23. We Met Through Work (3)
***
There is one thing that many people do not know.
The Earth has already been occupied.
Those who consider themselves to be enlightened intellectuals and true citizens with a sense of the times and a calling point to the dragon as the dark force that moves the world. However, most people do not realize that even such a dragon ultimately moves according to the intentions of the committee.
The Council’s rule is passive, secretive, and indirect. They never give explicit instructions, but instead offer deals to humanity. But those deals have never resulted in anything the Council did not want. Not once.
The Earth has always walked in the direction it wants and will continue to do so.
The first officially recorded contact between the Council and humanity took place on October 24, 1945, the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. At that time, the only races classified as Earthlings were, of course, humans.
In the chaotic period before the wounds of war had healed, they calmly explained to the representatives of each country who were in a state of confusion due to the sudden appearance of aliens. The committee had been waiting for a long time for the Earthlings to form a union that could collect the opinions of each country on an appropriate scale.
It was a wait of at least ten thousand years.
And finally, with a unified body capable of exchange in place, the committee emerged and proposed a deal.
One thing to briefly recall here is the official name of the committee.
Pan-Dimensional Intelligence Relocation Committee.
The council’s emissaries immediately asked the Earthling representatives to accept a mass immigration of aliens seeking asylum from other dimensions. This was the beginning of what would later be called the First Mass Migration, a historical event.
According to history taught in schools today, in return, the Council “rebalanced” the Earth’s mana concentration, which was very thin in the past, to its current level.
Thanks to this, many humans have awakened their supernatural powers, and the first dimensional immigrants who came to Earth were able to use magic and control spirits freely, just like in their original world… but whether this actually benefited Earth is debatable.
But the textbook states firmly that the Earth was able to develop to this extent thanks to the gift from the committee at that time.
In any case, the race that became the target of the first mass immigration was not as troublesome a neighbor as expected. Except for the fact that their ears were somewhat pointed, they looked almost exactly like humans, and by the aesthetic standards of the first world countries that were the main powers of the UN at the time, they were extremely handsome men and women. Furthermore, when you got close, they gave off an enchanting and refreshing scent, and they could freely control mysterious powers and had a much longer lifespan than humans.
The people of Earth longed for their knowledge of this ability more than anything else, and the first countries to receive these immigrants were the United States and the Soviet Union.
Humanity gave them the name ‘elf’.
But where there is light, there are also shadows. Once connected, the paths could be used for purposes other than normal. Criminals from other worlds began to crawl into this remote, remote dimension, using it as a refuge or a place to hide.
It was at that moment that Minjun was assigned to the ‘Group Immigration Early Stabilization Task’ and was dispatched to Earth. The seventh dimension he experienced while serving as a prisoner.
The reason why he came to Korea was clear. At the time, the country was in a state of total chaos due to major and tragic historical events. It was the perfect environment for criminals to hide out.
Instead of giving Cassie all these complicated explanations, Minjun gave her an answer that was as vague as possible.
“Well, as you know, Cash, the country was going through a lot of hard times back then. Don’t you have to do anything to make a living?”
Entering the 1960s, there was a need for an official hat that would make it easier to catch wanted aliens.
“The timing was perfect for the establishment of Gosung Academy. Look it up on your favorite wiki or whatever. To put it simply… it was Korea’s first modern supernatural powers training institution.”
At that time, the government was reluctant to inform the public about the existence of alien criminals hiding in the country, and had not yet created an official organization to deal with it.
In order to deal with aliens, it was necessary to use supernatural abilities, and only a few of the teachers at Gosung Academy, who were relatively high-level, secretly took on this role. A secret that even Oh Man-sik, who was teaching with him at the time, did not know.
Teaching students during the day and fighting aliens at night. It was a tough time to live.
Cathy, who was sitting behind the wheel and quietly listening to the story, looked genuinely surprised. Judging from Minjun’s words, he was the one who not only laid the foundation for Korean ability studies, but also made a huge contribution in protecting this country from illegal aliens.
“No, that’s about it.”
After choosing his words for a moment, he shouts, unable to hide his surprise.
“Then, Mr. Minjun, aren’t you at the level where you should appear in a biographies of great people?! Great people who sacrificed themselves for the country, things like that!”
Phew! Minjun almost spit out half of the soda he was drinking.
He wipes his mouth and speaks sheepishly.
“No, well… I don’t think the current government has any intention of bringing up old events.”
Cash remained silent for a moment, then said:
“Ah! So that’s why you don’t want to tell old stories. It’s a past that the country doesn’t want to reveal.”
Minjun neither confirmed nor denied, and just let Cathy get the wrong idea. She muttered.
“Oh my! He’s even more amazing than I thought. In the plant world, he’s like Dr. Woo Jang-chun.”
“······That was a huge leap forward.”
“But, something seems strange. Why isn’t Minjun’s name known? Even if the government doesn’t want it, rumors would spread.”
He didn’t bother to answer, since the answer was one that Cash could easily guess.
She parked her car in front of the store and kept saying, “Wow… wow… daebak.” until Minjun got out. Minjun glanced at Cathy as she followed him into the office and asked,
“Are you going to drink something?”
“Yes, and tell me some more old stories.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
A while later, Cathy asks again while drinking the cassia seed tea that Minjun offers her.
“Mr. Oh Man-sik? Why was he so surprised? I told you that Min-jun was a detective.”
He scratches his chin and searches his memory. How did I behave back then? The answer comes to him slowly, from deep sediments.
‘Ah, I guess that makes sense.’
Again, this was when Minjun had just started imitating Earthlings, and there was a lack of natural tuning in the process of instilling this culture.
The committee also lacked in-depth data on Earth at the time, so Minjun’s ‘socialization training’ was based on building and following the best moral, humanistic psychological and behavioral models that the society considered virtuous.
In other words, at that time, Minjun was a walking moral book.
He said this without giving any explanation.
“Your original personality is something that changes.”
“That’s true.”
At that moment, the office doorbell rang.
Ding-dong-!
“Who is it? There’s no one coming.”
The moment I pressed the intercom and saw the man standing outside.
Minjun’s body stiffened slightly.
“······.”
And he thought quietly.
‘Ah… This is it.’
I recall the results of the divination spell I performed this morning.
– Today’s fate: There is a possibility of reuniting with someone you haven’t seen in a long time.
——————
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The intercom camera showed a Western man standing in front of the front door and making a saluting gesture.
He was convinced.
‘Yeah. There has to be this much time left before you can say it’s been a while.’
At that time, both of their faces were different from now, but there was no problem in recognizing them.
Like Omanshik, that man is someone I met at work before.
But I met him a little longer ago than that old man and I have known him for a longer time.
‘Have we known each other for less than a hundred years?’
Instead of looking at the other person’s facial features, Minjun read the alien text floating above his head.
Asif-174,245,100
***
As soon as the door opened, the man “spoke” in fluent Korean and sent a (mental) message to Minjun. He was aware of Cathy inside the office.
“Hey! Long time no see! (How much do you know about that woman?)”
Minjun also responded naturally.
“That’s right. Nice to meet you. (You know me as an Earthling. What’s your name now?)”
The man laughs heartily.
“How could you not have called Bradley once during all this time, of all people! (Earthling?! Then you don’t know anything.)”
Minjun also answered with a smile.
“Watch what you say. If someone hears you, they’ll think you’re telling the truth. You’re the one who didn’t contact me! (Watch what you say. Don’t bring up sensitive topics. Leave out all proper nouns. I’ll send Cassie back soon.)”
Bradley winked, then turned his head to greet Cassie.
“Hello. I’m Catherine Kang. But how did you come…?”
Minjun said bluntly.
“We met at work a long time ago.”
“Oh, I see. But···”
Cash tilts her head and asks.
“Do you two usually speak in such a theatrical actor-like tone when you talk to each other?”
“······.”
“······.”
While Cathy left, saying that she would serve something proper instead of the cassia seed tea she had been drinking since a guest had arrived, the two quickly exchanged ideas, talking intermittently enough to avoid awkwardness.
‘What’s going on all of a sudden? And, ‘Bradley’? What’s that old-fashioned name?’
=What about Minjun? As for his naming sense. I said there is no development, but there is development. Anyway, before we get to the main topic, let me ask you one thing.=
‘what?’
=That… you did it?=
It seemed like he was talking about the illegal immigrant Dragon. No matter how much you keep it a secret, stories tend to circulate among the inmates.
Minjun admitted it without hiding it.
‘Yes, it’s me. If not me, then who?’
=As expected! I knew it! So that’s why I met you, after all!=
Bradley was strangely excited. He swallowed hard and asked,
=So what did you do? They say your whereabouts are unknown now. They say no one can find you! Tell me. What on earth happened?=
Jang Tae-jun’s body was collected cleanly by the immigration office, so there would be no trace left. That’s natural.
Minjun answered calmly.
‘What did you do? You killed him.’
Okay then.
“Ugh!”
Bradley let out a groan without realizing it.
‘What, why are you doing this? Cassie is suspicious.’
=Ah… No, what? You killed him? Really?=
‘Oh, I killed him.’
=No, but is it really that simple?=
‘It wasn’t easy. The opponent was a dragon close to an elder.’
=Elder? What are you talking about? A dragon? You really are a dragon?=
‘It seems like the news is fast, but it’s slow. That illegal immigrant… was actually a dragon.’
=What are you talking about, illegal immigrants?=
Only then do the two realize that their stories are going on different tracks.
‘Wait a minute, what are you talking about? I’m talking about the illegal immigrant dragon tribe that I killed this time.’
=What?=
Bradley sighed and said.
This time with voice.
“What, you really don’t know anything?”
It seemed like Bradley wasn’t talking about Jang Tae-jun. Min-jun also realized it by now.
“what?”
This time with intention.
=You really haven’t heard the news?=
Minjun was starting to get annoyed.
‘No, I mean who!’
=Who is it! It’s ‘Del’, ‘Del!’=
Minjun’s expression turned cold.
‘What about that girl?’
=He got released! A few days ago on Earth time!=
Minjun could guarantee it at this very moment.
In the 70 years he had been deployed to Earth, there had never been a more terrifying piece of news that had made his heart sink so much.
He said with a noticeably pale face.
‘Released? No way, he paid bail and became free? That’s ridiculous! The severance pay that Dell has to pay…’
=Yes, as far as I know, it was around 500,000 talents.=
About 10% of what was assigned to Minjun.
But, when I think of it in my head, it’s no different from the number that makes me say ‘impossible’ before ‘possible’.
‘You’re saying you did that? Where did you get that talent?’
=I don’t know. Anyway… I thought that if Dell was released after finishing his labor reform, he would come looking for you first. But look at this guy, he didn’t know anything?=
Hahaha! He bursts out laughing again.
“Hey! You two were pretty close, but you’ve been hearing from each other so little?”
Just then, Cathy returned with a teacup.
“Who were you talking about?”
Bradley said, chuckling.
“Oh, that’s it.”
Minjun interrupted his words while washing his dry face.
Because given the circumstances, it was up to Cassie to know.
“I heard news from someone I knew well in the past.”
Cathy asked, lifting the teapot.
“Who is it?”
Minjun muttered in a very gloomy tone.
“······My old wife.”
Cassie’s hand stopped in midair.
Minjun asked Bradley questioningly without even looking at her expression.
‘What else do you know besides that I was released? Tell me everything you know!’
Instead of responding with a thoughtful tone, Bradley spoke out loud as if to make her listen.
“Haha! That’s all I can tell you. If you want to hear more, buy me a drink!”
