Chapter 313
The commotion at the hospital ended without much gain.
All three people who went together couldn’t bring themselves to say, “Our kid only ate three servings of food!”
Meanwhile, people started recognizing Jeong Ha-yul and Jeong Gyeoul.
“So cute! What’s with the bunny pajamas?”
“Are they filming? I don’t see any cameras.”
“What happened to ‘The Birth of a Hero’? I heard it got suspended due to the judges’ personal issues.”
“Since they’re at the hospital, maybe something’s wrong with their health?”
All sorts of speculations flew around, and phone flashes went off like crazy.
More and more people started gathering.
Seeing this, Jeong Gyeoul thought, “This can’t go on,” and was about to grab everyone and run when Loki teleported the group again.
“…We’re back. I was really scared with all those people crowding around.”
“I was so flustered earlier, but now that I think about it, eating three servings is still way more than what a normal person eats, right?”
“Is it okay for people to know we can teleport?”
“What happened to ‘The Birth of a Hero’? Did it go downhill while I was in the immortal realm?”
[What kind of conversation is this?]
Even Son Goku was giving them weird looks. It was a bizarre four-way conversation where everyone just said their own thing.
The monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain probably had better teamwork than this.
But still, I felt glad I followed Jeong Gyeoul.
At least being with this group seemed more fun than the boring daily life in the immortal realm.
[Hey, junior. I heard everyone here has a job. Why aren’t you working, you slacker?]
“…What is this unemployed king even saying right now?”
[I am above all beasts, so I guess you do know.]
“….”
It was the moment when “unemployed” (白手) became “king of beasts” (百獸).
Jeong Gyeoul, giving up on the pitiful conversation with Son Goku, sadly looked at the leftover food on the table.
“…I can’t believe I couldn’t finish all that.”
“You can eat it later. Everyone lives like that.”
Jeong Gyeoul, who had been a big eater since childhood, couldn’t get used to eating less.
It was both pitiful and funny.
‘Control your expression… If you laugh, it’ll be a disaster.’
Kang-woo and Eun-chae desperately held back their laughter.
Jeong Gyeoul had been sulking a lot since returning from the immortal realm.
If they laughed at this… They knew they’d have to console her for at least two months.
“By the way, what happened to the broadcast? What about PD Choi? The participants?”
“It’s ruined. It’s been about a month and a half since you guys went to the immortal realm… There’s only so much they can do with special episodes. Cha Seo-rin and Shin Hyeon-joo’s popularity is beyond imagination, so it’s almost impossible to continue without them.”
Taoist Girl Cha Seo-rin and Elf Girl Shin Hyeon-joo.
Even among netizens, they were called by the nicknames Jeong Gyeoul gave them.
They were almost the biggest beneficiaries of the program…
If only they hadn’t been dragged off to the immortal realm like they were kidnapped, they would’ve been enjoying popularity rivaling that of celebrities.
But fast issues fade fast.
“The Birth of a Hero,” which had captured the world’s attention, went off the rails mid-broadcast.
Because of this, PD Choi had to issue two public apologies and was pretty much confirmed to retire.
Park Seol-hwa, who was researching Dimensional Stones, somehow ended up creating a translation potion.
And with the insane side effect of it even translating animal languages, the world was turned upside down again.
That’s why they weren’t too surprised by Son Goku, the talking cat.
Of course, even if Jeong Gyeoul brought back a talking monster or a talking rock, the members wouldn’t be too shocked.
Anyway, that’s how it was.
Only a few fans still cared about Cha Seo-rin and Shin Hyeon-joo.
“Meow.”
Loki, who had teleported the group twice today, seemed tired and plopped down next to Son Goku.
[Do something about this cat!]
“You’re the king of beasts. Handle it yourself.”
Jeong Gyeoul wasn’t kind enough to deal with Son Goku while busy catching up on everything that happened in the immortal realm.
“But… is he really the Great Sage Equal to Heaven? The Monkey King from ‘Journey to the West’?”
“Yeah. I even got peaches from the Queen Mother of the West.”
“Those peaches are supposed to be insanely delicious. Is it true?”
Jeong Gyeoul closed her eyes, imagining the taste as if she were eating a peach.
On a sunny day.
The sky was dazzlingly blue, and fluffy white clouds floated gently.
Walking along the beautiful peach tree, she saw a ripe peach…
[The Queen Mother’s peach orchard doesn’t even have a visible sky?]
“…Could you maybe not ruin the moment, Mr. Unemployed?”
Anyway.
The outside was hard like a white peach, but the inside was soft like a yellow peach.
Taking a bite, the juice filled her mouth, sending a tingle through her head…
[It’s not that great. I’ve eaten a lot, and it’s more about nutrition than taste…]
“Ugh… I could kill for that.”
Jeong Gyeoul’s peach review was ruined by Son Goku.
“It’s ruined… You know the mystical peaches? It tastes just like that.”
“Aw, what a letdown.”
“How about we bring some back as souvenirs next time we go to the immortal realm?”
“Don’t curse me, or I might actually take you there.”
Jeong Gyeoul shuddered at Eun-chae’s curse about going back to the immortal realm.
“What happened? You seemed like you were even thinking about visiting the demon realm.”
“Finally ready to hear it? The Chronicles of Jeong Gyeoul: Immortal Realm Edition!”
Jeong Gyeoul’s face lit up as if she’d been waiting for this moment.
“But like before, and today with the peach story… it’s all just MSG, isn’t it?”
“Don’t be fooled. This isn’t your everyday Jeong Gyeoul chronicle. It’s seasoned only with oyster sauce, no MSG.”
“…Oyster sauce is MSG, Gyeoul.”
“…Since when?”
“Since forever.”
….
“Alright, so here’s what happened…”
After a brief silence, Jeong Gyeoul started talking as if nothing had happened.
Everyone listened calmly, as if they were used to such situations.
Starting with the story of meeting two immortals who acted as gatekeepers and ascending to the heavens.
Of course, there was the story of becoming Philmaon and Son Goku’s junior.
She also mentioned how Shin Hyeon-joo and Cha Seo-rin had almost become residents of the immortal realm.
And how she almost gained spiritual power from the peaches given by the Queen Mother but felt like she got scammed.
She didn’t leave out the story of waging war against Prince Nata and Lee Rang and getting exiled from the immortal realm.
And with that, the Chronicles of Jeong Gyeoul: Immortal Realm Edition came to an end.
“Wow, it felt like a long story, but now that it’s over, it feels so short.”
“…It was long enough. It’s already been two hours, Gyeoul.”
“At least Gyeoul made it interesting. It was like listening to a principal’s speech.”
“True.”
They weren’t acknowledging her hardships in the immortal realm but her storytelling skills.
“…If it were Seol-hwa unnie, she would’ve given a big reaction.”
“That’s only for a day or two. If Seol-hwa lived with you, she’d end up like us.”
“True, thinking back to when we went to the demon realm…”
[You keep talking about the demon realm. What is it? Hell with Yama? Or the monster realm?]
Son Goku, half-crushed by Loki, chimed in.
“…There’s a monster realm? Ugh, I feel like I learned something I shouldn’t have.”
“Is Gyeoul’s next chronicle going to be the Monster Realm Edition?”
“Don’t curse me, or I might really go.”
[If you go to the monster realm, sell my name. Say you’re the junior of the Monkey King, and they’ll treat you like royalty.]
“…If the monster realm is full of monsters, selling your name might ruin my life.”
Jeong Gyeoul shuddered, recalling the plot of “Journey to the West.”
Declaring herself as the junior of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in front of monsters?
It was social suicide.
[That’s why you shouldn’t get famous… Everyone knows my story, tsk.]
“…This monkey is really something.”
If Jeong Gyeoul had sold Son Goku’s name in the monster realm, she might’ve ended up in serious trouble.
Even though he’s acting nice in the mortal realm, Son Goku’s evil side, which once flipped the immortal realm for fun, hadn’t gone anywhere.
“Anyway, what should we do with this troublemaker?”
“Just keep him around.”
“Wasn’t he chosen or something?”
“Loki made a friend. That’s nice.”
“…These people are acting like it’s not their problem. If I start raising him, it’ll be my problem. Why are they so calm?”
This was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Son Goku.
Ordinary people wouldn’t want to get involved with him, let alone raise him.
But Jeong Gyeoul’s family was calmly suggesting they keep him, which was baffling.
“If letting him go causes problems and keeping him causes problems, isn’t it better to keep him and monitor him?”
“He lost his power when he became a cat, right? If we fight seriously, I might win. Probably.”
Even Eun-chae, who wasn’t sure about fighting a cat, agreed.
Baek Kang-woo’s point made sense. Jeong Gyeoul had thought the same, which is why she brought him here.
In the end, it seemed they had no choice but to keep him around.
“Ugh, what should I do with this troublemaker?”
The same words can sound very different depending on who says them.
Hearing such words from Jeong Gyeoul was truly something else.
“…Should we put him on TV to make some money? He’s a talking cat, after all.”
“Wow… what should we do with this troublemaker?”
“You’re really…”
No surprise, now there were two troublemakers.