How a legendary returner lives

It was clear.

The system wanted only “Awakened Ones” to clear “gates” using only the “authorized weapons” allowed by the system.

In this situation, it made sense for the gates to be regulated by people who were aware and responsible. After all, even if they were Awakened, they couldn’t just let anyone into the gates.

In order to keep track of which Awakened were entering which gates, a new law was created.

Any Awakened entering a gate to clear it had to activate their state-issued watch—worn on their wrist—before entering, after entering, and upon clearing the gate.

Using these watches, each country could monitor the gates and the Awakened within its territory.

Why am I explaining all this in detail? Because that’s what Jeong-bin realized when he came back outside.

He was about to find himself in a very uncomfortable situation.

“So, what exactly happened? The gate reading says it’s Class A. Don’t tell me you cleared it by yourself?”

Even if Jin Shi-hoo didn’t know what was going on, Jeong-bin wasn’t off the hook.

He was an Awakened One. And not just any Awakened One—a Class B.

Even if he’d been sucked into a newly formed gate, he was still obligated to activate his watch.

“That’s it. Hand over your watch records. There’s got to be video footage in there, right? Now that I think about it, you didn’t even transmit the records from your watch, huh? Pretty bold for a rookie.”

Jeong-bin instinctively glanced over at Jin Shi-hoo, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed.

It was just a reflex.

And Jin Shi-hoo picked up on it in his own way.

With a quick flick of his finger, he discreetly activated something.

Then, whoosh—

Smoke started billowing out of Jeong-bin’s watch.

Both Jeong-bin and Ji Chang-soo, the team leader of Gate Safety Management Team 1, were taken aback.

“What’s that? What’s wrong with your watch?”

Though Jeong-bin wasn’t high-ranking, he wasn’t someone who lacked awareness either. Truly.

He smoothly lied without batting an eye.

“Well… the watch broke when I was suddenly pulled into the gate.”

“…It broke?”

“Yes. I tried to make it work somehow, but even I was surprised. The gate…”

“The gate?”

“…turned out to be a Class F.”

“…What?”

Once the lie started, confidence in it naturally followed. Jeong-bin responded with an air of calm authority.

“Did you say it was a Class A gate?”

“…That’s right.”

“Well, it was a gate that had displayed unusual phenomena multiple times, so I guess there was bound to be some confusion.”

Ji Chang-soo’s expression shifted, as if processing what he just heard.

This guy…

“Are you lying?”

“Team Leader, I’m not foolish enough to lie about something like this. As you know, I’m a Class B Awakened One. If that gate really were Class A, do you think a Class B like me could have cleared it in just five minutes?”

For those unfamiliar with the situation, that logic held up.

Jeong-bin was a Class B Awakened. A Class B Awakened clearing a Class A gate in five minutes? Without a single scratch?

That would be outright ridiculous.

“So you’re saying it was really just goblins?”

“Yes. A Goblin Lord and fifteen goblins, a typical run-of-the-mill gate.”

“…Sigh… Alright, that does seem to make sense. I’ve told you to be careful, haven’t I? Getting dragged into a gate… as a Bureau agent? And a specially recruited Class B agent at that? What are you doing? This isn’t the early days of the Great Cataclysm.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just go home and rest for the day.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s your birthday, right? We were planning a surprise party for you at the barbecue place later, but today doesn’t seem like the right day. We’ll move it to tomorrow, so take the rest of the day off. I’ll handle what happened here.”

Jeong-bin was shocked. He didn’t know this guy could be this kind.

He felt a little touched.

Ji Chang-soo.

Maybe he had misjudged him a little.

Would he refuse this offer? Not a chance.

He quickly bowed.

“Thank you, Team Leader!”

“Enough. Just go. And make sure you take that guy who got sucked into the gate with you. There’s nothing else we need to investigate, so just take him home. Submit a report, and I’ll make it work.”

“Team Leader…”

“Quit staring and just go.”

“Yes, sir!”

And so, Jeong-bin left for the day.

With Jin Shi-hoo in tow.

—

“You’re pretty perceptive, aren’t you?”

Jin Shi-hoo’s remark made Jeong-bin wince slightly.

“Well, wouldn’t anyone be?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

That’s what Jin Shi-hoo said, but Jeong-bin understood. He may have been the one to benefit, but it was Jin Shi-hoo who had set up the opportunity.

It was true that Jin Shi-hoo didn’t know much about the current world. But he had keen instincts, at the very least.

Back in that gate, there had been exactly twenty-five golem summoners. Each one was stronger than Jeong-bin, and even their golems were stronger than him.

Plus, that mountain…

That mountain itself had been a golem.

Could Jeong-bin really have killed it alone? That would’ve made things unnecessarily complicated. Jin Shi-hoo had sensed this and acted accordingly, and Jeong-bin had simply followed his lead. Now it was time for him to ask the question he needed to ask.

So, what was his…

“What’s your objective?”

Jeong-bin asked Jin Shi-hoo again, who was smiling wordlessly.

“You must want something, otherwise you wouldn’t have come all the way to my place with me, right? Actually, before that, I have a serious question. How did you destroy my watch? It doesn’t even turn on anymore.”

“I just triggered a small burst of mana that was inside the watch.”

“…”

“What? Can’t you do it?”

“No, I can’t. I’m more surprised that someone else can do it. Aren’t you supposedly not even an Awakened?”

Right now, Jeong-bin’s state of mind was simple.

It was confusion, plain and simple.

The man in front of him introduced himself as Jin Shi-hoo, who had gone missing in 2024.

But in reality, no one named Jin Shi-hoo had gone missing, and someone by that name already existed in this world.

He was even famous. A genre fiction writer and a media personality.

One could think it was a coincidence of having the same name, but it wasn’t. The man before him claimed to be the younger brother of “Jin Song-yi,” one of the world’s most powerful Awakened Ones.

This made no sense at all.

The Jin Shi-hoo before him and the genre writer Jin Shi-hoo.

One of them was definitely lying.

And if the one lying was the Jin Shi-hoo in front of him, that would be a serious problem.

Because, whatever he was, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

There was no record of him in the Awakened database, he couldn’t be scanned by the watch, and the system didn’t even recognize him as a “person.”

Yet his fingerprints matched Jin Shi-hoo’s.

At this point, it was a little frightening.

Of course, it was true that he’d received “help.” And he never imagined he’d be given such an extraordinary reward.

It was like he’d gotten a small glimpse of the world that the top-ranking Awakened lived in.

Jeong-bin had received something invaluable from Jin Shi-hoo.

He wanted to repay him in some way. He wouldn’t feel right otherwise.

That’s why he had readily agreed when Jin Shi-hoo suggested they go to his place together.

So now, Jeong-bin asked the question he wanted to ask. Why had he come with him all the way here?

Jin Shi-hoo looked a little exasperated and said,

“Well, you’re a funny guy. You said you’d take me to my place, didn’t you? And now that we’re outside, you’re trying to back out.”

“…‘Back out’? What are you talking about? That’s a bit unfair.”

Jin Shi-hoo smirked and continued.

“Things seem really messed up right now, don’t they?”

“…And?”

“I just wanted some time to think.”

“…”

“There’s also some stuff I need to check out. By the way, did you get some sort of reward back there?”

“…Yes, I did.”

“You got something nice thanks to me. You know the phrase ‘Land of Courtesy’?”

Jeong-bin sighed.

“First.”

“First?”

“Let’s eat. It’s been a while since I’ve tasted Earth’s food. Isn’t there a place with good kimchi stew around here?”

* * *

He was a man with a busy schedule every day.

And also, a very disciplined man.

6:00 a.m.

That was the time he got up.

At 6:00 a.m., he would wake up, change out of his pajamas into workout clothes, and go for a run.

Exactly 10 kilometers.

The route offered a clear view of the Han River, and he’d mapped it out himself.

After his jog, he’d return home and check his schedule. On days with broadcasts, he’d go on air, and afterward, he’d write.

He’d eat breakfast alone, and for lunch or dinner, he’d either meet someone or eat alone if he didn’t have plans.

When he hit a writer’s block, he’d work out again.

Punch the sandbag, go for another run.

He was a person who split his day into segments and used every bit of time.

Though a writer, he was also a perfectionist who took care of his physical health.

After working out, he checked his watch to see his schedule for the day.

A message popped up.

“You know Casa Pia Restaurant?”

It was a famous restaurant in Sajik-ro, Seoul. Of course, he knew it. He checked the sender.

It was his “sister.”

He replied immediately.

“Yeah, why?”

“Let’s have dinner together; it’s been a while.”

“Dinner?”

“You said you wanted to meet Ron Wesley, right?”

Ron Wesley.

He was an American science fiction and fantasy author, screenwriter, and television producer.

His “Burning Lake” series was a global hit, and its television adaptation swept the awards season, taking home numerous accolades.

He was one of the hottest writers of the current generation.

His name, someone who rarely moved from his spot, had come up.

“We’ll be with him, so come tonight. You’ve been wanting to meet him, right?”

“Sisㅠㅠ”

“6:00 p.m. tonight. If you’re late, you’re out of luck.”

“Thanks, sis.”

He added a celebratory emoji.

His sister had truly helped him a lot.

And no reply came. After all, they’d see each other in the evening.

It looked like he’d need to rearrange his schedule for today.

Ron Wesley.

This was it.

He’d been talking about it constantly, on broadcasts and to people around him. That one of his wishes was to meet Ron Wesley and discuss their work in depth.

But despite how much he’d anticipated and longed for this meeting, he showed little emotion.

He turned his gaze.

The sky was visible.

He—no, Jin Shi-hoo—wore an expression of utter indifference.

In fact, he looked arrogantly disdainful, as though he despised this entire moment. It was a stark contrast to the cheerful tone of the emojis he’d just sent in his message.

He sighed briefly.

“…Boring.”

Anyone who knew Jin Shi-hoo would be surprised to see this expression.

Because he had never shown such a face to anyone, not even once.

The world had changed.

The big world had changed, and the small world had changed too.

Few people knew about the changes in both.

Jin Shi-hoo stood up.

What’s done is done, and he still had things he needed to “carry out.”

Out of the blue, he checked today’s date.

May 5, 2034.

His face brightened again.

Now.

“One month left.”

A month in this year.

Only then did Jin Shi-hoo—or rather, the doppelganger—truly smile.