Chapter 27
Chapter 27 . Kang Chul-In’s Anger .
Kang Chul-In, the meeting with Lee Chae-Lin behind him, drove his Mustang towards the marketplace near Gyunggido, Buchun . His mother ran a fruit shop in the marketplace for 20 years .
Yes .
If Alex Rothschild was the typical privileged born-to-wealth scenario, Kang Chul-In was a commoner that was raised by a single mother after losing his father at a young age .
‘Are you there?’
His mother Park Sun-Ja, who he noticed from far away, was staying warm in front of an antique heater, fighting the cold winter wind .
It was late .
All the other stores had closed its shutters one by one, and the grandmas who were selling different things on the ground were packing up, but Park Sun-Ja was not moving with her eyes locked on the TV .
“I need to work hard and earn money if I want to give you a nice home when you get married . ”
Kang Chul-In remembered what Park Sun-Ja always said to him .
A nice home .
Park Sun-Ja, who could not give him an apartment worth $400-500, but still said she wanted to get him at least a nice home for rent, opened her store the earliest and closed the latest compared to anyone else . It was her determination to not send her son off with empty hands .
“Son?”
Park Sun-Ja noticed her son Kang Chul-In right away and smiled widely .
“What are you doing here? It is the weekday… you haven’t contacted me in a while!”
“I’m back, mother . ”
Kang Chul-In smiled, and unlike his usual self, responded back to Park Sun-Ja . It’s been 7 years .
Kang Chul-In helped Park Sun-Ja close the store, and went home for a late dinner .
Kang Chul-In spoke, with the fruit in front of him after the meal .
“I changed my job . ”
Kang Chul-In made up something .
“Changed your job? Why? You were doing well . ”
With the surprising news, mother Park Sun-Ja seemed surprised .
It was expected .
2020’s South Korea was filled with the fight for jobs amongst the young like Kang Chul-In with the westernization and unemployment .
‘Employment Front, Unlimited Compet.i.tion!’ was a slogan and saying that was spreading amongst the young . In those sorts of times, Kang Chul-In had left his job, so it was understandable that Lee Sun-Ja was worried .
“Intern again? Then, it would be better if you worked at the store with me…”
“No . ”
Kang Chul-In shook his head .
“I got to know the president of a trade company, and decided to move to that job . The company isn’t too large, but it is going to be listed soon, and there is a big possibility that it will become about medium sized . Also… I am an official employee . ”
“Employee?”
“Yes . There are a lot of business trips, but the pay is good and there are good benefits, so it is much better than the company I was at before . ”
“…!”
In that moment, Park Sun-Ja’s eyes opened wide .
“Is… is that true?”
“Yes . ”
“Oh… who is that president? Taking my Chul-In in… . he will be blessed, he will!”
“President Kwon Hyung Woo… he is known in the trade business . He is almost eighty, but he is well enough to still work in the field . ”
Kang Chul-In sold out old man Kwon .
He felt a little guilty lying to his mother, but the world still thought of Pangaea as a dangerous, foreign planet . What sort of parent would be glad if her son was going back and forth to such a place . It would be better to tell a little white lie right now, even if he was to tell her in the future .
Also, for him who would be gone often to Pangaea, a trade company job would be a good excuse to avoid Park Sun-Ja’s worries and doubts .
“Oh, I see! Oh… seems like your father is looking out for you in heaven!”
Park Sun-Ja mentioned Kang Chul-In’s father who had pa.s.sed away and teared up .
‘I will be good to you . ’
Kang Chul-In watched Park Sun-Ja and pledged that he would be a different son from before, different from the stoic, detached son from the past .
“No, this can’t do . ”
Park Sun-Ja thought of something and made a serious face .
“Son, go to an academy starting tomorrow . I will give you money . ”
“…!”
Kang Chul-In’s face hardened at the words .
It was as if he got hit on the back of the head .
“You said there are a lot of foreign business trips . Aren’t you not good with foreign language?”
“…”
Park Sun-Ja was right .
The Kang Chul-In who Park Sun-Ja knew was not someone who had the ability to go on a business trip . It was also true that he did not have the background or the specs either .
‘She is smart in these ways . ’
Kang Chul-In was taken aback for the moment, but it was just that – a moment .
j.a.pANESE FROM THE ORIGINAL BOOK
(Didn’t know how to type these words out)
“…?”
Park Sun-Ja looked confused as he spoke j.a.panese unexpectedly .
“Meanwhile, I have learned conversation in whatever I can (in English) . ”
Kang Chul-In had begun to speak foreign languages .
CHINESE FROM ORIGINAL BOOK
(Didn’t know how to type these words out)
That was not all .
For a while after, Kang Chul-In showcased more foreign languages, and Park Sun-Ja, who did not know any other languages, was close to fainting at her son’s skills .
“Although I am not fluent in j.a.panese, English, and Chinese, it is enough for me to work . It may be awkward, but I can slowly learn while I work . There isn’t time for me to go to an academy because I am working, as well . ”
“Did you study separately until now?”
“Yes . ”
What studying .
He had drunk a potion from a special tree in Pangaea and had mastered the languages on a whim, not studied formally .
What time did he have amidst all the battles and attacking dungeons to study?
“Aigoo… my son, I’m so proud of you . The academies cost so much, so I could not pay for a good education… but… I’m so proud…”
Mother Park Sun-Ja’s eyes turned red, and finally released tears .
‘c.r.a.p . ’
Kang Chul-In who did not expect his mother to cry, was put in an awkward position . He had conned his mother, but she was crying .
“Son… I’m sorry… I should have supported your education more… my son is this smart…”
“…”
Kang Chul-In was going to say something, but he was a stoic and emotionless man by nature, so he answered by solemnly holding his crying mother .
After Park Sun-Ja cried up a storm, Kang Chul-In took out a thick envelope from his inside pocket .
“What is this, son?”
“The president must have taken a liking to me, and he gave me bit of a bonus . It is for you . ”
“No, you need to use that when you get married . I don’t need anything like that . Speaking of which…”
“…?”
“I want grandkids . A granddaughter might be better . I have had a son, but I have never had a daughter . Now my son is an official employee, so you need to get married soon . Right?”
“…!”
As the feared marriage talk came up, fear appeared for the first time on Kang Chul-In’s face .
‘c.r.a.p!’
For the last 10 years, he was too busy fighting battle after battle and had no time to date, much less to get married .
He had spent brief fiery moments with charming women, but those were only single nights . And, for Kang Chul-In to hear his mother talk about grandchildren, it was quite burdensome .
“It is before I have settled down… it is not too late to talk about that after I have settled in more . ”
“I know that . But… you can bring a nice lady within this year, right?”
“…”
“I’m going to say it again, but I want a granddaughter . ”
“…”
Park Sun-Ja emphasized ‘granddaughter’ and Kang Chul-In broke out in cold sweat every time she mentioned it . Even the great Kang Chul-In was just a powerless son in the face of the marriage weapon .
But, he did not know then .
Kang Chul-In, nor his mother Park Sun-Ja . What would happen in just a couple of months .
Second day .
After he had breakfast with his mother, he got on his Mustang and headed towards Seoul .
He first payed off the loan in the bank and others that he borrowed, and chose to purchase the Mustang . It did not seem like he would be able to buy a good car anytime soon, because the economy of the land was still unstable .
And that night .
Kang Chul-In headed to the 63 building in order to return to Pangaea .
A couple of soldiers and a couple researchers from the government was around the building, but there wasn’t anyone stopping him .
Although the 63 Building acted like a sort of dimension door, it was limited to the outside of the building . The inside was still used by people . Also, one did not have to go inside the building to go to Pangaea anyways . 2km within the building and you could go to Pangaea .
Pzzt!
Kang Chul-In opened the dimension door, not caring if anyone looked or not .
“Return . ”
When he said the command, the golden light that came from the 63 Building fell on Kang Chul-In, and he could return to Pangaea, disappearing without a trace .
“Sovereign, welcome back . ”
The one that greeted Kang Chul-In the moment he was back was Lucia .
But…
Lucia did not look happy .
Lucia, who had the aura of a headstrong, pa.s.sionate career woman had a rather cold and picky look to her, but she was always widely smiling towards Kang Chul-In .
But how was Lucia’s face now?
Serious, and more serious .
No, actually, her face was hardened beyond seriousness .
‘Something is up . ’
Kang Chul-In saw Lucia’s face and realized something bothersome had happened .
“Is there something wrong?”
“It’s…”
“Speak . ”
“Yes, Sovereign . Please do not be surprised . ”
Lucia seemed to think for a brief moment, and spoke .
“Four workers and five Ants died . ”
“…!”
Kang Chul-In’s face hardened .
“The cause of death… no, who did it? Is it a Sovereign?”
If it was a simple accident on the building site or a fall, then there was no way Lucia would have this sort of response . This meant that it was another Sovereign, or… .
“or is it a monster?”
There was rage on Kang Chul-In’s face .
He had returned to Earth, made deals, searched for Kwak Jung, and even gone to see his mother . He had come back with a light heart, but his precious people had died .
For Kang Chul-In who was extremely possessive and valued ‘his things’, his anger was understandable .
“It is a monster . ”
Lucia answered .
“What kind?”
“A peac.o.c.k dragon . ”
“…!”
Kang Chul-In’s eyes glistened sharply upon hearing the attack was by a peac.o.c.k dragon .
Peac.o.c.k dragon .
It was a monster that was a dragon, but was also not .
In Pangaea, dragons existed, but usually dragons were red, gold, blue, or the like, and were pure bloods . But, there were so few in existence, and were so rare that it was difficult to even see one in one’s lifetime . Kang Chul-In, too, in his 10 years at Pangaea saw only one blue dragon .
But, a subspecies like a peac.o.c.k dragon was not too difficult to find . Roughly about ten different species… but it did have dragon blood and was not a monster to take lightly .
Kang Chul-In in his prime called the dragon subspecies ‘fake dragons’ and poked fun, but for the current Kang Chul-In, peac.o.c.k dragons came as a definite threat .
“Peac.o.c.k dragons… is it from the Drogonia mountains?”
The Drogonia mountains were the mountains located in the Eastern side of Laputa . Like the name, it was well known to be home to dragons and its subspecies for a long time .
“It seemed so . ”
“Hah…a peac.o.c.k dragon invasion at this time… I’m mad . ”
This was a time to focus on internal affairs and build the governing system of the land . And, for the peac.o.c.k dragon to invade at such a time, Kang Chul-In felt like his ankles were grabbed from behind as he was trying to move forward .
“Lucia . ”
“Yes, Sovereign . ”
“From this moment, announce to the entire land that we are at war, and to stay inside their homes . ”
“I will fulfill the order, my Lord . ”
“Also, I will use the land’s hiding specialty to prepare for future attacks . ”
Based on the diet of the peac.o.c.k dragons that liked human meat, a second attack was inevitable if the first had already come . If he was to avoid additional casualties, it would be a wise decision to hide the land, even if it would cost him gold .
“Instruct Administrator Timothy to take care of the compensations for the families of the deceased . Ah also…”
When Kang Chul-In tapered off as if he was thinking about something, Lucia spoke quickly .
“The Royal Guard is already waiting on orders, and are fully armed . If you give an order…”
“No, not that . ”
Kang Chul-In shook his head .
“If you say no…”
“Peac.o.c.k dragons are strong monsters . With our military strength right now, we will suffer immense casualties . It is time for us to grow our land, not shed blood . ”
“But if you just leave the peac.o.c.k dragon like this, there will be continuous casualties . ”
“I did not say that I will leave the peac.o.c.k dragon be . I will take care of it as quickly as possible . ”
“But how… Sovereign, a battle cannot be won without bloodshed . ”
“I know . But in this battle, our blood will not be shed . ”
“Then…”
“Explorers . ”
“…!”
“I will use them to hunt him . ”
Kang Chul-In’s eyes glistened .
Explorers .
Kang Chul-In was going to get in touch with the dimension travelers from Earth and hunt the peac.o.c.k dragon .