There Is No World For ■■

* * *"So, how have you been doing lately?"The Foreman asked me as he poured a drink. An old brand of soju that was hard to find filled the glass."It feels like I'm going to die from exhaustion."I answered, half sighing and half complaining.Ever since Mignium had resurrected me, I hadn't had a single day of peace. Fighting, killing... and I even fought a dragon recently."Just like when you first started learning the ropes of the janitor's job huh?“"...Eyyyy, it's not as bad as it was back then."I scratched the back of my head as I thought of the time when I was still a naive child, and everything was unfamiliar.Did they say that the cost of the equipment I broke back then exceeded the amount of salary James would earn over three months?Everyone in the Janitor Guild called me a walking disaster.Perhaps the Foreman was also reminiscing about those days, as he chuckled and took a sip of his drink. The pungent scent of diluted soju filled the air."Dung Beetle."The Foreman, who had emptied his glass, called out to me. His voice, always pleasant to hear, was like that of a pine tree."Yes, Chief.""If it's too difficult, you can just quit."Quit? With so many people left to kill, how can I just quit like that?I blinked as I responded."...I haven't even started yet.""That's why it's the perfect time to quit. You haven't killed anyone famous yet, so you could stop here and start a new life with a new identity.""...""And suppose you kill someone, even if it's not the president but a minister, what do you think the world will see you as?""...I’ll be seen as a terrorist who killed a minister, I suppose.""And will you be okay with that?"Would I be okay with that? For the first time, I raised my head and looked the Foreman straight in the eye.His eyes, wrinkled at the corners, were filled with concern as they met mine."If you fail, you'll lose your life, and if you succeed, you won't have a future. You'll live the rest of your life being chased. Is that really the kind of life you want to live?"Instead of replying, I picked up the bottle and walked towards the Foreman.As I quietly refilled his glass, words I hadn't intended to say slipped out."...Then what should I do? Should I forgive them?"Though I hadn't poured that much, the glass overflowed all of a sudden.Having nowhere else to go, the spilled liquor dripped down like tears."Should I justify it by saying the dead are already dead, and then cast aside all the remaining pain and resentment... And then what?""You should live the life we couldn't.""...""Why not buy the supercar Chunsik always wished to drive? Opening the fried chicken store that James dreamed of wouldn't be a bad idea either.""Chief.""Oh, and don’t be like Deokbae. You should date, get married... Wake up to see your wife's face every morning, fall asleep looking at your children, live a peaceful life... Even experience the heartache of dealing with rebellious teenage kids."The life that the janitors dreamed of. I looked at the now full glass and replied."If you were the one who lived and I died... could you have lived that kind of life, Chief?"It was a brash question to ask.Did he not expect me to ask such a question? The Foreman fell silent for a moment, before smiling broadly as he answered."No, I wouldn't be able to live like that. I would have… probably tried to plant bombs in the National Assembly and Gyeongmudae."“…”"Hey, hey. Is that how one looks at their elders?"The Foreman clicked his tongue and I let out a long sigh."Even though it’s been a while since I've seen you, you keep saying strange things instead of encouraging me.""Strange things, you say? You little rascal, every word I just said came straight from my heart.""...""But since that’s the type of person I am, I can't just bring myself to tell you to give up on revenge now, can I?"The Foreman reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder. Amidst the familiar smell of alcohol, I could feel his rough palm."Dung Beetle... no, Yeomyeong.""Yes.""I will understand whatever choice you make. But…"As his palm brushed my face, my vision blurred, and the smell of alcohol faded away."We just want you to be happy."And before I could reply, the Foreman downed his last drink.He had already emptied a whole bottle. I glanced around, searching for another bottle, but I saw nothing.There was nothing but suffocating darkness enveloping us."Chief...?"I turned back to look at him, but only an empty glass remained where he had been sitting.It was only then that I realized…That I, Yeomyeong, the Dung Beetle of the Janitor Guild who had inherited the Foreman's surname…Was waking up from a dream.