The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Chapter 170 : There Are No Bad Kids in the World (4)

There Are No Bad Kids in the World (4)What the Holy Church needed was a human who could become the vessel of the gods.

If they could just capture such a person, they wouldn't hesitate to use any means necessary.

Even their affiliated organizations showed no regard for the harm done to ordinary people.

In the past, an affiliate called the Black Flame Cult had gone so far as to kill the parents of children in their search for the vessel of the gods.

If the main body, the Holy Church, acted directly, they could commit even worse deeds.

Naturally, they wouldn't balk at staging a terrorist attack at a congressman's inauguration event.

"How extravagant they've made it."

Rubera, an executive of the Holy Church, gazed at the lavishly decorated banquet hall.

A congressman's inauguration event was being held at a large exhibition center.

Watching over the venue, she spotted the main participants of the event.

Choi Seungjin, the guest of honor, and Congressman Kang Seokhyun, known as the party representative.

Besides them, countless others associated with them were gathered around.

Seeing everyone laughing and chatting, Rubera let out a hollow chuckle.

"I didn't expect them to even bring their son."

"Judging by the look on the son's face, he seems to have come against his will."

The subordinate beside her reacted with equal disdain.

Standing next to Choi Seungjin was his son, Choi Seungcheol, who looked uncomfortable.

He was the very vessel of the gods that the Holy Church was targeting.

Everything they had done so far to approach and earn Choi Seungjin's trust was for that boy.

"Looks like he's being pretty rough with his son."

"As expected, he won't hand him over so easily."

Naturally, they were willing to do anything to obtain him.

However, killing off all the congressmen and abducting only Choi Seungcheol in a place like this would be foolish.

Because there were high-rank hunters present at this event.

"I had no idea that man would be here."

Rubera turned her gaze to another area.

There stood Kwon Yongha, one of the four great Guildmasters of Korea.

Beside him was his son, Kwon Yongjun, holding a glass.

Their presence caused a slight unease, but they weren't enemies.

Since the Hwasan guild had joined hands with the Poison guild, there was no reason for enmity.

"But I wonder why they came here?"

"Yongjun probably owed some debt to Seungjin back in his school days. That alone is a good enough reason to show up."

"You don't think they'll interfere with our plans, do you?"

"Interfere? Why would they have any reason to do such a thing to us?"

From the start, the Holy Church never intended to attack those present at the event.

There was no need to worry about Kwon Yongha and Kwon Yongjun being harmed because of their plans.

"The food is all set, right?"

"Yes."

"When is mealtime?"

"It's scheduled to take place in an hour."

What they had tampered with was the food served at the event hall.

Strange substances may have been added, but it wasn't a poison that would kill instantly.

It simply contained a parasite that, once ingested, would turn the eater into their puppet.

'Of course, there's a drawback.'

Namely, it only worked on regular people and not on awakeners.

No matter how many times an awakened ate it, it was just ordinary food for them.

However, in this situation, that drawback played to their advantage.

It meant Kwon Yongha wouldn't be harmed, and only the regular congressmen present could be controlled.

'And there's one more thing.'

Choi Seungjin's son, Choi Seungcheol.

His level of magic power was bizarrely low for a so-called vessel of the gods.

He didn't reach the standard of being called an awakened and seemed more like an ordinary person pretending to be one.

That meant the parasite's effect might work on Choi Seungcheol as well.

"This has turned out rather well for us."

Not only the congressmen, but even Choi Seungcheol, the vessel of the gods, would fall into their hands.

And the awakeners wouldn't be able to detect the parasite.

Once it entered their bodies, they would simply digest it, nothing more.

"Well, let's get ready then."

"Yes. There's still a lot of meat left to grill."

"Is meat the main dish of this event?"

"The host is known to be crazy about meat. Apparently, they ordered some enormous cuts."

"Seems we'll be busy then."

With that, Rubera and her subordinate headed to the kitchen.

They were now wearing the uniform and hats meant for the original kitchen staff.

****

Finally, the day of the inauguration event arrived.

Having been invited, I dressed appropriately and entered the venue.

Of course, as I was still a minor, entering alone was impossible.

That's why parental accompaniment was mandatory.

"As expected, there's a big crowd. Most of them have the same mindset as Choi Seungjin."

My father, who accompanied me to the venue, looked around.

Even just stepping through the entrance, it seemed he recognized many familiar faces.

"Then, does that mean most people here are..."

"They were my comrades during student demonstrations back in school."

After the appearance of gates, politics underwent dramatic upheaval.

Now that people had to pay attention to both awakeners and gates, everything changed.

Thanks to that, the political factions that prevailed before I left for Mewzealand no longer exist in Korea.

'I have no idea what happened on Earth while I was gone...'

Now, the ground I was standing on belonged to a completely new era.

An era where old, awakeners-first laws were overturned and equality became the central law.

The students who were heroes of that era were now adults and gathered once again here.

"In fact, these are my old comrades."

"That's how you and I were able to attend this amicably, isn't it?"

My father was also one of those student-hero demonstrators.

They successfully changed the law and achieved equality between awakeners and regular people.

"Yeah. At least, things were good up until the protests."

The demonstrations started with good intentions.

But even after they finished, the participants held regular meetings.

Because their achievements were recognized, they enjoyed privilege in society.

These former poor students had come into power.

Thus, they were filled with a desire to help disadvantaged juveniles like themselves.

'I guess the guest of honor wants to become a congressman for the same reason.'

However, every action comes with its problems.

Even if they were heroes, their hostility toward awakeners was a glaring issue.

If anyone pointed this out, they'd get defensive and assert their strength to suppress dissent.

My father saw that firsthand and left in disillusionment.

"If you were even suspected of being an awakened, you were assaulted right away. Some were ostracized just for witnessing a hunter transaction."

But their discrimination didn't last.

Inevitably, awakeners were born even among their own children.

You can't abandon your own for the sake of ideology.

So they decided to bury their past.

"Those people, who were so discriminatory, have arranged this event as if they've completely forgotten the past."

Protect the weak and underprivileged juveniles?

Knowing their past, it was a foolish thing to claim.

Maybe the protests started with good intentions, but later on, they tormented unrelated people with their 'awakened suspicion' sickness.

Meaning, they themselves created more than a few of the miserable people they claimed to help.

Just then—

"Oh? Look who it is!"

From a distance, Choi Seungjin looked our way.

With a triumphant smile, he strode toward us, father and son.

Of course, he too was accompanied by his son.

"It's been a while, Ma Jun-sang. How have you been?"

"I've been alright. You look well, which is a relief."

"As you can see, there's nothing wrong with me at all. Hahaha!"

In front of my father, Choi Seungjin strutted confidently.

He had acted gentlemanly in front of others just moments ago, but now, he was showing off.

Clearly, he was aiming to show off his fame to my father.

My father frowned at this obvious act.

"Oh, right! Seungcheol, say hello. This is an old friend of mine."

"Ah, hello."

Seungcheol bowed stiffly.

Even though we'd met before, we pretended it was our first time, since Seungjin would surely question us about when we'd met otherwise.

My father, seeing Seungcheol's demeanor, commented.

"My, your son looks a bit down. Has he been eating well?"

"Of course! If you add up all the food I've fed him, you could open a water park with it!"

"Is that so?"

At that moment, other officials gathered around us.

Choi Seungjin introduced my father to them.

"Who is this?"

"An old friend of mine. Like us, he was very active during student days."

"Oh, nice to meet you! May I ask your name...?"

"I'm Ma Jun-sang. This is my son."

"Hello~"

One woman waved at me, and when I bowed in response, she cooed over how cute I was.

She must have just liked children.

"Which school does your son attend?"

"He's currently enrolled at Hand, the awakened-specialized school."

"Oh..."

Instantly, the woman's friendly attitude vanished, her expression turning cold.

Her previously welcoming eyes now looked at me as if I were a criminal.

"You must have had a hard time because of your son."

"Not at all. My Seongjin is such a wonderful boy; I couldn't love him more."

My father said this as he patted my head.

Just by her reaction, you could tell her philosophy.

Most here, no doubt, were the same as Choi Seungjin.

"But Jun-sang, I really thought I'd never see you again—what brings you here all of a sudden?"

My father and this person had originally parted ways.

What did he hope to gain by showing up at the inauguration without warning?

It was a mystery.

"Honestly, you... you don't deserve to be here."

"..."

"Did you forget? How you betrayed me."

My father absently touched his neck at that.

Seeing this, Choi Seungjin gave a short, derisive laugh.

"Haha... Looks like you haven't forgotten, huh?"

"How could I? It was the most intense experience of my life."

"How can you shamelessly show up here, especially at a moment like this, when you haven't forgotten?"

All the while Choi Seungjin was speaking, my father's expression turned grim.

He couldn't believe he was being made out as a brazen traitor.

Especially by those who had once beaten up innocent people just for being suspected awakeners.

My father had only left, disillusioned by their group.

"I don't know why you showed up here, but you know everyone here is on my side, right?"

"What are you two talking about for so long?"

When an official nearby asked, Choi Seungjin smirked.

"Jun-sang, are you still tossing poor juveniles in jail?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This guy's a prosecutor, and the number of kids he's locked up is something else. Practically a grim reaper."

At those words, the crowd started to buzz.

That's too much.

How heartless.

Did he not even give kids a chance?

Those students taken away were pitiful.

They're still kids—they can make mistakes.

That's scary, really scary.

Everyone began gossiping and casting my father as some merciless prosecutor who locked up kids for minor mistakes.

"See, Jun-sang? That's the image difference between you and me. You should have been more empathetic in life."

Giving poor kids a chance—

That sentiment had spread far and wide after the movie "Kind Gangster" was released.

For Choi Seungjin, the timing was perfect; for my father, he was left nowhere to stand.

Even the broadcast cameras from the TV station caught this decisive moment.

"Excuse me, please."

At that moment, a man's voice quieted the crowd.

With his mere presence, he put a chill in the air—it was Kwon Yongha, the leader of the Hwasan guild.

His son, Kwon Yongjun, accompanied him as well, and they, too, had a close connection to Choi Seungjin.

"Oh, guildmaster Kwon Yongha!"

"Good to see you. How many years has it been?"

"To show up without warning like this is a surprise."

"Well, I owed Attorney Choi a debt in the past, so I had to come. Isn't that right, Yongjun?"

At his father's words, Kwon Yongjun nodded.

I'd discovered this while investigating, too.

Back in his school days, Yongjun had gotten into trouble and, having ended up in court, Choi Seungjin had defended him.

"So, Jun-sang. What do you think?"

Choi Seungjin asked my father this while shaking the Guildmaster's hand.

That indifferent tone made my father's face cloud over.

"But what about him over there?"

"Oh, just an old friend of mine. Not that he has much presence anymore."

While shaking hands, Kwon Yongha suddenly approached us.

As one of Korea's strongest hunters, just standing there emanated an enormous aura.

As he drew near, my father's shoulders slumped.

Choi Seungjin was still riding high, emboldened by Kwon Yongha's apparent support.

But then...

"Little bro~!"

Suddenly, Kwon Yongha pulled me into a hug.

The noise of the event hall died instantly.

At the same time, the arrogance faded from Choi Seungjin's face, leaving it cold.

"Little bro! Have you been well?"

"... Uh?"

For a moment, my mind blanked as well.

****

A large car stopped in front of the event venue.

Three women got out and walked toward the entrance.

"Hold on, please."

"Those not invited may not enter."

Security guards stopped them at the door.

But the woman with black hair among them displayed what looked like an invitation card.

"Ah, pardon us."

"Please, go in."

"Thank you~"

Having passed security, Amelda greeted them politely.

Then, one of the young girls, Ah-rin, spoke to her.

"I heard we were staying out overnight... Is it really okay to come somewhere so fancy?"

"Trust me. By the way, your dress looks great on you."

"Really?"

Ah-rin was wearing a pink dress.

Looking herself over, she decided she was pretty satisfied.

"Sang-ah, you look pretty, too."

Ah-rin admired Sang-ah's outfit as well.

The fiery red dress looked oddly fitting for Sang-ah, almost as if it might burst into flames.

"... Yeah."

However, despite the beautiful dress, Sang-ah still wore a disheartened expression.

Not knowing why they'd been brought here, Ah-rin and Sang-ah followed Amelda into the banquet hall.

"Uh?"

Just then, Sang-ah's nose twitched.

"Meat...!"

And just like that, her dead motivation came back to life like a ghost.