Her Request
When Seong-min came home, his mind was crowded with thoughts.
Hye-suk noticed at once.
"Seong-min..."
She prepared two cups of coffee, carried them over to the sofa, and sat down.
"Something on your mind...?"
"On my mind?"
"Yeah... Ever since you got back today, you've looked like you're thinking about a lot of things..."
Her question made him realize he had been lost in thought even after arriving home.
"It's... because of Min-hyeok."
"Min-hyeok...?"
"Yes. Today... I went by his place."
"You did?"
Hye-suk already knew. Starting Monday, the kid named Min-hyeok had stopped showing up for the courier unloading shifts, ignored every text, and never answered his phone—he'd simply gone dark. From what she'd heard he seemed sociable enough, a decent kid, and then overnight he had vanished. She had even bet on Tuesday that he would turn up, and Seong-min had bought her a nice dinner for it.
That same Min-hyeok had not come to work the following Monday either.
As Seong-min talked, the worry on his face was plain. Hye-suk saw it clearly.
"Did you go find him and actually meet him?"
"I did. I met him. But..."
"But?"
Seong-min clicked his tongue, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"I met a woman there named Han A-reum."
"Han A-reum?"
"Yes. Min-hyeok's older sister."
"Ah... his sister."
"But... it seemed like Min-hyeok's sister couldn't speak."
"Oh my. What do you mean?"
Seong-min told her everything that had happened there. Hye-suk gave no reply; she simply listened in silence while he spoke.
"So... I wrote my phone number down for Min-hyeok's sister and told her that if I couldn't reach him, I'd text that number tomorrow or the next day and come by again to see him."
"And then you just came home...?"
"No. Min-hyeok showed up."
Seong-min explained how Min-hyeok had asked him to wait outside, the things he had said to his sister inside, and finally Min-hyeok's own words—that he probably wouldn't be able to keep doing the courier work.
"What do you think, ma'am?"
"That boy Min-hyeok... it sounds like he and his sister are living alone together... From what you said, it feels like there's something they can't talk about."
"Right? Looking at Min-hyeok's attitude, that was exactly the impression I got. So I couldn't really push any further... I just said we should grab a meal sometime and left."
"You did well... If you'd pressed him harder in that situation, it would only have made Min-hyeok more uncomfortable."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, that's how it looks... And if it really bothers you, leave it alone for now. Later, after some time has passed, get in touch, buy him a meal, and ask about it casually then."
"Would that be okay?"
"For now, that seems best."
Hearing Hye-suk's advice, Seong-min felt the same way.
"Seong-min, don't take it too much to heart either... Min-hyeok has his own circumstances, doesn't he...? And if that kid found out you were fretting like this, he'd only feel sorry and awkward."
"Yes... It might just be me sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."
At his words, Hye-suk gently reached out and covered his left hand with both of hers.
"Don't think of it that way... I actually like that side of you."
"Pardon?"
"I've been watching how you've lived since you moved in as my tenant. You stood as guarantor for a high-school friend who begged you, got scammed for it... and yet you've lived so steadily that you've already paid back more than thirty million won, haven't you? And even after that big accident that should have laid you up for a whole month, you still haven't fallen apart—you're still working hard every day... When I see that side of you, Seong-min, I think you're admirable and amazing."
"Hearing you say that, ma'am, is a little... embarrassing."
Seong-min scratched the back of his head with his free hand.
"No need to be embarrassed~ I'm saying it from the heart."
It was no lie. Every word Hye-suk spoke to him was sincere.
An orphan.
In high school he had stood guarantor for a close friend, been betrayed, and been left holding the debt.
Even in that situation he had scrimped and worked himself raw, determined somehow to pay it all back.
Watching him had filled Hye-suk with pity and heartache.
At the same time, the way Seong-min had kept smiling and refused to break made her feel proud beyond words.
"So I hope you won't blame yourself or think badly of yourself..."
"Yes... I won't."
"Good, Seong-min..."
The smile on Hye-suk's face and the warmth in her voice made something soft and warm bloom in Seong-min's chest.
"By the way."
"Hm?"
"How long are you planning to keep holding my hand?"
"Oh my."
Startled, Hye-suk let go at once.
"Look at me... hohoho."
She laughed awkwardly, a faint flush rising on her cheeks.
"But I liked it."
"Hm...?"
"When you hold my hand like that, ma'am, it feels so warm and good. It made me think... She's really looking out for me."
Seong-min...
"I'll keep going. I won't let myself get discouraged—I'll keep living hard from now on...!"
Watching him clench a fist and pump himself up, Hye-suk clenched both of hers as well.
"That's right—keep your spirits up~"
"Yes, ma'am!"
After sharing coffee and that honest conversation with Hye-suk, Seong-min climbed back up to the rooftop room.
"I'm glad I told her..."
His heart had been heavy and tangled, but thanks to Auntie Hye-suk it felt as though those feelings had settled somewhat.
Seong-min reached into his pocket and took something out.
It was the pink hard candy she had pressed into his hand just before he left.
Min-hyeok's sister... she seemed like a good person.
The way she had peeked at him through the crack of the door while he waited had been a little startling, but her smile looked pure and she seemed kind.
But does she really not speak?
She had written her name on the floor with her finger, and answered only by nodding—everything pointed to her being unable to talk.
Han A-reum...
The image of her placing the candy in his hand and turning away with that smile lingered in his mind.
The weekend arrived, and Seong-min slept in.
After rising early every weekday, weekend sleep-ins tasted like pure honey.
He woke a little past ten—Hye-suk had come to wake him again today.
He ate the meal she had prepared, drank coffee with her, and let the morning drift by.
Hye-suk had errands of her own, so she went out a little after noon.
Past one o'clock Seong-min headed to the gym.
Even on a day like this, going to the gym to train, stack experience, and level up felt good.
He stayed there working out well past five that Saturday.
Sunday he rose earlier than the day before.
That day he met Team Leader and the other gombang uncles for a meal.
It was the first time he had seen them since being discharged.
So Seong-min trained at the gym in the morning, then met them in the afternoon for a meal with soju on the side, catching up properly.
The gathering was to celebrate his discharge, so he was the guest of honor.
He ate well on their treat.
By the time he got home he was pleasantly tipsy, but not so much that he would miss work the next day.
Status Window.
After packing his bag and spreading out his bedding, Seong-min lay down and opened the Status Window.
He had leveled up once at the gym today, so he put the points straight into Martial Power.
Name: Lee Seong-min
Age: 24
Education: Graduated Hancheon High School
Level: 65
Points: 0
Banter: 10
Appearance: 10
Vigor: 10
Martial Power: 34
Physicality: 50
EXP: 34/100%
While I'm raising things, I might as well push Martial Power to 50 too, then look at the other stats.
Raising Physicality to 50 had already shown him clear results. Courier loading and unloading had become easier once his stamina improved and he had more energy left. Raising Martial Power to 30 had also made him noticeably stronger.
So Seong-min planned to bring Martial Power up to 50 as well and grow even stronger.
That way, whether he was working or training, he would be able to do it properly.
After that he intended to start raising Appearance too.
He closed the Status Window and drifted off for the sake of tomorrow.
A new week was beginning.
Monday morning came and Seong-min went to work as usual.
With Min-hyeok gone, he was paired with another uncle and got on with the job.
Courier unloading was manageable now.
His Physicality had increased, and raising Martial Power had made him stronger still.
"Good work today. Here."
"Thank you."
The moment he took the daily-wage envelope always filled him with a quiet sense of accomplishment.
That Monday, too, Seong-min earned 170,000 won.
When the shift ended on schedule he went straight to the gym and trained.
Work diligently.
Train diligently.
Level up.
That was Seong-min's goal right now.
Earning money while working was simply a given.
Just last week his net profit after expenses had already been 1.33 million won—after depositing the 300,000 won monthly debt payment and excluding the first 170,000 won daily wage Hye-suk had given him. Adding today's 170,000 brought his income to 1.5 million.
He planned to keep showing up tomorrow and the day after, so by the end of this month he would clear another 850,000. That would push his net profit past two million for the week.
In the past, any spare cash had gone straight into debt repayment, leaving him constantly short.
Thanks to that, of course, less than twenty million remained now.
If he kept this up, leveling would continue and the money would keep coming in.
All of it was possible only because Physicality and strength were backing him up.
So through the newly begun week Seong-min worked steadily, went to the gym steadily, earned money, and leveled up.
Min-hyeok, who no longer came to the courier job, was beginning to fade from his thoughts—when something happened.
"Hm?"
It was Friday. He had worked hard all morning, eaten bread and milk for lunch, and was resting when a text arrived from an unknown number.
He almost ignored it, but the first few words peeking from the preview made him open it.
That was all the message said.
Nothing else.
What? Min-hyeok's sister?
Min-hyeok's sister—that was the woman who had introduced herself as Han A-reum.
What on earth is going on?
The plea for help left Seong-min puzzled.
Even while working that afternoon, the message kept nagging at him.
Why would Min-hyeok's sister send him a text like that?
When the shift ended and he received his daily wage, Seong-min did not go to the gym.
He sent the reply and headed for Min-hyeok's house.
He turned into the alley and walked toward the multi-family house where Min-hyeok lived.
Light glowed beyond the door.
Seong-min gave the entrance a light knock and announced himself.
A shadow soon appeared behind the glass, the door opened, and the woman who had introduced herself as Han A-reum stood there.
Then Seong-min froze.
"Have you... been crying?"
It was obvious—the traces of tears still marked the corners of her eyes and her cheeks.