Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 7: Deviation

“At first, I thought it was all nonsense.”

Jin Beom-Min opened his eyelids, which he had closed for a moment, when someone plopped down next to him and spoke.

Sitting next to him on the hard transport plane seat was ‘Sandman,’ who had taken off his cumbersome equipment and was wearing only a helmet and mask.

“What was?”

“The monsters, the knights in armor, all that. I saw the video during the briefing, but I wondered what it was all about.”

His voice, much softer than a few hours ago, came through the headset.

“Well, it’s not exactly common sense.”

‘Sandman’ nodded in agreement and continued in a slightly awkward voice.

“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I had a good experience. And I survived.”

“Don’t mention it……Thanks to the efforts of Ghost Squad, we were able to finish easily.”

“Is that so?”

“Even in my homeland, there weren’t many people who could fight against trolls like that.”

That was true.

Even in Jindar, it was quite rare for an ordinary person who couldn’t use magic to face two trolls.

Of course, it was possible thanks to modern weapons and equipment.

However, if they were afraid of the trolls’ overwhelming strength and enormous size and couldn’t fight back, it wouldn’t have mattered how good their weapons were.

Ultimately, Jin Beom-Min couldn’t help but acknowledge the skill of Ghost Squad, who had defeated one troll and almost caught the other.

“I’m glad it helped.”

‘Sandman’ replied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

After a brief, awkward silence, ‘Sandman’ took a deep breath and removed his helmet and mask.

Underneath the mask was a strong, masculine face of a man around the same age as Jin Beom-Min. His short hair had traces of time, but overall, he was a handsome and good-natured looking person.

“Anyway, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

‘Sandman,’ with his mask off, grinned and held out his hand to Jin Beom-Min.

Jin Beom-Min, who had already taken off his stuffy mask, smiled back and shook his hand.

“I look forward to working with you too.”

“But……”

‘Sandman’ pointed his thumb towards the back of the transport plane where the Ghost Squad members were gathered.

“We have a tradition of having a drink together after a mission……What do you think?”

“That’s a very good tradition.”

Jin Beom-Min stood up, holding the clasped hands.

As he and ‘Sandman’ approached, the other Ghost Squad members began to take off their masks one by one.

‘Ogre’ had thick eyebrows and a strong impression.

His height, close to 2 meters, his muscular build, and his tough face made the call sign ‘Ogre’ very fitting.

‘Reaper,’ the sniper of Ghost Squad, was a graceful beauty, contrary to her somewhat rough speech.

If she wore makeup and dressed up a bit, she was attractive enough to make one turn around if they happened to see her on the street.

‘Wraith,’ who skillfully controlled the drone and played a major role in acquiring important information, was a fairly young man who looked to be in his late 20s.

His playful smile was accompanied by a few pimples, a symbol of youth.

Finally, ‘Imp,’ who was in charge of support weapons, had a shaved head and a burn scar covering half of his face, which caught the eye more than his face. However, it seemed like he would have been quite handsome before the burn.

He was a bit short, but his well-trained body gave him a sturdy impression.

As Jin Beom-Min exchanged light smiles and nods with the unmasked Ghost Squad members, ‘Sandman’ spoke in a hearty voice.

“Now, let’s have a drink, shall we?”

Then, Imp opened one of the equipment boxes loaded at the back of the transport plane and took something out.

It was three green bottles and a large vodka bottle that any Korean would recognize at a glance.

“Do you always carry these around?”

Imp grinned and replied.

“We’re all doing this to live, right? There’s no duty-free shop here.”

A dented paper cup was filled with a clear liquid. When everyone’s cups were filled, ‘Sandman’ led the toast.

“To tomorrow!”

“Cheers!”

The Ghost Squad members shouted in unison and raised their glasses.

Their toast was unique, perhaps due to their dangerous line of work. Jin Beom-Min instinctively raised his glass and clinked it with the others.

“Cheers!”

“Ah, this is what I live for.”

Like the tough soldiers they were, they all emptied their glasses in one go. Jin Beom-Min, who had been trained quite a bit on construction sites, had no problem emptying a cup of soju.

After several rounds of drinks, when everyone was slightly tipsy, ‘Reaper’ asked.

“But, will we continue to operate with Mr. Jin Beom-Min in the future?”

“Well……I guess so? If monsters keep appearing like this……”

“Then, why don’t you decide on a call sign? It’s a bit awkward to call you Mr. Jin Beom-Min every time we use the radio……”

Then, ‘Ogre,’ whose face was flushed with alcohol, chimed in.

“Ah, right. Let’s decide on one!”

All eyes were on Jin Beom-Min. He opened his mouth without hesitation.

“Let’s go with ‘Jin’.”

“Jin?”

“Is it just ‘Jin’ because your surname is Jin?”

Jin Beom-Min smiled bitterly and replied.

“It’s not my real name……It’s the name I received when I entered the Hero Academy. When you enter the academy, you receive a new name that’s easy to call and hear in the noisy battlefield. It’s a similar concept to a call sign.”

The name he was called more often than his real name.

The name his comrades, who shared life and death, called him.

Jin, one of the three heroes who carried the hopes of all people.

That’s why he chose ‘Jin’ as his surname when he registered his family relations to obtain a resident registration after adapting to Earth.

“Well, let’s do that! It’s better than the names of ghosts!”

‘Imp’ chuckled and raised his glass. Then, everyone raised their glasses and shouted in unison.

“To ‘Jin’!”

“Cheers!”

“Nice to meet you!”

******

When perception changes, meaning changes.

For Jin Beom-Min, tile installation was more than just a job.

It was a grateful means of making a living in a foreign world and the only way to support his family.

It was also a job where he could utilize his power, which he had to hide from others, and a hobby that gave him a sense of satisfaction when he finished the installation neatly and solidly.

But now, his perception had changed.

To him, who had clearly realized where he should be, tile installation no longer held the same meaning as before.

Therefore, although his hand movements were the same as yesterday, the feelings contained within them were quite different.

And such a difference brought about a subtle distortion.

“Hmm……”

Jin Beom-Min frowned as he looked down at the large marble tiles laid on the floor in one corner of the new commercial building under construction.

One end of the thick, expensive-looking natural marble tile was misaligned by about 2 millimeters with the tile next to it.

It wasn’t a major defect. It was a subtle misalignment that someone who didn’t know wouldn’t even notice.

But for Jin Beom-Min, it was unacceptable.

Do the job you’re given reliably and perfectly.

This was the principle he had adhered to for over a decade since he learned tile installation.

Therefore, if he were his usual self, he wouldn’t hesitate to tear up the entire floor to perfectly align the misaligned part.

The problem was that, for some reason, he didn’t want to do that now.

“Ah, to fix this, I need to tear it all up from the wall……”

He was perplexed. If he had to tear it up, he would tear it up.

It wouldn’t cause any problems with the schedule.

But he was perplexed by his own attitude of finding it bothersome.

He was aware of the change in himself compared to before, but he was confused because he couldn’t figure out what caused it.

“Ugh……It’s still my job……Tsk.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Jin Beom-Min clicked his tongue and put down his tools. It was right to do the job perfectly, even if it was bothersome.

It wasn’t a significant problem, but if he finished the construction as it was, it would definitely bother him later.

As he was tidying up the surroundings and carefully examining where the angle had gone wrong, he heard unfamiliar footsteps from behind.

“You can’t come in here―.”

Jin Beom-Min said, slightly irritated, without even looking back.

This was because there were occasionally random people who entered the construction site.

But the response he received was unexpected.

“Hey, what’s this? Why are you alone?”

He turned around to see a middle-aged man in a shiny silk suit swaggering towards him.

“We’re in the middle of construction, so you can’t come in.”

“No, this is my building.”

At his words, Jin Beom-Min looked the man up and down once more. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit, but it was impossible to tell if he was really the owner of the building.

After all, subcontractors rarely had a chance to see the building owner.

“Anyway, we’re in the middle of construction, so please leave.”

“Hey, you punk. This is my building, so what do you mean leave?”

“It’s because it’s interfering with the construction and there are many dangerous objects……”

“It looks like you’re not even working and just playing around.”

Although the man seemed to be older, Jin Beom-Min wasn’t happy that he was speaking informally from the get-go.

However, Jin Beom-Min suppressed his anger and tried to reason with him once more.

“I’m not playing around, I’m checking the alignment.”

“Oh, alignment or whatever, how can you work so slowly? And why are you alone? Where are all your workers?”

“I usually work alone.”

The man’s eyes widened.

“Alone? No, how can you do all this alone? Oh my.”

“If you just don’t interfere, I can finish it within the deadline, so please just leave.”

“Hey, you idiot! Are you even listening to yourself?”

The man was about to yell at him even more fiercely, but he flinched when he saw Jin Beom-Min’s face.

Normally, people would make an annoyed expression when suddenly cursed at, but Jin Beom-Min only had a blank expression. Not only that, but one corner of his mouth was slightly raised.

“……What’s so funny? Huh?”

Jin Beom-Min seemed to come to his senses and opened his mouth, making eye contact with the man.

“Ah……Hearing those words reminds me of the old days. About 20 years ago, there was someone who always used the word ‘idiot.’ Come to think of it, that was the first Korean word I learned. Idiot.”

The man tried to say something but closed his mouth.

This was because Jin Beom-Min’s gaze seemed ominous.

“Thinking about it, he was a really funny person. He took someone who didn’t know anything about the world and used them as he pleased……He gave them leftover food scraps……There are such trashy people in the world. In Jindar, he would have probably been stabbed to death long ago.”

Jin Beom-Min stood up and continued speaking.

“And I, this idiot, didn’t know anything and happily went along with it for over two years. I didn’t know Korean, and I didn’t know how the world worked. Besides, the tasks he gave me weren’t that difficult. Compared to what I used to do……that is.”

As Jin Beom-Min, who had been squatting on the floor, stood up, he was about a handspan taller than the man.

However, to the man’s eyes, he seemed much, much bigger than he actually was.

“If I hadn’t met Soo-Jin by chance, I might have continued living like that. I wouldn’t know how to read or write, and I wouldn’t have a decent job. It was a complete backwater, you see.”

“Well, well……There are all sorts of things happening……these days……”

The man stammered and backed away, his voice trembling.

Even someone who had never experienced the battlefield could feel the chilling murderous intent in their body.

“But……it’s been almost 30 years……and I hear that word again? Idiot……?”

“Oh, no……I didn’t mean it like that……It’s just that the construction period……”

The man babbled excuses.

But Jin Beom-Min only approached the man with an intimidating look.

Ding!

Just then, a short ringtone rang from Jin Beom-Min’s pocket.

He, who seemed to have lost his reason for a moment, flinched and then sighed. And he took out his smartphone with a much softer expression.

[(WEB Message)

Seongmin Bank Deposit 253,837,500 Won

9/14 15:31 104━64━*****92 (Inc.) Inbiz Trading

Balance 257,132,521 Won]

Jin Beom-Min blinked several times.

Then he counted the digits again. He thought he must have miscounted.

But he hadn’t. The text message on his smartphone clearly stated that 250 million won had been deposited.

Just as he was thinking it might be a voice phishing scam, the sender’s name caught his eye. It was a name he had seen somewhere before.

Inbiz Trading. It was the name of the company written on the National Intelligence Service’s disguised office that he had visited a while ago.

“Ah……!”

“Ah?”

The man was once again taken aback by Jin Beom-Min’s changed attitude and let out a question. The menacing look in his eyes from just a moment ago had become very clear and moist.

“Ah……This is……”

“Why, why……? What, what’s wrong?”

The man breathed a sigh of relief, unnoticed, and asked. Then Jin Beom-Min gave a refreshing smile and said.

“Sir, I quit.”