Chapter 84
The next day, we set out at dawn.
We were there for Dazney Land's opening.
"Wow. There are a ton of people..."
"Isn't today a weekday?"
"Looks like everyone thought the same thing. Teacher, should we hang back and watch?"
"Come on. It's more fun if we all play together."
Mr. Cheolhon suggested stepping aside so Han Yu-na and I could enjoy ourselves, but there was no need for that.
The FBI agents who had come with us also suggested that we all have fun together while we were there.
"Uh..."
"Would that... be okay?"
"We're escorting you anyway, right? Just think of it as close protection and play along with us."
"Yes. Understood."
JJ obediently nodded.
The large Black man looked at the Dazney Land entrance and chuckled.
"I never thought I'd come here at my age."
"Have you been to Dazney Land before?"
"I came here once when I was young. They call it a world of dreams and hope, but..."
There was a bitter look in his eyes.
"I ended up becoming an adult."
Of course. Working for the FBI, he must have seen all sorts of horrible things, making it even harder to hold on to childish dreams.
Besides, wasn't this America, the land of guns?
"Still, since we're here to have fun, you should enjoy yourself."
"Haha. Yes. Understood."
As we chatted, the gates opened.
When we entered Dazney Land, we saw flashy buildings and people wearing mascot costumes.
People dressed in cosplay of Dazney Land characters were walking around.
"Things may have gone completely to hell lately, but there's still some romance to it."
"Indeed."
Han Yu-na was moved.
Since becoming close to me, she'd developed an interest in having fun and had started watching all sorts of movies and reading comics.
Some of them had been Dazney's works.
"Especially Star Wars... Ah. There are no episodes after VII. That garbage isn't Star Wars...!!"
"Hahaha..."
She must have been seriously pissed off.
I could tell from the way Han Yu-na was grinding her teeth.
Anyway, since we'd come all this way, we should start with the rides.
"Let's go over there first!"
With her clinging to my arm and barely able to contain her excitement, I went straight for the roller coasters.
After riding them about five times in a row, the three people besides Han Yu-na and me seemed to be feeling sick.
"Oh..."
"You're tough, Mr. Kang and Ms. Han..."
"Blech..."
In the end, we gathered around a nearby bench.
Seeing people from Korea and America gathered together and suffering equally made it clear that we really were allies.
"Is everyone all right?"
"Yes..."
"We should rest for a bit..."
"Good Lord..."
At this rate, it would be difficult to go on any more rides.
I looked at Han Yu-na.
"Let's go buy something to drink and rest for a while."
"Yes. Let's do that."
There was a stand selling drinks and ice cream near the bench.
We could buy some there and bring it back.
When I went with Han Yu-na...
Wow...
This was insane.
Eleven dollars for a single cup of ice cream?
Even though I no longer needed to worry about money, that was still a price that made my hands tremble.
"Amusement parks are always expensive."
Han Yu-na casually ordered five ice creams.
While she was buying them, I spotted a blond white boy behind us.
He was clutching two crumpled ten-dollar bills.
In that instant, I saw his future.
That kid.
The moment he bought the ice cream and took a bite, he would fall.
Naturally, the eleven-dollar ice cream would be covered in dirt and dust and become inedible.
It hurt my heart to see the boy bawling as if he'd lost everything.
I used to be like that too...
Though in my case, it had been a five-hundred-won ice pop, not eleven-dollar ice cream.
"We'll take those."
Apparently feeling a little better, Mr. Cheolhon and Linda came over.
While they were accepting their ice creams, the white boy also ordered and received his.
And then.
"Whoa!"
"Oof."
I caught the boy just as he was about to fall, along with the tub of ice cream that was about to fly into the air.
"Are you okay?"
The boy stared blankly at me.
Only after seeing that the ice cream in my hand—his ice cream—was fine did he smile brightly.
He chattered away, but I had no idea what he was saying.
"He's saying thank you."
"You're welcome."
That should do it.
I knew almost no English, after all.
While the boy was still in my arms, the people who appeared to be his parents approached us.
They started saying something else, but I had no idea what it was.
"They're thanking you for helping their child and asking whether you're Korean."
"Could you tell them I am? And..."
I looked at the boy and said,
"If you keep running around like that, you'll fall again."
"Would you like me to translate this too?"
"Yes."
I knew because I'd seen it in the future.
After eating all his ice cream, that boy would fall on the way to the next attraction and scrape his knee.
When Han Yu-na translated my words, the boy's future changed.
It changed from one where he fell alone and cried to one where he held his parents' hands and enjoyed the attractions with them.
We'd paid a lot to come here, so he ought to have a good time.
"Bye-bye~!"
When I waved back at the blond white boy, Han Yu-na smiled.
"That's just like you, Mr. Noah."
"What is?"
"Being kind."
"It was only a matter of catching a kid who was about to fall. You don't have to call me kind for that."
Apparently, everything I did counted as kindness.
Anyway, we returned to the bench and ate our ice cream.
"Where are we going after this?"
"The three of you look tired, so let's go over there this time."
It was the Marvel-themed area.
When we arrived there...
"Spider-Man!!"
I saw a man in a tight red-and-blue suit flying through the air.
Wow... That was freaking awesome.
Han Yu-na was also standing there with her mouth hanging open, and the three bodyguards wore fascinated expressions as well.
...Hmm?
Oh no.
I spotted a girl standing there with her mouth hanging open.
She looked about seven years old, but there were no parents around her.
I saw her future.
Ten minutes later, when the show ended, she would realize that she'd lost her parents and burst into tears.
That wasn't good.
Of course, she would meet her parents again an hour or two later, but those hours would be a terrifying ordeal for the girl.
Her parents would also be sobbing when they found her.
Looking into the girl's future, I saw that her parents were frantically searching for her in the area where she'd originally been.
"Linda."
"Yes?"
"That girl. It doesn't look like her parents are around."
"Uh..."
"I'm sorry, but could you go over to her?"
"Understood."
A little later, Linda brought over a girl who was extremely anxious, apparently having realized that she'd lost her parents, and spoke.
"I told her that I'm with the FBI. But what should we do?"
"Could you ask her to turn this over?"
"Yes."
When she spoke in English, the girl opened her blue eyes wide and looked at me.
She babbled on, but the only word I could understand was "magician."
A magician, huh.
Let's go with that.
I gave her an encouraging nod, and the girl showed me the card she'd turned over.
The High Priestess, upright.
I told JJ where the girl's parents were.
While Han Yu-na and Linda comforted the anxious girl, her parents came running from a distance.
Hmm...
It was English.
Should I turn on Papago?
"They say, 'Thank you so much for finding our child. We don't know how we could ever repay you.'"
With such an excellent interpreter, there was no need to turn it on after all.
"Tell them to hold their child's hand tightly."
As I waved at the parents, who kept bowing deeply to me in thanks, the girl scampered over.
Then she handed me a small candy from her pocket.
"Good magician!"
"Yes, yes."
I waved back at the girl as she kept looking over her shoulder at me while walking away hand in hand with her parents.
"Wow. You really are like a magician."
"Even in a situation like this, you noticed what was happening around you. As expected, Mr. Kang. That was impressive."
"Anyone would do this."
They were making a big deal out of nothing.
.
.
.
We continued wandering around and having fun.
After we'd played for a long while, evening approached.
"Mr. Noah! Look at that!"
"What's that?"
"It's a machine that reads the future!"
I followed Han Yu-na and found a small machine beside the souvenir shop.
Apparently, it would tell your fortune if you put in a coin...
A sticker was prominently stuck to it.
Linda told us that the sticker meant it was under repair.
"Aw. What a shame."
"I know. I wanted to try it."
It was probably just a gimmick anyway.
Just then, a couple approached.
They were foreign tourists, and they seemed interested in the machine too.
They were muttering something in front of it, but it was a foreign language, so I couldn't understand...
"Brother Noah?!"
"Huh?!"
It was a familiar voice in an unfamiliar place.
The people who looked like foreign tourists were staring at me in shock.
"Brother! Brother!"
"Good heavens!!"
Slightly awkward Korean spilled from their mouths.
"Why is Brother Noah here?"
The fact that they were calling me brother meant they were viewers.
That meant I could speak informally to them.
"I came here to have fun."
"What about your broadcast?!"
"I still do it."
"Wow!! Brother! I've been watching your broadcasts!"
"You're the best! I love you! Give me a hug!"
They squealed and chattered excitedly after seeing me.
"Haha. I'm glad to meet viewers here. All right. Since the fortune-telling machine is broken, I'll read your futures instead."
"Good heavens!!"
"Brother, you're a god!"
They made all sorts of fuss.
Because of that, the people nearby began to take an interest in us.
But a man like me didn't avoid the eyes of the crowd.
"Here."
The first person to draw a card was a man with striking red hair and freckles.
I smiled at his expression, which was brimming with anticipation.
"Lawrence. Check your car's engine before you go home. It'll break down on the road."
"Good heavens!! He said my name!! I didn't even tell him my name, but he guessed it!! As expected, Brother is a god!!"
That wasn't the important part right now...
"Don't forget. Get your car fixed. If you don't, both of you will spend the night stranded there and catch a really bad cold."
"Got it!!"
"Brother! What about me?! Me?!"
His girlfriend asked.
Hmm, let's see.
"Wilia. Tell your father not to repair the roof tomorrow. He'll fall from the roof and get hurt."
"Oh my gosh..."
Flustered, she hurriedly called her father.
Then she chattered away before suddenly shrieking in English.
"She says her father really was planning to repair the roof tomorrow."
The two of them were deeply moved, took pictures with me, shook my hand, and left.
But then...
"There's a line now."
Had they heard what the two of them were shouting, in addition to seeing me read their futures?
People began lining up.
"What are you going to do?"
"There aren't that many of them. Let's read their fortunes."
It wasn't as though there was any particular problem with it.