Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Paradise (3)
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“Nngh.”
The next morning.
Ha-eun woke up early for a change and stretched her arms out wide.
“……”
Oh-jin had woken at dawn to train with Vega, leaving an awkward silence in the small room.
“Guess I should get washed up and ready.”
For the first time in a long while.
She had somewhere to be.
-Splash!
“Aaaah! It’s freezing!!”
She scooped water into a basin and poured it over herself.
Hot water was a luxury, and an unbelievable chill washed over her body.
‘When I get my own place, I’ll make sure it has good hot water.’
She shivered and grabbed a towel.
After drying herself off, she pulled her prosthetic leg out from the drawer under her bed.
“Ugh.”
A groan escaped her lips as a sensation like a hard rock pressing into her knee shot through her.
It was a cheap prosthetic, and it felt awful.
‘Card, ID card…’
She rummaged through a part of the drawer she hadn’t touched in a long time.
It wasn’t easy, having to identify everything by touch alone.
After a few more minutes of searching, she finally found both her card and her ID.
‘My clothes… they should be fine, right?’
She fumbled her way into a turtleneck and a pair of jeans.
Getting dressed was one thing, but she couldn't check the finer details like how neat it looked or if the colors matched.
Worried she might have picked a ridiculous combination, she tugged at her clothes in frustration.
“Sigh.”
What was the point? It wasn't like doing this would make her see.
She stopped pulling at her clothes and put on a coat.
Finally, she took her sneakers from the shoe rack and put them on her left foot and the prosthetic.
-Click.
She grabbed the cane resting on the shoe rack and went outside.
“Haa.”
The cold December air hit her in a rush.
“…Let’s go.”
Muttering a bitter monologue, she extended her cane.
Tap, tap, tap.
She felt the path ahead with the tip of her cane as she walked.
Still, she had once been an Awakened who stood among the ‘strong,’ so her heightened senses made navigating the streets less difficult.
“Heh heh, this is a piece of cake even on my own!”
For the past five years, Oh-jin had always insisted on accompanying her whenever she went out. This was her first time going so far by herself.
She was a little nervous at first, but that quickly faded.
The sounds, the textures, the faint scents that tickled her nose.
By mapping her surroundings in her mind with her superhuman senses, she was able to walk so naturally that no one would believe she couldn't see.
“Heh heh! See that, you punk?”
She swaggered forward with a baseless confidence directed at no one in particular.
Perhaps she got a little too excited.
-Crack.
“Agh!”
She walked straight into a tree branch sticking out from a nearby flowerbed.
Since her cane couldn’t have detected it, she smacked her head right into it.
“Sheesh.”
Rubbing her nose, she started walking again, this time with a bit more aggression in her step.
-Jingle!
After much struggle, she arrived at her destination: the bank.
An employee guided her to a seat, and Ha-eun took her card and ID from her pocket.
“You’d like to close all your current savings and installment accounts?”
“Yes.”
Until five years ago.
To be precise, this was the account where she had saved all the money she’d earned as an Awakened for three years, starting from when the Gates first appeared eight years ago.
It was a secret she hadn't even told Oh-jin—her last thread of hope.
“Um… h-how much is in there?” she asked, her voice tense with nerves.
Squeeze.
Her clenched fist grew sweaty.
“Including all the interest from the past five years… it comes to 321,754,821 Won.”
“……”
320 million Won.
It wasn't a small amount.
It definitely wasn't a small amount, but—
“Ah, yes…”
It was nowhere near enough to buy the Yongmaan.
A shadow fell over Ha-eun’s face.
She already knew.
She hadn’t saved that much to begin with, so how much could it have possibly grown?
She knew, but still….
“Ma’am? Is something wrong?”
“Ah… n-no. 300 million is right.”
Ha, ha, ha.
Ha-eun forced an awkward laugh.
320 million.
The ‘thread of hope’ she had desperately scraped together.
That thread of hope felt too thin, too transparent, as if she could never grasp it.
“…Haha.”
It was true that it was a very small amount for someone who had been an Awakened for three years.
But what could she do?
‘Back when the Gates first appeared, I didn't earn much.’
In those days, she fought monsters purely for survival, not for money.
It was only two years after the Gate incident that she started getting properly paid for the sacred stones she collected from them.
Of course, as a 7-Star Awakened, she had earned quite a lot during that one year, but…
‘Most of it went to medical bills.’
Her condition had been so bad back then that it wouldn't have been strange if she had died at any moment, so her treatment costs were astronomical.
“Should I transfer it all to your checking account?”
“…Yes. Please do.”
Song Ha-eun nodded limply and stood up.
Tap, tap, tap.
She started for home, leaning on her cane.
‘300 million… 300 million.’
It was far from enough to buy the Yongmaan, but…
“Heh heh. That punk is probably still eating nothing but calorie bars these days, right?”
—Before they parted ways.
It was more than enough to make one last memory.
Thud! Crash!
“Hm?”
As she got closer to home, she heard a loud commotion.
“What’s that?”
She tilted her head for a moment.
Thududududu!!
The ground seemed to vibrate with footsteps, and then someone grabbed her shoulders tightly.
“Wh-What the?”
“Pant, pant!”
Heavy, ragged breaths.
“Where did you go without saying anything?!”
Oh-jin’s frantic shout filled the air.
“Hee hee hee! What, were you looking for me?”
“This isn’t the time for jokes…”
“Oh-jin.”
She cut him off.
A bright smile spread across her face.
“Wanna go on a date with your Nunna?”
“…What?”
***
How long had it been since the two of them went out like this?
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Oh-jin asked, gently holding Ha-eun’s arm to guide her.
A date.
It was completely out of the blue.
“Hee hee. I feel sorry for you, you punk, always walking around in shabby clothes and eating calorie bars.”
“How do you even know my clothes are shabby?”
“I don’t need to see to know, you brat. How old are those clothes you’re wearing now?”
“Well…”
He didn't know.
It wasn’t that he couldn't remember; he’d secretly taken them from a clothing donation box, so there was no way to know how old they really were.
“Nothing to say for yourself, huh?”
“Nngh.”
A groan escaped him.
“…They’re pretty clean, though.”
“Shut up and follow me, you punk.”
Cutting off his lame excuse, Song Ha-eun pulled him by the arm.
She strode forward confidently, then paused.
“…Which way is the department store?”
“Oh, for crying out loud.”
Pfft.
He let out a short laugh and led her toward the department store.
“Excuse me~!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Please pick out five matching outfits for him, top and bottom.”
“Right away!”
The employee’s eyes sparkled as she scurried off somewhere.
“Hey, why are you asking the employee? I can pick them myself.”
“If I let you choose, you’d just pick the cheapest stuff, you brat.”
Correct, alchemist!
“And why do I need five whole outfits? I can just wash and re-wear…”
“La la la~ I can’t hear youuuu~”
“Seriously.”
What is with this woman?
“Hmm~ The gentleman has such a great frame, anything would look good on him! This one, and this brand here…”
The excited employee recommended various clothes to Oh-jin.
“And what does his girlfriend prefer?”
“……”
At the word ‘girlfriend,’ the corners of Ha-eun’s mouth crept up into a smirk.
She tapped the floor with the cane in her hand and trailed off.
“My eyesight isn’t very good…”
“Oh. I-I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. We’ll take everything you recommended.”
“I don’t want those, I’ll pick my…”
“Please ignore what this kid says.”
Ha-eun pushed Oh-jin behind her and grinned.
“That’ll be 3,720,000 Won in total~!”
“Here you go.”
“What?!”
Oh-jin stared in horror and grabbed Song Ha-eun’s arm as she pulled out her card.
“Nunna, are you crazy?”
How could clothes cost over 3 million Won?
Even for ten pieces of clothing, top and bottom, this was crossing the line.
And more importantly…
“Where did you even get the money…”
“Heh heh. My savings account matured today, Nunna. I got a hefty interest payment, so this is my treat.”
“……”
Oh-jin’s expression twisted grimly.
“Anyway, I don’t need anything this expensive.”
“I said I’m buying it for you, didn’t I?”
“You don’t need to.”
“Aish, just wear it, you brat!”
Ha-eun insisted, stubbornly pushing the matter.
He refused a few more times, but she threw a tantrum like a three-year-old, leaving him no choice but to accept the clothes she bought.
“Hee hee hee! Go try one on, you punk. And throw out what you’re wearing now!”
“…Haa.”
Oh-jin let out a deep sigh and went to the fitting room to change.
“Woah, woah…”
When he came out, a soft gasp escaped the employee’s lips.
Just a change of clothes was enough to make him look like a completely different person.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah.”
“Hee hee, let’s go then!”
She took Oh-jin’s arm and dragged him somewhere.
She led him around the department store, buying him whatever came to mind.
“…Nunna.”
Oh-jin asked in a low, heavy voice.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Heh heh. My dear Oh-jin has suffered quite a bit because of his Nunna these past five years, hasn’t he?”
“That’s…”
“Today.”
Squeeze.
She tightened her grip on his arm and lowered her head.
“Just for today… just follow my lead.”
“……”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Sigh.”
Oh-jin let out a short sigh.
“Don’t come crying to me when you regret this later, okay?”
“Heh heh! Your Nunna is loaded, you punk!”
Ha-eun giggled, shrugging her shoulders.
“Alright~ Next up is…”
She thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
“Shall we get something to eat?”
“Sounds good.”
He hadn't eaten anything since the calorie bar at dawn, so he was starving.
“Where to? Burger King? Or McDonald’s?”
“…Why are those your only options?”
Song Ha-eun clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“Heh heh! Just follow me, you brat. We’re having Hanwoo today.”
“H-Hanwoo?”
Th-th-thump.
Oh-jin’s legs began to tremble violently.
Hanwoo was that insane food that could easily cost over 100,000 Won for two people.
“You want to eat… Hanwoo?”
“Yep. Hurry up and come here!”
Song Ha-eun pulled on the dazed Oh-jin.
Of course.
She ended up needing him to lead her the rest of the way.
“…We’re here.”
“Wow, that smells amazing.”
The moment they reached the entrance of the barbecue restaurant, a mouth-watering aroma wafted out, intoxicating them.
Gulp.
Ha-eun desperately tried to stop herself from drooling, licking her lips.
“Let’s go right…”
She was about to say ‘in,’ when…
‘…What’s this smell?’
Just then.
The salty scent of the sea drifted into her nostrils.
“…What are they selling next door?”
“Huh? One second… Ah, it’s a snow crab specialty restaurant.”
“Snow crab…?”
Ha-eun’s mind started racing.
The calculation was brief.
“A-Ahem!”
She let out a deliberate cough and pulled Oh-jin along.
“Y-You know, I’m not really in the mood for beef today~”
“You were just drooling a second ago.”
“Sh-Shut up!! I want crab today!!”
“Huh?”
Oh-jin tilted his head.
“Nunna, you don’t like seafood, do you?”
She hadn’t eaten much seafood, but every time she did, she’d made a face and hated it.
She disliked even shrimp, which almost everyone liked, so what kind of seafood was she going to eat?
“C-Crabs are different!!”
“But you hate all kinds of crustaceans…”
“Anyway!”
Song Ha-eun dragged Oh-jin into the snow crab restaurant.
“Excuse me~ We’d like to order!”
Ha-eun ordered two steamed snow crabs.
Steam rose from their bright red shells.
“Ugh…”
The strong sea smell emanating from the steamed crab made Song Ha-eun’s face contort.
But only for a moment.
“Ah~ It’s so hard to get the meat out of these~ Crabs are just so hard to eat.”
After poking at the crab a few times, she put down her chopsticks with a theatrical tone.
“……”
Her intention was so obvious that he didn't even feel like playing along.
“Give it here. I’ll get the meat out for you.”
“Oh, you will? Heh heh heh! You really don’t have to~”
Beaming.
Ha-eun grinned widely and scooted closer.
“Ah.”
She opened her mouth like a baby bird waiting for food.
Pfft.
A laugh escaped him automatically.
“Here.”
“Nom, nom.”
He picked out the crab meat and put it in her mouth.
“Heh heh heh. It’s delicious.”
A slightly dopey laugh came from Ha-eun’s mouth.
“Eat up.”
“Heh heh. Don’t just give it to me, you eat too, you punk.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
And so, their rather long meal came to an end.
“I’ll go get us some coffee.”
“Here’s my card—”
“Please, Nunna, let me at least buy the coffee.”
His conscience was aching after receiving so much from her all day.
“Hmm. Very well. I shall permit it.”
Ha-eun straightened her back and spoke grandly.
Pfft!
He couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“Aish. What? You got a problem?”
“Pffft! No. I’ll be right back. Stay here.”
Oh-jin turned and walked to the counter.
“……”
Ha-eun sat in the cafe chair, a gentle smile on her face.
She opened her eyes slightly and looked around.
The world was still dark.
But it wasn’t cold.
‘Where should we go next~’
As she dangled her legs, lost in thought.
“E-Excuse me… you’re Kwon Oh-jin, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. I am.”
“Kyaa! Oh my god! It’s him! It’s Noerang! Noerang!”
“Really? Wow, amazing! I was at Seoul Station that day!”
“Are you here by yourself?”
The excited voices of two women reached her ears.
“…These fucking bitches?”
Ha-eun’s expression twisted viciously.