Chapter 301

How to Not Be Devoured by Darkness (4)

At Jin-hyuk’s innocent, childlike reaction, Hong Ki-jun’s eyes softened.

“That’s just the beginning. There are things I’ve seen with my own eyes that I still can’t believe.”

“Uh, uh-, what, what else is there?”

“Bahahaha!”

Hong Ki-jun laughed so hard he fell backward.

What on earth is with this expression and tone?

As if embodying the middle ground between Han Yu-young and Son Yoo-jin, he perfectly showcased both their traits.

Feeling embarrassed for Jin-hyuk, Hong Ki-jun quickly composed himself.

“Hmph! It’s hard for you to imagine things that have no comparison yet, so what would be good… Super high-performance lasers? Ah, we’ve already revealed that, so you probably know. They can be used as weapons, but they’re also highly effective in civil engineering.”

“Was that the technology used to build the underwater research facility?”

“Exactly. The ability to drill through solid bedrock in such a short time wasn’t just due to manpower. With that, we can dig under the ocean and reach the North or South Pole. We could even build a tunnel to the other side of the Earth, with no vibrations, so no worries about earthquakes.”

“Wow, building an underwater tunnel would be amazing, but I never thought it could also be used as a weapon.”

“Just secure the output, and that’s it. There’s no recoil or vibration, so it’s more stable than large-caliber cannons or railguns. Most importantly, it’s not affected by gravity, wind, or relative speed, so its accuracy is far superior.”

“You haven’t weaponized it yet, right?”

Hong Ki-jun didn’t answer.

Did I say too much? He just muttered and gazed at the distant silver sea.

“About that light-speed engine earlier…”

Time to change the subject.

“…There’s a problem.”

“I can’t even begin to guess what the problem is. It’s hard to believe such technology even exists…”

Jin-hyuk scratched his neck like Jang Gun-i.

Ugh.

Hong Ki-jun let out a helpless sigh.

“I probably won’t be able to complete it before I die. Maybe not even by the time you grow old and die.”

“Whyyy?”

Jin-hyuk looked like he’d have to live with rabbit eyes today.

With so many shocking and bewildering things happening, it was hard to keep his usual half-closed eyes.

Heh. Hong Ki-jun burst into a hearty laugh before answering.

Now that he knew this guy was the Son Jin-hyuk of the past, it was fascinating to see him act so childlike.

“About the light-speed engine…”

Sigh.

Hong Ki-jun made a bitter face.

“To make it suitable for our situation, we’d have to build it in space. And the hull material is also a problem. No matter how much we dig on Earth, I can’t find the metal I need. Of course, it’s possible with materials from Earth, but I want a material that delivers perfect performance. We’ve found a similar mineral. You’ve probably seen the report about the metal first discovered in Chile being tested at the Yeouido research facility.”

“Ah, I remember.”

“On top of that, we need navigation and auxiliary devices.”

“Navigation…”

“Yeah, navigation equipment. Since it’s a different space from Earth, the maps need to be larger, and the coordinates become impossibly complex.”

Ten, twenty times more… Jin-hyuk muttered like Yoo-jin waking up from a nap.

“Probably even more than that.”

Seeing Jin-hyuk’s dazed reaction, Hong Ki-jun kept shrugging his shoulders, genuinely enjoying himself.

“We also need highly advanced AI and supercomputers to run it. Covering everything with manpower is nearly impossible.”

Wow…

Jin-hyuk couldn’t close his mouth at the unimaginable scale.

“The reason it’s taking so long isn’t just because the current production environment is far behind.”

Listening quietly, Jin-hyuk pondered what to say next.

Hong Ki-jun was looking at him with sharp, testing eyes.

“Um… I guess even the eccentrics can’t understand it. They’ve encountered concepts they couldn’t even imagine.”

Jin-hyuk offered an expected answer based on his own shock.

Hong Ki-jun’s eyes softened.

He gripped Jin-hyuk’s shoulder tightly before letting go.

“Right. They can’t grasp it. Even though I’ve explained the principles in our language, they can’t accept why it works that way. It’s like being stuck in the mindset that car wheels must mesh with the drive shaft. They can’t imagine putting the engine in the wheel. Magic, science—it all comes down to persuasion, right? But I’ve realized that while I’ve translated the technology into words, they lack the foundational knowledge to be persuaded. Maybe there’s an issue in the translation process.”

“So that’s why you’re breaking it down step by step…”

Jin-hyuk nodded, recalling the reports Hong Ki-jun had uploaded to the Salko database.

“At first, I thought to ease the shock for the researchers by introducing the technology in stages…”

But it still seems fast. Hong Ki-jun exhaled like a deflating balloon.

The Salko researchers, like archaeologists restoring ancient artifacts, discuss and debate over the reports. They stack hypotheses upon hypotheses to prove a principle, then experiment. Like esoteric devotees praying and training to uncover the essence of the teachings.

Once they prove and implement one, another report comes up.

Then the researchers repeat the process.

They’re addicted to research, more than any drug, cheering all the while.

But the light-speed engine, still not even revealed, is just the beginning.

Just how much technology did you bring from that other world?

“It’ll take time to understand and accept.”

“Exactly. It’s something that requires a lot of time. Even with the geniuses I’ve found, the current pace is the limit.”

“It’d be great to have a few Einsteins…”

Jin-hyuk muttered wistfully, watching a hawk circling high in the sky.

I should close the chicken coop. Did Mom already do it…?

“Einstein? I can’t say my researchers are better than him, but they’re not inferior either. In another history, they might have been dismissed as weirdos and quietly disappeared, denied opportunities because of their short academic pedigrees.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean to belittle the researchers.”

“Hehe, it’s fine. I know.”

Hong Ki-jun quietly reached out and took Jin-hyuk’s hand.

“I didn’t come here to have this kind of conversation… But it’s nice to have it now…”

Hong Ki-jun’s muttering didn’t reach Jin-hyuk’s ears.

Because of the troublemaker who appeared just then.

“Waaah! Jin-hyuk, Jeong-won’s got you!”

“Kyaaa! Son Jeong-won!”

Jeong-won and Hong Soo-hyuk circled around the two.

Even five dogs showed up and started licking the two men.

“Hey! You rascals! Jang Gun-i! Get away!”

“Hehehe.”

Looking at the pink-ribboned retriever, Hong Ki-jun thought, ‘Soo-jung must have brought it…’

If she had, Soo-hyuk would’ve been quietly by his sister’s side.

And the dogs wouldn’t have interrupted the conversation.

Still, he couldn’t help but laugh.

With the kids playing and the dogs wagging their tails, how could it not be joyful?

Laughing, it felt like nightmares and worries disappeared.

Hehehe.

Lick lick lick.

“Hehehe.”

“Hey, Hong-shi! Stop drooling on me.”

Hehehe.

Hong-shi seems to find Hong Ki-jun tasty.

Must take after his mother. He’s practically trying to eat him.

Or maybe it’s because of his father, Pomie’s genes, that he’s so attached to Hong Ki-jun.

In times like these, the only person who can control the situation steps in.

Jin-hyuk gently caught his youngest brother, who was toddling around.

“Jeong-won.”

“Yeah? Hehe.”

“Can you get Jang Gun-i’s treats from the storage? He’ll love it.”

“Yeeeah! Ooooh! Sinaaa!”

Son Jeong-won immediately changed direction.

“Jang Guuuuiiii! Treats! Treats! Treats!”

“Son Jeong-won! Treats! Treats! Treats!”

Jeong-won and Hong Soo-hyuk immediately ran toward the storage.

Jang Gun-i and the dogs, hearing the word “treats,” chased after them with fierce determination.

Rather than shooing them away, it’s better to give them something they enjoy.

A small trick Jin-hyuk learned while taking care of his siblings.

“Hehe, I should bring Soo-hyuk more often. I’ve never seen him play so excitedly. Must be because he has friends his age.”

Watching the kids run off, Hong Ki-jun finally felt like he could have a different conversation.

But.

“If we build a space station and spaceships, can we travel to other galaxies? Can we have family trips too?”

Jin-hyuk had a good focus.

‘Is a workaholic still a workaholic after reincarnation? Or is it just curiosity?’

Hong Ki-jun analyzed Jin-hyuk’s interest in his own way.

And added a note to his mental notebook.

「Laughter, thought, desire + curiosity.」

Unaware of these inner thoughts, Jin-hyuk clung to him like a child.

“Huh? We’ll need to recruit a lot of astronauts, right? Can I do it too?”

As if admitting defeat, Hong Ki-jun raised both hands.

Whoa, relax.

“I’m not thinking of going anywhere. I don’t even know where we can go. It’s just preparation for the future. 2030, 2040. By then, the preparations might be complete. Not for navigation, but for production. To do that, we need exploration. We need to know what problems exist in advance. That’s why we’ve launched so many exploration satellites and are gathering data. At Salko.”

Just thinking about it was exciting.

However, both Hong Ki-jun and Jin-hyuk felt a pang of regret knowing they might not embark on such adventures.

“Maybe… No.”

Rather than growing the business for you, it seems I’m clinging to it because you’re the only one I can entrust it to. Hong Ki-jun flicked away a black ant that had climbed up to his knee.

It was a task born from genuine passion, so what use is the contract with Dugu Elil now? Even Dugu Elil, that contract enthusiast, must have realized how futile the prohibition was. It dissolved too easily.

“You’re still young and vigorous; you should keep leading. I still don’t understand why you’re talking about passing it on to me. When are you going to tell me to live joyfully…”

Jin-hyuk scratched at the brown soil with a twig.

The smell of earth mixed with grass roots teased his senses.

Then, glancing at Hong Ki-jun’s profile, Jin-hyuk smiled slyly.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“You looked really tired earlier, but when you talk about work, your eyes light up.”

“Hehe, did they?”

Hong Ki-jun nodded with a pleased smile.

So what if it’s fantasy, so what if it’s delusion?

If it gives you the strength to live, and it doesn’t harm others, isn’t that a good thing?

“You asked so earnestly, so I answered earnestly.”

Ah.

Hong Ki-jun let out a small sigh.

‘I’ve been lacking someone to talk to.’

When guarding the office, it’s just me, alone.

Even if someone else were there, it wouldn’t change much. Who would dare have a private conversation with a chairman who’s practically an emperor?

Outside, I only spoke about work, and late at night, returning home, a few words with my daughter were the extent of my conversations.

Now I understand why darkness creeps in.

「Laughter, thought, desire, curiosity + conversation.」

Simple and easy, but I’d forgotten, blindly living.

“Don’t get tired. You need to leave an even greater legacy. Back in the training center, during your lecture, you said, ‘Whatever you do, cling to it desperately, and don’t get tired.’ That one sentence made me the company man Son Jin-hyuk.”

“Really?”

Hong Ki-jun’s eyes widened in surprise.

“For someone like me, with no adult to care for or scold me, those words became my lighthouse. That’s why I worked so hard. If not for that, I might’ve just lived paycheck to paycheck, drinking, feeling depressed, smelling like a widower…”

Hong Ki-jun silently smiled and nodded.

That Jin-hyuk saw me as a guiding light. That one sentence means more to the current Hong Ki-jun than anything else.

“You’ve left a significant mark yourself. Without resorting to shortcuts or unethical methods like I did.”

“I don’t think you’ve done anything unethical. Everyone has different beliefs. You didn’t exploit them. You didn’t just accumulate wealth through trivial information; you opened up a new world.”

“Hehe, that’s comforting.”

Jin-hyuk chuckled.

Hong Ki-jun, barely in his early 40s, was starting to sound like an old man.

“You haven’t changed.”

“You haven’t changed, yet you’ve changed a lot. Jin-hyuk, you were more like an old man when you were a kid.”

“I’ve stayed the same, but the world around me has changed. It’s only natural to adapt and change with it. To some extent.”

That’s what makes us human.

Hmm. Human.

Hong Ki-jun tilted his head.

Then, with a serious expression, he looked at Jin-hyuk. He sensed it was finally time to bring up what he’d been holding back.

*

“You’ve recovered a lot of memories?”

“To some extent.”

Jin-hyuk fidgeted like a shy country boy.

“Actually, I think I’ve recovered almost all of them. Except for the most important one.”

Hong Ki-jun, facing the clear sky, rolled his eyes to look at Jin-hyuk.

What does he mean by the most important one?

“Well… It’ll come back someday. That Dugu guy, he told me everything else but kept circling around that one thing. It feels like he’s dodging.”

According to the recovered memories, Jin-hyuk didn’t travel to another world.

To be precise, Jin-hyuk’s body wasn’t anywhere in that world.

Yet, the vivid scenes, the sounds as if heard directly, and the sensations led to one conclusion.

Son Jin-hyuk was a possessor.