Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Sisters (2)
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Choi Jun-pil scowled.
"Failed?"
The man with the burn-disfigured face lowered his voice. His eyes were so eerie that no matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem normal.
The thugs stood there trembling. After glaring at them for a long while, he finally spoke.
"Explain."
The burly leader of the thugs hurriedly spoke up. Choi Jun-pil, this mad bastard, had a truly foul temper, so caution was key.
"Well... the job was pretty much a success. The guy was already obsessed with gambling, so no big issues there. That father fucker—"
Bam!
The thug who got kicked tumbled across the floor.
"Urgh..."
"What did you call the man who's going to be my father-in-law?"
"S-Sorry... I'm sorry."
He gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his gut, but inside, resentment boiled.
'He sets it all up and calls him father-in-law... Fucking hell!'
Choi Jun-pil approached the fallen giant and squatted down.
Then he placed a hand on the giant's head, fiddling with it as he said,
"Continue."
The giant trembled at the palm resting on his head.
"Y-Yes... Yes! That future father-in-law of yours got hooked on gambling, so no problems there. As planned, Ms. Lee Da-hye and the woman who's to become your sister-in-law had a bit of a hard time."
Choi Jun-pil's eyes bulged wildly.
"No injuries, right? If she's hurt in any way, you..."
The giant panicked. This lunatic fondling his head terrified him.
"Y-Yes, of course. Absolutely no rough stuff, I swear. Just... a little mental strain..."
Choi Jun-pil nodded approvingly.
"Good. It's heartbreaking, but unavoidable. And then?"
The giant stammered.
"It... it was almost done... We were taking them to the place you mentioned, and you were supposed to swoop in like a prince to save the day..."
Choi Jun-pil shuddered with delight at the mere thought. Then his face hardened as he said,
"Yes. Just imagining it makes me happy. And then?"
"Some crazy bastard showed up..."
As soon as Si-woo's name came up, Choi Jun-pil's hand trembled.
"Guh! I-It hurts, bro!!"
Whoosh!
Flames suddenly erupted from the hand gripping the giant's head.
Red fire bloomed from his scalp, and the giant convulsed. The agony of the burns was excruciating.
"Aaaah! S-Save... Gahk!!"
Choi Jun-pil, snapping out of it belatedly, clicked his tongue.
"Tch. So fragile."
Having left a gruesome burn scar on the giant's head, Choi Jun-pil asked,
"So, what kind of guy is he?"
The giant could only scream in pain and shed tears.
As Choi Jun-pil's gaze turned ferocious, the trembling giant barely managed to continue.
"Ugh... H-He just became a C-rank hunter recently!"
"C-rank?"
Choi Jun-pil froze. Wary at the same rank as himself.
"Th-That's right, from F to C in just a week! He's insane."
His face twisted in rage as he listened to the rambling explanation.
"C-rank in a week? Bullshit! That doesn't make any sense?!"
"I-It's true. Exactly eleven—no, ten—Guhk!"
Bam—
Choi Jun-pil kicked the giant mid-sentence. The man rolled on the floor groaning, but he ignored it. This Choi Si-woo guy was getting on his nerves.
"And who the hell is that guy!"
Until now, he'd dealt with every fly buzzing around Lee Da-som. But this fly was bigger than expected.
C-rank in a week after awakening... Impossible.
Jealousy surged at the guy's talent.
This might be the only chance to take him down.
His eyes grew icy. He'd been C-rank for over three years, fully matured.
No matter how well the newbie fought, he could crush him with mana superiority. Mana only grew with time.
Even elixirs had limits. His mana pool dwarfed the newbie's by multiples.
He wanted to rush over and kill him right then, but held back. That would bring the enforcers down on him.
"Hoo..."
Choi Jun-pil took a deep breath to calm himself.
The plan was nearly complete; he needed to focus on her. Some punk wasn't important.
He had to be the prince saving her from despair's abyss.
"Torment them more. Make it unbearable! Time's short."
Si-woo rushed over after getting Lee Da-hye's call.
He couldn't hear her voice over the phone, just the sounds of fighting.
Something shattering.
Lee Da-som's scream.
Hard to grasp the situation from audio alone. No response even when he called out, things too urgent.
Just breaking and clashing noises.
'Swift (), Light ().'
He shifted Mixed Origin Qi's properties and kicked off the ground. His body lightened, propelling him forward in bursts.
Not enough to just run on the street—he bounded off walls. Some stranger's roof caved in, but he didn't care.
Straight to the sisters' house.
Thud! Tap!
Leaping like flight, their home neared in seconds.
When the voices from the phone matched the wind-carried sounds.
"Kyaaah! B-Blood!"
Lee Da-som's scream, and blood entered Si-woo's sight.
One thug clutched his wrist, groaning. In front stood Lee Da-hye, glaring with a kitchen knife.
As the thugs' eyes turned vicious and they opened their mouths to yell,
Si-woo kicked off the wall.
He leaped into the air, landing between the thugs and sisters.
Boom!
"Wh-What the...!"
The thug about to shout panicked at his sudden arrival.
Si-woo checked the sisters first—no visible injuries. The thugs were the hurt ones, but that wasn't his concern.
"You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
Lee Da-hye, startled by his entrance, finally nodded.
"Y-Yes..."
Si-woo glared at the thugs.
"What the fuck. Trying to kidnap them in broad daylight?"
"Kidnap my ass! We're here for the money. Can't you see this?!"
The thug backing away bared his teeth and waved an IOU.
"Fuck. Think being awakened makes you special? Who the hell are you to interfere? I'm a legit creditor!"
Si-woo snorted at the idiotic response.
"Give me your account."
"What?"
"Your account number, dumbass."
The hesitating thug rattled it off, and Si-woo wired 300 million in one go.
He snatched the IOU from the thug's hand.
It was for just under 300 million. Reading it, Si-woo glared.
"Come near them again, and I won't play nice. I'll show you real filth. Got it?"
"F-Fuck..."
The thug got the money but looked like he'd been punched.
Si-woo continued.
"If that father shows up again over his debt..."
Silver flashed between Si-woo and the thug.
Slash!
The thug's shirt shredded instantly. No scratches on his skin—chilling precision.
"Argh!!"
The thug reflexively patted himself down in terror. But he couldn't retreat, clutching his knife-slashed wrist.
Si-woo tilted his head.
"Want me to cut it off clean?"
The thug freaked at the blade now pressed to his wrist.
These were the sisters' prey. If they wanted revenge, he'd help.
Unaware, the thug squeezed his eyes shut. His shoulders slumped, and he backed away weakly.
With the thugs gone, Si-woo checked the sisters. They stood dumbfounded, eyes wide, mouths agape.
Just like sisters—identical expressions. Personalities opposites, yet uncanny.
"Calling me means you're joining the clan, right? Oh, you're clan members now, so casual speech is fine. This is your signing bonus."
He handed the IOU to blankly nodding Lee Da-hye.
"Next time, just call the cops..."
Si-woo shook his head at her attempt to speak. Cops wouldn't handle this.
"Nah. Awaken, and small fries like them can't touch you. Let's go."
"...Where?"
Si-woo scanned the wrecked house, then their worn clothes.
Well-maintained but outdated overall.
"Room and board provided."
*
Lee Da-hye felt like she was dreaming.
Countless misfortunes since childhood had convinced her life was suffering.
Whenever a rare good thing happened, calamity hit tenfold, like payment due.
'Maybe I should just die...'
Her father wasn't family. He was the source of misery.
Lee Da-hye lived for her only sister, Da-som—unable to die.
She fed her sister working at the factory.
But a year ago, laid off, no jobs since. Fired instantly wherever she went.
Sister's convenience store gig was their sole income.
Her timid nature grew worse.
She'd been the breadwinner at the factory... Now a parasite.
'If I die, won't Da-som be better off?'
Better than scraping by on her pittance part-time pay...
The thugs who'd started visiting half a year ago were hell.
Another "gift" from Father.
Staring at them, something whispered inside: Kill them all. Prison after, sure.
Wouldn't Da-som be freer? Tormentors gone, parasite her gone...
Gripping the kitchen knife, glaring, someone dropped from the sky.
The hunter who'd come recruiting for his clan. Desperate, she'd called—he actually came.
New misfortune or sweet respite? Unclear.
'Better if it's misfortune.'
Misery hidden in sweetness hurt too much—better plain bad.
But it was so sweet it hurt.
"Eat this. Why are you so skinny?"
The food in her mouth was so delicious tears welled up.
'Food like this exists...'
Her guard shot up higher.
Lower it, and returning misfortune would drown her in tears.
"Let's buy some clothes."
When soft, perfectly fitting clothes replaced her patched, uncomfortable ones.
Arriving at a clean, spacious home beyond compare.
She didn't relax.
Sitting blankly on the bed, the man named Si-woo entered.
"Ready? We can do it later if it's too much."
"No. Now."
Yes. This must be the misfortune come for her.
She closed her eyes, relieved. She was good at enduring.