Past Life Returner

“Did you know that Director Kwon was forced to retire?”

“So?”

Kim Jin-Seung didn’t pay much attention to the surprising comment from the secretary. The person referred to as Director Kwon had indeed been part of his faction for a long time, and the secretary was aware of it.

“A lot of people are being forced to retire.”

“We have a lot to deal with today. Let’s focus.”

He pretended to be indifferent, but anger was boiling within Kim Jin-Seung. In front of his desk were cases piled up that, as he had just said, had to be done today.

Kim Jin-Seung picked up a file.

「 ……

3. The Crime

The suspect is unidentified, and their occupation unknown.

A. About the ‘investigation transfer’ agreement with the World Awakened Association.

1) On 2018. 8.15 at 19:30:18, accessed the Internet site World Civilian Association (http://minganin.com) with the ID “OdinObservationTV,” and uploaded a post “Why Odin is a Pro, 10 Reasons Why Awakened are Afraid of Odin.”

2) On 2018. 8.16 at 20:11:19, accessed the Internet site World Civilian Association (http://minganin.com) with the ID “OdinObservationTV,” and commented on the post of ID “LovelyKwon,” titled “Is the King of Hell actually getting tried?” Commented, “Are you an idiot? Don’t you know that if the King of Hell gets help from Odin, the earth would be destroyed? If you are curious, then I have a video on my channel, so watch it.”

3) On 2018. 8.16 at 20:14:19, accessed the Internet site World Civilian Association (http://minganin.com) with the ID “OdinObservationTV,” and commented on the post of ID “MartialLawLifted,” titled “Why are people still protesting?” Commented “If Odin wipes them out, it’s over. Odin even massacres the Awakened. There is a great summary on my channel, so come and subscribe. But why does Odin, with such power, do nothing…it frustrates me. If I were him, then I would have ended it all. Maybe Odin is more stupid than we think. Don’t ignore me, thinking that I’m a troll, and come visit my channel. Then you will naturally understand.

4) On 2018. 8.16 at 20:25:33… 」

Investigation targets usually turned out to be nonsensical idiots. Surprisingly, they could be perfectly ordinary office workers or young adults, but they were nothing but heaps of garbage who had zero influence on the world.

Therefore, Kim Jin-Seung was in a state of being buried in a pile of garbage. This was entirely Director Kwon’s fault.

“Have the personal details regarding OdinObservationTV arrived?”

Kim Jin-Seung felt miserable asking this.

How did you fall this far, Kim Jin-Seung…

He couldn’t believe he was in charge of a job that would make the police despise him. He felt like the secretary and other employees were giving him mocking stares.

Am I done in this field?

When Director Kwon was appointed as the head of the department, replacing Kim Ji-Ae, Kim Jin-Seung thought his golden future was secured. He believed that he would step on the red carpet with Director Kwon and invited the group of power elites to the prosecution.

On the day Director Kwon was nominated to be the Director of the Central Bureau, he was even invited to the personal dining table of Park Woo-Cheol, the prosecutor general who held one of the greatest powers in Korea.

Park Woo-Cheol was the eldest son of Park Choong-Sik, who was the person who had been ruling Kroea for nearly twenty years and was the unchanging power behind the throne. Along with the President of Finance, there was Cho Dae-Hwan, the chairman of Jamie Corporation, as the founding royal family of the Jeonil Group.

However, even though his son-in-law was the representative of the ruling party and enjoyed power like a real royal family in France, Park Choong-Sik’s words were law in Korea. Neither the civilian government nor the participatory government, even in the MB and impeachment governments, dared to touch him.

The prosecutors who tried to deal with him, the Jeonil Group, and Jamie as a bundle around 2008 through the so-called ‘Jeonil Gate’ event no longer existed in this field. Kim Jin-Seung hadn’t heard about that for a while.

That was why. No matter how much he thought about it, Kim Jin-Seung couldn’t understand why Director Kwon touched the Jeonil Group, which precipitated his downfall… It was fortunate that Kim Jin-Seung had managed to get out of it at the time. If he was still on Director Kwon’s side, then he would have been kicked out.

Although he had fallen to the rank of garbage cleaner, he was at least able to keep his prosecutor’s title, thanks to himself.

“What is the opposite of communism?”

“Isn’t it democracy?”

“It is capitalism, kiddo. You have a lot to learn.”

Kim Jin-Seung remembered his young self and Director Kwon, which made him angrier. Director Kwon was his senior at the training institute and his college senior. They had been supporting and motivating each other until he was left out.

It was an undeniable fact that his decades-long career had collapsed due to a single mistake by Director Kwon. Thus, he couldn’t understand it even more. Director Kwon might have done a thing that he had been talking about since college, which he often referred to as the ‘fight against greed.’

No way.

He had seen how many of his senior activists had changed in either the prosecution department or politics. He was no exception.

Looking back at the times, he and Director Kwon had spared no effort to protect the prosecution organization. In other words, they had been faithful dogs to the Jeonil Group.

However, it seemed that Director Kwon was just faithful to his desires. He didn’t intend to provoke the Jeonil Group, but it appeared that he wanted to hold onto their weakness and ensure his future. He must have done that. He would have seen the ‘0.001% Movement’ spreading to this country from Wall Street in New York as an opportunity.

Then, Kim Jin-Seung’s phone began to ring. The name on the phone was simply ‘Director Kwon.’

What an idiot. You should have touched the World Awakened Association instead. Then, at least, you could have had some hope from the current government.

Since Kim Jin-Seung didn’t answer, his office phone started ringing.

“Sir?” asked the secretary.

“It must be Director Kwon. Tell him I’m not here.”

Then, Kim Jin-Seung thought that there would be no more opportunity to stay in the Jeonil Group’s line because Director Kwon fucked it up. He had been branded by the group because he was once his man.

If this continued, then people would laugh at him even if he opened a law firm and came out as a lawyer.

It cannot end like this. I survived up to here…

Kim Jin-Seung picked up his cell phone after hesitation.

<Kim Jin-Seung: It’s me, Hyung[1].>

<Younger brother: The sun must be rising in the west for you to call at this hour.>

<Kim Jin-Seung: We should have spent more time as brothers, and I am sorry I couldn’t afford the time to do so.>

<Younger brother: …If you are calling because of that shameless bastard, don’t even start.>

<Kim Jin-Seung: Ji-Hoon?>

<Younger brother: Who else would it be?>

<Kim Jin-Seung: Let’s cut to the chase. I want to ask you a favor. When have I ever asked for a favor? Consider this as saving me. If I start talking about my situation now, then there will be no end.>

<Younger brother: Gosh, that bastard will be no help to you.>

<Kim Jin-Seung: No, he deals with big troubles. I am nothing. You don’t know much about it.>

<Younger brother: Then you called the wrong person. Call Ji-Hoon’s mom. That bitch will pick up your call, not mine. But how much would Ji-Hoon earn right now? That asshole disowned his father…>

<Kim Jin-Seung: Did you not quit drinking? This brat…>

<Younger brother: Don’t interrupt. You called at the right time, actually. I had a woman I was seeing, but she had another man. So, I…>

Kim Jin-Seung hung up without listening any further. Trash wasn’t just in front of his desk, and he was not the only one buried in a pile of trash.

His nephew Kim Ji-Hoon had lived in that trashy corner of the house until he became independent from his father. The nephew was a poor kid, and the sister-in-law was even more unfortunate. It was natural that his nephew caused trouble during his school days, having grown up in such a mess of a home. All he had learned and seen were the incidents his father caused and his drinking habits.

People said time was a healer. At one point, calls from Kim Jin-Seung’s sister-in-law, which were filled with complaints, stopped coming. Thinking about it, it had been about five years, when his nephew turned thirty.

That was when Kim Jin-Seung stopped hearing about his nephew. After the sister-in-law successfully got the divorce papers from Ji-Hoon’s dad, there was no longer any need to keep in touch.

Kim Jin-Seung glared at his phone and picked it up as soon as it rang.

<Kim Jin-Seung: Is this Ji-Hoon? You are on Earth right now, right?>

Kim Jin-Seung shook his head at his own words as he thought that was a stupid question.

<Kim Ji-Hoon: I’m busy, so get to the point.>

<Kim Jin-Seung: It is a shame to say such a thing after calling you for the first time in a while as your uncle.>

<Kim Ji-Hoon: …I don’t care, so get to the point.>

<Kim Jin-Seung: Could we meet up and talk?>

<Kim Ji-Hoon: I can’t go there, so you should come, uncle. You have three hours.>

***

People said that humanity met a turning point after the Stage of Advent. However, Kim Jin-Seung could not feel anything as nothing in the world had changed.

The Awakened didn’t show up on the world stage. People talked that the minority capitalist powers, led by the Jonathan Investment Finance Group, monopolized the world’s wealth and caused a fuss. The hundreds of large capitalist powers had just been narrowed down to a single digit, and that was it.

Even if Jonathan Hunter’s group was dismantled into hundreds of companies, then that would have no impact on his life. Not only events across the sea but even if mana stone power plant would be built in this country, it wouldn’t impact his life despite all the issues related to it.

Young people were often dazzled by such issues and believed the world was on the brink of a drastic transformation. However, the rules of a once-ingrained world did not change easily.

Of course, there were those who could actually feel the changes. There was a guy named Yoo Won-Jin, and he was Kim Jin-Seung’s junior colleague at school. This junior had been neither sensational nor influential in Korean society when he was working in the legal team of Daehyun Group.

Nonetheless, since he switched jobs to the Association Headquarters and ascended to the position of Korean Branch Chief, his status had changed. Those who could feel the change were like him, who noticed opportunities and seized them.

People who used to underestimate and talk shit about Yoo Won-Jin had become deflated since then. That was about it. Most continued to live their lives as they were.

Me too… Wait, no. I have fallen further thanks to Director Kwon.

Kim Jin-Seung sincerely hoped that meeting his nephew and Awakened, Kim Ji-Hoon, would be an opportunity. He put more pressure on the accelerator as he could barely make it to the time his nephew had mentioned. He was likely being caught by speed cameras and would probably receive a dozen traffic tickets, but he couldn’t slow down.

***

「Warning

Civilian Restricted Area:

This area applies to the World Awakened Association Membership Agreement and absolutely prohibits entry except for authorized personnel.

World Awakened Association」

The meeting place was not far from where the Association Headquarters was located.

Thank god, I am not late.

He had never dared to drive so wildly on the highway even in his youth.

He saw cars parked on the vacant lot. There were supercars, but mostly there were vehicles that wouldn’t look out of place if they were immediately converted into armored vehicles.

When he looked further into the distance, he also saw the mana stone storage facility, which was currently a heated issue.

Then, a soldier armed with a rifle approached from the barricade. He was in the Korean army. Without a doubt, he was dispatched here by the association regardless of his will.

“I have an appointment with the Awakened Kim Ji-Hoon. I am Kim Jin-Seung.”

Kim Jin-Seung felt the tension rise. Many people were not wearing military uniforms beyond the controlled barricade, and a considerable number of them had different skin colors from Kroeans.

Meanwhile, it was easy to tell they were Awakened just by the weapons they held. This was the first time Kim Jin-Seung saw so many real Awakened with his own eyes. However, the fact that all of them had serious expressions made him feel oppressed.

Then, one person stood out among the group of Awakened. He seemed to be giving orders to the Awakened, and the Awakened were standing still, listening to his instructions. It felt like they were preparing for a war, and this feeling was transmitted even beyond the barricade.

He didn’t know who that was, but he was definitely powerful enough to command the attention of Awakened who had been surviving battles for decades.

The Awakened gathered there appeared to be far from the ordinary Bsilgol. Even to him, who didn’t know much about their world, their armaments seemed to be of a higher class than ordinary items. It wasn’t just the armaments. In fact, all of them exuded an intimidating atmosphere.

The feelings from the scene before his eyes were something that he had never felt through the television. The Awakened actually existed.

As that thought occurred to him, the cases he had dealt with came to mind, especially the potential dangers of the cases he had dismissed as trivial.

I was casually talking about such people, such leaders of those people…and the guide of those leaders… I was a fool.

Then, a Korean soldier approached the man who was giving orders to the Awakened. They seemed to exchange some words, and the leader of the Awakened started walking toward Kim Jin-Seung.

...Ji-Hoon?

He wondered how he didn’t recognize his nephew immediately. Kim Jin-Seung hurriedly got out of the car.

“...Long time…no see…” he stuttered.

“I was wondering when you would contact me.”

“...”

“What do you want? I was planning to grant at least one request from you, uncle.”

Kim Jin-Seung found it hard to open his mouth. The eyes that were staring at him were fiercer than when he had been invited to the private dining table of the Prosecutor General Park Woo-Cheol.

Of course, there was the direct gaze of his nephew, but also the glances of the Awakened from a distance gave him a feeling as if he was stripped and placed on trial.

“Hurry. I don’t have much time.”

It was nothing but an order. Kim Jin-Seung blurted out, “I am in a desperate situation now. Can you help me somehow?”

Kim Ji-Hoon’s expression hardened momentarily.

“You should have just asked me for money. I can’t help you with that. ‘He’ has forbidden the Awakened from intervening in society by Awakened. Let’s do this instead. I will introduce you to someone and afterward, you do your best to deal with this issue. Since I am introducing you, that old man will probably have a good impression on you.”

“Who?” he asked desperately.

“People call him the President of Finance.”

“...!”

“I am going to visit him tomorrow evening, so be prepared to receive a guest.”

Kim Jin-Seung dumbly watched his nephew walk away after those words. He couldn’t believe how Ji-Hoon casually spoke the name of the President of Finance.

He didn’t have the courage to call his nephew back and ask if the President of Finance was the guy his nephew talked about. He didn’t know the details, but he could feel something from the way his nephew was in a hurry. He could also feel it from the grave demeanor of the Awakened who were following Ji-Hoon.

They were heading off to a battlefield.

1. How males call older male friends or older brothers in Korean. ☜