The Returner Chapter 252

Why on earth did that name pop up in this situation?
Yi Ji-Hyuk??
"Did I hear that wrong?" (Christopher McLaren)
"No, sir. You heard it correctly." (adjutant)
"Mm, is that so?" (Christopher McLaren)
Christopher McLaren broke into a mirthless chuckle.
He says I heard correctly….
What a sad, sad story that is. (Christopher McLaren’s inner monologue)
It felt as if this whole world was occupied by Yi Ji-Hyuk.
Yi Ji-Hyuk over here, Yi Ji-Hyuk over there.
No matter where he went, he seemed to be hearing only the stories of Yi Ji-Hyuk nowadays.
"Okay, so. What was the demand again?" (Christopher McLaren)
"To find Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk, sir." (adjutant)
Christopher McLaren angrily threw the cigar in his hand.
"This godd*mn piece of motherless sh*t…!!" (Christopher McLaren)
He shot up from his comfy seat and yelled out loud enough to spit out flames.
"Then, why don’t you go and cause a scene in South Korea?! Why is that b*stard causing me problems here in America????" (Christopher McLaren)
The adjutant dropped his head after hearing his boss’s fit of rage. Although he hadn’t done anything wrong, it was basic protocol to play dead when a superior officer was having a moment like this.
"You say we’re dealing with an unknown ability user??" (Christopher McLaren)
"Yes, sir." (adjutant)
"Do we have a photo, at least? Anything?" (Christopher McLaren)
"Sir, yes sir. One came in just now." (adjutant)
Christopher McLaren groaned and shifted his gaze over to the computer screen.
"Mm…."
The photo appearing on the screen was that of a woman who made him feel a bit weird simply by looking at her.
At first, he had to question if she was okay in the head after taking a gander at that body-hugging leather outfit, but then again, there had been a fair number of ability users with out-there costume sense in the world, so he decided not to sweat it.
The problem was….
"W-what’s this?" (Christopher McLaren)
This was just a still photograph, yet why did it feel as if he was getting sucked in? That pair of red lips spied on her blurry face imparted this sense of incredible sensuality.
"I-is this an ability to charm and seduce?! But, this is just a photograph, isn’t it??" (Christopher McLaren)
"Even Mister President can’t seem to get a hold of himself, sir." (adjutant)
"I, I’m sure he can’t." (Christopher McLaren)
Christopher McLaren hurriedly calmed his surprised heart.
He figured that his heart wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to pound away again after entering old age, but it was indeed pounding away like a hammer right now.
‘Just what is this?’ (Christopher McLaren)
If this was a part of an ability, then it made no sense to make a person’s heart race just from looking at a photograph. An ability was based off on the usage of Ether, and without a doubt, a photo transmitted over the internet wouldn’t be imbued with that energy source.
However, if that was not it, then how could she shake a person’s mind with just looks alone?
It was impossible.
Completely, utterly impossible.
Christopher McLaren emptied out his confused head.
He only needed to think about it in simpler terms. The simpler the better.
There was no need to overthink this. Keep it simple, and the desired result would be reached pretty easily.
"She’s not human, then." (Christopher McLaren)
"Sir?" (adjutant)
"I said, that’s not human." (Christopher McLaren)
If this was before, he’d been called insane. However, Christopher McLaren had met way too many non-human existences by now. First of all, Affeldrichae wasn’t one, and those Elves were definitely not, as well.
And as for the demon kings, sure, they might look weird on the outside, but didn’t they have roughly humanoid appearances?
So, it wouldn’t be all that weird to think that non-human creatures would cross over to Earth.
A being that wasn’t a human and knew Yi Ji-Hyuk.
Now that would make everything so crystal clear. However….
"Why are you throwing a tantrum in my country, then?!?!" (Christopher McLaren)
Flames bellowed out from Christopher McLaren’s mouth again.
That d*mn Yi Ji-Hyuk!!
The existence of pure evil, causing him a severe bout of migraine just from thinking of his name!!
Grab any ability user living in this world and ask them about Yi Ji-Hyuk; they would all know that he lived in South Korea. Yet, that stinking human, no, that non-human creature lacked knowledge that basic?!
"Why!! Why us!!!" (Christopher McLaren)
Christopher McLaren grabbed his own head and shook it around.
His stomach ulcer was flaring up; it felt as if he was being stabbed right now.
"F*ck." (Christopher McLaren)
As he spat out a helpless groan, the adjutant urged him on.
"Sir, every second counts." (adjutant)
"….I know." (Christopher McLaren)
He knew that, no matter how unhappy he was, now wasn’t the time to wallow in self pity. He was just so annoyed that he needed to vent a bit, that was all.
"First of all, dispatch the support units and surround the White House! Make sure not even a rat gets through!" (Christopher McLaren)
"Yes, sir! On it!" (adjutant)
"Hold it!" (Christopher McLaren)
"Sir?" (adjutant)
"Tell them to form the units with women only. Got it?" (Christopher McLaren)
"….Sir." (adjutant)
"And bring me a teleporter. Looks like I’ll have to go to the location personally." (Christopher McLaren)
The adjutant understood the gist of what was being said and left the office to carry out his orders. Christopher McLaren cut the tip off of another cigar and lit it up.
"God d*mn it, why didn’t she show up in the Blue House, instead?" (Christopher McLaren)
He only said that because he had no idea that an even bigger calamity was visiting the Blue House at that moment.
*
"W-what is it that you want?" (President)
For words spoken by a nation’s President, they lacked dignity, and the faint hint of tremor in his voice even managed to discard any sense of authority, too. However, the Chief Secretary didn’t feel a single strand of desire to criticise his boss.
Anyone would've displayed a similar reaction had a man named Yi Ji-Hyuk been standing right in front of them, too.
"Eh?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head.
"You came here because you wanted something, isn’t it?" (President)
"Ah, sure. True. Mm, but then…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk held his head as if he couldn’t think of something. The hearts of everyone watching him were getting heavier and heavier by the second.
‘Please, let it be something sensible. Pleeeease!’ (President)
They guessed that the things about to come out of Yi Ji-Hyuk’s mouth would make them flabbergasted and frustrated to the extreme. If there was one little wish they had, then it’d be him making a demand that was realistically achievable by them.
However, what he said next was something completely beyond their expectations.
"Uh? Why did I come here, anyway?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Ah….."
Oh sweet Jesus.
What should we do about this d*mn fool?!
"Huh? I did have a business to attend to, so I came here, but…. Uh… What was it? Is this a sign of dementia or something?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
A young man with dementia?!
What sort of bullsh*t was that, when there were a bunch of men with the applicable age group one should be really concerned about all around him right now!!
Their hearts were boiling over from sorrow and rage, but too bad, no one here would directly confront Yi Ji-Hyuk regarding this issue.
"Uh, hang on for a sec." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk pulled out his smartphone and called someone.
– "It’s Choi Jung-Hoon."
"Uhm…. Can you tell me why I came here?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
– "Why are you asking me that?!" (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"Don’t you know?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
– "Of course not." (Choi Jung-Hoon)
"Huh. This is bad." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk began tilting his head.
"Excuse me…. Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?" (Chief Secretary)
"Yes?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
The Chief Secretary spoke in a sorrowful, miserable state of mind.
"How about getting down from there, sir?" (Chief Secretary)
"Eh?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk smiled awkwardly and jumped off from the President’s desk.
Do normal people climb up on a desk when talking to someone?
This isn't ‘Oh President, My President’, even! (Author) (TL: I don’t get this reference at all. Tried google, and it was not helpful…)
"Ahh! I remember now!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk clapped his hand and shifted his gaze over to the President.
"President-nim?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"M-mm…. Yes, Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk. Please speak." (President)
‘Speaking politely, is it….’ (Chief Secretary)
Either due to law or in society, there shouldn’t be all that many who’d be spoken overtly politely by a President of a nation. However, Yi Ji-Hyuk being one of them didn’t come across as strange at all.
It wasn’t just the Chief Secretary making a mistake thinking that the balance of influence and the weight of actual physical power had tilted quite a lot towards Yi Ji-Hyuk.
"The NDF is an organisation under the Presidency, right?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Excuse me?" (President)
"It basically is, right?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Y-you are correct." (President)
Indeed, structure-wise, it was organised in that manner.
"But then, why are all sorts of dogs and cows and whatnots calling the NDF and telling us what to do all the time?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"…………"
President Yun Yeong-Min’s stiff face shifted over to the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister’s awkward expression shifted to the other Ministers present.
‘Buck-passing’ was happening in real time, but not a single person stepped forward to claim responsibility.
"What do you mean?" (President)
"This is something I figured out after observing for a while, you see…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Yes?" (President)
"Dogs and cows and whatnots are always phoning Mister Choi Jung-Hoon and asking him about all kinds of c**p, you know. Isn’t that strange?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"M-mm…" (President)
Yun Yeong-Min swallowed back his groan.
"I mean, if the organisation is under the President, then shouldn’t he be the only one issuing orders? But we get, ‘Hey, I’m a Minister, I’m the Chief of this and that, I’m the number one of something, and….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Something like that happened?" (President)
"That happens dozens of times a day, you know? Do you know how busy that guy is? If you keep bothering him like this, he might die of overwork soon." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"…………."
"I don’t want to see that happening, so I’d much prefer that you do something about it. Why don’t you unite all the contact channels into one and if they wanna ask something, have them ask through you." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yun Yeong-Min’s expression grew gloomier by the second.
This man barged in here just because of that? To the Blue House??
This place wasn’t some local neighbourhood pub or something, so how could such a reason justify this invasion at all?
And it’s not even his own matter, but for some low-ranked public official, no less!
Although flustered initially, the President’s pride had been wounded somewhat by this.
No matter how impossible an ability user he was, he was still talking to a country’s President. Should someone like that be treated in this manner by one’s citizen?
"M-mm… I understand what you’re saying. However…." (President)
Yun Yeong-Min replied with a hardened face.
"….That is a part of his job. Meaning, it’s not something that I can tell others not to do." (President)
"H-mmmmm…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If Choi Jung-Hoon was here, he’d be jolted wide awake and would’ve tried to rein Yi Ji-Hyuk back; the ends of the latter’s brows originally pointing slightly towards the heavens were climbing up higher and higher.
"Oh, so…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk formed a strange grin.
"….You don’t wanna?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"………." (President)
Yun Yeong-Min remained composed as he stared back. When he thought about it, it was indeed strange that he needed to assume a servile attitude towards this youth.
After all, he and his Ministers hadn’t done anything wrong, have they?
"It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m just saying that it’s a part of his job. We have the right to know how the NDF is functioning." (President)
"What, the Land and Transport Ministry does?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"………." (President)
"Women and Family Affairs?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk) (TL: It’s called Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, actually.)
"M-mm….." (President)
"But, why?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yun Yeong-Min was rendered speechless by Yi Ji-Hyuk’s retorts and shifted his gaze over to the Transport Minister. Unfortunately, the latter also had nothing to say.
"That is…." (President)
"Nah, never mind that." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked and continued on.
"I think you’re mistaken about something here. I didn’t come here to listen to such stories. Simply put, I’m not here to ask you for a favour." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If it’s not asking, then what?
Was this an order?
Yun Yeong-Min’s face began growing redder and redder.
That was not something one should say in front of the leader of a country. This action was a breach of the minimum acceptable level of etiquette.
‘People kept harping on about Yi Ji-Hyuk this, Yi Ji-Hyuk that, but now…’ (President)
He had no idea that this fool would be so utterly unreasonable.
Too bad, even if he was like that, no one had any proper means to control him anyway.
"We’ll take care of things on our end, so stop calling us and telling us what to do. You can’t expect matters to ‘function’ properly when people who know nothing keep calling and demanding us to give them persimmons and dates, now can you?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Excuse me…." (Defence Minister)
"Yeah?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk looked behind him after hearing a response coming from there. He found the Defence Minister meekly raising his hand.
"I need to call you guys because of work, though?" (Defence Minister)
"Who are you?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"I’m the Defence Minister."
"Ohh. Well, sure, if it’s you… You can call." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Thank you." (Defence Minister)
Yun Yeong-Min and his crumpled expression glared at the Defence Minister.
Was that fool trying to fan the flames or something?
The Defence Minister sneakily avoided meeting the President’s glare, though. As a matter of fact, even he found it a bit of an eyesore that unrelated folks were trying to get involved in the NDF’s affairs.
At least, the Foreign Minister had the pretext of needing to maintain cordial relations with other nations, but why would other Ministers feel the need to come in contact with the NDF?
"I hope you understand what I’m saying." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yun Yeong-Min formed a begrudging expression and just as he began shaking his head, the Presidential hotline suddenly began ringing off the hook.
"Uh-uhhht??" (Chief Secretary)
The Chief Secretary gasped out in urgency and ran towards the phone to pick it up.
Fin.