Ch.227Side Story 2: When I Met Him (1)

#02_When I Met Him_1

It had been 5 years since I survived alone in this fucked-up universe.

I was working as a personal bodyguard for a filthy rich kid named Eliya.

Sitting in his office at Dust Devil, staring at the universe with nothing but starlight, Eliya looked somewhat pitiful.

To cheer up his gloomy mood, I blurted out something I’d been curious about for a while.

“No matter how much I think about it, you’re the one I understand the least. How could you entrust this position to someone like me?”

Eliya, still with his annoyingly handsome face, turned his head toward me.

“I chose you because you had the most life in your eyes at that filthy shelter. Why, don’t you like it?”

“Well, I’m fine with it. But isn’t it too reckless?”

“I also liked how desperately you begged. Hahaha.”

“Bullshit.”

When I sneered, Eliya, who had been speaking in that old-fashioned manner as if mocking me, laughed heartily.

“Ah, I just remembered. Would you be interested in doing a job?”

“Isn’t what I’m doing now a job?”

My duty is to stand firmly beside Eliya and take down anyone trying to kill this bastard before they get the chance.

When I pointed this out, Eliya shook his head.

“I’m talking about a different job instead of bodyguard duty. You’re the only one I can trust.”

“What nonsense are you spouting at this hour?”

It was a bit embarrassing, but when this bastard Eliya talked like this, it meant he had a serious request.

Crouching as usual, I looked at Eliya sitting in his office chair and said:

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just deliver one item.”

“Damn it. Then ask someone else! Why ask your bodyguard to do it?”

“I told you. You’re the only one I can trust…”

“This is frustrating.”

He’s truly a frustrating bastard.

At his age, doesn’t he have any trustworthy friends? Well, neither do I.

As I hung my head and sighed deeply, Eliya spoke in a serious tone.

“Won’t you do it?”

“Of course I will, you bastard. Who wouldn’t after you put it like that?”

“Excellent.”

I looked up at the sudden cheerful tone in Eliya’s voice.

Somehow, Eliya was now holding an antique wooden box from his desk with both hands.

“This is it.”

“What is this?”

Despite its seemingly hefty size, the wooden box was lighter than I expected.

I shook it around, but there wasn’t even a rattling sound, so I had no idea what could be inside.

But there was a scent.

Whether it came from the box itself or its contents, the box emitted a refreshing fragrance like being in a coniferous forest.

Perhaps seeing my continued curiosity about the contents, Eliya smiled and said:

“I won’t tell you not to open it.”

“So what is it?”

“Medicine.”

“If it’s medicine, why not just ask a space courier? Why beg me?”

“There’s a reason. It can’t be anyone else; it has to be you.”

“Ah, why is this bastard being like this today?”

I wasn’t pleased.

If he was asking this seriously, it must be truly important, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like anything special.

“Just tell me to fight twelve androids like usual. I don’t understand why you’re sending me on an errand.”

“It will benefit you too.”

“Ah! This is so frustrating! Just speak clearly, you bastard!”

“Wouldn’t it be boring if you knew?”

“You crazy bastard. A sadist who loves watching others suffer.”

“I can’t deny that’s not entirely wrong.”

Eliya giggled, then handed me a tablet and said:

“I’ve displayed the planet, destination, and a photo of the person you need to deliver this to.”

The tablet showed a picture of an Asian elderly man with a long white beard, looking as distinguished as actors who typically appear in movies or dramas.

But Eliya didn’t seem to think so.

“The recipient is a nasty old man named ‘Nok Ho-jin.'”

“Nasty old man? Why?”

“You’ll see when you meet him.”

After saying that, Eliya shuddered.

He looked like an ordinary grandfather you might see in Chinatown, so I couldn’t understand why he called him nasty.

“If anyone tries to intimidate you, just say you’ve come to see the Elder.”

“The Elder?”

“Just remember that. Never mention his name.”

After finishing, Eliya scratched his nose.

This bastard—that’s something he often does when hiding something or lying.

I don’t know why he’s trying to hide whatever this is with such complicated measures, but for now, I had to do as Eliya wanted.

That’s the only way I’d find out what he was up to.

* * *

“Where the hell is this place?”

This is driving me crazy. I followed Eliya’s request and took a single-person spacecraft to the coordinates he gave me.

Yes, I managed to land in this strange place with flat terrain and mountains that looked like they were randomly placed on top.

The problem was that while there was a small upward path, there were no signposts or buildings in sight.

All I could see were endless trees and protruding mountains.

Where the hell did that bastard Eliya drop me off? This is so damn hopeless.

Still, I needed to come up with a plan.

In survival documentaries I watched back on Earth, they said if you’re lost in the mountains or don’t know your destination, head for the summit.

That’s it. From a high point, I might spot a building or some sign of human presence, which would be effective.

So I started walking toward the summit, but another problem arose.

“Shit. I didn’t expect to go hiking.”

I was wearing the most common attire in space—formal clothes that look neat in any culture.

That meant it was the worst outfit for hiking, and my shoes, similar in appearance and material to dress shoes, made my feet ache.

I thought this would be a quick errand, so I brought nothing except the medicine box, the tablet, and a blaster I brought just in case.

Thankfully, my stamina was good. A few years ago, I might have walked a few dozen yards and then cried for my mother.

Now I’m twenty, so I can’t cry over just climbing a mountain.

I can do this. This mountain is nothing.

An hour later.

I regretted it.

“Huff, huff, this is, fuck, not right…”

Just when I thought I’d reached the summit, fog suddenly rolled in, and it felt like I was endlessly climbing.

What is this, Silent Hill? I thought it would end after about 30 minutes, but there was no end in sight.

“This, really, sucks…”

I was so thirsty I could drink the sweat dripping from my forehead. This won’t do. I need to rest.

I decided to sit on a rock near the path to catch my breath, and unconsciously looked up at the sky.

That bastard Eliya. Is being rich everything?

No, actually, being rich is everything.

“I wonder what’s in this medicine box that I need to find this old man and give it to him personally.”

Eliya said I could open the box, but I didn’t particularly want to.

Medicine is for sick people, not for someone with perfectly healthy limbs like me.

The medicine box was light enough to float in the air without much force, so I was playing with it, bouncing it a few times.

“Do you know what that is to be tossing it around?”

“Huh?”

The medicine box almost escaped from my fingertips, so I jumped up and barely caught it.

Startled by the sudden elderly voice, I looked around and saw an old man about my height standing with his hands behind his back. I don’t know how long he’d been there.

“The Takmyeongdae aren’t even showing their faces when outsiders enter the forbidden area.”

Looking closely at the old man who was muttering to himself, I remembered where I’d seen him.

“Right. I think I saw you on the tablet? Are you the grandfather who sent Eliya on this errand?”

“Eliya?”

The old man said Eliya’s name once, then tightly closed his mouth, rolled his eyeballs, and nodded.

“Are you referring to the Golden Merchant’s real name?”

“Huh? Golden Merchant?”

“Yes. The one with hair like melted gold and an annoying face, a Saekmok-in like you.”

“I don’t know what a Saekmok-in is, but if you mean someone with an annoying face, that’s definitely Eliya.”

“Hmm, they say the Golden Merchant is impressive, and he even chose a fearless errand boy. Follow me for now.”

“What?”

“That guy, I said follow me!”

“Ah, yes.”

Why is he getting angry? Anyway, as I followed the old man without knowing why, the fog gradually cleared, and we reached the mountain summit.

“Wow, beautiful view.”

Near the summit was an antique building made of wood.

A large pine tree stood beside it, and under its shade was a stone bench carved with beautiful patterns.

The gentle breeze from the summit cooled the sweat on my forehead, giving me a comfortable feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Turning my head to look at the building, there was something written in white letters on a wooden sign above the main entrance.

“What does it say?”

“Can’t you read?”

“How can I read something I never learned?”

“How can you speak a language you never learned?”

“That’s because I’m using a translator.”

I pointed to the thin necklace-shaped translator I was wearing, and the old man examined it closely before turning his head away.

“Then can’t you read the sign with that translator of yours?”

“It doesn’t translate images.”

“Useless then.”

“Hey, without this, you and I couldn’t even talk.”

“Grandfather?”

“I heard from Eliya that you don’t like being called by your real name.”

“The Golden Merchant taught you that one thing well.”

He really doesn’t like being called by his real name. The old man was smiling with great satisfaction.

“Yes. Even if you know my real name, you shouldn’t use it carelessly.”

“Why not?”

“Do you tell everyone your name?”

“You have to if you want to get to know people.”

“I don’t need to do that; everyone knows me.”

“That must be nice. Not having to introduce yourself to others.”

When I said that, the old man looked at me as if he was seeing something bizarre. Why is he acting like that?

“You don’t know who I am?”

“Well, I know your real name.”

“And nothing else, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. And that you need to receive this medicine box.”

“Medicine box?”

“Yes. Medicine box.”

When I held out the medicine box to give it to the old man, he quickly took it and frowned.

“You call Shaolin’s Great Return Pill just a medicine box?”

The old man continued grumbling, then started moving his lips.

Not long after, a man who looked like a bandit suddenly emerged from the bushes, knelt toward the old man, and bowed his head.

“Sect Leader, did you find it?”

“Here. Go give it to the Junior Sect Leader.”

The old man handed the medicine box I had given him to the man, who received it as if it were something precious, almost flattening himself to the ground.

“I obey.”

“A young man groaning like that—who can I trust to succeed the sect?”

“Don’t we have the sect’s protectors?”

“What do those senile old men know? It’s a blessing if they don’t capture innocent civilians.”

The old man clicked his tongue, and when he gestured for the man to go, the man bowed once, kicked the ground once, and disappeared instantly.

“Wow, it’s like he has a jetpack on his back.”

The man was already just a dot, barely visible to my eyes.

“You serve as the Golden Merchant’s bodyguard?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“What is your name?”

“Dexter Hughes.”

“These Saekmok-in names, really. Deukgeuksateuk Hyusahyusa?”

Why is my name like that? Finding it awkward to call me by that name, he pointed at me with his index finger and said:

“I’ll just call you disciple.”

“…Why am I a disciple?”

“This master made a promise to the Golden Merchant in exchange for receiving Shaolin’s Great Return Pill. Shouldn’t one keep their promises?”

“No, that’s not it. What promise? You should tell me that first.”

“Oh my, the Golden Merchant didn’t teach you the important part.”

The old man stroked his beard with a displeased expression, then turned his body abruptly.

“From now on, call me ‘Cheonma.'”

“…?”

He didn’t answer my question but suddenly decided on how I should address him, leaving me dumbfounded. He tapped his foot as if urging me to respond quickly.

I’d better answer for now.

“Yes, grandfather.”

“Not grandfather, didn’t I say Cheonma!”

“Yes, Grandfather Cheonma.”

“Oh my, your body may be talented, but your mind is dull. The Golden Merchant must have a hard time with you.”

I wanted to ask why he was suddenly telling me to be his disciple, but I decided to hold my tongue.

As Grandfather Cheonma turned his back to me and entered the building, I looked around at the surrounding scenery.

There were many pointed, high mountains around, but the mountain where I stood was the tallest and most pointed.

Only later would I learn that this place where I stood was called the Hundred Thousand Great Mountain, the forbidden area where only the Sect Leader and Junior Sect Leader could enter, known as the headquarters of the Demon Sect.