How a legendary returner lives

It didn’t make sense.

If this man in front of him was really Jin Shi-hoo, then who was the Jin Shi-hoo on this profile?

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Jeongbin touched several options on the hologram projected from his watch.

Soon, a voice came from the hologram.

> “It was hard at first. If it hadn’t been for my sister’s encouragement, it would have been even harder.”

> “After all, genre novels are ultimately meant to entertain readers, right? If the author doesn’t enjoy the work, how can the readers feel entertained?”

> “I felt that way at first too. Writing boring novels, I started to wonder if this path was for me. It would’ve been nice if I’d awakened as well. But what can you do? Awakening is something only those chosen by the world experience. I just wasn’t one of them.”

> “Do I have an inferiority complex about my sister? Wow, that’s a sensitive question. Of course I do. My sister is exceptional, but isn’t it a bit excessive? But the reason I’ve been able to continue as a writer is because of her. She’s helped me a lot. I won’t deny it. I just want to be able to contribute to the world, just like she does. Writing stories that entertain readers—that’s my dream. Have I already achieved it? Not at all. I still have a long way to go. Haha.”

It was an internet broadcast.

And it was live.

With a staggering 500,000 real-time viewers.

“If you’re Jin Shi-hoo, then who’s this Jin Shi-hoo? How can there be two of the same person in one place?”

He was right.

How could there be two of the same person existing in the same space?

Jeongbin sighed.

*The world’s gone mad, and the number of crazy people has gone up too.* This kind of tall tale wasn’t even amusing.

Jin Shi-hoo, who had been quietly watching Jeongbin, suddenly asked, “Do you know Jung Hyo-joo and Jung Sung-joo?”

“Those names sound familiar….”

“Look them up, quickly.”

Jeongbin clicked his tongue briefly, then picked up his watch and began searching. The names came up immediately.

No wonder they sounded familiar—there was a reason.

Jung Hyo-joo and Jung Sung-joo.

South Korea has a group of wealthy heirs in their 30s.

Among them, Jeongcheon Group ranks fourth in the wealth hierarchy. The current chairman is Jung Jae-seok.

He has two children, Jung Hyo-joo and Jung Sung-joo.

“Jung Hyo-joo is running the Jeongcheon Hotel, and Jung Sung-joo is the CEO of Jeongcheon Motors. Wow, CEO at such a young age? Impressive.”

“…….”

“But why are you curious about this?”

“It just feels like something ridiculous is happening.”

Jeongbin tilted his head in confusion.

“Listen, I was dragged off to some strange place, worked myself half to death, and just got back.”

“…….”

*Advertisements*

“I didn’t go alone, either. There were exactly 200 of us. Out of those 200, I’m the only one who came back alive, but here I am finding someone who looks just like me alive and broadcasting, and all the people I struggled with are alive? How am I supposed to explain that?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“…That’s true.”

Then, *hahaha*, the man laughed out loud.

Jeongbin was certain now.

The person in front of him was definitely not mentally sound.

He raised his watch, opening a new hologram window next to the live broadcast.

“Put your hand here.”

The man, who introduced himself as Jin Shi-hoo, quietly reached out his hand.

The Gate Safety Officer watch issued by the government recognized his fingerprint.

Soon, information appeared in the hologram window.

>[Name: Jin Shi-hoo] [Age: 28] [Non-Awakened] [Notable Relations: Jin Song-i’s real brother] – More Info

This watch feature, available only to Safety Officers, is a type of note-taking system primarily meant for the field. For certain awakened individuals, special notes are added, listing any issues or character traits that aren’t officially documented.

Because it’s anonymous, officers need to take it with a grain of salt.

Jeongbin clicked on “More Info.”

1. *A guy who really benefits from having a good sister.*

2. *I once saw him get busted for drugs in a Gangnam club. He was so crazy; even with his shoulder shattered, he was still screaming. Unnerving.*

3. *I’m honestly jealous of this guy’s life. Respect?*

4. *If not for his sister, he’d probably be rotting in prison for another 30 years. Used to beat kids up in school. Has always been bad news. How could someone like him be a writer? Thanks to Jin Song-i, he got a car, a house in Gangnam. Did he steer a turtle ship in a past life?*

5. *Jin Song-i’s not perfect either. This fool of a brother actually makes her seem more human.*

6. *If I were Jin Song-i, I’d have tossed this useless guy through a Gate without his clothes.*

Even a quick glance at these notes showed they weren’t kind.

But then again, if they were true, there was little to argue.

The one slight consolation was that he had apparently improved somewhat from his past.

As mentioned, only awakened individuals are typically tagged with these notes, but Jin Shi-hoo is special.

He’s the brother of Jin Song-i.

There was probably no other civilian with as many notes as Jin Shi-hoo. Not even the president.

No.

But aside from the contents of “More Info”—

“…What is this?”

Jeongbin’s eyes shook. The watch had identified this man as Jin Shi-hoo.

Yes, Jin Shi-hoo.

The same Jin Shi-hoo who was currently broadcasting live. He couldn’t understand it. It felt like someone had hit him over the head with a hammer.

What kind of tasteless prank show would dream up something like this…

“My name’s coming up,” he muttered.

“…Yeah. Your name is showing, Jin Shi-hoo.”

Unbelievable.

At that moment—

*Boom.*

A massive tremor shook the ground.

Jeongbin turned his head. Space was distorting in front of them.

Oh, no.

A gate manifestation.

They had let their guard down because of several false alarms from malfunctions.

It was simple.

The first rule of gate manifestations:

If you’re at the center of a gate manifestation, no matter how hard you struggle, you’ll be dragged into the gate.

That’s why they enforced control measures. But foolishly, both Jeongbin and Jin Shi-hoo were at the center.

The distorted space quickly transformed into a massive doorway, and the two were sucked inside.

—

This was insane.

He’d been foolish.

He should have been on guard, he should have been prepared.

Even though the boy who cried wolf lied repeatedly, the wolf eventually appeared. Gate anomalies kept being detected, only to be false alarms, but he should have been cautious.

Now, he’d been swept up into the gate because he let his guard down.

Honestly—

If this gate was really the lowest rank, an F-rank gate, he wouldn’t be panicking like this.

Jeongbin lifted his watch to check the grade of the gate they had entered.

The “Portable Special Gate Measurement Device” certified by the World Hunter Association identified this gate as “A-rank.”

An A-rank gate.

To clear an A-rank gate alone, one would need to be at least an S-rank awakener.

Of course, South Korea has quite a few S-rank awakeners—roughly several dozen, maybe even more.

But Jeongbin wasn’t one of them.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

A man’s voice interrupted Jeongbin’s racing thoughts.

He was on the verge of losing it, and the unexpected voice made it worse. He couldn’t keep his tone civil.

“Does it look like I’m okay?”

Unexpectedly, Jin Shi-hoo gave a strange smile and said, “Looks like something pretty unusual happened here while I was away.”

“…What are you talking about now?”

Jin Shi-hoo looked around. Just a moment ago, there were officers controlling the crosswalk and the surrounding area, but now everything was gone.

The place where Jin Shi-hoo and Jeongbin stood was a forest.

This was typical of gates.

Once inside, you’re transported to a random space, and you have to clear the gate from there.

If you fail to clear it within a certain time, the gate will “break,” devastating the surrounding area.

For a B-rank gate, it obliterates everything within a 5-kilometer radius, and all the monsters inside the gate burst out.

A scene of pandemonium unfolds, which is why awakeners make a living clearing gates.

“Fascinating. Spatial teleportation? Even dragons can’t create new spaces this easily.”

Although Jin Shi-hoo was intrigued, Jeongbin couldn’t comprehend his reaction.

“…Fascinating? Do you understand the situation right now?”

“What situation?”

“Oh, great. Have you been living in the mountains? This is a gate, a *gate*!”

“And what’s a gate?”

“….”

“I’ve been gone from Earth for about ten years, ten years. I’ve got nothing better to do, so why don’t you explain it? What’s happened to Earth?”

Jeongbin was baffled.

Being sucked into a gate was crazy enough, but this man was pushing him over the edge.

“…You really went missing?”

“Yes.”

“Where have you been?”

“Ever heard of Titan?”

“I think there was something similar in Greek mythology.”

Jin Shi-hoo chuckled. Squatting down, he looked at Jeongbin and said, “You know about ‘Isekai’ novels, right?”

“I do. The ones where a high schooler goes to another world and stirs things up.”

“Think of it like that. On August 16, 2024, 200 people, myself included, landed on Titan. After going through hell there, I’m the only one who made it back.”

Jeongbin had one burning question.

“Do you know when gate manifestations first started?”

“When did they start?”

“August 16, 2024.”

Jin Shi-hoo gave a strange smile.

“What a coincidence. Two disasters hit on my birthday.”

It was the same for Jeongbin. Today was his birthday, and he might very well die today.

Then—

“Let’s stop joking around now.”

“Joking?”

“Listen, Mr. Jin Shi-hoo. Are you planning some new novel? There’s even a story about a genre writer who borrowed money from a loan shark just to experience what it was like. Is that what this is?”

Jin Shi-hoo tilted his head.

“The live broadcast—that was a pre-recorded video, right? Are you just pretending to be confused? Are you just taking it easy because Jin Song-i or someone from the Savior Guild is nearby?”

Jin Shi-hoo blinked.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“I know you’re really thrown off, but why can’t you take this as it is instead of spicing it up with MSG?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, I’m not acting. I am Jin Shi-hoo. I spent ten hellish years on a place called Titan and just returned. Now that I’m back, Earth’s a mess, and it’s not just me—others who went to Titan are being replaced. That’s the situation. So take a deep breath.”

Jin Shi-hoo tapped the dazed Jeongbin on the shoulder.

And just like magic, Jeongbin’s wildly racing heart calmed down. What was this? Some kind of spell?

“Smile a little. You need to keep your composure.”

“….”

Jeongbin sighed deeply, preparing to explain what had happened on Earth.

Then suddenly—