I arrived at Gunsan, following the Guinness World Record-holding Saemangeum Seawall.
We parked in front of a truly oddly-shaped building that resembles the bow of the sinking Titanic.
While Professor Cheon went to the Saemangeum Development Agency briefly, I enjoyed the view of the horizon demarcating the tidal flats and seawater from the air-conditioned car.
The Saemangeum reclamation project, which started 60 years ago for the purpose of creating eco-friendly farmland, has faced difficulties as the importance of primary industries has decreased in modern times.
Just when I thought that the reclaimed land would end up like a straw piled up, by sheer luck, a mana field was discovered, making it feel like catching a mouse while the cow was retreating.
Though “mana stream” is more fitting than “mana field,” there’s nothing we can do about the term since it’s already been established.
Unlike oil, mana doesn’t stay still; it has a constantly flowing nature.
It’s different from the world in my past life, where mana was abundant.
Here, there’s a giant mana trunk that penetrates the Pacific Ocean and only the primary and secondary scaffolds extending from it can have magic power plants constructed.
Although it’s not an official term, for convenience, we sometimes refer to them as primary and secondary branches.
The other branches that spread like capillaries are practically useless due to the very low mana pressure, which is also why using magic is difficult without the ‘storage’ process that facilitates communication with the power plant.
“There are no boats that go directly to Duri Do; you must go to Bian Do first and personally ask the locals there,” said Professor Cheon as he started the car.
“Who did you meet?” I asked.
“Oh, the development agency chief is someone I know, so I went to ask if there’s a boat route,” he replied.
With connections that are suspiciously wide-ranging, Professor Cheon sipped on his cheap instant coffee and headed back to the port.
Sweet aroma… must taste good.
*
“What? What did we do to deserve this?”
“Take these people to Duri Do!”
“Duri Do? Why go there?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Our grandpa is pretty hard of hearing.”
“It’s fine. We’re just grateful for your help.”
We were able to set sail again with the help of an elderly couple running a seaweed farm in Bian Do.
The briny smell of the sea mixed with the oil smell from the engine of the small boat.
Maybe because the weather was so clear, the port and tidal flats didn’t seem that far apart, and I could see the opposite harbor clearly.
“Was there people living on Duri Do in the past?” I yelled out into the sea breeze.
“Huh?”
“I asked if anyone lived there!”
Despite my loud voice that should’ve cut through the sea breeze, it seemed he still couldn’t hear well.
“Who lives there? No one lives there!”
“Oh, okay…”
“Ah, I wonder if Grandpa Bong-gon has come back.”
Having made no progress, I went back to the deck and stood next to Professor Cheon, holding onto the railing.
He pointed at a place we had left behind with his finger.
“That’s the Gunsan Magic Power Plant. It’s the first place built in our country on a primary branch.”
It was still a desolate location where only drilling equipment had been constructed.
There were still many buildings left to be erected, such as the Central Storage and the Base Station.
“Man, our country is really unlucky. Japan, right next to us, has five scaffolds,” he complained.
“Neither oil nor mineral resources.”
“Moreover, the so-called mana field was only discovered on the secondary branch, so before the Gunsan power plant was established, we had no choice but to build in places like Ulsan and Gangneung, even if it made us cry while eating mustard.”
“And there’s one on Bukhansan too.”
“If the Gunsan Magic Power Plant is completed, will Korea’s mana sales drop?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure about that.”
“Yeah, they wouldn’t lower prices.”
Once the price goes up, it never comes down.
Eventually, it will just go into someone’s bonus and fatten their wallet.
While chatting with Professor Cheon, we arrived at the Duri Do dock in no time.
There were definitely traces of humans left behind, but the ominous stillness, which differed from Bian Do, made it really feel like an uninhabited island.
“There’s another boat here?”
“Yeah, it seems people do live here.”
Despite being officially designated as an uninhabited island on the administrative network, there were signs of human life.
At least three people were whom we needed to find.
Baek Ah-rin, her older brother Baek Minwoo, six years her senior who was also adopted, and the “scary grandpa” that Ah-rin mentioned.
“I wonder if we can just leave like this…”
“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you.”
“Well, anyway, you strange folks. Why would you come to such a rough place to find an uninhabited island?”
Thanks to the efforts of the grandpa who grumbled but did everything he could, we managed to arrive on the island in a day.
The white foam created from the boat’s passage sparkled as it caught the glow of the evening sunset.
“Let’s find them quickly before the sun sets.”
“Okay. For starters, let’s follow the road.”
The island was relatively small.
In fact, it was half the size of Korea University, so even if we walked slowly, we would be able to tour it in an hour or so.
We followed the path that continued from the dock.
The gentle uphill suddenly ceased, and from there, it was just grassy fields.
Upon carefully scrutinizing the overgrown weeds, I noticed some broken patches here and there.
Someone had clearly walked through recently.
I turned my head and glanced at Professor Cheon.
[Shall we go?]
He shrugged his shoulders.
[Do as you please.]
With a thief-like feeling, I moved my legs forward.
The soft earth sank beneath my feet, making me afraid I would stumble.
“…!”
“Are you okay? Be careful.”
“I tripped on something.”
Did my words become true? I nearly fell forward as I got caught on what felt like a hard stem.
After being helped by Professor Cheon, I stood up again and shifted my gaze to the end of the stem.
“It’s watermelon, isn’t it?”
“Yep, it’s watermelon.”
The words came out simultaneously.
A delicious-looking watermelon was sitting there.
“Wow, it’s the first time seeing one actually being cultivated.”
Having not seen such fruit in ages, I felt excitement brewing inside.
In my past life, there were no such fruits, and I often longed for watermelon punch.
Squatting down, I tapped the watermelon and rolled it around a bit out of curiosity.
In my wonder, I started rummaging through the grass to look for more watermelons.
“…?”
What I thought was another watermelon turned out to be unfortunately not food at all.
It was the head of a person, not a fruit.
A boy and girl were lying flat on the ground, quietly holding their breath.
They looked monstrous, and suddenly, with their blood-stained mouths wide open, they screamed towards me.
“Uwaaaah!”
“Hyieee!”
“Ah, you scared me!”
*
“What’s with the screaming?”
I punched the girl on the head.
Surprisingly, I was the one startled!
It was an obvious fact, but they were normal humans and not monsters or vampires, and the red stuff on their faces was watermelon juice, not blood.
Watermelon has one-third the calories of blood, but… regardless, Ah-rin was eagerly devouring the watermelon.
“Ugh… I thought it was Grandpa… Minwoo, see, I told you? I wasn’t lying; Na-me really came…”
“Choose to cry, eat, or speak. Just do one thing. You’ll get a stomachache, you know.”
Thus was the scene with Baek Ah-rin, whose watermelon was soaked in her tears.
With Professor Cheon’s help, I sliced a watermelon to share pieces with the hungry siblings.
There was a mountain of questions I wanted to ask, but for now, filling their bellies took priority.
“Your hair has grown a lot. Have you never cut it?”
Ah-rin nodded her head up and down.
Meanwhile, her brother, who was silently stuffing himself with watermelon pieces, also had hair long enough to touch his shoulders.
“Why are you so thin? Have you not been eating well? How long have you been on this island?”
“Well… I can’t really remember…”
“Eight months and thirteen days,” Minwoo said, crunching on a watermelon seed.
His empty gaze was filled with emotions so tangled, they were hard to decipher.
He threw the empty watermelon rind away in a frustrated manner.
“Hah… I should have just said I wouldn’t do it…”
“Why are you saying that? You were the one who told me not to give up!”
“Then, of course, we shouldn’t give up! What have we suffered for all this time! Ow!”
Minwoo grimaced, rubbing his calf.
Distinct red lines were visible, and there was a blue bruise in the middle.
“Hey, Ah-rin, show me your legs too.”
“Ack!”
I didn’t expect to find the same welting mark there.
“Who did this? Was it that grandpa you mentioned?”
“…”
“Speak quickly.”
“Yes… but we got hit because we made mistakes…!”
“Look… No matter how wrong you’ve been, that doesn’t justify hitting.”
I couldn’t help but snort in disbelief.
Could it be that the adopted person was also on this island?
“Uncle Ho-chan? He’s probably preparing dinner at the house right now.”
“His name is Ho-chan?”
“Yeah, Baek Ho-chan, Uncle.”
“Got it…”
I tucked away my grinding resentment for a moment and took care of Ah-rin’s bruise.
As it was starting to get dark, I took out my wand and created some light.
[2nd Circle Spell: Tissue Regeneration]
“Oof…! It’s cold!”
“You think it’s cold? No way?”
“Oh, it’s fine now.”
“What? Stop joking around.”
“I’m not joking…”
Seeing Ah-rin’s pale face made me ache inside.
Now that I thought about it, it seemed they had only adopted children with the surname ‘Baek.’
I had no idea what kind of schemes were going on in this secluded island, but I felt I needed to meet that person.
“If I had known Ah-rin would suffer like this, I should have stopped it back then… I’m sorry.”
“No, no! Just the fact that Na-me came to see me makes me so happy! Hehe! I’m really happy to see you after a long time…”
Then, the girl, with her lips tightly sealed, drooped her head deeply.
Tears were flowing down her cheeks now, which had turned bright red.
“…This won’t do. It’s late, so we need to hurry-”
Just then.
A loud thunderous voice echoed from down the path.
“You rotten little thieves! Get back in line and take your punishment!”
I made eye contact with the elderly man whose voice was loud enough to shake the sky but who had a small stature.
“Wait, what… what is it! Thief! Catch that watermelon thief!”
With a frightening energy, the old man was charging through the grass with a cane in his hand.
He was wearing a hat that you wouldn’t even find in Itaewon today.
With a chest-high beard and an undeniably fierce expression that wrinkles couldn’t hide.
“You sows! Do you want to go back to that place of punishment once more!”
He raised his cane high as though he would smack us down.
“Stay right there-”
Gaaak!
Unfortunately, he crashed into the ground flat on his face.
That was the vine I nearly tripped over earlier.
“Grandpa! Grandpa!”
A young man came running, panting.
His figure looked familiar.
He was in matched green sweats.
Although his current appearance was pitiful, he was indeed the affluent guy who often visited the orphanage in the past.
“Grandpa! What are you doing there-”
Thud!
An over-the-top slapstick moment took place as he crashed right beside the old man’s sprawled figure.
Even though autumn hadn’t come, the comedy was in full bloom.
*
Though not lavish, we sat around a reasonably stocked table that had everything we needed.
Professor Cheon claimed he would explore the island and took a mouthful before leaving the house.
It was hard to find any protein aside from mackerel.
We had greens piled next to greens, and more greens, all looking very similar.
What was this, an idol survival program? Although they looked slightly different, they were lined up one after another.
On the other hand, the kids seemed hungry and were busy stuffing their faces first.
Originally, they said that the grandpa supposedly sat at the head of the table to teach them etiquette.
Now that the uncomfortable presence was gone, they seemed to have relieved a stress.
Meanwhile, I stopped Baek Ho-chan from going for the fish.
“…?”
“Leave it for the kids. They have little to eat as it is, so isn’t it pitiful?”
“Okay. But you’re that kid, right? The one from the news…”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I see, I see… Aaaah! Ahh, nevermind. I’d best not eat it; you all can eat plenty!”
Suddenly, Baek Ho-chan started tearing at his hair and slammed his chopsticks down on the table.
An owl-like bird’s hoot came through the thin shoji.
Even I, who usually had a small appetite, placed my chopsticks down and asked him.
“Why did you bring the kids to this island? Aren’t you rich, Uncle?”
“Who says so… I’m a beggar.”
“Which beggar donates two capsules?”
“I wasn’t a beggar back then! I was on the verge of becoming one!”
It seemed like there was a story behind this, but I had no desire to pry.
“Our grandpa has a bit of dementia. As you can see, his mind is a bit off… A couple of months ago, he suddenly collapsed and has been living day by day.”
Baek Bong-gon, who claimed to be his grandfather, was nearing ninety.
Yet he still had the vigor to run long distances, making me wonder if he was really sick.
“He was a master in Duri Do all his life. Most of the classes were held at the school in Bian Do over there, though.”
He was born in Duri Do, the last remaining resident until his passing.
In the end, he moved to Bian Do due to displacement pressures, yet for several years, he had stubbornly insisted on living in Duri Do due to his dementia.
“But how is that connected to Ah-rin and her brother? Did you want to act out a role play or something?”
“That’s exactly it!”
“Excuse me?”
Baek Ho-chan clapped his hands enthusiastically.
“Right now, Grandpa only passes on his estate to someone deemed worthy.”
Bang!
“Just because of that!”
I slammed my hand on the table and stood up.
Did they not know what was happening to Ah-rin’s legs?
“…!”
“I’m sorry, keep eating.”
“Yeah…”
Baek Ho-chan scratched his head and continued explaining.
“No, no, listen to the end; you’re misunderstanding something.”
“What, does the family’s finances get so bad that you think you need to cling to grandpa and get a proper will? If that’s the case, why drag the kids into this?”
I felt like I had misjudged people entirely.
Maybe we should leave this island now—
“It’s not that simple! Do you think I’ve been doing this ridiculous thing for eight months with these little kids just for that?”
“Then tell me.”
“Everyone agreed before the kids even came!”
“So spill it, please?”
“Really… Are you eight or what? You’re seriously exhausting.”
Baek Ho-chan quenched his throat with some barley tea and gritted his teeth before speaking.
“Without Grandpa’s help, we can’t receive the inheritance properly.”
“Don’t you know the laws? Inheritance begins automatically upon the death of the deceased!”
“It’s not about money or land or houses.”
In his eyes was evident a sorrow that was too deep to conceal.
“It’s Bitcoin.”
“Pardon?”
“Grandpa hasn’t given me the password to his digital wallet containing Bitcoin.”
“Cryptocurrency? How much could it possibly be worth?”
“10,825. Today’s lunch market value is about 249.8 billion won…”
So this grandpa laying over there is a Bitcoin millionaire?
What a crazy world we live in.
