WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 458: Stuffed Paradise (20)

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Washington, D.C.? A chill ran down Gyeoul’s spine, and he immediately called Anne. No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. As he muttered anxiously, even the four seconds between rings felt unbearably long. A moment later, the ringing stopped, and a flat recorded voice played.

「The person you are calling is currently on another call and cannot answer. To connect to voicemail, press 1. To leave a callback number, press 2.」

“…….”

After a moment’s hesitation, Gyeoul pressed 1.

“It’s me. I saw the news about the terrorist attack and called. Please contact me as soon as you hear this message.”

He ended the recording quickly and turned his attention back to the breaking news.

「The site of the terrorist attack was The Ellipse, in front of the White House. The exact scale of the damage has not yet been confirmed. The footage you are seeing now shows the scene as captured by a nearby closed-circuit camera.」

The Ellipse was an open area between the White House and the Washington Monument. The explosion had not crossed the boundary of the White House lawn, but it had turned the path he had once walked with Anne into a scene of chaos.

Gyeoul’s mouth went dry.

Objectively, the chances that Anne had been caught in the explosion were low. During work hours, she was most likely in her office or at some field command post. With a terrorist attack in the middle of the capital, it was only natural that the Deputy Director of the FBI’s phone would be ringing nonstop.

But he could not fully relax either. At the deputy director level, there were plenty of reasons to meet people from other agencies unofficially. The National Mall and The Ellipse were suitable places for such meetings. If he imagined the worst case, Anne might have been waiting for one of those meetings and talking to someone on the phone when the explosion caught her. Ever since Anne had become busier than usual over the New Frontier executive order, her schedule had grown irregular too…….

‘No, no. In that case, the person on the other end wouldn’t have any reason to keep her on the line for so long.’

Most likely, she was simply tied up with her duties as deputy director. Gyeoul tried hard to stay calm, but there was nothing he could do about the pounding of his heart.

In the end, he called again.

This time, too, the call did not go through.

「Call volume is high, and connection is delayed. Please try again later.」

For a moment, Gyeoul almost lost his temper. There had been a plague and a coup. How could call capacity still be this poor? Given the times, the carriers must have had their own reasons, but Gyeoul did not have the mental room to consider them right now.

The time he spent waiting, unable to do anything, dragged on. He felt as if he had waited forever and checked the time, only to find that one minute had passed. Then he waited what felt like forever again, looked at the clock, and found that only two minutes had gone by.

Bzzzz-

The instant the terminal vibrated, Gyeoul pressed the answer button.

“Hello? Anne?”

「Gyeoul.」

Haa. Gyeoul let out a sigh of relief before he knew it. His rigid body melted like snow touched by sunlight. It had been a long time since he had felt his hands tremble from tension draining out of him.

“Are you all right? You’re not hurt?”

Even his question shook.

「Yes. I’m safe.」

“Thank goodness…….”

「I wanted to contact you sooner because I knew you would worry, but the situation wouldn’t allow it.」

“Of course it wouldn’t. As long as I know you’re safe, that’s enough. I won’t take up any more of your time.”

A short breath came from the other end of the receiver. It felt like a brief, faint laugh.

「This isn’t something I should say at a time like this, but knowing you’re worried about me really is……comforting.」

She must have guessed Gyeoul’s state from his voice alone. They had already shared their bodies countless times.

Anne spoke in a whisper.

「I have to hang up now. I’ll call again after I finish the urgent measures. I’ll be as careful as I can, if only for your sake, so don’t worry too much if I’m late contacting you.」

“……Okay.”

「I love you.」

She left him with a subdued kiss and ended the call.

Even after the connection cut off, Gyeoul sat blankly for a long while. It felt as if all his energy had drained out in that brief span. It was a relief that he had nothing urgent to do. Even when he tried to focus on the follow-up news reports, his mind kept drifting. The anchor’s voice sounded like a stream of meaningless noise.

At the same time, a hard knot like banked embers seared the inside of his chest.

This was why. This was exactly why he had worried about the road leading to the outside world.

But this world had already set foot on that dark road. From now on, it would only continue to resemble that outside world. Even if it avoided the end, the conclusion waiting for it would be far from beautiful.

Could that conclusion be overturned later?

As he had considered many times already, even if Gyeoul entered politics one day, it would be impossible for him to gain more influence than he had now.

Gyeoul’s power was at its peak in the present. The Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul everyone loved had only come into being because Gyeoul had fought against everyone’s end. As the end receded and the war against inhuman things disappeared, people’s goodwill would fade little by little with time.

Even then, he would still have a level of support incomparable to any other individual. But compared to the evil of things that could not be fought and killed, it was a power that would only grow weaker and weaker.

‘It would be the same even if I became president.’

Unless the Constitution was amended, Gyeoul was not even qualified to run for president, but even under that impossible assumption, the conclusion did not change. A president’s hands and feet were bound by countless checks and interests.

Kramer’s influence, too, was so powerful only because of the current times.

Watching the state of the country made him think of Yang Yongbin’s words.

「Because I believe in the barbarity of Americans.」

He had said that at the meeting where he lured out the negotiation team by using the supposed original form of Morgellons as bait.

Gyeoul thought he had been wrong. It was not the barbarity of Americans. It was the barbarity of ordinary people. And that barbarity was everyone’s responsibility and no one’s responsibility at the same time. In a world filled with uncertainty, most people had simply been trying to bear the weight of their own lives.

So what he could not bear to forgive was not the people, but the world itself that trapped them.

The sour grapes Bom had mentioned.

In truth, it would not be easy to put everything down and simply enjoy the rest of his life with Anne. As long as the world flowed in a muddy current, he would always have to fear what influence might surge in from unseen places. He could not turn away from the people he had been responsible for all this time, either.

Anne also had her own sense of responsibility and purpose. That, too, was part of what Gyeoul had come to love about her. Anne would say that as long as she had Gyeoul, she needed nothing else, but if she were truly placed in that situation, she would feel no small sense of loss. That was not what Gyeoul wanted. Just as she wished for Gyeoul’s happiness, Gyeoul wished for hers.

In the end, as part of this world, he had no choice but to protect his life with Anne while struggling against the limits that tightened around him day after day.

Gyeoul felt a heavy fatigue.

As his sense of reality returned, the anchor’s words grew clear, as if approaching from a distance.

「……The identity of the terrorist has not been confirmed so far, but one survivor, Kimberly Wilkes, testified that shortly before the explosion, she heard someone shouting in Chinese. She did not understand what was said, but the voice sounded angry. Investigative authorities stated that they are proceeding with the investigation while placing weight on the possibility that this was the work of a Yangist organization.」

If it was the work of Yangists, that would actually be fortunate.

Five days later, after finishing his training, Gyeoul officially pinned on the insignia of a colonel and returned to San Diego.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

Major Singh, whom he had not seen in a while, looked no different from before. Gyeoul received his salute, then exchanged a friendly handshake with him.

“Hardly. Thank you for taking good care of the unit while I was gone. This time, it’s our turn to switch roles.”

Switching roles meant it was now Major Singh’s turn to leave for training. Even if the unit was being reorganized, it still had to maintain its minimum functions, so the highest-ranking officer and the second-highest could not both be away at once.

Singh made a pointed remark.

“I saw that some of the new equipment we’ll be receiving can’t really be considered quarantine war equipment.”

Gyeoul nodded.

“I heard. Things like surface-to-air missiles?”

“It seems the rumors about our role are true.”

“……I suppose so. Friendly relations with Russia can’t last forever. Right now, we’re cooperating closely, but there’s no guarantee things will be the same decades from now. It’s only natural that the higher-ups would prepare in advance.”

Related to that, there was also information that additional Independent Battalions with the same function would be formed around the 201st Independent Battalion as the parent unit.

‘At present, Russia’s airborne capacity surpasses America’s. Since the higher-ups are building an emergency response system anyway, maybe they intend to possess armored airborne units in the same weight class as Russia.’

Conflict between nations was another source of unease remaining in this world.

Of course, there was little chance that the United States and Russia would ever go as far as an all-out war. During the Cold War, when confrontation between the two countries had been at its sharpest, why had humanity not gone extinct despite countless crises that could have led to accidental nuclear war? Because the fear of mutual destruction had been that powerful.

Now that two nuclear-armed states shared a border, they had no choice but to be even more cautious. Nuclear missiles were deadlier the shorter the distance. Depending on the situation, mushroom clouds could rise over both homelands before proper interception was even possible.

But not fighting an all-out war did not necessarily mean peaceful coexistence.

The history of the Korean Peninsula had already proven that even an overwhelming difference in national power did not always matter. Muddy currents would surely flow along the U.S.-Russia border as well.

Singh studied Gyeoul’s complexion and gave a bitter smile.

“That was careless of me. I seem to have brought up needless matters in front of someone who just returned from a long trip. Please go in and rest for today. You look tired.”

A bitter smile spread over Gyeoul’s lips as well.

“I’d like to, but there are too many people I need to reassure.”

“Reassure?”

“I’m no longer a refugee leader.”

“Ah…….”

Singh understood at once.

As Gyeoul had predicted during his phone call with Anne the other day, once the corruption of refugee leaders began being exposed one case after another, the existing system could not remain as it was. Even the Gyeoul Alliance, regarded as the most exemplary case, could not escape that influence.

The amendment to the Refugee Leader Support Act had effectively abolished the concept of refugee leaders. It was a process of separating manpower resources who had gained citizenship from refugee corporations.

In many cases, the manpower resources themselves wanted that. They wanted to be recognized purely as American citizens. The existing system kept reminding them that they had once been refugees.

On the other hand, for an organization like the Gyeoul Alliance, the justification for receiving a massive budget had also faded. What more support did people need once they had successfully settled down and begun living their lives? All that was required were the costs of managing those who had not yet become independent, those who had not escaped the refugee zones.

So it was only natural that the people of the alliance were afraid. Budget aside, Gyeoul was the greatest pillar supporting the community and the breakwater holding back the flood of loathing, hatred, and prejudice. Without Gyeoul’s protection, the Chinese refugees in the alliance would be the first to fall into danger, and there was a risk that other refugees would one day find themselves in the same position.

Gyeoul said, “I need to show those people that losing our official relationship doesn’t mean we become strangers. And that’s actually true.”

The alliance as a whole would follow Gyeoul’s will forever.

Singh nodded.

“I also find the recent developments unfortunate. You must have a great deal to worry about.”

“It can’t be helped. My abilities have clear limits, but I have no choice except to do what I can. At least it’s a relief that no riots broke out here.”

Gyeoul did not hide his exhaustion.

After visiting the alliance’s corporate office, Gyeoul received requests for meetings from truly, truly many people. Among them were many Chinese citizens who had simply come to ask Gyeoul for help. He was a hero to them too. But if it were one or two people, maybe. Gyeoul could not extend a hand to all of them.

In the middle of all that, a single sentence visible only to Gyeoul appeared before his eyes.

「The end of this worldview has ended.」

“…….”

Gyeoul stopped sorting the meeting requests and glared at the sentence. After flickering several times, it disappeared as if it had never existed.

‘The end has ended? In a situation like this?’

It meant the chance that humanity would go extinct within the next ten years had converged to zero.

Haha. Gyeoul laughed because it was so absurd.

And at that moment, time stopped flowing through this world.

Footnotes:

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