Three Days Was Enough
Calm down.
This goddamn capitalism was finished anyway. No point obsessing over a pile of concrete.
Civilization was already smashed to pieces—so why not just move into whatever house I felt like?
Haha. Yeah. That would work.
"Like hell it would. Huh? You fucking bastard. Like hell it would."
"...Ugh."
I glared down at the man whose face had gone paper-white under the grip of a single hand, as if he were being hanged, then flung him to the floor.
"If you'd laid a finger on even one of these kids, you wouldn't even get to die. You understand?"
I really would have carved off their limbs and hung them out on the villa rooftop like dried chili peppers until they withered away.
No—winter, so more like frozen pollack than dried chili.
I looked at the two men trembling as they stared up at me, cracked my neck once more as the anger surged back, then turned toward the front door.
The tattered door creaked and groaned in the winter wind, and that wind was so uselessly cold the veins stood out on my forehead.
Thud—
Thud!
In the end I drove a heel into each of their stomachs, and they rolled across the floor with their eyes bulging as if about to pop out of their skulls.
"...Still. Well done. Both of you. Didn't know you could fight that well."
Driving off three prisoners who'd gone feral over women—yeah, that counted as fighting well.
"Th-thank you."
"It's nothing. Compared to everything Oppa's done for us."
Their tones were dry, but praise was still praise, so Soeun and Chaeyeon bowed their heads.
Their reactions, though, couldn't have been more different. Soeun accepted it awkwardly while watching my face; Chaeyeon, even saying the same words, looked genuinely happy.
Brushing the hair from her ear, trying to act nonchalant while her face turned red—I guess even she couldn't help that.
Still didn't get why she was that pleased. I shrugged once, turned my head, looked at the front door again, and let out a long sigh.
"Aigoo... there's really no fixing this."
"...I'm sorry. Oppa."
Yejin edged up beside me, hesitant, and apologized out of nowhere.
"What are you sorry for now. Did you sneak food behind my back?"
"No. It's not that... Oppa told us to watch the house carefully... and we let it end up like this..."
I just laughed, incredulous.
"How is this your fault. It's those fucking bastards' fault."
"B-but still."
"Don't talk nonsense. Come up with a plan. I need some dessert before I head out."
"...A plan?"
I brushed past Yejin, rummaged through a bag, pulled out a chocolate bar, and spoke while chewing.
"Yeah. A plan. How are we supposed to keep living here trusting that dearly departed front door? We could wake up with zombies taking bites out of us one by one because they mistook us for a buffet."
"...Th-then Oppa means..."
"We leave. Somewhere else. Forced relocation."
I tore into the chocolate bar with my teeth, stomped the writhing bastards once more for good measure—they seemed to love it—and kept going.
"P-please..."
"Please my ass. Huh? Want me to make it so you can't even say 'fuck'? Just yank that tongue out and it's done. Say the word."
"Khuh..."
The moment they'd realized what had become of the front door, I'd twisted every limb of their bodies myself. Now they could only beg for their lives without the strength to twitch a single muscle.
Looking at their condition, it wouldn't matter if I just left them and walked out. Like I'd said—they looked weak enough to hand over to Kim Sujin, our weakest member.
When I fixed Sujin with a look that roughly carried that meaning, she fidgeted, then bowed her head deeply in greeting.
...These sisters really do have good manners.
My anger finally started to ease. I smirked, started to raise a hand—then locked eyes with one of the bastards watching my mood from under my feet, and the rage recharged at full speed.
"You son of a bitch! Give me back my front door!"
Thud— Thud!
"Ugh! Ugh! I-I'm sorr—ugh!"
"Who told you to open your mouth? This won't do. Stick that tongue out. Leave you alone and you'll spew filth at the kids one more time before you die. Better just cut it off. Hey, Haejun. Bring a kitchen knife from the kitchen."
"...Yes! Hyung-nim!"
As I said it while grabbing the bastard's neck and shaking him side to side, Haejun flinched at the murderous atmosphere and was about to bolt for the kitchen—but before he could, Soeun pressed something into my hand.
"Here. Mister. Use this."
"...Oh. Thanks?"
A little blood still clung to it, looking freshly used, but that hardly mattered.
I immediately pretended to jam the blade into the bastard's mouth and start slicing. He just whipped his head this way and that with bloodshot eyes, begging with nothing but his expression.
I looked down at him coldly and said one thing.
"Shit yourself right now and I won't kill you."
"....."
The bastard who met my eyes trembled violently in pure terror and stayed silent. I was glad the sincerity got through. Saved me the trouble of actually demonstrating.
"I already wrestled with those corpses. You think I'd hesitate to decorate the place with meat chunks like you?"
Gore or whatever—I'd burned through all those feelings on the bus the first day, long ago.
Even so. I wouldn't do that in front of the kids.
Even Soeun, who'd handed me the knife, was tense, afraid I might actually go through with it. I couldn't miss the atmosphere coming off her right beside me.
Then Yujin met my eyes and covered her little sister's eyes with trembling hands. In the end I sighed deeply and tossed the kitchen knife aside.
"Forget it. It was still a house I got attached to. I don't want to make a scene scattering unnecessary blood."
There had already been enough of that chaos.
I stopped scaring the bastard and straightened my crouched legs.
Then I finished dumping the rest of the chocolate bar from the table into my mouth, grabbed both bastards by their blood-matted hair, and dragged them.
When I shoved my face close to the one about to scream from the pain and just stared, he clenched his jaw and desperately held it in.
"He's holding it in."
As I dragged the two of them toward the front door, Yejin caught my collar and whispered softly.
"...What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean what. Kill them. Should I spare the bastards who tried to rape the kids and failed?"
"No. It's not that... I just worry your hands will get dirtier..."
I looked at Yejin as she said it, eyes averted.
Whether she truly felt that way, or simply hoped someone close to her wouldn't deliberately commit murder, I didn't know.
But whatever her real feelings, I knew the words came from worrying about me—so I couldn't just shake her hand off and tell her not to say weak things.
"Kim Yejin. Look at my hands."
"...Yes?"
She looked puzzled, but obediently studied my open palm. I gave the girl who listened so well a few words that might steady her.
"If it's the dirtiness you're talking about, my hands got dirty a long time ago. Those fucking corpses were human once, in a way. Even rotting and falling apart—blood is still blood, right?"
"....."
Her complexion kept getting worse. Wrong approach?
Still, for the heart that was trying to look out for me, I almost patted her drooping shoulders—then saw the hair clutched in both my hands and gave up.
Instead I lowered my head, brought my mouth to her ear, and said one thing.
"For your safety, what's a little murder. Right?"
"...What is that."
At that bittersweet line that came out of nowhere, she finally smiled—small enough that only I could see—and let go of my clothes.
Then she stood there a moment, thinking, before startling at the gazes pouring onto the two of us and stepping back.
Soeun had been watching us intently from the side. She smoothly turned her eyes to check on Chaeyeon.
I approached, half-disbelieving, and found Chaeyeon asking Soeun with narrowed eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Looking at those two whispering, they're scouting a place to dump the bodies, right? Right?"
"...Of course. What are you even..."
Soeun shook her head hard and hurriedly put distance between herself and Chaeyeon.
Right after, I stopped playing around there too and stepped out the front door.
Instead of heading for the school, I changed direction, shoved the bicycle that had forced me out shopping earlier against the stairs with my foot so I wouldn't forget it again, then trudged up toward the rooftop.
Every time they struggled even a little, I wound the hair I was holding tighter and shook it. The bastards gave up completely.
Before climbing further, I stopped briefly at Park Jonghun's place.
When I knocked, he carefully opened the door and stuck his face out. I explained the situation and added that I was asking him to look after the kids while I was gone.
"Aigoo, of course. Sijun-ssi. If it's really a problem, you can just stay at our place..."
"We'll talk about the move separately later. Then."
As I grabbed the bastards who'd been slumped against the wall and dragged them up the stairs again, Jonghun's blank stare felt sharp on my back.
"Th-that... if I may ask what you're planning to do..."
"I don't feel like wasting energy on bastards flailing not to die."
Instead, I planned to borrow a little of Earth's power.
At those words Jonghun looked at me with dazed eyes, and I felt the bastards flinch below.
I met his gaze and added one more thing.
"If you want, would you like to watch?"
"Y-yes? No—no. I'm fine. I'll pass."
He shook his head hard, hurriedly bowed in greeting, and shut the door. His eyes were trembling as if an earthquake had hit.
Well—he was probably confused, thinking, Was him being kind to us just an act? Is this his real nature?
It was only because the things in my hands weren't the same kind of people. I hoped there was no misunderstanding.
Of course, that didn't mean I felt like adding any extra explanations.
"Let's go. You foolish beasts. Time to wrap this up."
"...Ugh."
Calling them beasts wasn't just a random metaphor or a jab. It was how I actually felt.
Bastards who get hard for minors because they can't control their lust—are they any different from animals driven by instinct?
These things that tried to rape, failed, ran, got caught, and now moan in this miserable state—are they really the same humanity?
From my own reason and logic, I could answer both questions without hesitation.
No way.
Now I would slaughter these beasts.
Borrowing the power of gravity.
Cleanly.