The Returner

4. What's wrong? (1)

“Hnng.”

Choi Jung-hoon frowned and put his hand in his pocket.

“... Nothing. ”

I can't see the key.

I haven't eaten or slept in my office in a week. It was very difficult to figure out where the key was a week ago.

“Ha, really……. ”

Where am I supposed to catch a cab tonight?

It's not a normal street.

Fuckin 'guy falls back, breaks his nose, tries to get home in a week and loses his keys.

“Phew... ”

Choi Jung-hoon turned around.

After this, I was just going to give up work without foolishness and go back to the office.

Bam, bam!

But then, you hear Clarkson behind your back. Choi Jung-hoon frowned and turned his head back.

“Huh?"

The white sports car was illuminating the light towards Choi Jung-hoon.

“What are you doing?"

The driver's window lowers and his head pops out.

“I don't have a key. ”

Seo Ah-young laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“Why don't you have a key? ”

“I see.”

“So what are you doing? ”

“I'm going back up. ”

“Why?”

“Catching cabs is ambiguous. ”

“I see.”

Seo Ah-young sighed and gestured.

“Get in.”

“…… Yes? ”

“Get in. I'll give you a ride. Does that mean you're not going home because you don't have the keys? ”

“No, that's not it... ”

Choi Jung-hoon ran away.

“If I don't take my car now, I'm not sure I want to go back to work. I'm just gonna sleep at the office and call the service desk tomorrow and get somebody. ”

“Get in. I'll give you a ride to work. ”

“No, well, even so... ”

“Jung-hoon Choi. ”

“Yes?”

“How many times have I told you to get in? ”

Choi Jung-hoon lowered his head.

Seo Ah-young won't be able to speak unless she comes out like that. Cho Jung-hoon, who decided he had no choice, jumped in and opened the door of the car.

‘Narrow.’

Seo Ah-young's car was too small for him who prefers the big generation. The sheets are hard.

It was Jung-hoon Choi who couldn't understand why he was driving such a car.

“You want to go?”

“You know my house, right? ”

“Why don't you go once or twice? ”

“Yes.”

“ ……. ”

“Twice. ”

Seo Ah-young sighed.

“I remember, so don't worry. ”

“Yes, please. ”

Boooooo.

With a high engine tone, the car starts to come out straight ahead. Choi Jung-hoon grimaced at the ride, licking the surface with his butt.

‘I don't know why I drive a car like this. ’

Sports cars are great, but where in Seoul do you think you can drive this car for money?

“You got a problem with that? ”

“No.”

No complaints in front of Seo Ah-young. It was a different kind of discomfort from Lee Hyuk.

‘Then... ’

Choi Jung-hoon turned his head and looked at Ah-young's side. When I first saw her, a plump, talented little boy had become an acquaintance on the floor.

It was all that time, but today it was Jung-hoon who felt awkward.

“Get some rest and work. ”

“Yes.”

“We don't have to jump like we used to. That's, uh, workaholic. ”

“Yes, I know what you mean. ”

Choi Jung-hoon smiled bitterly.

Before Lee Hyuk appeared, he said he would improve the treatment of the poor and create an organ to cope with the feet quickly, and how much he could run with his feet and roll with his body.

Treatment has now improved a lot, and past habits have remained unchanged despite being among the most recognizable talent groups in the world.

“If Jung-hoon keeps working like that, other people will be nervous too. ”

“…… of course. ”

Choi Jung-hoon nodded bitterly.

“Why are you so anxious? ”

“Yes?”

“I don't think he's just doing it because of work, but he's getting worse lately. What are you so anxious about that you keep looking over and over again? ”

“It's just that Lee Hyuk……. ”

“You said that before. ”

Choi Jung-hoon postponed his answer and opened his mouth, looking out the window.

“I thought you said you knew my house? ”

“I know.”

“But I don't think this is the way to my house. ”

“That's right."

“Abduction?”

“It won't take long. ”

“That's a terrible story, that. ”

But what can I do? He's already in Seo Ah Young's car.

Seo Ah-young, who had been driving for a long time, parked by the river.

Seo Ah-young, who lowered the window, said as if using his toebox.

“You can smoke. ”

“Thank you."

Choi Jung-hoon pulled the cigarette out of his pocket and asked.

“I need to talk to you. ”

“I never said no. ”

Seo Ah-young looked at Choi Jung-hoon with a disgruntled face.

“Do you know what Choi Jung-hoon's problem is? ”

“Well, I don't know. ”

“There's a lot of them. ”

“ ……. ”

That's what you usually get when you start saying things like that, right?

There's something wrong with the response.

“There's a lot of them. There's a lot of them, and the biggest of them is that you're worried about people and you never tell them when you have a problem. ”

“Well……. ”

There was no excuse for it.

“But that's what most people do. ”

“There's no one as severe as Choi Jung-hoon. ”

“Is that so?”

Choi Jung-hoon asked for a cigarette with an awkward face.

“Tell me, what's the problem? I think I've heard more of it lately. There must be a reason. ”

Choi Jung-hoon smoked a cigarette out of the window.

“I'm anxious.”

“What?”

“The world is now. ”

Seo Ah-young tilted her head.

She had no idea what Choi Jung-hoon was talking about.

“The frequency of gate appearance itself has been slightly reduced. ”

“Yes. I'm a little busy these days. ”

“But the gate is rising in rank. ”

“Is that so?"

Choi Jung-hoon nodded.

“We don't usually know when we're on the move. If you average across the globe, the gate's average level has risen to about two levels. ”

“…… Is that so? ”

“Have you seen a Level 1 Gate recently? ”

“No.”

“You can bring down the level. It's not an exaggeration to say that the gates of Level 2 or below have been almost destroyed recently. It's time to call the Gates of Level 3 in the past Level 1. ”

“Well, things got a little weird. And that's what's so important? ”

“Rather than being important……. ”

Choi Jung-hoon asked one more cigarette.

“Stop smoking. Your lungs rot."

“I thought you said smoke.”

“Who washes two kites? ”

“... That's a shame. ”

“Lethal?”

Seo Ah-young's eyes burst with fire.

“Smoke, smoke! Die of lung cancer. ”

While listening to Seo Ah-young's evil tales, Choi Jung-hoon lighted a cigarette on fire. Then I quickly started talking.

“With the current state, the gate is getting stronger as you go. But the frequency of the emergence of talents around the world remains unchanged. ”

“Yes.”

“In other words, we have to face increasingly powerful enemies in the same situation. Now I'm beginning to see that the balance is broken. At this rate, we'll be bankrupt in no time. ”

Seo Ah-young's face was stiff as well.

“We're stronger, too. ”

Choi Jung-hoon smiled.

“Of the many talents and never-ending gates in the world, what share do you think we have? A handful? No more than that. ”

Seo Ah-young nodded.

He was right.

South Korea's population is only 0.1% worldwide. The number of capable people will not be that different.

And just 0.1% of South Korea's capabilities responded to gate events around the world.

It is physically impossible.

“But there's Lee Hyuk... ”

Choi Jung-hoon smiled bitterly.

That was the part that bothered him the most. He is not an indifferent person. The answer lies in the aftermath of the encounter with the Demon Kings, considering what Aphedrice said in the battle, and the side effects that those who received Black Horse power in the flesh.

‘Lee Lee Hyuk is the limit. ’

I never thought I'd be a guardian god to protect them forever, but I never thought a space would emerge so soon.

“Lee Hyuk can't solve everything either. ”

“Of course.”

“The balance is already broken. In my opinion, within a year, we will no longer be able to block the gate. ”

“What about the others? ”

“Who are you talking about? ”

“Are the United States and Japan coming to the same conclusion? ”

“I don't know. I've never had that conversation before. But their conclusions won't be that different. because this is what it looks like. It's not that difficult to analyze. He's probably looking for other options by now. ”

Choi Jung-hoon sighed.

“But that's not appropriate. ”

“Well……. ”

Seo Ah-young nodded.

“I see what you mean. So you're having a hard time with all that worrying crap? ”

“... worrying about nothing? ”

Choi Jung-hoon's face distorted. The end of the world is at your doorstep. What a worrying waste.

“Hey, Jung-hoon Choi. ”

“Yes.”

“Jeong-hoon Choi is not Superman. ”

“ ……. ”

“Separate what you can do from what you can't. Choe Jeong-hoon's job is not to worry about global politics, but to get some sleep today. ”

“I know. ”

“No, I don't. ”

Seo Ah-young shakes her head resolutely.

“They don't know, they think they know. But we still have a card that we can use, so how do you think we're going to find a way to do that if we roll our heads well? ”

Choi Jung-hoon did not answer.

But I had to admit that she was right.

“That's who you are. I don't know what you're thinking. But leave that to your superiors. That's not what you do. ”

“…… yes. ”

“And if we don't stop that, the world dies. ”

“Yes.”

“Is there a problem? ”

Choi Jung-hoon stared at Seo Ah-young with a strange face.

“No problem? ”

“Yes. Is there a problem? We're not gonna die alone. We're all gonna die together. Well, that's as far as we go. ”

“Sounds tranquil. ”

Seo Ah Young smiled.

“I'm not kidding. No one's thought of that since Black Monday. Well, if you can't stop it, you have to accept it. What difference does bee make? ”

“ ……. ”

“Although Choi Jeong-hoon says he is capable, there are others who can solve it if Choi Jeong-hoon can solve it alone. If Choi Jung-hoon can't solve this on his own, then the current method is wrong. ”

“…… I see. ”

“So don't worry about that. It's just hard for people to see. ”

Is this supposed to be consolation?

Choi Jung-hoon looked at Seo Ah-young with a shivering face.