On the day Liam caused chaos during a live news broadcast, I didn’t turn on the TV.
To be precise, I couldn’t.
Liam attracted too much attention, and that was a problem that had to be resolved first.
“Good evening.”
Not long after the commotion, a guest arrived at my home.
“It’s nice to see you again. I’m Hainha.”
She was the agent from the National Intelligence Service I had met last time.
I chose not to ask the cliché question of how she found out where I lived. It would be disappointing if the NIS couldn’t track my location properly.
“Though this isn’t my house, please come in.”
I led Hainha to the dining table and had her sit down.
I hesitated about offering her tea, remembering her rudeness from our last meeting, so I decided against it.
Instead, I brought her a glass of water. Perhaps she was thirsty, because she gulped it down immediately.
In the meantime, I sat across from her. Liam, who had returned from work, settled down next to me.
As soon as we prepared to hear the news, a stiff voice began to pour out.
“I’ll get right to the point. You’ve made quite a mess. How exactly do you plan to clean this up?”
Clean up? That was a true reflection of someone who knew nothing about Liam. I had been the same initially.
I smiled and replied, “I should warn you, my husband is a man who doesn’t care about aftermaths at all. You must keep that in mind.”
“……”
Hainha appeared momentarily speechless, her mouth flapping.
“By the way, the one who wrote that message in the sky? Yep, that’s Liam.”
“…I see this isn’t a lie. I can tell just by looking.”
Her stoic gaze roamed over Liam. However, our infamous troublemaker didn’t even seem to notice or care.
“Clitia, do you think you could give me the kiss we missed last time?”
“Shut up. We’re in the middle of a conversation.”
Even now, Liam had absolutely no sense of the atmosphere.
He wasn’t even trying to make an effort to understand. His nature was far removed from etiquette.
Liam only bothered to show manners to three people, himself included, from our hero party. For everyone else, he always started off with rudeness.
Thus, Hainha, the disrespectful NIS agent, had met the wrong opponent.
“Liam Erams. From now on, please respond correctly to my questions.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Are you refusing to talk? You need to cooperate if you want to resolve this situation effectively.”
“Why should I solve it? Even if you mobilized all your country’s military, I would still win.”
Honestly, that last statement was just bravado.
No matter how strong Liam was, it would be hard for him to unleash his full potential in this mana-thin world. There was definitely a decent chance of victory, but…
Anyway, I wasn’t going to butt in, so I remained quiet.
Eventually, Liam squeezed my hand and teased, “If you want to talk to us, bring your boss. What did you call him? The president? Just bring him along.”
“……”
Hainha tightly closed her mouth, unable to respond.
She seemed to have tasted the spicy flavor of a former hero—one who was impossible to deal with yet extraordinarily powerful.
She must have been holding back her anger. It seemed like a good time for negotiation to begin.
“I apologize, Hainha. My husband has a tendency to act recklessly without thinking of the consequences. Please, forgive him.”
After I politely and gently apologized, Hainha’s stern expression eased a bit. The ‘Good Pope, Bad Hero’ strategy had been successful.
From this point on, if I could handle things smoothly, everything would work out fine.
“As you can see, Liam is a difficult man to control. He doesn’t listen well unless it’s me speaking. I imagine that as someone representing the government, it must be quite uncomfortable for you to keep him from wreaking havoc.”
“…I understand what you’re trying to say.”
As expected from an NIS agent. Hainha quickly grasped what I wanted, and she pulled a bundle of documents from her bag.
After receiving it, I quickly skimmed through it. It roughly outlined the benefits that could be given to returnees.
However, none of them intrigued me. Although they were written grandly, they were ultimately just flashy show-off benefits.
“I don’t think we need this.”
I set the documents aside and gently said, “It’s just long-winded without any substantial benefits. Is it because I’m the first returnee?”
“…Unfortunately, yes. We have no set manual, so we have to deal with it in a makeshift way.”
If that was the case, then it was perfect. I could become a ‘precedent.’
“Rather, let’s go a different route. I’ll tell you what I want, and you provide it all. Then I promise to keep a tight leash on Liam.”
“As long as your requests aren’t overly unreasonable… I’ll do my best to persuade my superiors.”
Hainha was quite cooperative. It seemed she decided to treat me like royalty compared to how she handled Liam.
‘The Liam effect is strong.’
This is why it was good to have my troublemaker at the negotiation table. He terrified the opponent into yielding.
I wiggled my fingers holding Liam’s hand while listing out my demands. Hainha was quietly jotting down everything in her notebook.
She was so compliant that I sneaked in one unreasonable request, and she seemed oblivious to it, diligently writing that down too.
“Alright, I’ll see you again later.”
With that, Hainha put her notebook in her pocket and stood up.
She hurried to the entrance, slipped on her shoes, and suddenly turned to me with a question.
“When will the writing in the sky disappear?”
“It’ll disappear soon.”
“Is that so? What a relief…”
For some reason, Hainha let out a sigh of relief, appearing glad.
*
In the sudden negotiation with the NIS agent, the first thing I requested was citizenship for my family.
Liam and the kids’ Korean nationality. It was the most pressing issue, and I asked for it to be expedited.
I discovered a similar case in Japan, where the government granted citizenship to all returnees’ families.
However, since I was the first returnee in Korea, I suspected approval wouldn’t come quickly.
‘It can’t be helped.’
While it might take some time, I felt lighter knowing that at least a troublesome issue could be somewhat resolved.
Meanwhile, despite Hainha’s efforts, the incident caused by Liam hadn’t been sorted out peacefully. It had grown a bit too serious to just brush off.
The atmosphere wasn’t extremely severe. It simply garnered a lot of attention.
“There’s a lot of heat on this matter.”
I read a news article on Seo-yoon’s smartphone.
[“If you mess with my wife, you won’t get away with it” Returnee husband causes a scene on live broadcast”]
A critical piece about Liam was published on the social pages. After reading through, it argued that there needed to be measures to regulate the powers of returnees and their families.
It was a fairly reasonable opinion, but the comments were predominantly negative.
– So how’s the reporter going to stop it? Do they have a plan?
The most liked comment seemed to admonish the reporter. Underneath were similar remarks.
Everyone seemed to have a similar thought.
They agreed that a way to prevent Liam’s rampage was necessary, but they felt powerless. Ultimately, it had to be left to the conscience of the people. That was essentially the gist of it.
‘Conscience… does it even exist?’
No matter how you looked at it, he was a former hero who had somewhat matured and wouldn’t harm innocent civilians.
But what if there was a crime? And what if that crime was directed at me? He would zero in on that person immediately.
The anonymity of the internet was meaningless. The magic’s mysteries could penetrate even a tech-constructed network.
“Can you track IPs too?”
Seo-yoon, who was hearing about Liam’s danger, looked shocked. It was something she could hardly fathom.
“Yes, he seems to have tried it himself.”
“Is he really going to kill everyone who speaks ill of him? Just a warning, right?”
“……”
“…Are you serious?”
Our troublemaker hadn’t said a single meaningless word.
“Seo-yoon, Liam is a man who means what he says. Plus, if this broadcast goes live, those who mock or insult me will come forward.”
“…That’s true.”
Thus, I decided to hold off on broadcasting until the fervor cooled down a bit.
This was a carefully considered decision.
If I went live, hordes of viewers would be drawn in. With all eyes on me, tens of thousands would flock.
That’s why I decided to take a few days off.
I needed to keep Liam from causing chaos, and also because what I wanted wasn’t just simple ‘interest.’
It was more like filtering out the impurities.
The attention I was receiving was an illusion. A massive illusion crashing in like a tsunami.
While it seemed grand at first glance, it was just a fleeting, illusory moment.
“Now do you understand?”
Having taken time to share my thoughts, I gently brewed a tea bag in the hot water of my mug. I found it quite pleasant in its own way.
“I still don’t get it.”
As I sipped the green tea, I noticed Seo-yoon frowned.
I had thoroughly explained the reasons for avoiding frequent broadcasts, yet she still seemed to be confused. It was understandable.
“Let me give you a simple example.”
I took two cans of Zero Cola from the fridge and opened them. The twins ran over eagerly as if they had been waiting.
“Cola!”
“Zero!”
While they used different names for it, both loved the cola for its fizzy sensation. A cute reason.
“You have to drink it slowly.”
After handing the twins the cola in their tiny hands, I turned my attention back to Seo-yoon.
“In terms of cola, the attention pouring onto me right now is like the foam that rises when you pour it into a cup.”
I looked at the twins drinking together and continued.
“The foam is neither tasty nor refreshing. It’s an unnecessary part of the drink.”
“That’s the kind of attention people are sending to you right now?”
“Exactly.”
Because I was the first returnee, because I did something unusual, because I’m pretty—the reasons were plenty, but ultimately, it was all fleeting attention that would quickly fade.
The popularity I desired was not that. It needed to be more refined and stable.
“Seo-yoon, I want the cola itself. I want that exhilarating sensation of the fizzy drink flowing down.”
“……”
After a moment of thought, Seo-yoon finally spoke.
“To put it simply, you’re looking to build a more solid base of popularity, right?”
“To be more precise, I want to achieve ‘fame.'”
Not just a returnee that grabs attention because of the surprising stunts but known as an honorable Pope.
I needed to discard those who glimmer briefly and flip the script to secure a fan base devoted to me.
“This way, I can ensure a steady and stable income. Money might be slower now, but in the long run, it will bear fruit.”
“…Maybe you shouldn’t say that.”
Seo-yoon chuckled lightly, leaning back in her chair. She seemed deflated by the materialistic conclusion.
I didn’t want to be this obsessed with money. I had always cherished integrity, so this situation felt incredibly uncomfortable.
But it couldn’t be helped. Modern society isn’t kind to those without money; it disrupts both the heart and the body.
I was a mother of two daughters and a younger son.
Times were different from when I was young. I had to make the most rational decisions for a bright future with my family.
“In conclusion, I’m not after gains that would vanish in an instant.”
“So, that’s why you won’t be broadcasting for a few days?”
“That’s right.”
It seemed my thoughts finally got through to her. I smiled gently at Seo-yoon and took a sip of my green tea.
Watching me, Seo-yoon suddenly smiled meaningfully. I couldn’t help but wonder what was making her react that way.
“You haven’t changed a bit. You were like this back then too. Needlessly pessimistic.”
“… I was like that when I was Park Si-woo.”
Why was she digging into the past? Feeling shy, I focused on the taste of the green tea.
In the meantime, a playful voice continued.
“You’ve changed a little. Before, you were negative about everything, and now, you’re cautious about everything.”
“So, what’s your point?”
“I understand the concern you have, but do you really need to worry that much?”
Seo-yoon giggled, holding my hand. The warmth was transferred from hand to hand.
“The popularity you have isn’t going to fizzle out. I think that even if a new returnee appears, interest will still be on you.”
“Is that statement backed up by evidence?”
“Uh-huh.”
Seo-yoon nodded with confidence and turned to look at the sofa.
“Liam is quite something. Can he even fit that whole thing in his mouth?”
On the sofa lay Liam, apparently glued to the TV, scratching his thigh in a most unattractive manner.
I found myself staring vacantly at the expression of our former hero, who seemed utterly carefree, before bursting into laughter.
“Well, with Liam around, it looks like I’ll be in the spotlight for a long time.”
Liam wasn’t just any former hero. He was a born talent for drawing attention, instinctively choosing sensational moments.
As long as that troublemaker was present, the interest directed at me would never wane.
Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I wasn’t quite sure. The latter felt more likely.
“Why on earth did I fall in love with such a man?”
“I’m curious about that too.”
We both chuckled simultaneously and exchanged several conversations surrounding Liam.
“For the next broadcast, I absolutely have to introduce Liam.”
“Of course. He certainly… created quite a fuss.”
“I should limit his appearance because I honestly don’t know what sort of trouble he’ll stir up.”
With that, we determined the content for the next broadcast.
*
On a Friday evening that office workers loved to bits.
Before going live, I jotted down the broadcast title.
[“You could risk your life if you type the wrong chat message”]
It was a title leaning more towards the humorous than serious.
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