“Haha.”
Joonbum grinned as he saw all the new responses on the screen.
[Look at all that snow!]
[This is amazing. Tell me. Where is that? The Netherlands?]
[I’ve been there. It’s famous in the Netherlands.]
[Don’t lie. That’s Switzerland!]
[No. It’s the national forest of the United States.]
[Stop lying all of you. It’s bad to lie, even on the internet.]
[Who are you to tell us what to do?]
[Joonbum, can you let us know where that is? Please?]
[I want to visit too. Please.]
[I don’t care where that is. I will just enjoy the video.]
[The video is the culprit of killing my time!]
“Joonbum, did you wait long?”
“No, I just got here.”
Joonbum shut his laptop as Sungjae walked into the café.
“Let me grab a cup of hot chocolate before going out. It’s too cold outside. Oh, Eunmi and Sunjoo will be here too.”
“What?”
Joonbum’s eyes opened wide and Sungjae grinned.
“Why? You don’t want to see them?”
“Hey!”
“They wanted to meet you so much! You were pretty close to them too, weren’t you?”
“Ugh.”
Joonbum frowned. Joonbum did not have any bad feelings toward them as they were the only two people who did not care about Joonbum’s appearance.
‘The problem was me.’
They were good friends, but Joonbum grew envious. He also did not like all the bad attention drawn toward him when he was with those two. He now knew how stupid it was, but there was no going back.
‘What can I do about the past?’
He let out a small sigh as he remembered Eunmi and Sunjoo. He was curious about what they looked like now in their twenty-five-year-old selves.
“Why sigh? Should I cancel it? I can call them right now.”
“It’s okay. I’ll meet them. I just wanted a quiet drink.”
“Huh? It’s better to drink with pretty girls! Aren’t you so full of yourself now. Oh, this hot chocolate is amazing!”
Sungjae drank as he stopped shouting.
“Sungjae! Oh! Joonbum, long time no see!”
“Sungjae, we’re here. Whoa! Joonbum Jang, you’ve become so handsome! Look at you! You’re so tall now! Eunmi, look at him. He’s much taller!”
Sunjoo approached and stood right next to Joonbum as she squealed in excitement.
“Eunmi, look. He’s so buff too!”
Sunjoo was soon tapping on Joonbum’s chest. Eunmi blushed.
Eunmi asked, “How does it feel?”
“It’s good!” Sunjoo replied with two thumbs up.
‘Ugh. These two have not changed.’
Joonbum frowned but was relieved at the old friends who did not change at all.
“Hey, Eunmi. I don’t like it here. There’s no more dancing belly here. It doesn’t feel too good without it.”
“Oh no! That was the best part. Shame.”
“Haha, they haven’t changed!”
Sungjae laughed at the sight as Joonbum raised his eyebrows. Eunmi Lee and Sunjoo Kim had some weird tastes.
“Let’s go! Your treat right? I heard you make some good money now.”
“Hey, we only consider the highest quality. Treat us to some good food.”
They went straight to the restaurant and began eating and drinking soju. They chatted, mainly about Joonbum while they ate.
“To think that the belly will not return… It’s a shame!”
“Shut up! Joonbum was made a fool because of that!”
Sungjae shouted at Sunjoo. Joonbum frowned as Sungjae’s words were more bitter.
“Hehe, we liked your belly before, but it’s still good that you’ve become how you wanted to be.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Sort of,” Eunmi mumbled. They talked about many different things. It was at night when Eunmi and Sunjoo first left and Joonbum was left with Sungjae. He avoided meeting them because he did not want to create new relationships. But it helped him wash away something inside him instead.
They walked silently for a while until Sungjae spoke out.
“What’s going on?”
‘He’s fast.’
Joonbum liked his senses. He nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll be traveling far away.”
“Travel?”
“Yeah, with Mom.”
Sungjae grinned. “Good. Just like you wished, right?”
“Wish?”
“Yeah, you said you wanted to go on a trip with your mom after you became successful.”
“Oh.”
It was one of those wishes he had before.
‘That’s true.’
It was as Sungjae said. It was going to be a long perilous trip in the other world, but it was exactly what he wished for.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“Check it when you get home.”
“Joonbum.”
“What.”
“You’re a good friend.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Because I gave you that?”
“Half is because of that.”
“I’ll bring something bigger next time.”
“Sure. Come back with a much bigger gift.”
‘Don’t be surprised when you open it at home.’
Joonbum imagined how surprised he would be when he checked what was inside. Joonbum figured Sungjae would have a family and become a father when he came back in ten years. It was a gift for the baby.
Joonbum grabbed a taxi and returned to his shooting range. He turned on the heater and drank cold water.
‘It’s the last night.’
It was two o’clock midnight. Joonbum could not take his eyes off the clock on the wall. As he came back to his senses at the sudden sound, he realized he had been watching the time mindlessly for three hours.
“What happened? Why did you call me at this hour?”
“Come in.”
Taesoo seemed sleepy as he walked in. He was preparing to visit the United States. He was busy looking to hire a translator and caretakers at the place. Joonbum poured hot water in a cup and prepared a cup of hot instant coffee.
“I will be out of the country for a while. It’s going to be a bit long.”
Taesoo looked at him, confused. He then glanced at the yellow document envelope on the table.
“Traveling? And what’s this?”
“It’s not much. It’s the document that shows that I’m lending this place to you.”
“To me? This shop? But I can’t…”
Joonbum shook his head.
“I just need you to pay the taxes around this land for me. This is my payment.”
Joonbum opened a wooden box. It was laid with high-quality clothes that protected the small clear bottle inside. The bottle was filled with white liquid.
“I barely managed to get it. You should let your wife and daughter drink it. One bottle for each of them.”
Taesoo seemed confused at first but frowned as Joonbum mentioned his family.
“What is it? Some kind of a supplement?”
“It’s much more. It’s medicine.”
“Acupunctural medicine? I don’t trust that.”
Taesoo seemed edgy. He clearly wasn’t convinced.
“No. Do you think I will offer some kind of medicine?”
“Anything can go wrong without a doctor’s prescription. I need to be careful.”
“I understand. It will not do anything bad. We came this far because of your wife and daughter. I’m not stupid,” Joonbum explained in a calm voice. Taesoo seemed hesitant.
“So I just need to let them drink it?”
“Yes. I will see you when I get back.”
Taesoo rose from the seat with the box and the envelope as he knew Joonbum was done talking. Walking toward the door, Taesoo stopped and asked without turning around.
“Are you a wizard?”
Taesoo’s shoulder was shivering. Joonbum watched in silence.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked. I was always curious, but I couldn’t ask until now. You bought an enormous amount of goods from me. But there’s no trace of it anywhere. All of the stuff that I delivered was gone by the next day. I sometimes drove by this place, not trying to spy on you, and saw loads of stuff stacked up. But that was all gone too. I did not care to know because you helped me save my family. But I did have my questions. It’s just that I didn’t ask. So let me ask you now, are you some sort of wizard?”
He asked again. Joonbum let out a sigh.
“Make sure you let them drink that. The magic is in that bottle. Don’t tell anyone and send your wife and daughter to the United States when they get better. Don’t let anyone realize what happened. Your wife and daughter might get kidnapped to be tested. You know how scary people can be.”
Taesoo shivered. He knew what Joonbum was talking about. If his wife and daughter were to be healed completely as Joonbum was saying, there was a possibility.
“Okay. I don’t care what you are now. If what you say is true, I will keep it as you asked. If not, you’ll have to see me again.”
Taesoo opened the door and left.
“Whew.”
Joonbum let out a big sigh. Everything was over.
‘Goodbye Earth!’
