Everyone Else is a Returnee

“Excuse me, Madam,” Yoo Il-Han called, trying to get the waitress’s attention.

“Do you have….” His voice trailed off when he realized she had not heard him, nor had she noticed him. Typical.

She did, however, notice two young girls entering the restaurant. She responded in a manner expected of restaurant staff.

“Oh, you must be students, and so attractive.”

One of the girls answered, “Yes, we are students. We’ve been told the food is good here and cheap.”

The sweet voice sounded familiar to Yoo Il-Han.

He then realized it was the same voice he had heard in the airport earlier. He turned to observe. One was a cold-looking girl with black, neatly cut hair. The other, the one whose voice he’d heard, had a face more like a child’s, despite clearly being older. She was tall too, and, as the waitress had observed, she was extremely pretty.

Yoo Il-Han remembered noticing that bodyguards at the airport had accompanied them. He looked around to see if they were present, but he couldn’t see them. Clearly, they were waiting outside. Would these girls remember him? Il-Han wondered. He turned around, hoping they hadn’t.

They were still looking for seats. Then, to Yoo Il-Han’s surprise, the tall, pretty one proceeded to sit on his lap, believing no-one was sitting there.

“Excuse me!” Yoo Il-Han shrieked.

She jumped up in horror.

“Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t notice you. I’m so sorry.”

The other girl laughed at the funny sight, but the pretty one was still embarrassed.

“I’ve made a fool of myself. I just didn’t see…”

“That’s okay,” Yoo Il-Han replied, “You’re forgiven. You must not be able to see very well.”

In his head, Yoo Il-Han had decided to call her Ms. Blind.

The cold one, whom Yoo Il-han had nicknamed Ms. Cool, just humped and motioned the pretty one away. “Come on, let’s find another table.”

“No, hang on,” Ms. Blind replied, then looked at Yoo Il-Han seated alone, “To apologize, can we buy you something, and perhaps join you?”

Yoo Il-Han had never been good around girls. Being a loner, he’d never had the chance to talk with them. These girls seemed confident and strong. Why would they want to sit with a failure like him?

He stumbled his words but managed to say, “No, that’s okay. I prefer eating on my own.”

Ms. Blind was taken by surprise, obviously not accustomed to rejection. “Oh, okay, well, enjoy your meal.”

Ms. Cool grabbed her arm. “Come on, Na Yoo-Na, let’s find someplace else. He looks weird, anyway.”

“Okay, Mirae, lead the way,” the pretty one answered, still looking at Yoo Il-Han.

Yoo Il-Han dipped his head to avoid her stare. They found a table in the corner as Yoo Il-Han thought about their names. So, they’re called Na Yoo-Na and Mirae. Not that it mattered, knowing their names. He was strange; he was a loser. And he couldn’t talk to girls.

The two girls were served their food first, which only compounded Il-Han’s feeling of being invisible. He still hadn’t ordered because the waitress had not seen him.

When they had received their food, Il-Han protested, “Excuse me, am I going to get served or what?”

He realized he’d spoken much louder than he wanted, but it did get the waitress’s attention.

“Oh, I am sorry, Sir. What would you like?”

“Grilled hairtail,” Il-Han replied.

“Right away, Sir.”

Yoo Il-Han ate his meal, but he couldn’t help but feel that Na Yoo-Na, a.k.a. Ms. Blind, was still staring at him. He then noticed the other one, Mirae, leave to go to the restroom.

Suddenly, Yoo Il-Han heard a strange noise.

“Psssst!”

It was Na Yoo-Na trying to get his attention. “Psssst! Excuse me…”

He turned to her and remarked, “I’m trying to eat.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” she replied, “Could you do me a favor?”

“What?” he asked curiously.

“Could you not tell anyone we were here?” she requested.

What a strange request, Il-Han mused.

“I don’t even know who you are, so I think it’ll be okay.”

“Well, just in case anyone asks. We’re famous, you see.”

Mirae had returned just in time to scold her friend. “Na Yoo-Na, please shut up!”

Then, she turned to Il-Han, “Just ignore her. She’s a little crazy.”

Yoo Il-Han finished his meal and was just about to go to the counter to pay when Na Yoo-Na said, “Let me pay, I insist. For all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

“It’s okay, thank you,” he replied, not knowing why.

“But I insist,” Ms. Blind said firmly.

“Look,” he said indignantly, “you may be VIP’s or famous, or not, I don’t care. I may be a nobody, but I’m a nobody who can pay for my own food.”

As soon as those words left him, Il-Han was overcome with sadness.

Why does he push people away? This girl was only being nice. He felt lost and alone, but his loneliness was self-inflicted.

Like the planet Pluto, he was insignificant, and this caused him to be considered inferior. Embarrassed by his existence, Il-Han quickly paid and left the restaurant, careful enough not to be noticed by the bodyguards.

Inside, Na Yoo-Na was still staring at the door after Yoo Il-han had left.

Mirae noticed her look and asked, “Why are you staring after him? He’s just a boy, and a funny-looking thing too.”

“Something about him bothers me,” Yoo-Na replied.

“Only thing that bothered me was his strange-looking face,” Mirae mocked.

“You’re nasty sometimes, Mirae. I just got the sense there is more to him. Like he had something, but I’m not sure what,” Yoo-Na explained.

“A serious case of shyness, I’d say.” Mirae laughed.

Yoo Il-Han decided to take the bus to the nearby Jeju Oreum and climb the nearby mountain. At the top, he could see for miles. He breathed in the fresh air and felt satisfied with himself.

The walk had made him forget about the encounter with the girls, so his mood had been restored. Of course, he still felt lonely, but he’d become accustomed to that feeling anyway.

As he sat, he contemplated his plans for the next day. His schedule suggested he was supposed to climb Mt. Halla. He hoped to get out of that, as he felt more like going somewhere to eat. Of course, that would be expensive, but he wasn’t a stranger to money.

His part-time translating job paid pretty well, and he was grateful to have acquired linguistic ability. This was despite his ineptitude for other subjects.

Being a loner, he knew he was dependent only upon himself. But that meant he had to be self-sufficient and could not rely on anyone else.

Thinking about eating made him hungry again, and besides, the walk had given him an appetite. After leaving the mountain, he found a cafe and was just about to enter when he had that feeling he was being watched. He turned, expecting the girls from before, but was startled to see another figure, staring at him intently.

She was older than the students, but that did not make her any less beautiful. Her face had a look of majesty mixed with serenity; warm, yet powerful.

“Are you Il-Han, Yoo Il-Han?” she asked in fluent Korean.

Yoo Il-Han tensed. He was a stranger here, so how did this woman know him?

“I don’t know who that is,” he lied.

“You are nervous, I can tell,” she replied, smiling, “Don’t be. I have something to show you.”

She crossed her hands over her chest, and suddenly, large wings appeared on her back.

Il-Han stepped back. “What the hell…”

“Not hell,” she replied, “I am an angel of God.”

“Impossible!” Il-Han wailed, “You can’t be real.”

“Are your eyes not convinced? Is the fact that I know you not enough to prove I am from God?” the winged-woman asked.

“You’re not real. You can’t be.” Il-Han convinced himself.

“I know your father, too. Yoo Yong-Han is his name. I also know the contents of your backpack, even the contents of your hard drive on your laptop,” she remarked.

“Then, you are a hacker, no more, wearing silly wings.”

Her countenance changed as a bright light shone around.

“Now listen to me, Il-Han,” her voice thundered, “I am here under the command of God, and He seeks your cooperation. You are the only one who can respond to the Irregular Crisis that is about to happen on Earth.”

“Irregular Crisis? What’s that?” Yoo Il-Han was forced to ask.