Chapter 11

Chapter 11. I Should Register a Business

Ulsan, 10:00 a.m.

I lay stretched out on the sofa, staring blankly at the TV.

The morning news had been reporting one story after another about what had happened in Sinan a few days ago.

A smuggling organization had been arrested.

Illegal firearms and drugs had been discovered.

There were even suspicions of cultural artifacts being smuggled overseas.

The reporters talked with serious expressions, but my attention was somewhere else entirely.

A cup of coffee in one hand.

A cigarette in the other.

And only one thought filling my head.

"Several tens of billions..."

I remembered the treasure ship I'd discovered off the coast of Sinan.

Gold coins.

Ceramics.

The ancient shipwreck.

And even that strange box I'd found inside it.

It felt like I'd experienced enough for an entire lifetime in just a few days.

"Haah."

I scratched my head.

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it became.

I'd been shot.

Caught in explosions.

Taken down a smuggling organization.

I'd even fought someone who could be called the boss.

Yet not a single won had entered my bank account.

My balance was still at the level of an ordinary salaried worker.

"What the hell is this?"

Then a familiar voice came from the kitchen.

"Talking to yourself again."

It was my wife.

Apparently, she didn't have a night shift today, so she was home.

I answered casually.

"Middle-aged men talk to themselves a lot."

"Go to the hospital."

"I'm perfectly normal."

My wife clicked her tongue once and went back into the kitchen.

A little later, the whole family gathered around the table.

Kimchi stew.

Rolled egg.

Stir-fried anchovies.

Nothing special.

Just an ordinary home-cooked meal.

But I finished one bowl of rice in no time and naturally went for a second.

I'd been strangely hungry lately.

No matter how much I ate, I could keep going.

My daughter stared at my bowl.

"Dad."

"What?"

"You're going to get fat."

My spoon stopped.

My son immediately laughed, as though he'd been waiting for the opportunity.

"Dad's belly is a mountain."

"..."

"It seriously looks like one."

"You little..."

I wanted to argue.

But he wasn't exactly wrong.

I was 177 centimeters tall and weighed 98 kilograms.

After gaining the tardigrade's survival ability, my diabetes had disappeared and my physical condition had become absurdly good.

Yet my belly was still exactly the same.

"I should exercise."

I muttered.

My wife laughed.

"You've been saying that for twenty years."

"..."

Again, I had no comeback.

After lunch, I went into my room and turned on the computer.

It was time to properly prepare for what I would do next.

I searched for things like:

Private business registration.

Marine exploration.

Underwater operations.

Cultural artifact surveys.

The more information I read, the stiffer my expression became.

There was a lot to prepare.

And the procedures weren't simple either.

"Ah, this is complicated."

Apparently, the scariest things in the world weren't guns or monsters.

They were paperwork.

No matter how superhuman my strength was, I couldn't punch my way through administrative procedures.

Then the phone on my desk rang.

The name on the screen was Seungman.

"What."

"Hey."

"Yeah."

"Let's drink."

I checked the screen again.

"Now?"

"It's my day off."

"It's the middle of a weekday."

"That's why it's good."

I chuckled.

"Where?"

"Food tent."

"Drinking in the middle of the day?"

"That's life."

"Fine."

I ended the call.

Not long afterward, I headed into downtown Ulsan.

When I arrived at the street food tent, Seungman already had a bottle of soju standing on the table.

"You're here."

"You lunatic."

"Sit."

There was fish cake broth, rolled egg, and kimchi pancakes on the table.

Add soju to that, and it was the perfect drinking table for ordinary middle-aged men.

"Cheers."

Our glasses clinked.

I emptied mine in one shot.

Warmth ran down my throat.

"Ahhh. Nice."

It was nothing special.

But I liked moments like this.

No guns.

No smugglers.

No mysterious boxes.

No life-or-death fights.

Just a normal afternoon, drinking with an old friend and talking about pointless things.

Then Seungman lowered his glass and stared at me.

"But..."

"What?"

"You've been weird lately."

There it was again.

"What about me?"

"Your eyes changed."

"..."

"Did you win the lottery?"

I chuckled.

"Something like that."

"That again."

"It's seriously something like that."

"Then tell me."

"Can't."

Seungman narrowed his eyes.

"You scam someone?"

"No."

"Stocks?"

"No."

"Crypto?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Instead of answering, I drank another shot.

"Secret."

Irritation appeared on Seungman's face.

"Tell me before I punch you."

"I said I can't."

We stared at each other for a moment.

Then both of us burst out laughing.

Of course I couldn't tell him.

If I said I'd rubbed a lamp, a Genie appeared and granted me three wishes, giving me an almost indestructible body, teleportation, and enough strength to lift a ship...

He'd just think I was insane.

More importantly...

I didn't want to ruin this normal moment.

"Hey."

Seungman picked up a piece of fish cake.

"We're having a class reunion."

"When?"

"Next month."

"Again?"

"It's every year."

"Sounds annoying."

"Come."

"Why?"

"Our homeroom teacher is coming this time."

My hand stopped halfway to my glass.

Our homeroom teacher.

Back when I attended middle school in the countryside, I caused trouble constantly.

That teacher had gone through hell trying to turn me into a proper human being.

"Oh..."

Seungman saw my expression and grinned.

"You're coming, right?"

"...Yeah. I should."

"Knew it."

The drinking session didn't end easily.

One bottle became two.

Then a third appeared on the table.

My body no longer got drunk easily, but Seungman's eyes were already starting to lose focus.

Then he suddenly asked,

"Hey."

"What?"

"Do you think we'll ever succeed?"

It came out of nowhere.

I stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

"We already did."

"What?"

"We're alive."

Seungman stared blankly at me for a while.

Then he chuckled and raised his glass.

"You're right."

"Of course."

"Hey."

"What?"

"Wanna go to karaoke?"

I didn't hesitate.

"I'm in."

That afternoon, two men well into their forties went to a karaoke room and screamed out songs from the 1990s until their throats hurt.

"Love always comes back to yooooou!"

"Hey! Shut up!"

"You're louder!"

We drank beer.

Sang songs.

Insulted each other's terrible singing.

And laughed.

There was absolutely nothing special about it.

But I liked it.

Maybe I liked this ordinary time even more than fighting for my life in Sinan.

More than standing in front of treasure worth tens of billions.

After leaving the karaoke room, we sat side by side on a nearby bench.

Seungman, now properly drunk, stared up at the sky and casually asked,

"Are you happy?"

I couldn't answer right away.

The sea came to mind.

The treasure ship.

My powers.

The smuggling organization.

The Genie.

The mysterious box.

Things most people would never experience even once in their lives had poured into mine within a few days.

But right now...

My oldest friend was sitting beside me.

And I was holding a beer we'd bought from a convenience store.

I slowly nodded.

"Yeah."

This time, I wasn't joking.

"I'm happy."

Seungman smiled too.

"Me too."

The sun was slowly setting.

Watching the sky turn red, I thought through what I needed to do next.

I needed to register a business.

I'd probably need a vehicle.

I needed to take care of my family and think about moving houses.

There was the reunion next month too.

When I met my old teacher again, maybe I could think of some way to help the school.

And then...

I needed to return to the sea.

There was plenty to prepare before I could properly begin treasure exploration.

"Nice."

Saving the world or anything like that?

I still didn't know.

I wasn't some hero.

And I hadn't made my wishes because I wanted to become one.

But since my life had turned out like this...

Was it really so wrong to enjoy it a little?

Right then...

A familiar sensation moved faintly deep inside my mind.

I narrowed my eyes.

The map.

The waters off Sinan appeared in my head.

A faint red point was glowing.

But that wasn't all.

The location of the shipwreck.

Even deeper beneath it...

A new marker I'd never seen before was appearing.

Gold.

I sat up slightly.

"Huh?"

Seungman turned toward me.

"What?"

I stared silently at the marker inside my mind for a moment.

"...Nothing."

Seungman went back to drinking his beer as though it meant nothing.

But I knew.

What had happened in Sinan wasn't over yet.

Beneath the treasure ship...

In a place deeper than I'd ever gone...

Something else was sleeping.