The Returner -
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Yi Ji-Hyuk dug out his ear canals to make sure that he didn’t mishear her .
“You wanna come, too?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“That’s right . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“… . Where to?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“To the very same theme park you two are going . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
Yi Ji-Hyuk looked at Seo Ah-Young with a totally flabbergasted face, before clicking his tongue .
“But, why? Why do you wanna join us?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Isn’t it supposed to be more fun with lots of people accompanying you to a theme park?” (Seo Ah-Young)
Uh?
Well, uh, she’s not wrong about that, but… . (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
Seizing the opening created by Yi Ji-Hyuk tilting his head, Seo Ah-Young threw out yet another deadly blow .
“Unni!!” (Seo Ah-Young) (TL: Used by females to address older sisters/females)
“Ng?” (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min, who had been quietly observing the situation from a corner, raised her head .
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you went, as well?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“…Ng??” (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min’s brain began spinning quickly then .
Going to a theme park .
… . With Yi Ji-Hyuk’s family .
That did sound nice, but… .
Seo Ah-Young sensed the hints of reluctance coming from Jeong Hae-Min, and hurriedly ran over to the latter to whisper in her ear .
“That man’s going too, you know . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Okay, I’m in!” (Jeong Hae-Min)
Jeong Hae-Min enthusiastically agreed right away, prompting Yi Ji-Hyuk to flinch .
Grab!
“Mm??” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
A pale-white hand emerged from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s shadow and grasped his leg .
“What…? You wanna go, too?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
The hand gestured “OK” and submerged back into his shadow .
Just as Yi Ji-Hyuk began to get flustered by this rapidly-changing situation, Kim Dah-Hyun’s phone suddenly went off .
Kim Dah-Hyun picked up the phone and said something to it, before turning towards Yi Ji-Hyuk with a somewhat sheepish expression on his face .
“Uhm, excuse me, hyung-nim…” (Kim Dah-Hyun)
“M-mm??” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Dah-Som also wishes to go, as well . ” (Kim Dah-Hyun)
“… . Huh?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
… . O-oiii?! What the heck, how did this situation spiral out of control like this?
No, hang on a bloody minute here!!(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
“How did she find out and call you this quickly?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
To Yi Ji-Hyuk’s succinct question, Kim Dah-Hyun couldn’t immediately answer and mumbled this and that .
“Well, uh, I, well, I don’t… . ” (Kim Dah-Hyun)
Yi Ji-Hyuk was instantly overcome with nasty goosebumps and hurriedly scanned his vicinity .
‘I’m being watched!! Being spied on!!’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
There was no doubt his every single move was being watched!!
“Can’t you manage your sister properly?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Kim Dah-Hyun became a victim of wayward shrapnel redirected in his direction and crumpled to a corner .
As if she was saying “I told you so”, Seo Ah-Young snorted at Yi Ji-Hyuk .
“Well, now . We should all go together, then . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Says who?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk loudly shouted out .
“Don’t you have things to do?! No freaking way!! I ain’t taking anyone!! No!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Seo Ah-Young smirked derisively, then .
“In that case, Mister Choi Jung-Hoon won’t be getting a day off . His request for a paid leave is denied . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Wowsers… . So petty . Seriously now . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk gnashed his teeth .
He just wanted to see his little sister get married, yet they were trying to stonewall him??
“Make your choice . Either we all go together, or no one goes!” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Hul…… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Suddenly faced with an unexpected crossroad, Yi Ji-Hyuk could only grab his head .
What the hell?
How did things turn out this way??(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
Seo Ah-Young smiled triumphantly after seeing his reaction . She was deeply pleased with herself, because it felt as if she had finally managed to punch him in the face .
“Groan… . . ”
Yi Ji-Hyuk groaned out grandly and opened his mouth .
He sensed that him trying to salvage the situation with sophistry would only complicate matters even further .
Most of all, the somewhat-chilly aura he sensed around near his legs placed a fair bit of pressure on him, and even if he tried to avoid all these hangers-on covertly, with Kim Dah-Hyun seemingly knowing everything, hiding from these people’s sights would be nigh-on impossible .
If that was the case, then… .
“Fine . Fine! Let’s all go . We’ll go together . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
His eyes gleamed brightly .
“However, if you get in the way? Imma chuck you into the Pacific ocean! Got that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Get in the way? Of what?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Well, there is a thing . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He ignored Seo Ah-Young and her confusion for now, and looked at Choi Jung-Hoon .
Indeed, what did it matter if there was a crowd? As long as his goal was met, it didn’t matter anyways .
“Okay, so . Clear up your schedule . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Wait . There’s no need to do things in such a roundabout way . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
As soon as Seo Ah-Young spoke up, she picked her phone up and called somebody . When the call got through, Seo Ah-Young announced in a monotone voice .
“We’ll be on a break tomorrow . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
–“What?!”
“I said, we’ll be on a break, tomorrow . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
– “No, wait a minute! Director Seo! What is this all about? Please explain yourself properly!! Are you trying to say that the NDF will close up shop for tomorrow???”
“Yes . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
– “Are you out of your mind?! What are you trying to achieve here??”
“After the creation of this department, we all worked tirelessly without taking a single day off . We didn’t even rest on weekends, and continued to work overtime, over and over again . Which means, it should be fine for us to take a day off . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
– “But, what if something happens, then?!”
“We’ll leave a couple of people here, then . Is that fine?” (Seo Ah-Young)
– “Director Seo!!”
“Oh, in that case, should we operate on a rotation basis, with proper holidays and all?” (Seo Ah-Young)
– “… . Have a relaxing day off . ”
“Thank you . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
Easily solving the situation, Seo Ah-Young ended the call and looked at Yi Ji-Hyuk .
“Tomorrow, it is . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“……………… . ”
She’s completely unanswerable .
Since when did she become such a charac… . Oh, wait . She’s always been like that, hasn’t she?(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
After inadvertently bringing out Seo Ah-Young’s true nature into the open, Yi Ji-Hyuk beat a hasty retreat in silence . Meanwhile, she turned around and made the announcement .
“You all take the day off tomorrow . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
The NDF agents all roared out in happiness .
They had come home after half a year in hell, yet they were immediately thrust back into the usual daily routine without even a day of rest . So, quite obviously, their dissatisfaction had reached a pretty dangerous level .
Kim Jae-Beom also cried out in happiness, before asking a question with a smiling face .
“Oh, by the way, who’ll be manning this place tomorrow?” (Kim Jae-Beom)
“…… . ”
Seo Ah-Young wordlessly stared at Kim Jae-Beom .
Receiving that stare, Kim Jae-Beom could only feel despair .
“Ah… . ”
So, it was me .
Yup, me . It was me… . (Kim Jae-Beom’s inner monologue)
Kim Jae-Beom’s head faltered . Seo Ah-Young placed her hand on his shoulder and flatly spoke .
“Keep your eyes open . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Yes, ma’am…… . ” (Kim Jae-Beom)
“If something happens, you call me right away . And make sure to confirm the emergency hotlines, too . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Yes, ma’am…… . ” (Kim Jae-Beom)
Choi Jung-Hoon dazedly stared at this unfolding spectacle, before vehemently opposing it .
“Tomorrow?! What do you mean, tomorrow?! You know how ridiculous the amount of work I need to go through is, yet how can you say I should take a day off tomorrow?? Even if the sky collapses on itself, I won’t be able to finish these by the end of today!! I’m not going!” (Choi Jung-Hoon)
After seeing Choi Jung-Hoon’s resolutely determined attitude, Seo Ah-Young wordlessly shifted her gaze over to Yi Ji-Hyuk .
“Ng?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk couldn’t tell why she was staring at him . She quietly walked over and whispered in his ear .
“He’s got a lot of work . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Okay . So what?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Why would he have so much work?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Well, that’s because there are lots of things to be taken care . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Then, why does he have to be the only one to do that?” (Seo Ah-Young)
… . Uh?
Right, that’s wrong, isn’t it?
If there’s a lot of work, then the number of workers should increase, no? Why should the original worker be subjected to more pain and suffering?(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
“And, well, didn’t you, you know, the last time?” (Seo Ah-Young)
When Seo Ah-Young said that, a vein popped up on Yi Ji-Hyuk’s forehead .
Ah, right . I completely forgot about that . (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
“Hold on for a second . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk walked over to Kim Jae-Beom and asked for something . He got a phone number, and called it right away .
***
“H-mm… . ”
A certain man in the ‘prime’ of his life was enjoying the warmth of the lazy afternoon sunlight in his office with a piping hot cup of coffee in his hand .
His slightly-ash-grey hair and a face with just enough wrinkles brought a certain dignified air about him .
An afternoon of an astute politician would always be busy, but it could also be rather peaceful, as well .
“Well, I should… . ”
Since he had to meet the President and make a report, he should start preparing… . .
Ringggg… .
It was then, his smartphone suddenly went off, and the politician frowned in displeasure .
There shouldn’t be any direct calls coming at this time of the day… .
If it was someone who didn’t know him, they wouldn’t call him to begin with; those who knew him wouldn’t deliberately try to disrupt his tea time, either .
“Who could it be… . ?”
He was none other the Foreign Minister, Hah Dae-Seong . He stared at the screen of his phone with irritation and a bit of anger, before his head tilted to the side . (TL: the author made a mistake with the Foreign Minister’s name . It’s supposed to be Hah Dae-Seok, but here, it’s Hah Dae-Seong . I’ll TL according to what’s in the raw . )
‘I don’t know this number… . ’ (Hah Dae-Seong)
He could just drop the call, but something didn’t feel right .
“H-mm… . ”
Hah Dae-Seok tapped the ‘Answer’ icon and brought the phone closer to his ears .
“Who is this?” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Hi, Minister ahjussi . ”
‘… . Minister ahjussi?’
Which crazy buffoon would greet so sloppily a government minister of a country like this?! Unless it was some random elementary school kid giving him a prank call after somehow getting a hold of this number!
Hah Dae-Seong was about to explode in irritation and hang up, but then, a certain ominous feeling brushed past his brain .
… . Could it be?
“W-who is this?” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “It’s Yi Ji-Hyuk speaking . ”
“Heeeiiick?!” (Hah Dae-Seong)
Having received Yi Ji-Hyuk’s call totally out of the blue, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Hah Dae-Seong felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach .
Why! Why was his calling?! Why!
“W-why are you calling me?” (Hah Dae-Seon)
– “I thought I definitely had asked you to resolve the situation this side, but it looks like nothing’s been done yet?”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Hah Dae-Seong squeezed his eyes shut .
What should he do about this crazy as*hole??
“It seems that you’re not aware of it yet, but a large organisation usually moves slowly like this . Even if I issued a directive, it’ll need some time for everything to get processed . And also, although I am a minister, I still don’t have the power to change the workings of a government to my whims overnight… . . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Where are you?”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Eh?”
– “I’m asking you, where are you currently?”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“……………”
Why do you wanna know that now?!(Hah Dae-Seong’s inner monologue)
–“No, hang on a minute . You should still be at the Foreign Ministry . Wait for me there . ”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Mm?? Mm?! Wha-what are you doing? What’s going on here?!” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Since you don’t wanna listen, I’m going there personally to talk to you face to face, that’s all . ”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“N-no! Wait! Don’t do that! I have completely understood you, and I can definitely explain this! I’m being honest! So, please, just hold on for a minute there!” (Hah Dae-Seong)
Stop it, you, you… . crazy b*stard!!
Don’t come over here!
Do not come!!!!(Hah Dae-Seong’s inner monologue)
– “Huh, but nothing’s been resolved as far as I can see, you know?”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“I’ll definitely take care of it!! I’ll do it right now, so calm down, please! R-right, what do you need? Tell me, what do you need from me right now??” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Huh . Uhm, well, hang on a sec . ”(Yi Ji-Hyuk)
It sounded like there was a conversation taking place, before someone else spoke through the phone .
– “Pardon me, sir . This is Choi Jung-Hoon speaking . ”
‘This son of a b*tch… . . ’ (Hah Dae-Seong)
The old saying went that one would feel even more hatred towards the sister-in-law smiling on the side, rather than at the incessantly berating mother-in-law – currently, Hah Dae-Seong was getting angrier at Choi Jung-Hoon instead of Yi Ji-Hyuk, for some reason .
“Okay, so what is that you need?” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “First of all, I’d like to apologise for calling you in such a manner . ”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
Get the f*ck out of here, you scumbag!!
If you’re really feeling that way, then don’t worsen the situation to this degree!!
Yes, I was the moronic one, marching straight into that hell, thinking that I could control that man . (Hah Dae-Seong’s inner monologue)
Now that his thoughts arrived at this place, Hah Dae-Seong’s hatred against Choi Jung-Hoon had lessened somewhat .
Well, he was sitting here, only receiving Yi Ji-Hyuk’s phone call after a long while, but Choi Jung-Hoon had to stick right by that crazy b*stard’s side all the time and be on the receiving end of the constant abuse .
“… . Okay, so what is it that you need?” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “First of all, we’ll be vacating the premises tomorrow due to an emergency, so we need additional manpower to sub for us . Also, we need more than five additional full-time agents with a clearance grade higher than 5 who can at least manage the paperwork here . Oh, and finally, the current allocation of budget for our department is far too miniscule . ”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
“Funds and manpower, is it… . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Oh, and then… . Well, we’re located on the far outskirts, so it’s a bit cumbersome to eat a proper meal here as well . We wish to build a cafeteria here, so please grant us the necessary budget and the manpower for that . That’s an issue of employees’ wellbeing… . ”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
Hey, you said you’re sorry, didn’t you? You son of a b*tch!!
Is that something someone feeling apologetic should ask for? Restaurants are far away, so you wanna build one nearby?!(Hah Dae-Seong)
Hah Dae-Seong was further subjected to more demands after that . He spoke up while fatigue washed up over him .
“Are they everything you want from me?” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “These are simply the matters we requested from you the last time . However, a few more urgent matters have cropped up in the meantime, and so……”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
What an immoral b*stard!!
Lessening of hatred, my foot!!
As soon as the matters with Yi Ji-Hyuk get resolved one way or the other, I’ll make sure that you find yourself sent to an uninhabited island all alone!!(Hah Dae-Seong’s inner monologue)
“However, you know as well as I do that all those matters can’t be taken care of in one day . I need to request assistance from the defence ministry first, and since the NDF is a branch of the Presidency, I need to make a report upstairs, too… . . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “… . Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk wants the phone back, sir . ”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
“Tell him that everything will be sorted out . For real! Definitely before the end of today!!” (Hah Dae-Seong)
– “Well, in that case, I’ll take your word for it and hang up . ”(Choi Jung-Hoon)
“Groan… . ”
Hah Dae-Seong angrily shut the phone off . He stood up from his seat and loudly shouted out .
“Vice Minister!!! Tell the Vice Minister to come and see me!! Right now!” (Hah Dae-Seong)
The secretary waiting on the outside of the office let out a loud audible reply and hurriedly moved his a*s .
“I won’t die peacefully at this rate… . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
Hah Dae-Seong plopped down on his seat . He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up .
He tried pretty hard not to smoke indoors, but he couldn’t help it, with what had transpired just now and all .
“Sure, it’s the most prosperous period in the history of South Korea, but… . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
Ever since the founding of this nation… . .
No, even when looking through the entire history, no other previous nation establishing itself in the Korean peninsula would have enjoyed such an unprecedented power .
Just how satisfied did he feel whenever he answered all those very polite phone calls coming from the American diplomats?
“But then, why oh why… . . ” (Hah Dae-Seong)
Hah Dae-Seong rubbed his eyes with his thick fingers .
And the wise old they said that ill fortune would always accompany the good omen… .
Who would’ve thought that both the ill fortune and good omen just so happened to be in the shape of one man?
“Uh-whew……”
Hah Dae-Seong spat out a long sigh that embodied his sorry state .
And now, there was one more person in this world who had finally come to a realisation that being mixed up in Yi Ji-Hyuk’s matters would only make his life very, very arduous .
< 153 . So, I shall allow a little bit of amusement -3 > Fin .
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