125
Ch.125 I Don't Have Money
Not just me, but none of the workers at the urban restoration sites have any money.
Since I'm exerting influence over the entire city to prevent monster damage in advance, it's only natural.
"We don't accept whatever this 'superpower human registration card' is. What even is that? It's not even a hero-exclusive card."
"There's 10 million won in here."
"No, what do you want me to do, just stop... If you keep disrupting business like this, I'll call a hero."
Even the superpower human registration card issued by A-City wasn't accepted in W-City.
Before I blocked the front of the hot dog stand, a citizen who was eating a hot dog told me that the support policy for my superpower human registration card is like a local currency.
What's local currency?
"I'm serious, there's 10 million won in here."
"I get it, so please just go... I even gave you a hot dog. I need to sell a lot right now. Please."
The shop owner pleaded with a voice on the verge of tears.
Since I kept standing in front of the store, a hot dog came out, and I wondered if I might get more.
Reluctantly, I stepped away from the storefront after 30 minutes, leaving my disappointment behind.
"Huh? What, there was a hot dog stand here."
"Where did it go? That place is famous."
"I already bought something else to eat."
"Woah, wow. That person is seriously huge."
"Maybe we couldn't see it because that person was blocking it... Must be a superpower human?"
Lunchtime—people who came out from nearby companies to buy simple meals from food trucks in the park.
Those who belatedly discovered the hot dog stand left the food truck area with their food in hand.
I want to eat too.
This morning, I had already eaten food provided by citizens, but I was already hungry.
If before, I only consumed a lot of energy when transforming into a monster, now compressing my body to maintain human form also takes significant energy, so I'm hungry even right after transforming.
Still, I don’t want to switch back to Black Cat form and eat noisily.
I want to eat something quietly, but I have no money...
Then, I saw citizens throwing away leftover food into the trash.
Even in times like these, some people still waste food.
As I was about to approach the trash bin to rummage through it for the first time in a while—
"Han Mu-ryo!"
A familiar voice called out, bouncing energetically through the crowd in the food truck area, waving a raised arm.
My cat ears reflexively perked up, and I turned away from the trash bin to approach Yoo Hyena.
People stepped back in surprise just from my movement, making it easy to reach Yoo Hyena.
"Yoo Hyena."
"Huff... Huff... Where on earth have you been?! I was so worried!"
"Hmm."
Out of breath, as if she had been running frantically from somewhere, Yoo Hyena caught her breath in front of me.
A faint smell of blood came from Yoo Hyena's shoes.
"Did you scrape your foot?"
"Huh, ah?!"
"Wh-what’s that?!"
When I grabbed Yoo Hyena's waist like a flat liquor bottle and lifted her up, she flusteredly widened her eyes.
As passersby exclaimed in surprise, I moved Yoo Hyena to a bench on the lawn.
"Whoa! Ah! Wait, don’t lift me so high! Ah..."
"Lucky, her boyfriend must be a superpower human."
"Was that just to sit her on the bench?"
"Not just a beastly man, huh?"
Yoo Hyena, who had been tightly clutching her skirt to pull it down, quieted the moment she was seated.
I crouched in front of Yoo Hyena, whose heart was pounding loudly, and placed my hand over it.
The bench was too fragile.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah... It’s been a while..."
Yoo Hyena, dazed, flailed as she combed through her tangled hair with her hands.
"I was worried because you hadn’t been coming to the free meal center lately, but then I saw someone who looked like Han Mu-ryo from my office window... And it really was you."
"You were worried about me? Why?"
"Wh-what, I can’t be worried? Black Cat was away from W-City for a while, monsters kept appearing more and more, and you were nowhere to be seen, so of course..."
"I see. No need to worry."
"Really, you’re still the same in so many ways. I suddenly feel drained."
Since my human form hadn’t been seen at the weekly meal center, she must have thought I died.
Yoo Hyena, hesitantly glancing up at me crouching in front of her, spoke in a voice as sweet as cotton candy.
"But you seem bigger... Is it just me?"
"I grew."
"Why did you get so big...? Is it because of your ability?"
"Normally, if you eat and sleep well, you grow."
"No, that alone doesn’t make you this big."
Just as Yoo Hyena firmly said that, a growling sound came from my stomach.
"What’s that beast-like sound from your stomach... Are you hungry?"
"Hmm."
When I nodded, Yoo Hyena sighed and rummaged through her small handbag, pulling out a card.
"You don’t have money either, right? Here. I’ll just put a bandage on my foot, so go buy something you want to eat."
"You’re a good woman."
"Wait, if you lift me up here while saying something like that, I won’t give you the card."
Unfortunately, prevented from lifting her, I turned my hand toward her waist and then extended my palm.
A short while later, after circling the food truck area, I returned with my arms full of food.
I handed the card back to Yoo Hyena, then plopped down in front of her and ate.
"...Were you that hungry?"
"Mhmm-mhmm."
"Don’t talk with your mouth full."
While I ate, Yoo Hyena, having bandaged her heel and toes, wiped her hands with a wet wipe and picked up a slice of pizza.
Seeing her take food I hadn’t tried yet, I grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"That’s mine."
"I bought it for you."
"That’s true."
Chomp—I took a bite of the pizza and released her wrist.
"It’s good. Eat."
"Huh? Wh-what..."
Yoo Hyena emitted a sweet, sticky scent and a tense, popping candy-like emotion.
After stealing glances at me, she hesitantly ate the pizza and spoke.
"Um, Han Mu-ryo? By the way, you don’t have a phone, right? It’s not that you’re not giving me your number?"
"I don’t have one."
"Why not?"
I answered while chewing on chicken, bones and all.
"No need."
"If you had one, we could contact each other, right? Then I wouldn’t have to worry like this time. And if you’re hungry, you could call me, and I’d buy you food."
"Hmm?"
The idea of getting free meals anytime I call is quite appealing.
But that alone isn’t reason enough for me to carry a phone.
"Then when I’m hungry, can’t I just go to your company?"
"Well, yes, but like last time, I couldn’t reach you when I was worried."
"Also, phones are expensive."
In this age of monsters, even if I don’t know much, the mechanical parts in phones are said to hold significant value.
Even the cheapest phone would cost at least 50 bowls of soup.
"Then... Should I give you my old one?"
And even if all that were resolved, the final issue—I just don’t feel like carrying a phone.
I picked up an empty drink bottle and lightly squeezed it.
"Phones are too fragile."
"Wow."
Crunch—the plastic bottle compressed into a tiny ball in my hand.
Even if someone gave me a complex device like a phone, it would obviously break soon.
Yoo Hyena took the ball from me and tucked it into her bag like a souvenir.
"Well, then there’s no choice... Even when you’re not coming to eat, show yourself occasionally on the rooftop near my company. If I see you, I’ll worry."
"Got it."
"But Han Mu-ryo, do you not have much money?"
"None."
"Is it because of the Black Cat?"
According to Yoo Hyena, a lot of construction workers have been coming to the free meal centers lately.
Just a while ago, while the Black Cat was away, the work piled up, but after the Black Cat returned, they were all left unemployed.
Yet, the unemployed workers didn’t blame the Black Cat.
Instead, they said it was good they had no work.
"Still, everyone’s struggling to find new jobs. You’re unemployed too, right?"
"That’s right."
The unemployed due to the sharp decline in monster damage... I’m one of them.
The irony that some people rely on monster damage to make a living.
But I can’t deliberately cause monster damage.
"Hmm... The workers are all waiting for the giant cat tower construction to start, but that hasn’t even begun yet."
"What’s that?"
"Oh, right. You don’t have a phone. Recently, W-City’s government website held a vote on the Black Cat convenience facilities. Originally, the Black Cat’s bed was the top priority, and they were discussing materials, but lately, the Black Cat shrank, right? So the cat tower... Wait, let me show you."
A cat tower? Do these humans think I’d use something like that?
As I frowned, Yoo Hyena fiddled with her phone and showed me something called W-City Black Cat Cat Tower Blueprint.
Looking at the image, it didn’t seem so bad.
"When are they making it?"
"Well, it’s undecided. People are fighting over which district to build it in..."
"Fighting?"
"Everyone wants the Black Cat in front of their own homes, I guess."
"Sounds noisy."
I already dislike noisy meal times, but a place that’s noisy even outside meals?
My rising interest in the cat tower vanished instantly.
"Is there no work besides the cat tower?"
"Well... I think you’d make a good hero, but it’s dangerous... Lately, there’s talk of sending W-City’s heroes, who’ve been resting thanks to the Black Cat, to other cities. Oh! How about finding a part-time job?"
"Part-time job?"
I recalled the construction workers’ conversations about part-time jobs.
Easier than site work, but the pay is meager.
And no lifting women.
"I like lifting women."
"Well, there’s no lifting women, but if you work at a convenience store, restaurant, or butcher shop, you can eat too, right? It might not be enough for you, but it could fill you up a little."
Yoo Hyena briefly explained the benefits of the part-time jobs she recommended.
Convenience stores have discarded food, restaurants provide lunch or let you eat leftovers, and butcher shops let you take trimmings while handling meat.
"People who need immediate meals prefer these jobs. Since you’re strong, a butcher shop might hire you on the spot for heavy lifting."
Yoo Hyena fiddled with her phone again.
Peering closer, I saw a job postings board.
"Ah, the convenience store near my company is hiring. Want to go together?"
"Sure."
Having almost finished eating, I threw the wrappers in the trash and returned to Yoo Hyena.
Unlike me, whom crowds naturally part for, Yoo Hyena was stuck among the people.
"Thanks to the Black Cat, there are more pedestrians lately... I wonder if we can make it before lunch ends."
"I’ll help."
"Huh? Ah, what?!"
"Whoa, look at that. Insane."
"How tall is he?"
"Must be a superpower human."
"Wow, wow... Take a picture."
At her worried voice, I grabbed Yoo Hyena's waist and lifted her overhead.
Pushing forward, people stared and made way.
Outside the park, I set down Yoo Hyena, who was covering her face with both hands.
Now a bundle of shame emitting a spicy scent, she opened her tightly shut mouth.
"Han Mu-ryo, every time you do this, I get so embarrassed..."
"Why?"
"When you grab a woman’s waist or stomach like that... It’s not that you can’t, but at least say something first, ask..."
"Got it."
I headed to the convenience store near her company with her.
***
"No ID or phone? Then even if it’s Ms. Oh Hana’s request, I can’t hire you."
"Can’t I vouch for him instead?"
After arriving at the convenience store with Yoo Hyena, the manager asked for my ID first.
Yoo Hyena offered to guarantee my identity, but the manager hesitated and refused the interview outright.
"If this person’s identity isn’t verified, I can’t hire him."
"I have an ID."
"You have an ID?"
I pulled out my A-City superpower human registration card from my pocket.
The manager’s expression twisted completely.
"What, are you a thug from A-City? Think I’ll be scared just because you’re a superpower human? What’s your grade... A, A-rank...?"
Clicking his tongue with sticky hostility, the manager’s attitude changed when he saw the grade.
"Why is an A-rank superpower human applying for a convenience store job? Even if jobs are scarce, this is too much."
"Han Mu-ryo, were you an A-City resident? Your name... Why is it Park Deun-deun?"
"Park Deun-deun is also my name."
At my answer, Yoo Hyena and the manager blinked in disbelief.
Then, after hearing Yoo Hyena, the manager coughed and spoke more firmly.
"Sorry, but it’s even more impossible now. Listening to this, it seems Ms. Oh Hana doesn’t know much about you either."
"He’s not a bad person. He even saved me from a robber once."
"Right, if Ms. Oh Hana introduced him, he can’t be bad. But... lately, we only hire W-City residents. Outsiders might be trying to settle in W-City by taking jobs. And A-City, no less. Absolutely not. They’re the worst of the Whyong faction. If he were a normal person, I might consider it as a refugee case, but an A-rank superpower human? Why come to W-City? Suspicious."
"Calling it the Waeng faction... You can’t reject someone based on rumors like that..."
"It’s no joke to me. I can’t feed those who exploit our cats. Now, outsiders are not allowed. Our store bans Waeng faction members."
The manager mentioned that strange term Starlight had used before and kicked Yoo Hyena and me out.
Outside, I looked down at the flustered Yoo Hyena and asked.
"They won’t hire without a W-City resident card?"
"Sigh... Lately, everyone’s sensitive about the Black Cat issues."