The Trash Wants to Live

PR: Naa_chi

Rachel and Ki Hyun Joo proceeded to head out while the rest of us listened to Tanisha’s explanation of the other devices.

“This is a gate warning device made by our engineers. We haven't tested it yet, but we made one because we heard that when a gate appears it would interfere with the radio waves. Here's this…"

"Oh…"

“The alarm sounds as soon as there is interference with radio waves. And then the three-dimensional map would display which direction the disturbance originated…"

The gate tracker was out. They said that they hadn't tested it yet, but I trusted the skills of the SNT engineers in the US. In the original story, every head of state could not afford the things that they had created. So, I immediately took out my wallet.

"I'll buy it."

"Yes? Are you going to buy this? It's a prototype."

"Then give me a better price.”

"No… Why…"

Tanisha tried to stop me from buying the prototype, but I wasn't that easily dissuaded.

My plan was no big deal. Just buy several of these and install them in every building that Songwoon owned. Phew… then the people in Sungwoon would be safe. If agate suddenly appeared, they could just evacuate, and it would prevent people from being sucked into the gate.

Tanisha, unaware of my plan, proceeded to introduce the next machine with an expression that said that she was clueless as to why I would waste my money. I pulled out my wallet again at the end of her explanation. Tanisha’s expression became serious.

"Mr. Ki."

"Yes?"

"You need to learn how to save money."

I laughed at her serious concern over my wallet’s situation. Things in the prototype stage were still crude, but these were all things that couldn't be bought later even if they were just prototypes.

If the person in front of me wasn't Tanisha but Rachel, she would have laughed while thinking that she had caught a pushover and would fight to sell even one more… In this case, as a researcher, Tanisha also had a point.

"It's okay. I bought them all because they seemed necessary."

"Haa, it can't be helped."

"Oh, and I'll also buy the machine you showed me at the beginning."

If she was done showing me all the stuff, maybe the first thing I saw was the gate meter. It couldn't measure properly now since the bull was being used as the standard, but… If we could set something else as the standard, it would really become an item worth competing for first or second place in the category of non-tradable goods. 

Before entering, items that could measure the risk of a gate were not handled by the general public.  

After I finished such rewarding shopping, the two people, who had left for discussion, returned.

"Haha… Sungwoon's people are truly amazing. Both Mr Ki and Miss Ki are truly outstanding at a young age. If you become more skilled at this kind of work over time, you won't be able to find an opponent."

"Haha… I'm flattered."

The two women shook hands, sharing a shonen manga-like atmosphere. When I tapped Ki Hyun Joo's shoulder with a curious expression, she looked back at me and spread out three of her fingers.

She got 30%?

Wasn't that too high? Rachel wasn't a pushover and couldn't have given 30% so easily. Some might say that the share ratio was low, wondering how it could be three to seven instead of five to five even though it was a joint raid.

However, after thinking about it, the cost of exploring the resources inside the gate was paid by the US government. Furthermore, not all of the Sungwoon guild members came, only ‘we' came to the United States, so there were fewer of our gifted people present in the United States.

There were seven including myself. With the exception of me who was both incompetent and not a researcher, out of those six people, there was only one person America really wanted, and only one person that was actually helpful. Yet she still got 30% in that kind of situation? I knew Ki Hyun Joo was very talented, but how could she be that good? She shrugged her shoulders when I asked her what happened.

"I just said, give me 30% and we will give you maximum safety."

"What?"

"I've put forth a condition of less than five casualties."

I looked at her in surprise. No, why had she decided that? Did she know what Kwon Jae Hyuk's ability was? While I couldn't hide my astonishment, Ki Hyun Joo continued to speak.

"I think SNT probably called us because they need Kwon Jae Hyuk's help. I'm not sure, but I said okay. Isn't it because Kwon Jae Hyuk is confident?"

"That's…"

“If it was dangerous for you to enter, Kwon Jae Hyuk wouldn't have stood still. Isn't he crazy about you? He studied to enter the Department of Law because he wanted to help you, and he managed to become the top of the class. When he heard that you were recruiting gifted people, he was the first to come to you as soon as he had awakened."

Huh? Kwon Jae Hyuk… He majored in Law? I hadn’t heard of that before. I knew that he was a college student, but I didn't know he was a law student.

‘My’ preferences were written out in the information that I couldn't remember. Even if the old memories were empty, most of the recent memories remained. However, I wasn’t aware that Kwon Jae Hyuk majored in law.

Ki Yoon Jae wasn't interested.

That was why Ki Yoon Jae hadn’t known about his department. Kwon Jae Hyuk studied for Ki Yoon Jae, who had no interest in him, and even joined the guild because he wanted to. The weight of their hearts toward each other were incomparably polar opposites.

If he joined the guild just because he wanted money…

My heart felt heavy as if there was something in my chest. It was an indescribable feeling. Kwon Jae Hyuk was being nice to me because I was Ki Yoon Jae…

But I wasn’t Ki Yoon Jae. I hadn't taken Ki Yoon Jae's life because I wanted to either, so I didn't know if the real Ki Yoon Jae would ever come back. What would happen to Kwon Jae Hyuk's feelings then?

Contrary to my heavy heart, I tried to keep an indifferent face. Ki Hyun Joo, who hadn't noticed my strangeness, continued to talk.

"Anyway, Kwon Jae Hyuk didn't oppose you entering, so he must be confident. Isn't he?"

"…No, you're right."

"Well, that's fine then."

Ki Hyun Joo shrugged her shoulders. I finally understood, she really had quite the nerves. She didn't hear much about Kwon Jae Hyuk from himself or me, but she made a deal with Rachel based on what she had seen and heard, and then got 30%…

When I looked at Kwon Jae Hyuk to see if he was really okay, our gazes met immediately, as if he was already looking at me. He must have overheard our conversation, but since he hadn't said anything, it seemed that the conditions Ki Hyun Joo put upon him really were too much.

No, it was even excessive.

If I asked him to meet the conditions set by Ki Hyun Joo, he would follow without saying another word. Even if he was putting himself in danger just because of what I had wanted.

It had already been a while since I ate, but I thought that I had an upset stomach now. I felt suffocated and strange as if my stomach was being pressed down upon.

I hastily avoided his gaze because I didn't feel good. Nevertheless, Kwon Jae Hyuk's gaze on me was not likely to be averted.

"Now that the tour is over, should we go back and rest? We can look around more if you guys want."

I had no reason to stay any longer as I had finished my business. When I asked the others for their opinions, they just followed my lead, so I decided to head back.

Rachel smiled when I said that it was enough.

"Okay, then let's go back to the hotel. Tomorrow is a rest day. We will conquer the gate the day after tomorrow."

"So fast? Isn't that too rushed?"

When I asked in surprise, Rachel grimaced and then laughed as if what I had said was funny.

“Actually, we are almost ready. We will conquer it even if Mr. Ki had said no. First, we will move all supplies to the nearest places tomorrow, and we will move everyone and the supplies into the gate the day after tomorrow."

Then there was no problem. When I agreed with her, Rachel pushed my back to lead me out. After saying goodbye to Tanisha, we exited and returned to the plane we had boarded.

After returning from the airport to the hotel, I hesitated when I tried to call Kwon Jae Hyuk, who went into his room. Perhaps I still had an upset stomach; the heaviness in my chest didn't go away.

I went into my room and covered myself with a blanket. It was as if I were hiding everything about me, making sure not even a strand of my hair could be seen.

The day before entering the gate, we enjoyed our holiday at the hotel. I also used the pool inside the hotel and enjoyed everything I could legally enjoy including the buffet. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn't enter the casino… However, I couldn't just say, "I'm a 28 year old uncle inside… So could you let me in?" Thus, I just had to be patient. After spending so much leisure time, the day to attack the gate had arrived.

Due to its location in the desert, it was difficult to get the plane to travel to and from the base even though it was a light aircraft. What's more, it took too long to travel by car, so we ended up taking the helicopter. From the hotel roof, the helicopter took us across the desert to the nearest stone pit.

“It's inside here."

The stones were laid out on the outside, so the gate floated in an invisible position unless you went inside.

"Whoa…"

Ha Hyun Seo, who had only seen the gate through the TV screen, was very impressed. Ha Eun Seo didn't make any sound, but she had the same expression as Ha Hyun Seo.

Perhaps because it was not from this world, the gate had a strange and mysterious atmosphere that attracted people's attention.

There were large iron boxes around the gate. It seemed to be the equipment and supplies used to explore the gate. People who looked like soldiers were carrying it in carts.

"Did the soldiers enter together?"

"First of all… Guns don't work at all."

Even though it wasn’t effective since the monster's skin was so tough and had a thick coat, if they shot it many times until it turned into a mop, they could probably beat it. That was why they had decided to deploy soldiers for the researchers who had no combat capabilities.

"Of course, the goal is not to break through the defensive line to where the soldiers are. This is the first time that gifted people have participated; there may be a hole somewhere, so the soldiers are prepared for it."

"I see."

"You can enter now. I've been assigning people there for three days. The base camp should have been built."

Rachel told me to find Sergeant Hazel when I went inside and waved her hand as she said, "I'll see you outside.” It seemed that she wasn’t entering the gate.

If we didn't speak English at all, she would have entered.

She seemed to have decided that she didn't have to go in together with us because Kwon Jae Hyuk, Ki Hyun Joo, and I could speak English.