WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The World Is Not a Game ◈
Chapter 7
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* * *
The woman spoke fluent Korean.
Hyeokjin’s gaze rested on her for a moment, then turned to the unit commander sitting beside her, chatting with her.
The mask hid Hyeokjin’s face, but the unit commander sensed his displeasure. Their smile faded as they carefully rose and began to speak.
“Um...”
“I’d like to speak with her alone. Please leave us.”
Hyeokjin cut the unit commander off before they could say anything else and gestured toward the door.
Sensing that something was wrong, the unit commander hurried out. Hyeokjin approached the woman who had been waiting for him and stopped in front of her.
She was a young Korean woman with strikingly attractive features.
She looked barely into her early twenties, but she was actually Hyeokjin’s younger sister, well past fifty.
Looking down at his sister, whose appearance had hardly changed since their last meeting, Hyeokjin spoke in his usual flat voice.
“Well, it really has been a long time.”
“It has. It’s been almost ten years since we last talked face-to-face like this. You’ve been avoiding us ever since you came to America. You never answer our personal calls, and even when we tried to force a meeting, you always said, ‘I’m in a dungeon right now, so I can’t see you,’ or, ‘I’m having surgery, so I can’t see you.’ Anyway, why don’t you take off that hood and mask? Honestly, you look creepy.”
His sister frowned slightly as she looked him over. Hyeokjin gave a small shrug and shook his head.
“Sorry, but I can’t. I have trouble breathing without this mask. Anyway, why are you here?”
“...How could you hide this from your own family? I found out you’d become S-rank from the TV. And you’ve been going in and out of S-rank dungeons all this time?”
Hyeokjin gave a dry chuckle at his sister’s slightly angry reply.
Concern for a family member? No, surely nothing that sweet remained in his family.
Even if his sister worried about whether he lived or died, it would be concern that his death might cut off her money supply, not genuine concern for him.
Of course, she probably did worry about him a little. But the former reason would matter far more.
Looking down at his sister as she acted the part of a concerned family member, Hyeokjin spoke in a low, flat voice.
“Well, neither of us honestly cares whether the other lives or dies... No, that’s not right. You’d care about me as I am now. So, what do you want this time? Spare me the talk about being worried. We don’t have that kind of sentimental relationship, do we? Just get to the point. Start spouting nonsense, and I’ll walk straight out.”
His cold voice made his sister flinch. But she soon sighed and began to speak slowly.
“You know they’re electing new governors for the American states that were just reclaimed, right?”
“...Don’t tell me.”
“I’ve decided to run for governor of Texas.”
Hyeokjin’s brow twitched at her bombshell.
...Yes, considering his sister’s nature, it wasn’t hard to understand. She had always had an unusually strong hunger for power, even as a child.
And until the Republic of Korea fell, she had worn the gold badge of a National Assembly member in Yeouido.
While Hyeokjin struggled to find words after her announcement, his sister watched his silent reaction and cautiously continued.
“Apparently, they’re going to accept some of the refugees as Americans to populate the reclaimed areas. And the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea doesn’t want to miss that opportunity. So I’m going to represent them. I’m an American citizen, and above all... I’m your sister.”
As she continued, Hyeokjin felt his head begin to throb.
“I’m your sister.”
That one phrase explained why she had come.
Although he had made no public appearances since becoming an S-rank Closer, Hyeokjin’s popularity was at its peak.
A hero who had played a decisive role in reclaiming humanity’s territory from the shadow world. The truth was different, but that was how 99 percent of the people in the world saw him.
What would happen if Hyeokjin announced his support for someone in an election? It was obvious. That candidate’s support would soar.
‘...And if she campaigns while telling everyone she’s my own sister, she’ll practically have the election in the bag.’
Blindly supporting a candidate because a celebrity endorsed them. Supporting a candidate simply because they were related to a celebrity.
A few decades ago, anyone who did that would have been called a fool and an idiot. But now, it was no longer something people would criticize.
This was a world where mounting fear had crippled most people’s ability to think rationally.
Politicians had created heroes to calm the public’s fears, and people’s faith in those manufactured heroes had become so twisted that it was practically blind devotion.
Being related to a celebrity was now a tremendous advantage.
‘This is going to drive me insane.’
Unconsciously running a hand down his mask, Hyeokjin realized that this was more serious than he had thought.
Even without his endorsement, his sister would campaign by telling everyone she was a hero’s blood relative.
That alone would make her one of the leading candidates.
If his sister had any real ability, he could simply shrug and leave her to it. Unfortunately, her enormous ambitions were matched by none of the necessary competence.
She was the sort who was happy just to feel important and throw her weight around.
It was obvious what would happen if she became governor.
The parasites of their fallen nation, who were now clinging to her and urging her to run, would suck her dry.
With an unofficial inner circle abusing its power, the state would fall into chaos. The federal government would never stand by and watch.
As humanity hurtled toward extinction, governments around the world would use any means necessary to ensure its survival.
If his sister were formally impeached and removed from office, it might damage Hyeokjin’s image. So there was only one method the government’s higher-ups would likely use...
Whether she knew what Hyeokjin was thinking or not, his sister’s eyes sparkled, as though she was already imagining herself as governor.
“Being a hero’s blood relative is a huge advantage! And if we let the press know you support me, I’m almost certain to win! Our family can be part of the ruling elite again...”
“Don’t run. Don’t make this into a bigger problem. Just keep your head down and stay out of the way.”
After coldly cutting off his excited sister, Hyeokjin walked past her as though there was nothing more to discuss. He stopped in front of a wardrobe on one side of the maintenance room and began taking off his equipment.
His sister, who had been speaking so eagerly, fell silent for a moment when he ignored her and walked past. Then she sighed, turned toward him, and spoke again in a slightly subdued voice.
“I know you don’t like me. Honestly, you have every reason not to. I’ve done almost nothing to help you, while taking your help all this time. And after barely showing any interest in you, I turn up hoping to get a few scraps now that you’re an S-rank Closer. But listen. Just this once! Can’t you trust me and help me, just this once?”
* * *
Hyeokjin had taken off his coat and was removing the gauntlet on his right hand when he stopped.
Watching his back, his sister raised her voice, a hint of emotion creeping into it as though she had found an opening.
“I know I have no shame! But I want to help people now, too! By doing what I’m best at! Just once, help me this one time. Even for you, wouldn’t I be much more useful as a governor than as someone unemployed who just chips away at the money you earn? If I become governor, I can help you, too! And most importantly, I’ll be able to help the million Koreans living here in America...”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Gil Yejin.”
With those sharp words, a chilling pressure spread from Hyeokjin’s body like a spiderweb.
Though he fell short of S-rank, Hyeokjin possessed power far beyond any other A-rank. The pressure he gave off was more than enough to leave an ordinary person unable to move.
It felt as though the tentacles of some enormous mollusk had wrapped around her body.
Experiencing a Closer’s presence for the first time in her life, his sister collapsed to the floor. She clutched her upper arms and made choking sounds, Ghk, ghk. Meanwhile, Hyeokjin quietly closed the wardrobe and turned toward her.
“At least have the decency not to talk about ‘helping our fellow Koreans,’ little sister. We already abandoned them.”
Only when Hyeokjin slowly began easing the pressure could his sister breathe again. Hah, hah. She gasped for air.
Walking toward her, Hyeokjin continued in a low voice that seemed to have something boiling beneath it.
“Korea ceased to exist seventeen years ago. All that’s left are trash like us, who slipped out in secret while shouting, ‘Korea is safe. Citizens, please remain calm and go about your work!’ and the people who happened to be outside the country. Gil Yejin, you’re not fit to lead anyone. Honestly, have you ever achieved anything on your own?”
He stopped in front of his sister, who was still struggling to recover from the pressure, and looked down at her. His voice rose into something close to a growl.
“Your career in Korea’s National Assembly? You only got that youth seat on the ruling party’s proportional representation list because of the money I earned working as a Closer. Your youth and your looks? I gave you those, too. Life-extension surgery, rejuvenation surgery, even plastic surgery. Without me, you’d just be some nobody in her fifties. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, I admit it! You did all of that for me. But I’ve changed since coming to America! I’ve gained some experience, and I’ve become independent! I genuinely want to help our fellow Koreans...”
“Ha. You want to help our fellow Koreans?”
Hyeokjin snorted at his sister’s reply. She had recovered somewhat, but as he reached out with his right hand, her body suddenly rose as though something invisible had snatched her up.
Her throat flew into his waiting grip.
His fingers closed around it with enough force to threaten to snap her neck.
His sister instinctively struggled to pull his hand away, but Hyeokjin’s grip was not something an ordinary person could break.
Watching her thrash in panic at the sudden violence, Hyeokjin ground his teeth.
“If you’re going to spew that disgusting crap, at least leave that ‘Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea’ you belong to first. Everyone knows that gang is still extorting people in the Korean refugee camps under the ridiculous excuse of collecting a ‘Patriotic Fund to Support the Reclamation of the Republic of Korea.’ It really pisses me off. I’d love to kill every last one of them, but they’re all American citizens. And the American government looks the other way because having people like them as middlemen makes the refugees easier to control...”
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