The Returner Chapter 265

(TL: Still unedited.)

"He should know that there’s no place to run or hide after coming in contact with me. Really now, my darling and his playful, mischievous streak." (Erukana)
Uhm, excuse me…. I don’t think he was being mischievous here, you know?
Didn’t he really run away from here?
Holy moly. That one-and-only Yi Ji-Hyuk ran away! (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
Indeed, he was the type to remain utterly, endlessly annoying even in front of demon kings and royally p*ssed them off. So, Choi Jeong-Hoon began thinking that Yi Ji-Hyuk didn’t know the meaning of ‘fear’, but his thoughts needed to be changed now.
He didn’t even run away from his mother, who was reputedly far, far more terrifying that any demon kings!
"Hmm, now where could my darling be~?" (Erukana)
Yi Ji-Hyuk who feared nothing under the sun must’ve been terrified of his own wife.
Erukana smiled seductively before suddenly going Poof! from the spot and disappeared.
"Hul??" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon searched around his vicinity in a fluster.
This woman… She can even teleport? (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
"Where did she go?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"To find him." (Affeldrichae)
"Him?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk, of course," said Affeldrichae, and she sighed grandly.
To think, that woman was the one to cross over this time. It seemed that peaceful days were coming to an end.
*
"This has to be a lie." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk began biting his nails as if he was suffering from anxiety.
Why!
Why is something like this happening to me?!
I went through so much hardship and pain to get away from that woman, but I have to run into her here, of all places?!
Where’s a god when you need one?! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"S-should I go and borrow Latrel’s powers or something?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If only there was a deity residing on this planet, such a thing wouldn’t have happened.
Right, this had to be the fault of no gods residing on this planet!
He seriously detested Latrel, but as long as he could escape from this situation in one piece, then forget about being the Bringer of Apocalypse, he’d gladly accept even if she demanded him to become Dioreh the Fifth or some such.
That was how desperate this situation was to him.
"How did she even cross over??" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
It wouldn’t have been easy to cross over to Earth from that side. Other demon kings came here because there was a collaborator summoning them, so unless the idiots in the demon world shoved the disinfectant meant for humidifiers down their throats en masse, something like this shouldn’t have happened.
It was oh-so obvious that the demon king they sent over after going through such pain and misery would only cling to him all lovey-dovey and stuff, so which other fellow demon kings were insane enough to volunteer their resources for this?
Besides, it was a well-known fact that Erukana was Yi Ji-Hyuk’s wife in the demon world already, too.
"Euh, euh euh….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk continued to chew his nails, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
No! This won’t do!
My freedom!
My free life!
I can’t go back! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
His eyes began shining dangerously next.
"Right! I should just go back to Berafe!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Surely, she wouldn’t be able to chase after him there!
Yi Ji-Hyuk did blow half of Berafe to smithereens just to get back to Earth, but for the sake of resolving this crisis, he was prepared to walk into Hell if needs be.
"I, I gotta create a Gate righ….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
And then, in the following second…
"Found you~~!" (Erukana)
The sticky smooth voice coming from behind caused his complexion to go pale-white in an instant.
"Euh, euh…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He slowly looked back to find a beautiful face without an equal in this world brightly smiling back at him.
"Ha…. Ha, hah….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
What an amazing thing it was, him finding that facial expression to be quite similar to that of a demon from Hell winking at him.
"N-no! It can’t be!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Grab!
Right then, Erukana locked her arms around his and activated teleportation.
*
Shu-shut…
Accompanied by a strange rustling noise, Erukana reappeared before the waiting group.
And next to her stood Yi Ji-Hyuk, looking enervated as if all his vitality had been sucked like a dried pollack pounded on for the last three days straight.
"M-Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
What the heck is this?!
Did he get done in by a Drain spell or something?
How can a person end up looking like that unless his vitality was sucked out of him in an instant? (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
"Sob." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk covered his face. That action allowed Choi Jeong-Hoon to finally realise that he was wrong. That man, he… He was literally wallowing in despair right now.
"Darling~?" (Erukana)
"Euh…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Didn’t you miss me?" (Erukana)
"I…. I…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Ng?" (Erukana)
"I…. Why would I want to see you again, you crazy demon!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk lifted Erukana up and tossed her far away, just like that.
"Kyah-hahahat!" (Erukana)
However, she must’ve found it rather amusing, as she broke out into a fit of giggles.
"My hubby is so playful, you know!" (Erukana)
"I’m not plaaaaaaaying!!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Choi Jeong-Hoon strode over to Yi Ji-Hyuk and placed his hand on the latter’s shoulder.
"I understand, so please, you don’t have to cry." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"Sob, sobbb…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk plopped down on the ground, his expression full of unfiltered despair.
"Aigoo…. Those abominable demon king bastards. They couldn’t even stop that thing crossing over to this world. I better return to the demon world and cause a scene or something!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He unhesitantly spat out a declaration that would make all the demon kings listening vomit blood.
"Why did you have to come?!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"To see you, of course! Darling, how could not get in touch with me once after leaving? You knew how Erukana would anxiously wait for you!" (Erukana)
"….Hey, you crazy little…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
How can I call the demon world from Earth, to begin with?!
And besides all that! (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
"Why should I call you in the first place?! WHY??" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Oh, my? Darling, what are you talking about? If you don’t call your own wifey, then who would you call?" (Erukana)
"Wifey?? Wifey my foot! Where did you even learn such a word, anyway?!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Ehehe~, it’s a must to learn all the technical terms that come with the job, you know?" (Erukana)
"Groooooan…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk roughly scratched his head.
"Why am I your ‘darling’?!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
"Oh, my? My darling, I didn’t know you’d get embarrassed in front of other people." (Erukana)
"That’s not iiiiiiitttt!!! That’s definitely not it!!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
A long strand of spit drooled out of Choi Jeong-Hoon’s mouth.
The one-and-only Yi Ji-Hyuk was being mercilessly pounded upon.
While he was beset with anger and didn’t know what to do next, Erukana was completely the opposite, as she locked her arms around his with a huge grin on her face and went on a full-on aegyo attack once more.
"What, what kind of a situation is this??" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon sounded utterly dazed and confused, prompting Seo Ah-Young to sagely nod her head.
"Ah, so there was indeed a poison for all occasions." (Seo Ah-Young)
The "for Yi Ji-Hyuk only" pesticide they didn’t know existed had come flying in from another world.
*
Sluuuuump….
As the word implied, Yi Ji-Hyuk’s whole body was in a slumped position.
"Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon found it quite pitiful and softly called out to him, but the dude showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Aigo….." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
It was like looking at dried radish leaves, soaked until sagging powerlessly. Just how bad was his mental damage that Yi Ji-Hyuk would end up in this state?
"Darling~!" (Erukana)
What’s even scarier was the fact the source responsible for making him so tattered and distraught with nothing more than mental damage was clinging real close to his side right now.
‘Is she trying to kill him?’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
If this continued, then for sure, that dude would die while vomiting blood all over the place.
‘And also….’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Here was yet another person who might die, as well.
Tremble, tremble….
From Choi Jeong-Hoon’s side, he detected a faint trace of a tremor. Jeong Hae-Min was looking at the couple, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
‘Well, that makes sense.’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
From her perspective, it’d be no different to getting struck by a lightning during the broad daylight.
It was already shocking and scary thing that there was a woman called Erukana, yet a scene of pure love affair was unfolding before her eyes, so forget about heartache, her entire collection of innards must be boiling over right about now.
Unfortunately for her, the legitimacy of the claim was so watertight that she couldn’t even argue her case in this no-escape situation.
– Chiiiek…
It was at that moment that the radio came back to life.
– "Mister Choi! Just what the hell is going on in there? Is Code One safe?" (Christopher McLaren)
"Code one?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "The President! Our President!" (Christopher McLaren)
"Ah, I completely forgot." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "You what?! You forgot about the President?!" (Christopher McLaren)
Christopher, I know that the stuff I said doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. However, if you were with us here, then you’d also utterly forget about that old man, too.
Yup, you’d be watching this spectacle alongside me, your jaw hitting the floor. (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
He had a lot of things he wanted to say, but well, they were just too serious and at the same time, too trivial to share over the radio.
"I’ll contact you again a little while later." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Mm?" (Christopher McLaren)
"N-no, hang on. Please be on standby. It’ll be over soon." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon shoved the radio down on his trouser pocket and looked around the Oval Office’s desk.
"Mm?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He should be somewhere around there….
Choi Jeong-Hoon had to get closer to the big desk to find a white-haired old man collapsed on the floor.
"….He’s not dead, is he?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon’s hands began trembling.
Even if the situation had become way too crazy to handle, how did he forget about the safety of a man who used to be the most important person in the world not too long ago?
Choi Jeong-Hoon could only reflect on his stupidity for the time being.
"Are you alright?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He lightly shook the shoulder of the American President, but there was no reaction.
"Oh, god. Please…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He brought his hand near the unmoving man’s neck and the nose, and much to his relief, found the subject sill breathing. He didn’t seem to have died.
Who knew what might have happened were he to be left unattended for longer? What a relief that he was not dead.
"Excuse me…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon awkwardly asked Erukana.
"Will it be fine for me to take this man out of here?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
"H-ng?" (Erukana)
The corner of Erukana’s eye slowly arched up.
He sensed the faint hostility in those sexy eyes and couldn’t help but shudder.
"N-no, I was just…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He understood very well that she’d not be very happy about a human worth less than an insect trying to engage her in conversation. Even then, as a human being, he couldn’t just let the American President be like this, could he?!
"M-Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
In the end, he had no one but to extend his begging hand towards Yi Ji-Hyuk. The latter sported this pair of eyes belonging to a dead, rotting mackerel as he waved his hand about powerlessly.
"H-he says I can take him away." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Look, look! Even Yi Ji-Hyuk says it’s fine to take him! (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
Maybe, Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner thoughts were transmitted perfectly to her, because Erukana puffed her cheeks ever so slightly. It was Choi Jeong-Hoon’s small secret that his heart fluttered a little just then because she looked so mesmerisingly beautiful by doing that.
"Hmm, I guess there’s no helping it. If my darling wants that!" (Erukana)
Erukana cried out ‘Kyah!’, grabbed Yi Ji-Hyuk’s arm, and began rubbing her face all over him.
"Uh, uh, uh, uh." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
All he could do in response was to mutter meaningless grunts like a cow being dragged to an abattoir.
Choi Jeong-Hoon shook his head and spoke to the radio.
"Please have medical personnel ready outside the Oval Office." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "It’ll be done." (Christopher McLaren)
"Groan…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon didn’t bother to say anything else and tried to lift the American President up.
"Old man, you sure are a heavy sucker, aren’t you." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He grunted and laboriously dragged the unconscious man towards the exit. He managed to pry the door open and left the office. That’s when he spotted the medical staff rushing in from the distance.
"Over here!" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
They half-way shoved Choi Jeong-Hoon away to take over the care of the President, loaded the man up on the gurney, and like the passing wind, escaped from the White House in the blink.
"Chris, your Code One has been secured." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Well done." (Christopher McLaren)
"I’m saying this out of the kindness of my heart, but…. Now that the President is safe, I’d like to let you know that we don’t want to see the previous situation repeat itself in the future. Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk is here, remember. If that man gets p*ssed off, then it’ll be even more terrifying than a demon king getting angry." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "I shall promise you that such a thing will never happen. It was not my intention this time." (Christopher McLaren)
"In that case, we’ll try to wrap this up from here." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Thank you. I’ll leave it up to you." (Christopher McLaren)
"By the way, did you already know that the demon present here had some kind of a… relationship with Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– "Well, I still can’t believe it myself." (Christopher McLaren)
"I see. Well, then." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon ended the communication there.
So, when he said that there was something he couldn’t say, this must’ve been it.
He walked back inside the office and spotted Yi Ji-Hyuk dazedly, soullessly sitting on the couch, Erukana clinging onto his arm, and finally, Affeldrichae watching the duo with a complicated look on her face and Jeong Hae-Min quaking dangerously in her boots.
So, like….
If I’m to explain this situation, it’s…. Mm….
"What a bloody mess this is." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Huhuhuhuh….
Fin.