46
Ch.46 The Instinct of a Monster
"Rehabilitation means forgetting the past where you did bad things, living a righteous life, and atoning for your sins."
"That’s strange. Then do the wrongs disappear? What about those who were harmed by them?"
"Of course, the wrongs don’t disappear. The victims would want the perpetrator to be punished rather than rehabilitated..."
"Then why is rehabilitation necessary?"
"It is necessary."
Han Mu-ryo set down the bowl of soup he was eating and frowned.
"If rehabilitation is necessary because, as you say, people can change, then by the same logic, couldn’t someone who has been rehabilitated revert back to their old ways?"
"Then should we kill all good people too, since they might do bad things someday?"
"That’s not it. But if you say we shouldn’t kill inhuman humans just because there’s a chance they can become good, then the law is wrong."
"...Why do you think that?"
"Monsters have the instinct to eat humans. Humans who are like monsters also have the same instinct. Nature doesn’t change."
A tense feeling—Yoo Hyena’s lips dried as if she were walking a tightrope while holding the leash of a beast.
"If you care about humanity, monsters must die."
"So you’re saying criminals instinctively make choices no different from monsters, so they should die?"
"Correct."
"Then... Hey, Mu-ryo? Why aren’t you eating your food right now?"
Noticing something, Yoo Hyena pointed at the untouched bowl of gukbap Han Mu-ryo had set down.
"Mu-ryo, you’ve been prioritizing conversation over eating your gukbap for a while now, haven’t you? Even though you love eating, why is that?"
"I can eat later."
"Right, you’re more curious about the conversation than your instinct to eat, aren’t you? And the reason you’re curious is because you want to understand my thoughts, right?"
"That’s correct."
"And the reason you want to understand is... Because you want to get along better with me... Right?"
"...Is that so?"
"Not just me, but with other people too, right? Someone as strong as you could easily take the gukbap by force. So you want to understand to get along well... Right?"
"Hmm..."
Seeing Han Mu-ryo lost in thought again, Yoo Hyena expanded her reasoning further.
"Rehabilitation is about teaching someone how to overcome their instincts again. Wanting to understand others and being understood makes people refrain from doing bad things. Instincts can be overcome—that’s what makes us human."
"If you can overcome your instincts, you’re human..."
"Right? You’re human too, Mu-ryo. That’s why you’re overcoming your instinct to eat the soup right now, aren’t you?"
"Human..."
"Exactly. There’s even the Black Cat, right? Even monsters can overcome their instincts."
Han Mu-ryo, his expression stiff, picked up the gukbap bowl and set it back down in silence.
Though a mutant, the Black Cat is the greatest example of a monster overcoming its instinct to prey on humans and instead helping them.
"If even monsters can do it, why can’t humans? If you keep resisting, even those who seem irredeemable might have a chance to return."
"The cases of them returning seem few."
"But the fact that there are any at all is worth noting. And among those people, many made mistakes out of necessity, just as you said."
"So rehabilitation isn’t for the sake of those who did wrong, but for those who didn’t?"
"Yes. Plus, if we don’t even give them a chance to rehabilitate, they might do worse things. A cornered beast lashes out harder, doesn’t it? If villains are humans like monsters, we should believe there’s still some humanity left in them and try to communicate. If that doesn’t work... Then there’s no choice..."
The humanity remaining in monsters—Han Mu-ryo slowly closed and opened his eyes at those words, his dark gaze settling.
The ‘monsters’ Yoo Hyena spoke of were villains.
But to Han Mu-ryo, those words didn’t sound like they referred to villains.
"Actually... Even though I said all that, I think you’re right, Mu-ryo... I often wonder if rehabilitation is really possible. Like how forcing carnivores to eat grass makes them sick."
"Because that’s how they’re born."
"So even with rehabilitation, it all comes down to believing the other person is human... Do you know the story of the shepherd? To protect the sheep, you must kill the wolves—living with them is impossible. But dogs, the same species as wolves, can be used to protect the sheep, right? You hope it’s a dog, not a wolf, and teach it if it does wrong... But if it turns out to be a wolf... Yes, killing it is right. Still, I think it’s okay to carefully check whether it’s a wolf or not at least once."
Dogs and wolves are different.
Monsters and villains are different.
Even if humans become villains, they can still return to the fold of humanity.
"To make the world a better place, as many people as possible must think and act rightly. For that reason... Even villains shouldn’t be killed carelessly. If we say, 'Since monsters exist, it doesn’t matter if people die, crime is fine,' then humans won’t fight monsters—they’ll just be chased by them."
The fold of humanity is what keeps humans from becoming beasts.
That’s why, even if they suffer harm from beasts who reveal themselves, humans strive to protect that fold.
Because they believe humans are better than beasts, because they believe they must remain human.
That’s how humanity has survived.
"In the end, rehabilitation is an ideal. But if people don’t dream of ideals, things won’t improve. We must all uphold the ideal together... It’s not that rehabilitation is necessary, but the belief that it’s necessary is what’s needed. It’s a bit hard to understand, isn’t it?"
"No, I understand."
"...Really?"
"Humans, weaker than monsters, survived by striving to follow the rule of not killing each other... Right?"
"Uh... And?"
"Believing in rehabilitation isn’t for those who can’t be rehabilitated, but for those who truly made mistakes. If we abandon the ideal of rehabilitation, we’ll shed even more blood than by killing monsters."
Han Mu-ryo’s understanding was infinitely close to Yoo Hyena’s answer.
To live happily together, one cannot seek happiness alone.
Everyone must put in a little effort to survive.
"The law exists to protect the weak from each other. It’s not too sharp because it considers the moment it might stab them by mistake. It’s about remembering that the other is human and attempting dialogue..."
"Breaking the rules by force for what you want is the act of a monster, not a human..."
As Han Mu-ryo muttered blankly, Yoo Hyena felt something was off.
His expression seemed hollow, like when he talked to Starlight—as if the essence of the conversation had gone astray.
Noticing her gaze, Han Mu-ryo, who had been stuffing his mouth with meat, spoke.
"Humans are human because they protect the weak. They grew as strong as monsters by moving for the weak. Even if reality isn’t like that, it was possible because they strove to make it so."
Even laws that seem flawed exist for the weak.
Failing to properly punish the strong is also for the weak.
If the rules of monsters, based on strength, were applied, it would no longer be a human world.
"If you’re strong, you don’t need to follow the law. But because you follow it, you’re human."
"...That’s right. Though... Unlike what we say, reality is a mess."
"It doesn’t matter. Isn’t that the ideal of being human?"
"Huh? Oh, right?"
Seeing Han Mu-ryo respond as if he understood her, Yoo Hyena’s lips curled up on their own.
Because Han Mu-ryo is also human, he must uphold the law for humanity’s sake.
Even if it’s hard, striving for the ideal is what matters.
"Effort to remain human..."
Saying this, Han Mu-ryo picked up his bowl again and gulped down the now perfectly cool gukbap.
Is this what it feels like to teach love and understanding to a beast?
With a heart full of pride, Yoo Hyena placed more meat in Han Mu-ryo’s new bowl of gukbap.
"I never imagined I’d have this kind of conversation with you, Mu-ryo."
"Why?"
"Well... I thought you were the type who’d only say things like 'Meat good, soup good.'"
"Meat good."
"Wait, Mu-ryo? Are you pretending to be dumb on purpose?"
"Not dumb."
"Mu-ryo?"
What’s with him? Han Mu-ryo, who had seemed enlightened moments ago, reverted to his usual self in an instant.
Just earlier, he had the contradictory charm of a beast with intelligence—now he was just a beast.
What a weird guy... Thinking this, Yoo Hyena went back to eating her delicious-smelling gukbap.
The meal ended after Han Mu-ryo finished his 70th bowl.
"Good meal."
"Thank you! Come again! Preferably with a reservation next time!"
"...You ate a bit less today? Are you holding back?"
"Gukbap is salty."
Realizing even her sense of portion sizes was warped, Yoo Hyena wondered if she should add more salt to Han Mu-ryo’s food.
Taking the card from the exhausted but happy restaurant owner, she stepped outside, ready to head home.
Then, Han Mu-ryo, having finished his business, tried to leap onto a streetlight again without a word.
"W-wait! It’s night! Walk me home!"
"Hmm."
"And stop breaking streetlights! Why do you keep breaking them? Is it fun?"
"Kind of fun."
"Huh? No way... You’re not serious, right?"
Han Mu-ryo slowly averted his gaze, and Yoo Hyena, about to scold him, burst into laughter instead.
The more she looked at him, the more he seemed like a giant child.
A mischievous child who listens well if taught properly.
"Don’t do it again. Streetlights are paid for with taxes! Just one light gone makes the night so much scarier."
"Too bad."
"Too bad... Seriously, no more. Promise?"
"What’s a promise?"
"Huh? You don’t know promises...? Here, hold your hand like... This...?"
As Yoo Hyena forcibly took Han Mu-ryo’s hand to make him promise, he raised both hands above his head.
"I don’t really get what a promise is."
"Are you really a child?"
Is he just messing around for fun?
Yoo Hyena erased her earlier thought of him being a giant child.
This is a giant, stubborn, ridiculously strong child.
At least he’s kind-hearted—that’s some comfort.
"Look, this streetlight is broken because of you. It’s dark now."
"Streetlight was weak."
"Ugh, seriously..."
After Han Mu-ryo walked her home, Yoo Hyena thanked him and stepped inside, passing under the broken streetlight.
Flicker, flicker... Under the broken streetlight that flashed like gasping breaths, she looked up at Han Mu-ryo standing beside her.
"Then, be careful going back. Thanks again for helping me at night. And... If there’s anything else you don’t understand, feel free to ask anytime."
An inexplicable sense of responsibility for Han Mu-ryo sprouted in Yoo Hyena’s heart.
If I don’t teach him properly, he’ll probably do weird things somewhere else.
But he seems to understand well when taught, so maybe I should talk to him more when he visits the cafeteria.
"Yoo Hyena, let me tell you something."
At that moment, Han Mu-ryo spoke.
"Humans who become monsters can never return to being human."
"No, they can. Even villains. So..."
"I just ate until I was full."
"Huh...?"
"It’s not overcoming instincts—it’s ignoring them. So it’s just endurance."
"W-wait, Mu-ryo, why are you suddenly—"
Han Mu-ryo stepped close, leaning in.
The unfamiliar proximity startled Yoo Hyena, who shut her eyes tight. A low, beast-like growl whispered in her ear,
"To me, you still look delicious."
"Eh...? Wh-what...?"
A hot haze rose in her head—was the night air always this cold?
This guy’s too much like a beast...! What does he mean, 'looks delicious'? What’s he trying to say by enduring his instincts?
Her heart pounded so loudly she forgot to breathe.
Just as she gulped, the sound tightening her chest, a siren blared through the night like an electric shock to her heart.
A monster alert echoed in the distance—had a monster appeared somewhere else?
The small, noisy sound gradually steadied her heartbeat.
Regaining her senses, Yoo Hyena stepped back under the streetlight’s light.
"...T-too close. Not yet, that kind of thing."
Why am I like this? She glanced at Han Mu-ryo under the broken streetlight, her heart still unsteady.
Han Mu-ryo wasn’t looking at her but somewhere far away, his brow furrowed.
At that moment, Yoo Hyena also realized something was wrong.
The siren was getting louder.
No—it was spreading across the entire W-City.
[Emergency alert! Citizens of W-City, please evacuate immediately. Repeat! Emergency alert! All citizens of W-City, evacuate at once!]
Beep! Beep! Beep! Emergency alarms blared from all over the residential area, lighting up the dark streets.
People rushed out, fleeing toward shelters as buildings sealed their entrances.
"Evacuate."
"Mu-ryo!"
Han Mu-ryo didn’t step on the streetlight—he leaped onto a building in one bound.
Among the fleeing crowd, Yoo Hyena, looking up at him, remembered that Han Mu-ryo was an incredibly powerful superpower human. She ran toward the shelter.
The cold voice of the emergency broadcast cut sharply through the night air, which had been thick with tension moments ago.
[The Black Cat is attacking people! Current casualties: 5 children, 47 adults dead!]
Yoo Hyena bit her lip.
So it’s finally happened.
[Repeat, the Black Cat is attacking! Citizens, do not approach the monster and evacuate immediately!]