"Waaaaaaah—!"
"They're out! The South Korean Hunters are here!"
Hundreds of reporters surged forward as if to break through the barricades, shoving clusters of microphones at us.
"Hunter Kang Tae-ho! Did you successfully clear the Gate?"
"What rank and type of monsters were confirmed inside? Please tell us about the survival status of the Japanese advance team!"
The acrid smell of exhaust fumes and the sweat of hundreds of people hit me all at once.
The barrage of questions was uniformly sensational and superficial.
I stared at the crowd beyond the lenses with empty eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
For us, who had just returned from discussing the fate of dimensions with a queen in an otherworldly forest, their clamor felt surreally disconnected from reality.
They had no idea that beyond that Gate lay a nation of elves where a massive World Tree had taken root.
The public still saw that Gate as nothing more than a hole of catastrophe that would bring humanity's doom, panting with fear and curiosity.
"Dealing with people is a hundred times more exhausting than those beasts inside the Gate!"
Baek Ho-yeong covered both ears, groaning in a way that didn't match his large frame.
For him, with his beast-like senses, the shouting of hundreds and the sound of camera shutters must have been nothing short of torture.
Park So-jin standing beside him also showed darkened circles under her eyes as she irritably fastened her coat.
"Now, now, ladies and gentlemen of the press! You're blinding us—turn off those flashes!"
Fortunately, Association President Park Jin-cheol stepped forward with the slickness of a snake, blocking the reporters.
"As you can see, both myself and our Hunters have just rolled around on the brink of death and look ready to collapse at any moment. Scoops are great, but let's save some lives first! I'll personally spill all the details at tomorrow morning's briefing, so please, just let us through today, okay?"
At his hand signal, the Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel and Association security guards who had been waiting and sweating profusely raised their shields and formed layers of human walls.
Letting the flood of questions wash over me, I quickly squeezed myself into the luxury limousine waiting on one side of the plaza along the path they'd cleared.
—Thunk, vroom!
Only after the heavy car door closed and the limousine smoothly departed did the terrible noise get magically cut off.
Cool air conditioning and the smell of premium leather seats. As we entered the enclosed space, everyone simultaneously exhaled deeply as if by agreement.
"Haah, I feel alive again."
Ryu Ji-hwan muttered as he loosened his tie slightly.
Outside the window, the mouths of enthusiastic citizens and reporters flashed by like a silent film.
Before long, the limousine glided to a stop in the underground parking lot of the finest hotel the Japanese had prepared.
"Everyone wash up and crash tonight. Tomorrow morning we have an information-sharing meeting scheduled with high-level officials from both Japan and Korea."
I entered my room and sank onto the plush bed.
The moment I returned to reality, the media bombardment made me feel like my mental strength had hit rock bottom first.
But there was one homework assignment I had to complete before sleeping.
I pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and pressed a speed dial number.
Before the ringtone could finish once, the call connected as if someone had been waiting.
"Mom."
—Tae-ho! My baby! You're safe, right? You're not hurt anywhere?
My mother's urgent, trembling voice burst through the receiver.
I could imagine how much she'd been biting her nails watching the live broadcast of the Gate entry.
"If you watched the broadcast, you know I'm perfectly fine without a hair out of place. I just had a chat with the leaders there and came out. It's nothing."
—Oh, thank goodness, really thank goodness. Everyone else is safe too, right?
"Yeah. Everyone's fine. Did you eat dinner?"
Just as I was trying to relax while exchanging brief greetings with my mother, a familiar troublemaker's voice interrupted from the other end.
—Oppa! Kang Tae-ho! Can you hear me? You really didn't get hurt at all, right?
"You're going to burst my eardrums. I'm fine, so stop yelling. It wasn't even a fighting atmosphere to begin with."
—Haah... Thank goodness, really. Making people worry like that. To celebrate Oppa's safe return, I'll treat you to meat with my paycheck! Tell me everything you want to eat.
As if trying to hide her trembling voice full of worry, she changed the subject with an exaggeratedly cheerful tone.
"What's gotten into you? Using your own money instead of my card."
—Hey, our hero came back alive and well, so your little sister should be willing to take this much of a hit! When you get to Korea, come straight home without going anywhere else. Got it?
"Got it, so don't burn all the meat and just wait. I'm tired, so I'm hanging up."
I ended the call, leaving behind Ha-eun's grumbling that was full of relief.
I tossed the smartphone onto the table and threw myself onto the bed.
As the soft mattress embraced my body, I finally felt the reality that this was Earth.
Tomorrow morning I'd be summoned again to the nauseating power struggle scene of politicians, but for this moment, I didn't want to think about anything.
* * * * *
The next morning, at the temporary command bunker near the Osaka Gate.
The air in the conference room shielded by thick lead walls was much heavier and staler.
Document bundles constantly passing across the table, the scent of cold coffee, and mixed with that, the even more terrible smell of human desires created a fishy odor.
A meeting between the South Korean government delegation and Japanese high-ranking officials. But taking sides was meaningless.
"This is a matter of monopoly! The moment we disclose this to the world, our two countries' leadership will evaporate!"
A young Japanese official slammed the desk and shouted.
Greed flashing behind his glasses.
To him, the otherworld seemed to look like a massive resource warehouse to maintain vested interests rather than a catastrophe.
"Monopoly? You're saying that now? If the monsters from that world pour over here, Osaka will just be erased from the map!"
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official sitting across snorted and interrupted.
"Whether we can fully handle the destructive power of the monsters they mentioned should come first. Rather than that, it would be more practical to sell information about this unknown world at a high price to the US or EU and extract as much of the depleted food imports and resources as possible."
"You want to hand over this goose that lays golden eggs to others just to obtain resources? We haven't even seen the monsters they're talking about ourselves!"
The conference room instantly turned into chaos.
Supporters advocating alliance with the otherworld, and opponents who couldn't trust the unknown existence.
Regardless of nationality, they ping-ponged statements faithful to their own fears and greed.
"The elves protected Earthlings? You believe that was goodwill? Haven't you considered the possibility it's livestock breeding for labor exploitation or biological experiments?"
"Watch your words! Are you openly denying the testimony of our Hunters who saw it firsthand?"
Sharp shouting. Distorted expressions.
I leaned back in my chair in the corner of the shelter, watching the spectacle as an observer.
The sight of them loosening their ties and spitting as they fought looked more primitive and disgusting than the beasts inside the Gate.
I checked my wristwatch. Two hours since the meeting started.
A war of attrition with no nutritional value. The epitome of armchair theory.
Even with the world half-destroyed, these gentlemen in tightened ties were still preoccupied only with calculating votes for the next election and measuring the size of their own rice bowls.
When did they push a 140-centimeter shorty to save the world, and now they're squabbling over measly scraps?
Terrible nausea surged up to the back of my throat.
"Old man. I'm leaving first."
I muttered low enough for only Association President Park Jin-cheol, who was sitting next to me silently stirring instant coffee, to hear.
"Already? Why not hang in there a bit longer? When they reach a conclusion after all that, you'll have to go back in."
"They won't reach a conclusion, those people. It's obvious they'll fight until sunset and then leave to eat. Just prepare the plane for me."
I quietly pushed back my chair and stood up.
None of the officials absorbed in their fight noticed me leaving the conference room.
As I opened the heavy iron door and stepped out, the cold corridor wind from the air conditioning washed out my stale lungs.
"Haah... I feel alive."
I sat on a bench at the end of the corridor and pulled down my cap. Shortly after, the Association President walked out slowly with his hands behind his back and sat beside me.
"I already made calls earlier, you brat. You'll be able to take off right away when you get to the airport."
"Atta boy, our old man. Your preparedness is amazing."
"Buy me a drink of soju later in Korea. I feel like this incident took five years off my life."
Leaving behind the Association President's hearty laughter, I got into the limousine.
I decided to leave all the grandiose phrases about Japan's doom and the world's fate locked up in that cramped conference room.
What I needed most urgently right now wasn't receiving Tsushima Island or protecting world peace.
Just going home, eating hot kimchi stew my mother made, and sprawling on the sofa to sleep like the dead.
Beyond the window heading toward Osaka Airport, the reddening sunset was terribly peaceful.
