk's head. The tone was so clear and beautiful that my heart gradually loosened up.
"The build-up took way too fucking long!"
[Is it already the end of Part 1?]
Kang Hyuk was currently frozen in place from the excessive shock and had passed out. Whether it was from the shock of being hit or because it actually hurt, it was probably the former.
Soon after, he began to collapse with a thud.
"Slow. Even falling is slow."
[What will you do now?]
"I've already decided that."
As he fell, I slowly approached. Of course, not out of concern.
"A verification shot is mandatory for this."
[It's a shame we couldn't capture the exact moment he fainted.]
Verification shot. When you see something worth commemorating, taking a photo is basic instinct. Why else do fishermen desperately photograph their catches and argue about sizes while uploading them? It's all because of the pathetic gene embedded deep in their DNA.
Same here. Finally catching the crazy bastard, the pathetic gene inside me was twitching, desperate to brag.
[But who will you brag to?]
"I'll show Professor Kim Jiseon or Cheonma. Professor Jiseon might even give bonus points."
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of him. I tried to plant my foot on his head and take a selfie. I opened the camera app, smiled, and pressed the shutter.
- Click! -
- Grab!
Two sounds rang out. One was the shutter click accompanied by the flash. The other was Kang Hyuk grabbing the ankle resting on his head.
"...Did he max out his toughness stat? The stun wore off already."
[You'll be sent flying.]
Just as Piece said, I was immediately hurled through the air. Thanks to that, I flew a short distance before crashing to the ground and rolling in a pathetic heap.
When I regained my senses, Kang Hyuk was already getting up, rubbing his head. At that moment, our front door opened and Mom appeared holding something.
Mom's eyes met mine by chance. Without the slightest hesitation, she ignored me and walked straight toward Kang Hyuk.
"Neighbor boy. Take some of this spicy pork stir-fry."
"Mother!! Thank you so much every time!!"
Kang Hyuk naturally accepted the side dish and immediately bowed ninety degrees. He looked extremely practiced at it, probably having received many favors before.
As soon as Mom handed over the food, she went back inside and locked the door chain.
[Looks like we can't go home for now.]
"Then I'll just raid his house."
Clutching the spicy pork like a precious treasure, he tried to return to his own house without sparing me a single glance.
[You'll miss him.]
"Where the fuck do you think you're running, you bastard."
I quickly jammed my foot into the closing door gap and forced it open. He tried to shut it. I tried to pry it open. Neither of us yielded an inch. Soon our strengths reached perfect equilibrium.
"Fuck, I'm holding something important right now, so I'll play with you later."
"Shut up and open the door already."
The one who declared defeat was him. An ominous creaking sound had started coming from the newly installed door. Unfortunately, the declaration came five seconds too late. The force applied while opening the door left an indelible scar. The door was severely crumpled, almost scrap-metal level. And it had been purchased less than an hour ago.
"You fucking bastard. You seem stronger than last time."
"I told you, I got an ability."
"Tsk. No wonder my head hurts more than usual."
"I didn't even hit you with arm enhancement, so don't exaggerate."
He still looked full of idiot energy. However, perhaps because he was dating Ye-lim noona, his appearance was surprisingly neat.
"...Are you really the uncle? Where did your old idiot self go?"
"Why, did you fall for me?"
"Are you fucking crazy, you bastard."
[Kang Hyuk-Shinwoo chemistry what is this lolololol]
'Stop saying shit without a mom.'
[This body has neither mother nor father.]
'Ah, fuck. Immune to that one.'
Then, as if sensing something strange in my words, he asked,
"You said you can do physical enhancement?"
"Yeah, I can. And even though it's makeshift, I tried shooting a death beam like Cheonma grandpa."
"Oh! You met that idiot too?"
He spoke in a very welcoming tone. If Cheonma had seen this, he would definitely have punched him in anger.
"That fucker got someone seriously screwed on coins because of him."
"The idiot is the one who buys it."
He chuckled and mocked Cheonma. But I already knew the idiot standing in front of me had also dumped money into coins.
"Then is it okay that you dumped into Elf Coin?"
"...Because of that, debt collectors came looking for me."
"You borrowed money to do coins and got your karma properly."
"I was going to pay it back after making profit."
'Nothing's changed.'
[You must never become like that human.]
Crazy talk. Meanwhile, he was reverently placing the spicy pork in the refrigerator. Yep, that was definitely Upperclassman Idiot Kang Hyuk. A strange sense of relief from familiarity wrapped around me.
At that moment, he turned his gaze back to me.
"Hey, you said you used the death beam just now?"
"Yeah. I tore my palm and roughly used it with that."
"You really used it without thinking. Was it a disposable repulser gun?"
"Without it, my damage is insufficient."
"Anyway, from the way you're talking, it seems you've got the hang of it roughly. Wait a sec."
He started rummaging through the corner room used as storage. Every time the mountain of junk shifted, dust that had settled in the gaps stirred slightly. After several rummages, he grabbed something and suddenly held it out to me.
"Here, this should be useful."
But I couldn't say anything. Because what he was holding was...
".......What is this."
"What do you mean.....uh...fuck."
It was a massager that frequently appeared in Japanese AVs. As if the power had been turned on, it began emitting a tremendous vibration sound.
"Why the hell do you have something like this."
"......Because when I'm with Ye-lim, I get tired so I have to borrow the power of machines."
"Why would a top-tier hunter lack stamina."
"Remember this. Humans can't beat machines."
He spoke with an extremely serious expression. Serious enough that anyone would mistake it for a dramatic scene. But because of the massager in his hand that was dutifully doing its job, the atmosphere was completely fucked.
"What takes me an hour, this thing finishes in just five minutes."
"I get it, so turn that off. It feels really fucking weird."
He rummaged through the junk pile again. Unable to find what he wanted, he only sighed. What emerged in the process were tools even more explicit than the previous massager. In the end, I only received a vague promise that he would find it later and send it, then half-escaped from his house. If I stayed any longer, my mind wouldn't stay intact.
'Fuck. Just looking at him makes me tired.'
[What's there to be tired about. Don't hide that you're a virgin.]
'Stop...using...facts...'
I arrived in front of our house, but the door was firmly closed. Naturally, I headed to the pub I visited last time for salvation once more. I contacted everyone just in case someone could come, but the replies were all negative.
The uncle replied that Ye-lim noona was coming home so he should make good use of the things he found earlier.
Hyeji said she couldn't come because her dad kept stopping her from going out. Probably Kim Baekhong had sensed something ominous.
In the end, I visited the store alone again.
Ten meters before arriving at the store, the owner who recognized me came out personally to greet me and guided me to a high-end table in the corner.
[In games, even if you dump hundreds, you're treated like a sucker, but reality is the complete opposite.]
'That's fortunate. There are game companies that sue users who dumped billions.'
[What kind of idiot game company would do that. It would make more sense for the game company to hold a concert.]
As I was endlessly pouring alcohol, the pub suddenly started buzzing. Wondering why, I turned my gaze and saw someone standing confidently in front of the pub door.
Yeah. Choco hyung had come to pick me up.
'Probably came to tell me the house door is open.'
[Crazy bastard. Crazy bastard. Crazy bastard.]
I asked if Choco hyung wanted a drink too, but he said he'd lose muscle so I only gave him a few pieces of meat. After finishing the remaining food and drinks, we slowly returned home.
The day before vacation ended, I decided to return to the Academy early. Since it was a newly moved apartment, it seemed like a crazy person was living in the other neighboring house besides Kang Hyuk. Seeing how they were banging on our door like crazy at 4 AM and pressing the doorbell wildly, it was definitely someone whose mind wasn't normal. I was so scared that I no longer had the courage to stay at home.
'Luckily, I was practicing guitar without sleeping at the time.'
[Yes. There are really many scary people in the world.]
Having fully experienced the scariness of the world, we returned to the Academy a bit earlier than others. Hyeji said she'd pick me up from home on the day vacation ended.
I contacted Jeong Ayeon because I thought of her at the Academy, but there wasn't even a read receipt on the message.
[She must be busy with something.]
'Well, can't be helped.'
The moment I tried to contact Elsia, one fact came to mind. I didn't have Elsia's contact information. On top of being dragged to the Great Forest, she probably wasn't in a good mood, and I felt slightly sorry for not contacting her throughout the vacation.
[She must be sulking.]
'...This isn't a kidnapping flag, right?'
While worrying as I recalled Elsia's future before regression, suddenly a call came from an unknown number. A situation where it might be a Joseonjok again. Without letting go of my guard, I carefully answered the phone.
"Hello."
- "Is this Shinwoo student? It's the Academy's HR team."
An unexpected call from HR. I bowed my head first.
"...I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?"
- "No! I just wanted to inform you that Shinwoo student's ability registration has been officially completed this time!"
[It has finally been registered! Congratulations!]
'...So it does get registered.'
It seemed they managed to push it through somehow. Honestly, I didn't expect it to work.
"Yes, thank you. Then what about the registration certificate and license?"
- "Those will be delivered tomorrow. For the license, since only physical enhancement is registered, you can consider it practically just for show."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you!"
With those words, the other side hung up. I felt slightly strange. It was a registration I thought wouldn't be completed until the work ended. But it was completed so easily.
'Since they probably can't finish the serialization, they're giving me this in advance.'
[I'm worried about how they're going to do the real ending.]
A slightly refreshing yet uncomfortable feeling swirled inside me. The relief that ability registration was completed. And the discomfort that vacation had only one day left. These two emotions swirled like a vortex inside me.
To erase the pointless thoughts, I modestly set up a drinking table for a celebration party. A party for one. At the same time, a small celebration party for two.