Past Life Returner

Ki-Cheol was overwhelmed by a surge of emotion that welled up from deep inside his heart. Seeing the flames that looked like they would burst through the monitor and hearing his dignified and solemn voice, Jonathan Hunter was indeed the King of Hell, just like his codename.

My dad…is working with these incredible people? No way. That’s unbelievable.

Ki-Cheol shifted his gaze to a framed picture on the computer desk, and there was a photo of him and his dad together that was taken recently.

You haven’t gotten your wife back from the old, ugly guy.

As he looked at his dad’s foolishly smiling face, it felt even more surreal. He couldn’t feel anything extraordinary from his dad like he did from the King of Hell. All his dad knew was to scratch his butt inside his underwear. Even though the Awakened said he was scary, Seong-Il was just an ordinary middle-aged man to Ki-Cheol.

Even when Ki-Cheol witnessed his dad’s crazy jumping ability, like leaping over tall buildings, and his Hulk-like strength, it was only for a moment.

Well…if he had to pinpoint the changes in his dad like other Awakened, then it had to be a month ago. Seong-Il had given away the money he earned by selling a godlike item, the God of Wind’s Protective Ring, to the family of the deceased Awakened, whom he used to work with in the Stage of Advent. It was over two hundred billion won, but his dad gave it all away, leaving a single penny.

This was the same person who used to fight with his mom over money. Of course, his mom came over because of this incident, and they fought again.

Ki-Cheol shook off the unpleasant memory of that day and continued to move the mouse. He found the entire video of the hearing and paused at one particular scene. The constantly changing subtitles at the bottom also stopped at that moment.

「I, Jonathan Hunter, am John Doe. So now I ask you all. How are you going to put me in jail?」

Although there was a clear difference in power at each level, his dad was ranked right after the King of Hell, who was also in the same challenger section. In terms of the ability alone, the King of Hell was fourth, and his dad was fifth.

But how can people be so different?

Ki-Cheol shouted outside of his room, toward the living room of their apartment, where his mom and dad had a big fight a month ago.

“Hey, mister! Is it impossible for the United States government to apprehend my dad? Probably, right?”

The sound of the television continued to come out from the living room.

“Good evening, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you breaking news. Moments ago, it was confirmed that the notorious King of Hell, Jonathan Hunter, has accepted the U.S. judiciary’s ruling on anonymous transactions, leading to the closure of the hearing. The situation is developing rapidly and we did not turn to our correspondent on the ground, reporting from the Wall Street rally. Chan-Sol Kim, it is clear that this news has reverberated throughout the protest. Can you tell us more about the reactions from the demonstrators?”

“Yes. The unwavering commitment to global peace by Jonathan Hunter seems to have resonated with the protestors. The ATAC leadership has called for unity among the protestors and emphasized Hunter’s bold and obvious warning not only to the U.S. government but also to the entire world.

However, as you can see, many protestors are now attempting to resume their daily routines. It is a harsh reality that the U.S. government stands to lose much if tensions between Hunter and the authorities continue to escalate. Even when news of his attendance at the hearing broke…”

The Awakened, who worked as bodyguards at Ki-Cheol’s house, approached him with a tense expression.

“What did you ask?”

However, Ki-Cheol hadn’t seen such an expression on the man before. He somehow felt scared and quickly answered him, “Never mind. I won’t disturb you.”

***

Ki-Cheol closed the door and habitually checked his revenue as usual. Although his video updates had stopped at the end of May, the views on the previous videos were rapidly increasing due to the aftermath of the hearing. Revenue was also soaring.

The video that attracted the most views was the one in which he showcased a bit of his father’s challenger section skills.

「Estimated Revenue: $252,925

Last 30 days (2018.06.26 - 2018.07.25)」

There were several reasons why he was not uploading more clips. Some comments criticized him, claiming that Ki-Cheol shouldn’t have used a global resource like Caliber Kwon Seong-Il as content for his own profit. He could ignore those comments by considering the fans who cared for Invincible Caliber TV.

However, when the ‘Franklin Duchy’s disaster’ was mentioned in the hearing, Ki-Cheol realized that outer space wasn’t a mere fantasy as even the Awakened could die horribly. Some of the dead Awakened belonged to the Revolucion (12). They weren’t just casual members of the group, but they had directly followed his dad’s orders. That was what his father had explained with a serious face at the time.

At the moment, his dad had plans to enter outer space, so Ki-Cheol didn’t want to use the dangerous battlefield as content. And now, that fact was confirmed. Even the King of Hell was afraid of that transcendent being.

The other reason why he had stopped uploading videos was that many issues arose at once as revenue increased. He had expected to make this much money, but once it became a reality, there were multiple problems.

Back when adults complained about it, he didn’t understand how painful it was to pay taxes. He also didn’t know that one had to pay taxes to the country when one earned money and that the government would take away so much money. He noticed that the amount of taxes depended on the amount one earned.

Therefore, it was shocking to find out that if he made five hundred million won, he needed to pay more than forty-two percent of it as taxes to the country. It was an outrageous and suffocating situation.

He then understood why popular creators joined large management companies as they helped them pay fewer taxes. They not only discussed content direction together and helped with various events, but they also connected Invincible Caliber TV-like celebrities to public broadcasting and joint broadcasts with famous creators from other countries.

Nonetheless, Ki-Cheol made a promise to his dad when he started internet broadcasting. Whether it worked or not, Seong-Il said Ki-Cheol needed to handle this only with his friend. His dad’s words were, “I will earn money, so you just do whatever you want for fun. If there is something you need to learn, then do that. If it doesn’t work, then just quit.”

Many adults had approached him through Facenote, but there were even more people who contacted him only because of his father’s reputation. Accountants and lawyers sent messages to him as well by saying that they could help him with taxes.

Money, money, money. It was all because of money. Adults had an amazing ability to sniff out money.

***

He started studying economics out of frustration and incomprehension. What was the country doing, taking nearly half of his money? He had persuaded his dad to create content, promoted his channel on websites, and endured malicious comments.

Studying economics was challenging, but it was more fun than schoolwork. He felt a sense of accomplishment when he discovered new things. He learned why he had to pay taxes to the country and how his taxes were used. It still infuriated him though.

To pay as few taxes as possible, he needed to establish a corporation, and he found out that the money earned there was not legally his own.

It’s my money, but it’s not?

Therefore, if he used it carelessly and got caught, he could go to jail or pay a fine, and that was why the whole country was noisy about the illegal funds of the conglomerates. So, the money in the corporation was not his money, and if he secretly hoarded it, it was considered theft.

This is ridiculous!

Such hoarded money was commonly called ‘slush funds,’ and usually, when one hoarded a slush fund, they put the money in someone else’s bank account. This process was called a ‘borrowed-name transaction” because they were borrowed in someone else’s name.

「I will make it clear here. John Doe is the name of my borrowed-name account.」

But the issue of slush funds seems to be a different problem. Ah, this is frustrating.

Ki-Cheol was worried about the outcome since the King of Hell announced that he would personally accept the trial. Although it was the King of Hell’s business, it could inevitably affect his dad as well.

After searching the internet for a while, he remembered that there was one adult who had told him to contact them if he ever had questions or needed advice. Jamie was one of them, but he excluded her for now because he realized how great she was while studying economics. He also excluded all the adults who had sent him friend requests on Facenote.

The words of the Caliber’s son could become controversial even for something trivial. He had learned this through mean comments, related articles, and other video content.

Therefore, he decided to contact a young woman who worked with his father.

<Ki-Cheol: Hello.>

<Is this Ki-Cheol?>

<Ki-Cheol: Yes, ma’am.>

<You can just call me by my name. Anyway… Did Mr. Caliber come back to your home?>

<Ki-Cheol: Huh? Did he come back?>

<Sorry. I should have told you this earlier.>

<Ki-Cheol: No, my dad should do that himself. But, is Dad okay? He didn’t get hurt, right?>

<He is Mr. Caliber. If he is not fine, that is a big problem. He just returned not too long ago. He will be home soon.>

<Ki-Cheol: Ah, okay…>

<Why?>

<Ki-Cheol: Did you watch the hearing?>

<Of course.>

Excited emotions trembled beyond the phone.

<Ki-Cheol: The King of Hell…. No, no. Mr. King of Hell announced that John Doe is his borrowed-name account and said he will stand in court. I just have a question about it. If you are available now, could you give me a brief explanation about it? I can learn the rest on the Internet…>

<Ki-Cheol, you sound like an adult. Hey, it’s okay. Hmmm… The borrowed-named account is… like… with another person’s name…>

<Ki-Cheol: I know what a borrowed-name account is. I also know that it’s usually used when dealing with slush funds.>

<Wow, that’s impressive. Do they teach that thing in middle school these days?>

<Ki-Cheol: I studied by myself. But all this chaos is not because of slush funds, right?>

<Not all borrowed-name accounts are used for slush funds. I don’t know how much you have studied, but what exactly are you curious about?>

<Ki-Cheol: Could the King of Hell go to jail? He said himself that he would stand in court. That means he would accept any verdict, whether it is imprisonment or a fine, right? What if he gets imprisoned?>

A short laugh came from the woman.

<That is what makes him incredibly amazing, Ki-Cheol.>

<Ki-Cheol: Yes.>

<I am also curious about the verdict in the U.S. as well, Ki-Cheol. Study more and teach me, okay?>

Then, he heard the sound of the door lock unlocking from outside the living room.

“Welcome back, Mr. Caliber.”

Following the voice of the bodyguard, Seong-Il’s loud voice burst out.

“Ki-Cheol! Son! Dad is back! Hahaha— Your dad occupied the kingdom! I should drink some soju tonight. With my son!”

His excitement lasted only for a few seconds as his gaze became fixed on the living room television.

“Shit… What the hell is this?”