Chapter 54

As I sat in a daze looking at the place Kwon Jae Hyuk had been a moment ago, Cookie kept whimpering at my trouser legs.

[Food!]

“…Ok. I’ll give it to you.”

Holding Cookie in my arms, I got up and headed for the dining room. When I entered, everyone was already gathered except Jang Eui Yeol, who went to visit his grandmother and had not returned yet. Kwon Jae Hyuk, who had distracted me earlier, sat among them with a calm face.

“Hyung, you’re here? Sit here!”

“Uh, ah…”

Before I knew it, Ha Hyun Seo pointed to the seat right next to me. On the other side was Ha Eun Seo, who glanced at me and immediately put her head down to avoid my gaze. She was still reluctant to be near a man, but I was used to it by now.

I took out a bowl of rice as I put Cookie on the floor.

I headed to the refrigerator meant for Cookie on one side of the dining room and put some meat on his rice bowl. He immediately rushed in and stuck his head in to eat.

Once I gave Cookie his meal, I sat down. Ki Hyun Joo, who was sitting across from me, exclaimed. 

“Ah!”

“What?”

“I was going to give you this letter that I got earlier.”

Ki Hyun Joo took out a letter from her pocket. It was slightly crumpled, mostly likely because she just stuck it there. Accepting the letter from her hand, I looked at the envelope and blinked at the name written on it.

The name on the envelope was Rachel.

“Eh? America?”

So unexpected? Why all of a sudden? I wondered why they would send me a letter when they could have told me over the phone. When I opened the envelope, I found a single card inside.

“… An invitation?”

What? Who? Why? I read through it slowly and was shocked to see the place of invitation. To my surprise, it was Area 51.

Was the White House joking? The letter invited me to the SNT in the secretive Area 51. This place was also mentioned in the original story, causing me to examine the card and envelope to see it was legitimate. I wondered if someone was playing a prank on me using Rachel’s name.

SNT is a place where even the main character has never been…

Of course he had the chance. but Jang Eui Yeol had no choice but to refuse because the condition was that he became an American citizen and joined the Glory Guild under the U.S. government. It was a male-oriented harem fantasy novel, but he still couldn’t suddenly become an American.

I was a little concerned because I, as well as Ki Yoon Jae in the original story, had never been there. I wondered if there really were aliens there… There were people with different abilities and different dimensions, so were aliens really so unrealistic? Shouldn’t there be aliens? I grew serious as I looked at the card and thought about the existence of aliens, along with how Ki Hyun Joo accepted it.

“What? Is it bad news?”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t look good…”

“Ah… It’s nothing. It’s just an invitation.”

“Invitation?”

“Yeah. If you have time, come visit the SNT in America.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk, who was previously wearing a nonchalant face, also looked at me with shock at my last words. The fact that he, who seemed to know everything, reacted this way meant…

This didn’t happen in the regression before?

I had read the original work, so I knew how veiled SNT was… He didn’t tell me that he regressed, but he must have regressed. After all, I saw how he reacted. I pretended not to notice his expression and handed the card over to Ki Hyun Joo, who scanned the letter. Ki Hyun Joo, who confirmed what I said with her own eyes, nodded after reading the card.

“Wow. It’s a free trip.”

The word ‘free’ was a word that made everyone excited. Everyone exclaimed, “Oh!,” but Ha Hyun Seo parroted the words.

“Free trip?”

“It’s going to be a vacation and they’ll let us do some sightseeing when we go to the U.S. However, there are some conditions…”

“Conditions?”

Ha Hyun Seo tilted his head and fell into thought. He seemed to be trying to guess what the conditions were.

In fact, the conditions weren’t a big deal. It was written that they wanted to do various experiments on the bull in her laboratory with proper equipment.

In other words, she proposed that if I brought the bull to the United States, she would provide a tour to sightsee and to SNT during the experiment.

They said that they would prepare a plane for the bull and would provide accommodations for us to stay, so all we had to do was to go.

Of course, the bull actually belonged to Jang Eui Yeol, but that wasn’t a problem, since he had entrusted me with full authority over the bull.

{If you want to experiment with the bull in Sungwoon, do as you please.}

Since the owner, Jang Eui Yeol, said that I could do whatever I wanted… I grinned.

“Shall we all take a trip to America?”

“Yes! That sounds great!”

“Hmm… well, there’s no reason not to go.”

While Ha Hyun Seo laughed and said sounds good, the mean Jung Yi Joon spoke in a way that ruined the mood. Nevertheless, he seemed to be looking forward to it as well; I could see the faint excitement on his face. Ki Hyun Joo was agreeable while Kwon Jae Hyuk seemed to be curious about the secretive SNT. Ha Eun Soo was the only one who was hesitant to go, but when Ha Hyun Seo asked her to come along, she nodded quietly.

“Okay, then I’ll ask Eui Yeol and contact Rachel.”

After inhaling my dinner, I called and asked Jang Eui Yeol. I told him that his grandmother could come along if he wanted, and he agreed. After hearing everyone’s opinion, I called Rachel right away to accept her offer.

A few weeks later we were on vacation.

“Wow.” 

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the sight of the runway in front of them. Ki Hyun Joo looked a little uncomfortable… but I was one of those with sparkling eyes.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Ki Hyun Joo clicked her tongue. She didn’t say it to the others, but to me. In fact, Ki Hyun Joo and Ki Yoon Jae were both people who were used to riding aeroplanes, so my behaviour was probably a little strange to her.

But it’s my first time.

Ki Yoon Jae might have ridden one many times, but it was my first time. The experience in his memories and my actual experience were different.

So, I couldn’t help but light up when seeing a plane, but Ki Hyun Joo, who didn’t know it, must have been wondering why I was like that.

It was the first flight in my life, and it was fascinating to board one at a U.S. military air base instead of Incheon Airport. It also wasn’t just a regular plane; it was a presidential plane that the U.S. president rode and had sent to transport us.

Still, Ki Hyun Joo couldn’t help but look at the presidential plane on the empty runway with curious eyes. After all, it wasn’t a plane she could afford to ride with just money.

When I arrived on the runway in a Jeep and got to the stairs leading up to the plane, I saw the bull being prepared to enter the cargo compartment. 

The flight to the U.S. was almost 10 hours. I wondered if it would be fine, but the flight attendant who was guiding us looked at me and kindly said,“We’ll keep the bull safe, so don’t worry.”

“Yes…”

I answered and adjusted Cookie’s position in my arms. Cookie looked around and asked if this was part of my territory. I walked up the stairs holding Cookie without answering it.

[Oh.]

As soon as we entered, I put Cookie down and he walked away, exploring the interior of the plane. When everyone sat in their seats and prepared for departure, Cookie came back to me as if he had finished looking around.

[It’s a strange house. Are we going to live here now?]

Cookie whined, saying that the mansion was better. I put him on my lap and coaxed him to be patient. Cookie got nervous when the plane started moving slowly, saying that the strange house became more strange, but he soon got used to it and calmed down.

Both animal and people enjoyed themselves until the in-flight meal was served, and then they started fidgeting from boredom.

Ki Hyun Joo, who was used to flights, fell asleep with her eye mask on; while the rest, unaccustomed to this kind of thing, suffered.

“Yoon Jae, how many hours left?”

“Seven hours and thirty-eight minutes left… You asked me that two minutes ago.”

“What? It’s only been two minutes?”

It was Jang Eui Yeol who had asked, but Jung Yi Joon who felt completely drained. Everyone’s faces became haggard by Jung Yi Joon’s cries. “How can I endure this for seven more hours?”

The only quiet ones were Ki Hyun Joo and Kwon Jae Hyuk. Kwon Jae Hyuk sat upright and kept his eyes closed as if meditating.

Everyone nodded when the flight attendant asked if they wanted to watch a movie. so a screen descended and started playing a film.

I watched four movies in a row just like that, and it was really killing me.

“Have… have we arrived…?”

Those who were tired of the confinement were quick at times like this. I saw them standing up and waiting for the entrance to open.1

Is it a bus stop…?

Jung Yi Joon unreasonable shouted, “Open the door, fuck!” Eventually, the doors opened and the group sprinted through the corridor leading to the airport gate.

“It’s the land! Land!”

It wasn’t exactly land, but… Like a man who had discovered a new continent, Jung Yi Joon shouted while running. As I was dumbfoundedly laughing, Jang Eui Yeol, standing next to me, also laughed.

“It’s a shame that my grandma is busy and couldn’t come, but an experience like this, it seems like it’s a filial obligation to have her come with us.”

“Well…”

I was relieved it was worth enduring only because it wasn’t an economy seat.2