Chapter 57: Mental Care, At Your Service (3)
There were words spoken by emigrants and exiles among ability users, targeting those who remained in Korea.
[Are they all a bunch of idiots?]
It was a harsh insult.
The reason for the insult was always one thing.
[Why on earth are they stupidly staying in Korea after hearing such insults? What’s holding them?]
[Why don’t they just take their families abroad like me? Can’t I support them?]
[Even in Korea, where mana is plentiful, the increase in mana, when compared, is as small as a mouse tail everywhere. Is there a big difference?]
[No, how important is that great patriotism that they don’t leave Korea?]
It didn’t make sense.
They couldn’t understand why the heroes who remained in Korea stayed in Korea.
[If you go to another country, you can receive better treatment than an S-rank as an A-rank. Why don’t you emigrate?]
That was what everyone thought.
In fact, many left Korea because they thought the same way, even in Gyeolsa.
They were those who left Korea but did not emigrate to another country. There were also others who wanted to stay in Korea but left because they did not wish to be manipulated like a tool in Korea.
These were the types that Gyeolsa wanted to recruit.
Their ‘anger towards the country’ will be the biggest weapon for Gyeolsa.
Of course, this applied to other organizations within Korea, not just Gyeolsa.
“Listening to people keep telling Ms. Seol-hee to have a child, to get pregnant, I feel like I should say something too.”
The Gyeolsa had a repertoire of persuasion techniques for oppressed ability users.
“Do you not feel uncomfortable continually hearing such things? You’re angry; it feels like you’re going to run wild, don’t you?”
“Mr. Ji-hwan?”
Of course, they wouldn’t come over right away.
“So what I’m saying is, isn’t the nation making Ms. Baek Seol-hee feel like running wild?”
“There won’t be any… probably.”
Baek Seol-hee was sure she wouldn’t lose control.
“How should I put it? In my case, stress is not as big as others when it comes to such matters.”
“You came to me to vent, didn’t you?”
“I’m the kind of person who, after pouring out my emotions for a day to someone, I’ll be okay the next day. That’s me.”
“Have you ever heard others say they feel frustrated?”
“Not yet. Because….”
Baek Seol-hee gazed blankly at the sky again.
“Because everyone who could say such things is dead or gone.”
“…….”
“Mr. Ji-hwan. So far, many people have died or been injured. What do you think the percentage of ability users who lost control is among them?”
“Let me guess what Ms. Seol-hee wants to say.”
It was time to hear Baek Seol-hee’s story.
Now it was time for me to ‘plant thoughts’ in Baek Seol-hee.
“The so-called patriotic ability users are all dead. Right?”
“…….”
“Those who emigrated have effectively died as Koreans, socially murdered by the people. If they lost control inside Korea, they would be ruthlessly eliminated.”
“…….”
“On the surface, they say it’s a peaceful and bright country with oriental etiquette, but behind it, they’re committing atrocities more than what other countries do.”
Baek Seol-hee’s expression started to harden gradually.
“…So, those called villains stay and die. Especially those like the lost souls.”
Of course, I had prepared an exit for me to logically escape.
“I can see and point out these contradictions in our country too. Do Ji-hwan, a civilian, lives as a wage worker no matter what the country is like, but Ms. Seol-hee, an ability user, you know more than me, right? Naturally, you feel irritated and disillusioned… but at the same time, you can’t let go of it.”
“What is that?”
“The thread of hope.”
At my words, Baek Seol-hee closed her eyes slowly.
“A belief that this land can still change. A conviction that the people living on this land can move towards the right path as you see it, Ms. Seol-hee. The hope is that the ‘hopeful future’ shown in various works of art will come, even if the world has changed and collapsed like this. Aren’t these what keep you going, Ms. Seol-hee?”
“…….”
“It seems like you, Ms. Seol-hee, have more of these lifelines compared to others. While others let go, go mad, and lose control, it seems you have a strong enough mentality to wonder whether or not to let go. But people with short lifelines or weak grip strength…”
“All became villains and died.”
Baek Seol-hee’s voice sank low.
“Yura unnie, who had her childhood friend taken away, Mr. Chang-hyun, who served his military duty as a hero because all men must go to the military, and Mr. Jeong-hwan who, as the oldest ability user, tried to give voice to ability users in politics but was overthrown, all became villains and died.”
There were those who harbored grievances.
There were those who committed ‘treason’ in the eyes of the rulers.
“Every time I see them forcibly turning even those we don’t call villains into villains and dealing with them, my thoughts about this country keep changing.”
They all made anyone who wouldn’t follow the state’s orders, wouldn’t succumb to the state’s threats, wouldn’t be swayed by the state’s persuasion, and even try to resist a little into villains.
“The ‘ideological education’ I received when I was young, like the mindset I had when I watched the biographies of great people thinking ‘I need to be like this’, or the ethics I should learn from watching firefighters or social workers working for people in various parts of society… It seems like it’s now collapsing in the face of the filth of reality.”
“So, what will you do, Ms. Seol-hee? Will you emigrate?”
“You know all those who emigrated become a ‘Steven Cho’, right?”
“Yes, they will never step on Korean soil again in their lifetime.”
While there were historical events that didn’t occur because they happened after the great change, ‘that event’ actually happened in this world.
A top singer in the 90s emigrated to avoid military service. However, the person’s name was the same, and the case was very different.
[You became an American after being Korean. How do you feel now?]
[If I knew I’d become an outcast, I would’ve fulfilled my military duty! Did anyone predict Korea would end up like this?]
He lamented his regrets, but no one in Korea welcomed Steven anymore.
The same applied to those with special abilities.
Regardless of why they left the country, the government turned everyone who emigrated or sought asylum into ‘Stevens’.
The government controlled public opinion and coordinated with the press, spreading misinformation. Everyone started criticizing and blaming them.
All the while unaware that their actions were creating more Stevens.
“If Ms. Seol-hee ever emigrated or tried to seek asylum, instead of becoming a ‘Steven’, you’ll cease being a ‘Baek Seol-hee’.”
“Yes. If I leave this country, I will be banned from entering, and my entire life will be denied. They’ll probably call me by some name like ‘Shiroseki Yukiha’.”
“Are you planning to seek asylum in Japan?”
“Not at all. It’s just that they’ll refer to me in that way. Like I’m a name that shouldn’t be uttered.”
“And the country will make you such a person, Ms. Seol-hee. If you attempt to leave Korea in any way.”
“…Yes.”
Baek Seol-hee became gloomy again.
“Can this country change?”
Finally.
Baek Seol-hee started to talk about the ‘real reason’ she couldn’t leave this place.
“I can’t do anything alone, but if we gather people and unite our intentions, can’t we change things for the better?”
“You, Ms. Seol-hee, can make a difference alone. But the journey will be arduous and difficult, and the government will insult you in every possible way.”
There were already countless instances. It was a reality.
“Maybe the government has reached out to villains to get rid of those with special abilities who have negative views of the government.”
“…To that extent.”
“You never know. Just like in movies, they might hire a hitman. For example… They might cleverly orchestrate a situation where a hero kills someone and then turn him into a despised villain so someone else can execute him.”
“Are you… referring to the Goblin?”
“Yes. Ah, but before I say anything more, I’m not endorsing him. The Goblin is a murderer, after all.”
I would not deny that I was a murderer.
“Among those executed by the Goblin, many will be like that. When the country can’t control them as they wish, they orchestrate a situation where the Goblin executes them because they can’t remove them with their own power.”
“……The more I hear, the more it feels like my feelings towards the country are becoming numb. Mr. Ji-hwan.”
Baek Seol-hee asked me, staring intently.
“If you were an S-Class superhuman like me and were in my position, what would you do, Mr. Jihwan?”
“Me?”
“Yes. I’m not making fun of you or anything like that. I genuinely want to know.”
“Well, I…”
I had already chosen my path.
“I don’t know much about politics. No matter how terrible the country looks, I think it would be hard for me to change this country myself. Because everyone has their own talents.”
I didn’t have that kind of talent.
“I would find that kind of person. Someone who can strongly control this country from the inside, outside, or both.”
But I knew someone who had that talent.
“Someone who can work for everyone without oppressing anyone and truly make this country great. I would work my entire life for that kind of person.”
There was one.
“Everyone will have a different perspective on changing this country. Unlike kind people like Ms. Seol-hee…I had such a thought.”
Someone who had the ambition to remove all the rulers that Baek Seol-hee spoke of and sit people with the same temperament as Baek Seol-hee in important positions, those who truly worked for the country and the people.
“Those ‘parasites’ who are not superhumans themselves but use superhumans as tools and satisfy their own greed need their heads smashed.”
“…Are you Hwalbindang?”
“No. The Hwalbindang, their methods only end in destruction. The important thing is what comes after, the re-creation after the destruction.”
Gyeolsa was looking even further into the future.
“I will work for someone who can create a country where my child isn’t oppressed or controlled by anyone, doesn’t receive forced ideological education, and enjoys freedom and peace while mingling with others.”
For that reason.
“At least in this new country that such a person is building…”
I became the Goblin who smashes the heads of those ‘villains’.
“… they won’t see a woman as a tool to bear a superhuman, at the very least.”
“……As expected.”
Baek Seol-hee turned her head to the side and subtly smiled.
“I did well to consult with you, Mr. Ji-hwan.”
“That’s a relief.”
“In that sense.”
Baek Seol-hee asked me, fidgeting with her fingers.
“…Can I go to sleep?”
“……?”
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