The One Who Does Not Work
I lock eyes with the two women, the corpse of Go Mi-hye lying between us. Under my scrutiny, both of them lower their gazes.
“So, you two talked about this separately? What exactly did Go Mi-hye say to you?”
The words Go Mi-hye uttered before she died still gnaw at me. Seol-hee takes a moment to collect her thoughts before recounting their conversation.
“At first, she said it was difficult because of her relationship with you, Lee Hyun.”
“Difficult?”
“Yes. She said you were just so… ah, well.”
“Speak freely.”
“She said it was difficult because you were so… overwhelming. She apologized to me, saying she was sorry.”
Apparently, Seol-hee had once questioned Go Mi-hye about her lack of effort in household chores. Go Mi-hye had used her sexual relationship with me as an excuse. That was the beginning.
From then on, Go Mi-hye fabricated stories as if she were consistently intimate with me.
“It’s a lie. I have never shared a bed with Go Mi-hye.”
“Yes. I was a fool. Now that I think about it, there were so many things that didn’t add up….”
Go Mi-hye had told a lie that was destined to be exposed. ‘Why on earth?’ Was she confident she could capture my heart? I don’t know the reason, but regardless, things didn't go according to her plan.
“She told me that she was just an ordinary person, while you were an Awakened.”
“Yes.”
“She said she wanted to focus more on you, Lee Hyun, but because she had physical limitations, she asked me to help her.”
Seol-hee believed Go Mi-hye’s words were true and began to take on more and more of the household work.
“You should have told me or Hyun….”
“I didn’t intend to. I naturally thought it was my job.”
“Why? We both chose her as a housekeeper.”
“Because I could do it. I didn’t want you, Lee Hyun, to be bothered by household matters. And….”
At Bom’s question, Seol-hee answers with a sad expression. Then, she looks at me.
“I have Hye-rin, after all.”
“Hye-rin?”
“Yes. To me, she is a treasure beyond compare in this world… but to others, she isn’t.”
As expected, there was another reason. Go Mi-hye hadn’t just asked for favors; she had weaponized Seol-hee’s guilt.
“That woman said it. Everyone else works solely for Lee Hyun. In this situation, a baby is just a burden… and that you, Lee Hyun, were bearing that burden in her stead.”
“No, that crazy bitch.”
Bom uses harsh language for once. She scolds Seol-hee, asking how she could have just listened to that.
“But it’s the truth. It’s the truth, so what could I do?”
Seol-hee had resolved to work even harder. She believed that helping Go Mi-hye was ultimately the way to help me. Simply put, Go Mi-hye had been gaslighting Seol-hee—all to make her own life more comfortable.
“You were deceived.”
“Yes….”
“Go Mi-hye deceived me as well.”
That is why I killed her outright, even though there were ways to turn her into a mere applicant for the faction. She had maintained her true nature even while attending the Time of Cultivation. Even though, as an ordinary person, she should have been more susceptible to the effects of the skill.
It wasn’t that Aunt Sujeong’s skill hadn’t worked. Go Mi-hye had simply interpreted the way she devoted herself to Samira and me in her own selfish way. Therefore, I could not give her a second chance. ‘Though, I suppose I did kill her in a fit of rage, too….’ Regardless, she is dead, and that is the end of it.
“But… I still don’t think Go Mi-hye’s words were entirely wrong.”
“Seol-hee. That woman was just….”
“I know. The relationship with you, Lee Hyun, was a lie, and she deceived me just to make things easy for herself.”
Seol-hee looks at Bom for a moment before turning her head back to me. Anxiety and melancholy still linger within her.
“Lee Hyun.”
“Yes.”
“It might not make sense, but I like you, Lee Hyun.”
Seol-hee speaks, looking at me with eyes that seem to have reached a resolution. I know. It has been quite some time since she harbored romantic feelings for me.
“You don’t believe me, do you? Saying something like this so soon after being widowed….”
Is it a part of her survival instinct? Or did Aunt Sujeong’s skill have some influence? I don’t know the reason, but since I can feel it through Target Detection, there is no reason not to believe her.
“I don’t really know either. At first, it was just the thought that I had to protect Hye-rin… but at some point, I started to think that if it were you, Lee Hyun, you could protect both me and Hye-rin.”
I listened to her story intently.
“That’s why I tried to push myself on you a little… do you know that?”
“Yes. I am aware.”
“Hehe. I’m a crazy woman, aren’t I? Thinking only of my own position.”
Seol-hee blames herself. She says she thought of me merely as a means to ensure Hye-rin’s safety.
“I realized that too late. I don’t have the right to do that. Naturally, I wouldn’t even be enough to satisfy your heart, Lee Hyun.”
“Seol-hee….”
“A married woman with a child. That is who I am. No matter what Go Mi-hye said, my circumstances do not change.”
I finally understood the source of the negative emotions I felt from her.
“Bom only looks at you, Lee Hyun. The others are the same. But I have Hye-rin.”
Seol-hee had been harboring these worries all by herself. Perhaps those emotions were eroding her firm resolve.
“I walk around in these light clothes, I eat until I’m full. I sleep comfortably at night. I know all of this is thanks to you, Lee Hyun.”
“Seol-hee, you are doing your part.”
“No. That’s not enough. You have bestowed all of this upon me, but I cannot think solely of Samira and you, Lee Hyun.”
Just as Go Mi-hye had maintained her own nature, Seol-hee was maintaining her heart for Hye-rin.
“I’m sorry. And yet, I didn’t know my place and harbored vain feelings for you.”
That is why she says she is sorry.
“So, I will continue as I have been.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since I have Hye-rin, I should do the work of two… no, three people. I thought that would be a way to repay your grace, even if only a little.”
I was wrong. Seol-hee is different from Go Mi-hye. She wasn’t being consumed by anxiety or depression.
“What Go Mi-hye said doesn’t matter. This is my decision. Perhaps I’m doing this to erase my own guilt.”
Seol-hee had found her own way to survive in Samira.
“Lee Hyun.”
“Yes.”
“So, I ask of you. Please treat me more roughly. Think of me as a tool.”
At the same time, it was a way to protect her daughter.
“You said it to Go Mi-hye, didn’t you? That it was just a way to relieve your urges. I’m envious of even that. Even a mere object can grow on you if you use it enough.”
Seol-hee gets off the sofa and kneels beside the corpse.
“Can’t you do that for me as well? I will try harder. You said my skill was useful, didn’t you?”
“Will doing that make your heart feel at ease, Seol-hee?”
“Yes. I am confident I will work very hard. I am sorry to be like this. But please, I beg of you.”
The reason she was anxious was that she didn’t know if this method was right. She was also sorry for saying such things to me.
“If, as time passes, you allow even a little bit of your heart to open to me… I would be grateful if you could share that warmth with Hye-rin later on.”
Seol-hee bows her head. She presses her forehead to the floor.
“It is my own greed, but I still ask of you. I am sorry.”
Bom watches her, hands clasped as if in prayer, as if cheering her on.
“That is a truly foolish method.”
Seol-hee offers no reply. She simply waits quietly for my answer. Seol-hee had chosen a direct approach, without resorting to any other tricks. And I found her foolishness to be quite appealing.
“Understood. Let’s do that.”
Seol-hee began to sob quietly. It was a cry that washed away her negative emotions.
I finished our conversation and rose from my seat. I had some thoughts regarding Seol-hee, but I decided to speak of them later. It was almost time for the Time of Cultivation.
“Bom, Seol-hee, stay at the house.”
“Huh? Why?”
“There’s no need for you to attend today, so tidy up and get some rest.”
I washed my hands and hurriedly ate a meal. Then, I left the house right on time.
‘It’s a long day.’
I carried Go Mi-hye’s corpse and headed down the stairs. The group, the villagers, and even the interns working in the main building—many people were gathered to attend the Time of Cultivation.
“Boss! Enjoy your meal… wait, what?”
Their gazes focus on me. Jang Hoseop starts to greet me, then stops in shock.
“That… who is that?”
“Go Mi-hye.”
“Pardon?”
I answered briefly and continued walking. People followed in a swarm.
“Lee Hyun, are you going with us?”
“Yes. I will be attending the Time of Cultivation.”
Aunt Sujeong sticks to my side and asks.
“Is there a special reason?”
Experiencing various events today, I had taken the time to think about how I should lead Samira. Samira is a group where the influence of an individual named Lee Hyun is immense. Everything hinges on what I say, who I keep by my side, and what judgments I make.
“I have something I want to say. Give me some time first.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Until now, I have done my best with whatever came my way. And I will continue to do so. However, I have established one grand principle I wish to convey. I will deliver this to everyone through the Time of Cultivation, in my own voice.
“Should I go up first and guide them?”
“No, I will go up immediately.”
I arrived at the annex’s cultivation hall. The cultivation hall is a large auditorium used for the Time of Cultivation and other events requiring many people to gather. I step onto the podium, listening to the murmurs of the interns. They are welcoming my appearance while simultaneously harboring questions.
I walk to the center of the podium and draw a dagger from my waist.
Thud—
I hung Go Mi-hye’s corpse on the wall. I had lifted one of the corpse’s hands and fixed it in place with the dagger. Everyone is unable to take their eyes off the naked corpse dangling there. I stood before the people, using the corpse as my backdrop.