021 – Trolley Dilemma #1
I had been living alone for quite some time, so I could cook reasonably well. The food I made was actually quite tasty. However, my favorite meals were those prepared by others!
Szzzz-.
A frying pan placed on the induction stove. It looked quite surreal to see Yu Ara grilling pork belly in front of it.
“Almost done cooking. Can you put the spoons on the table, senior? I know I should do it as the junior, but I’m busy grilling the meat…”
While grilling the meat, Yu Ara was also stirring the doenjang jjigae and chopping green onions, keeping her hands busy. She looked really busy, but her skillful movements seemed very professional.
“There’s no senior or junior when it comes to putting down spoons. It’s just the one who can do it, does it. By that logic, you’re B Rank and I’m… no, I’m C Rank.”
“Is that so?”
As I placed the spoons and chopsticks on the table, I recalled the past. Back when there were fewer than thirty Awakened individuals in Korea, the culture and hierarchy were quite strict.
Inside the rift, one could easily lose their life, so the hierarchical system had to be stringent—at least that was the excuse, but to be honest, it felt like there were just a lot of nasty individuals back then.
“There were quite a few seniors back in the day who were real jerks, right? They made the juniors fetch their trays in the cafeteria and threw away leftover side dishes. What are they all doing now, I wonder?”
I remembered it didn’t feel much different from the military. It actually was the military, in a way. I had even done alternate service dealing with the rifts instead of doing military service when I Awakened in high school.
Thud-.
Yu Ara placed the perfectly grilled pork belly and stew on the table, chuckling softly.
“If you put it that way, wouldn’t that make you a bit of a jerk too, senior? You had plenty of things for us to do, and a lot of things you told us not to do. You must have gotten a lot of complaints behind your back.”
I knew that well. I had been somewhat shocked to hear Seo Ye-rim badmouthing me behind my back. But I had my excuses.
“I was just looking out for you all. Back then, just a small mistake could lead to serious injury. But now that I think about it…”
Could it be that I was one of those typical jerks? Just as I was pondering, Yu Ara continued.
“Alcohol is bitter, you know. Honestly, I still don’t know what it tastes like. I think I’m of an age where I should know, but I still have a kid’s palate.”
She had grown up quite a bit by the time she was a high school student. She had seemed quite skinny back then. Now, without her long padding, she looked as if she could burst out of her clothes in various ways.
“Still, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to see things differently. For example, the nagging from seniors, it turns out, has been quite useful…”
That’s how it was. Yu Ara, who had been a D Rank high school student, had matured more than I had expected. In contrast, I still felt like a Peter Pan with dreams.
Suddenly, I felt a bit embarrassed about myself.
# # #
Awakened individuals generally drank well. But Yu Ara was on another level. Even after downing several bottles of soju, there was not a hint of drunkenness on her face. In comparison, I felt quite tipsy.
“Yu Ara, you’ve drunk more than I have, yet you seem perfectly fine.”
“Didn’t you know? The metabolism and absorption of alcohol vary depending on the amount of mana an Awakened person has. The higher your rank, the less you get drunk.”
It was quite a horrifying story for someone like me, who had turned to drink to forget the sorrows of the world.
“I guess having a higher rank isn’t all good then.”
“Right? Even if you climb higher, the workload increases, there’s more to do, and you have more responsibilities. In fact, there’s nothing good about it.”
Yu Ara pulled her white legs towards her chest. The whiteness was dazzling, and I felt somewhat sobered from my tipsiness. My mind began to contemplate the things that troubled Yu Ara’s life.
Could it be Lee Joon-Hun?
“Yu Ara, I heard there was talk of marriage with Lee Joon-Hun?”
“That’s just something he brought up on his own!”
Yu Ara exclaimed playfully. Soon after, I heard a rustling sound from behind the closed door.
Could it be Inoi?
Yu Ara asked,
“Isn’t that Nymph behind that door? Was her name Inoi?”
“Right.”
“Is she shy?”
No. In fact, Inoi wasn’t particularly shy. But she was afraid of Yu Ara. Inoi had quite a keen sense of intuition. She had never been wrong about anything.
But that meant Yu Ara was perceived as a bad person.
The Yu Ara I remembered was a weak and innocent girl who felt pity for the monsters appearing in the rift and couldn’t bring herself to kill them. I often felt worried, thinking that if I left her alone, she might get seriously hurt.
Yet, I had to honestly admit one thing.
The Yu Ara of today was different from the girl I once knew. Still, since I resolved to believe only what I had seen with my own eyes since I became an Awakened, I decided to ask her.
“Yu Ara, what has happened during this time?”
“Well, I wanted to become a doctor. My family was poor, you know? I didn’t even have civilian clothes and had to attend school in my uniform. I hated poverty and wanted to become a doctor so I could earn a lot of money.”
“…Well, you always were good at studying.”
A diligent high school student. An average high school student. A son of a conglomerate. A would-be celebrity.
At that time, the Awakened were dragged out and thrust into the rift regardless of equality. Most of the Awakened were young teens and twenties, and there were no ethics or laws protecting them against conscription into child soldiering. The world was viewed as being on the brink of collapse. In the face of true crisis, morals and laws were as flimsy as a twig.
Yu Ara buried her face in her knees, which were pulled close to her chest.
“You might not know this, but I was pretty successful in the Awakened community. So, there were a lot of marriage proposals. Did you know that if Awakened individuals marry, they can give birth to more Awakened children?”
“I know. Isn’t that just a rumor?”
“It’s real. There are plenty of cases now.”
Is that true? Hearing that from a health worker with a B rank made it sound credible. After all, when doctors say something, it carries more weight.
Soon, Yu Ara added,
“Lee Joon-Hun was the one who brought up marriage with me, back then. I refused for various reasons, and I was in a bit of a bind since I had a contract with Osa Group at the time.”
Osa Group was the corporation run by Lee Joon-Hun’s family. I think he was in charge of the pharmaceutical subsidiary among them. How do I know this? I search for not only my name but also others’ stories fairly often on Awakened SNS.
Soon, Yu Ara looked up. Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I’m not in any kind of relationship with Lee Joon-Hun. Please don’t get the wrong idea and say weird things to other people.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.”
I began to understand how the marriage story with Lee Joon-Hun had surfaced. I also realized that Yu Ara was keeping a lot of things from me.
Soon, Yu Ara asked me,
“By the way, you once said you wanted to earn a lot of money and become famous like those heroes in movies. I remember it clearly because you were being so serious back then.”
“That I did.”
It was an embarrassing memory. When I had just Awakened, I wanted to become like Tony Stark from Iron Man. I truly believed I could be.
Now that I think about it, it wasn’t a completely nonsensical dream.
“I still believe I can be.”
I had now risen to C rank. I had good friends, including Kkungkkungi. I believed it wasn’t too late for me.
Soon, Yu Ara giggled.
“Well then, what will you do during the trolley dilemma?”
“Trolley?”
“The trolley dilemma. A train is coming, and you can change the tracks. On one side, there are five people tied to the tracks, and on the other side, there’s one person tied up…”
“Ah.”
I understood. This was what they called the trolley dilemma. As Yu Ara swirled her glass of soju, she asked,
“If you want to be a hero, what will you do in this situation?”
I had never thought about it before, and it was a difficult question. Sacrificing one person to save many?
As I contemplated, Yu Ara added, “If you aim high, it’s good to think deeply about this now. This is sincere advice from me.”
Her voice was unexpectedly cold. When I looked up, startled, Yu Ara was stretching as if nothing had happened.
“Ahh—! It’s getting late. Can I sleep here? If there’s no room, you can just lay out a blanket in the living room.”
Boom—.
At that moment, a loud noise echoed.
There were many barking sounds.
—Kkung-kung…!
—Kkung-kung…!
No, it sounded like Squirrel Beasts barking.
Anyway, at around 10 PM, I wondered who was making such a commotion when I heard a tapping sound at the front door and someone entered the house.
It was Seo Ye-rim.
“Hey, what brings you here at this hour without contacting me?”
I questioned in surprise. Then Seo Ye-rim immediately got mad.
“What are you talking about? You didn’t check the text I sent. The coordinators may contact you about the well water sample collection, so I told you to check your phone!”
“Really? You sent a message?”
When I checked my phone, I saw fifteen text messages from Seo Ye-rim. I tend to not check my phone often when I’m meeting people, and it seems I forgot.
Thinking she had come directly because of that, Seo Ye-rim kicked aside the bottles of alcohol and reached out to Yu Ara.
“Yu Ara, it’s been a while. This is the first time we’ve met since Hayan’s wedding three years ago, right?”
“Right. Good to see you, Ye-rim.”
Yu Ara stood up and shook Seo Ye-rim’s hand. I learned for the first time that even women of the same age would shake hands.
Usually, wouldn’t they jump around and hug each other in excitement?
That seemed to be a thing of my imagination.
Suddenly—.
The door that had been closed opened. Soon, Inoi scampered out.
“Ahh, Core Ye-rim has come…!”
