Everyone Else is a ReturneeVolume 356
Play Speak 356
Secret File, Dark History - 1
Yoo Il-Han had been a very quiet child since he was young, and he had been so quiet that the teachers in his nursery school could not find him if he stayed still and silent.
His mother dropped him off at school every day and then the teacher looked after him. However, during lunchtime, the teacher would call his mother once or twice to ask if he would rest at home that day.
Other than that, his nursery school and kindergarten years were fine. However, he still struggled to socialize well.
No matter where he went, he was never left alone.
âWow!â
A month after entering primary school, Yoo Il-han opened his mouth for the first time in public. He had realized that he had been left alone on a spring picnic by his classmates and teacher. However, since he was alone, there was no one to hear him speak.
âThatâs strange. I was told to gather here.â
No, maybe not? Since he didnât have any close friends, he just crouched on the floor, all alone, and observed the ants. He didnât even know when they had gone.
âHave you seen them?â Yoo Il-Han asked the innocent ants, but they were busy crawling around with food held on their heads. He put a stone in their path to catch their attention, yet he felt a little sorry about doing it, so he took it away at once.
Blocking the ants with a stone was his way of playing with them. However, upon realizing he had disturbed them, he offered them a piece of chocolate in exchange for having given them a hard time. In fact, he didnât want to eat it because it tasted like a strange toothpaste.
âTeacher⊠I canât see you,â he muttered to himself.
These days, Yoo Il-Han has slowly realized that people around him were not aware of his existence. Thatâs why he had tried his best to stay as close as possible to the teacher on this picnic. However, he was too busy playing with the ants to realize he had been left alone.
âPhew!â Yoo Il-han sighed. His eyes were teary, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. A few moments later, he began shedding tears, lamenting the fact that he had been left alone.
âOh, cute baby. Why are you crying?â
Suddenly, Yoo Il-han heard a voice. He stopped crying and raised his head to see the speaker: It was a very beautiful woman. Because she had found him first, he decided to talk to her.
âWho are you?â Il-han asked and continued staring at her face and figure, âWow!â
The child raised his head carefully. A foreign woman was standing in front of him with a beautiful face and body, one that he had never seen before. She had mysteriously twinkling purple curly hair and exotic eyes of the same color. Her distinct appearance was so attractive.
âMe? Well, it would be easy to understand if I call myself a devil.â
The woman grinned and introduced herself. Yoo Il-Han could see, indeed, something like a devilâs tail fluttering behind her butt. He widened his eyes in amazement.
âYouâre a real devil!â Il-han exclaimed. He paused to look at her again, then asked innocently, âAre you so pretty because youâre a devil?â
The woman laughed at the boy, who felt surprise and mystery rather than fear for such an unrealistic being.
âNo, Iâm always pretty. Iâm the prettiest in all the world,â the woman remarked.
âI see⊠Wow!â Il-han nodded as if he understood.
âHahaha, you believe so easily. You are such a funny boy. By the way, itâs a shame⊠if you were only a little olderâŠâ
The woman burst into laughter as she looked him up and down with her glistening eyes.
âAnyway, I canât use my power in this world. Little boy, why were you crying?â she asked.
âOh, uh, um.â
Yoo Il-han mumbled and hesitated, struggling to reply right away, not only because he was embarrassed to admit that he was crying but also because he was afraid of telling his thoughts to a stranger.
But upon seeing the womanâs smiling face, somehow, he could talk naturally.
âMy teacher. She left meâŠâ Il-han remarked.
âTeacher? Oh, the leader of the group,â the woman commented.
âMy teacher and friends all went first, so I was left alone,â Il-han continued narrating.
Then the woman smiled at Il-hanâs sad face. However, her next words were unusual.
âThatâs what humans often do,â she said.
âOften?â
Il-Han tilted his head.
âYes, humans, if they donât unite and cooperate, they seem to die right away. But theyâll ignore the personality and value of individuals in the group, and sometimes even act as if theyâre invisible, for the benefit and convenience of the group,â the woman continued.
âPersonality and valueâŠâ Il-han trailed off, pondering on the womanâs words.
âThe one who is so alienated from the group. The one who is left alone like you are now: In solitude. Youâre left with a feeling of betrayal,â the woman added.
Her words seemed too much for Il-Han right now, but he didnât understand what she was saying anyway.
âAloneâŠâ
However, the word âaloneâ was particularly bothering Yoo Il-han. He curled his lips. Somehow, the woman had a strange feeling of love for the child who was not very handsome, and she patted his head and spoke again.
âYes, alone. We like destruction and despair, but we really canât keep up with such shady tricks of humans. We never do anything foolish like abandoning individuals in a group,â
Yoo Il-Han didnât understand half of the womanâs words. Strangely, she had a mysterious spell, and he even felt like the whole sentence had been engraved in his mind.
âSo, you should remember this,â the woman spoke again.
âWhat?âIl-han asked.
âThereâs no one in the world to trust. Everyone apart from me is the enemy,â she said.
âThereâs no one⊠to trust,â Il-han repeated her words.
âThatâs it. Youâre smart,â the woman complimented him and nodded as if Yoo Il-han had said something really good.
âIf youâre going to be alone anyway, itâs easier to think you donât have any allies. Then youâll never cry like that again,â the woman advised.
Yoo Il-Han, who still kept his innocence, hesitated and answered her in a sorrowful tone.
âBut itâs so sad.â
The woman shook her head and pointed to the place without any students and a teacher. The strange silence made the child want to cry againïŒ
âThe important thing is whether you win or lose to them. After you win, you can make as many friends as you want! Think of winning first. Thatâs the discipline of our Destruction Devils,â the woman remarked.
â⊠Yes,â Il-han was momentarily silent, then he nodded, even though he didnât know what Destruction Devils are.
He just felt sad that he was left alone, and the womanâs words were so impressive that he agreed with her.
The woman watched the boy followed her words with a straight face and smiled with pride. She thought that she had proved her worth once againïŒ
But why? Indeed, this boy had something that makes her want to conquer him. Then, she suddenly stood upright.
âPhew! I guess itâs time now. Sweetheart, Iâll see you next time. Your ability to hide your presence, well, youâll certainly be strong if you practice it a little more,â the woman remarked.
âYesâŠâ Il-han agreed and nodded.
The woman put her hand on Yoo Il-Hanâs forehead. He thought that her hands were amazingly cold yet produced a pleasant feeling. Soon, a strange cozy drowsiness came to him.
While Yoo Il-Han somehow managed to keep his eyes open a little bit, he saw bat wings spread behind the womanâs back in the dim viewïŒ
She hugged Yoo Il-Han, whose consciousness had become hazy, and laid him on the floor. With his vision came a small murmur of a voice in his near-deafened earsïŒ
âItâs possible to see the fifth since a talented man was born into a world with no mana⊠and the Akashic Records. I tried so hard to get into a world without access, but the rewards are certainâŠâ
Yoo Il-Han became unconscious after hearing her words.
When he opened his eyes again, there was his father, Yoo Yong-han.
âDaddy?â Il-han asked as he adjusted his vision.
âYes, Il-Han. Itâs Dad,â his dad replied.
âWhy are you here?â Il-han asked again.
âI came here to take you home.â
Yoo Il-Han was relieved, and sighed upon confirming his fatherâs appearance. However, he noticed he was still in the place where he had come for a spring picnic. He blinked then asked his father again.đđłâŻđwđŠđŁđŁđ°Ń”đŠđ.cđŒđ¶
âWhat about the sister?â
âWhat sister?â his dad asked back.
âUh⊠Sheâs very pretty, and sheâs wearing torn clothes, andâŠâ Il-han recounted.
It was strange. He had been talking to her face to face a little while ago, but he couldnât remember anything else about her, not even her clothes.
âYou must have been dreaming,â his dad deduced.
When Yong-Han heard his son speaking gibberish, he continued to speak in a firm voiceïŒ
âYou slept outside, so you had nightmares. Forget it. Letâs go home.â
âYes, I guess so.â
Yoo Il-Han nodded blankly and held his fatherâs hand, but he still couldnât forget the words in his mindïŒ
Thereâs no one in the world to trust. Everything but me is an enemy.
From the very beginning, I have no allies. Iâm alone.
Letâs think about winning first.
Because of the succubus in the upper-rank group that only thinks of oppressing and killing other beings, he learned something wrong, but not very incorrect and another thingâŠ
âDaddy, what does it mean to hide oneâs presence?â
When Yoo Il-Han asked those words, his father turned pale instantly and avoided the boyâs gaze. He was frozen for a moment, but then regained his composure and replied to him.
âDonât worry about it. Itâs not that I am not to blame for this, but it still proves weâre family⊠No, itâs nothing. Letâs go home.â
Il-han tilted his head for a moment, âYes!â he exclaimed cheerfully.
***
Every quarter, every month, and every week after that incident, Yoo Il-Han still kept being excluded from group events, but he stopped crying about it. There was no reason to be sad if he thought it was natural to be left alone without allies.
Instead of crying, shriveling, or craving affection from other children, he decided to learn how to do everything by himself.No one helped him if he was crying alone. It was just a foolish act that revealed his weaknesses.
âTop student, Yoo Il-han,â the principal announced. She paused and wondered who is the nameâs owner, âYoo Il-han? Who is this?â
âOh! Heâs in my class. You know, the nerd with no presence,â Il-hanâs teacher remarked.
âWow, heâs good at studying? But why doesnât everyone know him?â the principal asked.
âBecause nobody talks to him,â the teacher replied.
âHe must have been studying well.â
People underestimate others just because they are loners. They set their standards and ostracize those who deviate from the norm. They even lower their values for them.
Yoo Il-Han had to stay on the sidelines from the very beginning, so he had to arm himself with the fame of an âeducational backgroundâ so that no one could look down on him.
âWhoâs in our group?â
âOh, Yoo Il-Han is in our group. Whereâs he?â
âI donât know, did he not come?â
âHe was on the plane earlier. Heâs grown up so he will not get lost.â
âOr maybe somewhere.â
âTeacher, weâre all here!â
âThen shall we go to lunch right away? Weâre going to eat the black pork of Jeju Island!â
By the time Yoo Il-han became a high school student, people had gone beyond being aware of him and didnât care whether he was there or not. Having established a great educational background, he succeeded in gaining the reputation of âthe student who could be left alone.â
He always thought it was much better than âa loser who couldnât hang out with others.â He had been used to being left alone more and more.
âOh, I shouldnât have gone to the bathroom,â Yoo Il-Han murmured blankly after emerging from the bathroom, as he looked back at Jeju International Airportâs waiting room, which all his classmates had left. The seats remained empty.
Yoo Il-han arrived at the accommodation, but he was left behind when he arrived at the travel destination on his high school field trip. Seeing that he was left alone on numerous occasions, he strongly felt that he would be left behind even before leaving for the college MT.
âWhat a surprise. I should play alone.â
An ordinary high school student might have been embarrassed, teared up and contacted his parents, or called his teacher to whine. But Yoo Il-Han was different. He already knew the accommodation address and carried a lot of money with him to help himself at any time.
He could enjoy Jeju Island by himself and then return to the accommodation when the time came. Maybe even if he didnât come back, no one would pay attention to his absence.
âCost-efficient Hairtail set⊠Hahaha, good, Iâm coming now. Wait.â
Yoo Il-Han bravely took the first step of his trip by gathering information uploaded by the local people.
âMirae. Isnât this Italy?â
âYou know that now? Weâre not going on a field trip.â
âWhy?â
âYouâre in danger⊠Itâs frustrating to move with the other kids. Weâre going on vacation in Italy. Letâs take a rest in Jeju Island during our school trip.â
âHmm. You are too overprotective, but I love you!â
âBe quiet. Go away.â
Yoo Il-Han heard a pile of guards moving and making noise behind him, but he moved away without paying any attention to themïŒ
It was said that noblemen didnât go to dangerous places. For loners, all unusual people, all special people, and all good-looking people were dangerous. Those people were not to be trusted, and he even avoided their shadows.
âHairtail roast, sea urchin seaweed soup, abalone stone pot riceâŠâ
With a quick murmuring of a menu like magic spells, Yoo Il-Han left there. It was the beginning of his solo school trip.