Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Sisters
-----------------------------------------------------------------
- [Jang Ye-hwa]: Just you wait.
Choi Si-woo chuckled as he read the text from Jang Ye-hwa. When had she been whining like that? And now she was sending this.
He could easily picture how much she'd agonized over hitting send. He resolved to wrap her up in a tight embrace the next time she showed up.
- Next time, you book the room. Or just come over to my place.
He waited, but no reply came. Smiling, Si-woo pocketed his smartphone.
Two days had already passed since he'd awakened Jang Ye-hwa.
In that time, they'd remeasured their ranks and formed a clan. They'd even hung a sign at the building entrance.
Salvation Clan.
It was the name Si-woo had chosen, infused with his ambition to save the lives of countless women using his manhood.
For now, the only members were Si-woo and Han So-young, but it was the first step toward his dream.
Han So-young, who had been following behind him, stared up at the sign with the same proud look on her face.
She murmured,
"Now... we just need to recruit more clan members."
Si-woo turned to Han So-young.
"Yeah. Any luck?"
Han So-young sighed in frustration. Finding the right talent was proving harder than expected.
"No... They said if someone like that existed, they would've made a move on her already."
She relayed what the detective agency president had told her.
"...Yeah, I heard that too."
Si-woo nodded.
A pretty girl in desperate straits was prime prey—easy to exploit at a glance. If someone like that turned up, those sharks would snap her up without hesitation.
He recalled the detective agency president's candid words, shared only because they were clients.
Si-woo clicked his tongue. He could ask Jang Ye-hwa for help, but he didn't want to keep taking without giving back.
"No helping it. Let's scout ourselves."
"Ourselves...? You mean...?"
"Yeah. Let's check out the slums. Who knows?"
Si-woo and Han So-young climbed a long, steep hillside—one that would leave any ordinary person gasping for breath.
Awakening meant no physical strain, but the state of the place still surprised him.
Asphalt lay cracked and crumbling everywhere, and the streetlights looked dubious at best. Decent roads were nowhere to be found.
Han So-young eyed a rusted iron gate, broken open into a dog-sized hole, and said,
"So... what now? Knock on doors and ask around?"
"Hmm... that's a bit too forward."
As Si-woo pondered their next move, a faint sound carried on the wind.
"Huh?"
Something shattering. A woman's scream.
Si-woo channeled his internal energy into his ears.
"...Looks like we found one. Let's check it out."
He started toward the faint noise.
"W-wait. I'm coming too."
They navigated twisting stairs and a labyrinth of alleys before arriving.
Si-woo grimaced at the door. Its handle was smashed, the lock dented as if bashed with a blunt weapon.
Crash!
Something broke inside the house, followed by a woman's piercing scream.
"Just kill me!"
Chaotic noises erupted. Si-woo frowned slightly and pushed the door open.
Creak—
The rusty hinges groaned, revealing two opposing groups.
One side: burly thugs in suits, obvious gangsters. The other: two young girls.
The silver-haired girl stepped forward, shielding the black-haired one behind her.
Like a mother protecting her child. Oddly, the girl out front looked even smaller and younger.
At most, she seemed like a high school senior.
"Why are you doing this? I might awaken any day now. Just wait! Can't you tell from my hair?"
She was Korean, yet her hair was silver—an unmistakable sign of high awakening potential. She might trigger it the moment she hit adulthood.
The lead gangster loomed intimidatingly.
"Hmph... dunno about that. Borrowed money's gotta be repaid, yeah?"
Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes. It was so unfair.
"When did we borrow any money?!"
The thugs, looming like folding screens, began stroking their baseball bats. The air grew thick with menace.
The big guy's tone turned icy.
"Tch...! Your old man's debt is yours. What's with the attitude?"
The girl shouted back, her thin legs trembling but her jaw clenched tight.
"I don't know that bastard! Get it from him!"
A thug with a bat slung over his shoulder stepped closer.
"Hah! Listen to this little bitch talk about her daddy."
"Crazy... Why the hell is that scum my dad?!"
As the silver-haired girl's voice rose, the trembling girl behind her clutched at her hem. Her wide eyes fixed on the bat.
"Da... Da-som..."
The silver-haired girl glanced back, her voice softening.
"...Just wait a little longer. I'll pay you back once I awaken. That's all you want, right?"
The gangster grinned sleazily, his eyes filling with vulgar lust.
"Yeah, well, I'd prefer payment right now."
"We don't have money... Please, just wait."
The gangster chuckled low. She was almost hooked. One more push.
"Sigh—Is that how you beg? Fine, I'll wait... if you come with me."
"Wh... where to?"
It was obvious nothing good awaited if she went. The black-haired girl gripped her sister's hem tighter.
She glanced toward the kitchen, her eyes darkening at the sight of a knife.
That's when Si-woo stepped forward.
"Hey."
"...Who the hell are you?"
The big guy tensed. Si-woo's balanced build screamed anything but ordinary. These knife-edge lifers had sharp instincts.
Si-woo glanced at the girls.
"I have business with these young ladies."
The thug scowled and spat on the floor.
"...So you got business, and we just say 'Sure thing, sir' and scram?"
Si-woo shrugged.
"Or what? Gonna rough me up? You punks?"
"...You look like an awakener. That okay with civilians? Ain't that illegal?"
"Pfft...! Legal like what you do? Wanna call the cops and check?"
The thug's ugly mug twisted. He ground his teeth and barked at his crew.
He gave the girls one last glare.
"Tch. Let's bounce, boys."
The gangsters spat on the ground as they left, shooting Si-woo dirty looks but not daring to touch him.
Si-woo didn't know the full story, so he left it there.
The girls huddled together, eyeing the newcomer warily. The thugs were scary enough, but the guy who'd chased them off didn't look any friendlier.
Si-woo gave them a gentle smile, hoping to ease their nerves.
"Hey, girls—or ladies? Anyway, mind if we talk? I've got a proposal."
Their looks were more than enough reason.
But their guards were at maximum.
The girl in back kept glancing at the kitchen knife.
Si-woo rubbed his forehead.
Han So-young stepped forward from the side.
"Um... we're not weirdos. Could we just chat for a minute?"
Seeing a woman seemed to ease their tension, if only by a hair.
Lee Da-hye and Lee Da-som.
Those were the sisters' names. Their plight was all too common—but pure hell for them. A gambling-obsessed father who'd racked up massive debt before vanishing into the night.
The thugs had been closing in.
Si-woo sized them up as he listened to their story.
The silver-haired girl who'd stepped up front was actually the younger sister.
The black-haired one was 21; her sister, 19. No wonder she looked so young—she really was still in high school.
'Three months till adulthood.'
Si-woo nodded at the silver-haired girl. Standing up to those brutes took guts.
But her sister's eyes were unsettling too—hollow, almost eerie.
Si-woo gave a brief rundown of the clan.
"......So that's why I'd like you to join us."
"I haven't even awakened yet."
Si-woo addressed the silver-haired girl's matter-of-fact reply. Sorry, but no.
"I'm sorry, but I'm recommending your sister."
The silver-haired girl's face flushed with confusion. Da-hye, who'd been listening blankly from behind, flinched.
"...Me?"
"Yes. What do you say?"
Da-hye, silent for a moment, nodded.
"I'll do it."
Da-som jumped in shock. She grabbed her sister's arm, yelling,
"Sis!! Hey, what are you gonna do with an unawakened civilian? At least tell us what the job is!"
Si-woo nodded along and pulled out a mana contract.
"Mana contract. You know what this is?"
Da-som frowned and shook her head. Civilians wouldn't.
"Put simply, it's a pledge backed by your mana. 'Keep secrets,' that sort of thing. You can't break it—you become the enforcer."
Da-som furrowed her brow.
"What happens if you do?"
"You lose your mana."
"Then it's useless before awakening, right?"
Si-woo shook his head.
"Civilians have so little mana, it's riskier for them. Promise secrecy with this, and I'll explain everything. I swear, it's a good deal for you."
"......"
They exchanged glances before finally nodding.
With their agreement, he laid it out plainly.
"I have a way to awaken women. I plan to awaken Da-hye and make her a hunter. And the method? Sex, in simple terms."
Han So-young jabbed his side, but it had to be said.
The silver-haired girl cocked her head.
"Pardon...?"
Si-woo drove it home.
"Sex."
Da-som turned beet red and exploded.
"Ugh...! What the hell?! Don't spout nonsense!"
But Da-hye, who'd been staring blankly, spoke quietly.
"I'll do it."
"Sis!!"
Si-woo eyed the erupting Da-som and murmured calmly.
"Even if awakening fails, guaranteed 5 million won monthly plus room and board. Five-year contract... and a 300-million-won signing bonus."
That was the exact amount of their debt.
To the stunned sisters, Si-woo held out his palm.
"See? Would a C-rank hunter mess around with you?"
Wind swirled in his hand. Da-hye nodded.
"Understood."
"N-no! Sis, let's hold out a bit longer. I might awaken soon. Please?"
Si-woo worried they'd start fighting.
"No arguments. Here's my contact—think it over and call. I'll wait."
As he rose, Si-woo's gaze swept the trashed house. The sisters followed suit.
The gangsters had torn through like a storm.
Standing, Si-woo added,
"If it works out, I'll even help you get revenge."
Something flickered in the black-haired girl's dull eyes.