The Returner

It was quite hard to understand.

"What do you mean by that?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"I thought that you knew the truth before coming here today, but…" (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon lightly coughed under his breath and continued on.

"I do not recommend that you unnecessarily ‘stimulate" Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Are you saying that I"m providing an unnecessary stimulation by being here?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"No, sir. I"m not saying that you have, yet. However…." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon shifted his gaze over to the reporters.

He figured earlier that these folks must"ve had a strong backer for them to pounce on him and Yi Ji-Hyuk like this, and his guess proved to be correct.

"I can definitely say that bringing this many reporters with you was a serious mistake." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"A mistake, you say?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"A mere common man such as myself wouldn"t be able to guess what you"re aiming for, Mister Party Leader. However, I can be certain of one thing. I know Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk much better than you, sir. And I know he will not look favourably to the current situation." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Song Jeong-Su grinned confidently.

"Isn"t that something Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk and I should resolve together?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"…….."

"If I hadn"t been forced to come up with such a forceful measure like this, then I wouldn"t have to ask for Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk"s understanding in the first place. You do know that, don"t you?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Of course." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"I believe I"ve done all I need to do, so what do you think?" (Song Jeong-Su)

Choi Jeong-Hoon sighed softly.

"I shall step aside. But sir, please do remember one thing." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

"Regarding?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"….If I were you, I wouldn"t have." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Song Jeong-Su tilted his head this way and that. Choi Jeong-Hoon simply shook his head and stepped aside. Indeed, some people in this world had to personally experience h.e.l.l before understanding it.

Now normally, politicians would often go along with the times or compromise their stances to match the popular sentiments, but also, they would sometimes rigorously stick to what they believed was right and force their way through.

Choi Jeong-Hoon definitely acknowledged that.

Song Jeong-Su was called the bulldozer of Korean politics once upon a time too, so it was likely that he paid little heed to other"s recommendations.

‘Unfortunately, you picked the wrong target to bulldoze through." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

The fact that he chose Yi Ji-Hyuk as his opponent could only mean that his political sense had fallen. Maybe, he was shocked by the election defeat, and….

Well, he probably had been feeling unhappy for a while.

He was supposed to be the next President, so how could he not feel p*ssed off about his future plans going down the drain due to the social unrest rising up from the Black Monday incident? And more so, when the guy who stole his Presidency began doing all sorts of useless and bad things that steadily eroded the support for the ruling party.

At this rate, there was a good chance that Song Jeong-Su wouldn"t be able to do anything come the next election cycle and taste yet another defeat.

So, he was busy searching for another exit.

‘Unfortunately for you, this is not an exit but a sinkhole, you fool." (Choi Jeong-Hoon)

Choi Jeong-Hoon never imagined that there would be someone dreaming of using Yi Ji-Hyuk as a political tool.

What did he think the reason was when the man achieving South Korea"s greatest international acclaim in its history was never once used for publicity until now?

Or, did he really believe he could somehow control Yi Ji-Hyuk?

Choi Jeong-Hoon suddenly grew curious about what would happen next. And as if to resolve that curiosity for him, Song Jeong-Su walked over to the pa.s.senger side of the car where Yi Ji-Hyuk was sitting and knocked on the window.

Choi Jeong-Hoon watched the development with a deeply intrigued face. He suddenly realised that he was beginning to enjoy this situation as well. Just a bit.

Whiiiir….

The car"s window whirred down and Yi Ji-Hyuk"s face was finally revealed.

Click!! Click!!!!

Almost at the same time, camera flashes exploded from all over. Photos were being taken from perfect angles to capture both Yi Ji-Hyuk"s and Song Jeong-Su"s faces in one frame.

"You"re Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk, yes?" (Song Jeong-Su)

After the window was fully rolled down, Yi Ji-Hyuk and his pouting face could be seen looking back at Song Jeong-Su.

"That I am." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The latter man smiled good-naturedly and extended his hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you. I"m Song Jeong-Su."

Yi Ji-Hyuk stared at the offered hand without doing anything for a while, prompting the politician to awkwardly withdraw it.

"Haven"t you heard about me before?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Nope. Dunno who you are." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….You don"t?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Yup. Who are you?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Song Jeong-Su shut his mouth.

The man before his eyes wasn"t even a middle school student but someone in his twenties. A guy eligible to vote didn"t know who he was?

"You really don"t know?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"….Do I need to know?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Song Jeong-Hoon shut his mouth again.

He had nothing to reply with when the other party came out like that. Because, well, knowing who he was wouldn"t be seen as a necessity.

However, wasn"t that, like, in the realm of common sense? You didn"t really have to know, but knowing anyway would certainly be nice. And most people would already be aware of it, regardless.

"K-hmm. Well, you"re right." (Song Jeong-Su)

Song Jeong-Su slightly chewed his lip. This must"ve been his first time encountering a situation like this since his days as the newbie National a.s.semblyman.

As befitting a seasoned politician, however, he didn"t make a simple mistake of getting red in the face or retort in dissatisfaction while saying one should know such obvious things, etc, etc.

"Ah, I seemed to have made a slight mistake here. My name is Song Jeong-Su, the current leader of the Shinhan National Party."

"Eh? Shinhan National Party?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"…….." (Song Jeong-Su)

You… don"t know?

You really don"t know that name?

But, we"ve been using the same name for the past ten years?

Wait, did my fellow party members change the name while I wasn"t looking? (Song Jeong-Su"s inner monologue)

"It, it"s the current ruling party." (Song Jeong-Su)

"Ruling party??" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Song Jeong-Su closed his eyes this time, instead.

With that answer, he got to figure it out - this fool before his eyes, he… was on the level of a kindergartener. Meaning, he was a completely free man, someone that Song Jeong-Su"s status or political influence had no meaning whatsoever.

"Y-yes. We"re a political party, and we currently run the government." (Song Jeong-Su)

"Ahh, I see. Okay, so what?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Oh, mm….." (Song Jeong-Su)

What did he want to say in the first place?

Song Jeong-Su felt strange at the fact that he was stuttering for words like this.

‘Even if your heart is about to explode, your tongue must remain silky."

That was the most important virtue of any politician, yet to think, he just showed something pretty shameful in front of such a little punk. For a man aiming for the highest office in South Korea, this matter was quite humiliating.

Song Jeong-Su quickly took hold of his wavering resolution.

Now normally, he"d not be shaken up like this by some mere words. But what made him do precisely that was the light gleaming in Yi Ji-Hyuk"s eyes.

If this young man had a functioning brain, he should"ve a.n.a.lysed the situation at least a bit by now and realised that Song Jeong-Su was someone extraordinary, yet just what was up with those eyes reserved for glancing at a pa.s.sing insect?

No, there should be at least some sort of disgust when looking at an insect. Those eyes were seemingly looking at a discarded stone on the pavement with a total lack of interest and that caused all this fl.u.s.ter in Song Jeong-Su"s heart.

Seriously now, even if you didn"t know who Song Jeong-Su was, you"d still begin to think that he was someone pretty important with how things were currently unfolding.

‘No, hang on. That"s not the important thing here." (Song Jeong-Su)

It didn"t matter who one"s opponent was. No, regardless of who they were, he only needed to achieve his goal. That was all.

"Are you on your way to the Blue House?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"I don"t know." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….Pardon?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"I"m just tagging along, cuz I"ve been asked to." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk sounded as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Song Jeong-Su became speechless once more.

"Uh, mm…." (Song Jeong-Su)

‘….Let"s not get fl.u.s.tered." (Song Jeong-Su)

Song Jeong-Su nodded his head and carried on.

"I see. Well, it doesn"t really matter where you go, but in the end, you"ll still be holding the meeting about the developing situation in North Korea. Am I wrong?"(Song Jeong-Su)

"I told you, I"m simply tagging along cuz I"ve been asked to. Ahjussi, is your hearing okay?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"………."

Yi Ji-Hyuk formed a pitying expression and perused Song Jeong-Su from top to bottom, causing the latter to realise that he was an old man now.

Didn"t the old saying go that you were an old man if you suddenly developed a desire to slap someone from the younger generation?

In that regard, Song Jeong-Su was definitely an old man. Because, he was almost overcome by this desire to drag this punk out of the car and begin an almighty beat-down right now.

‘If only I was 20 years younger." (Song Jeong-Su)

Maybe not as far back when he was partic.i.p.ating in the Vietnam War, but still, just 20 years younger, and he"d be able to show this insolent youngster a thing or two.

He knew that it was a hopeless dream, though. Forget beating the punk up, he"d disappear without a trace after turning into fine dust, instead.

"K-h-hmm."

Song Jeong-Su realised that he was being sucked into this young man"s pace. He needed to get the initiative back so that he could manipulate his opponent the way he wants to.

"You"ll still end up going to North Korea." (Song Jeong-Su)

"And why would I?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"That"s what the situation current demands." (Song Jeong-Su)

"If I don"t feel like it, then I won"t go, though?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….Does that mean you don"t want to go?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Well, I don"t know yet." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"…….."

Wow!

What should I do about this b*stard?? (Song Jeong-Su"s inner monologue)

Song Jeong-Su inwardly admitted that he may have run into one of the toughest foes he met in the last 30 years or so of his entire political career.

"Wait, so you are planning to not go?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"I dunno." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"You just said that if you don"t feel like it, you won"t go." (Song Jeong-Su)

"Sure, I said that I won"t if I don"t feel like it." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Which means you kind of feel like it." (Song Jeong-Su)

"I dunno yet." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….What are you implying?" (Song Jeong-Su)

Yi Ji-Hyuk eventually ended up expressing his annoyance.

"What the h.e.l.l? How can you not understand that I"ll listen to what they say first then decide I"ll go or not? Ahjussi, didn"t you say you"re a politician?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes, I did." (Song Jeong-Su)

"You"re supposed to be a politician, so how could you be so deaf? Maybe you should get yourself a hearing aid or something?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"………."

At the moment, a hearing aid wasn"t the problem but getting a pacemaker might be more advisable.

Song Jeong-Su"s heart began pounding away hard, his breathing getting shorter and shorter. Just when did anyone treat him like this after he became a member of the National a.s.sembly?

‘It"s not for nothing that fellow ended up in that sorry state." (Song Jeong-Su)

His friend was the Foreign Affairs Minister who was on an upward career trajectory in the past. But from a certain point onwards, that man began destroying his own career, and Song Jeong-Su had been wondering why. And now, he knew the reason.

"I-I"m sorry about that." (Song Jeong-Su)

He sighed out deeply.

‘This crazy b*stard." (Song Jeong-Su)

In all honesty, why would the government even summon him if they weren"t thinking of dispatching him in the first place? Quite obviously, they"d like him to travel up north and do his thing.

But, what did you say?

You"ll hear them out first, and if you like what you hear, you"ll go, and if you don"t, you"re not going anywhere? (Song Jeong-Su"s inner monologue)

What kind of b.a.l.l.s was this?

If that was his intention, then why was he even bothering to show up to the meeting?

"I see." (Song Jeong-Su)

Song Jeong-Su stopped himself there.

Ending the conversation like this went against the established protocol of conversation itself. However, he needed time to come up with suitable responses in the current situation.

"So, like. Why are you holding up a busy person like me?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

This youngster before his eyes began making an irritated, cantankerous expression. Song Jeong-Su pulled out his handkerchief and quickly dabbed away the sweat on his forehead.

"I merely wished to discuss something important with you." (Song Jeong-Su)

"Mm? Is that so?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Can we spend a few minutes discussing it?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Mm, well, that won"t be hard." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk"s reply prompted a bright smile to form on Song Jeong-Su"s face. He was thinking that any chance of having a civilised conversation had halfway thrown out the window judging from the youngster"s att.i.tude, but unexpectedly, he was showing a favourable response.

"Before that, I"ve got something to solve, first." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Excuse me?" (Song Jeong-Su)

"Geezer-nim? Why don"t you hang tight for a second? My priorities are a bit different from other people"s, you see?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk fearlessly opened the door and climbed out of the car.

"What are you…." (Song Jeong-Su)

Song Jeong-Su was deeply puzzled, but still, took a step back.

Meanwhile, Yi Ji-Hyuk completely exited from the vehicle and stood on the pavement. He loosened his shoulders and cracked his neck muscles.

Click, click!!

The camera flashes continued to go off in the meantime.

He glanced at the cameras and grinned refreshingly towards them, all the while making a V sign with his hand.

‘Is he posing for the photos?" (Song Jeong-Su)

Song Jeong-Su grimaced a little at the actions of this young punk before his eyes. What on earth was the meaning of this when he was standing right over here?

"Uh, mm…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk then lightly scratched his head and extended his hand out.

Wuuooong!

Suddenly, there was a faint sound of air rippling, and the camera held by the nearest reporter flew into Yi Ji-Hyuk"s hands.

"Uh-uht?!"

The stunned reporter cried out, but it was already too late by then.

CRACK!!

The camera that got sucked into Yi Ji-Hyuk"s hand was smashed into literal pieces and fell to the ground.

"Ah….."

After making sure that the device could never be used again, Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked deeply and opened his mouth.

"Hey. Who sent you lot here?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The air suddenly grew cold in an instant.

At the same time, the complexion of Song Jeong-Su observing the situation from behind grew deathly pale as well.

< 297.="" who="" sent="" you="" lot?="" -2=""> Fin.