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Chapter 178: Things that Happen at the Beach (3)

“This guy?”

Yoo Jae-Han dragged Yi-An aside and whispered, “What is this?”

“What do you mean? You’re the one that said to eat a lot, pray a lot, and love a lot.” Yi-An grinned.

“I brought someone here for you, Dr. Yoo[1].”

“No, why for me? You never said anything.”

“I’m usually not good at listening.”

Yi-An then said to her with a smile, “Noona, this is the handsome and intelligent man who’s also a good surfer.”

“He doesn’t look the part though...”

“He’s really smart. I think he’s a MENSA[2] member.”

“Oh my, really? He must be very smart.”

Yoo Jae-Han shook his head without thinking, “It’s not MENSA, it’s the Mega Society[3]. MENSA is a group that anyone can enter.”

“He said he’s not in MENSA though?” The woman said.

“Hahaha. So what if he’s not? All that matters is that he’s smart.”

“I came all the way here believing in you, but he’s really not my taste. Are you going to take responsibility?”

“Why are you acting like that already? Try talking to him more. If you still don’t like him after all that, I will take responsibility. This person isn’t just gentle on the outside, he’s also handsome on the inside. He’s a genius who remembers everything he sees. Isn’t he amazing?”

Yi-An pushed her on the back, moving her next to Yoo Jae-Han. The woman, who seemed to take interest now, shrugged and spoke to Yoo Jae-Han. Yoo Jae-Han glared at Yi-An, but he didn’t seem to hate the idea of chatting with her.

She was a guest in the room next door to the hotel room Yi-An booked. After he checked in and was about to leave, their eyes suddenly made contact and they started chatting. She was around the same age as Yoo Jae-Han and she looked bored alone, so Yi-An led her here saying he would introduce a pretty decent man to her.

At heart, she was more interested in Yi-An than Yoo Jae-Han, so she followed him. But if it was a genius like Yoo Jae-Han, he would probably have his own unique charm, so she decided to trust him.

“Have fun.” Yi-An planned to sneak away gradually.

Perhaps because they broke the ice, when Yoo Jae-Han said a few words, the woman chuckled in response. Yi-An also laughed.

He wondered what kind of mystical genius Yoo Jae-Han was, but he was more easygoing than expected. Yi-An thought about informing Ji Ha-Yeon, but it was better to hide any available resources.

“What am I doing?” Yi-An walked alone on the night beach.

Even at night, the vibe did not die down. Exotic pubs lit up the street, and food trucks parked at each space sold various foods. Yi-An bought an American chili hot dog and a cup of beer. It was delicious. The beer seemed to be a domestic product, but it didn’t taste bad.

Yi-An walked along the beach with snacks in his hands. He saw a bunch of young people buying and setting off fireworks now and then. Laughter erupted around.

There were also young people busking with instruments, singing and dancing. Somehow, it seemed like a distant world. It felt like the kind of world he could not mingle in. Yi-An was around their age too, but he was more accustomed to putting the muzzle of his gun on his enemy’s head than that kind of musical knack.

“He told me to enjoy life, right...”

When Yi-An was discharged from the army, his superior told him so. What did Yi-An look like in the eyes of his superior?

Still, he was enjoying the moment right now. What else would be as cool as becoming Crockta?

“...” Yi-An flinched the moment he thought of it.

At the scene of a barbecue party on the beach, there was a face he had seen many times somewhere. It was the kind of face that shouldn’t appear here. A green-skinned man with menacing eyes, a red headband, and a vicious face.

“C-, Crockta...?”

Crockta was there. Yi-An froze in a panic, but when he looked closely, it wasn’t just Crockta.

Ian froze in a panic, but after he looked closely, it wasn\'t just Crockta. There were various faces next to it, such as a horse’s head, and Pikachu from Pokémon, which was popular in the past. It was a face mask.

People were chuckling as they moved deliberately. Yi-An smiled wryly. When did those sorts of products come out?

“I should be paid a royalty fee,” Yi-An muttered and looked at the scene in front of him.

Among the people laughing and talking, barbecued meats were cooking over the grill. Suddenly, someone there waved at Yi-An.

It was a familiar face. It was the woman who bumped into Yi-An in the morning. He approached her, unable to ignore her any further because of her intense gaze.

“What are you doing alone!”

“Well, erm...”

He was holding onto a chili hot dog and a beer.

“I was walking alone.”

“Ah, why are you doing that when you came all the way to the sea? That’s so lonely. Is your body feeling okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Perhaps because he drank a little bit of alcohol, his face was red and the tension was rising. The group she was sitting with asked who Yi-An was. They welcomed Yi-An with dubious eyes when she said that it was the guy she bumped into during the day. It seemed like they talked about Yi-An among themselves.

On the other hand, the other men stared at Yi-An with wary eyes. The man wearing a Crockta mask took off his mask. It was a young man.

“Do you know him?” The young man asked.

“Yeah, one thing led to another.”

“I’m sorry, but only our GH’s guests are allowed to join. We have a fixed amount of food.”

GH was an abbreviation for guest house. It seemed like it was a barbecue party held for the guests staying at the guest house. Yi-An had no intention to attend, so he tried to shake his head.

“He got hurt because of me during the day. Is there nothing we can do? One person should be fine, right?”

“Please let it go this time, oppa!”

“Ji-Eun has been looking forward to it!”

He pondered about it, perhaps because it was difficult to ignore them since her group was the only few women at the party.

“Alright. Have a drink.”

The young man working in the guest house quickly flowed with the mood and handed Yi-An a drink. Yi-An was going to decline. Then, the word ‘enjoy life’ suddenly popped into his mind again. Sometimes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to join a party where he did not fit in. Yi-An ended up taking the cup.

The group was quite a mix of people, they came from all over. The people wearing masks were employees working at the beach, and the boss contacted them asking for help, so they came for a while. The others were office workers or college students, and there was even a young man who was about to join the military.

“Where did you get that mask?” Yi-An asked.

“I bought it online. Do you know Crockta?”

“I do.”

“I’m a fan.”

Everyone was drunk, so Yi-An could see their intentions at a glance. Everyone was busy flirting with people they were attracted to. The guest house’s young employee was interested in a woman called Ji-Eun, and Ji-Eun was interested in Yi-An. Caught between the two of them, Yi-An vaguely laughed.

“I think I have to go now. Bye.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going back to sleep because I’m tired.”

“You came to have fun and you’re already tired?” When Yi-An said he was leaving, the man held on to him, pretending to feel like it was a shame, but he had a happy expression.

“You look very tired. Guess it can’t be helped.” The man said.

Yi-An appeased them by chugging a cup of somaek[4], then he got up from his seat and said goodbye.

No one would remember he was there anyway since everyone was drunk. Just like that, he walked away from the white sand beach and walked around for a while. To be honest, he left because he wanted to be alone. He needed times like these.

Looking at the lights in the distant sea, Yi-An thought about the world of Elder Lord and Yoo Jae-Han. Why did something like this happen to him?

Yi-An felt like he was assigned some sort of mission. Strange things kept happening as if he was tasked with something he had to do in the world of Elder Lord.

It was the same with Yoo Jae-Han. He came here for a vacation and happened to meet him, hearing things about Elder Lord. Elder Lord was born because of the strange idea that entropies never decrease, and the Ashen God as well as Yoo Jae-Han still seem to long for that.

***

Yi-An was about to go back to his accommodation after walking another round because the sea breeze was pleasing.

“...”

Just then, he got to witness a suspicious scene. The guest house group that was having a barbecue party seemed to break down into smaller groups, gathering in groups of twos and threes and sitting separately. Some even seem to be going back to their accommodation to sleep.

However, the man wearing the Crockta mask earlier was helping the woman named Ji-Eun and heading off somewhere. She seemed drunk and not in her right mind, and the man pretended to take care of her and tapped her on the back, but he was actually dragging her somewhere.

The direction he was heading in was filled with the dazzling lights of motels.

“This is...”

Yi-An stroked his cheek. He did not know where her friends had gone, but it seemed like they were swept up in the atmosphere and could not take care of her. The movement of the man holding onto her waist and trodding along seemed out of line.

Yi-An approached them.

“Excuse me.”

The man was surprised and stared at Yi-An. Ji-Eun was staggering and leaning against the man, perhaps because she had not come to her senses yet. Seeing that she was murmuring nonsense now and then, it seemed like she blacked out.

Yi-An said in a whisper, “Just bring her back to her room.”

For a moment, the man looked around. It was just the three of them around.

The man frowned and said, “Why are you interfering? Are you her boyfriend or something?”

The man stopped using honorifics.

Yi-An smiled bitterly and replied, “I’m telling you not to do whatever it is you want to do with a drunk person. If the two of you are sober, I wouldn’t be here talking to you.”

“Don’t be so nosy and go away. Who are you to interfere?”

The man helped the woman sit on the floor and approached Yi-An. Looking at him now, he was quite brawny. He was also tall, gazing down at Yi-An.

“Why are you being so nosy?”

The man was right, Yi-An thought to himself. He was not a kind person who would meddle in other people’s affairs. Looking back at himself, it was more appropriate to shrug and pass it over as their problem rather than meddle.

However, the reason why he could not overlook it was...

“That’s why you should have bought the right one.”

“What?”

Yi-An murmured, “I would have overlooked it if you were just wearing a horse mask or something. But you wore a Crockta mask, and you’re acting this way, so I...”

Yi-An extended his hand so fast that the man couldn’t react. The man lost his balance.

Thump.

Before he realized it, his back was on the floor.

“Ugh!”

Yi-An shook his hand.

“So I can’t just overlook it.”

The man grabbed his back and rolled around on the floor. Yi-An tried to be gentle, but the man seemed to be in pain. Yi-An ignored him and went over to Ji-Eun.

“Are you okay? Can you get up?”

She was sitting dozing off. Yi-An sighed. He wondered if he should call the police or find her friends.

“Hey, you bastard...”

Meanwhile, the man got back up staggeringly. His face was red with anger.

Yi-An said, “You should’ve just kept lying down.”

“Do you want to die?!”

The man pounced at Yi-An. Did he have faith in himself? His posture gave off the impression that he learned martial arts before. The man lunged out powerful punches and kicks. If Yi-An was an ordinary person, he would not have been able to fight off the trained attacks of such a sturdy man.

However, the opponent was no ordinary man, he was Yi-An. The man was hit on the solar plexus and fell to the floor. Yi-An kicked him in the ribs. He could not breathe and coughed. Yi-An kicked him in the stomach once more to vent his anger.

“Don’t you ever wear a Crockta mask again. If I catch you again, you’re dead.” Yi-An said as he watched the man flounder.

Suddenly, he saw a group of women in the distance. It was the same group of women he had met at the party earlier. They were going around looking for Ji-Eun. Yi-An raised his hand and waved.

***

“Boss.”

“Yes?”

Han Yeo-Ri looked at Yi-An, who got tanned, and said, “Did you enjoy your trip?”

“It was alright.”

“Really?”

She squinted her eyes and continued, “That’s what you say, but you’ve been on your phone all this while.”

Yi-An paused. Then, he typed on his phone screen again.

“It’s not like that.”

“Hmmm...”

Han Yeo-Ri, who was cleaning the table, stared at Yi-An suspiciously. Caught off guard, Yi-An hurriedly typed a message and pressed the send button.

Since Yi-An’s trip to Gangwon-do, there were two more people he messaged on his messenger app, a number that rarely increased. Ji-Eun, the woman Yi-An saved. Han Ji-Eun, to be exact. One thing led to another, and they were keeping in touch. She seemed to have become very fond of Yi-An after Yi-An saved her from a dangerous situation; and also after she accidentally injured Yi-An.

A new message appeared.

「So quiet. Aren’t you going to play Elder Lord today? 」

It was Yoo Jae-Han. The other person Yi-An started messaging was Yoo Jae-Han. A genius scientist, the father of Elder Lord, and the man the Myeongsong Group was looking for.

Yoo Jae-Han began keeping in touch with Yi-An as if they were close friends. The message reminded Yi-An of Yoo Jae-Han’s unique way of speaking, making him laugh.

「I’m going to play, so just watch the broadcast. 」

「I’m looking forward to it. 」

They exchanged a series of messages. He had a long break, so he should slowly go back to Elder Lord to meet Tiyo and Anor.

As Yi-An grabbed his phone and grinned, Han Yeo-Ri frowned, “So annoying.”

“...” Yi-An looked at her with his eyes wide open at Han Yeo-Ri’s irritated expression, which was rare.

Han Yeo-Ri shrugged, “What is it? It’s the time of the month, so don’t mess with me.”

Then, she took a tablecloth and went to wipe another table. Yi-An scratched his head, looking at her back.

1. Being a physicist, Yoo Jae-Han holds a PhD, hence Dr. ?

2. MENSA is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. ?

3. The Mega Society is a high IQ society open to people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level or more on a particular test of general intelligence, called the Mega Test, claimed to be able to discriminate at that level. ?

4. Somaek is a beer cocktail made with soju and beer. It is an abbreviation of two Korean words, Soju and Maekju (beer). ?