Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 78
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Glancing to the side, Kyung-wan saw Jeffrey asleep. He grabbed Jeffrey’s shoulder and shook him.
“Chicken’s here?”
But Jeffrey didn’t wake up. Instead, he toppled sideways and started snoring, khrr~ khrr~.
Only then did Kyung-wan sense something was off. He shifted his gaze left and right and saw a strange sight. A man wearing a brown paper bag over his head, dressed in a tracksuit, stood in front of an investigator.
The man with the paper bag also seemed to find the situation strange as he looked at Kyung-wan. Or maybe not, there was no way to tell. Curiously, holes had been cut where the eyes should be so he could see, yet no gaze leaked out at all; it was just pitch black inside.
The paper-bag man asked Kyung-wan.
[You… what are you?]
“A person?”
[Why aren’t you asleep?]
“I woke up.”
[…]
He could sense the other’s bafflement, but Kyung-wan didn’t care.
“Oh! Was I supposed to be asleep?”
[… Yeah.]
“I was sleeping until just now.”
Apparently frustrated by how off-key the conversation was, the paper-bag man asked directly.
[Are you an esper too?]
“So if you’re not an esper, you have to stay asleep? If that’s the case, then I guess I am one.”
[…]
“Even if you look at it that way, I don’t know what my power is.”
The paper-bag man stared at Kyung-wan and said,
[Then don’t interfere. If you don’t want to die.]
“H-Help me!”
At that moment, the investigator standing in front of the paper-bag man shouted toward Kyung-wan.
At the sound, Kyung-wan looked around, then gripped a hard, sharp-tipped ballpoint pen and slowly stood up.
Seeing this, the paper-bag man warned him in a tense tone.
[Don’t interfere.]
But Kyung-wan, with no small amount of contrarian streak, merely smiled faintly.
“I’ve got this shitty temperament where I only feel satisfied if I treat shitty people like shit, so I can’t just stand by and watch shitty things happening right in front of me.”
[…]
At Kyung-wan’s words, the paper-bag man looked at him silently for a moment, then pointed at the awake investigator and said,
[That bastard is not someone you have any reason to defend.]
“So you’re saying this guy’s actually a piece of shit?”
[Yes.]
“And how am I supposed to believe you?”
[Check it the way you’re good at.]
As if telling him to grab it, the paper-bag man held out his wrist toward Kyung-wan. He seemed to clearly know who Kyung-wan was and what ability he was famous for.
But would Kyung-wan really fall for such an obvious trick? He pretended to walk toward the paper-bag man, then quickly stepped over to the investigator and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Is what that guy’s saying true?”
If the investigator said no, that would be the end of it.
The investigator shouted,
“It’s a lie!”
Smack!
At the same time he defended himself, the investigator’s head snapped to the side, his own face did, that is.
Kyung-wan had slapped him out of the blue in response to his answer. Of course, from the investigator’s perspective it was out of the blue, but to Kyung-wan it was only natural.
“Looks like this bastard’s got a lot to feel guilty about.”
Considering he admitted with his whole body, without even being asked for specifics, “Yeah, I’m a piece of shit!”
And the sheer audacity of it. Despite clearly having something to hide, he showed no sign of it at all and spouted nonsense about being an innocent person. He reeked of sociopathic tendencies.
Kyung-wan asked the paper-bag man,
“So, specifically, what kind of fucked-up bastard is this guy?”
[… He called a woman who’d already been sexually assaulted in for questioning… and raped her again.]
Startled by Kyung-wan’s sudden escalation, the paper-bag man fell silent for a moment before explaining the situation.
“Is that true?”
When Kyung-wan asked again while looking at the investigator, the investigator shook his head.
“… No.”
Smack!
The investigator’s cheek snapped the other way. The shoulder Kyung-wan was holding testified that the investigator was lying.
At the shamelessness of the investigator’s attitude, Kyung-wan smiled in disbelief.
“This bastard still doesn’t seem to know who I am. Hey, you think all the stuff they say about my ability in the media and online is bullshit, right?”
Smack! Smack!
The investigator’s face rocked left and right with the slaps.
The investigator raised his arms to cover his face and shouted,
“Y-You! Why are you doing this?! You’re here to help with the investigation! What are you doing?! Grab that guy instead!”
At the investigator’s shout, Kyung-wan snorted.
“Do you think I’m your damn dog? If you say ‘bite,’ I bite? And if you really think about it, I’m a criminal just like that guy.”
The investigator panicked.
“Hey, this isn’t what we agreed on?!”
“What agreement? I just joined because I thought it was about beating the shit out of shitty people. Terrorists, drug dealers, shitty people, right? But there’s a shitty person here too. Why would I help a shitty person?”
Smack!
“Aaagh!”
After delivering another slap, Kyung-wan suddenly seemed to remember something, stopped the violence, and stepped back.
“Oh right! This guy’s not my share, is he? Go ahead. I’m out.”
[...]
As Kyung-wan stepped aside while speaking, the paper-bag man said nothing, but his entire body radiated confusion.
How should one put it? He seemed completely unable to predict how Kyung-wan would react.
[You’re not going to interfere??]
At the question, Kyung-wan shrugged.
“It’s a shame to give up the fun of beating up a shitty guy, but since the person involved has shown up, yielding is a virtue, right?”
“Y-You fucking bastard! Aagh!”
The enraged investigator raised his voice, only to get slapped by Kyung-wan and scream.
“What are you yelling for? What did you do so well?”
As the two squabbled, the paper-bag man cut in.
[Um…]
“Oh right! I said I’d step aside, didn’t I?”
[...]
When Kyung-wan really did step away, the paper-bag man was once again flustered. Kyung-wan ran his mouth at him.
“What is it? I’m not diligent enough to go out of my way looking for shitty people, but I’m not heartless enough to ignore a shitty person right in front of me just because it’s a hassle.”
Is that really something that can be explained with notions like human decency?
The investigator shouted at him.
“Lee Kyung-wan!”
That voice was desperate, as if Kyung-wan was the only lifeline left. For some reason, the investigator was powerless, probably because of the paper-bag man’s unknown ability.
Kyung-wan let the unnamed investigator’s voice flow out the other ear and continued,
“Oh, right! Mind if I give one piece of advice?”
[What is it?]
“Never, ever kill him. Absolutely not.”
At Kyung-wan’s words, the paper-bag man’s mask twitched. He seemed to have twisted his expression beneath it.
[Why?]
“You don’t seriously believe in things like heaven or hell, do you?”
[…]
When there was no answer, Kyung-wan burst out laughing.
“Bwahahaha! You really did? Pfft! You’re not a kid who believes in Santa Claus, are you? Hahaha.”
After laughing in disbelief, Kyung-wan added with a gentle smile,
“He has to pay for his crimes while alive. Why make it so easy by killing him? Don’t you know the saying, keep your head cold and your heart hot? What, you say your blood’s boiling so much from seeing that shitty face that you can’t think straight? Then imagine it. How should you make that bastard suffer? What should you do so he thinks living is worse than dying?”
Far from helping, Kyung-wan was fanning the flames. The investigator screamed, his face drained of color.
“L-Lee Kyung-wan! What the hell are you doing?!”
“What does it look like? I’m running my mouth to save you.”
Does that sound like saving someone?
“Don’t bullshit me, you crazy bastard!”
Kyung-wan replied with a smile to the shouting investigator and continued,
“They say it’s better to live rolling around in a dung heap than to die, right? Who knows? Lying on a bed, he might suddenly attain enlightenment, reflect, and become a new man.”
[That’s unacceptable! A new man?!]
The paper-bag man cut in. Judging by the sound of it, this de facto villain had no intention of granting even the slightest chance of repentance to that sociopathic investigator.
Kyung-wan ran his mouth again.
“I told you, who knows? You don’t not know what the word ‘maybe’ means, right? Is the trash you’ve assessed really the kind of person who could so easily repent, atone, and become a new man?”
[...]
The paper-bag man was confused. Was this guy on their side or the other side?
One thing was certain, he wasn’t sane.
[Move.]
At the firm command, Kyung-wan replied,
“Why say it now? I’m already out of the way, aren’t I?”
[...]
As the man walked toward his enemy step by step, Kyung-wan’s words burrowed into his ears.
“Think it through. You don’t want to wake up later, kicking your blankets in frustration, regretting that you killed that bastard too easily.”
It was advice born entirely from experience, whether he understood it or not.
Seeing the paper-bag man approach, the investigator, also a rapist, screamed with a pale face.
“Uuugh, aaaargh!”
...
In the end, the detective survived. With all four limbs shattered, diagnosed with multiple compound fractures, and his spine severed, leaving him half-paralyzed.
Naturally, it was the result of Kyung-wan’s advice being taken to heart.
= = = = =
The Death Reporter Task Force was in chaos. A mass sleep incident that could only be explained as an esper attack, and in the middle of it all, one investigator was found half-crippled.
What made it even more chaotic was that the half-crippled investigator revealed the full truth of the incident himself.
A mysterious assailant who could put people to sleep over a wide area, temporarily dubbed “Sandman.” And Kyung-wan, who didn’t stop him and instead helped him.
The investigators pressed Kyung-wan, but Kyung-wan felt wronged.
“Help him? I just watched.”
“Then why did you just watch?!”
“Why would I interfere when a shitty bastard’s getting what he deserves?”
“You bastard! Do you know what aiding and abetting is?!”
“Then what was I supposed to do? Risk my life fighting a villain who can put people to sleep en masse?”
“You were awake, you bastard!”
In front of the fuming investigator, Kyung-wan sniffled and made a show of wiping under his eye with his fingertip, as if brushing away tears.
Putting on a hypocritical act, Kyung-wan ran his mouth.
“I’m not some firefighter who dedicates his life to citizens’ safety. Who am I supposed to risk my life for? A rapist?”
“When have you ever not butted in, you bastard!”
An investigator who couldn’t take it anymore shouted. Had Kyung-wan only beaten up one or two people so far? The guy who’d rammed a vehicle into the National Assembly building? Now he was claiming he was too scared to do anything and just watched? What kind of bullshit was this?
Kyung-wan met the shouting investigator’s gaze.
A blank expression. Eyes so deep they were impossible to read.
The investigator who’d been shouting curses suddenly felt chills for reasons he couldn’t explain and shut his mouth. He realized he’d just yelled far too recklessly.
The inmate in front of him was a crazy bastard who fought insanely well. How insanely well? Well enough to beat down Japan’s first esper inspector with superhuman strength, charge armed police, subdue them, and even stage a hostage situation.
And he’d raised his voice at someone like that? Had he suddenly developed acute liver enlargement or something?
With nothing more than his gaze, Kyung-wan calmed the investigator’s agitation, then resumed his obnoxious sniffing.
“I’m just a lowly inmate, that’s all. Sniff.”
Bullshit. Absolute bullshit.
The investigator could only grind his teeth in silence.