Chapter 52: Miracle And Patriotism Ind, Ulleung (1)


    Seize the moment, I thought, as I finished Brewer’s soup dinner and immediately boarded the regr ferry to Ulleung Ind.


    [What is the purpose of visiting Ulleung Ind at this time?]


    [I am taking leave tomorrow! I am going to eat squid sashimi.]


    [epted. When will you return? What’s your travel n?]


    [I n to see Dokdo at dawn, buy some pumpkin candy, and then return in the afternoon or evening.]


    [Hmm, the perfect tourist. Pass!]


    [Excuse me? Isn’t your reason a bit strange? I’m trying to enter Ulleung Ind.]


    [You are an employee of Sejong Ind Academy. You are an ‘inder’ whose verification has already ended at the academy level, so there is no need to strictly verify. You’re going from Sejong Ind to Ulleung Ind.]


    [Well, that makes sense.]


    If my departure point was not Sejong Ind, it would not have been easy to get to Ulleung Ind.


    Even though it had been inhabited for a very long time, Ulleung Ind, being close to Sejong Ind, was as strictly controlled in terms of entry and exit as Sejong Ind.


    Especially between Sejong Ind and Ulleung Ind.


    Given that there were people sneaking to Sejong Ind through Ulleung Ind, the ship traveling between Ulleung Ind and Sejong Ind did not simply look like a passenger ship but a warship.


    Furthermore, the entrance examination was as intense as the immigration examination in Sejong Ind.


    [Shouldn’t we process it ording to the manual anyway?]


    [It’s okay because an employee of Sejong Ind Academy is going to Ulleung Ind. It’s not like you’re going with foreigners. No, if you’re taking a foreign daughter-inw, do you get an immediate free pass? Hehehe.]


    As it was Sunday evening, I could barely catch thest boat to Ulleung Ind, but if the inspection had been a littleter, I would not have been able to enter Ulleung Ind.


    I barely made it.


    The ship arrived at Ulleung Port.


    “Stop. Everyone line up and disembark one by one. You must follow the agent’s instructions until your identity is confirmed.”


    After disembarking from the ship docked at Ulleung Port, which was built on a scale reminiscent of Busan International Port, I went through the same entry examination as when I left Sejong Ind and exited Ulleung Port.


    ‘Here is the Ulleung Ind of this world.’


    Being here, the memories of visiting Dokdo with my friends came flooding back.


    One thing was a little disappointing.


    ‘Is this Ulleung Ind or Guam?’


    The Ulleung Ind I knew did not exist in this world.


    It was taken for granted that there would be all sorts of seaside franchises, and there was even an abundance of foreign franchises.


    The buildings were weather-beaten by the sea breeze, but they were maintained in a design much more sophisticated than those in Seoul, and neon signs were shing like Gangnam’s nightlife.


    [Wee to the Miracle Ind, Ulleung Ind!]


    Beneath this phrase were written all kinds of foreignnguages, and women in uniforms simr to a sailor look were positioned around the ce like tour guides soliciting foreign visitors.


    If I had to summarize the Ulleung Ind of this world in one sentence, I could say it’s a resort operated by the country.


    Ulleung Ind has be a tourist attraction surpassing Jeju Ind to the extent that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it Ulleung Guam or Ulleung Saipan.


    All because of mana.


    In order to absorb as much mana as possible from the East Sea for Sejong Ind, people searched for locations in the East Sea, and among them, everyone wanted to get into Ulleung Ind, which was the closest to Sejong Ind.


    Those who came to the ind were usually ability users.


    After securing amodation on the ind, they umted mana through their own form of mana meditation.


    Because more mana umted when in Ulleung than in Uljin or Gangneung.


    But many non-ability users also visited Ulleung Ind a lot.


    Who were they?


    The residents of Ulleung Ind?


    No.


    “Honey, do you think we can really seed?”


    “We have to. We came here for one night and two days with the money to go to Hawaii for three nights and five days. I’ll make sure we seed.”


    “Honey, if we really have ‘that child,’ we’re going to raise them happily, right?”


    “Right. We’re raising them as patriots, not viins.”


    Primarily, many ‘newlyweds’ in their 20s or 30s visit here.


    You could hardly see any young children.


    ‘Ability users under 15’ couldn’t even enter this ind.


    There was no reason for a child toe to Ulleung Ind, this ‘ind of dreams for adults.’


    Because this was an ind where children were conceived.


    “You there, young man. Did youe alone?”


    An elderly man in a gray suit who looked to be around his seventies approached me.


    The old man who picked us up when we came to y in Ulleung Ind with friends wore a fishing vest sold in the market, but the clothes of the elderly here are different.


    The Rolex he wore over the Taegeuk Watch already proved the old man’s flex.


    This old man was old and aged, but he was incredibly rich.


    And there were not just one or two such old men.


    “What about thedy?”


    “I came alone. I’m a faculty member of Sejong Academy.”


    “Oh, really? That’s a shame. I thought you were newlyweds who came for the ‘Ability-Bearer Pregnancy Course’.”


    “Hahaha….”


    Parental expectations were quite something.


    They wanted their child to excel over others, and in this world, even if you were ignorant orcked talent, if you had ‘abilities,’ you could survive and thrive.


    “You might know this, but people born before the great change, like me, also have a way to contribute to the country in this era of abilities. That is, by giving birth to children with abilities.”


    “Do you have any grandchildren who are ability users?”


    “Listen here, young man. My son is now a B-ss ability user. Even if people say having a child at forty is risky, childbirth is still childbirth.”


    “Oh….”


    A child born with a silver spoon?


    So, could that child wield that spoon?


    Even the golden spoon had to bow before the spoon of superpowers, and parents tried to make their children awaken their superpowers even if they couldn’t leave them a substantial amount of money.


    “If you look at the locals of Ulleung Ind, they have or have had at least one family member or rtive who is an ability user. The same goes for the bachelors and bachelorettes whoe to Ulleung Ind. Why do you think so many peoplee here even when we charge 5 million won per night? They alle because they want to make their kids superpower users.”


    “‘Pumpkin Honeymoon’.”


    “Don’t use foreign words. Well, that’s how we make our living, but use ournguage.”


    “What does that mean?”


    “Patriotic trip.”


    “…….”


    Somehow, my child should be an ability user.


    The honeymoon in Ulleung Ind for the purpose of birthing ability users was created in such an environment.


    Significant statistical data had actually been released, and the children born to couples who had their honeymoon in Ulleung Ind were indeed significantly more likely to be born as ability users.


    Although it would be difficult to live on Ulleung Ind for a year as it would cost hundreds of millions of won, you cane for a night to receive the energy of Ulleung Ind when conception happens.


    Now in 2025, most of the couples who visited Ulleung Ind were those who have chosen a golden day.


    Not only Korean couples but also foreign couples had the same purpose.


    This ce was a pregnancy hotspot.


    It was not a ce for sightseeing; it was a ce where people came for pregnancy.


    “There’s no reason for a man toe here alone… Are you trying to seduce a woman from Ulleung Ind? If so, give up. Even the Board of Audit and Inspection can’t ovee the Ulleung Ind virgins.”


    “……Haha.”


    “What’s with that reaction? Are you an ability user?”


    “I’m not an ability user. It just seems quite different from the Ulleung Ind I remember from my childhood.”


    A gleam appeared in the old man’s eyes.


    “From your childhood? Hehe, my friend. When you were a child, Ulleung Ind was in its heyday, surpassing Jeju.”


    “It was when my parents were young and had a date in Ulleung Ind. I’ve heard a lot about that time.”


    “Hehe, my friend, talking about Ulleung Ind before the great transformation.”


    The old man was lost in nostalgia, looking out at the distant sea.


    Against a backdrop of many twinkling neon signs.


    “Back in the day, everyone here used to fish and board ships. But there are no fishermen here now. The government forcibly changed everything into pensions and hotels.”


    “Weren’t there any objections?”


    “Objections? If they had driven us out, it would have caused a big fuss. Fortunately, nothing like that happened. Making money by serving tourists is a hundred, a thousand times more profitable than fishing under the sun; who would refuse that?”


    The profit was too great to refuse.


    “The Ulleung Ind where your parents’ memories are stored is gone. This ce now has only one purpose.”


    The purpose of patriotism.


    Giving birth was, after all, patriotism.


    “So the real reason you came alone is that? No matter if you’re a teacher from Sejong Ind, it’s a bit suspicious?”


    “Haha. Yes, I came alone. Actually… I’m this kind of person.”


    I pulled out a business card.


    “A teacher from Sejong Ind has this kind of business card… Hmm…?!”


    “Sir.”


    I winked at the old man, and he immediately handed me back the business card, clicking his tongue.


    “What a mysterious gentleman you are… Hehe. Ms. Brewer’s contact said someone wasing, and it turns out I’ve got a very important guest.”


    “I’ll be in your care.”


    This old man.


    A local of Ulleung Ind and, at the same time, the manager of a pension directly operated by the Gyeolsa.


    “Wee to Ulleung Ind, the ind of miracles and patriotism.”


    The old man pressed his car key toward the parking lot, and a ck midsize sedan shed its lights as if it had been called.


    Vroom.


    The car sprang forward on its own, and the old man opened the rear seat door.


    “All this for me?”


    “When you go to a five-star hotel in Seoul, they offer valet parking. Wouldn’t it be appropriate to do the same at a pension that costs 5 million won per night?”


    “That makes sense.”


    Iid back in the seat.


    “Then… I’llfortably take you to your destination, Manager Do.”


    “Thank you. Sir.”


    “Yes.”


    Did this old man know?


    That the hot spring arising from hisnd and the pension built around it were the most valuable ces on Earth.


    He probably didn’t know.


    He must only see himself as a in pension manager and a coborator with the Gyeolsa.


    In the first ce, nobody knew that the hot spring this old man managed had such efficacy.


    “Um, Manager Do. I’m really curious, so I’m asking.”


    “What is it?”


    “…Who among the board members is thedy you’ll bring with you next time? Perhaps, the chairman?”


    No matter how much Ulleung Ind had changed.


    “Perhaps all five…?”


    “…….”


    “Oh. It’s fine if it’s not. I’ll keep my mouth shut even if you bring another woman. Hehe.”


    The elders of this country remained the same.


    Ulleung Ind.


    Overseas, they called this ce the ind of miracles and pregnancy.