Chapter 141: Demons Are Everywhere (3)
“One should not judge people solely by their names.”
But living in this world, I had learned one of its rules.
A person’s name was a mirror reflecting who they were.
Whether the author was too lazy or it was a deliberate concept, those who showed the potential to become demons in this world all had strange names.
“Celestia. I need you to look something up.”
“Yumir’s training mate? Let’s see… Nam Du-chang, Gong Tae-beom, Eun Hae-young. They’re D, C, and B classes, respectively.”
“Just looking at their profile pictures, you can almost tell what kind of people they are.”
One shouldn’t judge by appearance alone, but if I were to name these people assuming they turned into demons, they would be something like this:
The Radical Tattooed Demon.
The Damp-Eyed Demon.
The Backstabbing Gossip Demon.
“I feel like I’ve suddenly understood physiognomy.”
Names, faces, and the reputations of those around them were gleaned through the Ability User Wiki or the powers they possessed.
According to the information gathered through Celestia’s intelligence and the community I used, these three Koreans had appearances that could, unfortunately, be described as the epitome of the ‘Ugly Korean.’
“It’s wrong to judge by appearance, but somehow, it seems… right.”
“A person’s life and character are often reflected in their face, don’t you think? Mr. Jang?”
“I agree.”
We were currently in a limousine, heading to the pension.
This was a conversation that could only be quietly shared inside the car, equipped with soundproofing, as it was too sensitive to discuss openly.
“In Ulleungdo, it’s a bit less common, but if you go to Busan or Gangwon Province, you’ll often see Koreans swindling foreigners.”
“Like those who go to Japan and push others to drink with them?”
“You don’t even need to go as far as Japan. In Gangneung or Pohang, where there are many foreigners, you’ll find plenty of Koreans saying ‘Do you know makgeolli?’ to foreigners.”
“Don’t be too hard on them. As a bar owner, they’re all customers to me.”
“……I see.”
What should I say?
It was frustrating how twisted everything seemed to be.
“But that’s still decent, isn’t it? The term’ kimchi premium’ didn’t come from nowhere.”
“Who’s going to accept a hunting offer based on a person? It’s the fact they’re Korean, have Korean nationality, and have a house in Korea that matters. Nowadays, just saying ‘I’m from Busan’ is enough to impress foreign women. Just average it out.”
It was an era where Koreans could easily bring foreign daughters-in-law abroad.
“If the face isn’t good, just get plastic surgery, and if the child becomes an ability user, they automatically become more attractive.”
In this world, it was typical to aim for higher chances of having an ability user as a child in Korea, and even if that failed, the strategy was to marry a Korean man and immigrate the whole family to Korea.
“What should we do in other cases?”
I showed Mr. Jang the photo of 21-year-old B-class female ability user Eun Hae-young, Yumir’s training mate.
“……Could it be that kind of power? Usually big in size, but has to maintain a large body because the power source is fat?”
“No, that’s not it. Mr. Jang, it’s just a failure in self-management. She was born with a god-given body as an ability user.”
Celestia openly expressed her annoyance.
“E-class ability users don’t gain weight even if they live on tteokbokki three meals a day without eating any vegetables. Higher classes are even more, needless to mention. They just eat a lot and fail in self-management.”
“Hmm….”
“Tsk, some people eat celery once a day to manage their body.”
A special trait of ability users.
No matter how much they ate, they didn’t gain weight.
But if an amount of food that Mana couldn’t handle was consumed, even Mana eventually raised the white flag in surrender.
“Mr. Do, what will you do? Will you flirt with a blond, blue-eyed foreign beauty of E-class or a Korean B-class woman who doesn’t manage herself?”
“Even asking me that is absurd.”
“Objectively speaking. Putting aside the fact she’s Yumir.”
“That’s what I mean. It’s meaningless to ask me that.”
I could answer with certainty because I was not originally from this world.
“Even if I was a non-ability user rather than an E-class, I’d choose the foreign beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes. What about you, Mr. Jang?”
“Even if that B-class woman could afford to buy Ulleungdo, I’d still choose the beauty.”
“Wow, men.”
Celestia let out a sarcastic laugh at our choices.
“Is it all about the face and figure for women?”
“She’s someone I’ll spend my life with, so shouldn’t I consider that?”
“When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you see isn’t the ceiling but your wife’s bare face. Isn’t that something you need to think about? Not that Celestia needs to worry about that, but women like her should be considered.”
“…Hmph.”
Wow.
Was this what experience looked like?
To naturally compliment Celestia while discussing a woman named Eun Hae-young.
“What about men? These two guys here.”
“If I had to say, if my sister dated one of them, I’d definitely discourage her. That kind of man.”
“They’re the kind you’d have to think twice about even being friends with. Just by looking at their faces.”
“That’s a harsh assessment.”
“But it’s true, according to the opinions of those around them.”
It seemed that Celestia hadn’t checked yet.
“Celestia. On Sejong Island, there’s a place where information about notoriously vile people accumulates. Where is it?”
“The Ugly Korean Collection?”
“Close. It’s actually…here.”
I opened a community page, and Celestia’s eyes widened.
“Here…?”
“A community of nurses working at a maternity hospital in Busan.”
“You check such places?”
“I check because there’s information to be found. You probably don’t go this far, so it’s natural you’re a bit slow in catching up. Look at this.”
I showed Celestia the information I found, and she visibly grimaced.
“What the f…”
“Disgusting, isn’t it?”
“Is it real?”
“Probably. It might not be recorded, but sites like these show truly disgusting things.”
A site steeped in revulsion.
Not created for the purpose of disgust but naturally filled with repulsion because of the cases these people have seen.
- Sisters, another victim came. Ndch seems to have abandoned another one.
- Such a garbage person. That’s already the third one this year, isn’t it?
- He cries and begs, saying he will take responsibility, but how is he going to do that if she’s not an ability user? Can a single mother survive alone?
“I have no intention of enforcing responsibility just because someone has an ability, but I doubt that God gave them abilities to indulge in irresponsible pleasures.”
With the superior status of being an ability user.
With the ‘kimchi premium’ of being Korean.
“Trash, picking on normal people and discarding them.”
These men were a hotbed of despicable and disgusting behavior.
At that moment, at Seoul Station.
“I’m worried.”
Having gathered her luggage and disembarked at the train station, Baek Seol-hee lamented as she checked the list of team members for the regional training on her tablet.
“It’ll be okay, right?”
As she reviewed various team members, she found the team Yumir was in.
Some students she had seen in her lectures, others she knew of through rumors.
Though they were all adults over 20, responsible for their own lives, an educator shouldn’t judge people based on rumors.
But if it was not rumors but ‘facts’ that were considered, these people could cause significant mental stress to Yumir.
“She’ll manage, but I worry about the impact…”
Baek Seol-hee bit her lower lip briefly.
-Teacher, I’ve started dating my training mate. Sorry.
-Ah, really? Then I can hang out with Seol-hee every day. Visit me every night, Seol-hee. Yumir won’t come anymore.
-Really…? Don’t worry. Instead of the distracted Yumir, I will consult with Ji-hwan as much as Yumir did.
But that scenario was unlikely to happen.
Baek Seol-hee briefly entertained the thought, but unless Yumir lost her sanity or was brainwashed, she wouldn’t abandon Do Ji-hwan for another man.
Baek Seol-hee’s concern was one thing:
-Wow, teacher. I absolutely hate men. You’re the only one for me.
-Aren’t you in the middle of your training? Be a bit more careful with your words.
-But what can I do about it? They smoke, drink instant coffee, don’t brush their teeth, get into cars, pester me for my number, creepily research me on secondary accounts, and try to stare at my chest. They think they’re so great, trying to charm me and then get me drunk to do weird things?
Her worry.
That Yumir, after observing her training mates, might come to think that the only man for her was Do Ji-hwan.
Regardless of the presence or absence of abilities, the concern was her growing fondness for Do Ji-hwan, just as a man.
“This shouldn’t happen…”
“Seol-hee!!”
“……”
Annoyed by a man casually calling her name, Baek Seol-hee felt a surge of irritation.
“Please don’t call me so casually, [Crater].”
“Wow, so finicky. The Ice Princess, as always.”
“……”
“Isn’t that too much? We’re both of the 0th generation. I’m an A-class, you know.”
A smug-faced man with dusky skin approached her.
“… I’m no different.”
“Huh? What do you mean ‘no different’?”
“It’s nothing.”
Seeing this, Baek Seol-hee thought,
‘Definitely, Ji-hwan is better.’
Before considering the presence of abilities, the fundamental problem that must be addressed is their humanity.
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