The Foreigner on the Periphery - Chapter 1

“I don’t want to work. I feel like I’m about to go crazy from being too bored. It would be nice if I could work just a little and make lots of money. I guess playing and eating is just the right talent for me. Is there any way to live without working?”

Ye-Min-Jun, A man who poured out his words without breathing, looked at his opponent while sated in a crooked position.

Silence passed by for a moment.

As usual with psychiatric counseling, the doctor’s response was blind.

“It looks like you became so exhausted, Mr. Ye-Min-Joon.”

After the doctor looking at some of the data, he then turned his eyes towards the clock. It has been already 7 minutes passed since Min-Joon sat down and the only thing he talked about the whole time was himself being fed up with his job and not wanting to work and that he’s about to go crazy for being too bored.

There are only three minutes left to whine. Since the allowed counseling time is only around 10 minutes.

“…Exhausted? Oh, that’s right. I am exhausted.”

As if Min-Joon was chewing on the texture of the words, he spits it out after rolling it in his mouth a few times.

“I’m exhausted. It’s understandable, right? I have been doing the same job for too long. I even sometimes wonder if this is the right way of living.

The doctor reads the profile of the interviewee that he has seen and memorized several times. ‘yeah, the serving period is actually kind of long.’ Min-Joon was complaining of extreme fatigue and exhaustion caused by repeating the same job for too long.

“I think you are mentally discharged. Just like a rubber band losing Its elastic force and becoming loose by getting pulled for too long, the mind also needs time to be reorganized. But since you are not in the condition to be recharged…”

The doctor finished the diagnosis, prescription, and preparation at the same time.

He got the medicine container out from the drawer and pushed it to Min-Joon.

“We need to regain its elasticity before that rubber band completely cuts off. The method of taking it is the same as before.”

The medicine container was a little smaller than a cigarette pack. Min-Joon, who was looking closely inside, shakes off a blue pill on his palm.

“How long will this amount last for?” “The next appointment is scheduled in 23 years and if there’s nothing special happening, It won’t change. So of course, it is a medication worth 23 years.”

Even if I were to take one pill a day which is worth 23 years, there will be still some left even after filling one box. But It was the small medicine container that the doctor took out and Min-Joon didn’t even nitpick the truth.

As the medical instructions started to come to an end, the 10 minutes prescribed treatment was filled up.

The doctor blinked his eyelid left and right without saying a word.

The mucous membranes covered the white pupil on both sides and revealed them as if they were walking with curtains closed.

“……”

“……”

When Min-Joon didn’t respond, the doctor stroked his left mouth with a fin this time.

The Tudels, the self-proclaimed polite ladies, and the so-called insidious coyotes are highly dependent on non-vocal language. It is difficult for all other species to interpret their various and complex gestures, except for Ye- Min-Joon.

As far as he knows, that gesture has two meanings. One. ‘Do you want to sleep tonight?’ Two. With a paradoxical and cynical sarcastic way of saying, ‘I’m a bit busy right now.’

Min-Joon decided to interpret the gesture as a latter meaning Instead of judging that the Tudel doctor has panromantic tendencies and that he is now seducing himself here ignoring the code of work and medical ethics.

It seemed to be good for his mental health.

“I’ll be going now.

“I’ll see you after 23 years.”

When he left the clinic, the doctor turned his eyes on the data again. As some of the surfaces of the desk were shaking like liquefied light, It was shining letters, symbols, and videos that only was visible to the doctor’s eyes.

He read it all over again out of habit.

• Personal information of interviewee.

1. Gastrointestinal status (name/tribe): Ye-Min- Joon/Human
2. Actual identification (name/tribe): Access to this information requires administrator approval and access code of the ‘Evangel’ level.
3. Sin: The same relation
4. Punishment type: Labor-style
5. Place of Work: Earth (Dimensional #22-189, Polar Regions Class 4)

After organizing and filling out the contents of today’s interview below, stop the fin at the last item. There was a choice that he had to make.

Five checkboxes.

• Medical workers comprehensive opinions on interviewee Staying Boundary Standby Transfer Extermination

  Without any hesitation, the doctor tapped on the check box located at the way top.

Staying- The Item has been selected.

After sending the report to the headquarters, the doctor felt tired and stroked his eyes. On this dimension, the man was the last. But the doctor’s business trip wasn’t over yet. I remember what Min-Joon said when I packed my luggage and prepared to head to the terminal.

Is there any way I can live without working?’

His whining wasn’t about how he could ‘make a living’ without having to work.

It refers to a way to a “survivable” without doing works assigned by the company. knowing what the answer is, the doctor mumbles bitterly, which of course couldn’t be answered in front of the interviewer.

“No, there’s no such way.”

To someone like Ye- Min-Joon, it was impossible telling him to quit if it was dirty. If he doesn’t work, he will die.

After the meeting was done, Min-Joon opened the creaky iron door and came out. The place he has been to so far was the supply shed in the corner of Boramae Park and the pavilion which seemed to be less than 3 pyeong wide was impossible to cram the large space where the doctor was. People don’t pay attention to Min-Joon. The supply shed can only be seen to himself. Even a park keeper with 20 years of experience didn’t know the fact that there was such a temporary building and that He would appear as if he walked out of a blind spot in the recorded footage in the CCTV.

“The weather is quite warm.’

Eyes stopped on people resting in the park.

“It’s a good time.”

The blossoms starting to bloom. Spring has come to the threshold and the sun is gently warming up the bridge of my nose. The springtime picnickers laid under the shade of flowers, giggling and whispering. It’s clean and green.

‘It’s a good year.’

Seoul was not like this until the 1980s. It looked like a city with a yellowish filter on it due to smog and tangled dust. At that time, it was thought to be all yellow dust and people just lived without knowing how bad it was in their body or looking away from it.

The situation has changed since 1982 when the committee obtained compensation for accepting the seventh round of mass immigration.

As if to watch the last oil shock, they gave the humans the right to buy long-term seats as a present that could completely replace traditional fuel.

After a series of tedious struggles, only a third of the oil industry’s strongmen survived and the coal industry was almost wiped out. In return, the clean air and blue sky were enjoyed.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

What broke Min-Joon’s imagination was a warning tone that rang out in unison around him. Cool tension spreads among people who used to enjoy leisure. Noisy speaking. The sound of a baby crying after waking up. An embarrassing sigh.

“I think I got a disaster text message!”

“Oh, where did I put my phone?”

Someone read it.

“A hostage crisis occurred at the Guro Digital Town branch of Hana Bank. The suspect is presumed to be capable of this. “Citizens in the neighborhood need to evacuate urgently…?”

Min-Joon didn’t even miss a small voice from far away and heard everything. Thanks to that, he realized the situation and kicked his tongue. What do you mean bank robber? They say It’s a better world but there are parts that go against it. Until 40 years ago, it was rare for a Korean to have the ability to rob banks. At least compared to now.

-Dan-dan-dan-Dann!

The fate symphony rang with a crude medium sound. Min-Joon took out a 2G phone that could not receive disaster text messages. The ringtone can also tell who the opponent is. Caller, ‘Cash.’ Pull back the folder and ring the vocal cords briefly.

A young woman’s voice heard over the sign language.

“Min-Joon, you’ve got work to do.” “The bank robbery?” “You sure know well.”

She described the place he’d have to go to with the detailed situation and then hung up the phone. Min-Joon grumbled and moved quickly. It was time to get to work.

“I’m getting sick of it.”

He knows the exact term to describe his current state of mind. Min-Joon was suffering from burnout syndrome.

“Huh? Brother!”

The strict boundary that blocked the scene was also a free pass for Min-Joon when he slightly showed his ID. A familiar face was seen among the police and vigilante groups surrounding the bank. Lieutenant Park Jong-pal. In the industry, they often met each other, drank a few times, and eventually got between as brothers.

“There’s only one criminal, right?” “Yes, it’s a solo crime. According to the last person to escape, there’s a total of four hostages left. Everyone but one was unconscious. Life and death are unknown.” “Okay, I’ll take care of it from here.”

Jong-pal tilts his head.

“By the way, aren’t you an agent from the immigration agency? Why did the Immigration office send you here instead of the National Police station?…….oh, wait! That has to mean…?!

Jung-pal looked at the building of the bank with an unexpected look. The suspect had put down all the blinds, so the interior scenery was invisible.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Min-Joon nodded and took some amulets out of his arms and sprayed them into the air. Fluttering! Blue flames wrapped around the bank, floating in the air. Beyond the barricade, exclamation came out from citizens who were watching fearlessly.

“Look over there, it’s a wizard!” “An agent must be here!”

Swoosh!

The building of the bank was quickly buried through the glorious mist. Boundary. Now no one can go in or out of there without the permission of the guru.

“Well, I’m heading off.”

Min-Joon steps into the fog without hesitation. When his back disappeared, Lieutenant Park Jong-pal ordered.

“Come on! Let’s stop here and disperse all the people around us. Operational control has already been transferred to the Immigration agency.”

From here on, it is now Ye-Min-Joon’s responsibility to catch or let go. All the police have to do is prevent the civilians from getting caught up in the arrest process. Most of them who were familiar with this situation were focused on putting down their aimed guns without saying a word and sending citizens away far. After introducing the civilian, the exhibition was re-established at a longer distance. The vigilante standing next to Jong-pal asked him a question as if he was curious.

“Lieutenant, that person from before. The wizard.” “yeah” “If it’s the immigration office, isn’t it a place where they catch people who come into the country illegally and do labor jobs? But why are they here? The suspect is a Korean.”

The robber’s identity and photographs were already shared with the vigilante. But Jong-pal kicked his tongue and rebuked him.

“Anyway, young people these days…What did you guys even learned in school that you don’t even know the difference between the immigration office and the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service)?

Then the vigilante, who had just turned over 20, grumbled quietly.

“School? I’ve been always busy sleeping there. I always had to go to work every day until 5 am in the early morning and you think I would still have lots of stamina left in my body? “……”

It was rare to see people who liked to do jobs that was rumored to be the government’s secret strategy to simultaneously lower the record-breaking youth unemployment rate and the explosive population growth rate that made the existing sociological model into pieces of paper. ‘I made a mistake on my words.’ the vigilante kept on chattering while he was lost in thoughts.

“My unlucky father was born as a human being and not an orc. He also has to be over 75 years of age to get the pension. It’s like a joke to make a living just on a poor allowance and the whole family looks as if they’re going to suck their fingers for the next 20 years until that day comes. What should I do then? of course, I also have to work too. The situation is different from a lieutenant who’s going to retire and get the pension after holding on just for another 5 more years reaching 50 years of age.”

‘This time, you’re making mistakes with your words.” Lieutenant Park Jung-pal expressed discomfort by tapping his pointed molars sticking out of his lips. Then the vigilante also cringed as if he realized he had crossed the line.

“……I’m sorry.” “You’re fine in front of me, but just don’t go anywhere near the Oak village and start saying those kinds of stuff. You may get beaten with your backbone being shattered and might even have to hang a pee container in your wheelchair.” “Ayy, I don’t even go to other places talking stuff like that.”

The vigilante, who noticed that Jung-pal was not angry, carefully asked.

“But what’s the difference between the two?”

“The agency that does stuff like that is the immigration office. It handles complaints related to people from foreign countries and enforces them. By the way, that brother is also an agent that signed a contract with the immigration office”

Park Jong-pal who is a middle-aged person calls a man who looks much younger than him as an older brother. The vigilante’s curiosity grew stronger.

“What does the immigration office do?” “It’s an organization that deals with people who came further than the other foreign countries.”

Only then did the vigilante seem to understand. Aha! An exclamation mark popped into his eyes and quickly turned into an embarrassed face.

“Oh, so who’s in that bank right now is…”

Jong-pal nodded.

“Yeah, he’s an uninvited guest, contrary to our expectations.”