Chapter 30
Loners (1)
It is a dark and damp space. In his hand, an object sharpened by grinding wood for a long time was gripped.
Clang!
As the iron door opened, a man entered. The man seemed to have drunk a lot of alcohol and couldn’t support his body, staggering.
“Hey! Lim So-hee!”
“This woman doesn’t answer even when I call!”
The man who walked up forcefully grabbed her hair.
“This damn woman makes me angry again? Do you really want to die? Didn’t I tell you to come running quickly when I call? Huh!?”
“I, I’m sorry…”
“So why did you do something to be sorry about, damn it!”
When the man roughly slapped her cheek, her mouth burst open at once. A bitter taste of blood was felt.
“That’s enough, take it off quickly.”
When there was no response, the man looked at her menacingly.
“Take off your clothes! Do you want to get beaten up again and come to your senses?”
“N, no…”
“No? NO!?”
The man grabbed her hair and continued to slap her cheeks.
“I fed you! I provided you a place to sleep! Shouldn’t you pay for your meals! You woman!”
Every time his palm hit her cheek, it felt like her skin was being torn. Even as her mind became hazy from the pain, she never let go of the piece of wood in her hand.
“Heuk, heuk… Okay. Damn it. There’s also fun in being this defiant.”
The man exhaled roughly and brought his hand inside her clothes. She stared at the man’s face with wide-open eyes.
“What are you going to do if you stare? Huh? What will you do? Kkeuk.”
The man’s touch becoming increasingly rough, as if enjoying this situation. At that moment. She struck the wood in her hand with all her might into the man’s eye. Surprised by the sudden situation, the man’s eyes opened wide. The sharp wood reflected in his pupils grew larger and more vivid.
“Dieeeee!”
As she swung her hand with all her might, she rolled off the bed.
“Ugh… What?”
Lim So-hee looked around with a disheveled face.
An unusually clean and neat interior that’s hard to see in today’s world.
A new home she found in Badass Town.
“Ah, damn… It was a dream.”
Lim So-hee frowned and scratched her head. Sometimes she has such unpleasant dreams. The last battle with Agon three years ago in Seoul. That day when millions were sacrificed and one-third of Seoul was destroyed. Lim So-hee lost all her family and became a loner.
“Damn, what a mood…”
The hardships she experienced since that day were so difficult they were hard to express in words. She thinks it’s just a past event, that it doesn’t matter anymore now… But sometimes these horrifying days appear in her dreams, as if telling her she must not forget.
“Phew!”
She held the water bottle upside down and poured water on her head carelessly. Water warmed by the hot weather. It’s not cool water, but in today’s world with broken water supply facilities, this is already a blessing.
“Haah…”
Lim So-hee, who roughly wiped the water from her face with her hand, looked in the mirror. Snow-white skin and long hair dyed purple. Slightly sharp, cat-like eyes. Inside them, vertically split pupils like a beast were strangely positioned.
“Let’s go!”
Lim So-hee slapped her own cheek with a sharp sound. Staying this powerless doesn’t suit her.
“Is Kang Hyeon awake?”
Kang Hyeon, lying like a sleeping princess in the forest for days. Thinking of him, a smile emerged along with worry.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Kang Hyeon’s hospital room.
Shin Seong-ah brought a chair next to Kang Hyeon’s bed and sat down like a statue.
“Hey! You’re still like this today?”
Lim So-hee entered the hospital room and greeted her.
Shin Seong-ah looked at Lim So-hee, slightly nodded her head, and then turned her gaze away again.
“How is Kang Hyeon?”
“The same as always.”
Kang Hyeon lying on the bed. Externally, there was nothing unusual.
Only, his hair on one side had changed to pure white, as if it had been bleached.
“Didn’t you say he had collapsed like this before?”
“Yes.”
She had heard that this was not the first time Kang Hyeon had fallen asleep. However, the time he had been asleep before was not this long. And there was no symptom of his hair color changing, they said.
“What is the reason you keep coming like this?”
“Huh?”
Lim So-hee tilted her head at Shin Seong-ah’s sudden question.
“Just as I said. What is the reason you keep coming? If it’s compensation for this incident, I would have already given it to you.”
“Oh, I received the compensation well. I’m just coming because I’m bored.”
At Lim So-hee’s carefree answer, Shin Seong-ah narrowed her eyes and glared at her.
“You are clearly an outsider. And this place where Kang Hyeon is lying down is a place where even Badass Guild members cannot enter without my permission.”
“Really…?”
“Although it is true that you saved Kang Hyeon, I overlooked it once or twice, but not anymore. I hope you do not come to visit from now on.”
In fact, Shin Seong-ah did not want to say this much. But she was too anxious. The fact that Kang Hyeon could no longer be resurrected. The thought that if Kang Hyeon dies again, it would really be the end, did not leave her mind. Because of that, even though there was an important task she had to do right now, she could not leave Kang Hyeon’s hospital room. She was a bit sorry to Lim So-hee, but she was also a potential threat. Because Shin Seong-ah trusted no one other than Kang Hyeon.
“Well, if that’s how you feel, what can I do?”
Lim So-hee also did not want to create unnecessary trouble, so she quietly nodded her head.
“Can I ask you one favor?”
“What?”
“The gun that comes out of the Badass Guild. I want to use it too.”
Shin Seong-ah’s face hardened, and Lim So-hee quickly continued speaking.
“I’ll pay money!”
“You can buy our guild’s weapons with the currency from the Hyeseong Group. Since the compensation is quite good, if you exchange it for currency, you should be able to purchase it even if it’s a bit troublesome.”
Lim So-hee shook her head at Shin Seong-ah’s words.
“No, I already have many weapons of that level. Not that, for example…”
Lim So-hee looked at the machine gun next to Shin Seong-ah.
“The weapon you use…”
Seeing her coveting her weapon, Shin Seong-ah shook her head.
“Weapons custom-made for individual guild members beyond those sold commercially are not for sale.”
“Then I’ll place a production order! How much would it cost?”
“It is forbidden to produce for outsiders. If you want, get permission from Kang Hyeon.”
At Shin Seong-ah’s words that dripped with coldness, Lim So-hee’s mouth dropped open.
“If you don’t want to, just say so… Tsk!”
To get permission from someone who has been unconscious for days. Lim So-hee, whose feelings were hurt, waved her hand and left the hospital room.
“I’m going! Live well and eat well!”
Lim So-hee’s footsteps gradually faded, and soon silence filled the hospital room.
“Whew…”
Shin Seong-ah, left alone, quietly let out a sigh.
‘Now I really must move.’
In this battle with Park Byeong-geun, Shin Seong-ah had noticed something strange. Park Byeong-geun’s sudden change and powerful strength. And the unidentified group watching his battle from afar.
‘There’s something.’
Currently, she had guild members tracking them, but she had heard they were now at their limit. The moment to move directly had come.
‘I’m sorry to Lim So-hee, but I can’t help it.’
Lim So-hee is also a mutant caused by magic.
If Park Byeong-geun is really connected to an unknown force and has gone crazy because of it… There’s no guarantee the same won’t happen to Lim So-hee.
Creak!
Having not moved from the chair for almost a day, her bones and muscles screamed in pain.
Shin Seong-ah, with an indifferent expression, lightly stretched her body and picked up her gun and left the hospital room.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The rooftop of an abandoned building with walls broken and rusty rebar exposed.
“Ah, I’m so bored”
Lim So-hee lay on the ground, blankly staring at the sky.
Today, the sky was particularly blue, and the clouds looked fluffy like cotton candy.
“What should I do… There’s nothing to do.”
Originally, Lim So-hee’s hometown was Seoul, but there was no one left in this city that she knew.
Even if there were, she had no desire to meet them.
Nevertheless, the reason Lim So-hee came to Seoul was because of Kang Hyeon.
‘I thought there would be a lot of fun things if we were together…’
Actually, life in Badass Town wasn’t bad. On leisurely days, she would drink beer at the pub, Country Road. On days when something happened, she would run around and get paid. But that only lasts a day or two. With Kang Hyeon lying like that for days, she was going crazy from boredom.
‘Should I go there for the first time in a while?’
Lim So-hee suddenly stood up. She was thinking of going to one of the few places where she could rest comfortably.
“It should take about half a day?”
Lim So-hee’s destination was Pyeongtaek. It was a long distance to walk, but Lim So-hee was a mutant whose body had changed due to magic. If she ran, thinking of it as light jogging, she would arrive quickly.
***
Ippotranslation
***
An orphanage located on the outskirts of Pyeongtaek City.
The orphanage director Park Sung-ae was commonly called Mama.
“Mama! What’s for lunch today!?”
“Meat! I want to eat meat!”
The children, looking at Park Sung-ae with bright, sparkling eyes. Park Sung-ae smiled and gently stroked each child’s head.
“Sure. Let’s eat meat today after a long time.”
“Wow! Really!?”
“Kids! Meat! Eating meat!”
These orphanage children were a bit special. They were loners who did not belong anywhere. A war with monsters. And a war among humans. An era where orphans are overflowing. Wherever you go, orphans begging for food were scattered on the streets. Nevertheless, there was one reason why these children were called special loners.
They were mutants.
– Get lost before I kill you!
– There’s no food for monsters.
– Jinsoo! Didn’t I tell you not to play with them!?
Children are not just being ignored, but attacked. People did not want to accept beings different from themselves. Moreover, they wanted to sweep away these monsters who were like time bombs that could explode at any moment. This orphanage was created to gather such children.
“Was it already two years ago?”
Park Sung-ae had been running the orphanage originally. Then, by a coincidental opportunity, she received help from Lim So-hee. After that, as she became interested in mutants, she gradually gathered these children. And before she knew it, things had become like this. The neighborhood pointed fingers, saying monsters were gathered here. Sometimes people would cause harm, but Park Sung-ae was truly satisfied with her current life. To the point where she wondered if she had ever felt this meaningful in her life.
“Mama! Mama!”
“Yes?”
Then a child came running with a terrified expression.
“Those men are here again…”
“Take your friends and go inside!”
“Yes.”
Park Sung-ae urgently sent the children into the building. At the same time, a group of men entered the orphanage entrance. Park Sung-ae swallowed her saliva nervously.
‘I must stay calm.’
She forcibly straightens her shoulders that were instinctively shrinking.
“What brings you here.”
“Do I always need a reason to come?”
The man standing at the front of the group. Wearing an eye patch, he put a cigarette in his mouth.
Click!
The subordinate standing next to him politely lit the cigarette. The man took a deep breath of smoke.
“Whew…”
“I asked what you came for. I should have already paid back the money sent recently.”
“That’s right. Honestly, I was surprised. Business seems to be going well lately?”
“Business? What are you talking about?”
At Park Sung-ae’s question, the man with the eye patch smiled.
“Let’s not do this between colleagues. How could such money come from this dump?”
The man blew cigarette smoke towards Park Sung-ae’s face.
“Whew… That money. You sold these kids, right?”
Park Sung-ae did not answer and trembled.
It was a silence from rage, but the man seemed to think of it as an affirmation and laughed loudly.
“Hahaha! Yes. Let’s be honest. I came to propose a good deal to the director.”
“Actually, I was originally going to take some kids under the pretext of protection fees, but since the director seems skilled… Depending on the attitude, we might pay an appropriate price.”
The man lifted Park Sung-ae’s chin with his hand.
“What do you say? Becoming a good partner with us.”
While looking at her body with eyes full of desire.
“You bastard…”
Finally, Park Sung-ae couldn’t hold back and slapped the man’s cheek. As the man’s face distorted with anger, and his subordinates were about to rush towards Park Sung-ae,
“Everyone stay still.”
The man raised his hand to stop them. A cunning smile was on his face as if he had never been angry.
“Yes. There must be some excitement in how you resist.”
“I’ll give you time to think. We need those kids, and we’ll take them one way or another.”
“I won’t let that happen…”
“No. In this case, the director has only two choices.”
The man brought his face close to Park Sung-ae and said,
“Either become a loser who has her kids forcibly taken away, or become a winner who sells them at a good price. Just these two.”
The man pulled up his eye patch. Revealing a grotesquely crushed eye.
“I’ll watch carefully with this eye, so think wisely.”
