“Ugh.”
“Uhh.”
Sunsook grimaced as soon as she passed through the ‘Gate’. Joonbum did the same. They felt like the air was choking them as they returned to Earth.
‘The pollution and fine dust are too severe. I can’t even breathe well.’
Their faces grimaced even more as they walked out of the greenhouse that was installed to hide the ‘Gate.’ The area seemed to be filled with dust and his cell phone was full of pollution emergency notices.
Sunsook prepared him a hot cup of tea while Joonbum started up his laptop.
“Drink this. It will make you feel better.”
“Thank you.”
The sweet tea scent pierced his nose. It seemed to calm him down as he started editing his videos quickly. He finished the last sip as he uploaded the video.
“It’s time to go.”
“I’ll wait here. So I just need to organize the stuff that was delivered and load them onto the trailer, right?”
“Yes. We’ll connect it to the truck afterward. But don’t do it yourself. They will load it themselves when they deliver it.”
Sunsook shook her head and flexed her arm a bit in response to Joonbum’s concerned expression.
“I’m healthy now, remember?”
“Haha, yeah. But it’s okay. I paid those people to do it anyway. Also, we eventually have to do it on our own when we return, so save your energy for now.”
“Oh, so you’re making me work now, huh?”
“Of course. Hehe.”
Joonbum grinned and started the car. Sunsook smiled at him.
“Drive safely.”
Joonbum waved his hand and stepped on the accelerator. The truck sped through the road.
-Today’s fine dust level is…-
-Senator Kim will be summoned for an investigation of additional sexual harass…-
-Popular figure Hong will be marrying…-
The radio was full of issues that were brewing up these days. These were now the center of interest.
‘They don’t care that much about me anymore.’
Joonbum found himself lucky as no more reporters were trying to dig into him. The average viewer count dropped a little as a result, but it wasn’t a big deal.
“I wonder what the responses will be like.”
The video he uploaded today consisted of the Ainos kids and women eating.
‘They’re cute. Beautiful too.’
Most of the Ainos women were beautiful. They had big green eyes with streaks of other colors and tall noses. Many of them were slim and tall like models. It was easy to imagine how big of a stir it would cause to view such foreign women eating Korean food.
‘The kids are cute too.’
The sight of all those kids gorging away at the food, some were startled at the taste and some searched for water because of its spiciness, making him smile.
Joonbum slowed down the truck while smiling as he arrived at the destination.
‘That’s the place.’
Joonbum scanned the area. A man who was waiting inside a truck got out and walked toward him.
“Oh, hello. Mr. Park.”
Joonbum got out of the car and greeted Taesoo Park.
“Yes, welcome, Mr. Jang.”
Taesoo shook Joonbum’s hands. His pale thin face showed how long he had been contemplating. Joonbum glanced at Taesoo and his truck as he exchanged greetings with him.
‘He got it!’
Joonbum beamed at the sight as he realized that Taesoo had acquired the goods he’d requested. However, Taesoo seemed to be concerned. His bald head was sweating as he continuously scanned the passing cars with his eyes.
“S-so, did- did you prepare the money?”
“Yes. It’s one hundred million won as promised. All cash.”
Joonbum nodded and Taesoo’s face brightened up a bit, but his expression soon turned grim again.
“You- you shouldn’t use it for any bad purposes. Okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I am preparing a gun shop, remember?”
“Yes, but-”
“It’s for emergencies. You surely know how many fans I have now. If I start the business, the store will a be hit. Then I will have broken equipment that I will need replacements for. I can’t let them wait too long or else they will become impatient and hit me back. Then my shop worth 600 million won will go down altogether. But I can’t use only authentic stuff, you know. It’s too expensive.”
Joonbum explained calmly as Taesoo listened. His worries seemed to be fading.
“So can I take a look?”
Taesoo scanned the area. There was nowhere to hide. He raised the cover up to show the rifle placed neatly inside the wooden box.
‘It’s crazy.’
The rifle inside was something called an AR-22 assault rifle. Its low-maintenance and durability earned the rifle its fame.
‘Good, good.’
The wooden box contained two more AR-22s. He counted the number and closed the cover.
“And the sniper rifle?”
“Here.”
Taesoo opened another box, revealing two Korean-made sniper rifles called the KSA-24. There were extra parts laid beside them.
‘Two will be enough.’
Taesoo opened another box to show the other parts such as the scopes. Next, he opened many other boxes that contained ammo, packed gunpowder, and a machine for making bullets.
‘He really did get all of it.’
Joonbum turned his eye to look at Taesoo.
“Thank you.”
“It’s okay, but make sure you don’t use it for any wrong purposes,” Taesoo reminded him as he was handed over the money. His hand was shaking terribly.
“Don’t worry. Shall we load it?”
Taesoo nodded at the suggestion.
*
‘I guess money can buy a lot of things.’
Joonbum never thought there was a way to buy real guns in Korea. So he opened up a shooting range, but the money did all the tricks for him. This was proved with how Taesoo managed to acquire those guns. He was the middleman, providing Joonbum what he needed for his shooting range.
-Oh, if you do it on your own, it won’t cost you a lot. Get some equipment, an empty shell, and get your bullets. It’s easy.-
It was him who thought of the idea of making his own bullets. It was illegal to recycle shells, but many did it to cut costs. Joonbum looked it up on the internet and it seemed to be really easy. There were chances of creating faulty ones, but it wouldn’t pose any problems otherwise.
‘I moved it here so no one can intervene now.’
Joonbum moved his car into the greenhouse and connected the trailer that was loaded with the shipped goods that his mother received while he was out. Joonbum then took out his guns and started test firing them. He disassembled them all and started cleaning them when he was done.
“Hmm. Why am I so calm though?”
Joonbum mumbled as he was cleaning three assault rifles, one handgun, and a sniper rifle.
“I was never this calm. Maybe I’ve changed.”
Joonbum glanced at the mirror. He was called a toad before, but now he looked like a frog. It was not only his face that changed. There was no more fat on his body as it had been replaced by muscles. It even caused the viewers to suspect them to be fake.
“Son, get ready.”
His mother brought him coffee as she finished preparing.
“I think you like it better than me.”
His mother frowned. “Of course. I feel like I’m getting healthier when I’m there. The air is so bad here that I don’t want to come back anymore.”
“But you don’t know anyone there.”
“What do you mean? I made friends with those Ainos people already. I think I have more friends there than here. I don’t even remember last time I met my friends here because of work.”
Joonbum suddenly felt sad after hearing her words. He brightened up and spoke out.
“Let’s go, ma’am!”
“Yes, time to go.”
They hopped on the truck and waited for the Gate to open. Joonbum slowly drove towards the oncoming phenomenon that had many names, going back to the other world.
