Chapter 39: Safety Zone (9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: Safety Zone (9)
Note: This chapter contains depictions of physical and verbal abuse. Please read with caution.
“…….”
Sitting on a park bench, I checked the time. 11:00 AM. An hour had already passed since our scheduled meeting, and I found myself staring blankly into space, waiting without any guarantee she would show.
‘She said she had a meeting this morning.’
Yubin—Red—was supposed to attend a meeting this morning and then work her part-time job at the convenience store in the afternoon. Of course, the version she told me was that she had an office assistant job in the morning and the convenience store in the afternoon.
Regardless, knowing she had a meeting, I figured she would arrive around lunchtime, considering the times we usually met.
Since we hadn't exchanged numbers, there was no way to contact each other. The plan for today had started with my suggestion, so I decided to sit tight and wait a little longer.
*
The night before.
As soon as I returned home, I opened my wardrobe. I looked through my meager collection of clothes, wondering what would be best to wear tomorrow. Even though it was a sudden plan, I felt no hesitation—only a fluttering excitement, wishing for tomorrow to come sooner.
“Ah….”
As I looked through my clothes, my mind racing with thoughts of the next day, I belatedly remembered the meeting scheduled for the morning. It was Friday, so Pink wouldn't be there, and Blue and Yellow’s schedules were always so volatile that I never knew if they’d show up. Would it be okay to suddenly say I couldn't make it?
I had no way to contact Mr. A. It was a spur-of-the-moment plan, and I had rushed home so quickly that I forgot to ask for his number.
After some deliberation, I decided to contact Red. I tapped out a message on my smartphone.
[Red. I don't think I can make it to the meeting tomorrow. Is that okay?]
I sent the text and waited anxiously. Soon, the phone vibrated, and I quickly checked the screen.
[That’s rare. Green saying she can’t come.]
[It’s fine. It’s just one day. But what’s up?]
While I was agonizing over how to respond, another line from Red popped up.
[A man?]
Even though it was just a text, I could practically hear Red’s tone and see her expression. I struggled with how to reply. On the surface, yes, I was meeting a man….
Only then did it truly sink in. Is this… a date? My brain began to overheat.
“No, no. It’s not. It can’t be. It isn’t.”
It was just two people who had become friendly going to an amusement park together.
Nothing more, nothing less. No matter how much I tried to tell myself that, I couldn't stop my mind from racing and conjuring up all sorts of scenarios.
[No. I’m just meeting a friend.]
I sent the reply to brush it off, but as soon as I did, a thought struck me: Is my relationship with Mr. A really just a friendship?
In truth, he was someone far too good for me. He was a great conversationalist, so he surely had a smooth social life and plenty of friends. It felt wrong to compare myself—someone who did nothing but cause trouble—to him.
“As for clothes….”
I couldn't go out and buy something new right now, so I decided to pick the best thing I owned. I didn't know much about what people wore when they went out for fun, so I searched on my phone. From what I had, the best option was a white floral dress paired with a thin, light-blue cardigan.
I wondered if it was enough, but for someone as plain as me, it felt just right.
It probably wasn't a date, but since I was going out anyway, I looked up what people do on dates. I realized anew that there were so many different kinds of dates and so many happy people in the world. Of course, none of those stories were mine.
But for the first time, a day had come where I could create a page of my own. To Mr. A, it might just be an ordinary outing, nothing special, but to me, it was everything.
Still, I might be getting ahead of myself, so let’s assume it’s not a date. It’s not a date. It’s just a simple outing, just going somewhere for a bit. But… if this really is a date, wouldn't this be a truly important moment for me?
Without realizing it, I was thinking about Mr. A. What kind of person was he? He listened to me well, and he seemed like the type who could talk to anyone with ease. He was definitely too good for me, but since he was the first person I ever felt happy being around, I wanted to spend more time with him.
I couldn't fall asleep at my usual time. Lying on the blankets spread across the floor, I stared blankly at the patterns on the ceiling and kept thinking about tomorrow. My heart wouldn't stop racing. Imagining the amusement park I had never been to and picturing myself walking there, I couldn't stop smiling.
And then, the anticipation I held until morning came crashing down in an instant.
The door opened, and the moment my eyes met my dad’s, I saw him register my appearance. Before I could even utter a word, my vision shook violently. By the time I came to, I was collapsed on the floor.
My cheek stung. My dad had just swung his heavy hand.
Only then did I realize I had been hit again.
It wasn't that I had lost sensation. The sheer bewilderment of not knowing what to do had delayed the pain, which came rushing in moments later. But the pain wasn't the problem.
“What’s this? Scurrying out first thing in the morning. Are you planning to find a man and run away too?”
As I tried to lift my head from the floor, he grabbed me by the collar and slapped me again. One, two, three times…. He spat out curses with every blow, but they didn't reach my ears.
My mind was filled with only one thought: I had to get out in time for the meeting.
He was clutching my clothes—what about my clothes? I didn't have anything else decent to wear.
“You bitch. I gave birth to you and raised you, and all you think about is running away! Go ahead, try it! Go find some other bastard like your mother did!”
Still holding my collar, he shoved me. My head hit the wall, and I slumped back to the floor. I just have to endure this moment. If I can just get through this, the rest of the day will surely be full of joy. I believed that, biting my lower lip and holding on.
“Scurrying out every day and you can’t even bring home any money. You useless brat!”
“Agh!!”
I screamed involuntarily as he grabbed me by the hair. A loud cry, something I hadn't let out in a long time, escaped my lips as my vision spun again.
I am a Superhuman, and my body is different from ordinary people. My recovery speed is incomparably faster than a normal person's, and my dad knew that.
The hand gripping my hair slammed me onto the floor, and a foot wearing a worn-out shoe kicked me in the face. My wallet and a few pieces of makeup spilled out of my mini bag, and I burst into uncontrollable tears.
Still, I just have to endure. In a little while, he’ll lose interest in me, and then I can leave.
“What’s this?”
The moment he picked up my wallet from the floor, a single thought filled my head: Not that. Anything but that.
“Not that! Give it back!”
“Shut up!”
I tried to snatch the wallet from his hand, only to be struck in the face again. This time it wasn't a palm but a fist, and the pain was so intense I could barely keep consciousness. I had been in much more painful situations during duels, but this felt so much worse.
“Look at this bitch. You were hiding money?”
There was only 50,000 won in the wallet. It was money I had scraped together and saved for myself, but it vanished into his hand in an instant.
“You’ve got more hidden somewhere, don’t you? Huh?”
He dragged me by the hair into my room. No matter how much I screamed and begged for forgiveness, he tore through my room, upending my belongings. Of course, he found no more money. What was in my wallet was all I had.
“Don’t you dare move. If I catch you scurrying out anywhere, you’re dead.”
Exhausted by his own drunken rage, he pointed a finger at me and left the room. The door slammed shut with a bang, and the sound of the TV from the living room drifted in.
My clothes were a mess, and my carefully styled hair was ruined. As long as he was there, I couldn't leave. Time was ticking away, and there was nothing I could do.
……What was it that I wanted to do again?
*
“……Did I get stood up?”
I checked my phone; it was 1:00 PM. I had been sitting here waiting for three hours. The sun was particularly hot today, and just sitting still was exhausting.
Just in case, I sent a text to Yubin asking if her morning work was finished, and she replied that it was. She said she was going to a cafe after resting for a bit.
“So she finished a while ago.”
The time she should have arrived had long since passed. Forget the original appointment; even accounting for the meeting ending, she should have been here by now. The fact that she wasn't meant….
“I guess that’s that.”
It seemed asking a girl I’d only seen in a park for a week to suddenly go to an amusement park was a bridge too far. It was a situation born of my own mistake, so I couldn't blame anyone. I could only sigh.
“Why does nothing I do ever go smoothly?”
I had thought I might be able to get more internal information about Team Hunter Killer through Green, but at some point, that had become secondary. It had become more interesting to watch her change day by day.
Seeing someone who could clearly be bright and cheerful start to find her true self—for a Superhuman, I wondered if there was anything more ordinary and wonderful than that. Of course, that was just my speculation; other Superhumans might be living perfectly fine lives. But since all the Superhumans around me lived such difficult lives, I found myself wanting to help them find the selves they were meant to be.
It wasn't something an Invader should say, nor was it an action I should take, but I couldn't help it. It was just my nature.
Anyway, returning to the present and looking at reality, it seemed unlikely I’d be meeting Green again. To a girl as timid as she appeared, a stranger like me asking her to an amusement park—which looked like a date request no matter how you sliced it—was a premature move.
“Nothing for it, then.”
With a deep sigh, I stood up from the bench, took one last look around the park, and started walking toward the exit.
*
Time continued to flow. One hour, then two….
I sat silently in my dark room, waiting for the noise in the living room to stop.
Maybe it wasn't too late. If I hurried to the park, Mr. A might still be there. If I apologized until my hands and feet were sore, maybe we could still spend the remaining time together.
But it was so late; he must be very angry. If he hit me, maybe he’d forgive me after a few blows?
……What a stupid thought.
The clock already showed past 7:00 PM. Nine hours had passed since our appointment. There was no way he was still waiting. My dream of a single day’s ordinary outing was over.
“I want to go….”
What did I want to do?
Where did I want to go?
What is it that I want?
I didn't know. As the time for introspection came, no matter how much I thought about myself, no answers came. Only questions repeated in my head, an endless, agonizing cycle of unanswered queries.
“!!”
Suddenly, I realized the TV sound from the living room had vanished.
Had he gone out? I quietly opened my bedroom door and found my wallet lying on the floor in front of it.
Carefully picking up the wallet, I scanned the living room. My dad was nowhere to be seen.
I knew it was useless to go out now. But still, just in case, I went to the entryway and put on my shoes. Just then, the bathroom door swung open.
“Where do you think you’re scurrying off to at this hour?!”
My dad’s booming voice pierced my ears. As I tried to bolt out the front door, his hand clamped onto my mini bag.
“!!!”
Gasping, I shoved him away. The strap of my old mini bag snapped.
“Get back here!”
His voice chased me from behind, but I didn't look back. I ran. Holding my empty wallet, I ran toward the park like a madwoman.
Perhaps it was the nerves; my breath hitched in my throat. I stood there, staring blankly at the empty park under the 10:00 PM sky.
Step by step, I walked toward the bench where we usually sat.
The bench was empty.
Looking at the vacant seat, I felt like everything was truly over.
I felt so pathetic for expecting a single day—just one ordinary day.
To want what others had when I didn't even know what I should be doing was a luxury.
It was only natural that no one would be there twelve hours after the appointed time.
The strength left my fingertips, and the wallet I was holding fell to the ground.
I couldn't lift my head. I didn't even have the strength to try. My own powerlessness and pathetic state were so overwhelming that I couldn't even make a sound as I cried.
“Haha…. Ha……. Hahaha….”
A hollow laugh escaped me as tears spilled onto the ground.
My vision blurred with salt, and as the tears dried the moment they hit the pavement, I felt like I wanted to disappear from this world.
After all, a person who does nothing but cause trouble and helps no one would be better off not existing.
“You dropped your wallet.”
Along with a familiar voice, someone appeared in my tear-blurred vision.
It’s a dream. I’ve finally lost my mind and started believing my imagination is reality.
I lifted my bowed head slightly and saw a man kneeling on one knee before me, pressing the wallet into my hand.
Ordinary black hair, black eyes. With a faint smile on his lips, he was looking at me intently with those steady eyes.
My mouth hung open, and a sound came out, but no words formed.
“Ah, I….”
“You’re right on time.”
“What?”
The man, having placed the wallet in my hand, stood up and looked at me with an awkward smile. He was clearly seeing me in this battered state, yet he didn't ask a single question about it. Instead, he spoke to me in a warm, kind voice.
“But what should we do? I didn't look up any amusement parks that are open at this hour, so I don't think there’s anywhere to go.”
Twelve hours had passed. It wasn't 10:00 AM, but 10:00 PM. We had no way to contact each other, yet he had been waiting here for me, not knowing when—or if—I would come.
“Ugh, hic….”
A silent sob rose in my throat, turning into a gasping sound as if I were about to pass out. He looked at me with worried eyes.
“It is late, but is there somewhere you want to go? Or something you want to do?”
To me, who couldn't keep our appointment and showed up looking like a wreck, Mr. A spoke with the same voice and tone as always. I reached out and grabbed his hand.
“Please… help me….”
“…….”
No answer came to my desperately squeezed-out plea. Thinking he hadn't heard me through the sobbing, I mustered every ounce of strength I had and said it again.
“…Please help me.”
“Okay. I’ll help you.”
The moment I heard those words, the tears I had been holding back came pouring out. The pain I thought I hadn't felt came rushing in, and for the first time in years, I wailed aloud.
I had wanted to ask someone for help.
I wanted to go somewhere where no one would blame me.
I wanted a safe zone where I could finally be at peace.