Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Different Minds
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We made it back home safely.
It was my first time wandering around at night, but nothing major happened.
"Whoa, today's haul is insane."
Jang Ho-seop marveled at the loot we'd laid out.
We'd especially scored a ton of mana stones.
After all, we'd pretty much cleaned out what Park Chairman had hoarded like an ant.
"Bro. Instead of us running around farming ourselves, pulling off a big score like this..."
I'd had the same thought as Jang Ho-seop.
That looting what others had gathered seemed way more efficient.
"In the end, that's a path to mutual destruction."
"Yeah, you're right. It was just a bad impulse for a second."
It'd be great in the short term.
Hell, it might even stay good for a while.
But considering all sorts of scenarios, a bandit's life usually ended miserably.
"Let's sort this out tomorrow. You three wash up first."
This wasn't something to dive deeper into right now.
I told the women to go first.
Then I called Lee Yu-na aside.
"Lee Yu-na."
"Yes."
"Take care of Bom noona, yeah? Use your skills on her too."
I had some business with Jang Ho-seop and Lee Jang-su in the meantime.
"Yu-na."
I figured she'd nod and head off right away.
But Lee Yu-na just stood there, looking up at me.
"Call me Yu-na. You're the only one who keeps me at arm's length..."
Her face was anxious.
"Yu-na."
"Yes?"
"Yu-na, take care of noona."
"Oh, sure! I'll... I'll clean her up nice... Uh, anyway. Got it."
The moment I used her name, Lee Yu-na averted her eyes.
Her face flushed as she scurried off like she was fleeing.
"Ho-seop, Lee Jang-su. Give me a hand."
"Sure thing!"
I headed to the yard with the two men.
Park Chairman lay there collapsed.
"Grab him here. You take this side."
"What're we doing?"
"Pulling bones."
I planned to wreck Park Chairman's arm and leg joints completely.
Make sure he couldn't do a damn thing.
Crack.
"Guhhh!"
I started with the arms.
Park Chairman screamed through his gag.
I ignored it and moved on to the next.
I had no intention of killing this bastard easily.
He'd touched what was mine.
'Different from Mandu-gwi's crew.'
Park Chairman's sins were heavier than those punks who'd squatted in my house without permission.
Bom noona was still alive, after all.
If Mandu-gwi's group had touched Mother's urn, it'd be a different story.
"Bro. What about the market? You just gonna ditch it?"
We were finishing the shoulders and moving to the lower body.
That's when Jang Ho-seop spoke up.
"I thought maybe you'd absorb it."
"Why?"
"'Cause we could just take over what the Revival Society was doing."
Legs were harder to dislocate than arms.
I brute-forced it.
A weird sound came from inside Park Chairman's body.
"Guhhh... Guh."
Park Chairman passed out.
"I don't like using other people's stuff."
"Oh? Ah... Gotcha."
Jang Ho-seop had a point.
We could keep the Revival Society going somehow.
But it wouldn't be efficient.
The market had way more old folks than young ones.
And most importantly, that's where Bom noona had suffered.
"Too many things I didn't like about it."
"Yeah. If that's how you feel, bro, then that's that."
Jang Ho-seop nodded without prying further.
"Pull that a bit. Knees too."
"This comes out?"
"Yeah. Pops right out."
I disassembled Park Chairman's joints like Lego pieces.
Now he couldn't move on his own.
"Ugh. That's brutal."
Park Chairman had been fading in and out.
Seeing his final state, Jang Ho-seop shook his head.
"Let's head in."
"What about him?"
"Leave him there."
We showered and had dinner.
I had a bunch of minor cuts, so Auntie healed me up.
Bom noona was thrilled, saying it was the first time in ages she'd had a full belly of warm food.
"Everyone, good work today. Night watch..."
There weren't any threats near my house.
Still, we kept the watches going.
"Bom noona starts tomorrow."
"I'm fine. I slept okay there too."
"Noona. Just do as I say."
Jang Ho-seop had first watch tonight.
I was last.
Since I'd be heading out tomorrow for levels, this was the extent of my consideration for her.
"Alright, everyone get some rest."
The talk wrapped up, and we dispersed.
Bom noona winked at me and grabbed a tumbler from the kitchen cabinet.
Maybe 'cause she'd been over a lot.
It felt comfortable, natural.
Lee Jang-su, on the other hand, seemed extra worn out today.
Not just fear, but anxiety and unease too.
'Should I talk to him?'
I considered pulling him aside but dropped it.
He wasn't hostile toward me.
'Just focus on noona tonight.'
I said goodnight to Jang Ho-seop prepping his watch and went to the master bedroom.
Bom noona filled the tumbler with water and followed naturally.
"Wait, didn't you say she's not your girlfriend..."
I heard Jang Ho-seop mutter as I closed the door.
Late into the night, when everyone was asleep.
Lee Jang-su, on watch, headed upstairs.
"Yu-na, wake up."
"Mmm... Dad?"
Lee Yu-na struggled to open her eyes.
The toll of the long, grueling day was plain on her face.
"Yeah, it's Dad. Get up and pack your stuff. Quick."
Even so, Lee Jang-su urged his daughter on.
"What? Why? What's going on?"
"Shh. Keep it down."
"What's the matter? I'm sleepy."
"Come with Dad. I'll explain on the way. Hurry."
Lee Jang-su planned to leave this place.
With his daughter.
"Where at this hour? Yi Hyun oppa worked so hard to get us here."
Ignoring Lee Yu-na, Lee Jang-su grabbed her backpack.
"Dad. Dad? What's wrong?"
"We gotta get out of here."
"Fine, why?"
Lee Yu-na sat up.
Seeing her father's face, she sensed something was off.
"Sai-hyun."
"Yi Hyun oppa?"
"Yeah. You saw what he did earlier."
He recalled the day's events.
"Just killing passersby like nothing... You know how many he killed today?"
"That was to save Bom unnie..."
"Yu-na. Why are you defending him? He's not right in the head. No normal person would do that. No guilt at all."
Lee Jang-su raised his voice for a moment.
He grilled his daughter about what Sai-hyun had done to Park Chairman in the yard.
"He treats human lives like dirt. Selfish to the core."
"So? That selfish guy saved you and me. Forgot already?"
"Yeah, I'm grateful. But..."
This time, Lee Yu-na raised her voice.
"Dad. I'd rather have my finger scraped than see someone badly hurt."
"That's different. Pack up. We're leaving."
"No, you put that down. Sunbae said so. Any other time maybe, but right now, we have to stick to Yi Hyun oppa no matter what."
Lee Jang-su stared at his daughter, speechless.
"I'll be Yi Hyun oppa's pinky finger at least. Then if something happens to me..."
"Something happens? Why would anything happen to you!"
"It could. I'm even more sure now, after seeing him save Bom unnie today."
Lee Yu-na recalled the day's events too.
How Yi Hyun had fought so many just to save one person.
Not caring about anything to rescue Yun Bom.
"Why... Why do you think that? He sees everyone as tools. You could get tossed aside anytime. How don't you get that?"
"Exactly. So just become a precious, necessary tool."
The father and daughter clashed.
Lee Jang-su found his contradicting daughter unfamiliar.
"Dad. I'm so happy right now. If I work hard, I level up. Don't you get what that means?"
"You..."
"It rewards my effort. Have I ever asked you for anything? Back when I was swimming, everyone else..."
The talk turned into an emotional showdown.
Dragging up the past.
"Yu-na. Dad's doing this for you..."
"No. This time, listen to me. I'm saying this for you too."
Lee Jang-su gazed at his daughter with a helpless look.
"I hate losing. Hate having stuff taken from me."
"Yu-na... This isn't about that..."
"I hate whispers behind my back, those girls judging your clothes... All of it! I'm gonna win. From now on, no one badmouths me to my face."
Meanwhile, Lee Yu-na's eyes burned with conviction.
"I'll do whatever Yi Hyun oppa says. Level up, eat well, live well! So don't say that. Don't badmouth Yi Hyun oppa in front of me."
Lee Jang-su slumped down.
"Remember. Yi Hyun oppa saved us. He'll keep doing it."
Lee Yu-na's affection for Yi Hyun wasn't just romantic interest.
"You... How. Why. What did he..."
Absolute trust.
The time together was short, but enough for her.
Her instincts pointed to Yi Hyun.
"What about oppa? You're clueless, Dad. Can't you see it right here?"
Lee Yu-na stood, snatching the backpack from Lee Jang-su's hands.
"How... How did our girl end up... Yu-na. What if he... to you..."
He feared his daughter would be ruined.
Felt it was already too late.
He tried to persuade her somehow but couldn't even finish his stammering.
Knock knock knock.
The knock came.
"Excuse me. I'm in the next room."
It was Jang Ho-seop.
"Uncle. Where you headed this late? How dangerous is it out there?"
"If we follow the path we took... That swordsman guy's place."
Lee Jang-su blurted out his plan in surprise.
"Pfft. Yongsan Station's an orc field. Bro cleared it 'cause he's bro. You'd die halfway, uncle. And what changes there?"
Jang Ho-seop remembered Yi Hyun's words.
To keep an eye on Lee Jang-su.
And tonight, while prepping watch, Yi Hyun had reminded him again.
Lee Jang-su seemed really anxious.
Jang Ho-seop hadn't brushed it off.
"Talk to me instead."
He beckoned Lee Yu-na, then led Lee Jang-su out.
To the room he shared with his mom.
"Sit."
"Come on in."
Kim Soo-jung welcomed Lee Jang-su with a smile.
No sign of annoyance despite being woken.
"You've been through a lot mentally. Kids, huh? Parents' hearts are never at ease."
Kim Soo-jung started softly.
Lee Jang-su could only listen in his turmoil.
He figured the moment those two woke Yi Hyun, he and his daughter were done for.
"It's about Yi Hyun, right?"
Kim Soo-jung's skill was Skilled Harmonizer.
Using it opened the listener to her words.
"But you know how strong Yi Hyun is."
Jang Ho-seop had once told his mom he didn't get why she had that skill.
But Kim Soo-jung knew.
The time soothing hypersensitive moms and guardians.
Listening to struggling nurses' woes.
All that coalesced into her Fundamental Skill.
"Don't overthink. Look, there's this line."
Her words carried weight.
"One side: Yi Hyun's allies. Other: enemies. Which you prefer?"
"It's not that black-and-white..."
"Sure, hypothetical. If you had to pick?"
Lee Jang-su barely chose Yi Hyun's side.
"You know it too. Anxiety hits hard. Simplifying helps."
Her voice gained power.
"For Yu-na... Devote yourself to Yi Hyun. Earn his recognition."
"Huh?"
"If you're that worried, get into Yi Hyun's good graces."
"What do you..."
Her voice pierced his ears.
And his own mind.
"Jang-su. Devote yourself, and Yi Hyun will accept you. You have that capability."
"Even so, he's a psycho..."
"Then if Yu-na's in danger, Yi Hyun will drop everything to save her."
Lee Jang-su couldn't argue.
"What Yi Hyun did today was self-sacrifice. Didn't you see his wounds? For Bom..."
Kim Soo-jung's gentle voice filled the room.
The late-night talk dragged on quite a while.
The next day.
Lee Yu-na woke me and headed to bed.
I was on final watch.
Slide.
I glanced at Bom noona's sleeping face once.
Then quietly stepped into the living room.
The spoils we hadn't sorted yesterday were there.
Among them, one set aside on the table.
A Spirit Stone.
Park Chairman had three of them.
'Yes.'
I was curious.
Would it hit level 3?
What changes would come?
'Taking longer this time?'
As it absorbed the mana stone, the Spirit Stones stuck together like dough.
The original one, bigger now, looked like it was devouring the new one.
But it was sluggish, slower than last time.
Slide.
Then the bedroom door opened again.
"Hyun."
Bom noona came out beaming.
Wearing just one of my t-shirts.
"Why up already? Sleep more."
"Mmm... Hehe. Just for a sec."
She burrowed into my lap where I sat.
Staring blankly at the Spirit Stone in front of us, she asked.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Combining them."
"Combining? Pfft... What's that? Sounds naughty."
Noona's hand brushed my skin.
Dawn was slowly breaking.
"Ah, feels like I woke up."
Her drowsy voice brought back last night.
I stood.
Stood up.
