episode_0832

2026.

The new year has dawned.

It was the same sunrise as always, but the wishes of those who gathered at the East Sea to see the sun were different this year.

“Please let me have a son like Do Ji-hwan…!”

“If I give birth to a daughter, I will become a pretty woman so that I can have a son-in-law like Do Ji-hwan…!”

“Huh.”

I came out early in the morning to watch the sun rise and all my wishes were for Do Ji-hwan, Do Ji-hwan.

The whole world is Do Ji-hwan.

The young man didn’t particularly dislike it, but he found it a bit absurd that no one spoke openly.

“But Do Ji-hwan is a villain.”

Flash.

Everyone around him turned their heads at what the young man said without realizing it.

The look in his eyes was similar to the look in his eyes from his friends(?) around him when he unconsciously shouted ‘I will not shout the last slogan’ during a retreat when I was a child.

“What.”

However, the young man did not pay attention to those looks and instead glared.

“Why do they want a hero goblin, not a villain goblin?”

“K, keuhm…!”

“It’s okay for you to want that, but don’t force others to think the same way. This is not some kind of totalitarian communist country.”

“What? Well, really…!”

“It’s okay, honey. Don’t start a fight for no reason. Because you can cheat.”

“Kuhm…!”

A man in his 40s got angry at the young man’s words, but the person next to him who looked like his wife grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“What are you going to do if you happen to have a grandson or granddaughter like Choi Ho-jeong?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I can’t have my grandchildren be like that.”

He looks like he’s in his 40s and is already mentioning grandchildren.

Next to him, a man and a woman who looked like they had just graduated from college or had entered college were holding hands.

“The first name is Seolhee, the second name is Yunji, and the third name is Lee Seon, right?”

“If you have a son, will it be Jihwan?”

“Ah, then. What is it like to earnestly hope to be born in the name of a living great man?”

“…….”

The young man turned away from the young couple holding hands and the people giving them meaningful looks.

“Like trash.”

He couldn’t bear the rising nausea.

“I’m trying to somehow give birth to someone with special abilities…”

The young man shook his head.

Most of those who came to see the sunrise had similar thoughts as middle-aged or young couples.

Why?

Because all the ‘commitments’ were already done a week ago.

On December 24, 2025, the day to honor a saint, the possibility of a new future has already unfolded in many places around the world.

Normally, the most major events take place at Christmas, but last year’s Christmas was particularly intense.

“Company, was the head of [Mangryang]’s child with a goblin an X-MAS baby?”

An SS+-level psychic and an SS+-level psychic spent the night and the child they gave birth to was SSS-level.

The shady people guessed back when fertilization would have occurred based on the child’s birth date, and this guess turned out to be true.

“…….”

-okay. It was like that at Christmas.

The person directly revealed it.

The young man played a short live video of about a minute, a short version of the ‘Goblin Live’ video that remains on the streaming site.

-If you want to give birth to someone with such special abilities, let me know. I’ll give you a hint.

Do Ji-hwan gave advice to couples around the world.

-holiday. Anniversary. Faith and love for each other. Not only knowing the names of my grandchildren, but also imagining what it would be like for them to attend college. This is the secret to giving birth to people with special abilities.

…The lesson was a lesson, but it seemed like it was teasing somewhere.

-Yes. Love is the most powerful driving force that creates people with special abilities.

But the person involved was very serious.

“It’s love.”

It is an incomprehensible feeling for a young person.

“In a world where I am too busy living alone, there is no way there is such a thing as true love.”

Self-deprecating and gloomy thoughts.

As we are born and grow up, daycare centers, schools, and society teach us that ‘if a person with special abilities thinks like this, he or she will become a devil.’

Young people do not become devils.

No matter how gloomy his thoughts are, the ‘demon virus’ that the goblin talks about has no influence on the young man.

because….

Beep beep.

A text message arrived.

[Former reporter!! Photos?!]

He was a senior reporter.

The young man immediately sent several photos he had taken to his senior, and as soon as the senior received the photos, he downloaded them immediately without replying.

Breaking news will appear soon.

Along with a photo of a realistic sunrise, there is a ridiculous article that says, ‘With the hope of giving birth to someone with special abilities’, with both hands together and praying towards the sun.

Beep beep.

-Hey, former reporter! I survived thanks to this reporter!

“What? What about the article?”

-It went up very well! After all, I’m a reporter. When I come to Korea, I’ll give it a try! Your return date is tomorrow, right?

“Yes. I’m going to Incheon.”

Reporter Jeon looked around him.

Is watching the sunrise a Korean culture, or a culture around the world?

At least looking at this scene now, if we only talk about this place, we can say that the Korean wave has invaded this sea instead of the wave current.

-Hey, but the company is really good, isn’t it? Send it to Chiba.

“Yes. It’s good. It would have been nice to go to the beach in Gyeongju like you did.”

-Are you going to let me go when you get married too? I work remotely and do patriotism. Wow, this taste makes a married man.

“Are you happy?”

-…….

In response to reporter Jeon’s question, the senior did not continue speaking.

-I’m happy. haha….

It felt like there was no soul in the answer, but the young man didn’t intentionally point that out.

-Former reporter. There’s still one day left, right? Look around here and there. I just say ‘isshoni osake nomuka’ and approach women. huh? When I say I’m a Korean guy, I just… Oh, I’ll call you later. great job!

Pop.

The phone call was cut off unilaterally.

Judging from the sound of wet footsteps being heard somewhere at the end, it must have been made by someone coming out of the shower room.

“Everyone is going crazy because they are patriotic starting from January 1st.”

Even at this very moment, history is being made.

Even as people here pray to ‘goblins’, ‘mangryang’, and ‘the Son of Heaven (Cheonjia)’ instead of gods such as the Emperor, Amaterasu, etc., future possibilities will sprout.

After praying, I’ll be running right from the morning.

It’s obvious even if you don’t look at it.

“…….”

The sun is bright.

However, as bright as it was, the darkness behind the young man was indescribably thick.

Everyone comes to the beach together as couples and families and prays toward the sun.

I pray that a ‘new child’ will be born in a new year and a new morning.

But here.

Among those who came with their families, there are a few who came alone and pregnant.

Some of them are with people who look like parents in the corner, some of them look like husbands but look suspiciously like pregnant women so they look like brothers, and some of them are pregnant women who come without men but with female acquaintances or family members.

“Excuse me.”

“Uh…?”

The young man approached the woman who was alone in the corner with her eyes closed.

“I am this kind of person. Could I have an interview?”

” Lee, interview…?”

The woman looked very wary, but frowned as she looked back and forth at the business card and the young man.

“You, Korean…?”

“No. I’m not Korean, I’m American. I’m an American.”

“Eh…?”

“He is of mixed Korean-American descent, and his nationality is American.”

The young man looked typical Korean, but his business card was in English.

“Reporter of Daily Koryo…?”

“Yes. I’m here on a business trip. I took pictures of the sunrise and did interviews.”

“Ah.”

The woman’s vigilance softened a little.

The young man was able to fully sense that the boundary was due to his appearance and the fact that he was ‘Korean’.

“I write a column. Because I’m American, I can write in more detail than anyone else.”

“What…?”

“Shadow of Korea.”

“…….”

The woman’s eyes trembled.

She put the business card in her pocket, as if she had expected it, as if she knew it was coming.

“I will contact you via email. See you in the evening.”

* * *

Late at night.

The streets of Chiba Prefecture were filled with people drinking alcohol from the first day of the new year.

“Oppa! Would you like a drink?!”

“Anata Kankokujin? Suge! Isshoni Osake Nomanai? Ah, brother! I’m sursajooo.”

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

Is it because he is dressed in a neat suit?

“Sorry, I’m American. Korean style plastic surgery.”

“Uh, the translator…. Oh, you got plastic surgery with a Korean face…? Sheesh, hey, let’s go. Wow.”

The young man politely greeted the people who were soliciting and hunting him and entered a shabby alley.

Two-story villa.

The hallway-style villa stretched out from side to side, did not have proper crime prevention devices, and the door width was very narrow, like a prison.

Beep beep.

A text message has arrived.

-Please come to room 204.

The young man went up to room 204 as instructed in the text, and as soon as he stood in front of the door, the door opened.

“Excuse me.”

“…You don’t have to buy it.”

The woman I met in the morning greeted the young man inside.

She frowned at the roll cake the young man had bought, but she couldn’t hide the drool that went down without her knowledge.

“Please sit down. It’s inconvenient, but…”

“Yes.”

The room was very narrow.

It was so narrow that I thought even studio apartments in Korean university districts could be more spacious than this.

“Then, reporter from Koryo Ilbo…? What do you want to hear from me?”

“I’m going to be a bit rude. Because I plan to write down the facts as they are.”

“…….”

“Where is your husband?”

The corners of the woman’s eyes fluttered.

“Your husband, are you Korean?”

“…the engagement was broken off.”

“The man who came to Japan… oops. Come to think of it.”

“My name is Saya Ichimura. The Korean name is Isaiah. In some ways, it seems like a compromise, right? Haha… Um, so…”

“My name is John Jupiter Jameson. My friends call me JJJ, um, the Korean name.”

The young man bowed his head slightly.

“This is Jupiter.”