31 – Returnee (1)
* * *
Under the arrow of time, fast if it’s fast, slow if it’s slow, three months have passed without even realizing it.
Unlike the first week when Yeo-ul returned to Earth, where there were no incidents, peaceful and ordinary days passed by.
Days of roaming around the house all day, or going somewhere without any plans, inviting So-yeong and Ulrike to play together.
Yeo-ul spent time adapting to the overturned Earth in her own way, and Ryeowoon enjoyed a leisurely vacation in his own way.
During these three months, So-yeong was fortunately able to find a job.
She said that she is working as a telephone counselor to minimize discrimination against the different species.
Due to the nature of emotional labor, there were many difficult days, and the money she earned was much less compared to before, but she told Yeo-ul that it is still much better than her previous job.
Ulrike often had assignments that involved going out for leisure activities.
Recently, she seemed to have gotten quite close with Ryeowoon. There seemed to be a place where their hearts connected.
As the CEO of a large company, she always had piles of work to do, but she couldn’t ignore when Yeo-ul called, so recently she had been living a busy life without any rest.
In the midst of such days, one day in the early morning.
Like usual, Yeo-ul woke up early in the morning, tidied up the bedding, and gazed out the window absentmindedly.
A while later, he went outside to throw away the trash.
After thoroughly separating the recyclables, as he was about to return home, he noticed a letter in the mailbox. Yeo-ul took it out and examined it. On the elegantly designed paper, the word ‘returners’ was engraved in handwriting.
As he looked at what was written….
It seemed to be from an organization called “Returners” that appeared to be a gathering or community for returnees.
It mentioned that there will be a regular gathering of returnees in Yeo-ul’s area, and it would be great if he could attend.
A gathering of returnees.
Thinking whether such a thing exists, Yeoul decided to keep it for now.
What about the other returnees?
How are they adapting and living on Earth?
What are they doing?
What kind of world did they come from?
Because Yeoul was ignorant about the other returnees, they were curious about these things even on ordinary days.
Thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to attend if time permits, Yeoul opened the door and returned home.
Then, standing in the living room, Yeoul noticed Ryoun looking at them with an expectant gaze.
As soon as she saw her brother enter, she spun around in her place. Her clothes fluttered according to her gestures.
“Brother, how do I look?”
A white blouse, a tie, a skirt, and stockings.
She was wearing a school uniform.
Not the one she wore in middle school, but a new one.
“Do I look pretty?”
Ryoun looked at her brother and grinned.
Before she knew it, Ryoun’s high school life was right in front of her.
* * *
“Brother, I’ll be going now.”
Ryoun, pulling her suitcase with one hand, greeted her brother at the entrance.
Her face looked somewhat melancholic as she looked at her brother.
Because she had been admitted to Choin Specialized High School, where all students were required to live in the dormitory, she would not be able to come back home for a while.
Maybe she could come back home around next weekend or the weekend after that….
It feels really lonely, she said to herself.
“Are you really okay going alone?”
“It’s okay, so don’t worry.”
Today was the day of Ryoun’s entrance ceremony. Normally, Yeoul would have attended it, but unfortunately, it was not possible.
For some reason, the school did not allow outsiders to attend.
Still, it was possible for Yeoul to accompany her to the front of the school, but Ryoun refused, saying that the school was too far and she shouldn’t go through unnecessary trouble.
“Then, I’ll go… Take care, okay?”
Ryoun looked at her brother with a wistful face.
She struggled to steady her steps, opened the front door, and stepped outside.
The door closed, and the sound of the door lock clicking could be heard.
A house left empty by herself.
Fluorescent lights illuminating the living room.
The warm sunlight of March shining through the window.
The dishes left behind after solving Rayun’s breakfast.
Was it because he had always been with Rayun?
He somehow felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.
Yeo-ul stood still in front of the front door for a moment.
Suddenly, something came to his mind, and he went back to his room and opened the drawer.
What he took out from it was an invitation to the regular meeting of the “Returners,” the community for returnees.
As he remembered…
Yes, the date was today.
After sending his younger sister off.
There was nothing else to do, so Yeo-ul thought of going there.
* * *
The returnees community, “Returners.”
To understand why they were formed, it was necessary to first understand the peculiarity of the position held by returnees in society today.
It took a tumultuous upheaval and a considerable amount of time for the world to become aware of their existence because of the uniqueness of having spent several years in another world.
Moreover, at first, there was an atmosphere of disbelief about them having gone to another world and come back.
Naturally, there were no institutional devices put in place for them, and there were countless returnees who struggled to adapt to the drastically changed Earth.
If the returnees were ordinary people, there wouldn’t have been much of a problem.
But they all possessed tremendous power, and the world fell into chaos because of returnees who couldn’t adapt.
At that time, an organization was formed in Korea: the Returners.
Initially consisting of just a few returnees, the Returners criticized the lax current system in Korea, screamed for the promotion of returnees’ human rights, and the establishment of institutional measures to protect returnees.
As a result, the existence of the Returners became known to the world, and most Korean returnees who had lost their way gathered in that organization.
As the group grew in size, their voices grew louder, and around the time when the mere screaming had firmly imprinted their existence in Korea, various policies were implemented to assist returnees.
Since then, the Returners have been able to solidify their position as a genuine community for returnees.
They helped new returnees adapt, facilitated the fulfillment of obligations as returnees bestowed by the country along with benefits, and fostered camaraderie among returnees who shared the same experience.
It became more than just a club-like gathering, and took on the character of a full-fledged organization.
And now.
The returnees who attended the regular meetings of the Litterers were about to encounter a new type of returnee.
Song Yeoul.
His existence itself had been known since several months ago when Yeoul was declared a returnee.
A returnee without magic.
Before discussing possibilities and impossibilities, many returnees had doubts about his existence itself.
Many returnees they had seen before. They all had a certain amount of magic regardless of their own powerlessness.
That was why they could only debate whether Song Yeoul was a real returnee or not.
Originally, the world we lived in was a world where the existence of magic was unimaginable. So why would there be a returnee without magic? It could be a likely possibility.
That’s a different story. The world has come to naturally accept the existence of magic. But there’s a returnee who doesn’t have that natural magic. Even if he’s really a returnee, we can’t acknowledge Song Yeoul.
The chairman continued to debate in this way.
Then, the sound of a door opening, and someone they had never seen before walked in.
A man with long hair.
The returnees instinctively explored the amount of magic this person possessed.
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But it seemed that there was no magic at all from him.
They had a gut feeling.
That man was Song Yeoul, the one they were talking about.
Yeoul. As soon as he entered the chairman’s office, he looked around. His gaze landed on each of the returnees.
Only a few returnees occupied the small chairman’s office. Maybe it meant that there were not many returnees, he thought.
Meanwhile, the returnees strangely felt their bodies instinctively shrink whenever Yeoul’s gaze touched them.
Having experienced countless humiliations in this otherworld, they instinctively knew that he was not just an ordinary person.
Receiving everyone’s attention, Yeoul took a seat in the empty chair.
At the same time, the meeting began.
This time, the policy will change like this.
Does anyone plan to go dimension-hopping with me after this?
Did anyone see the news about that returnee causing an accident last time?
In this way, they engaged in small talk that wasn’t really small talk.
Yeoul silently observed them from a corner of the chairman’s office.
Then, a new topic emerged.
About the new returnee.
At the same time, the gaze of all the returnees in the room turned towards Yeowell.
Among all the seats, it seemed to be the most prestigious place.
The woman sitting there looked at Yeowell and spoke in a calm voice.
“You’re the newcomer who came today, right? If it’s okay, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?”