Chapter 5: Past Memories

Memories of my past life are slowly coming back to me.

“Is it because there’s a chance you’re a returnee?”

“Yes. The first returnee appeared four years ago, and it turns out they were one of the missing people. So, I’m here to check if you have a name from your past life, Karina.”

“Park Si-woo. That’s the name.”

A few more memories surfaced.

“I think I used to live in Jongno, Seoul. Now that I’m back in Korea, a few memories are coming back.”

The things I had forcibly forgotten while being at the church were suddenly flooding into my mind now that I was in Korea.

Of course, they were all fragmentary memories—none of the sentimental memories you’d gain from living for a long time came back.

“Park Si-woo, who lived in Jongno, Seoul. Ah.”

“Why?”

“Well, there’s a person named Park Si-woo registered as a missing person. Could this be the same person?”

One of the goldfish candidates handed me a document.

It was a profile with a picture attached—my old face.

Seeing my past face while in someone else’s body felt strange.

Not incredibly handsome, but a face decent enough to have a girlfriend.

Was this really my face?

“Hmm. I don’t remember my face that well anymore, but the birthdate seems right.”

As I nodded, this annoying woman made a strange expression.

“But he’s a man.”

“So what?”

“Well, um… but you’re a woman now.”

This clueless woman kept comparing me to the photo in the profile.

Yeah, so what?

What are you trying to say?

“Are you stupid? I was basically reborn in that other world, and I didn’t get to choose whether to be male or female. The goddess did this.”

She’s completely insane.

Well, it’s expected from people who’ve never been to another world.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Do your job properly. What is this? Are you one of those people who think men should only play male characters in games? Maybe it’s still the same, but have you ever played an online game?”

“Yes.”

This woman’s really played a game before?

“Then have you never played a male character? Just like men sometimes want to play a curvy female character, women might want to play a buff male character. Of course, in my case, I didn’t have a choice.”

Men play female characters, and women can do the same with male characters.

To be so stuck in stereotypes… tsk tsk.

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”

“So, shall we move on quickly? I may look like this, but I’m a follower of the goddess.”

Hurry up and finish before I resort to violence.

“So, this is right then? You said the birthdate matches, and this is Park Si-woo from Jongno, who disappeared after the Great Cataclysm. Hmm. You were quite the good-looking guy.”

“Well, what’s important is the present. I’m a beautiful woman now. After 15 years, you get used to being a woman.”

“Uh, but your family and social relationships…”

The goldfish candidate, Kim Yuna, looked at Park Si-woo’s personal information with a serious expression and then showed it to me.

The details were pretty grim.

-No friends in middle or high school.

-Broke up with girlfriend in 11th grade.

No friends during middle and high school.

But broke up with a girlfriend in 11th grade.

It’s written in large letters.

This is a complete invasion of privacy.

“Wow. So I was a total loner with no friends. That’s a bit harsh. But you’ve dug up some pretty private stuff, haven’t you?”

Even if Park Si-woo is technically a different person now, this is too much, isn’t it?

“Even if you look at me like that, I wasn’t the one who did the investigating. The person in charge of registering missing persons at the time gathered all this information. Since we need personal details for missing persons, there’s no way around it. I don’t know if this will comfort you, but some people even had their embarrassing ‘8th-grade syndrome’ moments exposed. Having no friends isn’t the worst. But Karina, like you said, what matters is the present, right? At least it says here that you had a girlfriend. Maybe you were ostracized for some reason.”

“What about family? A younger sister?”

There was only one family member—a younger sister.

Technically, I was an orphan, and my younger sister was all I had.

We were siblings, and our busy aunt often took care of us.

“Yes, you and your younger sister were orphans, and it seems like your aunt had a soft spot for you.”

“What about the sister?”

“It seems your relationship with her wasn’t good. On the morning of the Great Cataclysm, Park Si-woo reportedly cut ties with her and disappeared while on his way to your aunt’s house.”

Usually, people don’t just cut ties with their family so easily.

But apparently, I declared that I was severing ties with my sister and left home.

Isn’t that the kind of thing people do when they’ve been pushed too far and have had enough?

Hmm, I’m curious.

“Let me see.”

“Uh, are you sure?”

“Well, it’s my story, isn’t it?”

Kim Yuna hesitated for a moment before showing me the details about myself.

As I read through it, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Not only was the situation with his sister shocking, but what happened with his girlfriend was also hard to believe.

Park Si-woo’s girlfriend had suggested they stay friends and broke up with him.

Later, she ended up dating the school bully who used to torment Park Si-woo.

To be more precise, she started dating the bully after breaking up with Park Si-woo.

The bully began picking on Si-woo, targeting his family situation and using any excuse to isolate him.

His ex-girlfriend became an accomplice, trying to stay on the bully’s good side.

Park Si-woo’s memories started coming back.

“Why did you ever date a loser like him?”

“I don’t even know why I dated him in the first place.”

Hmm, now that I think about it, she was a total jerk.

Even though she was the one who asked me out first, she acted like that later.

“My past self must have been pretty remarkable, huh?”

“Yes, it seems that way.”

Who would have thought things would be so messed up on this side too?

It seems like I was destined for misfortune even in my previous life.

Other than this good body that the goddess blessed me with… although, come to think of it, this body has caused its own share of trouble.

These are probably memories I don’t need to waste effort trying to remember.

I decided to leave them behind.

Park Si-woo is dead, and I am Karina.

The circumstances are different now, and while I feel like breaking some heads for revenge, dwelling on it would mean I’m still attached to Park Si-woo’s life.

“Well, none of this really matters anymore.”

“By the way, the person who first filed the missing person report was your sister. Your ex-girlfriend also searched for Park Si-woo. What do you want to do about that?”

“What do you mean?”

Is there anything more to be done here?

“Would you like to meet them?”

Is there really a point?

If I meet them, I might end up breaking their heads.

“There’s no reason to. That’s Park Si-woo’s business, not mine. I’m Karina now. So please, don’t contact me about this.”

Meeting my sister from my past life?

Our relationship wasn’t good, to begin with.

It would only be a hassle and probably end up being more trouble than it’s worth.

“Oh, understood. So, let’s move on to the benefits for returnees.”

Right.

Forget the family from my past life.

The returnee benefits are what matter now.

“What are the benefits?”

“Well, there are official residences for returnees and public servants near the Bureau. But we can provide you with a brand-new apartment as part of the benefits program.”

Oh, that sounds good.

I remember housing prices being insanely high before I went to the hero’s world.

“That sounds great. Also, what about that bald guy, the bald goldfish? What was his name again?”

“Kim Tae-baek, sir?”

Ah, right, Kim Tae-baek.

“Yeah, I’m going to collect a hefty reward from his guild. Will the apartment from the Bureau be better?”

I should take both the returnee benefits and whatever I can get from the Seolhwa Guild.

A person should always take everything they’re entitled to.

“Well, the building provided by the Bureau is a brand-new one. Many returnees live there. If you go for something through the Seolhwa Guild now, you’d probably have to pay a lot of money, and you wouldn’t get the returnee benefits. Also, the support includes living expenses for up to three years, and there’s a job placement program. Most returnees end up becoming hunters due to their abilities.”

Three years?

That’s enough time.

Can’t I just make money hunting those monsters?

From what I’ve seen, the awakened here seem way weaker than the ones in the other world.

“Hmm, then what kind of reward should I ask for? If the Bureau is covering both housing and living expenses…”

Money, of course.

“Getting cash would be the best, don’t you think? Even though they cover living expenses, it’s not like you’ll be living like a millionaire. Having extra money is always useful, right? The Bureau also provides furniture, but having cash is still better.”

“Sounds good.”

And with that, the matter was settled.

The Bureau officially issued me a resident registration card as a returnee.

With my ID in hand, I was able to move into my new apartment right away.

It’s located in District A, Hanseong Officetel, in South New Seoul.

The place is huge.

And tall.

A special bank account for returnees, an ID card, and various benefits—considering the country had been torn apart, the welfare system has improved quite a bit.

“Oh, this is my home.”

In the other world, even as a revered saint, I never had my own home.

Finally, I have a place of my own.

*

The Baeksaek Guild was one of the mid-tier guilds in Korea.

Although not on the level of the major corporate guilds, it was still a stable guild that had recently seen success in monster subjugation.

One woman, who had recently transitioned to an office job in this guild, was having a conversation with her colleague.

“Did you hear about it, Park Yoo-jung?”

Yoo-jung, who was working, answered her fellow hunter’s question.

“What’s up?”

“Well, apparently there was a flood yesterday near Checkpoint B, on the outskirts of South New Seoul. The Seolhwa Guild sent out a search party, and only a few hunters were stationed there.”

“But there hasn’t been any communication. If there was a flood, the hunters from the Seolhwa Guild wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone, right? And we haven’t heard of any significant damage.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah, usually when a guild gets caught up in a flood situation, word quickly spreads to other guilds. It’s so they can prepare and avoid becoming the next guild hit by the disaster.”

“Well, apparently a returnee appeared from the outside and wiped it out in an instant.”

“Destroyed the flood?”

“Yeah, they say it came rushing in like an ocean, but with one swing of their mace, it was cleared out at once.”

His colleague imitated swinging a mace as he spoke, his eyes shining with excitement.

“Could something like that really happen? A flood, at the scale of a wave, is a massive thing.”

“It’s probably exaggerated. Even if returnees are strong, they’re not that powerful.”

“But still, if it’s a returnee, it could be possible. They even said the person had an angel ring above their head.”

“I was already shocked seeing elves and dwarves, but now we’ve got angels? Wow.”

After the Great Cataclysm, different races started flowing in as returnees, turning Earth into a full-blown modern fantasy world.

“Just the fact that monsters appeared makes this world feel like a fantasy.”

Though, it wasn’t the kind of world where you could argue about what made sense or not.

The world had long since become a chaotic blend of fantasy.

Regardless, she just had to do her job.

Since there was a flood, it was important to gather information quickly, ahead of the other guilds.

The best place to do that would be the Bureau.

“You’re right. I’ll head to the Bureau for a bit.”

“Something going on?”

“Didn’t you mention the flood? I need to get the details so we can be prepared when we send out the next exploration team.”

“As expected, you’re thorough.”

Her colleague gave her a thumbs-up in praise, but it felt more like mockery to Park Yoo-jung, and it didn’t really make her feel good.

“Ugh, if I weren’t the team leader, you’d be doing this.”

“Hang in there.”

Watching her colleague’s irritating grin, Park Yoo-jung stood up from her seat.